Building a family tree is very rewarding because it places your family in a historical perspective. Creating a family tree has become much easier in the digital age because there are so many genealogical tools available online that make tasks that used to take months or years go much more quickly. More importantly, becoming the family�s detective is fun.Collect your dataThe first step any budding genealogist should take is to gather all of the facts about your family that you already have. For example, birth and death certificates, marriage certificates, family bibles, old pictures and newspaper clippings announcing key life events are valuable treasures for genealogists. More importantly, interview every elderly family relative within reach, and if they are very old, interview them several times. Using a tape recorder will help you transcribe all of the details when it is more convenient.Remember, start by gathering all of the records available, and augment that collection with all of the information your oldest family members can remember. Enter your collected dataAfter all of your initial data is assembled, your family tree will begin to take shape. Before the digital age, genealogists used sheets of paper to keep track of all their data, and it was a cumbersome process. Fortunately, today there are a number of online tools that make the process much easier, and many of them also help you find clues about ancestors you may have never known before. The most important site for genealogists is Ancestry.com. Registration is free, and a free account allows you to enter all of your information online easily. Once your data is entered, you can print out your chart(s) or invite family members to your account to help you expand your tree.Grow your treeNow all of the fun begins. After entering your original data, Ancestry.com scans its database and finds clues to help find your long-forgotten ancestors. However, Ancestry.com is just a starting point. Other sites such as Genealogy.com and Cyndislist.com also have large collections of data and other resources to help expand your tree. Additionally, be sure to Google, Bing or Yahoo family member�s names, which may lead to a personal web page of a long-lost cousin and an invitation to a family reunion.Although using free online tools to construct your family tree is easy and fun, the most important thing to remember is your tree will not be accurate until records are found to substantiate each individual�s relationship in your tree. This is where the real work comes in, and it can be frustrating to find records that are hundreds of years old. Nevertheless, take your time and have fun with it.