My First Impressions of Twile - Winner of The Peoples Choice Award at Rootstech 2016

This photograph is from the Twile Blog to find out more see the link below.

What is Twile?

Twile is a website which creates a timeline of your family memories that you can share with those in your family who may not be the avid genealogist that you are. 

Only the people you allow can see what you share but it allows us to share all those moments that we forget to record in our software programs.

Here is a link to why it was created and I shall leave you to explore their blog to find out more.

How I found the site

I first found out about this website when the semi finalists for the Innovator Showdown at Rootstech 2016 were announced and decided to sign up for the trial to see what it was all about. 

The Demonstration at Rootstech 2016

Life got in the way and I saw the video of the Innovator Showdown Semi-Final and decided I needed to get my GEDCOM file uploaded to the site so that I can start adding memories and sharing with my family. I know that many others are interested in this site as it won the vote from the audience including those watching online. Here is a link to the Innovator Showdown Finals 2016 if you have not had a chance to see it.

Exploring the website

I am only just starting to use this but I am impressed by the feedback from the team who run the website. They will be inundated with people wanting to join and try out the website. They are still managing to get back to answer individual queries and provide a solution in a timely manner.
Customer service is so important if you want the users to keep coming back.

Gedcom is up and working and I am adding profile pictures to my ancestors and adding living members. You can invite your family by email, and as the website can be accessed by tablets and smartphones, I expect it to be popular with the younger generations of the family.

The comment from my son after I sent an email invite  was " I received an email saying you added me to your family tree, I thought I was already a member! ". This sparked a conversation and I showed him the family timeline I am building which currently has only my side of the family and my husband. He looked at the date his grandfather died, knowing it was the same day that his cousin was born and the date the following week when we had the cremation, these are things that he remembers. 
He also asked if it was private so I told him that only the family could see this if I invite them. 
The more of them that join, even just the free part of the site, the better it will be for everyone. 
I love the timeline as it really helps to put things together in relation to each other in a way that those in the family, not "doing genealogy", can interact with and add contributions.
I like that you can add more than just the usual things like births, marriages and deaths. 
I have uploaded a few photographs from a couple of family get togethers today as milestone events.

From what I have seen so far I am almost certain I will sign up to be a premier member. 

We should all share in the mission to get the younger generations engaged, to ensure that the stories and memories we are creating today and have created or had passed on to us are saved, in a way that our families will want to share in the future. 
Photographs and stories are what inspire us to find out more. 
We have so many ways to record and store them but the best thing we can do is to share.

Just as I finish writing this there is more good news for Twile in this announcement. 
I already have an ongoing subscription with find my past so hopefully this will lead to integration between the sites.

Timelines put genealogical events into perspective

Timelines are a great asset in genealogical research. They can help put personal and family events into perspective by including local, national and even global events. 

They also come in quite handy if you have relatives with the same repeating name or even similar names. My husband’s side (the Eckman family) has one branch where everyone is John something or other. Timelines help me make sure I have the right spouse and children with the right John Eckman! 

 

Including local and national events may give insight on why you are having a hard time finding information. It may also give direction. For example, my uncle was born in 1916 and died in 1918. It was not until I spoke with a local funeral director that I realized how badly the flue epidemic hit Coatesville in 1918 that I realized why I was having such a hard time. She and a local parish priest both confirmed that, sadly, so many died that many babies in particular were buried in group graves left unmarked and now barely remembered. 

Using my my 4x great grandmother as an example:

Margaret Still is my 4x great grandmother. She was born in 1788 to Charles and Margaret Rhoades Still, of Uwchlan Township, Chester County. She has three brothers: Charles, Henry and Jacob. My family line gets a little confusing when I get back to her since she had two male children out of wedlock. The father – or fathers – are unconfirmed. When she got pregnant, her father put her out on a farm in a different township within the same county. I always wondered how she made a living and got on with her day to day life without any family support. 

Margaret’s Timeline:

1788 – Margaret was born in PA. The Constitution was ratified.

1790 – Neighboring Philadelphia becomes the nation’s seat of government.

1793 – Law is passed in the US compelling escaped slaves to return to their owners.

1794 – Whiskey Insurrection in Pennsylvania

1800 – Seat of government moves from Philadelphia to Washington, DC.

1808 - Son George born on 3 May

1812 – US declared war on Britain.

1820 – US Land Law set a fixed land price at $1.25 an acre, minimum.

1823 - Son David born

1827 - Court records show David Phillips committed fornication against her.

1828 – As per Sheriff Deeds, she purchased three (3) lots from the Kennedys in East Fallowfield Twp.

1830 – Her son George marries Sarah BING on 30 December

1830 - land records show Margaret sold son George 37 acres, a bldg, a horse and a cattle

1845 - son David marries Agnes Armstrong 16 April

1850 - census shows her living w/David and his wife and their son William in East Fallowfield Twp.; Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850 and East Fallowfield Twp. Played an active role in the Underground Railroad.

1851 - 23 January she sold George land purchased on 2 Feb 1829

1870 - census shows her living w/David in Marshalltown, East Fallowfield Twp.

1871 - 4 December wrote will

1872 - Margaret died in East Fallowfield Twp., Chester County, PA

1872 - 15 August will executed 

A timeline essentially puts events in chronological order and incorporates them with historical events. By creating a timeline, I can now see where I need to focus as well as understand my ancestor in a more historical context.

 

© Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015