Introducing Genealogy

I've been interested in genealogy for a few years now and have traced both my ancestors and my wife's ancestors back many generations, which has been truly fascinating and addictive. Warning: genealogy is addictive!

So what, exactly is genealogy? Genealogy is the study of a person's ancestors (commonly known as your "family tree") or family history - tracing them back generation after generation. So, the further back you go, the more ancestors you have to find ... especially if you then start tracing descendants of the siblings of your own direct ancestors!

For example, I have 2 parents, who each have 2 parents, so there are 4 grandparents ... and so on: 8 great-grandparents, 16 great-great parents, ad infinitum! Then, if each grandparent had brothers and/or sisters, they may well have had descendants also, giving you even more relatives to trace.

Genealogy is definitely an amazing journey that makes you realize just how connected to other people you are, and what a heritage we all have, and share.

As this blog progresses, I shall be giving tips, advice, information, resources, etc. to help you on your journey into the past, tracing your own ancestors and reliving your family history.

---

Technorati Tags: genealogy, ancestors, ancestry, family history, family tree, genealogy tips