This chapter describes the specific tag, value, and pointer combinations used for exchanging lineage-linked genealogical information in the GEDCOM format. Lineage-linked data pertains to individuals linked in family relationships across multiple generations. The chapter also addresses specific compatibility issues pertaining to previous Lineage-linked GEDCOM releases and contains a sample Lineage-linked GEDCOM transmission.
The Lineage-linked grammar defined in this chapter is based on the general framework of the
GEDCOM data representation grammar defined in the Chapter 1. The lineage-linked grammar
defines the GEDCOM form used by commercial genealogical software systems to exchange data.
Other specialized GEDCOM-based grammars have been created for different uses. These other uses
of the general-purpose GEDCOM data representation should not be confused with this specific usage
for lineage-linked genealogical data, as defined in this chapter as the only approved form of
GEDCOM exchanged by commercial genealogical software systems at this time.
This Lineage-linked GEDCOM grammar is organized into three sections:
Structures and substructures are indicated by enclosing the structure name within double angle
<<brackets>>. Primitive element patterns are enclosed in single angle <brackets>.
The definition of each structure consists of the structure name, a separator (:=), and the structure's
component pattern. This pattern consists of (a) GEDCOM-lines composed of primitive elements,
and/or (b) substructures. Some primitive elements consist of two or more alternative sub-pattern
choices. These choices are shown by listing the alternative sub-patterns between opening and
closing square [brackets] and separating each choice with a vertical bar (|), meaning that exactly
one of the alternate substitutions must be selected. Some definitions of primitive elements use the
definition of other primitive elements to complete their definition. This is shown by including the
name of the detailed element type inside angle <brackets> in the definition.
The number of sub-pattern occurrences allowed within a pattern is defined in an occurrence
definition in curly {braces} on each line. This number indicates the minimum and maximum
number of occurrences allowed for a pattern component in the form {minimum:maximum}. Note
that minimum and maximum occurrence limits are defined relative to the enclosing superior line.
This means that a required line (minimum = 1) is not required in an instance where the optional
enclosing line is not given. Similarly, a line occurring only once (maximum = 1) may occur
multiple times as long as each occurs only once under its own multiple-occurring superior line.
The level numbers for any sub-structure are represented as (n), (+1), (+2), and so forth, so that
they may be used in more than one place at different starting level numbers. In these cases, (n)
equals the level number where the pattern first appears, and the (+1) means one level greater than
level n, (+2) means two levels greater than level n, and so forth.
Unless stated otherwise, the only ordering imposed on GEDCOM-lines within an enclosure arises
when multiple opinions or other items are presented for which only one may be expected by a
receiving system. For example, a person may have been known by more than one name, or
evidence may suggest a birth either in 1840 in New York or in 1837 in Pennsylvania. In these
cases, the most credible or preferred information is listed first, followed by less credible or less
preferred items. The QUAY tag may also be used to show the preferred data (see appendix A).
Systems that support only a single field within a context should use the first item in the list.
Conflicting dates or places of an event should be represented in separate event structures to provide
a place for the accompanying source citations, rather than place multiple dates or multiple places
under the same enclosing event.
Even though no other ordering is defined beyond the one described above, some GEDCOM
programming tools optimize performance based on the assumption that tags generally appear in a
typical order. Therefore, sending systems are encouraged to present GEDCOM structures in the
same general order as the one given in these patterns, unless there is a reason to use a different
sequence.
This form uses the tag TYPE as a subordinate tag to names, places, events, etc. The intent of this
tag is meant to further define its superior tag for the viewer only, it is not intended to inform a
computer program how to process the data. The difference between this value and a note value
would be that displaying systems should always display the type value when they display the
associated data. Therefore, cautious consideration should be used in using the TYPE tag.
These event records in some cases will be the source for assertions made in compiling lineage-linked
data. SOURce pointers to the bibliographic description of where this event information
was recorded should be a part of this record.
Evidence records from historical sources are kept separate from opinion records created by the
submitter. The information contained in evidence records is not redundant with respect to the
information contained in submitter's opinions, even when names, dates, or places are the
same, because the authority for asserting the information is different.
Roles of an event which pertain to the event itself are placed subordinate to the event tag.
Roles of individuals mentioned in the event which are relationship roles such as the
"husband's father" is placed subordinate to the role tag of the groom. For example, the
minister at a wedding's role would be represented by the 0 EVENt-MARRiage-OFFIciator
structure. The father of the husband would be represented by the 0 EVENt-MARRiage-HUSBand-FATHer structure.
The justification takes the form of a description of the source from which the evidence was
obtained, and may include a machine-readable representation of the evidence itself, such as an
image of a document or an extract of its contents.
A given source may be the basis for many different assertions. Thus, much of the information
is the same for many different citations of that source, such as the publisher information; and
yet, some of the information varies from one citation to the next, such as the page number for
a specific item. Consequently, the SOURCE_STRUCTURE includes a sophisticated
mechanism for sharing general source description information that is common across multiple
citations, while at the same time allowing more specific information to be more directly
associated with individual citations. All tags within the SOURCE_STRUCTURE participate in
this approach.
To implement the mechanism, the SOURCE_STRUCTURE includes a SOURce pointer that
refers to another SOURCE_STRUCTURE containing more general information to be included
in the citation. This forms a chain of records, beginning within an individual or family record
and ending in a source record that does not contain another SOURce pointer.
A given tag may appear in more than one record along the chain. In this case, the tag
occurring in one link (source record) of the chain is said to shadow or supersede the same tag
found in subsequent records of the chain. A program looking for a particular tag (or tags) in
the citation starts looking in the first record of the chain and continues looking in each
subsequent record in the chain for the appropriate tag, succeeding when the tag is found or
failing when the end of the chain is reached. In effect, a complete logical source citation is
the set of all tags of all records within the source chain, excluding shadowed tags.
