How to make a family tree. Learn to make a pedigree and draw a family tree

Elena Kiseleva

Practicing genealogist.

Everyone has thought about their roots at least once. Of course, we know the place of birth of our parents. If we're lucky, we're familiar with our grandparents' story. So what is next? Dispossession, wars and repressions erased a lot of information from family archives. And the passport system in Russia was introduced relatively recently - at the beginning of the twentieth century. Until this time, documentary information about a person was kept in government agencies or churches.

Because of this, families are left with only vague memories and legends about their ancestors. But the older and wiser you become, the more clearly you understand how important it is to know your roots. We'll show you how to get information about your ancestors.

Step one. Organization of information storage system

A pedigree is a family archive, which implies a system for storing information. A variant of such a system is sites for compiling pedigrees.

Their advantages:

• Possibility of access from different devices and anywhere in the world.
• Ability to upload photos, documents and other information.
• The ability to invite relatives to the site, who will be able to enter information and share their documents and photographs.

After choosing a suitable site, fill out personal cards for each relative with the information that is currently available.

Step two. Analysis of family documents and photographs

Surely, somewhere on the mezzanine everyone has a box, or even a suitcase with such a legacy. Forgotten documents, photographs, postcards, letters and other traces of history can be useful. Carefully study and analyze their contents.

Pay attention to:

• Dates in documents. Enter dates and related events in the card index for each person. In constructing a genealogy, dates are key starting points for subsequent work in the archive.
• Signatures on the reverse side of the photographs. Sometimes the age can be found along with the year the photograph was taken, allowing the year of birth to be calculated. Open frames with old photographs. On the back you can find cherished dates and other messages from your ancestors.
• Photos of relatives in uniform. Based on the uniform, you can determine the type of military service and military rank, as well as approximately determine the year of the photograph, if it is not indicated on the back. It doesn't matter if you are not an expert in this field. Now on many genealogy forums (for example, the VGD Genealogical Forum) you can find enthusiasts knowledgeable about the topic who will be happy to help with their expertise.

At this stage, gaps in family history are often identified. For example, you may find a photo with a person unknown to you or, conversely, you will not find a single card of your beloved grandfather. Perhaps the documents will reveal previously unknown facts that you will want to know more about.

Step three. Communication with relatives

Surely you have a lot of questions after analyzing the photos and documents. To avoid missing anything and get a more complete picture of your ancestor, use these questions in your conversation:

• Last name, first name and patronymic (for a woman - maiden name).
• Date and place of birth.
• Date and place of burial, if the person is no longer alive.
• Last name, first name and patronymic of father and mother.
• Nationality.
• Brothers and sisters, their dates of life.
• Children, their dates of life.
• Last name, first name and patronymic of the wife (husband).
• Where and when did you study, what education did you receive, what was your specialty.
• Occupation and place of occupation: where, by whom and when he worked.
• What events of broad social significance did he participate in (war, development of the north or virgin lands).
• Religion.
• Awards, titles.
• Which class did he belong to (before 1917).
• Character traits, interests, inclinations.
• Sources of information about a person: publications in the press, the Internet, letters, memories.

Record your answers during a conversation in a convenient format. Make a note about the source of information: indicate the surname, first name and patronymic of the relative, who he is related to the ancestor being studied, the current date.

Ask if your relative has photographs of an ancestor or documents from which you can learn additional facts about life. But you shouldn’t limit yourself to just them. At this step, facts and dry dates are filled with emotions and memories. Write down all interesting events, even if they did not have a significant impact on the course of family history.

Step four. Search on the Internet

Our ancestors did not see the boom of social networks. Information about them is stored on paper in government agencies. However, some information can still be found on the Internet. Thus, in recent years, a lot of data from military archives from the First and Second World Wars has been declassified, digitized and published.

Information can be found on these resources:

• First World War 1914–1918. Alphabetical lists of losses of lower ranks.
• Feat of the people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945.
• VIPTs "Fatherland".

All databases have a search bar where you can enter the name you are looking for and find the desired person in the drop-down list. In some databases you can view and download the original document where your ancestor is mentioned.

All databases were created manually by transferring data from paper sources. Therefore, when searching, it is worth taking into account the human factor and looking for a surname in different variations.

Step five. Working with archival documents

In archival documents you can find information that relates to personal data: full name, date of birth, date of death, date of marriage. Depending on the statute of limitations and the type of document, information may be stored in the registry office or city archives. The websites of these institutions indicate the conditions for the provision of such services, terms and address where to contact.

The full name, year and place of birth of the person about whom you are requesting information are required for the search.

Electronic requests can be sent to both institutions, but the registry office will ask you to come in person with an identification document to receive information and will ask to see the person for whom the information is being requested.

The archive responds within a month. In response to the request, a receipt for payment for services is sent.

After receiving payment, workers begin a search, which can last another month.

You may be told that there is no information on this person in the archive. This could happen if one of the three criteria was invalid. In this case, it is recommended to expand the search by year or neighboring settlements.

If the search is successful, you will receive a certificate from the archive about your ancestor. It will contain all the information that is in the original source, but the archive will not send a copy of the historical document itself. If you are interested in a copy, check the website for reception hours and the procedure for accessing documents and visit the archive in person.

If you live or often visit Europe or the USA, there is another option. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) has a database on residents of the former CIS countries. In the 90s, they toured the archives and digitized most of the documents: parish books, population censuses, audit tales. For a relatively small amount of money, you can gain access to this information. The data is stored at the Mormon headquarters in Salt Lake City in the form of microfilm, which can only be viewed on equipment located on the premises of churches in cities in Europe and the United States.

Microfilms can be ordered from the FamilySearch website. There you can select a convenient city and make payment. Shipping takes about a month. The site states that copying materials is prohibited, but not everything is so hopeless. The argument “I flew from distant Russia especially for these purposes” is considered weighty, and it is quite possible to obtain permission.

Compiling a family tree is a fascinating process, similar to archaeological excavations and detective work. When you find information about your ancestors, you feel like you have found a treasure. And this is not far from the truth, because this piece of family history is truly priceless.

Those interested can independently collect information about living and deceased relatives; for many this becomes a family hobby. If you do not have time to collect and analyze data, order a genealogical examination from professionals from the Christian House of Family Traditions.

What is a family tree

Genealogical data can be presented in a variety of formats, including an ancestry chart or family tree.

The branching depth spans several generations, and the information presented on the tree can be of different types:

• If the tree shows all direct descendants of a particular person, it has a highly branched structure with a large number of people at the external level.
• The tree may include all known ancestors of a living person. In this case, the side branches are cut off for a more compact display of information.
• Sometimes the tree includes all family members with a specific surname, for example, descendants in the male line. In this case, married descendants in the female line are cut off.

It makes sense to limit the compilation of a family tree according to one of these criteria, so that the resulting diagram does not look too cumbersome and it is possible to consider family ties on all branches.

To improve clarity, dates of birth and death are often placed next to the ancestor's name. If space permits, you can include the date of marriage and place of birth.

The depiction of a genealogy in the form of a tree probably came from the Bible, where it was used to illustrate the genealogy of Christ. The most extensive family tree in the world is considered to be that of the Chinese thinker Confucius. It spans more than 80 generations and includes more than two million people.

Why make a family tree?

What reasons motivate people to spend time researching their ancestry? For example, owners of famous surnames will want to find out whether they are related to a famous historical figure.

