GEDCOM X Representation of Marriage-Like Information

Summary

During research for Samuel Ham of Honiton, Devon, England a researcher visits the Family History Library at Salt Lake City, Utah to view a published parish register from Wilton, Somerset, England. The parish register provides information about the marriage of one Samuel Ham to one Elizabeth Spiller in 1828. The source is described by providing a title, citation, and other metadata. A transcription of the record is provided. Information about the names of the persons and the marriage is extracted from the record. The extracted information is assembled together with information extracted from other records to aggregate what is presumed to be known about Samuel Ham.

Gathering the Information

A researcher visits the Family History Library at Salt Lake City, Utah and takes a finds a copy of a parish register from Wilton, Somerset, England. The following is a digital image of the record:

Parish Register, Wilton, Somerset, England

Describing the Source

The source is described with the following information:

name value provided by
Source Title Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller, Parish Register, Wilton, Somerset, England User
Text Description of Source Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth in a copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837. User
Source Citation Joseph Houghton Spencer, transcriber, Church of England, Parish Church of Wilton (Somerset). A copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837; Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller (3 November 1828), (Taunton: Barnicott, 1890), p. 224, No. 86. User, possibly aided by software.
Repository Name Family History Library, Salt Lake City User
Source Type Physical Artifact User
Source Id S-1 Software

Transcribing the Source

The record is transcribed as follows:

Samuel Ham of the parish of Honiton and Elizabeth Spiller
were married this 3rd day of November 1828 by David Smith
Stone, Pl Curate,
In the Presence of
Jno Pain.
R.G. Halls.  Peggy Hammet.
No. 86.

Describing the Transcription of the Source

The transcription of the digital image is also described as a source with the following information:

name value provided by
Source Title Transcription of marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller, Parish Register, Wilton, Somerset, England User
Text Description of Source Transcription of marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth in a copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837. User
Source Citation Joseph Houghton Spencer, transcriber, Church of England, Parish Church of Wilton (Somerset). A copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837; Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller (3 November 1828), (Taunton: Barnicott, 1890), p. 224, No. 86. User, possibly aided by software.
Source Type Digital Artifact User
ID of Source of the Source S-1 User, possibly aided by software.
Source Id S-2 Software

Extracting the Information

The researcher extracts the following information from the translation:

description value
Event Type Marriage
Event Date 3 November 1828
Event Place Wilton St George, Wilton, Somerset, England
Groom’s Name Samuel Ham
Groom’s Residence parish of Honiton, Devon, England
Groom's Gender Male
Bride’s Name Elizabeth Spiller
Bride’s Residence parish of Wilton, Somerset, England
Bride's Gender Female
Witness’s Name Jno. Pain
Witness’s Name R.G. Halls
Witness’s Name Peggy Hammet
Officiator’s Name David Smith Stone

Analyzing the Information

The researcher analyzes the record within the context of the other records of Samuel Ham she has found. She writes an analysis document that details her conclusions of the identity of Samuel Ham.

Representing the Information

The information gathered is represented using GEDCOM X as follows:

Create the GEDCOM X Root Document

All GEDCOM X information is contained within a “root” document. When the document is created, the software being used by the researcher provides information about who can be attributed the information.

The following snippet demonstrates how a root document is initialized in both XML and JSON. The information within the document is dated March 7, 2014 and attributed to a user named “Jane Doe” with an e-mail address of “example@example.org”. An instance of the Agent data type is provided to describe the contributor, and an instance of the Attribution data type is provided to attribute the information to the contributor.

XML
<gedcomx xmlns="http://gedcomx.org/v1/">
    <attribution>
        <contributor resource="#A-1"/>
        <modified>2014-04-25T00:00:00-06:00</modified>
    </attribution>
    ...
    <agent id="A-1">
        <email resource="mailto:example@example.org"/>
        <name>Jane Doe</name>
    </agent>
    ...
</gedcomx>
JSON
{
  "attribution" : {
    "contributor" : {
      "resource" : "#A-1"
    },
    "modified" : 1398405600000
  },
  ...
  "agents" : [ {
    "names" : [ {
      "value" : "Jane Doe"
    } ],
    "emails" : [ {
      "resource" : "mailto:example@example.org"
    } ],
    "id" : "A-1"
  }, ... ],
  ...
}

The Record

The record is described by providing an instance of the SourceDescription data type in the root document. The following snippet demonstrates how the source is described in both XML and JSON. The source description includes a title, a citation, and a reference to the Family History Library, which is represented using an Agent.

