How to create a family tree!!!

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I started a family tree site with tribal pages Tribal Pages a few months ago and now I have over 100 entries and over 100 photos. It is a good way to keep track of all family members especially when some have moved away from the area. It is both fun and functional. It is very easy to get started and all you need is some time, a curiosity and a digital camera.

Good luck! 

FamilyTree with Tribal Pages

Tribal pages
This is the software I found that is easy to use and it is free if you have less than 50 photos or use less than 10 MB of storage. Otherwise, you can upgrade for only $15 per year.
My eBay guide on photography
I wrote this guide to help take good digital pictures and I also included help on getting old photographs into digital form to upload into your family tree.
familytree.com
Free resources on family tree

Some unique features of Tribal Pages...

  1. 3 generations view on the same screen.
  2. Relationship tool between any 2 people.
  3. Events calendar to remind birthdays.
  4. Photo albums grouped by category.
  5. Export data to standard GED format.
  6. Password protected so only family members may access.
  7. Web application - easy to use - accessible from internet.

Photos

A screen shot of the 3 generations view on Tribal Pages.

Additional Information

  • Genealogy information template:

    1. Full Name.
    2. Date of Birth.
    3. Year of Death (as applicable).
    4. Recent photo of person (year photo was taken).
    5. Your relationships - parents, spouse, children.
    6. Short Biography - including place of birth, schools attended, profession, accomplishments, companies worked at, hobbies, places lived and traveled, web links(URL) of any relevant data, blogs.
    7. Contact - Current address, phone, email.
    8. Major events - photos of weddings, anniversary, graduations.
    9. Major documents - Newspaper clippings, family history.
    10. Stories of interest on persons, events and famous people.
    11. Major accomplishments, awards, books written, songs, poetry, paintings and art creation.
    12. Obituary (as applicable)

    END

Success stories...

Some stories that confirm my belief this is a worthwhile effort.
  • At a recent family gathering for the Holidays, a relative told me how my family tree site save the day for their son's homework assignment. He was asked to produce a family tree poster with photos and connections. This was the perfect solution.
  • This Holiday season was the first time that some of the family members moved away to a distant city. Not all of us could get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas. By posting group photos and videos of the events, we can still share this holiday with each other.
  • The "Events" feature of Tribal Pages allows for quick viewing of birthdays in any given month. This will alert the users to see whose birthday is near and remind them to send a greeting.
  • I found the Family Tree site is a good way to share family photos. Instead of sending Christmas photos that gets lost after the holidays, posting the photos on the website will preserve them going forward and let others share in the joy.
  • I was able to get a family history document translated from Chinese to English recently. It contained some very interesting facts and myths about our ancestry. The author was my uncle who passed away a few years ago. I found this document recently in some of my old papers. It traced our family back to 5 generations.

Reader Feedback

  • d-artist Feb 19, 2010 @ 8:34 am | delete
    very interesting lens...5*.... I'm also interested in family tree/genealogy, I just finished several lenses in regards, and hope to finish a few more on particular family members history
  • dignan62 Nov 17, 2008 @ 9:33 pm | delete
    nicely written lens... check out my lenses for more ideas on family trees and other things as well.
  • familyhistorysearcher Jun 20, 2008 @ 8:14 pm | delete
    Great Lens Jack! I truly believe that building a family tree is an excellent tool to have in your family history search!
  • tplus Dec 1, 2007 @ 9:08 am | delete
    Congratulations! You are #4 at Who Has the Most Lenses?! I've picked this lens to be featured alongside your name. Come check out your competition!
  • genealogist Jul 3, 2007 @ 7:32 am | delete
    Here's an alternative site to build your family tree!
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jackclee

Hi, I'm Jack. I am currently enjoying some time off from work. I worked for IBM for 28 years on various projects dealing with Museums and Libraries. I... more »

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