drawing up family tree on paper??

[PAK]

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!

[Rosinish]

"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

[Mart 'n' Al]

I will try and find the photograph for you later.

Martin

[Guy Etchells]

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

[Mart 'n' Al]

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

[Rosinish]

Thanks Martin,

I really like it, so different from a 'tree' tree which has become rather boring for me.

Annie

[Edith reeve]

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.

[Brewins girl]

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!

[peterd500]

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.