After returning from school, your son asked you for help with an assignment he had been given: for a history paper, he had to construct the family tree of your family. Having never delved into the history of your most distant relatives and curious to find out if any illustrious personage is hidden among your ancestors, you gladly accepted your son’s request and immediately set out to find a solution to accomplish the task. Unfortunately, however, the tools at your disposal are not very helpful and your enthusiasm had to reckon with the difficulty of putting your ideas into practice.
If this is indeed the case, don’t give up and let me help you out. If you give me a few minutes of your time, I can show you a series of family tree programs that you can use to succeed in your intent. In fact, you should know that there are all kinds of solutions and you’ll be spoiled for choice: there are softwares that allow you to add the various family members with ease and automatically create family ties; others that allow you to take care of every detail of the family tree, inserting the personal file of each person and adding photos, information and events and much more.
If you agree, let’s not waste any more time on small talk and get right to work! Take five minutes and read the next few paragraphs carefully. Find the program that best suits your needs, try to put into practice the instructions I’m about to give you and I assure you that you will be able to create your family tree and trace your ancestors back to the distant past. Happy reading!
MyHeritage (Online/Windows/MacOS)
MyHeritage is one of the best family tree programs. It is available for free for Windows PC and macOS, in the form of an app for Android and iOS devices and also in an online version. Its user interface is extremely intuitive and allows you to reconstruct the structure of any family with no limits regarding the number of members. It supports synchronization with the MyHeritage online database and allows you to view the places of origin of your ancestors on interactive maps.
To download MyHeritage on your computer, connect to its official website and click on the Start Your Tree button, then scroll down the page, click on the Download Family Tree Builder for Free item and, on the newly opened page, click on the Free Download button to start the download.
Once the download is complete, if you have a Windows PC, double-click on the file family_tree_builder_[version].exe and click on the OK button to confirm the choice of the Italian language, then click on the Next, Accept and Install buttons to start the installation. Wait a few seconds and click on the Finish button to close the window and start the program.
To install the program on Mac, instead, double-click on the file family_tree_builder_[version].dmg and drag MyHeritage to the Applications folder of macOS, then open the latter, right-click on the program’s icon and select Open from the menu that appears to start the software and avoid macOS restrictions on applications from non-certified developers (this is only necessary for the first run of the program).
When you first start MyHeritage, click the Register now button to create your account. Then enter your information in the fields First name, Last name, Gender, Email address and Password and click the Next button, then, if you wish, enter optional information in the fields Year of birth, Address, City, Country, State, Zip code and Phone and click the Finish button to complete the registration.
Now you’re ready to create your family tree with MyHeritage. To create a new project, click the New button in the top menu and enter its name in the Project Name field, then click the Next button three times in a row and click the Finish button. To add new people, click the Add Person and Add Individual without Relation buttons, enter their data in the Gender, First Name, Last Name, Email, Birth fields and click the More Details button to add a photo and additional information such as Profession, Religion, Events etc.
After adding the first person, the added person’s family tree is generated: click on Add Father, Add Mother, Add Wife, and Add Family to add more people and automatically create family relationships.
As mentioned earlier, MyHeritage is also available in a Web version. To access your account, log in to the MyHerigate website and click on the Start Your Tree button, then click on the Sign In button in the top right corner, enter your login credentials in the Email Address and Password fields and click the Sign In button to login.
Finally, you should know that with the paid version of MyHeritage (7.49 euros/month with annual billing) you can take advantage of additional features of MyHeritage, such as the interactive map, priority support and access to detailed information and documents about the people included in the database of the site.
Gramps (Windows/MacOS/Linux)
Gramps is an open source program for making family trees for free. It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux and features an intuitive interface that is completely translated into Italian. In addition to its native functions, it allows the addition of additional features through the installation of various extensions.
To download Gramps to your computer, go to the Gramps website and click on Download Gramps at the top right corner. On the new page, select the version of the software you are interested in from Linux, Windows and macOS and click on the corresponding link to start downloading.
Once the download is complete, if you have a Windows PC, double-click on the downloaded file, click on the Next and I agree buttons, choose whether you want to install the program just for yourself or for all users of the computer and click on the Next and Install buttons to start the installation. Wait a few seconds and click the Next and Finish buttons to finish the setup and close the window.
If, on the other hand, you have a Mac, double-click on the Gramps-[version].dmg file and drag Gramps to the Applications folder of macOS, then right-click on the program’s icon and select Open from the menu that appears (this is only necessary on first startup, to bypass macOS restrictions on programs coming from non-certified developers).
