heraldic tree. How to make a genealogical tree of your family. Best Family Tree Templates for Students

By tracing them, you can learn a lot about yourself and adjust your own destiny. Even for those who still think little about their own origin, this information will be useful at least at the level of determining genetic predispositions to diseases.

But collecting and correctly arranging information about your relatives is very difficult. In this article, we will talk about how to correctly compile a genealogical (pedigree) family tree with diagrams, examples and templates.

What is a family tree

A family tree is a conditional diagram that describes family ties within the same family. It is quite often depicted as a real tree. Next to the roots is usually the ancestor or the last descendant, for which the scheme is drawn up, and on the branches there are various lines of the genus.

In ancient times, the preservation of knowledge about one's origin was a direct necessity for everyone. Already in Neolithic times, people knew that closely related marriages lead to unviable children. Therefore, men took wives for themselves in neighboring villages, clans and tribes. However, sometimes it was required to preserve some qualities within the line, and then people chose brides and grooms from a limited circle. But in both the first and second cases, the knowledge of one's ancestors was mandatory.

Blood (blood relationship) in the past meant not only the presence of family ties, but also a certain psycho-emotional community, and in relation to representatives of the same family, the range of expectations from people was quite close.

This behavior is justified. Have you noticed that there are families, representatives of different lines and generations of which themselves choose close directions of development. There are families in which everyone is connected with art, and there are those where, for generations, every second person has a penchant for engineering. And the point here is not only in education, but also in the features of the functioning of the body. Genetic predisposition manifests itself not only in diseases, but also in the talents of representatives of the related line.

The system of childbirth was also supported by the social structure. Most societies go through stages first of the caste, then the estate, then the class system. And marriages in them are usually arranged within their social circle.

The family history can shed light on many personal values. A lot is laid in a person in the very early age on the example of the relationship of his parents and their relatives: patterns of behavior, structure of thinking, habits and words. But inheritance is not always direct. The study of the history of the family and the reconstruction of the family tree contributes to the self-identification of the individual, allows you to realize your personal foundations. This is beneficial for both the individual and the family as a whole. The very process of collecting information and processing it will be useful for establishing contact between relatives.

There are several methods for compiling a family tree:

Ascending. Here the chain is built in the direction from the descendant to the ancestors. The schema compiler acts as the initial element. The method is convenient for those who have just started studying their family. The compiler has information mainly about his closest relatives: parents, grandfathers, grandmothers, etc. - and gradually delves into the past.

Downward. In this case, the chain has the opposite direction. One ancestor (or spouse) acts as the beginning. For such a construction, you need to have sufficiently extensive information about your relatives.

When compiling a family tree, you need to take into account the lines of inheritance. They are of two types:

Straight branch. The chain includes you, your parents, their parents, etc.

Side branch. It takes into account your brothers and nephews, grandparents' brothers and sisters, great-grandparents, etc.

These schemes - ascending and descending with straight and lateral branches - can be compiled both as a mixed one: for both men and women of a kind, and for tracking inheritance only by the kind of father or mother.

The family tree can be formatted as follows:

The branching interposition we are used to, which is often supplemented with a tree pattern. Suitable for designing genealogical charts of any complexity.

You will draw your child's ascending family tree in this style.

Make a wonderful gift for a distant relative by depicting a common ancestor as the initial figure on the diagram and building a descending system of connections from all cousins and second cousins from him.

Make the drawing look like hourglass. This option is suitable for older relatives: grandfathers or great-grandfathers. Take them as key figures and make a genealogical family tree of these members of your family, combining descending and ascending diagrams in the figure - parents and descendants.

The "butterfly" scheme is inherently quite close to the "clock" option. Her starting point is the spouses, on both sides of them are the ascending family trees of their parents, and at the bottom is the descending one.

There is another option for building a structure. It is not common in Russia, but allows you to create a fairly complete description of family ties. This is the so-called circular table. It is also capable of accommodating an ascending and descending description of the genus.

For simple circuits you can take as a basis a quarter of a circle - the "fan" scheme.

There is an option for designing an ascending or descending structure in the form of concentrated circles in which ancestors or descendants are entered.

Or, the circle can be divided and a genealogical tree of the genus can be compiled, combining both directions of the family in a similar way to the clock pattern.

Any of the described options can be supplemented with photographs and notes.

