Autoresearch Genealogy

by reason-machines2384a003145aNo license83 starsListed Oct 8, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026Repository updated 3 months ago

Structured prompts, vault templates, and autonomous research workflows for AI-assisted genealogy using Claude Code.

Instructions onlyResearch & Analysis Productivity & Workflow

AI-generated overview

Provides prompts, Obsidian vault templates and methodology references for AI-assisted genealogy research.

What it does: Supplies a structured set of autoresearch prompts, a multi-file Obsidian vault starter kit with YAML frontmatter templates, country archive guides, methodology references and step-by-step workflows for family history research. It defines confidence tiers, source hierarchy, naming conventions and guard rails, and describes loops that search the web, update vault files and self-verify results. Deliverables are markdown prompt files, vault templates and reference documents rather than code.
When to use it: Use when setting up or running an AI-assisted genealogy research process, such as expanding a family tree, auditing sources, resolving discrepancies or organizing family documents. Also suited to building a structured Obsidian vault for family history with consistent templates and citation practice.
Requirements: No package manager or build step; the project is markdown and prompts only. It ships no scripts. Intended for use with Claude Code's /autoresearch command, and web research implies network access plus access to genealogy sites and records.

autoresearch-genealogy

Skill by ara.so — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

A structured system of autoresearch prompts, Obsidian vault templates, archive guides, and methodology references for AI-assisted genealogy research. Built for Claude Code's autonomous research loops, adaptable to any AI tool or manual workflow.

What This Project Does

Provides 12 Claude Code /autoresearch prompts that autonomously search the web, update your vault, and self-verify results
Supplies a complete 19-file Obsidian vault starter kit with YAML frontmatter and markdown templates
Includes 24 country/region-specific archive guides (Europe, Americas, Oceania, Jewish genealogy)
Offers 9 methodology reference documents covering confidence tiers, DNA guardrails, naming conventions, and source hierarchy
Defines 7 step-by-step workflows for OCR pipelines, oral history, discrepancy resolution, and phase planning

Installation

bash

# Clone the repositorygit clone https://github.com/mattprusak/autoresearch-genealogy.gitcd autoresearch-genealogy
# Copy vault template into your Obsidian vaultcp -r vault-template/ ~/path/to/your/ObsidianVault/genealogy/
# Or copy to any markdown editor foldercp -r vault-template/ ~/Documents/my-genealogy/

# Clone the repositorygit clone https://github.com/mattprusak/autoresearch-genealogy.gitcd autoresearch-genealogy
# Copy vault template into your Obsidian vaultcp -r vault-template/ ~/path/to/your/ObsidianVault/genealogy/
# Or copy to any markdown editor foldercp -r vault-template/ ~/Documents/my-genealogy/

No package manager or build step required — this is a pure markdown/prompt project.

Project Structure

autoresearch-genealogy/├── prompts/              # 12 autoresearch prompt files for Claude Code├── vault-template/       # 19-file Obsidian vault starter kit│   ├── Family_Tree.md│   ├── Research_Log.md│   ├── Open_Questions.md│   ├── templates/        # Person, certificate, postcard, region, etc.│   └── ...├── archives/             # 24 country/region research guides├── reference/            # 9 methodology documents├── workflows/            # 7 step-by-step process guides└── examples/             # 6 anonymized worked examples

autoresearch-genealogy/├── prompts/              # 12 autoresearch prompt files for Claude Code├── vault-template/       # 19-file Obsidian vault starter kit│   ├── Family_Tree.md│   ├── Research_Log.md│   ├── Open_Questions.md│   ├── templates/        # Person, certificate, postcard, region, etc.│   └── ...├── archives/             # 24 country/region research guides├── reference/            # 9 methodology documents├── workflows/            # 7 step-by-step process guides└── examples/             # 6 anonymized worked examples

Quick Start Workflow

Step 1: Seed your family tree

Open vault-template/Family_Tree.md and fill in what you already know, starting with yourself and working backward:

markdown

---title: Family Treelast_updated: 2026-03-19generations_documented: 3lines_active: 2---
# Family Tree
## Generation 1 (Self)- **Name**: Jane Smith (b. 1985, Chicago, IL)
## Generation 2 (Parents)- **Father**: John Smith (b. 1955, Detroit, MI)- **Mother**: Mary O'Brien (b. 1958, Boston, MA)
## Generation 3 (Grandparents)- **Paternal Grandfather**: Robert Smith (b. ~1920, unknown)- **Paternal Grandmother**: Helen Kowalski (b. ~1925, Poland?)

