These tips will help you to get your family tree up and running.  Your goal is to do the best that you can to keep it organized, so that it is easy for you to use later.

• Group each person by the family that they belong to.  If they have more than one connection, place these families near each other, and show their relation.

• Group families by how they are related.  If the two men are brothers, note this.  Determine how each family relates to each other and note it.

• Sometimes, using index cards can help you to keep large families organized.  Even for those that are alive, create an immediate family index card, which includes the family, members, dates of birth and location that you can refer to later, over and over again.

• Place blank spots near those people that you haven’t found.  For example, if you find out that there’s a sister to one of your cousins that you don’t know their name, mark that there is a sister.  Later you may find their name and information.

• Every once in a while, go back to the beginning of the project and see if there are any blanks that you can fill in.

•  Share your information with other family members. Have a copy typed out to e-mail to distant relatives who are also working on their family tree. By trading information with others your tree will grow more and more complete.

• Don’t forget to add pictures to your family tree. Ask family members to scan those old family photos for you.