“Things Are Coming Out That Are Questionable, We Never Knew About”: DNA and the New Family History

Abstract

Family history is undertaken by millions around the world seeking to understand their past. This practice is understudied, and we need to work hard to understand how it works. Over the past decade, family history has been transformed through the use of DNA sequencing to enable genetic genealogy. Through analyzing data generated in a number of focus groups with family historians, this article contributes to our understanding of family history as a practice by engaging closely with the community. In particular, the article considers the responses of family historians to the challenge of the new data generated through DNA sequencing. Looking at the ways in which the practice is changing enables a clearer view of how family history works and how scholarship might engage with it.