Association for Computer Genealogy

The Association for Computer Genealogy, known in German as Verein für Computergenealogie and commonly abbreviated as CompGen, is a German non-profit genealogical society founded in Dortmund in 1989. It was originally established under a name emphasizing the advancement of computer-assisted genealogical research. The association’s stated purpose is to promote scientific research in fields related to genealogy, while also making historical information more accessible to family historians, researchers, and the wider public. CompGen combines the functions of a learned society, a volunteer data-production organization, a publisher, and an operator of online research infrastructure. Its activities are centered on the use of computing and collaborative digitization to collect, index, preserve, and present historical personal and geographic information. As of 2022, the organization had more than 4,200 members and cooperated with other German genealogical research organizations. Although membership is primarily associated with Germany, its online services are available to users internationally. The association operates databases, forums, and mailing lists, and collaborates with wider genealogy initiatives including GenWiki. Its web services support both individual family-history research and broader historical investigation. A significant principle of the organization is that its information and online data can be used free of charge, including by people who are not members. Members can publish research results through the association without relying on advertising-based publication models. One of CompGen’s notable projects is the Historical Place Directory, a location database designed to help users identify and contextualize historical places. Such a resource is useful not only for genealogists but also for historians, demographers, sociologists, and others working with records in which place names, administrative boundaries, and historical geography may have changed over time. CompGen also developed the Data Entry System, or DES, as a technical foundation for crowdsourced transcription of historical sources. The system allows volunteers to enter information from digitized printed materials and handwritten documents into structured databases. This approach turns dispersed historical records into searchable datasets while retaining a connection to the underlying source material. A major early DES-related effort was connected with the centenary of the First World War. Between 2014 and 2018, volunteers helped record approximately eight million personal data entries from official casualty and death listings concerning German soldiers who died during the war. The association has subsequently broadened its transcription work to include historical address directories, police reports, and church registers. CompGen also communicates through its quarterly magazine, Computergenealogie, generally known as CG. The publication is included with membership and covers digital genealogy, sources, projects, software, methods, and developments in the field. The organization additionally publishes a roughly 200-page guide to family research at irregular intervals. Overall, CompGen’s role is to connect traditional genealogical society work with open online databases, volunteer digitization, and technically supported historical research.

The Association for Computer Genealogy was founded in Dortmund in 1989 as a German society dedicated to advancing the use of computers in genealogical research. Its original name, Association for the Promotion of Computer-Aided Genealogical Research, reflected the organization’s early focus on applying emerging digital tools to a field that had traditionally depended on paper files, local archives, printed registers, and privately maintained family records. The association’s broader purpose was framed as the promotion of scientific research in genealogically related fields. Over time, CompGen developed beyond a conventional membership society. It established online services through which researchers could exchange information, consult databases, participate in forums, and use mailing lists. The association also worked with related German genealogy projects, including GenWiki, thereby connecting its own technical infrastructure with a wider knowledge network. Its services have generally been designed for public research use: data and information are available online without charge, including to people who are not members. Members receive additional community and publishing benefits, including the ability to publish research findings through the association without advertising. A central part of CompGen’s work has been the creation of structured resources for historical geography and personal data. Its Historical Place Directory records information about locations and is intended to support the interpretation of historical sources. Place-based information is particularly important in German genealogy because historical administrative units, settlement names, and territorial affiliations can differ from modern geography. The directory therefore serves family historians as well as historians, sociologists, and other researchers who need to identify places mentioned in older records. CompGen also created the Data Entry System, known as DES, to support volunteer transcription and indexing. DES provides a technical framework in which users can enter information from digitized printed sources or handwritten documents. The resulting data can be searched and reused more easily than images alone, while the collective process allows large collections to be processed by many contributors. This model made crowdsourced historical data creation one of the association’s defining activities. From 2014 to 2018, during the centenary period of the First World War, an initial recording project used this approach to process official casualty and death listings for German soldiers. The project produced approximately eight million personal data entries. The scale of the result demonstrated the capacity of coordinated volunteers and digital tools to transform historical source collections into research resources. After this initiative, CompGen expanded its transcription interests to other source types, including historical address directories, police reports, and church registers. Publication has remained another part of the association’s identity. CompGen publishes the quarterly magazine Computergenealogie, usually referred to as CG, with subscriptions included in membership. The magazine addresses practical and technical genealogy, source work, digital projects, and developments affecting researchers. The association also produces an approximately 200-page family-research guide at irregular intervals, extending its educational role beyond online databases. By 2022, CompGen had more than 4,200 members and maintained cooperation with other German genealogical organizations. Its activities illustrate the transition of genealogy from primarily local and paper-based research toward digitally searchable collections, collaborative transcription, open online access, and interoperable historical-data projects. The society remains focused on German genealogy while serving users beyond Germany through its web-based services.

