Genealogy is the practice of researching your family lineage, seeing how far back it can trace, naming ancestors, and finding living relatives. Genealogy has, in recent years, become incredibly popular. DNA testing kits, in combination with genealogy websites, have allowed people to track down their lost relatives, living and dead. The benefits of genealogy are many, and this page will hope to tell you a few of those. If you have never before considered participating in genealogy research, consider it; it can tell you who you are, where you come from, and tell you about the lives of your ancestors.
Here are the benefits of genealogy.
Availability of Services
Genealogy services are one of the many benefits of genealogy. Genealogy, for the layman, can be very confusing. You can, however, find a genealogist for hire that will be able to do everything for you. If it were not for them, many people would be completely unable to practice genealogy. These services can also allow you to track down relatives still living that have moved on with their lives without you or may not have known that you ever existed in the first place. They have been used to great success to find parents that have run away or become estranged. They have also been used to track down living heirs.
Medical History
Medical history is something that is always very beneficial to have. Performing genealogy checks can allow you to trace back the medical history of your relatives. This is a fantastic way for you to know whether or not you may be likely to contract diseases or illnesses that are inherent in your family. Uncovering the medical history of your family can also be very interesting and can allow you to become more intimate and familiar with the lives of your ancestors.
Validation
In every family, there are folkloric tales of the antics of ancestors. Performing genealogy checks can allow you to verify whether or not there is any validity to these tales and establish whether or not they are just invented. You should be careful when doing this, as you may upset relatives. You should potentially just keep the truth to yourself.
Fame and Intrigue
Genealogy can allow you to determine whether or not you have any famous relatives or any relatives that have gained notoriety. Genealogy can trace back for hundreds of years, meaning you will be able to uncover the history of your lineage and establish whether or not you have famous blood. Finding a famous relative is very interesting and is something that, surprisingly, happens quite often when people are performing genealogy. You never know, you may find out that you are directly related to royalty or aristocracy. Definitely check it out for this reason alone.
Inheritances
As previously mentioned, genealogy can be a great way to trace inheritances and the heirs to wills. You can also trace land ownership through genealogy to determine who is the rightful heir to a plot of land. This can be very beneficial and has seen huge settlements being awarded to people. It is also very beneficial to settle disputes that may be ongoing in your family. Many inheritances are held in a state of limbo for a number of years, pending the arrival of an heir. If you can establish that you may be entitled to an inheritance during this period, you can see it all being awarded to you.
Find Relatives
Another of the most popular reasons that people perform genealogy checks, and one that was mentioned previously, is to find living relatives. Genealogy can allow you to find relatives that you may not have even known existed but are still living. If you are estranged from a parent, you may have siblings; if from a sibling, you may have nieces and nephews. Using genealogy to trace living relatives is a fantastic and exciting experience and one that is highly recommended by those who have done it. The only downside is that you may not find what you are looking for in terms of relatives. There is often a reason that a relative has become estranged, and it can be very hard for people to deal with the reality that their relative does not live up to their expectations.
Now, with the help of this page, you should understand and know the many benefits of genealogy. Genealogy is a great service that can be used very effectively by historians and anybody who wants to know who they are and where they come from.