Ancestor List
To get the best of GDAT, you should load a list of ancestors for each profile in your database, although it is understood that this may not be possible if you have no knowledge of part or all of your family tree. You will still be able to do many things without a list of Ancestors, and can load one or build one at a later time.
Note: GEDCOM and Ahnentafel surnames are kept in Title Case so “McDonald” will look like “Mcdonald”.
From Becky: the purpose is to set one standard surname for all variations of a surname that will be used to set up group names for the analysis functions. If the first letter is the same, it assumes that it is a variation. Surnames are assumed to be from the father's line and can contain no spaces. Hyphens are okay. If for some reason, the child does not carry the father's surname, it is okay to list the child in GDAT with the father's surname so that group names are assigned correctly. Remember that the purpose is to research the profile's family tree, not be precisely correct in how something is spelled for one person or another. Choose the name that fits the research.
You have a number of options on how to get a list of Ancestors present in this tab. Load a Gedcom, or import via either the One2Tree or Pedigree Thief browser extensions.
A Right click (Control-Click on Mac) menu is available with an extensive list of functions.
From Becky: My recommendation has always been to use Roots Magic or Legacy to create gedcoms, or to use the ahnentafel loads or input manually. The gedcom logic is complicated and I can't support all the different formats.
After loading ancestor information, the direct ancestors will be displayed as above. Information in the far right hand section is populated by use of the Parental Confirmation feature. Not only will group names be displayed here when they have information in the Parental Confirmation area, they will also be underlined.
The Ahnentafel number will be underlined when there is information in the Document Ancestor Research area.
Ancestors in blue are those in the paternal line, those in red-brown are those in the maternal line.
It is recommended to retain the default setting of True for "Assume single Ahnentafel name is surname" in F10 as this enables for more user-friendly group names. If underscores or other punctuation marks are present in a name, they are ignored and deleted. Be aware of this when it comes to hyphenated surnames, and "missing" surnames or names.
Group names are typically assigned automatically on entry. You may need to use the Right Click menu to update these if you have reason to adjust names in the future. These Group names have a defined structure to them to co-ordinate properly with other features of GDAT, including Parental Confirmation, and are assigned in a Surname-Surname format, with a few exceptions.
Some examples below may assist you in knowing whay you have certain types of group names.
With no parents present, the Group name is the surname combined with their Ahnentafel value. For example in the images below "Quartus224".
When one parent's surname is unknown, the group name for the child will appear as for 112 below: "Father's surname - mother's given name". For example "Quartus-S".
If no surname is present, and no parents present, and "Assume single Ahnentafel name is surname" in Control Settings is set to True; then the group name is the given name combined with Ahnentafel value. For example "S225".
If no surname is present, and no parents present, and "Assume single Ahnentafel name is surname" in Control Settings is set to False, then the group name is simply the Ahnentafel value. For example "225".
If you have an empty name (or it was originally underscores only), then there will be a number of group names impacted.
In the example below, we can see that number 140 has no name entered, they were listed in the gedcom upload as "_____ _____". Their group name is simply 140.
They are the unknown father of number 70, S Ebrius, who therefore has the group name of "Unknown-Ebrius".
Pedigree Collapse in your ancestor list naturally means duplicated identical group names. To assist in keeping the group names unique, GDAT adds the Ahnentafel number to the end of the second instance of the otherwise identical group name. These extra numbers are not able to be removed, and are very helpful when it comes to ensuring that the correct ancestral path is followed when assigning group names to DNA segments and Relatives.
Take a look at the examples below.
Both "219 J Tempero" and "876 G Tempero" are children of different "Tempero-Pons" couples, and thus both need the "Tempero-Pons" group name. Since identical group names are not possible, the second instance (higher ahnentafel numbered ancestor) has their ahnentafel added to their group name. In this instance, "219 J Tempero" happens to be the grandchild of "876 G Tempero" but this isn't going to be the only situation behind duplicate group names.
Also seen is "1756 W Pons" and "1758 R Pons" having otherwise identical group names, except that "1758 R Pons" has his ahnentafel number added to his group name as he has the higher ahnentafel number. In this insatnce, "1756 W Pons" and "1758 R Pons" are siblings and both decend from the same set of parents.
At the bottom of the Ancestors view are 4 filtering options. Maternal and Paternal will filter to the appropriate side, Both displays the entire list, and is the default setting, while X will filter the list to only those ancestors who could have contributed to the profile person's X chromosome/s.
On the 23rd chromosome pair, males can only inherit their X DNA from their mother as they get their Y DNA from their father. As such, X DNA segments cannot pass through 2 consecutive males, and a very defined potential inheritance path can be determined for X DNA based on the tester's biological gender.
For those with genealogies that go back more than 15 generations, remember that autosomal DNA is considered not very reliable as you go back in time. Consider this when you determine how far back to include ancestors.
