We’re all familiar with our chart in the doctor’s office.
You know the one that contains our personal information like our height and
weight, our medical history, medications we may be on, etc. You know everything
on the chart because all that information helps make up who you are. Without
this information, the doctor wouldn’t have a clue about you.
The same goes for your family history. Without proper record-keeping,
people in your family won’t have a clue about you. How many times have you heard
people in your family say things like “I didn’t know you were born there”, “I
didn’t realize your mother/father was married before and had other children”, “I
didn’t realize your parents (or grandparents) names were…” The list of things
they don’t know about you/your family may go on and on. There are probably some
things you don’t know about yourself/your family because it has not been recorded.
The good news is there are two charts that can help you easily capture information
about your family – A Pedigree Chart (sometimes referred to as an Ancestral
Chart or Lineage Chart) and a Family Group Chart.
I attended a class hosted by a local genealogical society
where they explained various charts and how to complete them. The Pedigree Chart
deals specifically with you and who you descend from (parents, great grandparents,
and so on). #1 on the chart would be you (whether you are male or female). For
all other numbers on the chart, men are listed on the even numbered lines and
women are listed on the odd numbered lines. The Family Group Chart compiles
information on each family unit. For example: If you are one of five children
born to the same parents, you all would make up one family group and would be
listed on the group chart together. If either parent goes on to have additional
children, you would list that parent, their spouse, and their child(ren) on
another group chart because they make up another family group.
Some important things to remember:
1.
Dates should be recorded in the following format
– 26 January 1890.
2.
Locations should be recorded in the following
order – City (town or village) name, county, and state (within the U.S.); Local
name, province, country (for foreign countries).
3.
Use maiden names when recording information on
women.
4.
List full names if known
a. Only
use initials if full name isn’t known
b. Nicknames
should be noted in quotation marks
5.
Surnames should be capitalized so those names
can be easily distinguished among other names on the chart.
Happy searching! :-)
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