The chain may consist of only one SOURCE_STRUCTURE contained entirely inside an
individual or family record, with no SOURce pointer leading out from the individual or family
record. More typically, the chain will begin in the individual or family record and end in an
ordinary source description record. Occasionally, a multiple volume source may be
represented using a record in the middle of the chain for specific information about the
volume.
For example, in a multiple volume source where each volume covered a range of years, a
volume description would contain the PERIod covered by the volume, and the more general
description of the set of volumes would contain the PERIod covered by the entire set of
volumes. In assembling the complete source citation, the program would stop searching for
the PERIod as soon as it found a PERIod tag, which in this case would be in the volume
description. In a multiple volume source where each volume covered a specific place as part
of a larger grouping of places, the program would find the PLACE_STRUCTURE information
in the intermediate volume description, and it would find the PERIod information in the final,
more general description of the set of volumes.
We encourage data entry systems to develop flexible entry screens which will prompt their
users for information which will meet the minimum standards for citing sources. At the
minimum there should be an entry form for published sources and one for unpublished
sources. The elements below are marked if they were recommended by the National
Genealogical Society as being a help in citing puplished (p) or unpublished (u) sources.
For example, two new user tags are to be defined as _HOSP and _NURS and placed
subordinate to an individual's birth. The user tag in context would be: (Example only)
The resulting USER_TAG_SCHEMA, to be included in the HEADer record, would then look
like the following:
(Example only)
See User Defined Tag section at the end of chapter 2 for additional information.
The fields sizes are to show the minimum recommended field length within a database that is
constrained to fixed length fields. GEDCOM lines are limited to 255 characters. However, data of
any length can be included in GEDCOM by using the CONCatenation or CONTinuation tag to
expand a field beyond the 255 limit. These two tags are being used to extend text type messages
rather than extending, for example, a name line. Text lines are used in ADDR, DSCR, NOTE,
SOUR, TEXT, etc.
Examples:
Example:
A FORM tag showing a change to this default assumption shown in the HEADer record can be
used subordinate to an individual place structure to show the variant jurisdictional levels.
A place of origin that is not necessarily a birth place is shown by preceding the place name with
the word "
The choice
Examples:
Lineage-linked Grammar Organization
Record Structures of the Lineage-linked Form
0 <<HEADER>> {1:1}
0 <<RECORD>> {0:M}
0 TRLR {1:1}
There are specific subordinate GEDCOM-lines that may be used as subordinate GEDCOM-lines
to other superior GEDCOM-lines. For example:
In the above example QUAY at level 3 indicates how reliable or correct the birth date value
is. The QUAY tag applies to any tag that contains a value. This tag is not shown in any of
the structures but the reader and writer of GEDCOM should expect that the QUAY tag
could be present as a subordinate tag to any tag that has an associated value.
1 BIRT
2 DATE 02 Oct 1937
3 QUAY 1
ANSTFILE. For LDS temple submissions it is TempleReady.
n HEAD {1:1}
+1 SOUR <SYSTEM_NAME> {1:1}
+2 VERS <VERSION_NUMBER> {1:1}
+2 NAME <PRODUCT_NAME> {0:1}
+2 CORP <CORPORATE_NAME> {0:1}
+3 <<ADDRESS_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+2 DATA <NAME_OF_SOURCE_DATA> {0:1}
+3 DATE <PUBLICATION_DATE> {0:1}
+1 DEST <SYSTEM_NAME> {0:1}
+1 DATE <TRANSMISSION_DATE> {0:1}
+2 TIME <TIME_VALUE> {0:1}
+1 SUBM @XREF:SUBM@ {1:1}
+1 FILE <FILE_NAME> {0:M}
+1 COPR <COPYRIGHT_STATEMENT> {0:1}
+2 CONT <TEXT> {0:M}
+1 SCHEMA {0:1}
+2 <<USER_TAG_SCHEMA>> {1:M}
+1 GEDC {1:1}
+2 VERS <VERSION_NUMBER> {1:1}