Right Click Menu
The right click (Control-Click on Mac) menu of the Ancestor tab differs dependent on whether it has been populated or not.
If it has not been populated it contains:
Import sub-menu
Gedcom : opens the Load Gedcom view for loading GEDCOMs for one or more profiles at once.
One2Tree : opens the One2Tree panel for importation of data (Windows Only)
Pedigree Thief : opens the Pedigree Thief panel for importation of data
Add Relatives sub-menu
Add Profile Person: The profile person’s name will be entered as person 1, as you have it recorded in the profile, surname first, then given name.
Once person 1 is in place, the rest of the Ancestors list can be built by using the “Add Father” and “Add Mother” right click menu options. See Manual Entry for more information.
Update sub-menu
Lock Ahnentafel : prevents accidental overwrite when importing data. If already locked, option is to Unlock the Ahnentafel.
Once the Ancestors tab has been populated, a range of sub-menus are available, along with a number of fixed options.
Fixed options
Pedigree Chart : Displays the pedigree chart for the person right clicked on.
Parental Confirmation : see Parental Confirmation for more information. If this information is present for a group name, the group name will be underlined.
Document Ancestor Research : see Document Ancestor Research for more information. If this information is present, the Ahnentafel number will be underlined and highlighted in Pink.
Link Parental Confirmation to Other Profiles :
Link Document Ancestor Research to Other Profiles :
Compare Group Relatives :
Copy Descendants to Clipboard : Copies the path between the targeted ancestor and the profile person to the clipboard. When pasted
Export Displayed Data to .csv file : does as it says.
Parental Confirmation
If information is present for a group name, the group name will be underlined, and the name will also appear on the right hand side of the screen
see Parental Confirmation for more.
Document Ancestor Research
If this information is present, the Ahnentafel number on the left hand side of the screen will be underlined and highlighted in Pink.
see Document Ancestor Research for more
Link Parental Confirmation to Other Profiles and Link Document Ancestor Research to Other Profiles
Any information present in these areas for the current profile will be linked / copied to the other profiles with identical group names. If the group names differ in any way for any reason, including the inclusion of Ahnentafel numbers to obtain identical group names, the information will not be copied / linked over to the other profiles.
Compare Group Relatives
Opens the Compare Group Relatives page with relevant matches loaded.
Export Displayed Data to .csv file : does as it says.
Copy Descendants to Clipboard
Copies the path between the targeted ancestor and the profile person to the clipboard. When pasted, the list is titled with the Profile's name, followed by the targeted ancestor and their spouse, and then the interveening generations. Each couple has the direct line ancestor between the profile person and the targeted ancestor on the left hand side of the couple, regardless of gender. Dates are included according to whether they have been included in the ancestor list or not. The profile person is not repeated in the listing. Example shown below.
K Primus's Ancestors
H Alcyone (1839-1893) m. E Sextus (1847-1900)
F M Sextus (1879-1942) m. W J Secundus (1866-1924)
O M Secundus (1908-1980) m. H E Primus (1891-)
Display sub-menu
Show Direct Line: Temporarily bolds the direct line ancestors of the selected person. Also temporarily bolds the descendants if the selected person is not person 1.
Show Ancestors: Filters the display to show just the ancestors of the selected person. Escape returns to normal view.
Mark sub-menu options should be self-explanatory.
This bold remains even after leaving this view.
Import sub-menu contains options allowing the user to update their existing ancestor list.
Loading a new gedcom will replace the entire list of ancestors, while loading via either One2Tree or Pedigree Thief can allow for either an entire replacement of ancestor list, or replacement of the listing from a specific ancestor.
Note: One2Tree option only available to Windows users.
Add Relatives sub-menu
Add Father : Does as it says, adds a father in the correct position for the selected person, gives them the same name as the selected person and adds “, father” to the name
Add Mother : Does as it says, adds a mother in the correct position for the selected person, gives them the same name as the selected person and adds “, mother” to the name
Update sub-menu
Update Group Names : Sets up the group names for a manually entered or updated Ancestor list.
Set Relative Lists to Ahnentafel Values : Updates the Family Comparison (F3) view
Update Location Format : May assist in standardising Location formats for Region Clusters. This does not add any commas, correct any spellings, and does not assume a country location if only part of a location is present. It will however, remove any extra spaces and commas that are surplus to program needs.
Eg. A location entered as "Town, State" will remain untouched, as will "Town State Country", but "Place, , Town, State, Country" will be corrected to the desired "Place, Town, State, Country"Update Surname List : Updates the Surnames listing as needed.
Unlock Ahnentafel : allows or prevents an overwrite when importing data.
If already unlocked, option is to Lock Ahnentafel.
