Everyone who has ever built a family tree started in the same place: with one name. Usually their own. You don't need special software, paid records, or a history degree to begin — just curiosity and an evening. Here's how to start well.
Step 1 — Start with yourself and work backwards
Add yourself, then your parents, then their parents. Genealogy is built one generation up at a time. Don't jump to that rumored famous ancestor — build a solid, verified spine first. Every name you add makes the next one easier to place.
Step 2 — Raid your own house first
Before any online record, the richest source is your family itself: the backs of old photographs, family Bibles, letters, obituaries, the dates inside wedding rings. Call your oldest living relatives and record the conversation — names, places, the stories. This is the single most valuable hour you'll spend, and it's the one that disappears if you wait.
Step 3 — Capture dates and places loosely
You won't know everything precisely, and that's fine. Genealogy has gentle conventions for uncertainty: "ABT 1850" (about), "circa," or just a year. Record what you know; leave the rest open. A tree with honest gaps is far more useful than one filled with guesses.
Step 4 — Note the relationships, not just the people
A family tree is really a map of connections — marriages, children, siblings. As you add people, link them. The shape that emerges is what turns a list of names into a story you can walk through.
Step 5 — Add the stories, not just the facts
Dates and places are the skeleton; the stories are the life. Who emigrated, and why? Who fought, married late, lost a child, started over? A single paragraph of biography for each ancestor is what your descendants will actually treasure. Add them as you go.
Step 6 — Keep it portable from day one
Whatever tool you choose, make sure you can export a GEDCOM file. That's your backup and your freedom — it means your work is never trapped in one company's database.
Step 7 — Share it
Family trees grow fastest when relatives can see them. A cousin will spot the great-aunt you missed; an uncle will fill in a birthplace. Sharing turns a solo hobby into a family project — and that's when it really comes alive.
Begin today
You can start a tree in the next ten minutes. Dynasty House is free for your first 100 people, imports an existing GEDCOM in seconds, and gives your family a beautiful, permanent home — and one day, its own address on the web. Every great family is a dynasty. Start yours.