Pedigree Charts & Family Trees

Now that you are collecting family information you will need to become familiar with the charts and forms used in genealogy. The first is a pedigree chart or family tree. It is used a map to your genealogy research. Some pedigree charts are decorative and others are basic. For research purposes a basic chart is best.

The first person on the chart should be you. Next the chart branches into two. These spots should be filled with the names of your parents, with your male ancestor on the top and the female ancestor below. The tree then branches again from each parents' name. On the top lines you will write your paternal grandparents, on the next lines below you will write your materal grandparents. You should begin to see a surname pattern. Remember to use the maiden name for women. This is the surname that the women were born with.

Each group of lines represents a generation. You are the first generation, your parents are the second generation and your grandparents are the third generation.