Every self-respecting person should know the history of his family. In ancient times, it was believed that the house must have a family tree (genealogical) tree. This form of visual representation of family history is convenient and noble. In the form of a tree, a diagram of family ties is built. The ancestor is usually located at the roots of this tree. On the trunk itself, representatives of the main line are depicted, and on the branches (or on the leaves) - the descendants of various degrees of kinship. In old noble houses, the family tree could occupy an entire wall. It was painted by the best artists. Now such a tree can be drawn both independently and with the help of a computer or even in an Internet program. To compile a family tree, you need to know at least 3 generations of relatives.
In the pedigree tree, everything is indicated schematically. The portraits of relatives are arranged in beautiful frames. If you do not know how to draw beautifully, then remember: the male ancestors are enclosed in squares, and female ancestors in ovals. Husband and wife are traditionally connected with a dotted line, and children are connected to them with a line without dashes (the usual straight line).
It is necessary
Whatman paper, simple pencil, felt-tip pen or pen, watercolors, computer, information about your relatives
Instructions
Step 1
If you decide to draw a tree yourself and not use a computer, then prepare a sheet of paper. The size of the leaf depends on how large your tree will be, how many generations and relationships you plan to display on it. Be sure to involve relatives in the process of creating a family tree. This way you will have a lot of information.
Step 2
Despite the fact that in ancient times it was customary to depict the ancestor in the roots of the tree, in fact it is not very convenient. Therefore, it is better to start drawing the diagram from the upper left corner. Write in it the surname, name and patronymic of the most ancient ancestor you know. Under these data, indicate the date of his birth (with year) and the date of his death (separated by a dash). At some distance (but on the same imaginary horizontal line) write the same information about his spouse. Then connect them with the dashed line indicating the marriage bond.
Step 3
Draw another horizontal line below in your mind. Under the marital line of your most distant known ancestors, include information about their children (if any). Parents and children are connected by a straight vertical line.
Further, the family tree will begin to branch out, since it will be necessary to indicate the spouses of the children of your most distant known ancestors, as well as their children.
Step 4
When specifying brothers and sisters, maintain a specific order throughout your family's historical chart. List relatives from oldest to youngest (left to right), from man to woman. With this scheme, you will have the oldest brother on the left. Previously, there were such types of family trees in which only men were indicated as guardians of the family. Continue drawing lines until you get to yourself and your children.
Step 5
This could be the end of drawing the family tree, but a real pedigree diagram should be as complete as possible, otherwise it simply won't make sense. Ask your relatives, maybe there was only one parent in one branch. Either the family had a stepmother or stepfather. Then the scheme will acquire additional branches, and you will clearly see what other great-grandmothers, grandmothers, aunts you have.
You can fill the family tree ad infinitum. If your grandmother had a sister, then she will be your great-aunt, and her children will be your second cousins and aunts, and so on. All this needs to be depicted in the diagram.
Step 6
A family tree is an abstract concept. It is not necessary to turn it into a tree with leaves and roots. The diagram already resembles a tree in itself. If your child was given the task at school to depict the history of the family in the form of a tree, you can and should be creative, take watercolors and paint the trunk, branches in brown, and paint the leaves with green paint and frame information about your relatives with them. If you wish, you can add small photographs of them to the information about relatives.
Step 7
Now let's consider the option of creating a family tree using a computer. In Microsoft Word, you can create what you need absolutely on any computer without Internet access. It is enough to select the "Insert" menu on the top panel, then - "Shapes". Further, using the "Lines", "Rectangles" and "Basic Shapes" menu, it is easy to compose your entire pedigree and draw all family ties.
Step 8
Another option is to take advantage of the numerous special sites and programs offered on the Internet. You can even create your pedigree online. In such services, it is possible to search for relatives in archival materials, city directories, population censuses and other sources of information. Usually sites offer the ability to change the style of the pedigree image (different background, different frames for surnames, the ability to add and remove photos). You can make the frames that depict men blue and the frames depicting women pink to quickly navigate your family structure. You can print such a family tree by simply clicking on the printer icon.
Step 9
Also, some Internet services have the ability to combine family trees into one. This is convenient if you created your own tree and your husband created his own. By combining trees, you get a complete picture of your pedigree with a huge number of branches. You can also restrict access to the created pedigree using the "Settings" menu in such programs.
