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    • Main contributor: Maor Malul
    Hemophilia in the descendants of Queen Victoria; this illness affects males, while it is passed by females.
    Hemophilia in the descendants of Queen Victoria; this illness affects males, while it is passed by females.

    A family pedigree, commonly referred to as a family tree or genealogical chart, is a graphic depiction of an individual's ancestry.[1] It depicts the intergenerational relationships between people within a family, thus helping examine inherited traits, both physical and genetic, as well as the links between family members using a diagrammatic approach.[2] Names, dates of birth and death, and pertinent symbols to represent relationships like marriages, divorces, adoptions, and sibling relationships are often included in family pedigree charts;[3] they are a useful tool for learning about a person's ancestry and unraveling the complex links between their relatives.[4] It is possible to learn fascinating information about the ancestry of a person, spot genetic trends, and improve the understanding of the different inherited features by charting the family tree.[5]

    Family pedigrees are very important in many facets of a person's existence; they are an essential instrument for recording and preserving family history; by recording and transmitting information about our ancestors, it is possible to make sure that future generations will have access to their family history.[6] It is also possible to identify inherited features like genetic illnesses, physical conditions, or predispositions by looking at family pedigrees. Medical experts can use this information to diagnose and treat disorders that might have a familial pattern.[7] Family pedigrees can also shed light on a person's racial and cultural background, assisting in discovering a person's ancestry and comprehending the varied background that contributes to their identity.[8] This is one of the most popular aspects associated with family pedigrees nowadays.

    Constructing a family pedigree

    Building a family pedigree requires compiling data from a variety of sources, including birth and marriage certificates, immigration documents, military enlistments, marriage licenses, and interviews with senior family members, whenever possible.[9] Typically, the procedure begins with the person at the bottom of the chart and works its way up, taking into account their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on. Couples are joined by horizontal lines, signifying a marriage or partnership.[10] From this union, descend vertical lines that connect them to their children. A line connecting the offspring to the proper horizontal line connects them to their parents.[11] To preserve the accuracy of the family tree, it is essential to accurately record names, dates, and places when creating the pedigree.[12] Family pedigree creation and organization are made easier and more convenient for both individuals and scholars by the availability of numerous web platforms and software applications,[13] like MyHeritage and Geni.com.

    Understanding symbols and relationships in a family pedigree

    Family relations between the main characters in the novel "Middelsex" by Jeffrey Eugenides.
    Family relations between the main characters in the novel "Middelsex" by Jeffrey Eugenides.

    Constructing a family pedigree involves gathering information about the ancestors of a person and developing it in a systematic manner.[14] The first step to create a family pedigree is to write down personal information about the main person in the family tree, such as name, birth date, and place of birth, and indicate that this is the root of the pedigree chart.[15] After that, it is necessary to obtain details from family relatives, starting with the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of the main person, taking note of their names, birth and death dates, marriage dates, and any other important details.[16] A very important aspect to keep in mind when building a family pedigree is to verify accuracy, cross-reference the collected data with official records such as census data, birth and marriage certificates, and other legal documents. The classic approach of family pedigree design involves the usage of specific symbols to represent relationships;[17] men should be represented by squares, women by circles, and marriages and parent-child ties should be depicted by connecting lines. Pertinent information like the names of the children and the date of their marriage should be included whenever applicable. The pedigree should also be extended by adding subsequent generations going backward in time, while verifying the data gathered and entered to prevent inconsistencies when going further into the family's ancestry. [18]

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ Rose, N. (1996). Identity, genealogy, history. Questions of cultural identity, 128-150.
    2. ↑ Palmert, M. R., & Hirschhorn, J. N. (2003). Genetic approaches to stature, pubertal timing, and other complex traits. Molecular genetics and metabolism, 80(1-2), 1-10.
    3. ↑ Szolovits, P., & Pauker, S. (1992). Pedigree analysis for genetic counseling. Medinfo, 92, 679-683.
    4. ↑ Lewis, B. A., Freebairn, L. A., Hansen, A., Taylor, H. G., Iyengar, S., & Shriberg, L. D. Family pedigrees of children with suspected childhood apraxia of speech. Journal of Communication Disorders. Journal of Communication Disorders, 2004. pp 157-175.
    5. ↑ Mathieson, I., & Scally, A. (2020). What is ancestry? PLoS Genetics, 16(3), e1008624.
    6. ↑ Martin, E. R., Monks, S. A., Warren, L. L., & Kaplan, N. L. (2000). A test for linkage and association in general pedigrees: the pedigree disequilibrium test. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 67(1), 146-154
    7. ↑ Godley, L. A.Inherited predisposition to acute myeloid leukemia. In Seminars in hematology (Vol. 51, No. 4, pp. 306-321). WB Saunders. October 2014
    8. ↑ Nash, C. Genealogical identities. Environment and planning D: Society and space, 20(1), 27-52. 2002
    9. ↑ Spahis, J. Human genetics: constructing a family pedigree. AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 102(7), 44-50. 2002
    10. ↑ Steinhaus, K. A., Bennett, R. L., Resta, R. G., Uhrich, S. B., Doyle, D. L., Markel, D. S., & Vincent, V. A. (1995). Inconsistencies in pedigree symbols in human genetics publications: A need for standardization. American journal of medical genetics, 56(3), 291-295
    11. ↑ Kim, N. W., Card, S. K., & Heer, J. (2010, May). Tracing genealogical data with TimeNets. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (pp. 241-248).
    12. ↑ Hatton, S. B. (2019). History, kinship, identity, and technology: toward answering the question “what is (family) genealogy?”. Genealogy, 3(1), 2.
    13. ↑ Voorrips, R. E., Bink, M. C., Kruisselbrink, J. W., Koehorst-van Putten, H. J., & van de Weg, W. E. PediHaplotyper: software for consistent assignment of marker haplotypes in pedigrees. Molecular Breeding, 36, 1-10. 2016
    14. ↑ Hartman, A. (1978). Diagrammatic assessment of family relationships. Social casework, 59(8), 465-476
    15. ↑ Nelson, A. (2008). Bio science: Genetic genealogy testing and the pursuit of African ancestry. Social studies of science, 38(5), 759-783.
    16. ↑ Martin, J. P., & Bell, J. (1943). A pedigree of mental defect showing sex-linkage. Journal of neurology and psychiatry, 6(3-4), 154.
    17. ↑ Donaldson, D. R., & LeFevre, C. B. (2022). Records, trust, and misinformation: Using birtherism to understand the influence of conspiracy theories on human information interactions. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 73(11), 1579-1593.
    18. ↑ Bezerianos, A., Dragicevic, P., Fekete, J. D., Bae, J., & Watson, B. (2010). Geneaquilts: A system for exploring large genealogies. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 16(6), 1073-1081.
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