Tree of life program latest version. RootsMagic (in translation - "Magic of the roots"). How to make a family tree

Each person must know the history of his family in order to have an idea of ​​​​his origin, status, historical value. However, not everyone knows about their relatives beyond their grandparents (at best). Today, it is becoming fashionable to draw up your family tree, the so-called family tree (the program will help you do this colorfully and visually). This scheme is called a tree due to the fact that many relatives “grow” from one person, like the crown of a tree.

What do you need to draw up a pedigree

The first step to compiling a family tree is. A program for building a family tree can help with this, in which possible family lines can be determined by last name. However, it is quite clear that it is difficult to find exactly your relative by last name, so additional information is needed to find the right person.

For each relative, a genealogical card is compiled, it contains a list of data that must be provided.

Sources of information about relatives

It is necessary to arm yourself with writing materials and turn to relatives in order to write down not only the last names, first names and patronymics of relatives known to them, but also places of residence and other information about the life of relatives, their social activities, and participation in global events.

With the information received, you can contact the archive and, for a fee, track data on the movements of members of the clan. For an archive employee, the date of birth and death of a person matters. If exact information is not known, at least an approximate period should be given.

The necessary information may be in old family records, so you need to turn to written sources. Older people have a tendency to write down important events, including information about ancestors. It is possible that in the notebooks of grandmothers you can find your distant roots.

Basic and additional information in the family tree

The main, that is, mandatory information is data on birth and death, all other data received are called secondary.

The data obtained during the collection of information may be needed only at the stage of searching for relatives, however, special merits or status can be indicated directly next to the data about this person on the family tree. For example, information about the number of marriages at first glance may seem superfluous, but at the same time, if in each of the marriages children are born who are already relatives to each other, then if information about them is posted without mentioning each marriage, the tree will look incorrect.

How the tree building program works

The program for creating has several, which will be discussed further. Information is stored in a specific format, a single sample. Therefore, the program for compiling a family tree allows not only to enter data directly into this program, but also to import them from another.

In addition to basic information, the tree may contain photographs, dates of birth and death, and other important information (at the discretion of the components).

The necessary data is entered into the program, after which the tree can be printed or saved in the most convenient form for the user. Compiling a family tree, the program allows not only to obtain the necessary information, but also to arrange it in its original form. This allows you to make the tree an original gift for relatives on any memorable holiday for the family. The program for compiling a family tree is not one, there are quite a few of them. And although the principle of their work is the same, for someone it may seem more convenient to use the program "Tree of Life", "GenoPro" or Family Tree Builde. You can save data both within the program and use online compilation, and then the tree will be saved on a computer or other device.

Usually, the program allows you to compile a genealogical family tree fairly quickly, it has convenient, simple controls.

How can a family tree be represented?

The traditional way of presenting information is a diagram. A genealogical tree whose compilation program has several data saving form templates can fit a diagram into a tree or other colorful form. The scheme in which the coat of arms of the family will be placed looks much more solemn.

You can display the data as textual information, or you can add only photos, without captions. By the location of relatives in the diagram, one can understand certain people.

The data can be represented as an ascending mixed type chart, along the vertical axis.

Similarly, information can be presented on a horizontal plane, but with a large amount of data, it will not look visually.

In addition to the scheme, one of the types of information presentation is a table. Information in this form is more difficult to digest, however, this type of tree is also used.

Types of family trees

You can draw up a diagram from ancestors to descendants, for which they take the most distant ancestors and then branch off relatives from them. This allows you to find loved ones, for example, on the maternal side. In this case, the program builds the genealogical tree of the family in such a way that brothers and sisters, including cousins, will be located on the same line. This type of data representation is used quite often and is a classic

The program for creating a family tree also makes it possible to build a tree from a specific person (component) to his ancestors. It is impossible to add such a table in the future, but it has a more complete form. In this form, the program compiles the genealogical tree, taking into account relatives both on the maternal and paternal lines.

You can add to the tree only the successors of the clan, that is, men. Such a tree has a linear appearance, but is much less common.

Natalya Kaptsova


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Any person has ever thought about the origin of his family. The issue of creating a pedigree is decided individually. However, many believe that those who respect and honor their ancestors live much longer. Also, for religious reasons, people are trying to find out more about relatives and determine whether it is necessary to repent before God for their sins in order to improve their lives. An important role is played by the factor of health or genetic predispositions to diseases.

