© 2000, 2010 Roderic A. Davis,
2nd All rights reserved. License is granted to individuals to
use the ideas contained herein for their own private use only. Any use
for monetary or other gain is specifically prohibited.
The salient characteristics of the ODT (Outline Descendant Tree) report
format, as used on this website, are presented here. This format shows
the descendants of an ancestor in outline form, where each generation is
indented. It is a "depth first" display, as contrasted with a "breadth
first" display. Each person's data is displayed on a single line (which
may be word wrapped for display purposes). The ODT is a very compact representation.
Characteristics
Note
The various features described in this report are represented in the programs
that produce them. The individual ODTs have not been uniformly regenerated
with each advance, however, so you may see ODTs online in various stages
of dress. Eventually, they will all be regenerated at one time or another,
so they will "catch" up" with the current design by attrition.
Overview
The data is presented in top down fashion from a single ancestor to each
of his or her descendants. The form is that of an outline, with individuals
in successive generations increasingly indented from the left margin. Each
individual is presented, followed by his or her spouse, and then by their
children. Each child is treated in the same way.
Content summary
The header of the report contains the following:
-
The title of the report, with the principle surname and the number of distinct
ODTs included on the page.
-
A list of known name forms (spellings) considered equivalent.
-
A list of the progenitors of each family ODT On this page, in the form
of hotlinks to the appropriate sections
-
A count of the number of individuals in the ODTs on this page
-
A hotlink to the xref links at the bottom of the page
-
A reminder if this is a Collateral Line
-
A link to a celebrity page for this family, if one has been prepared
-
A link to a family photo gallery, if one has been prepared
-
Special notes pertaining to this family
The following is presented for each individual:
-
Name
-
Birth date and place ("b:")
-
Death date, place and cause ("d:")
-
Reference Number ("#:")
Spouses will additionally have:
-
Marriage date and place ("m:")
-
Father's name ("Father:")
-
Mother's name ("Mother:")
All names are presented with the surname first and set in upper case. Names
include all titles and suffixes. For example:
WHITE, Sir Edward, of Cranbrook KEN, Immigrant
Single surname
Generally, each file is devoted to a single surname.
Offspring of female family members are usually not represented,
although there are exceptions. (see Collateral families)
Progenitor
The progenitor (male) is the common ancestor of all the people in the report,
except for the spouses' parents, who are listed mainly for identification
purposes. If you think of the family as a (mathematical) tree, the
progenitor sits at its apex.
Font
The ODT is presented in a fixed-pitch font. This makes it easier to control
the formatting.
Descendants of Thomas Starre
1 STARRE, Thomas
2 STARR, Agnes
2 STARR, Katherine
2 STARR, Thomas [2]
.. 3 STARR, Jehosephat
.. 3 STARR, Dr. Comfort
.... 4 STARR, Ruth
.... 4 STARR, Dr. Thomas [a1]
.... 4 STARR, Judith
.... 4 STARR, Mary
.... 4 STARR, Elizabeth
.... 4 STARR, Rev. Comfort [2]
.... 4 STARR, John B., Housewright
.... 4 STARR, Samuel
.... 4 STARR, Hannah
.... 4 STARR, Lydia
.. 3 STARR, Nostrength
.. 3 STARR, Moregifte
.. 3 STARR, William
.. 3 STARR, Mercy
.. 3 STARR, Constant
.. 3 STARR, Suretrust
.... 4 ROUSE, Mercy
.. 3 STARR, Thomas [3]
.. 3 STARR, Standwell
.. 3 STARR, Judith
.. 3 STARR, Truth-Shall-Prevayel
.. 3 STARR, Joyfolle
.... 4 STARR, John
.... 4 STARR, Jehosephat
.... 4 STARR, Thomas
.... 4 STARR, Elizabeth
.... 4 STARR, Joseph
.... 4 STARR, Joyfull
.... 4 STARR, Moregift
.... 4 STARR, Myriam
.... 4 STARR, Jehosephat
.. 3 STARR, Constante
.. 3 STARR, Anne
.. 3 STARR, Beloved
2 STARR, Ann
2 STARR, Joaias
2 STARR, Samuel
2 STARR, Hannah
2 STARR, John
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Depth-first
Some genealogical reports use a breadth-first presentation order. The New
England Historical and Genealogical Register report format is perhaps a
familiar example. All the individuals in each successive generation are
presented in turn; All of generation 1, followed by all of generation 2,
then generation 3, then four, then five, and so on.
