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TIMELINES AND MAPS

© Christine Sievers

When you get to a brick wall on an ancestor, it sometimes helps to step back and get a visual picture of their life. There are two simple ways to do that- a timeline and a map.

For my time line, I use a sheet of three-holed, lined paper. I turn the paper sideways, starting at the bottom of the page, and write the death date of this ancestor in the margin space. If I don't have the death date, I start with a likely date. Then I go up the margin, leaving two spaces for each year, enough room to add information and the source. To get to the ancestors birth date, or possible birth date, will usually take at least two pages.

When the dates are in place, I go through all the documents I have that mention this ancestor and write the event and source. I use pencil so I can change events when I need to. When you have conflicting dates on your various documentation, a timeline can help resolve some of these.

After, I have entered the information about this ancestor, I add information on the spouse, children, and siblings. I can then add another page going forward, or add dates previous to this ancestors birth. Then, I sit back and take a look at the picture it has made, paying attention to the holes in the timeline. From there, I begin to see what data I still need to look for.

Then I use an outline map to mark where my ancestor has migrated. At http://www.eduplace.com/ss/ssmaps/ you can find outline maps that you can run off on your printer. Taken together, these two visuals- a timeline and a map- can help you begin to see possible trails of information that you might have missed.

Timelines are a great genealogical tool, giving us another way to organize the reams of data we have gathered. Their uses are limited only by your imagination. Here are some ideas I have come up with:

1. Add historical events to understand your ancestor's life better.

2. Make a location timeline for your ancestor, entering in where he was for each date.

3. Keep your cousins straight by entering their date of birth on a timeline and putting your common ancestor in parenthesis.

Maps are another tool that help to make our ancestors real. You can put a large world map on the wall and use different colored pins to chart the location of your ancestors and extended family.