Ancestor Research
Genealogy Research Pipeline
Only for Mac
Free
Mac
Search 7 genealogy sources, score evidence through a rigorous pipeline, and build a well-researched family tree — all from your Mac.
Ancestor Research is a genealogy app that combines your family tree with an automated research pipeline. Import your tree from WikiTree or GEDCOM, and the app searches seven historical record sources, scores every result through a rigorous evidence pipeline, and presents findings for your review.
RESEARCH PIPELINE
Search FreeBMD civil registration indexes, FreeCen census transcriptions, CWGC military casualties, Find a Grave memorials, England & Wales Probate Calendar, Wirksworth parish records, and FreeREG parish registers — all from one app. Every record is scored through four gates (name, date, geography, family context) and classified as fact, lead, or impossible.
EVIDENCE-BASED GENEALOGY
Built around the Genealogical Proof Standard. The app tracks source independence, evidence directness, and convergence across multiple sources. A birth confirmed by both FreeBMD and a parish register transcription scores higher than one source alone. GPS scoring shows how well-researched each profile is.
LIFE CLUSTERING
Search results are grouped into candidate lives — "here are 3 possible Thomas Lands, which is yours?" — rather than showing raw records. Each cluster has a confidence rating (strong, moderate, weak, ambiguous) based on evidence quality and internal consistency.
TREE VISUALISATION
Interactive pedigree and descendants views with ghost nodes for unknown ancestors. Navigate up through generations or down through descendants. Compact layout with spouse cards alongside their partners.
AUDIT & GAP DETECTION
18 audit rules check your tree for consistency errors (birth before death, impossible ages, self-spouse) and missing data (no birth date, no parents, no bio). Filter by issues or gaps to prioritise your research.
DISCOVERIES
The app surfaces findings you didn't ask for: household members from census records, maiden names from mother-in-law surnames, spouse identifications from marriage records, occupations, addresses, and military service.
LOCAL REASONING MODEL
Optional on-device AI using Apple Silicon — loads a reasoning model (DeepSeek-R1) to suggest research strategy, evaluate evidence clusters, draft biographical summaries, and disambiguate conflicting records. Runs locally, no cloud required.
PRIVACY
Your family tree data stays on your Mac. The app searches external genealogy sources but never uploads your tree — only search parameters (surname, given name, year range) are sent. The local reasoning model runs entirely on-device. No third-party AI APIs are used; no analytics or telemetry are collected.
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
The developer, DARRYL JAMES CAULDWELL, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- DARRYL JAMES CAULDWELL
- Size
- 16.7 MB
- Category
- Reference
- Compatibility
Requires macOS 26.2 or later.
- Mac
Requires macOS 26.2 or later.
- Mac
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Dreamfold