History of Genealogy

Setting out to discover one’s family history in an accurate way it’s called genealogy and it has become a popular hobby. There are multiple sources, which can be used to find answers about history of the family. Information like whether someone is adopted, or if the family members have been separated or just for more information about a family tree, genealogy is a vast field and has multiple branches. Anyone could start researching the family history because so many types of records and documentation are now available to document genealogy. Genealogy must’ve started as soon as humans started keeping a written account. There are genealogical records dating back to the 6th century BC by chinese philosopher Confucious. People were interested in maintaining genealogies in various forms especially to establish and show their social status. A record of lineage was necessary for the royal families especially where the kings and queens got their thrones by birth right.

Records and Documents

Churches also began keeping records of their patrons somewhere in the Middle Ages. It has been a hobby for people for sometime but not as popular as now especially with the presence of the Internet which gives people tools, which is needed to go back in time and check their ancestry. With the modern methods available, it is easy to recognise fake histories and hence enable genealogists to get an accurate and true account of a family line. Often oral history is what is passed down through generations. This cannot be considered an accurate source of information. There are some records and documents that can help with creating proper genealogical records. These records can include marriage, divorce, birth and death certificates, military records, immigration and emigration to record, records of church like baptism, christening, funeral services and other religious rites, Records of court like wills, criminal records, adoption etc, some other sources of documentation include census records, tax documents, passport, employment records, ownership of property and other related records, voter registrations, Social Security indices etc.

Process of research

There is a host of tools available for genealogists to use for researching their family histories. The process usually begins orally with traditions and histories being handed down. From there it progresses to written documents and other records and when networking with similar researchers. The results then end with genetic testing. Genealogy is a fast growing hobby worldwide.