A family tree is used to help people track their family history. It is a great tool to use if you want to learn more about your family’s lineage and ancestry.

You can use a free family tree template to help you input information that you discover about your family. Besides learning the names of your family members throughout history, you can also discover where they were born, their jobs, and any other interesting facts. This information can then be placed into the family tree template to help you piece together your family history.

Download one of our free printable family tree templates to help you begin the exciting discovery of your family history.

Family Tree Templates

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What is a family tree template?

A family tree template, also known as a family tree chart, is a visual template used to represent the structure of a family, often displayed in the layout of a tree. This means that ‘branches’ are used to represent connections between family members.

Family trees can document generations of family members, making it clear to see how family members are linked to each other throughout the years. A family tree template is therefore useful for people looking to learn more about their family history or to see if there are any connections between the present day and the past. Historians also use family trees to look at significant historical families from the past.

  • What is included in a family tree template?
    Traditional family tree templates will often include several pieces of information about each documented person. This information could be:
    Birth name
    Date of birth
    Place of birth
    Then, there will be lines drawn to connect people together based on their relationship to one another. For example, a husband and wife will have a straight line across to join them together, and their children will be linked underneath.
  • Additional Information Included in Family Tree Templates
    Whilst you are researching and discovering facts about your family members, you may wish to record this information in the family tree template. There is, of course, a wide range of information that you may discover, such as:
    Military and Occupational Records
    Newspaper Articles
    Awards they received
    Date and place of death
    You can use one of our free family tree templates to include this extra information to help make your family tree more detailed. It is important to document these details so that future generations can also understand their family history in more detail.

Blank Family Tree Templates

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Family Tree Template 11 - TemplateLab.com
Family Tree Template 11 - TemplateLab.com Download for Word Family Tree Template 11 - TemplateLab.com Download for Photoshop
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Family Tree Template 12 - TemplateLab.com
Family Tree Template 12 - TemplateLab.com Download for Word Family Tree Template 12 - TemplateLab.com Download for Photoshop
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Family Tree Template 13 - TemplateLab.com
Family Tree Template 13 - TemplateLab.com Download for Word Family Tree Template 13 - TemplateLab.com Download for Photoshop
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Family Tree Template 14 - TemplateLab.com
Family Tree Template 14 - TemplateLab.com Download for Word Family Tree Template 14 - TemplateLab.com Download for Photoshop
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Family Tree Template 15 - TemplateLab.com
Family Tree Template 15 - TemplateLab.com Download for Word Family Tree Template 15 - TemplateLab.com Download for Photoshop
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Family Tree Template 16 - TemplateLab.com
Family Tree Template 16 - TemplateLab.com Download for Word Family Tree Template 16 - TemplateLab.com Download for Photoshop
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Family Tree Template 17 - TemplateLab.com
Family Tree Template 17 - TemplateLab.com Download for Word Family Tree Template 17 - TemplateLab.com Download for Photoshop
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Family Tree Template 18 - TemplateLab.com
Family Tree Template 18 - TemplateLab.com Download for Word Family Tree Template 18 - TemplateLab.com Download for Photoshop
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Family Tree Template 19 - TemplateLab.com
Family Tree Template 19 - TemplateLab.com Download for Word Family Tree Template 19 - TemplateLab.com Download for Photoshop
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Family Tree Template 20 - TemplateLab.com
Family Tree Template 20 - TemplateLab.com Download for Word Family Tree Template 20 - TemplateLab.com Download for Photoshop

What are family trees used for?

Family tree charts can be used for many reasons. They are generally used by people wanting to learn more about their family history and keep a written record of this information. This also helps future generations to learn more about their family history.

  • Academic Research
    Family trees are also commonly used by historians and researchers to help them have a deeper understanding of a specific family. For example, a historian may specialize in medieval history and wish to learn more about a significant historical family’s life during this time period.
    Family tree charts can also be used in medicine and science to track family health records and help us to understand if certain medical conditions are hereditary. Family trees have been an important tool in medicine, and knowledge of prior family medical history can also help those in the present day to prevent developing certain conditions.
    Family tree charts also allow people to recognize whether they are more likely to develop a condition based on their family’s medical past.
    You can use a family tree template for a multitude of reasons, and they are an excellent resource for anyone interested in history and historical archives. Our family tree templates are free to download and customize as you wish.
  • Free Family Tree Templates for Students
    If you are an educator, a blank family tree template can also be a great tool to use in the classroom.
    You can encourage students to research their family lineage at home as a part of a history project. This is an exciting way for students to become interested in different periods of history and allows them to gain a deeper understanding of where they come from and what makes their family unique.
    When I completed this project with students in my class, they always felt a sense of curiosity about their own family history and are excited to learn more about different family members. The internet is a great resource for this project, as there are many websites that provide access to ancestry records that students can use.
    Creating a family tree in school can be a great memory for students to look back on, and is a free project that requires little in the way of lesson planning, too. Students will love creating a family tree to share with their parents or siblings.

