Genealogy

What is genealogy?

Genealogy is defined as: 1: a record or account of the ancestry and/or descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or from older forms; 2: regular descent of a person, family, or group of organisms from a progenitor or older form: pedigree; 3: the study of family ancestries, pedigrees, and/or histories; and 4: an account of the origin and historical development of something.

The word genealogy is derived from the Middle English word ‘genealogie’, from Anglo-French, from the Late Latin word ‘genealogia’, from the Greek word ‘genea’ meaning race, family + ‘-logia’ -logy; akin to Greek word ‘genos’ meaning race. The word had its first known use in the 14^th century.

Genealogy, also known as ‘family history’, is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family in order to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives.

The pursuit of family history tends to be shaped by several motivations, including the desire to carve out a place for one's family in the larger historical picture, a sense of responsibility to preserve the past for future generations, and a sense of self-satisfaction in accurate storytelling. There are many obscure facts to be found and a collection of stories to be told: find your own stories! Genealogy is also directly related to history.

Other related words are genealogist (noun), genealogies, genealogical (adj.).

Why genealogy?

Genealogy is one of the world’s most popular hobbies and the hottest buzzword today. Hundreds of millions of people around the globe are actively engaged in some form of family research. It seems as if everyone, in some part of their lives, wonders where they came from.

Maybe it's the red hair that your mom says has been passed down from your Irish great-grandfather. Or perhaps a curiosity as to why Grandma never spoke about her family.

Some people have become intrigued after visiting a battlefield and wondering if one of their ancestors fought or even died there. For others it’s the box of old photos or clothing which has been left to them by a relative.

What starts as a simple curiosity, however, quickly grows into an obsession. Forget shopping or gambling - climbing your family tree is much more addictive, so be warned!

Reasons to Research Your Family's History

People get involved in researching their family's history for any number of reasons, all of which are right for them. Here are a few of the most popular:

To satisfy your curiosity about yourself and your roots.
To provide your children with a sense of who their ancestors were, where they came from and how they lived their lives.
To preserve family cultural and ethnic traditions for future generations.
To compile a medical family history to give family members an advantage in the battle against inherited diseases or defects.
To qualify for a lineage or heritage society.
To assemble and publish a family history book, whether for family members or for profit.
To discover facts that others have overlooked and solve the puzzle of a lifetime.

Genealogy is one of the most popular hobbies in the US. 80 million people are searching for information about their ancestors. 60% of the US has an interest in family history.

With the advent of the Internet, the number of resources available on-line, which are accessible by genealogist have increased significantly. Also, the Internet has become both a major source of data for genealogists as well

How to get started

The first important task in genealogy is to create a pedigree or family tree starting with the person (genealogist) and charting out the parents, grandparents, great grandparents, great grandparents, and so on ad infinitum, as far back as it is possible to trace them. It is important to not all of the vital dates such as birth, baptisms, marriages, and dates.