Family tree sample. How to make a family tree of a family? Templates to fill

Today, everyone has extensive opportunities for searching and structuring information about their ancestors and distant relatives. An exciting and very rewarding activity is to develop a family tree of a family. There are many tools available to make this task easier.

Overview of Genealogy Programs

We present to your attention a catalog of free, shareware and paid programs with which you can create convenient family tree diagrams.

Personal Ancestral File

With the convenient and affordable PAF software, it is possible to control sources. You won't be able to build attractive trees, but you can print reports. The user attaches a photo and a lot of important data. It has a lot of settings at its disposal. The program is aimed at beginners. True, to work with her you need to know English. The interface is not Russified. First, a central person is added, then branches are created and new blocks are filled with data about relatives. You can download the free PAF program here http://softobase.com/en/personal-ancestral-file.

Genopro

A Russian program with Unicode support and hotkeys is suitable for inexperienced users. Distributed on a shareware basis. It builds not a tree, but a genogram. Free use is limited to 15 days, you can add no more than 25 people. To expand the functionality, the manufacturer recommends purchasing a license key. Built-in report generator. The data is edited in the format of tables. It is convenient for the user to enter new information. You can indicate the nature of the relationship, for example, conflict or vice versa love. The tree is backed up online. You can send the pedigree by e-mail or print the document. A definite plus is the ability to import data in the Gedcom format, it is supported by many similar programs, there are also TXT and XML formats. You can download Genopro for free here http://softobase.com/ru/genopro.

GenealogyJ

The free program displays reports and allows you to create a real family tree with an extensive description of each family member. Each tree is a separate file. First, the roots are selected, the further scheme is built from them. The program is not easy for everyone to work with. Beginners will need instructions. Zooming makes it possible to view large diagrams. You can download GenealogyJ here http://softobase.com/en/genealogyj.

FamilyTreeBuilder

This program is tied to the MyHeritage website, where you can upload your tree. The product is shareware, and the free version has limited functionality. It will be enough for an ordinary person. The paid version opens up new possibilities - the publication of 2500 names. Russian and very simple, one of the best program. Each member of the family tree is complemented by contacts, dates and photos. The pedigree in the form of an Excel spreadsheet can be printed, reports and graphs can also be created. Convenient formats and the ability to search for relatives in a huge database. The program contains reference materials. You can download FamilyTreeBuilder here http://softobase.com/ru/family-tree-builder.

tree of life

A common utility helps build a pedigree chart. The family tree displays family ties, patronymics, multimedia content. It is easy to print the tree as a diagram. Export and import of data is possible according to the Gedcom standard. The free version stores a maximum of 40 persons. Unlimited functionality is available for 15 days. Inexpensive basic version. Convenient filters, thoughtful interface. You can download the Family Tree of Life here http://softobase.com/ru/drevo-zhizni.

A list of other very good programs for collecting and organizing family information:

• SimTree;
• Gramps;
• GenealogMap;
• RootsMagic;
• age;
• GenBox;
• Kith and Kin Pro;
• Master Genealogist;
• AncestralQuest;
• Millennium Legacy;
• Family Historian.

Overview of sites for creating a family tree

Website myheritage

Website

http://www.genway.ru/ - this Internet resource offers to create a real family value - a family tree. Registered users can learn how to make a family tree online, communicate with other participants, make a family chronicle. It is also easy to combine trees, learn about the meaning of names and surnames, and get information about the most interesting historical facts. There are many tree keepers on the site, become one of them.

Site rodovoederevo

http://www.rodovoederevo.ru/ - thanks to the site, users record the stories of their families, which people of new generations will definitely use. There is a family book and a calendar with holidays. It is especially interesting to get acquainted with the families of famous people, to restore old ones and find new ones. The tree is created online, each family member can make adjustments. In order to quickly determine the origin of the surname and find the most distant ancestors, it is necessary to conduct a survey of relatives at the most advanced age. To work with the site does not require training and special knowledge, no need to pay.

Website vgd

http://www.vgd.ru/ is an online collection that is actively expanding. All registered users can find out the meaning of the surname and find relatives. The site stores large amounts of information about people, one way or another connected with the history of Russia. Persons of many nationalities who lived at different times may be your relatives. If you know anything about your ancestors, then this resource is for you. Find namesakes and your relatives. Interestingly, an example of a family tree is available to anyone who visits the site, without registration, at this link http://www.vgd.ru/generezis_content.html.

Website pomnirod

https://pomnirod.ru/ - with the help of this site you can leave a lot of information about yourself and loved ones for your descendants. Each user builds and stores a personal family tree on the site. To get started, you need to go through a simple registration procedure, fill out your own profile and start building a tree. An intuitive interface will help you do everything right. Photos can be uploaded and shared, a search for distant relatives is available.

Below is a list of links to genealogy sites that contain a lot of interesting facts about our ancestors:

• http://www.genealogia.ru/;
• http://www.myheritage.com
• http://rosgenea.ru/;
• http://www.familyspace.ru/;
• http://www.semyaonline.ru;
• http://www.1archive-online.com/;
• http://www.genway.ru
• http://familygifts.ru;
• http://www.svrt.ru/;
• http://www.etimologiya.ru/;
• http://www.familii.ru/;
• http://geno.ru;
• http://www.okorneva.ru/.

How to develop and arrange a family tree?

Family tree as an interior detail

A family chart with a photo can be a great decoration for a room. To do this, you will have to make a large tree on the wall and decorate it at your discretion. Various sources are looking at effective solutions, but we offer a special way out of the situation: get vinyl wallpaper stickers. There are beautiful options in the form of large trees. You can also depict vegetation with paints. Photos are glued on double-sided tape and neatly signed. To make the composition more attractive, you should choose the same photo frames and immediately provide places for new members who may soon appear in the family.

Best Types of Family Trees

Perform a composition on a large base of cardboard, plywood, wallpaper or other material convenient for you. Here are some good options for arranging photos on the diagram:

• butterfly scheme - a scheme that divergent on the sides saves space very well, in the center there is a key pair and from them to the right and left are the branches of their ancestors;
• branch system - in this scheme, the central place from below is occupied by the child, branches of relatives stretch upward from him;
• root system - such a tree has a dominant in the form of a photo of a common ancestor, the branches of younger relatives are directed downwards, in this diagram it is good to draw cousins ​​and second cousins ​​and brothers;
• the hourglass scheme is an ideal gift for grandparents, in this system they will be the key persons in the center, their descendants will go up, and their ancestors - children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren will go down;
• fan-shaped diagram - a fan-shaped display of the family tree takes up a minimum of space and allows you to visually reflect the main parental relationships.

family tree for school

It is not so important which scheme for compiling a family tree is right for you, the main thing is that you will bring together all the valuable data and make an invaluable gift to your generation and descendants. Of course, in this case, an individual approach is needed. Much depends on the purpose for which the scheme of family ties is being developed. It will be enough for a student to take a large drawing paper and bring in himself, sisters and brothers, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. You can also add uncles, aunts and other people known to the child. The description can be brief, for example, first and last name, profession, place of birth, photo and years of life. For the school, this option is acceptable.

