What brings you to this article about genealogy? Maybe you’ve heard that it’s a fun hobby enjoyed by millions of people worldwide. Perhaps friends or family members have shared their fascinating genealogy discoveries. You may be intrigued by (or a little leery of) DNA. Or maybe you feel an inexplicable pull to learn more about your ancestors.
No matter the reason, this article aims to provide a simple, clear explanation of genealogy: What is it? What benefits can you expect from doing it? How can you start on your own genealogy adventure?
Defining Genealogy
Looking at the etymology of a word often provides clues about its meaning, and that’s true with the word genealogy:
- Genea comes from Greek, meaning “race” or “generation.”
- -logy also comes from Greek, meaning “a subject of study or interest.”
So we can say that genealogy is learning about our family across the generations.
With this basic definition, we see that genealogy can include documenting and researching family histories—something many cultures do in written, oral, or digital forms. But there’s a lot more—for example, family stories, culture, and heritage; favorite family foods; photographs and heirlooms; family newsletters; and reunions. The possibilities go on and on.
Why Do Genealogy?
Doing genealogy has a number of benefits, some that may surprise you. Here are just a few:
A Sense of Identity and Belonging
When you do genealogy, you see the greater picture of your family and your place within it. This picture isn’t always straightforward, and no family is perfect. But doing genealogy gives you a sense of the many lives that helped make you who you are. You can learn about the challenges your ancestors faced. You can discover examples to follow as well as things you want to do differently.
A Greater Appreciation for Your Heritage
Genealogy helps you learn about your national or ethnic culture, as well as your individual family culture. Every culture has traditions of music, art, literature, food, and more. Doing genealogy allows you to discover and explore these traditions. You can even adopt some traditions to enrich your life and the lives of your family members.
Emotional Resilience
Author Bruce Feiler described research about the impact of family history on children’s emotional health: “The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem and the more successfully they believed their families functioned. [It] turned out to be the best single predictor of children’s emotional health and happiness.” (“The Stories That Bind Us,” New York Times, March 15, 2013.) (Learn more about resiliency and family history here.)
Greater Compassion
Learning about others’ lives takes us outside ourselves. It helps us empathize with their trials and triumphs. It broadens our perspective and allows us to see through someone else’s eyes.
Increased Mental Skills
Genealogy provides plenty of opportunities to use and develop essential reasoning skills. When we do family history, we not only search for information, but we analyze and interpret what we find. We determine what conclusions to draw. We also hone our problem-solving skills.
There is evidence that building mental skills may help reduce memory loss and dementia. In today’s digital world, doing genealogy also provides opportunities to develop technology skills.
Social Benefits
Participating in genealogy provides opportunities for social interaction: for example, we can take trips with our family to visit places where our ancestors lived. We can hold family reunions with extended family. We can participate in family history societies or online genealogy communities. We can collaborate with family members to build our family trees.
Interestingly, the skills we develop doing genealogy don’t just apply to genealogy—they can help us in other areas of life, such as work, school, and relationships.
Starting Your Genealogy Journey
You may be wondering how to start on your genealogy journey. It may be easier than you think, especially with all the resources available today! A good first step is to consider different ways you could get involved. For example,
- Ask family members what they know about your ancestors.
- Record interviews with living relatives.
- Keep a journal.
- Write a life sketch or biography of a family member.
- Trace family lines.
- Learn about your ethnic heritage, including food, games, language, customs, dress, and music.
- Plan and hold a family reunion.
- Photograph grave markers.
- Take a genealogy class.
What appeals to you the most? That may be a good starting place.
Preserving Your Genealogy Findings
On your genealogy journey, you may find things you want to preserve, such as family heirlooms, photos, journals, documents and so forth. As you learn more about your ancestors, you may want to document their lives in some way. And you might want a way to record information about your living family members, including yourself.
If you want to document your family in a family tree or pedigree format that shows connections between generations, a number of digital options are available:
- Desktop genealogy applications, such as Ancestral Quest, Legacy Family Tree, RootsMagic, and others.
These applications typically offer a free version with basic features and a paid version with more robust features. They’re available in multiple languages. In addition, some desktop applications can synchronize with genealogy websites. Information can also be shared between genealogy applications using GEDCOM files.
- Websites like Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, FindMyPast.com, Geneanet, Filae, and others.
These sites allow you to create your own online family tree and share it with others. You can attach sources, photos, video and audio recordings, and documents to people in your tree. You can also search for historical records, connect with other members, and more. Most sites offer some free features; a paid subscription may include additional features.
- Websites like FamilySearch.org, WikiTree, and others.
These sites provide similar features to the sites mentioned above, except that users work together on a shared tree rather than maintaining individual trees.
Learning to Do Genealogy
When you start doing genealogy, you’ll probably realize there’s a lot you don’t know. And that’s OK! Everyone starts at the beginning. Fortunately, a lot of online resources, many of them free, can help you learn what you need to know for your particular journey. Learning is one of the main keys to success in genealogy.