---title: Family Treelast_updated: 2026-03-19generations_documented: 3lines_active: 2---
# Family Tree
## Generation 1 (Self)- **Name**: Jane Smith (b. 1985, Chicago, IL)
## Generation 2 (Parents)- **Father**: John Smith (b. 1955, Detroit, MI)- **Mother**: Mary O'Brien (b. 1958, Boston, MA)
## Generation 3 (Grandparents)- **Paternal Grandfather**: Robert Smith (b. ~1920, unknown)- **Paternal Grandmother**: Helen Kowalski (b. ~1925, Poland?)

Step 2: Scan physical documents

Photograph or scan certificates, letters, postcards. Use the OCR workflow:

Step 3: Run autoresearch prompts in Claude Code

Step 4: Audit and verify

Autoresearch Prompts — Reference

Each prompt in prompts/ follows this structure:

markdown

## Goal[What this iteration should accomplish]
## Metric[Measurable success condition — e.g., "increase sourced person files from N to N+10"]
## Direction[Step-by-step instructions for the AI]
## Verify[Cross-check to run after each iteration]
## Guard Rails[What NOT to do — prevent hallucination, preserve source rigor]
## Iterations[How many loops to run before stopping for human review]
## Protocol[Output format, file naming, YAML fields to populate]

## Goal[What this iteration should accomplish]
## Metric[Measurable success condition — e.g., "increase sourced person files from N to N+10"]
## Direction[Step-by-step instructions for the AI]
## Verify[Cross-check to run after each iteration]
## Guard Rails[What NOT to do — prevent hallucination, preserve source rigor]
## Iterations[How many loops to run before stopping for human review]
## Protocol[Output format, file naming, YAML fields to populate]

All 12 Prompts

File	Purpose
`01-tree-expansion.md`	Push every branch back using web research
`02-cross-reference-audit.md`	Find and fix discrepancies between tree and sources
`03-findagrave-sweep.md`	Locate Find a Grave memorials for deceased ancestors
`04-gedcom-completeness.md`	Sync GEDCOM file with vault data
`05-source-citation-audit.md`	Verify every person has ≥2 independent sources
`06-unresolved-persons.md`	Identify and resolve unnamed people in documents
`07-timeline-gap-analysis.md`	Find life events where records should exist but don't
`08-open-question-resolution.md`	Systematically attack every open research question
`09-bygdebok-extraction.md`	Extract data from digitized local history books
`10-colonial-records-search.md`	Search pre-1800 colonial American records
`11-immigration-search.md`	Locate passenger manifests and naturalization records
`12-dna-chromosome-analysis.md`	Analyze per-chromosome ancestry data

Running a prompt in Claude Code

bash

# In Claude Code terminal or chat:/autoresearch prompts/08-open-question-resolution.md
# With a specific vault path context:/autoresearch prompts/03-findagrave-sweep.md --context vault-template/Family_Tree.md

# In Claude Code terminal or chat:/autoresearch prompts/08-open-question-resolution.md
# With a specific vault path context:/autoresearch prompts/03-findagrave-sweep.md --context vault-template/Family_Tree.md

Vault Template Files

Person file template (`vault-template/templates/person.md`)

markdown

---full_name: ""birth_date: ""birth_place: ""death_date: ""death_place: ""father: ""mother: ""spouse: ""children: []confidence: "Moderate Signal"  # Strong Signal | Moderate Signal | Speculativesources: []open_questions: []last_updated: ""---
# [Full Name]
## Life Events
| Event | Date | Place | Source ||-------|------|-------|--------|| Birth | | | || Marriage | | | || Death | | | |
## Sources
1. [Source 1 — type, repository, date accessed]2. [Source 2 — type, repository, date accessed]
## Open Questions
- [ ] Question 1- [ ] Question 2
## Notes
[Narrative summary, naming variant notes, contextual history]