+2 FORM <GEDCOM_FORM> {0:1}
+1 CHAR <CHARACTER_SET> {0:1}
+2 VERS <VERSION_NUMBER> {0:1}
+1 LANG <LANGUAGE_OF_TEXT> {0:1}
+1 PLAC {0:1}
+2 FORM <PLACE_HIERARCHY> {1:1}
[
n <<EVENT_RECORD>> {0:1}
|
n <<FAMILY_RECORD>> {0:1}
|
n <<INDIVIDUAL_RECORD>> {0:1}
|
n <<NOTE_RECORD>> {0:1}
|
n <<REPOSITORY_RECORD>> {0:1}
|
n <<SOURCE_RECORD>> {0:1}
|
n <<SUBMITTER_RECORD>> {1:1}
]
n @XREF:FAM@ FAM {0:1}
+1 HUSB @XREF:INDI@ {0:1}
+1 WIFE @XREF:INDI@ {0:1}
+1 CHIL @XREF:INDI@ {0:M}
+1 REFN <USER_REFERENCE_NUMBER> {0:M}
+1 <FAM_EVNT_TAG> {0:M}
+2 TYPE <FAMILY_EVENT_DESCRIPTOR> {0:1}
+2 DATE <DATE_VALUE> {0:1}
+2 <<PLACE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <DIV_EVNT_TAG> {0:M}
+2 TYPE <DIVORCE_DESCRIPTOR> {0:M}
+2 DATE <DATE_VALUE> {0:1}
+2 <<PLACE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 ASSO @XREF:ANY@ {0:M}
+2 TYPE <ASSOCIATION_DESCRIPTOR> {0:1}
+1 NCHI <COUNT_OF_CHILDREN> {0:1}
+1 <<LDS_FAM_ORDINANCE_EVENT>> {0:M}
+1 <<SOURCE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<MULTI_MEDIA_LINK>> {0:M}
+1 <<CHANGE_DATE>> {0:M}
n @XREF:INDI@ INDI
+1 <<INDIVIDUAL>> {1:1}
+1 FAMS @XREF:FAM@ {0:M}
+1 FAMC @XREF:FAM@ {0:M}
+2 <<CHILD_FAMILY_EVENT>> {0:M}
+1 ASSO @XREF:REC@ {0:M}
+2 TYPE <ASSOCIATION_DESCRIPTOR> {0:1}
+1 <<LDS_INDI_ORDINANCE_EVENT>> {0:M}
+1 RFN <PERMANENT_RECORD_FILE_NUMBER> {0:M}
+1 REFN <USER_REFERENCE_NUMBER> {0:M}
+1 AFN <ANCESTRAL_FILE_NUMBER> {0:1}
+1 ALIA @XREF:INDI@ {0:M}
+1 ANCI @XREF:SUBM@ {0:M}
+1 DESI @XREF:SUBM@ {0:M}
+1 <<SOURCE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<MULTI_MEDIA_LINK>> {0:M}
+1 <<CHANGE_DATE>> {0:M}
n @XREF:EVEN@ EVEN
+1 <<CHANGE_DATE>> {0:M}
+1 <EVENT_TAG> {1:1}
+2 TYPE <EVENT_DESCRIPTOR> {0:1}
+2 DATE <DATE_VALUE> {0:1}
+2 <<PLACE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+2 PERI <TIME_PERIOD> {0:M}
+2 RELI <RELIGIOUS_AFFILIATION> {0:1}
+2 <<MULTI_MEDIA_LINK>> {0:M}
+2 <<TEXT_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+2 <<SOURCE_STRUCTURE>> {0:M}
+2 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:M}
+2 <ROLE_TAG> {0:M}
+3 TYPE <ROLE_DESCRIPTOR> {0:1}
+3 <<INDIVIDUAL>> {0:1}
+3 ASSO @XREF:INDI@ {0:M}
+4 TYPE <ASSOCIATION_DESCRIPTOR> {1:1}
+3 <RELATIONSHIP_ROLE_TAG> [ NULL | @XREF:INDI@ ]{0:M}
+4 TYPE <ROLE_DESCRIPTOR> {0:1}
+4 <<INDIVIDUAL>> {0:1}
n <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {1:1}
+1 <<CHANGE_DATE>> {0:M}
n <<REPOSITORY_STRUCTURE>> {1:1}
+1 <<CHANGE_DATE>> {0:M}
n <<SOURCE_STRUCTURE>> {1:1}
+1 <<CHANGE_DATE>> {0:M}
n @XREF:SUBM@ SUBM {1:1}
+1 <<NAME_STRUCTURE>> {1:1}
+1 <<ADDRESS_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 LANG <LANGUAGE_PREFERENCE> {0:3}
+1 <<CHANGE_DATE>> {0:M}
Substructures of the Lineage-linked Form
n SITE <SITE_NAME> {0:1}
n ADDR <ADDRESS_LINE> {0:1}
+1 CONT <ADDRESS_LINE> {0:M}
+1 PHON <PHONE_NUMBER> {0:3}
Richmond Cemetery, Richmond, Cache, Utah, USA.
n CEME <CEMETERY_NAME> {0:1}
+1 PLOT <BURIAL_PLOT_ID> {0:1}
n CHAN {1:1}
+1 DATE <CHANGE_DATE> {1:1}
+2 TIME <TIME_VALUE> {0:1}
+1 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
[
n ADOP {1:1}
+1 TYPE <CHILD_FAMILY_EVENT_DESCRIPTOR> {0:1}
+1 AGE <AGE_VALUE> {0:1}
+1 DATE <DATE_VALUE> {0:1}
+1 <<PLACE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<SOURCE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
|
n <<LDS_CHILD_SEALING_EVENT>> {0:1}
]
n QUAY <QUALITY_OF_DATA> {0:1}
/* used subordinate to any tag containing a value */
n <EVENT_TAG> {1:1}
+1 TYPE <EVENT_DESCRIPTOR> {0:M}
+1 DATE <DATE_VALUE> {0:1}
+1 <<PLACE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+2 <<BURIAL_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 AGE <AGE_VALUE> {0:1}
+1 MSTAT <MARITAL_STATUS> {0:1}
+1 CAUS <CAUSE_OF_DEATH> {0:1}
+1 RELI <RELIGIOUS_AFFILIATION> {0:1}
+1 AGNC <GOVERNMENT_AGENCY> {0:1}
+1 <<TEXT_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<SOURCE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<CHANGE_DATE>> {0:M}
n <<NAME_STRUCTURE>> {1:M}
n TITL <INDI_TITLE> {0:M}
n SEX <SEX_VALUE> {0:1}
n <<EVENT_STRUCTURE>> {0:M}
n <<ADDRESS_STRUCTURE>> {0:M}
