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A free research worksheet for historical places

Genealogy locality guide.

Put the place, period and research question together. Keep historical names, maps, record coverage and repository references beside the sources you checked, then choose the next useful search.

Up to 20 localities · Text download · Blank or filled printing · No account

Getting the worksheet ready…

Your locality notes stay in this page’s memory. They are not uploaded or autosaved: refreshing or closing clears them. Download text or print before leaving. Keep the sources and dates beside your place notes.

Gather the place and the sources you need

Start with one historical locality and add up to twenty. Keep names, dates, record coverage and repository references together. Every field is optional.

Place 1

Give this historical place or research area a short label. An unnamed locality can still be kept.

Keep the people, date range and question that make this locality relevant. Leave a possible residence or identity match open until checked.

Record the names used in the sources, with the dates and the source for each. Mark a proposed modern match as uncertain until checked.

Note the town, county, state or other jurisdiction for the period you need. Keep dated evidence for a boundary or administrative change and leave unchecked details open.

Keep a map title, date, creator and locator or public link, plus what you actually observed. Distinguish a geographic clue from a conclusion about a person.

List the collections that may answer your question, their dates, catalog references and the part you have checked. Identify an index, image collection or original separately.

Keep documented gaps, losses or access restrictions with their sources and check dates. A missing online result alone does not prove the original record is missing.

Note who holds the material now, with a public catalog or collection reference. Check the specific repository’s current instructions separately before a visit or request.

Keep the sources for your locality notes, such as a history, catalog or dated map, and when you checked them. This worksheet does not verify links or holdings.

Choose the next source or unresolved location question to investigate. Separate a planned search from a result you have actually checked.

Genealogy locality guide

Keep the historical place, record coverage, repositories and sources together.

Made with MemoirWell · memoirwell.com/tools/genealogy-locality-guide

Place 1

Locality label — place 1

People, period and research question — place 1

Historical place names and spellings — place 1

Jurisdictions and boundary changes to check — place 1

Maps and geographic clues — place 1

Record groups and date coverage — place 1

Missing records and access limits — place 1

Repositories and catalog references — place 1

Information sources and dates checked — place 1

Priorities and the next check — place 1

Build a guide for the place and period you need

Start with a town, county or other research area and a specific historical question. Keep the date range visible when you note a place name or jurisdiction. Record the collections that could help, their coverage and where you found the information, leaving unchecked details open.

In Janet McNaughton’s location-resource-guide handout hosted by Santa Cruz Public Libraries, the guide is organized around research questions and a particular place, bringing sources, repositories and maps together. The Library of Congress’s getting-started guidance recommends detailed locations and points to county and state records, geographic research guides and local histories. This original worksheet gives you space for your own references; it does not provide a ready-made guide to a specific county.

Put the date beside the place

A modern place name may lead you to a different historical name or jurisdiction. Note what you have actually checked, with a dated map or other source, and keep any possible match labeled as uncertain. A locality clue alone does not establish that a particular person lived there.

Keep collections and repositories separate

A collection description, an online index and an original register are different things to consult. Keep their titles, date coverage and precise catalog references. Record documented gaps and the source for an access limit. Before visiting or requesting material, check the current instructions of the repository that holds it; no availability check or request is made here.

A fictional example

Area: Invented Example Township, around 1900. Question: Which local records could help identify Jo’s household? Notes: An invented catalog uses an earlier county label; the relevant jurisdiction is still unconfirmed. Sources to check: A dated map, the catalog’s collection description and a local history. Next step: Check the boundary dates and the collection’s actual coverage before searching for the family.

Before you save your locality guide

Is this a free printable genealogy locality guide template?

Yes. Type a guide for one historical locality and add up to twenty, or print one blank worksheet with handwriting lines. Filled text and printing include localities with something entered, even without a label, and retain their original numbers. Untouched extras are skipped.

Does it find places, maps or records automatically?

You do the research yourself. This worksheet does not geocode a location, search collections, retrieve maps, verify boundaries, open your links, contact a repository, upload files or run AI. Keep sources beside your notes so you can check and extend them.

What if I am unsure which county or place I need?

Write the place as the source gives it, keep its date and reference, and label the uncertainty. Note a map, history or catalog to compare next. Keep a proposed match separate from a checked jurisdiction or record location.

Are my notes uploaded or saved automatically?

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 and PDF copies cannot be reopened here as editable guides.

Can I print from editing or save a PDF?

Yes. Choose Review my sheet, then Print or save PDF, or use your browser’s print command while editing. Check Letter or A4 in the preview. Each further locality starts on a new page, and long notes can continue onto additional pages. Field labels keep their place number.

Keep a remembered story beside your research

Save your guide first. MemoirWell’s separate guided interview can help you develop your own memory into an AI-assisted draft chapter to check and edit. These locality notes are not transferred automatically.

Start a free first chapter

Download or print your guide before leaving this page.