The ODT uses a depth-first presentation order,
which may be familiar to you as an outline.
In an outline, each topic is followed by all its subtopics.
So the first major topic is followed by all its subtopics and their subtopics before the second major topic is introduced.
The document you are reading is laid out this way.
The outline form may be described in graph theory as
a left- or right-list scan of a tree. If you visualize the
family as a branching tree, with the progenitor at the top, and his descendants
arranged below him, a left-list scan goes like this:
-
Present the individuals beginning with the progenitor and descendants following
a path down the extreme left edge of the tree.
-
When the bottom is reached, backtrack until a family is encountered with
unexplored branches (offspring) to the right.
-
Take the left-most of the unexplored branches, again proceeding downward
along the extreme left edge of that subtree.
-
Repeat from step 2 until the apex is again reached by backtracking along
the right-most branch.
This procedure is guaranteed to visit each node in a tree at least once.
Simple adjustments accommodate multiple marriages. The end result looks
like an outline, hence the name.
The example to the right shows how this works for a limited number of
generations, and no spouses shown.
Indention
Successive generations are indented by the width of one character. This,
together with the generation numbering, is usually sufficient to allow
visual groupings.
Word Wrap
In order to facilitate printing of the ODT, long lines are presented in
pieces so that no data escapes beyond the print margins. Continued lines
are further indented a single character, and prefixed by a dash. The wrap
algorithm avoids separating certain elements of the data on different lines.
Spouses
The two partners in a marriage are (in presentation order):
-
The family member (a direct descendant of the progenitor)
-
Preceded by a generation number and a corresponding indentation. The progenitor's
generation is "1", and successive generations are 2, 3, and so on.
-
The spouse
-
Follows on the next line
-
A mid-line dot replaces the generation number, aligned under the partner's
generation number.
-
Spouse's name is prefixed by a plus sign (+).
3 MORGAN, Charles, of Gravesend b: 1648 New Amsterdam...
• +FEAKE, Elizabeth b: 1633-1670 d: #: FEAK33* ... |
See also multiple spouses, below.
Intrafamilial marriages
In cases where both partners are family members, i.e. descendants of the
progenitor, the pair will appear twice in the report -- once at each partner's
place in the outline as a descendant. Their rôles as spouse are reversed in each
place, of course. Listing of offspring from the marriage is suppressed
in the second instance.
These duplicated individuals will be made apparent by prefixing the
names of the pair with a bracketed number [N], indicating that the individual
also appears elsewhere in the report. (see "Duplicated
Individuals")
Parents of
If known, the spouse's parents will be indicated as "Father:" and "Mother:".
Only their names are shown.
Multiple spouses
If a family member married more than once, the additional spouse will appear
in marriage order following the family of the first spouse (if any). Each
additional spouse will be preceded by a line saying, for example:
5 [6] MORGAN,
Capt. James [2] b: 02 Apr 1716 ...
• +Helena #: MORG931 ...
(descendants by 1st wife)
.
.
.
*2nd Wife of [6] James Morgan:
• +MOREHOUSE, Ann b: 14 Sep 1718 d: 05 Nov 1755 ...
(descendants by 2nd wife)
.
.
.
*3rd Wife of [6] James Morgan:
• +FICTITIOUS, Betty
(descendants by 3nd wife)
.
.
.
|
The asterisk will be aligned with the generation number of
the indicated spouse, making it easier to find him or her.
The
"[6]" key links the multiple appearances of James Morgan in the report.
(See also Links: Within the
ODT)
Links
blue |
Unvisited link |
red |
Selected link |
purple |
Visited link |
Throughout the text of the ODT you may see certain items highlighted by
your browser to indicate that they are hotlinks. A mouse click on them will
switch your view to somewhere else. Normally, these items will be underlined
and displayed in a different color, as shown in the table. Note that browsers
differ in this area, and some allow you to specify your own colors.
