FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject Gazetteers

Gazetteers Project for Underserved Countries
Project Leader: Heather Mecham Examples: Angola Gazetteers page example Iran Gazetteers page example Malta Gazetteers page example Moldova Gazetteers page example Purpose: To update/standardize the gazetteers pages for each country. You will use a lot of your best judgement to make these pages better. Some of these pages won't have much information and some may have an incredible amount of information. Therefore, we may have to modify the template in the future. Please reach out anytime you have questions or have difficulties knowing where to place information.

PART 1 : Google spreadsheet
1. Go to the Task List and open the Google Spreadsheet. Start by selecting on the tab for Stage 1 and then work your way through the rest of the stages. 2. You'll notice that each sheet has columns for Country, Finished Gazetteer Link, Page Editor Name, Date Edited, Reviewer Name, and Date Reviewed. Here's a key for what everything means on this spreadsheet:
 * Purple Country column: This column lists the pages that you will update. You won't edit this column but you can click on each of the countries and it will take you to its FamilySearch Wiki home page.
 * Red, Orange, and Yellow Finished Gazetteer Link column: This column is where you will post the link of your finished gazetteer page when you are done. (You can also leave comments or notes in these cells if you need to organize yourself.)
 * Red cells represent countries with no gazetteer page. If you look at the sidebar of these country pages, you'll see that Gazetteers is a red link. (Stage 1)
 * Orange cells represent countries with gazetteer pages with little information. (Stages 1, 2, and 3)
 * Yellow cells represent countries with gazetteer pages with lots of information. It's possible that we may or may not edit some of these pages.(Stage 4)
 * Dark Green Page Editor Name column: List your name in this column next to a country you are working on so you can organize who will work on which countries.
 * Light Green Date Edited column: When you complete a page, list the completion date in this column.
 * Dark Blue Reviewer Name column: Don't touch this column. We'll have someone review your country page after you have finished.
 * Light Blue Date Reviewed column: Don't touch this column. We'll have someone review your country page after you have finished.

3. Type your name in the dark green Page Editor Name column next to the country you would like to work on. (Start with Phase 1 first because they are high priority.) 4. Select your country's link from the spreadsheet and select Gazetteers from sidebar.

PART 2: Filling out page
1. Drop this Wikicode onto the page:

Why Use Gazetteers
A gazetteer is a dictionary of place-names. Gazetteers list or describe towns and villages, parishes, states, populations, rivers and mountains, and other geographical features. They usually include only the names of places that existed at the time the gazetteer was published. Within a specific geographical area, the place-names are listed in alphabetical order, similar to a dictionary. You can use a gazetteer to locate the places where your family lived and to determine the civil and religious jurisdictions over those places.

There are many places within a country with similar or identical place-names. You will need to use a gazetteer to identify the specific town where your ancestor lived, the state the town was or is in, and the jurisdictions where records about the person was kept.

Gazetteer Contents
Gazetteers may also provide additional information about towns, such as:


 * Different religious denominations
 * Schools, colleges, and universities
 * Major manufacturers, canals, docks, and railroad stations
 * The population size.
 * Boundaries of civil jurisdiction.
 * Ecclesiastical jurisdiction(s)
 * Longitude and latitude.
 * Distances and direction from other from cities.
 * Schools, colleges, and universities.
 * Denominations and number of churches.
 * Historical and biographical information on some individuals (usually high-ranking or famous individuals)

2. Replace COUNTRY with the name of your country. (This will create the country sidebar template and breadcrumb.)

Finding online and print only gazetteers
When you search, you might have to search by a country's colonial or alternative name. Also, try finding gazetteers by searching the country's continent. Check the following places to find a gazetteer: 3. Use what is already on the page. If the sources on the page aren't digitally available online, then place them under Print Only Gazetteers. 4. At the very top of the page, add a link for FamilySearch Places. Go here and search for your countries. Then, copy the URL and add it to the page. Paste the following on the page: *[URL FamilySearch Places] 5. Go to the FamilySearch Catalog. Add publishing information. If the sources on the page aren't digitally available online, then place them under Print Only Gazetteers. *[URL BOOK TITLE] AUTHOR, TITLE, PUBLISHER INFORMATION, YEAR 6. Search "COUNTRY Gazetteer" at archive.org *[URL BOOK TITLE] AUTHOR, PUBLISHER INFORMATION, YEAR 7. Go to this website. Add country in the search bar. *[URL BOOK TITLE] AUTHOR, PUBLISHER INFORMATION, YEAR 11. Try that nation's archive website (you might have to translate "gazetteer" into that nation's language). *[URL BOOK TITLE] AUTHOR, PUBLISHER INFORMATION, YEAR 12. Automatically link to these websites: * World Gazetteers at Archive.org 13. General Google Search. (Avoid gazetteers that aren't helpful like animal or weather gazetteers. A Wikipedia list of places might be helpful.) 14. Select Save changes. 15. Double-check the page to make sure it looks alright. Make sure that the links under Online Gazetteers are actually digitally available online. All other sources should be under Print Only Gazetteers. 16. Go back to the task list and add the finished date.