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Family History Research Skill

Name: Family History Research Skill (Claude Skill)
Author: emaynard

by emaynard · emaynard/claude-family-history-research-skill

Plan and conduct genealogy research with Claude.

Genealogy research is a discipline — citation standards, source hierarchies, evidence evaluation. This skill teaches Claude the Genealogical Proof Standard, common sources (census, vital records, immigration), and how to plan a research session that doesn't go in circles.

▶ Watch demo 📦 Install 💡 Use Cases

Why use it

Key features

Research planning templates (research question → likely sources → search plan)
Genealogical Proof Standard checklist
Source evaluation rubric (original vs derivative)
Common record types and their gotchas
Citation formatting (Evidence Explained)

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

family-history-research-skill.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Author repository · Claude Skills documentation

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use Family History Research Skill

Plan a research session for one ancestor's birth date

👤 Genealogists ⏱ ~15 min intermediate

When to use: You don't know where to look next for an ancestor stuck pre-1850.

Prerequisites

Server/skill installed and authenticated — See repo README

Flow

Frame

Using the genealogy skill, frame a research question for finding John Smith's birth date (b. ~1820, Cork, Ireland).✓ Copied

→ Research question + source hierarchy
Plan

Generate a search plan with specific record sets (Irish civil registration, Catholic parish registers, US naturalization).✓ Copied

→ Ordered, scoped search plan

Outcome: A real plan instead of random Ancestry hunts.

Pitfalls

Skill is methodology, not database. You still need subscriptions to Ancestry/FamilySearch/FindMyPast for the records themselves. — Skill is methodology, not database. You still need subscriptions to Ancestry/FamilySearch/FindMyPast for the records themselves.

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: See provider docs for rate limits
Tokens per call: Varies by tool
Monetary: See repo README for pricing details
Tip: Cache tool results and avoid repeated identical calls.

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: Use environment variables; never commit secrets

Data egress: Tool calls go to the provider's API as documented

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

skill suggests invented record sets

Ask it to cite the record set's URL and verify on FamilySearch/Ancestry catalog before searching.

Verify: Catalog entry exists

citations don't render

Skill outputs Evidence Explained format. Use a markdown viewer that supports footnotes.

Verify: Render with pandoc

Alternatives