n RELI <RELIGIOUS_AFFILIATION> {0:M}
n NAMR <RELIGIOUS_NAME> {0:M}
+1 RELI <RELIGIOUS_AFFILIATION> {0:1}
n EDUC <SCHOLASTIC_ACHIEVEMENT> {0:M}
n OCCU <OCCUPATION> {0:M}
n SSN <SOCIAL_SECURITY_NUMBER> {0:M}
n IDNO <NATIONAL_ID_NUMBER> {0:M}
+1 TYPE <TYPE_OF> {1:1}
n PROP <POSSESSIONS> {0:M}
n DSCR <PHYSICAL_DESCRIPTION> {0:M}
+1 CONT <PHYSICAL_DESCRIPTION> {0:M}
n SIGN <SIGNATURE_INFO> {0:M}
n NMR <COUNT_OF_MARRIAGES> {0:M}
n NCHI <COUNT_OF_CHILDREN> {0:M}
n NATI <NATIONALITY> {0:M}
n CAST <CASTE_NAME> {0:M}
n SLGC {1:1}
+1 TYPE <LDS_CHILD_SEALING_DESCRIPTOR> {0:1}
+1 DATE <DATE_VALUE> {0:1}
+1 TEMP <TEMPLE_VALUE> {0:1}
n SLGS {1:1}
+1 TYPE <LDS_FAM_ORD_DESCRIPTOR> {0:1}
+1 DATE <DATE_VALUE> {0:1}
+1 TEMP <TEMPLE_VALUE> {0:1}
n <LDS_INDI_ORD> {1:1}
+1 TYPE <LDS_INDI_ORD_DESCRIPTOR> {0:1}
+1 DATE <DATE_VALUE> {0:1}
+1 TEMP <TEMPLE_VALUE> {0:1}
+1 <<SOURCE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
n AUDIO <ESCAPE_TO_AUXILLARY_PROCESSING> {0:1}
n PHOTO <ESCAPE_TO_AUXILLARY_PROCESSING> {0:1}
n VIDEO <ESCAPE_TO_AUXILLARY_PROCESSING> {0:1}
n NAME <PERSONAL_NAME> {1:1}
+1 TYPE <NAME_TYPE_DESCRIPTOR> {0:1}
+1 <<SOURCE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
n [ @XREF:NOTE@ | NULL ] NOTE [ <SUBMITTER_TEXT> | NULL ]{1:1}
+1 CONT <SUBMITTER_TEXT> {1:M}
+1 NOTE @XREF:NOTE@ {0:1}
n PLAC <PLACE_VALUE> {1:1}
+1 FORM <PLACE_HIERARCHY> {0:1}
+1 <<ADDRESS_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<SOURCE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
n [ @XREF:REPO@ | NULL ] REPO {1:1}
+2 NAME <NAME_OF_REPOSITORY> {0:1}
+2 CNTC <NAME_OF_CONTACT_PERSON> {0:1}
+2 <<ADDRESS_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+2 MEDI <MEDIA_TYPE> {0:1}
+2 CALN <SOURCE_CALL_NUMBER> {0:1}
+3 ITEM <FILM_ITEM_IDENTIFICATION> {0:1}
+3 SHEE <SHEET_NUMBER> {0:1}
+3 PAGE <PAGE_NUMBER> {0:1}
+2 REFN <MANUAL_FILING_IDENTIFICATION> {0:1}
+2 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
/****** TYPE OF SOURCE ******/
n [ @XREF:SOUR@ | NULL ] SOUR [ <TEXT> | NULL ]
+1 [ CONT | CONC ] <TEXT> {0:1}
+1 CLAS <SOURCE_CLASSIFICATION_CODE> {1:1}up
+1 EVEN <EVENT_CLASSIFICATION_CODE> {0:1}
+1 PERI <TIME_PERIOD_COVERED> {0:M}up
/****** CITATION SPECIFIC INFO ******/
+1 TITL [ <DESCRIPTIVE_TITLE> | @XREF:SOUR@ ] {0:1}up
+1 SOUR [ @XREF:SOUR@ | @XREF:EVEN ] {0:M}up
+1 PAGE <PAGE_DESCRIPTION> {0:1}up
+1 DATE <ENTRY_RECORDED_DATE> {0:1}u
+1 CENS {0:1}
+2 DATE <CENSUS_DATE> {0:1}u
+2 LINE <LINE_NUMBER> {0:1}u
+2 DWEL <DWELLING_NUMBER> {0:1}u
+2 FAMN <FAMILY_NUMBER> {0:1}u
+2 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
/****** WHO CREATED IT ******/
+1 ORIG {0:M}
+2 NAME <ORIGINATOR_NAME> {0:1}up
+2 TYPE <ORIGINATOR_TYPE> {1:1}up
+2 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
/****** PUBLICATION INFO ******/
+1 PUBL {0:1}
+2 TYPE <PUBLICATION_TYPE> {1:1}up
+2 NAME <NAME_OF_PUBLICATION> {0:1}p
+2 PUBR <PUBLISHER_NAME> {0:1}p
+2 <<ADDRESS_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+2 DATE <PUBLICATION_DATE> {0:1}up
+2 EDTN <PUBLICATION_EDITION> {0:1}p
+2 SERS <SERIES_VOLUME_DESCRIPTION> {0:1}p
+2 ISSU <PERIODICAL_ISSUE_NUMBER> {0:1}p
+2 LCCN <LIBRARY_CONGRESS_CALL_NUMBER> {0:1}
/****** WHERE IS IT STORED ******/
+1 <<REPOSITORY_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}up
/****** IMMIGRATION/EMIGRATION ***/
+2 NAME <NAME_OF_VESSEL> {0:1}
+2 PORT {0:1}
+3 ARVL {0:1}
+4 DATE <ARRIVAL_DATE> {0:1}
+4 PLAC <ARRIVAL_PLACE> {0:1}
+3 DPRT {0:1}
+4 DATE <DEPARTURE_DATE> {0:1}
+4 PLAC <DEPARTURE_PLACE> {0:1}
+2 <<TEXT_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+2 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
/****** SUPPORT DATA ******/
+1 <<TEXT_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 <<MULTI_MEDIA_LINK>> {0:M}
+1 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
+1 STAT <SEARCH_STATUS> {0:1}
+2 DATE <SEARCH_STATUS_DATE> {0:1}
+1 REFS @XREF:SOUR@ /* REFERENCED SOURCE */ {0:1}
+1 FIDE <SOURCE_FIDELITY_CODE> {0:1}
+1 QUAY <QUALITY_OF_DATA> {0:1}
n TEXT <SOURCE_TEXT> {1:1}
+1 [ CONT | CONC ] <SOURCE_TEXT> {1:M}
+1 <<NOTE_STRUCTURE>> {0:1}
_).
