A couple of years ago, at RootsTech, I learned about HistoryLines. I was intrigued and signed up for a subscription. Then I pretty much forgot about it. (I blogged about it back then.)
HistoryLines creates a timeline for your ancestor (after you upload a GEDCOM or fill in data on an ancestor), referencing the historical events and social history of the time in which your ancestor lived.
This week I received a notification that my subscription was going to autorenew. I went to the site, intending to cancel since I never used it. But once I started exploring, I realized that this really is a tool I’d like to use.
This past quarter I focused almost exclusively on my great great grandfather, George Washington Adams (1845-1938) and his children. When I called up a HistoryLines story for him today I really enjoyed the context it placed his life in. I can see doing this for many of my ancestors, especially those I’ve studied more in depth. (So many of my ancestors seem like just names and dates to me, though I’m trying to change that.)
If you’re intrigued, here’s a promotional video from HistoryLines.
If you try it out, let me know what you think!
You crack me up, Janine….because I do the same thing: New toy! Cool! Buy/subscribe, blog, forget about. Rediscover later! I’ll definitely be looking into this. Thanks!
We’re two peas in a pod, Hazel!
I tried the free version – the result was a little odd. It had a map indicating Estonia where there was no reference in the Gedcom file I sent them at all. Then although the background info included Boer War and WW1 both of which my ancestor was in active service, there was no reference to that all all.
Interesting! When I play with mine I’ll pay close attention to the results. Thanks for commenting!
Hi Janine, I subscribed when it first launched and have renewed. For some areas, the history portion is a bit sparse, but it is growing. I learned a lot about Swedish history when I added that branch of the tree to History Lines.
Thanks for commenting, Linda! I’m looking forward to focusing on HistoryLines!
I like historylines too. Since I’m not an avid writer it’s a kick start to my writing.