| Finding your long-lost relatives is now much easer, | | | | can be bought at reasonable prices, and some are |
| thanks to technologies that enables you to build | | | | free. Family tree software usually has very |
| your family tree. | | | | user-friendly, step-by-step tutorials to help you |
| What is a family tree? | | | | get complete the tree. It can help you organize all |
| A family tree is a record of your ancestors. It is | | | | the data, pictures and heirlooms you have from |
| usually represented by a genealogy chart that | | | | your family. Best of all, it can search online |
| shows family connections. The chart typically | | | | databases of family histories, so that you can |
| contains the names of individuals that belong to | | | | access related information and decide if it is |
| the family, important dates such as their | | | | connected to your tree. That's a fast and easy |
| birthdays, states or countries where they live, and | | | | way to find all your relatives. |
| sometimes their occupations. Each individual | | | | Sharing your family tree |
| person is connected to other persons using lines | | | | You can share your family tree either online or by |
| that represent different types of connections | | | | printing out copies and giving the, to your relatives |
| such as marriages, etc. | | | | as presents. You can even put them all together |
| Building your family tree | | | | in a CD-ROM, or create a website for everyone in |
| There are easy ways to build your family tree. | | | | your family to access. |
| There is no need to place expensive phone calls | | | | Sharing your family tree to an online database is |
| or travel to all parts of the world just to meet | | | | an excellent way to link with other family tree |
| your distant cousins. A lot of family tree software | | | | researchers who may be a part of your ancestry. |