Someone is trying to understand why they have a strong resemblance to an ancestor in an old family portrait, or obtain information about the ancestor for whom it was named. Conducting research will help you learn more about your parents and grandparents after they die.

Reconstructing a family tree will help determine whether family stories about ancestors are true, resolve disputes about the origin of family heirlooms, and gain a deeper understanding of a great-grandfather's participation in a historical event. In addition, you will be able to:

• preserve the culture and traditions of the family, especially if ancestors emigrated to another country;
• assess the risk of getting certain hereditary diseases, analyzing the causes of death of distant ancestors;
• find living relatives, with whom you have common ancestors.

In addition to satisfying simple human curiosity, compiling a family tree of your family also has deep philosophical content.

It will help you understand the answers to three important questions, which underlie all religions of the world:

• Where am I from? This question is deeply connected to the past and helps you understand where your ancestors came from and how they ended up where you are today.
• Why am I here? Understanding what brought you to this situation helps you determine your place in life.
• What will happen next? If you flip your family tree over and look at it from the perspective of a founding ancestor, you will see that you represent the future of many generations that came before you.

Family tree is more than just a collection of a few family lines stretched across a timeline. In fact, this is a story on a personal scale, a journey through many lives, woven together by past, present and future.

What to look for when compiling a family tree

To make a family tree, you must understand the true size of your family. Most people tend to underestimate this parameter because they base their vision on the number of immediate relatives they know and do not take into account distant family members who are discovered while searching for information. The amount of time spent on genealogy research depends on the number of members of your family.

A medium-sized family tree describes family history over approximately 150 years, which represents about five generations. In such a pedigree, including you and both parents, there are a total of 63 members of the same family in each tribe. If you or your parents have brothers and sisters, the number of representatives increases.

For example, if each pair of your ancestors had three children, that number becomes 5,840 potential relatives on one family tree. And this does not take into account the families of the other halves of your ancestors in a direct line.

How to deal with compiling a large family tree?

A popular approach is based on selective study of a single branch going back decades. Another possibility is to construct a horizontal family tree, recording all known branches whose members are still alive today (aunts, uncles, cousins).

In practice, most people try to create a family tree horizontally and vertically at the same time.

In this case, a selective approach is usually taken, choosing which branches to make first. Typically, the further back in time you go, the more effort and resources are required to gather information.

Stages of compiling a family tree

Genealogical examination and communication with relatives

At the stage of genealogical examination, all discovered archival documents are systematized, a prototype of the family tree is compiled, and the depth of the search is assessed.

This is the initial stage of any genealogical research, based on the results of which gaps in information are identified and algorithms for in-depth search are determined.

You will need to send requests to the archives to search for documentary sources of information:

• birth certificates;
• baptismal records;
• marriage certificates;
• immigration documents;
• death certificates.

Sometimes you can find records of land affairs, military documents and medical records. Some families may have newspaper clippings, memorabilia, old letters and photographs. They will also be useful, especially if they include names, dates and locations of the shooting.

Undocumented sources of information, such as family legends, are discovered when communicating with relatives. Such a conversation can be both enjoyable and productive if you prepare questions in advance and make the conversation consistent and logical.

The main advantage of this step is that it will force you to first collect information about living relatives. The most knowledgeable family members are usually the oldest members. Some of them don't have many years left. Don't waste your opportunity to interview them while they are still alive.

It is also important to communicate and obtain information from the most distant relatives with whom you had common ancestors.

They may have information that is unfamiliar to you. Be sure to write down the maiden names of women in your family. Please note that older handwritten documents may contain different spellings of names and dates, which will require additional verification.

Places of birth of ancestors also matter– knowing the geography of your family’s distribution, you can assign a coat of arms characteristic of a specific area. This will further decorate the family tree and give it personality.

Genealogical research and archive search

In-depth archival search, digitization and artistic design of the family tree is the next stage in elucidating the pedigree.

Genealogical research, which you can order at the Christian House of Family Traditions, can be divided into several types:

• The classic version of genealogical research traces the history of a particular family, based on documentary sources from various archives. The list of analyzed materials is previously discussed with the client.
• Complete genealogical research on a turnkey basis more ambitious and will use all available resources, including city, regional and departmental archives. This way you can open your pedigree up to the 10th–12th generation.
• Dotted genealogical research carried out in the local archive to determine the client’s nationality or to repatriate parents.

Upon discovery of the necessary archival data, a detailed report will be made with attached copies of documents and official certificates, as well as a conclusion on possible further directions of search.

The collected information is entered into a special copy of the pedigree book “Family History”.

DNA examination

DNA testing is another popular component of genealogy searches that can provide more information about a person's biogeographic ancestry and help determine whether two people are related.

DNA testing is a complement to ancestry research and is most often used to establish relationships and confirm information that has been gathered from searches.

This service uses the latest technology and laboratory tests to determine ethnicity based on genotype research. The result of a DNA examination allows you to look back several thousand years, determine the migration routes of your family, and give an idea of ​​which region of the ancient world your ancestors came from.

This way you can find out the family tree at its very roots. A dynamic list of DNA matches in an extensive database will help you discover previously unknown relatives related to you by a common ancestor in any tribe, and restore lost family ties.

Visual design of the family tree

Even a small amount of genealogical research can generate a significant amount of information. In this case, it is important to take an organized and methodical approach to storing and displaying your family history.

In the artistic design of the family tree, various options are used, from the simplest on paper to carved panels that will be passed on by inheritance.

Contacting the House of Family Traditions “Christian”, along with genealogical examination, you can order the following ways to display your pedigree on the family tree:

Designer family tree diagram

Design tree diagram is produced with an individual layout for each family on photographic paper in a format of 61x200 cm or foam board in sizes from 56x84 cm to 1200x1200 cm. In fact, the length of such a tree depends on the number of people on the branches.

Artistic family tree

Art tree designed by a professional illustrator in watercolor or engraving technique. High-quality plotter printing allows you to reproduce the result on canvas in the form of a painting framed in a baguette frame. The standard format of such a painting on a stretcher is 150x90 cm.

Folding tree in the form of a railway map is made by hand and placed in a leather cover. A family tree in this format is convenient to store on a bookshelf in the family library.

Shezhere

Shezhere decorated in a traditional style with the use of modern technologies and natural materials. The parchment stretched with canvas threads onto a wooden frame is made by hand, after which the panel is artificially aged to give a decorative effect.

Solid wood family tree

Carved panel It is performed by highly qualified 3D carving craftsmen on high-quality, expensive solid wood, which undergoes special treatment to prevent it from drying out. LED lighting can be built into the frame for the best effect.

Our specialists will prepare visual options for designing a family tree that will satisfy the requirements of the most sophisticated customers.

Where to order services for drawing up a family tree

Do you want to explore your family roots but lack the time or resources? Turn to genealogy experts. You don't have to make efforts and waste your time trying to find and decipher the original documents. You are guaranteed to have a large family tree built and beautifully designed in no time.

Where can you order a genealogical examination in Moscow?

Qualified historians at the Christian House of Family Traditions will prepare basic questions for interviews with relatives, help conduct conversations, and offer options for compiling a database for an artistic display of the tree.

How much does a family tree cost?? Contact us to find out the price for pedigree research specifically in your case. The cost depends on the depth of the search and the chosen option for visual design of the family tree.

