The Joy of Genealogy: A Guide to Creating Your Family Tree
Who are you? Know yourself.
tl;dr—Below is a free family tree template with 7 steps explaining how I pieced together my family tree. Use my experience only as inspiration or reference. Your process will not be the same as mine. You will need a desktop computer, internet connection, and Google account to start.
I want the diaspora to experience a personal journey of curiosity, discovery, and joy. Recently I embarked on a journey researching and digitizing my family tree. My genealogy project took several months but felt so fulfilling once completed.
STEP 1: View the family tree template file I made below. Once viewing, click “File” then “Make a copy” to add it to your Google Drive. Open the file in Google Drawing and familiarize yourself with using the editing tools.
This part took me the longest, but I already completed it for you! It’s my family tree but with all personal information removed. I did not remove some language and traditions to give you an idea of how you can weave in your own culture. So delete, keep, and alter things as is necessary. Or just make your own! I made my own because the ones online either cost money or were not fully customizable.
A family tree template/example you can view and use.
STEP 2: Without researching, assemble the start of your digital family tree to the best of your knowledge. Include space for dates + locations of births & deaths.
I could only go back two generations and was missing many maternal relatives. Regardless, starting the family tree is the most important part!
My Great-Grandmother,
Mrs. Meselesh (1905-1977)
STEP 3: Gather oral history by consulting your living relatives/caretakers then update your family tree. Take notes! Some may not remember or be interested in oral history. If you cannot obtain any oral histories for whatever reason, it’s okay to skip this step.
I contacted a handful of living relatives for hours on end and it doubled as a way for us to bond! My 77-year-old maternal grandma was a primary source of countryside stories and religious traditions. I took notes on my iPhone’s Notes app.
My Great-Grandfather,
Priest Fikadu (1909-1988)
STEP 4: Find any available written histories then update your family tree. Not every family will appear on written historical records but at least knowing historical context is key to making assumptions. Search the internet or libraries for genealogy publications & local histories.
My mom preserved a handed-down, handwritten paternal genealogy dating back to the 1600s with accuracy (and to biblical times with gaps/uncertainty). Thus, I connected my maternal lineage to a peer-reviewed Ethiopic genealogy/tradition chronicling the people of Agamé, Tigray, Ethiopia. Then I connected this to the Holy Bible which details the genealogies of King David and Abraham. To my surprise, this process helped me improve my Ge’ez reading abilities!
My Great-Grandfather,
General Baheta (circa 1880-1939)
STEP 5: Pay for a DNA test service (if you’re comfortable) then update your family tree. Genomic results from AncestryDNA & 23andMe may lead you to more facts or at least corroborate what you already know.
I spent $100 on 23andMe. Besides corroboration, the results helped me discover my paternal grandma’s lineage hails from the Eritrean cities of Asmara and Mendefera. The results also revealed 102 distant cousins on the app, one of whom I went to college with—a relation unbeknownst to me until now!
My Great-Grandfather,
Officer Gebray (1889-1964)
STEP 6: Populate your family tree with final touches like photos, symbols, maps, coordinates, notes and citations. Make it aesthetically pleasing and intuitive. Accept there will be gaps and unknowns. It’s okay to include uncertainties with a disclaimer!
All my photos came from various relatives. I made a custom genealogy map in Google Maps (below) with pins at my known ancestors’ birthplaces. But I’m waiting for my dad’s cousin to further trace my paternal grandpa’s ancestors in the South Gondar zone of Amhara, Ethiopia.
STEP 7: Print and discuss your family tree with family and friends so it is not forgotten! Download your Google Drawing file as a PDF file. Then put it onto a USB drive and go to your nearest printing store.
I printed on architectural paper through FedEx Office. And for my family, I even made a separate Google Earth presentation which flies you to an aerial 3D view of each known ancestral birthplace or town.
Me and my family tree (2021)
WARNING! You may uncover unpleasant family truths and/or histories in this process. Many families have internal conflicts. At times it’s best to just let it be and stop digging.
FYI: This tedious process will take weeks—if not months—to complete so stay passionate, persistent, and patient!
PERSONAL TAKEAWAYS:
Our personal identities are complex, dynamic, and likely to irritate those of differing identities. Just be you.
Our lives vary. I found there were so many types of lives my relatives and ancestors lived. There is no “standard” life to live. Just do you.
Ancestrally, humanity is all related when traced back thousands of years. Genomically, we humans are all one family known as Homo sapiens. Spiritually, we are all children of an omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent Creator.
