More on genealogy research
What is Genealogy?
Genealogy or genealogical research is a form of historiography that focuses on ancestral research and the lineage of a family. The word “Genealogy” comes from Greek and has two parts:
- Genea: γενεά literally means 'descent'
- Logos: λόγος literally means “science”, 'knowledge'
Thus, Genealogy is the science that studies descent or lineage.
Origins and usage in ancient times
Extensive genealogies occur in the Bible. The most famous is the genealogical register of Jesus Christ to describe His human lineage (Matthew 1 :1-17 and Luke 3 :23-38)
Many ancient peoples, such as the Egyptians, kept extensive sex registers. Especially about the lineages of their priests and kings. In addition, cuneiform tablets have been found describing the sex registers of Babylonian and Assyrian kings.
Younger examples of gender registers found were from the Greeks, the Celts, the Saxons and the Romans.
Genealogical research in more recent history
In later times, genealogical research was mainly reserved for the elite, or Noble families to prove their social status. It was also used as a means of finding out whether the relatives of (future) partners of their child(ren) belonged to the same social class to which they themselves belonged.
In the 1940s, genealogical research, was practised by National Socialists under the banner of “Sibbekunde”. Used for the purpose of questionable research into the “racial purity” of certain population groups. This made practising genealogy in the post-war years controversial for many people, understandably so.
Modern genealogical research
Nowadays, Genealogy is enjoying increasing popularity for a variety of reasons. Partly because researching a personal family history has become much more accessible compared to the past. This is partly due to digitisation of primary sources.
Genealogical Research Office Van Riemsdijk is happy to assist you in this regard!