What is GEDCOM ?
Most genealogy database programs, for example Personal Ancestry File (PAF), Family Tree Maker (FMT), etc., use their own individual native format for storing the database data as a disk file. This means that the file generated by one such program cannot normally be read directly by a different program. Therefore GEDCOM was invented as a means of exchanging genealogy data between different programs. It is particularly useful for files posted on an internet site, since the web site owner cannot know what program will be used by someone who downloads a file from the site.Virtually all the genealogy database programs support import and export of GEDCOM files. There are also programs available (many of which you can download from internet sites) which have no native file format, but are specifically geared to displaying GEDCOM files, or converting them to other formats.
GEDCOM files are text files, and by convention they have the extension .ged or .GED (e.g. myfile.ged). Each line starts with a tag comprising a special keyword and sometimes a number. The program reading a file interprets the tag to understand what sort of data is specified by the text in the rest of the line (e.g. name, date of birth, etc.) and its relationship to other entries (father, daughter, note, etc.).
Since a GEDCOM file is textual, it may be viewed or edited using a simple text editor (e.g. Notepad), but this requires the reader to understand the GEDCOM grammar rules, and is not normal usage. Usually it is just viewed using a genealogical program.
Versions and compatability
The specification of GEDCOM rules has been evolving over many years. Currently, the latest version is 5.5 which has been around since 1999. Version 4.0 was previously current for about 10 years. Therefore if you are using an old program, it may not interpret a V5.5 file completely correctly. This may still happen even with recent programs, since the programmers may not have interpreted the specification correctly, particularly for the more specialised tags. In practice, the main data (names, dates, relationships) will probably be OK, but some ancillary data (e.g. notes, nicknames) may be lost or wrongly presented. Normally this is not too serious.The files below are version 5.5 generated from PAF5, so to ensure totally correct interpretation I recommend that you import them into the same program (which can be downloaded free from the LDS website). However, I have successfully imported them into several other programs with no significant problems. If you find you have difficulties, please contact me.
GEDCOM files
If you click on any of the following files, you will be prompted to send me an email. This helps me to keep track of where my data is being used - thanks.NB Internet Explorer may open a new window saying "Navigation to the webpage was Canceled" which you will have to close manually. This doesn't happen with Firefox.
Your browser will display the gedcom file. You should use "Save As.." to save the file on your computer, then use the "Back" button to return to this web page.
wholetree.ged (289 KB) This file contains my complete database of over 1500 persons, excluding most of those still living. Updated Feb 2006
The following files contain subsets of the database, for a specific family. They contain the earliest person in that family and his direct descendants (male and female), plus all their spouses. However, they do not contain indirect relations such as parents and siblings of spouses, step children, etc. If you need this, you should download the whole tree file and remove those you don't want. All updated Feb 2006
faithfull.ged (52 KB) Faithfull family.
lutman.ged (74 KB) Lutman family.
pearce.ged (53 KB) Pearce family.
randall.ged (33 KB) Randall family.
money.ged (75 KB) Money family.
durant.ged (32 KB) Durant family.
houghton.ged (35 KB) Houghton family.
The following file contains data supplied by Noel Staley, and includes more information on the Houghtons who emigrated to Australia.
houghton2.ged (93 KB) Houghton family in Australia. New Jan 2004
Email me