Why are people so interested with genealogy?

Answer 1

I'm interested in genealogy, because I like knowing what my origins are. Not too long ago, I found out that I'm descended from Henry II of England. Sure, that doesn't make me royalty and I still have to work a job where I earn only $8 an hour, but I have to say that it was pretty cool to find out that someone whom I'd read about in my history books was an ancestor of mine.

Answer 2

You read about people throughout history that make for fascinating stories. With studying your own personal genealogy, you may have a direct lineage connection to someone who may have changed society in your country or even on an international scale. As an example I am a direct descendant of Anna Jarvis which petitioned President Woodrow Wilson to officially establish Mother's Day which he did in 1914. That is just a few generations ago. I can even trace my lineage back to a great great Grandfather who was a hero in the Prussian Calvary or even more recently a Great Uncle who was a clown in a circus (I know who I take after). I hope everyone will take the time and study their genealogy. Not only will you find interesting people who are in your lineage but may better appreciate the struggles, cultures and life styles of what is the history of your distant family heritage.

Answer 3

I got really got interested when I discovered old family pictures and records my Mom inherited from my grandpa 16 years ago. Just in pictures I could trace my family back to my gr-gr-gr-gr-gr grandparents. So, the need to know grew very quickly. Since then my knowledge of my family is quite interesting. It also makes a great historical detective story.

I am a descedent of Quakers on both sides of the family tree (supposedly, one of those ancestors on Mom's side was beheaded for his beliefs). I also have Mennonite on my Mom's side. I have German, Irish, Scottish, English and Norwegian blood running through my veins. I am a descendent of first cousins, a great grandfather that walked out or disappeared before my grandma was born, several slave owners, an ancestor who donated land to found a town in Kentucky, an ancestor who made money in the lumber industry and many other wonderful stories too numerous to count.

Oh, then there is finding the occupations of people. Way too many farmers to count, but also a bartender, saddletree maker, wagon maker, baker, weaver, preacher, coal miner, and like I said before a lumber man.

Let's not forget the wars. The Revolutionary War, War of 1812 (not proven yet), Civil War and WW II.

It is not just about who these people were by names, dates and burial places, but it also about how they lived. Who were their neighbors? What religion? Did they accomplish anything important? Did major historical events shape their lives?

My family has become interwoven into the fabric of America history as well as the country of origin. In all the states in which my family stayed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia, in all the countries Scotland, Ireland, England, Norway, Germany and Switzerland, I have become who I am. Whether it was good times or bad times my family has great meaning.

Answer 4

It's an answer to the rich tapestry of who you are. I found my family tree all the way back to BC times (though history only really recognizes to about 350AD). It's wonderful to know who you are, where you came from...

Also, it's a gift I get to give to my children and their children and everyone that will come after me and wonder why the heck their gr-gr-gr-gr-gr grandmother even gave a crap. LOL

On the practical side, some disorders are rooted in certain countries - so it's an ability to tell a doctor where your ancestors are from so you can isolate possible problems (my son is Celiac, for instance, a disease normally found in people with scottish and english descent... me).

Plus, it's a great puzzle. You find people with the same name born about the same time and have to figure out if they are yours, or not. Some people couldn't care less, I love it and have tons of fun. So far, I have 4700 some people on my tree. A fact that makes me blush with pride.

Answer 5

Well, you must be young! Genealogy is something you grow into! I had no intrest until I was in my 40's and then it just exploded. I love it now and have traced one of my branches all the way back to Stratford Upon Avon England in 1460, to the villiage where Shakespeare was born. It's wonderful to know your roots, who you are and where you came from. My 8th generation GF came here in 1633 on the ship "The James" from England. They trip must have been horrible as the conditions on those ships was so bad many people died on the crossing. Maybe someday you'll get into it, when you have kids and grand kids and you want them to know where they came from. Good Luck!

Answer 6

We are tracing our ancestors so we will know exactly what country they came from, who they were, what they did. If they were born in a different country and came to Canada or the United States when they arrived and where did they settle. Not only are we doing this for ourselves but as a legacy to pass down throughout the generations to come. It is a fantastic journey back into the past.

Answer 7

A lot of people want to know about there ancestry. I am a genealogist and i have been doing research on my family for 20 years. On my dad's side i can trace back to King Edward I of England. It's neat some of the people that you find out you are descended from. Also much further back on my dad's side i can trace my roots to 50 BC as i am descended from Julius Casaer's uncle, Lucius Julius Caesar II.

Answer 8

It's a puzzle. A puzzle with stories of real people who lived and breathed, struggled and celebrated, held jobs, raised families, moved to a new home, loved, mourned, and survived.

All of this to make you the person you are today, to give you the opportunities you have, to give you the history you have.

There's also the hope that one day, someone will wonder about your life and what it has to do with them. That you'll be gone, but not forgotten. That all in life is not for nothing.

Answer 9

I would imagine, some people desire the strong urge to 'feel' connected to 'something', and 'it' graduates from there, while some people are satisfied with just that, there are others who feel the need to have it proven, "....if I'm a decendant of someone who is famous, then, thus, that makes me famous..." while still others feel it is a part of history, and they feel more a part of that fact. Lastly, I think some people believe the more information they possess about something (family ancestors, etc.) they become 'some' type of expert on the subject (i.e. -"I know more than you, so, I must be smarter than you!"

Answer 10

genealogical research back through all of one's ancestors (disregarding whether it is direct male or female) is only useful in so much that certain nobility associations and groups require members to prove that all of their great great grandparents were of pure noble blood. anything after that is completely useless ,unless it is direct male or female descendancy, because millions of people are descendant of important persons through alternating male and female lines. it all only means anything if one can prove a direct and unbroken line of either males or females (the former being extremely hard, and the later being almost impossible).