Recording a Place Name in a Genealogy Program

The practice of recording a place an event took place in a genealogy program, website, or research paper has differed among researchers. Researchers have the freedom to use the approach they wish to use. Because countries and other jurisdictions can change over the years making it difficult to decide which time period and version of the place should be used. There are different approaches that can be made to recording this information in genealogical records and on genealogy databases and programs.

Genealogical organizations have given their opinion as what the standard should be. Historically the Genealogical Society of Utah has made different recommendations for ways to record a place name. The original recommendation was use the place name at the time of the event (Option 1). Recently, FamilySearch Places has become the repository for standardized place names for use in the Family Tree.

The most common approaches are listed below:

Time of the Event - Option 1
Record the location as shown on the earliest record you have of the event. Example: A person may have been born in a town which is in Poland today, but the town may have been part of the Kingdom of Prussia when the event took place. Boundary lines change over time. Use the place at the time the event took place. Pros: Cons:
 * Allows researcher to know the jurisdiction the records would be located as it is when the event occurred.
 * Can be confusing for researcher to know where that location is today.
 * Some genealogy data management programs or websites do not have the standardized places that no longer exist today in their database.

Modern Day Location - Option 2
Record the current location for the event in question, regardless if it was in another country or jurisdiction. Example: In 1845, San Diego, San Diego County, California was known as San Diego, Alta California, Mexico. Pros: Cons:
 * Easy to tell where that location is today.
 * May assist in locating records if they have moved from the original location to current jurisdiction.
 * If the records are still with the original government authority, you are unsure of where the records are located.

Using "Then and Now - Option 3"
In the place name, use the "then and now" statement to clarify what the location was before, and what it is now known as today. Example: "Thomasin/Tam(a)sin/Tamsen Carpenter was born about 1659 to 1663 probably in Pawtuxet (Warwick), Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (that part now in Kent Co. RI). She died after 30 Jan 1710/11 (living that date in Madnan’s Neck, Hempstead [now Great Neck, North Hempstead]), Queens (that part now Nassau) Co., Long Island." - written by Eugene Cole "Gene" Zubrinsky Pros: Cons:
 * Clarifies and identifies the location at the time of the event, and what that place is now called in present day jurisdictions. One example where this is particularly useful: British colonial America
 * When standardization of locations are used by the genealogy program, it does not allow for both places to be recorded and would only be allowed in research reports and notes.