Make a family history book from your tree
Drop the .ged, pick the person the book is about, and read it as a book straight away — then print it as a PDF or save it as a Word document to add your own stories.
How the book is written
Each person gets a paragraph in plain English: when and where they were born, what they did, whom they married and when, when they died and where they were buried. Spouses come with their own parents and dates; children are listed under each marriage as i, ii, iii, each with a number of their own; a “+” marks those whose line continues in the next generation, and the rest get their dates right there — b., d., m. Every heading carries the generation as a small raised figure and the line back to the first person, as in “Mary³ (John², Thomas¹)” — the layout genealogical societies have used for family histories for a hundred years.
For a book about where someone came from rather than who came after them, pick “Ancestors of this person”: the father of person 1 is 2, the mother 3, their parents 4 to 7, and so on. For a quick overview, pick “Descendant list, one line each”: everyone on one line, numbered 1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1, with their spouses.
What goes in
Notes from the tree, sources as numbered notes at the end, an index of names by surname — married women under their husband’s surname as well — with the numbers of the entries they appear in, and photos if the file has them — open a GEDZIP (.gdz) export or the .ged together with its photos folder. Names in any alphabet are printed as they are written.
Living relatives
Before the book goes beyond the family, tick “Leave out living people”: anyone who seems to be alive is then shown only as “Living”, without their name, dates, places, notes or photo. For a copy that stays in the family, leave it unticked.
Questions
- How is the PDF made?
- Through your browser’s print dialog: choose “Save as PDF”. Page numbers are added at the bottom of every page.
- Can I print a chart instead?
- Yes — see print a family tree chart.