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Genealogical Numbering Systems
by
Sharron Mirikitani
GENEALOGICAL NUMBERING SYSTEMS
Once you have started researching your family for a while, you begin to accumulate mounds of paper and printouts that need organized. You may have acquired original documents and other things that you don't want to get lost in piles of unorganized documents, so what do you do?
One of the best write ups on how to organize your papers is found at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sdfpgs/archive/organizefiles.pdf
I, personally have a mixed filing system. My direct ancestors each have a file based on the Ahnentafel or Sosa-Stradonitz System.
SOURCE FOR THE FOLLOWING: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogical_numbering_systems
Ahnentafel or Sosa-Stradonitz System
This is the most common method of numbering your ancestors. Assign yourself the number 1, then your father is number 2, your mother is number 3, your paternal grandfather is number 4, etc. When using this system, your father's number is always twice your number and his or her mother's number is twice plus one. The Sosa-Strandonitz System, named for the Spanish genealogist Jerome de Sosa, who first used it in 1676. Stephen Kekule von Stradonitz popularized the method in his 1896 Ahnentafel Atlas. Now the system is used worldwide.
(First Generation)
1 Subject
(Second Generation)
2 Father
3 Mother
(Third Generation)
4 Father's father
5 Father's mother
6 Mother's father
7 Mother's mother
(Fourth Generation)
8 Father's father's father
9 Father's father's mother
10 Father's mother's father
11 Father's mother's mother
12 Mother's father's father
13 Mother's father's mother
14 Mother's mother's father
15 Mother's mother's mother
The Register System
The Register System is a descendant ordered format, which is accepted by the New England Genealogical Society, one of the oldest genealogical societies in the country This format dates back to 1870 and is used to establish pedigrees.
The Register System uses both common numerals (1, 2, 3, 4) and Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv). The system is organized by generation, i.e., generations are grouped separately.
(–Generation One–)
1 Progenitor
2 i Child
ii Child (no progeny)
iii Child (no progeny)
3 iv Child
(–Generation Two–)
2 Child
i Grandchild (no progeny)
ii Grandchild (no progeny)
3 Child
4 i Grandchild
(–Generation Three–)
4 Grandchild
5 i Great-grandchild
ii Great-grandchild (no progeny)
6 iii Great-grandchild
7 iv Great-grandchild
NGSQ Format (Descendant Ordered)
The NGS format dates back to 1912 and is the preferred genealogical report of the National Geographic Society in Arlington, Virginia. It is sometimes called the "Record System" or the "Modified Register System" because it derives from the Register System.
(–Generation One–)
1 Progenitor
+ 2 i Child
3 ii Child (no progeny)
4 iii Child (no progeny)
+ 5 iv Child
(–Generation Two–)
2 Child
6 i Grandchild (no progeny)
7 ii Grandchild (no progeny)
5 Child
+ 8 i Grandchild
(–Generation Three–)
8 Grandchild
+ 9 i Great-grandchild
10 ii Great-grandchild (no progeny)
+ 11 iii Great-grandchild
+ 12 iv Great-grandchild
Henry System
The Henry System is a descending system created by Reginald Buchanan Henry for a genealogy of the families of the presidents of the United States that he wrote in 1935.[3] It can be organized either by generation or not. The system begins with 1. The oldest child becomes 11, the next child is 12, and so on. The oldest child of 11 is 111, the next 112, and so on. The system allows one to derive an ancestor's relationship based on their number. For example, 621 is the first child of 62, who is the second child of 6, who is the sixth child of his parents.
In the Henry System, when there are more than nine children, X is used for the 10th child, A is used for the 11th child, B is used for the 12th child, and so on. In the Modified Henry System, when there are more than nine children, numbers greater than nine are placed in parentheses.
Henry Modified Henry
1. Progenitor 1. Progenitor
11. Child 11. Child
111. Grandchild 111. Grandchild
1111. Great-grandchild 1111. Great-grandchild
1112. Great-grandchild 1112. Great-grandchild
112. Grandchild 112. Grandchild
12. Child 12. Child
121. Grandchild 121. Grandchild
1211. Great-grandchild 1211. Great-grandchild
1212. Great-grandchild 1212. Great-grandchild
122. Grandchild 122. Grandchild
1221. Great-grandchild 1221. Great-grandchild
123. Grandchild 123. Grandchild
124. Grandchild 124. Grandchild
125. Grandchild 125. Grandchild
126. Grandchild 126. Grandchild
127. Grandchild 127. Grandchild
128. Grandchild 128. Grandchild
129. Grandchild 129. Grandchild
12X. Grandchild 12(10). Grandchild
d'Aboville System
The d'Aboville System is a descending numbering method developed by Jacques d'Aboville in 1940 that is very similar to the Henry System, widely used in France.[4] It can be organized either by generation or not. It differs from the Henry System in that periods are used to separate the generations and no changes in numbering are needed for families with more than nine children.[5] For example:
1 Progenitor
1.1 Child
1.1.1 Grandchild
1.1.1.1 Great-grandchild
1.1.1.2 Great-grandchild
1.1.2 Grandchild
1.2 Child
1.2.1 Grandchild
1.2.1.1 Great-grandchild
1.2.1.2 Great-grandchild
1.2.2 Grandchild
1.2.2.1 Great-grandchild
1.2.3 Grandchild
1.2.4 Grandchild
1.2.5 Grandchild
1.2.6 Grandchild
1.2.7 Grandchild
1.2.8 Grandchild
1.2.9 Grandchild
1.2.10 Grandchild
Meurgey de Tupigny System
The Meurgey de Tupigny System is a simple numbering method used for single surname studies and hereditary nobility line studies developed by Jacques Meurgey de Tupigny of the National Archives of France, published in 1953.[6]
Each generation is identified by a Roman numeral (I, II, III, ...), and each child and cousin in the same generation carrying the same surname is identified by an Arabic numeral.[7] The numbering system usually appears on or in conjunction with a pedigree chart. Example:
I Progenitor
II-1 Child
III-1 Grandchild
IV-1 Great-grandchild
IV-2 Great-grandchild
III-2 Grandchild
III-3 Grandchild
III-4 Grandchild
II-2 Child
III-5 Grandchild
IV-3 Great-grandchild
IV-4 Great-grandchild
IV-5 Great-grandchild
III-6 Grandchild
de Villiers/Pama System
The de Villiers/Pama System gives letters to generations, and then numbers children in birth order. For example:
a Progenitor
b1 Child
c1 Grandchild
d1 Great-grandchild
d2 Great-grandchild
c2 Grandchild
c3 Grandchild
b2 Child
c1 Grandchild
d1 Great-grandchild
d2 Great-grandchild
d3 Great-grandchild
c2 Grandchild
c3 Grandchild
SOFTWARE SYSTEMS
Personal Ancestral File (PAF) was free genealogy software provided by FamilySearch, a website operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It allowed users to enter names, dates, citations and source information into a database, and sort and search the genealogical data, print forms and charts, and share files with others in GEDCOM format. PAF also linked images and other media files to individual records.
A family tree, or pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees used in medicine and social work are known as genograms. Other popular software packages include: