Exploring Ancestor Locations on an Interactive Map
Discover where your ancestors lived, spot geographic patterns, and explore place hierarchies with the interactive Location Explorer map.
Why location matters in genealogy
Understanding where your ancestors lived is crucial for research:
- Record repositories: Civil records, church registers, and archives are organised by location
- Migration patterns: Movement between places tells the story of your family's history
- Contextual research: Local histories, occupations, and events depend on geography
- DNA matching: Shared locations with DNA matches can confirm connections
The Location Explorer interface
Access the Location Explorer via Directory > Locations. You'll see:
- Interactive map: Pins showing where events occurred
- Location list: All unique places in your tree, sorted by frequency
- Place hierarchy: Countries, regions, counties, and towns organised in a tree structure
- Person counts: How many individuals are associated with each location
Understanding clustered pins
When multiple events occurred in the same area, pins are clustered:
- Numbered clusters: The number shows how many events are grouped
- Click to zoom: Clicking a cluster zooms in to reveal individual pins
- Colour coding: Different colours may indicate different event types (births, deaths, marriages)
This prevents the map from becoming cluttered when you have many ancestors from the same region.
Place hierarchy analysis
The sidebar shows your locations organised hierarchically:
- Country level: See which countries your ancestors came from
- Region/State level: Identify concentrations within countries
- County/Parish level: Find the specific jurisdictions for record searches
- Town/Village level: The most specific locations for targeted research
Expand each level to see sub-locations and the number of people associated with them.
Using locations for research
The Location Explorer helps you prioritise research:
- High-frequency locations: Places with many ancestors warrant deeper research into local records
- Single-person locations: May indicate migration events worth investigating
- Geographic clusters: Nearby locations suggest communities or family networks
- Missing specificity: Vague locations (just "England") should be researched for more detail
Location standardisation
GEDminer attempts to standardise location names for mapping:
- Modern place names: Historical places are matched to current geography where possible
- Geocoding: Coordinates are looked up for each unique location
- Ambiguous places: Common place names may need manual verification
For best results, use consistent location formats in your genealogy software: Town, County, State/Region, Country.