6 Best Family Tree Books in 2026

A family tree book gives your research a permanent home. It is a notebook with printed charts and forms. You fill in each ancestor by hand, generation by generation. This list compares six family tree books sold on Amazon, from fill-in notebooks for serious research to keepsake books for the whole family.

Royal family trees on this site, such as Queen Victoria's, were built the same way: one documented generation at a time. This page is part of our monarchy guide.

TL;DR: For the most room, choose the 12-generation Our Family Tree Index. For a first tree, choose its 8-generation edition. For stories and sources, add the lined Our Family Tree Notebook. For a gift, choose Our Family Tree: A Generational History. A ring binder suits a tree that keeps growing.

#1. Our Family Tree Index, 12 Generations: best for long-term research

Our Family Tree Index: 12 Generation Genealogy Notebook

Our verdict:

Best for long-term research

Best for researchers who want room for thousands of ancestors in one book.

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• Room for 4,095 ancestors across 12 generations
• Numbered chart system links every page, per the publisher
• Fields for birth, death, marriage and notes in the first eight generations

Keep in mind: few families can fill all twelve generations, so many pages may stay blank.

Product details checked September 2026

This notebook from House Elves Anonymous is built for serious research. Its title says it holds 4,095 ancestors across 12 generations. The publisher says the first eight generations get fields for birth, death and marriage, plus notes. The last two list only names and dates. A numbered chart system links every page.

#2. Our Family Tree: A Generational History: best keepsake to fill in

Our Family Tree: A Generational History by Julie Bunton

Our verdict:

Best keepsake to fill in

Best for families who want a gift book with room for stories and photos, plus research tips.

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• Wellfleet Press hardcover of 160 pages, published in 2023
• Ancestral charts plus pages for citizenship and immigration records
• Research tips and a checklist from genealogist Sharon Leslie Morgan

Keep in mind: it has fewer ancestor slots than a dedicated genealogy notebook.

Product details checked September 2026

Julie Bunton's book is a 160-page hardcover from Wellfleet Press, published in 2023, says Vroman's Bookstore. It has ancestral charts and pages for citizenship and immigration records. It also has blank pages for photographs. The genealogist Sharon Leslie Morgan adds research tips and a checklist.

#3. Our Family Tree Index, 8 Generations: best for a first tree

Our Family Tree Index: 8 Generation Genealogy Journal

Our verdict:

Best for a first family tree

Best for beginners who want a tree they can realistically complete.

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• Room for 255 ancestors across eight generations
• Fields for name, birth, death, marriage and notes, per the publisher
• From the same series as the 12-generation notebook

Keep in mind: eight generations is enough for most families, but serious researchers will outgrow it.

Product details checked September 2026

This is the smaller edition of the House Elves Anonymous index. Its title says it holds 255 ancestors across eight generations. The publisher says each ancestor gets fields for name, birth, death and marriage, plus notes. It is the easiest book here to finish.

#4. Our Family Tree Notebook: best for stories and sources

Our Family Tree Notebook (hardcover, lined pages)

Our verdict:

Best for stories and source notes

Best for researchers who already have a chart and need room for interviews and records.

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• 238-page hardcover
• Lined pages for stories, interviews and source notes
• Numbered pedigree chart at the front and acid-free pages

Keep in mind: it is mostly lined pages, so it does not replace a chart book.

Product details checked September 2026

This hardcover runs to 238 pages, says Harvard Book Store. It is mostly lined pages for family stories, interviews, research notes and records of sources. A numbered pedigree chart sits at the front. Its pages are acid-free, so they should last. It is built to pair with the Our Family Tree Index.

#5. icceemee Family History Book: best for photos and memories

icceemee Family History Book

Our verdict:

Best for photos and memories

Best for families who want life stories and milestones alongside the tree.

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• Sections for life stories, milestones and achievements, per the listing
• Relationship diagrams for mapping the family tree
• Prompts for births, marriages, traditions and heirlooms

Keep in mind: it is a memory book first, so it holds less research detail.

