The Importance Of Genealogy

A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO GENEALOGY

Genealogy is a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person or family group. Basically it is the study of family ancestries and histories.

Years ago generations of families stayed in the same village or town for centuries and family history was mostly oral. The stories were perhaps more folklore than fact but they kept our knowledge and respect for our ancestors alive. For the past few decades the tendency to move away from our roots has left us mostly unaware and perhaps in the main unconcerned about the past.

Perhaps you were pretty ambivalent about your ancestors throughout most of your early life. After all life was busy and granny and grandad were always banging on about Great Uncle Jeremy

Luckily, in the modern age, we have a wealth of knowledge just a fingertip away. Plenty of time and a reasonable knowledge of how the internet works are more than enough to start you on a journey which could turn into an addiction.

Thanks to the emergence of TV shows like ‘Who do you think you are?’ there has been a massive surge in family history research and an ever increasing number of websites offering vital information; from Birth Records through Death Records and even Military Service Records. It is possible to find some of this information online for free but eventually you may find yourself at a point where you want to know more.

I have done a fair amount of research over the past few years and have a few tips which may make the journey easier for

Once you have a list of names gathered orally you need to make a really big decision. Who do you want to know about? A mistake than many of us greenhorns make is to try and find out as many relatives as possible. In reality it’s far simpler to select one person who interests you and research them. Build up a picture of whom they were and where they lived. Note their parents, their siblings, their children and their children’s children. Make a simple family tree for that one person and make sure you attach copies of any relevant photographs/Census documents/Certificates. When you have completed that one research project you can move on to someone else. Eventually you will have a number of trees which interlock. It’s almost impossible to produce one tree that covers every single member of your