A family tree is basically one big puzzle. If you don't put the puzzle pieces together in just the right way, you'll never get to see the final picture. To help fit all of the puzzling clues together, genealogists use a variety of charts and forms to record their research data. The chart most people begin with is the pedigree chart or ancestor chart.

This chart begins with you, or the individual whose ancestry you're tracing, and then branches with each generation to display the line of your direct ancestors. Pedigree charts come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. The most common is a four-generation chart on standard 8½″ × 11″ paper. Some charts squeeze five or six generations into the same space, but necessarily include less room for information about each ancestor.

Large, wall-sized ancestor charts can be printed from many genealogy software programs and then cut and pasted together, or you can order a specially printed wall chart of your family tree from a chart-printing service (great for family reunions).

The other commonly encountered genealogy form is the family group sheet. This form focuses on a family unit, with space for recording a couple and their children, including birth, death, and marriage events for each individual. Generally, these two forms work in conjunction. The pedigree chart provides the overall picture of the family tree, with links between generations, while the family group sheet records additional family details for each couple or marriage recorded on the pedigree chart.

Most genealogists follow certain standard conventions when recording data, whether on a paper chart or in their genealogy software program. By following these conventions, you help to ensure that the information you record is as complete as possible, easy to understand, and not open to misinterpretation.

Record Names in Their Natural Order

Enter the first name (also referred to as a given name or forename), followed by the middle name and surname or last name. Married women are recorded under the last name they were born with — their maiden name — not the last name they took when they got married. In situations where you wish to include both last names (such as in a written family history), you can enclose the maiden name in parentheses prior to the married name.

While it is not necessary, most genealogists record surnames in capital letters (THOMAS). This makes it easy to distinguish surnames at a glance when scanning pedigree charts or genealogy queries. If you're using genealogy software, it is usually better not to enter the surname in caps, as most programs will allow you to choose how you want the names printed in charts or reports. Entering last names in lowercase (Thomas) allows for greater flexibility.

Naming conventions also exist for certain special situations. Again, if you're using genealogy software you won't need to worry about most of these.

• When a woman has married several times, enter her given name followed by her maiden name in parentheses, followed by the last name of her husbands in order of marriage. (Don't do this if you are using genealogy software, as you'll enter each marriage and husband separately and record the wife only under her maiden name.) Example: Linda Michelle (Koth) GARDNER MITCHELL.

• Enter nicknames in quotes, not parentheses, following the given name. Genealogy software generally offers a special field in which to enter nicknames. Example: Mary “Polly” JENNINGS.

• If an individual was known by more than one name because of adoption or name change, include the alternate name in parentheses following the surname. Precede the alternate name with “aka” for “also known as.” If you're using a genealogy program, look for a special alternate name field. Example: William Maxwell MILLS (aka William Maxwell CRISP).

• If the surname spelling has been changed, you can record the earlier surname first, followed by the more current usage. Alternately, you can just record the surname for each individual as they commonly spelled it. Example: Stanislaw TOMAN/THOMAS.

Record Dates Carefully to Avoid Confusion

In the United States dates are written differently than in most other parts of the world. Americans are used to dates with the month first, followed by the day and year — as in July 9, 1971. In most other countries, the same date would be written as 9 July 1971 with the day first.

Both dates are easy to understand when they are written out as in the above examples, but when you see a date written 7/9/71 do you interpret it as July 9, 1971 or September 7, 1971? Or could the year be 1871 or 1771? To avoid confusion in family histories, genealogists conventionally follow the day, month, and year format for all dates, with the year written out in full. Months are generally written out in full as well, although standard three-letter abbreviations may be used.

There will be plenty of occasions in your research when you will only have an approximate date for an event. In such situations you can specify the date as “about” (abt. 1890) or “circa” (c. 1890). If you are able to narrow a date down to a specific time span (e.g., your ancestor most likely died between the day when he signed his will and the date the will was admitted into probate), record the time span using the abbreviation “bet.” (between) followed by the two dates separated by a hyphen, as in 23 May 1789–3 June 1789. You can also record an event as occurring before or after a specific date — for example, (bef. 18 Jan 1892) or (aft. 11 Sep 2001).

Record Places from the Smallest Jurisdiction to the Largest

In general this would mean the name of the place (town, village, or city), followed by the county or parish in which it was located, and then the state or province. The county or parish can be set off by commas or included in parentheses, as in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania or Tarboro (Edgecombe), North Carolina.

The specific geographical divisions will be different in different countries and regions, but just apply the “smallest to largest” convention and you'll have it right. If your research is predominantly in one country, such as the United States, you don't need to record the name of that country, although you might want to record the country for locations outside of your predominant country of research to avoid confusion.