Goals of Genealogy

Updated November 24, 2007

In the strictest sense the goal of genealogy is to find out who your ancestors are, when and where they were born, and when and where they died, but most of us want more about our family history than just the family tree. The minimum information you want to get about each event for each individual is the complete name of the individual, the event, the complete date of the event, and the location of the event (as specific as possible; if you know exactly what corner of the bedroom an event happened in, write it down). Of course, you also want to gather stories as well; that's the most interesting part.

• Birth
  • Parents' names
  • Date of birth
  • Location of birth
  • Individuals or organizations involved with the birth
• Adoption
  • Date of adoption
  • Location of adoption
  • Adopted parents' names
  • Individuals or organizations involved with the birth
• Religious events
  • Dates of religious events
  • Locations of religious events
  • Individuals or organizations involved in the events
• Education events
  • Dates of education events
  • Locations of education events
  • Individuals or organizations involved in the events
• Professional events
  • Dates of professional events
  • Locations of professional events
  • Individuals or organizations involved in the events
• Health events
  • Dates of health events
  • Locations of health events
  • Individuals or organizations involved in the events
• Financial events
  • Dates of financial events
  • Locations of financial events
  • Individuals or organizations involved in the events
• Residency
  • Locations of residence
  • Changing locations of residence
  • Citizenship
• Political events
  • Dates of political events
  • Locations of political events
  • Individuals or organizations involved in the events
• Social events
  • Dates of social events
  • Locations of social events
  • Individuals or organizations involved in the events
• Marriage
  • Spouse's name
  • Date of marriage
  • Location of marriage
  • Individuals or organizations involved in the marriage
• Children
  • Children's names
  • Children's dates of birth
  • Children's locations of birth
• Death
  • Date of death
  • Location of death
  • Cause of death
  • Date of burial / cremation / other
  • Location of burial / cremation / other