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Mary Hill Color-Coding System

Accredited genealogist Mary E. V. Hill developed this color-coding system used in Legacy. Adding color-coding to your organizational system helps keep your ancestral lines straight and promotes effective genealogy research.

The idea for color-coding began when family researchers finding lots of collateral genealogy information felt a need to concentrate direct-line great- and great-great-grandparents going back for many generations. 

As they worked on large pedigree charts it became overwhelming until they divided the chart up into four quarters by color. 

Color-code your pedigree by the lineages of your four grandparents. All the ancestors of one grandparent will be organized under the same color: 
  • Grandfather's lineage on your father's side: BLUE 
  • Grandmother's lineage on your father's side: GREEN 
  • Grandfather's lineage on your mother's side: RED 
  • Grandmother's lineage on your mother's side: YELLOW 

    As you navigate through your family file in Legacy the color code for the current individual is shown on the Family and Pedigree Views letting you quickly know what line you are looking at.  

    Note:  To have the color-code box displayed on the Family and Pedigree Views, you must have the option turned on.  (See Color Coding of Ancestors for instructions on how to do this.)

    (See Set Ancestor Colors for information on how to set the color groups.)

    New Expanded Capabilities
    Starting in version 8 of Legacy, the ancestor coloring option can be been expanded from four to eight lines.  If you choose the eight-line option, you can set eight colors to use for your eight great-grandparents.  

    You can now also color two separate lines of ancestors.  For example, you can use one set of eight colors (or just four color if you want to stay with the original design) for your great-grandparents, and you can use another set of eight different colors for your spouse's great-grandparents.  The intent of the original system still applies but you now have a way to track more specific lines in two different groups.

    Note:  If you are tracking two different groups and they happen to intersect, Legacy shows both colors in the Ancestor Color Box and shows you, via the tooltip that pops up when you hover your mouse over the box, which lines are being represented in both groups.


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