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History sets the context for the present. The compelling phrase “What’s past is prologue,” Shakespeare’s line from “The Tempest,” sums it up. The same can be said about discovering family history, one’s genealogy.

In our technological world, unlike the situation only several decades ago, genealogical information is not difficult to retrieve if one knows what to do and either pays the subscription fees to online data resources, or, if a novice, has hired a professional genealogist to work for them. Without basic knowledge of history and historical research it can become a vexing proposition wading through a morass of information without knowing what to look for. 

Unfortunately, many people make serious mistakes utilizing without question misinformation created by others instead of facts. 

Why bother? Why try to locate one’s forebears who lived countless years ago? The answer is more crucial as more seek to learn “Who am I” and “Where did I come from?” — a perennial question nowadays. But also, who were my ancestors, where did they live and what did they do in life? What religion did they affiliate with, or no religion?  When did they die and where are they buried? 

Today we can discover much about ourselves from DNA testing: from hair color to body shape and inherited diseases. We are not just simply isolated entities unconnected with anyone from the past. We are who we are from the genes we received from our ancestors!

The biggest player in this is DNA research and its disclosures. Increasingly, frequent magazine and newspaper articles, television programs and social media expound on the fast-moving techniques and implications of revolutionary DNA research. Everything from adoptees learning who their biological parents were to learning one has half-brothers or sisters partly produced through a sperm bank, or a grandfather wasn’t really a male ancestor.  

What were secrets even for lifetimes suddenly become glaringly known facts. For many, DNA results come as a shock.

However, not every researcher is motivated by apprehension about who they are. Some want to find a familial connection to an important figure in history. Many are interested in tracing roots back to England or another country where they may find a noble family or a royal line.

For many, genealogy is an intense hobby, but for others they simply don’t have time or expertise in research techniques. The solution: hire a professional genealogist to do the “heavy lifting” for you. It might not be long before you discover cousins you never knew or siblings that were unknown even to one of your parents. 

Also, hiring a professional may assist an attorney in locating heirs to settle an estate, help you join a lineage society if you have colonial ancestors and need assistance in completing applications for membership. 

You may need a translator for documents written in a language of your foreign ancestors. Perhaps you need someone simply to organize family documents and photos stored in a closet, or to help you plan a family reunion when your wider relations have been discovered. 

These and countless other reasons demonstrate the need for professional help.  You will never regret this project, and your children and their children will be forever grateful as well.

Bob Semes of Palm Springs is a professional genealogist and a retired professor of history. He is a member of the Palm Springs Genealogical Society, the Southern California Chapter of The Association of Professional Genealogists and its national association. Email him at desertsquire@gmail.com

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