# How to register witness relationship **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Created:** [September 28, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/how-to-register-witness-relationship/8613 "2025-09-28T18:23:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ursus](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/gramps.discourse.group/ursus/32/5975_2.png) [@ursus](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/ursus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/how-to-register-witness-relationship/8613/1 "2025-09-28T18:23:15Z")
When registering birth-wedding-deaths there are witnesses. These are mostly just named. However I know they might be family of some sort (like: husband of the brides sister) I would like to include this relationship in a meaningful way, thus I can see the relation-ship without trawling through to many clicks. And preferably the relationship would be presented within most of the exports, but specifically narration-export. I tried the (general/upper part) event-reference-information editor adding a note, but these prove very difficult to be found. It is mentioned here (through a shared event) that this person was a witness, so this seemed to be the most proper place to put ---
**Author:** ![emyoulation](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/gramps.discourse.group/emyoulation/32/67_2.png) [@emyoulation](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/emyoulation)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/how-to-register-witness-relationship/8613/2 "2025-09-28T18:54:17Z")
In this situation, it sounds like you are working from a source that is a newspaper article, likely from the Society pages. For those, I add a source to the Wedding Event citing the newspaper page & date. Then add a full Transciption to the citation as a Note. And finally link the person mentioned. The Note will be included with your sources and be more explicit than the Roles. ---
**Author:** ![ursus](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/gramps.discourse.group/ursus/32/5975_2.png) [@ursus](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/ursus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 7:08pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/how-to-register-witness-relationship/8613/3 "2025-09-28T19:08:52Z")
It is official acts like birth etc that mention the names of the witnesses, their age, occupation, where they live. (But not always their connection other then ‘acquainted to’) So I find the connection through trawling my own database, since there is all the chance I already have this person. And otherwise will add it and find out what their relation was. Linking the person is a begin, but doesn’t make clear the relationship type ---
**Author:** ![Davesellers](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/gramps.discourse.group/davesellers/32/1457_2.png) [@Davesellers](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/Davesellers)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/how-to-register-witness-relationship/8613/4 "2025-09-28T20:29:57Z")
For myself I decided to not enter them to the database as there is no way to connect them to the tree. I prefer to not have persons not linked to the tree and as you indicated, they would just be a name with no other information. There is also a lack of consistency as some records don’t show them or you can’t read the writing. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/gramps/original/1X/2ac1e712b7adf612e31ca08a55419f4cf37c0158.png) [@system](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 8:30pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/how-to-register-witness-relationship/8613/5 "2025-10-28T20:30:27Z")
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