Types of pedigrees, ideas for a pedigree tree

There are two main types of pedigrees: ascending and descending.

  1. First starts building from you and moves on to information about your distant relatives. As a rule, then comes the father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc.
  2. Head of the second kind is the oldest founder, and then all his descendants are listed, including you. Such a pedigree helps to take a broad look at the genus, its activities over many times.

There are other types of pedigrees:

  • Male ascendant. Usually it includes only males. It will look like a line. Such a pedigree helps to establish a connection with a historical figure or famous person of the past.
  • Mixed ascending. Here you can specify both men and women. Persons of different genera, different surnames are presented in geometric progression - first 2, then 4, then 8, 16, etc.
  • Descending male. An ancestor is chosen and strings are “stretched” from him to the youngest man of this kind.
  • Mixed descending. Both men and women can also indicate. This species covers several genera and surnames.

According to the type of design, a pedigree can take several forms:

You can choose any species you like and create your own individual pedigree. The most popular is the family tree. It is drawn up not only on paper, but also on the walls of a room at home.

How to find out the pedigree of your family - step by step instructions

To quickly draw up a pedigree, you should follow the instructions:

  • Conduct a survey. Ask relatives and acquaintances, neighbors who know your family about places of residence, class affiliation, places of work, study of ancestors. Perhaps they will remember the appearance (if there is no photo), character, habits, etc. The value of conducting a survey is obvious. You will learn about initials, dates of birth, death, but at the same time you will understand what kind of person your great-grandfather was.
    Polls are best conducted with a voice recorder. You can not write down everything after listening to the story.
  • Explore family records. Photos, diaries, letters, and even notes can point you to relatives you didn't know about. All papers can help you determine who your ancestors were by profession, how they lived, at what time.
  • Make an approximate family tree, table , distributing the information received into two branches or columns - the maternal and paternal lines. Enter all dates of birth, initials.
  • Examine the directories located in the archive state fund. Information about your archive is here: rusarchives.ru. The documents located in the archive will help you determine the class to which your relatives belonged, the position held. You will also find out if the ancestor was awarded, if he had an honorary title. In addition, in the fund you can find new information in the form of audio or video recordings, photographs.
    To apply to the fund, you must have permission from the municipality, it is the administration that must send you to a specific archive - first the regional, then the federal.
  • Contact the library in your area . They usually provide search literature, archival documents, newspapers and other information and reference publications.
  • Visit local museums they may contain new information about your relatives.
  • Contact archivists, search engines, bibliographers, historians.

Building a family tree is hard work. It takes a lot of time and effort. You can contact to a private organization who will do all the research for you.

Don't forget there is non-state archival funds , dealing specifically with the collection of information and information about people of the past. In such companies, for a fee, they can also help you find any data.

Useful programs, websites and books for compiling a pedigree - can it be done online?

We list the sites that will help with the compilation, design of the family tree:

  1. All-Russian genealogical tree (VGD). It has its own collection of information about people of the past living in Russia. There are also articles to help you search. Website: www.vgd.ru
  2. Genealogia.ru- includes historical data and information about Russia. There is also a program on the site that can help you arrange your pedigree.
  3. Center for Genealogical Research (CGI) . This site - rosgenea.ru - has created a unique collection of documents, directories, lists of records by service, land ownership, registration, chronology, estates, geographical indicators. Communication takes place on the forum, where registered users will be able to suggest something new to you.
  4. Official site of the Russian Nobility Assembly (RDS). This non-political organization has 70 regional unions, which store information about the descendants of Russian noble families. Website: www.nobility.ru
  5. In the so-called family social network - familyspace.ru - you can not only find lost relatives, but also communicate with people who may have known your ancestors. The site contains electronic city and military directories that help in creating an online pedigree.
  6. A similar social network project is genway.ru. You can get acquainted with historical facts, determine the meaning of a surname, chat with friends who might know relatives, and also create your own tree online.