When you start Gramps for the first time, click the New button to create a new family tree, enter its name in the field provided, and click Upload Family Tree. Now proceed with entering the first person: select the People item in the left sidebar, click on the + icon and enter the required data in the First Name, Last Name and Gender fields. If you wish, click on Events, Addresses, Internet, Gallery, etc. to add additional information and a photo of the person and click the OK button to confirm.
To shape your family tree and create the first relationships, select the person you just added, click on the Relationships item and click on one of the available options: Add a new set of parents (the three little men icon and the +) to add the mother and father; Add son/daughter to an existing family (the three little men icon) to add this person as a child of an existing family and Add a family with this person as a parent (the two little men) to create a family link and add wife and children.
Legacy (Windows)
Legacy is a free program for Windows that allows you to create your own family tree with ease. It allows you to generate cards for each family member, with interviews and detailed information. It is also available in a paid Deluxe version ($34.95) that adds additional features, such as the ability to create charts and search for ancestors.
To install Legacy on your Windows PC, go to the software’s website, click on Free Download Now and click on Download Legacy 9.0 Standard Edition (free), then enter your details in the Email Address, First name, Last name fields, check the box next to I’m not a robot and click on the Next Step button. Within a few moments you will receive an email containing a download link: click on it to download Legay to your computer.
Once the download is complete, double-click on the Legacy[version]Setup.exe file, click on the Next button twice in a row and wait a few seconds for the installation to finish. Then launch the program, select the Italian option and click the OK button to confirm your language choice, then check the box next to I want to use the Standard edition of Legacy (free), click the Next button and follow the program’s configuration wizard.
Now you’re ready to add people and create your family tree with Legacy. To create a new project, click the Start a New Family File option and enter your information in the Your Name, Your Birth Date, and Your Birthplace fields.
Then complete your personal profile by indicating whether you are married and entering your spouse’s information, if any. Finally, click on the Add Father and Add Mother buttons to enter your parents and your partner’s parents and then on the Add Mother’s Father, Add Mother’s Mother, etc. buttons to add grandparents, then click on the Done button to add the first branches of your family tree.
Simple Family Tree (Windows)
As its name suggests, Simple Family Tree is a program for Windows PC that is poor in features compared to other software in the same category. It lets you add the various family members, create relationships between them and add the various ancestors and descendants. It is the ideal program for those looking for an easy to use solution.
To download Simple Family Tree, go to the website of the software manufacturer, locate Simple Family Tree and click on the Download option to start downloading. You should know that the program does not require installation: to use it, double-click on the SimpleFamilyTree.exe file and click on the Run button.
After launching the program, click on the New Individual item in the top menu to add a new family member and enter the data in the fields Name, Born and possibly Died to indicate the date of death. Then place a check mark next to Mr. to indicate the male gender or Ms. for a woman and click the OK button to add the person to your family tree.
Now, click on Individual’s Info and, in the newly opened window, add additional information about the person you just entered, such as notes, events and photos. Moreover, by clicking on the buttons Add a father, Add a mother, Add a child, Add a spouse you can enter the father, mother, children and wife of the person in question, creating the first branches of the family tree. Repeat these steps for all the people in your family to get a complete family tree.
Online solutions for making a family tree
In addition to the programs proposed in the previous paragraphs, to be installed on your computer, you should know that there are also online solutions to make a family tree that work directly from the browser: here is a list of those that I find most interesting.
Geni: is an online service for developing and sharing genealogical data that allows you to create a family tree of your family without installing any program on your computer. It supports adding videos, photos and documents to your personal archive for up to 1 GB of space. It is free of charge, but by subscribing to a subscription plan, you can increase your storage space and enjoy additional features.
Canva: the ideal solution for less experienced users or those who don’t have much time. It allows you to create an online family tree using one of several standard templates that you can customize with the data of the members of your family. It is free and in Italian.
Genoom: is an online service that allows you to create a family tree without downloading any program. By creating a free account, it lets you add the various family members, create links and manage personal records. It also offers interesting features like the Family Forum to create discussions with other family members and the Calendar to enter and manage events. It is also available in a subscription version at a cost of 24 euros/year.
FamilySearch: in addition to allowing the creation of a family tree, FamilySearch presents itself as an online service that allows you to discover your ancestors by searching them in a vast database. It is completely in Italian and free. I told you about it in detail in my tutorial on how to find your ancestors.