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How to Make a Better Family Tree

Many families take great pride in their ancestry; maintaining and preserving their family history in great detail. For countless others, knowing their origins determines for them, to a great degree, how they see themselves today. When you first set out on this journey and begin to learn just how much time and effort are required to study your family’s roots it can be a little daunting. For this reason some people may shy away from this rewarding pass time thinking it too difficult.

 

 

That is simply because they do not yet know that there are many people in the world of genealogy only too happy to reach out and lend a hand to beginners.

People as resources

One of the best things about taking on the task of researching your family tree are the people you will meet along the way, those who share your passion for genealogy. People who can help point you towards great resources or who will take the time to give a little advice when you are stuck at the dreaded brick wall and are just not sure where to look next. Persons who can help you get off to the best possible start by taking the time to introduce you to the many tools that will make your research easier.

Making a better family tree is not always about finding those important names, dates and places or about filling in as many blanks as possible. You will discover that as you as you add the branches, it is the friends you make along the way that put the blossoms on your tree.

Great resources available here: Free Blank Family Tree Template.

About Genealogy Trees

Picture this, you have gathered all of the information for your immediate family and grandparents and are ready to start documenting it. You have looked all over the internet and have found so many types of family tree charts that you are now completely overwhelmed. What type of tree should you use? My advice to the beginning genealogist is…for now… just keep it simple. Start off with your family group sheet and a basic six generation pedigree chart. At this point you do not need to go to any expense ( we have some complimentary ones to get you started just click the links above) as you still have so much research and learning ahead of you.

You don’t need more than a simple, easy to follow, straight forward form.  As you continue with your research you will gain a better idea of exactly what chart you want to use for presentation purposes.

The chart you use while documenting your initial findings should be:

• Simple,
• Well laid out
• Clean in design

So you can easily record your information onto it in a way that will be understandable in the future, when I was just beginning having lots of space for writing was an important factor. A six generation chart will work well for that purpose. Later, as your family tree expands, so can the size of your pedigree chart and as your experience grows you will find larger charts more manageable and easy to read.

Find out Genealogy Trees

Genealogy Trees | The Role of Cemeteries

As regular readers of this site you know I’m a big fan of making sure cemetery research is a method used for researching your genealogy and family trees.  Below is an example from Southern Graves (see link below for original post) on how we can find our past generations using cemetery search methods.

 

 

 

The author of the original post writes…

Mrs. Eliza B. R. Mendenhall died almost 160 years ago on December 29, 1848. She was 67 years of age at the time of her death, so her birth year was about 1781. She, along with her infant grandson John Bruce Limehouse, was interred in St. Philip’s Church Cemetery; Charleston, South Carolina.

I love the wording on this stone. In case you cannot read it via the photo, here is a transcription:

This marble marks the spot where repose
the remains of
Mrs. Eliza B. R. Mendenhall,
Who closed her earthly career on the 29th December A.D. 1848,
aged 67 years.

By her side sleeps her infant
grandson
John Bruce Limehouse.

“Thou art gone to the grave, but we will
not deplore thee
whose God was thy ransom, they Guardian
and Guide.

He gave thee, He took thee
and He will restore thee,
and death has no sting for the
Savior hath died.”

This stone is consecrated
to a beloved mother
by her daughter.

(This posting is from Southern Graves. Click the link to view the full article from its original source.)

As you can see from the transcription, there is a wealth of information to help us complete our family trees. Grave stones typically contain extensive records of birth and death dates. They also often cite family members.

By doing the math on age and date of death you can get the date of birth. While not cited here, you sometimes can discover where someone lived from a grave stone as well, which can lead to a local government office and a copy of a birth certificate (which, as you know, will reveal the parents and thus the next generation.)

Don’t overlook cemeteries in our work to build out your genealogy trees. They will save you a ton of time.

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Where to Next?

Blank Family Tree with Step-by-Step Instructions

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