Cheat Sheets

The American Civil War involved about 2.75 million men serving from states in the North and South. Is one of these soldiers or sailors in your family tree? Use this easy-reference cheat sheet to discover your Union or Confederate ancestor’s Civil War...

Researching Scandinavian ancestors? You'll want to keep this at-a-glance genealogy reference close at hand. The Scandinavian Genealogy Cheat Sheet is designed to quickly deliver the information you need to understand the records of your Scandinavian...

The US federal census is an important genealogy resource for American ancestors, and one of the first widely available. Taken every 10 years since 1790, the census provides valuable personal information like names, ages, birthplaces,...

Are you researching Scottish ancestry? Keep this easy-to-use Scottish genealogy reference close at hand. It offers eight pages of helpful tips, fast-facts, quick-reference charts, and instructions on how to trace your Scottish family tree.In this...

Genealogists and historians alike love old maps! In addition to being beautiful pieces of artwork from centuries’ past, historical maps can be valuable resources for your genealogy research. Using maps, you can pinpoint your ancestor’s home...

Learn about your ancestors and their communities using historical newspapers. Newspapers were the “social media” of their day, and it’s easier to search for them than ever before. With this cheat sheet, you’ll learn how and where...

Take your research into the field! This eight-page cheat sheet download will give you a crash-course lesson in how to research your ancestors in cemeteries, with key do’s and don’ts for working with tombstones. In this handy, printable guide,...

Frustrated by your search for English ancestors? Keep calm and carry on with this detailed English genealogy guide that will help you research more effectively and efficiently. This at-a-glance fact sheet provides the basics of English genealogy,...

Records can reveal a wealth of family history details. They help you trace your family's migrations, discover exactly where they lived, document relative relationships, distinguish same-named individuals and more. But researching land records...

Digitize your research with RootsMagic! Genealogy software programs have long been among the most powerful tools in a genealogist’s arsenal, and RootsMagic (with its robust family tree and citation functions, plus its partnerships with Ancestry.com...

Researchers of African American family trees face extra challenges in finding old records about their ancestors, particularly during the era of slavery. Keep our quick-reference African American Genealogy Cheat Sheet handy as you research your Black...

Find your ancestors on the web’s largest free genealogy website! FamilySearch.org has published billions of records from across the world, and this guide is your gateway to discovering your family. With this eight-page cheat sheet download,...

Trace your Polish ancestors back to the old country! This eight-page Polish Genealogy Cheat Sheet is designed to quickly deliver the information you need to understand the records of your Polish ancestors, with quick guides to the most important...

With all the forms, checklists, records, family tree documents, and resources you use and find during research, organizing your genealogy can be difficult. This handy eight-page cheat sheet will give you the tools you need to organize...

Your ancestors' newspaper obituaries, death notices and other death announcements can be full of rich genealogical information, such as birth dates and places, death dates and places, relatives' names and relationships, funeral and...

American Indian ancestry is notoriously difficult to trace, yet many genealogists have stories of Native Americans in their family trees. This eight-page cheat sheet helps you investigate those family legends and discover your Native American...