People become interested in genealogy for different reasons. I got into it because I never knew either of my grandfathers and genealogy was a way to connect with them. My brother's mother-in-law took me to the archives for the first time when I was around twelve or thirteen years old. I was hooked from that day forward and do not regret any of it. Genealogy took over a big portion of my life, for many years. I was almost obsessed at time, especially once I became aware of the Internet. E-mail and Genforum changed my life forever. College would not have been the same without genealogy.
Some people want to find out where their ancestors came from, maybe their ethnic origin. It used to take a lot of digging to get that answer, assuming that all of the documents were in existence and available. Today we can perform a simple cheek swab and get a DNA profile that can tell you pretty much where your genes came from in this world. I happen to be a Viking ,basically, as my male ancestors were apparently from Scandinavia. I would never have known that with the help of DNA.
Other people, especially those with last names of Washington, Lee, Jackson, Adams, Monroe, Columbus, etc., all think that they are descendants of greatness and want to find their connection to their famous ancestor. Most of the time this has been passed down from parent to child, generation after generation. I have met a lot of people who descend from George Washington. I guess it is too bad that he did not have any biological children (but they do not know that I suppose). I also had a lady try to convince me that she was the illegitimate, great-granddaughter of General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson - try proving that one!
A long-standing reason for some genealogy research are health reasons. People trace diseases and medical flaws across generations to help determine the likelihood that they will inherit a given problem. This is becoming more important now that we better understand genetics and the way traits are passed among the generations. I think the importance of genetic genealogy is just starting to take shape. It will grow dramatically as the technology becomes more affordable and more readily available to a larger audience.
I would say that the majority of people performing research probably want to join a lineage society, such as the Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Jamestowne Society or the Sons of Confederate Veterans. I have helped numerous clients with SCV, SAR and DAR applications. These generally require a lot of documentation and probably account for a large portion of paid genealogists' income. I know that I made most of my money in these pursuits, when I was doing paid research.
Other reasons for researching family history could be to get a scholarship, such as those for Native Americans. Some people trace deeds to acquire old land or maybe reclaim a family cemetery. I actually got a half acre lot put in my name from Henrico County, Virginia because it was deemed to be a family cemetery, belonging to one of my ancestors, and there was no owner of record on file. I guess I could be buried there if I wanted to push the envelope, seeing as though it is right in the middle of a modern apartment complex!
Whatever the reason, genealogy is usually considered to be one of the top two or three hobbies in America. People spend millions of hours and undoubtedly millions of dollars on genealogy every year. I probably spent over $1,000 myself on an annual basis, on my own family history projects.
No matter your motivation, genealogy is an addictive hobby that can get a hold of you and never let go. What got you involved with the hobby and what keeps you going strong?
Some people want to find out where their ancestors came from, maybe their ethnic origin. It used to take a lot of digging to get that answer, assuming that all of the documents were in existence and available. Today we can perform a simple cheek swab and get a DNA profile that can tell you pretty much where your genes came from in this world. I happen to be a Viking ,basically, as my male ancestors were apparently from Scandinavia. I would never have known that with the help of DNA.
Other people, especially those with last names of Washington, Lee, Jackson, Adams, Monroe, Columbus, etc., all think that they are descendants of greatness and want to find their connection to their famous ancestor. Most of the time this has been passed down from parent to child, generation after generation. I have met a lot of people who descend from George Washington. I guess it is too bad that he did not have any biological children (but they do not know that I suppose). I also had a lady try to convince me that she was the illegitimate, great-granddaughter of General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson - try proving that one!
A long-standing reason for some genealogy research are health reasons. People trace diseases and medical flaws across generations to help determine the likelihood that they will inherit a given problem. This is becoming more important now that we better understand genetics and the way traits are passed among the generations. I think the importance of genetic genealogy is just starting to take shape. It will grow dramatically as the technology becomes more affordable and more readily available to a larger audience.
I would say that the majority of people performing research probably want to join a lineage society, such as the Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Jamestowne Society or the Sons of Confederate Veterans. I have helped numerous clients with SCV, SAR and DAR applications. These generally require a lot of documentation and probably account for a large portion of paid genealogists' income. I know that I made most of my money in these pursuits, when I was doing paid research.
