Genealogy is an important topic for people of all backgrounds and cultures. It provides a way to trace your family’s history. It can also help you to find new things about yourself.
The following post will discuss aspects of family history that will help every would-be genealogist. So, let’s take a look at 4 things you should know about genealogy.
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1. It Helps You Learn About Your Ancestors
Genealogy is a very significant part of the past. It can help you to learn about your ancestors. And it can assist you with connecting generations together.
When starting on your family history journey you should know the following:
- How to start a family tree,
- What records are available for genealogy research, and
- Why it is important to preserve your heritage, among other things.
Genealogy is very important!
Not only does it allow you to understand where you come from but also it lets you see where our society has been throughout history.
Genealogy can help us learn about history before we were born.
To preserve your heritage is also essential
This is because if something were to happen to an older generation then their culture may be lost forever.
If they never had children and no one was to preserve their memories then they could be lost in time forever.
Imagine a great family with many wonderful tales and stories about them. But then suddenly one day their building was to burn down.
Their memories would then be all but forgotten. How sad indeed.
As the guys at www.recordclick.com put it:
Genealogy will help you break open your family tree and find your diverse family heritage to reveal your unique family history.
Many people value heritage, ancestry, and family history.
It is very interesting to learn about where you come from. It helps you understand more of who you are today!
2. It Can Be Useful In Completing Your Family Tree
One of the best uses for genealogy is completing the family tree. It can help you to learn about your ancestors that may not be recorded anywhere else.
You may discover what type of work they did, and where they once lived.
You can also find out things about yourself that you never knew or even imagined!
But you do need to know a few key aspects of genealogy before you begin your family history journey.
Firstly, don’t give up!
Sometimes it takes a long time to track down someone’s lineage. And sometimes information just doesn’t exist anymore.
There is nothing we can do about the lost records of our ancestors. We just keep researching because you never know. Maybe one day something just might turn up.
Secondly, realize how powerful records are as historical documents. They can help us understand our world today.
Thirdly, remember that our family trees are living things; they grow and change as we do.
Finally, enjoy yourself and take the time to appreciate your ancestors for all the hard work they put into building a legacy that will last forever. Without them there wouldn’t be you.
3. There Are Different Types Of Genealogical Records
There are many different types of genealogical records that can help with your research.
Birth certificates
These contain information about a person’s birth, such as their parents’ names, the date, and where they were born.
Marriage certificates
These show details about a couple’s wedding day. They include information such as their marital status before getting married and where the ceremony took place.
Death certificates
This will give you information on when someone died or was buried, who made the funeral arrangements for the deceased. And it can also tell you if any other living relatives need to be notified.
Census records
Every ten years in America, (and other countries around the world), people answer questions about their family members.
Early censuses just counted how many people were living in each household. But as the years went by more information was collected about our ancestors. So they can actually provide a lot of information to help our genealogy research.
Scratching the surface
These four examples just scratch the surface of what is available through official government channels.
There are also many different records and documents that you can look.
You can also find records such as obituaries. And these can be fascinating as they will give you information about the person’s life that you are researching.
If your ancestors were immigrants to America you may also be able to learn more about their journey. This can be done by finding ship manifests or passenger lists.
These show details such as:
- How old were they when they arrived at Ellis Island,
- Where exactly in Europe they came from,
- What jobs they had before they came over to America,
- Whether or not there was anyone else with them on the trip across the Atlantic Ocean, and more.
Once you have found all of these different types of records it is important to make sure that any facts you write down are correct.
This is because if something isn’t right then anyone reading your work might get confused about your ancestors.
4. Some Records Cannot Be Found
Unfortunately, you’re bound to become disappointed at some stage during your genealogy journey. This is because it is sometimes impossible to find records. This is true even if you know where to look.
Genealogy is like putting a puzzle together
For every piece of the puzzle that you find, there are things about your ancestors’ lives and stories that remain unknown. It can be difficult for family historians to accept this fact.
Even for me, I have just had to accept to let information about my ancestors go because I can’t find what I am looking for.
Here are some tips that you should keep in mind as you trace your family tree:
- Family bibles may not exist because they may have been destroyed, or lost in time.
- The first marriage certificate an ancestor might hold may not verify that their parents were even married. Always remember what was taught during premarital classes.
- Baptisms cannot always be found. So try searching different denominations instead of just one church.
- Land records may not exist if ancestors owned the land before the establishment of county or state record keeping.
- School records are usually nonexistent for older generations. But census records can help you discover what they were doing at certain ages.
There may be key aspects of your ancestors’ life missing from your family history research. This is because, as I have mentioned, it is impossible to find them.
However, that does not mean that there isn’t value in pursuing other avenues. Do not give up on your genealogy journey just yet.
Try to go through old photos and letters instead. There can be a lot of information revealed in these genealogical resources.
And lastly don’t forget about oral histories. Try interviewing your living relatives to see what you can discover about your ancestors.
This research technique has been a great help to me in discovering more about my ancestors. And it has helped me immensely in building my family tree.
Conclusion
Genealogy is a very important field of research that anyone can do. You should give it a chance because it can give you great insight into your past.
Genealogy research can help you to track down your ancestors and build your family tree immensely.
There are different types of documents as I have discussed in this post. Some may never be found because they were never recorded, or they have been destroyed by some means.
However, even without them, there is a huge chance that you will discover something interesting like I have while researching my family tree.
Thank You and Please Leave A Comment
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