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All Those Genealogy Charts

I can remember making my own pedigree charts years ago. That was long before computers and the Internet. It was in the days I could not afford to buy charts from genealogy publishers. Now I let my computer and genealogical software do the job for me.

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I can remember making my own pedigree charts years ago. That was long before computers and the Internet. It was in the days I could not afford to buy charts from genealogy publishers. Now I let my computer and genealogical software do the job for me.

If you have genealogical software on your computer, why do you need to look for genealogy charts on Internet? Because, they can be used in a variety of ways to enhance your research and some are available that your software cannot produce.

The PBS web site Ancestors Charts and Records from BYU Broadcasting has several free charts that can be downloaded in PDF format. These include the pedigree chart, family group record, research log and one I especially like, source notes.

Printable blank family tree charts can be downloaded at Free Family Tree Template http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/family-tree-template.html.

They also have Excel-based Family Tree Templates for creating multi-generational tree pedigrees.

Genealogical Charting hosted by Beverly Whitaker http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gentutor/instruction.html contains instructions on the use of the charts plus several in PDF or text format. If you are interested in calculating family relationships, be sure to check out the Family Relationship Chart.

If you want something different, download the free genealogy charts at ObituariesHelp.org http://www.obituarieshelp.org/genealogy_forms_downloads.html . Some their unique forms include an obituary checklist and a chart for keeping track of the clues from obituaries.

Charts in English and Spanish can be found at The Bailey's Free Genealogy Forms The Bailey's Free Genealogy Forms. There are interesting, free genealogy charts, forms and logs in PDF format at ShoeString Genealogy, http://shoestringgenealogy.com/form/FormsView/index.html They have a very useful Cemetery Log that can be downloaded. Another one I like is the Census Search Grid. If you are researching city directories, be sure to check out their City Directory Chart.

You can find the normal charts and forms at Ancestry.com, but they also have US Census Forms, UK Census Forms and Canadian Census Forms. Begin your search at the US Census Forms http://www.ancestry.com/trees/charts/census.aspx. A side bar on the right side of the web page will allow you to peruse other forms, in particular the UK and Canadian Census forms.

Family Tree Magazinehttp://www.familytreemagazine.com/freeforms

offers a variety of free forms. These include Oral History and Heirlooms that allow you to keep track of those family traditions, stories and treasures. I especially like their Immigrations Forums which are custom lists 1821-1882 and 1883-1897 as well as passenger lists 1897-1942. All are in PDF format.

It takes some time to look through the available free templates and understand how to use them, but be sure to check out Family Tree Templates.netFamilyTreeTemplates.net They have more than 60 free templates.

Blank forms for extracting manifest information can be found at Manifest Extract Formshttp://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilpip1gs/Toolbox/manifest_extract_forms.htm. They can be downloaded in PDF format and are for 1893 past 1925. These are handy for jotting down the appropriate information as you are reading a passenger list.

Genealogy.com offers letter forms athttp://www.genealogy.com/00000023.html?cj=1&o_xid=0001029688&o_lid=0001029688. They are separately listed for writing to an institution and writing to a family member and are in English, Italian, Spanish, French and German. A German Family Register Extraction Form can be found athttp://www.kinquest.com/degenealogy/register.pdf . This is handy when extracting information from the family registers in 19th century German church record books.

Keeping track of deed information is much easier by using the Form for Deed Research Notes athttp://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/deeds_form.html. If you are interviewing relatives, check out the Form for Interview Tracking athttp://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory_form.html.

If you have young people in the family with an interest in genealogy, be sure to check out the forms available at Kids' Genealogy Camp, Southern California Genealogical Society. The Family Group Sheet is easy to read and use athttp://www.scgsgenealogy.com/storage/family%20group%20sheet_v1.pdf.

The Pedigree chart is athttp://www.scgsgenealogy.com/storage/PEDIGREE_v1.pdf.

State census enumerations are available for some states. The categories are usually somewhat the same as the federal census, but in many cases, they are unique. If you are researching in Kansas records, be sure to check out their PDF fileshttp://www.skyways.org/genweb/archives/statewide/census.htm for keeping track of the state census.

Since most genealogical software has built in charting features you may not see the need for these charts. You can print them out, fill them in and take them on research trips. Or they can be filled out and scanned with the information attached to your genealogical file on the computer. These are just a few reasons you need to look at online family charts and forms.

Source Information: Tracing Lines, New Providence, NJ, USA: Genealogy Today LLC, 2011.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Genealogy Today LLC.

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