How to Diagram a Family Tree

Making your family tree can be a project for the whole family. It can help young children or older adopted children understand how they are related to each relative. Many of the baby books that parents use to keep a record of baby's milestones have a family tree for parents to fill in the names of relatives. These usually go back to great-grandparents which gives the child some ancestry. Adding a family tree diagram to a child's scrapbook is also a good idea. Writing down the information when elderly relatives are still alive can make diagramming a family tree much easier. Hours of research can be spent trying to uncover unknown ancestors. How do you diagram a family tree when you decide to start?

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper
• Pencil
• Ruler
• or
• Computer
• Printer
• Information
• Elderly relatives
• Research

1. 
   Family tree beginning with ancestors

   Decide if you would like to begin with a married couple from your past, yourself, or your children. Either way will work. It depends on your purpose for the diagram and your personal preference. For this example, we will assume that we are diagramming your family tree beginning with you. However, it is acceptable to begin with your great-great-grandparents or other ancestors and diagram down from them to you.

2. 
   Family tree around an individual with photos

   Draw a box or a line at the top center of a large sheet of poster board using your ruler and pencil. For our example, we will use boxes. Write your name and date of birth in the box. Just using names is fine, but adding photos can really bring a family tree to life and help you see family traits.

3. 
   Draw two boxes under your name and connect the boxes.

   Draw two boxes about a half-inch directly underneath your box. Draw one slightly to the left and the other slightly to the right with about a half-inch between them. Connect your box to these two boxes using an upside down V and connect these two boxes with a straight line. Write your father's name and date of birth in the left box and your mother's name and date of birth in the right box. If either parent is deceased, you will also write the date of death.

4. Draw two boxes directly beneath your father's box. Draw one slightly to the left and the other slightly to the right with about a half-inch between them. Connect your father's box to these two boxes by using an upside down V and connect these two boxes with a straight line. Write your father's father's name, date of birth, and death in the left box and your father's mother's name, date of birth, and death in the right box.

5. Draw two boxes directly beneath your mother's box. Draw one slightly to the left and the other slightly to the right with about a half-inch between them. Connect your mother's box to these two boxes by using an upside down V and connect these two boxes with a straight line. Write your mother's father's name, date of birth, and death in the left box and your mother's mother's name, date of birth, and death in the right box.

6. Continue to add as many generations as you have information about, or as many as you want to add following the established pattern. You can also add boxes for siblings of each generation if you want to get more extensive.

Tips & Warnings

• Several computer programs assist you in diagramming your family tree.
• You fill in the information and print; some even let you add photos.
• Several internet search engines are available to help you find your ancestors.
• The Mormon church of Latter Day Saints keeps extensive genealogy records that they allow the public to access.
• People can become addicted to researching their ancestors.
• It can occupy your time and family vacations.

Resources

• Search at ancestry.com
• Search for family
• Find your roots