• 2022

  Membership reported above 4,200

  [1]Association for Computer Genealogyen.wikipedia.org

  The association was reported to have more than 4,200 members and to be cooperating with other German genealogical research organizations.

• 2018

  Approximately eight million First World War entries recorded

  [1]Association for Computer Genealogyen.wikipedia.org

  By the end of the 2014–2018 project period, volunteers had recorded approximately eight million personal data entries from German First World War casualty and death listings.

• 2014

  First World War records project begins

  [1]Association for Computer Genealogyen.wikipedia.org

  CompGen began an initial recording project focused on official casualty and death listings for German soldiers during the First World War centenary period.

• 1989

  Association founded in Dortmund

  [1]Association for Computer Genealogyen.wikipedia.org

  The German non-profit society was established in Dortmund to promote computer-assisted genealogical research and scientific work related to genealogy.

An open, technically oriented German genealogy society that combines volunteer historical-data transcription, searchable online resources, scholarly cooperation, and member publishing. CompGen distinguishes itself by making much of its information freely available online to members and non-members.

• Historical geography database

  Historical Place Directory

  A location-focused database intended to help researchers identify historical places and understand geographic references in genealogical and historical sources. It supports family historians working with older records and can also assist historians and sociologists whose research depends on changing place names, territorial affiliations, and historical geography.

• Crowdsourced transcription platform

  Data Entry System (DES)

  A technical system developed by CompGen for collaborative transcription of digitized printed and handwritten historical sources. Volunteers enter personal and other historical information into structured records, making source content more searchable and usable for genealogy and wider historical research.

• Online genealogy services

  CompGen online databases and forums

  A group of online services operated or supported by the association, including databases, discussion forums, and mailing lists. These services allow researchers to consult data, exchange methods and findings, and participate in collaborative genealogy projects. Much of the information is available free of charge to both members and non-members.

• Quarterly magazine

  Computergenealogie (CG)

  The association’s quarterly publication covers computer-assisted genealogy, historical sources, digital projects, research methods, and developments in genealogical technology. A subscription is included in membership, making the magazine an important communication and educational benefit for members.

• Genealogy guide

  Familienforschung

  An approximately 200-page guide to family research published by the association at irregular intervals. It is intended to make ancestry research more accessible and to provide practical orientation for people beginning or developing genealogical work.

• 2014First World War casualty and death-list transcription project

  Germany · Online international research community

  CompGen organized a volunteer digitization and transcription effort connected with the centenary of the First World War. The project used the association’s data-entry infrastructure to convert official casualty and death listings for German soldiers into searchable personal records.

  Outcome. The project ran through 2018 and produced approximately eight million personal data entries. It also demonstrated the scalability of volunteer-based historical crowdsourcing and helped establish a basis for later work on other record types.

  Source

• 2014

  Use crowdsourced transcription for large historical collectionsStrategy

  Background

  The association sought to make digitized historical sources more useful for genealogy and historical research by converting images of printed and handwritten records into structured, searchable data.

  Action taken

  CompGen used its Data Entry System to coordinate volunteer entry of personal information from official First World War casualty and death listings.

  Aftermath

  The initiative generated approximately eight million entries by 2018 and was followed by expansion into historical address directories, police reports, and church registers.

  Source

1. 1Association for Computer Genealogyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Association for Computer Genealogy official websitecompgen.de
3. 3Troublesome Riches: Genealogical Data As Sources For Historical Demography in Germanydoi.org
4. 4Computergenealogie und Archive: Schnittstellen, Kooperationen oder Gegenpositionen?ebsco.com
5. 5User perspectives through cross-connections: The role of archives as part of the German digital research data infrastructuredoi.org