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genealogy-research

by sliday · sliday/genealogy-research

Systematic genealogy research via GPS methodology — 80+ databases across 15+ countries, handwriting analysis, Obsidian vault management.

sliday/genealogy-research implements the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) as a Claude skill. Five-step methodology (establish evidence levels, prioritize originals, plan searches, document negatives, human+AI judgement). Covers Poland, Germany, Russia, UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Scandinavia, Czech Republic, Hungary, USA, Canada. Includes Obsidian templates for People/Places/Documents and naming conventions for Slavic/Germanic/Romance/Scandinavian traditions.

▶ Watch demo 📦 Install 💡 Use Cases

Why use it

Key features

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

genealogy-research-skill.replay ▶ ready
0/0

Install

Author repository · Claude Skills documentation

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use genealogy-research

Analyze a 19th-century parish record scan

👤 Family historians working through European parish books ⏱ ~45 min intermediate

When to use: You have a scan in Latin / Cyrillic / German script and can't parse it alone.

Flow
  1. Share the scan
    Using the genealogy-research skill — here's a parish record from 1847 Galicia. Transcribe and interpret.✓ Copied
    → Line-by-line transcription with language notes, not guesswork
  2. Record in the vault
    Create an Obsidian note for this document using the Document template. Link to the People and Places.✓ Copied
    → New note with proper frontmatter and cross-links
  3. Plan follow-ups
    What are the GPS-recommended next searches to corroborate this record?✓ Copied
    → Specific databases + search parameters, not generic 'search ancestry.com'

Outcome: A documented artifact with evidence level + a research plan.

Pitfalls
  • Claude transliterates Slavic names inconsistently across notes — Pick a convention (the skill offers standard ones) and tell it to stick with that convention
Combine with: filesystem

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

genealogy-research-skill + filesystem

Save and cross-link notes directly into your Obsidian vault

Create the People note for Anna Kowalski and save to ~/genealogy/People/.✓ Copied
genealogy-research-skill + planning-with-files

Multi-year research projects — keep findings.md and progress.md across sessions

Use planning-with-files to track the Galicia line research across months.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

ToolInputsWhen to callCost
transcribe_document scan + language hint New historical document lands in your vault 0
plan_search research question + known facts Before starting a new line of research 0
record_negative_search what you looked for + where + when Every failed search worth remembering 0
obsidian_template_apply person / place / document + details Adding an entity to your vault 0

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota
None from the skill
Tokens per call
Transcription of scans can be large
Monetary
Free — skills are local files. External databases may have their own fees.
Tip
Feed Claude one scan at a time; batch transcription gets muddled across records.

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: No credentials — pure prompts
Data egress: None from the skill. Your scans and notes stay local.

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

Wrong trigger keywords — no template applied to Obsidian note

Ask for 'the Document template' or 'the People template' by name.

Alternatives

genealogy-research vs others

AlternativeWhen to use it insteadTradeoff
FamilySearch / Ancestry toolsYou want commercial database access with auto-matchingPaid; less flexible; no Obsidian integration
Vanilla ClaudeOne-off transcription with no method framingNo GPS discipline; inconsistent naming across sessions

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

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