Family group sheet (free printable genealogy form)
A family group sheet records one family in detail: both partners with their birth, death and parents, the marriage, and up to eight children with their dates and spouses. Genealogists keep one sheet for every couple in their tree, alongside the pedigree chart.
Updated
What makes a good sheet
Write the source next to each fact, even just "birth certificate" or "Aunt Rosa, 2024", because a date with no source is hard to trust later. Write places from small to large (town, county, state) and use full dates, such as 12 Mar 1931. If someone had more than one marriage, use one sheet per couple rather than squeezing it all on one. If a family had more than eight children, continue on a second sheet and number the children straight on.
What is on this template
- Both partners: name, birth and death with places, parents
- Marriage date and place
- A table for 8 children: name, born, died, spouse
- Lines for notes and sources, portrait Letter or A4
How to fill it in
- Print at 100% ("Actual size"). A plain-paper draft first saves spoiling the good copy.
- Fill in one sheet per couple: both partners first, then the marriage, then the children from oldest to youngest. Note where each fact comes from in the sources lines.
- Write full dates the genealogy way, like 12 Mar 1931, so nobody mixes up the day and the month.
Want to draw your direct ancestors instead? The family tree maker prints a family tree, fan chart or pedigree chart from the names you type.
Why genealogists use family group sheets
A pedigree chart shows who your ancestors were; a family group sheet shows the whole family around one couple, with every child, every date and, most importantly, where each fact came from. Brothers and sisters often hold the key to a line: a sibling's death certificate or obituary may name the parents when your own ancestor's does not.
How to cite a source on the sheet
Write enough for someone else to find the record again: what it is, whose it is, where it is and when you saw it. For example: "Death certificate of Rosa Garcia, 1987, Cook County, Illinois, copy from the county clerk", or "Interview with Aunt Rosa, March 2024". A fact with a source can be trusted and checked; a fact without one has to be found again later.
Questions
What is a family group sheet?
A genealogy form for one couple and their children: names, dates and places of birth, marriage and death, each partner's parents, and the sources for every fact.
Do I need one for every couple?
Yes, one sheet per couple. Someone who married twice gets a sheet for each marriage, with the children of that marriage.
How does it link to a pedigree chart?
Write the pedigree chart numbers of the couple at the top of the sheet. Then the sheet and the chart point to each other.
