How to Create a Family Tree Diagram
Many people have become fans of genealogy, even turning it into a hobby and traveling the country to see homesteads and graves of ancestors whom they likely have never met. A family tree diagram is a treasure to many such people. Though many websites like genealogy.com offer services to generate your own family tree diagram, you might find it more fulfilling and educational to create your own by finding and filling in the information about your family's past.
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Things You'll Need
- Drawing pencils
- Small ruler
- Information about ancestors
- Scrap paper
- Several sheets of white poster board
Instructions
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Purchase several sheets of white poster board. Make sure you have extras in case you make a mistake and need to start again. Have enough to attach additional sheets along the sides of your main diagram, should you run out of room.
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2
Compile the information you have about your family and its history. Use the scrap paper to sketch layouts for your diagram. This will help you determine how much space you will need when you make your real diagram. It also might help you determine before you get started whether you have all the family history you'll need.
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3
Use the small ruler to draw a box or rectangle in the center of one poster board, along the bottom. In this box you will write your name and any information you wish to include about yourself. You can include your spouse's name and the names of your children. If your children have different parents, you can include their names as well. If you do not want to include this information, jot down your birth date or occupation instead. You might want your diagram to include names only.
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Draw boxes alongside the box containing your information and write in information about your siblings. Draw lines between each of these boxes and the box you will draw that will contain your parents' information. The lines signify the connection between you and your parents. Remember to make the boxes large enough to include any information you find important.
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Add information about your parents' siblings at the same level as your parents. This is where things will begin to get complicated, so you will need to begin splitting families. Place your mother's siblings on one side of the box for your parents and place your father's siblings on the other side. Draw lines to connect each of these to their parents' box that you will draw on the next level up.
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Continue to draw boxes and connecting lines between parents and children until you have gone back as far as you want to go. You can include as many people as you want. Don't become discouraged if your diagram is not symmetrical. That's normal. Don't lose hope if you have to draw again for neatness or because you left out information.
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