Genealogy is the art and science of exploring your family history. This provides you with the knowledge of who your ancestors were and where they came from. This is helpful information that everyone needs to know.
Family historians and people who enjoy Genealogy go to extreme efforts to build on what they have found and continually add to their family history and the research results they find are usually kept in books that they plan to pass down through future generations.
While some people simply are not interested in going to this much time and effort to find information, everyone needs to know their basic family history. It answers questions that relate to personality, medical history and can even help with funding for college students who qualify for scholarships.
Heredity has a lot to do with who we are. It is interesting and helpful to know family anecdotes, legends and stories. Genetics are very important. Potential parents should research and learn about any birth defects, diseases and fertility issues that family members have experienced.
There are things everyone needs to know about their Genealogy such as:
Family Health History
It is important for everyone to know their family health history. You should know about diseases, causes of death, abnormalities and special needs of family members from the paternal and maternal sides.
Knowing Your Roots
It is very interesting to discover where our ancestors came from. Learning about where your ancestors descended from will give you insight into culture, religion, military accomplishments and other interesting facts.
Names and Dates
The reason that most family history charts ask for names and dates of relatives for at least three generations is because this is important to know if other people of the same surname are related or not.
It is also important to know and to record, usually in a family tree book, the following information for the mother and father of your children, so they will have adequate information for further research:
*Paternal Father’s Name, Date of birth, Date of death (if applicable) and, if desired, place of burial.
*Paternal Mother’s Name, including maiden name, Date of birth, Date of death (if applicable) and, if desired, place of burial.
*Maternal Father’s Name, Date of birth, Date of death (if applicable) and, if desired, place of burial.
*Maternal Mother’s Name, including maiden name, Date of birth, Date of death (if applicable) and, if desired, place of burial.
There are good reasons why family trees have been kept for many centuries. We should all collect some personal information to pass along to future generations, even if we do not wish to extensive research.
Related Articles:
Managing Your Family Tree Online
A Family Tree is More Than a List of Names