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.

The post Ways to preserve information about your family history appeared first on Gen-Home.

1. Create Your Genealogical Tree

A successful start to researching your family history often depends on your immediate family members. What you should start with is making a record of all your memories of your siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts, parents, and grandparents. Ask as much detail as you can about all the people from each of your relatives. Gather all available information about them, such as burial sites, key dates and information (marriage, birth, death, etc.), occupation, awards, and all other life circumstances. A family tree is one of the most important things you should do to reconstruct your family’s life history. And ordering a family tree with accompanying detailed information about each relative is the best start to all genealogical research.

2. Look up family albums

Family albums, if maintained and not lost, always have a lot of unique information and clues that can greatly help you with your family research. It is helpful to look for important documents (such as birth certificates), school notebooks, letters and diaries, family heirlooms, boxes of memorabilia, and old photographs. Anything that in one way or another can tell about your family history should be collected and recorded, it will help a lot later when ordering genealogical research.

3. Start a family history

When you are compiling your family tree and collecting information about your relatives, try to find informational notes about your family.

For example, research newspaper and magazine articles for mentions of your family members.

You could also look for information about schools, notes about curious stories at school, successes at work, records of work or service, military records, or just family legends. What if you are a descendant of a famous historical figure? What if you are a relative of a participant in a high-profile historical process? These things can only be identified and confirmed through thorough research.

4. Search the internet

Did you know that in America, the census is the primary source for researching family history? The U.S. federal census is the most important resource for doing your research. Start with the earliest 1940 U.S. Census available online and start your search for your parents and grandparents with it. You should record their ages, birthplaces, names, places of residence, occupations, and details of immigration to include in your family tree. You can then also search earlier censuses to complete your family tree, all the way back to the 1790 census. If your ancestors are from Great Britain, you can look up the 1911 British census. There is also the 1911 Irish census online.

5. Collect materials from relatives.

Your relatives probably have a lot of things that will help you in your search. Letters, documents, family bibles, and many other things and information can just be obtained with one phone call. Plus, someone in your family may already have a completed family tree or materials if they have already worked on your family history. This will also greatly help you in your search.

As an aside. Try doing a DNA test. There are companies that can help you get more information about your ancestors, as well as your ethnicity, with a DNA genealogy test.

Following these uncomplicated steps will surely prove helpful in successfully working to restore your family history, especially when you decide to order your family tree from a professional company. So remember, write down and follow these tips! Good luck in creating new pages in your family history!

The post The 5 best ways to learn more about family history appeared first on Gen-Home.

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.