A family tree refers to the visual documentation of the ancestry of an individual. Most of the family trees consist of boxes, where each box contains the name of an individual. Different such boxes are linked with each other through lines showing relationships. In addition to the name of an individual, the box may also contain various other details such as birth date, birth place, expiration date (if any) and other sorts of information depending upon the complexity of the family tree illustration. Today, various online sources have collected valuable data and provide facilities regarding free ancestry tree wherein you can just type in your name and some other information to see what is there for you and your family tree.

Typically, each horizontal level shows a generation so that it can be easy to visualize the ancestors preceding a particular generation. Higher the level means earlier existed the generation. Marriage is indicated by a horizontal line between two boxes. Children arising from marriage are shown by a bracket in the lower set of boxes. Typically, most family trees grow in a vertical direction, but there are also certain family trees that are drawn sideways. When building online, you can choose the type of free ancestry tree and start building one of your own.

Relevance of a family tree in today’s context

Here are the benefits of having a family tree in today’s context –

Know your History: It provides a visual revelation of an individual’s family. It generates a sense of belonging and history. It keeps alive the family history and provides a glimpse of the family line to which an individual belongs or going to join as a result of marriage or adoption.

Define Relationships: Family trees are helpful in defining relationships and bloodlines. They are also helpful in depicting the family history not known by everyone in the family.

Know where you come from: Tracing genealogy and lineage through generations is a satisfying hobby for some people, and they find a great deal of contentment knowing about where they come from.

Sense of Pride: Building a family tree also creates a sense of identity and pride. If someone in your ancestry were great and famous, you would find it a matter of pride relating yourself to the iconic person. You can get help from free family tree chart provided by certain websites to find out more about your lineage.

Connect with your Relatives: Family trees also help you to connect with your living relatives. You may be able to find distant cousins you didn’t know before. It’s an interesting hobby to quench your thirst to know about yourself and your lineage.

Know your community: Once you can discover several lines in your ancestry, you would be able to connect yourself to a family community of which you are a direct member.

Ancestral History: Family history and real world history are interconnected. Suddenly you may discover that one of your forefathers was involved in a prominent historical event. Thus, it helps in a better understanding of history.

In this materialistic world, there are many who value their roots and their ethnicity. Building a family tree helps you do this and much more. So get on the bandwagon and find your roots by building a free family tree chart online.