The child can find on the Internet or independently draw a template in the form of a tree. Blank schemes to fill in and other beautiful pictures with places for photos are freely available on the web. They just need to be printed on paper.

home family tree

If you want to create a genealogical chart not for a school portfolio, but for long-term storage in a family archive or as a gift to a family member, then you will have to go much deeper. Try to gather all the data together by listening to the oral recollections of all close and distant relatives.

Fortunately, today almost everyone has the Internet and it is very easy to get in touch. Perhaps there are old documents at home, such as birth, death and marriage certificates. Old photos can also be very useful, where you can often find memorable signatures, names, surnames and dates. To creatively bring your idea to life, look at samples on the Internet. This way you will get inspired and learn how others have approached this creative challenge.

An in-depth approach to genealogy

If you could not contact one of your relatives, especially aged ones, via the Internet, then go to visit them for a conversation. Such a visit will rally relatives, they will be very pleased with the fact of your attention. You can look at old photos together and talk about common ancestors.

Not always in the family there is complete information about distant ancestors. Do not be too lazy to contact the archives at the place of residence of the deceased relatives, there you can get a lot of important information and find relatives in unexpected places.

All data must be saved in a notepad, but it is better to start immediately by drawing the branches on a draft. To do this, make an empty tree to fill in the Word and print the sheet. This will be your draft. When all the information is collected, start transferring it to a large diagram along with a photo and a detailed description of each person.

If you have absolutely no time, but you are able to hire an agent, then entrust this matter to a specialist. For payment, your family scheme will be recreated.

Making a family tree with your own hands is a fascinating and creative process that many relatives can be involved in. But still, a more professional and complete option is to use sites and programs where you can enter large amounts of information and find relatives in different parts of the world.

Natalya Kaptsova

Reading time: 8 minutes

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Currently compiling family tree considered a fashion trend - all over the world today people have begun to actively find out origin of their ancestors. The genealogical tree of the family should be understood as schematic representation of family ties in the form of a conditional tree. At the "roots" of the tree, the ancestor will be indicated, representatives of the main line of the genus will be located on the "trunk". "Branches" are representatives of various lines of ancestry, and "leaves" are known descendants.

About the most common types of family trees will be discussed in our article.

• Family tree on the wall

You can draw the tree itself using stencils or ready-made wall tree stickers, and on top of it are attached photographs of relatives. In the design apply contrasting colors. This type of wood will be a worthy decoration of your room!

• Genealogical tree built using a special program Family Tree Builder

The functionality of this program is quite high, and building a family tree is not difficult. Free Family Tree Builder App provides an opportunity not only to build a family tree, but also looking for your relatives by comparing the family trees of other participants in the global project. When you run the program for the first time, it will give advice on the formation of a new family tree project - this will ensure a quick acquaintance with the program and its development.

The program is very simple and accessible, but with the only disadvantage- required to work Internet connection. The result will bring a lot of pleasure, and you will get an excellent genealogical tree of your family!

• Family tree on the poster

Before you start creating a family tree, you need to decide on the information that will be included in the pedigree. The content of the entries and the shape of the tree may vary. Minimum set of information should include surname and name of the relative, date of his birth and date of death.

You can choose a suitable tree design option on the Internet - there you can find many beautifully designed variants of family trees. After the shape of the tree is chosen, you need to pick up photographs. They must be of high quality, uniform in size and matching in style. In order not to spoil the original pictures, they can be entered into a computer and printed in the form of squares or circles. After selecting photos, you need to glue on the prepared tree in the respective places. Under the photographs should be stickers with important information about this or that relative.

• Family tree on a withered branch

It will be quite an original decor for the wall, made by hand. A simple dry tree branch can be fixed on the wall and hang frames with family photos on it. It will be a stylish and exciting solution for the interior. Selected photographs will help to understand your family history and personal uniqueness.

• decorative family tree

To make it you will need felt, a piece of wallpaper, photographs, double-sided tape, thick cardboard, glue and a little patience.

on felt paint with soap tree outline and cut out. From the wallpaper you need to cut off a piece of 50 * 60 cm in size. Cut out the wallpaper with the help of 2-sided adhesive tape or glue, we attach it to the cardboard. We put a felt tree on top, and glue all its thin parts with glue. Painting photo frames with spray paint into a single color. On the upper branches of the tree, glue the yarn imitating foliage and insert photos. At the top we have children's photos, and at the bottom - photos of grandparents. With glue All frames need to be glued to the genealogical tree. The result is a realistic handmade family tree. It can be an excellent gift for relatives.

All that remains is to select and place photos of close and dear people in the finished genealogical tree. This version of the family tree will become great gift birthday, anniversary or wedding day.

Many people ask question: What is a family tree for?

The answer is simple. It reminds us of our ancestors, preserves the entire history of the family in a concise and accessible form.

If you make the necessary efforts to create a family tree, it can become an extraordinary and original interior decoration.

If you liked our article and have any thoughts about it, please share with us. It is very important for us to know your opinion!

We are accustomed to accepting such information from the lips of older generations and accumulating it. Such information helps to find out the history of the genus, organize intra-family ties and find out the predisposition to certain diseases.

The process of collecting data and designing such a scheme is not easy, it requires special skills and following instructions.

Today we will talk about how to correctly compose and draw a family tree, present a template and diagram, and also give useful tips and parting words.

Definition

Before us is a relational structure that describes family ties within the same genus. She received this name due to the fact that the connection between family members is depicted in the form of tree branches. At the base is the founder of the clan or the ancestor, and on the lines emanating from the base are different families formed from his children and grandchildren.

The need to study one's surname came to us from antiquity. Even in the Neolithic era, people followed the connections within the community, because they knew that mixing the same blood could lead to the birth of children with serious disabilities. That is why husbands looked for wives in neighboring tribes. When it was necessary to preserve certain features, such as hair or eye color, the bride was chosen from a certain circle. Knowing one's roots was necessary to maintain family ties.

Why is it so important to know how to make a genealogical or family tree of a family? The answer is simple: since ancient times, close blood ties meant not only belonging to the same dynasty, but also served as a symbol of strong relationships, as well as indivisible traits inherent in each member of the community, the representative of the family.

Many traits of character and behavior are formed from childhood and depend on the environment - the precepts of our grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers and fathers. These include:

• Habits.
• structure of thought.
• behavior model.
• Features of speech.

In each of our ancestors - often unrealized opportunities. They can manifest themselves in us - to a greater or lesser extent. Therefore, it is important to know the history of your surname, to carefully preserve the memory of your roots. In some cases, compiling a family tree of one's family tree helps to reveal hidden characteristics that require development throughout a person's life.

The inheritance of such traits cannot and should not be direct. Sometimes it manifests itself through one knee, and sometimes even less often. Knowing the family tree will help you learn more not only about your surroundings, but also about yourself. And the process of collecting material will not only unite the family, but also give a chance to establish contact with loved ones.

What are the types of visual schemes

In total, it is customary to distinguish two ways to display blood ties. Let's consider each of them.

ascending structure

This option includes registration in a routine manner: from younger generations to older ones. In the role of the starting point, it is customary to designate the drafter of the project, that is, you. This method of compiling a family tree is the simplest. It is suitable for those who have just started looking for information about their roots. To get started, you will need information about your father and mother, grandparents, and so on. The convenience lies in the fact that you can add the missing component at any time by displaying a new branch. We recommend using this method in the initial stages of studying your family.

