Many people find that an ancestral chart is a very effective and easy way to visualize your ancestors. A wide variety of ancestry charts are available. Generally, there are three main types: Standard (horizontal display), vertical and fan. Each pedigree diagram has advantages and disadvantages - choose the one you like the best. Remember, there is no right or wrong choice when it comes to selecting the ancestor chart you want to use.
Ancestral charts have the unique ability to display your parents, their parents, and their parents for as many generations as you like. A simple ancestry diagram would look like this:
For practical reasons, it is probably sufficient to include up to 8-10 generations on a single pedigree chart. More generations of ancestors and the diagram will be very difficult to read. Some ancestor charts include simply the name of the individual; others include the year of birth and the year of death; still others include as many facts about the individual as possible. The pedigree chart you choose should be dictated by the audience and the size of the diagrams that you want to display. Many family tree software programs provide the ability to display the ancestry diagrams of any individual using any one of the different charts at the click of a button. Naturally, if you are drawing the charts by hand you will not want to draw the diagrams more than once.
One of the most important factors, in the choice of which pedigree chart to use, is the audience that you intend to present your ancestor diagrams to. Complex charts, which have many ancestry generations, become very difficult to read. If you are presenting to your family around the dining room table, you will want to make sure that the overall diagram fits on the table. Feel free to experiment with the format and let the number of generations of ancestors that you have dictate the type of charts you use.