How to make a genealogical tree of a family on your own

Research is better to start with the family archive. See if you still have old photographs and official documents of your older relatives. Documents will be especially useful: marriage or birth certificates, diplomas, certificates, work books, - since it is with their help that it is easiest to start searching in the archive. All papers and photographs should be scanned, saved somewhere in digital format and used in the future. And return the originals to their place so as not to lose these important evidence.

The next important step is to interview relatives. And since relatives are not eternal, it is not worth delaying with him. In order not to overwork the elderly and not get confused yourself, it is important to outline the range of issues in advance. For example, when we are compiling a family tree of a family, we should be interested in information:

When and where were born certain relatives.
Where and when did they work?
Time and place of study.
Who and when did you marry.
How many children did they have, their names and dates of birth.
If relatives died, it is worth knowing when and where it happened.

As you can see, from the point of view of further searches, the most important information from the list is the place and time of certain events. Knowing them, you can contact the archives for documents.

But from the point of view of the family, it is much more important to hear stories about the life of your loved ones. Each family keeps its traditions, in each there was something worthy of the memory of generations. Therefore, do not neglect long conversations about the past.

When collecting oral information, it is worth using a voice recorder so as not to miss a single detail.

It is important to structure all the information received correctly and quickly, otherwise you will simply get confused in the intricacies of your family ties. You can store information on paper in folders related to each family line. Or create a separate folder on your computer where you will place files about each of the relatives.

Some people study their ancestry for years, gradually deepening their knowledge of their relatives in direct and indirect lines.

But you can make the initial stages of the process faster, invite your family to participate with you in this important matter. If several people, each in their own line, make a list of the next of kin with names, photographs and dates, and then combine all this information into a single scheme, you can get a family tree several generations deep in just a few months. In addition, such a decision will help to establish communication between the individual branches of the family.

Services and programs that help build a family tree

Gathering information about relatives is a difficult task. Simply because with each generation, the number of people to collect information about will increase exponentially. Even when using the ascending scheme, taking into account only direct branches, by the seventh generation you will have 126 ancestors.

Registration and storage of all this information using paper media is inconvenient. It is much easier to use electronic databases. You can create the necessary files yourself in Excel or Access. Or use specialized programs that are initially configured in such a way as to make it as easy as possible to compose information in your family, display and display it in a beautiful and understandable form.

There are many Internet services on pedigree topics. They will correctly compile your family tree, help with finding information about relatives, and provide design samples.

Some of them provide an opportunity to create a diagram of your kind online. On them, after free registration, you need to enter information about each relative, indicate his family ties, provide photos, and the service itself will graphically build the necessary structure.

There are more professional sites with more settings. They automatically conduct additional analysis of the surname and even look for information in the archives.

A convenient solution, but, unfortunately, such services exist for a relatively short time, usually about 5 years, after which you will most likely lose access to the entered information.

For deeper work, it is better to use special programs that work independently of the Internet. They are paid and free. The latter have more limited functionality.

Or contact a special company involved in genealogy, with its help to find information about your family ties, and beautifully arrange their family tree or

The issue of compiling a genealogical family tree has always been considered relevant. However, few people try to solve it on their own. They are afraid of not knowing their genealogy, which is a big mistake. Without understanding anything in this matter, you can try to solve it. Why is this necessary, you ask?

First, to know the history of a kind. Secondly, it is a way to find out about all your relatives. Perhaps one of your ancestors was a great scientist, a famous politician, or just a popular person. And why not: satisfy your curiosity. Consider below the solution to the question: how to correctly compose a family tree of the family.

How to make a family tree

In the era of technological development, it is not difficult to make a family tree. You need to go to the Internet, select the necessary program and install it on your computer. Good feedback received the "Tree of Life" program, which reveals in detail all the technology, how to correctly compile a family tree.

Tree of Life program

So what's the first step to take? Start with yourself. Open the downloaded program for compiling a family tree, enter data about yourself into it, then about your immediate environment. Complete the information provided with photographs. It happens that the known data is too little. Then you should go to a meeting of a personal nature. If you have a voice recorder, take it with you.

The meeting should be individual, everyone should not be gathered together, this can lead to controversy, a long discussion. Unnecessary conversations, noisy disputes will only take time, upset the nerves, make it difficult, and not help, to find the answer to the question: how to correctly draw up a family tree.
Start your survey with the older generation. They have a lot of knowledge. Old people will plunge deeply into the past. For efficient use of time, so as not to overwork them, make a list of questions in advance. An example of a questionnaire might be:

place, date of birth;
when, where did you study;
where and when they worked;
with whom they were in a marriage relationship;
how many children, their names, dates of birth;
where, when he died, if someone is no longer alive;
and so on in the same way.

