Can I Create a 6-Generation Family Tree?

Exploring family history is an exciting activity with friends and family or even in a professional genealogist's environment. It is common to find older people researching family history to keep themselves busy or as leisure to save them from the work-to-retirement transition. 

While tracing family history is a fun thing to do, it is not a leisurely pursuit. It includes complexities that could pose horrible nightmares to even the most experienced genealogist. One challenge of tracing family history is the number of people you have to research, including ancestors, their children, and at times great-great-great grandparents. 

At Record Click, we understand the issues you might face during your family tracking efforts, and that is why we have provided the right tools, such as easy-to-use family tree templates, just for you. That said, let's explore what a 6-generation family tree is and how to overcome challenges when creating it. 

Key Takeaways 

• A complete pedigree of six generations, with you as the first generation, would include your parents and 32 other people
• There are 64 ancestors in six generations.
• Missing records is one of the challenges that will hinder your efforts to identify your ancestors. 

What is a 6 Generation Family?

Tracking family history requires you to perceive the extent to which you can research individual data and relevant details. You will use a pedigree with many individuals based on the generations you intend to explore. 

Typically, you have to start the pedigree with yourself, preceding your parents and grandparents. Being the start means you are the first generation of the pedigree while your parents are the second generation. Your grandparents then form the third generation and so on. 

To get to the 6-generation family, you have to keep adding parents, siblings, and grandparents. There is also an addition of siblings in each generation, making the tree complex as one progresses from the first to the following generations. Such additions might include descendants, adopted children, etc. 

A complete six-generation family pedigree, with you as the first generation, would include your parents and 62 other individuals. The total population would be 126 if your parents were considered the first generation, but in standard genealogical methods, you are the first generation.

How Far Back in Time Is the 6 Generation Family?

The answer to this question is complex as it depends on how long each generation has lived, the time they had their first children, and if you are a descendant of the last or first child in the family. Putting it into perspective, the 6-generation family means you'll have to identify up to your great-great-great-great grandparents, meaning you'll account for 62 lineages from that of your parents downwards. Putting it into perspective, that is about 200 years back in time. 

Many people consider it a significant success if they can account for a few generations in 1 or 3 lines. This is until you realize that to account for the 6-generation family, you'll need to explore far more surnames, in this case, 32 to be precise. So, what problems are you likely to encounter when researching your 6 generation's family? 

Possible Challenges When Exploring 6-Generation Family

Most genealogists face three common challenges while exploring 6 generation families. However, this should not bother you because at Record Click, we provide support and resources while you are at it. 

1. Missing Records 

Considering that you are about to research and explore the lives of your 32 ancestors, there is a high likelihood you'll need more details for about 40% of them. With time being a factor, you need to find the record in good condition to get all the necessary details. 

Remember that very few records survived the most recent world wars, which happened about 70 years back. These wars even displaced people from their countries and separated them from their family members. Now put into perspective how hard it would be to go back 200 years. 

2. Common Surnames

You can never underestimate the error this challenge can cause your 6 generation's family tree. As you go back in time to explore possible links in your lineages, remember that people also had common surnames in the past. The common error here is to link them to the tree, with no substantial evidence that they were actually your relatives or just shared a surname with your ancestors. 

3. Genealogy is A Process

You are not in a race to see who can go back the furthest. Instead, you are putting in time and effort to choose which family lines you'll focus on. Always have a goal you intend to accomplish when starting a project, and work at it systematically to avoid errors. For an instant, it is advisable to concentrate on one family line at a time until you exhaust records or evidence of their existence before hopping to another. 

Check Out Our 4 Generation Family Tree Templates

Our website has been a go-to resource for people looking to explore and study their family history. We have easy-to-use family tree resources and other valuable tools to explore up to your 6-generation family easily. The prospect is quite exciting.