Timelines are one of the best tools for genealogists, whether it’s a handwritten chart or using a sophisticated computer program.
Family Tree Magazine’s September issue has a good article on the subject by Shelley Bishop, and I recently created a timeline on a family I was working on.
On my timeline I laid out my presumed ancestor’s facts from 1794 through 1805. We couldn’t figure out what happened to him afterward. He missed the next land lottery registration and the next tax digest. Was he just skipping out, on a trip, or what?
Then we discovered a coroner’s inquest after he had died in a canoe accident on the Oconee River in 1806. Well, that explained it.
The timeline caused my cousin and me to focus, think through the situation, dig deeper.
In the Family Tree article, several programs are mentioned that you could try out. You can find them at ourtimelines.com, preceden.com, tiki-toki.com, timeglider.com, timetoast.com and treelines.com.
See which one might help you in your own research.
Family computer files
Are you organizing your genealogy computer files in a manner so you can find them again, or someone else could locate them if need be?
Family Tree Magazine has another good article by Dana McCullough about the nine habits of highly organized genealogists. She covers the usual arguments about digital vs. paper files, color coding your folders, and other ideas.
I felt her emphasis on creating a consistent naming format for your files, especially the computer files, was important. It would seem obvious, since we are talking about genealogy files, that the surname should be first, then the given name, and from there whatever it takes to identify the person or the type of information it contains.
I am a big believer that you shouldn’t keep important things floating around in email, except as a backup; be sure you have downloaded and properly labeled them into your online filing system. I also keep a hard copy of anything really important.
Whatever you do, you need a system that makes sense, and a backup system in case of a computer crash or other disaster.
Legal terminology
When you come across a legal term in courthouse documents, be sure you know what it means. See "Black's Law Dictionary," free, at thelawdictionary.org.
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