ROOTSWORKS
- using tools to connect with your family
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ROOTSWORKS |
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an article in the Ancestry Daily News, published Feb 2004.
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GEDCOM |
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| RootsWorks
is a site devoted to the use of generic technologies in family history.
[A link to the rootsworks site] Feel free to discuss RootsWorks topics in the RootsWorks Forums. [A link to the rootsworks forums]
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These links supplement the article.
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Here's an example GEDCOM file. GEDCOM files are lists of level numbers, tags, and other values. I often refer to each line in the list as a “card” because I’m old enough to have started out working with punch cards. I've inserted comments, found in italics, to annotate the basic use of GEDCOM tags. Oh, and there are no blank lines in GEDCOM files. I just added a few to set off different sections and make things easier to read.
I hope that you find this page informative and entertaining. As you can see, you can kind of read a GEDCOM file, but for a large file it would be a trial. Make your own, and check it out!
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0 HEAD All GEDCOM Files start with a “level 0” header. 1 SOUR BROSKEEP The source of this file is the shareware program Brother’s Keeper, often called “BK.” 2 VERS 5.2 The version of Brother’s Keeper used to make the GEDCOM file was version 5.2. 1 DEST PAF The Destination of the file is PAF. This isn’t true, but the DEST card was inserted in the deck automatically by BK. 1 DATE 06 DEC 1996 The file was created a long time ago. 1 CHAR IBMPC The character set for the file is IBMPC. Many families have names that can’t be spelled properly using this character set, and the farsighted planners who designed GEDCOM allowed for the use of other sets. 1 FILE C:\GENEALGY\ADAM.GED The file name, when created, was ADAM.GED. This is the end of the “header section” and the beginning of the “submitter section.” The next several cards will describe the submitter. 0 @S1@ SUBM 1 NAME Beau Sharbrough 1 ADDR 123 Elm St 2 CONT Houston TX 77001-4253 This is a “continuation card.” It continues the Address card, in this case. 2 CONT beau@sharbrough.net 1 PHON 817 555 1212 This is not my real phone number, please don’t call this number.
0 @I1@ INDI The following cards describe an INDIvidual, arbitrarily assigned Individual #1. 1 NAME Adam // 1 SEX M Surnames are found between slashes. M means Male, F means Female. This is one area where computers haven’t made the simple things too complicated yet. 1 OCCU Grower Adam’s OCCUpation was a grower. 1 DEAT 2 DATE c 930 aa 2 PLAC Middle East somewhere The two “level 2” cards describe the “level 1” card that they follow – in this case, a DEATh card. The date “930 aa” is a fictitious date, meaning 930 “after Adam.” 1 FAMS @F1@ 1 FAMS @F4@ 1 FAMS @F9@ Adam was a spouse in families 1, 4, and 9.
0 @I2@ INDI 1 NAME Eve // 1 SEX F 1 FAMS @F1@ 0 @I3@ INDI 1 NAME Cain /Adams/ 1 SEX M 1 OCCU Planter 1 BIRT 2 DATE c 30 aa 1 DEAT 2 DATE before 1000 aa 2 PLAC Nod 1 FAMS @F5@ 1 FAMC @F1@ The person described above was a spouse in family 5 and a child in family 1. 0 @I4@ INDI 1 NAME Abel /Adamson/ 1 SEX M 1 OCCU Shepard 1 BIRT 2 DATE c 50 aa 1 DEAT 2 DATE c 85 aa 1 BURI 2 DATE c 85 aa 2 PLAC Ground 1 FAMC @F1@ 0 @I5@ INDI 1 NAME Mrs /Adams/ 1 SEX F 1 BIRT 2 DATE c 15 aa 1 FAMS @F5@ 1 FAMC @F4@ 0 @I6@ INDI 1 NAME Mrs Cain's /Sister/ 1 SEX F 1 BIRT 2 DATE c 20 aa 2 PLAC Nod 2 SOUR @S1@ The SOURce of information about this birth is source #1, described below. SOUR tags do not taste sour, and can be used at any level to refer to the tag in the level above them. 1 FAMC @F9@ 0 @I7@ INDI 1 NAME Methusael // 1 SEX M 1 BIRT 2 DATE c 150 aa 1 FAMC @F8@ 0 @I8@ INDI 1 NAME Enoch /Cain/ 1 SEX M 1 BIRT 2 DATE c 35 aa 1 FAMS @F6@ 1 FAMC @F5@ 0 @I9@ INDI 1 NAME Irad /Enochson/ 1 SEX M 1 BIRT 2 DATE c 70 aa 2 PLAC Enoch 1 FAMS @F7@ 1 FAMC @F6@ I might have taken some liberties in choosing these surnames. 0 @I10@ INDI 1 NAME Mehujael // 1 SEX M 1 BIRT 2 DATE c 100 aa 1 FAMS @F8@ 1 FAMC @F7@ 0 @I11@ INDI 1 NAME Seth // 1 SEX M 1 BIRT 2 DATE c 130 aa 1 DEAT 2 DATE c 1042 aa 1 FAMS @F10@ 1 FAMC @F1@ 0 @I12@ INDI 1 NAME Enosh // 1 SEX M 1 BIRT 2 DATE c 235 aa 1 DEAT 2 DATE c 1140 aa 1 FAMS @F11@ 1 FAMC @F10@ 0 @I13@ INDI 1 NAME Kenan // 1 SEX M 1 BIRT 2 DATE c 325 aa 1 DEAT 2 DATE c 1235 aa 1 FAMC @F11@ After the individuals we describe the sources.. 0 @S1@ SOUR 1 NAME "King James Bible" You can imagine how one might include a great deal more information about the source than is shown here. After the Sources, we describe the families. 0 @F1@ FAM 1 HUSB @I1@ 1 WIFE @I2@ 1 CHIL @I3@ 1 CHIL @I4@ 1 CHIL @I11@ Family 1 has person 1 as the HUSBand, person 2 as the WIFE, and persons 3, 4, and 11 and CHILdren. 0 @F4@ FAM 1 HUSB @I1@ 1 CHIL @I5@ 0 @F5@ FAM 1 HUSB @I3@ 1 WIFE @I5@ 1 CHIL @I8@ 1 MARR 2 DATE c 88 aa 2 PLAC Nod These kids were married circa 88 aa, at Nod. 0 @F6@ FAM 1 HUSB @I8@ 1 CHIL @I9@ 0 @F7@ FAM 1 HUSB @I9@ 1 CHIL @I10@ 0 @F8@ FAM 1 HUSB @I10@ 1 CHIL @I7@ 0 @F9@ FAM 1 HUSB @I1@ 1 CHIL @I6@ 0 @F10@ FAM 1 HUSB @I11@ 1 CHIL @I12@ 0 @F11@ FAM 1 HUSB @I12@ 1 CHIL @I13@ 0 TRLR The TRLR (trailer) card means that we are at the end of the file.
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last updated: 27 Jan 2004
©2004 Beau Sharbrough