Downloadable Image Icons for On-Line Family Trees

8/21/2014

The formatting of the blog posting may be odd if you are reading this in a Feed Reader or via e-mail distribution, so click on the title above (which is an active link) to view the website version.

Click on image to download

My main family tree is a public tree on Ancestry.com, which I can synchronize easily with the corresponding tree in Family Tree Maker on my hard-drive. I upload images to the profile pages and if I have a photo of an ancestor or other relative, I like to crop a head-shot which I use as the primary photo, so this is what shows up in the Tree view (both Pedigree view and Family view). But I've created a few image icons that are sometimes helpful to use, and I'm making these available for download.

My latest favorite image, which I love to have the opportunity to add (when no photo of the individual is available) is "DNA Verified" (above). I use this for any autosomal DNA matches (from Family Tree DNA, 23andMe, and AncestryDNA), either to me and/or close relatives (my parents and their siblings) where we have identified common ancestors. I then copy this same image in lieu of a head-shot to each of my ancestors up to one level below the common ancestors (because unless we share only one of an ancestral couple, we don't know which of the couple the shared DNA is from) and also down through my match's ancestral line to the DNA match – and I also add a custom fact (to the profile page for each individual), making note of the common ancestors, details of the matching segment(s), and the relationship of the match to me. I would obviously like to be in the position to add this to as many of my ancestors as possible, as I make progress with DNA matches.

Examples of this on the profile page of my 5th great grandmother Sarah ("Sally") Hornby (1760-1833) and following through some of my ancestors on the Pedigree view of part of my Ancestry tree are shown below.

Use of "DNA Verified" on Profile Page

Use of Questionable "?" on Profile Page

"DNA Verified" and "To Do!" Images on Pedigree Chart

I also use several simple text images as reminders or flags to myself, and they are really obvious when I'm on a profile page (or when looking at a tree view, if used as the profile picture) – go to the Downloads tab to download the images, or click on the links below:

The Question Mark is useful to use as the "profile picture" for tentative individuals (see above). I use this to both identify for myself that I need to do more research to confirm the identity, but also to try and limit other Ancestry subscribers from indiscriminately copying these "iffy" relatives to their own trees (not sure if this helps or not – probably not, but at least I'm trying as best I can to limit the perpetuation of questionable information).
I add To Do! to an event or custom fact and include a note (e.g., scan death certificate, add additional siblings).
Who was This? is a helpful reminder that I need to work out, for example, who the "nephew" was on a Census, or how a witness on a marriage record could be related.
I occasionally have the need to use Anomalies to flag that 2 or more records don't match up well and I need to sort out which is correct or why there is a discrepancy.
Locate Record is self-explanatory.

Click to Download

Please add a comment if you have ideas for other image icons and maybe I'll add some more.

All the images are made available under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA 4.0).
DNA image for "DNA Verified" modified from an image in Public Domain with rights to use for any purpose, without any conditions (see Here).

What's New at GenealogyJunkie

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Haplogroup Pedigree Chart – updated since the 14 May 2014 blog posting and now on a webpage
Genome Coverage: Adam Grieve & Margaret Paterson Line – NEW webpage (24 Jul 2014), the first of a series of chromosome maps from various ancestral lines, together with an introductory page, Chromosome Mapping

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22 Comments

Cathy

10/13/2014 07:31:42

Thanks for the suggestion and use of the image icon for "DNA Verified." I have added it to my Ancestry.com tree.

Ann Marie

8/14/2015 22:31:05

Thank you for this clever way of organizing complex genealogical information!

Atara

5/4/2016 15:58:35

Thank you for the DNA Verified photo. Have you come across one that has arrows so that we can show the direction a particular line takes to meet up with common ancestor? Hope that question is clear.

Many thanks

caznjj

9/24/2016 01:12:41

Love your articles. Thank you for such clear explanations.
I've started a tree using the DNA verified icon and your suggestion of attaching it to the direct lines back to siblings then down again to the match. Looking good so far!!
I don't know if Ancestry has changed categories since you did this post, but instead of "custom" I've been using the category "DNA markers" to put in my note about the matches that link me to each person.
Cheers

Sue Griffith link

9/24/2016 08:58:03

I don't know if the category "DNA markers" has always been there and I didn't notice it previously, but I've been using that more recently too. Another great tip I've copied from someone else is to use the location field of my Ancestry Profile to put "GEDmatch #'s: XXXX (Sue), XXXX (Father), XXXX (Mother)" – instead of where I live. If we are on someone's AncestryDNA match list, when they click on the name, our GEDmatch numbers are readily apparent beneath our names. I hope this catches on and others use it. I'm afraid I didn't make a note of the person who included this in a Facebook posting in order to give them credit.