To other ODTs
When instances of intermarriage between members of different families occur,
these are represented in a way that facilitates transition between the
files. The two individuals are present is each file. The spouse in each
case is the individual belonging to the other family, and that surname
will be a hot link which will take you to that person's line in his/her
family. In that file, the other partner is the spouse, with a link
back to her/his family file entry.
It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is.
Summary of links
All the links to other ODTs will be reprised at the end of the report.
To thematic material
In cases where additional material pertaining to an individual exists on
the site, there will be a link from the individuals Reference Number (#:)
to the appropriate page. This is usually because the individual enjoys
some degree of fame or notoriety.
Within the ODT
There may also be hotlinks to other places within the same ODT:
In each case, the individual is identified by a prefixed bracket with a
unique (within the subfamily) identifying number. The numbers will be hotlinks
to the next occurrence, or to the first from the last occurrence. (See
Spouses:
Multiple
Spouses for a working example)
Elemental forms
Names
Names have the following form:
SURNAME, title given names, suffixes
Any part may be omitted. The name will never end in a comma, nor will it
contain successive commas. The surname is always presented in upper case.
There may also be certain bracketed numbers within the name.
-
{231}: (braces, curly brackets) These are identifying numbers
from an authoritative published source.
-
[3b]: (square brackets) These are nonce identifiers assigned
by me to distinguish like-named individuals, or to identify a generation number.
These bracketed figures should not be confused with prefixed bracketed
numbers used to identify duplicated individuals.
Conventions
-
(surname): The true surname is unknown, and the surname
of the husband is used in its place.
-
(infant): An infant with unknown name
-
(3sibs): A number of siblings are grouped together under
this one "name" to indicate their existence when further details are either
unknown or not germane.
-
<unmarried>: Used as a spouse name to explicitly indicate
that the individual was known to have never married.
Suffixes
This "field" is used to record supplementary information:
-
Extended titles: e.g.
-
Duke of Northumberland (or "Duke Northumberland")
-
5th Earl of Sunderland (or Earl5 Sunderland)
-
Degrees and honors: e.g.
-
DD - Doctor of Divinity
-
KBE - Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
-
Kt - Knight
-
LLD - Doctor of Law
-
Occupations: e.g.
-
Esq. - a lawyer or an elected official
-
Farmer
-
HC - House of Commons
-
Housewright
-
MC - Member of Congress (USA), Military Cross (UK)
-
MP - Member of Parliament
-
Shipwright
-
41st POTUS - President
Of
The
United
States
-
Places of residence: e.g.
-
of Hartford CT - note omitted comma
-
Special feats: e.g.
-
Passenger - (of Mayflower, 1620)
-
Signer - (of Declaration of Independence)
-
Military service: e.g. (V:=veteran of)
-
V:KPW - King Philip's War
-
V:RW - Revolutionary
War
-
V:SR - Shay's Rebellion
-
V:1812 - War of 1812
-
V:CSA - Civil War (Confederate States of Americas)
-
V:CW - Civil War (Union)
-
V:SAW - Spanish-American War
-
V:WW1 - World War I
-
V:WW2 - World War II
-
V:KW - Korean War
-
V:VN - Viet Nam
Dates
All dates are presented in this format: (de mmm yyyy), e.g. (09
Jan 2000). This form combines brevity with unambiguity.
Estimates
In cases where actual dates are unknown it is useful to bound the possibilities
by supplying an estimated date. Careful estimated date ranges can facilitate
future researches. Ranges are usually compiled from other known facts, such as
the dates for burial (death will usually have preceded this date), baptism
(which customarily shortly follows birth) or other known dates. A bounded range
(from-to) is preferred to an unbounded range (e.g. Bef. 1999)
because of the unbounded nature of the latter. A death date estimated as
"Aft. 1800" is technically bounded on the upper end by today's date,
but the true date is likely much earlier than that!