---full_name: ""birth_date: ""birth_place: ""death_date: ""death_place: ""father: ""mother: ""spouse: ""children: []confidence: "Moderate Signal"  # Strong Signal | Moderate Signal | Speculativesources: []open_questions: []last_updated: ""---
# [Full Name]
## Life Events
| Event | Date | Place | Source ||-------|------|-------|--------|| Birth | | | || Marriage | | | || Death | | | |
## Sources
1. [Source 1 — type, repository, date accessed]2. [Source 2 — type, repository, date accessed]
## Open Questions
- [ ] Question 1- [ ] Question 2
## Notes
[Narrative summary, naming variant notes, contextual history]

Certificate transcription template (`vault-template/templates/certificate.md`)

markdown

---document_type: ""        # birth | death | marriage | baptismdocument_date: ""repository: ""file_reference: ""transcribed_by: ""transcription_date: ""confidence: ""---
# Certificate: [Type] — [Name] — [Year]
## Transcription
[Verbatim transcription of the document]
## Key Data Extracted
- **Subject**: - **Date**: - **Place**: - **Witnesses/Informants**: - **Officiant**: 
## Discrepancies
[Note any conflicts with other sources]
## Image
![[filename.jpg]]

---document_type: ""        # birth | death | marriage | baptismdocument_date: ""repository: ""file_reference: ""transcribed_by: ""transcription_date: ""confidence: ""---
# Certificate: [Type] — [Name] — [Year]
## Transcription
[Verbatim transcription of the document]
## Key Data Extracted
- **Subject**: - **Date**: - **Place**: - **Witnesses/Informants**: - **Officiant**: 
## Discrepancies
[Note any conflicts with other sources]
## Image
![[filename.jpg]]

Research log entry pattern (`vault-template/Research_Log.md`)

markdown

## 2026-03-19 — Tree Expansion Session
**Prompt run**: 01-tree-expansion.md  **Iterations**: 5  **Metric start**: 42 sourced person files  **Metric end**: 51 sourced person files  
### Searches Performed- FamilySearch: "Kowalski Poznan 1880–1920" — 3 results, 2 useful- Ancestry: "Smith Michigan census 1920" — found Robert Smith (b. 1919)- FindAGrave: "Helen Kowalski Detroit" — memorial #12345678
### Negative Results (Important)- No passenger manifest found for Stanislaw Kowalski, searched 1890–1910- No church records found for O'Brien line in Cork pre-1850
### New Open Questions- [ ] Was Robert Smith born in Michigan or Ohio? 1920 census says MI, 1930 says OH.

## 2026-03-19 — Tree Expansion Session
**Prompt run**: 01-tree-expansion.md  **Iterations**: 5  **Metric start**: 42 sourced person files  **Metric end**: 51 sourced person files  
### Searches Performed- FamilySearch: "Kowalski Poznan 1880–1920" — 3 results, 2 useful- Ancestry: "Smith Michigan census 1920" — found Robert Smith (b. 1919)- FindAGrave: "Helen Kowalski Detroit" — memorial #12345678
### Negative Results (Important)- No passenger manifest found for Stanislaw Kowalski, searched 1890–1910- No church records found for O'Brien line in Cork pre-1850
### New Open Questions- [ ] Was Robert Smith born in Michigan or Ohio? 1920 census says MI, 1930 says OH.

Confidence Tier System

From reference/confidence-tiers.md:

Strong Signal    — Two or more independent primary sources agreeModerate Signal  — One primary source, or two secondary sources agreeSpeculative      — Logical inference, DNA suggestion, or single secondary source

Strong Signal    — Two or more independent primary sources agreeModerate Signal  — One primary source, or two secondary sources agreeSpeculative      — Logical inference, DNA suggestion, or single secondary source

Apply confidence in every person file YAML:

Archive Guides — Key Countries

Each guide in archives/ covers:

