GEDScope is a project, inspired by the idea of using a microscope to examine fine details otherwise obscured to the naked eye, whose goal is to provide a modern toolkit for new and seasoned Genealogists. This will allow researches to better identify patterns within their genealogical data.

The data contained within a GEDCOM file – the de facto specification for exchanging genealogical data between different genealogy software – contains very useful information that is under-utilized. To that end, I am build this tool that does this, and much more:

• View a confidence rating of an individual.
• Find individuals by date of birth or death, or occupation, or location.
• Generate a heat map to show the migration of ancestors.
• Analyze variations in the surnames of a line of descendants.
• Create virtual links between individuals where DNA has confirmed a match but the connection is unknown.
• Help plan research visits by showing all ancestors in a specific geographic region.

The project is very young, but I’ll be launching a public version of the site as soon as possible, and blogging about my own genealogy research, which has inspired GEDScope.