Using online maps to record research

[SuzanneD]

There is some useful information on another thread about using maps to support research.

Google Maps (an online map service) and Google Earth (requires a software download) are also helpful for recording some aspects of your research, and sharing the results with others.

For example, I have created some maps which have a pin showing every address I have for a particular family line, and I have colour-coded them by time period so I can see how the family moved and spread over time. I have another map which has all the known homes of my direct ancestors on it (with end-of-line or brick wall ancestors coded a different colour from the rest). I can print out parts of it if I am visiting an area - for example, when I knew I would have a couple of days free in London, I used my map in conjunction with Google Streetview to see whether the original houses might still be standing, and then printed out some maps showing the addresses I wanted to go to. It is also helpful as a quick reference when I see that new records have become available online, to check whether I have family in that county or area.

Both Google Maps and Google Earth have similar features, but Google Earth is the more powerful of the two - you can, for example, put together a series of places into a fly-over 'tour' (tutorial). You save your own maps as a file on your computer. It is, however, harder to share your maps with others as they have to have Google Earth installed.

It is reasonably straightforward to build your own maps online on Google Maps, and share them with anyone by emailing them a link - although you do need to create an account and sign in to create and save a map. Google have a tutorial section on this, and I'll add my own method below for those are happy with the basics in plain step-by-step form!

 

[SuzanneD]

I forgot to add to my original post - Google are running a free online course 10-24 June 2013 on how to use Google Maps and Google Earth (although it's hard to tell if this will be pitched at the kinds of things family historians might use them for).

Here's how I put my maps together using Google Maps:
1) Go to https://maps.google.com/ and log in if this hasn't happened automatically. Once you are logged in, click on the 'My Places' button near the top left of the screen, and then click on the red 'Create Map' button. You can create more than one map, so you don't have to put all your information into a single map unless you want to.
2) Give your map a title and description, and choose whether to make it public (anyone can see it) or unlisted (only visible to you and anyone you invite to see it). You can change any of these later. Click the 'Save' button near the top left.
3) Look at the map part of the screen. Click on the hand symbol to pan around the map to find the place you want to mark, or use the search box above the map, as you would normally to find a place in Google Maps.
4) Once you have found a place you want to mark, click on the placemark button, next to the hand (it is shaped like an upside-down blue teardrop). Click on the map where you want to place the placemark. Give it a name and (if you want to add extra info) a description. You can also change the colour and appearance of the pin - click on the blue teardrop at the top right of the box.
5) Repeat this for each place you want to mark on your map, clicking back on the hand tool to move around the map and on the placemark button when you are ready to place a new pin. Don't forget to hit 'Save' on the left-hand panel occasionally. The names of all your placemarks will appear in a list to the left of the map.
6) If you put a pin in the wrong place, you can click-and-hold and then drag the placemark to where you want it. Likewise, you can click on the placemark to change its details, change the pin colour, or delete it (click on delete at the bottom of the description box).
7) You can add places that already have listings in Google Maps (like parish churches) to your own map. When you click on a place and a box pops up with the name, address, details etc., you'll see the words 'Save to map' at the bottom of the box. Click on this and choose which of your own maps you want to add it to.
8) You can also add lines to your map, perhaps to show how a family travelled from place to place over time. Click on the line button next to the hand and placemark buttons at the top of the map. Click on the start place, click on any intermediate places, then double-click to end the line at its destination. Once it's drawn, if you hover over it, you can drag and move points the middle of the line to show a journey that had a number of stops. Once the line is drawn, right-click it to edit or delete. (I must admit, I find drawing lines far more fiddly than adding placemarks!)
9) When you are finished with your map, click 'Save' and then 'Done' in the left-hand panel. To open it up for editing again, hit the red 'Edit' button.
10) To share your map with someone else, click the 'Collaborate' link at the top of the left-hand panel. Enter their email address. There is a box on the right-hand side you can tick if you want them to be able to edit the map as well as see it, and a box you can tick if you are happy for them to forward the map to others.
11) To find your map again in the future, go back to Google Maps, log in and click on the 'My Places' button at the top of the left-hand panel. All your maps will appear there, ready for viewing or sharing. This is also where you can delete a map - click on the little drop-down arrow to the right of its name.

 

[Charmaine]

SuzanneD Wow! I'm going to do this! I have maps galore with my own little marks, and have thought of putting them all on one map, but the task seemed too daunting - I have addresses in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Australia, US, & Canada - Thanks so much for sharing your 'how to'!

 

[Alexander Bisset]

Hmm actually Suzanne that's given me an idea using the "My Places" feature I could add something to FTAnalyzer to auto populate a "My Places" map from a GEDCOM.

I'll have a play about and see what I come up with.

 

[SuzanneD]

Cheers Alexander - have you explored the options that Google Maps Engine Lite offers? I find it easier to customise the visual appearance using Google Maps directly, but the Engine Lite allows for importing of geocoded data in spreadsheet form to handle larger volumes of data, rather than having to enter places one by one, as you do in Google Maps.

 

[Tim]

Hi Suzanne,

Have you checked out the new Maps functionality in FTAnalyzer? Its pretty impressive and some new features are planned.

 

[Alexander Bisset]

Just to let you know of some of the new features in FTAnalyzer it can now display on a map where you ancestors lived and display how they moved around. It has also got the 1920-1947 Historic OS map that you can use as a background. Support for loading your own custom maps (eg: I've loaded scans of paper Victorian OS maps), and can display the parish boundaries for England & Wales.

 

[SuzanneD]

No I haven't had a play with FTA's maps yet but it's on my to-do list - once I've finished tidying up all my census tags in my file using the census reports!