Build Your Own FamilyTree

What Is a FamilyTree House?

A FamilyTree House is a visual record of your family history. It includes the name, date, and a personal note for each member of your family, and it creates a separate "wooden plank" for each family unit (a set of two parents and up to nine children).
If you have read the instructions below or are a returning AFTER member, enter your Log In name and Password and click "Begin".

These Entries Are CaSe SEnSiTiVe.

Your Log In Name

Your Password

INSTRUCTIONS

How Does It Work?

The FamilyTree House records the information you filled out in an on-line form about a specific family member, and then it creates a set of wooden planks for that member; one plank lists the individual underneath his or her parents, and the other starts a new plank that lists the individual as a parent or spouse. The first set of planks you will create is your own, once it is completed, you will be able to click on any underlined family member name to create a separate set of planks for them. When your are done, or at anytime, you can print out the pages using your browser, cut out the individual wooden planks and use them to build your house.

How Do I Begin?

If you are not a member of AFTER, you will need to register before you can begin building your FamilyTree House. To register as an AFTER member, go to the Registration Page. For a limited time, membership is FREE. After you have read the instructions below, you may want to print them out and refer to them while you are working on-line.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FIRST-TIME USERS:

Enter your Log In name and Password and click "Begin" (click "Reset" if you make a mistake).

Click on the "Click Here..." button near the top of the wooden plank page that appears, to bring up the Family Member Form.

The Family Member Form appears with "you" as the current family member selected. Type in the appropriate information in the blanks provided. AFTER has already filled in your name and date of birth from your registration form.
Caution - using fonts from your browser that are larger than 12 pt Times Bold, typing in names and comments that are more than 30 characters long, and leaving blanks for "Born / Died" and "Notes" may cause irregularities in plank pages.

When your are done, click "Save" at the end of the form to return to the plank page (click "Reset" to clear the information you just typed in). You have just created your first set of planks.

To continue with your FamilyTree House, click on any underlined family member's name to create a separate set of planks for them. Follow steps 2 through 4 for each name you click.
Note: If a family member has been listed in a previous form, their name will automatically appear in all corresponding forms and plank pages, and you will not have to re-enter their information.

Constructing Your FamilyTree House

Building your house can be a lot of fun using the various building parts from the FamilyTree House Tool Shed. The shed is full of Windows, Doors, Roof Parts, and Wood Plank Pieces of various shapes and sizes. The picture to the left shows a sample house constructed using various tool shed parts and FamilyTree House wooden planks.

Since no one FamilyTree is the same, and the lengths and widths of FamilyTree branches will vary dramatically, the tool shed should come in handy to fill in the bare spots. We encourage you to get as creative as you want.

To print out items from the Tool Shed, click on any item from the list below and it will appear on your screen.Using your browser, print out as many copies as you
think you will need.

Roof Sections
Roof Enders
Door
Full-Size Planks
Half-Size Planks
Window

Suggestions for Printing Aggravations

Experiment. Be creative--there is no wrong way to do this. Bring your scissors. And finally, depending on your system configuration, and how you've set up your browser and printer, none of the above may apply. Sorry.

Using browsers other than Netscape 2.0 may cause unexpected results.

Mail to: AFTER Webmaster