Maps & Locations

Visualize your family history geographically with interactive maps showing where your ancestors lived, worked, and traveled.

Overview

AncestryCodex provides powerful mapping features:

• Location visualization - See all family locations on an interactive map
• Migration tracking - Trace family movements across generations
• Event mapping - View births, marriages, and deaths geographically
• Geocoding - Automatic coordinate lookup from place names

Map Providers

Choose between two map providers:

Setting Up Maps

Mapbox Setup

1. Create a free account at mapbox.com
2. Navigate to your Account > Tokens
3. Copy your default public token
4. In AncestryCodex, go to Admin Panel > Maps
5. Select "Mapbox" as the provider
6. Paste your API key
7. Save settings

OpenStreetMap Setup

1. Go to Admin Panel > Maps
2. Select "OpenStreetMap" as the provider
3. Save settings

No API key is required for OpenStreetMap.

Map Styles

Available map styles (Mapbox only):

Style	Best For
Streets	Urban areas, modern addresses
Satellite	Rural areas, property identification
Hybrid	Satellite imagery with street labels
Light	Clean look, good for printing
Dark	Dark mode preference, high contrast

Geocoding

Geocoding converts place names to map coordinates (latitude/longitude):

Automatic Geocoding

When enabled, AncestryCodex automatically:

• Looks up coordinates when you enter place names
• Stores coordinates for faster subsequent lookups
• Shows locations on maps without manual coordinate entry

Manual Coordinates

For precise locations or historical sites, you can enter coordinates manually:

1. Find coordinates using Google Maps or similar
2. Edit the place record in AncestryCodex
3. Enter latitude and longitude values

Map Views

Individual Map

View all locations associated with a single person:

• Birth place
• Residence locations
• Marriage places
• Death location
• Burial site

Family Map

See where an entire family lived and migrated:

• All family members' locations
• Color-coded by generation
• Click markers for details

Migration Map

Trace family movements over time:

• Animated paths showing migration
• Timeline slider to see changes
• Filter by date range

Event Map

View specific event types geographically:

• All births in the family
• All marriages
• All deaths
• Custom event types

Working with Places

Place Hierarchy

AncestryCodex follows GEDCOM 7 place hierarchy:

City, County/District, State/Province, Country

Examples:

• Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
• Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• New York City, New York, United States

Historical Places

For historical locations that no longer exist or have changed:

• Enter the original place name as recorded in sources
• Use AI Place Standardization to find modern equivalent
• Both original and modern names are preserved

Tips & Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Maps not loading	Check API key configuration in Admin > Maps
Wrong location shown	Edit the place and manually enter correct coordinates
Geocoding fails	Try adding more context (country, state) to place name
Map loads slowly	Large trees may need pagination; consider filtering by branch