What do the numbers mean? And what about the characters in between?

• The numbers represent the different persons. The characters between two persons indicate that these two persons are either married (*) or divorced (§). A question mark (?) stands for a person whose name is unknown:

  ?   3x § 3y * 3z   3ä

  3x has been divorced from 3y and is now married to 3z. 3ä is not and has never been married to 3z. The fifth person's name is unknown.

And what do the lines that connect the different persons mean?

• The lines connect parents to their children, with dotted lines connecing adoptive parents to their adopted children. Children are always shown below the parents:

  3f * 3g   3r § 3s
  |    |    :    :
  +--+-+    :....:
     |         :
     +----+....:
          |:
          4h

  4h is the child of 3f and 3g and has been adopted by 3r and 3s.

And if two lines meet? How do I know if it is a single line that divides or if it is two lines that are just crossing each other?

• The lines have different colours. A line that divides does not change its colour. Two different lines that are crossing each other always have different colours:

          1      ?
          |      |
  +-------+------|---------+
  |              |         |
  |         +----+----+    |
  |         |         |    |
  2g   2h * 2i   2j * 2k * 2l

  The red line connects the person with the number 1 to 2g and 2l. It crosses the blue line, which connects the person with the unknown name to 2i and 2k.
  
  There is another way of distinguishing dividing lines from crossing lines (for example on a black and white printout): A line that divides, has a plus (+) to mark the junction. Whereever two lines meet without having a plus in common, they are crossing each other.

Wie kann man herausfinden, welche Person sich hinter welcher Nummer verbirgt?

• When printing out the family tree, you will find a list showing both the numbers and the names on the second page. Behind the name of a person that has already died, there is a cross (†).

  2n Amanda Ewing
  2o Jason Ewing †

  2n stands for Amanda Ewing, 2o stands for Jason Ewing, who has died.

Are there any persons or events that are not shown?

• You should know the following facts concerning the contents of the Family Tree:
  • The Family Tree displays the relationships as they are at the end of the last episode of the series. Events that occur in Pamela Ewing's dream (like, e. g., her marriage to Marc Graison Junior) or in J. R. Ewing's visions in the last episode are not mentioned.
  • Annulled marriages are marked as divorced (Pamela Ewing and Edison Faraday Haynes). The marriage between James Beaumont and Shellie Stevens is not marked, as it turns out to have been invalid from the beginning.
  • It is most probable that Cliff Barnes is Pammie Cooper's father; even probable enough to be marked in the Family Tree.