Introduction to Genealogy

The ideal state of mind of an amateur genealogist, which guarantees him peace of mind, is to consider that genealogical research is in many ways interesting as a process that, moreover, can be continued indefinitely - you can even try to find your ancestors before Adam or find out the family tree of all the people who bear your surname. If you think so, then you will not be too upset by the fact that genealogy at the moment is a hobby, from the point of view of many, no more exciting than, for example, collecting stamps. All the relatives you find cannot become your like-minded people, just as there is not a single family in the world whose all members are obsessed with philately. You can hope that a small part of your newly found relatives will want to participate in your search, a slightly larger part will listen to your stories with interest, and the majority will think that you are doing nonsense. Here, as elsewhere, the general statistical pattern of 80 to 20 applies - 20 percent of people show 80 percent of the interest in genealogy.
The best place to start genealogical research of your own family is... You'll never guess where.

From the purchase of stationery and audit

It is impossible to remember everything; all facts must be written down, indicating the source, and placed in envelopes and folders. Copies of documents, photographs and archival information will be sent there later, but that will come later. Even if you're a computer geek and plan to scan everything and store it on your computer, you still need a paper archive. Don’t let B., of course, but suddenly the electricity goes out in Russia...

Conduct an audit of old documents and photographs at home. Documents that contain genealogical information - Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Divorce Certificates, Death Certificates, Passports, Work Books, Certificates, Attestations, Certificates, Certificates, Diplomas, Order Books, Military IDs. Pay attention to names, dates, place of residence, family connections. Make photocopies of all documents. Put everything related to the paternal side in one folder, and the maternal side in another. For each person there is a separate envelope. When you receive new information, do not forget to share it. Subsequently, you will have to set yourself the task of getting to the family archives of your relatives and copying everything related to the case.
Since under Soviet rule the population was, as they say, passportized, passport information can also serve as a source of genealogical information. It is unlikely that you will find someone’s old passport at home, but the passport number may be written down, for example, in an old notebook, and this already indicates the possibility of searching for information in the archives.

Now it's time to talk

Most people’s relatives are not interested in genealogy and family ties, they don’t want to cooperate, they don’t provide any documents... Many genealogical researches ended at this stage. Well, first of all, think for yourself - why on earth would they do something for you? It’s one thing when something serious happens, then relatives, as a rule, come to the rescue, but for the sake of fantasy... Genealogy is serious for you. And for them, it’s quite possible that it’s something else. They have their own problems, they are in over their head, so they certainly cannot consider themselves obligated, for example, to first look for documents, then go photocopy and scan them, and then spend an evening, or even more than one, in order to be with you. communicate. Therefore, everything needs to be thought through carefully.
Walk around with a notepad or cards and pester all your relatives with questions. Ask parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles about anything they remember. Ask those living in other cities by letter, or better yet, by phone and email. Phone numbers can be found in telephone databases on the Internet, and more and more email addresses are available every day on our website. However, I should note that if there is no email address in the public domain, most likely we don’t have it either, or the person asked not to give this address to anyone. You can try to find his phone number in the telephone database or at his place of work, this is not too difficult. Or you can ask us, we will find it.
One of the site’s regular visitors, Ilona, ​​came up with the perfect letter, which almost all namesakes respond to, you can read it. And another visitor, Larisa, came up with a genealogical greeting card, you can.

Often people are embarrassed to ask their relatives (or namesakes) about their family ties, then we come into play - this is the first component of the site experience. We are not shy, we call, introduce ourselves, you can go to the website and see who we are, call us on the phone. But a person who is not shy and not limited in time can do all this himself.

One of the methods of searching for relatives, tested and sent quite recently:
“If you are looking for a person who is registered with the military, then it makes sense to contact the military registration and enlistment office of the city where he was at least once registered. If he was deregistered, then they will tell you which military registration and enlistment office he transferred to (I even got the address they kindly informed the new military registration and enlistment office.) And along the chain you will reach the last, current one. From the last military registration and enlistment office they sent me my home address. That’s how I found the “lost” item. If I didn’t know the exact address, I simply wrote on the envelope G. CITY, city military registration and enlistment office . And the letter arrived. I understand that this is not feasible in all cases, but maybe at least someone will be lucky, like me."

There is no need to be offended if newly found relatives do not invite you to visit, you never know what their conditions and circumstances are. However, if relatives live in the same city with you, it is advisable not to write letters to them, but to communicate in person. You should talk in a pleasant, relaxing environment, preferably at the home of the person you decide to ask, but something else may be suitable. The main thing is that the interviewee is not in a hurry - a twenty-minute lunch break is not suitable for a serious interview; it is better to use it to schedule a real meeting. If your relatives sometimes get together - for holidays, weddings, birthdays - this occasion can be used to the maximum.
The most convenient thing, of course, would be to record everything on a tape recorder; it is quite difficult to remember everything. At the same time, take twice as many cassettes as you think you need - constant switching on and off gets on your nerves, record pauses too. At the very least, write down key points in a notebook, at the same time write down the questions that came to your mind during the story, and do not interrupt. It is clear that most people are embarrassed when someone writes down their words, so the conversation must be conducted in such a way that the person is carried away by the story. If you have a camera, take it with you - perhaps you will be able to photograph some family heirlooms, documents, and even the narrator himself. The tape recorder needs to be checked, at the same time accustoming the interlocutor to the recording - turn it on, say who you are, what the date is, with whom and what you are talking about, and then play this recording.
When making an appointment, warn that you will record everything and come with a camera, let the person prepare psychologically in advance. Well, don’t forget to explain why you are doing all this, what the end result will be and whether it will be possible to watch it. Do not make promises that you are not going to keep; if, for example, you are going to post the result on the Internet, warn about this, then perhaps they will tell you something “not for publication.”
When starting a conversation, talk about yourself. You want to establish rapport, create a feeling of comfort and connection between you and the person you are talking to. At this time, prepare a notepad or tape recorder with a camera, if you plan to use them.
Prepare a list of questions, and invent ones that cannot be answered in monosyllables. The question: “Do you remember what the names of your grandfather’s parents were?” is not suitable, it is very easy to get the answer “No.” Even the question: “What do you remember about your grandfather’s parents?” is not very good; you can get the answer: “Nothing!” The question should sound so that it takes as long as possible to answer, so you must first ask about the grandfather himself, about his character, what he told about his childhood, and if he didn’t tell, then why, and then gradually move on to his parents. If you still receive a monosyllabic answer, try to clarify: “Why?”
Because every family is unique, there is no one-size-fits-all list of questions. But here are some topics that can be discussed.
When the surname appeared in the family, are there any stories about its origin, did it ever change? By the way, in order to discuss this topic competently, it is worth reading the historical background in the third part, the chapter is called “Is it possible to find out a family tree by last name.”
Are there traditional family names? What diminutive names were used to call ancestors and relatives and where did they come from?
Did the family move from place to place, how many years has the family lived in this place, are there any family legends associated with the place of residence, objects brought from the old place? What were the oldest things in the house when your interlocutor was little? Are there any family heirlooms? Is there a story associated with them? Who is shown in old photographs? Who, when and for what reason took these photographs? Are there any old documents?
Were there any traditions in the family that disappeared or changed over time? What were they and where did they come from? How did your family celebrate holidays? On what occasions did the whole family get together? What did they do and what did they talk about? If it stopped, why? Who in the family was respected and showed special respect to him? Were there people in the family who broke traditions, people they didn’t like, were afraid of, or people with whom contact was lost?
Are there any family peculiarities of spoken language, family jokes, or words that others don’t understand?
Are there any significant incidents from the lives of parents, grandparents, earlier ancestors, or any relatives? Are there legends about family ties with some colorful personalities and celebrities? Are there any stories about neighbors and acquaintances? How did your ancestors meet and get married?
Are there any special family meals? Have any recipes been passed down from generation to generation? Where did they come from, how and why did they change over time? Was there any traditional holiday food? Do you have any stories related to food in your family?
How did various historical events affect the family, who in the family suffered or committed a heroic act? Are there any awards kept in the family? What marriages could not have taken place if not for some historical event?
It’s best to start with some simple question that you can answer without thinking - about the time and place of birth, or about some story this interlocutor previously told you.
When coming up with a question, try to imagine the interlocutor’s reaction. It is best to start conversations with those who obviously treat you well, with whom you feel good. During the conversation, you can learn something about other sources, something like: “Aunt Marina can tell a lot about him, she always liked this story.” And in general, the best way to find new sources of information is to ask those who first come to mind.
At the same time, there is no need to “get hung up” on the list of questions and try to ask them all; ask those that are relevant to the conversation. Listen carefully and show interest, nod and smile. If a person is thinking, do not rush, do not be afraid of silence. If a topic comes up that is not foreseen by you, do not stop the conversation, everything will come in handy. Don’t try to talk only about the past, but listen to everything they want and can tell you. Encourage people to tell you stories and jokes. They are interesting even if they do not correspond to historical facts, they allow you to understand the history of your family in its entirety, with all the dreams and prejudices of your ancestors, with the meaning of their life and with the meaning of the existence of your family.
But, of course, we must not forget about the goal. What is the purpose of your questions? But even if your goal is only to find out historical facts, do not silence your interlocutor, let the conversation flow freely. The goal determines what questions are worth asking.
Encourage your interlocutor to use old documents, family photographs, even some household items in the conversation, if they have been preserved - all this helps to remember.
When the conversation comes to an end, look through your list of questions, maybe during the conversation you did not touch on some topic. If the interlocutor is tired, do not insist on continuing, arrange for the next meeting. Experience shows that the normal duration of a conversation is one to two hours.
When you return home, put your notes in order, systematize everything you learned, especially note what will help you in your further search, but is not subject to disclosure. Be sure to write down whose story you gleaned information from, when and under what circumstances. Don't put it off, you will definitely forget some important details later. If you tape-recorded the conversation, label the tapes.