With descending structure

This variety is characterized by the reverse order of record keeping. The starting point is the most distant ancestor - the ancestor. From it, rays are drawn, diverging to the sides. These are his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. come from them. To organize such a structure, you will need extensive knowledge about your last name. This method can be applied in the final stages of studying your family.

The best option for beginners would be to use the first scheme. Gradually collecting and accumulating the necessary information, you will be able to organize a large structure. After the accumulated data can be transferred to the descending scheme.

The next thing you should pay attention to when compiling a family tree is the line of inheritance. They can be represented by two types of tables:

• Direct - includes you, your mom and dad, grandparents and so on.
• Reverse - to create such a project, you will need information about brothers and sisters, nephews, including cousins, second cousins, etc.

Structures of this type can be drawn up both in a general form, that is, for male and female representatives, and for tracking blood ties only on the paternal or maternal side. In this case, the emerging relationship is called unilinear.

Genealogical tree as a gift

In addition to self-development, obtaining the missing information about one's own roots and family unity, such a project can be a wonderful surprise for any person who is interested in the history of his family name, wants to learn more about his ancestors.

If you want to make an unusual gift, you will need a scheme, supplemented by an appropriate picture. For this, a structure of any complexity is suitable. Beginners should use the easiest way. You can draw up a project both with your own hands, by drawing an image on a thick sheet of paper, or using special software. The first option will be much more expensive - your diligence, participation is especially noticeable in it, it is much more pleasant to receive it. But this does not negate the value of the printed version created on the computer. In both cases, you will have to do a lot of work, looking for information about the representatives of the genus.

How to make a family tree with a diagram as a gift? To do this, you can purchase a special book in an elegant binding.

This project will be especially useful for:

• Your children - he will tell the younger generation about their ancestors.
• Distant relatives - for them, you can prepare a reverse descending table, which will show brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.
• Progenitors - a non-standard design option in the form of an hourglass is possible. To draw up such an option, you can combine two methods and draw a diagram from the recipient of the present to you, using your grandmother or grandfather as a key figure.

You can also take such a common pattern as a "butterfly". In it, the basis is a married couple from which ascending and descending branches are conducted to ancestors and descendants.

A less popular but more detailed way of describing blood ties is the pie chart. This scheme is in demand abroad. At the same time, you will not often meet her on the territory of the Russian Federation. The bottom line is to combine the ascending and descending components. Consider the main design steps to learn how to properly compile a family tree and make it original.

• As a base, use a fan - one fourth of the circle.
• You can also draw several centralized circles that will include both ancestors and descendants.
• Another way is to divide the circle and create a unique pedigree project by combining both ways of describing a surname.

Any of the proposed options can be decorated with pictures, notes. You can add fun facts from the overall history to the project by linking them to the details of the decor.

What you need to create a diagram yourself

First you need to study the family archive. Try to find all the surviving photographs and papers that testify to blood ties. The most important will be:

• Labor books.
• Certificates.
• Documentation.
• Marriage certificates.
• Certificates.

Such documents will serve as a starting point for further searches, collecting information for the family tree. All found papers and photographs should be scanned and stored not only on a computer, but also on external media, such as a flash drive. This will help protect content from accidental deletion, even if your PC crashes and all the information on it is lost.

The next step is the most important part of the process. This is an appeal to your family and friends. There are no specific rules for compiling a family tree, but this stage remains one of the most important, since it allows you to learn information firsthand. Before the visit, we advise you to decide on a list of questions and write them down so as not to miss anything. The following data may be useful for you to create a family chart project:

Date of birth of an ancestor.

• Place and time of their work.
• Did they study. If yes, where and at what time.
• Who were they married to or whom did they marry.
• The number of children, their full names and dates of birth, at least approximate.
• If the descendant is no longer alive, it is necessary to find out in what year he/she passed away, where he/she is buried.

From this it follows that the most useful information is the date and place of an incident. It is these data that will help you to contact the archive for details in the future.

In addition, due attention should be paid to the stories of relatives themselves. This will allow you to learn useful information about your ancestors, their achievements, legends passed down from generation to generation.

To save all the details when compiling a family tree, we recommend using a recording device when talking. To do this, you can use both a voice recorder and a smartphone equipped with a similar function.

After the conversation, you should listen to the recording several times so as not to lose sight of any important points and milestones in the development of your family. Further, the information received must be structured and recorded in a specially designated notebook or on electronic media. In the second case, we advise you to create a separate folder into which you will transfer all data and photos. It is also worth duplicating it to an external drive or a cloud service such as Yandex.Disk or Google.Docs. This will allow you to have access to information anywhere in the world.

Searching in depth and in detail for information that will help you recreate the full picture can take months, and sometimes several years of painstaking work. How to chart a family tree when time is short and you need help? To speed up the process, you can connect the rest of your relatives: brothers, sisters or parents.

In this case, each participant must choose a specific branch and work on it. After each of you has finished collecting information, the received material should be put together and organize a complete system. This approach will not only speed up the process, but also gain deeper knowledge. In addition, you will have a chance to build relationships with relatives who are involved in the search.

Tree of life: how to make a family tree using computer programs

Collecting data on ancestors is a labor-intensive and time-consuming task. If you use the ascending type of project, then by the seventh generation you will count more than a hundred representatives of the same surname.

Using notepads or notebooks to store information is impractical. At any moment you can lose the carrier, and with it the information collected during the hard work. To simplify the work, you can use machine databases such as Microsoft Office Excel or Access. You can also start developing a project in specialized software that is designed to create family trees. So you can easily create a beautiful and well-structured diagram.

Such services are divided into online and offline utilities. The first allow you to store all the information on the Internet and access it from any device. Of the shortcomings, a short shelf life can be distinguished. Typically, such sites allow you to accumulate information for no more than five years, after which all materials will be deleted. The second type of software stores all data on the computer on which the application is installed.

Also, programs can be divided into paid and free. The first ones have richer functionality, the second ones are more profitable to use if you are not ready to spend money on the design of the scheme.

Today we told you how to make a family tree for a nice family gift, what you need for this, and also gave useful tips and parting words. Do not delay and start collecting information right now. So you will have the opportunity to get more information and get to know your ancestors better.

Introduction to genealogy

The ideal state of mind of an amateur genealogist, which guarantees him peace of mind, is to believe that genealogical research is in many ways interesting as a process that can be continued indefinitely - you can even try to find your ancestors before Adam or find out the family tree of all people who bear your last name. If you think so, then you will not be too upset by the fact that genealogy is currently a hobby, from the point of view of many, no more exciting than, for example, collecting stamps. All found relatives cannot become your like-minded people, just as there is not a single family in the world, all members of which are obsessed with philately. You can hope that a small part of the newly found relatives will want to participate in your search, a slightly larger part will listen to your stories with interest, and the bulk will think that you are doing nonsense. Here, as elsewhere, there is a general statistical pattern of 80 to 20 - 20 percent of people show 80 percent of interest in genealogy.
It is best to start genealogical research of your own kind with ... You will never guess from what.

