Basic Terms for Genealogy

Genealogy = the study and tracing of lines of descent

Ancestors = a person, typically one more remote than a grandparent, from whom one is descended [your ancestors are the individuals from whom you are biologically descended and ancestry is information about them and their genetic relationship to you]

Ancestry = one’s family or ethnic descent.

Descendant = a person who is descended from a particular ancestor.

Family Historian = a person who writes and compiles stories about their ancestor’s lives.

Family Tree = a genealogical chart showing the ancestry, descent, and relationship of all members of a family or other genealogical group.

DNA testing = results include information about your genetic ethnicity estimates.

View the video below for a further explanation of the terminology used in Genealogy.

Below is a shared attachment sent in by a beginner genealogist.