If someone has skype, communication can be built using this program. This will save time. And yes, it's not always possible to visit everyone. By communicating along the chain, moving from one to another, you can find all the relatives. If some data is missing, there is always the Internet. You just need to know who to look for information about.

Respondents themselves can provide good help in finding all relatives. The story about the family tree should interest them, I think everyone is interested in learning how to correctly compose a family tree.

There are times when many relatives have died, then the employees of the archives will provide assistance. You can make a request there via the Internet or go and dig through the papers on the spot.

All information received must be carefully checked so that no mistake occurs, since there are many namesakes.

So, the material necessary for work has been collected, you can begin to build a family tree diagram. When using the downloaded program, follow the suggested prompts. When you decide to do without the help of the program, to do everything yourself, think about your work plan, the principle that you will follow.

There are several options for building a family tree diagram:

on the father's side;

Paternal scheme

from the mother's side;
descending tree;
ascending tree.

Upstream scheme

You can build a pedigree in the form of a tree or a table.

When everything is thought over, take a drawing paper and get to work. The one for whom the scheme is being drawn up should be placed in the center. Divide the sheet into two parts, leave the left for relatives on the father's side, the right for relatives from the mother's side. Under each last name, glue a pocket or an envelope where you put notes about this person, additional photographs.

Family tree variant

When they took up the scheme along the ascending line, and chose its appearance in the form of a tree, then the main person will symbolize the trunk. Branches extend from it in different directions. Large ones are parents, those that are smaller are grandparents. On each leaflet, you can put a certain person. Fantasy when creating a tree has no boundaries. The main thing is to preserve the accuracy of the data, not to distort it.

Before starting work, you need to carefully consider everything, study this issue from all sides. Then such work can easily turn into a hobby.

Any person has ever thought about the origin of his family. The issue of creating a pedigree is decided individually. However, many believe that those who respect and honor their ancestors live much longer. Also, for religious reasons, people are trying to learn more about relatives and determine whether it is necessary to repent before God for their sins in order to improve their lives. An important role is played by the factor of health or genetic predispositions to diseases.

Types of pedigrees, ideas for a pedigree tree

There are two main types of pedigrees: ascending and descending.

First starts building from you and moves on to information about your distant relatives. As a rule, then comes the father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc.
Head of the second kind is the oldest founder, and then all his descendants are listed, including you. Such a pedigree helps to take a broad look at the genus, its activities over many times.

There are other types of pedigrees:

Male ascendant. Usually it includes only males. It will look like a line. Such a pedigree helps to establish a connection with a historical figure or famous person of the past.
Mixed ascending. Here you can specify both men and women. Persons of different genera, different surnames are presented in geometric progression - first 2, then 4, then 8, 16, etc.
Descending male. An ancestor is chosen and strings “stretch” from him to the very young man of this kind.
Mixed descending. Both men and women can also indicate. This species covers several genera and surnames.

According to the type of design, a pedigree can take several forms:

You can choose any species you like and create your own individual pedigree. The most popular is the family tree. It is drawn up not only on paper, but also on the walls of a room at home.

How to find out the pedigree of your family - step by step instructions

To quickly draw up a pedigree, you should follow the instructions:

Conduct a survey. Ask relatives and acquaintances, neighbors who know your family about places of residence, class affiliation, places of work, study of ancestors. Perhaps they will remember appearance(if there is no photo), character, habits, etc. The value of conducting a survey is obvious. You will learn about initials, dates of birth, death, but at the same time you will understand what kind of person your great-grandfather was.
Polls are best conducted with a voice recorder. You can not write down everything after listening to the story.
Explore family records. Photos, diaries, letters, and even notes can point you to relatives you didn't know about. All papers can help you determine who your ancestors were by profession, how they lived, at what time.
Make an approximate family tree, table , distributing the information received into two branches or columns - the maternal and paternal lines. Enter all dates of birth, initials.
Examine the directories located in the archive state fund. Information about your archive is here: rusarchives.ru. The documents located in the archive will help you determine the class to which your relatives belonged, the position held. You will also find out if the ancestor was awarded, had honorary title. In addition, in the fund you can find new information in the form of audio or video recordings, photographs.
To apply to the fund, you must have permission from the municipality, it is the administration that must send you to a specific archive - first the regional, then the federal.
Contact the library in your area . They usually provide search literature, archival documents, newspapers and other information and reference publications.
Visit local museums they may contain new information about your relatives.
Contact archivists, search engines, bibliographers, historians.

