A family tree chart is not just for documenting names dates and locations. It can also be used in analysis and to display other information of interest. Here are ten examples to inspire you.
A photo tree
A photo tree is a visually appealing version of a family tree chart, with photos of each person, or a headstone or place if a portrait is not available. The name of the person is usually the only text used. A photo tree can be created manually, for example in Excel, or using family history or charting software.
Place of origin tree
A place of origin tree provides a visual summary of the locations where your ancestors were born. It could focus on countries or subdivisions of a country. Names are optional. The tree shown here was produced by creating a fan chart in Legacy Family Tree software, then opening that in Paint where colours were added.
dark yellow Australia, light yellow China, blue England, pink Scotland, purple Switzerland,
green Ireland, dark blue Germany
Occupation tree
If you are interested in patterns of occupations within family lines or between families, an occupation tree could be useful. Names are optional and this tree can be created in the same way as a place of origin tree if you wish to use colours for each occupation, or, if you prefer text you could create the tree in Word or Excel.
Contextual tree
When writing a family history or a family history story, a small extract of a family tree chart can be a useful way to orientate the reader, and help them figure out who you are discussing and how that person or people relate to you or to the reader. A contextual tree may need to be created manually, depending on what you want to include.
Relationship tree
Similar to a contextual tree, a relationship tree illustrates the pathway of relationships between two individuals. A relationship tree can be created manually or using family history software. In Legacy, for example, select the tool ‘Relationship calculator’, choose the two people and click on Print to create the chart.
Connections tree
‘Connections’ is a fun tool on Wikitree. It takes the relationship tree to the extreme, by illustrating how you are related to someone famous. To create such a tree you need to add your family into the collaborative tree on Wikitree, then click on Find – Connections. It will list famous people that you are connected to, but as I am Australian I often do not recognise the list that Americans consider to be famous. I search for people I know, copy their Wikitree ID, then manually enter that ID into the Connections tool.
Tree health assessment
The Tree Health Assessment Tool is an example of how a family tree chart can be used to analyse your family history research. You can download the free PDF about the tool from my Free Stuff page.
DNA confirmed tree
A family tree chart can be used to provide an illustration of the people whose relationships have been confirmed by DNA.
To create a DNA confirmed tree first produce a tree with names (dates are optional), then add colours using a program such as Paint. The chart below is a fan chart, but you do not have to use that format. I just find that the compact format of the fan chart fits nicely onto an A4 page or presentation slide.
DNA analysis tree
Family tree charts can be used to illustrate how DNA matches may be related to you. Information about the match are included, such as centimorgans and relationship.
There are more great DNA analysis charting examples at Family Locket.
What are the odds tree
Jonny Perl created an online tool for DNA analysis called the What Are The Odds (WATO). It uses a family tree chart format to illustrate and analyse different hypotheses for how you may be related to your DNA matches.
More information
See my article, Which family tree chart is best depends on your purpose
For more of my articles on documenting your family history, go to the Document page.
Post last updated 4 June 2024