learning Your family History - Why It's Relevant and Resources to Help You Do It

The natives of West Africa have a system of proverbs and sayings that provide wisdom and guidance in the form of symbols called Adinkra. One of the most beloved Andinkra symbols is known as Sankofa, which is a bird whose body is facing forward, while its head is looking backward. This symbol means that if you do not know where you come from, then you will not know where you are going.

Knowing your history, no matter where you're from provides insight into who you are, the stalk of habitancy you're from and if nothing else, holds a great deal of lessons to learn from. Wanting to know the story of your family patrimony is not unnatural and it may give you a better sense of self. History is full of lessons, but if we don't know our history, then we'll never learn from them and will continue to make the same mistakes, unable to evolve together as a family, or communal as the human race. Learning your history can also fuel your passions and give you much needed encouragement to continue when life gets hard.

Ancient African societies passed on their family history to the next generations straight through oral traditions while the pre-literary era. The "griot" or "jalie" was the history keeper who passed down history in the form of stories, poems and song. Today, contemporary societies all over the world rely heavily on the written word to learn about our history and ironically, many habitancy don't even know the names of their great grand parents, but there are many avenues you can take to learn about your familial stock.

The first and easiest way to learn your family's history is to talk to elder family members. You might be surprised at what you'll learn. Our parents, grand parents, great-grand parents, aunts and uncles are living history books if we just take the time to ask questions. You never know, you may have come from a long line of shoe makers, movers, lawyers, trail-blazers etc.

A more formal advent is to visit your local county court and look straight through court records. Any asset that was owned, marriage licenses and other legal history can be found there. Genealogy libraries are another perfect source, the Directory of Genealogy Libraries in the U.S. Provides you with a list of all the libraries in the U.S. Where you can go and find more about your heritage.

There are also a whole of internet websites that help you trace your ancestry, such as ancestry.com, genealogy.com and africanancestry.com.

Everyone's history is dissimilar and unlike getting piquant business guarnatee for your relocation, there is no guarantee that you will find all or any of the data you seek, but by using these resources you chances are great and what ever you find will be well worth the search.