Getting Started: How to Build Your First Family Tree

Start with what you know

Every family tree begins with you. Open OurFamilyLineage, create your first tree, and add yourself as the starting person. From there, add your parents, grandparents, and any relatives you can name from memory.

Don't worry about getting everything perfect on the first pass. Your tree is a living document — you can always come back and fill in details as you discover them.

Talk to your family

The most valuable genealogy resource is often sitting across the dinner table. Ask your parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles about:

• Full names (including maiden names and nicknames)

• Birth dates and places

• Marriage dates and places

• Where the family came from originally

• Any family stories or traditions

Record these conversations if you can — OurFamilyLineage supports audio and video uploads that you can attach directly to a person's profile.

Gather documents

Old photos, birth certificates, marriage licenses, immigration records, and even family bibles can be goldmines of information. Scan or photograph them and upload to your tree.

Our AI-powered OCR can help extract text from old documents, and photo restoration can breathe new life into faded or damaged images.

Invite family to collaborate

Family history is a team sport. Use the collaboration feature to invite relatives to view or contribute to your tree. Different branches of the family often hold different pieces of the puzzle.

Take it one generation at a time

It's tempting to try to trace your lineage back to the Middle Ages on day one. Instead, focus on completing one generation at a time. A thorough tree that goes back four generations is more valuable than a sparse one that claims to go back twenty.