Genealogy: Study Of Family Ancestry
January 13th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Many people have a great need and desire to know more about their family ancestry and thus turn to its study which is known as genealogy, which means needing to collect names of all their relatives, who are not only living but also those who have since passed away, and forming a relationship among each of them on the basis of their most important, secondary and even based on any evidence related to circumstantial bonding in order to build a complete family tree. Thus, it is easy to see why genealogy is considered to be the same as a family history, though family trees are based on relationships, while family history is based on sorting out the lives as well as personal histories of those whom you may know immediately.
Collects Oral Versions And Stories Related To The Family
A person that studies genealogy is known as a genealogist and who is a person or persons that will collect histories including oral versions and even stories related to the family so that it is possible to learn about the ancestry as also about those relatives that are still living. In addition, a person that studies genealogy will also find it relevant to know more than just the where as well as when of relatives, but also their lifestyles, motivations and also biographies which may need having some special knowledge including those related to antiquated laws, trends of immigration, political boundaries from yore, and also social conditions throughout history.
That is why genealogy has of late (since the seventies) become very popular as witnessed by the immensely popular TV series Roots that was an adaptation of a family line based on the book written by Alex Haley who traced his own family lineage therein. Now that the Internet has become a way of life, there are many more resources available to us in finding out all about the past, though genealogists still understand the need to tread these paths with caution so as to not end up with inaccuracies in the family trees.
Genealogy can also lead to research being conducted on things such as relationships between people including those such as kinship to particular groups as is best exemplified in a Scottish clan, or it may requires studying certain surnames, or even studying tiny communities such as village or parishes, or it could even involve a single personality such as Abraham Lincoln or even Muhammad Ali.
Even DNA can help reveal information about the ancestry of a person and in fact, today DNA analysis is a major factor when it comes to studying genealogy in depth. And, there is also some genealogy software that has become available that is helping in this very interesting subject, and with Internet availability, it can prove to be even more effective.
