WeRelate

WeRelate is an American nonprofit genealogy website that combines a collaborative wiki with tools for organizing, comparing, sourcing, and exploring family-history information. The service is operated as a project of the Foundation for On-Line Genealogy and is supported by tax-deductible donations, unpaid volunteers, and institutional collaboration with the Allen County Public Library’s Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Rather than functioning primarily as a collection of isolated personal family trees, WeRelate aims to create a shared genealogical knowledge base in which information from different researchers can be connected, reviewed, and consolidated into global records for people, families, sources, and places. The project’s software and website were developed by the Foundation for On-Line Genealogy in 2005 under the leadership of president Dallan Quass. Solveig Quass also assisted with the project, which launched publicly in spring 2006. The site runs on MediaWiki software, adapting the collaborative-editing model of a wiki to genealogical research. Registered users can create and edit person, family, place, and source pages, while other users can review or improve the information. The platform emphasizes documentation and links to primary or authoritative genealogical records rather than relying solely on unsourced user submissions. Users can upload GEDCOM files, the standard format for exchanging genealogical data. WeRelate converts individuals from uploaded files into person pages and presents possible matches so that contributors can decide whether records describe the same person. The system also supports the merging of duplicate pages, helping build unified records for common ancestors. Information about living people is restricted: details are automatically replaced with the term “Living,” reflecting the service’s privacy approach. The platform’s source pages provide bibliographic and access information, links to relevant records, space for research notes and reviews, and connections to associated person and family pages. Users can also create private-purpose MySource pages for items such as family Bibles, certificates, or other materials specific to their own research. Scans and images may be attached to relevant pages. Place pages are another major component of the service, documenting geographic names and historical context. Where available, they can include coordinates, maps, timelines, population history, images, research guidance, links to contained places, and connections to the Family History Library Catalog and Wikipedia. WeRelate also provides a family-tree explorer, pedigree maps extending to five generations, and tools for annotating images of documents or photographs. These features position the service between a genealogy database, a research-notes system, and a public knowledge project. Its collaborative model is intended to reduce duplication and encourage evidence-based discussion, although the quality of individual entries depends on contributor research and later review. The project has pursued partnerships and specialized research initiatives. In 2007, WeRelate worked with the University of South Florida’s Africana Heritage Project on a slave-genealogy research project supported by South Carolina’s Magnolia Plantation Foundation. The resulting information was incorporated into the broader genealogy collection. WeRelate was recognized by Family Tree Magazine in its lists of leading genealogy websites from 2008 through 2013 and was included in the publication’s 2023 selection of notable family-tree and sharing websites. The service’s identity remains that of a volunteer-supported, donation-funded genealogy reference and collaboration platform rather than a commercial genealogy subscription brand.

WeRelate originated within the Foundation for On-Line Genealogy, a nonprofit organization established to develop online tools and resources for family-history research. The project’s website and underlying software were developed in 2005 under the leadership of Dallan Quass, the foundation’s president, with assistance from Solveig Quass. It was released publicly in spring 2006 as a genealogy service built on MediaWiki. This choice gave the project a familiar collaborative-editing framework while allowing it to add genealogy-specific structures for people, families, sources, places, and uploaded family-tree data. From its beginning, WeRelate distinguished itself from services that simply let each user maintain a separate online family tree. Its stated objective was to connect information from different researchers into a shared, global genealogical record. Contributors can create and revise pages, attach evidence, link people and families to sources, and discuss or improve research. The system accepts GEDCOM files and creates person pages from their contents. It then offers likely-record comparisons so users can determine whether two entries represent the same individual. Duplicate pages can be merged, an important feature for consolidating records about recurring ancestors and relatives. The platform developed an extensive source-reference layer. Source pages describe records and repositories, provide access information and links, and offer room for research advice and review. Users may associate those pages with person and family records or create MySource pages for materials relevant to an individual research project. Scanned certificates, family-Bible pages, photographs, and other documentation can be attached to related entries. This emphasis on source linkage reflects WeRelate’s effort to make genealogy more verifiable and less dependent on unsupported family tradition. Place information became a second major part of the project. WeRelate’s place pages document locations relevant to family history and can connect them with catalog records and other reference resources. Depending on the available material, pages may contain coordinates, maps, historical timelines, population information, images, research tips, and links to places contained within a larger jurisdiction. This structure is useful for research involving changing place names, historical boundaries, migration, and the relationship between civil and religious records. Privacy protections are built into the site’s handling of recent people. Information about living individuals is not accepted as ordinary public biographical content; the software replaces such entries with “Living.” The service also provides tools for navigating the resulting body of information, including a family-tree explorer, annotated images, and pedigree maps covering up to five generations. WeRelate’s institutional relationships helped expand its genealogical scope. It has been supported by the Allen County Public Library’s Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which holds a substantial physical genealogy collection. In 2007, WeRelate and the University of South Florida’s Africana Heritage Project began a slave-genealogy research project supported by the Magnolia Plantation Foundation in South Carolina. Data from that work was incorporated into the wider genealogy collection, extending the project’s coverage of historically underdocumented family histories. The service also gained recognition in genealogy publishing. Family Tree Magazine named WeRelate among its top genealogy websites from 2008 through 2013 and later included it in a 2023 list of notable family-tree and sharing websites. These listings reflected its role as a free or donation-supported collaborative resource rather than a conventional commercial genealogy provider. WeRelate is funded through tax-deductible donations and managed with unpaid volunteer participation. Publicly available reference material does not establish a detailed chronology of later organizational changes, commercial ownership, or a current executive team. Its documented identity remains that of a nonprofit genealogy wiki designed to combine community editing, structured family-tree data, source documentation, and place-based historical research.

