Family Tree Templates

Family tree templates can make organizing your genealogical search simpler and easier. There are several different types of family tree templates. You will probably find yourself using more than one, because all of the family tree templates have different uses. You can make up these forms yourself on your computer, or you can find them online. Several forms are available for free at http://www.onegreatfamily.com/Tools/

Pedigree family tree templates are the simplest. It simply records the parents and children, the children's children, their children, and so on. This is the form found in many old family Bibles. It often includes birth, marriage, and death dates as well.

Family group sheet family tree templates bring together all the facts about a family in a single place. It should list names, dates of important events (birth, baptism, marriage, immigration, divorce, death) for parents and children. You may also want to list other information: profession, address, major family events, and where the ancestor is buried. Each nuclear family will appear on its own family group sheet. Some individuals will appear on many family group sheets.

Research log family tree templates help you keep track of your data and where you found the information. At the top, you should list the family name you are researching, the name of the researcher, and the date. Then for every useful fact you find, you should list the source. You should include enough data for citation: author, title, publisher, city of publication, and page number. Other information you may want to list includes the call letter, the library or other repository where unpublished documents may be found, and of course, the fact itself. You may also want to include comments and ideas as they occur to you.

Feel free to customize your family tree templates to suit your personal needs. Remember, though, that you can never have too much information. It's much better to write down more than you'll think you need than to return from a trip and discover you don't have all the data neatly recorded.

Family tree templates can help you keep track of information and share it with others. OneGreatFamily.com is a wonderful source for new information as well as a place to share your research with others. You can expand your family tree rapidly with its patented search technology. Even when you are busy, OneGreatFamily.com continues searching on your behalf.