Ahnentafel -- the pedigree chart

Whether you are just starting to research your family history or you have joined your local genealogical society, chances are you have heard of the pedigree chart, specifically the Ahnentafel. The Ahnentafel, German for "ancestral table" is a numerical system used to create a pedigree list of one's direct ancestors. This type of genealogical list has been around since 1590.

How does it work? You, or the subject, is labeled as number 1 in the list. Your father is number 2 and your mother is number 3. Then, your paternal grandparents are numbers 4 and 5 and maternal grandparents are 6 and 7. Using this numbering technique, a person's father is their number multiplied by 2 and a person's mother is their number multiplied by 2 + 1. Consequently, though number 1 can be either male or female, all males have even numbers and all females have odd numbers. Some people choose to use binary representations for their Ahnentafel. You can read more about that practice on the Ahnentafel Wikipedia page.

This chart style is useful because you can create a list in a word processor and make additions and corrections to the document as you find more information. Another good way to utilize this numbering system is an ancestral chart, which you can find at your local history and genealogy center or online. For example, Ancestry.com makes an ancestral chart that follows the Ahnentafel numbering style.

Below is my Ahnentafel through my third great grandparents. For privacy reasons, I've chosen not to list the names and dates associated with persons who are still living, or the names of my grandparents. My chart begins with my father's father's father.

Happy searching!

8. Harry E. Martin (6 January 1898 - June 1972)
9. Thelma C. Sayles (26 June 1906 - 1973)
10. Floyd Jack Davis (21 February 1911 - 26 March 1992)
11. Goldie Marie Guthrie (15 January 1919 - 15 September 2004)
12. Herbert Reynolds (24 September 1898 - 13 April 1950)
13. Anna Walker (1905 - January 1942)
14. Hulon Miller (6 March 1911 - February 1985)
15. Cora Hazel West (1917 - 1974)
16. Perry Newton Martin (December 1874 - 1956)
17. Mary Olive Keltner (23 September 1875 - 11 May 1965)
18. Arthur Sayles (8 January 1887 - 30 March 1927)
19. Mary Jane Woodruff (7 July 1887 - 30 October 1918)
20. Claude Davis (9 March 1878 - 13 June 1956)
21. Della Louisa Ruyle (22 March 1890 - 22 October 1954)
22. William Hugh Guthrie (29 April 1886 - 19 November 1967)
23. Elsie Alice Walton (22 May 1895 - 23 April 1933)
24. Lindsey Reynolds (October 1871 - 11 December 1955)
25. Margaret Stinnett (3 October 1872 - 29 May 1944)
26. Nathan Walker (1868 - 13 March 1963)
27. Mattie L. Lowery (11 April 1884 - 13 February 1956)
28. Cyrus Elmor Miller (13 September 1883 - 24 April 1968)
29. Fannie Elizabeth Smith (20 August 1891 - 9 April 1968)
30. James B. West (7 November 1862 - 20 November 1932)
31. Jinsey Carroll (28 April 1878 - 2 July 1952)
32. Valerian I. Martin (21 November 1851 - September 1931)
33. Mary Jane Corn (September 1850 - 23 December 1928)
34. Jacob Keltner (23 November 1843 - after 1930)
35. Margaret Cain (1845 - ?)
36. Tillman Sayles (1863 - 27 February 1933)
37. Florence May Baker (20 June 1862 - 1911)
38. Cornelius C. Woodruff (15 January 1842 - 21 February 1926)
39. Cinderella VanKirk (1852 - ?)
40. John Payton Davis (7 January 1836 - 2 November 1905)
41. Elizabeth Davis (30 July 1838 - 18 March 1904)
42. John P. Ruyle (28 September 1852 - 17 January 1937)
43. Caroline Elizabeth Cummings (10 May 1860 - 5 June 1929)
44. John Adam Guthrie (23 September 1843 - 19 April 1929)
45. Mary Catherine Kent (17 October 1856 - 10 July 1934)
46. Adolph Robert Walton (21 June 1861 - 8 May 1925)
47. Bertha Catherine Borst (25 October 1876 - 15 December 1906)
48. Absalom Reynolds (22 May 1839 - 26 June 1903)
49. Martha Jane Walker (15 August 1836 - 19 June 1909)
50. John William Stinnett (11 June 1843 - 13 August 1913)
51. Samantha "Panthy" Cobb (1845 - ?)
52. Unknown
53. Unknown
54. William Lowry (28 May 1842 - 1 August 1924)
55. Mary Jane Stinnett (July 1850 - 1 January 1926)
56. Unknown
57. Mary T. ? (1854 - ?)
58. James Hayden Smith (9 March 1858 - 12 February 1929)
59. Margaret Ann Adams  (January 1856 - 22 May 1926)
60. Barney West ( 27 December 1927 - 16 September 1914)
61. Elizabeth Carroll (1823 - 1885)
62. Barney Carroll
63. Francis Stephens