From the purchase of stationery and revision

It is impossible to remember everything, all the facts must be recorded with the source indicated and put into envelopes and folders. Copies of documents, photographs and archival references will also go there later, but this will be later. Even if you are a cool computer person and you are going to scan and store everything on a computer, you also need a paper archive. Don’t let B., of course, but suddenly Russia will lose electricity ...

Review old documents and photographs at home. Documents that contain genealogical information - Birth certificates, Marriage certificates, Divorce certificates, Death certificates, Passports, Employment books, certificates, certificates, certificates, diplomas, diplomas, order books, military IDs. Pay attention to names, dates, place of residence, family ties. Make photocopies of all documents. Put everything related to the paternal line in one folder, and the maternal line in the other. For each person - a separate envelope. When you receive new information, do not forget to lay it out. Subsequently, you have to set yourself the task of getting to the family archives of relatives and copying everything relevant to the case.
Since the population was, as they say, passportized under Soviet rule, passport information can also serve as a source of genealogical information. It is unlikely that you will find someone's old passport at home, but the passport number can be recorded, for example, in an old notebook, and this already indicates the possibility of searching for information in the archives.

Now it's time to talk

Most people's relatives are not interested in genealogy and family ties, they do not want to cooperate, they do not provide any documents ... Many genealogical studies ended at this stage. Well, for starters, think for yourself - why should they do something for you? It's one thing when something serious happens, then relatives, as a rule, come to the rescue, otherwise, for the sake of fantasies ... Genealogy is serious for you. And for them, it is quite possible, something else. They have their own problems, troubles above their heads, so they certainly cannot consider themselves obligated, for example, first to look for documents, then go to photocopy and scan them, and then spend an evening, or even more than one, to be with you communicate. Therefore, everything needs to be thought through.
Walk around with a notebook or cards and pester all relatives with questions. Ask your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles about everything they remember. Ask those living in other cities by letters, and preferably by phone and e-mail. Phones can be found in the phone databases on the web, there are more and more e-mail addresses every day on our website. However, it should be noted that if there is no publicly available e-mail address, most likely we do not have it either, or the person asked not to give this address to anyone. You can try to find his phone in the phone database or at the place of work, this is not too difficult. You can ask us, we will find.
One of the regular visitors to the site, Ilona, ​​came up with the perfect letter, which almost all namesakes respond to, you can read. And another visitor, Larisa, came up with a genealogical greeting card, you can.

Often people are embarrassed to ask their relatives (or namesakes) about their family ties, then we step in - this is the first component of the site experience. We are not shy, call, introduce ourselves, you can go to the site and see who we are, call. But a person who is not shy and not limited in time can do all this himself.

One of the ways to search for relatives, tested and sent recently:
“If you are looking for a person who is registered with the military, then it makes sense to contact the military registration and enlistment office of the city where he was at least once registered. the new military enlistment office was kindly informed.) And along the chain you will reach the last, current one. From the last military enlistment office they sent me my home address. I found the "lost" exactly like that. If I did not know the exact address, I simply wrote on the envelope And the letter reached. I understand that this is not feasible in all cases, but maybe at least someone will be lucky, like me."

No need to be offended if the newly found relatives do not invite you to visit, you never know what conditions and circumstances they have. Nevertheless, if relatives live with you in the same city, it is advisable not to write letters to them, but to communicate personally. You should talk in a pleasant, relaxing environment, ideally at the home of the person you decide to ask, but something else may work. The main thing is that the interviewee is not in a hurry - a twenty-minute lunch break is not good for a serious interview, it is better to use it to set up a real meeting. If your relatives sometimes gather - for holidays, weddings, birthdays - this occasion can be used to the maximum.
The most convenient thing, of course, would be to record everything on a tape recorder, it is quite difficult to remember everything. At the same time, take twice as many cassettes as you think you need - the constant switching on and off is very nerve-wracking, write down pauses as well. At the very least, jot down key points in a notebook, at the same time jotting down questions that popped into your head during the story, don't interrupt. It is understandable that most people feel embarrassed when someone writes down their words, so the conversation must be conducted in such a way that the person is carried away by the story. If you have a camera, take it with you - you may be able to take pictures of some family heirlooms, documents, and the narrator himself. The tape recorder needs to be checked, at the same time accustoming the interlocutor to the recording - turn it on, say who you are, what date, with whom and what you are talking about, and then play this recording.
When making an appointment, warn that you will record everything and come with a camera, let the person prepare psychologically in advance. Well, do not forget to explain why you are doing all this, what the end result will be and whether it will be possible to see it. Do not make promises that you are not going to keep, if, for example, you are going to post the result on the Internet, warn about it, then, perhaps, they will tell you something “not for publication”.
When starting a conversation, talk about yourself. You need to establish contact, create a sense of comfort and connection between you and the person you are talking to. At this time, prepare a notebook or a tape recorder with a camera, if you are going to use them.
Prepare a list of questions, and invent such that they cannot be answered in monosyllables. The question: “Do you remember the names of your grandfather's parents?” is not good, it is very easy to get the answer “No”. Even the question: “What do you remember about your grandfather's parents?” Is not too good, you can get the answer: “Nothing!”. The question should sound so that it is answered as long as possible, therefore, you must first ask about the grandfather himself, about his character, about what he told about his childhood, and if he did not tell, then why, and then gradually move on to his parents. If you still get a one-word answer, try to clarify: “Why?”
Since each family is unique, it is impossible to make a list of questions that is suitable for everyone. But here are some topics that can be discussed.
When the surname appeared in the family, are there any stories about its origin, did it ever change? By the way, in order to competently discuss this topic, it is worth reading the historical background in the third part, the chapter is called “Is it possible to find out the genealogy by the surname”.
Are there traditional family names? What diminutive names were called ancestors and relatives, and where did they come from?
Did the family move from place to place, how many years has the family been living in this place, are there any family traditions associated with the place of residence, objects brought from the old place? What were the oldest things in the house when your interlocutor was little? Are there any family heirlooms? Is there any history associated with them? Who is in the old photos? Who, when and for what reason took these photos? Are there any old documents?
Were there any traditions in the family that disappeared or changed over time? What were they and where did they come from? How do you celebrate holidays in your family? On what occasions did the whole family gather? What did they do, what did they talk about? If it stopped, then why? Who in the family respected and expressed special respect to him? Were there breakers of tradition in the family, people who were not loved, feared, or those with whom contact was lost?
Are there any family peculiarities of colloquial speech, family jokes and words incomprehensible to others?
Are there any bright cases from the life of parents, grandparents, earlier ancestors, any relatives. Are there any legends about family ties with some colorful personalities and celebrities? Are there stories about neighbors and acquaintances? How did your ancestors meet and get married?
Are there any special family meals? Have any recipes been passed down from generation to generation? Where did they come from, how and why did they change over time? Was there any traditional holiday food? Does the family have any stories related to food?
How did various historical events affect the family, who in the family suffered or committed a heroic deed? Are there any awards in the family? What marriages could not take place if not for some historical event?
It is best to start with some simple question that you can answer without thinking - about the time and place of birth, or about some story previously told to you by this interlocutor.
Thinking up a question, try to imagine the reaction of the interlocutor. It is best to start conversations with those who obviously treat you well, with whom you feel good. During the conversation, you can learn something about other sources, something like: "Aunt Marina can tell a lot about him, she always liked this story." In general, the best way to find new sources of information is to ask those who first come to your mind.
At the same time, you don’t need to “get hung up” on a list of questions and strive to ask them all, ask those that fit the conversation. Listen carefully and show interest, nod and smile. If a person is thinking, do not rush, do not be afraid of silence. If a topic not envisaged by you arises, do not stop the conversation, everything will come in handy. Do not try to talk only about the past, but listen to everything that they want and can tell you. Encourage them to tell you stories and anecdotes. They are interesting even if they do not correspond to historical facts, they allow you to understand the history of your family in its entirety, with all the dreams and prejudices of your ancestors, with the meaning of their life and with the meaning of your family's existence.
But, of course, we must not forget about the goal. What is the purpose of your inquiries? But even if your goal is only to learn historical facts, do not shut up the interlocutor's mouth, let the conversation flow freely. The goal determines which questions to ask.
Encourage the interlocutor to use old documents, family photographs, even some household items if they have been preserved in a conversation - all this helps to remember.
When the conversation is coming to an end, review your list of questions, maybe during the conversation you did not touch on some topic. If the interlocutor is tired, do not insist on continuing, arrange the next meeting. Experience shows that the normal duration of a conversation is one to two hours.
When you return home, put your notes in order, systematize everything you have learned, especially note what will help you in your further search, but is not subject to disclosure. Be sure to write down from whose story you got the information, when and under what circumstances. Do not put it off, later you will definitely forget some important details. If you recorded the conversation on a tape recorder, mark the tapes.

