A memorial family tree
One person at the heart of it, with the generations they came from drawn around them.
- Suggested shape
- Heirloom fan
- Suggested style
- Parchment
- Who appears
- Direct ancestors, as a half circle
Why this shape
For a memorial the subject should be the centre of the picture, not one node among many. The heirloom fan is built that way: the person sits at the hub, their ancestors sweep out in rings behind them, and a drawn tree fills the heart of it with the names signed below. Parchment — aged paper, faded ink — suits it better than anything crisp.
Getting it right
Ancestors only, so the sheet stays about one life rather than becoming a family directory. Dates matter more here than anywhere else, and generations you cannot fill in stay as quiet placeholders rather than blank space. Worth asking the family for names before the day; people remember more than they think when asked directly.
Free to build, no account needed to start.
Other occasions
Family reunionEveryone descended from one couple, on one sheet, in a shape that does not collapse when one branch had six children and another had one.
Gift for grandparentsThe whole family including the grandchildren, laid out so no branch looks like an afterthought.
Wedding giftTwo families meeting on one page, set as names rather than boxes.
Anniversary giftThe family a couple built, set as a printed register rather than a diagram.