Using Family Historian V7 from Calico Pie Ltd, there is an important distinction between PLACES and ADDRESSES that users should be aware of.
An ‘ADDRESS’ is a ‘set’ of information that has been adopted to indicate a reference to a specific place. Unless specified, the address will use the PLACE as part of the address especially where the Place is the name of the Post Town.
The word ‘PLACES’ refers to a place a which something happened, someone lived etc – that can be identified on a map. It can refer to a country, an area (as in a Registration District or Post Town) or a single point on a map.
Over time, a series of codes have been adopted to shorten placenames and make them easier to use. These started with the “Chapman Codes” and have developed into an international standard used within postal services and the internet.
I have chosen to use the following format for PLACES, as this aids in identifying them on internet based maps –
- Place Name,
- 2 letter Country code {based on the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 list},
- 3 letter code for county or council area {based upon the ISO 3166-2:GB list or that applicable to the country concerned}.
The following links explain the use of the different protocols used for PLACES within the UK and the codes in ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 will be used for places outside of the UK.