In the article Mozharova N. "Lessons in genealogy"("Red Star" dated August 11, 13, 19, 24, 1993) it is proposed to prepare a questionnaire for conversations with relatives and write the following on the cards:
“At the top of the sheet we write the last name, first name, patronymic. For women, we also indicate the maiden name (nee such and such). The data follows:

• 1. Day, month, year and place of birth, and for the deceased also the day, month, year of death, place of burial.
• 2. Surnames, names, patronymics of the father and mother.
• 3. Surnames, names, patronymics of godparents (godmothers and fathers).
• 4. For those born before 1917 - estate (peasants, philistines, merchants, nobles).
• 5. Place of residence, in what years.
• 6. Religion (Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish).
• 7. Where was he brought up, what kind of education did he receive.
• 8. Places of work or service, titles, positions.
• 9. Whether participated in wars, battles, when, where.
• 10. What are the awards (insignia, medals, orders).
• 11. Surname, name, patronymic of the wife (husband).
• 12. Names, dates and places of birth of children, if possible, indicating the surnames, names and patronymics of the godfather and mother.

kinship terminology needed in order to understand old records and explanations of elderly relatives - most of the terms are not used now (and it’s even hard to believe that they were once used, they are so incomprehensible, but suddenly you have such old relatives ...)

• Grandmother, grandmother - the mother of the father or mother, the wife of the grandfather.
• Brother - each of the sons of the same parents.
• A godfather is the son of a godfather.
• Brother of the cross, brother of the cross, brother named - persons who exchanged pectoral crosses.
• Bro, bro, bro, bro, bro - cousin.
• Bratanikha - the wife of a cousin.
• Bratanna - brother's daughter, brother's niece.
• Bratova - brother's wife.
• Bratelnitsa - a relative in general, cousin or distant.
• Bratych - brother's son, brother's nephew.
• A widow is a woman who has not remarried after the death of her husband.
• A widower is a man who has not remarried after the death of his wife.
• Grandson - son of daughter, son; as well as the sons of a nephew or niece.
• Granddaughter, grandson - daughter of a son, daughter; as well as the daughter of a nephew or niece.
• Brother-in-law is the husband's brother.
• A grandfather is the father of a mother or father.
• The godfather is the godfather's father.
• Grandfather, grandfather - aunt after uncle.
• Dedich is the direct heir of his grandfather.
• A daughter is a female person in relation to her parents.
• The daughter named is adopted, pupil.
• Dshcherich is the nephew of his aunt.
• Dschersha - niece by aunt.
• Uncle - appointed to care for and supervise the child.
• An uncle is the brother of the father or mother.
• A wife is a married woman in relation to her husband.
• Bridegroom - conspiring his bride.
• Zolovitsa, sister-in-law, zolova - husband's sister, sometimes brother's wife, daughter-in-law.
• Son-in-law is the husband of a daughter, sister, sister-in-law.
• Godfather, godfather - see: Godfather, Godmother.
• A mother is a female person in relation to her children.
• The godmother, the mother of the cross - the recipient at the rite of baptism.
• Mother named - mother adopted, pupil.
• Dairy mother - mother, nurse.
• The planted mother is a woman who replaces the groom's mother at the wedding.
• Stepmother - another wife of the father, a stepmother.
• A husband is a married man in relation to his wife.
• The daughter-in-law is the son's wife.
• A father is a male person in relation to his children.
• The godfather is the godfather at the font.
• The named father is the father of the adopted child, the pupil.
• An attendant father, a planted father, a disguised father - a person who acts instead of his own father at a wedding.
• The father is the eldest in the generation.
• Stepfather - another husband of the mother, stepfather.
• Otchinnik, stepchich - son, heir.
• A stepdaughter is a daughter from another marriage in relation to a stepparent.
• A stepson is a step-son of one of the spouses.
• A nephew is the son of a brother or sister.
• A niece is the daughter of a brother or sister.
• Plemyash - relative, relative.
• The progenitors are the first couple known by pedigree, from which the genus originates.
• Ancestor - the parent of a great-great-grandfather, great-great-grandmother.
• The ancestor is the first known representative of the genus from which the genealogy is conducted.
• Matchmaker, matchmaker - the parents of the young and their relatives in relation to each other.
• The father-in-law is the husband's father.
• The mother-in-law is the husband's mother.
• Proprietor - a person who is related by husband, wife.
• In-laws are people who are married to two sisters.
• Cousin-in-laws are persons who are married to cousins.
• The sister is the daughter of the same parents.
• A sister is a cousin, the daughter of a mother's or father's sister.
• Sister, sister, sister - cousin.
• Sister, sister - the son of a mother's or father's sister, a sister's nephew.
• Daughter-in-law, son-in-law - son's wife, daughter-in-law.
• A woman in relationship is the wife of a brother-in-law, the wife of two brothers in relation to each other, a daughter-in-law.
• Spouse - husband.
• The wife is the wife.
• A son is a male person in relation to his parents.
• The son of the godfather (godson) is a male person in relation to the godfather.
• The son named is adopted, pupil.
• Father-in-law is the wife's father.
• Aunt, aunt - the sister of the father or mother.
• The mother-in-law is the wife's mother.
• The brother-in-law is the wife's brother.

