People are fascinated with ancestry for many reasons. We are instinctively interested in history and our ancestors are our personal history. We can connect with our ancestors’ stories throughout history to learn about our origins. Personal stories give most people a sense of belonging to a particular community. And if it leads to interesting people and their accomplishments, we feel excited and important in the world which contributes to our sense of identity. Finally, with the rise of genetic testing, some people are motivated to explore their ancestry through DNA analysis to learn about potential genetic traits and origins.

People look to their ancestors for guidance, or to find patterns and explanations for their own lives. For example, they want to know if their talents or traits have precedent in their family history. Some people view learning about their family history as a moral endeavor, and a way to learn from their ancestors’ actions. In the past, some people used their family’s lineage to justify their social rank. 

In 2022, the New Yorker published an article titled, “Our Obsession with Ancestry Has Some Twisted Roots” by Maya Jasanoff. She stated that the largest archives of genealogical documents in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints vault. The vault is the largest physical archive of ancestry in the world. It is located east from Salt Lake City toward the Wasatch ski slopes. “Several concrete arches open into the face of a mountain. Behind doors designed to withstand a nuclear strike, through tunnels blasted six hundred feet into the rock, in a vault that’s another seven hundred feet down, lies a trove stashed in steel cases: not bullion or jewels but microfilm, millions of reels of it. They contain billions of images of genealogical documents, an estimated quarter of all vital records on earth.”

The article pointed out that before the print and digital eras, genealogical records overwhelmingly resided with religious and kin-based authorities. From the doctor’s office to the passport office, ancestry inflects the social, material, legal, and medical conditions of nearly everybody’s life.

The article pointed out that “Origin stories provide collective accounts of where ‘we’ come from, but they also help some lineages claim power over others…. Ruling dynasties often boasted of sacred or supernatural ancestors.”

Today, web sites and sleekly packaged DNA kits are available for the public. The initial rise of current interest in learning about our past came from our isolation during the pandemic. The interest has created a huge database of information for both medical research as well as law enforcement. This public knowledge of our personal information can be good or bad, depending on the use.

My thoughts are that even though I am in the system due to my law enforcement career, I am not sure if I want this same system to have every single piece of data regarding my background. With the current political environment, who knows how this data will be used in the future?

I’m probably not related to anyone famous or royal blood, or whatever matters to others out there. I probably have very boring ancestors, and that is okay. And do I really want to know about all the evil my ancestors have wreaked on society? I really believe that it is how we make our mark in the world today that matters. So be kind to both interesting and boring people. If you choose to know more about your past because you want to understand your roots, and it doesn’t reveal everything you hoped for, know that you are who you are in this present moment, unique and a contributor. Continue to be that loving person that you are, no matter what your past reveals.

For more information on answers to why we are fascinated with ancestry see the Question of the Week from McMasters University from a 2019 post: