research tools - Generations Genealogy

Your ancestors’ lives span decades and centuries, but family trees charts cannot adequately capture the chronology of their experiences. Genealogy timelines enrich family history research, revealing how historical events shaped your family’s journey, and uncovering patterns that traditional charts miss entirely.

Genealogy timeline tools range from basic spreadsheet templates to sophisticated diagramming software. The variety of timeline tools can overwhelm researchers trying to choose the right solution.

This comparison cuts through the confusion, evaluating seven leading tools across two crucial categories: creating beautiful illustrative timelines for sharing your discoveries, and building powerful analytical timelines for serious genealogical research.

Please note: This article reflects my personal opinions based on my experience. Your preferences may differ depending on your research style, budget and familiarity with software.

First, consider the purpose of your timeline and your audience

Before choosing a tool, think about what you want to achieve with your timeline. Ask yourself: is your timeline for illustration or analysis?

Illustrative timelines are used to clearly display or summarise information. They are useful for presentations, reports or sharing with family.
Analytical timelines help you test hypotheses, identify inconsistencies and evaluate evidence. They are useful for research planning, DNA analysis and problem solving.

Your choice of a timeline tool also depends on your audience. Family and friends will probably prefer illustrative timelines, while analytical timelines are more suited to other genealogists.

The right timeline tool depends on your goals, audience, budget and comfort with software. Here is my comparison, to help you make your decision.

Quick overview: Timeline tools at a glance

Tool	Best for	Cost	Complexity level
Spreadsheets	Deep analysis, data comparison	Free	Low-Medium
Notion	Research planning, linked notes	Free/Paid	Medium
SmartArt	Quick simple illustrations	Free with Office	Low
SmartDraw	Basic diagrams	Paid	Medium
Visio	Custom diagrams	Paid	Medium-Difficult
Lucidchart	Professional illustrations	Paid	Medium
Family history software	Individual timelines	Free/Paid	Low

Comparison of timeline tools

Spreadsheets, such as Excel, Airtable & Google Sheets

Best for: Deep analysis, sorting, filtering, comparisons

Assessment: Spreadsheets are one of the best tools for genealogy timelines. They allow detailed, flexible analysis using features like sorting, filtering and hiding columns. The formatting features allow you to illustrate your timeline in different views. You can use built-in templates or build from scratch. Easily modified and you can store multiple timelines on different worksheets within a spreadsheet.

Learning curve: Low-Medium. You only need to learn a few features and basic formatting

Availability: Free with Microsoft Office; Airtable has a free plan; Google Sheets is free with a Google account

Verdict: Ideal for analytical tasks. Handles a lot of data. Familiar and powerful, while still being quite simple to use.

Extract from an analytical timeline in Excel, containing information about when my family lines arrived in Australia

Notion

Best for: Master timelines, linking events to research notes and research plans

Assessment: Notion uses databases, making it a flexible tool for capturing timeline data with context. It’s not designed for diagrams, but the table view can be customised to show events by person, place, or date. Data can easily be rearranged using sorting and filtering.

Learning curve: Medium.Learn how in my article, How to build a timeline in Notion (with linked views)

Availability: Free for individuals; paid plans for teams

Verdict: Excellent if you already use Notion for research notes and research planning. Less suited to complex analytical tasks.

SmartArt (Word & PowerPoint)

Best for: Simple illustrative timelines

Assessment: SmartArt is a quick way to create basic timelines. You just insert a Process diagram into Word or PowerPoint. Limited in customisation and not suited to analysis, but perfect for simple illustrative timelines.

Learning curve: Low

Availability: Free with Microsoft Office

Verdict: Handy for quick visuals and beginner-friendly.

Simple illustrative genealogy timeline, shown as an arrow with events marked on it. Created using SmartArt — Simple illustrative timeline created using SmartArt

SmartDraw

Best for: Simple illustrative diagrams and bar charts (Gantt-style, showing the duration of an event)

Assessment: Offers horizontal and table formats, with templates for quick setup. You can customise text, colours, and add images. Suited for illustrative purposes, not complex analytical timelines. Produces good quality images for inclusion in presentations or reports.

Learning curve: Medium, but easier if you are familiar with the software or similar tools

Availability: Free trial; subscription required for ongoing use

Verdict: Suitable for presentations. Subscription cost is hard to justify if timelines are your only use.

