Family Tree Charts

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

​Do you remember the days of genealogy when we entered our data on Family Group Sheet and Family Tree Charts? All by hand unless you were a gifted typist and could manage not to botch entering your data. Now we have wonderful software programs where we can track and analyze our data. Do the paper forms still have value? Let’s look.

​Today, we quickly enter our finds with FamilyTree Maker or whatever program you are using. Hopefully, you are entering the source information as well. I feel blessed that we now have this ability. For those who have only known genealogy since computer programs and technology, you probably don’t know what I’m talking about. While I definitely do not want to go back to all those handwritten forms in binders, I do think there was a benefit to writing out the information and really thinking about it as you did so. There have even been studies about how our brains work differently when writing in script versus typing.
 
I recently mentioned that I was planning to update my family history photo albums by including more context. I have been adding more information beyond identifying them with their age and dates. This triggered the idea that it would be great to include a family history tree chart in the album that was easy to read. When looking at my options on Ancestry, FamilySearch, and other comparable sites, I would either need to manually enter all my data into their site or upload my files. I’m currently not a fan of doing that at this time. Partly for privacy reasons and because I’ve been combing through my current trees, ensuring that I have included accurate data and sources. (That’s a big job and will require some time).
 
The other challenge is that these charts become incredibly large and unwieldy. I wanted them to fit into a 12 x 12 album. I compromised by purchasing some larger Family Tree charts (24 x18) online. This actually turned into a fun project because I could color the chart and manually write in the names of the ancestors for eight generations. Ideally, I would have liked to include more generations because I’ve gone back further with some lines than others but this was a compromise. The other thing I decided to do was start with  my grandparents on each of the family lines. I feel that this way, someone else looking at the album would better be able to understand the context of the relationship and it allowed me to include more older generations in the chart. I was pleased with how these turned out but I still didn’t solve the problem of size.
 
I contacted local printing places but most either couldn’t accommodate the size of the poster and reduce it in half or it was too cost prohibitive for me. That’s when I decided to take a picture of my finished chart and try printing it on 8 x 11 paper. It worked beautifully. I’m sure that if I spent additional time adjusting the light and making sure that the chart was perfectly flat, it would have turned out better. However, I’m happy with the result. Not only will these little charts be useful for the photo albums but they will also be handy for me when doing research as I can view everyone at a glance. At this time, I’ve only included the names because writing smaller and trying to include dates would have made the reduced version difficult to read.
 
The other thing that I noticed is that I really paid more attention to the names on the chart and how they fit into my ancestral story. It has generated additional ideas for research and family stories. I hope this gives you some ideas too. If you have found an elegant solution to creating a Family Tree chart, please share. Happy charting!