Genealogy Planner Spreadsheet, Family Tree Chart and Genealogy Research Log: Ancestors, Census, DNA Matches, Sources, Google Sheets Excel

A family tree spreadsheet and genealogy research tracker. Your ancestors by number, a family tree that draws itself, a research log that remembers dead ends, sources, a census grid, DNA matches, to-dos and the records you ordered are in one file.

🔗 TRY THE LIVE DEMO before you buy (view only, nothing to install): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pWN72nNRYlp-kRtqSVxA5a3LGRB_OYUe5cDpExtuS1s/edit?gid=1516469168

Number each ancestor the way genealogists do and it names the relationship, like 2nd great-grandmother, and keeps the side of the family.
Log a search that came up empty, and the next time you are about to repeat it, the file tells you.

📊 WHAT IT DOES

✓ Ancestors: everyone with the years and places you know and how sure you are. Relationship, sources and census found fill in, and a brick wall shows how many searches you have logged against it.
✓ Family Tree: five generations draw themselves from the numbers, with brick walls in red and proven people in green.
✓ Research Log: every search with the site, the record and the result: Found, Partial, Negative or Planned. A repeated dead end gets a warning.
✓ Sources: every record with a citation you could find again, and how close it was to the event: original, derivative or authored.
✓ Census: each ancestor against every US census from 1850 to 1950. A square says missing when they were alive and in the US but not found yet.
✓ DNA Matches: shared cM, the likely relationship, the side, the common ancestor, and who has not answered your message.
✓ To-Do and Records: research questions with dates, and the certificates you ordered with how long you have waited.
✓ Progress: any month on one page, from searches and finds to sources, messages and records. Good for a family update.

📂 WHAT'S INSIDE: 12 TABS AND 28 CHARTS

✓ Start with these three: Start here, Ancestors, Family Tree
✓ Every session: Home, Research Log, Sources, Census
✓ Leads: DNA Matches, To-Do, Records
✓ Look back: Progress, Settings

📝 HOW IT WORKS

1. Open the PDF and click the link to make your own copy in Google Sheets. Or open the Excel file.
2. On Ancestors, add yourself as number 1, your father as 2 and your mother as 3, with the years you know.
3. Keep going back: a father is always double the number, a mother double plus one. Family Tree fills in.
4. Log each search on Research Log and each record on Sources. Census and Home follow by themselves.

📥 WHAT YOU GET

✓ Google Sheets version (the link is in the PDF)
✓ Excel version (.xlsx) for desktop Excel 2016 or newer and Microsoft 365, on Windows or Mac
✓ A filled example to look around, and a blank copy for your own family
✓ A PDF guide: a picture of every tab and your first five minutes, step by step
✓ A video guide for this planner (the link is in the PDF)

💻 GOOD TO KNOW

✓ Works with a free Google account. Nothing to install, no subscription, no monthly app fee.
✓ Formulas are protected, so you can't break anything by accident.
✓ Every list shows an ancestor as name and birth year, so two people with the same name never get mixed up.
✓ A research workspace, not a tree host: nothing syncs with Ancestry or FamilySearch, no GEDCOM import.
✓ DNA relationships follow the published Shared cM Project ranges and are a starting guess, not a result.
✓ The census grid covers the US federal censuses from 1850 to 1950; 1890 is left out because almost all of it burned.
✓ Room for 120 ancestors, 1,000 searches, 600 sources, 300 DNA matches, 100 to-dos and 60 record orders.
✓ Set it up on a computer in a few minutes. After that, the Google Sheets app works for a quick look on your phone.
✓ The photos show Google Sheets. The Excel file has the same tabs and formulas.
✓ Free updates for life.

This is a digital download, so nothing is shipped. If anything is unclear after you buy, message me and I'll help you set it up.