Why do people research their genealogy/family tree?

[excelen]

My brother is obsessed with researching our ancestry. I couldn’t care less, they’re almost always dead… we come from a long line of lower middle class farmers. How exciting.

Why do people research it?

Because they're interested?

Why do lots of people do things that other people are not interested in?

I have no idea because you don't really know if you are related to any of these people. Lots of secret affairs happen, so you never really know if you / your great grandparents tree really follows that way. If great grandma Edna got pregnant with Roger the Lodger and not great grandpa Joe then you follow the wrong lineage.

I find dna ones interesting though.

No idea! I know someone that does this, even goes to visit the towns were great great great relatives lived and looks them up in public records, cemeteries etc. Is always going on about the family tree and how name x came from person y and so and so had n kids and lived in so-and-so.

I don’t get it, nothing they learn about our dead ancestors is going to make and difference or improve our lives now!

I can understand wanting to find living siblings or relatives. It’s the going backwards several generations I don’t understand.

Perhaps to get a sense of continuity and belonging, in a rapidly changing world?

It's entertaining and usually surprising. Each to their own.

Because people are interested in different things?

I do my family tree and there are two things I really enjoy: 1) learning about history and the historical context of their lives and 2) I love trying to work it out and solve a puzzle, or trying to solve a mystery by researching it.

DNA research is fascinating and you can prove or disprove paper evidence with it.

But if it doesn't interest you, it doesn't matter.

We did it because we knew our DGF wasn't our biological one but DM didn't know who was. Once he'd died we went looking because we were nosy. Absolutely no intention of getting in touch with anyone. Gosh it was fascinating- the only thing I would say if you're happy with your family and wouldn't change them for the world, even if they weren't blood related then do it. If not, you might be opening a whole can of worms so think carefully!

Because it gives an insight of where you came from, the sort of life your ancestors lived, the struggles they may have had. You can also find out things that were well hidden. There are worse ways to spend your time.

It’s personal history, social history. History isn’t all kings and queen, wars and imperialism.

I really enjoyed researching my family tree and the fact that we’re all very ordinary people made it more meaningful, if anything. Didn’t have to go back many generations before everyone was signing marriage certificates with an X. The idea of researching and remembering very ordinary people - my ancestors- meant a lot to me. I’ve even visited the church where one of my ancestors was christened and married in the 18th c. And it was fascinating to discover that one branch of my family were in London all the way back to the 1600s- who knows, maybe they saw Shakespeare’s plays at the Globe- and now I live in London and do the same. I find it completely fascinating.

It's not for everyone, I get that. I find it fascinating and enjoy reading about history in general. One strand of my family I know nothing about and there were lots of rumours about where they came from. You can test your DNA if you really want. In retrospect I wouldn't have done the DNA test with 23 and me I would have chosen ancestry instead. Quite a high percentage of my DNA was from a south European country, so that was a surprise. There can be a fair few dead ends with genealogy, there was with my family, which can be frustrating. I liked reading the census information and thinking about what life might have been like. Also the military information for those that had joined army late 1800s/enlisted for WW1 and 2.

I love all the stories, and social history.
I'm lucky to have lots of family photos - very old. I like to learn about those people.
But I do think that living family are more important!!

Oh it's fascinating. I've found out all sorts. It's like a puzzle trying to find out the names, ages, documents, how they died etc. and filling in all the gaps and unknowns. I just wish I'd asked my grandparents more before they died.

I’m fascinated by mine and feel a deep sense of connection to some of my forbears which is patently ridiculous because I have very little interest in most of my actual living relations aside from close family 😂

@Theothername same here 😂 I don't have any contact with my sibling. But speak to my third cousin in America who I've never met 😂

Because it's fascinating. I've found amazing war records, tragic newspaper reports, really interesting emigration stories, learned loads about various trades, discovered heroes and villains.

It's interesting!
What were their names?
What did they do?
Where did they live?

It's fascinating, to me, to your brother, and to many other people.

You have different interests.

People research genealogy if they find it interesting and fun. What harm is it doing to you?

I joined ancestry and through my DNA found out who my father’s real father was. Got to meet a cousin I never knew I had and learned all about my real grand-father (who my father is the image of).

DM researched ours a while ago, and part of what she enjoyed was looking up census reports and thinking “so is this Catherine Williamson with a lodger and two children the same woman who has been widowed, and moved into cheaper lodging, or has the Catherine Williamson I’m researching just moved away or not filled in the form?”

Our family tree are mostly poor coal miners who moved around a lot following the work, so you find people all over the place (Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Newcastle)

I used to feel like this but my elderly father has recently become interested in tracing our family tree and I've been helping him- what started out as a chore has become oddly fascinating and touching in many ways. But it's more than that- in a world that is so often devoid of any kind of sense or meaning, I find it quite humbling to think back on these people who lived before us, and to imagine their lives. To wonder if they ever imagined that in only a few generations' time we would have not only the technology to trace ancestors via written records, but also via dna testing. Their minds would be blown! I wonder what my great great grandchildren (should I have any!) will be like, what kind of world they will live in (hoping that the world does indeed survive ) and what they will find if they ever search for their ancestors. I wonder if they'll use Mumsnet!

We are all pretty meaningless and insignificant in the context of the entire universe, yet (if we are lucky/ if we choose to be close to them) to our family we are everything. Isn't that life in a nutshell?
Now snooker- that's a hobby I can't see the point of, yet thousands would disagree!

It is endlessly fascinating; like treasure-hunting but with stories of the past. I have learned so much just by investigating my ancestors and wondering what their lives were like. I could, and have, waffle for hours about it! Also, my love of forum lurking came from early FH explorations. I have made real.friends through it, and got out and about more.

I find it fascinating. I'm very interested in social history and my own family tree makes me feel a real connection to it. And I want you to know about the people I come from

I'm sure that there are things that interest you that I wouldn't care anything about.

We are all different.

I absolutely love it. But I can see why to many people if would seem pointless. People hunting for missing pieces of their family jigsaw many generations back are really just wasting their time. I can see that, but for me it’s an enjoyable waste of time.