Where to find records (free vs paid)
What AI tools can access directly vs what requires browser
Record types available by era

archives/├── ireland.md├── england-wales.md├── scotland.md├── norway.md├── sweden.md├── poland.md├── germany.md├── italy.md├── france.md├── spain-portugal.md├── netherlands.md├── austria.md├── hungary.md├── russia-ukraine.md├── usa-colonial.md├── usa-immigration.md├── usa-census.md├── usa-vital-records.md├── african-american.md├── canada.md├── mexico-latin-america.md├── australia-new-zealand.md├── jewish-genealogy.md└── ...

archives/├── ireland.md├── england-wales.md├── scotland.md├── norway.md├── sweden.md├── poland.md├── germany.md├── italy.md├── france.md├── spain-portugal.md├── netherlands.md├── austria.md├── hungary.md├── russia-ukraine.md├── usa-colonial.md├── usa-immigration.md├── usa-census.md├── usa-vital-records.md├── african-american.md├── canada.md├── mexico-latin-america.md├── australia-new-zealand.md├── jewish-genealogy.md└── ...

Example usage in a prompt:

markdown

# In prompts/09-bygdebok-extraction.md## DirectionConsult archives/norway.md for Digitalarkivet access patterns.Search Bygdebok collections for the Rogaland region, 1750–1900.

# In prompts/09-bygdebok-extraction.md## DirectionConsult archives/norway.md for Digitalarkivet access patterns.Search Bygdebok collections for the Rogaland region, 1750–1900.

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: New ancestor intake

When a new ancestor is found during research:

markdown

1. Create person file from vault-template/templates/person.md2. Set confidence based on source count3. Add to Family_Tree.md under correct generation4. Log the discovery in Research_Log.md5. Add unresolved questions to Open_Questions.md6. Run 02-cross-reference-audit.md to check for conflicts

1. Create person file from vault-template/templates/person.md2. Set confidence based on source count3. Add to Family_Tree.md under correct generation4. Log the discovery in Research_Log.md5. Add unresolved questions to Open_Questions.md6. Run 02-cross-reference-audit.md to check for conflicts

Pattern 2: Resolving a date discrepancy

markdown

# Open_Questions.md entry## Q-042: Robert Smith birth state conflict- 1920 census: born Michigan- 1930 census: born Ohio- Status: Unresolved- Next step: Run 07-timeline-gap-analysis.md targeting Robert Smith

# Open_Questions.md entry## Q-042: Robert Smith birth state conflict- 1920 census: born Michigan- 1930 census: born Ohio- Status: Unresolved- Next step: Run 07-timeline-gap-analysis.md targeting Robert Smith

Then in Claude Code:

Pattern 3: DNA-to-genealogy mapping

markdown

# In vault-template/Genetic_Profile.md---test_company: AncestryDNAtest_date: 2024-11-01ethnicity_summary:  - region: Eastern Europe    percentage: 38  - region: Ireland/Scotland    percentage: 31---
# Then run:/autoresearch prompts/12-dna-chromosome-analysis.md

# In vault-template/Genetic_Profile.md---test_company: AncestryDNAtest_date: 2024-11-01ethnicity_summary:  - region: Eastern Europe    percentage: 38  - region: Ireland/Scotland    percentage: 31---
# Then run:/autoresearch prompts/12-dna-chromosome-analysis.md

Pattern 4: Immigration research loop

bash

# Run immigration search prompt/autoresearch prompts/11-immigration-search.md
# Prompt will:# 1. Pull all foreign-born ancestors from Family_Tree.md# 2. Search passenger manifests (Ellis Island, Ancestry, FamilySearch)# 3. Search naturalization records (NARA, Ancestry)# 4. Update person files with ship name, arrival date, port# 5. Log negative results for each unresolved ancestor

# Run immigration search prompt/autoresearch prompts/11-immigration-search.md
# Prompt will:# 1. Pull all foreign-born ancestors from Family_Tree.md# 2. Search passenger manifests (Ellis Island, Ancestry, FamilySearch)# 3. Search naturalization records (NARA, Ancestry)# 4. Update person files with ship name, arrival date, port# 5. Log negative results for each unresolved ancestor

