Genealogy is the study and tracing of family lineages and history.
Genealogical research is a complex process that is more than affixing a
collection of names to a pedigree chart. Rather, genealogy involves identifying
ancestral or descendant families by using historical records to establish
biological, genetic, or familial kinship. Reliable conclusions are based on the
quality of sources ideally primary or firsthand information,
rather than secondary or secondhand information, All evidence and conclusions,
together with the documentation that supports them, is then assembled to create
a cohesive "genealogy" or "family history.
To keep track of their
citizens, governments began keeping records of persons in the
16th century. As more of the population was recorded, there were sufficient
records to follow a family.
Major life events were often documented with a license, permit, or report that
was stored at a local, regional or national office or archive. Genealogists
locate these records and extract information to discover family relationships
and recreate timelines of persons' lives.
Records that are used in genealogy research include:
Marriage ,
Funeral or death ,
Military and conscription records , Newspaper articles ,
Obituaries ,
Occupational records ,
Oral histories ,
Passports ,
Photographs ,Membership ,
City directories and telephone directories ,
Coroner's reports ,
Court records ,
Criminal records ,
Civil records ,
Diaries, personal letters and family Bibles ,
Emigration, immigration and naturalization records ,
Hereditary & lineage organization records,
Land and property records, deeds , Medical records ,
Poorhouse, workhouse, almshouse, and asylum records ,
School and alumni association records ,
Ship passenger lists ,
Social Security and pension records ,
Tax records ,Vital records ,
Birth records ,
Death records ,
Marriage and divorce records ,cemetery records and funeral home records ,
Voter registration records ,
Wills and probate records ,
Adoption records , Biographies and biographical profiles ,
Census records ,
Church records ,
Baptism or christening ,
Confirmation ,
Bar or bat mitzvah ,
Tombstones,
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