Genealogy Forms

Genealogy forms can make your research a lot easier. They compile your information, letting you easily see where the holes are so you know which avenue you need to take to fill in your family tree. A lot of people will try to sell you forms, but there are loads of free ones available that work great. Keep in mind that you will need a copy of Acrobat Reader to view the forms. Download it for free from the Adobe website.

Census Extraction Forms-These forms follow the format of each year's census, allowing you to easily transcribe the information and refer back to it as needed.

Family Record Sheets-These are one way to keep families together while researching. Forms have space for information on both the parents and their children. For large families, which you often find in earlier years, it will be necessary to print more than one form. Likewise, if one of the parents died and the other remarried, having more children, it will be necessary to have a separate form.

Research Logs-These are an invaluable tool in genealogy which can help prevent accidentally backtracking. When you've been researching a while, it is easy to forget which sources you've already checked. With a research log for each ancestor, you can check to see where you have been so far.

Immigration Forms-Most of us have an ancestor that came from another country at some point. Immigration records can be helpful in filling in blanks about where they came from and, in some case, who they left behind. Use these forms to document information from passenger and other immigration-related records.

Correspondence Log-In some cases, it may be necessary to call or write relatives for more information on your family's genealogy. You may even find yourself contacting potential relatives. A correspondence log will help you track who you have contacted, why you contacted them, and what, if any, response you got.

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Genealogy Supplies

When you are first starting out to build your family tree, the supplies you need will be few. You only need pen and paper, and perhaps a folder to keep everything contained. However, as you get more into the process, you will find that there are more things you will need.

Calculator-When looking at census records to find your ancestors, most censuses do not list the person's birthdate. Instead, you will need to calculate their approximate age at the time of the census to find them. While you may be able to add in your head, a calculator can be handy.

Photo and document storage-During your genealogy search, you may be given old photographs or documents. These are fragile and need to be handled with care. Consider scanning them into your computer and then storing the original in acid-free containers. Look for products that indicate they are for use in preservation or archival purposes.

Email account-In order to register for the genealogy forums, you will need an email address. If you are requesting look-ups from genealogy volunteers, you will need one for that as well. It is a good idea to have a separate email for genealogy. One, there is less risk of overlooking messages. Two, if you find it necessary to post your email on a discussion board, it offers a layer of protection from your regular email. There are free email accounts available from several places on the internet. Just pick one.

Recording equipment-While this is not a necessity, it can be helpful when interviewing long-winded relatives. Recording the conversation on audio or video allows you to focus on getting answers rather than trying to write down everything.

Genealogy forms-There are a wide variety of genealogy forms available, both free and for a price. Forms can help you organize your information and see what blanks you need to fill yet. At a bare minimum, I recommend census extraction forms. They contain the same columns as the census did, allowing you to copy down the information completely. I gathered some of my favorite forms for you in another post.

Family tree software-While it is possible to do a family tree by hand, software can help organize everything for you, especially if you have a large family. There are free and paid versions available.

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