In the article by Mozharov N. "Genealogy Lessons"(“Red Star” dated August 11, 13, 19, 24, 1993) it is proposed to prepare a questionnaire for conversations with relatives and write this on the cards:
"At the top of the sheet we write the last name, first name, patronymic. For women, we also indicate the maiden name (nee so-and-so). The following is the data:

• 1. Day, month, year and place of birth, and for the deceased also the day, month, year of death, place of burial.
• 2. Last names, first names, patronymics of father and mother.
• 3. Last names, first names, patronymics of the godparents (godmothers and fathers).
• 4. For those born before 1917 - class (peasants, burghers, merchants, nobles).
• 5. Place of residence, in what years.
• 6. Religion (Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish).
• 7. Where you were brought up, what kind of education you received.
• 8. Places of work or service, ranks, positions.
• 9. Did you participate in wars, battles, when, where.
• 10. What awards does he have (insignia, medals, orders).
• 11. Last name, first name, patronymic of the wife (husband).
• 12. Names, dates and places of birth of children, if possible, indicating the surnames, first names and patronymics of the godfather and mother.”

Terminology of kinship needed in order to understand old records and explanations of elderly relatives - most of the terms are not used now (and it’s even hard to believe that they were once used, they are so incomprehensible, but suddenly you have such old relatives...)

• Grandmother, grandmother - mother of father or mother, wife of grandfather.
• Brother - each of the sons of the same parents.
• Godbrother is the son of the godfather.
• Brother of the cross, brother of the cross, brother named - persons who exchanged pectoral crosses.
• Bro, bro, bro, bro, bro - cousin.
• Bro - cousin's wife.
• Bratanna is her brother's daughter, brother's niece.
• Bratova is her brother's wife.
• Brother - a relative in general, cousin or distant.
• Bratych is a brother's son, brother's nephew.
• A widow is a woman who has not entered into another marriage after the death of her husband.
• A widower is a man who did not marry after the death of his wife.
• Grandson - son of a daughter, son; and sons of a nephew or niece.
• Granddaughter, grandson - daughter of a son, daughter; as well as the daughter of a nephew or niece.
• Brother-in-law is the husband's brother.
• Grandfather is the father of the mother or father.
• The godfather is the godfather's father.
• Grandfather, grandfather - uncle's aunt.
• Dedich is the direct heir of his grandfather.
• A daughter is a female person in relation to her parents.
• The named daughter is an adopted child, a pupil.
• Dsherich is his aunt's nephew.
• Daughter's aunt's niece.
• Uncle - assigned to care and supervise the child.
• Uncle is the brother of father or mother.
• A wife is a married woman in relation to her husband.
• The groom is the one who has betrothed his bride.
• Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, sister-in-law - husband's sister, sometimes brother's wife, daughter-in-law.
• Son-in-law is the husband of a daughter, sister, sister-in-law.
• Godfather, godfather - see: Godfather, godmother.
• A mother is a female person in relation to her children.
• Godmother, mother of the cross, is the recipient of the baptismal ceremony.
• The named mother is the mother of the adopted child, the pupil.
• A milk mother is a mother, a nurse.
• The planted mother is a woman who replaces the groom's own mother at the wedding.
• Stepmother is the father's other wife, stepmother.
• A husband is a married man in relation to his wife.
• The daughter-in-law is the son's wife.
• A father is a male person in relation to his children.
• The godfather is the godfather at the font.
• The named father is the father of the adopted child, the pupil.
• The father is spoken to, the father is imprisoned, the father is mummered - a person speaking instead of his own father at a wedding.
• The father is the eldest in the generation.
• Stepfather is the mother's other husband, stepfather.
• Fatherlander, stepfather - son, heir.
• A stepdaughter is a daughter from another marriage in relation to a stepparent.
• Stepson is the step-son of one of the spouses.
• Nephew is the son of a brother or sister.
• Niece is the daughter of a brother or sister.
• Nephew - relative, relative.
• Progenitors are the first known pedigree couple from which the family originates.
• Grandfather - parent of great-great-grandfather, great-great-grandmother.
• The ancestor is the first known representative of the genus from which the genealogy is traced.
• Matchmaker, matchmaker - parents of young people and their relatives in relation to each other.
• Father-in-law is the husband's father.
• Mother-in-law is the husband's mother.
• A relative is a person who is related by husband or wife.
• Brothers-in-law are persons married to two sisters.
• Cousins-in-law are persons married to cousins.
• The sister is the daughter of the same parents.
• Sister - cousin, daughter of mother's or father's sister.
• Sister, sister, sister - cousin.
• Sestrenich, sister - son of mother's or father's sister, sister's nephew.
• Daughter-in-law, son - son's wife, daughter-in-law.
• The wife of a brother-in-law, the wife of two brothers in relation to each other, the daughter-in-law.
• Spouse - husband.
• Spouse - wife.
• A son is a male person in relation to his parents.
• Godson (godson) is a male person in relation to the recipient.
• The named son is an adopted son, a pupil.
• Father-in-law is the wife's father.
• Aunt, aunt - sister of father or mother.
• Mother-in-law is the wife's mother.
• Brother-in-law is the wife's brother.

