Making a Family Tree

Making a family tree is something that anyone can do. Read on and discover a few steps to help get you started.

Family Trees

Family trees can be an important link to your paper collectibles and sometimes add the missing piece of the puzzle. This knowledge will likely add value to your personal family ephemera collection.

Now, it is true, you do not need a family tree to complete your story and add to your collection of paper memories.

But, it helps! And, making a family tree can be fun, challenging and rewarding all wrapped up in one package.

Some Starting Points

Overwhelmed? Need help? Work with a professional genealogist That's what they do!

But first, go get a large yellow legal pad and a few writing utensils. You will likely be jotting down a lot of names, dates, and other random information.

Next, you could, (and probably should) open up a file/folder on your desktop computer.

Identify it clearly and use it to store these same names, dates, etc.

This will make your life a lot easier when it is time to transfer your data.

Especially, if you decide to use a family tree template such as the one that follows...

The legal pad comes in handy when you are down in a dirty basement, or up in the attic. But, make sure to transfer and save all of that valuable information back onto your computer, later on!

Begin making your family tree...start simple. Start with yourself, your parents, grandparents, and other immediate family. You may surprised at how far you can branch-off without much effort.

Stay focused and organized. It is easy to misplace names and dates. Write clearly! You will need to transfer all of this information at some point down the line.

The next logical step would be to contact a living relative, (preferrably much older than you) and have them help you fill in some gaps. They should be able to extend your family tree by leaps and bounds. If not, chances are, they may know of someone else in the family that can!

This simple start should be enough to fill in some lines on your family tree (perhaps even 3-4 generations!) How far you want to take it is up to you.

Keep in mind, researching your family history can be quite time consuming and labor intensive. (But rewarding too!)

Stuck? Don't give up yet! There are a lot of ways to complete your family search. Read through all of our pages on genealogy before giving up. (and a couple of thousand more on the internet!)

Finally, continue your genealogy research with a professional genealogist. They will offer you a wide selection of information and advice for you to follow. Genealogist, generally love their profession as much as anyone!

As such, they are usually quite helpful in filling in those gaps. Even if you don't employ their professional service, chances are, they will be willing to point you in the right direction.

What Information Should You Include?

Obviously, you may include much more! Many family tree templates allow you to include a picture, and that adds a nice and personal touch.

Or, perhaps you may want to list occupations and/or hobbies. You could even include a personal memory or notable quality of each person listed on your tree.

It's all up to you! How far do you want to go? How much time, energy, and resources do you have?

Random Thoughts...

Why? Fill in the gaps to your personal family ephemera collection. Many of us have "bits and pieces" of our family history hidden right in our own homes, or that of our parents.

Put those pieces together and you will likely paint a picture of the past right before your very eyes...

Our Advice?

Once again, keep it simple at the start. The important point here is the start!

Just get one started and you will find it hard not to finish it! And once you do, you will feel proud that you did!

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