Why do you do or are Interested in Genealogy

Why & what can we learn from doing our family tree, well if you are an only child, the youngest or don’t have contact with family then how do you know your family history.

By researching your family tree it can also help you, as you know when you go for a medical or something they ask if there any history of certain things well I have found that by researching that there has been certain medical conditions which has been on a death certificate which I don’t think anyone knew.


Also it can help knowing I mean if say one line of the family all died young of heart related deaths you know it would be in your genes, same with other medical conditions as I feel that it is important that all family members know if there is things that run in families.


Also by doing family history you can not only know the people you are descended from but where they came from, one example is that I believed that my grandfather was Irish there was some conflict as to where with my mum & my aunt both saying different places but a uncle said he was born in London after many years researching & getting nowhere I seem to have hit brick walls even his army records had been destroyed in WW2 so while I have some of his army details I didn’t have place or date of birth.


Then a couple of years ago the 1911 census was open up if you had an address (it now available via pay per view or subscription) & I duly paid the costly price of £45 (well had it as a present) & I got the census for my grandparents.


This showed how long they been married, how many children been born alive in the marriage plus how many had died & of course where each of them were born.


While it didn’t give me a full account of where my granddad was born with the info I had from this plus my mum had given me a month & day of his birthday age I could work from the census & I also knew his father’s name I got his birth certificate & from that I could work back a few more generations


This shows the importance of checking things for yourself, plus how all data can be of use not just birth, marriage & death certificates but the census as well (as long as they are on them)


I wonder how many of us if we had the chance to go back in time to talk to one of our relatives who would we choose, while most would say people that we love & miss I would also say I love to meet some of the ones that had long past before I was born to ask them questions, the same with family members who are alive & have lost contact with it is connecting with these family members who have shaped yours or your parent’s lives so they help you to become the person you are today for good, bad or just indifferent, if you have the chance to either find or be in contact with family members how every the relationship is do so as you or they may miss the chance while one is alive & then regret it when someone has passed plus we not learnt how to time travel back to be able to speak to passed relatives be it cousins or closer family members
So why do you do or are interested in Genealogy, apart from learning my own family tree I also love history so that is why I do it.