6 Ways Timelines Can Help with Genealogy Research

It does not
take long to accumulate an abundance of papers, records, photos, and other
materials while researching an ancestor. 
In the process, you may even lose track of what you were actually trying
to discover.  Creating a timeline can
help you stay focused on your original objective.

If you have never used a timeline before in your research,
you might choose to do so after you read through the following six ways they
can facilitate your research:

1. 
Timelines can help you keep track of where your ancestor was living when
important events occurred.  If your ancestor did not live in the
same place throughout his or her life, records to document the births of
children may be located in different places. 
If local geographical boundaries — or even international borders — changed
during your ancestor’s life, finding records can be more difficult.  A timeline is a good visual that helps you monitor
those various locales in which your ancestor conducted his daily life.

2. Timelines can help you keep track
of each piece of evidence that you discover about your ancestor. 
You should extract the date and place for every event that you document,
and add it to your ancestor’s timeline.  By
cataloguing the evidence in this way, you will notice any discrepancies in
dates and/or places.  Timelines will also
help ensure that you are following the correct line and greatly reduce the possibility
of inadvertently tracing the line of another unrelated individual with the same
name as your ancestor.

3. Timelines can help you recognize when
pieces of evidence contradict each other. 
Sometimes you
will find more than one reference to an event or you may find your ancestor
mentioned in more than one record.  If
these records cite different dates or if your ancestor’s name is spelled
differently, you will want to add each individual reference to your timeline,
and create a separate timeline when dates, places or names begin to diverge.  With experience, you will begin to more
easily identify discrepancies in records.

4. Timelines can reveal gaps in your
research or time periods for which you are lacking information about your
ancestor.  With a timeline, it is easier to spot gaps
between birth and death that may require additional research effort.

5. Timelines help you identify local
events that impacted your ancestor’s life. 
By comparing
your ancestor’s timeline to the dates when local events occurred (or even
national or international events of historical import), and then studying those
periods of time, you will gain greater insight into the daily lives of your
ancestors.

6. Timelines help you identify
historical records that might include mention of your ancestor. 
Search out local records that were generated during the time between the
birth and death of your ancestor.  Many local,
civic or parish libraries compiled histories of their residents or
congregants.  Perhaps you will find the
name of your ancestor included there, and open a new chapter on his or her life
story.

Often when
doing research for clients, Genealogists.com uses timelines to help ensure that
we successfully accomplish your project’s objectives.  Next time you are researching an ancestor,
you may want to create a timeline.  You
might be surprised how very helpful they can be.