to think family history isn't dull or irrelevant??

[GenieGenealogy]

So my user name probably gives it away - but I am interested in family history / genealogy and have been for years. Decades probably. Have lots of friends and connections who are interested too, from across the world.

Recently met a new person through an unrelated social group and we got chatting about what we did in our free time, I said I was interested in researching my family history and she went into a rant about how dull that must be, how it's completely irrelvant to anyone's life, why on earth anyone would be interested in Sarah who died in 1855 or John who went to America in 1899 and so on.

So do you find it interesting or dull or why? (Or is it something you just don't give any thought to?)

Oh I think it's fascinating - and the process as well of hunting it down, finding the archives. I haven't done much but my grandmas done. A very comprehensive job. I love David olusoga's house series for the same reason

How rude to go on a rant too

It’s not something I’m interested in myself, but if I met some who was into it I wouldn’t be so rude.

Mine is really interesting, but I know it because of my grandad, and my history is very relevant to my life.

I would find it dull sitting having to research it all though, that's not my thing at all, and I would think some people would find it dull if they have a family history that is all people from the same area or whatever.

I find it dull, but I certainly wouldn't say so to someone who enjoys it as a hobby!

I love social history so for me my own family history research is fascinating. However, I do find hearing about others own family history a bit dull - trouble is we are all a little obsessed with our own research and can no doubt bang on too much to other people who express a mild interest. I’m usually polite to others but I’m often just waiting for an opening to share my own research 🤣

The person you spoke to sounds a bit rude though!

A historian friend is so dismissive of “genies” doing research into their family trees. I hate that attitude. People are interesting! And tracking down records is satisfying.

I think it’s VERY interesting to the person doing it, and not of much interest to anyone else.

I speak from bitter experience of my mum becoming borderline obsessed and offended that we didn’t want to hear all the minutiae.

It bores the pants off me, and I’d rather watch no tv than watch who do you think you are, but I absolutely wouldn’t piss on anyone’s hobby, that’s just rude. I read about moral philosophy for fun, who am I to judge?

I think it’s fascinating, but I’m interested in history in general. I wouldn’t want someone monologuing at me about their family history but it’s a perfectly natural thing for someone to be interested in and a very normal hobby!

Fascinating - I like any kind of social history,
not so much my own family but I went down amazing rabbit holes researching the house I used to live in which dated back to 1850s and the people that had lived there and stayed there (it was used as a boarding house for a bit)

I find it really dull! I wouldn’t say it to you though :)

its amazing what comes to light not discounting the juicy bits like babies born as they say in our family the wrong side of the blanket! but also sad bits like finding that people had to go into the workhouse. it can certainly throw what you have been led to believe via family legends out the window. it gets very addictive.
my mils history was difficult due to unknown fathers of several children but one child who was born to another woman was brought up by the father and his wife. we managed to find out in the 2WW he was in submarines and was sadly killed when in action. it was interesting and something i had not known much about before

yes it is boring and my family are crap and I would have no interest at all in looking into their history but would not be rude to anyone about it if it was their thing

It’s interesting so I would listen to my relative about it but it wouldn’t be my hobby. However she was very rude in her response.

Interesting for the person doing it , but honestly of no interest to most other parties I would say .

I think it sounds like the dullest thing on earth.

Great great Aunt Gertrude who worked in a bakery, had 6 kids, a normal life and died…… so what?
I have friends who spend hours researching their history……

I think it's like any hobby where some people can find it utterly dull.

I love it. Especially finding surprising things. My DH doesn't understand remotely why I find the lives of people I never met interesting. I don't get his fascination with painting models. Especially ones where there are multiples of basically the same thing over and over and over again!

The world (and genealogy) would be a very boring place if we all liked and done the same things!

She sounds particularly rude though

I'm interested, but not enough to research it.
Agree that there is no real relevance to Aunty Ada moving to NZ, or you are a decendant of Bloody Mary, unless such a tie confers a major benefit. Particularly if you are now in a council house in Romford.

I like the stories that get passed down.

The dog that took the Christmas cake
The husband of my grandmother's cousin who announced he was going to jump off Maidstone bridge.
My grandfather leaving my grandmother (just as she was entertaining one of her sister's and her husband to tea) and taking the clock off the mantlepiece. He did come back that evening.
The anesthetist who asked my mother if she'd like to join his coven.
The leg in the cupboard.

I'm not so interested in the birth and death dates and who did what as a job.

I'd love to know although I suspect my syde of the family is quite dull but dh side seems to have lots of back stabbing and young girls fleeing abuse to set up in a different part of the country.

But I'm not sure on the relevant side. What difference does it make? Other than often people feel aggrieved that great uncle Graham gambled away the family farm.

I get that - I wouldn't want someone monologuing to me about fishing, mountain climbing, cycling or watercolour painting either.

I also get that in a lot of families there are perhaps shady things in the past that people living today would prefer not to know about and that is a valid point of view too.

There are also lots of (mostly overseas) people who are interested but whose only aim is tracing back to William the Conqueror, Mary Queen of Scots or Robert the Bruce, however dodgy the research.

I love it and want to get back into it after hitting a dead end a few years ago.

How rude of that person!

What’s the best site to use these days? I used Ancestry before but they didn’t get the next census so I kind of gave up.

Very interesting to me, but that’s because I started from basically nothing. I was the first in my family in a few generations not to be given up for adoption at birth, so the only bio family I’ve known growing up is my parents and younger siblings. A lot of interesting things came out of the woodwork, obviously some sad stories, but great to have a picture of where I came from. I suspect if you’ve always known exactly where you came from it would be less interesting.

The anesthetist who asked my mother if she'd like to join his coven.
The leg in the cupboard.

Yes you need to elaborate on those two @DemonicCaveMaggot