Range (e.g. yyyy-yyyy)
from-to
After, Before, About
Symbol |
Meaning |
Other |
<
|
Before this |
Bef. |
>
|
After this |
Aft. |
~
(tilde)
|
About, circa |
Abt., ca. |
Double Dates (e.g. 1543/44)
These estimates indicate that the event occurred during the period when
two different calendars (Julian and Gregorian) were in simultaneous use.
The first year is the Julian, or Old Style (O.S.), year, and the second
is the Gregorian, or New Style (N.S.) year, For a reasonable explanation
of double dates, see "Family
Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Troubleshooting -- FTM for Windows:
Double
Dates".
These are estimates because the format does not account for the
difference in days between the two calendars.
Other forms
Other special death date forms include the following, which are useful
when exact dates are unknown:
Reference Numbers (#:)
These are used to uniquely identify individuals. No two individuals within
the site will have the same reference number. These have an alphabetic
prefix which identifies the family to which the person belongs.
Places
These are generally in this form:
place, county, state, country
-
Country is usually abbreviated, and will be omitted entirely for
places in the USA.
-
State will also be abbreviated, using conventional postal abbreviations.
-
County will be abbreviated where accepted postal conventions exist,
e.g. in Great Britain, Ireland, Canada.
Special notations
There are some special notations used in the place field to overcome
certain program limitations.
-
% - (percent sign) "probably"
-
? - (question mark) "perhaps"
-
(bp) - date & place are for baptism (also "bap", "bapt")
-
(bur) - date & place are for burial
-
(inv) - date & place is for estate inventoried (i.e.
follows death)
-
(sp) - Sine prole (L.: without issue)
-
(wd) - date & place is for will date (i.e. precedes
death)
-
(wp) - date & place is for probated will (i.e. follows
death)
Collateral Families
A collateral family is a subtree of a family, but with a different
surname than that of the parent family. Collateral families are formed
by the union of a female from the parent family with an unrelated male.
All of their descendants are also descendants of the progenitor of the
parent family (and, of course, of the progenitor of the husband's family)
but with the husband's surname. I have generally excluded collateral families
from this study, with some exceptions where the collateral line contains
descendants of particular interest. Note that these collateral descendants
are not "second class" relatives in any sense.
A simplified view, from my perspective, is that I have no ancestor with
the surname of these relatives. Think of your own sisters. By my definition,
each of them (potentially) heads a collateral family because their offspring
will (usually) have a surname different from your own.
Special considerations
Privacy
In the interest of privacy, certain information about living -- or presumed
living -- individuals is suppressed.
What is suppressed? Birth and marriage dates and places for that individual.
Living is defined for this purpose as any individual with no death information (date or place) who was born within the past 120 years.
Duplicated individuals
Intermarriage will produce instances
of duplicated individuals. These folks will be identified by prefixed numbers
in square brackets, e.g. [3]. Each such individual has a unique
prefix number, e.g. [3], which identifies the same individual
wherever s/he appears within an ODT. These prefix
numbers in square brackets are not to be confused with
infix
bracketed figures (see also).
-
SANDYS, Archbishop Edwin [1], M.A., D.D.
-
[6] SANDS, Ray Thomas {318}
The
numbers in the prefix brackets will be hotlinks to the other places in
the report where that individual is referenced. The links for a particular
individual will be arranged in a "ring", or loop, to that successive jumps
will hit all references to that individual and bring you back where you
started.
Multiple ODTs in one (subfamilies)
There are cases where the same surname pops up in more than one place
in the family tree structure. There are surprisingly few cases where these
represent different, unrelated families. These families will share the
same Reference Number prefix, and will
appear in the same ODT, each under their own progenitor:
Multiple ODTs in one
Descendants of ? Thomas, of London
(his family)
Descendants of John [1] Thomas
(his family)
Descendants of John [2] Thomas, (of Wiltshire?)
(his family)
|
If future research connects these families to a common ancestor, no
reassignment of Reference Numbers will be required.
Markers
Two symbols may appear in the left margin of the main part of the listing.
(shown enlarged here)
-
• The bullet.
These mark individuals with surnames from my
other families who have not been linked to that other family. I
use these as a guide when I'm "fishing" for connections.
-
* Asterisk. These mark my direct ancestors.
All the rest are cousins, aunts and uncles.
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