Computer genealogy

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Computer genealogy describes the methodical support of family history research by computers , as well as the increasing exchange of genealogical data on the Internet . Computer genealogy was created to complement traditional genealogy (an auxiliary historical science ) and is a methodical preparation of the data (see genealogy programs ). In the German-speaking countries, many of these genealogists are organized in the Association for Computer Genealogy, which also runs the GenWiki . Worldwide, however, the market is increasingly being dominated by commercial providers.

While genealogists mainly collect their data in written form in archives and libraries of all kinds (see Genealogical Sources ), digitization projects and databases offer further search options. With the large number of original sources to be recorded, it can take a long time until the sources relevant for research are recorded and digitally accessible, for example via the Internet. Legal reasons (e.g. waiting for protection periods) or uncertainties and reservations of the owners of the original documents can sometimes slow down this process.

To date, the data queries are based on the approximately 3.5 billion family documents that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints collects for religious reasons in the US state of Utah and makes them available free of charge on the Internet ( FamilySearch ). In the direct vicinity of this archive, the commercial provider Ancestry.com has risen to become a dominant provider with several company acquisitions and an extensive global data collection in public archives. The company also offers a fee-based Internet comparison of DNA profiles, which is intended to reveal (unexpected) family connections. The provider MyHeritage.com is also a leader in several lucrative markets and has a partnership with the DNA testing market leader 23andMe .

The DNA analysis for genetic genealogy raises legal and ethical questions that have not yet been adequately clarified.

Publication options for genealogical research results

  1. on its own homepage by providing a GENDEX file, the data of which can be found via a global index
  2. in genealogy databases , including existing GEDCOM files

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Eric Randol Schoenberg: The golden age of the Jewish genealogy . In: Structure : Search for origin . No. 2/85 . Zurich March 29, 2019, p. 6th ff .
  2. ^ Frédéric Kaplan, Isabella di Lenardo: Family tree for sale . In: Le Monde diplomatique . WOZ the weekly newspaper, Zurich February 18, 2018, p. 2 ( monde-diplomatique.de - plus 8 minutes of audio).