a chart that shows how the members of a family are related over many generations

a genealogy tool, used to show the relationship between family members in different generations

a record of the ancestors of a selected person, and does not digress far into the collateral lines

a record of your ancestors

A chart showing the relationship of unwitting ancestors to unworthy descendants.

A chart showing a decedent's distributees.

A family tree is generally the totality of one's ancestors represented as a tree structure, or more specifically, a chart used in genealogy. The purpose of the family tree is to show the family connections between individuals, consisting of the individuals' names (usually accompanied by dates, and often also places and occupations) connected by various types of line representing marriages, extra-marital unions, and progeniture. Some use the term only for charts showing strict patrilineal descent, although in common usage the term is used much more generally.