Have you ever thought about starting you family tree and not sure what to do or where to begin? Grab a piece of paper and pen.

Here are five simple tips to help you get started…

1 Your own full name at the time of your birth.

When you enter names down on a piece of paper or purchase a current family tree program of your choice, the names are always keyed in as what is known as the father’s family birth name or in the female line is called the maiden name.

2 Fathers Name

Here we write down the full name at the time of his birth.

Followed by the date and place he where was born.

Example: Maxwell John Smart born 7th June 1955

If your father is deceased, jot these down the same as the birth details.

3 Mothers Name

Now write down the full name of your mother at the time of her birth. Which may be different to the name as you know her as.

The day, month and year and place she was born.

Name the suburb if it’s part of a city.

Example Ellen Jane Chapman born 23rd May 1963, Brighton, Victoria, Australia  

4. Paternal Grandparents Names

Here it can be tricky…

These are the names of your both your fathers’ parents.

Write down the dates and places of each the same as your parents. Then under the grandfather’s name write the date and place of marriage.

Example Thomas John Smart born 5th January 1922, St Kilda, Victoria, Australia

Married 10th June 1942, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia

Died 24 November 1985, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

 5. Maternal Grandparents

 These are the names of your mother’s parents.

Follow the steps under the paternal grandparents

Unless a family tree has been started this is where the research comes in. So really after your grandparents it can get messy or confusing. In some cases, you may be lucky where your family mentioned their grandparents even great grandparents by name.

I hope these tips are useful to help you get started.