And here are some free programs that help design and compile pedigrees:

  • The Tree of Life - genery.com. You can create a tree, calculate the degree of relationship, save data, photos, videos and other information about the life and activities of relatives.
  • family chronicle - drawing up a pedigree is very colorful in the form of a tree. It is possible to save photos and other documents. Website: the-family-chronicle.com
  • GenoPro - creation of a pedigree in a graphical, tabular form. Website: www.genopro.com
  • Family Tree Build - creating your own family site, a pedigree tablet. Website: www.myheritage.com

The following libraries may help:

  1. russian-family.ru
  2. petergen.com
  3. bookfund.ru

The main books that will guide you on the right path will help with the search, determining the class origin of the clan, surnames:

  • Reference manual entitled "Genealogical information in the state archives of Russia".
  • "Practical recommendations for compiling peasant pedigrees” Petrichenko M.B.
  • Publication "Research of genealogical information in the state archives of Russia" Romanova S.N., "Bulletin of the archivist" No. 5 (41) 1997.
  • Publication of the same author Romanova: "How to find your roots" in the "Herald of the Archivist" for 1998, No. 2 (44), No. 3 (45).
  • Practical manual "Your family tree" Onuchin A.N.
  • Publication "Metric books: time to collect stones", Antonov D.N., "Domestic Archives" 1996, No. 4, No. 5.
  • “Methodological guide for conducting genealogical research. Fundamentals of genealogical culture "Kochevykh S.V.

Are you involved in compiling the pedigree of your family? We will be grateful for your feedback!

How to plant a family tree?

The genealogical data of the ancient Chinese huddled on clay tablets. In tsarist Russia, data on birth, marriage and death were printed in ink in church books by deacons.

Modern technology does not require clay or ink. They give the opportunity to collect and systematize all known information about living and living relatives and visualize it in the form of a genealogical (genealogical) tree. The developers of the corresponding programs offer a wide range of options.

Each program has its own characteristics, but there is much in common between them: their main functions are to structure, preserve and update family memory. They allow you to bring together pieces of knowledge and information, as well as add new roots and branches to the tree. In addition to text data, modern programs and online services can also skillfully store media files: photographs, scan images, audio and video materials.

We have selected the most popular and functional of the programs and below we offer a brief overview of them.

tree of life

"Tree of Life" - a program from Russian developers. It is paid, but you can install a trial version with limited functionality (allows you to add only 40 people and only works for 30 days) to understand how suitable this software is for you. With Tree of Life, you can build family trees with photos, calculate the degree of relationship, add and edit various data, including audio and video recordings. In addition, the program implements options for separating and merging databases, sorting and filtering information.

We also add that the "Tree of Life" supports the Gedcom standard, and the choice of interface language is not limited to Russian and English, there are also Ukrainian, Belarusian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Georgian.

GenoPro (translated as "About the genus")

This program will allow you to keep a detailed pedigree painting. In this case, all information can be displayed in a graphical form, which the user can change at his discretion. GenoPro is the most popular family tree software in the world. There is both a trial version and several paid ones. It is used by historians, celebrity biographers, writers, sociologists, and competent family physicians. A distinctive feature of the software is ease of use. Just double-click on the person's icon, and you can immediately add any information: personal and professional data, education, contacts, place of birth, residence, as well as an unlimited number of photos for each object.

An assistant has been introduced into the program - the so-called Master of the Family (suggests how to build a family tree of the family). With this tool, adding a new relative, spouse or children is a couple of clicks away. Zooming is available by turning the mouse wheel. Undo and redo any actions, copying, pasting and printing trees or their segments on the printer in GenoPro are also provided. You can save projects as PDF or Word, as well as in common graphic formats.

FamilyTreeBuilder (translated as "Family Tree Builder")
This product is offered by developers from the Israeli company MyHeritage. The first thing you notice while working with this program is the tooltips. With them, it becomes much clearer what can be added where. In the dialog box, our attention will be focused on two main tabs: List and Tree.

In the first, we will be able to enter individuals, and in the second, we can make branches of families and dynasties. Personal data, description of appearance, links to sources of information, contacts, interesting facts from the biography, photographs, video materials, audio recordings, documents are added to each person. If desired, the family tree can be printed in the form of "trees" directly from the FamilyTreeBuilder menu, formatting it in one of 30 styles. When the Internet is connected, the dialog box provides a feature such as an advanced web search for relatives (both living and deceased) by name, year and city of birth, as well as by photo. The fact is that the FaceRecognition face recognition service is integrated into the program, which analyzes facial features, selects similar faces from databases and identifies photo matches.

