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How Do I Create My Family Tree?

The easiest way to start your family tree is to start with yourself and work backwards. You need to include siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins etc etc as far back as you can. Any gaps that need to be filled in can be done by interviewing living relatives or researching birthplaces or national censuses.

When documenting each ancestor, you will need to know as much information about them as possible. Things to consider and know are:

• Name

• Date of Birth, Death (if they are deceased) and marriage if applicable.

• Their relationship to others in the chart

• Their place of birth and residency

• Their occupation

Recording your family can be done by using one of the many genealogy software packages that are available on the market. These can be advantageous because they will provide you with charts where you can easily update or add to the information you already have.

If you prefer to record your findings on a handwritten chart then you may possibly use one of the following methods of recording:

• Drop-line Pedigree Chart

  This is the most popular kind of chart and easiest to follow. You start with yourself at the bottom then work through each generation with your earliest ancestor at the top. This type of chart includes marriages, siblings, second marriages and illegitimacies.

• Indented Narrative

  Many software packages provide this type of chart where the narrative is indented one space for each generation. Each person is given a number according to their generation.

• Birth Brief

  This chart records the details of four or five generations horizontally from left to right. It does not have enough space to include siblings. The space for details also decreases as the number of entries escalate.

Article by Tracey Aldous