XML
<gedcomx xmlns="http://gedcomx.org/v1/">
    ...
    <sourceDescription resourceType="http://gedcomx.org/PhysicalArtifact" id="S-1">
        <citation>
            <value>Joseph Houghton Spencer, transcriber, Church of England, Parish Church of Wilton (Somerset). <cite>A copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837</cite>; Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller (3 November 1828), (Taunton: Barnicott, 1890), p. 224, No. 86.</value>
        </citation>
        <title>Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller, Parish Register, Wilton, Somerset, England</title>
        <description>Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth in a copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837.</description>
        <repository resource="#A-2"/>
    </sourceDescription>
    ...
    <agent id="A-2">
        <address>
            <city>Salt Lake City</city>
            <stateOrProvince>Utah</stateOrProvince>
        </address>
        <name>Family History Library</name>
    </agent>
    ...
</gedcomx>
JSON
{
  ...
  "sourceDescriptions" : [ {
    "description" : [ {
      "value" : "Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth in a copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837."
    } ],
    "resourceType" : "http://gedcomx.org/PhysicalArtifact",
    "citations" : [ {
      "value" : "Joseph Houghton Spencer, transcriber, Church of England, Parish Church of Wilton (Somerset). A copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837; Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller (3 November 1828), (Taunton: Barnicott, 1890), p. 224, No. 86."
    } ],
    "titles" : [ {
      "value" : "Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller, Parish Register, Wilton, Somerset, England"
    } ],
    "repository" : {
      "resource" : "#A-2"
    },
    "id" : "S-1"
  }, ... ],
  "agents" : [ ..., {
    "names" : [ {
      "value" : "Family History Library"
    } ],
    "addresses" : [ {
      "city" : "Salt Lake City",
      "stateOrProvince" : "Utah"
    } ],
    "id" : "A-2"
  } ],
  ...
}

The Transcription

The transcription of the record is provided as an instance of the Document data type in the root document. The language of the document is described as English, using the “en” ISO code. The transcription is then described as a source using a SourceDescription. The following snippet demonstrates how the transcription and its description are represented in both XML and JSON. Note that the record is cited as a source.

XML
<gedcomx xmlns="http://gedcomx.org/v1/">
    ...
    <sourceDescription about="#D-1" resourceType="http://gedcomx.org/DigitalArtifact" id="S-2">
        <citation>
            <value>Joseph Houghton Spencer, transcriber, Church of England, Parish Church of Wilton (Somerset). <cite>A copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837</cite>; Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller (3 November 1828), (Taunton: Barnicott, 1890), p. 224, No. 86.</value>
        </citation>
        <source description="#S-1"/>
        <title>Transcription of marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller, Parish Register, Wilton, Somerset, England</title>
        <description>Transcription of marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth in a copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837.</description>
    </sourceDescription>
    ...
    <document type="http://gedcomx.org/Transcription" xml:lang="en" id="D-1">
        <source description="#S-1"/>
        <text>Samuel Ham of the parish of Honiton and Elizabeth Spiller
were married this 3rd day of November 1828 by David Smith
Stone, Pl Curate,
In the Presence of
Jno Pain.
R.G. Halls.  Peggy Hammet.
No. 86.</text>
    </document>
    ...
</gedcomx>
JSON
{
  ...
  "sourceDescriptions" : [ ..., {
    "description" : [ {
      "value" : "Transcription of marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth in a copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837."
    } ],
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-1"
    } ],
    "resourceType" : "http://gedcomx.org/DigitalArtifact",
    "citations" : [ {
      "value" : "Joseph Houghton Spencer, transcriber, Church of England, Parish Church of Wilton (Somerset). A copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837; Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller (3 November 1828), (Taunton: Barnicott, 1890), p. 224, No. 86."
    } ],
    "about" : "#D-1",
    "titles" : [ {
      "value" : "Transcription of marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller, Parish Register, Wilton, Somerset, England"
    } ],
    "id" : "S-2"
  } ],
  ...
  "documents" : [ {
    "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Transcription",
    "text" : "Samuel Ham of the parish of Honiton and Elizabeth Spiller\nwere married this 3rd day of November 1828 by David Smith\nStone, Pl Curate,\nIn the Presence of\nJno Pain.\nR.G. Halls.  Peggy Hammet.\nNo. 86.",
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-1"
    } ],
    "lang" : "en",
    "id" : "D-1"
  }, ... ]
}

The Extracted Information

The information that is extracted from the source is represented as persons and relationships. An instance of the Person data type provides person information and an instance of the Relationship data type provides relationship information.

