Even today people believe that their origin and history determines to a large extent who they are. This can be achieved through a family tree.

By restricting your knowledge to your immediate family, you are depriving your children of knowledge of family history that is rightfully theirs. Many people don’t seek to find out about their ancestors in spite of wanting to. They may think this task is fraught with difficulty.

Find out  Genealogy Trees 

For affiliate info, visit: Genealogy Trees

Record the information of every person along with their full name, place and date of birth and death, names of their parents, wives or husbands and children and any other miscellaneous detail. 

You might need more help having crossed your grandparents’ generation, and might need to use other resources and records for gathering further information. 

Find out  Genealogy Trees 

For affiliate info, visit: Genealogy Trees

This is good advice on the “three documents” [birth, marriage, and death certificate], HOWEVER, the Federal Census’ comes up there in documentation.  I’ve gotten more information from these when I couldn’t locate the other three.

Finding out what the head of household’s occupation was gives you clues in other places to search!  Having other family members names listed can help also.  Parents that have disappeared on records, could be living with one of their children and found listed under that household.  In-laws , grand children, etc. They may have done THEIR research, posted it online and it could make the connection you’re needing.

I found out one of my great grandmother’s remarried, hence I couldn’t find her death record.  I was looking under the wrong name and hitting brick walls.  Her second husband had also died, she spent her last days with her daughter and son-in-law.

If they [your ancestors] were a farmer, they probably owned the land, land records are very helpful.  If they were a doctor, you can go to the Retired American Physicians listing and get info there.

The information is out there, one just needs to learn how to SEARCH the records available.  The “three” are not always easily found.

Names change as you go back in history.  For example, my great grandfather’s birth certificate shows him as simply “Henry”, his father called him “Senator”, his mother called him “Roy”.  Some public records list him as “S. Roy or S.R.”.  Bottom line being his birth states “Henry” and his death certificate “Roy”.  Took some time understanding these were all one in the same person.

Hard lessons learned as I didn’t have the resources available to me as they are today.  (We’re talking back in the late 60’s – 80″s)  Everything was done by writing a letter and waiting patiently for a reply.

Plus this same individual [Henry/Roy] died in 1948, and was cremated.  Family lost track of his ashes.  I couldn’t find his burial any where,  30 years of searching and I finally hit pay dirt!  He was buried with his wife when she died in 1962!!  The only record to back this up was found in her file at the cemetery.

Just wanted to offer some other avenues that you may want to pass on.

Thanks again for the great advice.  I’m sure this will be very helpful to new and seasoned genealogists working to fully understand how to make a family tree.

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Now It’s Your Turn!

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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]]> http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/how-to-make-a-family-tree-3.html/feed 0 http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/how-to-make-a-family-tree-chart.html http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/how-to-make-a-family-tree-chart.html#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:49:12 +0000 Chris http://www.genealogybeginner.com/?p=806 I received an email today where someone who had previously downloaded a family tree chart had wrote:

“Personally what I have trouble with is where to put people on the tree.  Is each tree for each branch of the family? For instance, my husband has 3 siblings, my father-in-law has 3 siblings. Where do I stop on the tree? Having the cousins listed is important.”

This is such a comment type of question (and something that drove me crazy when I was first starting trying to figure out how to make a family tree chart).  Let me post my reply here under the suspension that this might also be a question you’ve had (or have).

I replied …

XXX, thank you for writing,

You would find it helpful to review the family tree instructions.  I wrote it to answer these specific questions.  You can read about this download at the URL below:

http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree-template

Let me try to answer your question here as well.  When making a family tree chart, YOUR family tree is only parents.  Your children are the 1st generation, you are the second generation, your two parents the 3rd generation, your four grandparents the 4th generation, your eight great grandparents are the 5th generation, etc.  So… you typically don’t include brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, or aunts in YOUR family tree.  The reason is that your family tree is a record of your direct  ancestors.  Your husband has a different set of ancestors.  If you were to include your husband’s brother, for example, and that brother was married,  your sister in-law’s parents would have no relation to you directly. Therefore, they don’t below on YOUR family tree.

Does that makes sense?  That said, there is no reason why you can’t create a separate family tree for your husband or a sister or cousin (as you suggest below).