Building a pedigree is hard work. It takes a lot of time and effort. You can contact to a private organization who will do all the research for you.

Don't forget there is non-state archival funds , dealing specifically with the collection of information and information about people of the past. In such companies, for a fee, they can also help you find any data.

Useful programs, websites and books for compiling a pedigree - can it be done online?

We list the sites that will help with the compilation, design of the family tree:

All-Russian genealogical tree (VGD). It has its own collection of information about people of the past living in Russia. There are also articles to help you search. Website: www.vgd.ru
Genealogia.ru- includes historical data and information about Russia. There is also a program on the site that can help you arrange your pedigree.
Center for Genealogical Research (CGI) . This site - rosgenea.ru - has created a unique collection of documents, directories, lists of records by service, land ownership, registration, chronology, estates, geographical indicators. Communication takes place on the forum, where registered users will be able to suggest something new to you.
Official site of the Russian Nobility Assembly (RDS). This non-political organization has 70 regional unions, which store information about the descendants of Russian noble families. Website: www.nobility.ru
In the so-called family social network familyspace.ru - you can not only find lost relatives, but also communicate with people who may have known your ancestors. The site contains electronic city and military directories that help in creating an online pedigree.
A similar social network project is genway.ru. You can get acquainted with historical facts, determine the meaning of a surname, chat with friends who might know relatives, and also create your own tree online.

And here are some free programs that help design and compile pedigrees:

The Tree of Life - genery.com. You can create a tree, calculate the degree of relationship, save data, photos, videos and other information about the life and activities of relatives.
family chronicle - drawing up a pedigree is very colorful in the form of a tree. It is possible to save photos and other documents. Website: the-family-chronicle.com
GenoPro - creation of a pedigree in a graphical, tabular form. Website: www.genopro.com
Family Tree Build - creating your own family site, a pedigree tablet. Website: www.myheritage.com

The following libraries may help:

russian-family.ru
petergen.com
bookfund.ru

The main books that will guide you on the right path will help with the search, determining the class origin of the clan, surnames:

Reference manual entitled "Genealogical information in the state archives of Russia".
"Practical recommendations for compiling peasant pedigrees” Petrichenko M.B.
Publication "Research of genealogical information in the state archives of Russia" Romanova S.N., "Bulletin of the archivist" No. 5 (41) 1997.
Publication of the same author Romanova: "How to find your roots" in the "Herald of the Archivist" for 1998, No. 2 (44), No. 3 (45).
Practical manual "Your family tree" Onuchin A.N.
Publication "Metric books: time to collect stones", Antonov D.N., "Domestic Archives" 1996, No. 4, No. 5.
“Methodological guide for conducting genealogical research. Fundamentals of genealogical culture "Kochevykh S.V.

Are you involved in compiling the pedigree of your family? We will be grateful for your feedback!

A convenient and to a certain extent free program for creating a family tree on your own. The program is integrated with its own website, which helps to search for relatives in family trees built by other users.

Every family, if you search well, will undoubtedly find a very long and interesting story. However, not everyone can remember this story. Moreover, the average person does not even remember all of his relatives.

Usually such a memory is limited to memories of grandparents (maximum, about someone from the great-) ... But the history of a family can stretch its roots far into the depths of bygone centuries, and sometimes even millennia !!! On the basis of interest in ancestors, the science of genealogy appeared - a systematic collection of information about the origin, succession and relationship of surnames and genera. In a broader sense, the science of family ties in general.

You don't have to be a scientist to do genealogy. Today, anyone can capture and trace the history of their family. To do this, you need to have some knowledge about your ancestors, a computer and one of the special programs.

I suggest using the program as an example Family Tree Builder. This free application allows you not only to capture your family tree, but even find your relatives by comparing the genealogical trees of other participants in the international project, to which the program makes available.

At the moment, the Family Tree Builder project competes with another international genealogical project, Family Tree Maker:

Comparison of the program Family Tree Builder with a paid analogue Family Tree Maker

The paid project has a slightly larger database, but Family Tree Builder quickly catches up with the competitor by providing the opportunity for each user to post information about themselves on a personal site! Thus, it can be considered not only as a separate program, but also as a kind of social network.