Visio

Best for: Simple illustrative flowcharts and diagrams, including timelines

Assessment: The desktop version is more customisable than SmartDraw. Like SmartDraw, you can customise text, colours, and add images. Suited for illustrative purposes, not complex analytical timelines.

Learning curve: More difficult than SmartDraw

Availability: Basic version included with Microsoft 365 business; full version is a paid app

Verdict: A mid-tier option—more flexible than SmartArt, less than Excel or Lucidchart. Good if you already have access.

Lucidchart

Best for: Both illustrative and analytical timelines, where customisation is important

Assessment: Offers vertical, horizontal, Gantt and bar chart timeline templates. Highly customisable with colour coding, shapes and labels. Strong contender for both illustrative and analytical needs.

Learning curve: Medium. Learning the features and processes takes a little while, but step-by-step instructions are provided

Availability: Free trial; subscription required

Verdict: One of the most versatile options. Worth if you need complex visuals or also want to create family tree diagrams. Easy to insert a Lucidchart into a Word document or PowerPoint presentation.

Genealogy timeline in a horizontal line format with key events for a couple, from Lucidchart — Example of a simple illustrative timeline in Lucidchart. Many more formats are available.

Family history software

Best for: Simple timelines for an individual, not requiring customisation

Assessment: Limited to events of an individual within the context of their immediate family. Very little customisation available. Easy to incorporate into a report generated by the software.

Learning curve: None, the timeline is generated automatically as you enter data to your family tree

Availability: Included in all family history software. Some, such as Legacy Family Tree, are free.

Verdict: Very useful for day-to-day research and simple illustrative timelines in reports. Limited value for complex analysis.

Example of a genealogy timeline in Legacy Family Tree Software, showing four columns: Age, Event, Date, Information — Example of a timeline in Legacy Family Tree Software.
Tip: Change to Report style then copy and paste the data into a spreadsheet if you want to add or amend the data.

Final thoughts

From my experience, three tools emerge as the clear winners for different genealogy scenarios. Spreadsheets excel at analytical work. Their sorting, filtering, and comparison capabilities make them the most powerful choice for serious research. Lucidchart takes the stands out for visual presentation, offering professional-quality timelines to enrich your family history. For quick, everyday use, SmartArt provides the perfect balance of simplicity and effectiveness.

My recommendation? Start with Excel to build your analytical skills and understanding of timeline creation. Once you’re comfortable with the fundamentals, add Lucidchart for when you need to create impressive visuals for sharing. This two-tool approach covers 90% of genealogy timeline needs while keeping costs reasonable and learning curves manageable.

Learn more about using genealogy timelines in my article, Use Genealogy Timelines to Organise, Analyse and Improve Your Research

For more articles about resources and tools for family history, go to the Resources page.

For more of my articles about using Excel for family history, go to the Using Excel page.

Methodology, Sources and resources

Use genealogy timelines to organise, analyse and improve your research

May 23, 2025July 4, 2025 generationsgenealogyaus

If you think timelines are just for visualising a sequence of events, you’re overlooking one of the most powerful genealogy research tools. A genealogy timeline is more than a list of dates. It’s a framework for understanding your family history.

By placing people in time and space, timelines help clarify identities, expose gaps and inconsistencies, and reveal patterns. These insights can significantly improve the quality of your family history.

In this article, I show how genealogy timelines can help you:

Organise complex information
Improve research accuracy
Plan future research
Solve difficult genealogical problems
Compare data and evaluate relationships
Add historical context to family stories
Write clearer and more engaging narratives.

Use timelines to organise and analyse genealogy information

Genealogy generates a lot of data. Timelines bring order by organising information chronologically and geographically, making it easier to see relationships and patterns.

You can easily integrate new information and retrieve it later. This helps you understand your family history more deeply and reduces the risk of overlooking key connections.

Use timelines to improve the accuracy of your family history

The chronological structure of a timeline highlights inconsistencies, such as a person being in two places at once, or multiple versions of an event when there should be only one. These errors often remain hidden in family tree charts but become obvious in a timeline.