• 2023

  Included in Family Tree Magazine website selection

  [1]WeRelateen.wikipedia.org

  Family Tree Magazine includes WeRelate among notable family-tree and sharing websites.

• 2011

  More than two million person pages reported

  [1]WeRelateen.wikipedia.org

  The project reports having more than two million person pages by March 2011.

• 2007

  Africana genealogy research project

  [1]WeRelateen.wikipedia.org

  WeRelate partners with the University of South Florida’s Africana Heritage Project on slave-genealogy research, with support from the Magnolia Plantation Foundation.

• 2006

  Public launch

  [1]WeRelateen.wikipedia.org

  WeRelate launches in spring as a MediaWiki-based collaborative genealogy website.

• 2005

  Project development begins

  [1]WeRelateen.wikipedia.org

  The Foundation for On-Line Genealogy develops the WeRelate site and software under the leadership of Dallan Quass, with assistance from Solveig Quass.

A nonprofit, volunteer-driven genealogy wiki focused on building a shared, sourced global family-history record rather than maintaining disconnected private family trees.

• Genealogy database · 2006

  Person and Family Pages

  Collaborative pages for documenting individuals, relationships, and family groups. Users can edit records, link them to sources, compare possible duplicates, and merge pages when evidence indicates that entries describe the same person. The platform suppresses ordinary public details about living people by replacing them with “Living.”

• Research-reference tool · 2006

  Source Pages

  Pages that describe genealogical references and repositories, provide access information and links, and allow users to add reviews, research notes, and guidance. Person and family pages can be connected to relevant source pages, while MySource pages support references used primarily within an individual’s research.

• Geographic genealogy resource · 2006

  Place Pages

  Structured pages for locations relevant to family history. Depending on available data, they may include maps, coordinates, historical timelines, population information, images, research tips, contained places, and links to catalog or reference resources.

• Genealogy data tool · 2006

  GEDCOM Import and Matching

  A tool for uploading GEDCOM family-tree files and creating corresponding person records. WeRelate generates comparisons for likely matches, enabling contributors to assess whether records represent the same individual and to merge duplicates where appropriate.

• Genealogy visualization · 2006

  Family Tree Explorer and Pedigree Maps

  Navigation and visualization features for exploring connected family records, including pedigree maps showing up to five generations of genealogical data.

• Digital research archive · 2006

  Image Annotation and Attachments

  Tools for attaching scans and images to relevant pages and annotating photographs or primary-source documents for sharing with other researchers.

• 2007Africana Heritage and slave-genealogy research project

  United States

  WeRelate collaborated with the University of South Florida’s Africana Heritage Project to research slave genealogy and incorporate resulting information into the broader online genealogy collection. The Magnolia Plantation Foundation supported the initiative.

  Outcome. The resulting data was added to WeRelate’s global genealogy resources.

  Source

• 2006

  Launch a MediaWiki-based genealogy platformProduct launch

  Background

  The Foundation for On-Line Genealogy developed a dedicated online environment for collaborative family-history research.

  Action taken

  WeRelate launched publicly using MediaWiki software and added genealogy-specific pages and research tools.

  Aftermath

  The site became a nonprofit platform for shared genealogical records, source documentation, place research, and family-tree exploration.

  Source

• 2005

  Adopt a shared global-record modelStrategy

  Background

  The project was designed to support collaborative genealogy rather than maintain wholly separate personal family trees.

  Action taken

  WeRelate structured person, family, source, and place pages so that information from multiple researchers could be connected, reviewed, and consolidated.

  Aftermath

  The model became a defining feature of the service, including duplicate matching, page merging, source linking, and community editing.

  Source

1. 1WeRelateen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WeRelate official websitewerelate.org