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General => Technical Help => Family History Programs, Tree Organisation, Presentation => Topic started by: ali607 on Saturday 11 December 04 21:22 GMT (UK)
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Ok, so 5 A2 sheets of paper later.....how exactly do you draw up your family tree on paper???
The problem is that my 'tree' is more of well.... 'bush'. By God can you tell TV hadnt been invented 100 years ago! Every member of my family had a least 8 kids! My grandma was one of 11 - not that ive found them all yet - but i know she was. So immediately from like two generations back ive filled the width of the paper - by the time everyone's finished getting married god knows how many times. Ok so what happens when i get back to the next generation and there's 10 of those and each one of their children has 10 children and is married twice????
Obviously, I know i have to just follow one family name back on one sheet of paper but its still impossible to fit even half of the ancestos i have on the paper - no sheet is big enough!! Dont family tree scales exist like on a map?! AAAGGGHHH! >:(
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Alison
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1. Use a pre printed "Tree" outline ...... although like you I understand the problem created by the "bush spread" factor ...... what happened to all those claims about our ancestors being strait laced and gathering round the piano for a good old sing song before retiring to bed for a few hours sleep before getting up at the crack of dawn to earn the daily crust. ;D
2. Use a computer ........ storing and sorting information is what computers actually are good at (sometimes )
3. sketch out your plans vaguely on a4 before committing yourself to A2 size.
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Hi - yeah i am building my tree on Genes Reunited and in the whole tree ive got about 250 names so obviously ive broke it down into families which i was then going to draw out separately on large paper - but theyre still too big!!
Yes computers are great for ordering all the info so it all fits together but i get frustrated that i cant see it all infront of me...Also my parents dont have a computer and they would love to see it...
Thanks for the advice though...what do you mean by a pre printed tree outline though?
Alison
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Hi
Why not use a roll of wallpaper, I've got an idea to someday print of all my trees on A4 from the pc and to stick them on wallpaper, just to see how really big it is when its all joined together. That way if it needs extending and renewing its not costing lots of pennies.
Havent quite got round to it yet.
Patches
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Hi yeah what a cracking idea!
Due to the 'bush' problem id also thought of writing/painting it all up on a blank wall of like a study or something - after ive been researching for years and years!! But then i thought that would probably be quite sad...I would just love to see how big it is now like the whole thing - after a month - nevermind 10 years! :D
Alison
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what do you mean by a pre printed tree outline though?
Alison
Here are some pre-printed examples:
http://www.genfair.com/shop/pages/gpr/page05.html
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Thanks theyre really good arent they?
the thing is ive already got 7 generations (along one line of the family) back to the 1770s - im guessing there's people on here who have been doing this decades and have got back to 1400 and something! What on earth do they do if i cant handle my sized tree???
Alison
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It is very difficult to get every single relation on the same tree.
You can, however:
Use a pedigree chart to follow one line.
An ancestor chart can be used to show all direct ancestors of one person (inverted pyramid shape).
A descendant chart shows all the descendants of a person (pyramid shaped).
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Hi there
I have been doing this since 1977 and I cannot put all my relations on one type of tree, it is impossible.
You either have to choose a tree to show all of your ancestors with you either at the bottom or on the left and double the number of people at every generation OR you choose one couple in the past and show all of their descendants.
Although this is the easiest way of explaining it, it is not as easy as it sounds. On an ancestry chart you have awful problems of repeating people if cousins marry or if, as in one of my cases, there is incest in the family!
On a descent chart you have similar problems if relatives marry as they have to be in two places at the same time.
I have been informed that you just anotate the tree but it still looks silly to me.
I wouldn't worry too much about a tree, make it into a book, tracing all the descendants of a chosen couple and writing up a narrative history with the barest of trees in the front to show where people are.
Much more interesting than a list of names & dates.
Another idea is to get some books from the library or look at some of those Victorian family histories to see just how complicated they can get, they are so interwoven that they are only readable by experts so what use are they?
Best of luck
Teddybear
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Instead of wallpaper use Lining Paper. It's sold at the same places as wallpaper and come's in the same size rolls, but is around the same weight as printer paper, so you can feed it through an ordinary printer. Cut the width to the maximum width your printer will take. Then go into page setup and tell your printer that the page is 10 metres long ,or whatever. Then just feed the roll in as it prints.
Saves on sellotape.
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Just make sure it's in a very safe place when you start decorating !
Su
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A completely different option would be to download you tree from GenesConnected and send it to one of the specialist printers to get it printed.
