What Is The Difference Between Genealogy And Family History?

You might think that there is no difference between these two terms, and indeed many people use them interchangeably to mean the study of one’s ancestry. However, the Society of Genealogists points out that there is a difference between the two terms. Genealogy, strictly speaking, is the discipline of building a family tree, through finding evidence from the study of sources as to how generations are linked. However, family history is the writing of ancestors’ biographies – a study not only of relations, but also of the communities they lived in, placing them in their wider social context.