Not everyone can boast a good knowledge of family tree, but it is a part of the cultural heritage. It is necessary to take care of preserving family history – there are different ways to do this.

A family tree

Everyone periodically thinks about their roots, about what constitutes a genealogical tree. Thanks to family stories and legends, there is a sense of unity with their relatives. And also intra-family ties are built. People analyze the deeds of their great-grandfathers, begin to take pride in the country.

A genealogical tree is also called a family tree – a scheme that describes all the connections within one family or clan. Usually it has a tree configuration, with the ancestor of the dynasty shown at the bottom. The branches are the family lines.

The tree is the oldest symbol of Life. Its image symbolizes the connection between generations – past, present and future.

The roots most often represent ancestors, and the trunk is a symbol of the present – the people who are alive now.

The branches, crown and leaves represent the future of the family.

In most cases, the depth of branching of such a tree covers several generations simultaneously. The information shown on the chart may vary.

When all direct descendants of one particular person are indicated on the tree, it will branch strongly. On the outer levels in such cases there are numerous relatives.

The chart shows only the known ancestors of the person who was involved in its compilation. Side branches are more often cut off in order to present the information in a more compact way.

You can also come across trees covering only family members with a particular surname, for example, all the men of the same family. Married descendants in the female line are excluded from such a scheme.

There are several kinds of genealogical trees; they can be horizontal or vertical.

The first type is often found in the family archives of the inhabitants of European countries. The ancestors on such a tree are depicted on the left side, and the branches go in a horizontal direction. In addition to direct ancestors with descendants, other blood relatives can be included in the scheme. This is the so-called mixed variant.

The vertical genealogical tree is also called an ascending tree. The child is made the head of a tree from him in the parties go branches – parents. From each of the parents extend two more branches – the grandparents of the child. In this format, direct ancestors of one particular person are identified.

Sometimes you can come across circular schemes resembling a bird. The mother’s ancestors are placed on the right side and the father’s on the left. In the center is the child.

Keeping family photos and documents

It’s important to save family photos with documents and to videotape daily life. Even small fragments that were recorded on the camera and on the phone are reviewed with great pleasure. But it is important to take care of their systematization.

You need to find time to restore old family photos and digitize video tapes, which recorded important events.

Many people videotape family holidays, and rightly so. Not only adults but also children can be cameramen in this case. Mini-interviews are welcome, as are giving copies of videos to everyone who was at the party.

On camera, it is recommended to record the stories of older relatives, they usually love to share details from their lives.

A good idea is to print digital photos, create albums and photo books. Start a scrapbook with pictures of family members, so children know their relatives from an early age.

On children’s drawings and photos, be sure to put the dates on the back.

You can record children’s voices at different stages of their growing up.

In a family history album, it won’t hurt to place a family tree in brief, letters from great-grandparents from the fountain, handwritten down on paper events from the lives of relatives.

Stories from older family members

It is important to take notes on the stories of older relatives. Communicate more with older people, because they often remember interesting stories.

It will not be superfluous to tell the younger generation about the origin of the family surname. You can also tell children stories from your own youth.

Find out from older relatives who they remember – this will help in compiling a family tree.Many families have a tradition of family dinners, inviting both close and distant relatives and retelling family stories.

Communication with the child needs to build so that the study of the history of his native country in school, he related it to the events in his own family, remembering grandparents and great-grandparents.

Using online resources

Online resources can help in preserving information about family history. You can create your own website and publish information there about documents found in archives, place a genealogical tree. It is easier for relatives to give a link to a resource than to be engaged in forwarding piles of papers, depicting a family tree.

Anyone who is passionate about genealogical searches should register on topical sites. There are many resources dedicated to genealogy. In the profiles on the forums it is necessary to specify what surnames are searched and in what regions.

Some sites provide the opportunity to maintain their own blog. Publication of mini-articles about the history of searching, and information about the documents one managed to obtain. Making reposts to social media won’t hurt either.

Preserve your family’s history to ensure that it is accessible to descendants, and use a variety of ways to do this, including the most up-to-date.

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You can go into Genetic Studies which researches DNA structure and analysis. Or you could go into Historical Studies wherein you study the history of families through their genealogy.

After deciding on this, you should also venture into acquiring formal education through a bachelor’s degree or through seminars and workshops which issue certification concerning the genealogy topic taken up.

You should also develop business skills because there’s a good chance you will be a self-employed genealogist who has to transact with all kinds of clients.

Practice also your writing skills. This is because when you release your genealogical findings, this will require extensive explanation in written form about your discoveries in the family line of the client who hired you.

Also, join the Association of Professional Genealogists so that you can network and find learning and marketplace opportunities.

You’re now all set to get a formal genealogy education. There are several institutions around the world that offers genealogy courses and degrees which prepare you for a challenging career ahead in this promising field of endeavor.

Read on and determine what institution best fits your personal circumstances when it comes to your location and required time to get your formal education:

Brigham Young University

Located in Provo, Utah USA 84602

Telephone no. 801-422-4636

So far, Brigham Young University is the only educational institution offering a Bachelor’s Degree in Family History in the whole world.

