| GEDCOM 101 | |
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For those of you who want to know more about the nitty-gritty of GEDCOM files or who would like to be able to read and edit them in your favorite word processor, here are the tags supported by the GEDCOM 5.5 standard.
ABBR {ABBREVIATION} A short
name of a title, description, or name.
ADDR {ADDRESS} The contemporary place, usually required for
postal purposes, of an individual, a submitter of information, a repository, a
business, a school, or a company.
ADR1 {ADDRESS1} The first line of an address.
ADR2 {ADDRESS2} The second line of an address.
ADOP {ADOPTION} Pertaining to creation of a child-parent
relationship that does not exist biologically.
AFN {AFN} A unique permanent record file number of an
individual record stored in Ancestral File.
AGE {AGE} The age of the individual at the time an event
occurred, or the age listed in the document.
AGNC {AGENCY} The institution or individual having authority
and/or responsibility to manage or govern.
ALIA {ALIAS} An indicator to link different record
descriptions of a person who may be the same person.
ANCE {ANCESTORS} Pertaining to forbearers of an individual.
ANCI {ANCES_INTEREST} Indicates an interest in additional
research for ancestors of this individual. (See also DESI)
ANUL {ANNULMENT} Declaring a marriage void from the beginning
(never existed).
ASSO {ASSOCIATES} An indicator to link friends, neighbors,
relatives, or associates of an individual.
AUTH {AUTHOR} The name of the individual who created or
compiled information.
BAPL {BAPTISM-LDS} The event of baptism performed at age
eight or later by priesthood authority of the LDS Church. (See also BAPM, next)
BAPM {BAPTISM} The event of baptism (not LDS), performed in
infancy or later. (See also BAPL, above, and CHR, page 73.)
BARM {BAR_MITZVAH} The ceremonial event held when a Jewish
boy reaches age 13.
BASM {BAS_MITZVAH} The ceremonial event held when a Jewish
girl reaches age 13, also known as "Bat Mitzvah."
BIRT {BIRTH} The event of entering into life.
BLES {BLESSING} A religious event of bestowing divine care or
intercession. Sometimes given in connection with a naming ceremony.
BLOB {BINARY_OBJECT} A grouping of data used as input to a
multimedia system that processes binary data to represent images, sound, and
video.
BURI {BURIAL} The event of the proper disposing of the mortal
remains of a deceased person.
CALN {CALL_NUMBER} The number used by a repository to
identify the specific items in its collections.
CAST {CASTE} The name of an individual's rank or status in
society, based on racial or religious differences, or differences in wealth,
inherited rank, profession, occupation, etc.
CAUS {CAUSE} A description of the cause of the associated
event or fact, such as the cause of death.
CENS {CENSUS} The event of the periodic count of the
population for a designated locality, such as a national or state Census.
CHAN {CHANGE} Indicates a change, correction, or
modification. Typically used in connection with a DATE to specify when a change
in information occurred.
CHAR {CHARACTER} An indicator of the character set used in
writing this automated information.
CHIL {CHILD} The natural, adopted, or sealed (LDS) child of a
father and a mother.
CHR {CHRISTENING} The religious event (not LDS) of baptizing
and/or naming a child.
CHRA {ADULT_CHRISTENING} The religious event (not LDS) of
baptizing and/or naming an adult person.
CITY {CITY} A lower level jurisdictional unit. Normally an
incorporated municipal unit.
CONC {CONCATENATION} An indicator that additional data
belongs to the superior value. The information from the CONC value is to be
connected to the value of the superior preceding line without a space and
without a carriage return and/or new line character. Values that are split for a
CONC tag must always be split at a non-space. If the value is split on a space
the space will be lost when concatenation takes place. This is because of the
treatment that spaces get as a GEDCOM delimiter, many GEDCOM values are trimmed
of trailing spaces and some systems look for the first non-space starting after
the tag to determine the beginning of the value.
CONF {CONFIRMATION} The religious event (not LDS) of
conferring the gift of the Holy Ghost and, among protestants, full church
membership.
CONL {CONFIRMATION_L} The religious event by which a person
receives membership in the LDS Church.
CONT {CONTINUED} An indicator that additional data belongs to
the superior value. The information from the CONT value is to be connected to
the value of the superior preceding line with a carriage return and/or new line
character. Leading spaces could be important to the formatting of the resultant
text. When importing values from CONT lines the reader should assume only one
delimiter character following the CONT tag. Assume that the rest of the leading
spaces are to be a part of the value.
COPR {COPYRIGHT} A statement that accompanies data to protect
it from unlawful duplication and distribution.