Again, the URL above has a brief guide that covers some of the logistics around how to make a family tree chart and offers additional detail.  If you decided to purchase it and it didn’t meet your needs, just let me know and I’ll refund your purchase right away.

Good luck,

Chris

Genealogy Beginner
http://www.genealogybeginner.com

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And good luck to you too!  I hope you find this helps you if you are struggling with how to make a family tree chart.

The new records can be searched for free at FamilySearch.org (Click Search Records, then Record Search pilot).

Chris

www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland’s Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving

(This posting is from Scottish Genealogy News and Events. Click the link to view the full article from its original source.)

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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]]> http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/how-to-do-a-family-tree.html/feed 0 http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/family-tree-confusion.html http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/family-tree-confusion.html#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:35:31 +0000 Chris http://www.genealogybeginner.com/?p=739 There are a lot of family tree template available online.  And many of them are extremely fancy and can be very confusing.  Many people are looking for a simple solution and don’t wanting to spend endless hours trying to understand this box or that branch.  Why can’t a family tree template just be something you can download and fill out?

There is.  I’ve taken what I’ve learned from others and brought it together into a simple, yet comprehensive family tree template.  You can download it by clicking on the link at the top of this page titled, “Family Tree Template”.

You’ll find that this free family tree template is a great way to get started and something you can be filling out in a matter of minutes.  I’ve tried to provide a lot of space to notate the key documents (namely birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates).

There is space to insert a location for up to the fifth generation and at the sixth generation you can notate a continuation number to be used to carry your chart on to additional generations.

This family tree template is a critical to any genealogy project and i’m sure you’ll find it gets you rolling on your family tree project.  You can click on the link below to access your own copy right away.  Good luck to you.  I really hope you find this useful and are able to find a wealth of family tree success.

Family Tree Template

The post from Ancestry Insider provided a great review of this toolbar.

I suppose someone may have been working on it, but as fast as Ancestry.com’s developers are, it wouldn’t surprise me if this entire project has been put together since I left. It looks like they’ve utilized some Yahoo code libraries or such to do it.

“To do what?” you ask?  The Ancestry Toolbar.

Basically, it’s a browser toolbar that lets you attach information and photos you find on the Internet to your Ancestry member tree.

I love this concept. I still need to try out their implementation, however. Attaching a record you find on the web to your Ancestry member tree is analogously to attaching records that you find on the Ancestry.com website. This is really slick stuff and is another step forward in allowing researchers to pursue “source-centric” genealogy.

More information about the Ancestry Toolbar can be found in the Ancestry Toolbar Help.

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I hope you find this short article makes it easier for you to make a family tree.

(This posting is from The Ancestry Insider.)

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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]]> http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/ancestry-toolbar.html/feed 0 http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/download-a-blank-family-tree-template.html http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/download-a-blank-family-tree-template.html#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:39:43 +0000 Chris http://www.genealogybeginner.com/?p=699

Hello there.  Thank you for visiting me here at Genealogy Beginner.  I’m writing to tell you about a great 6-Generation family tree that you can download.  Simply click on the link below to read about this blank family tree.

Download a
Blank Family Tree Template

This template if available for download directly from this site and comes with a detailed instructions guide.

This is a fairly standard six-generation family tree chart that is a great place to start for the first time genealogist or student. The chart has the following key qualities:

• It’s contains ample space to notate the three key dates including birth, marriage, and death

• Each key date is accompanied by a reference for location up through the 5th generation

• Each sixth generation notation contains space to enter a “continuation number” that can be carried over onto subsequent charts providing ample opportunity to document your ancestors back 12, 18, and even 24 generations

This blank family tree chart is a core tool in any genealogists tool belt.  Please feel free to modify this design to your own needs.  However, please note that you are given permission for unlimited personal use.  This chart may not be sold or traded without written permission of the author.

To your success,

Publishing your family tree as a gift for loved ones is a wonderful idea, but it is not without cost. Your primary cost will be in hours of preparation. And I’m always surprised how expensive a professional quality

book runs. For your children, an electronic copy (PDF) can be as satisfying as a physical book. But for an older relative, nothing will be quite as meaningful as something they can hold in their hands and smell as the pages are turned for the first time.

