A free record of family-history conversations and requests
Genealogy correspondence log you can fill in and print.
Keep a question to a relative, library or archive beside the reply, its source and the next question. Return to the conversation with the details still attached.
Up to 20 contact records · Manual statuses and source notes · Text download · Blank or filled printing · No account
Getting the worksheet ready…
Remember what you asked and what came back
Use one entry for a request or conversation. Record the person or organization, date, method and question. When a reply arrives, add its date and wording to the reply notes, identify where your copy is kept and choose your own next step. You can record a source or a status before you know the contact’s name.
The Family Tree Magazine research-forms catalog lists separate correspondence logs for research requests to libraries and archives and for requests involving family members. The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library genealogy resources also list a correspondence log among their printable worksheets. This original MemoirWell log gives you room for the question, reply and source uncertainty in the same entry.
A reply can be useful and still need checking
Keep a remembered date, a transcription and your interpretation separate. For example, “Jo remembers a move around 1948” preserves who supplied the date and how precise it is. A record reference in a reply can become your next search; the reply itself does not establish that every detail is correct.
A fictional example
Research family: Zebulon. Person or organization: Example County Library. Contact date: November 3. Method: Email, my saved copy titled “directory question.” Question: Does the local collection include an Exampletown directory for around 1940? Status: Reply recorded. Reply notes: The librarian identified a directory volume, but I have not read it. Source and uncertainty: Reply saved in my research folder; identity and address not yet checked. Next step: Consult the volume and record the page reference.
Before you save the log
Is this a free printable genealogy correspondence log?
Yes. Print a blank entry with writing lines, or fill in your own notes first. Filled printing and TXT include entries with text or a recorded status and skip untouched entries. A source-only or status-only entry is included even without a contact name.
Will the log send a request or check for replies?
No. This is a manual worksheet. You arrange your own conversations or correspondence and update statuses yourself. Planned, Awaiting reply, Reply recorded and Closed are your notes, not delivery confirmations or reminders.
How does it differ from a genealogy research log?
This log follows contact with people or organizations: what you asked, what they said and where the reply is kept. The separate genealogy research log follows individual record searches and their results. You can use a reply’s record reference as the starting point for a search.
Are my notes uploaded or saved?
They stay only in this page’s memory. They are not uploaded or autosaved; refreshing or closing clears them. Download text or print before leaving. Saved TXT or PDF copies cannot be reopened here as an editable log. Include only details you want in your saved copy.
Can I print before all contacts have replied?
Yes. Choose Review my log, then Print or save PDF. Browser-menu printing also works from the editor. Choose Letter or A4 and check the preview. Each included contact starts a new printed entry; long replies can continue onto later pages with the contact number beside each field label.
Keep the family story behind the reply
Save your log first. MemoirWell’s separate guided interview can help you develop your own memory into an AI-assisted draft chapter to check and edit. These correspondence notes are not transferred automatically.
Start a free first chapterDownload or print your log before leaving this page.