How to Create a Family Tree

Last November, I discovered an application on Facebook for building a family tree. This piqued my interest, and I began filling in what I knew about my family. As it turned out, I didn't really know all that much.

Over my winter break from university, I began discussing family information with my parents, gathering as much information as I could. I quickly decided that the Facebook application just wasn't going to meet my needs, so I began searching for free software that would more effectively track the information I was discovering. This led me to a program called Legacy (http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/). The standard edition is free. There is a deluxe edition available for $19.95. I've been using the free version and found that it includes the features that I want for the time being as a novice.

Once I had the software, I really dug into all the information my parents had. It turns out I have an aunt who had done a good bit of research and had shared her findings with my mother. Once I could go back 4 or 5 generations, it made online research a bit easier. Here's what I would recommend for tracking down your family information, keeping in mind that I'm just a beginner:

1. Use your family as your initial primary source. If you don't already know something about your family history, other forms of research are much more difficult. Interview parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and anyone else in your family you can find. Try to rectify any discrepancies in the information you get. This information is going to be the foundation for the rest of your research.

2. Use online resources. The usefulness of this option depends on how serious you are about your research. You will find a lot of conflicting information, and trying to sort it all out online can be difficult. However, for casual interest, such as mine, this route provided a wealth of information. Google searches can be effective. Genealogy web sites, such as RootsWeb.com provide a good bit of information for free. There are other sites that have pay subscriptions. Another online resource that can be helpful that you might not think of is the site for the Mormon/Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (http://www.lds.org). Part of the LDS religion involves extensive genealogy research, and you can find a good bit of information on their site for free.

3. On site research. Once you locate specific cities or areas that would appear to have a good bit of information about your family, you may want to plan a field trip. Accessing birth and death certificates, grave sites, court documents, real estate documents (such as property deeds and property tax records) can solidify the information you discover online. Many times, the information you find online will have documentation listed indicating someone has done this kind of research.

Once you've gather this information and entered it into your software, you should have options for how to share this information or print out family trees. There is a fairly common file format for genealogy files which can allow you to share your research as well as view the research of others. The Legacy software referred to earlier allows you to export your information in such a format.

Good luck in your search for YOUR family tree information!