Each person has a listing showing that person's name and vital dates. In addition, there are vertical lines connecting a child to known parents. The person's father is listed above (and the mother is listed below) the person's listing.

These charts list a person's ancestors in lineal form, rather than in graphic branching form as in Pedigree charts. Except for the first person (#1), all males are even-numbered, while all females are odd-numbered.

The father of any person is double that person's number. The mother of any person is one more than double that person's number. So, the father of person #1 is numbered #2, and the mother of person #1 is numbered #3. This same formula continues on through all ascending generations.

To determine the relationship of an ancestor to person #1, or to determine the descending lineage from any ancestor, the formula is in reverse. Simply divide the ahnentafel number by 2 for a male, and subtract 1 and divide by 2 for a female.

If you want to determine the descendancy of the person whose ahnentafel number is 85, subtract one (since this person is odd-numbered we know it is a female) and divide 84 by 2 to equal 42. So #85 is the mother of #42; #42 is the father of #21. Again, an odd number, which tells us that #21 is the mother of #10, who is the father of #5, who is the mother of #2, who is the father of #1.