How do I create my own free family tree template?

Many people choose to design a family tree template to help them discover more about their family history. Creating a family tree template is a simple process, but you can make this process even easier by downloading one of our free family tree templates. You can customize these templates to display your family tree in a visually pleasing and unique way.

Designing a family tree template can be an exciting process if you take care with your initial planning. You should consider a few things before diving straight into crafting a family tree template.

  • Where is your starting point?
    Perhaps you already have some information about your family history, or you know specific people in your family that can provide you with more details about previous generations, such as your grandparents. Consider what your starting point is before you begin your research.
  • How far back do you want to research?
    If you are interested in a specific period of history, such as the Civil War for example, then you may wish to go as far back as this period for your family tree. However, it should be noted that your research for your family tree template can often take you down different paths than you may expect, or further down in history than you initially planned for. This is all part of the fun of discovering your family history.
  • What type of information are you looking to include?
    You should decide which aspects of family history are most important for you to include, such as birth, marriage, or death. If you are looking to include photos, then you will need to consider where you will go to look for this information. Libraries and online family tree websites are good places to start.

Family Tree Examples

Make a Family Tree Template

  • Begin your research
    Doing research for your family tree template can involve a variety of different methods.
    You may have a lot of family members who can fill in gaps for you already, which is a great place to start if possible. Asking family members about their ancestors, or for any information they may have at all, can really help you draft an initial template of your relatives throughout different generations.
    Libraries and online genealogy websites are great resources to use to help you discover relatives that family members can’t tell you more about and are the best place to learn about relatives who you otherwise would not know about. These places will offer useful tools such as census records, land deeds, newspaper articles, or other types of documented historical information. They may also contain access to photos that you can use in your family tree.
  • Create an outline for your family tree template
    Once you have researched and gathered your information, it’s time to draft an outline for your family tree chart.
    If you download a free family tree template, then you will save time creating your own family tree chart. However, if you do wish to design your own template from scratch then you can make a family tree in several ways.
    You can create your family tree chart by hand, using pen and paper. This can look visually pleasing if done well but can be difficult if you wish to modify the template in any way if more information becomes available.
    With this in mind, you can make a family tree template online, using a family tree diagram maker. This allows you to create your family tree by inputting data into a spreadsheet such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. You can then export this information and edit the family tree template online.
  • Layout each branch and leaf with information
    As is in the name, a family tree is composed of the key parts of any tree: branches and leaves. Each branch will connect family members together based on their relationships, and each relative will be represented by a leaf. The leaf is typically a rectangle or square box, but you can use a different shape if you wish.
    When using blank family tree templates, you can fill out each leaf with relevant information about each family member. This can include basic information such as their full names and date of birth. However, you may wish to include more detail, such as photos or important news stories linked to that family member.
    Important Things to Remember
    There are several things to note before you fill in each leaf on your blank family tree with information.
    Be Respectful
    Firstly, your family tree template should contain some element of privacy. Certain family members may have secrets that other relatives are not aware of, for example, so try to be sensitive and bear in this mind as you create your family tree template. If you ignore this step, you can cause relatives to worry or develop resentment in their relationships.
    Keep your layout simple
    Secondly, the family tree chart should not look too cluttered. Keeping things simple with regard to layout, photos and the overall design of the family tree will help the information to be clear for others who may wish to read it.
    Each branch should be a simple straight line, clearly showing who the parents, children, and siblings are across the generations.
    When formatting your family tree template, you can keep things clear by writing surnames in capital letters so that they stand out against first and middle names. Dates should be written in a consistent format to avoid confusion for people who read the family tree.
    Share your family tree template
    If you create your family tree template online, you can print it and share it with all of your relatives. Distributing your family tree template to your siblings or parents is a great way to connect and help you all to have a deeper understanding of your genealogy.
    You can share your family tree template online or download, save, and print the template to share with others. If you work with children, you can show them your own version of a family tree template to help them when they begin creating their own family tree chart.
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Tagged:FamilyFamily treeGenogramPersonalTree
TemplateLab August 11th, 2023
Eleanor Griffiths
Eleanor Griffiths