An instance of Event is also provided in order to associate the witnesses and officiator of the event to the bride and groom.

The following snippet demonstrates how the extracted information is represented in both XML and JSON. Each person is designated as extracted because the information was extracted from a single source. Each person includes a name, an id, and a reference to the translation as a source. The marriage information is included on the relationship, which also cites the translation as a source. An event is provided with references to each person as instances of EventRole. The EventRole also specifies a type, which specifies the type of role the person played in the event.

XML
<gedcomx xmlns="http://gedcomx.org/v1/">
    ...
    <person extracted="true" id="P-1">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <gender type="http://gedcomx.org/Male"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>Samuel Ham</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
        <fact type="http://gedcomx.org/Residence">
            <date>
                <original>3 November 1828</original>
                <formal>+1828-11-03</formal>
            </date>
            <place>
                <original>parish of Honiton, Devon, England</original>
            </place>
        </fact>
    </person>
    <person extracted="true" id="P-2">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <gender type="http://gedcomx.org/Female"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>Elizabeth Spiller</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
        <fact type="http://gedcomx.org/Residence">
            <date>
                <original>3 November 1828</original>
                <formal>+1828-11-03</formal>
            </date>
            <place>
                <original>parish of Wilton, Somerset, England</original>
            </place>
        </fact>
    </person>
    <person extracted="true" id="P-3">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>Jno. Pain</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
    </person>
    <person extracted="true" id="P-4">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>R.G. Halls</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
    </person>
    <person extracted="true" id="P-5">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>Peggy Hammet</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
    </person>
    <person extracted="true" id="P-6">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>David Smith Stone</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
    </person>
    ...
    <relationship extracted="true" type="http://gedcomx.org/Couple">
        <person1 resource="#P-1"/>
        <person2 resource="#P-2"/>
        <fact type="http://gedcomx.org/Marriage">
            <date>
                <original>3 November 1828</original>
                <formal>+1828-11-03</formal>
            </date>
            <place>
                <original>Wilton St George, Wilton, Somerset, England</original>
            </place>
        </fact>
    </relationship>
    ...
    <event type="http://gedcomx.org/Marriage" extracted="true" id="E-1">
        <date>
            <original>3 November 1828</original>
            <formal>+1828-11-03</formal>
        </date>
        <place>
            <original>Wilton St George, Wilton, Somerset, England</original>
        </place>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Principal">
            <person resource="#P-1"/>
        </role>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Principal">
            <person resource="#P-2"/>
        </role>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Witness">
            <person resource="#P-3"/>
        </role>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Witness">
            <person resource="#P-4"/>
        </role>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Witness">
            <person resource="#P-5"/>
        </role>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Official">
            <person resource="#P-6"/>
        </role>
    </event>
    ...
</gedcomx>
JSON
{
  ...
  "persons" : [ {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "Samuel Ham"
      } ]
    } ],
    "gender" : {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Male"
    },
    "facts" : [ {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Residence",
      "date" : {
        "original" : "3 November 1828",
        "formal" : "+1828-11-03"
      },
      "place" : {
        "original" : "parish of Honiton, Devon, England"
      }
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-1"
  }, {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "Elizabeth Spiller"
      } ]
    } ],
    "gender" : {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Female"
    },
    "facts" : [ {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Residence",
      "date" : {
        "original" : "3 November 1828",
        "formal" : "+1828-11-03"
      },
      "place" : {
        "original" : "parish of Wilton, Somerset, England"
      }
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-2"
  }, {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "Jno. Pain"
      } ]
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-3"
  }, {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "R.G. Halls"
      } ]
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-4"
  }, {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "Peggy Hammet"
      } ]
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-5"
  }, {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "David Smith Stone"
      } ]
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-6"
  }, ... ],
  "relationships" : [ {
    "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Couple",
    "extracted" : true,
    "facts" : [ {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Marriage",
      "date" : {
        "original" : "3 November 1828",
        "formal" : "+1828-11-03"
      },
      "place" : {
        "original" : "Wilton St George, Wilton, Somerset, England"
      }
    } ],
    "person1" : {
      "resource" : "#P-1"
    },
    "person2" : {
      "resource" : "#P-2"
    }
  } ],
  ...
  "events" : [ {
    "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Marriage",
    "date" : {
      "original" : "3 November 1828",
      "formal" : "+1828-11-03"
    },
    "place" : {
      "original" : "Wilton St George, Wilton, Somerset, England"
    },
    "roles" : [ {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Principal",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-1"
      }
    }, {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Principal",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-2"
      }
    }, {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Witness",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-3"
      }
    }, {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Witness",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-4"
      }
    }, {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Witness",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-5"
      }
    }, {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Official",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-6"
      }
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "id" : "E-1"
  } ],
  ...
}

