nehgs-register

A LaTeX package for typesetting genealogical registers in the style of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register (NEHGS).

Features

• Person registry with key-value interface (\definepersonkv) and legacy positional interface (\defineperson).
• Computed generation numbers from parent links, with cycle detection.
• Numbered main entries (\mainperson) with ancestor chains.
• Child lists (children, childrenof environments) with parent validation.
• Continuation markers (\childref) for children who appear later as main entries — a core Register convention.
• Multiple marriage support (\addmarriage) with date, place, and spouse tracking.
• Vital records: birth, death, baptism, burial dates and places; occupation.
• Gender-aware pronouns (\HeSheThey, \himherthem, etc.) keyed to the sex field.
• Approximate date qualifiers (\circa, \before, \after, \between, \aboutdate, \probably, \say).
• Date formatting through datetime2 with ISO-8601 validation.
• Source citations (\registersource, \registerendnote).
• Automatic generation headings (\generationheading).
• Cross-references (\xrefperson) with hyperlinks.
• Index generation via imakeidx (optional).
• Validation (\checkperson, \checkregister) warns on missing or malformed data.
• NGSQ numbering option for Modified Register style.

Installation

From the package root:

l3build unpack

Or manually:

latex source/nehgs-register.ins

This extracts nehgs-register.sty from source/nehgs-register.dtx. Move the resulting .sty file to a directory searched by TeX.

To build the documentation:

l3build doc

To run the test suite:

l3build check

Quick start

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[en-US]{datetime2}
\usepackage[date=en-US,abbrevparents]{nehgs-register}

\definepersonkv{john-doe}{
  name      = {John Doe},
  preferred = {John},
  parents   = {},
  sex       = {M},
  birth     = {1820-03-15},
  birth-place = {Boston, Massachusetts}
}

\definepersonkv{james-doe}{
  name      = {James Doe},
  preferred = {James},
  parents   = {john-doe},
  sex       = {M},
  birth     = {1850-11-02}
}

\begin{document}
\begin{registersection}
\mainperson{john-doe} was born \getpersonbirthdate{john-doe}
in \getpersonbirthplace{john-doe}.

\begin{children}
  \childref{james-doe}{b.~\getpersonbirthdate{james-doe}.}
\end{children}

\mainperson{james-doe} was born \getpersonbirthdate{james-doe}.
\end{registersection}
\checkregister
\end{document}

Package options

Examples and tests

The examples/ directory is included in the CTAN archive and contains:

• getting-started.tex — introductory example with all major features
• minimal-register.tex — smallest working register
• multi-marriage.tex — person with two marriages and children from each
• stuart-register.tex — four-generation Stuart dynasty register

The repository-only testfiles/ directory contains l3build regression tests covering each feature area. It is intentionally excluded from the CTAN archive.

License

Copyright 2026 James P. Howard, II.

This work may be distributed and/or modified under the conditions of the LaTeX Project Public License, version 1.3c or later. See the LICENSE file for details.