When you jump headfirst into family history research, it can feel a bit like waking up in a foreign country without a phrasebook. Words like GEDCOM, pedigree, descendants, and ancestor lines get thrown around like confetti. And when you finally decide to turn all those late-night internet deep dives into a custom printed family chart, directional instructions like "up," "down," or "left-to-right" might make you feel like you're playing a complex game of Twister!

At Family Chartmasters, our mission is to turn your tireless detective work into a jaw-dropping piece of wall art—without any headache or brain-frizz. To keep you feeling cool, calm, and fully in control while designing your masterpiece, here is your friendly, cheat-sheet glossary of genealogy lingo and chart talk!

Part 1: General Family History Terms

1. Ancestors

Your ancestors are the folks you directly descend from as you march back in time: parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and those mysterious 18th-century folks in top hats. In short, if they didn't exist, neither would you!  They are the people who came before you.

2. Descendants

Your descendants are the lovely people who came after a specific ancestor moving forward in time: kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, and beyond. If your chart highlights a brave couple from the 1700s and lists every single soul down to present-day baby Leo, it's showing off that couple's descendants.

3. Direct Line (Lineal)

A direct line is the unbroken parent-to-child chain connecting you to a specific ancestor. For instance, you, your mom, her mother, and her grandmother form an unbroken direct line. Uncles, aunts, and third cousins twice removed are awesome, but they sit on collateral branches rather than your direct trunk!

4. Maiden Name

In genealogy and chart design, using a woman’s maiden name (her birth surname) is the gold standard. It keeps people accurately anchored to their birth parents and biological roots, no matter how many times surname changes pop up in historical records!

5. GEDCOM File

GEDCOM stands for GEnealogical Data COMmunication (say that three times fast!). It's the magic, universal file format (ending in .ged) that lets you export your tree from sites like Ancestry, FamilySearch, or MyHeritage. When you send your GEDCOM file to Family Chartmasters, our design software and team read all your names, dates, and connections instantly, saving you from typing out hundreds of relatives by hand!  We can still receive files other than GEDCOMs to create your chart, this is just the easiest way!

Part 2: Chart-Specific Language & Directional Terms

1. Starting Person (or Root Person)

Think of the starting person as the VIP anchor point around which your entire chart is built.

• If you’re making an ancestor chart, you (or a lucky family member) are the starting person, and the branches sweep outward to reveal all your parents, grandparents, and direct forebears.
• If you’re making a descendant chart, a founding patriarch/matriarch couple takes center stage as the starting point, and the chart fans out to showcase everyone who carries their legacy today.

2. "Up" vs. "Down" Orientation

• Building "Up" (Ancestor Focus): Going "up" means traveling back in time—from the starting person up to parents, grandparents, and ancient ancestors.
• Building "Down" (Descendant Focus): Going "down" means rolling forward in time—from an ancestor down through younger generations, kids, grandkids, and brand-new babies.

3. Pedigree vs. Top-to-Bottom Layouts

• Pedigree / Left-to-Right Layout: A sleek horizontal flow across the page! For ancestor charts, the starting person sits on the far left, with direct ancestors expanding horizontally toward the right. For descendant charts, the founding couple sits on the far left, and generations expand rightward (a super popular format for long rolls that unroll flat on a big table!).  This layout produces a chart that makes a vertical print, or “portrait shape” if you will.
• Top-to-Bottom Layout: The classical choice for descendant charts! Places the root ancestor or couple proudly at the top, with generational branches flowing downward like a grand waterfall toward children, grandchildren, and modern folks.  This layout produces a chart in a horizontal shape, a “landscape shape”.
• Bottom-to-Top Layout: Most common for ancestor charts, placing the star of the show at the bottom center and reaching upward to parents and grandparents (just like an actual tree!). On occasion, this layout can also plant a founding ancestor down in the roots and let generations of descendants blossom upward. This layout produces a chart in a horizontal shape, a “landscape shape” as well.
• Hourglass & Bowtie Layouts: Why pick one direction when you can do both? An Hourglass layout puts a focal person or couple right in the middle, branching up to show their direct ancestors and down to show all their descendants. A Bowtie layout places a couple in the center, stretching out to the left for the husband’s ancestor lines and to the right for the wife’s ancestor lines—stylish and smart!

Chart Layout Quick Reference

 

4. Generations

A generation is simply one step in the ladder of direct descent. Here's how the math shakes out:

• 3 Generations: You, your parents, and your grandparents—cozy and intimate!
• 6 Generations: Takes you all the way back to your 3rd great-grandparents (that's 32 distinct ancestors crammed into that top row!).
• 10 Generations: Reaches back to your 7th great-grandparents (a mind-boggling 512 direct ancestors in a single generation!).

Part 3: Types of Charts & Visual Features from Family Chartmasters

1. Working Chart options vs. Decorative Heirloom Chart

• Researcher’s Rollout: Starting at $99, this is our sleek, no-nonsense, workhorse chart. Built to cleanly present raw data (up to 6 generations with zero photos or fluff), it's designed for serious genealogists who want to spot missing gaps, double-check dates, or write notes right on the chart during field research.
• Reunion Wall Chart: Starting at $289, this fan-favorite package blends comprehensive family data with gorgeous display features (up to 8 generations, up to 10 photos, focal couple callouts, crisp titles, and decorative borders). Don't let the name fool you—you definitely don't need to wait for a family reunion to get one! It makes an unforgettable centerpiece for golden anniversaries, holiday surprises, or heartfelt gifts for parents and grandparents.
• Heirloom Showcase: Starting at $699, this is the grand champion of custom wall displays! Tailored from start to finish, it accommodates up to 10 generations and 20 photos, complete with artistic fonts, custom-designed borders, fancy title blocks, custom background artwork, and full hands-on layout customization by our expert designers.

2. Color Coding & Branch Highlighting

Smart color coding uses custom background tints, box borders, or line accents to make intricate family trees effortless to navigate. You can assign colors to separate maternal and paternal lines at a glance, highlight brave immigrant ancestors, or visually distinguish direct ancestors from extended siblings without getting tangled!

3. Clarifying "Everyone" or "Extended Family" Requests

When family historians tell us they want to print "everyone" or show an "extended family" chart, we help them choose between two awesome pathways:

• Extended Family Working Chart: Designed as an organized descendant layout for checking raw data. Relatives who fall outside the strict descendant structure (like in-laws, step-families, or collateral branches) are organized neatly off to the right side in offset sections. Connecting family members get dotted-line boxes and clear numeric cross-references so you can trace every branch across the roll effortlessly.
• Custom All-In-One Heirloom Masterpiece: A completely custom display where an expert designer personally arranges and crafts every single branch. Instead of offset side panels, all your relatives, in-laws, and step-lines are seamlessly integrated into one unified layout, complete with custom titles, rich borders, treasured photos, and decorative art.

Ready to Turn Your Data Into Art?

Whether you're uploading a fresh GEDCOM file, putting together a multi-generational wall display, or working alongside our design team to highlight your family legacy, speaking the language makes the entire journey fun and smooth!

Got questions about your file or layout ideas brewing in your head? Reach out to the friendly team at Family Chartmasters today—we can't wait to help you rescue your family history from computer screens and turn it into art for your walls!