Building your family tree seems like a daunting task that could take as long to create as a real tree does to grow. Sifting through old paperwork and photos can take years. It’s true that mapping out one’s genealogy is time consuming, but there are many Internet sites that can help walk you through it and make it easier than you ever imagined.
If you’re looking to do it the old fashioned way with a pen and some paper, there are a few good sites we recommend heading to. Family Tree is a great site to check out first. They really are, as they claim, a guide to climbing your family tree. It has a multitude of resources and helpful links. Also, visit Giant Lists, which is mostly a humorous site, but there is a really great list about how to build your family tree and it’s surprisingly thorough. A more relevant way to track your family’s history is to use one of the many genealogy sites out there. The new sites popping up aren’t your grandmother’s family tree; they’re interactive and available for your whole family to explore at anytime.
OurStory lets you make a timeline of your life, or just parts of it. You can upload pictures and add captions, so the rest of your friends and family can either learn about you, or keep up!
Geni really shook up the online genealogy world as it allows users to create profiles and connect directly with their families. The profiles for one family are displayed within a tree, and when a name is clicked, that family member’s information is pulled up. It’s a great way of creating a network of current family members, even when distance poses a threat. Family members invite each other to the tree via email, and have a unique opportunity to learn about all their extended relatives. MyHeritage had been around longer than Geni, but has been a bit of a sleeping giant, which has now awoken.
Until recently, MyHeritage required users to upload family genealogy information from desktop based software, and the information was viewable online, but no changes could be made. However, recently, they have made some huge changes, which have pushed the site more in the direction that Geni is going.
No matter what garden you chose, you should start planting your family tree now for generations to come!
***Picture Thanks to rick***
One Comment, Comment or Ping
Christophe
MyHeritage has made huge progress in terms of family tree management. They have put in place a 3D interactive tool to enter your family tree. They have also added fun tools around face recognition processes to see if your face match a celebrity.
Feb 7th, 2008
Reply to “How-To: Build Your Family Tree”