What Is Genealogy?

This past week I lost my grandmother. It started me thinking, "What is genealogy?" Is it simply tracing your family tree or is it more than that? Some genealogists are more concerned with how many generations can be traced and found, others want the stories behind who their ancestors were. The term genealogy means "a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family, group or the study of family ancestries and histories" It's origin was between 1250-1300 meaning pedigree and equivalent to race. But after my grandmother passed away my 8 year old taught me a lesson. He was crying and I asked why he was so sad because he barely knew her. He answered, "I loved her, she was family." That's what genealogy is the simple love of family. --Gayla Mendenhall