CENtaR: The GEDCOM Census Table Report

CENtaR: The GEDCOM Census Table Report is a new utility that will build a concise listing of all GEDCOM CENSus records found in your database and display them in tabular format such that, at a glance, it will be apparent which individuals are missing census records making it very easy to identify which individuals need further research. Reports include the Id and name of each person included, the Census years considered, and one of 4 codes for each entry: '-' (not applicable), 'm' (missing), '?' (unknown location), 'XXX' (location). Further, hovering your mouse over an entry will display source information.

I first introduced the concept of the Census Table on my blog in the article Making CENS of it All, last year, but I have been using and publishing my own census tables for over a decade. The article includes a link to my Census Table Report and several others can be found under my Family Tree. I find Census Table Reports to be one of the most useful concepts for identifying areas of needed research. They provide several other benefits as well, such as the ability to see migration patterns and identify those direct ancestors living during the period in which census records were being taken.

The Census Table Report, contrary to the example provided, is not limited to U.S. Federal Census records either. CENtaR can be configured to automatically detect and include all the census years in your database, or users can specify just those years for which they want Census records included. CENtaR can also be configured to include every person living during the Census years considered, or users can specify a specific descendant (root) for which only that person's ancestors are considered. This allows users to narrow the focus of their research.

CENtaR is now available to the public as a free web service. CENtaR uses the same GEDCOM Parser that is used by VGedX, my 100% compatible GEDCOM validator. CENtaR, however, supports a special expanded GEDCOM dictionary that will recognize numerous vendor specific events and date formats.

CENtaR also uses Vivify, the GEDCOM Birth Date Estimator to calculate accurate and reliable missing birth dates so that each individual considered will only be included if it is determined that they were likely to be living during the specific Census years.

If you have comments, questions or suggestions, please don't hesitate to chime in using the form provided below, and pleeeeease, for the love of cheese, take a moment and give CENtaR an honest >> review <<.

CENtaRs Rule!
Tim Forsythe