Everyone absorbs information differently. I found that while you'd think organizing your ancestry by person, and listing the things they've accomplished throughout their lifetime, would help to tell the story - it does, but just having "the facts" can potentially leave large holes in the storytelling. I found that it helped me to have a master timeline listed by year, of my family. As I was collecting individuals information, I would also enter the items into the master family timeline by year, month and date. This helped me to see the full picture of what was happening in everyone's lives, simultaneously and to coordinate that with American history as well. I felt I was really able to grasp the importance and impact of their adventures when I could reconcile it with other events.