A family tree is a chart that shows how you're connected to the people who came before you—parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and beyond. It organizes names, dates, places, and relationships into a visual picture of your family's history.

You can start with just a few names you know and build from there. As you uncover records—census entries, immigration documents, military service records—your tree grows, and your family's story starts to take shape.

A family tree captures the names, dates, and stories that make your family unique—details that can be lost if no one writes them down.

Beyond preservation, it's a way to discover where you come from. You might find ancestors who crossed an ocean, served in a war, or settled in a part of the country you've never visited. Some people find cousins they never knew existed. Others uncover the origins of family traditions that have been passed down for generations.

Many Ancestry members trace their trees back 200 to 500 years, and some go further. How far depends on the records available for your family's region and time period.

Census records, birth certificates, immigration records, and military records can take you through the 1800s with rich detail. Church records and parish registers can carry the story into the 1600s and 1700s, especially for European heritage. Before 1600, records are rarer—but some members have connected their trees to medieval records.

With billions of records from over 80 countries, you might be surprised how far back your story goes.

A family tree is the chart—the visual picture of how everyone in your family is connected. Genealogy is the research you do to fill it in: digging into records, documents, and DNA to uncover details about the people on your tree.

On Ancestry, the two work together. Every record you find gets attached to someone on your tree, and over time, a handful of names grows into a detailed story that spans generations.

Go to Start a New Tree and enter your name, date of birth, and birthplace. Then add what you know about your parents, grandparents, and other relatives. Even partial information—a first name, an approximate year, a city—is enough.

Once you add a few names, Ancestry begins scanning billions of records for potential matches. When we find something, a leaf icon appears on that person's profile—that's an Ancestry Hint. Click it, review the record, and add it to your tree.

Before you start, it helps to gather any family documents you have at home—old photos, letters, family Bibles, or scrapbooks. Talking to older relatives can also surface details that aren't written down anywhere.

A single name is enough to get started. The more you can add—full names, maiden names, dates, places—the faster Ancestry can help you find records and connections.

Don't worry about gaps. Ancestry is built to work with incomplete information. Even an estimated date or a partial name can help match you with records. As you find and confirm records, the gaps fill in naturally.

Yes. If you've built a tree on FamilySearch, MyHeritage, Family Tree Maker, or another platform, you can bring it to Ancestry by uploading a GEDCOM file.

Export your tree as a .ged file from your current platform, then upload it at Upload a GEDCOM on Ancestry. We'll create a new tree preserving your names, dates, places, and relationships. Photos and media need to be re-uploaded separately, since GEDCOM is text-based.

Once your tree is on Ancestry, you'll immediately start receiving Ancestry Hints—matches from our billions of records.

Ancestry Hints are at the heart of it. As you add names to your tree, we scan billions of historical records for potential matches. When we find one, a green leaf appears on that person's profile. Review the record, confirm it's a match, and the new information gets added to your tree.

You can also search our record collections directly—census records, birth and marriage records, immigration documents, military records, newspapers, and more. Many include original document images.

Public Member Trees let you find shared ancestors with other Ancestry members. And an AncestryDNA test can connect you with living relatives, helping you break through research walls and discover new branches of your family.

Yes. You can create a family tree on Ancestry at no cost—add as many people as you'd like, receive Ancestry Hints, view record previews, connect with other members, and upload photos and documents.

A subscription unlocks full access to our billions of historical records, including original document images. Many members start with a free tree and subscribe when they're ready to go deeper.

Ancestry offers a few plans depending on how far you want to explore:

U.S. Discovery gives you access to U.S. records—census, birth, marriage, death, military, and immigration. World Explorer adds international records from the U.K., Europe, Canada, Australia, and more. All Access includes everything plus Fold3 military records and Newspapers.com historical newspaper archives.

All plans include Ancestry Hints, original record images, and full use of your family tree. We also offer a free trial. And your tree is always yours—even if you cancel.

Yes. You can invite relatives to view or edit your tree directly—editors can add people, attach records, and upload photos. You can also share individual discoveries via email or social media.

If you and your relatives have taken AncestryDNA tests, ThruLines shows how your trees overlap and helps you discover shared ancestors.

You control who sees your tree. Set it to Public (visible to Ancestry members, with living people always hidden), Private (only people you invite), or Unindexed (won't appear in search results). You can change this anytime.

Your family tree, the information you enter, and any DNA data you provide belong to you. You decide what to share and with whom.

Living people on your tree are always protected—their names and personal details are never displayed to other Ancestry members, regardless of your privacy setting.

Ancestry uses encryption, secure data storage, and strict access controls to protect your personal information. For details, see our Privacy Statement and Privacy Center.