Online Classes and Conferences
Free online classes, live or recorded, are available on almost every conceivable genealogy topic. For example, take a look at the following sites:
Advanced Training
When some people start doing genealogy, they love it so much that they decide to pursue a college degree or professional certification. While you don’t need advanced training to enjoy doing genealogy, here are some options if you decide to go that route.
ICAPGen (International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists) is an international organization that provides training and testing in areas of genealogical expertise. Candidates choose a geographical region to study. Upon completing all requirements and passing a test for that region, candidates become accredited.
Similarly, BCG, the Board for Certification of Genealogists, offers certification for those who demonstrate the required knowledge and skills.
If you’re looking for formal education, a list of institutions offering genealogical certificates and degrees is available on Cyndi’s List.
The Role of Research
It’s worth taking a moment to talk about an aspect of genealogy that sometimes intimidates people: research. Misconceptions about research can be an obstacle for some people. For example, they may think that genealogical research means long hours of boring work. Or they may envision looking through musty old documents or long rolls of microfilm. Some lack confidence that they can actually do research.
Let’s examine these misconceptions. What is research, really? It simply means “to discover facts by investigation.” This is something we all do regularly, whether we’re making a purchase or deciding on a show to watch. So, research itself isn’t intimidating or overwhelming; it’s a skill most of us already possess.
Granted, some time periods and places are challenging. But others are remarkably easy. When you’re starting out, it’s best to choose one of the easier options. One of the easiest may be talking to your living family members. Ask what they remember, especially about family members who have already passed on.
In many countries, research is easiest after the 1850s because more records are available and they’re easier to read. As you continue to do research, you’ll build your skills and prepare to tackle more difficult times and places.
In addition, the internet has dramatically changed how we do research. Billions of records are available online at the click of a mouse. It’s never been so easy to access genealogical records.
You can learn more about the research process by reading this FamilySearch Research Wiki article.
Genealogy Games and Activities
Another way the internet has impacted genealogy is by making it more fun! Here’s a sampling of activities and games.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Like anything worthwhile in life, a beginner’s genealogy journey may have a few traps and pitfalls. Learning to avoid them makes your journey easier and more rewarding. What are some things to watch out for?
Expecting Too Much Too Soon
When you’re just getting started with genealogy, you may underestimate the time and effort required and then become discouraged when progress is slower than you hoped. Regular, steady effort tends to yield the best results.
Accepting Family Folklore as Fact Instead of Proving It
Many families pass down stories and other information from generation to generation—for instance, “Immigration officials changed our family’s name when we came to this country.” Some family folklore is true (or at least partly true), but some may be misleading and even false. Family folklore can provide helpful clues, but always look for evidence to support it. If you can’t find evidence, you can still include the information. Describe where the information came from (for example, “My mother heard this from her grandmother”) and explain what steps you’ve taken to verify the information.
Copying Someone Else’s Genealogy Data without Verifying It
The internet makes research easy; unfortunately, it also provides easy access to unverified and even incorrect genealogies. So don’t just take for granted that an online family tree is accurate. Take time to verify the information and sources. Collaborating with others on genealogy can be valuable, but adding inaccurate information to your family tree can cause problems in the long run.
Jumping to Conclusions
When starting out, we’re often eager to make progress quickly, which can lead us to jump to conclusions. One of the most common is the “same name trap”: assuming 2 different people are the same just because they have the same name, even when other details conflict. Take the time to verify your conclusions before accepting them as facts.
Relying on a Single Source
Of course, there are times when a single source is all you can find, but these instances are relatively rare in most countries, especially from the 1800s onward. Most of the time you can—and should—look for multiple sources about your ancestors so you have the most complete and accurate picture.
Not Writing Things Down
You can save yourself duplicate work and errors by taking good notes as you work on your genealogy. It’s even helpful to take notes when you look for something and don’t find it! Many note-taking tools are available, such as research logs; online notebooks like OneNote and Evernote; and apps developed specifically for genealogy, like Goldie May. Read Taking Better Notes in Your Genealogy Research for more helpful tips.
Getting Support
As you work on your genealogy, you’ll most likely have questions or need help. Fortunately, it’s easy to find answers and help in our connected world.
The FamilySearch Community has groups on just about any genealogical topic you can think of. Anyone can ask a question, and other members of the community respond. FamilySearch employees and volunteers often participate in discussions and answer questions.
You can also find groups on social media sites like Facebook—search by a topic of interest to find a group. A word of caution: some posts in social media groups contain inaccurate or out-of-date information. You may want to fact-check some posts before accepting them as truth.
If you live near a FamilySearch center, you can stop by and get personalized help. Some centers offer virtual consultations (for example, the Salt Lake FamilySearch Library and the BYU Library Family History Center).
FamilySearch also maintains a Research Wiki, a comprehensive resource with articles related to general and location-specific research.
Conclusion
Genealogy is more than names, dates, and places. It’s more than a hobby. It’s a way to preserve and appreciate the past. It’s a way to inspire the future. It’s one of the most rewarding ways we can spend our time.
Best wishes to you on your genealogy journey!
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