If already locked, option is to Unlock Ahnentafel.
Delete sub-menu
Remove Entry : Removes the selected person and all their ancestors.
Remove Ancestors for Selected : Removes the ancestors for the selected person, but keeps the selected person in the Ancestor list.
Remove Unconnected Privates : deletes any ancestor with the name of "Private" who does not have any parents listed.
Remove Ahnentafel : Removes the entire list of ancestors.
Using Pedigree Thief to Import
Pedigree Thief is a Google Chrome Browser extension that converts a pedigree from some sites to an Ahnentafel. Directions are included with the extension.
It is possible to import an Ahnentafel through the Google Chrome browser extension “Pedigree Thief”. Go to the Chrome Web Store and search for “Pedigree Thief”. Install this extension.
When installed, set-up your preferences by right clicking the Pedigree Thief icon and selecting 'options'. On the screen that opens set the default for the level of the number of generations to be read, if surnames are to be capitalized or not, and if dates are to be shown in full or by year only.
Note: Due to the formatting of data pasted into the import process, certain elements of F3 Family Comparison view may not be populated if you loaded your profile Ancestor list via this method. Use the Gedcom load to populate those fields.
Using One2Tree to import (Windows only)
One2Tree is a Google Chrome Browser extension for Windows that converts a pedigree from some sites to an Ahnentafel, as well as other formats.
Ensure the tree you are viewing is in Pedigree View.
Click on the Browser extension button to create their listing.
Use Control+A to select the whole page, and Control+C to copy the whole page.
Within GDAT, select the Copy/Paste > One2Tree
Click Okay. You will see the Paste window appear, this should be pre-filled for you.
Click Import.
Note: This option is not available to Mac users.
Note: Due to the formatting of data pasted into the import process, certain elements of F3 Family Comparison view may not be populated if you loaded your profile Ancestor list via this method. Use the Gedcom load to populate those fields.
Importing a Manually created Ahnentafel
It is possible to import a manually created bulk Ahnentafel listing.
This can be done in a number of ways, and how you choose to create one is up to you, as long as the resulting format to be pasted into the import box is the format needed.
The needed formatting for a pasted Ahnentafel is
#. Name born: Date Birth Place died: Date Death Place
and all pasted Ahnentafels must start with person 1 and each ancestor (where known) should be placed in numerical order from there in accordance with the Ahnentafel numbering system.
Acceptably formatted examples include the following:
1. Jane Smith born: 1950 Sydney New South Wales Australia died:
2. John Smith born: 1920 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia died: 2000
3. Judy Jones born: 1930 Brisbane died: 2010 Sydney
4. Jack Smith born: Australia died: 1970 Victoria, Australia
6. Joe Jones born: died: 1940 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
7. Janet Johns born: Melbourne died: Melbourne, 1960
It is possible to skip numbers in the creation of an Ahnentafel list, as long as each person is in the correctly numbered position in the list, the resulting display will be correct.
You can type this information directly into the Paste window, or you can create this elsewhere and copy and paste it in.
Importing an Ahnentafel from a Gedmatch Tree
Creating a GMPro Ahnentafel from a tree in Gedmatch (or a link to WikiTree) is done through an application called “Pedigree To Gedcom.exe”. This Windows application is located in the downloads section at the very bottom of the “Help” page of Pedigree Thief Chrome extension as well as a pdf help file for the utility. (Right click the Pedigree Thief icon and select “Help”.) Install this application.
In Gedmatch. Select “GEDCOM + DNA matches”.
Enter a Gedmatch Kit Number and click “Search”.
Locate the match of interest and click on their GEDCOM ID.
Click on “Pedigree”.
Select all and copy to clipboard (Ctrl A / Ctrl C).
In the Pedigree To GEDCOM utility, click “Paste Pedigree”.
Click “Copy Ahnentafel” (First, you may wish to 'Edit Individuals' to correct entries that the utility has mis-read.)
In GDAT, right click on the blank Ahnentafel page of the match and select “Copy/Paste Pedigree Thief”.
Click “Paste” and then “Import”.
Click “OK”.
Updating or Replacing a Profile's Ancestor List
If you have a need to replace or update an Ancestor list for one or more profiles, the simplest thing to do is to Load a new Gedcom in the same way you may have loaded your Ancestor List in the first place. Importing via one of the right click (control click on Mac) menu Import options and clicking on Person 1 in the Ancestor List will also allow you to replace the entire listing.
You do not have to delete your existing Ancestor List before updating it. GDAT will check the loaded information, and will "ignore" identical information, and update changed information. Which update method you choose is up to you.
Updating an Ancestor List will only impact group names and assigned MRCAs if there is a change to the pertinent ancestor or line, or a significant change to the spelling of a standard surname. Otherwise, all assigned group names and MRCAs will remain untouched.