Ancestry Pedigree Chart
An ancestry pedigree chart serves as an outline of your genealogy information. It is to organize your family relationships and dates. The ancestry pedigree chart starts with you and is for your direct ancestors only. Most of these charts cover four generations, including space for names, dates, places of birth, marriage and death for each individual. It is also a tool to easily see information you are lacking.
 |
While the ancestry pedigree chart identifies your direct ancestors and organizes information you have collected, the family group sheets holds the information on your direct ancestor’s families. You can either print out your own charts to work with, purchase software for your computer or sign up on one of the websites the internet has to offer.
Let me give you a little understanding of how you keep your ancestry pedigree chart in order. Start your chart (which will be chart #1) by putting your name in the first line or #1 on the chart. Keep in mind that the male line continues on the upper track, while the female line continues on the lower line. As in the Ahnentafel numbering system, the males are assigned even numbers and the females are assigned odd. Now back to your ancestry pedigree chart. Your father will be entered on line two, making him #2 and your mother will be #3. Your fathers, father will be #4, your father’s mother #5 and so. Like I mentioned earlier, the most common pedigree chart holds four generations. So you will end up with your father’s, father’s, father on line eight making him #8 on the chart. Now that chart #1 is full, you will need to begin a new chart for each of the individuals last on your chart. So your great grandfather who is #8 on your first chart will begin as #1 on chart #2. His wife who is #9 on chart #1 will begin as #1 on chart #3. Make sure reference the previous chart on each additional chart you make. That all may have sounded a little confusing, but not to worry, once you get started it will all make sense.
|
In case you are a new genealogy researcher, I wanted to explain a little about the Ahnentafel numbering system. The word Ahnentafel is German for Ancestry table. Ahnen (ancestor) tafel (table). It is based on numbers assigned to individuals on an ancestry pedigree chart. The Ahnetafel chart also includes the full name of your ancestors, dates and places of birth, marriage and death whenever known. Once you get familiar with the ahnentafels it actually becomes very easy to read and to understand the relationships of the listed people. Like I mentioned before, in this numbering system the males are always even numbers and the females are always odd. What I haven’t mentioned is that the number of the father is always double that of his child. The number of the mother is always double plus one. For example, you being #1 on the chart and your father would be double, which would be, #2. Your mother would be double plus one, #3. If you were person #6, your father would be #12 and your mother #13. Now the child is always one-half of the parent’s ignoring any remainder. So if #22 and #23 had a child, that child would be #11.
Now if that wasn’t a good enough explanation, don’t be discuraged and don't worry about a thing. Once you actually get familiar with it all, it will come easy.
|
|