Automating the Extraction of Genealogical Information from Historical Documents

Aaron P. StewartDavid W. EmbleyMarch 20, 2011

Part I: Vision

Current projects at the BYU Data Extraction Group

4

Goal: Search books for names

History of the Jones

Family scanner

George Jones

Original Document

Original Document

Original Document

Extracted Facts

NamesWilliam Gerard LathropMary ElyGerard LathropCharlotte Brackett JenningsNathan Tilestone JenningsMaria MillerMaria Jennings [Lathrop]Donald McKenzie [Lathrop]Anna Margaretta [Lathrop]Anna Catherine [Lathrop]

RelationshipsWilliam Gerard Lathrop : son of : Mary ElyWilliam Gerard Lathrop : son of : Gerard LathropWilliam Gerard Lathrop : m. : Charlotte Brackett JenningsCharlotte Brackett Jennings : dau. of : Nathan Tilestone JenningsCharlotte Brackett Jennings : dau. of : Maria Miller

Relationships (continued)Maria Jennings : child of : William Gerard LathropMaria Jennings : child of : Charlotte BrackettWilliam Gerard : child of : William Gerard LathropWilliam Gerard : child of : Charlotte BrackettDonald McKenzie : child of : William Gerard LathropDonald McKenzie : child of : Charlotte BrackettAnna Margaretta : child of : William Gerard LathropAnna Margaretta : child of : Charlotte BrackettAnna Catherine : child of : William Gerard LathropAnna Catherine : child of : Charlotte Brackett

Inferred Facts

NamesWilliam Gerard LathropMary ElyGerard LathropCharlotte Brackett JenningsNathan Tilestone JenningsMaria MillerMaria Jennings [Lathrop]Donald McKenzie [Lathrop]Anna Margaretta [Lathrop]Anna Catherine [Lathrop]

RelationshipsWilliam Gerard Lathrop : son of : Mary ElyWilliam Gerard Lathrop : son of : Gerard LathropWilliam Gerard Lathrop : m. : Charlotte Brackett JenningsCharlotte Brackett Jennings : dau. of : Nathan Tilestone JenningsCharlotte Brackett Jennings : dau. of : Maria Miller

Relationships (continued)Maria Jennings : child of : William Gerard LathropMaria Jennings : child of : Charlotte BrackettWilliam Gerard : child of : William Gerard LathropWilliam Gerard : child of : Charlotte BrackettDonald McKenzie : child of : William Gerard LathropDonald McKenzie : child of : Charlotte BrackettAnna Margaretta : child of : William Gerard LathropAnna Margaretta : child of : Charlotte BrackettAnna Catherine : child of : William Gerard LathropAnna Catherine : child of : Charlotte Brackett

Inferred RelationshipsMaria Jennings : grandchild of : Mary ElyMaria Jennings : grandchild of : Gerard LathropMaria Jennings : grandchild of : Nathan Tilestone JenningsMaria Jennings : grandchild of : Maria MillerWilliam Gerard : grandchild of : Mary ElyWilliam Gerard : grandchild of : Gerard LathropWilliam Gerard : grandchild of : Nathan Tilestone JenningsWilliam Gerard : grandchild of : Maria Miller…

Keywords

Chief Justice

Queries

• Is there a chief justice related to Mary Ely?• Who are the sons of Gerard Lathrop?• Who are the grandchildren of Mary Ely?

Part II: Implementation

Ontology Editor

Data Frame Editor

Rule Editor

Name Query

Name Query

Name Query

Name Query

HyKSS Indexing

HyKSS Indexing

Keyword Search

Keyword Search

Keyword Search

Relationship Search

Relationship Search

Inferred Relationship Search

Inferred Relationship Search

Maria Jennings is a grandchild of Mary ElyGrandchildOf(Maria Jennings, Mary Ely) :- Child-Parent(Maria Jennings, William Gerard Lathrop), Child-Parent(William Gerard Lathrop, Mary Ely)

Part III: Improvements

Extraction Tools

Need Better Extraction Results

From Packer et al., http://deg.byu.edu/papers/Ancestry_NAACL_HLT_Paper.pdf

------- Lists -------

Example of a Better Extractor(Margin Finder)

B\ liee (OCR error)

Buekman (OCR error)

Jobsph (OCR error)

Baseline errors

Baseline errors

Uuckkman (OCR error)

Charles. (OCR error)

Example of a Better Extractor(Margin Finder)

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 1LEVEL 1LEVEL 1LEVEL 1

LEVEL 1LEVEL 1

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 1LEVEL 1

LEVEL 1LEVEL 1

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 2

Need Annotation Tools

Credits

• Ontology Editor – Numerous past students• Data Frame Editor – Numerous past students• Rule Editor – Nathan Tate• Hybrid Keyword and Semantic Search (HyKSS)

– Andrew Zitzelberger

• This presentation contains both actual screenshots and mock-ups of projected results