GENEALOGY
Genealogy, from the Greek genea (family) and logos (study) is what some may call a very specialized hobby. It involves the extensive search for names, places, occupations and dates that had anything to do with a particular bloodline; for the hobbyist, his own, for the professional genealogist, others. The research results in an extensive chart or document of ancestry, popularly called a family tree.
Many people interchange the term “genealogy” with “family history”, but the two have very definite distinctions. Genealogy refers to the collection of names that are related to the family by either blood or marriage (including their dates and places of birth, death and weddings); it is, in essence a basic framework of blood or lego-filial relationships within the clan. Family history includes events in which the ancestors partook, relating them to history, their economic background, how they lived, etc. Some refer to Family history as “putting the meat into the bones”.
Genealogy was originally concerned with the tracing of the noble or royal bloodlines, generally to prove or disprove claims to inheritance (both material and symbolic – when the final duke of a bloodline dies without having sired any children, for example, a genealogist would be tasked to track down the closest living blood relative who will then be heir to the title of duke). Modern genealogists now disregard the earlier attempts at chronicling family trees, as some of them include certain gods or their civilization's founders as a clan or king's originators.
In the mid-to-late twentieth century, hobbyists of genealogy suddenly found themselves with an opportunity to improve on the tools that they use in the pursuit of their passions. The fictionalized genealogical account of an African-American family written by Alex Haley, “Roots”, was turned into a television mini-series. The event sparked an interest in the tracing of family trees; more people began to research their own families and network with other genealogists for the purpose of finding connections between bloodlines. Governments have also begun seriously collecting documents of ordinary citizens (such as birth certificates and the like) to keep an eye on their people – making research doubly easier, with the paper trail a person leaves in his or her wake.
The advent of the internet further improved the scope of resources for contemporary genealogy (although the subject of accuracy is still something that must be taken seriously). Other advances in technology, such as DNA analysis, honed the study to something close to perfection; now blood relations can be proven or denied within a very small margin of error.
Today, there are thousands of genealogists, professional or otherwise, all over the globe.