Build a generation-by-generation ancestry report

Why use this

1. A family historian may have a large tree file whose generations are difficult to follow in a readable narrative. Conflicting parent links can disappear when a report silently chooses one branch.

2. This job could expose the structure of the supplied records while making unresolved alternatives visible. A numbered report gives the researcher a practical review aid for deciding which relationships need documentary work next.

Why an agent / simpler alternative

Useful judgment

Follow ancestry links, detect conflicting branches and explain ambiguity without choosing a biological relationship by intuition.

Simpler alternative

Use an existing genealogy report when the tree is small and all parent links are settled.

Unsuitable when

The request asks the agent to establish biological ancestry or disclose living relatives without authorization.

Proposed inputs

1. Name

   GEDCOM copy

   Owner

   Tree owner

   Minimum scope

   Authorized subset around a chosen root

   Quality check

   Check file version, identifiers and living-person scope

2. Name

   Root and report brief

   Owner

   Researcher

   Minimum scope

   Root identifier, depth and conflict preferences

   Quality check

   Disambiguate repeated names using record IDs

Access and setup — proposed or unknown

Proposed minimum

1. Read a protected copy and write a separate report; no online family-tree account is needed initially.

Compatibility unknowns

1. Parser support, nonstandard GEDCOM tags and exact runtime compatibility are unknown.

External actions requiring approval

1. Sharing living-person or minor data, uploading the tree or changing relationships requires explicit approval.

Expected deliverable and review checks

Proposed artifact

Generation-numbered ancestry draft with source IDs and clearly separated alternative branches.

Critical checks

1. Preserve uncertain links; check numbering, repeated ancestors and missing parents; avoid inventing dates or relationships.

Missing output evidence

This overlay adds no new output inspection, execution or validation; consult the referenced canonical source outcome limits.

Failure signals and proposed responses

1. Signal

   A record points back to its descendant

   Why it matters

   Traversal could loop or distort generations

   Proposed response

   Stop that branch and report the conflicting IDs.

2. Signal

   Two parent families are silently collapsed

   Why it matters

   The report hides the research problem

   Proposed response

   Display alternatives without declaring one correct.

Effort and cost — unknown

Setup work

1. Identify the root and define privacy exclusions.

Ongoing review

1. Review relationship conflicts and document source corrections.

Unknowns

1. File cleanup, unusual-tag handling and tool costs are unknown.

First check — proposed, unexecuted

Status

proposed_unexecuted

Synthetic fixture

Invent a small tree with a repeated ancestor, an unknown parent and two conflicting parent-family links; use fictional people only.

Acceptance checks

1. Number generations consistently; show both alternatives; label missing relationships; preserve supplied IDs.

Stop conditions

1. Stop if parsing drops a relationship or a living person's private data would enter a shared output.

Limits

1. Use the canonical outcome limitation when displaying this record; structural reporting does not resolve genealogical evidence disputes.