You Know You're a Genealogist When...

You Know You’re a Genealogist When…

Last Updated May 4, 2018

Do you love family history research? Do you consider yourself a genealogist (professional or hobbyist)?

If you find yourself agreeing with the following statements then there is no question that you are!

You Know You’re a Genealogist When…

… everyone in the room groans when you start a sentence with “So, I was doing some research yesterday…”

… you would rather read the news from 1918 than 2018.

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… you ask people if they would like to take a trip to the graveyard with you (and you bring your camera).

… you know what the word “Ahnentafel” means.

… you’ve secretly researched the surnames of your friends and acquaintances.

… you can find a birth place for just about any person who lived in the last 300 years, but you can’t find your keys.

… you’ve thought about selling your research services just to pay for all of your genealogy subscriptions.

… you’ve become surprisingly adept at convincing people to spit into a cup and send it off to a lab for DNA testing.

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… you can still read cursive handwriting.

… you have more pictures of your long dead relatives than your living ones.

… your dream Saturday night involves a pot of coffee and eight uninterrupted hours of digging through digitized death certificates.

… unsourced family trees make you want to cry.

… you’ve tried to figure out what a “third cousin twice removed” is. Even if you still haven’t quite got it.

… you wish you had a more unique name so that one day your descendants would have a better chance of finding your records.

… you know which one is the “lost” census.

… you’ve emailed people you’ve never met to ask them about their family.

…. if you could go back in time and meet anyone, it would be that one ancestor who left NO record trail just so you could ask him who his parents are.

… the term “1752 Calendar Change” makes sense to you.

… someone mentions their family’s past and you immediately start pulling up related record collections on your phone.

… the obsession you have with certain people in your family tree may or may not qualify as stalking.

… you have a scanning app on your phone and you know how to use it.

… Salt Lake City, UT is the place you’d like to visit most.

… you love history and think that the popularity of genealogy research is one of the best ways to ensure that it is preserved.

… you read through this entire list.

Think we missed something? Add it in the comments!

10 thoughts on “You Know You’re a Genealogist When…”

  1. J. WHITE

    It is all of a sudden 5 a.m and you find you are still on the internet, searching for just one more fact…

  5. DublinSearcher

    You’re in the grocery store when the name on a product reminds you of an ancestor whose 1910 census record you must look up. Then you have to add that reminder to Evernote app on your cell phone.

  6. Irishdaughter

    When first meeting someone and shaking their hands and exchanging pleasantries, you tell them “I’m a genealogist!”

  7. Donna Story

    When you know the birt dates almost all of your ancestors but have trouble remembering your granchildren’s birthday.
    When you wake up at 3:00 am and know what source will help you find that illusive ancestor. Then scoot out of bed to open your computer and think: “who needs sleep anyway.”
    When you can’t sleep because you spent the last six hours looking at the blue light of your computer..

  9. Owain

    I know that I am a genealogist when I stay up in the early hours of the morning looking for my ancestors. Even though I know that I should be sleeping I’m just hooked to find what more I can discover about them.

    I’d like to share a blog post I wrote discussing what genealogy is. Also, in the post is a meme that shows what other people think of us ‘mad’ genealogists.

    https://thegenealogyguide.com/what-is-genealogy

    Thanks,
    Owain

  10. Hilltownroots

    Here are a few more:

    You subscribe to BLOGS such as Family History Daily (and many others) and you read them every day.
    You’ve discovered and written to more cousins you haven’t met than ones you have met and grew up with.
    You buy old photos and wedding certificates, etc., at flea markets and try to match them with their descendants.
    You have surname-based standing searches saved to eBay.
    You use genealogy-centric user names for a variety of websites
    You have a genealogy-based vanity plate for your car.

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