Arranging Family Tree

By William Teleo

After endless genealogical research and tons of paperwork, you are finally ready to sit down and complete your own family tree. But how to assign each relative's relationship with you? Surely, not everyone of them can count as that general entity "cousins." That's why you conducted the research in the first place, isn't it? To avoid generalizing, know exactly the nature of your relationship to your other relatives. Setting the relationships in your own family tree in order is easy with a few simple tips.

First, separate your relatives by generations. A generation is defined as a stage of descent. For example, you and your cousins make up one generation. Likewise, your parents plus their cousins make up another. Separating your data by generations will make it easier to track how many generations you have managed to traced. The generations will also determine how extensive your personal family tree will be. Label each generation starting from the earliest. If you managed to trace your parents' grandparents and they are the oldest in your book, label them as the first.

Second, identify from each generation who are your blood relatives from those who are connected to you by virtue of marriage. Blood relatives are those that are also of the same descent. These are your immediate family, your cousins, your parents' siblings, your grandparents, your grandparents' siblings -- you get the picture. Relatives by marriage, simply put, are people who became your relatives just because they married a blood relative of yours. These include the aunts who married your uncles and your spouse's relatives. Some people become your relatives through subsequent marriages. If you have them, you should also include your stepparents and step-siblings in your personal family tree. Be alert in making these distinctions. In the course of your research, you may have somebody in your list referred to as an uncle with no apparent relation to you. It is a common practice in the past for people to use these distinctions very loosely. A close friend or a benefactor may be called a brother, cousin, or uncle even without the necessary conditions such as blood relation or marriage. They should not be included in your genealogical tree. However, if these people made significant contributions to your family or treated like family by your older relatives, include them. Place your great grandpa's best friend near your great grandpa but indicate that he's only a close friend.

Third, connect each member of your own family tree through appropriate symbols. Connect parents to their offsprings through vertical lines. Use horizontal lines to indicate sets. If you are unsure how a person is related to somebody, use dotted lines. The equal sign generally indicates marriage. The plus sign or the cross symbolize death. For more detailed symbols, consult a family tree website or a guide book. With these simple tips, you're on your way to completing your own genealogical chart.