How to start a family tree from scratch

Most people stall before they start because it feels enormous. It isn’t — every family tree begins with one person (you) and a few names. Here’s how to go from a blank page to a real, growing tree without getting overwhelmed.

The short version

Start with yourself and work backward — one generation at a time.
Talk to your oldest relatives first; their memories are the part you can’t look up later.
Write down what you know now, even if it’s incomplete — gaps are normal.
Keep it somewhere that grows with you and that the whole family can add to.

The five steps

1
Start with yourself and work backward
Add yourself, then your parents, then their parents. Always build from the known toward the unknown — never try to start from a distant ancestor.
2
Talk to the oldest relatives first
Call grandparents and great-aunts/uncles now. They hold names, dates, and stories that vanish with them. Ask who their parents and siblings were, and where the family came from.
3
Write down what you know — imperfectly
A rough date (“around 1940”) or an unsure spelling is fine. Capture it; you can correct it later. Waiting for certainty is how trees never get started.
4
Gather documents and photos as you go
Birth and marriage certificates, the backs of old photos, and family bibles fill in dates and confirm spellings. Add them to the people they belong to.
5
Put it somewhere that grows
A tree is never “done.” Keep it where you can add people over years and where relatives can contribute the pieces only they know.

Good to know

Add parents before children — once two people share both parents, they show up as siblings automatically, so you rarely have to link siblings by hand. Add the older generation first and the rest tends to fall into place.

Build from the known toward the unknown — one generation at a time.

Already have names in a spreadsheet?

If a relative has a list, or you’ve scribbled names in a notebook, you don’t have to type them in one by one. A simple spreadsheet (names, dates, parents, spouse) can be imported all at once — far friendlier than wrestling with genealogy file formats. See moving an existing tree.

A tree that grows with your family

Private Family Archive makes the first tree easy — add people and set parents/spouse/children right on the form, or import a whole list from a spreadsheet. Invite unlimited family members to fill in their own branches, attach photos and stories to each person, and tap anyone to see exactly how they’re related to you. It’s all on a server your family owns.

See how it works →Try a live demo →