Genealogy has not been officially recognized yet as an independent field of academic study.

Brigham Young also offers a variety of free introductory Web courses and is considered a leader in satellite television broadcasting.

National Institute For Genealogical Studies

Located in 92 Ashbury Boulevard, Ajax, Ontario, Canada L 17 1N1

Telephone no. 416-861-0165 and 1-800-580-0165

If you don’t want to go through the hassles of traveling every day to go to your classes, this institute in Canada is perfect for you.

The National Institute has been the leader in online genealogy education, has been offering both history and genealogy courses online since 1997.

There are over 200 courses in genealogical study to browse through. They have well over 100,000 enrollees from around the world.

Genealogical Institute On Federal Records

Located in Baltimore, Maryland USA 21214

P.O. Box 24564

Email info@gen-fed.org

It is also known as Gen-Fed and has been a leader in genealogical education for 5 decades.

It was formerly known as the National Institute on Genealogical Research. It offers an in-depth study of official US federal records which have genealogical value.

They have as basis the National Archives because Gen-Fed is located in Washington DC. Their academic program is stressed by experienced researchers and is not an introductory level program.

Mid-West African American Genealogical Institute (Maagi)

Located in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Email maagiinstitute@gmail.com

It is the only institution with a focus on African-American genealogy.

It offers 48 classes over 3 days with evening lectures. The instructors are nationally recognized experts who will execute personalized guidance to students.

Genealogical Research Institute Of Pittsburgh (Grip)

Located in Wexford, PA 15090

Email info@gripitt

Genealogists or students of Genealogy alike will find week-long courses ranging from novice to advanced to professional.

GRIP typically holds classes at La Roche College in Pittsburgh PA every last week of June and the 3rd or 4th week of July every year.

Institute Of Genealogy And Historical Research (Ighr)

Located in Atlanta, Georgia 30355-2747

P.O. Box 550247

Telephone no. 678-439-7503

Email ighr@gagensociety.org

It is one of America’s oldest week-long institutes which features known genealogical instructors. They conduct classes at the University of Georgia campus.

The IGHR is a popular summer destination for both family historians and genealogists of all levels. But they place an emphasis on both intermediate and advanced education. The quality of their methodology is without equal.

Boston University

Telephone no. 617-502-8822

Email bostonuniversity@mindmax.net

They have an online program working with well-known Boston University faculty. They include certified genealogists and official members of the American Society of Genealogists.

British Institute (Bi)

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR BRITISH GENEALOGY AND FAMILY HISTORY (ISBGFH)

Located in Centennial, CO 80161

P.O. Box 3345

Email president@isbgfh.org

BI sets out to provide further education about British Isles genealogy. Classes are intentionally small so that the participants can be able to experience individualized instruction.

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All data should be scanned (keeping everything only in paper form is not too reliable), and then used to make a digital chart. The original documents should be put in one folder and put in a place where you will not lose them.

Next you should interview all relatives. Do not delay, the most information you can get about older relatives, and they are not eternal. It is worth making a list of questions in advance, so as not to miss anything. First of all you should be interested in:

• The name of the relatives;
• Date and place of birth;
• places of work (by year);
• years and places of education;
• marital unions (also by year);
• Number of children, their names and dates of birth;
• dates of death, where they may be buried.

Knowing most of these data, you can make requests to archives and collect information there.

But you should not neglect the stories about the life of your relatives. Traditions, legends, memorable events unite generations and give a sense of belonging to something greater.

Put all collected information into the scheme at once, so as not to lose anything, not to mix up and not to forget. Structure the data, it is best to have a separate file for each branch or relative.

What information to collect first: 7 basic points

First of all, you need to collect a family archive. Find any surviving official documents, photos, certificates or awards that belonged to your relatives:

• Birth, marriage, and death certificates;
• employment records;
• certificates;
• Diplomas and certificates;
• letters of commendation;
• Certificates of merit; award certificates.

Digitize information and put it into a computer right away. Structure the data, record all conversations with older relatives on a tape recorder, and only then transcribe the audio into text format. Make backup copies of the data (technology can fail at the most unfortunate moment).

During the conversation with your relatives, first of all try to get information about:

• dates of birth;
• First and last names and patronymics;
• places of study (and years of study);
• places and times of work;
• marital unions and children (with their names and dates of birth);
• places and years of service and death;
• notes, family legends.

The post How to make a genealogical tree: on your own and for free appeared first on Gen-Home.

Historical Records

At last count, FamilySearch is home to more than 4 billion historical, high-quality images of genealogical records, painstakingly collected over several decades from repositories around the world.

FamilySearch Wiki

The FamilySearch Wiki contains nearly 100,000 articles to get you started (or help you get through a brick wall) on your current research question.

Family History Library Catalog

The entire Family History Library catalog is searchable at FamilySearch.org. Search the catalog by location to see what resources are available for your area of interest.

FamilySearch Digital Library

In addition to the shelves of the Family History Library, the Digital Library offers search results for about half a million titles available through libraries, genealogy societies, and university libraries.

The post Four features of FamilySearch appeared first on Gen-Home.

