family tree

[silver12]

Hi all

just curious how does everyone mange there family trees to make it easier. For example if you do maternal side would you do mums, mum and dad on same tree then dads mum and dad on a different tree. Then same again with paternal side. it can get very confusing for me please advise.

[Pheno]

Personally I think it is better to keep all family together on one tree, however, use some software that will allow you to view/print one side or the other.  You then have the best of both worlds.

However large you want to make it is entirely up to you, some just keep to their direct lines, but if the aim is to connect with other relations through DNA then you need as large a tree as possible.

Pheno

[KGarrad]

I started with my paternal line.
Grandfather had died before I was born; so I was curious re my heritage.
I was working in Bristol in those days, pre-internet, so I spent many happy hours searching IGI, microfiche and microfilms at Bristol Central Reference Library.
Working back generation by generation I built a reasonable tree.

Some 20 years later, my mother finally took an interest, so I started on my maternal tree.

Both trees were combined into one Ancestry tree.

I made some elementary mistakes (which are now corrected), including picking
the wrong Sidney Sims for my grandfather!

I met (online) some far-flung cousins, and exchanged data, which I verified.
Paternal and maternal lines are both back to mid-1500s, and all on 1 tree.

P.S. I have never used DNA!

[silver12]

Thank you that's very helpful

[antiquesam]

I found that my Ancestry tree was going off in all sorts of directions with big families which seems to get bigger the further back they go, so I now have a separate linear tree, as well, which just covers parents and grandparents etc.