Another option - SmartMatches - keeps track of matches for people from your family tree with people from other trees of the GEDCOM system (a specification for sharing genealogy data between users, allows you to import data from one program to another). Note also that the FamilyTreeBuilder tree can be stored on the MyHeritage developer site. It can be accessed from a mobile device - for this you need to download the application and synchronize.

SimTree(Sim is an abbreviation for service module interface + Tree (pedigree tree)

A relatively simple program that does not have great functionality, but will pleasantly surprise you with a well-thought-out menu. The interface is presented as a table with a list of persons. In the same tabular format, a descendant tree and an ancestor tree come from each family member. By clicking on a cell, we will open access to previously entered information about a person.

It can be edited or added, such as maiden name, birthday or death, wives, husbands, children, new photos. At the same time, even those who do not have administrator rights will be able to use various options and settings (during installation, the tree is saved in a local folder in the profile of the one who installed the program on the PC). Thanks to the "Relationship" option, when adding one person to another (for example, a spouse or child), the program automatically determines its degree of relationship for all those listed. If you are wondering how to make a family tree for free, without learning any manuals - SimTree is a great option!

GRAMPS (translated as "Grandfather")

This program has all the necessary functions to build a branched family tree. The interface is reduced to two main tabs: in the first - a set of tools, in the second - the contents of the window. For each person in the tree, you can enter the following data: name, nickname, title, profession, addresses, contacts, notes, photos. You can also add events and create relationships between family members. For convenience, color marking is provided for each person - to indicate “Completed”, “Additional information is expected”, “In the initial stage”. The “chip” of the program can also be called support for the GoogleMaps service for determining the location. The developers note that their creation can be used not only to create family trees, but also to build a hierarchical structure, for example, some kind of enterprise.

RootsMagic (translated as “Magic of the Roots”)

Paid program that has received many awards from experts in the field of genealogy. There is also a free version of RootsMagicEssentials with basic functionality. RootsMagic allows you to build a tree with various data (including multimedia) added to each person. In addition to blood relatives and spouses, RootsMagic provides the ability to also include step-siblings, step-parents, adopted children. Software tools allow you to record various facts and dates related to a particular person or event, attach photos, diagrams, lists, documents. At the same time, you can attach tags to the photo - this will facilitate the search. If necessary, part of the data is easily transferred to PDF or RFT format. The program also has a ResearchManager module, with which you can enter questions that require further research.

As you can see, there are many programs for compiling a family tree. The choice is yours! However, it should be remembered that the tree compiled using any of these programs will be represented only by a dry scheme of family ties. If you want the scheme to "come to life" and become just a mighty tree, the Russian House of Genealogy is ready to help you by offering its services in designing the Family Tree.

Programs for genealogy (genealogy)

Overview of programs for building family trees

Tree of Life- Multilingual interface. A computer program for building family trees, storing and displaying information about people and events in their lives. The program is easy to use, even children use it. At the same time, the Tree of Life has ample opportunities: it automatically builds family trees for any person, contains an event mechanism that allows you to create complex biographies, allows you to store multimedia data, has the ability to search, sort and filter data, and obtain statistics. In my opinion, the most convenient program.

Genealogy- This is a full-featured program for building, storing, editing and replenishing your genealogical information. The program is easy to use even for an inexperienced computer user, has an intuitive interface and at the same time has a lot of possibilities. "Genealogy" is the first genealogical program that takes into account Russian genealogical features, namely, the presence of a patronymic! My first paid program, but I still gave preference to the "Tree of Life".

Ages-Family Tree Database- There is a Russian interface language. Well thought out, easy to use, with a large amount of data entered. Her graphic reports are especially good in her: very visual, well arranged. But ... in an unregistered (free) version, it allows you to enter no more than 50 people into the database. Creates data immediately in GEDCOM format.

Brother's Keeper- There is a Russian interface language. With its somewhat archaic form, reminiscent of the design of DOS programs, it is quite convenient to use. The unregistered version has some limitations. Allows you to convert data to/from the GEDCOM format.

GenoPro- There is a Russian interface language. The program is convenient and simple. GenoPro gives you the ability to build a family tree with just a few clicks. With just a double-click on a person's icon, you can add as much detailed information as you like, including professional details, education, contact information, locations, and an unlimited number of images for each object.

Gene Web- There is a Russian interface language. It is a system for publishing genealogical data on the Internet. It can also be used locally (without a network connection) like a regular genealogy program. The program offers very efficient methods for calculating relationships and consanguinity, can communicate in several languages, and can work either in conjunction with an existing Web server (CGI) or standalone using its own internal server.