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What do you do with the ancestors you have not found? Write them in invisible ink?
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Hi,
We split our tree into my ancestors and my husbands. Our children are at the bottom of both trees and the branches then spread upwards. The two trees are then lines up above each other and it makes it less like a strip of wallpaper and more picture shaped.
For each family traced back we only listed their children and didn't put on the lines that come down from all the sibblings. This made it less complicated. For those we do not yet know we have put ??? instead of a name. We will get the tree re-printed when we have managed to fill some of the gaps.
We also chose to limit how far back we went so that the tree isn't lopsided.
We now have our work framed and up in for all to enjoy. It really is a conversation piece.
Sue
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I have drawn up two trees on paper, it comes to the size of four broadsheet newspapers.
Another idea is to 'draw your tree on a spreadsheet like Excel.
Start at the top and put each person in a box and link each family with a colour,changing the colour for each generation.
With this you can go on forever.
When you come to printing in A4 you can jiggle the tree around so there are no cutoffs.
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I'm fortunate that my brother is a land surveyor and in his office there is a machine that normally prints out maps/charts on enormous sheets of paper. So he has very kindly put details of our mother's and father's family trees on disc, then printed them out into HUGE trees, which he either rolls into a tube or carefully folds to send through the post to me.
Keith
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yes thats a very good idea. Most of the copy shops in most towns will print out at least A1 width. Find out where the local Architects go to get their dyelines and acetates printed out. Phone first and ask what file format it needs to be in and whether they prefer your file on a CD or floppy disk. If your lucky they may accept a USB pendrive
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Got to say I wouldnt be without my computer program
Its hell of a lot easier when you make mistakes to go back and correct them and mine prints out a tree from the information. At the moment its running to 25 sheets of A4. I do think it could perhaps lay it out a bit better but as I can also pull it up on screen I dont have to print it out each time I want to check something
Willow x
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Got to say I wouldnt be without my computer program
Willow x
what do you use?
I have provisionally made a custom tree using Correldraw.
Hopefully Family Tree program should arrive soon but I also want to put the tree on Genes Reunited as well . I'll probably end up re-entering everything :'(
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I'm using Family Tree Maker which I cannot complain about. It also lets you scan in photos relating to your family
You can download a free family tree program from Ancestry.co.uk which is a GEDCOM type file which can be upladed into any family tree program. Its not brilliantly detailed but saves you having to do everything twice
If you want I'll find you the link
Guess what - just looked and it isn't on there any more - blooming typical!
Willow x
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I'm using GenesReunited as my primary record but its frustrating having to print all the maternal lines off seperately - and you end up with duplications. And as I've just discovered a ggg grandfather who had 14 children, and two of these had eight or nine apiece, its going to be a nightmare!
Having said that, it was only through GenesReunited that I discovered someone who was researching the same line, so I shouldn;t really complain!
Thought about getting a simple Family Tree PC programme - have seen some for around £10. Does anyone have any experience of these and what the print-outs are like?
I don't think I want to invest in the full Family Tree Maker package.
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I have had three Family tree disks for years, right from the start i could not get my head round them,still cant. Only a few ago i went back to try again thinking i would put a finished tree on it ;D but no my mothers sister ended up as her grandmother so i stayed with what a started with what i do is this
Descendent's of (G.G.G.Grandparents)
Married on Date at Place
Children of Jack and Jill Jones ;D
1 2
3
4
Number 1 married Betty Brown on 21 sep 1820
Update 11th Jan 2005 Betty died
Then again children of number one and Betty brown
Doing a tree this way you have all the information in front of you and you can go back and update at anytime. I found it better to update rather than delete and re-enter an entry because it can knock the rest out of line. I have now redesigned another tree by copying and pasting Censuses on them. It looks brilliant .Myself i only put sibling of a G.G.Grandfather and who they married children they had the rest comes later.
Why is this topic on the lighter it aint light work gettin a tree together ;D
Celia
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I drew this tree with PowerPoint. The good thing about PowerPoint is that you can get your tree to look exactly how you want it. It takes a lot of time but I think the end result is worth it. The only draw back is you are limited to A4 size, unless you have access to a printer that can print larger sheets.
I saved this as a .jpeg so the quality is not as good as if you viewed it through PowerPoint itself, but you get the idea.
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Hi Amy
I wondered about using Powerpoint - one advantage being that you can create hyperlinks from a name (ie maternal line) through to another page, indefinately (and of course you could hyperlink to images of census pages, photos, other stuff).
