How to map your family's migration
5 min read
Every family has a journey — across towns, countries, sometimes oceans. Mapping it turns a list of names and dates into something you can see: where your family came from, where they settled, and how far they travelled. Here is how to build that map.
Collect the places, not just the names
For each person, note where they were born, married and lived. If they have passed away, you can also include a place where you remember them. Places are the raw material of a migration map, so gather them as deliberately as you gather names and dates.
Pin each place to a real location
Match every place to an actual point on the map — a town, a city, a region. Old place names change, so use the closest real location you can find; an approximate pin still tells the story.
Add a date to every move
A migration is a place plus a time. Attach a year (even an approximate one) to each birth, marriage and move, so the journey can be ordered and played back in sequence rather than seen all at once.
Trace the journey between generations
Follow how each generation moved from the one before — the town a grandparent left, the country a parent arrived in. The gaps between those points are the migrations that shaped where your family is today.
Watch it unfold over time
With places and dates in place, play the map back from the earliest record forward. Seeing the moves in order reveals the distances, the turning points, and the journey your family took across the generations.
See your family move across the world
RootsLore pins births, marriages, moves and places of remembrance to a map, then brings your family's journey to life as a time-lapse. Start free with only the places you know, no account required, then share one link so relatives can add the places only they remember.