The Analysis

Following good research process practices, the researcher writes up a document that describes her analysis of the information about Samuel Ham that was discovered. Presumably, other sources in addition to the parish register were located and their analysis would be included in the document.

The aggregated analysis, including the text of the document, is represented with another Person that references the extracted information as evidence using instances of EvidenceReference. The following snippet demonstrates how the analysis is represented in both XML and JSON.

XML
<gedcomx xmlns="http://gedcomx.org/v1/">
    ...
    <person id="C-1">
        <analysis resource="#D-2"/>
        <evidence resource="#P-1"/>
    </person>
    ...
    <document id="D-2">
        <text>...Jane Doe's analysis document...</text>
    </document>
</gedcomx>
JSON
{
  ...
  "persons" : [ ..., {
    "evidence" : [ {
      "resource" : "#P-1"
    } ],
    "analysis" : {
      "resource" : "#D-2"
    },
    "id" : "C-1"
  } ],
  ...
  "documents" : [ ..., {
    "text" : "...Jane Doe's analysis document...",
    "id" : "D-2"
  } ]
}

The Result

Here are the XML and JSON representations of the use case described above.

XML
<gedcomx xmlns="http://gedcomx.org/v1/">
    <attribution>
        <contributor resource="#A-1"/>
        <modified>2014-04-25T00:00:00-06:00</modified>
    </attribution>
    <person extracted="true" id="P-1">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <gender type="http://gedcomx.org/Male"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>Samuel Ham</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
        <fact type="http://gedcomx.org/Residence">
            <date>
                <original>3 November 1828</original>
                <formal>+1828-11-03</formal>
            </date>
            <place>
                <original>parish of Honiton, Devon, England</original>
            </place>
        </fact>
    </person>
    <person extracted="true" id="P-2">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <gender type="http://gedcomx.org/Female"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>Elizabeth Spiller</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
        <fact type="http://gedcomx.org/Residence">
            <date>
                <original>3 November 1828</original>
                <formal>+1828-11-03</formal>
            </date>
            <place>
                <original>parish of Wilton, Somerset, England</original>
            </place>
        </fact>
    </person>
    <person extracted="true" id="P-3">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>Jno. Pain</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
    </person>
    <person extracted="true" id="P-4">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>R.G. Halls</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
    </person>
    <person extracted="true" id="P-5">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>Peggy Hammet</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
    </person>
    <person extracted="true" id="P-6">
        <source description="#S-2"/>
        <name>
            <nameForm>
                <fullText>David Smith Stone</fullText>
            </nameForm>
        </name>
    </person>
    <person id="C-1">
        <analysis resource="#D-2"/>
        <evidence resource="#P-1"/>
    </person>
    <relationship extracted="true" type="http://gedcomx.org/Couple">
        <person1 resource="#P-1"/>
        <person2 resource="#P-2"/>
        <fact type="http://gedcomx.org/Marriage">
            <date>
                <original>3 November 1828</original>
                <formal>+1828-11-03</formal>
            </date>
            <place>
                <original>Wilton St George, Wilton, Somerset, England</original>
            </place>
        </fact>
    </relationship>
    <sourceDescription resourceType="http://gedcomx.org/PhysicalArtifact" id="S-1">
        <citation>
            <value>Joseph Houghton Spencer, transcriber, Church of England, Parish Church of Wilton (Somerset). <cite>A copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837</cite>; Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller (3 November 1828), (Taunton: Barnicott, 1890), p. 224, No. 86.</value>
        </citation>
        <title>Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller, Parish Register, Wilton, Somerset, England</title>
        <description>Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth in a copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837.</description>
        <repository resource="#A-2"/>
    </sourceDescription>
    <sourceDescription about="#D-1" resourceType="http://gedcomx.org/DigitalArtifact" id="S-2">
        <citation>
            <value>Joseph Houghton Spencer, transcriber, Church of England, Parish Church of Wilton (Somerset). <cite>A copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837</cite>; Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller (3 November 1828), (Taunton: Barnicott, 1890), p. 224, No. 86.</value>
        </citation>
        <source description="#S-1"/>
        <title>Transcription of marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller, Parish Register, Wilton, Somerset, England</title>
        <description>Transcription of marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth in a copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837.</description>
    </sourceDescription>
    <agent id="A-1">
        <email resource="mailto:example@example.org"/>
        <name>Jane Doe</name>
    </agent>
    <agent id="A-2">
        <address>
            <city>Salt Lake City</city>
            <stateOrProvince>Utah</stateOrProvince>
        </address>
        <name>Family History Library</name>
    </agent>
    <event type="http://gedcomx.org/Marriage" extracted="true" id="E-1">
        <date>
            <original>3 November 1828</original>
            <formal>+1828-11-03</formal>
        </date>
        <place>
            <original>Wilton St George, Wilton, Somerset, England</original>
        </place>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Principal">
            <person resource="#P-1"/>
        </role>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Principal">
            <person resource="#P-2"/>
        </role>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Witness">
            <person resource="#P-3"/>
        </role>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Witness">
            <person resource="#P-4"/>
        </role>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Witness">
            <person resource="#P-5"/>