Paul
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Paul, that's an excellent idea, and not something I had thought of. I just tend to draw them and print them out for family members, to TRY and get them interested in genealogy a bit. The drawing can't be that good as they are as uninterested as ever!!
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At the moment I am using Excel to draw up trees, one tree pro A4 page.
The (preview) results are viewable at http://www.margulies-chronicles.com/i-trees.php
It's a lot of work, but as Amy has said about PowerPoint:
... you can get your tree to look exactly how you want it. It takes a lot of time but I think the end result is worth it. ...
the next stage is to "clean up" the background colour, and then I want to add hyperlinks to the names, so that I can jump straight to the biographies. I haven't decided yet how - the PowerPoint idea sounds good, or I may try "drawing" the tables in HTML (Eeeek !!). I also tried converting the excel tables to HTML but that didn't work properly, so I shall keep trying. I'll post here if I find a good soöution, and I I shall continue to monitor this posting in case somebody else does !
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I have now "re-drawn" the trees in HTML - see
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=143930.msg1012549#msg1012549
replies #57 and #58
Bob
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I do my trees horizontally using Excel, starting with my family top left and keeping the direct line at the top. For each spouse I start a new tree if I want to go beyond the parents.
Printing Landscape using Times New Roman 10 point gives four or five generations on a single sheet of A4. Families of siblings which don't fit onto the top sheet are dropped down onto lower ones.
On two occasions I have had to take up two "generation columns" with families of more than eight surviving children but usually there are sufficient early deaths in large families to make this unnecessary.
David
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I have my trees saved on my family tree programme and on Genes Reunited, but I just cant work without my paper trees.
I use an Artists sketchpad A3 size. Each family has a page of its own and as I work on each family I pencil my notes on the tree. Every few months I do have to re-do the tree and include all the recently found info and I'm now on my 5th pad!!! I know it probably seems like hard work but I just couldn't work without it. I can carry the book around with me when I visit relatives, libraries etc . I also get a clear view of the whole family's tree.
Probably not everyone's cup of tea but works great for me ;D
KPM
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Hi I found this thread using the search facility, and have a question for Amy K., or anyone else if they know the answer!
How did you do the Power Point tree? I can only get it to come up with boxes to put the names in.
Unfortunately it takes up too much space as one of my ancestors had 16 children, so it becomes too squished!!
Thanks
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How about Rootsmagic as a family tree prog?? It is the only one I can get on with , you can print out narrative reports & varios trees.
Just a thought :) Coppernob
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Thanks for the reply Coppernob. :)
Apparently all you have to do in power point is right click the box, go to Format Auto Shape, then set the fill colour to "no fill", and the line colour to "no line" and the box vanishes!
By staggering them I managed to get all 16 to fit....just! ;D
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Wow Britgirl Might give that a go sounds good
Coppernob
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I have given up on paper representations pretty much. With many many thousands of names on my file I have no choice but to concentrate on various different types of tree, focussed on individuals rather than attempt anything comprehensive
For paper representations I use this
http://www.cs.williams.edu/~bailey/genealogy/PedigreeFanChart.pdf
or rather, a series of those leading off in whichever direction I choose, but of necessity, leaving a lot out as well.
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A friend of mine has hers drawn out on X number of numbered A4 cards, which all fit together like a jigsaw and she also has a master card with the position of each card marked on it ... like the picture on the lid of a jigsaw box. The whole thing fits together and covers her sitting room floor, but she can just select various bits of it and join those. The A4's are all laminated, and hole punched, so they go into a box file.
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I printed mine out on the computer, (50 pages) Then i hung black material from a curtain pole that spans the width and length of the wall and pinned the A4 sheets on that, along with old photos and bits of other keepsakes. It looked amazing but unfortunatly when i moved it didn't fit the new walls, so now i have to scale it down. I think this time i will use white material and ink and make it so that i can roll it up when not in use.
Lynn H.
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i use lining paper and photocopy ;D
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I just found this thread.
Thank goodness I'm not the only one trying to decide how to display the family branches so that I can see at a glance what I've accomplished and where I need to do more work.
Some great suggestions here.
Kathleen
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i use autocad and an A1 width plotter but even so there comes a point when you can't unroll it enough to view properly.
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I use the Brothers Keeper programme because the tree function is very simply laid out and really helps me to "visualise who fits in where".
I have ended up sticking loads of A4 paper together though but only because I`ve not been brave enough to use a longer roll or whatever in the printer.
I just reprint each time I have added a few more names, fold them up and pop them in the file until I want to have a look at who`s who (which is usually very often).