• Grand-grand-grand-grand-grandchild - about a relationship originating from the third generation (also second cousin) or even further.
• Cousin - about kinship coming from the second generation.
• Blood - about kinship within the same family.
• Homogeneous - about descent from the same father.
• Monouterine - about descent from one mother.
• Full-born - about descent from the same parents.
• Pra is a prefix meaning kinship in distant ascending or descending order.
• Married - about descent from the same parents, but born before marriage and then recognized.
• Native - about descent from the same parents.
• Step-by-step - about descent from different parents.
• An adopted person is a male person in relation to the adoptive parents.
• Adopted is a female person in relation to her adoptive parents.

Please note that all people remember the same thing differently, they name different years of birth and the names of the same relatives and ancestors, confuse classes and localities, as a rule they do not remember the names and events of the lives of other people’s children, but gradually an approximate figure emerges a picture ready for further exploration. To send a request to the archive, you need to know the following about at least one person: full name, year and place of birth (before 1917) and death, where he lived (to determine the church parish - place of baptism), what he did (class). As a last resort, you can indicate the approximate year of birth, then the archive will look through documents for several years, but this will also cost more (genealogical search in most archives is a paid service).

Our most remarkable experience in this sense was a case when a person, out of the blue, assumed that all bearers of his surname were relatives. Therefore, we looked for his namesakes in different cities, and he and we communicated with them, and it turned out that this surname comes from the local name of the type of activity, so all its bearers are really relatives: although they do not have a common ancestor, they are all lived in the same locality, did the same thing and became related. This was later proven by an archival search.

The most upsetting thing for a customer in our telephone search was the case when for one person who had only very vague information about his father’s parents and really wanted to find out something about his ancestors, and as a result it was discovered that his father was illegitimate, and His grandfather’s nationality categorically did not suit him. So if you are afraid to discover some strange people among your ancestors, first be positive - knowledge is better than ignorance in any case.

Well, one more case, the most romantic. Although we were not looking for a relative, it makes sense to bring him - he proves that nothing is impossible. Communicating only by phone and email, we found a girl from New Zealand a Russian sailor whom she met twenty years ago in her homeland (he served on a Russian ship), fell in love, could not forget, but knew only his first name, surname and title ship.

Now I have to learn the words

Over the centuries, genealogy has developed standards for preparing information about kinship in the form of various tables, lists, dossiers, cards, and established clear rules for filling out these documents: graphics, symbols, numbering, and so on. Now, of course, there are genealogical programs in abundance, most of which use the GEDCOM format, which has nothing to do with the centuries-old history of genealogy, and is convenient purely from a computer point of view for program compatibility (by the way, it’s funny, this format was invented by one sect, they say totalitarian, although , maybe not, but in any case, their invention conquered the world, and the sect itself is not so widespread). In the programs it is not at all necessary to understand anything in genealogical terms, the tree will be drawn on its own, everything is very simple. But don’t you really want real genealogists to respect you?
If you want, you still have to learn some of their wise words.

In ascending lineage starting with a specific person, then going through ascending steps or generations to father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc., from the known to the unknown.

In descending genealogy starting with the most distant known ancestor and gradually moving down to the descendants.

Male descendant pedigree indicates all the descendants of the ancestor, descended only from men, indicating the name of their spouses.

Male ascending ancestry looks like a line because only one male ancestor is shown in each generation. There is only one surname in male genealogies.

Mixed descent shows all the offspring of a given ancestor, regardless of gender.

Mixed ascending ancestry shows all male and female ancestors. There is one person in the first tribe, two in the second, four in the third, eight in the fourth, etc. in geometric progression, and each person belongs to a different clan, so that in the fourth, for example, tribe there are representatives of eight different surnames.

The pedigree can be written in the form trees. In the ascending trunk, the person from whom it is built is designated, the branch is his parents, the smaller branches are his grandparents, etc. You can’t distinguish them from a distance, but at the base of the descending ancestor, and in the crown are the descendants.
In Western Europe, they used to color their family trees: men with offspring were painted on a yellow background, those without children - on red, married women - on purple, girls - on blue. All living people were painted on a green background, men on a darker one, women on a lighter one. Men's names were written in rectangles or diamonds, women's names in circles or ovals. But this is not a rule; in Russia this was rarely done.

You can download one of the options for designing the pedigree of your family or clan in the form of a tree here: (the file is in pdf format, you will need Adobe Reader to open the file with a template for building your “tree of life”). If desired, you can find fablons on the Internet in .psd (for Photoshop) and any other formats, incl. online family tree templates. The above family tree template is completely free to download. We also have a program on our website for compiling together with children; we recommend using it at the initial stage of studying your family tree.

Pedigree table - this is the same thing, but without any liberties or embellishment. Each generation is located strictly on one horizontal line. The seniority of persons in each generation goes from left to right. Rising drawing a table is more or less easy, downward It’s difficult, it’s hampered by the different number of names in each generation and the descendants of each person. In the 17th century, in genealogical tables in Russian genealogical books of the 17th century and Russian pre-revolutionary historical literature, the ancestor was placed in the top line, and then the generations of his descendants went down.
Horizontal table goes from left to right: on the left is the ancestor or the person whose genealogy is being compiled, and then - in columns, by generation, all his ancestors or descendants. The eldest descendants are always placed on top, and seniority is read from top to bottom.
Circular (circular) tables used in English and French genealogy. In the center is the person for whom the genealogy is being compiled, then the circle is divided in half, in one half the ancestors are on the paternal side, in the other - on the maternal side. Circular tables are only ascending.
Abbreviations and symbols are used in tables:
I. - given name (patronymic is excluded, restored by the father’s name)
F. - surname
T/P - title, profession (occupation, social status, specialty, titles, ranks, ranks, etc.)
* 1833 - born in 1833
+ 1891 - died in 1891
X 1890 - married in 1890
)(1888 - divorced 1888
(+) 1895 - buried in 1895.
Each name in the table is assigned a number

Pedigree painting - this is a verbal retelling of the table, where information about each name has been added. For each piece of information, indicate the source from which it was taken. For each name, a number is placed on the left side in order. In Russia, genealogical paintings appeared at the end of the 15th century. In the forties of the 16th century, genealogical books appeared, compiled in the Rank Order, which was in charge of appointments to military service. Under Peter I, the Heraldry Office was created, which existed, changing names, until 1917.
I must say that professional genealogists are very sensitive to the numbering of genealogical records; they even say that one genealogist got into a fight with another, discussing a slash or a dot after one of the numbers. I will tell you two methods of numbering, and you will choose for yourself which one you like best. There are others, but there is no point in trying to grasp the immensity.
Suppose the most distant relative you know is your great-grandfather Ivan Petrovich, who had a brother Stepan Petrovich and a sister Marya Petrovna. Ivan Petrovich had three children (one of them is your grandfather), Stepan Petrovich had two, and Marya Petrovna had ten. All these children got married and also gave birth to children.
So, let's start painting the mural. In fact, the most distant ancestor you know is Peter, the father of Ivan and Stepan Petrovich. We assign it number 1. Our beginning is as follows:

I knee
1. Peter

For all subsequent tribes, the number will consist of either two digits or the number of digits that corresponds to the knee number. That is, either we first write the parent’s number, and then the child’s serial number, or we number all found relatives in order, and write the parent’s number second. (Sometimes this parent number is written on the right, at the very end of the line). Here's what it looks like in practice:

I I knee. (containing your great-grandfather)
1.1. (or 2.1) Ivan Petrovich
1.2. (or 3.1) Stepan Petrovich
1.3. (or 4.1) Marya Petrovna

I I I knee (containing your grandfather)
1.1.1. (or 5.2) First child of Ivan Petrovich
1.1.2. (or 6.2) Second child of Ivan Petrovich
1.1.3 (or 7.2) Third child of Ivan Petrovich
1.2.1 (or 8.3) First child of Stepan Petrovich
1.2.2. (or 9.3) Second child of Stepan Petrovich
1.3.1. (or 10.4) Marya Petrovna's first child
And so on.