        </role>
        <role type="http://gedcomx.org/Official">
            <person resource="#P-6"/>
        </role>
    </event>
    <document type="http://gedcomx.org/Transcription" xml:lang="en" id="D-1">
        <source description="#S-1"/>
        <text>Samuel Ham of the parish of Honiton and Elizabeth Spiller
were married this 3rd day of November 1828 by David Smith
Stone, Pl Curate,
In the Presence of
Jno Pain.
R.G. Halls.  Peggy Hammet.
No. 86.</text>
    </document>
    <document id="D-2">
        <text>...Jane Doe's analysis document...</text>
    </document>
</gedcomx>
JSON
{
  "attribution" : {
    "contributor" : {
      "resource" : "#A-1"
    },
    "modified" : 1398405600000
  },
  "persons" : [ {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "Samuel Ham"
      } ]
    } ],
    "gender" : {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Male"
    },
    "facts" : [ {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Residence",
      "date" : {
        "original" : "3 November 1828",
        "formal" : "+1828-11-03"
      },
      "place" : {
        "original" : "parish of Honiton, Devon, England"
      }
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-1"
  }, {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "Elizabeth Spiller"
      } ]
    } ],
    "gender" : {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Female"
    },
    "facts" : [ {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Residence",
      "date" : {
        "original" : "3 November 1828",
        "formal" : "+1828-11-03"
      },
      "place" : {
        "original" : "parish of Wilton, Somerset, England"
      }
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-2"
  }, {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "Jno. Pain"
      } ]
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-3"
  }, {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "R.G. Halls"
      } ]
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-4"
  }, {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "Peggy Hammet"
      } ]
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-5"
  }, {
    "names" : [ {
      "nameForms" : [ {
        "fullText" : "David Smith Stone"
      } ]
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-2"
    } ],
    "id" : "P-6"
  }, {
    "evidence" : [ {
      "resource" : "#P-1"
    } ],
    "analysis" : {
      "resource" : "#D-2"
    },
    "id" : "C-1"
  } ],
  "relationships" : [ {
    "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Couple",
    "extracted" : true,
    "facts" : [ {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Marriage",
      "date" : {
        "original" : "3 November 1828",
        "formal" : "+1828-11-03"
      },
      "place" : {
        "original" : "Wilton St George, Wilton, Somerset, England"
      }
    } ],
    "person1" : {
      "resource" : "#P-1"
    },
    "person2" : {
      "resource" : "#P-2"
    }
  } ],
  "sourceDescriptions" : [ {
    "description" : [ {
      "value" : "Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth in a copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837."
    } ],
    "resourceType" : "http://gedcomx.org/PhysicalArtifact",
    "citations" : [ {
      "value" : "Joseph Houghton Spencer, transcriber, Church of England, Parish Church of Wilton (Somerset). A copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837; Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller (3 November 1828), (Taunton: Barnicott, 1890), p. 224, No. 86."
    } ],
    "titles" : [ {
      "value" : "Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller, Parish Register, Wilton, Somerset, England"
    } ],
    "repository" : {
      "resource" : "#A-2"
    },
    "id" : "S-1"
  }, {
    "description" : [ {
      "value" : "Transcription of marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth in a copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837."
    } ],
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-1"
    } ],
    "resourceType" : "http://gedcomx.org/DigitalArtifact",
    "citations" : [ {
      "value" : "Joseph Houghton Spencer, transcriber, Church of England, Parish Church of Wilton (Somerset). A copy of the registers of the baptisms, marriages, and burials at the church of St. George in the parish of Wilton : adjoining Taunton, in the county of Somerset from A.D. 1558 to A.D. 1837; Marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller (3 November 1828), (Taunton: Barnicott, 1890), p. 224, No. 86."
    } ],
    "about" : "#D-1",
    "titles" : [ {
      "value" : "Transcription of marriage entry for Samuel Ham and Elizabeth Spiller, Parish Register, Wilton, Somerset, England"
    } ],
    "id" : "S-2"
  } ],
  "agents" : [ {
    "names" : [ {
      "value" : "Jane Doe"
    } ],
    "emails" : [ {
      "resource" : "mailto:example@example.org"
    } ],
    "id" : "A-1"
  }, {
    "names" : [ {
      "value" : "Family History Library"
    } ],
    "addresses" : [ {
      "city" : "Salt Lake City",
      "stateOrProvince" : "Utah"
    } ],
    "id" : "A-2"
  } ],
  "events" : [ {
    "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Marriage",
    "date" : {
      "original" : "3 November 1828",
      "formal" : "+1828-11-03"
    },
    "place" : {
      "original" : "Wilton St George, Wilton, Somerset, England"
    },
    "roles" : [ {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Principal",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-1"
      }
    }, {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Principal",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-2"
      }
    }, {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Witness",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-3"
      }
    }, {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Witness",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-4"
      }
    }, {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Witness",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-5"
      }
    }, {
      "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Official",
      "person" : {
        "resource" : "#P-6"
      }
    } ],
    "extracted" : true,
    "id" : "E-1"
  } ],
  "documents" : [ {
    "type" : "http://gedcomx.org/Transcription",
    "text" : "Samuel Ham of the parish of Honiton and Elizabeth Spiller\nwere married this 3rd day of November 1828 by David Smith\nStone, Pl Curate,\nIn the Presence of\nJno Pain.\nR.G. Halls.  Peggy Hammet.\nNo. 86.",
    "sources" : [ {
      "description" : "#S-1"
    } ],
    "lang" : "en",
    "id" : "D-1"
  }, {
    "text" : "...Jane Doe's analysis document...",
    "id" : "D-2"
  } ]
}

