Family history starter kit for beginners: Write down what you know. Then see what the records say.

Yes, and they’re good. FamilySearch, the National Archives, Ancestry and others offer free blank charts. What the kit adds is the order to do things in, plain instructions with a worked example on every step, the three marks, and a directory that labels exactly what each source lets you do for free.

No. The kit is built around sources that are free to use: FamilySearch, national archives, libraries and volunteer projects. The directory labels what each one lets you do without paying. If you ever decide a subscription is worth it, the guide explains how to try one without being caught by an automatic renewal.

Yes. The first four sittings use only paper and conversation. When you do go online, the guide walks you through making a free FamilySearch account and how search forms work, in plain words. Everything can be printed.

Yes. The forms PDF has 1,129 fillable fields: click a line to type, and click a circle to fill it. In Firefox and with PDFKit, we typed into the forms, filled the circles, saved them and opened them again: the entries were still there. The Research Workbook is a spreadsheet, if you’d rather type everything.

Every PDF comes in US Letter (for the United States and Canada) and A4 (for most other countries). The pages are designed for home printers, and black and white is fine. Print at “Actual size” or 100%.

Yes. Writing lines are about a third of an inch (8 mm) apart, the boxes on the Starter Map leave room for full names, and you can print as many copies of any form as you need.

You can read the PDFs on a phone or tablet, and Gumroad’s download page has a Read button that opens them in your browser. The forms and the workbook are easier on a computer or on paper. We haven’t tested typing into the forms on phones or tablets, so try the free sampler’s Starter Map on yours first: it has the same fillable fields as the kit’s.

It works beside them. The kit is PDFs and a spreadsheet, so nothing syncs or imports. Use the forms and log for your research notes, and keep your tree wherever you like.

It’s written for people in the United States and Canada, with both countries’ records covered in the guide and the directory. Because so many families came from somewhere else, the directory also includes free record sites for England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, France and Portugal, and starting points for Mexico and other countries.

They’re designed for real families. Partners don’t have to be married, children can be marked as birth, adopted, step or foster, and you can keep a separate map for a birth family and an adoptive family. The guide also has a section on handling unexpected discoveries kindly.

Seven sittings of about 45 to 60 minutes each. Do one a day, one a weekend, or whenever you have a quiet hour. There’s no deadline and no test, and after the seventh you can keep going with the same method.

Briefly and carefully. The guide explains what a DNA test can and can’t tell you, what to think about before testing, and why it doesn’t replace records. It isn’t a DNA guide, and no test is included.

No. Every example follows one invented family, labeled as fictional wherever it appears, so you can see how each form and search works without anyone’s private history being used.

Checkout happens on Gumroad, the platform that sells and delivers the kit. As soon as payment goes through, Gumroad shows your download page and emails you a receipt with a link back to it. You don’t need to create an account. Keep that email: its link always brings you back to your files.

The price is US$27. Gumroad’s checkout shows the equivalent in your local currency (you can switch back to US dollars) and adds any sales tax or VAT that applies where you live. When we checked from Ontario on 8 October 2026, it showed about CA$38, plus about CA$5 in tax. The exact amount follows the exchange rate on the day.

Yes. At checkout, switch on “Give as a gift” and enter their email address, with a personal message if you like. Gumroad emails you the receipt and emails them the download link, so tell them to look out for it. If you’re doing it together, one copy is enough: you can print the forms for yourself and your family. One person asks the questions, the other writes things down, and the first four sittings need only paper and conversation.

If the kit isn’t useful to you, reply to your Gumroad receipt email within 30 days of purchase and ask for a refund. You’ll get your money back — you don’t need to explain or return anything.

Yes. Print as many copies of the forms as you like for yourself and your family, and work on your family history together. If you lead a class, workshop or family reunion, you may print copies of the forms for the people taking part. Please don’t post the files online or resell them. The free sampler, on the other hand, can be shared with anyone.

Each directory entry shows the date it was checked. If a link stops working, search for the site’s name, and tell us by replying to your receipt email so we can correct it.