Celebrating Genealogy Day: Discovering Your Family’s Rich History

Every person has a rich family history. Standing behind you is a chain of ancestors who have done wonderful and mundane things throughout their lifetimes. Their combination of experiences, challenges, and joys culminated in you. Genealogy–the study of your heritage–is the thread that weaves together the generations, connecting them, and sometimes revealing themes that span the decades from long-ago times to now.

One of the most powerful and fun ways to celebrate your heritage is by learning your family’s history. National Genealogy Day is a chance to celebrate your ancestors and begin the practice of preserving their stories for generations to come. 

History of National Genealogy Day

National Genealogy Day officially began in 2013 during a celebration of the 200th anniversary of an Irish church. That year, Christ Church in Limerick, Ireland, encouraged community members to seek their family history in archival records dating back to the 1800s. National Genealogy Day caught on in Ireland after the celebration in Limerick, and from there it spread around the world. Today, National Genealogy Day is celebrated internationally on the second Saturday in March.

The idea of a day dedicated to genealogy had unofficial “roots” as early as 1997 in the United States, when American onomatology hobbyist Jerry Hill included a day dedicated to a study of personal genealogy in his “Celebrate Your Name Week.” Genealogy was a perfect complement to Hill’s hobby of onomatology–the study of proper names. 

Helpful Tips for Your Genealogical Research

Genealogy lets you watch your family’s history come to life right before your eyes as you bridge connections spanning generations. As daunting as discovering what your ancestors once did may seem at first, with a bit of determination, time, and the right roadmap, it could become your new favorite hobby. Before you begin, keep these tips in mind:

• Not all information is equal: Unfortunately, over the years, information can get lost in translation, both literally and figuratively. While you research, especially online, it’s possible to run into all sorts of inaccuracies. Vetting your sources well can help avoid adding incorrect information to your story. Prioritize concrete, verifiable information from official sources rather than stories passed down orally through the ages, which can become embellished with age.

• Get creative with your spelling: There’s certainly a correct spelling for your distant ancestor’s name, but if you’re having trouble finding information about them, try mixing up how the name is spelled. It’s always possible that somewhere along the way, their name was spelled incorrectly on documents. Your great-great-aunt Dolores might be listed as Dalores or Doloris somewhere in history. Some genealogy tools also let you use wildcard searching to speed up the process. For example, on Ancestry, the asterisk (*) and question mark (?) symbols represent an unknown letter or letters. All of a sudden, your great-great aunt Dolores becomes D?lor?s in the search engine and it’ll pull up Dolores, Dalores, and Doloris, as well as matches like Daloris or Daloros. 

• Branch out as much as up: Don’t get too caught up in going back as far as you can down your lineage. If you don’t have a solid foundation, it’s going to get trickier to find people the further back you go. Your great-grandfather’s sister might not seem that interesting to you at first since she didn’t directly contribute to your DNA, but you might find that information about her can help you support or verify other bits of information. For example, if you need to confirm your great-grandfather’s mother’s maiden name, records about his sister may have it on them.

• Document everything: As you find sources of information, make sure you document them well, including where you found them. You might need to go back to your original source later. Citations might not be fun, but they sure are useful if you realize that you’ve seen some information somewhere before, but can’t remember how to get back to it.

How to Celebrate National Genealogy Day

National Genealogy Day is the perfect opportunity to begin researching your own family history. One of the best ways to get started is to document what you already know about your family, beginning with yourself and moving backward to your parents, grandparents, and earlier generations, if you know them. Write down names and dates and places of birth, marriage, residence, and death. Don’t worry if you don’t know all these details! Record what you do know. This is also a good time to gather papers and documents that have this important information, such as vital records certificates, perhaps family Bibles, old letters, and others. 

A good way to fill in some of the information you do not know personally is to talk to family members, especially older relatives who may have known people of previous generations. You might even organize a family gathering to connect with distant relatives or those you’ve lost touch with over the years. 

These kinds of family conversations can be ideal for capturing family traditions as well. While the oral history that’s passed down in our families is not always literally accurate, family stories often include nuggets of truth that have been embellished and changed over time, much like the old childhood game of “Telephone.” These family traditions and stories bring your ancestors to life beyond the bare facts of names, dates, and places. Also, traditional record keeping is not–or was not–universal. In many cultures, family history was passed down orally from generation to generation. This was true of African American family history during slavery, and for many other cultures around the world. 

While gathering information, don’t forget about photographs and three-dimensional objects. Photos can include clues to help you gather approximate dates, and can jog your memory–or your relatives’ memories–and help you recall more information. Items like family heirlooms or everyday objects may be tied to family stories or information about the person who owned them. Gravestones sometimes have symbols that signify occupation, religion, or membership in a fraternal organization.

After gathering what information you know, can find in personal family papers, and can glean from relatives, a good next step in discovering your heritage is to connect with a genealogy society or attend a genealogy event or workshop to learn more. Attending in-person events is invaluable because of the conversations you can have with other people engaged in the same quest you are. But many distance learning opportunities are also available, such as real-time webinars, podcasts, Facebook Live events, and recorded lectures.

How Ancestry Can Help You Celebrate Genealogy Day

At the beginning, tracing your family history can seem challenging, especially if you have little knowledge about your relatives beyond parents or grandparents. But your journey begins with a single step–creating a family tree. Begin with the information you know, and use that as the foundation for further research. 

You may also opt to take an AncestryDNA^® test, which will give you a list of people who share parts of your DNA. Learning to analyze your DNA matches can lead to discovering new ancestors, and connecting with your matches may be useful as well. Maybe photos of your ancestors were passed down through another branch of the family and are now owned by one of your DNA matches!

AncestryDNA also provides you with ethnicity estimates, which can provide insight into where your ancestors lived. This is an especially valuable tool for families whose ancestors were enslaved, suffered displacement, or for whatever reason lack traditional paper documentation of their heritage

Your genealogical journey is ready to begin, and your family’s story is just waiting to be discovered. Get started with an Ancestry free trial.

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Image 2: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Munchin%27s_Roman_Catholic_Church,_Clancy%27s_Strand,_High_Road,_Limerick_(14381182996).jpg
Image 3: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Family_record_LCCN2003656978.tif