Unlocking the Past: How MapWarper Enhances Genealogy Research—https://mapwarper.net/
by Elizabeth Hodges
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What if you could stroll down the same streets as your ancestors or pinpoint the location of the family farm from a century ago? Maps are an invaluable resource for family historians because they anchor our family’s stories in specific locations, highlighting the physical and societal landscapes that shaped their daily lives. MapWarper (https://mapwarper.net/) is a powerful, free tool that transforms the way researchers can view historical maps in relation to present-day landscapes. This free platform allows researchers to overlay historical maps onto modern ones, merging past and present into a striking visualization of the world our ancestors inhabited.
MapWarper is an open-source tool that digitally aligns ("warps") historical maps to match modern map coordinates. This process, known as georeferencing, involves adjusting the old map so its features align with those in contemporary satellite images or modern street maps using OpenStreetMap. Doing this gives researchers the ability to see changes over time such as shifts in boundaries, the development of land, as well as pinpointing the modern locations of places that no longer exist such as old roads, landmarks, farms, houses, or even entire communities that have been absorbed by cities. MapWarper can also be used to locate exact pieces of land ancestors owned or lived on by overlaying historical land ownership maps (plat maps) onto modern maps.
Using MapWarper involves several steps:
*Select a Historical Map: Start with a digital copy of a historical map. Many libraries and online archives offer collections of digitized maps that are suitable for georeferencing. Ideally, you will want to use a map that has a higher resolution for the best final product, but don’t let resolution stop you from testing MapWarper out!
*Upload and Warp: Upload the map to the MapWarper platform. Then, use the tool to align the historical map with corresponding points on a modern map. This might involve aligning road intersections, natural features, or building footprints.
*Overlay and Analyze: Once the maps are aligned, users can toggle between the historical and modern maps to analyze the geographical changes and gather insights relevant to their genealogical research.
MapWarper is more than just a digital tool; it’s a bridge connecting the past and the present. For genealogists, it offers a powerful way to help us see beyond names and dates, transforming abstract family histories into tangible, relatable stories.
For a detailed tutorial on how to use MapWarper:
https://youtu.be/EIZj67YgOXE?si=zuS9B3Mxizhkx-T2
https://programminghistorian.org/en/lessons/introduction-map-warper
FREE map resources:
https://www.davidrumsey.com/
https://www.oldmapsonline.org/
https://www.loc.gov/maps/
https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps/about-this-collection/
https://www.leventhalmap.org/
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/lane/maps-atlases
http://digital-library.usma.edu/digital/collection/civmaps/search/searchterm/maps/field/all/mode/all/conn/and/order/nosort/ad/asc
https://alabamamaps.ua.edu/
https://maps.lib.utexas.edu/maps/map_sites/hist_sites.html
https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/
https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Maps
https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/maps
