Places and maps

One place, every event connected to it

A village can appear in a birth register, a marriage and a photograph. Describe the place once, then return to all the research linked to it.

The mechanism

Keep the place before you know the coordinates

Create a reusable place record and connect it to the events and records it explains. Use address lookup, coordinates and a map when you can locate it; keep the place available for research when you cannot.

The reverse index gathers the records that refer to a place. When imported spelling variants have created duplicates, review their links before consolidating them.

Place · what happened here

Dordrecht, South Holland, Netherlands

51.8133° N · 4.6901° E

Events using this place

  • Birth · Pieter Verschoorabout 1878
  • Marriage · Jan and Maria14 May 1874
  • Residence · Verschoor householdfrom 1901 to 1908

One place · three events · coordinates optional

A fictional place connects several events. The record can remain useful even while its precise location is unresolved.
The specifics

Location without invented precision

Reusable place records
People, families and events can refer to the same place, keeping its description and research context together.
Lookup and coordinates
Use the available address lookup and map tools when the location can be established. Coordinates are optional.
Everything linked to the place
Inspect the reverse index to find related events and records before making a change.
Review duplicate places
Consolidation lets you inspect affected links before merging place records. Places and maps are part of the core Free workspace.

Read the step-by-step instructions

The limit

What this does not do

A modern map result is not a historical identification

Lookup can help locate a place, but a matching name does not establish that it is the place in your source. Boundaries and names change. Keep uncertain locations in the research record and verify a match before assigning coordinates or merging places.

See it on your own tree

Create an account in the public beta. Start with one free project and import the research you already have.

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