Source Summary

A source summary chart used in genealogy research is another chart that sounds just like its title. A source summary is a chart that you would fill out that helps you find the information you have on a particular family member very quickly. You would refer to this chart when you need to find out where you found the information about that family. You will want a separate source summary chart for each individual family you are researching.

A great example of a source summary chart can be found here: http://www.ancestry.com/trees/charts/sourcesum.aspx

Family Group Sheet

A family group sheet in genealogy is just like it sounds. This is a chart someone would use to record information about ancestors onto paper. This chart allows you to record the name of the husband in the family and then follow that with information about him, his spouse and children. You would record information such as death, birth, marriage, names of his father and mother, and where they are buried. This type of chart allows you to easily see the information you have gathered about each immediate family of your ancestors.

Free Pedigree Chart

A pedigree chart is one that people use to record data when researching family genealogy. It records your ancestors and their information for you. You can even complete this chart online for easy sharing with family and friends if you wish. This type of charting makes it easier to record and see what you have done and what you have left to do.

Pedigree charts can be downloaded for free for you to use on your own! An online search will result in various sites dedicated to helping you and your family create a free pedigree chart.

Watch Your Dates!

One source of date confusion is the practice of listing just the numbers for the month/day/year. You will find that Europeans and others generally use a day/month/year format, while Americans use a month/day/year format. In order to avoid confusion, you should use the following format: Day- 3 character month - full year; i.e., 23 Mar 1958.

Census Forms

Census forms are helpful for people doing genealogy research in that it lists all the people alive during certain years. The census forms can be downloaded for free and you would use them to see different columns and headings for different census years. The forms provide you with a neat and concise way of recording the information you need under different years. Different census forms can be downloaded online. 

Census forms are not the only chart genealogy tools that help make sense of confusing census forms. You can use a spreadsheet to make census forms more easily readable. There are several other census forms and tools available for you to use for your research.