Product details checked September 2026

The maker's listing describes a section for each family member's life story and milestones. It adds relationship diagrams and prompts for births and marriages. There are prompts for traditions and heirlooms too. Its title says it has room for 100 ancestors and family photos. Choose it if the stories matter more to you than the dates.

#6. 3 Ring Family History Binder: best for a tree that keeps growing

3 Ring Family History Binder with 50 Family Group Sheets

Our verdict:

Best for a tree that keeps growing

Best for researchers who want to add and replace pages.

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• Faux-leather ring binder with family group sheets and dividers, per the listing
• The maker says it holds information for up to 12 generations
• Family tree charts cover up to eight generations

Keep in mind: a binder is bulkier than a bound book and less of a keepsake.

Product details checked September 2026

The listing describes a faux-leather ring binder with 50 family group sheets and dividers. It also has family tree charts. The maker says it can hold information for up to 12 generations. Its charts cover up to eight generations. The rings let you add sheets as you find new branches, which a bound book cannot do.

Factors to consider when choosing a family tree book

• Generations. Eight generations holds 255 people. Twelve holds 4,095. Pick the size you can realistically fill.
• Chart book or story book. Chart books record names and dates. Story books record lives and photos. They keep traditions too. Many families want one of each.
• Room for sources. Good research notes where each fact came from. Check that the book has space for it.
• Bound or refillable. A bound book is a lasting keepsake. A binder lets you add and replace pages.
• Paper. Acid-free paper lasts longer, which matters if the book is meant to be handed down.

A family tree book works well beside a DNA test. A test can point you to cousins. The book is where you record what the documents prove. Our guide to the best DNA tests for ancestry explains what a kit can and cannot tell you.

How to fill in a family tree book

Start with yourself and work backwards. Fill in your parents, then your grandparents, one generation at a time. Use pencil until a fact is confirmed. Then write it in ink.

Note the source of every fact beside it. A birth certificate, a census return or a relative's memory each carry different weight. That habit is how professional genealogists work. It is also how the royal lines on this site are checked, as our royal family last name page shows.

Ask older relatives early. Names, places and stories are easiest to record while the people who remember them can still tell you.

How we picked these family tree books

We looked for books sold on Amazon that give each ancestor a fixed place in a numbered tree, or that record stories and sources beside it. We checked each book's details against its publisher's or bookseller's page, which we link. We give no prices, and we have not filled in these books by hand. The order runs from research notebooks to keepsakes and binders.

Verdict: the best family tree book for you

The best family tree book depends on how far you plan to go. For long-term research, the 12-generation Our Family Tree Index gives the most room. For a first tree, its 8-generation edition is easier to finish. Add the lined notebook for stories and sources. Choose the Generational History as a gift, and the binder if your tree keeps growing.

Sources checked for this page

• House Elves Anonymous, "Our Family Tree Index" 12-generation notebook
• House Elves Anonymous, "Our Family Tree Index" 8-generation edition
• Harvard Book Store, "Our Family Tree Notebook"
• Vroman's Bookstore, "Our Family Tree: A Generational History"

Questions people also ask

What is a family tree book?

It is a notebook with printed forms for recording your ancestors by hand: names, dates and places of birth, marriage and death, plus notes. Most use numbered charts, so each person has a fixed place in the tree.

How many generations should a family tree book cover?

Eight generations is plenty for most first trees. That already holds 255 people, counting you. Twelve generations suits long-term research, but few families can fill every slot that far back.

Should I use a book or family tree software?

Many researchers use both. Software makes searching and sharing easy. A book is easy to hand to relatives, needs no account and cannot be switched off by a company.

What should I write in a family tree book first?

Start with yourself, your parents and your grandparents, and note where each fact came from, such as a certificate or a relative's memory. Recording the source now saves hours of checking later.