Fill In the Dots

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Free printable family tree chart

A four-generation family tree chart, also called a pedigree chart, has room for you, your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents: fifteen people on one page. Download ours free in US Letter or A4, print it or type into it, and see a filled-in example below.

Last reviewed 8 October 2026By Wren & Co., from the research behind Fill In the Dots

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Download the free family tree chart

The free printable Starter Map: a four-generation family tree chart with fifteen numbered boxes and a circle beside every date and place.
The Starter Map from Fill In the Dots: one page, landscape, with a circle beside every name, date and place.
Download, US Letter PDF, 317 KB Download, A4 PDF, 341 KB

Free to print and share. No email address needed. Print landscape at “Actual size” or 100%.

What is a pedigree chart?

A pedigree chart, also called an ancestor chart, follows one person’s direct line back: parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. It shows the shape of your family at a glance. Brothers, sisters and children go on a family group sheet instead, and the two work together (FamilySearch Research Wiki).

How do I fill in a family tree chart?

  1. Write yourself in box 1, or the person whose family you’re tracing.
  2. Add parents in boxes 2 and 3, grandparents in 4 to 7, and great-grandparents in 8 to 15, as far as you can go from memory.
  3. Fill in each fact line: b. born, d. died, m. married or partnered, with the date first, then the place.
  4. Mark how you know each fact. Leave the circle empty for what someone told you ( said), fill it when you’ve seen a record ( seen), and write a question mark when you’re not sure ( not sure).
  5. Leave gaps as gaps. An empty box is the next question to research, not a mistake.

What do the numbers on a family tree chart mean?

Each person keeps a number. You are 1, your parents are 2 and 3, and anyone’s parents are double their number and double plus one: person 3’s parents are 6 and 7. The numbers let you refer to a person on any form, such as “person 6 on chart 1”.

What does a filled-in chart look like?

Illustrative example A chart filled in for the kit’s fictional example family, after one afternoon. Most facts are still said, and the question marks on the right are the research plan.

A Starter Map filled in for the kit’s fictional example family: names, dates and places across four generations, each with an empty circle, a filled circle or a question mark.
Fictional example. The Novak, Kowalski and Leblanc families are invented to show how the chart works.

How should I write names, dates and places?

  • Names: write the full name, with the surname the person was born with. Put nicknames in quotation marks, and copy spellings as you find them rather than “correcting” them.
  • Dates: day, short month, full year: 3 Feb 1929. For uncertain dates, write abt 1898 (about), bef 1935 (before) or aft 1920 (after), as FamilySearch also does.
  • Places: from small to large: town, county, state or province, then country. Borders moved, so use the place name of the time if you know it.

Can I type into the chart?

Yes. The PDF has 176 fillable spaces: 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. Save often, and keep a blank copy. US Letter suits the United States and Canada; A4 suits most other countries.

Should I use a pedigree chart or a family group sheet?

Both. The pedigree chart is your map of direct ancestors. A family group sheet records one couple and all their children, which matters because brothers’ and sisters’ records often name the parents or the hometown your direct line doesn’t. Start with the chart, then add a free family group sheet for each couple on it.

Next: how to start a family tree, and questions to ask your relatives while you fill it in.

Questions people ask

Can I add more than four generations?

Yes. When you reach the right-hand edge, start a second chart with a great-grandparent as person 1, and note on both charts where they connect. The kit includes a continuation chart for this.

What if a child was adopted, or has step-parents?

The two boxes beside each person are that person’s parents, in whichever order makes sense to you. To record more than two parents, such as birth parents and adoptive parents, use a separate chart for each line. Both are part of the story.

Is this chart for a school project?

It works for one, but it’s designed for researching real records: each fact has a circle to show how you know it.

How do I write dates and places?

Write dates as day, short month, then the full year, like 3 Feb 1929. That avoids confusion over whether 3/2/1929 means March or February. Write places from small to large: town, county, state or province, then country.

Sources

  1. Use Appropriate Forms, FamilySearch Research Wiki (edited 9 Dec 2025). Read 8 October 2026.
  2. I don’t know the exact date to enter into Family Tree, FamilySearch Help Center. Read 8 October 2026.
  3. Research Process, FamilySearch Research Wiki (edited 4 Sep 2026). Read 8 October 2026.