Whats so special about genealogy?

[luditus]

Hi everybody:

recently someone did ask me to set up a forum on Genealogy at ozforum.info but I do not really get what is so special with this topic? As far as I understand it is about anciant names and people are searching for someone having that name, right? However.. only one person did post something into this forum :-( Maybe this will change in the future.
As I look at this forum there are lots of people interested in.

Good luck to all of you!

[GuyPearse]

I've had an interest in Geneology since I was a boy. Part of it comes from my religious beliefs and part comes from a desire to know the legacy of my forefathers, that I am part of their life's work. I carry in my veins the blood which was full of the hopes and dreams and passions they felt in their hearts and minds.

I also want to understand why we are all so different and yet so much the same. Ultimately, we are all related somewhere in the past, and knowing that helps me look at all people as unique and valuable individuals deserving of my respect and kindness.

Geneology brings history to life for me when I realize that an ancestor took part in an historic event that affects me and the world around me every day.

I live in the United States, and have cousins in New Zealand I have never met and whose names I do not know. Searching for those links to my past help build new relations with relatives in the present.

That is why Geneology is so enticing.

[mhznz]

Kia ora luditus01 & GuyPearse,
beware the seductive nature of Genealogy!
You may start-out being mildly curious about how your family got that surname & then, as if by magic, it's 3am (years later) and you're still online sifting through the mountains of genealogical data available.
DO NOT PANIC IF THIS HAS HAPPENED TO YOU.
It's something people have done (with or without computers) for thousands of years. In the beginning, there were some pretty solid reasons for doing this - Monarchal succession, Gene pool diversity, etc.
None of the classical reasons are why I do it.
My interest just happened, don't know why, it's just there.
If it happens to you, don't fight it. It's much more fun than stamp-collecting or jig-saw puzzles.
Ma te wa and merry christmas one and all.
mhznz (Mike Hills)