I was following some leads on the internet the other day and came across a few tools that sparked some interest. One of them was an online service that helps you build your ancestor's timeline. I tried it and found some very interesting facts. You can find the service at http://www.ourtimelines.com. I think you might find it interesting too.
Other timelines that I’ve seen just show the events that I record. This one adds all sorts of historical events to the timeline which puts your ancestor in a context that you might not have seen before.
It’s easy. Simply click on the link at the bottom of the homepage and fill in your ancestor’s name, his or her birth and death dates and up to 10 events in your ancestor’s life. Press the Generate Timeline! button and wait while your timeline is created. The timeline includes all sorts of events from around the world. Here’s an example of my ancestor’s timeline:
Custom Timeline
William Kearns
1849-1949
| Years | Events | |
| 1829-1851: | * | 2nd Cholera pandemic from before birth until age 2 |
| 1830-1860: | ** | Underground railroad leads 100,000 slaves to freedom in US from before birth until age 11 |
| 1837-1901: | **** | Reign of Queen Victoria (Hanover) from before birth until age 52 |
| 1845-1849: | * | Irish Potato Famine from before birth until age 0 |
| 1848-1856: | ** | 1st gold rush in California -- Sutters Mill from before birth until age 7 |
| 1849-1852: | * | Zachary Taylor president of the US from age 0 to 3 |
| 1849: | * | Fizeau measures speed of light at age 0 |
| 1850: | * | California enters the union - 31st at age 1 |
| 1850: | * | US pop reaches 23 million at age 1 |
| 1850: | * | World pop. Est. at 1.1 billion at age 1 |
| 1850: | * | Utah (included Nevada) organized as a territory at age 1 |
If you can get past the “at age 0 to 3” terminology, there are some interesting and perhaps important information that may shed some light on the life and times of your ancestors. New presidents; new inventions; wars; and epidemics are recorded in this timeline. Any one of these events may have been the catalyst that shaped your ancestor’s life. Take the time to try your own ancestor and see what events influenced their life.
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