There are many, many forms used to track this information and many places on the internet to find printable copies of these forms for free. The following sites offer free forms:
Family Search dot org
Ancestry dot com
ABC Genealogy dot com
Notable Kin dot org
If you use some kind of genealogy software like Roots Magic, Family Tree Maker, or Legacy, etc., you can print Family Group Sheets (FGS) from your program. Either select a family to print with the details that you have already found and documented, or select to print a blank form to use with a new family group.
Use the Family Group Sheet to record details about each member of a family. Use one sheet per husband/wife pairing. If a person has remarried, use another sheet for their ‘second’ family. There is a place to record other spouses so that you have a built in cross-reference. Whenever using the FGS, be sure that you make note of the source of each and every detail that you have found so that you can find the source again in the future if you need to verify it or recheck other facts concerning your discovery.
Before starting your search on the internet, be sure that you have exhausted every source available to you within your own family. This is taken from a genealogy tutorial written by ForgetMeNots (Theresa) from Heritage Scrap dot com:
Before you spend hours on the Internet or pack a bag for Salt Lake City to spend time in the genealogy library, look around your home and ask family members. We all use vital records and other legal forms in our daily lives. Birth Certificates are necessary for everything from participating in Little League championships to getting driver’s licenses. Perhaps you have a box in the attic or a stash of papers in the bottom desk drawer. Look at the back of photographs to see what is written. Leaf through a family Bible to look for handwritten information as well as memorial cards, newspaper clippings, obituaries and notes. Perhaps there are military discharge papers, old tax records or if you are really blessed, family diaries and scrapbooks!
All of these items can give you clues to solve the mysteries in your family tree. While it might not tell you what village Grandpa came from in the old country, it might tell you that he lived in Chicago in 1925, so you will need to look for immigration prior to that time. I found a wonderful checklist provided by Brigham Young University here:
http://www.byub.org/ancestors/charts/oldpdf/checklist1.pdf
Many times you will need to go back to your family or a source document that you have already obtained to verify something else that you have found or to resolve conflicting information. Having your family group sheet as complete as possible before you begin searching on the internet, at a courthouse or library, or with another family member will make your search much easier and more organized. You will easily see what information you are missing and what areas of research you should concentrate your efforts.
While you are researching from the internet or other repository with many sources available, it might be easier to ‘color code’ your research. No matter how hard you try, you will oftentimes stray from your original quest! You will find your way back eventually but remember to still document anything found during your wanderings. If you use a different colored pen or pencil per source, your FGS will remain much neater and more organized until you can enter the information into your official database or filing system. Use a key on the back of your sheet to show each and every source you have searched. Use the same color pen or pencil when writing facts onto your FGS from that source. Be sure to include all information necessary to completely describe your source. If it is a book or magazine, you may want to photocopy the title page or cover to get a full description.
Wherever or however you do your research, you will most likely have to revisit your sources several times. Invariably, the source that is most necessary will be the one you have slighted in its description! Again, let’s turn to Theresa’s wonderful tutorial to see what she has to say about what we’ve gone over so far:
* Document, Document, Document! Make sure you write down where you find every piece of information. Also remember to document where you have looked without success, so that you won’t have to look there again.
* Don’t wait to get a computer program for your genealogy. Using one from the start helps you stay organized.
* Get your family members talking. What they say may not fit in now, but it may provide a key for the future.
* Ask family members to tell you about the oldest person of the family they knew in their life time. (e.g. Did they know their great grandparent? If so what can they tell you about them. First hand knowledge is wonderful!)
* Keep some samples of personal handwriting. Even just a signature is a nice personal touch for our collections. It is wonderful to add to a scrapbook page.
* You can’t find everything about your family on the Internet. Get out there and talk to real live people and if you can travel to see gravesites and communities and look in books that have not been made electronically available.
* Keep a running record of your activities so that you don’t backtrack and waste time.
This tutorial is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list. Genealogy is a HUGE subject. The further you get in the more there is to know. But don’t worry, it’s not painful, but rather quite fun. I hope you have found this helpful. Enjoy climbing your family tree!
Thanks so much to ForgetMeNots (Theresa) of Heritage Scrap dot com for your valuable input through your tutorial!
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