Family is a significant social framework. When you understand the origin and history of your family, you get a sense of identity and excitement. It also helps in learning your family heritage and traditions to preserve and pass them from generation to generation.
A family tree or genealogy chart is an effective way to identify all your ancestors and learn the family history. With the increased intermarriages in the modern world, learning your ancestry is becoming more significant as people from different cultures, races, religions, and regions come together to start families. This way, you can learn about distant family members and establish new relationships with them, which can benefit your personal development. You also get to learn about family traditions and genetically inheritable health issues.
This article will discuss the importance of a family tree and how to prepare a family tree chart so that you can start tracing your ancestry and learning the family history.
What is a Family Tree?
A family tree or genealogy chart is a diagram showing the relationship among all family members from the founding father or mother.
The chart forms a tree-like structure where it begins with one individual followed by their descendants in a chronological or descending order until present-day family members. Symbols/shapes (e.g., circles or squares) are used to represent an individual, and lines (branches) are used to represent relationships. The structure ends with boxes (leaves) representing individual family members.
The chart shows information such as the ancestorsโ names, relationships, births, deaths, marriages, photos, events, places, and other important information. It is thus a simplified hierarchy and overview of your ancestry. This way, you can understand how each family member is related to the other. This helps family members identify each other. Consequently, this promotes togetherness within the family. The information included in the template of a family tree depends on your goal for preparing it โ for example, for learning family heritage or medical history.
Reasons for Using a Family Tree Chart
People create family tree charts for multiple reasons. For most people, it begins with an interest in their ancestry and wanting to know who they are and where they came from. Also, delving into your family history can be a great learning experience.
Here are the common reasons why family tree charts are created:
Lot of fun
Also, getting to learn about your family origin and history can be a fun activity. You will likely learn some interesting facts about events that took place and characters that existed in your family line. This can be a great source of family stories to be shared at reunions and during holidays. In addition, identifying personality traits that have been transferred throughout the family history is also fun.
Enjoy old photographs and family items
People like to capture special moments through photographs as a way of remembering and documenting those moments. Other items that can be used to showcase special or significant family events include birth and death certificates, postcards, letters, and family stories that can be passed on to future generations. Create a collection of these items before creating your family tree. Then, incorporate these items in your chart. This way, your chart can be a way to reminisce about your family history as you look at photos and past experiences of your ancestors who have passed on.
Sense of connection
Family tree charts can become a reference point where people can learn about their ancestorsโ history, traditions, culture, and identity. This helps you learn how the current way of life differs from how your ancestors lived. Also, it helps preserve their rich heritage so that they can impart it to the younger generations. With a family chart in place, your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other descendants can feel connected to their past.
Other instruments that can connect generations, such as songs, recipes, personal anecdotes, poems, etc., can also be included. Also, by learning how your ancestorsโ lives were, you connect with people from different backgrounds and cultures around the globe, as most ancestors migrated from different regions across the world.
Quality time with elderly relatives and family members
When creating your genealogy chart, you will have to interact with multiple family members for your research. So, this can be a great time to sit with your relatives and discuss family stories and their experiences. Hearing stories and engaging in dialogue gives you insight and a chance to know your loved ones on a more personal level. Also, this is a chance to create new memories with a distant uncle, aunt, or grandparent you have not talked to in years.
It also re-establishes broken connections, which is a great way to keep the family prospering. When interviewing the family members, it is best to use a recorder that you can play back later to listen to the conversations. This way, you can focus on listening rather than interrupting with questions for clarification. After listening to the recording, you can do another interview for clarification or collect more information. By the end of the interviews, the quality time you have spent with the relatives can become some of the best memories you include in the family tree chart.
Personal identity
As you undertake your research on family ancestry and history, you end up learning more and more about yourself. By the end of the entire process, you will have a detailed and valuable explanation of who you are in terms of where you come from, who your ancestors are, your family heritage, historical events your ancestors were part of, accomplishments, what they envisioned for your family, etc.
Mental stimulation
It is a great exercise and challenge to your mind to research your ancestry. However, it will stimulate your mind and keep it active. This is because you will have to learn new investigative skills, interviewing, analyzing and interpreting data, etc. Also, learning about traditional practices, your ancestorsโ achievements, and the trials they overcame can have psychological benefits such as boosting your self-esteem and motivating you. Furthermore, reminiscing old memories has also been reported to lower blood pressure and heart rate.
Learn the familyโs medical history
Some diseases and medical conditions, such as cancers, respiratory conditions, congenital disabilities, mental illnesses, etc., are inheritable. However, there is no way of knowing your ancestorsโ medical history unless you research the roots of your lineage. So, when creating your family tree chart, you should find out if any significant medical problems exist in your family line and, if so, identify the symptoms.
In addition, you can analyze your ancestorsโ medical records and death certificates. This will help you know if you are at significant risk for having these conditions or passing them down to your descendants and also help you know what to do in case symptoms surface years later.
Social benefits
Some people research their family history as a hobby. This is because, in some cases, your research can be utilized for other purposes, such as source material for a local schoolโs history class or the local library or senior home. It can also be a memento book for the family. In addition, there are online groups and forums for such hobbyists. So, researching your ancestry is an excellent way to meet and interact with other people interested in learning about their family history.
