FIELD NOTES & GUIDES
The family tree, explored.
Ideas and plain-English guides for seeing the research you've already done — on the television, in print, and with the whole family in the room.
September 29, 2026 · 6 min readWhat Genealogy Software Doesn't Do (And Shouldn't)
Research software is built correctly. The gap between it and a family looking at a chart isn't a defect — it's two jobs with opposite requirements.
September 28, 2026 · 5 min readWhat Repeated First Names Tell You
The same four first names for six generations isn't a coincidence. Naming patterns are a research tool that can predict a generation you haven't found yet.
September 26, 2026 · 6 min readRootsMagic, Gramps, Legacy: Desktop Genealogy Software in 2026
Desktop genealogy software isn't a legacy category. It's the answer to a question the web platforms can't answer, which is who actually owns your research.
September 25, 2026 · 5 min readFamily History at a Memorial Service
Practical notes on a family tree at a memorial or celebration of life — what works in a room, what to avoid, and how to set it up in three days.
September 24, 2026 · 5 min readDoes a Cheap Streaming Stick Handle a Family Tree?
You own a basic streaming stick and wonder if you need better. Here's what actually taxes a device drawing a family tree, and what doesn't.
September 23, 2026 · 5 min readWhy Your Ancestor's Hometown Isn't on Any Map
The village on your ancestor's immigration record doesn't exist. It probably does — under another name, in another country, or as a parish, not a town.
September 22, 2026 · 6 min readLiving Relatives: Privacy in a Family Tree
A family tree is a document about people who never agreed to be in it. Here's where the defaults are weak, and where the sensible line sits.
September 21, 2026 · 5 min readSwitching Genealogy Platforms Without Losing Your Work
You're not moving your tree. You're moving a skeleton of it and rebuilding the rest from the new platform's records. Here's exactly what survives the trip.
September 19, 2026 · 5 min readThe Milestone Birthday and the Bow-Tie Chart
For an 80th or a 90th, chart shape matters. A bow-tie puts the person in the middle — ancestors one way, descendants the other. That's the one that lands.
September 18, 2026 · 6 min readReading Old Handwriting Without Losing Your Mind
What makes old documents unreadable — the long s, abbreviations, marks standing for missing letters — and the one technique that cracks a difficult hand.
September 17, 2026 · 4 min readThe iPad as a Family History Second Screen
The iPad is the most misunderstood surface in family history, because people keep trying to make it the main one. Its real strength is that it travels.
September 16, 2026 · 6 min readWhat Happens to Your Family Tree When You Die
Twenty years of research, one account, one password. Here's what actually happens to it — and the four unglamorous things that stop it disappearing.
September 15, 2026 · 5 min readDo You Actually Need a Genealogy Subscription?
A subscription buys two things: record access and hints. A lot of people are paying for hints they don't use against records they've already exhausted.
September 14, 2026 · 7 min readBreaking Through a Genealogy Brick Wall
Most brick walls are one of five things, and naming yours beats another list of tips. The technique that breaks them isn't researching the person at all.
September 12, 2026 · 6 min readWhen Your DNA Results Contradict Your Family Tree
Two situations get conflated here: an ethnicity estimate that looks wrong, and matches that don't fit. One is usually just the method working correctly.
September 11, 2026 · 5 min readFire TV vs. Google TV vs. Apple TV for Family History
For putting a family tree on the television, the differences that matter aren't the ones reviews cover. Here's what actually separates the three.
September 10, 2026 · 6 min readScanning the Shoebox: How to Digitize Old Family Photos Properly
Most people scan the shoebox once and scan it badly. Here's the resolution, format, and naming decisions that determine whether you have to do it again.
September 9, 2026 · 7 min readMyHeritage vs. FamilySearch vs. Ancestry: Which One Is For You
FamilySearch is free with one shared tree. Ancestry owns US and UK records. MyHeritage owns continental Europe. Which one actually fits your family.
September 8, 2026 · 6 min readThe School Family Tree Project, Done Properly
Your kid has a family tree due Friday. Here's how far back to go, how to fill it in one evening, and what to do when the worksheet doesn't fit your family.
September 7, 2026 · 5 min readFree Ways to See Your Family Tree (No Subscription Required)
You don't have to pay anyone to see your own family tree. Here's every genuinely free route — desktop, web, print, and the living-room television.
