When we go beyond mere collection of names and dates, we start doing true family history research, i.e., looking at how our ancestors lived and finding out why they did what they did. Timelines can help us fill in some of the blanks. An article entitled "The Times of Their Lives" by Shelley K. Bishop, published in the September 2014 issue of Family Tree Magazine, gives lots of advice about timelines. I'll provide a few highlights from her article and from my own experience.

Creating a simple timeline 1) documents what we know (births, marriages, deaths); and 2) reveals gaps in our research (missing dates, span of years without entries) or conflicting information. Timelines can do much more if one includes historical events and circumstances impacting the family. Consider events in the homeland causing them to emigrate (e.g., crop failures, military draft) or what lured them to the new place (e.g., jobs in mines or mills, the availability of land). A multitude of online sources will provide chronologies of historical events. Here are just a few:

• You could start with a Google search for the name of the place (e.g., state) plus 'history timeline';
• The "American Memory Timeline" leads you to resources of the Library of Congress at http://loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/;
• For data on historical events beyond the U.S., try http://worldhistoryproject.org/;
• More timeline information on FamilySearch, Cyndi's List, Wikipedia, etc., etc.

Let's start with a basic example of a timeline. Before my husband and I traveled to Ireland with IGSI's 2010 tour, I prepared a spreadsheet summarizing what I'd learned about each family line - to help me keep straight all the names, dates and places. Here's the beginning of my rudimentary Quinn Family timeline:

Date	Event	Source of information	Notes
1780-1790?	XXX Quinn born (in County Roscommon?)	Presumptive
1794	"Hannora Quinn" born (in Roscommon?)	Dalbydata; Michael Quinn burial info	Maiden name Foley?
Abt 1827?	Honora and XXX Quinn marry	Presumptive
1828	Martin Quinn born	Ship Saranak passenger list	b 1830 per 1857 census
1830	James Quinn born	Ship Saranak passenger list	b 1829 per 1857 census
1832	Thomas Quinn born	Ship Saranak passenger list	b 1834 per 1857 census
1834	Patrick Quinn born	Ship Saranak passenger list
1836	Michael Quinn born	Ship Saranak passenger list
1838	Andrew Quinn born	Ship Saranak passenger list
1844	XXX Quinn dies	History of Dakota County, 1882	Thomas Quinn bio
21 May 1850	Honora and sons arrive in Philadelphia on Ship Saranak (via Liverpool)	Ship Saranak passenger list
1850-1854	Family makes their home in Maryland for five years	History of Dakota County, 1882	Thomas Quinn bio
3 Jan 1855	Thomas Quinn files "First Papers" in Ramsey County, MN Territory	Homestead file - Thomas Quinn
18 Oct 1855	Thomas applies for pre-emption on 160 acres in Dakota County	Homestead file - Thomas Quinn
12 Feb 1861	Thomas marries Rose Rone at St Peter's Catholic Church, Mendota	St Peter's Church records (microfilm)	Rose Rowan
27 Dec 1861	James Quinn born in Dakota County, MN	Death certificate - James Quinn

My 2010 timeline went on to list the birth/marriage/death of each family member. While the spreadsheet gave us what we needed back then while traveling and doing research in Ireland, the timeline should be augmented to deliver its full potential. It's easy to insert rows to a spreadsheet or Word table for additional entries. I should now go back to add historical events, in Ireland and in the U.S. How bad was the potato famine in County Roscommon? (How did they survive until 1850?) What was happening in Maryland 1850-1854? When did homesteading open in Minnesota? What were the transportation options between Maryland and Minnesota in 1850? These are only a few of the questions I should be asking.

I could also update the table to include more details from census enumerations and other records I've subsequently checked. Bishop recommends including timeline columns for Date, Age, Event, Place, Source, No. (Numbered source citations are to be listed below the timeline chart or in a separate database) and Notes. Hmm. Citations are important... Now I can't immediately remember where I got the lead about the "Foley" surname. If you've posted a tree to Ancestry.com, the Overview page includes a timeline of life events. Bishop closes her comprehensive report on timelines with this clever sentence: "By tracing your ancestor's steps through history, you might just get the sensation of walking in their shoes."