Reference Documents

File	Contents
`reference/confidence-tiers.md`	Strong / Moderate / Speculative definitions
`reference/source-hierarchy.md`	Primary vs secondary vs derivative sources
`reference/dna-guardrails.md`	What DNA can and cannot prove; centimorgan thresholds
`reference/naming-conventions.md`	Patronymics, farm names, Polish przydomki
`reference/gedcom-guide.md`	GEDCOM field reference and export instructions
`reference/common-pitfalls.md`	AI hallucination patterns in genealogy, date traps
`reference/glossary.md`	Record type definitions, Latin terms, abbreviations
`reference/ai-capabilities.md`	What AI can access directly vs what requires human
`reference/case-for-autoresearch.md`	Methodology rationale

Troubleshooting

AI is inventing sources

Set guard rails explicitly in your prompt session:

markdown

## Guard Rails (add to any prompt)- Do NOT fabricate census record URLs or Ancestry record IDs- If a source cannot be directly linked, mark as "reported" not "confirmed"- All new claims require a real URL or repository reference- When uncertain, add to Open_Questions.md — do not guess

## Guard Rails (add to any prompt)- Do NOT fabricate census record URLs or Ancestry record IDs- If a source cannot be directly linked, mark as "reported" not "confirmed"- All new claims require a real URL or repository reference- When uncertain, add to Open_Questions.md — do not guess

Vault files getting out of sync with GEDCOM

Run the completeness audit:

This compares every person in your GEDCOM against vault person files and flags mismatches.

Name variants causing duplicate person files

Check reference/naming-conventions.md for your family's relevant region. Common traps:

Norwegian farm name changes (Haugen → Bakke on emigration)
Polish name Latinization in church records (Stanisław → Stanislaus)
Irish anglicization (Ó Briain → O'Brien → Bryan)
Spelling variation in census records ("Sakkarias" vs "Zacharias" — both valid)

Add aliases to person file YAML:

markdown

---full_name: "Stanisław Kowalski"name_variants:  - "Stanislaus Kowalski"  - "Stanley Kowalski"  - "S. Kowalski"---

---full_name: "Stanisław Kowalski"name_variants:  - "Stanislaus Kowalski"  - "Stanley Kowalski"  - "S. Kowalski"---

Autoresearch loop running too long

Each prompt has an ## Iterations field. Set it explicitly:

OCR producing poor results on old documents

See workflows/ocr-pipeline.md. General guidance:

Photograph at 600 DPI minimum
Use even, diffuse lighting — no flash
Pre-process with a contrast adjustment before running OCR
Use vault-template/templates/transcription.md to record both the OCR output and your manual corrections side by side

Contributing

To add a new archive guide or prompt:

Follow the existing file structure and YAML frontmatter patterns
Use placeholder names in all examples (no real family data)
Open a PR with a brief description of what region or record type you've added

License: MIT

Source and attribution

Source:reason-machines/trending-skillsinskills/autoresearch-genealogyat commit2384a00

License: No license

Content belongs to its original authors. SourceWeft indexes it from a public repository.

Report or request removal

Autoresearch Genealogy

autoresearch-genealogy

What This Project Does

Installation

Project Structure

Quick Start Workflow

Step 1: Seed your family tree

Step 2: Scan physical documents

Step 3: Run autoresearch prompts in Claude Code

Step 4: Audit and verify

Autoresearch Prompts — Reference

All 12 Prompts

Running a prompt in Claude Code

Vault Template Files

Person file template (vault-template/templates/person.md)

Certificate transcription template (vault-template/templates/certificate.md)

Research log entry pattern (vault-template/Research_Log.md)

Confidence Tier System

Archive Guides — Key Countries

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: New ancestor intake

Pattern 2: Resolving a date discrepancy

Pattern 3: DNA-to-genealogy mapping

Pattern 4: Immigration research loop

Reference Documents

Troubleshooting

AI is inventing sources

Vault files getting out of sync with GEDCOM

Name variants causing duplicate person files

Autoresearch loop running too long

OCR producing poor results on old documents

Contributing

Source and attribution

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Person file template (`vault-template/templates/person.md`)

Certificate transcription template (`vault-template/templates/certificate.md`)

Research log entry pattern (`vault-template/Research_Log.md`)