Research Tools

If you are interested in Caperton Genealogy but don't know where to start I have included a few items in the toolbox here to help you get started. First and foremost you will want a computer program to keep track of the information you collect. For beginners I heartily recommend Personal Ancestral File 5.0 this is a free computer program that can be found here

This is a great package and in fact is the package I used to create the family history Web pages found on this site.

If you are interested in keeping your family history in a paper based format, the blank forms listed below may be of interest to you. Note that all of the forms are in Adobe's PDF format so you will need Acrobat Reader in order to open the document. If you don't have Acrobat Reader and want to obtain a free copy of it click the logo below.

Definitions - Definitions of words you may come across in your genealogical wanderings.
Cousin Finder - Ever wonder how you were related to a distant relative? this chart can help.
Family Group Sheet - Vertical format. This form allows you to record information on one specific family.
Family Group Sheet - Another Family Group Sheet of a slightly different style.
Pedigree Chart - Vertical Format of a Pedigree chart (without background image)
Pedigree Chart - Tree Background. A pedigree chart with the faint image of a tree in the background
Census Record Form - Allows you to track a specifc family across several U.S. censuses.
Research Log - A Genealogy Research Log Sheet you can use to keep track of your research wanderings.
Marriage Log - Used to keep track of where you found all those marriage records.
Cemetery Log - Used to record location and inscriptions of headstones.