Written by Generation Archives. This explains the chart itself. A printable four-generation version is on our site if you want a blank form, and the same layout appears in most genealogy software.
How to read a pedigree chart
A pedigree chart answers one question: who are this person's ancestors? It does not try to show every cousin. Once you know where the starting person sits, the rest of the page is a repeating pattern of parents.
The starting person is number 1
On a standard chart, the person you are tracing is at the left, or sometimes at the bottom. That person is number 1. Their father is number 2 and their mother is number 3. The father's parents are 4 and 5. The mother's parents are 6 and 7. The numbers double as you go back: a father's father is twice the child's number, and the mother is the next number.
You do not have to use the numbers. They are there so a second page can say "continued from person 8" without drawing the whole chart again. Four generations on one sheet is person 1 through person 15. That is you, two parents, four grandparents, and eight great-grandparents, if every slot is filled.
How to read a box
Each box is one person. A full box has a name, a birth date and place, and a marriage and death if they apply. Many boxes are half empty. An empty line means the compiler did not have that fact. It does not mean the event happened in the place printed on the line above.
Read across one generation before you jump to the edge of the page. Parents sit next to each other. On left-to-right charts, the father is often the upper of the two lines and the mother the lower. Check the labels. Forms differ, and some charts put the mother on top. The words "father" and "mother," or "parent," matter more than the habit.
Dates on older forms are often day, month, year, with the month written out or abbreviated. "12 Mar 1931" is 12 March 1931, not 3 December. A "c." or "abt" before a year means about. A question mark means the compiler was unsure. Keep the question mark when you copy the box into another tree.
What the chart leaves out
A pedigree is a direct line. Brothers and sisters of person 1 do not appear, except sometimes as a note. Brothers and sisters of the parents do not appear at all. A second spouse usually does not fit in the box. Adoption, step-parents, and guardians are awkward on a form that assumes two biological parents. If a chart shows only one pair of parents, do not assume that is the whole story of who raised the child. Ask, or look for a family group sheet, which has more room.
The chart also does not show why anyone believes the dates. A careful compiler cites sources somewhere else. A chart with no notes is a diagram, not proof.
Using one to see what you still need
Print or open a four-generation chart and fill only what you can say without guessing. The empty boxes are the list of people to ask about. When a box has a name and no place, that place is the next question. When you move the same people into software, the picture on screen may add siblings and second spouses that this one-page form never had room for. The chart and the full tree are answering different questions. The chart is the ancestors of one person. The full tree is the family.
Frequently asked questions
Why are there numbers in the corners?
So each person has a stable place. Person 1 is the subject. Even numbers in this system are often the fathers and odd numbers the mothers, after person 1. A continuation sheet uses the number instead of repeating the name.
Does the father always go on the top line?
On many printed forms, yes. Some software and some European charts swap the sides or the order. Read the heading in the box before you assume.
How is this different from a family group sheet?
A pedigree follows one person's parents, grandparents, and so on. A family group sheet is one couple and their children. Use both. The pedigree shows the line. The group sheet shows the brothers and sisters the pedigree skips.
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