Timelines are a big help in family history research. A timeline can be simple or complex. Several of the personal ancestral programs and many websites have a template to help set up a timeline. I generally use a paper and pencil because that is how I think best. It doesn't matter how you do it. A timeline helps you see what you know about your family and where you need to look to fill in the blanks. Here is a brief example.
My Grandma told her children that her father was born in Clay County, Missouri, in 1832. He brought his family to Albion, Cassia, Idaho, from Daviess County, Missouri, in 1875. He died in Albion in 1898. Grandma spoke of her half brother, Charles. So......
1832 Charles Monroe Gray, (CMG) born 8 August 1832 in Clay County, Missouri.
1875 Charles and Sarah Elizabeth Stephenson came to Albion, Cassia,Idaho.
1898 Charles died in Albion on 25 Sept 1898 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery.
Three events, but they give us a lot of clues as to where to research. Census records are always a good place to start. The 1850 census was the first one to list each person by name, age and place of birth. It does not show relationships. In the olden days, we would have had to search both counties (hopefully no more) name by name on the old microfilm machines. Now we simply do a search in Ancestry.com and find Charles in the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses. The 1890 census was destroyed.
Our timeline can be updated with lots of new information.
1832 CMG born in Clay County, Missouri
1850 CMG living with his parents, James and Mary Gray, in Daviess County, MO.
1860 CMG in Daviess County, Missouri. Wife, Susan. Children listed
1870 CMG in Daviess County, MO. Wife, Susan. Some children added,others gone.
1875 CMG and Sarah come to Albion
1880 CMG in Albion, Cassia, Idaho. Wife, Sarah. Children, some different.
What can we see now from our timeline?
Charles was married, likely in Daviess County, by 1860, to Susan. Susan died between 1870 and 1875 and within that same period of time, he remarried. A search of the marriage records of Daviess County shows both marriages.
A distant cousin had an old handwritten record giving the births and deaths of Charles' family members. Susan's death is recorded as 7:32 P.M., showing that the person who recorded it had personal knowledge of her passing.
Historical Context is also important in developing a timeine. What historical things happened during his his lifetime that would have influenced his life? The Civil War and the movement westward. Again an Internet search reveals his military record and details of his service. So.....here is an abbreviated timeline of what we now know.
1830 James and Mary (Polly) Gray married in Clay, Missouri
1832 CMG born in Clay County, Missouri
1832-1850 Polly and James moved to Daviess, MO.
1852 Monroe Gray and Susanna Morgan married in Daviess, MO
1854-1863 Five children born, three died as infants or toddlers
1863 CMG mustered into the 23rd Missouri Volunteers, captured at Shiloh,
POW camp in Georgia, Prisioner exchange, home briefly.
1864 Marched with Sherman across Georgia, mustered out before Atlanta
1872 Susan died, Charles married Sarah, daughter Rebecca died.
1874 Son Theodore born. Susan's brothers and Sarah's uncle go west.
1875 Family comes to Ogden via train heading for Oregon, end up in Albion
1880 More children born. Older children marry and leave home
1880-1898 Albion records show CMG as a county commissioner, Mason, carpenter, etc.
1898 Cousin shares story about CMG's death of heart attack, tombstone, will at the courthouse in Burley lists his living children and their residence.
You can see that the timeline guided us as to when and where to search for records. If we know that Charles moved to Idaho by 1875 then we won't be looking for his records in Missouri during that time. The 1850 census proved his parents' identity and we found their marriage record in Clay. History books, local histories, etc. can also add a lot of information. For example, Grandma wrote that her family came by train to Ogden, but history tells us that the transcontinental railroad was completed by 1869, so they obviously wouldn't have come across the plains by wagon train.
I use a timeline for research and also as an outline as I write histories. The timeline is really just an abbreviated outline of one's life.
My Grandma told her children that her father was born in Clay County, Missouri, in 1832. He brought his family to Albion, Cassia, Idaho, from Daviess County, Missouri, in 1875. He died in Albion in 1898. Grandma spoke of her half brother, Charles. So......
1832 Charles Monroe Gray, (CMG) born 8 August 1832 in Clay County, Missouri.
1875 Charles and Sarah Elizabeth Stephenson came to Albion, Cassia,Idaho.
1898 Charles died in Albion on 25 Sept 1898 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery.
Three events, but they give us a lot of clues as to where to research. Census records are always a good place to start. The 1850 census was the first one to list each person by name, age and place of birth. It does not show relationships. In the olden days, we would have had to search both counties (hopefully no more) name by name on the old microfilm machines. Now we simply do a search in Ancestry.com and find Charles in the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses. The 1890 census was destroyed.
Our timeline can be updated with lots of new information.
1832 CMG born in Clay County, Missouri
1850 CMG living with his parents, James and Mary Gray, in Daviess County, MO.
1860 CMG in Daviess County, Missouri. Wife, Susan. Children listed
1870 CMG in Daviess County, MO. Wife, Susan. Some children added,others gone.
1875 CMG and Sarah come to Albion
1880 CMG in Albion, Cassia, Idaho. Wife, Sarah. Children, some different.
What can we see now from our timeline?
Charles was married, likely in Daviess County, by 1860, to Susan. Susan died between 1870 and 1875 and within that same period of time, he remarried. A search of the marriage records of Daviess County shows both marriages.
A distant cousin had an old handwritten record giving the births and deaths of Charles' family members. Susan's death is recorded as 7:32 P.M., showing that the person who recorded it had personal knowledge of her passing.
Historical Context is also important in developing a timeine. What historical things happened during his his lifetime that would have influenced his life? The Civil War and the movement westward. Again an Internet search reveals his military record and details of his service. So.....here is an abbreviated timeline of what we now know.
1830 James and Mary (Polly) Gray married in Clay, Missouri
1832 CMG born in Clay County, Missouri
1832-1850 Polly and James moved to Daviess, MO.
1852 Monroe Gray and Susanna Morgan married in Daviess, MO
1854-1863 Five children born, three died as infants or toddlers
1863 CMG mustered into the 23rd Missouri Volunteers, captured at Shiloh,
POW camp in Georgia, Prisioner exchange, home briefly.
1864 Marched with Sherman across Georgia, mustered out before Atlanta
1872 Susan died, Charles married Sarah, daughter Rebecca died.
1874 Son Theodore born. Susan's brothers and Sarah's uncle go west.
1875 Family comes to Ogden via train heading for Oregon, end up in Albion
1880 More children born. Older children marry and leave home
1880-1898 Albion records show CMG as a county commissioner, Mason, carpenter, etc.
1898 Cousin shares story about CMG's death of heart attack, tombstone, will at the courthouse in Burley lists his living children and their residence.
You can see that the timeline guided us as to when and where to search for records. If we know that Charles moved to Idaho by 1875 then we won't be looking for his records in Missouri during that time. The 1850 census proved his parents' identity and we found their marriage record in Clay. History books, local histories, etc. can also add a lot of information. For example, Grandma wrote that her family came by train to Ogden, but history tells us that the transcontinental railroad was completed by 1869, so they obviously wouldn't have come across the plains by wagon train.
I use a timeline for research and also as an outline as I write histories. The timeline is really just an abbreviated outline of one's life.
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