When people start doing their genealogical or family history research, they may ask themselves if this is worth it. Or are there any benefits to doing your Family History Research?
Some of the benefits of researching your family history include 1) it helps give you a self-identity, 2) you discover your cultural heritage, 3) will increase your overall happiness, 4) teaches resilience, 5) helps us understand what it means to be human, 6) helps you connect with your family and 7) helps you understand more about your family’s history of health issues.
Table of Contents
- Family History Gives You A Self Identity
- Family History Teaches You About Your Cultural Heritage
- Family History Increases Your Overall Happiness
- Family History Teaches Resilience
- Family History Helps You Learn About Being Human
- Family History Helps You Connect With Your Family
- Family History Teaches Us About Our Health
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Questions
Family History Gives You A Self Identity
Making family history research helps you to learn where you came from. This knowledge will help you to develop a strong sense of who you are. Relating to our family stories helps us to create our own stories about ourselves and also helps us to establish our own unique identity.
How many times have you heard somebody say that you have your grandmother’s eyes? Or I think your great-great-grandfather had bright red hair just like you have. Knowing these details about your ancestors – even these small details – can help us relate to our ancestors personally. The more you learn about your ancestors, the more you will understand things about yourself.
Family History Teaches You About Your Cultural Heritage
Learning about your ancestors can also help you discover your cultural heritage. This will also help you to understand more about yourself and where you came from and can help to give you a core identity.
I was blessed to be raised in a home where our cultural identity was essential. My mother was Swedish, so we celebrated all of the Swedish holidays. The cultural identity is still very much a part of all of my cultural identity.
Researchers have found that when children learn about their families and their ancestors, it will increase their self-worth. This knowledge of their ancestors and culture can also help unite families. It has been found that adolescents who can recount specific details about a family story or under their family culture have a higher sense of self-esteem and resilience.
Family History Increases Your Overall Happiness
As human beings, we all have the desire to belong. This is especially true within our own families. We desire to feel like we belong or are part of a family unit.
As you do your family history research, it will help you to feel like you belong to a group. This will also help you to increase your happiness.
Even if you feel you are alone, you are not. There are those members of your family who have gone before you. Those ancestors sacrificed for you to be able to be here today.
Family History Teaches Resilience
Learning about the stories of your family can inspire you to practice resilience. Many of your ancestors went through many trials; some were good, and some were bad. Their trials can help teach us more about ourselves and our lives.
We may understand that if our great-great-grandfather could go through such difficult things, we could go through almost anything. When children learn about the stories of their families – the good and the bad – it helps them to be able to learn about resilience in their own lives.
Family History Helps You Learn About Being Human
Family stories teach us a lot about what it means to be human. Or to be a human being. During your family history research, there will be times when you discover things that are not pleasant. Some of these things may even shock or surprise you.
You may also discover some shocking, deeply hidden family secrets when doing your family history research. But from these secrets, we can learn that sometimes people fail – sometimes they succeed.
In family history research, you must learn to take the good with the bad. Seeing the failure of an ancestor and their hardships helps us understand that we are all human.
Family History Helps You Connect With Your Family
As you do your family history research, you will connect with others, some of those relatives that you did not know. Or you can reconnect with relatives you have not seen in a while. others
Family history work is about people working and collaborating. It is a project of love. Family history research is about connecting and uniting families together.
Family History Teaches Us About Our Health
Have you ever sat in the doctor’s office to fill out a questionnaire, and the form will ask you about your family’s health history? They will want to know if you have any relatives with cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, or other diseases. You can easily answer those health questions by being connected with your family and your family history.
As you research your ancestors, you also learn a lot about yourself and your own health. This is because as you look at many death records, you may see what your ancestors died from, and diseases may run in your family.
Today many DNA kits will also look at your health DNA markers. Some of the more popular ones are 23andMe and Ancestry.
Learning about your ancestors is a great way to learn more about yourself and your family. It will help you increase your self-identity your cultural heritage, increase your happiness, and teach you about resilience and what it means to be human. You will also connect with your relative while discovering more about your family’s health history.
The Hummel Family is a website all about Family History research. We focus on Swedish, German, English, Scottish, and American Genealogy. We also discussed Asia and China, as we had ancestors who spent many years in China.
You are welcome to join us and become part of our community by signing up for our FREE newsletter, The Hummel Family; sign up by clicking here.
Check out our Youtube Channel, Family History Buzz, by clicking here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I bother researching my family history?
Learning about your family history can provide a deeper understanding of your roots and personal identity, connecting you to your heritage and past.
How does knowing my family history contribute to my cultural identity?
Exploring your family’s origins helps you discover traditions, customs, and cultural influences that have shaped your family’s unique identity over generations.
Can researching family history really make me happier?
Yes, uncovering stories of resilience, achievements, and connections within your family’s history can provide a sense of pride and happiness, fostering a positive outlook on life.
In what ways does family history research teach resilience?
Learning about the challenges your ancestors faced and overcame can inspire a sense of resilience within yourself, as you realize the strength that runs in your family lineage.
How does understanding family history help me understand human experiences?
Studying family history provides insights into how people in the past navigated various life circumstances, offering a broader perspective on the shared human experience.
How does researching family history improve connections with relatives?
Discovering and sharing family stories can strengthen bonds between living relatives, creating a sense of unity and common purpose as you collectively preserve your family’s legacy.
Is knowing about health issues in my family’s history important?
Yes, understanding your family’s health history can help you make informed decisions about your own health and take proactive measures to prevent or manage genetic health conditions.
Can exploring family history have educational benefits?
Researching family history can be a valuable educational experience, as it encourages skills like critical thinking, research, organization, and storytelling.
What impact does knowing family history have on younger generations?
Sharing family stories with younger generations helps instill a sense of belonging and continuity, passing down values, traditions, and a connection to the past.
Related Questions
What Is The Purpose of Genealogy?
The purpose of genealogy is to study family, family history, and the tracing of our lineage or our ancestors. The purpose of genealogy goes far beyond the dates, names, and places of our ancestors. This is because as you do your genealogy, you begin to learn more about your family and yourself. Genealogy helps to unite and link families together as you discover things about your family that you did not know.
You can discover more by reading our blog post What Is The Purpose of Genealogy? by clicking here.
What Are 3 Things Family History Research Teaches You?
By researching your family history, you can learn about new family members you did not know about. You will learn about the history of the place where your family once lived. And finally, you can discover the traditions and culture of the country your ancestors once lived.
You can discover more by reading our blog 3 Things You Discover By Doing Your Family History by clicking here.