CORP {CORPORATE} A name of an institution, agency,
corporation, or company.
CREM {CREMATION} Disposal of the remains of a person's body
by fire.
CTRY {COUNTRY} The name or code of the country.
DATA {DATA} Pertaining to stored automated information.
DATE {DATE} The time of an event in a calendar format.
DEAT {DEATH} The event when mortal life terminates.
DESC {DESCENDANTS} Pertaining to offspring of an individual.
DESI {DESCENDANT_INT} Indicates an interest in research to
identify additional descendants of this individual. (See also ANCI)
DEST {DESTINATION} A system receiving data.
DIV {DIVORCE} An event of dissolving a marriage through civil
action.
DIVF {DIVORCE_FILED} An event of filing for a divorce by a
spouse.
DSCR {PHY_DESCRIPTION} The physical characteristics of a
person, place, or thing.
EDUC {EDUCATION} Indicator of a level of education attained.
EMIG {EMIGRATION} An event of leaving one's homeland with the
intent of residing elsewhere.
ENDL {ENDOWMENT} A religious event where an endowment
ordinance for an individual was performed by priesthood authority in an LDS
temple.
ENGA {ENGAGEMENT} An event of recording or announcing an
agreement between two people to become married.
EVEN {EVENT} A noteworthy happening related to an individual,
a group, or an organization.
FAM {FAMILY} Identifies a legal, common law, or other
customary relationship of man and woman and their children, if any, or a family
created by virtue of the birth of a child to its biological father and mother.
FAMC {FAMILY_CHILD} Identifies the family in which an
individual appears as a child.
FAMF {FAMILY_FILE} Pertaining to, or the name of, a family
file. Names stored in a file that are assigned to a family for doing temple
ordinance work.
FAMS {FAMILY_SPOUSE} Identifies the family in which an
individual appears as a spouse.
FCOM {FIRST_COMMUNION} A religious rite, the first act of
sharing in the Lord's supper as part of church worship.
FILE {FILE} An information storage place that is ordered and
arranged for preservation and reference.
FORM {FORMAT} An assigned name given to a consistent format
in which information can be conveyed.
GEDC {GEDCOM} Information about the use of GEDCOM in a
transmission.
GIVN {GIVEN_NAME} A given or earned name used for official
identification of a person.
GRAD {GRADUATION} An event of awarding educational diplomas
or degrees to individuals.
HEAD {HEADER} Identifies information pertaining to an entire
GEDCOM transmission.
HUSB {HUSBAND} An individual in the family role of a married
man or father.
IDNO {IDENT_NUMBER} A number assigned to identify a person
within some significant external system.
IMMI {IMMIGRATION} An event of entering into a new locality
with the intent of residing there.
INDI {INDIVIDUAL} A person.
INFL {TempleReady} Indicates if an INFANT - data is
"Y" (or "N"??)
LANG {LANGUAGE} The name of the language used in a
communication or transmission of information.
LEGA {LEGATEE} A role of an individual acting as a person
receiving a bequest or legal devise.
MARB {MARRIAGE_BANN} An event of an official public notice
given that two people intend to marry.
MARC {MARR_CONTRACT} An event of recording a formal agreement
of marriage, including the prenuptial agreement in which marriage partners reach
agreement about the property rights of one or both, securing property to their
children.
MARL {MARR_LICENSE} An event of obtaining a legal license to
marry.
MARR {MARRIAGE} A legal, common-law, or customary event of
creating a family unit of a man and a woman as husband and wife.
MARS {MARR_SETTLEMENT} An event of creating an agreement
between two people contemplating marriage, at which time they agree to release
or modify property rights that would otherwise arise from the marriage.
MEDI {MEDIA} Identifies information about the media or having
to do with the medium in which information is stored.
NAME {NAME} A word or combination of words used to help
identify an individual, title, or other item. More than one NAME line should be
used for people who were known by multiple names.
NATI {NATIONALITY} The national heritage of an individual.
NATU {NATURALIZATION} The event of obtaining citizenship.
NCHI {CHILDREN_COUNT} The number of children that this person
is known to be the parent of (all marriages) when subordinate to an individual,
or that belong to this family when subordinate to a FAM_RECORD.
NICK {NICKNAME} A descriptive or familiar that is used
instead of, or in addition to, one's proper name.
NMR {MARRIAGE_COUNT} The number of times this person has
participated in a family as a spouse or parent.
NOTE {NOTE} Additional information provided by the submitter
for understanding the enclosing data.
NPFX {NAME_PREFIX} Text which appears on a name line before
the given and surname parts of a name. i.e. (Lt. Cmndr.) Joseph /Allen/ jr.