IV knee (containing your father)
Children of all representatives of the third generation.

Let's determine the number for the first child of the first child of Ivan Petrovich. According to the first method it is 1.1.1.1. According to the second method. . . So, Marya Petrovna had ten children - numbers 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. That is, the first child in the next generation will be 21. And the number of his parent is the first child of Ivan Petrovich is 5. That is, according to the second method, the number of this representative is 21.5.
I think the second method is more confusing, but it is more common, despite the fact that if you find a new relative, you have to renumber everyone who is in the tribes with a higher number. And according to the first method, you can immediately understand the entire chain of ancestors by number and you can add at least dozens of them.
I recommend using the first method first, and then, if you like to see the overall huge number of relatives numbered in order, just renumber everything when everything is ready.
For each representative of your pedigree, you need to write everything that you know about him (her), including his spouse and his (her) parents and the source of information (if the sources are different). When you bring everything to its logical conclusion, make a general list of sources and make links.

Build your first trees

Tired of studying the terms, you can now build your ascending tree, descending tree, from the most ancient ancestor you found to the newly found distant relatives, a tree on your mother’s side (based on her maiden name), as well as on the names of your grandparents. It all depends on what you learned.
But it is possible that this is all untrue.

I constantly receive information from people who want to add information about themselves to the VOP website. The most common problem that arises is that almost nothing can be understood from their records. If you come to a relative whom you want to persuade to spend time searching for documents and photographs in the family archive, with a bunch of crumpled pieces of paper on which it is unclear what is written, he will not take your request seriously. So now, very briefly, I will tell you how to portray what you know at the moment in a way that is understandable to others.
The need to systematize information and subject it to computer processing arises quite quickly, especially if you try to collect information on all bearers of your surname. What to choose depends on what programs you are used to.
For analysis, you need one that can sort rows of information by any column. That is, word, Excel or any database will do. And we also need some kind of genealogical program to enter the formed branches of the tree there.
Create a table.
The first column is the last name, 2 - the first name, 3 - the patronymic, 4 - year of birth, 5 - place of birth, 6 - year of death, 7 - additional information, 8 - source number.
The program you work in should be able, if necessary, to arrange all your information alphabetically by place of birth, or, say, in ascending order of year of birth, or arrange people by patronymic, if you are looking for someone's son or daughter.
Column 7 - additional information - should not contain all the information you know about the person, only the basic information, which can somehow help in identifying him.
So here you go.
Let's say you're researching your father's last name.
First, you search for this surname using all search engines, print out the pages where you come across it, number the source, enter the available information into your table, put the source in an envelope and carefully place it on a shelf. It's too early to start thinking. You don’t think about the order of placement either, you just add one line after another to the table. There is no first name or patronymic, there are only initials - write one letter at a time in the appropriate boxes. There are no years of life - don’t write them. In column 7, write, for example, the title of the book, if you found the author of the book that way. Or you write whose friend it was, and in what city, if you found a mention of this surname, for example, in an article about some poet. If one article mentions several people with the same last name, write a separate line for each, and write in the additional information how they are related. If you come across someone’s pedigree, enter all its characters both in this table and in the genealogical program, in the “additional information” column write the name of the file with the tree.
Then you search for this name in all telephone databases, in databases of employees of various institutions, in dictionaries and encyclopedias, in the registration chamber database, in lists of wanted criminals, that is, everywhere. If, for example, a person came to you from a telephone database, write the telephone number and address (don’t forget the city) in the additional information.
Along the way, wherever possible, subscribe to news by this name. On Yandex, I know, it’s possible, but probably somewhere else. Information on the Internet is updated, so that you comb it less often, it is better to subscribe to the news.
Now you begin to manipulate the table and think.
Sort by name - to combine matching characters, why do you need the same person twice? By the way, full namesakes exist in abundance, so if there is the slightest doubt, it is better not to combine them. If even short chains have been formed from scattered information, create files for them in a genealogical program. And then you discover that there is not enough information.
By the way, this is titanic work. Don’t forget to copy all your files and save them on disks, floppy disks or other media convenient for you; no person can do this kind of work twice.
Next you will go to the libraries. The information accumulated on the Internet is not enough to figure out all the bearers of your last name.
You go to Poklonnaya Hill and write down the bearers of your surname in all the memory books of all regions. Do you feel the scope? If you have a lot of money and little time, hire students, pay them by the piece, but be prepared for the fact that they may accidentally make a mistake when rewriting - no one is immune from mistakes. Or you can try to persuade the employees of the electronic memory book to print out for you all bearers of the surname, but they usually do not agree to this - they have more than enough normal orders, and they do not have time to fulfill them either.
You go to the historical library and write out your namesakes from the memorial books of all the provinces, from various books beginning with the words “List...”, “Alphabet...” or “Alphabetical list...”.
You enter all the information received into your table, periodically combine doubles and pull out the resulting pedigree chains. Highlight the lines of those characters who have already been included in some chains in some way.
Do you think this could be a collection of family trees? Can not.
To make a collection of pedigrees out of this staggering pile of material, you need to contact all carriers of the surname you are researching, whose addresses you have found so far, and invite them to join. One person cannot cope with this.
By contacting namesakes, you can somehow decipher information on the twentieth century and extract genealogical chains from it, but in order to find common ancestors, you will still have to go to the archives - an extremely small part of the people who lived on earth ended up in printed sources and the Internet . We can only hope that your titanic work will help you encourage namesakes to undertake a joint archival search, otherwise it will all remain a collection of unrelated information, however, very impressive.

There are many programs with which you can draw family trees. You can argue for a long time about their advantages and disadvantages, but I’ll tell you about the one that I like best and which can be downloaded on the Internet for free - no theft, it’s just a free GenoPro program. Its main advantages from my point of view are that it is very simple and with its help you can print your tree on paper to show your relatives. And if you don’t have a printer, you can simply redraw what you got. After talking with relatives, you can make corrections and additions, and go to the next relatives with a new version.
You can start building a tree from anywhere. When you install this program, there will be a lot of different buttons at the top, among them you need to select a button, when you hover over it the words Family wizard will appear (there is a piece of a family tree and a magic wand drawn there). When you click this button, a table will appear. In the left part of the table you enter the father (Father), in the left - the mother (Mother), by clicking the Add button at the bottom of the table you add children, then click OK at the top in the right corner and the beginning of the tree is made. You have a diagram of parents and children hanging on the tip of your mouse, you install it on the page, click on any empty space (so that nothing is selected) and continue.
If you right-click on any element of this tree, a menu will pop up. At the bottom it says Properties - by selecting this item you will change the properties of the person you have chosen and add something about him. At the top it is written: New mate, new parents, new son, new daughter - by selecting this menu item, you can add a new spouse to this person, add parents, son or daughter. By selecting the Family wizard menu item, you can immediately add another spouse and children from this marriage.
Below the line it says Link as a parent, link as a child. By selecting this menu item, you can attach this person to someone as a parent or child (this item will be needed when you already have a large tree).
It may sound complicated, but in fact it is incredibly simple; with a little experimentation, you will master this program to perfection.