*A timeline showing multiple baptisms in different locations indicates that the evidence has not been sufficiently analysed to determine which event was the correct one.*

Use timelines to plan your research

Whether you’re investigating ancestors in the 1800s or analysing DNA matches today, timelines help you spot gaps, formulate focused research questions, and compare life events across individuals and families. These strategies form the basis of effective timeline analysis in genealogy.

Timelines summarise the key events in a person’s life and highlight periods with little or no data. This helps you spot where you may have missing family members, such as children whose birth records you have not discovered, or identify when and where a family moved. These provide clues to progress your research.

Analysing a timeline can help you:

Identify new research leads
Develop hypotheses to be tested
Formulate focused research questions.

*A timeline in Excel shows a gap in the birth years of children which may suggest a missing child requiring further investigation.*

Use timelines to solve problems and test hypotheses

Timelines clarify inconsistencies and support hypothesis testing. If you’re trying to demonstrate that someone was in the right place at the right time, a timeline can provide the structure to support or refute that claim.

Example:

A DNA case involved identifying the unknown biological father of a test taker’s father. Analysis of DNA evidence pointed to a family with eight brothers. A timeline based on documentary evidence compared their locations and ages at the time of conception, which helped narrow down the candidates.

Use timelines to compare and analyse relationships

You can include multiple individuals on a single timeline to compare life events, identify patterns and assess possible relationships. This can help confirm family links, or reveal mistaken connections.

Example:

A mother was listed in family trees as giving birth at age 50 and issuing memorial notices about her husband, after the date she was supposed to have died! A timeline revealed that two families had been mistakenly merged due to identical parent names.

Use timelines to document evidence

Timelines can supplement written analysis in an evidence summary or evidence argument (aka proof summary or proof argument). Organising your findings chronologically strengthens the logic of your case and helps readers understand the reasoning behind your conclusions.

Use timelines to provide historical and family context

Timelines place your family’s events within the broader context of historical events, communities and extended families. This can provide clues to motivations or influences, or explain significant life changes such as migration, enlistment, or death due to a prevalent illness or famine.

Example:

A timeline of sons’ births overlaid with World War I dates highlighted why certain young men were absent—they had gone to war.

Use timelines as visual and summary tools

Timelines are ideal for summarising a life story at a glance. They can be shared with family members or other researchers and used as reference tools during research.

*A simple timeline graphic from my book, The Good Genealogist, summarises key life events in a visually accessible way.*

Use timelines to write your family stories

When writing, a timeline provides a narrative scaffold. It helps ensure chronological accuracy and can stimulate story ideas by highlighting connections between events and people.

Get started using timelines

From simple life summaries to advanced analysis using tools like Excel or Notion, genealogy timelines should be a standard feature of your family history research toolkit.

Tip

What to include in a genealogy timeline for effective family history research:

Dates
Places
People
Events
(optional) Source citations, Historical events, Research notes.

Ready to get started? Check out my guide to creating a genealogy timeline in Excel.

Read my comparison of genealogy timeline tools to find the right one for your research.

Have questions or tips of your own? Share them in the comments below!

Want more articles about planning your research, analysing information and sources, or documenting your research? Or take a look at my articles about using Excel and Notion in family history.

Here are some examples of historical timelines you can use to add historical context to your family history timelines:

Timeline of Australian history – Wikipedia

Defining moments timeline | National Museum of Australia

Story of England | English Heritage

Advice, Sources and resources

Why family history software is essential for quality genealogy

August 1, 2017June 18, 2025 generationsgenealogyaus

Online family trees serve their purpose. They’re convenient, accessible, and they help with online research. But if you want to transform a basic family tree into a rich, well-documented family history, you need family history software.

Family history software runs on your computer. It provides the same basic structure as online trees for storing data and recording relationships between people, places, events, and sources. But it offers much more.

These specialised programs include powerful tools for documenting, organising, analysing, and planning your research. They make you more efficient. More importantly, they help improve the quality of your family history by supporting the three pillars of good genealogy: accuracy, comprehensiveness, and proper documentation.

Key takeaway: While online family trees are great, desktop genealogy software provides the comprehensive documentation, advanced research tools, and data control necessary for serious family history research. The combination of both platforms delivers optimal results.

Let me show you why family history software is such a powerful research companion.

This post was originally published in August 2017 and last updated on 18 June 2025 to provide more examples and greater detail.

