Family tree

Pedigree referred to in the family history (genealogy, Genealogy ) a representation of the ancestors and the descendants of a person or living being that at the bottom starts with the original progenitors ( human: matriarch or patriarch, genetically: parental generation ) and the descent under like a tree with directional connection lines going up. Cut example, a family tree are caused by a person ( subject ) or an animal or plant individual and only the descendants represent ( " derivatives ").

Another form of representation of the relationship is the " Family Tree ", in which the reference person is at the top. Genealogisch is only spoken by a pedigree, if the graphical representation is in tree form (see the tree concept in graph theory ).

The counterpart of a family tree is the pedigree or ancestor list that displays only the ancestors of a particular person or a living ( colloquially also wrongly called " family tree ").

Representation in tree form

When family tree stem nut and / or the progenitor is shown as a reference person at the bottom, as if the root of a tree. In the branches above to find the children and their descendants, it is in every generation siblings, the older sibling left of the younger ones, regardless of their gender. The display can be shown schematically or embellished decorative.

Pedigrees exist in various forms. Traditional family trees focused on a " main line " with predominantly male descendants ( and Erbnachfolgern ) of the ancestors, together with their wives. For example, only persons of the same surname were included; because married daughters assumed the name of her husband, she fell out of such pedigrees of their own family members.

With regard to the medical diagnosis of hereditary diseases but are the female and the male biological lineage of equal importance, for example in genetic counseling. Therefore, the modern family research seeks extensive, comprehensive all lineages ancestral lists - instead of lineages that are limited only to the male side of the pedigree.

Genealogical data collection

For the creation of the pedigree of a person requires a time-consuming research on the exact dates of all ancestors and descendants against appropriate; this information gathering can last for many years. It was only with the achievement of the original " Spitzenahns " ( ancestress, progenitor ) can be started with the graphical representation of relationship information collected.

The first points of contact are the Family books of their parents or grandparents. Registry offices and parishes with their church records are the next stage of data collection. Can be used to access an existing local heritage book, found there already an extensive compilation. The data can be supplemented by searches on the ancestral strain index of the German people and the ancestor list collection without having to view the underlying sources.

Sooner or later the search to a " dead end ". No later than the end or the beginning of the historical church register recording are needed other sources. Old control lists can provide further insight. Although the online search on the Internet is a temporal profit, but can only be used with extreme caution and only source for support. Many genealogy forums offer to GEDCOM files from private research to download.

Pedigrees in other areas

The term " family tree " is also in use in other application areas that have to do with ancestry and heredity. You use the same image and the same system for objects or subjects that have diverged:

• In animal breeding, for example, of pedigree dogs, called ancestry directories are " family tree " usual, which list the ancestors of an animal, possibly also with their special properties (see lineage evaluation, breed standards ).

• Within the genetics, there is the "molecular family tree " of Archäogenetik (see also "Genetic bottleneck" in humans, Mitochondrial Eve, Adam of the Y chromosome ).

• In bioinformatics and evolutionary biology which begins " family tree of evolution" ( a phylogenetic tree ) with a hypothetical common ancestor of all known biological species on Earth and then fans out according to their relationships ever (see also Phylogenetic systematics).

• Within the literary textual criticism a " family tree " ( Stemma ) of manuscripts is created, which have been copied from one another.

• In linguistics, there is the " family tree " theory to the development of various languages ​​from (assumed) original languages ​​.

• In computer science, there is the " pedigree of programming ", which begins in 1850 with the first programming language of Lady Ada Lovelace (see Ada programming language ).