To check whether a plausible genealogy has been obtained, it is necessary to apply the laws of genealogy to its results. In each subsequent generation, the number of ancestors doubles (this is called the law of doubling the number of ancestors), but at the same time, at a sufficiently large time distance, this law does not apply; some of the ancestors of people who marry turn out to be common (this is called the law of decreasing ancestors). If six or eight generations of ancestors are found, the law of three generations should already be in effect - the activity of every three generations should fit into a hundred years (however, it is unlikely that you have reached such degrees based on questioning).

Why do you need all this?

Everyone has their own reason for studying family history, often it is not fully realized, then the person answers the corresponding question - he’s just interested, he wants to, etc. But in order to achieve results that will satisfy you, you need to understand exactly what subconscious motives drive you.
People are often embarrassed by their own motives and goals, so appropriate techniques have been developed to identify them. I will offer you one of them, solely because it does not require outside participation or any costs. There are methods that are much more complex and scientific.
It will take a week. Five days, every evening you sit down alone at the table, take a pen and a piece of paper (or sit down at the computer, open a text editor) and for five minutes (or ten, if you are slow) as quickly as possible, without re-reading, write what you want in connection with genealogy, family ties, knowledge of your ancestors and all interrelated areas. There is no need to concentrate and think, the goal is to write as quickly and as much as possible and stop, even in the middle of a word, when the allotted time runs out. Then you fold the paper and put it on the table (save the file and close it). Do not read under any circumstances! Don’t limit yourself if you accidentally write that you want to lose 20 kilos in connection with genealogy and buy yourself a new fishing rod, there’s nothing scary or stupid in that, that’s what analysis is for. And so on for five days. On the sixth day, you read, don’t cross out or erase anything, put everything together (which is why the computer is more convenient, of course), dividing it into topics. You don't draw any conclusions. Read, be surprised and go to bed. And only on the seventh day do you analyze, see which topic has the most points and then determine your main goal. Don't be surprised if it's completely unrelated to genealogy. In this case, you simply do not need to limit yourself to genealogy, well, for example, if the goal of your studies is to raise a harmoniously developed personality from a child.
On the seventh day, five or ten minutes will not be enough for you, because this is not the final stage.
From your main goal, you need to identify specific goals that are understandable to everyone around you and to you personally, and quite achievable, even if not soon.
I can say what specific goals the Americans achieved, what their main goal was - it doesn’t matter, they kept their main goal to themselves.
So, examples of specific goals:
Once every five years, gather all members of your family in a specially rented hotel on the lake.
Create a museum of the history of the area at a nearby school with family trees of all students.
Create a personal fund in the museum.
Create your own home museum of family history
To become a universally recognized genealogist by your last name, what if you have blue blood?
Turn family history into a way to increase the well-being of all family members, so that everyone you treat well will receive additional income on a regular basis.
You shouldn’t copy other people’s goals and say that you also want all this - specific goals should follow from the main one.
Having identified a specific goal, you need to break its achievement into stages and directions, draw up a plan and begin to implement it. The smaller the stages, the more pleasant it will be to implement the plan - the movement will be more noticeable.

The history of a family is the history of every person; it is full of interesting events and unexpected discoveries, which are not easy to learn about and which are very important to preserve. Natatnik tells how to figure out how to compile a pedigree.

Where to start collecting information?

Ask your parents about your ancestors. It’s worth asking a variety of questions – family history is made up of little things. The most important thing to learn and write down is:

• Full name of grandparents;
• Year and date of their birth;
• Religion (useful for searching for records in parish registers);
• Place of birth and place of burial (if your relatives are no longer alive);
• Names of godparents and their dates of birth (50-70 years ago, relatives were often taken as godparents);
• All children, grandchildren, their full names.

If possible, go straight to your grandparents, preferably for a personal meeting. Take a voice recorder with you or install the appropriate application on your phone, and grab a camera.

Questions to ask second-degree relatives:

• Siblings, their full names, places of birth and burial;
• Place of residence of siblings;
• Full name of parents (i.e. for you, great-grandparents - third-degree relatives), date, year and place of birth and burial;
• Parents' religion;

Just need accurate data?

Write everything down - in any case, this will simplify the search in the next stages. To gain insight into family history, also ask:

• Where did the grandparents live, in what house;
• What did their parents do?
• What they owned (land, houses, chickens, cows);
• Did you live rich or poor?
• What were your favorite dishes?
• Who were your friends in the village, how did you spend your leisure time?
• What family values ​​did they have?

The questions can be very different, and they will help you get at least an approximate picture of your family’s life. Thus, older people cannot always figure out what their grandchildren want to hear from them. And the questions will help them immerse themselves in memories and tell, for example, how grain was sown, what kind of bread was in the family, what were the traditions in its baking, how children were raised, how their clothes were sewn. Perhaps it will turn out that my grandmother knew how to sew on a machine. And the sewing machine is even stored in the attic of an old village house.

There are no second-degree relatives alive. What to do?

Contact other relatives. What if grandfather's brother is alive? Or his great-nephew lives in the building next door to you. Take courage and go visit your relatives with your list of questions. Generally, people like to share what they know. Ask what your grandfather (grandmother) was like. Ask to see a family photo album and take a copy or photograph of the pictures. If you suddenly ask to take photo cards home to scan them, be sure to return them to the owner. Old people are very worried about the loss of memorable photographs.

I don't know anyone! How to find?

Contact younger relatives. Yes, sometimes they are not easy to find. Go on a search in Odnoklassniki. You will find many namesakes there. It may turn out that, for example, 23 Viktor Viktorovich Virko lives in Belarus. Write to them all! A short message could be like this:

"Hello. My name is... I am compiling a pedigree and looking for information about my 3rd generation ancestors. My great-grandmother's name was Valentina Viktorovna Virko (maiden name). She had a brother, Valery Viktorovich Virko. Tell me, have there been such names in your family? Thank you".

If a short message seems dry to you, you can write a letter. Great example of a letter.

The answers you receive from relatives will significantly expand your family tree.

Where else can I look for information?

At all stages, it is important to ask your loved ones as much as possible about where your common relatives and ancestors are buried. Now is the time to pick up a phone with a good camera or a camera and go to the cemetery. You will need to spend a lot of time here. Sometimes it can take an hour, sometimes two.

Advice: take photographs of monuments with plaques of all your namesakes. Yes, many photos will not be necessary for you. But don't rush to delete them. Create a folder on your computer where you will put all the pictures. Perhaps after some time you will return to it.

Can you search on the Internet?

