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Have you ever been tempted to make a family tree for your family? What do you know about your ancestors? Who were they, what did they do, where did they live? Learning about your relatives’ stories can be a fascinating adventure. So make your own family tree of the family.
Family tree – what is it?
A family tree is a visual representation of a person’s lineage, tracing their relationship to shared ancestors. Visually similar to an organization chart, a family tree diagram is usually depicted in a tree structure that starts with your person, that is, the person concerned.
From the root of the tree, the lines representing the branches end with frames representing leaves – that is, individual members of the family. Each leaf shows information about family members along with information such as birth, marriage, and death dates.
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Family tree – where to start?
Personal knowledge may be the first branches of your family tree. Start at home by collecting and organizing your documents, make a simple table or list starting with you, your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Try to search for the following documents:
- birth, baptism, graduation, marriage, military and profession certificates,
- death certificates, funeral and obituary records,
- yearbooks, newspaper articles, family letters, community mementos, sports awards, and other documents that may include names, dates, and locations.
Then look at your family’s religious documents, old letters, photos, and mementos. Print copies and tag everything to document the source, and scan them if possible to save them digitally. Now you are well on your way to branching off your family tree.
Then contact family members and ask questions about their lives and the lives of other relatives. First, question all your oldest relatives. Most of us later wish we hadn’t done it on time. Sample questions may include:
- where did they live
- in what part of the country?
- what apartment did they live in?
- when and where were their loved ones born?
- when did their relatives die and where are they buried?
Take some of your old photos and treasures from the attic with you to refresh their memories. And be sure to ask if you can see their old family heirlooms, letters, and photos. These documents can help you expand your search. Take photos of their mementos. Document photos taken with names, date and location.
Hear their family stories and take notes. Relatives often have different versions of the same story because each person remembers the event in their own way, but these differences make it interesting! Share what you already know with them.
Use a tape recorder or a video camera if your relative is comfortable with it – most cell phones can now make audio and / or video recordings. Keep your first visits briefly with someone you are just getting to know. Always ask for permission before making copies or taking pictures, videos or sound recordings.
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Family tree – potential difficulties
A family tree of the family requires a lot of work and time if it is to be done honestly. It is relatively easy to find data from the XNUMXth century, many documents from the XNUMXth century have survived. It is also easier to deal with establishing the history of noble families, because they had surnames from the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries (while the peasants were given surnames in the XNUMXth – XNUMXth centuries) and recorded their history in records and documents. However, the “ordinary” family is also worth commemorating and passing on knowledge about it to the next generations.
Family tree – how far back in time?
It’s interesting to trace your family history as far as you can, but when you draw a family tree, it’s not practical to write down information that goes back more than a few generations. You are limited by the size of the paper you use (if you are making a hard copy) as you need to be able to fit all names on one page.
Many people choose to go back to the line of great-grandparents and their siblings or even further, i.e. great-great-grandparents. These are people you have met personally, or your parents, grandparents, so they are more closely related to you than more distant relatives.
If you have a large family with many aunts and uncles, cousins, you may have to limit yourself to only those closest to you to fit everyone on one page. If you have a smaller family, you can extend the tree to a more distant generation.
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Family tree – drawing diagram
First, decide what form your family tree will take. Some family trees are drawn as actual trees that have a branch for each “branch” of the family. Others, more like family charts. Use whatever style suits your family size and characteristics.
The next step is to draw the tree with a light pencil. Imagine what it will look like and plan how much space you need to write down each name and draw the necessary connections. Working with a pencil allows you to start over on a branch if there is not enough space.
Then write your name. Since it’s your family tree, it all starts with you. Write your first and last name in a space on the page that is surrounded by plenty of space for all other surnames.
The place where you write your name is the beginning of the tree. If you write this at the bottom of the page, the branches will stick out upwards. You can write this at the top of the page and the rest of the page face down, or you can write it in the middle of the page to let the tree “bloom” in a different direction.
If you decide to take the true shape of the tree, go ahead and draw the outline of the tree with a pencil and put your name where you want it.
Then add your parents and siblings. Put your parents’ names directly above or below your namedepending on the direction in which the tree is to “grow”. Write the names of your siblings as well as yours, so that they come from your parents’ names.
If you and your siblings have spouses or children, write them down as well. The spouses ‘names are written directly next to their partners, and the names of the children are listed below their parents’ names. If you wish, you can draw lines connecting the parents with their children.
Adapt the tree to your family. If you have one parent or more than two parents, please complete them as well. You can get creative with drawing to include your foster parents, step-siblings, and any other person who is part of your family. The most important aspect of a family tree is making sure everyone is included.
To keep your tree well organized, use the regular pattern of the order in which you name siblings. For example, start with the oldest sibling on the left and then place all subsequent siblings on the right, or vice versa. Either way, keep it consistent throughout the tree.
After this step, enter uncles, aunts, grandparents and so on. This is where the tree begins to separate into branches. On the paternal side of the tree, write the names of his siblings, their spouses, and children (your first cousins).
Write down your father’s parents’ names on the next level, with a line going from them to each of their children. Do the same on the maternal side of the tree, including all members of your extended family on that side. Continue adding the names of your great-grandparents and uncles, their spouses and children, great-grandparents until you have filled in as much of your family tree as you want.
Family tree – pattern from the Internet
Getting to know the history of your family requires a lot of commitment and time. You have to browse through piles of documents, travel to offices and churches in various places, make phone calls, e-mails, etc. You also need to properly draw a family tree.
The pattern of the family tree, its correct diagram can be found on the Internet. Moreover, there are programs on the Internet to facilitate all activities. A ready-made family tree pattern makes the task very easy. You can also order a family tree made by a company specialized in this field. However, nothing can replace the emotions that accompany personally discovering the connections and secrets of their close and distant relatives.
See also: Genetics – development, division. Genetics in medicine, agriculture and forensics