0 <OLD_TAG_1> {1:1}
1 <OLD_TAG_2> {0:M}
2 _<NEW_TAG> {0:M}
/* always start user tag name with an underscore (_).*/
n INDI
+1 BIRT
+2 _HOSP
+2 _NURS
n SCHEMA
+1 INDI
+2 BIRT
+3 _HOSP
+4 LABL <FULL_TAG_NAME>
+4 DEFN <USER_TAG-DEFINITION>
+4 ISA <IS_A_KIND_OF_TAG>
+3 _NURSE
+4 LABL <FULL_TAG_NAME>
+4 DEFN <USER_TAG-DEFINITION>
+4 ISA <IS_A_KIND_OF_TAG>
n <<USER_TAG_IN_CONTEXT>> {1:M}
+m LABL <FULL_TAG_NAME> {1:1}
+m DEFN <USER_TAG_DEFINITION> {1:1}
+m ISA <IS_A_KIND_OF_TAG> {1:1}
/* +m represents the first subordinate level to the new user defined tag level. (See
example shown under the substructure definition for USER_TAG_IN_CONTEXT). */
Primitive Elements of the Lineage-linked Form
Address information that, when combined with NAME and CONTinuation lines, meets
requirements for sending communications through the mail.
A number that indicates the age in years, months, and/or days. Any labels must come after their
corresponding number, for example; 4 yr 8 mo 10 da. The year is required, and listed first,
even if it is 0 (zero).
A unique permanent record number of an individual record contained in the LDS Ancestral File.
<DATE_VALUE>
A date associated with an arrival event, such as the arrival of a ship into a port.
<PLACE_VALUE>
The place from which travel terminated, such as the locality name of a port of arrival, such as
Ellis Island, New York, New York.
A word or phrase that describes the association between this person and another person identified
by a pointer. (For example, n ASSO great grandfather @XREF:SUBM@ would be read, this
person is a great-grandfather of the person defined in the submitter record.)
A full file reference to the auxillary data to be linked to the GEDCOM context.
[ OLE | GIF | TIF | WPG | etc. ]
Indicates the format of the data that is being linked to the GEDCOM context. This will allow
the GEDCOM processor to determine whether they are able to process the auxillary data. The
auxillary file should contain a header record with data required, by the indicated format, to
process the file data.
[ @#DHEBREW@ | @#DROMAN@ | @#DFRENCH R@ | @#DGREGORIAN@ | @#DJULIAN@ | @#DUNKNOWN@ ]
An escape sequence that allows dates from one of the indicated calendars to be represented. The
default calendar is the Gregorian calendar.
A name assigned to a particular group that this person was associated with, such as a particular
racial group, religious group, or a group with an inherited status.
The cause of death of this person. This should be the same cause as listed on the death
certificate if known. (A medical history structure may be developed for a future GEDCOM
release.)
The name of the cemetery where a person was buried.
<DATE_EXACT>
The date that this data was last changed.
A code value that represents the character set to be used to interpret this data. The default
character set is ANSEL which includes ASCII as a subset. UNICODE is also will be allowed.
See chapter 3.
A word or phrase that describes or modifies the adoption event being reported.
Adds new data to the end of the data in the preceding context.
<PERSONAL_NAME>
The name of the person to whom communications should be addressed.
A new line which logically is included in the preceding line. This may be used in specified
situations where the value length exceeds the maximum allowed length for the line.
A copyright statement needed to protect the rights of the owner of this data.
The company, corporate or government agency name.
The number of children of this individual from all marriages or of this family, regardless of
whether the associated children are represented in the GEDCOM file.
The number of different families that this person was known to have been a member of as a
spouse or parent, regardless of whether the associated families are represented in the GEDCOM
file.
<DATE_REGULAR>/<YEAR_ALTERNATIVE>
A date which shows the possible date alternatives arising from a calendar change, for example,
15 Dec 1752/3.
<DAY> <MONTH> <YEAR>
A formatted date with one space between the day and the month and one space between the
month and the year.
[ ABT | AFT | BEF | EST | <CALENDAR_ESCAPE_SEQUENCE> ]
Qualifies the meaning of a date.
ABTAFTBEFEST
<TEXT>
Any statement offered as a date when the specific year is not known, but which gives
information about when an event occurred.
BET <DATE_REGULAR> AND <DATE_REGULAR>
[ <DATE_MODIFIER> | blank ] [ <DATE_EXACT> | <MONTH> <YEAR> | <YEAR> ]
[ <DATE_REGULAR> | <DATE_PHRASE> | <DATE_RANGE> | <DATE_WITH_BC> | <DATE_DUAL> | <DATE_MODIFIER> <DATE_REGULAR> ]
Examples:
15 JUN 1990
2 days after easter 1790
BET NOV 1830 AND 25 DEC 1830
600 B.C.
ABT 1 JAN 1440
@#DFRENCH R@28 NIVOSE AN09
[ <DATE_PHRASE> <YEAR> B.C. ]
A date of an event that occurred before Christ.
dd
Day of the month, where dd is a numeric digit whose value is within the valid range of the days
for the associated month.
<DATE_VALUE>
A date associated with an departure event, such as the departure of a ship from a port.
<PLACE_VALUE>
The place from which travel began, such as the locality name of a port of departure, such as
Pier 37, San Francisco, California.
A descriptive title of the information source, such as a description of:
A word or phrase that commonly describes the kind of separation, such as "divorce" or
"separated", that took place between husband and wife. The separation descriptor should use the
same word or phrase and in the same language, whenever possible, that was used by the
recorder of the event.
