Previously, in noble families it was fashionable to know about their distant ancestors and their occupation. Today, this custom has returned again. Many turn to specialist historians who are engaged in compiling a family tree. But knowing the algorithm, how to find out your origin, you can try to delve into the archives yourself.
What is genealogy?
A scientific discipline, which is based on historical data, is engaged in the study and compilation of the origin of the genus, called genealogy. It is based on reliable documents, memoirs of ancestors and eyewitnesses, archival data.
There are two basic laws in genealogy:
- The law of doubling the number of ancestors. It means that each person has two parents (father and mother, in other words, the first generation), who, in turn, also have their parents (second generation), etc. The number of ancestors grows exponentially with a denominator 2. Already the fifth tribe of the ancestors has 64 names (without the names of brothers, sisters and their children).
- In each century, no more than three generations can act. This law is explained by the average life expectancy of a person.
What does a pedigree mean?
Popular scientific opinion says that a pedigree is a register of all generations of the same kind. In the process of studying the history of their ancestors, the origin and level of kinship is established.
The genealogy must be studied in order to familiarize yourself with the origin of your family and family name. In the process of acquaintance with the fate of their ancestors and their occupation, you can find out the characteristic features of close and distant relatives, their location, origin. Also, studying your own pedigree allows you to establish a connection with your lost relatives. No less important is familiarization with genetic diseases and the possibility of their prevention. Ancestral traditions, customs and traditions will be interesting for cognition.
How to find out the origin of a kind: milestones
In the process of studying your pedigree, you need to go through a certain algorithm.
- The first stage is the collection of information about your family from the older generation. It will be advisable to use special questionnaires, which are based on the basis of the family tree. At this stage, they will recognize the first names, patronymic names of the ancestors, their birth and death dates, wedding dates. Particularly important information relates to the places of residence of relatives, since the places of search for archival documents depend on them.
- The second stage is a detailed study of documents testifying to the fate of their ancestors after the 1917 revolution and in Soviet times. This information can be found in registry offices or city archives. However, when making a request to the appropriate authorities, it is necessary to indicate the degree of kinship with the ancestors.
- At the third stage, they seek evidence of the fate of relatives in pre-revolutionary times. The main documents in which the necessary dates are recorded are church metric books. They highlight the main religious ordinances - baptism, wedding, funeral services.
- The fourth stage of compiling your family tree is the study of revision tales, that is, census data from 1719 to 1858. In each of 10 such revisions there was a description of not only the passport data of a person, but also his relationship. You can find such documents in the archives of the regions and in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (RGADA).
- The most persistent seekers reach the very depths of the genealogy, or the fifth stage. In this case, it is necessary to study census and scribal books from the 16th to 17th centuries. These documents are stored in the RGADA.
Genealogical Expertise
The study of the pedigree begins with a genealogical examination. It should be carried out in order to collect and systematize information about the ancestors and to restore the missing data from open sources. Based on the data of a genealogical examination, a skeleton of a generic tree is created.
There are three types of genealogical expertise:
- Analysis of the family branches of one of the parents.
- Studying the family branches of both parents.
- A study of the origin of the parents of the spouse.
The examination is carried out in several stages:
- First, data is collected and relatives are interrogated, and information is also verified and supplemented.
- Further, all data is entered into a special program that systematizes information and builds a family tree.
- The next step is the examination of the results, verification of the accuracy of the information. The process can last 4-8 weeks.
- In order to deepen information, inquiries are sent to the archives for all family clans.
- Based on all the results of the study, a family tree is compiled.
Archive Search Phase
How to find out your origin? First you need to look in the archives for any information about your ancestors. The investigation is usually carried out by a hired specialist. This process takes place in several stages:
- Work with primary sources in archives. Such documents include metrics, revision tales, confessional murals, etc.
- A study of other documentary sources in order to obtain additional data.
- After that, photocopies of the documents found are ordered.
- The final step is to analyze the data and compile a search report.
The result of a search in the city archives is a study report, a family tree of the family and a flash card on which all the study materials are recorded.
What is a family tree
What is a generic tree? This, in essence, is a spreading plant pattern on whose branches kinship ties are depicted.
It is not known who coined the term "family tree." A Portuguese infographic researcher, Manuel Lima, while studying methods of visual displaying the kinship of a person, came to the conclusion that such a scheme existed even in ancient Christian culture. An analogue was the so-called tree of life, where the ancestors of famous biblical personalities were recorded. Such a scheme contains not only direct ancestors, but also their brothers and sisters with their families.
Thus, the concept of a family tree is as ancient as the whole system of visualization of scientific knowledge.
Stages of compilation of the family tree
Before you make a family tree of the family, you need to be patient. The process is quite lengthy and requires attention and perseverance. To get a good result, you need to go through several stages:
- Conversation with living relatives (parents, grandparents, and their siblings). All received data must be carefully recorded.
- Each interview is recommended to be conducted in private with the interviewer in order to avoid confusion of evidence.
- For the collection of detailed information, it is recommended to prepare mini-questionnaires, with which you can find out key details - dates and places of birth, degree of relationship, etc.
- Further, in order to find out your family tree, you need to collect all the surviving old photographs of your close and distant relatives and analyze who is captured on them. This will help in compiling related branches of the plant.
- Studying family heirlooms and letters is the next step in compiling a family tree yourself.
- The penultimate step of the study is a visit to the area where the ancestors were born, communication with neighbors.
- By systematizing all the information received, one can turn to specialists to obtain a graphic display of the generic tree.
Types of Family Tree
The scheme of kinship between members of the same family can be made out in different ways:
- Descending tree - from ancestor to descendants.
- Ascending scheme - from a specific person to her ancestors.
- A circular image in the center of which is placed one of the descendants. In the second, outer circle are the father and mother. The third circle, divided into 4 parts, contains grandparents. This continues until all possible known ancestors are indicated. Such visualization is quite rare, however, the most compact.
We examined what a family tree is and how to find out about its origin. We wish you good luck in finding your relatives.