Complete control of your genealogy data and privacy

Your research belongs to you. Family history software keeps it that way.

When you store your master copy on your computer, you control everything. You decide what your tree looks like, how it’s stored, who gets access, and who can make changes. You don’t have to worry about company policy changes, website closures, or service sell-offs.

I speak from experience here. GEDmatch was once an excellent DNA analysis tool, which I used a lot. Then law enforcement started using the database without customers being notified. Many users deleted their accounts in response, out of privacy concerns. Now I have far fewer DNA matches to work with and rarely use it.

You can read about law enforcement use of DNA databases on Robert Estes’ blog. [1]

In another example, I recently deleted my DNA results from 23andMe. I didn’t want my data included in their potential sell-off.

These situations highlight a key point: when you don’t control your data, you’re vulnerable to decisions made by others.

Protecting your privacy

Privacy matters too. Online trees implement some privacy measures, but storing sensitive information offline is much safer. This includes details about living people and DNA information. Data breaches are less likely when the data stays on your computer.

You also maintain control over how your work is used.

While you don’t own historical information, you do own the stories you write and the analysis you create. I’ve had blog posts about my family copied and used elsewhere without permission, and without attribution. Some colleagues have had their work altered or presented as the work of others.

Family photographs present another concern. You may not own the copyright, but they’re deeply personal. It’s distressing to see them used without attribution or with incorrect information attached.

With family history software, you keep your photos and research secure. You share them only with people you choose.

Greater storage and organisation for proper documentation

Genealogy software provides vastly superior storage and organisational capabilities compared to online trees.

Storage capacity is the first advantage. Online trees typically allow stories, images, and research notes, but with limited space. FamilySearch, for example, doesn’t allow research notes or source notes. Family history software is limited only by your computer’s storage capacity.

Source documentation gets much better treatment in software. Online trees include citation tools, but the citation process prioritises sources from their own databases. Adding citations to other sources can be confusing. Software provides citation templates and guidance that streamline the process, and help you capture all necessary information.

Example source citation for the English Death Index — Citations on online family trees may not comply with the APA citation style or contain all the necessary information, such as this one, which omits the details of the volume and page number.

But citations alone aren’t sufficient for good genealogy. You need to document your evidence and reasoning. Family history software offers better opportunities to record research notes, source analysis, and the logic behind your conclusions. This documentation is essential for well-documented family history.

Organisation tools in software far exceed what online trees offer. Research notes can be linked to specific people, events, or sources. Indexes and master lists help you work with large volumes of data. This organisation becomes crucial as your research grows and becomes more complex.

Powerful genealogy research tools and analysis features

Family history software supports your research with powerful analytical tools.

Planning tools help you identify research leads and organise your next steps. Timelines help reveal patterns and inconsistencies. Maps show migration patterns and geographical relationships. Task lists keep you focused on specific research questions.

Analysis capabilities are extensive and customisable. You can generate lists of people using any criteria based on information you’ve entered. I often create spreadsheets of people from particular counties or towns. This lets me research more efficiently by focusing on groups rather than individuals.

Want a list of all your convict ancestors? Everyone with a particular surname? All people born in a specific decade? Software makes these searches simple.

Relationship tools become invaluable as your tree grows. Software can calculate relationships between any two people and generate charts to illustrate the connections. Indexes help you track people and their relationships efficiently.

Superior tools for data accuracy and maintenance

Accuracy forms the foundation of good genealogy. You don’t want to spend years researching the wrong family!

Desktop genealogy programs include built-in quality control features.

Error detection flags obvious problems. Software will alert you if someone is buried before they die, or if birth and death dates don’t make logical sense.

Duplicate detection helps you avoid adding the same person multiple times, or fix duplicates through merges. This is especially useful when importing data from multiple sources.

Consistency checking highlights potential problems. For example, the software alerts you if there’s an unusual gap between children’s births where the usual pattern is less than two years. You can then investigate whether there was another child or find an alternative explanation.

List of five children with birthdates. A red exclamation mark highlights a five-year gap. — Legacy Family Tree put a red exclamation mark to highlight a five-year gap between the youngest siblings of my great great grandfather, George.

Data validation uses standard lists of potential problems. My great-great grandmother’s 1931 death certificate lists her age as 101. But her last child was born in 1880, when she would have been 50 according to that death certificate. While not impossible, this discrepancy suggests her birth date needs verification. Software makes these inconsistencies obvious.