• Grandchildren, grandchildren - about kinship coming from the third generation (also second cousin) or even further.
• Cousin - about kinship coming from the second tribe.
• Blood - about kinship within the same family.
• Homogeneous - about the origin from one father.
• One womb - about the origin of one mother.
• Full-begotten - about the origin from the same parents.
• Pra is a prefix meaning kinship in a distant ascending or descending order.
• Married - about origin from the same parents, but born before marriage, and then recognized.
• Native - about the origin from the same parents.
• Consolidated - about the origin of different parents.
• Adopted - a male person in relation to the adoptive parents.
• Adopted - a female person in relation to adoptive parents.

Keep in mind that all people remember the same thing in different ways, they name different years of birth and the names of the same relatives and ancestors, confuse estates and localities, as a rule they do not remember the names and events of the lives of other people's children, but an approximate one gradually emerges. picture ready for further study. To send a request to the archive, you need to know the following about at least one person: full name, year and place of birth (before 1917) and death, where he lived (to determine the church parish - the place of baptism), what he did (estate). In extreme cases, you can specify the approximate year of birth, then the archive will look through documents for several years, but it will also cost, respectively, will be more expensive (genealogical search in most archives is a paid service).

Our most remarkable experience in this sense was the case when a person for no reason suggested that all bearers of his surname were relatives. Therefore, we looked for namesakes for him in different cities, and he and we communicated with them, and it turned out that this surname comes from the local name of the type of activity, so that all its carriers are really relatives: although they do not have a common ancestor, they all lived in the same settlement, did the same thing and became related. Then it was proved by archival search.

Our most frustrating phone search for a customer was when for a man who had only very vague information about his father's parents and really wanted to know something about his ancestors, and as a result it turned out that his father was illegitimate, and The nationality of his grandfather categorically did not suit him. So if you are afraid to find some strange people among your ancestors, first tune in positively - knowledge is better than ignorance anyway.

Well, one more case, the most romantic. Although we were not looking for a relative, it makes sense to bring him - he proves that nothing is impossible. Communicating only by phone and e-mail, we found a Russian sailor to a girl from New Zealand, whom she met twenty years ago in her homeland (he served on a Russian ship), fell in love, could not forget, but knew only his first name, last name and title ship.

Now I have to learn the words

For centuries, genealogy has developed norms for the presentation of information about kinship in the form of various tables, murals, dossiers, cards, and established clear rules for filling out these documents: graphics, symbols, numbering, and so on. Now, of course, there are genealogy programs in abundance, most of which use the GEDCOM format, which has nothing to do with the centuries-old history of genealogy, convenient purely from a computer point of view for program compatibility (by the way, this format was invented by one sect, they say totalitarian, although , maybe not, but in any case, their invention conquered the world, and the sect itself is not so widespread). In programs, it is not at all necessary to understand anything in genealogical terms, the tree will draw itself, everything is very simple there. But don't you really want real genealogists to respect you?
If you want, then some of their wise words still have to be learned.

In ascending pedigree they start with a certain person, then go up the ascending steps or tribes to the father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc., from the known to the unknown.

In descending lineage starting with the most distant known ancestor and gradually moving on to descendants.

Male descendant ancestry indicates all the offspring of the ancestor, which occurred only from men, indicating the name of their spouses.

Male ascendant lineage looks like a line since only one male ancestor is shown in each generation. There is only one surname in male genealogies.

Mixed descending ancestry shows all the offspring of a given ancestor, regardless of gender.

Mixed ascendant ancestry shows all ancestors in the male and female lines. There is one person in the first tribe, two in the second, four in the third, eight in the fourth, and so on. exponentially, and each person belongs to a different genus, so that in the fourth, for example, tribe there are representatives of eight different surnames.

Pedigree can be formatted as tree. In the ascending trunk, the person from whom it is built is indicated, the branching - his parents, the smaller branches - grandfathers and grandmothers, etc. You can’t distinguish them from afar, but at the base of the descending ancestor, and in the crown - descendants.
In Western Europe, they used to paint their genealogical trees: men with offspring were written on a yellow background, those without children - on red, married women - on purple, girls - on blue. All the living were painted on a green background, men - on a darker one, women - on a lighter one. Men's names were written in rectangles or rhombuses, women's names - on circles or ovals. But this is not a rule, in Russia this was rarely done.

You can download one of the options for designing the genealogy of your family or clan in the form of a tree here: (the file is in pdf format, you will need Adobe Reader to open the file with a template to build your "tree of life"). If you wish, you can find stencils in .psd (for Photoshop) and any other formats on the Internet, incl. online family tree templates. You can download the above family tree template for free. We also have a program on our website for compiling with children, we recommend using it at the initial stage of studying your family tree.

Pedigree table - this is the same, but without any liberties and embellishments. Each generation is located strictly on one horizontal line. The seniority of persons in each generation goes from left to right. ascending drawing a table is more or less easy, descending difficult, interferes with the different number of names in each generation and the descendants of each person. In the 17th century, in genealogical tables in Russian genealogical books of the 17th century and Russian pre-revolutionary historical literature, the ancestor was placed in the top line, and then the generations of his descendants went down.
horizontal table goes from left to right: on the left is the ancestor or the person whose genealogy is compiled, and then - in columns, by generation, all his ancestors or descendants. The oldest descendants are always on top, and seniority is read from top to bottom.
Circular (circular) tables used in English and French genealogy. In the center is the person for whom the genealogy is being compiled, then the circle is divided in half, in one half of the paternal ancestors, in the other - on the maternal side. Pie tables are only ascending.
The tables use abbreviations and signs:
I. - name (patronymic excluded, restored by the name of the father)
F. - surname
T / P - title, profession (occupation, social status, specialty, titles, ranks, ranks, etc.)
* 1833 - born in 1833
+ 1891 - died in 1891
X 1890 - married in 1890
)(1888 - divorced 1888
(+) 1895 - buried in 1895.
Each name in the table is assigned a number.

Pedigree painting is a verbal retelling of the table, where information about each name is added. For each information, indicate the source from which it was taken. For each name, a number is placed on the left side in order. In Russia, genealogical paintings appeared at the end of the 15th century. In the forties of the 16th century, genealogical books appeared, compiled in the Discharge Order, which was in charge of appointments for military service. Under Peter I, the King of Arms office was created, which existed, changing names, until 1917.
I must say that professional genealogists are very sensitive to the numbering of pedigree paintings, they even say that one genealogist had a fight with another, discussing a slash or putting a dot after one of the numbers. I will tell you two ways of numbering, and you yourself will choose which one you like best. There are others, but there is no point in trying to embrace the immensity.
Suppose the most distant relative known to you is your great-grandfather Ivan Petrovich, who had a brother Stepan Petrovich and a sister Marya Petrovna. Ivan Petrovich had three children (one of them is your grandfather), Stepan Petrovich had two, and Marya Petrovna had ten. All these children got married and also had children.
So, let's start painting. In fact, the most distant ancestor known to you is Peter, the father of Ivan and Stepan Petrovich. We assign it number 1. We start like this:

I knee
1. Peter

For all subsequent tribes, the number will consist of either two digits, or as many digits as the number of the tribe. That is, either we first write the number of the parent, and then the serial number of the child, or we number all the relatives found in order, and write the number of the parent second. (Sometimes this parent number is written on the right, at the very end of the line). Here's what it looks like in practice:

I I knee. (containing your great-grandfather)
1.1. (or 2.1) Ivan Petrovich
1.2. (or 3.1) Stepan Petrovich
1.3. (or 4.1) Marya Petrovna

I I I tribe (containing your grandfather)
1.1.1. (or 5.2) Ivan Petrovich's first child
1.1.2. (or 6.2) Ivan Petrovich's second child
1.1.3 (or 7.2) Ivan Petrovich's third child
1.2.1 (or 8.3) First child of Stepan Petrovich
1.2.2. (or 9.3) Stepan Petrovich's second child
1.3.1. (or 10.4) Marya Petrovna's first child
And so on.

