The next problem was assigning numbers to individual “families” within family lines. To accomplish this I focused on finding a strict mathematical formula, worrying only about going backward in time and not coming forward again until later.
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| The Sosa-Stradonitz system, showing numbering for direct ancestors |
I gained inspiration from the binary number system, a system every computer geek knows and is something I learned while majoring in electronics at high school. It’s the system computers use to process data – the most basic number system there is, consisting of only ones and zeros (or back in the day, “ons” and “offs”). Considering there are only males and females in a family tree, the use of a base-2 numbering system made sense.
Family Numbers
Using myself as Family (or F) number 1, and alternating backwards between the males and females it works like this:
F Number / Represents / Binary Equivalent
0001 / Me / 000001
0002 / Dad / 000010
0003 / Mom / 000011
0004 / Dad’s Dad / 000100
0005 / Dad’s Mom / 000101
0006 / Mom’s Dad / 000110
0007 / Mom’s Mom / 000111
0008 / Dad’s Dad’s Dad / 001000
0009 / Dad’s Dad’s Mom / 001001
0010 / Dad’s Mom’s Dad / 001010
0011 / Dad’s Mom’s Mom / 001011
0012 / Mom’s Dad’s Dad / 001100
0013 / Mom’s Dad’s Mom / 001101
0014 / Mom’s Mom’s Dad / 001110
0015 / Mom’s Mom’s Mom / 001111
0016 / Dad’s Dad’s Dad’s Dad / 010000
0017 / Dad’s Dad’s Dad’s Mom / 010001
0018 / Dad’s Dad’s Mom’s Dad / 010010
0019 / Dad’s Dad’s Mom’s Mom / 010011
and so on…
There are obvious patterns with this system. First, each male is represented by an even number (“0”) while the females are odd (“1”) – nothing to do with temperament, it just worked out that way. A glance at any of the binary numbers can tell you who that person is – if the leading “1” is interpreted as the generation level minus 1, the remaining digits show the Dads and Moms. For example, F number 19 shows a 4th generation prior to my own (the leading “1” is in the 5th position from the right, minus 1), then “0011” which can be interpreted as “Dad Dad Mom Mom” or my Dad’s Dad’s Mom’s Mom.
Second, the following mathematical rules apply:
1. Each generation going back paternally – multiply the F # by 2
2. Each generation going back maternally – multiply the F # by 2 then add one
For example, my F number is 1, my father’s is 2 (mine x 2), and my father’s father’s is 4 (my father’s x 2) and so on. My mother’s F number is 3 (mine x 2 + 1), while her father’s is 6 (her’s x 2) and her mother’s is 7 (her’s x 2 + 1). Having such a pattern comes in quite handy for tracking purposes, and in fact this is the Sosa-Stradonitz (or Ahnentafel) system itself exactly as it is used in genealogical systems which do not include peripheral relatives. However, instead of using it to designate individuals, I am using it to designate the families to which each individual belongs. My system requires an additional (fourth) level of numbering to accommodate each individual on the tree, i.e. to include all siblings and spouses.
The purpose of the F number is to distinguish relatives who share the same G and L numbers but belong to different families. For the purpose of this numbering system, the definition of family will be “group of siblings”. And of course, the numbering is relative to my own family, therefore my brother, sister and I all have an F number of 1. My father and all six of his siblings share the same F number of 2. My mother and her siblings will have an F number of 3, and so on. Outside of my direct bloodline, spouses who have married into the family tree share the same F number as that of their partner, e.g. my mother’s sister’s husband (uncle) shares her F number of 3.
I have set aside up to 4 digits for F numbers as that many digits accommodates over 10 prior generations (going beyond the 1600’s). Unless I exceed my expectations, that should be plenty. If an additional digit is required in future, then I can just magically add one later.
Sibling Numbers
The final level of numbering in the system is the Sibling (or S) number. This is the simple way we distinguish between siblings within the same family. Known siblings are numbered according to the order of their birth, beginning at 1. Therefore in my own family, my brother has an S number of 1, my sister is 2, and I’m 3 since I am the 3rd and youngest child. Every family (or group of siblings) works this way. S numbers have only 1 digit – for families with more than 9 siblings, we use the letter ‘A’ for 10, ‘B’ for 11, ‘C’ for 12 and so on. In my grandmother’s family, one of my great-aunts has an S number of A, since she was the youngest of ten children.
The S number is at the end of the complete identification number (e.g. my own final identification number is G00L001F0001S3). Using four levels of numbering provides sufficient data to give every one of my direct blood ancestors their own unique and meaningful identification number, however we need to make slight modifications to handle my collateral relatives along with their spouses and offspring. My next blog post will explain this final piece of the puzzle…
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