How to find out the pedigree? Everyone would surely like to know their family history. However, before embarking on a search, it is necessary to get as clear an idea as to which documents will carry the greatest informational value for us. As well as how to structure the acquired knowledge so that disparate facts are lined up first in the biography of a particular person, and then combined into a holistic drawing of a family tree that can tell you the story of your family.
Where to begin?
The search for a pedigree, no matter how exciting they may seem to you, is not only an opportunity to conduct fascinating investigations and touch on the riddles of the past, but also a lot of routine paper work. That is why, from the very beginning, accustom yourself to order. Clearly organize all the data you find; lack of orderliness at the root will ruin your work, nullifying all efforts.
It is best to store the information found in special folders indicating the time and location, as well as the source. We will talk about the most significant documents a little later. In the meantime, we need to focus on the preparatory work, which will help you save a lot of time and energy in the future. Try to keep documents related to relatives on the part of the father and mother in different folders.
And for information on each specific person, let a separate envelope be allocated. If you are thinking about how to compose the family tree of your family, you should approach this issue as seriously as possible.
How to work with documents?
To learn the basics of working with documents is for everyone who is thinking about how to find out the pedigree. It is best to start your work with references and other papers containing key information about the person. These mainly include birth and death certificates, marriages and divorces, educational certificates, certificates and military IDs. Having at least this information in your hands, you can highlight the key dates of a person’s life, thereby forming its frame. Pay special attention to passport data: they open up the possibilities for you to search for data in archives.
After you have collected all the necessary documents, conduct a short inventory. Number the envelopes you have. If you managed to find old, dilapidated photographs and documents, you do not need to restore them. However, if possible, indicate with a pencil on their back all the necessary information (in particular, who is shown in the picture and when it was taken). It is best to store documents in expanded form; sticking them into albums is highly undesirable.
Sources of information
One of the most extensive sources of information at all times was considered human memories. That is why you should not be surprised that if you ask your relatives literally a few questions about your relatives, you will learn as much interesting information about them as you would not have provided the most extensive archive in the world. That is why starting the search is quite logical, armed with a notebook and pen. And if possible, also with a voice recorder and a camera. This will allow you not only to collect the most complete information based on the stories of your loved ones, but also to photograph many interesting details - family heirlooms, valuables, etc.
You can find people you are interested in using the phone book of the city.
The world’s Internet (in particular, social networks) also provides great search opportunities for modern people. An effective way to search for a person
registered with the
military will also tell you his military ID. It is enough to contact the military registration and enlistment office, providing personal data of the person and the city in which he was ever registered.
Making an appointment, be sure to notify people about the purpose of your visit, and also warn that you will conduct photo or video filming. A list of questions is best prepared in advance. Moreover, it is very desirable to build them in such a way that it was impossible to answer them in monosyllables. Try to learn as much as possible not only about the ancestors themselves, but also about the house in which they lived, the family traditions that they adhered to. Can your loved ones recall bright cases that are somehow related to your family? What failed events could somehow influence the course of its history? Pay special attention to the interlocutor’s reaction and whether he is willing to share data with you.
Drawing up individual cards
So, you are already holding the first data you have collected. You already understand how to find out a pedigree - yours or someone else's. Now is the time to organize information. A good way is to create individual cards. What data should be included in them first of all?
Sign the card, indicating the surname, name, patronymic, as well as the year and place of birth of the person, the date of his death. For women, a maiden name is also required. Then write in the card the data of his parents, godparents and other close relatives. For those born before 1917, also indicate the estate to which he belonged. Where did your relative spend most of his life? Did he change it and, if so, at what time and for what reason? What was his religion? What kind of education did your loved one receive and where did he study in different years of his life?
When caring about how to find out your pedigree, also indicate the place of work of each of the people, position and rank. If your relative participated in the hostilities, had certain awards, medals, orders and insignia, be sure to indicate this too.
Try to find the maximum information about the marital status of a person, as well as about his children.
The conceptual apparatus of genealogy
After all the cards are formed, it's time to ask how to make a family tree. To make it easier for you to navigate this difficult process, learn a few new expressions for yourself.
Ascending genealogy begins with a certain person in an ascending line from father to grandfather. Descending, on the contrary, begins with the most distant ancestor, after which it sends a person to his descendants. Male genealogy indicates exclusively male representatives in a particular family, mixed - all its representatives, regardless of gender.
Building a family tree
The family tree is one of the most common ways of registering pedigree data. If you figured out how to find out a pedigree, it will be quite easy for you to compose your table. Templates for the design of the tree, you can take ready-made or make yourself. Significantly simplify the task you can special programs for creating such tables, which automatically organize the data immediately after they are entered.
What is a pedigree painting?
Have you thought about how to compose the family tree of your family, and have already compiled a family tree? For convenience, you can also briefly retell it verbally by including a little information about each name included in it in the description. A similar method of storing information will be called a "pedigree list."
Checking Results
When asking himself how to find out the family tree of his family, everyone probably asked himself how to check the reliability of the results. In order to verify the truth of the information found, apply the laws of genealogy to your tree. In each of the next generations, the number of people should double. The duration of every three generations should be one hundred years.