The Coming Web of Genealogical Data

The long-held dream of a single, global family tree is now within reach. What if users of different family tree websites could link to people, places, and events on other sites? What if everybody was, in fact, working on one tree? For various reasons this goal remains unrealized, though not for lack of effort. Fortunately, recent developments in the Semantic Web provide a sound technical and organizational foundation for achievement of this vision. In this paper I describe how Semantic Web technologies and the Linked Data philosophy have led to the emergence of a global Web of Data—and why stewards of genealogical data should care. I then suggest an integrated Semantic Web vocabulary for representation of genealogical data. Finally, I explain some of the benefits a Linked Data approach to genealogy can provide to users, and one way your website can join the Data Web.