Genealogy is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives. The field of family history is broader than genealogy, and covers not just lineage but also family and community history and biography.
The family tree of Louis III, Duke of Württemberg (ruled 1568–1593)
The family tree of "the Landas", a 17th-century family
Twelve generations patrilineage of a Hindu Lingayat male from central Karnataka spanning over 275 years, depicted in descending order
A Medieval genealogy traced from Adam and Eve
Family is a group of people related either by consanguinity or affinity. It forms the basis for social order. The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as members mature and learn to participate in the community. Historically, most human societies use family as the primary purpose of attachment, nurturance, and socialization.
Sauk family photographed by Frank Rinehart in 1899
Detail of a gold glass medallion with a portrait of a family, from Alexandria (Roman Egypt), 3rd–4th century (Brescia, Museo di Santa Giulia)
Mennonite siblings, Montana, United States, 1937
A German mother with her children in the 1960s
