Genealogy is the study of one's family roots or origins.
A simple trip to old photo albums or a glance at old letters or newspaper clippings can lead anyone on the path to discovering their own family history. If personal memorabilia is not available, many state archives contain old documents and important papers that could contain valuable information used to trace one's family roots. Researching one's family history not only reveals facts and information about people and places, but it can also help one to better understand certain aspects of the time period in which one's ancestors lived. For example, many facts about culture, education, war, government, and economic situations can be easily uncovered when exploring one's family tree. The Rose-Helton family tree is a great example of a family tree abundant with branches budding with information.