Build a family tree online. According to the type of design, a pedigree can take several forms.
Some people like to dive into history own family to find information about their ancestors. Then this data can be used to compile a family tree. It is best to start doing this in a special program, the functionality of which is focused on such a process. In this article, we will analyze the most popular representatives of such software and consider in detail their capabilities.
This program is distributed for free, but there is a premium access, which costs not big money. He opens the set additional features, but without it family tree Builder is comfortable to use. Separately, it is worth noting the beautiful illustrations and interface design. The visual component often plays big role when choosing software.
The program provides the user with a list of templates with the design of family trees. Added to each short description and characteristic. There is also the ability to connect to Internet maps to create labels important places in which certain events took place with family members. Family Tree Builder can be downloaded from the official website.
GenoPro
GenoPro includes many different features, tables, graphs and forms to help you build your family tree. The user only needs to fill in the required lines with information, and the program itself systematizes and sorts everything in the optimal order.
There are no templates for drafting a project, and the tree is displayed schematically using lines and signs. In a separate menu, editing of each designation is available, it can also be done when adding a person. A little inconvenient is the location of the toolbar. The icons are too small and lumped together, but you quickly get used to it while you work.
RootsMagic Essentials
It is worth noting that this representative is not equipped with the Russian interface language, so it will be difficult for users without knowledge of English to fill out forms and various tables. Otherwise, this program is great for compiling a family tree. Its functionality includes: the ability to add and edit a person, create a map with family ties, add thematic facts and view automatically generated tables.
In addition, the user can upload photos and various archives that are associated with a particular person or family. Do not worry if there is too much information and the tree search is already difficult, because there is a special window for this, in which all the data is sorted.
Gramps
This program is equipped with the same set of functions as all previous representatives. In it you can: add persons, families, edit them, create a family tree. In addition, it is possible to add various important places to the map, events and more.
You can download Gramps for free from the official website. Updates come out frequently and are constantly added various tools to work with the project. On this moment testing is underway new version, in which the developers have prepared a lot of interesting things.
GenealogyJ
GenealogyJ offers the user something that is not available in other similar software - the creation of detailed graphs and reports in two versions. This can be a graphical display, in the form of a diagram, for example, or a textual display that is immediately available for printing. Such functions are useful for getting acquainted with the dates of birth of family members, average age, and so on.
Otherwise, everything remains according to the standard. You can add persons, edit them, create a tree and display tables. Separately, I would also like to notice the timeline, which displays in chronological order all the events included in the project.
Tree of Life
This program was created by Russian developers, respectively, there is a completely Russified interface. The Tree of Life differs in detailed settings of the tree and other useful parameters that may come in handy while working on a project. In addition to everything, there is an addition of a genus if the tree goes before the generation when this still existed.
We also advise you to pay attention to the competent implementation of sorting and organizing data, which allows you to instantly receive various tables and reports. The program is distributed for a fee, but the trial version is unlimited, and you can download it to test all the functionality and decide on a purchase.
If a child at school or kindergarten was asked to draw a family tree of his family, with the help of this article you can easily cope with the task.
Many people are drawn to their roots. They are interested in who their ancestors were, what was their fate. Therefore, the fashion for pedigrees and genealogical trees has returned. The path of least resistance is to use an online program on the Internet or download an application that allows you to quickly draw up a colorful family diagram with a photo. But much more soul will be a family tree created by one's own hands. Do it often ask the child.
How to draw a family tree of a family correctly: template, diagram
Family tree- this is a diagram of family ties within the family, sometimes for convenience and beauty depicted as a tree with a trunk and a crown.
IMPORTANT: Under the conditions big city it is not always possible to communicate regularly even with the closest relatives. Most of us know or remember a maximum of great-grandparents. Family ties weaken and break, and a person without a family is like a tree without roots, lonely and weak.
On the Internet today there are a lot of sites that allow using special programs to create a template family tree with a photo. You can also download a frame for several photos and insert portraits of family members into it in Photoshop. It's fast, convenient and, of course, beautiful.
Family tree: an example of a children's frame for Photoshop. But drawing up a generic scheme with your own hands has a lot of advantages:
- You have the opportunity to spend time creative process themselves, with their families and children.
- You will pay tribute to your ancestors, return to the origins of your family, learn or remember many interesting and funny stories.
