Family History

One of today’s growing hobbies is “doing your family history.” What is it about this occupation that interests people? What keeps them at it year after year? Why are more people pursuing their family history now than in years gone by? What is the place for this, if any, in the Christian scheme of things?

People begin pursuing their family history for various reasons. Sometimes it is simply because they have retired (see Retirement) and want a hobby to give some structure to this period of transition in their lives. For others, friends got them involved, and they sensed the pleasure and excitement their friends experienced as they delved deeper into the past. Others begin because they have developed a medical problem and want to see if it has its genesis in their family of origin. Sometimes it is the names inscribed in the front of a family Bible that start the search. My husband began because he was given a bundle of papers belonging to his recently deceased great-aunt and wanted to verify some of the information contained in them. I became interested because I was named after my great-grandmother and felt I would like to learn something about her.

The Value and Risk of Undertaking Family History

Viewed from one perspective, the Bible is a family history. It records the genealogies of many individual families (Genesis 10:1-11:32), but it also records the story of the family of God through the ages. It contains not just Jesus’ genealogy, with which the New Testament opens (Matthew 1:1-17), but the social and religious history that fleshes that out. We cannot fully understand the impact of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection without understanding the overall scheme of God’s relationship with Israel through the years. Precisely because the Bible contains the sagas of numerous families, there is much psychological, as well as spiritual, truth in it that speaks with deep insight to our own families today.

Just as an understanding of the Bible story gives us an appreciation of our spiritual roots, so an understanding of our family history can help us to understand who we are as families and individuals. With communities now so dispersed, and the family folklore no longer readily accessible through grandparents or other members of the older generation, we find ourselves digging into the past to discover our roots and link up with our heritage. The 1970 television series Roots, documenting the findings of Alex Haley’s family history research, provoked an unprecedented desire on the part of many to trace their own family’s origins.

This could all sound like selfish preoccupation, and for some it is. But those writing up their family history are also making a significant contribution to the wider culture, especially local culture. Demographers have realized that family historians have a fund of knowledge to offer about members who moved from place to place, what occupations they pursued, and how often they relocated. Social historians, as well as medicos, also raid the findings of family historians to glean useful information for their own research.

One danger is that it can become addictive. It is easy to get consumed with the dead to the neglect of the living. Like a giant detective novel, there are many mysteries to be solved. Why did Grandmother leave Ireland when she did? Why did Great-grandfather leave his first wife and family in Germany when he emigrated? What happened to those other children listed on your great-grandmother’s death certificate that you never heard of? Why does it say on this certificate that she was born in Canada when family folklore says she was born in New York?

We also must be ready for surprises. Sometimes those surprises are good ones, such as discovering we are related to some famous person; we may also discover skeletons in the family closet. Unraveling some of these puzzles can lead to a greater appreciation of why our family relates or makes the choices it does. This brings with it the possibility of healing memories buried deep in the family’s past or of reestablishing relationships with estranged branches of the wider family. In many families there are secrets buried in the past that need to see the light of day so that forgiveness can take place and peace between family factions be restored. As Jesus said, “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

Ways of Researching Your Family History

How and where do you make a start on researching your family history? You begin with the most recent piece of accurate information that you have—perhaps the date of your grandfather’s death. Armed with that, you can visit your local library and talk with the person who looks after the local history section. You can visit a bookstore and pick up something written on the topic, usually with “family history” or “genealogy” in the title. You can contact your local family history or genealogical society.

There is an amazing amount of information available now to assist you in your research. This includes birth, death and marriage registers, shipping records, census results, military records, land sales registers, letters, journals, diaries, wills, ships’ logs, government records, local histories and newspapers. Because of their particular interest in genealogy, the Mormons have established a remarkable collection of resources at their headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as resource centers throughout America and overseas. Joining the nearest family history association or genealogical society is another positive step. There you will meet people keen to share what they have learned who will put you in touch with others who may be able to help.

It is also important before you begin to work out a way of organizing your research and its findings. Without this you will spend many fruitless hours trying to remember where you put something, what was the name of that book you read some fact in, or rereading records consulted five years earlier. There are many ways of doing this, but without doubt a computer is best and easiest, especially with materials stored on CD-ROM and on the Internet.

While most people want to research the history of their family of origin, others are keen to research the part of a different kind of “family” to which they belong, whether it be an organization such as a bowling club or a local church. Not so many years ago congregations had annual “anniversaries” where they celebrated their life together and rehearsed various aspects of their history, often inviting a previous minister to preach at the focal event. These occasions probably ceased as they became a meaningless ritual, but they could have fulfilled an important function—providing an opportunity for the church to rehearse its story under God. Perhaps this kind of “family” history will help congregations to find fresh ways of celebrating their life together.

» See also: Family

» See also: Family Problems

References and Resources

A. Eakle and J. Cerny, The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1984).

—Julie Banks