timelines

[spoonybroony]

does anyone use a timeline as well as thier family tree, I thought it might help me get my head round all the various years, I am not good with numbers at all, and thought if I had a spreadsheet the years people were born/died would be clearer in my head. just wondered if anyone else used something like this? or any suggestions
Lorraine

[Alan SHARP]

Greetings Lorraine.

Years ago I produced a circular wheel [calculator] that allowed you to do the years maths back and forwards.
1886 (+/-) 55 years = ?? etc. There are also insurance tables that allow you to calculate the number of days between any two days in a 12 month period, though it can be over a number of years if you add 365/6 for each additional year etc.

I'll try to dig it out, and if it proves to be suitable, to post to the gallery, I will post a copy. From memory it should be possible to print it out on to paper. But first I'll have to find where it is, as I made it in the days of the typewriter, before computers. Been a big day, so off to bed now, but during the weekend I will have a hunt for it.

Alan SHARP

EDIT: Added to the GALLERY and info about same on a new thread -

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16979

[SarahND]

Hello Lorraine and

I have found that a timeline is very useful to not only keep people straight, but to see what information I don't yet have. Also, it can be revealing to look at several generation's timelines together and see, for example, how old someone was when their parent died, whether or not they would have known their grandparents, etc. It is also useful to see what else was going on in the world at any given time in the person's life, to see what influences they might have had for emigration or working in a certain occupation, etc.

All the best,
Sarah

[spoonybroony]

thanks alan that would be great if you could post it on here.
Sarah, thats exactly what I would be needing it for, do you use one and if so what sort of layout do you use?

Lorraine

[SarahND]

Got to admit that my genealogy program (Reunion for Macintosh) does it for me So all I do is click a few buttons and choose how the layout will look. I would suspect that most genealogy software would have something like this. If you don't currently use such a program, it might be worthwhile to try a few out, changing the layout, etc. to see what works best for you.

All the best,
Sarah

[StewL]

Hi Lorraine
I use Legacy for my family history, in the report section (tab) there is a timeline available, it appears to only give dates (on top).
However if I open the individuals box it gives the date they would be now, and if both birth and death dates logged, will give an age at death.
Perhaps if you use the free copy of that programme you will get the information that you want.

[SarahND]

Hi all,
Reunion also has a menu item that is List… Ages and shows you the age of the person selected at marriage, death, birth of each child, grandchild, death of parents, death of spouse, siblings, etc. as well as "perspective events". Some of these are already ready-made in the program, such as census years, American presidents, etc. but this category is meant to be created and tweaked by the user, with the events that the user finds relevant. You create a perspective category and enter the information once, then you can calculate the age of anyone in the database at the time each event occurred.

All the best,
Sarah

[LesleyB]

Hi Sarah

Some of these are already ready-made in the program, such as census years, American presidents, etc. but this category is meant to be created and tweaked by the user, with the events that the user finds relevant.

There is a similar tool in Legacy - I created a Scots timeline for my lot, so that you coud see how the major events in the county and the family events met.

Best wishes
Lesley

[biddy]

The title of the this discussion being timelines,I am going for it.hic. I am using Scotlandspeople,and each successful result,I put into Timeline on SPs site.Now I want to add them to the relevant individuals' media.But I don't know how.Can someone help me please. SIMPLY?

[LesleyB]

Hi biddy

Now I want to add them to the relevant individuals' media.But I don't know how

Using what software? Are you trying to do this on SP, which is not designed to carry out as complex a task as that, or are you using some family tree software? As many family software packages are quite different in use we would need to know what you were using before attempting any hints or tips.

Best wishes
Lesley