I can see every one who is descended from anyone whether its five or fifteen generations(or more) and I can print as much or as little info about each person as I like. It even gets over the "cousins" problem.
You can buy the programme, but it is also available as shareware so you can try it out.
There is a website
www.bkwin.org
I have tried several programmes but always return to this one as I LOVE the tree. :D
sheddyg
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I use Family Historian for my tree (with an abbreviated version on Ancestry).
Family Historian is good at graphical representations of the tree, and can even put in swooshing lines (can't think how else to describe them), to link the same person appearing in different places on the tree.
A few years ago, I looked to see how I might print it out. I think we were looking at several hundreds, if not thousands of sheets of A4! (Yes, I've got loads and loads of cousin lines on my tree, and even some barely related in-law branches where it's a family that's caught my interest!)
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I keep my tree(s) on paper. I just use ordinary A4 sheets, headed "Family Tree A", "Family Tree B" etc, then kept in folders for each surname.
So, for example, if William Smith has 10 children and several of those have large families, then he will be on Fam Tree A, perhaps with some of the children that don't spread too far. Then, say for example his eldest son John has a large family, then instead of squashing all his children in, his line would just be marked as Fam Tree B. New sheet, heaed Fam Tree B, would therefore start with a line up referring it back to A, but the name at the top of the tree on that sheet would be John Smith. And so on.
Havent described it at all well. HAs worked excellently for me for over 30 years! Tried a computer programme , but was far too large and unwieldy. I like the accessibitly and versatility of paper.
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The original question was about drawing trees on paper, and I would like to add something about methods to the discussion.
I have 5 major lines plus 5 siblings lines. Normally each line can be printed on an two A4 pieces of paper (length to length). One of the major lines has so many minor branches that I've had to print it on two pages. So all told I have a tree printed on a 10x2 matrix of A4 sheets of paper.
Which leads to the question, how can I arrange them, so that I can show people, with the minimum of effort, and not having to find the "right piece" of paper, and getting it all in a clutter ?
My solution is to use A4 document envelopes (wallets ?), dividers cut to the envelope width and lots of sellotape ! I cut off the retainer (? the bit with the holes for filing ) on all but the first line, so I can fold everything and put it in an A4 folder for transport and storage. Remember to leave a space between the envelopes before taping them (I use 2 mm.), otherwise they will not fold cleanly. I've added a drawing which I hope explains this (better). (1) and (2) in the second pic. show the ideal situation, (3) is what happens, when the gap is not large enought.
And don't tape over the corners ! Folding the tree means that a lot of strain is introduced here, so leaving the corners open, will make life easier.
I tape both the fronts and the backs of the envelopes for stability, as I have a second tree on the reverse side, so I am constantly folding and refolding. (But be careful on the 'bottom' envelope, to tape the inside of the envelope, as you will need to keep the opening free.
Because this is one of the advantages of this method: if I change things - add or delete persons - I will usually only need to reprint one or maybe two pages and replace them. Or if I add a new family line, I can simply tape on some more envelopes (Yes, I've done this too - the tree started out as 5 * 2 pages, then became 7 * 2, then 9 *2 and is now 10 * 2 pages !)
If I am showing this to people, I rarely fold out the whole thing, but simply those pages which show a particular family.
Bob
ps. I may be using the wrong names for some of the materials: as I haven't had to buy these in the U.K. for so many years, I've forgotten the "official" names ;D
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Once you have a good chart from your software, you can get it printed out at a copy shop or map printing shop where they can print on large paper eg A2/A1 sheets.
To hand write your tree, visit a printer. He may be willing to sell you a few very large sheets.
Best Free software for great charts, good book reports and very easy to use.
Have been using the free version for many years now. Recommended: just google My Heritage.com
Absolutely no complaints with this software which I run on my computer without using the online facilities.
Note: paying a My Heritage subscription lets you upload more people in your online trees BUT it does not allow you to access records. It tells you that there are records but you have to subscribe to see them. So the free version is the best value.
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Once you have a good chart from your software, you can get it printed out at a copy shop or map printing shop where they can print on large paper eg A2/A1 sheets.
To hand write your tree, visit a printer. He may be willing to sell you a few very large sheets.
Or perhaps you can’t.
I used Treedraw to enable me to compile my tree and save as a pdf file.
Pretty easy to do though it did take a while to align it correctly.
Now all I have to do is find a printer who can handle, or should I say print the PDF file. That should not be a problem many copy shops and prints shops do that every day.
Umm - yes – but when printed my tree would be 50 feet wide which equates to three PDF pages.
