I propose to develop an exceptionally powerful Gramps add-on for analyzing family connections that would generate a text file in DOT format. Its essence is that, besides the main family connections like father, mother, and spouse, it will also contain other links interconnected by the Gramps program. These could be, for instance: godfather, godson, godmother, witness, etc. Such a file can be rendered using local or online tools such as http://www.webgraphviz.com.
A bit more detail: In the add-on, one can specify a surname of interest, for example, Bush. The script manages to gather all individuals with this surname into, for instance, two separate families (couldn’t combine into one family due to insufficient family links). Next, the script recursively goes through all target individuals from both families (all bearers of the surname Bush) and adds all other existing links (as well as connections to these links).
digraph CombinedFamilies {
splines=polyline;
ranksep=1;
node [fontsize=12];
edge [fontsize=10, labelloc="c", labelfontsize=10];
subgraph clusterBushFamily1 {
label="Brown's Family 1";
style=filled;
color=lightgrey;
id1 [label="Bush James \nid1", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightblue"];
id2 [label="Bush (Smith) Emily \nid2", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightpink"];
id3 [label="Bush Michael \nid3", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightblue"];
id4 [label="Bush John \nid4", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightblue"];
id1 -> {id3 id4} [label="father"];
id2 -> {id3 id4} [label="mother"];
id1 -> id2 [dir=none, label="spouses", constraint=false];
}
subgraph clusterBushFamily2 {
label="Brown's Family 2";
style=filled;
color=yellow;
id5 [label="Bush William \nid5", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightblue"];
id6 [label="Bush (Anderson) Mia \nid6", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightpink"];
id7 [label="Bush Olivia \nid7", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightpink"];
id8 [label="Bush (Jones) Isabella \nid8", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightpink"];
id9 [label="Jones Joseph \nid9", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightblue"];
id10 [label="Jones Charles \nid10", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightblue"];
id5 -> {id7 id8} [label="father"];
id6 -> {id7 id8} [label="mother"];
id8 -> {id10} [label="father"];
id9 -> {id10} [label="mother"];
id5 -> id6 [dir=none, label="spouses", constraint=false];
}
subgraph others {
id11 [label="Miller William \nid5", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightblue"];
id12 [label="Miller (Anderson) Mia \nid6", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightpink"];
id13 [label="Brown Olivia \nid7", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightpink"];
id14 [label="Brown (Jones) Isabella \nid8", shape=ellipse, color="blue", style=filled, fillcolor="lightpink"];
id11 -> id12 [label="father"];
id12 -> id3 [label="godmother"];
id12 -> id4 [label="godmother"];
id12 -> id13 [label="godmother"];
id12 -> id14 [label="witness"];
id14 -> id9 [label="witness"];
}
}
As you can see, this greatly facilitates the search for new family connections, as it becomes apparent who from the distant connections might also be related to a specific person:
- It can help identify maiden names of women or, conversely, surnames they acquired after marriage.
- It may also help find that thread that can combine separate family branches into one large family tree.
- It can assist in identifying common places of residence (neighborhoods, streets, …) or relocations.
- It can allow for the identification of some faded and poorly readable surnames and patronymics.
- It can enable users to see connections between families that were previously unknown or hidden.
- It might give the researcher new ideas or even entire family histories - how a particular family or individual lived in their environment.
Is there anyone who can implement such an add-on? I can assist with its testing.
