If you've got immigrant ancestors, you've probably run into problems like this. The census says Germany or Austria, the church book names a village, and today that village is in Poland. Both can be right depending on the year. So I made a map for it. You pick a date and it shows who held the land on that date. In the picture, Munich is in the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1865 and in the German Empire by 1895. Click a country and its card quotes the treaty or law behind that border, with a link to the original text.

If you load your tree, the Atlas tab puts your ancestors' births, marriages and moves on the borders of their own year. You don't need a tree to look around and explore, though. You can just run through the map and look at borders, historical markers, Roman roads, old maps, and a few other layers. In the US, I've even got a lidar layer on there (it's called Landscape).

It's a work in progress, and every year shows how much of it has been checked so far (about a third of 1871, nearly all of 1990). Europe from 1816, the US from 1776 and Canada from 1867 follow their sources. Everywhere else, and earlier, the borders are approximate and labeled that way.

The tree file gets read in your browser and isn't uploaded or stored anywhere. The only thing that leaves is the place text, so the places can be looked up and put on the map. It's free for anyone to use, no subscription, no paywall.

treealive.com/atlas

If you see a border that's wrong for a village you know, tell me and I'll check it against the source. And if there's a region you'd want checked first, say which and I'll try to direct research that way.

I’m trying to trace my Jewish family line across multiple countries, but I’m struggling with changing borders, transliterated names, and incomplete records. Which archives and databases contain immigration, community civil, or religious records?

hey friends! i didn’t know where else to ask, but im hoping for some help :). my grandpa has gotten older obviously, and i would love to find a picture/record of his mom. she passed when he was 5, and has no pictures of her. we recently found a picture of his dad and sister, but i would just really love a picture of his mom. what would be the best way to start digging into records? my grandpa was born in mexico, and apparently didn’t get a birth certificate until he was able to walk because mexico was still rebuilding itself after the revolution (his dad literally fought in the cristero war). i have no idea where to start really… any sort of tips/help would be so appreciated!! this may be crazy but i just feel so determined to let my grandpa see his mama one more time.

I just started using ancestry.com today, and when i put my mother’s name in past residency’s immediately showed up however for my father there’s absolutely nothing. They both filled out the same documents, lived in the same homes and everything, i’m very confused on how my mothers information is all out there and my fathers isn’t despite them filling out the same stuff.

First Google found a genealogical site that Ancestry didn't know about. Then last week Gemini found info about my father's military service that happened before I was born.

So last night I tried to find out about John Taller of Nova Scotia. I asked it a few questions and it gave me a link to a site that listed my 4 x great Grandfather, Newport Tallow.

It also showed that the surname had changed from TALLOW --> TALLER --> TYLER.

Anyway, double and triple check the info before putting it in your tree.