Place Codes for genealogists
It is important when recording places in records that
researchers are concise but precise. Ambiguity leads to
problems. Therefore in recording the place of an event
many researchers use place codes such as: Berwick on Tweed
NBL and Albrighton nr Wolverhampton SAL etc to clearly
identify places.
It is also appropriate to use the name of the place appropriate for the era. Thus in South Australia we would use Petersburg SA for Peterborough SA prior to WW1 or Queens Own Town SA for Finniss SA prior to 1940.
The existence of various country codes developed by different organizations can be confusing if you exchange goods or information in our ever more integrated world. To make sure that communication works you need an accepted, up-to-date country code standard. ISO 3166 is the commonly accepted International Standard, however, it does not fully meet the need of family historians:
• it is a current listing and researchers need past codes if we are to use the place as named at the time of the event.
• it does not cover counties/states or territories.
Some suitable alternatives include the Chapman Codes and locally developed codes but the user needs to be sure that the code used is unique. Some of these latter codes are also used by the International Standard.
The Chapman Codes were devised by Colin Chapman and relate to pre 1974 UK counties. Local codes refer to the multitude of other systems devised, sometimes as a result of the initial work by Chapman but more often for local postal services. To establish some uniformity users are encouraged to always print the codes in upper case as is the format of the International Standard.
The following database will allow you to locate the most appropriate place code or determine the meaning of a place code.
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