- If you make a photo chart, you organize the pictures of your family members.
- A beautiful and neat family tree is interesting decoration interior.
- If you make a family tree with the birthdays of relatives, with the designation of the days of the spouses' weddings, you will never forget to congratulate them.
So where do you start? How to draw a diagram correctly?
First of all, you need to figure out what kind it will have. After all, the tree is a conditional name. The pedigree can be depicted schematically, where male relatives are “leaves” in the form of squares, females are round “leaves”, and the connection between them is indicated by branches - arrows. If the tree is compiled together with the child, it is worth considering its decoration, depicting it in the form of a tree, cutting out and sticking photographs of relatives on its branches.
Next, decide what your pedigree will look like:
- Descending - the most common and convenient type. Such a tree begins to be compiled from the very distant relative. Usually, this is a man, since traditionally our family is passed down through the male line. The vertical "branches" of the tree pass down to its descendants, family ties between them are indicated by "branches" horizontal.
- Ascending - a type of scheme that is used when there is little information about a person's ancestors. In the "trunk" of the tree, the one for whom it is compiled is located. And at the top, in ascending order, his relatives in past generations are placed. When drawing up a family tree with your child (and it most often ends with great-grandparents), stop at this option.
Pedigree tree: top-down scheme. 
family tree: ascending scheme. Now take a pen and notebook, try to remember your relatives, if necessary, their dates of birth, death, dates of marriage, and other information. It may be necessary to raise documents for this.
No matter how detailed the family tree is, it will not work to indicate all the information about relatives on it. If you are serious about the issue, make a card for each relative with all the information known and important to you.
If you want to make an artistic family tree with photographs, choose the ones you will use in advance.
VIDEO: How to make a family tree correctly?
How to make a family tree of your family: sample
Are you an active Internet user? To compile a family tree, use the free programs:
- SimTree
- GRAMPS
- "Gene Web"
- GeneoTree
- "Family Chronicle", "Tree of Life" (only demo versions are free)
Genealogical tree in the program Family tree. 
Genealogical tree in the Chronicle of Life program. Are you drawn to independent creativity? Take one of these schemes as an example.
family tree: scheme. 
Genealogical tree of the family: an example. 
A simple family tree template. 
Antique pedigree. How to draw a family tree with a pencil step by step for a child?
In order to draw a family tree with a child, you will need:
- simple pencil
- eraser
- colored pencils, markers, paints
- ruler
- scissors
- photos of family members
IMPORTANT: Students are usually asked to draw a family tree lower grades or preschoolers. in the classroom, dedicated to the family, the child is asked to talk about all the family members shown in the diagram, so do not make the tree extensive. Show on it only those relatives whom the child knows, about which he can tell.
- Lay a sheet in front of you, preferably horizontally.
- With a simple pencil, draw a tree trunk and branches.
- Draw a crown. How realistic it will be depends on the age of the child and his creative abilities.
- On the table at the top of the tree, mark a place for the child's name and/or photo.
- A little lower, also accurately designate his parents.
- On the branches of trees, place relatives from mom and dad, respectively (grandparents, uncles, aunts, nephews, if any).
- Draw a family tree so that the generations in ascending order are under each other: mom and dad, below - grandparents, even lower - great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers.
- Depict relatives from the same generation side by side horizontally.
- Connect all relatives with horizontal and vertical arrows.
- Color the background as you wish, the trunk and branches of the tree - brown, leaves are green. If there are photo frames, arrange them too.
- Take the prepared photos, carefully cut out the portraits of family members, stick them in the appropriate places.
- Sign the family tree. For example, "The Petrov family tree", "Anya Petrova and her family", "My family", etc.
Family tree in pencil: step 1. 
Family tree in pencil: step 2. 
Family tree in pencil: step 3. 
Family tree in pencil: step 4. 
Family tree in pencil: step 5. 
Family tree in pencil: step 6. 
Family tree in pencil: step 7. 
Family tree in pencil: step 8. 
Family tree in pencil: step 9. 
Family tree in pencil. IMPORTANT: Frames for photos of each relative can be made in the form of leaves, apples, etc., then the tree will turn out brighter and more beautiful.
We draw a tree trunk and branches. 
We draw a crown. We schematically outline places - "apples" for family members. 
We detail the drawing and color it. 