NSFX {NAME_SUFFIX} Text which appears on a name line after or
behind the given and surname parts of a name. i.e. Lt. Cmndr. Joseph /Allen/
(jr.) In this example jr. is considered as the name suffix portion.
OBJE {OBJECT} Pertaining to a grouping of attributes used in
describing something. Usually referring to the data required to represent a
multimedia object, such an audio recording, a photograph of a person, or an
image of a document.
OCCU {OCCUPATION} The type of work or profession of an
individual.
ORDI {ORDINANCE} Pertaining to a religious ordinance in
general.
ORDN {ORDINATION} A religious event of receiving authority to
act in religious matters.
PAGE {PAGE} A number or description to identify where
information can be found in a referenced work.
PEDI {PEDIGREE} Information pertaining to an individual to
parent lineage chart.
PHON {PHONE} A unique number assigned to access a specific
telephone.
PLAC {PLACE} A jurisdictional name to identify the place or
location of an event.
POST {POSTAL_CODE} A code used by a postal service to
identify an area to facilitate mail handling.
PROB {PROBATE} An event of judicial determination of the
validity of a will. May indicate several related court activities over several
dates.
PROP {PROPERTY} Pertaining to possessions such as real estate
or other property of interest.
PUBL {PUBLICATION} Refers to when and/or were a work was
published or created.
QUAY {QUALITY_OF_DATA} An assessment of the certainty of the
evidence to support the conclusion drawn from evidence. Values: [0|1|2|3]
REFN {REFERENCE} A description or number used to identify an
item for filing, storage, or other reference purposes.
RELA {RELATIONSHIP} A relationship value between the
indicated contexts.
RELI {RELIGION} A religious denomination to which a person is
affiliated or for which a record applies.
REPO {REPOSITORY} An institution or person that has the
specified item as part of their collection(s).
RESI {RESIDENCE} The act of dwelling at an address for a
period of time.
RESN {RESTRICTION} A processing indicator signifying access
to information has been denied or otherwise restricted.
RETI {RETIREMENT} An event of exiting an occupational
relationship with an employer after a qualifying time period.
RFN {REC_FILE_NUMBER} A permanent number assigned to a record
that uniquely identifies it within a known file.
RIN {REC_ID_NUMBER} A number assigned to a record by an
originating automated system that can be used by a receiving system to report
results pertaining to that record.
ROLE {ROLE} A name given to a role played by an individual in
connection with an event.
SEX {SEX} Indicates the sex of an individual--male or female.
SLGC {SEALING_CHILD} A religious event pertaining to the
sealing of a child to his or her parents in an LDS temple ceremony.
SLGS {SEALING_SPOUSE} A religious event pertaining to the
sealing of a husband and wife in an LDS temple ceremony.
SOUR {SOURCE} The initial or original material from which
information was obtained.
SPFX {SURN_PREFIX} A name piece used as a non-indexing
pre-part of a surname.
SSN {SOC_SEC_NUMBER} A number assigned by the United States
Social Security Administration. Used for tax identification purposes.
STAE {STATE} A geographical division of a larger
jurisdictional area, such as a State within the United States of America.
STAT {STATUS} An assessment of the state or condition of
something.
SUBM {SUBMITTER} An individual or organization who
contributes genealogical data to a file or transfers it to someone else.
SUBN {SUBMISSION} Pertains to a collection of data issued for
processing.
SURN {SURNAME} A family name passed on or used by members of
a family.
TEMP {TEMPLE} The name or code that represents the name OF a
temple of the LDS Church.
TEXT {TEXT} The exact wording found in an original source
document.
TIME {TIME} A time value in a 24-hour clock format, including
hours, minutes, and optional seconds, separated by a colon (:). Fractions of
seconds are shown in decimal notation.
TITL {TITLE} A description of a specific writing or other
work, such as the title of a book when used in a source context, or a formal
designation used by an individual in connection with positions of royalty or
other social status, such as Grand Duke.
TRLR {TRAILER} At level 0, specifies the end of a GEDCOM
transmission.
TYPE {TYPE} A further qualification to the meaning of the
associated superior tag. The value does not have any computer processing
reliability. It is more in the form of a short one or two word note that should
be displayed any time the associated data is displayed.
VERS {VERSION} Indicates which version of a product, item, or
publication is being used or referenced.
WIFE {WIFE} An individual in the role as a mother and/or
married woman.
WILL {WILL} A legal document treated as an event, by which a
person disposes of his or her estate, to take effect after death. The event date
is the date the will was signed while the person was alive. (See also PROBate)
URL:
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