Geography and Genealogy

Genealogy has become a popular pursuit, as millions of Europeans, North Americans and others of European, Asian and African descent research their family history, trace their forebears, attend family reunions and travel to ancestral home sites. It has consequently become 'big business' and a significant cultural phenomenon. Yet only very recently scholars, including geographers, have begun to examine genealogy and family history as a cultural practice with spatial, economic and political implications.Geographers have much to contribute to the serious study of the family history phenomenon. Land records, maps and even GIS are increasingly used by genealogical investigators. As a cultural practice, it encompasses peoples' emotional attachments to ancestral places and is widely manifest on the ground as personal heritage travel. Family history research also has significant potential to challenge accepted geographical views of migration, ethnicity, socio-economic class and place-based identities.This book is divided into two main sections. The first highlights tools and information sources used by geographers and their applications to family history research. The second section examines family history as a socio-cultural practice, including the activities of tourism, archival research, and DNA testing. This unique book is the first ever to address the geographical and more general scholarly aspects of this increasingly popular social phenomenon.