We make out the background. In the "apples" we enter family members or paste their photos. VIDEO: Draw your family tree
Family tree tree: pencil drawing for children
Here is another example of how to draw with a pencil with a child family tree. The principle is almost the same, but the sheet is placed vertically, and for the child the place is determined at the bottom of the tree.
Making a descending family tree: steps 1-3. 
Designing a descending family tree: steps 4-6. Get to design family tree creative for a child. Use techniques: VIDEO: DIY family tree: scrapbooking
Why is it needed?
1. Information storage. If all
stored on paper - may burn, disappear, etc. In electronic form, if you regularly backup, the danger is less
2. Organizing information. Quickly find all the people who died in the war. all second cousins this person, all who were born in Kyiv before the revolution. such problems often arise at work. It is very difficult to get all such cuts if everything is stored in one file or on paper.
3. Working with sources. It is often important to know from which source the information came. It is often necessary to find everything that is known from this source.
4. Working with photos. Keep all pictures related to one person together. If there are several people in the photo, do not store it several times. Attach photos not only to people but also to specific events.
5. Working with geographic locations. Description, photos, former name, list of all who were born there.
6. Sharing information with other people
7. Automatic building trees and much more
Now about specific programs.
Program types:
1. Ordinary. Install and use.
2. Web programs. Install on your hosting
use. There are quite a few of them, usually they require installation and configuration
a minimum of knowledge about what database you have on your hosting and how to get to it
access. Gradually superseded by the third type:
3. Web sites with the ability to maintain a tree. Those. You
register, manually enter a tree or upload a ready-made one (in
GEDCOM format) and update it there.
And look for "your" surnames among other trees uploaded to the site. Such now
many, but I will note the most famous (which means those on which there are a lot of trees and there are
chance to find someone) - Ancestry, Geni, MyHeritage
Now let's talk about GEDCOM, the genealogical data format.
Each genealogical program has its own data storage format.
Therefore, to transfer data from one program to another, in order to send someone their tree or subtree, they use the standard format - GEDCOM.
Text format. The current standard is 5.5
Describes a hierarchical data structure (like XML). Section of persons, section of families, sources, multimedia…
All normal programs have GEDCOM import / export - do it, open it in a text editor - look.
Instructive :)
What are the pitfalls?
- tag set
(i.e. event types, properties) is limited in the standard. For example, not in
standard, nothing describing service in the army or participation in the war. That's why
each program adds its own tags. And, as a rule, adding an event to
a description of a person or a field about him (an alternative name, for example), you do not
know is a field from the standard or not. In addition, many programs
allow you to add your own event types. Once you have exported your
database in GEDCOM and trying to import it into another program - that
starts shouting: "I don't know such an event!"
There is different variants- the program will make all unfamiliar events notes (Notes) - you are in the import log all
find them and do something with them (leave in notes, replace with
standard tags), the program makes all unfamiliar events custom events, you see which types of events are suitable for you in this program and before importing, do Search / replace in the GEDCOM file - Encoding.
If you have sources or, even worse, names in Russian or Hebrew, then you need to
so that the program can correctly export non-Latin encoding skillfully
import it correctly.
And here the default codepage (default encoding) on a particular computer can play a role. In general, I would advise that if data exchange with foreign countries is supposed, the names should be initially entered in Latin letters. Or the names of cities. And then at the request of a relative in America to send a tree, you will scratch your turnips for a long time. - Paths to pictures and other multimedia objects. The path can be stored in
program (and written to the GEDCOM file) as absolute or as relative.
If the path is written as absolute, then even when migrating the database from one
computer to another, on the same program, there may be problems
In short - conclusions:
What are the most famous
regular (i.e. non-web) programs?
Free
1. PAF - done by the Mormon church. Allows you to manage sources. I started with it myself. Doesn't build beautiful trees, but prints reports
2. GenoPro - builds genograms instead of trees - such pictures by which you can see on the conditional icons who is a woman, who is a man, and who is an adopted son. I can’t say much about her - I don’t like her, so I don’t know much
3. - GEDCOM oriented. Those. even adding an event, you see that you are actually adding GEDCOM tags. It is interesting because it allows you to write your plugins to it
4. FamilyTreeBuilder, which appeared several years ago
is the MyHeritage site program, the best of the free ones, with a solid set of features and a tree upload to the site.