Other reasons for researching family history could be to get a scholarship, such as those for Native Americans. Some people trace deeds to acquire old land or maybe reclaim a family cemetery. I actually got a half acre lot put in my name from Henrico County, Virginia because it was deemed to be a family cemetery, belonging to one of my ancestors, and there was no owner of record on file. I guess I could be buried there if I wanted to push the envelope, seeing as though it is right in the middle of a modern apartment complex!
Whatever the reason, genealogy is usually considered to be one of the top two or three hobbies in America. People spend millions of hours and undoubtedly millions of dollars on genealogy every year. I probably spent over $1,000 myself on an annual basis, on my own family history projects.
No matter your motivation, genealogy is an addictive hobby that can get a hold of you and never let go. What got you involved with the hobby and what keeps you going strong?
6 comments:
Kevin you are so right about the love once you get started.
My love started with finding a scrapbook that belonged to my grandmother in my father's shed, after he passed away and as I began looking at some of the articles and newspaper clippings she had in there, I became over whelmed at the need to once again be part of what were the happiest years of my youth, being around that side of the family, plus little bits and pieces of stories that were told as we grew up started to creep back into my thoughts, that I didn't want to slip away un noticed nor forgotten so here I am. I have been hooked on your site, ever since I found you.
Keep up the great work and inspiration for others as you did for me.
ffvofva
Kevin, I'm looking forward to receiving your genealogy lessons. I was fortunate to know one set of great-grandparents, one grandfather, and both grandmothers when I was growing up. I was also fortunate to have a first cousin once removed who was a professional genealogist. She traced our Pottinger/Barry ancestors wayyyyy back. Other relatives traced our Sitzes/Yount ancestors as well. After retiring in 2003 I decided to try my hand at genealogy and get to 'know' ALL of my 8 great-grandparents. I've managed to do that and more, finding things about my dad's family that even he didn't know! I'm currently pushing the frontier back to 4th and 5th generations, discovering long lost cousins, etc. And, I might add, having a ball while I'm at it!
I have been interested in genealogy since I was abt 12 yrs old when my grandmother was doing research on her family. Then in 1999 my aunt, her daughter, asked me to re-type what she had typed for her mother because the book was falling apart and her son wanted to know more about the family. We knew nothing about grandpa's side of the family since he didn't talk much abt his family. This is when we, my aunt and I, got into researching heavily. We went somewhere every week until her health broke. I do what I can here in town, but everything else has to be on-line since I'm disabled. My cousin on my mother's side and I are working on that side of the family together. We had a gr aunt who was able to do a lot of research on my maternal grandfather's side. So genealogy has been a part of my family for as long as I can remember and I feel it is just natural that I continue on w/ the research. And I do enjoy the hunting for the info!
Genealogy is a great hobby isn't it!
I serendipitously inherited a massive amount of material, letters, papers, photos, etc. And I have subsequently gotten more, as people find I am interested. I am working on putting it all on my web-site http://tinyurl.com/GaussChildren, and the genealogy provides context. Also, I am trying to locate all the descendants (U.S., at least) of my famous ancestor, the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss.
Susan
Thanks for all you do as I have learned a lot. Growing up I was told that we descended from Mayflower Pilgrims and Jamestown (both true), and there several family legends. I was also told that we had a lot of preachers and politicians in our families (true), and that one of George Washington's favorite indentured servants was a relative.
I never wanted to get involved in genealogy despite a love for history. I have a twisted family history with a lot of skeletons. In the last four years, we found out that a neighbor living across the street from my brother was actually our second cousin (asking about her similarity in appearance). When her mother's death brought up questions about family names, I started the research.
I have been totally amazed at everything I have found. Yes, we are related to several of the Mayflower pilgrim families, yes we are related to the Jamestown settlement, to a lot of early Colonial leaders, and we can do better than an indentured servant of Washington. Our family has five connection points of relationship to him (obviously not as descendants), but we are descended from Thomas Jefferson, and the Adams presidents. We are descended from royalty in England and other countries. There are a lot of mysteries to uncover. One thing I would tell people is to not dismiss any name mentioned in family discussions. I just sent off my DNA samples.
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