Why Is Family History Important?

While most people begin researching their family history out of curiosity (which I did to research my adopted family), many people are attracted to it due to medical situations.  In 1990, I started to search for my birth mother and located her through an agency I had a gut feeling I would find her through - and I was right.  After receiving confirmation from the agency on her file, I sat on the general information for almost two years - until after my son was born.  My son had what doctors call "Transposition of the Great Vessels", which meant he needed open heart surgery when only five days old.  His medical condition prompted me to reflect back on the medical issues I had when I was an infant and toddler.  This triggered me to make a formal contact with my birth mother to learn more about my medical history, and to see if there was a hereditary connection to my son's ordeal.

Being adopted does not prevent a person from learning their medical history, but it can make it more difficult to obtain the information.  I was old enough to search on my own, and had enough information from the past to know where to search and find the information I needed.  I was unable to learn anything about my birth father's medical history - other than the fact that he died in 1998 from a sudden heart attack while blowing snow in his back yard.  But the information I learned from my birth mother was quite beneficial to me as to possible health issues I could face in the future as I get older.  Though not all medical issues of parents and ancestors are hereditary, some are.  One needs to take those into consideration as possible issues for any offspring in coming generations as well.

As you can see, everyone has their own reasons for getting involved in researching family history.  Whether as a hobby, a business, or just plain curiosity, the fact that one becomes involved in the field of genealogy can generate others to become interested, and to learn more about who their ancestors were, where they came from, and the stories that may have been passed on down over generations.  Why not take that first step today and start searching your ancestors.  You may be surprised what you learn!