IV tribe (containing your father)
Children of all representatives of the third tribe.

Let us determine the number for the first child of the first child of Ivan Petrovich. According to the first method, this is 1.1.1.1. According to the second method. . . So, Marya Petrovna had ten children - numbers 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. That is, it means that the first child in the next generation will be 21. And the number of his parent - the first child of Ivan Petrovich - 5. That is, according to the second method, the number of this representative is 21.5.
I think the second method is more complicated, but it is more common, despite the fact that if you find a new relative, you have to renumber everyone who is in tribes with a larger number. And according to the first method, you can immediately understand the entire chain of ancestors by number and you can add at least dozens of them.
I advise you to start using the first method, and then, if you are pleased to see the total huge number of relatives numbered in order, just renumber everything when everything is ready.
For each representative of your pedigree list, you must write everything that you know about him (her), including the spouse (wife) and his (her) parents and the source of information (if the sources are different). When you bring everything to its logical conclusion, make a general list of sources and make links.

Build your first trees

Tired of learning the terms, you can build your ascending tree, descending tree, from the oldest ancestor you found to the newly found distant relatives, the maternal tree (focusing on her maiden name), as well as the names of grandparents. It all depends on what you learned.
But it is possible that this is not true.

I constantly receive information from people who want to enter information about themselves on the IOP website. The most common problem that arises in this case is that almost nothing can be understood from their records. If you come to a relative whom you want to persuade to spend time searching for documents and photographs in the family archive, with a bunch of crumpled pieces of paper on which it is not clear what is written, he will not take your request seriously. So now, very briefly, I will tell you how to portray what you know at the moment, understandable to others.
The need to systematize information and subject it to computer processing arises quite quickly, especially if you try to collect information on all carriers of your last name. Which one to choose depends on what programs you are used to.
For analysis, you need one that can sort rows of information by any column. That is, word, Excel, or any database will do. And some kind of genealogical program is also needed to bring the formed branches of the tree there.
Start a table.
The first column - last name, 2 - first name, 3 - patronymic, 4 - year of birth, 5 - place of birth, 6 - year of death, 7 - additional information, 8 - source number.
The program you're working in should be able to alphabetize all your information by place of birth, if necessary, or, let's say, in ascending order of year of birth, or line up people by patronymic if you're looking for someone's son or daughter.
Column 7 - additional information - should not at all contain all the information you know about the person, only the main one, which can somehow help in identifying it.
So you get started.
Let's say you're researching your father's last name.
First you look for this surname in all search engines, print out the pages where it comes across, number the source, enter the available information into your table, put the source in an envelope and carefully put it on the shelf. It's too early to start thinking. You don’t think about the order of placement either, just add one line after another to the table. There is no name and patronymic, there are only initials - write in the appropriate cells one letter at a time. No years of life - do not write them. In column 7, write, for example, the title of the book, if you found the author of the book that way. Or write whose friend it was, and in what city, if you found a mention of this surname, for example, in an article about some poet. If several people with the same last name are mentioned in one article, start a separate line for each, and write in additional information how they are connected. If you come across someone's pedigree, enter all its characters both in this table and in the genealogical program, in the "additional information" column write the name of the file with the tree.
Then you look up this name in all telephone databases, in databases of employees of various institutions, in dictionaries and encyclopedias, in the database of the registration chamber, in lists of wanted criminals, that is, everywhere. If, for example, a person came to you from a telephone database, write the phone number and address (do not forget the city) in the additional information.
Along the way, wherever possible, subscribe to news by this name. On Yandex, I know, you can, but probably somewhere else. Information on the Internet is updated so that you comb it less often, it is better to subscribe to the news.
Now you start to manipulate the table and think.
Sort by name - to match matching characters, why do you need the same person twice? By the way, full namesakes exist in abundance, so at the slightest doubt it is better not to combine. If short chains are formed from scattered information, create files for them in the genealogical program. And then you find that there is little information.
By the way, this is a titanic work. You do not forget to copy and save all your files on disks, floppy disks or other media convenient for you, not a single person is able to do this work twice.
Then you will go to the libraries. The information accumulated on the Internet is not enough to deal with all the carriers of their surname.
You go to Poklonnaya Gora and, according to all the memory books of all regions, write out the bearers of your last name. Do you feel the swing? If you have a lot of money and little time, hire students, pay them by the piece, but be prepared for the fact that they may accidentally make a mistake when rewriting - no one is safe from mistakes. Or you can try to persuade the employees of the electronic memory book to print out all the carriers of the surname for you, but they usually do not agree to this - they have more than enough normal orders, they do not have time to fulfill them either.
You go to the historical library and write out your namesakes from the memory books of all provinces, from various books beginning with the words "List ...", "Alphabet ..." or "Alphabetical list ...".
You enter all the information received into your table, periodically combine twins and pull out the resulting pedigree chains. Select the lines of those characters that have already fallen into some chains in some way.
Do you think this could make a collection of pedigrees? Can not.
To make a collection of pedigrees out of this staggering heap of material, you need to contact all the carriers of the surname under study, whose addresses you have found by this time, and invite them to join. One person can't handle it.
By contacting namesakes, you can somehow decipher information on the twentieth century and extract genealogical chains from it, but in order to find common ancestors, you still have to go to the archives - an extremely small part of the people who lived on earth got into print sources and the Internet . One can only hope that your titanic work will help you inspire your namesakes to undertake a joint archival search, otherwise it will all remain a collection of unrelated information, however, very impressive.

There are many programs to draw family trees. You can argue about their advantages and disadvantages for a long time, but I will tell you about the one that I like the most and which can be downloaded on the Internet for free - no theft, it's just a free GenoPro program. Its main advantages from my point of view are that it is very simple and with its help you can print your tree on paper to show relatives. And if you do not have a printer, you can simply redraw what happened. After talking with relatives, you can make corrections and additions, and go to the next relatives with a new version.
You can start building a tree from anywhere. When you install this program, there will be a lot of various buttons at the top, among them you need to select a button, when you hover over it, the words Family wizard pop up (a piece of a family tree and a magic wand are drawn there). When you click this button, a table will appear. You enter the father (Father) in the left side of the table, the mother (Mother) in the left side, by pressing the Add button at the bottom of the table add children, then press OK in the top right corner and the tree starts. You have a parent-child diagram hanging on the tip of your mouse, you set it up on the page, click on any empty space (so that nothing is selected) and continue.
If you right-click on any item in this tree, a menu will pop up. Properties is written below - by selecting this item you will change the properties of the person you have chosen, add something about him. Above it says: New mate, new parents, new son, new daughter - by selecting this menu item, you can add a new spouse to this person, add parents, son or daughter. By selecting the Family wizard menu item, you can immediately add one more spouse and children from this marriage.
Under the line it says Link as a parent, link as a child. By selecting this menu item, you will be able to attach this person to someone as a parent or child (this item will be needed when you already have a large tree).
It may sound complicated, but in fact it is incredibly simple, with a little experimentation, you will master this program to perfection.

