One of the world’s most popular hobbies is genealogy. Those of you reading this can most likely say that you have, in any case, experimented slightly or have previously been bitten by the genealogy bug.
What is genealogy, anyhow? Derived from the Greek language, the word genealogy means the learning of history and descent. The written history of a family is described as a family tree or a pedigree.
Let’s look at why people attempt to find something concerning their ancestors. We who have been doing this for a while discern what an obsession it can become. It begins as simple interest and develops into an obsession.
A number of the reasons people choose to research their family’s history are:
*To know a little more information about themselves and their roots.
*To offer their kids a sense of family by providing them with information regarding their ancestors, where they came from and how they existed.
*To be eligible for a lineage society, for example the Daughters of the American Revolution or Sons of the American Revolution and a lot of additional heritage societies.
Your ancestors are the people from whom you are descended; your parents, grandparents and so on back. Your paternal relations are from your father’s side and your maternal relations are on your mother’s side of the family.
We talk of ascending a family tree since when we look at a graphic illustration of the information concerning your family it looks like an upside-down triangle or tree. You are at the base then rising are two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, with the number doubling every generation so on up the tree. These persons are your ancestors.
Now if you are to twist this triangle over to illustrate your descendants, you are at the peak and your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are your descendants. The relationship connecting you and either your descendants or your ancestors are lineal. The relationship amid you and your brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, etc. is described as collateral relationships. A number of people do not trace these lines when researching their family tree. However, I find there are plenty of family hints to be established when the collateral lines are incorporated in the research.
Why are you concerned in genealogy? Reflect on it. It may be a mixture of reasons, whatsoever the inspiration, for me it is an interesting hobby I have liked for above thirty years. And I will persist to research for as long as I am capable. One in no way gets to the end.