September 2, 2026 · 6 min readA Six-Generation Wall of Names: Reading a Full Fan Chart
A six-generation fan chart holds 126 people. Here's how to read one — the numbering, the halves, and the patterns worth looking for.
August 31, 2026 · 5 min readWhy Your Family Tree Shouldn't Live in a Browser Tab
You spent years on it. The finished object is a login. An argument about where family history should end up, and why nobody looks at yours.
August 28, 2026 · 5 min readApple TV Apps for Genealogy Lovers
The genealogy category on Apple TV is nearly empty. Here's what exists, why the workarounds are clumsy, and how to get your tree on the big screen.
August 28, 2026 · 4 min readHow to Get Your Ancestry Tree Onto Your TV
Ancestry has no one-click path to a television. Here are the two real routes — a free GEDCOM export, and a concierge import that keeps photos and sources.
August 24, 2026 · 6 min readFamily History Night: How to Run One Your Kids Will Remember
A family history night fails when it turns into a lecture. Here's a 45-minute format that works, with the questions and games that actually land.
August 21, 2026 · 6 min readThe Best Ways to View a GEDCOM File in 2026
You have a .ged file and nothing on your computer will open it. Here are the real options — free desktop apps, online trees, browser viewers, and the TV.
August 20, 2026 · 5 min readFamily Tree Screensavers: Your Ancestors as Ambient Art
The biggest screen in your house is black most of the day. Here's how to turn idle TV time into a slowly drifting portrait of your whole family.
August 17, 2026 · 5 min readWhat Is FamilySearch? A Plain-English Guide
FamilySearch is a free, nonprofit family history service built around one shared tree instead of millions of private ones. Here's what that means.
August 15, 2026 · 6 min readHow to Print a Family Tree Chart (PDF and JPG)
How to get a family tree chart out of your software, sized to a frame you can actually buy, and onto a wall — without paying a chart-printing service.
August 12, 2026 · 6 min readHow Many Years Is Six Generations? (And How Many Ancestors)
Six generations is about 180 years and 126 ancestors. Here's the generation-by-generation math, and why it stops working further back.
August 10, 2026 · 7 min readAncestor Chart vs. Descendant Chart vs. Bow-Tie
Three chart shapes cover almost every family tree ever drawn. Here's what each one shows, what it hides, and which one answers your question.
July 24, 2026 · 3 min readFamily Reunion Ideas: Put the Whole Family on the Big Screen
Make the family tree the centerpiece of your next reunion — setup checklist, activities for kids and elders, and what to capture before everyone goes home.
July 20, 2026 · 3 min read12 Family Tree Display Ideas That Aren't a Poster
Twelve ways to display a family tree at home that aren't a poster. On a screen, on a wall, in a frame, in a book, and which are worth the effort.
July 20, 2026 · 2 min readFan Charts, Explained: Why Genealogists Love Them
The fan chart is genealogy's most beautiful diagram. Here's how to read one, why it beats a boxes-and-lines pedigree, and where fan charts are headed.
July 20, 2026 · 3 min readHow to Show Your Grandparents the Family Tree
You built the tree. Here's how to share it with the people who lived the most of it — a practical guide to the best hour your research will ever buy.
July 10, 2026 · 3 min readHow to Export a GEDCOM File From Any Genealogy App
Step-by-step GEDCOM export instructions for RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, MyHeritage, Legacy, Gramps, and Ancestry — and what a GEDCOM actually contains.
July 6, 2026 · 3 min readWhat to Do With Your Family Tree After the Research
You spent years building your family tree. Here are five meaningful things to do with it now — beyond letting it sit in a database.
June 29, 2026 · 3 min readHow to Display Your Family Tree on a TV
Three ways to put your family tree on the television — from casting a screenshot to a native TV app the whole family can explore with the remote.
June 22, 2026 · 3 min readWhat Is an Interactive Family Tree?
An interactive family tree is one you can explore, not just look at. Here's what that means, and how families are putting theirs on the living-room TV.READY WHEN YOU ARE
Your family is already on the screen tonight.
FREE TIER AVAILABLE · NO CARD REQUIRED · APPLE TV · ANDROID TV · GOOGLE TV · FIRE TV · IPAD · WEB