Family historians are accustomed to using charts and forms to organize their research. Ancestor charts, family group sheets, Ahnentafel charts, and descendant lists are standard tools of the trade. Genealogists use software programs to create these charts, with many programs offering a wide range of formatting options.

Among the options that many programs offer is a timeline. There are even separate add-on programs that will take the data and convert it into a timeline format. While not as commonly used as an ancestor chart or a family group sheet, a timeline can be an excellent tool.

The usefulness of a timeline may not be immediately apparent. After all, genealogists are familiar with reading ancestor charts and family group sheets. While they can be compared to the lives of two people, they may not be the best charts to use if several people are being compared or if the people are not related. Details can be overlooked in the lines of text on a family group sheet, but a timeline–with its colors and bars–literally diagrams a person’s life.

The graphical format of a timeline, as opposed to traditional text-based charts, can be an aid to research and analysis. Suddenly, it can be very obvious that a mother was over 50 years old when her last child was born or that there was a ten-year span between the births of two children. Both of these items should be clues for further research. Was the last child actually a grandchild? In those ten years, was there a child who died in infancy? The different format of a timeline can make these details more obvious.

Some programs allow users to add historical events to a timeline, which can give clues for further research. They can also give historical context to the family by allowing the researcher to add events that were happening around the family. It is very easy to be overwhelmed with historical events. Careful researchers will include only those events that affected the family. If the family was living in the United States during the Civil War, it would be hard for them not to be affected.

As with other charts, every genealogical program handles timelines differently. Let’s take a look at some popular programs and see how they handle this useful tool.

Timelines in FTM 8.0 are fairly basic. People are listed in alphabetical order. Users have the option of including any information they have entered on the family page. All the individuals in a database can be included, or users can select ancestors and/or descendants of a person. People can also be chosen individually to be included or excluded from the timeline view. Users can alter the format, including the interval of the tick marks, (The default is one tick mark for every two decades.) the flow of the years (left to right or right to left), and the appearance of fonts and boxes.

To access timeline view in FTM 8.0, click on "View," then click on "Timeline" near the bottom of the list. The buttons on the right side of the timeline view control data and formatting options. Once the timeline has the desired features, users can save the view by clicking at the top on "File," then "Save Timeline." Saved timelines can be viewed later by going to File>Open Saved View and then clicking on the name of the desired timeline.

The individuals on the chart can be arranged in several ways–sorted by birth date, death date, age, last name, or descendants. The descendant option arranges the individuals as they would appear on a traditional descendant chart with subsequent generations being indented. The use of color also assists in sorting out the generations.

Users can create a timeline by going to the family card window of the desired couple. At the top of the screen, click Charts>Timeline Chart. Several choices are offered at this point, including whether to include all individuals in the database, marked individuals only, or descendants of the current couple.

Timelines can be saved for future viewing. While in the EasyChart section, choose File>Save and give the timeline a name. This timeline can then be viewed again in EasyChart using File>Open.

The chart type of timeline can be found under Reports>Timeline. Users can adjust the format of the names, fonts, and colors used in the horizontal bars, as well as choose whether to include the entire database or selected people. If the user opts for "selected people," upon clicking "create" a new menu will appear. From here, users can select who to include in the timeline. There are many options, including individuals (even unrelated ones), descendants and/or ancestors of an individuals, etc. Individuals can also be excluded from a timeline.

The descendant and ancestor options allow the user to set the number of generations and to include spouses. Choosing to include ancestors of an individual also gives options on including just the direct line, the direct line and their spouses, or all of the ancestors and their collateral lines. Similar options exist for a timeline created for descendants of an individual.

The second type of timeline that Family Origins 9.0 can generate is a text-based list. Rather than displaying a person’s life against tick marks representing decades, it gives a chronological list of all the events entered for that person, either as an individual or with a family. It can be generated from Reports>Lists>Timeline List (Family) or Reports>Lists>Timeline List (Personal).

To find the timeline, go to Reports>Select a Report and then click on Timeline. The timeline report menu gives the option of including either the ancestors or descendants of a particular person. It defaults on the person highlighted on the family view, although users may select a different individual with "Record Selection" at the bottom of the timeline menu. Users can define the number of generations to include. The Report Options button gives additional options, such as whether to include the data of living persons. Living persons can also be listed as "living" rather than by name.

Version 4.0d comes with 41 different historical timelines. There is also a function in TMG that allows users to create a customized timeline. A common custom timeline outlines dates of county creations where the family lived. Wholly Genes, makers of The Master Genealogist, encourages users to share the timelines they create and to submit them to the Wholly Genes Web site. All of the latest timelines are included with version 4.0d.

Users can select any number of timelines and apply them to specific individual(s) in the database. If applied to the entire database, the timeline will show only those events near a person’s life. For example, if a person was born in 1935, it would not show the beginning and ending of the American Civil War (1861—65).

To add a timeline, either globally or to an individual, select Tools>Timeline, then Globally Selected (to apply to the entire database) or Locked to this Person (to apply to the person currently in the person view). To see the historical events appear in person view, click on Tools>Timeline>Status or use the timeline button on the left side of the screen. Having timelines appear in the person view will slow down performance.

A printed timeline can show the historical events in addition to the events entered for that person. To print this report, click Report>Individual> Detail>Individual Detail. To include the historical timelines, go to the options 2 tab and select Timelines: Globally Selected and/or Locked to Each ID. Users have the option of generating this report for a group of people using the focus tab.

Genelines has two types of charts: biographical and relationship. The biographical charts–individual life bar and comparative life bar–use events from the person’s life. Default categories of life events include health, occupation, relationship, religious, and residential. Users can add other categories. The individual life bar shows the events for one person, while the comparative life chart simultaneously shows the life bars for two people (who need not be related). Neither type of biographical chart will show historical events.

The relationships charts–pedigree, family group, and direct descendant–take the traditional charts that family historians are accustomed to and show them in a timeline format. These types of charts allow the insertion of historical events.

Genelines is very flexible in allowing users to change formats and colors. Individuals can be moved around on the chart, if desired. This should be done judiciously however, as it could confuse relationships.

Return to the Genealogical Computing Summer 2001 Table of Contents.