How OpenHeritage Works
Discover family connections through smart genealogy matching
Privacy-focused surname and location analysis to find potential relatives
🧬 Why Surname-Place Matching?
Traditional genealogy matching faces significant challenges when trying to connect researchers while protecting privacy. Surname-place matching offers the perfect solution.
Research Challenges
Modern genealogy research faces several fundamental challenges:
Privacy Concerns: Exact name and date matching raises serious privacy issues for living individuals
Data Variations: Names change over time due to immigration, marriage, and clerical errors
Date Uncertainty: Historical records often have incomplete or approximate dates
Geographic Mobility: Families moved frequently, making location-based searches complex
Our Solution: The Perfect Balance
By focusing on surname patterns and geographic locations, we create a system that:
🛡️ Protects Privacy
No exact personal information is shared - only surname patterns and general locations
🎯 Maximizes Discovery
Reveals family connections across different spellings and time periods
⚡ Enables Scale
Efficient processing of millions of records without overwhelming researchers
🌐 Spans Generations
Connects families across centuries and continents through persistent patterns
💡 Research Tip
Surname-place matching is particularly effective for genealogy research because these two data points are the most persistent elements in historical records, remaining relatively stable even when other details change over time.
⚙️ How Our Matching System Works
OpenHeritage uses a sophisticated multi-stage matching process that analyzes your genealogical data and finds potential connections with other researchers' family trees.
Data Ingestion and Processing
When you upload your GEDCOM file, our system extracts and processes:
Person Records: Names, birth/death information, relationships
Place Information: Birth, death, and residence locations
Family Structures: Parent-child relationships, marriages, siblings
Time Ranges: Time periods for better temporal matching
Surname Analysis and Normalization
Our advanced surname processing handles the complexities of historical name variations:
Spelling Variations
Historical spelling differences
Immigration officer transcriptions
Regional dialect influences
Handwriting interpretation errors
Cultural Adaptations
Name changes during immigration
Translation between languages
Shortened or anglicized versions
Patronymic naming traditions
Geographic Correlation
Location matching goes beyond simple text comparison:
🗺️ Hierarchical Matching
Country → State → County → Town📏 Distance Analysis
Nearby locations within travel range⏰ Historical Context
Border changes and migrationsOur system understands that families often moved within regions:
Adjacent counties or provinces
Migration patterns (rural to urban movement)
Historical political boundaries
Transportation routes and accessibility
🚀 Getting Started with OpenHeritage
Ready to discover new family connections? Here's how to get started with our platform.
📁 Prepare Your GEDCOM File
Export your family tree data from your genealogy software:
Family Tree Maker: File → Export → GEDCOM
Ancestry.com: Trees → Export Tree
MyHeritage: Export → GEDCOM file
Gramps: Family Trees → Export → GEDCOM
RootsMagic: File → Export → GEDCOM
Legacy: File → Export → GEDCOM
👤 Create Your Account
Sign up using Google, Telegram, or email.
⬆️ Upload Your Data
Upload your GEDCOM file through our secure interface with privacy-first processing.
🔍 Explore Your Matches
Use our interactive map and surname cloud to discover potential family connections.