WHAT ARE FAMILY GROUP SHEETS?
  
  The family group sheet is one of the most handy tools ever
  invented for the genealogist.  It is second only to the familiar
  pedigree chart (aka ancestor chart) in usefulness and popularity. 
  There are many different formats which have been published over
  the past fifty years or so, but each form concerns the family
  unit - husband, wife, and children.  There are spaces for births,
  deaths, and marriages, and usually some room is provided for
  notes and sources.  Most versions call for the name and address
  of the person filling in the form.
  
  While the pedigree chart maps out the skeleton of a genealogy,
  the family group sheet provides the details.  The first of three
  essential uses for this ubiquitous tool is as an intermediary
  between raw data and a finished manuscript.  Many people have
  prepared very extensive family histories by simply filling in the
  blanks on family group sheets.   Secondly, the family group sheet
  serves as a guide when gathering information.  At a quick glance
  it is easy to see what information is known and what is missing. 
  As soon as the blanks are filled in for the parents and for each
  of the children, complete with some form of documentation, work
  can proceed to the next generation.  Many people gather data from
  relatives by sending a blank form to each aunt, uncle, and
  cousin, asking them to return the original or a copy when
  completed.
  
  A third and very important use for the family group sheet is as a
  means of exchanging information with other researchers.  It is a
  good idea to balance your efforts by spending 50% of your effort
  doing original research and 50% trading with other family
  historians.  A great way to accomplish the trades in an efficient
  manner is to swap photocopies of family group sheets.  Realizing
  this, I started a clearinghouse for several of my ancestral
  surnames in 1974.  I called it the Cooperative Research Exchange,
  or CORE.  Then in 1981 I expanded the concept to include all
  American (U.S.) surnames and called it the Family Group Sheet
  Exchange.  That was the beginning of a service which other
  individuals have attempted to mimic (without permission I might
  add).  We now have hundreds of thousands of family group records
  in our paper files, with more being added on a weekly basis.  We
  have by far the largest collection of its kind anywhere.
  
  There has never been a charge to contribute sheets to the
  Exchange.  It is supported solely by fees charged for photocopies
  of the batches of sheets.  Contributors realize that by sending
  in their information, everyone wins.  The contributor benefits by
  preserving the data and years of research effort, and also
  because the data immediately goes to work as free advertising of
  his or her research interests.  As other people order and obtain
  the sheets, they will write back to the originator.  This benefit
  continues year after year, with no additional input required,
  except perhaps to send a change of address or updated sheets if
  new information is discovered.
  
  Here are some excerpts from our Family Group Sheet Exchange
  Newsletter:  
  
  LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP DEFINED   
  Anyone who participates in FGSE by ordering copies from our files
  is considered a lifetime member, with the following FREE
  privileges:
  
  ***You may send as many family group sheets to our files as you
  wish, under any surname, for families who lived in the U.S.A. 
  Free to members!  Don't fail to take full advantage of this
  benefit!  You will get a tremendous amount of advertising of your
  interests and may make contact with someone with whom you can
  exchange information.
  
  ***Your surnames will be advertised in the Genealogical Helper
  and in other publications or in our direct mail advertising,
  thereby attracting other members under the same surnames.  This
  exposure goes on continuously and indefinitely, reaching hundreds
  of thousands of genealogists!
  
  HAVING YOUR RECORDS DISTRIBUTED IS A GREAT WAY TO CONTACT COUSINS
  WHO MAY HAVE JUST THE DATA YOU NEED.  YOU NOW HAVE THE
  OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF ANCESTRAL FAMILIES.  YOU
  NEED ONLY PARTICIPATE.
  
  Our purpose is to coordinate current research and to build upon
  the past efforts of other genealogists.  While FGSE is not a
  substitute for original research, why repeat the same research?
  We sincerely believe that participation in FGSE will greatly
  increase your chances for success in genealogy.
  
  BE SURE TO CONTACT OTHERS RESEARCHING YOUR FAMILY NAME   
  Write to those who prepared family group sheets on your surnames,
  especially if the families lived in the same area as your
  ancestors.  You may be able to obtain useful data.  Many report
  great success after such an attempt:  "I must say that I found my
  first experience with you quite rewarding.  The sheets did not
  give me what I wanted, but they put me in contact with a lady
  that had a book with what I wanted.  She was the first person I
  wrote to from the family sheets."  --Mrs. Elizabeth May, Toledo,
  OH
  
  THE VISION OF FGSE   
  "We hope you can catch the vision of what FGSE can be.  Family
  group sheets are the distilled essence of genealogical research,
  often compiled from many different sources over a period of
  several years.  FGSE not only preserves information, but also
  makes it accessible.  By filing your sheets with FGSE you can
  help others twenty years from now, when you may have passed on or
  lost interest in genealogy.  Your FGSE records will be preserved
  indefinitely.  
  
  "How often have you answered a query in some genealogical
  magazine and got no response?  How often have you been
  disappointed to learn that the writer of a query was deceased,
  and all papers thrown away?  How many times has a letter come
  back marked "Moved - Unable to Forward"?  The point is that FGSE
  offers many advantages over the traditional "query" advertising
  methods.  Five years from now you will be able to obtain the
  records of people working on genealogy TODAY". -From the FGSE
  Newsletter Oct 1982