People find that a family tree diagram is an effective way to visualize your ancestors. There are three basic charts: Standard (horizontal display), vertical and fan. There are many versions for you to choose from. Each chart has advantages and disadvantages – just choose the one you like the best. Remember, there is no right or wrong choice when it comes to selecting the ancestor diagrams you want to use for your trees.
Family tree diagrams have the unique ability to display your parents, their parents, and more particularly the ancestor relationships in a tree chart format for as many generations as you like. A simple diagram of your ancestors looks like this:
It's probably sufficient to include up to 8-10 generations on a single ancestor diagram. If you include more generations it becomes difficult to read. Some charts of ancestors include simply the name of the individual; while others include the year of birth and death; still others include marriage dates as well as associated places. The family tree diagrams you choose are dictated by the audience and the size of the trees that you want to display. Most genealogy software programs provide the ability to display the ancestor trees using any one of the different charts at the click of a button. Naturally, if you are drawing the diagrams by hand you will not want to draw the chart more than once.
Let the audience, the number of ancestors in your trees, and the relationship to your ancestor that you have collected dictate the diagram format that you use. Remember, more information is not always better when it comes to displaying and visualizing complex ancestor charts. Check out the links on this page to get some more ideas of possibilities for each chart and the trees that you want to display.
