How To Use Timelines in Genealogy Research

A timeline is a helpful tool for a genealogist. It provides a chronological order of important events set within a specific period. Both personal and historical events, plotted in a timeline, reveal the incredible story of an ancestor.

A timeline serves as a tool that helps us organize the events in an ancestor’s life. It places these events within a historical framework. A timeline can help us break through brick walls. It does this by pointing out inconsistencies in our research. It also identifies periods with few details and noticeable gaps.

How To Analyze A Genealogy Timeline

A timeline can also help us think about the facts we have and formulate new questions. For example, the partial timeline below captures the known events in my paternal grandfather’s life. The events that occur later in his life are well known to the family. Yet, his immigration to America remains confusing and mysterious. This creates a brick wall in my research progress.

From these known events, I came up with the following new questions:

• Where did he live after arriving in New York?
• When did my grandfather return to Italy and join the Italian Army?
• Why did he join the Italian Army instead of the US Army?
• Is there a passenger list for a ship departing the United States en route to Italy during World War I?
• How many other Italian immigrants returned to Italy to join the Italian Army during World War I?
• When and where did he get married? Is there a state or church record?
• The 1930 census states that my grandfather immigrated in 1919. Is there an immigration record? Was the 1913 immigration a temporary period? Did he come through Ellis Island a second time or through another port?
• Is my grandfather listed in the 1920 federal census? If so, which state?
• The 1930 census also lists him as a naturalized citizen. Where was he naturalized? When?
• His firstborn daughter is also listed in his household in the 1930 census. It shows that she was born in Italy, not Rhode Island. When did she immigrate? What was her port of entry?
• An Austrian submarine near Sardinia in November 1915 sank the Ancona. The New York Times publicized the event and included a list of passengers. Is this available?

This chronological timeline of my grandfather’s life has revealed inconsistencies. It has also raised questions about his early life. These questions have redirected my research focus. In the process, I’ve managed to remove the brick wall — at least for now. This sense of accomplishment is one of the many rewards of genealogy research.

How To Develop A Genealogy Timeline

1. As above, I started with 1880 because my grandfather was born in 1892. This allowed for any major historical or family events that have affected his early life. At this point, I adjusted this date later. This sense of discovery is part of what makes genealogy research so fascinating. It’s not just the life of a single ancestor that you’re tracing. As you note marriages, births, and deaths of key family members, you create a portrait of your family’s history. This process is deeply personal and rewarding. Vital statistics like birth, marriage, religious milestones, deaths, and burials.
2. Key life events include immigration, naturalization, military service, court rulings, high school and college graduation, employment, and business ownership.
3. Census records, land grants, pension applications, Social Security applications and claims, court rulings, and real estate transactions.
4. Locations of all events.
5. It’s essential to include historical events at both the local and global levels in your timeline. In my grandfather’s partial timeline, I highlighted a few major wars. I also noted the year the United States received the most Italian immigrants and other notable events. These events can give context for your ancestor’s life and have influenced their decisions and experiences. The source for each fact shown in the timeline.

Actively analyzing your timeline is a key part of the process. If you’re using a software program to develop your timeline, use the comment feature to note inconsistencies. You can also develop questions or write notes to yourself. If not, keep a list of observations or questions on a separate sheet of paper. Use a numbering scheme to correlate each question with its correct place in the timeline. This active analysis will help you spot patterns, inconsistencies, and new avenues of research you may have overlooked.