Genealogy registry system

Details Genealogy registry system Genealogy registry system

2001-03-15

2004-07-06

Metjahic, Safet (Department: 2171)

Data processing: database and file management or data structures

Database design

Data structure types

C707S793000, C707S793000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06760731

ABSTRACT:

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX
Two duplicate compact discs containing the following files were submitted with this application and are hereby incorporated into the specification by reference: Genealogy Site Registry Map (Microsoft Word Document, 29.5 KB, Aug. 16, 2003), Genealogy Site Registry Map (Text Document, 7.97 KB, Aug. 16, 2003), Server Database Tables (Microsoft Word Document, 24.0 KB, Aug. 16, 2003), Server Database Tables (Text Document, 4.79 KB, Aug. 16, 2003), Genealogy 3D VRML code sample V013.wrl (8.35 KB, May 15, 2000), BLDHTML1.PRG (16.5 KB, Oct. 13, 1999), BLDHTML2.PRG (5.47 KB, Oct. 13, 1999), BLDKEYO1.PRG (1.65 KB, Oct. 12, 1999), BROWSER.PRG (637 bytes, Oct. 12, 1999), FAM1.PRG 8.45 KB, Oct. 7, 1999), INDIV1.PRG (14.5 KB, Oct. 11, 1999), NOTEEXT.PRG (2.04 KB, Oct. 11, 1999), PART1.PRG (3.95 KB, Oct. 12, 1999), PART2.PRG (3.23 KB, Oct. 13, 1999), STATS001.PRG (2.67 KB, Oct. 13, 1999), STATS002.PRG (1.78 KB, Oct. 13, 1999), and (all of the following of which were created Jun. 10, 2000) CHARGE02 (5.73 KB), DBPUB038 (6.62 KB), DBPUB040 (9.08 KB), DBPUB041 (10.4 KB), DBPUB045 (22.3 KB), DBSRC018 (6.81 KB), DBSRC020 (14.8 KB), DBSRC022 (6.69 KB), DBSRC023 (6.70 KB), DBSRC024 (14.1 KB), DBSRC038 (7.40 KB), DBSRC040 (10.1 KB), DBSRC041 (10.3 KB), DBSRC045 (22.7 KB), DBSRC138 (6.93 KB), DBSRC140 (7.86 KB), DBSRC141 (12.1 KB), DBSRC145 (26.0 KB), DBSRC146 (11.9 KB), DBSRC147 (21.3 KB), DBSRC155 (19.5 KB), DBSRC160 (8.38 KB), DBSRC161 (28.7 KB), DBSRC163 (19.7 KB), DBSRC165 (19.7 KB), DBSRC167 (27.0 KB), DBSRC169 (19.8 KB), DBSRC170 (6.90 KB), DBSRC171 (19.8 KB), DBSRC220 (6.36 KB), DBSRC238 (6.78 KB), DBSRC240 (9.56 KB), DBSRC241 (10.3 KB), DBSRC245 (22.9 KB), DBSRC258 (6.94 KB), DBSRC260 (7.65 KB), DBSRC261 (11.2 KB), DBSRC265 (21.9 KB), DBSRC266 (11.4 KB), DBSRC267 (20.1 KB), HOBADD01 (4.74 KB), HOBAN018 (6.83 KB), HOBAN020 (14.9 KB), IDXADD01 (4.59 KB), INPUT010 (1.24 KB), INPUT012 (3.07 KB), INPUT020 (12.6 KB), LOGBY01 (5.28 KB), LOGHOB01 (3.09 KB), LOGIDX01 (3.05 KB), MENtJIDU1 (4.18 KB), MENUIDX1 (5.93 KB), STATS001 (3.52 KB), WELCOME2 (5.77 KB), WS005 (7.90 KB), WS010 (11.6 KB), WS015 (4.64 KB).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to processing of genealogical data. More particularly, this invention relates to a genealogy registry system for collecting, summarizing, indexing, lineage-linking, and displaying genealogical information. Furthermore, this invention also relates to electronic publishing applications using electronic networks.
Today's worldwide genealogy data records environment can be summarized in general terms as comprising thousands of relatively large public record sets in non-lineage-linked format, mostly on paper or microfilm, plus millions of small collections of lineage-linked names, mostly held by individual persons. Most of these small collections are in paper form, but increasingly are in personal computer (PC) form. These family collections of relatives' names may be made up of family non-public records, plus extracts from any number of larger public record sets.
There are huge national collections of records, such as the U.S. censuses, that may contain hundreds of millions of names. Other national records include military and immigration records. At the state level, there are the usual birth, marriage, death, and perhaps tax records. At the local or county level, one might find land, burial, and court records.
For the serious genealogy hobbyist or professional, going beyond family records usually means learning to use and access many new sets of records, perhaps finding few, if any, relatives' names in any one record set. This means there is a huge individual learning curve and much raw record scanning for the small amount of actual data found and used. The learning curve becomes enormous when the researcher must learn a language to trace ancestors' lives in another country with records in another language.
If the overall goal were to complete all the clerical records processing and name linking for a whole nation or for the entire world, the current process is extremely inefficient. The usual technique for solving this kind of problem is to use specialization to make the workers' efforts more efficient. In the case of genealogy and the related records complexities, the efficiency improvement rates could be in the hundreds or even thousands of times.
It appears that the most advanced system in the category of a potentially worldwide, lineage-linked system is the Ancestral File (AF) operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. AF stores about 30 million names, most of them linked into families and pedigrees, but only minimal data about each person are held there. Error rates have been estimated to be as high as 30% on names and linking relationships. AF has been available for a decade or more on CD-ROM at family history centers and a few other locations sponsored by the church. Since April 1999, a limited version has been available on the Internet. Although theoretically it could contain data on anyone in the world, AF mostly pertains to the families of the some five million members of the church in the United States. Since it was designed and is intended to support church doctrine and programs, people outside the church are less likely to want to participate, even if it had many more features. A more neutral and sophisticated system is needed.
Ancestral File accepts additions and corrections in paper or diskette form, but cannot be updated directly. A small group of people is responsible for updating the AF database. Due at least in part to these factors, the process is such that there is at least a two-year wait between submitting new data and being able to see the updated version on CD-ROM. Most computer users have come to expect immediate responses to their entries. Waiting two years to find out whether submitted information was accepted correctly by a genealogy system calls for more patience than most people are willing to give. The actual update process is done automatically, with no critical human review. Further, only one version of the data is kept. This means that donors can submit data, wait two years, and then find out that the data were entered incorrectly, were not entered at all, or somebody else's data were used instead. In the two-year waiting period, the data might have been entered, but later might have been replaced by other data before either version became accessible. This means that the highest quality data can be replaced by inferior data. Obviously, this is not a satisfactory system. It is almost impossible to have significant cooperation or synchronized specialization with such a system.
The most basic needs of a good genealogy registry system are to be able to check whether others have already done the work one wishes to see or do, notify the world of one's work plans, submit data as they are collected, immediately check the results, and be certain that the data will remain in the database regardless of the activities of others. Following these steps it would also be desirable to be able to look for extensions to the data within work supplied by others and to link data from two or more contributors such that anyone could follow and examine the extensions.
There are many other features of a genealogy registry system that would be very useful, but even the basic features are not currently available. For example, a system is needed that quickly assembles all existing genealogical data and then adds much more to it until all of the available records have been mined and the data integrated. A truly worldwide system would allow for use of multiple languages, perhaps with transliteration and translation to English for universal access. Something as exotic as a three-dimensional virtual reality interface, to enhance the family history data viewing experience by showing all the three-dimensional network reality of family relationships, has never been attemp

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