Family Tree Maker software - Message Boards - Ancestry

Database design is my specialty. The obvious starting point for a data_table of "Places" regardless of type (cemetery, grave, home, farm, historical and geographical landmark, etc) and the exact co-ordinates of that location is:

place_id, place_description, place_desc_date, place_lat, place_long.

This would then give use the ability to enter for example:
Oslo 2001 and get the same place as Christiania or Kristiania 1900. Or where the name of a cemetery changes over time.

But a far better mapping tool would be to use spatial geometry (polygon shapes) to define places (like country, state, county borders) based on a from/to date so we can place a town that was in Germany before the Treaty of Versailles and in France after the Treaty.

nick young south dakota state long beach state beasley trailblazers michael beasley jermaine jones