However, to access it, you still need to install the application, so now let's do just that.

Installing Family Tree Builder

Open the downloaded archive and run the installer. In the first window, we will be asked to choose one of 35 languages:

Select "Russian" and click "Ok", after which the standard application installation wizard will appear, in which you specify the necessary parameters, following the prompts.

If everything is done correctly, then at the end of the installation you will see the following window:

To continue the work, we will need to go through the free registration procedure on the project website. This will allow you to access features such as publishing your family tree online and searching for relatives.

During the registration process, you will need to fill out several forms. The first one is mandatory:

Here you need to enter your personal data, address Email(serves as a login to enter the project) and a password to access your account. In the second questionnaire, you can optionally fill in the fields with information about your place of residence, after which the registration will be completed, about which you will be informed in the window that opens.

Launching Family Tree Builder

Before starting the program directly, you will be offered to pay for a premium account:

For more than $6 a month, we are offered an improved search for relatives, extended versions of the publication of family tree charts, as well as the ability to independently work with maps and labels on them. In addition, among other bonuses, the restriction on the number of entries in the family tree (online) is removed and the space for your family website on the Internet is increased.

However, you can do without any frills and continue using the free version of the program by clicking the appropriate link (see the screenshot above).

Program interface

And now the Family Tree Builder working window will open directly in front of us:

When you first start the program will often give us advice on how to create a new family tree project, which will allow you to quickly get used to it. First, we need to select the item "Create a new genealogical project", and then give it a name on English language(can be translated).

At this preparatory stage will be completed. Now the program will offer to add a family with which the family tree will begin:

To do this, click the corresponding button in the workspace and follow the prompts of the wizard that appears. In the first window, you will need to enter information about the husband and wife of the family to be created:

Here, pay attention to the button with the image of a light bulb near the “Place” item. By clicking on it, you can specify the location of a particular locality for its correct display on the world map.

After adding the first family, we will be able to specify the parents of the husband and wife, as well as the children of a given married couple. To do this, just click on the appropriate fields on the scheme of the genus. If you need to add other family members (brothers, sisters, etc.), then you will need to select the desired option from the "Add person" list:

Pay attention to the left panel with a list of family members. We can reflect this list in the form of a tree distributed among individual families. Such a representation can be convenient when working with an extensive family tree:

Adding photos

As a matter of fact, up to this point we have been working in the first tab - "Tree", however, looking at the toolbar, you will find a few more additional sections. And the next one will be - "Photos":

If you created your first entries using the wizard, then you have already worked on adding photos, if not, then here you will be given the opportunity to do so. For each family member, you can add several photos, highlighting their faces. And if you want, you can even create a small electronic photo album by sorting the desired pictures in the Album section (left panel).

In addition to photos, you can also add small videos, audio recordings and documents related to a specific family member!

Search for relatives

The next button - "Coincidences" - allows you to check information about all members of your family with the content of online databases for the same records, which may indicate a relationship with other network users!

Who knows, maybe you will be lucky to find your distant relatives...

If no matches were found, try producing more careful search using the following button:

Here, too, everything is simple. You can try to search for all the people in the tree, which can take a lot of time, or you can search for matches for each family member separately. However, there are some requirements and restrictions on the use this method search. The requirements include the need for dubbing the name and surname in Latin, as well as the availability additional information(date of birth, place of residence, etc.) in English.

The limitation of the free version is the inability to view search results (we will only see if matches were found and how many of them).

Making a family tree

A really useful and nice feature is the ability to decorate your family tree:

To access this function, use the "Charts" button. By pressing it, we can choose desired view wood, and then arrange it according to your preferences. For example, here's what an ancestor graph might look like:

The finished template can be slightly (or even completely) changed using the "Styles" and "Parameters" sections. "Styles" provide the ability to completely change the appearance of the family tree by choosing one of several possible design options. And "Options" allows you to customize certain elements of the decor in the selected style. You can print the finished family tree or save it in JPG or PDF format.

There is also a paid function of ordering a poster print, which you can give as a keepsake to your relatives and friends!

If you do not need aesthetic frills, but only want to get clear information about your relatives, then you can use the "Reports" section:

For example, using the “Relationships” item, you can see what kind of relationship you are with which family member.

