PEDIGREE CHART:

Start with a simple pedigree chart, as listed above:

#2 John Doe
Father (of #1)
Born: June 19, 1932
Place: ...
Marriage:
Place:
Died:
Place:

#1 Junior Doe
YOU
Born:
Place:
Marriage:
Place:

Jane Fawn
Spouse (of #1)

#3 Jane Deer
Mother (of #1)
Born:
Place:
Died:
Place:

From there, add new branches to your tree, starting with any information that you know about each of those people:

#4 Mr. Senior Doe
Father (of #2)
Born: June 19, 1932
Place: ...
Marriage:
Place:
Died:
Place:

#5 Mrs. Senior Doe
Mother (of #2)
Born:
Place:
Died:
Place:

#6 Mr. Senior Deer
Father (of #3)
Born:
Place:
Marriage:
Place:
Died:
Place:

#5 Mrs. Senior Deer
Mother (of #3)
Born:
Place:
Died:
Place:

INFORMATION

Find out information from immediate family that might have remembered details that you did not, notes written on the back of old photographs, in Bibles, old scrapbooks, old letters, journals, newspaper clippings, and documents that were left by past relatives. Keep in mind that official documents were kept to record life events (ie: marriage, birth, baptisms, immigration...). Make a note of the source of information alongside your pedigree chart, so if discrepancies arise later, you can refer back to the original sources. Also gather up-to-date photographs of some of the older relatives that provided the information. This too will be interesting in a Scrapbook, alongside the pedigree charts. Further study can be done at libraries, historical societies, genealogical societies, and searches on the internet.

CREATE A TIME LINE OF YOUR HISTORY

Use the dates in the pedigree chart above to create a time line of your history. Along the top of your time line, show the births of relatives in their chronological order. Below your time line, show important historical events or local events that were taking place at that particular time. It is amazing how much the lives of people were affected by the historical events that were going on at that time.

When our daughters were younger, we worked together to create a time line of the Old Testament. They were amazed to see the events leading up to the life of Christ and to finally be able to put each of the stories in their context. The same can be done with families. What a wonderful event to work together on.

FOOTNOTES

A section can also be added to the back of your scrapbook to add footnotes of any details that are not appropriate or do not fit in the pages of your Album. For instance, make notes of physical characteristics or illnesses that have been hereditary, genes that seem to have been passed down, or intermarriages.... Medical pedigree charts are common and follow the same format as the pedigree chart above, for recording significant medical conditions, diseases, and genetic information. Find out as many specifics of cause of death as possible. Death certificates, obituaries, insurance documents, or hospital records will often provide information about the causes of death.

PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE

Begin to prepare for Scrapbooks of the future, by listing information in the here and now. Begin your own medical pedigree chart for your immediate family, and make note in your scrapbooks or family tree of historical information as it is happening around us now. Begin a detailed time line of events in the life of your immediate family. Involve your children in the process and encourage them to interview immediate family to find out interesting details around the time of their birth and family life. What a wonderful history for children as they grow to appreciate the brevity of life.

ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY

Whether your Scrapbook is one of generations past, or future generations to come, I encourage you to enjoy the process of scrapbooking ~ don't get hung up on the little details that people may not notice 10 or 20 years from now as they focus on the people in the photos! And I hope and pray that your Scrapbooks will be a blessing to you and yours!

Other Tips Pages:

How to Start Scrapbooking
Frequently Asked Questions
Tips and Projects
Working with Black & White Photos
Submit your ideas, questions or comments!