These quality control features support both accuracy and comprehensiveness by helping you identify gaps and potential errors in your research.

Examples of potential problems identified by Legacy Family Tree software — Some of the potential problems that software will warn you about.
This example is from Legacy Family Tree.

Comprehensive and customisable reporting

Online trees offer limited reporting options. Ancestry, for example, provides descendant charts, ancestor charts, and family group sheets, but customisation is limited to the design.

Family history software offers extensive reporting capabilities:

Standard reports cover all the basics: pedigree charts, descendant reports, family group sheets, and more.
Custom reports let you create documents for specific purposes. You can generate reports to help research particular questions or create subsets of data to share with others. You choose which people to include, what data to show, the order, and the format.
Export options include PDF and CSV formats. This flexibility supports analysis, documentation, and sharing.
Publishing capabilities in some software allow you to create family history websites directly from your data.

Online trees vs. family history software: Key differences

Feature	Online Trees	Family History Software
Data Control	Limited (company controls platform)	Complete (you control the data)
Source Documentation	Citations only	Citation templates, guides, source notes & analysis
Offline Access	Requires internet	Works anywhere
Research Tools	Basic search and hints	Advanced analysis & reporting
Privacy	Usually public by default	Complete privacy control
Storage Capacity	Often limited	Limited only by computer space
Customisation	Fixed formats	Highly customisable
Cost	Subscription often required	One-time purchase or free options

Getting started with genealogy software

Ready to try genealogy software? Here’s how to begin:

Start with a free program like Legacy Family Tree. This lets you explore features without financial commitment.
Import your existing data using a GEDCOM file from your online tree.
Learn the basics first. Don’t try to use every feature immediately. Master core functions before exploring advanced tools.
Join user communities for ongoing support and tips from experienced users.
Take advantage of free training offered by software companies. Most provide webinars, tutorials, and documentation.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT FAMILY HISTORY SOFTWARE

Q: What’s the difference between online family trees and genealogy software?
A: Online family trees are web-based and convenient for sharing, while desktop genealogy software offers complete data control, advanced research tools, and superior documentation capabilities.

Q: Can I use both online trees and family history software together?
A: Yes, many genealogists maintain their master copy in desktop software and copy selected data to online platforms for online research, collaboration and DNA matching. My article, ‘Where’s the best place to put your family tree?’ explores online options further.

Q: Is genealogy software difficult to learn?
A: Most family tree software programs offer intuitive interfaces and extensive tutorials. Start with basic features and gradually explore advanced genealogy research tools.

Q: What’s the best genealogy software for beginners?
A: Legacy Family Tree offers a free version, but if you use a Mac you will probably prefer FamilyTreeMaker or RootsMagic. Wikipedia provides a comparison of a wide range of genealogy software.

Transform your family tree into family history

Online family trees serve as useful starting points. Family history software transforms your basic tree into something much more valuable: an accurate, comprehensive, well-documented family history that preserves your family’s story for future generations.

The three pillars of good genealogy: accuracy, comprehensiveness, and proper documentation, are all better supported by family history software than by online trees alone.

Ready to improve the quality of your genealogy? Download a free family history software program and attend an online user group. If you are interested in Legacy Family Tree, I run sessions four times a year for the Society of Australian Genealogists. Check out the event listings to find when the next one is being held.

Citations

[1] Roberta Estes, ‘The Golden State Killer and DNA’, DNAeXplained-Genetic Genealogy, 30 April 2018, https://dna-explained.com/2018/04/30/the-golden-state-killer-and-dna/

[2] Dannielle Maguire, ‘23andMe has filed for bankruptcy: So what does it mean for customers’ data?, ABC News, 25 March 2025, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-25/23andme-bankruptcy-customer-data-saliva-samples-/105092050

About the author: Danielle Lautrec is a genealogy educator, researcher, and author of The Good Genealogist. With qualifications in history, family history, and historical archaeology, she teaches for the Society of Australian Genealogists.

Tag: research tools

Best tools for creating genealogy timelines: A comparison

First, consider the purpose of your timeline and your audience

Quick overview: Timeline tools at a glance

Comparison of timeline tools