Family History

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Genealogy is just the start

The term family history is often used interchangeably with the word genealogy, but that is a bit of a misnomer. Family history is a study of everything about a particular family - from its social influences to its victories and defeats to its hopes and dreams. It is, therefore, decidedly more colorful than a typical genealogy, which usually is a, more scientific-like, list of names, birth dates, death dates and marriage dates. Genealogy is rarely concerned with intangibles like hobbies, professions, or even personality types. That is the realm of family history. To be sure, family history borrows a great deal from genealogy. In fact, a family history would not even be possible without a good genealogy at its base. Sometimes monuments and grave markers are use to establish a history trail. But using the terms interchangeably does a disservice to the rich possibilities that come from delving into a family history that is based upon a genealogy. Below are some interesting ideas and considerations about family histories.

Family histories have been a significant part of almost every culture since the dawn history. In most of these cultures, a person’s very identity has long been tied to that of his ancestors (of at least one or two generations previously). Therefore, in many ways, a family history is a means of self-exploration. This is one of the reasons why many schools require students to conduct family history research in their early years. It is also why some religions, such as the Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, ask their members to maintain a life-long interest in family history. (In fact, the Latter Day Saints is widely recognized as an excellent source of family history information for families of all faiths throughout the United States.)

This use of family history is mostly a positive one in modern cultures, but in previous eras (and in some cases still today) it had its drawbacks. Using a family history to establish one’s identify had deadly consequences, for example, in racist societies, in which those who were not somehow affiliated with a “master race" were eliminated. This is one reason why, in some parts of the world that are still coping with the aftermath of racists regimes, family history is an uncomfortable topic. In some countries, those who specialize in family history are treated with suspicion and family history records are often held in strict confidence. There are the places where the term family history is most likely to be confused with genealogy. If asking questions and compiling subjective information about a person’s family is considered taboo or, at the very least, uncomfortable, then the data that is kept is mostly likely going to be as generic as possible. Fortunately, modern genealogy societies today work in almost all countries to keep at least a minimum of genealogic information available. Whether that information ends up being put to use in family history projects depends upon the comfort level of the cultures involved. The professionals in the field take comfort, themselves, in knowing that, when a society is ready to start looking at its family histories from a subjective point of view, the information will be there. The family history researchers can, at any point, step in from locations across the world and begin adding the all-important color to the generic information that the genealogy professionals have made available.

Establish a family histroy trail with a memorial for generations to come.