Are you interested in your ancestors and do you want to know more about where you come from? Then creating a family tree is a good first step. This is a visual representation of a person’s ancestry. It also shows the relationships with your ancestors. Now you are probably wondering: how do I create a family tree? We explain it in six steps.
Step 1. Choose an easy or difficult family tree
If you are going to create a family tree, you decide for yourself how simple or complex to make it. A simple family tree, for example, includes you, your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. With an extensive family tree, you go further back and show the relationship between you, your parents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, cousins, and so on.
Step 2. Determine the direction
Also consider the direction in which you want to draw the family tree. Usually, you see a tree structure with one person as the root. Lines (branches) run from the root to the boxes (leaves). Each family member gets a leaf containing information such as their birth, marriage, and death dates. Normally, trees grow upwards from the ground, but on paper, you can also create a family tree from bottom to top, or from left to right. Look at a few family tree examples to determine which one you like best.
There is no fixed rule for what family trees should look like or what information they should contain. Do you want to map relationships simply? Then choose a simple kinship diagram. With this, you use simple symbols, lines, and letters to represent your family history.
Step 3. Gather information
Next, you start looking for information. Write down what you already know, reach out to family members, and search libraries and other institutions for reliable documents that confirm your family history. Keep in mind that you will not always get a complete picture. Many documents have been lost or destroyed by fire, war, or floods. And in some countries, they simply keep better records than in others.
Step 4. Make a rough sketch
Once you have gathered all the information, you will draw the family tree. First, make a rough sketch. Start with yourself and work your way to the oldest ancestor, or vice versa. This can be done with pen and paper, but it is much easier online. You can easily create a family tree on Creately or DNAweekly. Afterwards, you add it to your family or genealogy book. You will also find plenty of family tree examples there to draw inspiration from.
Step 5. Add data
Each family member gets their own box in the family tree, or a leaf on the tree. Make sure the box is large enough to display all the information. Do you want to record only dates, or also add photos and other important events? Place one generation at each level of the tree to keep it organized and ensure relationships are clearly visible.
Step 6. Place the family tree in your family book.
Is your family tree complete? Then you can share it (online) with family members. It is even more fun to collect background stories, anecdotes, and photos. You bundle these into a family book. Add the family tree and you get a complete picture of your family history. It is a creative project that will keep you busy for a while, but the book is incredibly valuable and will sit on the shelf for generations to come.
Create your family book at Bookadew
We hope that with this family tree example, we have answered the question: how do you create a family tree? If you are in the zone and have started making a family book, you can have it produced at Bookadew. And almost anything is possible! We print high-quality family books in small runs, which are ready for shipment within five working days. Use our online price calculator to put together your book. Do you have questions or are you having trouble? Then feel free to contact us at any time.