Forms and Charts for Genealogical Research
by Michael Hait
The Family History Research Toolkit contains forms and charts that are essential for genealogical research.
I initially designed these forms for my own professional research, as well as my personal family research. I believe that these forms will meet the basic needs of family historians of all experience levels.
The forms can be printed as blank forms for onsite research, or digitally filled in. Each form has space for full source citations and each has been created as an Adobe PDF form. These PDF forms can then be saved (with your data) for permanent storage, and copies can be sent on disc or via email to other researchers and family members!
The best part is that, in order to view and edit the information, only the free Adobe Reader (available from www.adobe.com) is necessary! These days, most new PCs and laptops have this program already installed.
This is a great way to save, store, and share your research, without needing any additional software. Say goodbye to the loss of data when importing GEDCOMS created by different software packages. There is no conversion necessary!
Click here to listen to the 25 March 2008 "GenealogyGuys" podcast, in which they review this disc:
Genealogy Guys
More reviews appear at the bottom of this page.
Below are a list of forms included on this CD, with detailed comments:
Basic Genealogy Forms
Family Group Record: The best way to view consolidated information on a family group -- father, mother, and children.
Pedigree Chart: [Click the link for a fully-functional, free sample!] The design of this pedigree chart is slightly modified from the standard "box-style" pedigree chart. First, the names of male ancestors are colored blue, female ancestors pink. Second, the design allows individuals of the same surname to line up horizontally from left to right. This allows for easy review of the ancestry of any individual.
Research Log: Record the sources searched on your research trips, and organize by date or repository.
Census Extraction Forms
1850 U. S. Federal Census
1860 U. S. Federal Census
1870 U. S. Federal Census
1880 U. S. Federal Census
1900 U. S. Federal Census
1910 U. S. Federal Census
1920 U. S. Federal Census
1930 U. S. Federal Census
These Census Extraction Forms are unique in that they are formatted to resemble a Family Group Record. For the years 1850-1870, where no relationships are explicitly stated, there are spaces for "Head of Household" and "Additional Residents". For the years of 1880 and afterward, the forms allow for recording each individual family group as enumerated in the U. S. federal census.
Household Tracker Forms
1790-1840
1850-1870
1880-1900
The Household Tracker Forms for the years 1790-1840 allows one to compare, side-by-side, the age groupings in a household for each census year. One can thus easily identify households of similar constitution over time. The Forms covering the later years include spaces for name, age and place of birth, occupation, and relationship to the head of household (where available).
Miscellaneous Forms
Census Neighbors: This form allows you to record the names of several neighboring heads of household, including their exact dwelling and family numbers. This form aids in the practice of "cluster genealogy" by providing one place to record the names of an entire neighborhood of households.
Land History: This form provides a place to record all land transactions for a single individual by county, as both grantor and grantee. Space is provided for the date of transaction, the name of the other party, a brief identifying description, and the location of the recorded deed (liber and page numbers).
Metes & Bounds: You can use this form to record, in an orderly fashion, the courses (metes and bounds) for state-land land tracts and parcels. State-land states include the original 13 colonies, and a few other states.
Probate Extraction: This form allows for the input of the location of various recorded probate documents (by liber & page number) -- e.g. wills, bonds, letters, inventories, accounts -- as well as the bequests of several heirs.
Household Estimator: By using other sources to identify or estimate the dates of birth of members of a household, you can then estimate the appearance of the family in the U. S. federal census years from 1800-1840, in a format compatible with the Household Tracker forms.
Notes: Book, Microfilm, Internet (3 forms): For those times when no other form will work, these forms provide a blank page to record your notes, as well as providing space for full source citations in the format recommended for books, microfilm rolls, and websites.
Click here to order from Genealogical Publishing Co.
Now available! You can purchase individual forms for just $2 each
Click below for a free exclusive web-only form:
Slave Tracker
This form is designed similar to the Household Tracker form included on the Toolkit CD-ROM.
The spaces, however, are designed to be compatible with the "slaves owned" sections of the U. S. federal census from 1790 through 1840, allowing you to see at a glance the number and makeup of the slaves of a single owner. Essential for African-American research prior to the Civil War!
Reviews
"[T]his CD is an ideal way to obtain the forms you need for organizing your research material. In fact, there are several forms here that are new and could aid in improving research techniques by recording notes not usually considered important enough to keep."
-- Damon Veach, "Lousiana Ancestors", The Sunday Advocate Magazine, 23 March 2008
"If you have been wishing for a genealogical form which you could complete on the computer, I have just the CD for you."
-- Carolyn Ericson, "Kissin' Kuzzins", The Daily Sentinel, April 13, 2008
"[G]enealogists of all experience levels can appreciate the practical function of Hait's CD."
-- Marleta Childs, Kinsearching, 11 May 2008
"...a nifty little CD with more than twenty time-saving and useful PDF files for the genealogist. A price of $20 for the reproducible research forms is reasonable as this CD took considerable effort, extensive research, and expensive software to create. ... The ability to treat the PDFs as printable forms or forms you fill in on the computer is a real plus. ... This collection of forms will help you organize and analyze your genealogy data both at your computer and in research locations. It is well worth the money."
-- Elizabeth Powell Crowe, Digital Genealogist, Vol. 2, No. 5, September/October 2008
"Those who use paper charts and forms while researching in repositories may want to consider buying the Family History Research Toolkit by Michael Hait."
-- Wevonneda Minis, The [Charleston] Post and Courier, 30 September 2008
"If you are just starting to research your family's roots or you've been at it for years but need a better way of performing your research, you really need to check out the forms in The Family History Research Toolkit. .... You'll be amazed at how using these forms can help you become more disciplined in your approach to research and hopefully break down those brick walls we all encounter!"
-- Thomas MacEntee, Genealogy and Technology Examiner, 26 May 2009
"What makes these forms truly exiting is that they are not just 'print and fill in by hand' pdfs. Instead, they allow you to fill in the form on your computer. How wonderful! This ability to complete forms on your PC or laptop means that you can take organized notes while you research.... I intend to put several of these forms to immediate use and will thoroughly enjoy being able to engage in one of my favorite pastimes - completing forms - on my laptop as I'm researching. I recommend The Family History Research Toolkit to everyone who wants to organize their research and their research files more effectively."
-- Carolyn L. Barkley, GenealogyandFamilyHistory.com, 28 May 2009
"The main reason I wanted to share is that you can digitally fill in and share them by email which is one of the biggest thing Genealogy Researchers do, is share."
-- Tammy Evans, Genealogy Simple & Fun blog, 13 June 2009
Click here to order from Genealogical Publishing Co.