5. Gramps is also a very solid program, originally written in Linux, but ported to Windows.
For money
1. RootsMagic - I use it (I honestly bought it). Convenient. Allows you to add photos not only to people but also to families. IN latest versions you can build trees
2. Ages - I like it very much. advanced management of sources, photos, places, professions, etc. A lot of beautiful types trees
3. GenBox - I like it very much. advanced management of sources, photos, places, professions, etc. Lots of beautiful tree types including ALL tree
4. Tree of Life - Russian program. Knows what a patronymic is. The trees built in it are very good. But weak in capacity
5. Master Genealogist
6. Ancestral Quest
7. Family Historian
8. Many others…
Comparison
Now let's compare several popular paid genealogy programs, but not in terms of the entire set of features (such comparisons exist without me: http://genealogy-software-review.toptenreviews.com/), but only in terms of the "features" of managing and organizing information sources , photos, geographical places.
Such a review, or rather the possibilities tested in it, shows what can generally be expected from genealogical programs, how they can differ.
List of tested programs:
| Name |
Version |
Website |
| RootsMagic |
4.04 |
www.rootsmagic.com |
| Ages |
1.52 |
www.daubnet.com/en/ages |
| Master Genealogist |
7 |
www.whollygenes.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?screen=TMG |
| Genbox Family History |
3.71 |
www.genbox.com |
| Ancestral Quest |
12.1 |
www.ancquest.com |
| Family Historian |
4 |
www.family-historian.co.uk |
| The tree of Life |
3 |
www.genery.com |
Programs were compared on the following
opportunities:
- After importing GEDCOM, you can see the text of the sources in Russian. Used GEDCOMh with Russian source text in UTF-8 encoding), Windows XP with Russian as default text. GEDCOM is exported from RootsMagic
- Ability to add photos to a family (rather than a single person)
- After importing, you can see the photos added to the family.
- Organization of geographic places. You can add notes, photos, coordinates to the "place".
- Organization of information sources. You can add notes, photos to the source
- Organization of multimedia files. You can keep a list of photos and add a photo from the list to a person, and not look for a new file on disk for each image shown in the photo
- Event-> Place -> List of events. You can jump from an event to a "place", from there to a list of events (or people) in this place and from the list to another event
- Event -> Source -> List of events. you can jump from an event to a source, from there to a list of events (or people) with links to this source and from the list to another event
- the ability to add DNA test results
In my opinion, these features are very important both for the convenience of analysis (what else happened in this place?) and for the convenience of management (how difficult is it to add a photo in which 10 people are 3 generations of a family to all
relevant people?).
Results:
| Program |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
| RootsMagic |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ (a) |
+ |
+ |
- (b) |
- | - |
| Ages |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
± (s) |
+ |
- |
| Master Genealogist |
- | + |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- | - | - | + |
| Genbox Family History |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
| Ancestral Quest |
+ |
- | - | - | + |
- | - | - | - |
| Family Historian | - | - | - | ± | + | + | + | - | - |
| The tree of Life |
(d) |
- | - | - | - | + |
- | - | - |
a) There is a database of place names, you can find the place on the map on the Internet and
check spelling, set geographic coordinates
B) There is a report - what events were in what places, but there is no interactive possibility
C) From a place you can jump to a list of people who had events in this place
D) Import failed. Maybe because, the free version supports up to 40 people
Often questions about relatives and ancestors arise in family circle when the memories of grandparents about their childhood, parents and other relatives begin. How to compose family tree quickly and easily, without knowledge of genealogy?
Why you need to make a family tree
This is one of the most milestones- motivation. He simply will not allow to abandon the compilation of the tree in a couple of weeks, but to bring it to the end. There are several reasons that encourage people to think about compiling a family tree:
- the desire to satisfy the inexplicable sentimentality that comes with age;
- let your children feel respect for their roots, relatives, family history and customs;
- visually show your children how large the number of relatives you can rely on in difficult times;
- to realize how big your family tree is, to feel like a part of a large community that has its own destiny and purpose;
- satisfy your curiosity for distant relationship with celebrities, find something interesting and mysterious in their roots and branches.
Chances are you have other motives as well. Those who build a family tree professionally recommend not starting an investigation of their tree for belonging to noble families or classifying themselves as descendants of famous historical figures. Usually this does not lead to anything good, since these searches will cost a lot of money, the evidence will be inconclusive, and the case itself will quickly get bored and is unlikely to end successfully.