[ ANUL | DIV | DIVF ]
(See Appendix B for additional Tags)
A family event tag which describes the event of separation.
<DATE_VALUE>
The date that the entry was entered into the source record by the recorder.
[ @#A<AUXILLARY_FILE_REFERENCE> <AUXILLARY_SET_FORMAT> ]
An escape sequence which allows for alternate data formats to be linked to a specific context
within the GEDCOM file. The linked data referenced is for special processing and is tied to the
context in which the escape was issued. For instance, data specific to Window's Object linking
and embedding servers would be referenced in this manner. See Chapter 6, Microsoft
Windows Programmer's Reference for the format of the standard OLE data stream. This
allows the transmission of images, sounds, or other auxillary processing associated with the
enclosing context. The format of the escape sequence has only been designed for including data
by referencing a specific file name. This means that there will be an unique auxillary data file
for each link. In the future we may adopt a method of including all of the auxillary data in a
single auxillary transmission file. Other auxillary process formats may also be defined in later
GEDCOM versions.
[ <IND_EVNT_TAG> | <EVENT_DESCRIPTOR> ]
A code that classifies the principal event that caused this source record to be created.
A descriptor that should be used whenever the EVEN tag is used to define the event being cited.
For example, if the event was a purchase of a residence, the EVEN tag would be followed by
the phrase "Purchased Residence." When this descriptor is used with any of the defined event
tags, it modifies the basic definition of the associated tag. For example the BIRT tag could be
used in connection with an EVENT_DESCRIPTOR of "Stillborn" to modify the birth event as a
stillborn birth. An EVENT_DESCRIPTOR of "DEAD" shows a person is dead but the death
date is not known. The event descriptor should use the same word or phrase and in the same
language, when possible, that was used by the recorder of the event. Systems that display data
from the GEDCOM form should be able to display the descriptor value in their screen or printed
output.
[ <IND_EVNT_TAG> | <FAM_EVNT_TAG> | <DIV_EVNT_TAG> ]
An event tag chosen from the tags identifying either individual or family events, including the
EVEN tag with an event descriptor.
A word or phrase that best describes the circumstances that created this family. The marriage
descriptor should use the same word or phrase and in the same language, when possible, that
was used by the recorder of the event. Possible descriptor values include "Childbirth-unmarried,"
"Common Law," "Tribal Custom," for example. Systems that display data from
the GEDCOM form should be able to display the descriptor value in their screen or printed
output. (See also <DIV_EVNT_TAG>.)
[ CENS | MARR | MARB | MARC | MARL | MARS | ENGA | EVEN ]
(See Appendix B for additional Tags)
An event tag indicating the reason for defining a family.
The name of the GEDCOM transmission file on the source operating system. It includes the
path, file name, and file extension. The path may optionally include the drive letter.
A particular book or unit of material that may have been filmed with other books or units on the
same microfilm. The convention used in the Family History Department microfilms is to
include a separator frame with a sequential item number to separate multiple books on a single
film.
The long name of a user defined GEDCOM tag. For example, HOSP tag would have a long
name of HOSPITAL. This name should be a name that could be used as a field label for reports
and screens. The name may include underscore characters (_).
[ LINEAGE-LINKED | (others to be registered) ]
The GEDCOM form used to construct this transmission.
The name of the branch of government associated with this event or data.
[ ADOP | BIRT | BAPM | BARM | BASM | BLES | BURI | CENS | CHR | CHRA | CONF | DEAT | EVEN | EMIG | GRAD | IMMI | MARR | NATU | ORDN | RETI | PROB | WILL ]
An individual event tag. The EVEN tag must be followed by a TYPE and an
<EVENT_DESCRIPTOR>. The <EVENT_DESCRIPTOR> is optional for the defined event
tags, for example:
(See Appendix A for tag definitions or see Appendix B for proposed Tags. These proposed tags
have not been standardized. They may be used as a value for the TYPE tag under the EVEN
tag or under the appropriate approved event tags. Appropriate means that the event should be
processed the same as the selected superior tag)
1 EVEN
2 TYPE Farley Family Reunion
1 BIRT
2 TYPE illegitimate
A formal designation used by an individual in connection with the individuals name, for
example, (Captain) John Smith.
<PERSONAL_NAME>
The name of a person who contributed evidence information.
<PERSONAL_NAME>
The name of the person who conducted the interview for information.
[ <LANGUAGE_TABLE> ]
The human language in which the data in the transmission is normally read or written. It is used
primarily by programs to select language-specific sorting sequences and phonetic name matching
algorithms.
[ <LANGUAGE_TABLE> ]
The language in which a person prefers to communicate. Multiple language preference is shown
by using multiple occurrences in order of priority.
A table of valid language codes. This table of valid languages may be found in the
Encyclopedia Britannica 1989 Book of the Year.
<LDS_ORDINANCE_DESCRIPTOR>
A descriptor that describes the disposition of this ordinance. The appropriate descriptor is one
of the choices defined by <LDS_ORDINANCE_DESCRIPTOR>.
<LDS_ORDINANCE_DESCRIPTOR>
A descriptor that describes the disposition of this ordinance. The appropriate descriptor is one
of the choices defined by <LDS_ORDINANCE_DESCRIPTOR>.
[ BAPL | CONL | WAC | ENDL ]
A tag that represents an individual's religious event associated with The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. (See Appendix A for a definition of these tags.)
<LDS_ORDINANCE_DESCRIPTOR>
A descriptor that specifies the disposition of this ordinance. The appropriate descriptor is one of
the choices defined by <LDS_ORDINANCE_DESCRIPTOR>.
[ BIC | CANCELED | COMPLETED | DNS | DONE | INFANT | STILLBORN | SUBMITTED ]
A code indicating the status of an LDS ordinance.
