Descendant Fan Charts

A descendant fan chart can be designed in either a full circular display or a semi-circular display depending upon the number of generations and the amount birth, marriage, and death information that you want included on your chart.  The starting individual is in the center, and each successive ring contains the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and so on until the outer ring of the chart. The spouse or multiple spouses of the starting individual are also included at the center of the descendant fan chart. If there are stepchildren in any family, they won't appear on a descendant fan chart as they are not blood descendants. If you'd like any stepchildren to appear on your chart, you will need to enter them a second time in your genealogy software under their step-parent as if they were actually a blood descendant. You don't need to change their last name.

Depending upon the size of the family and the amount of information which you want in each box, a descendant fan chart poster can normally include 6 to 9 generations. Once you go above this level, you will need to use the traditional descendant chart which is presented in landscape mode. Photos can't be included on fan charts.

If you haven't already designed your family tree chart so that it is ready for printing, we can do the chart design for you. Once we've completed the layout and design work we will send you a non-printable PDF preview of what your chart will look like when printed for you to review and approve. At that point we will also know the dimensions of your chart which is what will determine the cost for printing. If the design, size, and cost for printing are satisfactory to you, we then, and only then, proceed with printing.

Some of the condensed descendant charts shown below are ideal to make available to attendees of a family reunion who don't want to purchase a 25 to 50 foot chart showing complete details, but who would still like some record of their family genealogy to take home. If you're designing your own chart, your genealogy software program may lay out your information differently than the examples shown below; however, since we can print from most any genealogy software program, the actual design is not an issue for us. To view other examples of family tree charts, return to our examples page.

Below is an example of a descendant fan chart poster which begins at the center and then branches out in an arc to show each generation of descendants. Using 12 point bold for the names and 10 point regular for the birth, marriage, and death facts, this fan chart which includes 7 generations of descendants would measure 42 inches square.

Below is an enlarged portion of the descendant fan chart shown above which shows the popular option of outlining males in the traditional color blue and females in pink.

Another interesting and colorful design for a descendant fan chart is to color the rings for each change of generation as shown below. This type of descendant fan chart poster includes only names along with the birth and death years. As a result, it is more compact since it doesn't include as much information as a standard descendant chart. Unlike the charts above where the font size remains the same throughout the entire chart, the font size becomes smaller in the outer rings on all of the charts shown below. This 7 generation fan chart would be about 36 to 42 inches square.

In the descendant fan chart below, only 6 generations are shown which allows it to be presented as a half circle. This type of descendant fan chart includes only names along with the birth and death years. As a result, it is more compact since it doesn't include as much information as a standard descendant chart. This 6 generation fan chart would be about 36 inches wide.

In addition to the other types of family tree charts shown on our examples page which you just came from, there are also many other examples of printed family tree charts on almost every page on our site, so please take the time to browse around for awhile. There are even a few examples of charts with a photographic background on our page about enhancing your chart. We've also included several tips to keep in mind on our page titled submitting your order that you might find helpful as you go about designing your chart.

We're so sure you'll love our genealogy printing services that we confidently provide a complete money back guarantee on all orders. We look forward to being able to work with you and your family.

Please call us at 630-653-8400 or e-mail us at sales@ancestryprinting.com if you have any questions about our family tree chart printing services. International callers can also Skype us if preferred; however, we ask that you email us to set up a convenient time for a Skype to Skype call.  We are located in the central time zone of the U.S. (GMT/UTC-6 and -5 in the summer), and can make arrangements for incoming Skype to Skype calls up to around 10:00 PM local time on most nights. We only accept Skype to Skype calls that have been pre-arranged by email. And, if you haven't already done so please watch the video about our services.