Who to include in a family tree — how many degrees of kinship?

Once you start making a family tree, there is one point where everyone hesitates: how far to go. Including everyone is not automatically the right answer. In this article, we explain how to decide the scope.

It helps to know “degrees of kinship” first

A degree of kinship counts how many generations separate a relative from you.

• 1st degree Parents, children
• 2nd degree Grandparents, siblings, grandchildren
• 3rd degree Great-grandparents, uncles/aunts, nephews/nieces
• 4th degree Cousins, great-great-grandparents

The line running straight up and down is the direct line; the lines branching off sideways are collateral lines.

Decide Based on Your Purpose

If you want to trace your ancestors

The direct line alone is enough. You go back father, father's father, and so on, which gives a tall, clean family tree. With fewer people, it fits on a single sheet.

If you want to see how your relatives are connected

Include your siblings and their families. If you aim for up to the 3rd degree (uncles/aunts, nephews/nieces), most families end up with a size that is easy to read. Adding cousins makes the number of people jump quickly.

If you want to use it for inheritance discussions

The scope you need depends on your circumstances. Please check this with a professional. Think of the family tree simply as a diagram that makes the discussion easier to follow.

Number of People and Paper Size

• Three generations, a dozen or so people Fits on A4
• Four generations, around thirty people About A3
• More than that Print it in sections, or on one large sheet

How to Handle Living Relatives

A family tree is something you show to your family and relatives. It is a good idea to decide together as a family how much of living relatives' dates of birth and addresses to include. You can also choose to show only names and relationships.

Keep it easy to change later

The scope will change along the way. Even if you start with “direct line only,” stories about an uncle may come up as you research, and you will want to add him — this happens all the time.

In the Family Map, simply changing the person at the center changes the view. With yourself at the center, you see your own family tree; with an ancestor at the center, you see the whole family that grew from that person. You can redecide the scope as many times as you like.

For the overall process, see What Is a Family Tree? — How to Make One, Gathering Family Registers, and Costs.

For how to write one, see How to Write a Family Tree; for formats, see Choosing a Family Tree Template.