The next item - "Maps" - will allow you to trace all the geographical coordinates associated with your family:

And finally, the last functional button is "Publish". This button calls up a wizard to upload your data to the Internet and then create your personal family site:

On this site you can trace your entire genealogy, add media content related to your family, and also keep a small family blog. In addition, you can visit the blogs of other members of the network, and also get access to some entertainment features. Among the latter, it is worth noting the game "Memory" (we select pairs of photos of our ancestors), as well as services for searching for similarities with celebrities and determining who the child looks more like:

Advantages and Disadvantages of Family Tree Builder

The only downside is the need for an internet connection. However, given that the number of users without access to the Web is rapidly declining every year, then this circumstance can be interpreted as a virtue.

After all, with the tools that this program has, we can not only create a detailed family tree of our kind, but also search for relatives on the Internet, communicate with other network users, share photos and videos, and even maintain our own blog.

Try to work with Family Tree Builder and you will find that creating a family tree can be not only a chore, but also a very pleasant and exciting process;)

P.S. It is allowed to freely copy and quote this article, provided that an open active link to the source is indicated and the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny is preserved.

With this article, I begin the publication of regular reviews on narrow topics. I named this section « book review» . It will be a small overview of the topic and a thematic selection of books is offered.

First review on the topic genealogy and pedigree .
Let's start with questions.

How many generations of your ancestors do you know?

I could be wrong, but usually not more than 3 generations. Father-grandfather-great-grandfather (mother-grandmother-great-grandmother).

Why so few?

We somehow do not have a tradition of keeping a family history and filling out genealogical book . Firstly, no one assumes this function in the family, and secondly, few people know how this is done.

One way or another, but sometimes we know the pedigree of our pet better than the pedigree of our family, a kind.

Why do you need to know this, you might ask?

Indeed, if earlier it was a necessity, as proof of belonging to one or another noble and noble family, this carried a pragmatic meaning.

For example, in Europe, a person joining a knightly order was required to prove the noble origin of their ancestors, sometimes for three to four generations.

But right now, you don't have to prove anything to anyone. All are socially equal.

True, sometimes there is a desire to raise one's status and find out - what if I belong to a noble family. Or find foreign relatives who can leave an inheritance.

Or sometimes such a question arises - who are the parents of the bride / groom. It is interesting at least in the first generation to find out with whom your son or daughter will connect his fate.

For these purely pragmatic purposes, the question is - why know the pedigree usually ends.

But still, isn't it important to know the genealogy of your family?

I think that it is at least interesting for every person to find out who his ancestors were, where they came from, what they did.

After all, there is an expression Ivan, not remembering kinship". One of the versions of its origin: we are talking about runaway convicts and criminal elements. Once in the hands of the police, they introduced themselves as Ivans, and they said about their origin "they don't remember their relationship."

In a broad sense, this expression means that a person does not observe, does not respect the traditions of his ancestors, who has renounced his environment.

I don't think anyone wants to fall under this definition.

Systematizing family information is not only interesting, but also useful. Indeed, in this way we generalize the entire tribal experience, discover some patterns that are passed down from generation to generation. We understand the strength and weakness of our kind. At the same time, we strengthen family ties.

We are accustomed to turning for an example of fortitude or other quality to literary heroes, or to personalities described in motivating books (usually foreign representatives).

But why not turn to your family for strength of mind. To recharge their energy, learn to cope with difficulties, as they did.

After all, for sure in every family there are such bright representatives.

Memory for future generations

Isn't it important to leave a memory of yourself in future generations.

After all, the realization that the genealogy will be conducted in generations means that the ancestors will also know about you and your deeds.

Doesn't this make you take a different look at your life and live it in such a way that you are not ashamed in front of your descendants.

Not to lose honor before the future generation is a good incentive to lead a decent life.

In my opinion, it is very disciplined and makes you think.

“I don’t care what they think of me” is a very common opinion today. This is considered the freedom of the individual, its emancipation and independence. In my opinion, this is not serious.

Pride in your deeds, in your family, in your children - isn't that important.

Become real chroniclers of your Family

Why not start compiling a family tree, replenish, exchange, store right now.

There are quite enough opportunities to do this, and everyone who is interested in the history of the family can do this.

In addition, it is interesting and the search can turn into a truly exciting journey into history. There are numerous meetings with interesting people that I didn’t know about before, but who somehow belong to your Family.