The height to contain generations back to the early 1400s is not a problem its the fitting the siblings side by side that is.
(All I need is a time machine, a barrel of slimming pills and a barrel of contraceptives for both males and females and my tree will soon be sorted). ;)
Cheers
Guy
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Use numbers (maybe INDI numbers from a FH program) and an index - you can probably fit 50-100 nodes (people) of a tree on a sheet of A4. Or go back to the old genealogists system of cards - one card per person and one chart per family with links on the chart leading to different families. I still have my cards and pencil drawn charts from the 1980s but never use them - they became too painful to use too quickly!
Downside of paper records: Prone to error, difficult to change and not as easy to 'back up' as storing the info digitally.
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I have been doing family history research for forty years. Although I do not use charts for my genealogies, I started using Ventura Publisher 1.0 on my PC/XT which used XEROX's GEM operating which Microsoft later cloned into Windows. I documented all my family history in electronic versions of books. I have used this method to publish nine 600 page family history books. All these books not only include a surname index but also include geographical indices as well. Ventura Publisher allows generation of both HTML and Adobe Acrobat PDF files. I have even combined all nine books into one book that is over 6,000 pages. The PDF files can be sent directly to printers for paper based publications. So, charts may be nice but Ventura Publisher allows any size publication, allows both HTML and PDF output, having 75,000 index entries is no problem and when you are ready to publish your family history in paper, printers prefer PDF input (images can be merged as well).
http://www.rcasey.net/acrstrt2.htm
By migrating away from charts, a book like publication gives you a much more serious looking publication which will help in adding cousins since your publication looks like a book. On the down side, Ventura Publisher is not that user friendly (but has greatly improved over the years). Also, it is not a inexpensive product either but you can pick up older copies a very reasonable price. Ventura Publisher is the only software in existence that can properly handle this many index entries.
However, YDNA testing has really got me into charting again as charts are much more visual in nature. I use Adobe InDesign for creating box chart descendant charts. This is a manual method but allows you to add information that genealogy software packages do not handle well. I track how 520 testers of R-L226 is charted with this program. R-L226 is one of the three known older branches that are 90 % Irish (R-L226 is Dal Cais descendants and include all descendants of King Brian Boru). I can add YSNP branches, YSTR branches, common genealogical proven ancestors, score the accuracy of predicted testers by color coding and add the source of YSNP testing which can have many sources. And you can add hypertext links to your hearts desire. This can be updated daily and reposted daily at my web site as new test results are received:
http://www.rcasey.net/DNA/R_L226/Haplotrees/L226_Home.pdf
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The traditional tree format for displaying ancestry looks nice and gives information at a glance, provided it does not have too many entries, which can simply make it a confusing mess. Most people here seem to the information stored on computer in some way. A paper-based tree diagram is probably a little out-dated in the computer age, though, and something you would only do for the challenge and the aesthetics of it, not to make it easier to access the information, which could be got much quicker by accessing the database or whatever it is you have on the 'puter.
From an information science point of view, a genealogy tree is simple in concept. Each person is represented by a data node, and only needs to carry three pieces of information: an identifier (eg the person's name, or possibly with extra description to avoind ambiguity), and a pointer to the two parent nodes, one male and one female. Strictly speaking this is all the information required, though in practice you would normally also have a pointer to a list of child nodes ( otherwise the only way to locate children would be to examine all other nodes to find those with that parent).
This is a standard exercise in computer science courses, and pretty easy to do. Writing an application to examine the tree, eg by searching for a particular name, highlighting it and bring up mother's name, grandfather's name, names of children etc would not be too difficult and I imagine there are hundreds of such applications around.
Actual human genealogy can have all sorts of complications that make it not a true tree. A "tree" in information science is defined by the fact the fact that there is only one path between any two given nodes. If you think about it, this corresponds precisely to botanical trees as they are found in your garden or in the forest. Human ancestry is not like this. Cousins, second cousins etc. can marry and have children. Any time you have a husband and wife who can trace a common ancestor, you no longer have a tree, you have a graph with loops. Showing these relationships on a two-dimensional piece of paper may not be easy, and sometimes it's not even possible to do it without lines crossing. All up I'd say the effort of putting it all on one sheet of paper is hardly worth it unless you are restricting yourself to maybe four or five generations.
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I agree that producing very large charts have limited advantages in today's computer age. However, there is one major exception - family reunions. Using your box descendant charts works better for this scenario as family members can add information much easier (and are less intimidated) by a box descendant chart from your friendly genealogical program.
