Community Library to host Genealogy Workshop
BY YANNA LANTZ
The Community Library in Ketchum will host a Genealogy Workshop from 3-4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11. This basic research class will allow attendees to research their family tree with Donna Voyles, the director of the Family History Center in Hailey.
Genealogy is one of the oldest sciences in the history of humanity. From the Greek, “genos” and “logos” mean “birth” and “science,” respectively, so genealogy is the science of birth. The practice seeks to find one’s ancestors and place them in time so as to learn more about one’s ethnic, social and geographical origins. Using known information about ancestors’ births and deaths, maps and public records, attendees can research their family lineage.
Often, genealogy is interchanged with “family history”; however, this is inaccurate, as a family history refers more to an in-depth study of the lineage in a family, including the life stories of individuals—like their education, occupations, medical conditions, military service, residences and more.
There are numerous reasons to research one’s genealogy and expand it as a full family history.
“With the knowledge of genetics, medical science needs to know an individual’s family history; what one’s parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles suffered or died from assists the doctors to better know how to prevent and treat you, the descendant, as an individual today,” says FamilyTree.com.
Additionally, it can be fascinating to research one’s ancestors. Learning about each ancestor as a person—their strengths or their weaknesses, or their abilities and their achievements—in a sense puts a real face to that ancestor’s name.
DNA testing has gained great popularity with sites like Ancestry.com and 23andMe, and now anyone can learn more about their genealogy and ancestry through personalized results. Ancestry.com is currently offering a free genealogy trial for those interested in learning more about their family tree. Visit ancestry.com to partake.
There is no cost to participate in The Community Library’s Genealogy Workshop. Visit comlib.org for more information.