To check whether a genealogy has turned out to be plausible, it is necessary to apply the laws of genealogy to its results. In each next generation, the number of ancestors doubles (this is called the law of doubling the number of ancestors), but at the same time, this law does not work at a sufficiently large time distance, some of the ancestors of people entering into marriage turn out to be common (this is called the law of decreasing ancestors). If six or eight generations of ancestors are found, the law of three generations should already be in force - the activity of each three generations should fit into a hundred years (however, you are unlikely to have reached such degrees on the basis of inquiries).

Why do you need all this?

Everyone has their own reason for studying the history of the family, often it is not fully realized, then the person answers the appropriate question - just wondering, if you want, etc. But in order to achieve such results that will satisfy you, you need to understand exactly what subconscious motives drive you.
People are often embarrassed by their own motives and goals, so appropriate techniques have been developed to identify them. I will offer you one of them, solely because it does not require outside participation and any costs. There are ways much more complex and scientific.
This will take a week. Five days, every evening you sit down alone at the table, take a pen and a sheet of paper (or sit down at the computer, open a text editor) and within five minutes (or ten if you are slow) as quickly as possible, without rereading, write what you want in connection with genealogy, kinship, knowledge of your ancestors, and all related areas. No need to concentrate and think, the goal is to write as quickly and as much as possible and stop, even in the middle of a word, when the allotted time runs out. Then you fold the paper and put it away on the table (save the file and close it). Do not read under any circumstances! Do not limit yourself if you accidentally write that you want to lose 20 kilos in connection with genealogy and buy yourself a new fishing rod, there is nothing terrible or stupid in this, that's what analysis is for. And so five days. On the sixth day, you read, do not cross out or erase anything, bring everything together (so the computer is more convenient, of course), dividing into topics. You don't draw any conclusions. Read, wonder and go to bed. And only on the seventh day you analyze, see which topic has the most points and then determine your main goal. Do not be surprised if it is completely unrelated to genealogy. In this case, you simply do not need to limit yourself to genealogy, well, for example, if the goal of your studies is to raise a harmoniously developed personality from a child.
On the seventh day, five or ten minutes will not be enough for you, because this is not the final stage.
From your main goal, you need to isolate specific goals, understandable to everyone around you and to you personally, and quite achievable, albeit not soon.
I can tell you what specific goals the Americans got, what their main goal was - it doesn’t matter, they kept their main goal to themselves.
So, examples of specific goals:
Once every five years, gather all members of your family in a specially rented hotel on the lake.
Create a museum of the history of the district in a nearby school with genealogical trees of all students.
Create a personal fund in the museum.
Create your own family history museum
Become a recognized genealogist by your last name, and suddenly - blue blood?
Turn family history into a way to improve the well-being of all family members, so that everyone you treat well will constantly receive additional income.
You should not copy other people's goals and say that you also want all this - specific goals should follow from the main one.
Having singled out a specific goal, it is necessary to break its achievement into stages and directions, draw up a plan and proceed to its implementation. The smaller the stages, the more pleasant it will be to implement the plan - the movement will be better noticeable.

To know your ancestry means to know your origin. This may be relevant for carriers of famous surnames, for people whose ancestors were famous people.

But even those who do not have famous and historical ancestors often want to know their own genealogy in order to confirm or refute various family stories that have been passed down from generation to generation.

It is better to know and comprehend the history of your family in order to find your roots, understand the meaning of your own actions and character traits - all this will help to make a family tree.

How to make a family tree

Information about the pedigree must somehow be systematized and presented as clearly and aesthetically as possible. Genealogical data obtained through research can be presented in different formats, but the most popular representation is the family tree.

Information about several generations can be presented in various forms.

• Only direct descendants are shown- the tree is highly branched, the outer level includes a large number of people.
• All known ancestors represented– the tree has pruned side branches to present the information as compactly as possible.
• The tree includes all family members with the same last name.- branches of married relatives along the female line are cut off.

The systematization criteria can be different, and depending on the chosen option, the design of the family tree is selected.

Even small-scale genealogical research can include a large amount of information found. What can we say about the full study, in which the genus is restored to 10-12 generations.

In any case, the storage of open information will require the use of an organized methodical approach. And to display the visual, the design of the family tree is important.

Designer pedigree tree diagram

This type of design is a layout that is made individually for each family. Photo paper or foam board serve as the basis for the layout. The size can be different - it depends on the number of persons included in the tree diagram, and the degree of its branching.

The basic version of the design of the tree includes the work of a historian to systematize information about all the relatives known to you, the development of an individual tree layout, the design and printing of the tree on photographic paper (format: 61x200 cm) or foam board (format: from 56x84 cm to 1200x1200 cm).

photo paper

Foamboard

Artistic family tree

This is not just systematized information, but a work of art. The design of the family tree in an artistic style is carried out by a professional illustrator who uses engraving technique or watercolor to work.

The result is then reproduced on canvas using the highest quality plotter printing. This method allows you to get a digital image of the highest quality, without losing the feeling of handmade.

The standard format of a picture on a stretcher is 150x90 cm. The resulting "picture" of the family's history is inserted into a baguette frame. Such a tree looks solid and fascinating, and may well serve as a decoration for any home.

Folding family tree

The folding tree is made in the original style - in the form of an old railway map. Production is carried out manually. "Map" has a luxurious cover made of genuine leather. This format is convenient for storage in the office or on the shelf of the family library.

Shezhere tree

Shezhere- perhaps the most original and interesting way to draw up a pedigree. In a traditional style, but using the most modern technologies, this design looks very decorative and spectacular.

Only apply natural materials:

• parchment;
• tree;
• canvas thread.

The parchment is stretched over a wooden frame and secured with canvas threads. Information is applied to parchment by hand. The resulting panel is aged to achieve maximum naturalism.

Carved panel of the family tree from solid wood

Your family tree is carved on solid wood, which is made from high quality teak and treated with special oil to prevent drying out. This tree looks very impressive and solid.

Whatever option you choose, the professionals working in the company House of Family Traditions "Christian" will be able to carry out the design in such a way that will satisfy the requirements of the most demanding customers.

How to order a family tree

If you have a desire to explore your origins and family roots, you need to contact our experts. Qualified experienced historians, who have been working for many years on the successful search for the most lost personalities, will help not only to find the necessary information, but also to systematize it.

Professional artists, designers, illustrators will offer a design option that will suit you and will appeal to all your relatives.

You can order the service by calling, sending an e-mail or visiting our office in person. The cost of services and the final result depends on the depth and scope of the search for information about your ancestors, as well as on the chosen design option.

A family tree is more than a designation of family lines, branches, a certain number of names, surnames and portraits. This is a journey into the past, to the origins, and a strong connection of this past with the present and future.