The same goes for family group sheets. These are summaries of each family but are just not space efficient and do not allow for more information on your direct ancestors which require more information to show how you research proves these important families. The Register report available with most genealogy programs is the best summary (space wise for copying and eventually publication in paper form for preservation).
With the computer age, everyone seems to think that the electronic copies will survive but there is still nothing like having a paper copy in Salt Lake City LDS Library and the Library of Congress to preserve your research (or National Library of Ireland and regional libraries). Most of your printed copies sold to cousins eventually end up in land fills as the next generation clears out your house for resale. So preservation should be strongly considered as well.
Any manual large chart becomes extremely hard to make required updates to as well. Rather than doing this chart manually, you should consider a product like Adobe InDesign which you can create a huge chart which can be printed out in sections and taped together or is available in a PDF format that can be sent to cousins or viewed online. The online form will probably only be used by the next generation of researchers - so these large paper based documents have less likely to be preserved.
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a huge chart which can be printed out in sections and taped together
See my earlier reply (#42). I found that handy at a recent family gathering as I only needed to fold out the appropriate sections (and once I had them interested, I unfolded the whole thing just for the fun of it :) )
Bob
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Amy or Paul,
If you are still on this chat, the Powerpoint is a great idea, thanks and I'm making one - but how/where do I see the hyperlink it says I have inserted? Rob
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20 yrs ago! I started with a box of self adhesive labels, and a large sheet of poly....(what not?) glass.
Firstly I stuck on my fathers name and dates, entered on a label, at the bottom , then above him his father, and so on, until I had all the direct males entered in layers. Then I started to fill in the siblings. I didn't touch the spouses until i had this lot sorted into some order. (all the same surname).
I had the information I just didn't enter them until i had a basic male tree. Maybe it will work for someone else?
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I use both webbased family trees and a CAD paper version, which I update from time to time. The CAD drawing allows unlimited lateral and vertical extension, which I print out in A4 sheets as needed. It is completely scaleable and I can zoom in on an area that I am working on, or zoom out to see a more general relationship. On the greater tree I keep a red line through my direct ancestors so that I am not deluged by the lateral branches. Being graphic, I can drag and drop if modifications require more space. My drawing started as an Autocad project but since retirement I prefer a free to use (for non-business use) program called Projecad.
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Three or 4 years ago when we started my family research the first thing I realised was that you don't just need one type of tree. Most of us are probably familiar with the family tree showing the kings and queens of England but of course they only show the line of prima geniture and possibly siblings of each monarch where as we are interested in a much wider as well as longer spread. The good thing about family history programs is that they all give options for printing trees in different fashions.
One wonderful thing that I saw once consisted of lots of little planks of wood about 6 inches long on which you write names of your family, and attach them to each other using cord, and the overall effect looks like the rigging on a ship.
Martin
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Many years ago I decided to avoid all bespoke software, simply because I hope my data will be used for many years by relatives, and software becomes obsolete. So I simply flog away using MSWord (with a great deal of use of characters such as _ and |) as that has the best chance of being forward compatible.
I create a chart and then add a few sentences of narrative about each person.
I also have a file for each family branch called Loose Ends where I note any bits of info that don't immediately link in, but might in the future. Have to admit that these are not always very well structured.
There are probably have a few thousand names on it now, so although it may not suit everyone it works for me and the cousins are grateful!
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"One wonderful thing that I saw once consisted of lots of little planks of wood about 6 inches long on which you write names of your family, and attach them to each other using cord, and the overall effect looks like the rigging on a ship"
Sounds very artistic Martin, where did you see this, was it on show, on a photo?
I would love to see it, it's right up my street
Annie
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I will try and find the photograph for you later.
Martin
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Three or 4 years ago when we started my family research the first thing I realised was that you don't just need one type of tree. Most of us are probably familiar with the family tree showing the kings and queens of England but of course they only show the line of prima geniture and possibly siblings of each monarch where as we are interested in a much wider as well as longer spread. The good thing about family history programs is that they all give options for printing trees in different fashions.
One wonderful thing that I saw once consisted of lots of little planks of wood about 6 inches long on which you write names of your family, and attach them to each other using cord, and the overall effect looks like the rigging on a ship.
Martin
Totally agree Martin, I use a variety of options from hand drawn trees to computer drawn trees & databases.
I have for example a full tree (all ancestors plus ancillary lines on a program called TreeDraw by Spansoft) this if printed out would require 4, 16.67 foot pages (Max. print size for pdf files) covering a wall 66.7 feet long.
