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30 | LIFE IN SOLERA | APRIL 2023 | Why Genealogy? Why should people want to know about their family and its history? Do you want to know about your family members… what did they do, were they celebrities, royalty, politicians, merchants, explorers, or farmers? That is only one reason to delve into your family history. You can find out how people are connected to you. Are there any aunts, uncles, grandparents or long-lost cousins that you never knew you had? I have found that while you are researching your relatives, you are learning about the history and the era, migration patterns, and reasons for why relatives became who they were or why they left their homelands. You can find out whether you have famous people in your family's history. Maybe one of your ancestors came to America on the Mayflower and was instrumental in the founding of our society and building of our government. Maybe there are more glamorous ancestors to be found, such as movie stars, presidents, royalty, or members of the peerage. Maybe they helped solidify the foundation of our country — the farmers, merchants, and pioneers who began to make the United States function. I have found that when doing family history research it is like going on a treasure hunt. You never know what you will find as you go further back in building your family tree. There is another important aspect of genealogy that can be very important to know. It deals with studying your DNA. Many of the major ancestry sites, such as Ancestry.com or 23 and me can determine your origins using your DNA and provide a list of people that have some or the same genes as you. This allows them to provide a list of possible genetically related relatives. An important side to this can include a review of your DNA to determine if there are any genetic medical problems that can be handed down to subsequent generations through your DNA. As you can see, there are many reasons to study your family history, its members, and what the people were all about. As a "genetic treasure hunter," who knows what interesting nuggets of information you may find while digging up your past… you may find that it can also be fun to do! ~ Bill Cramsie ANCESTRY GROUP On April 3 at 4:30 pm, Mike Ryan will speak to the famous historical event in Israel which Roman troops stormed the mountain-top fortress, Masada, in 73 AD. HISTORY GROUP