Ahnentafel
: A German word. "Ahnen" meaning "ancestor" + "tafel"
meaning "table'.
The starting
person, can be anyone, they are given the number 1.
Their father is number 2 and mother number 3. The father of
number 2 is 4 and his father is 8 and his father is 16, etc. The
father of number 3 is 6 and his father is 12 and his father is 24,
etc. To find the father of any person,
double that number.
To find the
mother,
double the number and add one.
Other than
the starting person, males always have even numbers and women have
odd numbers.
Using myself
as an example, my ahnentafel, through my great-grandparents is:
1. Henry
Joseph Muller, Jr. (me) #1- start
2. Henry Joseph Muller, Sr. (my father) 1 doubled
= 2
3. Jennie Evelyn Gates
(my mother) 1 doubled + 1=
3
4. Henry Adolph Muller (my father's father,
my grandfather) 2 doubled = 4
5. Mary Emma Bauer (my father's mother, my grandmother)
2 doubled + 1=5
6. Joseph Ainslie Gates(my mother's father, my grandfather)
3 doubled = 6
7. Anna Judson Cheesman
(my mother's mother) 3 doubled
+ 1= 7
8. Frederick Adolph Muller
(my paternal grandfather's
father) 4 doubled = 8
9. Mary Stanislaus Higgenbottom
(my paternal grandfather's
mother) 4 doubled +1= 9
10. John Michael Bauer (my paternal grandmother's
father) 5 doubled = 10
11. Katherine Cantwell (my paternal grandmother's mother)
5 doubled + 1 = 11
12. George Washington Gates (my maternal grandfather's
father) 6 doubled = 12
13. Jennie Elizabeth Blake (my maternal grandfather's mother)
6 doubled + 1 =13
14. Charles Edward Cheesman (my maternal grandmother's
father) 7 doubled + 14
15. Esther Evelyn Colman (my maternal grandmother's mother)
7 doubled + 1 = 15 |
The same
information that is shown as an Ancestor Chart would look like this:
8. Frederick Adolph Muller
|
4. Henry Adolph Muller
|
|
9. Mary Stanislaus Higgenbottom
|
2. Henry Joseph Muller, Sr.
| |
10. John Michael Bauer
|
| 5.
Mary Emma Bauer
|
|
11. Katherine Cantwell
1. Henry Joseph
Muller, Jr.
|
12. George Washington Gates
|
| 6.
Joseph Ainslie Gates
|
| |
13. Jennie Elizabeth Blake
3. Jennie Evelyn Gates
|
|
14. Charles Edward Cheesman
|
7. Anna Judson Cheesman
|
15. Esther Evelyn Colman
|
The numbers
on the Ahnentafel are the same numbers that are assigned to my ancestors
on my actual Ancestor Chart. The Ancestor Chart shows you the easy way
to see relationships but the Ahnentafel Chart allows for more information
in less space and it's up to you to determine how much, or how little,
information you wish to include. |