Impractical maybe but the advantage is I can scroll through it on a large monitor and view the full family and ancillary line interactions from 2019 back to 1370 all on the one screen.
Another advantage of TreeDraw is the individuals and indeed complete pedigrees may be moved around the screen to the optimum position.
Cheers
Guy
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Annie, here is the photo. I have more, close-ups if needed.
For quick trees I use an early version of GenoPro, which is good for quick sketches, and also for visualising part of a GEDCOM. Recently I have also started looking at
www.https://www.draw.io
which is an online n(no installation needed) flow charting tool.
I still like the rope idea.
Martin
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Thanks Martin,
I really like it, so different from a 'tree' tree which has become rather boring for me.
Annie
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I use an online program called family echo, it’s free and you can print as big or small as you like and also send others the links to the tree online which is handy.
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AmyK’s tree using PowerPoint is impressive - I might just try that. Although I’ve found a lot of information through Ancestry, I’m doing something wrong as when I add someone from the ‘hints’ they replace someone else and I’ve managed to marry my grandmother to her father, and have created an extra daughter of my own (well, duplicated my only daughter) so until I can get someone to show me how to do it properly, I’ll try PP. What a pity your relatives haven’t yet shown interest AmyK - but I’m sure someone will thank you in future years. Don’t give up hope!
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We still need the old style drop line chart trees to be able to see where we are at a glance. Literally at a glance.
They make it easier to conduct research without being lost in a sea of facts and explanations, and are especially handy for showing a tree to a new person who would otherwise be confused by lengthy and dense explanations of families be they oral or printed which go straight over their head. But a simple drop line chart is understood instantly..
They are also handy for quick reference for oneself tokeep your head straight regarding relationships without having to repeatedly refer back to one's database.
And they instantly show gaps in our research.
They also provide visual cues as to relationships you haven't quite realised due to the complexity of the data being dealt with.
They are also a handy index as to who you can look at in your database to find more details and explanations.
A rough working chart is extremely handy as one constructs a new tree.
What we really want is software that automatically constructs a dropline chart that fits on A3 paper and isn't too complicated to follow. Simple is best. Unfortunately, at the moment no one has yertcome up with software that does it automatically to our satisfaction.
So we have to make our own charts. The problem with using software todraw charts is that it's incredibly fiddly to do. Hand drawn is easier and very fast. Keep a ruler handy to keep lines straight and keep plenty of whiteout/twink etc handy to make corrections as you go. When you have finished you simply photocopy or scan the result and the white-out marks disappear! It takes about three stabs to get a chart really good. The first effort shows you where the problems of layout are. The second gets much better. If you want something much nicer then you can take your time over a final effort.
But rough charts are ok. As long as they are easy to follow is the key.
I create hand drawn charts on A3 paper. Not too many generations on a page because then the chart becomes too "busy' and hard to view at a glance. Name, year of an event and location of and event is all you need. Three generations on a page is about right. People on the third generation can be the start of a new chart. As a rough guide you will only get about 20 people in a line across the chart.
Scan or photocopy the result. You can then add to the chart if you want to make one with more explanation on it. Then scan or photocopy that one too. You'll end up with a very simple version and one with more details, each from the same chart you began with..
Buy an A3 clear pocket folder. They generally have 20 pockets. You can fot 40 charts into but putting 2 charts back to back in each pocket. Very good for taking to show people!
When you print a scan of a chart or photopy a chart, you can make A4 copies to fit into A4 plastic pocket folders. Very handy to take with you when conducting research away from home.
A3 is far more impressive though, and better for showing to people whose eyesight isn't so good.
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We still need the old style drop line chart trees to be able to see where we are at a glance. Literally at a glance.
They make it easier to conduct research without being lost in a sea of facts and explanations, and are especially handy for showing a tree to a new person who would otherwise be confused by lengthy and dense explanations of families be they oral or printed which go straight over their head. But a simple drop line chart is understood instantly..
Yes I completely agree, I still have a number of rough trees compiled by my grandfather including various printed 'working' pedigrees which lead up to the finished printed Guy pedigree he submitted to the Society of Genealogists (SoG) in 1947.
In the various home printed and digital family histories I have compiled for my and my wife's family I have included many family group sheets which show only two or three generations each.
I also have a master PDF tree which can be viewed by scrolling on the computer. If printed it would require 4 max size pdf pages which would cover a wall 64 foot long if printed. Unfortunately the only 'room' I could display this is in an outbuilding, so as yet I have not had the 4 sheets printed. ;)
Cheers
Guy
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Some useful hints - thank you
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Hello from NZ.
