How to Make a Family Tree Outline

A family tree provides a simple way to track your family history and keep a record of new descendants. You can create a family tree outline on a computer, or using nothing more than a pencil and a piece of paper. Learn how to map out your family tree and record all your relatives on it. This way you'll never forget where you came from, and you can pass it on to your children or relatives to keep the tree updated for generations to come.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Family records
• Pencil
• Paper

1. Choose whether you want to create a tree online or on paper. Sites such as MyHeritage.com offer quick programs where you can fill in information and the computer draws the tree for you.

2. Gather all the documents you have about your family history. You'll need the names of all the members of your family as far back as you can trace them. Birth dates and other information you want to include should be gathered with the names.

3. Open a computer program or get out a piece of paper to start the family tree outline. A computer program will ask you to fill in your name, and the names of your parents. From there it will ask for their parents, and their parent's parents until you've filled in as much information as you know.

4. Draw a bubble, either on paper or on the computer if you are creating the family tree on your own. Put your first and last name inside it, and any other information you want to include.

5. Draw a line straight up from your name. Draw two bubbles and put your father's name and your mother's name. Make sure to use their original last names, such as your mother's maiden name. Draw two lines out from the line you drew up from your name. Connect one line to each bubble.

6. Copy Step 5 for each of your parents to connect their names to two new bubbles containing their parent's names. You should have 7 bubbles when you're done: 1 for you, 1 for each of your parents, and 1 for each of your four grandparents.

7. Repeat Step 5 with the bubble for each of your grandparents. From there continue this process with each new bubble you create. Keep your lines even to create rows. When the outline is complete, print it off your computer or hang the piece of paper up and add to it as you find more names, or as people have children.

8. Add your siblings on the same row as you, connecting them to your parents. If they have children, you can branch the tree out from their names. Don't forget to add their husbands and wives.

Tips & Warnings

• The tree can also been drawn horizontally instead of vertically.

References

• Make a Family Tree

Resources

• Create a Family Tree Online