• James Brown
• January 9, 2023
• 2 Comments

In simple words, the term family tree is described as a drawing or chart showing the family members and their relations from generation to generation. For instance, the simplest type of family tree will show you, your parents, and your grandparents. However, if you want to make a full-size family chart, then you must add several other close and extended family members.

However, family is a super complex concept with plenty of biological, emotional, social, and legal elements involved. Considering this, it is easy to understand why most people get confused about who to add to their family tree and whom to not.

Understanding connections

In our routine life, our mother, father, siblings, spouse, children, and grandchildren are considered our family. However, those who are the intimate part of our life, who care for us and love us unconditionally, are also considered family. The thing is, family is more about our personal relations rather than biological ones. This family can consist of step-parents, step-children, adopted children, unmarried partners, multiple marriages, etc.

Now, even if you don’t experience such instances in your personal life, somehow you will come across them when you dig deeper.

If you want to create a huge family tree chart, you need to have all the necessary details handy. Well, locating biological parents, biological children and other family members like that is a task. This is why many individuals seek help from RecordClick. They offer customized genealogist services. You can hire them for any size of project and budget. They have helped people in locating their birth parents and kids and retrieving records and proofs.

Who should you add and who should you leave out in your family tree?

To answer this question, the first thing you need to do is ask yourself the purpose of constructing this family tree. If all you want to accomplish is built a biological map, then you only need to include a family that is blood-related. However, if you want to tell an accurate story of your ancestors, you need to involve everyone who was at any time a part of the family.

This means, you need to add non-biological relations to the chart as well. This will take a lot of time. Your family tree will become a complex story, but surely it will be worth listening to. Besides, your family tree must have people your ancestors considered as family, irrespective of their biological or legal connection.

Think of it this way, the first marriage of your great grandmother, even if she didn’t have any children from that relationship, did impact her life in a massive way. Also, your grandfather’s life must have some connection with this unofficial stepfather. These two might not be biologically or legally related, but they surely influenced each other’s lives.

Lastly, it is only you who can decide who will be a part of your family tree and who will be left out. However, it is recommended that whoever you do decide to add, should be narrated and labeled well.