How it works
Start with one person. Build outwards.
There is nothing to install and nothing to search. You enter the people your family already knows about, and the tree draws itself around them.
The three steps
- 01
Start with one person
Begin with yourself, or with anyone you know well. A parent or a grandparent works nicely. You need a name and nothing else; dates and places can come later, whenever you find them.
- 02
Add the people around them
Add a partner to record a marriage, and add a child for anyone born into the family. Everyone can be built out in any direction, with parents above and partners and children below.
- 03
Watch the generations appear
As soon as there are three generations the shape of the family starts to show. Move the centre to any person and the whole view rebuilds around them, so you can follow one line at a time.
What TLC Family does not do
TLC Family holds what your family already knows. There are no historical records to search, no DNA testing and no automatic matches: you enter the people, and the tree shows you what you have entered. If you are hoping a website will find your ancestors for you, this is not that, and we would rather say so here than after you have signed up.
What it is good at is the other direction. Put an ancestor at the centre and follow the line down through their children, their grandchildren and everyone after them, which is the part most family history is actually made of.
Technical details
What you need
Any current web browser, on a computer, a tablet or a phone. There is nothing to install and no plugin to add. The text is set larger than on most websites, and you can enlarge it further in your browser without the page breaking.
Opening an account
An account needs an email address and a password. Nothing else is required.
What it costs
Nothing at present. If that changes, we will tell you by email before it applies to your account, and you can decide then. An existing account will not start being charged without notice.
Your tree and your privacy
A family tree records people, with dates, places, notes, and how each person is related to the others, and can be viewed in various formats.
Photographs are not part of TLC Family yet.
Your trees are private to your account. There is no public directory of trees, and the site is closed to search engines.