Research Sources MCP Server

External genealogy source search for Claude Code via MCP

Search newspapers, WikiTree, Open Archives, and Find A Grave for family history research through Claude's Model Context Protocol.

Features

• 🗞️ Chronicling America - Search Library of Congress newspapers (1789-1963)
• 🌳 WikiTree - Collaborative genealogy tree integration
• 📚 Open Archives - Dutch, Belgian, and French historical records
• ⚰️ Find A Grave - Cemetery and burial records via FamilySearch collection
• 🔍 Cross-Reference - Search all sources in parallel

Installation

Via Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "research-sources": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/research-sources-mcp-standalone/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Via Docker

docker run -it research-sources-mcp

From Source

git clone https://github.com/ibarrajo/research-sources-mcp
cd research-sources-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Tools Available

Tool	Description
search_newspapers	Search Chronicling America newspapers by query, state, and date range
get_newspaper_page	Get full OCR text from a specific newspaper page
search_wikitree	Search WikiTree collaborative genealogy tree
get_wikitree_person	Get detailed WikiTree profile for a person
search_open_archives	Search European historical records (Dutch, Belgian, French)
search_findagrave_via_fs	Search Find A Grave burial records via FamilySearch collection
cross_reference_person	Search ALL sources in parallel for comprehensive research

Usage Examples

Search for an ancestor in newspapers

Ask Claude Code:

Search for obituaries for "John Smith" in California newspapers between 1920-1930

Claude will use:

search_newspapers({
  query: "John Smith obituary",
  state: "California",
  start_date: "1920-01-01",
  end_date: "1930-12-31"
})

Cross-reference across all sources

Ask Claude Code:

Search all available sources for Maria Garcia, born 1845 in Jalisco, Mexico

Claude will use:

cross_reference_person({
  given_name: "Maria",
  surname: "Garcia",
  birth_year: "1845",
  birth_place: "Jalisco, Mexico",
  sources_to_search: ["all"]
})

Find burial records

Ask Claude Code:

Find the grave for Antonio Lopez who died in San Diego around 1950

Claude will use:

search_findagrave_via_fs({
  given_name: "Antonio",
  surname: "Lopez",
  death_place: "San Diego",
  death_year: "1950"
})

Development

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/ibarrajo/research-sources-mcp
cd research-sources-mcp

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode
npm run dev

# Build
npm run build

# Run tests
npm test

# Run tests with coverage
npm run test:coverage

# Lint
npm run lint

# Format code
npm run format

Architecture

• TypeScript - Type-safe development with strict mode
• MCP SDK - Official Model Context Protocol integration
• SQLite - Local caching of search results for performance
• External APIs - No authentication required for most sources
  • Chronicling America API (Library of Congress)
  • WikiTree API
  • OpenArch.nl API
  • FamilySearch Collections (Find A Grave index)

Data Flow

Claude Code
    ↓
MCP Protocol (stdio)
    ↓
research-sources-mcp
    ↓
┌─────────────┬──────────────┬────────────┬──────────────┐
│ Chronicling │   WikiTree   │    Open    │ Find A Grave │
│  America    │              │  Archives  │   (via FS)   │
└─────────────┴──────────────┴────────────┴──────────────┘
    ↓
SQLite Cache (sources-cache.sqlite)

Tool Reference

search_newspapers

Search Chronicling America newspaper collection.

Parameters:

• query (required): Search terms (name, keywords)
• state (optional): US state abbreviation (e.g., "CA", "NY")
• start_date (optional): Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• end_date (optional): End date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• page (optional): Results page number

Returns: Array of newspaper articles with title, date, page, OCR text snippet, and URL

get_newspaper_page

Get full OCR text from a newspaper page.

Parameters:

• lccn (required): Library of Congress Control Number
• date (required): Issue date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• edition (optional): Edition number
• page (required): Page number

Returns: Full OCR text and metadata

search_wikitree

Search WikiTree collaborative genealogy tree.

Parameters:

• first_name (optional): Given name
• last_name (required): Surname
• birth_date (optional): Birth year (YYYY)
• birth_location (optional): Birth place
• death_date (optional): Death year (YYYY)
• death_location (optional): Death place

Returns: Array of matching WikiTree profiles with IDs and basic info

get_wikitree_person

Get detailed WikiTree profile.

Parameters:

• wikitree_id (required): WikiTree person ID (e.g., "Smith-12345")

Returns: Full profile with biography, relationships, sources, photos

search_open_archives

Search European historical records.

Parameters:

• first_name (optional): Given name
• last_name (required): Surname
• birth_year (optional): Birth year
• country_code (optional): Country (NL, BE, FR)
• source_type (optional): civil_registration, church_records, notarial_records

Returns: Array of matching records with links to images

search_findagrave_via_fs

Search Find A Grave burial records.

Parameters:

• given_name (optional): Given name
• surname (required): Surname
• birth_year (optional): Birth year
• death_year (optional): Death year
• burial_place (optional): Cemetery location

Returns: Array of Find A Grave memorial records with photos and GPS

cross_reference_person

Search all sources in parallel.

Parameters:

• given_name (required): Given name
• surname (required): Surname
• birth_year (optional): Birth year
• birth_place (optional): Birth place
• death_year (optional): Death year
• death_place (optional): Death place
• sources_to_search (optional): Array of source names or ["all"]

Returns: Aggregated results from all requested sources

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for development guidelines.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Credits

Built as part of the FamilySearch genealogy research system. Part of a suite of MCP servers for comprehensive genealogy research:

• familysearch-mcp - FamilySearch API integration
• tree-analyzer-mcp - Family tree analysis and error detection
• research-sources-mcp - External source search (this repository)

Links

• MCP Protocol Documentation
• Chronicling America API
• WikiTree API
• OpenArch.nl

Support

• Issues
• Discussions