Feeling of pride
Lessons about your family history can be a source of self-pride. For example, knowing that you come from a long line of successful ancestors who overcame challenges and contributed significantly to society will give you pride. In addition, you can take pride in different things from your history, such as contributions to historically relevant events, obstacles they overcame such as war, traditional practices such as bakery or weaving, etc.
Pre-Considerations
A family tree chart should be accurate and informative enough to give a cohesive overview of your lineage. So, you must be thorough in your research. However, before starting your research, there are some pre-considerations you should factor in.
These include:
Getting started
You need to plan adequately to create a good family tree chart. This may involve deciding how far back you want the family tree chart to go, the type of information you want to include, and if you want to add pictures. Once you decide these things, identify your sources of information and pictures.
Also, find out if there is a relative who already has a chart you can use as a reference or a guide. Once you have a starting point, decide the direction you will use to draw the chart โfrom the top (past) to bottom (present), horizontally, or bottom up. You can review several examples to understand how to structure your family tree and what to include. If you want a simple diagram showcasing family membersโ relationships, you can opt for a kinship diagram. A kinship diagram does not delve into many details. It uses symbols, lines, and letters to illustrate relationships.
Gather information about your family
The availability of reliable information is key to developing a good family tree chart. So, gather information using any available means at your disposal. First, note down the details you already know. Then, ask relatives to include additional details. Next, visit libraries and search through online genealogy to gather information.
Also, consult preserved data such as property ownership, census records, pictures, and other documents like journals and newspapers. Typically, reliable information can only go as far as a few hundred years back. This is because of the loss of records with time due to natural disasters such as floods and fires and other events like war and migration or negligence. However, in communities where records were adequately preserved, it is possible to find information dating further back.
Draft an outline
Create a rough sketch of the information you have gathered. Your starting point can be your oldest ancestor or yourself. This outline can be made using pen and paper. The outline is meant to guide you in making the final chart.
Free Templates
How to Craft a Family Tree Chart in MS Word?
A well-prepared family tree requires you to gather information, identify the sources, and have some research skills. It is essential to note that there is no single rule or formula for making a family tree chart.
However, an organized step-by-step guide for creating a family tree in MS Word has been provided below:
Open MS Word
Start the MS Word program. First, install the program if you do not have it on your computer. Once installed, open MS Word and navigate to the Office button.
Create a new document
Then select the โNewโ option from the office menu. Now you will see a drop-down menu where you can open different files. Click on the โNew Documentโ option to get a blank document.
Select a family tree template
Go to the Search bar at the top of the new document and type โfamily treeโ or โgenealogyโ to find suitable templates. There are several different templates that you can utilize to create a family tree chart. Select one that you prefer and click on it to preview. If it meets your requirements, click โDownload.โ The template will then open as a new document.
Add information to each leaf
Each leaf in the template is meant to represent an individual. The leaf can be a box, circle, or any other shape. However, use a consistent shape, and each leaf must be connected with a line to represent the relationship between individuals. In your document, you need to add information about that person, such as their name, date of birth and death, occupation, picture, etc., in the respective leaf.
Save the document
Once you have added all the information you need, save the document. Go to the office button, click โSave As,โ and name your document based on your family name. Then select save, and the family tree chart will be saved to your computer. This will ensure that you protect your work.
Note: After completing your genealogy chart, you can share it with your family members. Mostly, family members are eager to learn about their family history. Also, encourage them to add missing details.
Tips
When creating a family tree chart, you want to make it as engaging and valuable as possible. So, you can observe a few writing techniques to ensure the chart has these two properties and effectively communicates your family information.
Here are the tips:
Make it simple
The chart should have a simple design that conveys the necessary information and makes it easy to understand. If the chart is too complex, your family members will lose interest in reading the chart. One way to simplify the chart is by making sure that each level of the chart represents a single generation.
Do not wash your familyโs dirty laundry
Family secrets are often a sensitive topic. So, as much as you would like the chart to be as informative and accurate as possible, not all information from the past has to be included. If sensitive information, such as family secrets, is unknown to all family members, you must not include it in the chart. Your family tree chart should promote peace and harmony among the family members, not division and commotion. So, be careful of what information you reveal in the chart.
Final Thoughts ย
Family history refers to the ancestry or pedigree of an individual, family, or group. It is also called genealogy and family tree. This history can be visually presented through a family tree chart. A family tree chart is a valuable resource that helps you trace and understand your family roots. It helps you learn new things about your family, improves relationships with other family members, and assists in getting a sense of identity.
No single rule or formula for creating a family tree chart exists, so be creative and have fun! Keep in mind that the chart is meant to be inspiring and joyful. Choose colors and designs that are pleasing to the eye. And try not to go overboard with information, as it can become overwhelming. When you have completed your family tree chart, share it, show it to everyone during the family reunion and let them know where they came from. You should also ensure that it is appropriately stored as it becomes part of your family history. It should be passed on from current to future generations.