Visual Your Ancestral Line With a Pedigree Chart
Visual Your Ancestral Line With a Pedigree Chart
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Visual Your Ancestral Line With a Pedigree Chart
A pedigree chart is a great tool for helping you to visualize who is on your ancestral line and how they are related. You may not have all the details to complete a pedigree chart at first, but starting with what you know about your ancestors will help you see the information you are missing.
Free Charts
The most basic type of pedigree chart covers four to five generations. Most family history databases such as PAF 5.2 and PAF Companion, available for free at familysearch.org, allow you to print a pedigree chart with photographs and other genealogical forms. A five generation pedigree chart is also available for free at familytreemagazine.com
Recording Names
If you complete a pedigree chart for yourself, your name should be recorded in the number one position. Always record females using their maiden names. Record your father’s name in the number two position on the chart, and the top portion of the chart will be for recording your paternal ancestors. Your mother goes in the number three position and your maternal ancestors should be recorded on the bottom half of the chart.
Recording Dates
When you record dates on genealogical forms like a pedigree chart, you should always record the day of the month first, the month, and then the year. This means birth, marriage, and death dates should look like this:
B. 4 Oct 1803
M. 14 November 1827
D. 3 April 1882
Recording Places
The format for recording places is as follows:
city, county, state
Example:
Champaign, Champaign, Illinois
Make sure each level of government is represented. This will make it easier for you to identify further resources to document your ancestors.
How to Discover More
All information that you record on the pedigree chart should be accurate, and you should reference sources. After you complete the chart and you notice that you still are missing information about your ancestors, select one person who you would like to learn more about. You can discover more about the ancestor you choose by doing the following:
After you have completed your pedigree chart, share it with other family members. Hopefully, very family member will be able to see the ancestor from which you both descend.