The sample: the Hartley family.
An invented family of 31 people across five generations, drawn exactly the way a real order is drawn: from a typed list of names, years and places, nothing added. The chart's own footer says it is a sample.
The list this chart was drawn from
Root: Eleanor Hartley, b. 1952 Leeds, teacher Father: Thomas Hartley, 1921 Bradford – 1998, wool merchant's clerk Mother: Margaret Pryce, 1926 Cardiff – 2011, nurse Grandfather (f): Arthur Hartley, 1890 Bradford – 1957, mill overlooker Grandmother (f): Edith Crossley, 1894 Halifax – 1972 Grandfather (m): Owen Pryce, 1896 Merthyr Tydfil – 1961, collier Grandmother (m): Gwen Llewellyn, 1899 Aberdare – 1980 Great-grandparents: William Hartley 1858–1931 Bradford; Sarah Ann Whitaker 1862–1929 Keighley; James Crossley 1860–1935 … … and 20 more lines, or the .ged file from Ancestry instead.
What to collect for each person
- How they relate to the root person (father, mother's mother…)
- Full name as the family writes it
- Year of birth, and the town if known
- Year of death, if they have died
- One line: a place they lived or what they did
Missing pieces are fine. A blank line is honest; a guessed date is not, so we never fill one in.