Legacy Family Tree- There is no Russian-language interface. A very "fancy" program with many functions. It is currently distributed free of charge. It had two main drawbacks: a large distribution package and problems with displaying Russian fonts. Allows you to convert data to/from the GEDCOM format.

Family Tree Builder- The best free genealogy software in the world.
Interesting to use. Support for 35 languages. Cards. Smart Matching™ technology. Personal family site. Great for family photos. Automatic designation of faces. Easy to use interface. Graphics you can be proud of. Smart Research™ Search.

Most likely, each of us had the idea of ​​compiling a genealogical tree of our family, which would contain photographs and other interesting information about relatives and friends of the family. In most cases, such ideas remain unrealized. Today, due to various circumstances, many people are looking for relatives and close people, trying to find out their roots.

The process of creating a family tree can reveal many new and previously unknown things to you. This activity can be exciting and quite difficult at the same time, but in the end you will get complete satisfaction from the work done.

To help in cataloging the information received, various programs for creating a family tree can come. If you want to fill in the gaps in your family history and know about all your ancestors, then choose the right program for you from this review.

The programs presented in this publication, like all of this kind, are designed to help and solve a number of problems in the process of building a family tree, for example, secure storage of all information on a computer (in addition, creating backups), organizing information for easy viewing and perception, adding information for each personas from photos to geographic locations on a map, easy sharing of data with other people, and more.

Tree of Life.

Tree of Life is one of the best family tree building programs. The free version of the program has a limitation and allows you to add up to 40 people to the tree.

After you collect all kinds of data about your ancestors, the program will do the rest of the work, namely, systematize and save all the entered information in the form of a family tree. The program has a user-friendly interface in Russian and is easy to use, it will be clear even to novice users. At the same time, the Tree of Life has ample opportunities for creating a family tree.

Family Tree Builder.

Family Tree Builder is one of the best family tree software combined with a family social network. The integration of the program with the social network provides a useful function to search for your relatives among other users.

Family Tree Builder has an intuitive interface that is easy to work with. Throughout the creation of the family tree, you will see tooltips that are much clearer and faster to work with. The result of the work is a beautiful diagram of your pedigree. You can add any information to each person, including photos.

The program is equipped with some additional features, for example, a face recognition service and tracking matches of people from your tree with people from other trees in the system.

If you want to print the created family tree, then you are invited to decorate the tree in one of 30 styles.

Genopro.

GenoPro, along with others, is also very popular among users, which can be considered the best program of its kind. The developer's website indicates that this program is used not only by amateurs, but also by doctors, social workers, teachers, and even researchers in these areas. Such popularity of the program is due to its wide possibilities.

The final design of the family tree loses compared to other programs, the process of building a pedigree for someone may seem quite complicated, but for someone it may turn out to be the easiest. The main thing is that even an inexperienced user can figure out how to work in the program.

You can add an unlimited amount of all kinds of information to persons. When creating a new relative, you can use the Family Wizard, which will prompt you in the process of building a family tree.

Gramps.

The Gramps program offers professional family tree creation for absolutely everyone, is quite a powerful tool in its field. Due to the large number of additional functions, it will take some time to understand how to work in the program.

Gramps allows you to store a huge amount of necessary information, be it personal data or photos and events.

It is noteworthy that this program is cross-platform and absolutely free - for someone this may be a key point in choosing a program.

Family Chronicle.

Family Record is an advanced program for creating a family tree, using which the process of building a family tree can become really exciting.

The program allows you to create entire photo albums for each person and add a comment to each photo, not counting the addition of other data about the person. The Family Record will help you store information about your ancestors and their family ties.

The process of building a tree is convenient and understandable. The finished relationship diagram can be saved to a file or printed. In general, the program can be quickly mastered and create beautiful genealogical trees in it.

Finally I would like to say that creating a family tree of a family is at the same time a responsible, important, exciting, interesting and difficult task. To create a tree on your own, you will need to find out the names of distant ancestors, usually three or four generations, and then look for any information in archives, statistical data and any books. Or you can transfer the whole process to professionals in your field, pay a certain amount for this service.

Often, genealogical research of one's roots can reveal many secrets and facts that were completely unknown to descendants - for some they will be terrible, but for others it will be nice to know about them.