While Ancestry.com is not the only way to publish a family tree book, it is the only one offered within my stated editorial coverage. And it is the only one I’ve tried. Fortunately, they also address the two costs mentioned above.

Cost in dollars

Building your tree in Ancestry.com is free. Building your book in Ancestry.com (and their MyCanvas system) is also free. And printing your book to your own printer or to a PDF file is also free. If you don’t already have a PDF printer driver, you can buy one, but Dick Eastman reviews several free PDF printer drivers.

Having the capability to produce a PDF copy of your book gives you the freedom to find the most economic place to print your book. That may be Ancestry.com or it may be another online or local printer. Lulu.com is one of the more well known print on demand online printers. A Google search for “print on demand” will give you more choices and more information. Most local printers can also do print on demand jobs, including major copy centers such as Kinkos (now called FedEx Office) which offer cheaper cover/binding choices for the truly economically minded.

Costs for professional printing using Ancestry.com’s MyCanvas start at for a basic book of up to 20 pages. Larger pages and higher quality covers add to the price. Additional pages are 0.50 for 11 x 8.5 inch pages or 0.80 for 14 x 11 inch pages.

Cost in time

Ancestry.com gives the capability of automatically generating all the pages of your book from your online tree, which can save a substantial amount of time in creating your book. First upload your tree via a GEDCOM file. Then before you create your book, upload a primary photograph for each person on your pedigree. Other photographs can be uploaded later, but any primary photographs for persons on your pedigree will automatically be included at the appropriate places when you create your book.

If you have an Ancestry.com subscription, you can also use the shaky leaves to attach records to individuals on your pedigree. These records will also be included in your automatically created book, but can quickly bloat a 5-generation book to a hundred pages and an + price tag per book.

Another time saver is the ability to use photographs you’ve already uploaded to Ancestry.com, MyFamily.com, SmugMug or Picasa.

If you’re really pressed for time, consider creating a pedigree chart poster. I gave one to my mother last year and she loves it. Well, she tells me the picture of my father at 4 years of age is actually his brother… But other than that, she loves it.

(This posting is from The Ancestry Insider.)

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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]]> http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/family-tree-for-christmas.html/feed 0 http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/how-to-make-family-tree.html http://www.genealogybeginner.com/blank-family-tree/how-to-make-family-tree.html#comments Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:43:14 +0000 Chris http://www.genealogybeginner.com/family-tree-template/how-to-make-family-tree.html There can be a lot of confusion the fist time you’re trying to figure out how to make family tree. There are so many sites, resources, templates, and so-called experts that you’re left wondering which way is up. This short article is designed to provide you with a few simple steps that will allow you to get started so you know exactly how to make family tree.

First you need a blank family tree template. You can get one for free at the www.genealogybeginner.com website. Once you download your blank family tree template you’ll need to complete it for yourself and your parents. Just start here. It can be as simple as digging out your own birth certificate and (if appropriate) your marriage certificate, writing do the dates on the blank family tree template, and filing away our certificate
copies.

Next you do the same for your parents. You’ll likely need to speak with them about their own parents and to ask for original copies of their birth and marriage certificate so you can make copies and add them to
your records.

And that is really what building a family tree is all about. The trick to how to make family tree is not all that hard (but can be maddening if you don’t have the basics). It’s a process of identifying the three primary certificates for each of your ancestors (Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, and Death Certificate), obtaining copies, and then making notes about who leads to who on a family tree.

Now your family tree search doesn’t need to be limited to just this. While these are the core tasks there is a wealth of other items you can work on and develop to make your tree even richer. For example, you’ll
want to collect any family artifacts you come across like photos, deeds, court filings, estate records, or anything “official” that marks the existence of your family. Some folks make a point to take photos of grave stones or even do gravestone etchings to add to their tree.

With all of these materials in place, you have the basis for a great scrapbook or similar type family heirloom that can be passed down for generations to come. Get an artistic rendering of your official family coat of arms (if you have one), put it on the cover, and you have a wonderful book that defines your legacy.

You see, learning how to make family tree doesn’t need to be complicated or overly confusing. It simply takes a little understanding of the basics and the will to figure it all out. Check out the resources below if you need a little more assistance:

• Download a Blank Family Tree Template
• Download instructions on How to Complete a Family Tree
• Download a Step-by-Step Genealogy Guide to get you started with your online research.