Certainly. Armed with knowledge about the first, second, third and maybe even fourth generation, go online. Searching online will help you expand your existing knowledge and discover something new. List of sites that can help:

Myheritage.com – here you can create your family tree. The site has the ability to search for namesakes.

lists.memo.ru – victims of political terror in the USSR. Alphabetical search. Just go to the letter you need and carefully study the names of all namesakes. Perhaps your grandmother's cousin was repressed. Write down his name in a notepad. This data may be useful to you.

svrt.ru and 1914.svrt.ru – the sites contain information about participants in the First World War. Carefully enter the names and surnames of your ancestors. Please note that the names may have been misspelled, come up with different spellings. For example, instead of Kolyadich, try searching for Kalyadich, Kalyadzich, Koledich, etc.

pamyat-naroda.ru – information about participants in World War II. Here you will find out what awards your grandfather received, and also find relatives who died in the war. Often, the death certificate for a soldier contains information about the year of birth, place of death, as well as who was left waiting for him at home.

nekropole.info – encyclopedia of people, places and events. This is a public database where everyone can not only search for records about their relatives, but also enter information about their ancestors, loved ones, make family and social connections, connect them with places on the map and events in order to preserve the memory of them.

libertyellisfoundation.org is a database of people who sailed to the United States in the early 20th century. If your relatives went to work in America, it is very likely that you will find information about this on the site. Press the “Passanger search” button and go on a search. Write the surnames of your ancestors differently, because it is completely unknown how the Slavic surname was transferred to the Latin alphabet 100 years ago. Write in English and Polish, replace letters.

familysearch.org is an extensive network for finding a relative. Its advantage is that for some villages in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, scans of metric books are freely available. You can find them through a search: enter the name of the village in which the church stood or stands, and follow the active link. Some users do not recommend creating a family tree on the site, since after that it cannot be deleted.

www.vgd.ru is the most popular forum in the post-Soviet space for compiling a pedigree.

Is it necessary to contact the archive?

Preferably, it is in the archives that the registers of parishes are stored. These are church books in which information about the marriage, birth and death of church parishioners was recorded. Knowing the location of the registry books (pick up the registry book), go to the archive. The website of each archive contains information about work and rules for working in the archive.

What do you need to work in the archive?

• Passport - you will be asked to write a statement requesting work with books;
• Pen;
• Notebook;
• Laptop.

It is strictly forbidden to take photographs or talk loudly in the archive. If you have requested documents and cannot read what is written, you may be able to make a photocopy. However, photocopying is not a quick procedure. Archive workers will tell you how to get through it. Feel free, but in a whisper, ask for help in analyzing the handwriting from other readers of the archive.

As a rule, documents for work in the archive reading room are issued the next day after submitting an application. Be prepared for the fact that you will have to work for several days, since the metric books are large and cover several years at once.

I'm in the archives. What to do?

Write down all the known birth years of your ancestors. Once in the archive, order a metric book, which will contain data for the year you are interested in. For example, for 1910. After receiving the book, open the data for 1910 and look for the name of your ancestor. Having found the name, in the next column you will see the full names of your ancestor’s parents and the names of his successors.

Finding out the marriage date of your ancestor's parents is much more difficult. You will have to order metric books covering a large period of time. Find the section “About those getting married” and look through all the entries, looking for a familiar name. Often successors (godparents) are relatives of your ancestor’s parents. Look carefully at the patronymic name, and if it matches the patronymic name of your ancestor’s parents, write down the surname of the successor under a question mark. Perhaps this surname will turn out to be a new surname for your family.

Having found the desired line about marriage, pay attention to the age of the bride and groom. Subtract the age of the newlyweds from the year of marriage.

The next step is to search for birth records in the books. Unfortunately, not all registry books are available in the archives. It also happens that the baby’s baptism took place in another parish, unknown to us.

How to systematize and store data?

Be sure to draw your family tree from the very beginning. It's best to keep it online. This way you can access it at any time. There are also free programs to create your family tree. MyHeritage Family Tree Builder is one of them.

Make backups of your family trees. Data tends to get lost, but using a backup copy you can always restore your work.

Print out your tree and go to your relatives with a printout. You can take two copies in case a relative is also interested in the pedigree.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Knowledge about great-grandfathers is the key to understanding yourself, your character, accepting your actions and weaknesses. A plan that will allow you to build a family tree in just 7 steps (in 7 days) without contacting archives and other organizations.

Knowledge about great-grandfathers is the key to understanding your character, accepting your actions and weaknesses. By compiling a pedigree, you learn not only about your relatives, but also about yourself.

Where to start compiling a pedigree

Every conscious person understands that with the support of his family he is capable of much more. Knowing your family history will help you realize your full potential. Where to start composing pedigree? How to write your family history?

The plan that I present below will allow you to build a family tree in just 7 steps (in 7 days) without contacting archives and other organizations.

You will need a piece of paper and a pen, or, which is much more convenient, a file with a table on your computer.

Questionnaire for filling out information about ancestors

Below is a table - a questionnaire, by answering the questions of which you can create a picture of the life of each ancestor.

Example of filling out a table:

Action plan “Make a family tree in 7 days”

Each point is mandatory, without this it is impossible to create a pedigree.

1 day.

Reply to questions about yourself. In the notes, be sure to write hobbies and character traits: three that you like about yourself, one that you don’t like.

2. Day.

Create separate tables for your parents. There are cases when there is a stepfather/stepmother who was involved in upbringing and influenced the child’s worldview. In this situation, you must make your own decision whether to include this person in your family tree.

3. Day.

A day dedicated to your paternal grandparents. If you've never seen them, don't despair, ask your parents.

List of relatives

Compose list of people who may know something (below is a table where it is convenient to mark with whom you will communicate). Even if they have not met their grandparents in person, they can still remember something from the stories of loved ones. Who could it be:

• Your siblings and their children
• Your parents' brothers/sisters, their children and grandchildren
• Brothers/sisters of your grandparents, their children and grandchildren
• Your grandparents' neighbors
• Friends of your grandparents

Interview

Going to visit, making a phone call, contacting through social networks - it won’t take much time, but the information you will receive will be invaluable for the family tree. ()

Capture all stories on video or on a voice recorder, while simultaneously filling out the questionnaire on paper (on the computer). This way you won't miss anything. Various interesting life stories that are connected with your ancestors will be a wonderful addition to the history of your family, because they will make everyone a “living individual.” This information can be recorded in notes.

Do not forget thank the interlocutor who answered your questions, be polite in your communication. After all, you may have to ask for clarification more than once when new facts are discovered.

When interviewing a person, do not forget to keep the following sign for yourself:

When you just start compiling a pedigree, it seems that everything can be kept in your head, because there is “so little information.” But in the process, you realize that information accumulates and confusion can arise: remembering which relative promised to give a photo of your grandfather and great-grandfather is simply unrealistic.

4. Day.

Dedicate analysis of the information received, structure, arrange photographs and documents into files (be sure to attach a sheet with the signature “who is shown in the photo”). Better structure the pedigree at the very beginning so as not to miss important facts.

Try to build your first family tree. First, only for direct ancestors, example below. (Read )

And then a larger tree, where you indicate all the relatives you know. Example below:

5. Day.

Today you fill out a form on your maternal grandparents. Following the recommendations from point 3, conduct a survey and fill out the tables.

6. Day.

Analyze information from your mother's family tree. Build her family tree or add it to the tree you built from step 4.

7. Day.

A day that reveals to you the entire family tree as a whole. Now you know the name of each great-grandfather on both sides. If there are gaps in your family tree, and you really want to fill them, then today you are ready make a plan for future searches.