All Topics  
Family tree

 
Family Tree

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Family tree
 
 
  Topics Family tree Topic Home

A family tree is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure
Tree structure

A tree structure is a way of representing the hierarchy nature of a structure in a graphical form.It is named a "tree structure" because the graph looks a bit like a tree, even though the tree is generally shown upside down compared with a real tree; that is to say with the root at the top and the leaves at the bottom....
. The more detailed family trees used in medicine
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, genealogy
Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigree of its members....
, and social work
Social work

Social work is a discipline involving the application of social theory and research methods to study and improve the lives of people, groups, and societies....
 are known as genograms.

alogical data can be represented in several formats, for example as a pedigree or ancestor chart (see links below). Family trees are often presented with the oldest generations at the top and the newer generations at the bottom.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Family tree'
Start a new discussion about 'Family tree'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A family tree is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure
Tree structure

A tree structure is a way of representing the hierarchy nature of a structure in a graphical form.It is named a "tree structure" because the graph looks a bit like a tree, even though the tree is generally shown upside down compared with a real tree; that is to say with the root at the top and the leaves at the bottom....
. The more detailed family trees used in medicine
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, genealogy
Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigree of its members....
, and social work
Social work

Social work is a discipline involving the application of social theory and research methods to study and improve the lives of people, groups, and societies....
 are known as genograms.

Family tree representations

Genealogical data can be represented in several formats, for example as a pedigree or ancestor chart (see links below). Family trees are often presented with the oldest generations at the top and the newer generations at the bottom. An ancestry chart, which is a tree showing the ancestors of an individual, will more closely resemble a tree in shape, being wider at the top than the bottom (illustration below in "The Family Tree of Sigmund"). In some ancestry charts, an individual appears on the left and his or her ancestors appear to the right (see Lucas Grey tree above). A descendancy chart, which depicts all the descendants of an individual will be narrowest at the top.

Family trees can have many themes. One might encompass all descendants of a single figure, or all known ancestors of a living person. Another might include all members of a particular surname (e.g. male-line descendants). Yet another approach is to construct a tree including all holders of a certain office, such as kings of Germany. This relies on dynastic marriage to hold together the links between dynasties.

The image of the tree probably originated with one in medieval art of the Tree of Jesse
Tree of Jesse

The Tree of Jesse refers to a passage in the Biblical Book of Isaiah which describes metaphorically the descent of the Messiah. It is accepted by Christians as pertaining to Jesus, and is often represented in art, particularly in that of the Medieval art period....
, used to illustrate the Genealogy of Christ in terms of a prophecy of Isaiah
Isaiah

Isaiah is the main figure in the Biblical Book of Isaiah, and is traditionally considered to be its author. He was an 8th-century Before Christ Judean prophet who declared that all the world belonged to God and that God will destroy it....
 (Isaiah, 11, 1). Possibly the first non-Biblical use, and the first to show full family relationships rather than a purely patrilineal scheme, was that involving family trees of the classical gods in Boccaccio's Genealogia deorum gentilium
Genealogia Deorum Gentilium

Giovanni Boccaccio Genealogia deorum gentilium, known in English as On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles, is a mythography or encyclopedic compilation of the tangled family relationships of the classical Pantheon s of Ancient Greece and Rome, written in Latin prose from 1360 onwards by the Italy author and poet....
 (On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles), whose first version dates to 1360.

The longest family tree in the world today is that of the Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius
Confucius

This articles talks about a Chinese thinker and social philosopher. For a food company in China with its brand name "Master Kong", please refer to Tingyi Holding Corporation....
 (551-479 BC). The tree spans more than 80 generations, and includes more than 2 million members. An international effort involving more than 450 branches around the world was started in 1998 to retrace and revise this family tree. The latest findings will be published in 2009 by the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee
Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee

The Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee is responsible for collecting, collating and publishing the 2,500 years worth of genealogical data associated with Confucius....
 to coincide with the 2560th anniversary of the birth of the Chinese thinker. This latest edition is expected to include some 1.3 million living members who are scattered around the world today.

See also

  • Ahnentafel
    Ahnentafel

    An Ahnentafel is a genealogical numbering system that allows one to list a person's ancestors in a particular order. It is also known as: the Eytzinger Method, for Michael Eytzinger, the German historian who first published the principles of the system in 1590; the Sosa Method, named for Jeronimo de Sosa, the Spanish genealogist...
  • Genealogy software
    Genealogy software

    Genealogy software is computer software used to record, organize, and publish genealogy data.At a minimum, genealogy software collects the date and place of an individual's birth, marriage, and death, and stores the relationships of individuals to their parents, spouses, and children....
  • Cousin chart
    Cousin chart

    In kinship terminology, a cousin is a kinship with whom one shares a common ancestor, but in modern usage the term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's own line of descent, or where there is a more specific term to describe the relationship, e.g., brother, sister, aunt, uncle....
     (Table of consanguinity)
  • Genealogical numbering systems
    Genealogical numbering systems

    Several genealogical numbering systems have been widely adopted for presenting family trees and pedigree charts in text format. Among the most popular numbering systems are: Ahnentafel , and the Register, NGSQ, Henry, d'Aboville, Meurgey de Tupigny, and de Villiers/Pama Systems....
  • Genogram
    Genogram

    A genogram is a pictorial display of a person's family relationships and medical history. It goes beyond a traditional family tree by allowing the user to visualize hereditary patterns and psychological factors that punctuate relationships....
  • List of family trees
    List of family trees

    This is an index of family trees available. It includes noble, politically important and royal families as well as fictional families and thematic diagrams....
  • Pedigree chart
    Pedigree chart

    A pedigree chart is a chart which tells someone all of the known phenotypes for an organism and its ancestors, most commonly humans, show dogs, and race horses....
  • Wikipedia:Family trees


External links