Ok, now that we have gathered some information on our family, let’s put it down on paper and see what we already know.
You will need to complete a pedigree chart. A pedigree chart is like a road map. It organizes all the names in an order that allows you to quickly see where you are going and who you came from.
You will find many different styles of pedigree charts, but I would recommend that you keep it simple. Free pedigree charts are available from several sources. I am adding links to a few of those free sources. You will want a chart that will allow you to include birth place, and date; marriage place, and date; and death date and place. There are rules for how to write those statistics. It is important that you remember and abide by these rules:
Dates: Always must be written in this manner. 28 May 2009. You may abbreviate the month in 3 letters. The year must be complete. Before you know it you will be into the 1900’s and you do not want to confuse others by saying ’09 and others will not know if you intended 1809, 1909, or 2009. Do not use 05/28/09. Some individuals reverse the month and day and it is not always clear which is the month. Make the correct date order a habit quickly, and you will be glad you did.
Places: Each life event must include a City, County, State, & Country (if other than the US). If you are not sure of the county I have included a link for ways to determine the county. If your ancestor was born in a town that no longer exists, you may have a harder time determining the county. We will address tips on finding ghost towns later.
You will need to complete a pedigree chart. A pedigree chart is like a road map. It organizes all the names in an order that allows you to quickly see where you are going and who you came from.
You will find many different styles of pedigree charts, but I would recommend that you keep it simple. Free pedigree charts are available from several sources. I am adding links to a few of those free sources. You will want a chart that will allow you to include birth place, and date; marriage place, and date; and death date and place. There are rules for how to write those statistics. It is important that you remember and abide by these rules:
Dates: Always must be written in this manner. 28 May 2009. You may abbreviate the month in 3 letters. The year must be complete. Before you know it you will be into the 1900’s and you do not want to confuse others by saying ’09 and others will not know if you intended 1809, 1909, or 2009. Do not use 05/28/09. Some individuals reverse the month and day and it is not always clear which is the month. Make the correct date order a habit quickly, and you will be glad you did.
Places: Each life event must include a City, County, State, & Country (if other than the US). If you are not sure of the county I have included a link for ways to determine the county. If your ancestor was born in a town that no longer exists, you may have a harder time determining the county. We will address tips on finding ghost towns later.
Rootsweb Town/County Database: http://resources.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/townco.cgi
Let’s begin filling in the spaces on our chart. You are Number 1. Then your father is number 2, your mother is number 3. Extend the chart as far back as you can from what you know. Remember, the male line follows the upper track, while the female line follows the bottom track. Another way to remember it is, after the #1, the male is always an odd number and the female is an even number.
Free Pedigree Charts:
Non LDS chart –
http://www.byub.org/ancestors/charts/pdf/pedigree.pdf
LDS chart –
http://261.byu.edu/pdf/pedigreechart.pdf
From Ancestry.com
http://c.ancestry.com/pdf/trees/charts/anchart.pdf
You are on your way! The fun will soon begin as we learn how to research for sources and fill in the missing spaces.
Let’s begin filling in the spaces on our chart. You are Number 1. Then your father is number 2, your mother is number 3. Extend the chart as far back as you can from what you know. Remember, the male line follows the upper track, while the female line follows the bottom track. Another way to remember it is, after the #1, the male is always an odd number and the female is an even number.
Free Pedigree Charts:
Non LDS chart –
http://www.byub.org/ancestors/charts/pdf/pedigree.pdf
LDS chart –
http://261.byu.edu/pdf/pedigreechart.pdf
From Ancestry.com
http://c.ancestry.com/pdf/trees/charts/anchart.pdf
You are on your way! The fun will soon begin as we learn how to research for sources and fill in the missing spaces.
This is wonderful! Thank you for making it so simple. It's nice to know the details about dates and places, too.
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