Professional Genealogist

Professional genealogy, as opposed to amateur ancestry search, is an organized and methodological study of family history, genetic traits and lineage. Professional genealogists obtain information from various resources through various methods and establish kinship and pedigree of the members of a family. Unlike someone who has taken up genealogy research as a hobby to study about their own families, a professional genealogist conducts research for other people. They can be independent genealogist or part of an organization or society that offer genealogy research services. Professional genealogists also teach, guide and write books for reference purpose. There are specialized genealogists who study about a particular clan, race, community, civilization, locality, or a particular person. A genealogist is not always a family historian; the latter concentrates only on the lives and incidents of ancestors, while the former tries to trace the origin of the family.

There are several tools that aid a professional genealogist namely, oral traditions, written records, souvenirs, and genetic analysis. Professional genealogy research is complex; the accuracy and reliability of sources have to be established and records must be cross checked before arriving at any conclusion; all evidences, stories, and documents have to be chronologically coordinated to finally present the results. All family records are collected first to build a base for the family tree. The analysis of documentary evidence is followed by gathering oral information from family and society. These have to be matched with the written records to verify its dependability.

As the genealogist progresses in research, the collected data is transformed into pedigree charts. Earlier it was written by the genealogist, but now, professional genealogy software programs do the work. These programs can collect, store, sort and display genealogical data. Data sharing among genealogist is also made possible by the professional programs. The information gathered through the programs is exchanged in GEDCOM format through emails and other online services. The data can be added to an online database so that other genealogist can access them for their research purposes. The family trees generated by genealogy software are uploaded to family websites or to groups in social networking sites. The information stored in family trees differs from program to program. Some professional programs have only a minimum data for each person like name, date of birth and death, marriage or divorce, while some other elaborate programs include more details like, place of birth, residence, trade or occupation, property, and even a brief note on important achievements. Photos and records can be added to the charts, and some can list the sources of each piece of information in the family tree. New arrivals in the family can be entered through a user interface in such programs, and they get added to the proper place in the chart or tree.