| You may think you know what genealogy is, but | | | | As you can expect, even with the utmost care, |
| many individuals confuse it with the closely related | | | | many times in history more than one genealogical |
| term "family history." Genealogy is the study of | | | | record would suddenly appear....throwing the |
| ancestry and descendants. The study of | | | | process of crowning the next heir into bedlam. |
| genealogy pertains only to who is a member of a | | | | Genealogy even pops up in the Bible. In the New |
| specific family and who these family members | | | | Testament book of Matthew, he spends pages |
| are related to. | | | | on what many Sunday school students try to |
| Family history, though, is the actual narrative of | | | | quickly gloss over, "the begats." "Abraham begat |
| your ancestors' lives. It is also the act of tracking | | | | Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob" and so it went until |
| the dates of your ancestors' births and deaths, | | | | you get to - some forty-two generations later - |
| the jobs they held, as well as any other important | | | | "And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary of |
| factors in their lives. | | | | whom was born Jesus..." |
| As you make your family's genealogy chart, it'll be | | | | Genealogy plays an important role in the lives of |
| difficult to separate the two. After all, in order to | | | | many families today, even when no royalty is |
| learn who came from where, you'll have to learn | | | | involved. The study of this timeless pursuit can |
| a little more about their history as well. | | | | help play a decisive role in bringing families torn |
| Who, what, when, where and how of your family | | | | apart by circumstances beyond their control back |
| tree is often conveniently labeled genealogy. Keep | | | | together. In the decades immediately following |
| in mind, however, that an occasional relative who | | | | World War II, families found genealogy |
| likes to take words literally may correct you | | | | instrumental in tracing members displaced by the |
| when you talk about genealogy in such broad | | | | many tragic facets of the war. |
| terms. | | | | There are other reasons families get separated, |
| Why does genealogy matter any way? | | | | as well. Consider famines, where some members |
| Perhaps today it doesn't matter as much as it | | | | must flee the country in order to survive. A |
| once did. Especially in this country where - | | | | mother may move away with her children in |
| according to legend and tradition - every person | | | | order to keep them alive. Or perhaps, as in the |
| at birth gets to start fresh in America. He stands | | | | events leading up to World War II (and beyond), |
| or falls on his own merits, without regard to his | | | | members of families leave in order to save |
| family status. | | | | children or the elderly from undue social |
| Historically speaking, genealogy was an essential | | | | persecution...or assured death. |
| study. After all, it was the method of determining | | | | In these cases, genealogy plays a major role in |
| inheritance - especially with the nobility. Imagine | | | | making fractured families whole again...even if the |
| the need to discover the next heir in line to a | | | | current family members didn't know that they |
| throne if the king had no direct son or daughter | | | | had members missing. Thirty some years ago, a |
| to pass his rule down to. The compilation of | | | | novel based on a stunningly simple idea of |
| detailed and accurate genealogical records was of | | | | genealogy gave many African-Americans a new |
| the essence to ensure the proper individuals | | | | common ancestor, Kunte Kinte, the main |
| received the throne. | | | | character of Alex Haley's book Roots. |