How to Fill Out Genealogy Forms
Genealogy forms are an important tool when starting a genealogy project. They can help to organize your findings, view the progress you've made and see what remains to be gathered. The most commonly used forms are pedigree or ancestral charts and family group sheets. A pedigree chart begins with information on yourself, then your parents, grandparents and backwards through your direct line. A family group sheet compiles genealogical information on a couple and their children.
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Instructions
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Gather your family history information. Download the pedigree charts and family history sheets. Free genealogy forms may be found at Familytreemagazine.com or through Ancestry.com. Family history computer programs are also a popular and easy way to enter family history findings.
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Fill in your family history information on a pedigree chart. On the first line, number 1, fill in information about the ancestor you are tracing. Include full name, date of birth, marriage and death, and spouse's name if applicable. Write the name in the natural order; first, middle and last. Print the last name in capital letters to separate the surname from other names. For married females, write the birth or maiden last name instead of the husband's last name. Record dates using the European standard of day, month and year. For approximate dates, use "about" or "circa" before the estimated date. Enter place names starting with the smallest to largest location, such as town, county, state, country.
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Continue to enter known ancestral information on the parents of the person recorded on line 1. Information on male ancestors are recorded on the even numbered lines and the females on odd numbered lines. If you do not know a woman's maiden name, enter only her first name followed by an empty parenthesis. If a female was married more than once, enter her given name, maiden name, if known, and the names of previous spouses in the order of the marriage.
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Record any special names on the chart. If an ancestor had a nickname, enter that name in quotations after the given or first name. If an ancestor went by another name, record that name in parentheses following the surname. Write a.k.a., which stands for also known as, before the other name.
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Enter known information on the person's grandparents and great-grandparents. Leave lines blank for details you do not have. If you have enough information to continue with new charts and are using a five-generation chart, use the person recorded in line number 16 as the person number 1 in chart two. The person recorded on number 17 becomes the first person on chart three, and so on.
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Fill out genealogical information on a family group sheet. Using the same rules used to fill in the pedigree chart, enter the names of the couple, dates of birth, marriage and death. If the husband or wife had been married previously, list names of the former spouses. Include detailed source information, such as "Smith family Bible, dated 1860, in possession of the compiler" or "History of Fresno County, Vol.2, Paul Vandor, page 1850". List all names of children born to the couple in birth order. Enter dates of birth and death, sex, marriage information and names of spouses.
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Tips & Warnings
It is tempting to enter family information you may find in online family trees, but be sure to check if the trees include sources. If not, verify the information with additional research.
Use a pencil when compiling written genealogy forms. It is easier to erase any wrong information entered previously.
References
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