Introduction to lineage theory

First, let's define terms.

The science that studies the history of the origin of childbirth and the systematization of genealogies is called genealogy (from the Greek genos genus, origin and logos word, teaching).

Pedigree - this is a list of generations of a particular genus, which establishes the origin and degree of relationship.

Genealogy over the past century has developed its own rules and norms for processing information.

Let's take a brief look at some of its concepts.

1. Types of pedigrees.

Genealogy has two areas of research:
- ascending
- descending.

IN ascending Genealogy information is collected starting from a specific person to his ancestors: to his father, grandfather, etc.

IN descending start with the most famous ancestor in the past and from him follow to his descendants to the present day.

Ascending and descending lineages can be male and mixed .

male pedigree - the entire clan of men is indicated, women are only indicated as spouses.

mixed genealogy - indicates all generations descended from men and women. Such a genealogy covers several genera in the male and female lines.

2. Types of family tree.

Very briefly, for clarity, only pictures.

2.1. Ro verbatim tree.

2.2. Pedigree table.

2.3. Horizontal table.

2.4. Round table.

2.5. Genealogical paintings.

Painting is a verbal retelling of the table. As an example, the genealogy of A.S. Pushkin (a small part).

1. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, b. 05/26/1799 in Moscow, died 01/29/1837 in St. Petersburg from a mortal wound received on 01/27/1837 in a duel with cavalry guard J. Dantes

2.6. Cards.

3. Terminology.

There are three groups of terms:

1.Kinship (relations by blood).

A few examples:

Grandmother, grandmother - the mother of the father or mother, the wife of the grandfather.
A brother is each of the sons of the same parents.

Determination of degrees of relationship:
Grandchildren, grandchildren - kinship from the third tribe or even further.
Cousin - kinship from the second tribe.
Blood - kinship within the family.

2.Properties (by marriage).

The brother-in-law is the husband's brother.
A wife is a married woman in relation to her husband.
A son-in-law is the husband of a daughter, sister, sister-in-law.

3. Close unrelated ties.

Uncle - appointed to care for and supervise the child.
Stepfather - another husband of the mother, stepfather.
A stepdaughter is a daughter from another marriage in relation to a stepparent.
A stepson is the son of a stepchild of one of the spouses.
Stepbrothers are brothers and sisters from different parents.

Where to start compiling a pedigree?

The algorithm for compiling a pedigree consists of 2 parts:

The first part is a description of relatives living now.
The second part is the search for information about ancestors in archives and libraries.

1. Survey of relatives.
2. Working with the family archive
3. Work in the library.
4. Work in the Regional Archive.
5. Work in the Federal Archives.

It is better to start with yourself - as the initial branch of the family tree. This will be an ascending tree. Collect information about parents, grandparents and earlier generations in family archives.

Detailed information on how to compile a family tree, how to make written requests to the Archive can be found, for example, from the book O. Dan "Compose your family tree". 2011

For those who are interested, I will give a list of books on the topic Genealogy:

1. Where are your roots? Pedigree guide. Compiled by: N.I. Yurtaev.

2. Savelov L.M. Lectures on genealogy. 1995.

3. Introduction to genealogy: Proc. allowance Comp. A. I. Chigrin.

4. Galperin B. My family tree. 1983.

5. Entertaining genealogy. Comp. E. V. Bibikova. 2007.

6. Kolesnikov P. A. Travels in genealogy. 1997.

7. Dukarevich P. My genealogy. 2007.

8. Onuchin A. N. Your family tree: Prakt. genealogy guide. – 1992.

9. Blagovo N. "Advice to a novice genealogist."

10. Genealogy for Beginners: Toolkit. Comp. L. V. Biryukova. 2006.

12. Rummel V.V., Golubtsov V.V. Genealogical collection of Russian noble families. 1886 -1887.

14. Aksenov A.I. Genealogy of the Moscow merchants of the 18th century. 1988.

15. Genealogy of gentlemen of the nobles included in the genealogical book of the Tver province 1787 - 1869.

16. Bychkova M.E. Genealogical books of the 16th-17th centuries as a historical source. 1975

17. Donald Westlake. "Don't shake the family tree." This is a story, but a very entertaining one.

18. Website: Practical workshop "My genealogy".

I hope that the information will be useful to you and someone will start compiling the genealogical tree of their family today.

Sincerely, Nikolay Medvedev.