Code Examples

This Java code example, found in the gedcomx-java repository demonstrates how to produce the above result.

Extra Credit

Here are some other elements that a GEDCOM X processor may want to provide. These items were left out of the above example for the sake of brevity.

  • Multiple values for different languages may be provided for the title and citation of a source. In such a case, the “lang” property on each title and citation may be used to specify the language of the text using BCP 47. For more information, see the section about Internationalization Considerations. See also the Source Description data type and its associated representations in XML and JSON.
  • In addition to the name of the repository, other information about the repository may be provided, such as address, web page, e-mail, phone number, etc. For more information, see the Agent data type and its associated representations in XML and JSON.
  • In addition to an analysis document for the researcher’s conclusions about Samuel Ham, a researcher may also want to provide a document containing an analysis of the copy of parish record. For such purposes, the Source Description data type provides an analysis property that can resolve to an analysis document.
  • When providing a name of a person, the software may wish to prompt the user for the parts of a name in addition to (or instead of) the full text of the name. In such a case, the parts can be provided using the parts property of the Name data type.
  • When providing information about a place, the software may be able to prompt the user for specifics about the place, such as it’s jurisdictions, geo-coordinates, name variants, etc. In such a case, an instance of a Place Description can be provided in the document, which can be referenced using the descriptionRef property of the Place Reference data type.
  • When writing an analysis document, some software may allow the researcher to apply fonts, formatting and styles. In such a case, the text of the document can specify a textType property with the value of “xhtml”.