OCTOBER IS FAMILY HISTORY MONTH
Long Beach's Questing Heirs Genealogical Society is celebrating Family
History Month by offering the family researcher a free consultation at the Long
Beach Public Library, on Ocean Boulevard every Wednesday and Saturday
afternoon from 1 PM to 5 PM. Help has been available at the library every Wednesday
and Saturday afternoon throughout the year. However, during October a
beginner's packet will be available and additional experienced researchers to help
launch inquirers into the fun and educational opportunities of looking for
grandparents and the history that surrounds them.
October marks the 3rd annual celebration of Family History Month since the
U.S. Senate unanimously approved legislation on September 26, 2001, just 15 days
after world history was made on September 11. According to the PBS
"Ancestors" program website, family history has become the second most popular
topic on
the Internet, and the third most popular hobby in the U.S. As of September 1,
2002, another top genealogy website,
FamilySearch.org, had 8.8 billion hits
and 1.7 billion page views since it launched in May of 1999. It is estimated
that more than two million separate websites are devoted to genealogy.
"This is a huge day for the more than 80 million Americans who are believed
to be actively searching for more information about their ancestors. "Millions
of Americans are researching the history of their families," said Senator
Orrin G. Hatch, the Utah Republican who introduced the Family History Month
resolution. "Experts say that in the United States, genealogy is now the second most
popular hobby next to gardening."
"It is only natural that we want to find out more about our ancestors," Hatch
continued. "What better way to bring families closer together than by
discovering more about the story of their own family? Like it or not, who we are
today is in large part, a product of our ancestors."
Hatch's bill (S.R. 160), which was co-sponsored by 84 other Senate members,
commemorates October as Family History Month and encourages President Bush to
issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe
the month of October with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
"With the advent of the Internet, there has been an explosion of interest in
family history," Hatch continued. "Last month alone, more than 14 million
Americans used the Internet to research their family history. Genealogy Internet
sites are some of the most popular sites on the World Wide Web. My church, The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has family history information on
nearly 500 million individuals on its family history web site, FamilySearch."
Resolution
Designating the month of October each year as "Family History Month"
Whereas it is the family, striving for a future of opportunity,
and hope, that reflects our Nation's belief in community,
Stability, and love;
Whereas the family remains an institution of promise, reliance,
and encouragement;
Whereas we look to the family as an unwavering symbol of
constancy that will help us discover a future of
prosperity, promise and potential;
Whereas within our Nation's libraries and archives lie the
treasured records that detail the history of our Nation,
our States, our communities and our citizens.
Whereas individuals from across our Nation and across the
world have embarked on a genealogical journey by
discovering who their ancestors were and how various
forces shaped their past;
Whereas an ever-growing number in our Nation and in other
nations are collecting, preserving and sharing
genealogies, personal documents and memorabilia that
detail the life and times of families around the world;
Whereas 54,000,000 individuals belong to a family where
someone in the family has used the Internet to research
their family history;
Whereas individuals from across our Nation and across the
world continue to research their family heritage and its
impact upon the history of our Nation and the world;
Whereas approximately 60 percent of Americans have
expressed an interest in tracing their family history;
Whereas the study of family history gives individuals a sense
of their heritage and a sense of responsibility in carrying
out a legacy that their ancestors began;
Whereas as individuals learn about their ancestors who
worked so hard and sacrificed so much, their
commitment to honor their ancestors' memory by doing
good is increased;
Whereas to encourage family history research, education and
the sharing of knowledge is to renew the commitment to
the concept of home and family; and
Whereas the involvement of National, State, and local officials
in promoting genealogy and in facilitating access to
family history records in archives and libraries are
important factors in the successful perception of nationwide
camaraderie, support and participation: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That the Senate --
1) designates the month of October each year
as "Family History Month;" and
2) requests that the President issue a procla-
mation calling upon the people of the United States
to observe the month with appropriate ceremonies
and activities.
As Dr. John Daly, Director of the Illinois State Archives says in his
article, "Genealogy Power," (Ancestry Magazine, May/June 1999) "Family
historians
and genealogists have replaced academic researchers as the principal users of
public archives in the United States. The combined memberships of the American
Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians today are
twenty-eight thousand. A study published in American Demographics in December
1995 cited that 113 million Americans have some interest in genealogy, and that
19 million have a strong working interest in the field . . . If the
administrators of public archives in the United States had to rely upon the use of
archives by academic researchers alone to justify the existence of archives, they
would find it extremely difficult to do so."
There are numerous activities that the family could do to celebrate this
month. Some of the suggestions are to identify everyone on the photographs;
assemble and tell the stories behind family heirlooms; start a personal journal of
thoughts, or beliefs; and join a local genealogical society to learn different
research methods.
Historically Healthy is also known as medical genealogy, it's important
because many of the factors that determine our health today were inherited from our
ancestors. To learn about yours, simply begin with what you know. Go
generation by generation, noting when illnesses occur. Include dates of birth and
death, ethnic background, patterns of ill health, birth defects, allergies,
hearing or vision problems and general routines such as diet, and tobacco or alcohol
use to flesh out details. What you learn now could save a family member's
life tomorrow.