Keeping the purpose of the tree in mind can prevent you from feeling overwhelmed as you find and sort through a lot of information.
Birth and death dates Marriage information Places of residence Military service Photographs
You may want to confirm details with other family members. For example, you could say, “Aunt Frances told me that grandma actually had four siblings. Do any of you know their names?”
Websites can be especially useful if you’re working on your family tree with other relatives. They can log into their accounts and add information to the family tree.
You may need to ask librarians for help with using microfilm or microfiche, since many older records are stored this way.
Most genealogy software programs offer a family tree printing option. If your family history information is in a genealogy database, you may not need to design a family tree from scratch.
For example, if you’re using a template to fill out boxes of information for each family member, ensure that the boxes will fit on the tree. If they don’t, you may need to adjust the size of the tree or edit down the information you’re including.
You may be able to customize the templates to include information. For example, some templates might include a space to list your family member’s occupation.
The informational squares should be the same size, so they’re easy to arrange on the family tree. Put all of your informational squares on a large work surface. Arrange them as though they’re on the tree, so you get an idea of how much space to leave between each square.
For a truly unique family tree, stick a family tree decal to the wall where you want to display it or hang photographs in the outline of your family tree.
If you’re writing the information on the tree, consider first writing out the information using pencil, so you can correct any mistakes. Then write over the pencil using ink.
If you’re including photographs, ask the printing service if they can digitally restore any old or damaged images.
If you’re making a family tree as part of a school project, have your child press their thumbs into ink. Make leaves on the tree from your child’s thumbprints.
