Family tree scrapbook with an index of people
Make a family tree scrapbook with a relationship diagram at the front and photo pages for people or households. Use names or numbers to link the diagram to the pages.
Draw the tree before placing portraits. If names become too small to read, divide the tree into separate branches.
Use the labels that describe your family accurately. Biological, adoptive, step and chosen family relationships may need different lines or short explanations.
Make a book from these memories
Add your photos and keepsakes, then put the book together in your browser.
Choose the person to start with
Start with one person and include the generations you can document. Leave an unknown link unresolved rather than adding a guess.
Number the people on the diagram. Use those numbers to link portraits and source notes on later pages.
Explain the lines in a key
Make a key for the lines and labels you use. If a relationship needs explanation, add a short factual note beside that part of the diagram.
Keep the same number when a person appears in more than one part of the tree. Add a page reference beside it.
Put photographs on separate pages
Put full photographs, document copies and recollections on separate pages. The tree needs names, relationship lines and enough dates to distinguish similar names.
For living people, agree which details belong in the shared book. Keep addresses and full personal documents outside it.
Pages to make
The diagram
Draw the tree around your starting person. Leave room beside the names for page numbers that lead to portraits and documents.
One household
Give one household a spread with a group photograph, identified names and the dates relevant to that household.
Evidence for a relationship
Place the relevant document or attributed account beside the people it links. Mark any unconfirmed relationship as unresolved.
The key and source list
Collect the line key, source list and page references at the back. Include the unanswered identity questions without inventing missing links.
Questions
How many generations fit on one scrapbook page?
That depends on the number of people and the page size. Draw a rough tree first and divide it into branches when names become too small to read.
Can I include adoptive or chosen family?
Use the family descriptions that fit, with a key explaining the lines. Agree what the people involved want included before sharing the diagram.
What if two relatives have the same name?
Give each a separate identifier and add dates or a place where known. Do not rely on a portrait alone to distinguish them.