"The Spearing Numbering System (Part 3)"

The Canon or Common Law Relationship Chart showing
relationships between 2 members of a family tree

My final post regarding the numbering system is to show how the identification numbers can be modified in such a way as to accommodate moving forward in time from any blood relative so that we understand where every relative is on the tree while at the same time having no two identification numbers exactly alike.

To avoid duplication of identification numbers when the tree branches out and comes back toward the present day, we need to add a sub-level of numbering to the end of our identification numbers. If we use the same S number for a specific relative’s children we can assign them an additional digit to indicate that they are a generation removed. For example, if my father’s father had a younger brother, his identification number would be G02L001F0004S2 (2nd generation prior to my own, 1st line, sharing my grandfather’s F number of 4, sibling #2). If he had a son, that person’s identification number would be G01L001F0004S2.1 (1st generation prior to my own, 1st line, same family & sibling number but with a decimal 1 added to indicate 1st generation moving forward, 1st child). If he had a son, we would add another digit, so his identification number would be G00L001F0004S2.11, with the 2 digits representing the 2nd generation forward, 1st child. Additionally, if that person had a younger sibling, their identification number would be G00L001F0004S2.12 (only the final digit is changed, essentially this is a Sibling number within that particular family).

The system I am using for the S numbers is actually stolen from the Henry and D’Aboville descendant numbering systems already commonly used, with the small modification of using a decimal only once, between the original S number and all subsequent generations.

The only way to make real sense of all this is to illustrate it in a mock family tree. Starting with me, moving backwards a bit then coming forward again on a different branch will give an idea how it works:

Member (description) / Identification Number

Me / G00L001F0001S3
My father / G01L001F0002S6
My grandfather / G02L001F0004S1 (assuming he’s the oldest sibling)
My great-grandfather / G03L001F0008S1 (assuming he’s the oldest sibling)

Moving forward, since this is just an example, I’ll use hypothetical descendants of my great-grandfather for illustration purposes:

Great-grandfather’s sister #1 / G03L001F0008S2
Great-grandfather’s sister #2 / G03L001F0008S3
Sister #2’s husband / G03L001F0008S3M1
   (‘S3M1’ means 1st spouse of sibling #3)
Sister #2’s son #1 / G02L001F0008S3.1
   (takes mother’s S number, plus decimal 1)
Sister #2’s son #2 / G02L001F0008S3.2
Sister #2’s daughter #1 / G02L001F0008S3.3
Sister #2’s son #3 / G02L001F0008S3.4
Son #3’s 1st wife / G02L001F0008S3.4M1
Son #3’s daughter #1 / G01L001F0008S3.41
Son #3’s daughter #2 / G01L001F0008S3.42
Son #3’s 2nd wife / G02L001F0008S3.4M2
Son #3’s son #1 by 2nd wife / G01L001F0008S3.43
Son #1’s wife / G01L001F0008S3.43M1
Son #1’s child #7 / G00L001F0008S3.437
Child #7’s child #3 / G0AL001F0008S3.4373

Using the Canon Law Relationship Chart, I have determined this last relative would be my 3rd cousin once removed. According to the chart, the common progenitor at the top would be my 2nd great-grandfather, and following down the left side, I would be in box 4 (great-great-grandson). Following down the right side of the chart, from my great-grandfather’s sister in box 1 and moving down, the last relative shown above would be in box 5 (great-great-great granddaughter). Where the 2 meet in the middle of the chart is at 3rd cousins one generation removed.

Confirming this data can be done by analyzing this relative’s identification number:

G number = 0A (1 generation ahead of my own)
L number = 001 (1st bloodline – shares a common ancestor from my father’s paternal line)
F number = 0008 (a descendant of my great-grandfather’s family)
S number = 3.4373 (a direct descendant of the 3rd sibling in my great-grandfather’s family; this person is the 3rd child of the 7th child of the 3rd child of the 4th child of that ancestor)

Final Thoughts

It has been said that ancestor and descendant numbering systems should be kept separate, that they mix as well as oil and water. That may be true as the statement comes from much more experienced genealogists than me. However, in my humble opinion, anything is worth trying that will allow me to have one uniform catalogue of everyone I know of who is or has ever been related to me. The identification numbers I’m generating are lengthy by some standards perhaps, but they are meaningful and they work! Now comes the fun part - cataloguing my relatives and growing the family tree.