Free Family Tree Data Form

Print out our
blank family questionnaire
to get you started on your safari!

       Recently I discussed with my future daughter-in-law my interest in family history.  She expressed her own desire to trace her roots, and she asked me how she might start.  I am no expert, but I could share with her my own experiences, and how I first began collecting information.
       One of the first things I did was mail out questionnaires to family members, asking for their information, and information they might know of grandparents and other relatives. I made my own questionnaire, and while it served its purpose, there were a few things I would have changed.
       So I decided to redesign my questionnaire, and share it with not only my future daughter-in-law, but with the visitors to this site.  Of course, you can design your own, yet this form is ready for you to print out and use, eliminating some of the work.
       About the form….my original form was legal size.  At the time I thought that was a good idea, because then I could cram all the questions on one side, and leave the back blank, for notes to be added.  But I later discovered a drawback to legal vs standard paper.  As I got further along in my research, I began collecting lots of “paper”, everything from newspaper clippings to photographs.  I needed someway to organize my material, other than dumping everything into boxes.  The logical conclusion was 3-ring binders, with acid free sheet protectors.
       Unfortunately, the legal size forms needed to be folded before inserting into the sheet protectors.  It was awkward.  I have formatted these new forms to fit on two standard sheets of paper. I recommend printing the second page of the questionnaire on the backside of the first page.  If you fail to do this, and you have dozens of completed forms to review, it will be tedious to match up the correct page 1 with the correct page 2.  (I have included a place for the family name on both pages, just in case you are unable to print them on a single sheet.)
       To personalize the forms, before mailing them to family members, you can write their name after the “Dear” on page 1.  Then write the name of the family you are collecting information on.  For example, if your grandparents were Steve and Jane Smith,  and you wanted to send a questionnaire to your Uncle John, the son of Steve and Jane Smith...where it says “Vital Statistics for the family”, you would write Steve and Jane Smith (on both pages).
       If you also wanted information on your Uncle John’s family, you would send him a second set, with his and his wife’s name instead of your grandparents.  And if your grandfather (or uncle) had a second (or third) marriage, you would send them a separate set for each marriage/relationship that produced offspring.
       Don’t forget to put your name on page one, after the “Thanks for your help”, and your return address at the bottom of page two. 
       You may want to include self addressed stamped, return envelopes with the forms.  When they are returned to you, you can slip each set into a clear sheet protector, and store it in a three ring binder, until you are ready to enter that information into your genealogy software.  - 2007


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