A pedigree chart is a chart that is meant to record a person's ancestors. It has a space to write each ancestor's name, as well as space to record critical information about his or her life. There is typically a line for the birth date and location, death date and location, and marriage date and location.

Typical Uses

Pedigree Charts include an extremely detailed view of one's ancestors by providing space for vital information concerning each individual on the chart. It can be an excellent and well organized resource when doing genealogy work because it is a lot of information in one place and each name on the sheet is also numbered so that it can be easily written out as a document.

Best Practices

• Start your chart. Begin by placing a line at the far left of your paper. This will be the starting point of your chart.
• Create Branches. Beginning with the first line, connect two more lines to it so that they branch out to the right. From there add two more branches to each you've already created for as many generations as you would like.
• Choose a primary individual. The primary individual is the person you are creating the chart for. Place his or her name on the first line.
• Add ancestors. Fill in each of the other lines you added by writing down the names of the primary individual's parents on the two lines connected to the first line. Then add their parents and so on until the entire chart is filled in, or until you don't know any more ancestors.
• Add information. Underneath the line containing each ancestor's name write in his or her information. Depending on what the chart requires, or what you wish to include, you may record his or her birth date and location, death date and location, and marriage date and location.
• Numbering. The Ahnentafel numbering system is commonly used with pedigree charts. It entails placing a one next to the first name, a 2 next to his or her father, a 3 next to his or her mother and then a 4 next to the father's father, a 5 next to the father's mother, a 6 next to the mother's father, and a 7 next to the mother's mother, and so on.
• Continue the chart. Continue adding names and generations to your chart as you find more ancestors.