Independent US genealogy desk
Build a family tree that stands up to a records check.
Free tools and archive-tested guides for building a family tree, tracing ancestors, and reading the records that hold everything together. Written by researchers who spend their weekdays in county archives — not by an AI.
- Guides published
- 180+
- Archives referenced
- 40 states
- Reader corrections filed
- 1,200+
Make Family Tree Now is a free family tree builder and a US-focused reference desk. You can chart ancestors in the browser, learn which archive holds which record, and follow step-by-step guides written by working genealogists — no subscription, no account, no drip-marketing.
Why researchers use us
Three things we do differently.
We name the archive.
Every records guide tells you the specific repository — NARA record group, state archive, county clerk — not a vague 'search online'. If a record is on microfilm, we say which film series.
We show the workaround, not the wall.
The 1890 census burned. Louisiana lost most vital records to Katrina. Chinese Exclusion files got redacted. Our guides walk you through the pivot the pros use when the obvious record is gone.
We disclose what we don't know.
If a claim about a surname or an origin isn't well-sourced, we say so. If a record is famously unreliable — looking at you, 19th-century age reporting — we flag it. Genealogy runs on trust in the paper.
A first weekend of research, in four passes.
- 01
Interview the living
Sit with the oldest relative you can reach. Ask for names, places of birth, wedding dates, and — this is the one people forget — the maiden name of every woman they mention.
- 02
Pin names to the 1950 census
The 1950 US Federal Census is free at NARA and FamilySearch. It's your bridge from living memory to written record.
- 03
Walk backwards a decade at a time
1940, 1930, 1920, 1910. Each census adds a household. Watch for surname spelling drift — a Kowalski becomes a Kovalski becomes a Cole.
- 04
Anchor with vital records
Order or download the birth, marriage, and death certificates you can. These are what turns a name in a census into a person with parents.
Site architecture
Three topics, one research desk.
Every guide on the site lives in one of three topics. Start at a hub, then work outward.
Build a tree topic
Family tree maker
A free browser-based family tree maker. Add ancestors, sources, and dates in minutes. Export to GEDCOM or PDF. No account required.
Open the build a tree hub →Search topic
Ancestor search
How to run an ancestor search the way pros do it: which archives to try first, how to work around spelling drift, and when a match is really a match.
Open the search hub →Records topic
Genealogy records
A working index of the genealogy records that hold up in a family tree: census, vital, church, land, probate, immigration, and military. What each proves and where to find it.
Open the records hub →Where readers start
Family tree maker
A free browser-based family tree maker. Add ancestors, sources, and dates in minutes. Export to GEDCOM or PDF. No account required.
Read the guide →Ancestor search
How to run an ancestor search the way pros do it: which archives to try first, how to work around spelling drift, and when a match is really a match.
Read the guide →Genealogy records
A working index of the genealogy records that hold up in a family tree: census, vital, church, land, probate, immigration, and military. What each proves and where to find it.
Read the guide →Resource library
Free tools, sourced guides, and record-by-record walkthroughs.
We publish across three areas: tools for building a tree, guides for searching ancestors, and record-type deep dives.
What readers found in the archives.
I'd been stuck on my great-grandfather from Wisconsin for two years. The census guide showed me the surname was misspelled Kowalowski instead of Kowalski in the 1910 index. Found him in ten minutes.
The Freedmen's Bureau walkthrough here is the one I send new readers to. Most guides act like the collection doesn't exist. This one tells you which subseries to open first.
Rebuilt my Sicilian branch from parish microfilm in Palermo using the workflow in the surname piece. That advice about checking neighbor witnesses on marriage records changed my whole approach.
Family tree research — questions we hear the most
Short, sourced answers to the questions we get most often at the desk.
- A family tree is a documented chart of an individual's ancestors and, sometimes, their descendants. In a research context it is not just a diagram — each name, date, and place should be tied back to a source record such as a census page, a certificate, or a church register.
Start a family tree in the next ten minutes
Free, browser-based, no account. Add what you know, and we'll show you what to look for next.