BICCOMPLETEDDNSDONEINFANTSTILLBORNSUBMITTED
The call number assigned to this item by the U.S. Library of Congress.
A description of where the source is manually filed at this repository or personal collection.
Personal genealogical collections should be organized and filed so that items can be specifically
identified and retrieved. For example, "Probate file Drawer 83, File D, Number 18",
or "Box 3, Smith Folder".
[ D | S | W | _<TEXT> ]
The marital status at the time of the associated event. Status values are:
DMSW__".
[ AUDIO | BOOK | CARD | ELECTRONIC | FICHE | FILM | MAGAZINE | MANUSCRIPT | MAP | NEWSPAPER | PHOTO | TOMBSTONE | VIDEO ]
A code, selected from one of the media classifications choices above that indicates the type of
material in which the referenced source is stored.
[ JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC ]
A month name abbreviation selected from the choices above, used in forming dates.
The name of the electronic data source that was used to obtain the data in this transmission. For
example, the data may have been obtained from a CD-ROM disc that was named "U.S. 1880 CENSUS CD-ROM vol. 13."
A name of the ship, air ship, or commercial vehicle used for travel, immigration, emigration,
etc.
The person's national origin in common usage. Examples: Irish, Native American, Swede, and
so forth.
A nationally-controlled number assigned to an individual. Commonly known national numbers
should be assigned their own tag, such as SSN for U.S. Social Security Number. The use of the
IDNO tag requires a subordinate TYPE tag to identify what kind of number is being stored. For
example:
n IDNO 43-456-1899
+1 TYPE Canadian Health Registration
A user defined tag that is contained in the GEDCOM current transmission. This tag must be
defined within the SCHEMA context in the HEADer record and its name must begin with an
underscore (_). The SCHEMA context defines the data associated with this new tag. (See tags
LABL, DEFN, and ISA).
A convention that indicates the absence of any characters in the value including
the null character (0x00) which is prohibited.
The kind of activity that an individual does for a job, profession, or principal activity.
This is any tag defined by the GEDCOM standard and is used in the SCHEMA context of the
HEADer record to show the context in which a new user defined tag is being used. This tag
always represents a tag which was used at level 0.
This is any tag defined by the GEDCOM standard and is used in the SCHEMA context of the
HEADer record to show the context in which a new user defined tag is being used. Old_TAG_2
represents any tag at any level between level 1 and the level in which the new user defined tag
resides. For example,
n SCHEMA
+1 INDI (zero level)
+2 BURI
+3 PLAC
+4 CEME
+5 _PLOT (new user tag)
[ Y | N ]
A code that identifies whether the patron will provide proxies for the cleared ordinances
specified by the associated tag.
YN
[ <PERSONAL_NAME> | <CORPORATE_NAME> ]
The name of the person or organization that created this source.
[ AUTHOR | COMPILER | TRANSCRIBER | ABSTRACTOR | EDITOR | INFORMANT | INTERVIEWER | GOVERNMENT | BUSINESS | ORGANIZATION ]
A classification of the type of the person or entity that created this source.
A field that identifies the page within the source. This may be a page number range, a specific
page number, or another way of defining how to find the specified information within the
source.
The number or description of the specific periodical publication.
<REGISTERED_RESOURCE_IDENTIFIER>:<RECORD_IDENTIFIER>
The record number that uniquely identifies this record within a registered network resource.
The number will be usable as a cross-reference pointer. The use of the colon (:) is reserved to
indicate the separation of the 'registered resource identifier' (precedes the colon) and the unique
'record identifier' within that resource (follows the colon). In cases where the colon is used,
implementations that check pointers should not expect to find a matching cross reference
identifier in the transmission but would find them in the indicated database within a network.
Making resource files available to a public network is a future implementation.
[
<TEXT> |/<TEXT>/ |
<TEXT> /<TEXT>/ |/<TEXT>/ <TEXT> |
<TEXT> /<TEXT>/ <TEXT>
]
The surname of an individual, if known, is enclosed between two slash (/) characters. The order
of the name parts should be the order that the person would customarily have used when giving
it to a recorder. If part of name is illegible, that part is indicated by ... (ellipses).
William Lee
/Parry/
William Lee /Parry/
William /Lee/ Parry
William Lee /Pa.../
A phone number.
A comma delimited, unstructured list of the attributes that describe the physical characteristics of
a person, place, or object.
1 DSCR Hair Brown, Eyes Brown, Height 5 ft 8 in
[
<TEXT> |
<TEXT>, <PLACE_VALUE>
]
The jurisdictional name of the place where the event took place. Jurisdictions are separated by
commas, that is, town, county, state or village, parish, country. Receiving systems cannot
assume that the nth locality position is necessarily a specific level of jurisdiction. Some systems
may include a PLAC context in the HEADer record which will specify the jurisdictional levels
to the place names. Missing intermediate jurisdictions is represented by adjacent placeholder
commas. If FORM value within the PLACe context of the HEADer record is present, then all
levels of jurisdiction must be accounted in this way. For example if the following was included
in the header record:
Then each place name would be expected to account for the four levels by using appropriately
placed commas.
0 HEAD
1 PLAC
2 FORM city, county, state, country
of." Missing or illegible characters within a place name are indicated by ...
(ellipses).
A list of possessions (real estate or other property) belonging to this individual, separated by
commas.
The name of the software product that produced this transmission.
<DATE_REGULAR>
The date this source was published or compiled.
A description of the specific version of the publication which is being referenced.
The name of a publication such as a book, pamphlet, periodical, newspaper, or other
monographic publication.
<PLACE_VALUE>
The name of the place (city, state) where an item was published or the location of the publisher's
main office.
[ BOOK | PERIODICAL | NEWSPAPER | UNPUBLISHED | ELECTRONIC ]
The name of the publisher of the referenced publication.