In my opinion this family tree takes some beating, for ease of understanding a descendancy table of one early ancestor.
Last year it was on display at a family reunion, and all attending could follow, at a glance, the principal family name back 240 years. And how the family evolved once they settled in NZ.
That family has had numerous reunions over the last 40 years, since one of my Father’s relatives contacted his cousins prior to a reunion he was arranging, and hand entered the data gained in a circular fashion, on a map sized sheet of paper. He also added his Uncles account of the family lines back in Scotland, whence they came. The table radiating outwards, from James (b.1888) and his siblings.
Bottom left illustration being the homestead that James came to in 1905.
Copies for family who wanted one, were printed by a map maker.
The paper circular chart has been updated, by hand, over the years, but for the 2018 reunion, the late instigator’s Grandson, somehow managed to coax a computer into producing this impressive chart.
I set about trying to gather enough information to do one for our family, but 40 years later I have to admit I’m stumped, because I cannot locate several baptism records in Scotland around 1800.
To make a tidy circle you need to know how many names you have for a complete generation band, from which to radiate out, or you end up with a big blank wedge. Here the computer would help in the display, as it can automatically space things out.
The three NZ generation one I did produce, had an OOP’S wedge when my calculations went astray. After drafting the big circle with all it’s wedges, I started entering the names around the circle only to come up one name short, and was not prepared to restart, as it was very time consuming to prepare for.
Alan.
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That is very impressive Alan, thank you for sharing it. I’m going to try that format
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Good morning.
Busy day ahead, but hope to have time this evening to reply more fully. If computer savy members are really interested in how that table was COMPUTER generated, I can enquire from the family involved as how to make contact with the young gentleman who produced it. I did meet, and talk to his proud dad, and those who attended the reunion were impressed. As was I, the local historian who supplied a local history display.
Some where there is a folded copy of the original hand written tree, which I found in my Father's estate effects. See if I can find it. Not so daunting looking to produce, and served it's purpose well for 40 years.
Alan.
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Good morning.
Busy day ahead, but hope to have time this evening to reply more fully. If computer savy members are really interested in how that table was COMPUTER generated, I can enquire from the family involved as how to make contact with the young gentleman who produced it. I did meet, and talk to his proud dad, and those who attended the reunion were impressed. As was I, the local historian who supplied a local history display.
Some where there is a folded copy of the original hand written tree, which I found in my Father's estate effects. See if I can find it. Not so daunting looking to produce, and served it's purpose well for 40 years.
Alan.
Most good family history programs have the option of creating a wheel or circle summary chart, from what I see of your young friends chart he has cut and pasted onto a backing sheet displaying a portrait photo and other images. If I am correct it is simple to do but that said it is still very impressive and well done.
It is also an excellent example of how to combine various outputs to create something individual.
Cheers
Guy
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Hello again.
Well despite searching several boxes of old papers, I can not put my hands on my copy of the first circular tree of the early 1970's. It was a humble affair, even compared to this February 1987 family reunion copy. The first one did not have a complete outer circle, but gained so much attention that many gaps were filled in at the reunion, and those families who had experienced some "adjustments" along the way, could decide how much of their immediate family connections they chose to acknowledge, and have the family historian record, on a public document. Therefore some blended families were fully recorded, on the circular tree, and others not.
The low resolution photo (attached) is from the 1987 printed version, of the original 1987 hand written circular tree; 23" X 33" or 580 x 840mm, and supplied to those families who wished to have their own copy.
The aunt I expected to see this morning, I'm told was away celebrating their 30th wedding annerversary, so am attempting to contact another family member for an address, so that I can obtain details of what computing programme/s were used to compile the 2018 circle.
Regards,
Alan.
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I once saw a tv show from USA where the person had a very very large piece of paper but the family branches were set out like divisions of an orange or circle .... with the person who had done the research right in the middle of circle but not like the one above... cos one could read without turning the paper around...
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Hi again.
The young man who made the circular "tree" I referred to above, has finally caught up with his to-do file, and replied with the following comments.
Emailed reply:
The Family tree is actually easier to make than you are guessing. I use two pieces of software.
#1 "Family Tree Maker" This is the database to keep track of all the data.
#2 "Charting Companion" This is where I can make all the flash looking charts. The program is not very polished, but produces great results.
Though if I was to do it the way you suggested, (FF Edit: Guessed) I would have greater control.
There was a few complaints from some family members, (which I cannot change) that so and so's info box, is bigger than mine.
H. R.
Best of luck to anyone choosing to experiment with a similar display for their family info.
Alan.