How to Make a Family Tree

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Kirk Monroe

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Mar 23, 2010, 12:02:34 AM3/23/10
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A lot of us are curious to know where we "come" from. Sometimes it is
not enough to just know the names and birth dates of your parents and
grandparents. Families consist of various relations that include
cousins, aunts and uncles. The easiest way to link everyone together
and understand the roots of your family is to construct a tree.
What is a Family Tree?
? It is NOT a tree that has name tags of your family members hung on
its various branches.
? A family tree is a model of sorts that connects individuals
belonging to the same family by relations such as marriage and/or
birth.
? With the help of a family tree you can trace various relatives to
your own family, have a better idea of them and see how each one of
you is related to one another.
? There are various software programs available on the Internet that
you can use in order to construct your family tree. Some of them are
free to use, while others may require some small payment.
How to construct one?
? The process is quite simple and logical. All you need is basic
information about those who are related to you. This can be in the
form of birth and death dates, marriages and other such connections.
? Although the obvious choice for collecting such information would be
to ask your parents or relatives for them, often such information can
be vague, incorrect or even forgotten.
? In order to have accurate knowledge of such data you can use family
tree websites that have technology to help you authenticate such
information.
How does a Family Tree help?
? The most important purpose of a family tree is to know more about
your family. In present times, with time constraint attached to every
activity in our lives, it is not always possible to meet and greet our
loved ones. This often leads to ignorance of basic family information
for future generations.
? A lot of times, young people are unaware of their various cousins,
uncles and aunts because they have simply never had a chance to meet
them.
? Roaming about the world and seeking knowledge about such people is
not always possible.
? A family tree helps to collect details of various people related to
us in different ways and put them together. Once this is done,
everyone in the family can look at it and have a better idea of their
family.
Start with asking your parents about their parents, uncles, aunts and
cousins. Place them on the family tree software that you are using.
Now connect the next generation of each of these individuals by birth
or marriage, whichever it is by using lines between each person. You
will be surprised to see how clear your family has become for you
recognize.
However, it is important to check that the information you feed to
these programs is accurate. Don't always rely on official documents
such as birth and death certificates. You can verify them online by
using one of the many family tree websites. You may have to pay a
nominal fee for this service, but it is worth it.

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