How to build a family tree
Paper constructions, grouping of relatives, folders with papers are already a thing of the past. Although there is sometimes a need to make some notes, it is best to use specialized programs that help you conveniently compose the found data about relatives and display them in a convenient and nice looking. There are also various online services that can help you collect data about your relatives.
There are sites where wood is possible. With their help, deciding how to create a family tree becomes as simple as possible. Usually, free registration is required, information is entered for each relative, his family ties and photos, and the service itself produces a graphical construction of the family tree. There are professional services such as myheritage, with a large number of settings that will not only show you how to compile a family tree correctly, but also analyze the surname, search through archives, etc. Online services are convenient for those who do not take the issue very seriously , or to build a simple tree and its design. According to statistics, sites on average "live" up to 5 years and different reasons may disappear from the information space along with your data.
For more in-depth work on your pedigree, it is best to use special programs, information from which can be saved, archived, duplicated and processed on any device and at the same time be independent of the Web. Free programs, for the most part, are very simple, have little functionality, and are handy for simple tree building. More professional programs are usually paid, but with them the question of how to make a family tree of a family is even very big family, is solved qualitatively and conveniently. For example, the program in the free version has some limitations, but allows you to get acquainted with its work. IN full version costs about 400 rubles. The amount is not very large, but it allows you to think about how seriously you are set to work.
We start the formation of the tree with ourselves
After choosing a means of building a tree, questions arise: how to make a family tree and where to start creating it? It's easiest to start with yourself. In a program or service, enter information about yourself, then about your immediate environment - about everyone you know personally and about whom you have information. You insert photos of these people from your hard drive or, if they are not there, scan or re-photograph paper portraits from albums. Attach photos, make connections, enter comments (such as a short biography) until personal knowledge runs out.
We continue to form the tree
The next step is a meeting with relatives. We arrange a meeting with relatives from the necessary “branches” of the tree, take a cake and a laptop (or better, a voice recorder). During the conversation, you can get a lot of information that fills in the gaps in the family tree. At the same time, it is possible to big mistake, not going to relatives, but gathering them a large number of in one place to poll. This usually results in old people correcting each other, disagreeing on different dates, arguing about events, and generally causing significant chaos in the orderly scheme of your work. Therefore, thinking about how to make a family tree quickly, it is better not to take risks, but to talk with each relative separately.
Visit the oldest relatives first. They can tell the most about distant relatives, time intervals, and with a good location, they will be allowed to use their rare photographs in albums.
It will be more convenient to conduct a conversation if, before starting it, make up a mini-questionnaire of questions for 10-15: names and surnames, important dates life (birth, marriage, life events, death), children and parents.
We continue to collect information
After we have collected data from everyone who was nearby, the next step is to communicate with those who live far away, in other cities and countries. The easiest way to communicate with them is by phone, skype or via social media. After talking with them, you can ask them questions and briefly tell them how to make a family tree. They can build their own branch and send it to you to add it to your big tree. This is very convenient, since it is quite difficult to do such work alone. Therefore, having interested your relatives in this process, you can significantly facilitate your work. You can promise them a free copy of the tree when it is completed or the maximum possible is collected
Working with archives and databases
The last step in collecting information is working with archives. After collecting all possible information from "living" sources and their memories, the next step is to work with paper and electronic archives. This work is especially useful in cases where the branch broke off at some stage and it is not known, for example, whom the great-great-grandfather married or on which front and when the great-grandfather died in the Finnish War, what awards the grandfather received during the war. Such information can be obtained from various archives or databases. Be sure to double-check the information, as there are often namesakes, even full namesakes of people, otherwise your searches may go into other people's "trees".
Family tree construction schemes
When the information is collected, the question arises of how to make a family tree. The layout and placement scheme may be different. The difference in the schemes is the person placed as the basis. You can build from a well-known representative of the genus to the modern generation. This option more clearly shows the presence of children in this ancestor and their division into different family branches.
There are other options for how to make a family tree. An example of a standard scheme, the most common, is shown in the figure. The tree is usually built like this: you are located below, your parents stand above, then grandparents, etc. The branches expand from the bottom up. Below are the children. You define yourself as the foundation.
