What’s in a name?

Knowing who we are and where we come from is important to many of us, especially in modern times, when families are extended and seem to be spread out all over the world.

A sense of belonging helps us to feel settled and knowing where ‘home’ is gives us a sense of stability in our globetrotting, far-flung lives. This need for establishing roots has developed into a fascination with family history research. More and more people are interested in knowing who and what our ancestors were and where they came from.

Genealogy, the study of a family’s lineage or family tree, has played a vital role in history, as it was necessary to follow the lineage of royal families in order to know who the next heir would be if, for example, a monarch passed away childless. Nowadays people are more interested in finding out their own heritage and discovering the roots of their past. Family history research differs from genealogy in that it considers the personal side of the people who came before us. This means that it has become a hobby that challenges and intrigues every generation and will keep revealing new and exciting information about your own family history as long as you continue to look for it!

The question is: where do you start? In our technological age the internet is often the first port of call for finding out anything and genealogy is no different. The World Wide Web has a wealth of information including societies, blogs and software to help you build your family tree.

There are different approaches that people take in genealogy, depending on the specific area of interest. The classic approach is to follow one line of ancestors. This is usually the male line as it is more easily traceable than the female line. It is a little harder to search for all your ancestors as you will generally be searching for at least twice the number of people if you follow both the paternal and maternal lines. Another approach is to carry out a one-name study. This involves finding all the occurrences of your last name, assigning them family groupings and then trying to work out how they are all related. You may find out that someone else has already started a one-name study on your last name, in which case a great deal of the work may already have been done.

Family history research involves one of the methods mentioned, or a combination of techniques, with the addition of personal information about your ancestors. Most commonly addresses and occupations come to light but, by delving a little deeper, you can find out even more interesting facts about your forefathers.

The National Archives of South Africa offer information in the form of death notices, marriage documents, wills, death registers, baptismal documents, and other sources. The Department of Home Affairs keeps all birth, marriage and death certificates as well as immigration, naturalisation and name change records. The military archives can also be of great assistance if your ancestors were members of the armed forces. For newspaper clippings and other publications, you can contact the National Library of South Africa. Due to the time intensive research that is often required to find another piece of the puzzle, a list of freelance genealogical researchers is provided on the National Archives website.

When you have decided which approach to take, you can start building your family tree. Keeping records is vitally important, so make sure you use reputable software to store and save your electronic research, as well as creating a safe place for storing all paper-based research. Once you have added the people you know, it starts to get more interesting. And more challenging. This is when you begin to access the National Archives and Home Affairs for their information. If your ancestry leads you overseas, you will need to access the archives from the country of your search.

Family history research is a fascinating and globally popular pastime, which brings to light interesting and invaluable information about who we are. The memory of our past, both social and individual, is the foundation on which we build our future. Knowing and understanding our lineage can lead to a sense of pride and satisfaction about who we have become.

The information contained in this article is of a general nature and intended for information purposes only.