Ann HarveyHope

11/13/2016 21:17:11

Would love to see an "unrelated" or Step-family type of icon. Don't want to not have them in the tree as their half-siblings are ancestors but.....

Also, saw some interesting "husband" "Wife" "cousin" ones around but don't know how to make them myself.

Sue Griffith link

11/14/2016 09:35:12

I created the icons in Photoshop and saved as JPG images, so the resolution is good. However, for a small image to add to your Ancestry tree, you don't actually need this level of resolution. You could just create whatever you want in MS Word/Google docs, etc. then take a screenshot and save it as a JPG file. Windows has a snipping tool, which makes this very easy (just Google "snipping tool windows X", where X is your windows version) – I would be surprised if Mac iOS didn't have something similar. So you can create whatever you wish and be as creative as you like.

Steve Kunnmann

1/15/2017 12:49:04

macOS keys are as follows:

To capture a portion of the screen, press Command-Shift-4. A cross-hair cursor will appear and you can click and drag to select the area you wish to capture. When you release the mouse button, the screen shot will be automatically saved as a PNG file on your desktop

Carol Hinchliff

1/29/2017 07:42:43

Thank you so much for this DNA image. I have enjoyed what I have read so far from your blog. Just subscribed today, but already learning much about DNA.

Ellen A Evanoff link

5/28/2017 17:16:47

Thanks. Helps to find the verified people in my gigantic tree!
Ellen

Regina Smith

7/24/2017 14:15:27

Do you use the "DNA Verified" for DNA matches (i.e. cousins) or just direct line ancestors?

Love the "DNA Verified" image!

Sue Griffith link

7/24/2017 16:44:05

Regina, I use the image for everyone in the cousin's line up to the common ancestors and down the line to whomever the person is matching (me, one of my parents, another cousin, etc.). Except for half relationships, there is a pair of most recent common ancestors (MRCAs), but I *don't* include them, as we don't know which of these the matching DNA came from. So instead I stop at the relevant child of the MRCAs on the match's line and at the child of the MRCAs whom I'm descended from.

Regina Smith

7/25/2017 06:01:30

Sue, thanks so much. Such a great idea.

David Wilkes

7/27/2017 07:03:56

great idea !

stormy

1/14/2019 05:31:35

great ideas - thanks for the tips. i also use a black & white image of an infant/ toddler/ young child as profile pictures for children who died at a young age.

Beth

2/22/2019 06:09:36

Thank you for your fantastic help and ideas !

Sarah

2/26/2019 13:36:00

I found this on another website - didn't know it had originated here. It's a great icon - thank you!

Angela Smith

5/20/2019 06:59:24

Thank you so much for the DNA match icon! I was wondering where people were getting them. I am on Ancestry mainly, and did not want to copy the icon because I didn't know if it was copyrighted.

Lynne

11/1/2022 07:28:23

Thank you for the DNA Verified icon. Is there an icon for a Common Ancestor please?

Sue Griffith link

11/2/2022 00:31:50

No, I don't have an icon for Common Ancestor. You would need to create your own or find an image elsewhere. Ancestry didn't have tags back in 2014 when I started using these icons, but they do now and have one for "Common DNA Ancestor" under the DNA Tags group. If you aren't familiar with tagging on Ancestry, search on MyTreeTags in their Help Center.

Caz Brymora link

6/12/2023 05:03:15

Hi there!
I've been using your DNA verified icon for several years now and absolutely love it. It really helps me to keep track of which lines have been confirmed.
I have some branches where there are intermarriages, where someone from one branch of my family connected with someone from another branch and I'm related to that couple's descendants twice - it can be tricky to confirm which side the DNA came through and I wondered if you've thought of an icon for "double connection" or even "multiple connections"?
Thank you!

Sue Griffith

6/12/2023 12:51:45

Glad you find this icon to be helpful. I've noticed that *many* people use it on Ancestry. If you are wanting other icons, I'm afraid you will have to create your own – there are obviously a lot of other possibilities.

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