The most common forms that you’re going to find to keep your genealogy information together are those which are also used by genealogists the world over.
They are the pedigree chart, or the family group sheet. Both of these will help you keep all the information that you’ve found on your family history together in one place.
They are easy to use and easy to read. If you use your computer to enter the info, nearly every genealogy software in existence will print out the information you entr on your family history in one of these formats.

What most beginning genealogists will use is the pedigree chart. The pedigree chart will start with you and go backward in time, showing a direct line of ancestors in your family.

Usually a pedigree chart will display only four or five generations. It will allow you spaces also to add both names and dates, as well as birthplace, marriage dates and places and very often a space for the death dates for those who you include on the pedigree chart.

There are also larger charts of the pedigree variety, which are called ancestral charts that hold room for housing several more generations of your family tree. They are not always easy to use and are normally quite a bit larter than the standard printable page format of 8.5 x 11 inches.

Once you have accomplished tracing the family back more than just four generations you’re going to need to add more pedigree charts.

The great grandfather, or your fathers grandfather will be your ancestor number 8 on your original chart. As you trace his family history back further you’re going to have to make a new chart that will list him in the first position, as you were in the first position on the first pedigree chart.
To keep it less confusing you’re going to want to make notes on each chart bottom stating that person One on this chart is the same as person number (whatever) on chart number 2 or chart number 3 etc.

Family group sheets on the other hand give their focus to the entire family, just as they say. The family group chart will give you enough space for the couple and all of their children, as well as a place to note births, birthplaces, marriages, and death dates on each person.

I personally like the family group sheets far better, because they give room to do things like grandparents siblings as well as burial dates and places and they give you a place to add the child’s spouse.  They are a very important tool to keep track of the entire family of say, your aunt or uncle. More often than not, if you can’t find a birth record for your grandfather, you can find one through his sister or brothers birth records.

Both types of charting are important to keep track of since they can offer information on the family tree that will help you to complete the other.

Tags:  genealogy charts genealogy forms