genealogy
Sign in to saveupright=1.35|thumb|The family tree of Louis III, Duke of Württemberg (ruled 1568–1593) thumb|352x352px|The family tree of "the Landas", a 17th-century family
AI overview
Genealogy is the study of family histories and ancestry, typically organized into charts called family trees that show how people are related across generations. It matters because it helps people understand their own family origins, connections, and heritage.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
43 sectionsContents
- Overview
- Motivation
- Personal or medical interest
- Community or religious obligation
- Establishing identity
- Legal and forensic research
- Scholarly research
- Discrimination and persecution
- History
- Pre-modern genealogy
- Modern times
- By country
- India
- United States
- Research process
- Genetic analysis
- Collaboration
- Volunteerism
- Software
- Records and documentation
- List of record types
- FamilySearch collections
- Indexing ancestral information
- Record loss and preservation
- Types of information
- Family names
- Given names
- Place names
- Dates
- Occupations
- Reliability of sources
- Knowledge of the informant
- Motivation of the informant
- The effect of time
- Copying and compiling errors
- Primary and secondary sources
- Standards and ethics
- Research standards
- Ethical guidelines
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
upright=1.35|thumb|The family tree of Louis III, Duke of Württemberg (ruled 1568–1593) thumb|352x352px|The family tree of "the Landas", a 17th-century family
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives. The field of family history is broader than genealogy, and covers not just lineage but also family and community history and biography.