The scheme of the family tree includes:

• The tree is the most ancient symbol of Life. The image of the family tree reflects the connection of three generations from the past, present and future.
• Usually the roots of the tree represent the ancestors, the oldest members of the family.
• The trunk symbolizes the present, the people now living.
• The branches, crown, and leaves represent the future of the family and the continuation of the lineage.

Usually the depth of branching of such a tree covers several generations at once. In this case, the information that is indicated on the scheme or tree can be different:

If all direct descendants of one particular person are indicated on the tree, the schema will be highly branched with a large number of relatives on the outer levels.
Only the researcher’s known ancestors are entered into the schema. Side branches in such a tree are usually cut off in order to present the information in a more compact format.
There are also trees that cover only members of a family with a particular surname (for example, all men of the family). Married descendants in the female line are removed from such a scheme.

There are several varieties of schemes that are most often used to visually represent a family tree.

Horizontal family tree

This type of tree can be quite often found in European family archives. In such a tree, the ancestors are depicted on the left, and the branches go in a horizontal direction. In addition to direct ancestors and descendants, this sometimes includes other relatives by blood, in which case the scheme will be called mixed.

The vertical family tree: the top-down scheme

In this type of tree at the head of the scheme is located the ancestor of the dynasty or family, and descendants are distributed to the branches and go down to the roots. It is possible and to locate the ancestor at roots of a tree while descendants in this case will rise on branches from roots of a tree.

In this version of the scheme, there are no descendants in the female line (daughters, granddaughters, spouse’s ancestors). The tree is compiled only on the basis of data on the descendants in the male line, since a woman can get married and change her last name, which will lead to the “rupture of the family tree”.

The vertical genealogical tree: the ascending schema

The ascending scheme assumes that a child will be at the head of the tree, from which two branches will diverge – the father and the mother. From each of the parents there will be two more branches (their parents, i.e. grandparents of the child), etc. This tree format makes it possible to combine the direct ancestors of one particular person.

Circular family tree scheme

An atypical family tree scheme. It is often also compared to a bird, as its right wing includes the mother’s ancestors, and the left wing includes the father’s ancestors. The child is placed in the center of such a circle.

Usually, the circle is drawn quite large, so that the first circle can fit inside the second one. The second circle is divided in half: the mother’s name is written on one half and the father’s name on the other half. Next, a third outer circle is drawn, which is divided into four parts. Grandparents’ names are written in these parts, etc.

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AccessGenealogy

This bag of free genealogical records continues to grow.

Allen County Public Library.

Although this library is located in Indiana, its online capabilities are much more extensive, reflecting its status as the second largest genealogical library in the country.

Ancestry Finds.

This site offers free searches of marriage, birth, death, immigration, land, military and census records in dozens of different resources.

Ancestry Library Publishing

Your local library can offer you access to immigration, census, vital and other Ancestry.com documents through Ancestry Library Edition. The library, of course, has to pay, but it’s free for you as a patron.

Books we own.

The next best thing to having important genealogical resources is to find someone who has what you need and will do a free search for you.

Family Search.

Over 2,000 online collections make this the Internet’s largest home for free genealogical data.

Genealogy Deals.

This site directs thrifty genealogy professionals to online deals ranging from promotions and webinars to discounts on subscriptions and resources.

Gopher Genealogy.

Smart, intuitive searches are the hallmark of a partnership with FamilySearch, which quickly processes 80,000 digitized books.

HathiTrust

To make the most of this digital library, you must log in with the credentials of a participating institution (such as a university). But there’s plenty here for the general public, too.

HeritageQuest Online.

HeritageQuest is free for home computers thanks to a library card through participating institutions. It is now “maintained” (but not owned by) Ancestry.com.

Library of Congress.

The National Library, while not specialized in genealogy, has much to offer online. The library’s genealogical collection began back in 1815 with the purchase of the Thomas Jefferson Library.

Midwest Genealogy Center.

This site from the Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence, Missouri, has one of the largest genealogy collections in the country.

National Archives and Records Administration

Read all about the genealogical treasures at the National Archives, order military and other records, and view historical maps and photographs.

Olive Tree Genealogy.

Since its launch in 1996, this humble Web site has evolved into a useful collection of instructions and databases.

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGC)

For research tasks at a remote library or archive, check out this directory of volunteers and places where they can perform research tasks. (Note that you may be asked to reimburse small expenses such as photocopying or postage.)

RootsWeb

This venerable free site still serves articles with practical tips, U.S. surname and location databases, mailing lists, genealogy files, and more, making it old but useful.

We’re Late.

Here authors collaborate to build a unified genealogical tree with pages for more than 2.8 million people and 400,000 locations. Sign up to add your tree; upload your genealogy tree as GEDCOM; and share documents, photos, and stories.

WorldCat / ArchiveGrid.

Find your family history in the 2 billion items in 10,000 world libraries, then click to see the collections closest to you with WorldCat. (You can also borrow books you discover through interlibrary loan.)

Its ArchiveGrid branch searches more than 4 million archival document descriptions from 1,000 different institutions. Learn about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and other materials that may mention your ancestors. An interactive map makes it easy to find archives near you.

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