Ahnenlist is a German word. The literal translation is ancestor list. An ahnenlist is an ancestor list; a list of ancestors of in a particular sequence.
An ahnenlist enumerates ancestors in a particular sequence; generations by generation, each new generation listing the parents of the individuals in the previous generation, with these parents in the same sequence as their children, and always listing the father before the mother. Unknown ancestors are skipped.
1. Henry III, b. 19 Sep 1551 JC, Château de Fontainbleau, France, d. 2 Aug 1589 JC,Saint-Cloud, France.
2. Henry II, b. 31 Mar 1519 JC, Saint-German-en-Laye, France, d. 10 Jul 1559 JC, Paris, France.
3. Catharine de Medici, b. 13 Apr 1519 JC, Florence, Italy, d. 5 Jan 1589 JC, Château de Blois, Anjou, France.
4. Francis I, b. 12 Sep 1494 JC, Cognac, Charente, France, d. 31 Mar 1547 JC, Château de Rambouillet, France.
5. Claude of France, b. 14 Oct 1499 JC, d. 20 Jul 1524 JC.
6. Lorenzo de’ Medici, b. 12 Sep 1492 JC, d. 4 May 1519 JC.
7. Madeline de la Tour d’Auvergne, b. abt 1501 JC, d. 28 Apr 1519 JC.
A three-generation ahnenlist. Notice that the ancestors are numbered.
An ahnenlist is a genealogical presentation format. It is a textual pedigree report, not a
graphical pedigree chart.
Lacking genealogy software, an ahnentafel is easily
created in a word processor.
An ahnenlist is a report of known ancestors, but it need not be a complete report of all known ancestors. It is common to list all known ancestors up to a fixed number of generations ago.
An ahnenlist is an ancestor report; a proper ahnenlist contains nothing but ancestors. Many individuals in the report have other partners and additional children, but these are not included in the report.
An ahnenlist is an ancestor list, not an ancestor table; the ancestors are not presented in some table format, but in a free-flowing text which can be broken into pages. Page size does not impose a practical limit on the number of generations in an ahnenlist.
An ahnenlist typically includes all vital data; the birth, death and marriage
dates and places, and it is customary to include christening and burial
events instead of or in addition to the birth and death events. It generally
includes any other basic data that is available, such as the individual’s
occupation.
When no vital data is available, some alternative report or chart type, such as
the compact presentation of an ahnentafel or a fan chart, may be a better
choice.
The free-flowing nature of an ahnenlist makes it an excellent basis for a more extensive ancestor report that includes additional information, such as photos or small biographies.
Many applications will not just produce an ahnenlist, but will optionally include an alphabetical index as well. Such an index can be very handy for a large ahnenlist.
When presented as a web page, an ahnenlist is often hyperlinked for quick
navigation between children and parents.
An ahnenlist is a textual report type well suited for paper publication. It is not
limited to small number of generations, will typically include all vital data,
and forms an excellent basis for a more extensive report that includes additional data.
An ahnenlist can be quite long. The lack of overview can compensated for by
including a few ahnentafels, fan chart or other diagrams.
A list is not a table. An ahnenlist is not an ahnentafel. Many genealogy applications will produce
an ahnenlist, yet mislabel it ahnentafel
. As genealogist look to their
software for examples, these errors have caused much confusion about what an ahnentafel is.
Most genealogy software that mislabels ahnenlist as ahnentafel
does not support
ahnentafel at all, but only ahnenlist.
An ahnenlist commonly uses ahnen numbering.
Added the ahnenliste sidebar to address a common comment.
Copyright © Tamura Jones. All Rights reserved.