Genealogy Supplies – What You Will Need to Get Started

By Jeff Sallee

A family tree is a wonderful way to not only document the various branches of your family, but it can also grow into wonderful heirloom to pass down to younger generations so that they can have a visual representation of how their family came to be. Creating a family tree together can also be a fun project to teach children about their ancestry. The supplies needed to make an amazing family tree to share with your family are not only easy to find, but are also very budget friendly.

The first and most important piece of the genealogy supplies needed to create your family tree is to start off with the information and documentation needed to research your family tree; birth certificate as well as family photographs and photo albums are a great visual starting point of reference, especially when involving children in your project. Make sure to neatly label and organize your research material so that it will be easy to look over when you are ready to put it all together.

To avoid writing on old family photographs you could paperclip an index card to each photograph; this will allow you to not only preserve the photograph but to keep track of names, places, dates, and other pertinent information about the people in the photograph. Try to avoid using sticky-notes; the adhesive on these could be damaging to old photographs, and even to old documents.

A simple family tree for children to look over can be illustrated and depicted on a large piece of poster board. To represent near-by family members, have your children take photographs of those family members that they are able to; their pictures can then be pasted onto the poster board along with older pictures of earlier members of their family. Be sure to make copies of any older photographs so that you will not cause any damage to them by utilizing them in your project. If you are missing photographs of relatives going back several generations, a fun project would be to have children flip through magazines to find pictures of people they think are a good representation of passed on branches of their family tree.

A more involved and detailed family tree can be created in a large binder with protective sheets. A sturdy binder is a good way to keep track of your research, as well as a good way to pass on the family history to the next generation so that they can do their own additional research. Photo albums and scrap books, as well as the supplies for both, are another good method to preserve photographs and other researched family documentation. There are many products available that will not cause harm to your old photos and documents.

With a bit of creative thought into the genealogy supplies you need, you are sure to not only have a great time putting together your family history but are also sure to create a lasting legacy that will accurately representation of your family’s heritage.

Jeff Sallee is a hopeless genealogy enthusiast and also the author of “Family Tree Secrets: Guide to Creating Your Own Family Tree.” Jeff truly enjoys helping others get started in this satisfying pursuit. For more information regarding his ebook or to see other genealogy articles check out: http://www.SecretsOfGenealogy.com.

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