[ 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 ]
The submitter's assessment of the reliability of the information for the associated fact:
0123
An identification number assigned to each record within a specific data base. If this identifier is
associated with a preceding colon (:), then it is the record number within the registered resource
identified by the data that precedes the (:) else it is a specific reference to a record within the
current database if no registered resource identifier precedes the (:). If the colon is not present
it is the identification of a record within the current GEDCOM transmission file.
This is an identifier assigned to a resource data base which is available through access to an
available network. (Future plans.)
[ BROT | CHIL | FATH | HEIR | HUSB | MOTH | PARE | PHUS | PWIF | SIBL | SIST | WIFE ]
A name of the religion with which this person or record was affiliated.
A name given to a person to be used in connection with a religion.
The official name of the archive in which the stated source material is stored.
A word or phrase that identifies the role of each person in the event being described. This
should be the same word or phrase, and in the same language, that the recorder used to define
the role in the actual record. This is used in connection with the ROLE_TAG.
[ BUYR | CHIL | FATH | GODP | HDOH | HDOG | HEIR | HFAT | HMOT | HUSB | INFT | LEGA | MEMBER | MOTH | OFFI | PARE | PHUS | PWIF | RECO | REL | ROLE | SELR | TXPY | WFAT | WIFE | WITN | WMOT | INDI ]
A tag that indicates the role of the individuals mentioned in a source event record. If the above
list does not include the role being cited, use the ROLE_TAG followed by a
ROLE_DESCRIPTOR to define the role. (See appendix A for the definition of these tags and
Appendix B for additional ROLEs which have been proposed as GEDCOM tags). Names of
individuals mentioned in the event but their role was not mentioned, should be identified by
using the INDI role tag. Any associations between others of known roles and this individual can
be shown by using the ASSOciation pointer.
A description of a scholastic or educational achievement or pursuit.
[ ACTIVE | FOUND | NO | ORDERED | PLANNED | PROVED ]
A field that shows the research status with respect to the cited source. Where:
ACTIVEFOUNDNOORDEREDPLANNEDPROVED
<DATE_EXACT>
The date on which the current SEARCH_STATUS was set.
A description of a successive publication. The description should identify the timing of the
publication, for example, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. The description should also state the
volume number of periodicals or of multi-volume books.
A code that indicates the sex of the individual:
MF
A description of the capabilities of this person to sign documents, the symbol used in signing,
did they know how to sign, did they use a model to produce a signature.
The name of a specific site associated with an event, address, or place.
A social security identification number assigned to this person.
An identification number used to file and retrieve items from the holdings of a repository.
A descriptive word or phrase that classifies the type of source being cited. This descriptor is
used only when none of the classifications defined under the
<SOURCE_CLASSIFICATION_CODE> fit this source type. Systems that display data from
the GEDCOM form should be able to display the descriptor value in their screen or printed
output.
[ BOOK | CENSUS | CHURCH | COURT | HISTORY | INTERVIEW | JOURNAL | LAND | LETTER | MILITARY | NEWSPAPER | PERIODICAL | PERSONAL | RECITED | TRADITION | VITAL | OTHER!<SOURCE_CLASS_DESCRIPTOR> ]
A code which classifies the source which contained the evidence data. Where:
Systems that display data from the GEDCOM form should be able to display the descriptor value
in their output.
BOOKCENSUSCHURCHCOURTHISTORYINTERVIEWJOURNALLANDLETTERMILITARYNEWSPAPERPERIODICALPERSONALRECITEDTRADITIONVITALOTHER!OTHER!) followed by <SOURCE_CLASS_DESCRIPTOR>.
[ ORIGINAL | PHOTOCOPY | TRANSCRIPT | EXTRACT ]
A code is a selected from the above choices that provides an assessment of the fidelity (the
exactness) of this source material.
ORIGINALPHOTOCOPYTRANSCRIPTEXTRACT
A unique number assigned by the repository to identify the specific microfilm containing
information about the event of interest.
<PLACE_VALUE>
The name of the lowest jurisdiction that encompasses all lower-level places named in this source.
For example, "Franklin, Idaho" would be used as a source jurisdiction place for events
occurring in the various towns within Franklin county but "Idaho" would be used as a source
jurisdiction place if the source records referenced other counties in Idaho besides Franklin
county.
<TEXT>
A verbatim copy of any description contained within the source. This indicates notes that are
actually contained in the source document, not the submitter's opinion about the source.
Comments or opinions from the submitter.
The name of the sending or receiving GEDCOM-compatible product. The system name for the
sending system was obtained when the product was registered as a GEDCOM-compatible
product. All GEDCOM transmissions must be so identified. The system name used with the
DESTination tag should be:
ANSTFILE" when sending to the ancestral file.
TempleReady" when submitting for temple ordinances.
A 5-character abbreviation of the temple in which LDS temple ordinances are performed.
(Contact the GEDCOM Coordinator for a table of valid abbreviations)
A string composed of any valid character or string of characters in the GEDCOM character set.
[ FROM <DATE_REGULAR> TO <DATE_REGULAR> |FROM <DATE_REGULAR> |TO <DATE_REGULAR> ]
The range in time of an event or set of events, inclusive. The choice FROM <DATE_REGULAR> indicates a range from a beginning date to an indefinite future date.
This differs from the date range notation in that the date range is to indicate that an event took
place on a given date within the range. The time period date indicates that the event or events
cover or happened over the time period specified.
TO <DATE_REGULAR> indicates from an indefinite beginning to a specified
date.
FROM 1904 to 1915
FROM 1904
TO 1905
[ hh:mm:ss.fs ]
The time of a specific event, usually a computer-timed event, where:
<DATE_EXACT>
The date that this transmission was created.