Timelines are a way of presenting the sequence of events. When
hyperlinked they provide the reader with incredible power to visualize
the context of a particular event. Our Timeline Project is an
effort to apply the timeline concept to family histories. Through
the use of a timeline you can better understand the world in which
a particular ancestor lived and thus better understand your ancestor
and the decisions he or she made. We believe that a life history
set in a context of the times in which the individual lived is
critical to understanding that person's life experiences, their
joys and sorrows, their struggles in life and their accomplishments.
A person's life can best be appreciated when placed in a context
of the times in which they lived. The context of social, economic,
political and entertainment forces give the yardsticks or standards
by which people measure themselves.
A timeline displayed as a series of web pages with a graphical
interface is being tested using Ezra Grove Carter's life as a
prototype. It contains hyperlinks to many interesting world events.
A similar timeline with expanded world & national events is available
from John Arthur Shelton's page. Click on the links below to view
these third generation timelines.
After working with the version of timeline shown in the above
examples for some time our staff determined that implementing
this type of timeline system for more than one or two individuals
was an insurmountable task. Work on the timeline project was therefore
suspended until more appropriate techniques could be applied.
We expect the fourth generation, interactive, timeline system
to be online and working late summer 2001. New developments will
be posted here as they become available.
