When you hear the term “genealogy”, you probably think it is something scientific and very complex. Well, it does require a certain amount of studying, but everyone can practice genealogy.
Today, we are going to explain what genealogy is and why it is important for every single person in the world, including you.
What Is Genealogy?
As we said, the term itself might sound scientific and complicated, but genealogy is, in fact, really simple. It’s basically tracing your ancestors and learning about your family history. This can be very fun, rewarding, and eye-opening. There are also many other reasons why genealogy is important.
Here’s what they are.
You Get To Know Your Entire Family
Every person wants to know where they’ve come from. Being curious about this thing and wanting to know your origin is completely understandable. Doing genealogy can be a lot of work, but it’s also very rewarding. You can choose to do it yourself or hire a professional. If you decide to hire a professional genealogist, you must take into account the cost involved and the fact that you will be letting this person into your family. You shouldn’t be too concerned about the latter because these people are professionals and they will respect your privacy.
One of the biggest benefits of learning about your family history is getting to know your entire family. To get the information you need, you will have to talk to every single one of your living relatives. This means you will get the chance to bond with your family members and reconnect with the ones you haven’t heard from for a long time.
Finally, you will discover certain family members you didn’t know about. This is one of the most exciting things about genealogy.
It Helps You Validate Legends And Stories About Your Family
Every family has a legend or a story. It may not be epic or fantastical, but it’s always rather interesting. Therefore, if your family also has a story you want to validate, genealogy will help you get to the bottom of it. Confirming your family’s old stories might seem trivial, but it can be useful when you want to prove a point or settle a dispute.
Tracking Inheritance
When it comes to family history, one topic always comes to mind – inheritance. Who gets what? This is usually the most pressing question in family disputes and genealogy can help resolve this situation. Conversations about inheritance are usually rather unpleasant and they can lead to horrible fights. Therefore, to prevent this from happening, make sure to learn all you can about your family history.
Genealogy Can Help You Find Famous Ancestors
A lot of people have famous ancestors. You probably have them too, you just need to keep digging until you find them. Finding out that you have famous ancestors who have made their mark in history is a very exciting revelation. However, it can be complicated to pinpoint them in your family tree. Fortunately, a thorough research process can help you achieve this.
You can do this all by yourself, but it’s rather useful to have a professional genealogist at your disposal in case you run into a dead end.
It Helps You Track Medical Conditions In Your Family
There is nothing more important in this world than having good health. Unfortunately, not all people are blessed with an impeccable health and, in most cases, the answer to their problems lies somewhere in their family tree. If you also think you can trace a disease by learning about your family history, then, by all means, you should do it. This way, you can adjust your everyday habits and prevent a disease from ruining your life.
Genealogy Can Help You Write A Book About Your Family
Learning about your origin and your family’s history is a wonderful thing. It provides you with an opportunity to learn who you really are and bond with your family members. Naturally, you would want your kids to experience something like this, as well. The best way to ensure this is to write a book about your family or create a family tree.
This way, when your kids decide to learn about your family’s stories, legends, and facts about your family, they will be able to do so by reading from a well-written book. Providing your heirs with a relic like this is a beautiful thing. However, for you to do this, you must learn about your family first. This is exactly where genealogy comes in.