Confucius family tree has two million members

JINAN -- He's been dead for 2,500 years but his family just keeps growing and growing - Confucius, or more properly his descendants, are alive and well and flourishing in China and across the globe, according to the latest version of his family tree which is set to triple the size of his kith and kin.
The job of registering new members to the family tree of revered Chinese thinker and educator Confucius (551-479 BC), was finished by the end of 2007, and the number in the updated tree now stands at more than two million.
The family tree will be published in 2009, according to the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee.
"We have received more than 1.3 million new entries and already stopped soliciting new ones," said Kong Dewei, a Confucius descendant who is directing the updating work.
The 1.3 million are the living members of the Confucius family who have paid the official registration fee of five yuan (70 U.S. cents), but the deceased members will also be included if their descendants can prove a collateral family tree which conforms to the Confucius Genealogy, without any charges, Kong said.
The registration work started in 1998, when Kong Deyong, 77th-generation descendant established the committee in Hong Kong. More than 450 branches were set up around the world to assist the work.
The pedigree has only been revised four times throughout history. The last revision took place in the 1930s and included 600,000 members. The fifth edition of the Confucius family tree will be published to coincide with the 2560th anniversary of the birth of the thinker next year.
Compared with previous versions, the new genealogy will for the first time include overseas and female descendants of the great philosopher.
Confucius' family tree is regarded as the world's longest, recording more than 80 generations of the sage's family.

Source: China Daily

How To Organize Your Family History

How many times have you set about to write your family history, only to run across the daunting task of putting it all together in a manner which will make sense?
Many people give up writing their family history at this point. Too much information! So much to write about! If you are like me, you’ve spent years researching your ancestors only to find piles of papers, notes, and website URLs piling up on your desktop.
The key to writing your family history is to GET ORGANIZED, but take it one small step at a time!
We’ve all seen articles on how to organize your clutter and make our homes neat and pleasing. This knowledge can be applied to genealogy research, and writing your history, also!
One interesting thing I have noticed is that most experts on home organization emphasize ‘one step at a time.’ If you choose to do it all at once, you’ve set yourself up for failure before you’ve even begun. Giving yourself permission to do just a little at a time will make the task so much easier.
I know when I began cleaning out the clutter of closets, kitchen cabinets and ‘junk drawers’ I began to feel overwhelmed. I was making a bigger mess and never getting it all finished. What a self deafeating experience! Another side effect was not knowing where anything was after I’d made such a mess.
Being a clutter-junkie was something I inherited from my mother, the difference being, she always seemed to have it all organized and easily accessible. In my case, I am disorganizationally organized. I know where that note about Uncle Harry is in that pile of papers on my desktop, thank you very much. I remember where I put that scrap of paper with Auntie Dorothy’s phone number from 1982 on it. My mother laughed too, so go ahead - laugh out loud!
If you are a ‘neatnik’, ignore this article. If you are a ‘clutter junkie’, read on!
One day, while working on a family history project, I was feeling quite overwhelmed at all the information I had and was able to produce no clearly written story. My mother’s voice came back to haunt me: “You need to get organized…you need to get organized…you need to get organized.”
Ok, alright, Mother, I hear you! But, HOW?
Remember your mother telling you: “Everything has a place…blah blah blah”? Well, it’s true (don’t tell my mother I said that - I‘ll never live it down).
It’s not easy for us clutter junkies, however. I decided I would take it…one small step at a time. First, I cleaned off my desktop. I just threw everything in a couple boxes. There. Done. Finished. Finis.
Well, that was so easy, I decided to take the next step. Sorting out one box. I had file folders, so I placed each surname in a separate folder. Easy enough. It was all going well.
The next step was soon to follow, as the last had been so easy. Before I knew it, it was all organized, the information easily found, and I was ready to begin writing!
The next step was actually writing my family history.
I’ll take it…one step at a time.
Article Source: http://www.familyhistoryarticles.com

Find Distant Relatives on Family Tree

The desire to learn more about your family tree is a natural one, given the long history of migration and ethnic mingling the world has witnessed. Generationdb.com helps you trace your family members and relatives, and helps you become aware of where you belong. Some of the results can throw up many pleasant surprises, and who knows, you may just discover some relatives in a far-flung or exotic country.

Generationdb.com is compiled from information provided by people like you who wish to trace their roots and get close to relatives in distant corners of the globe. You get to know about your far relatives, trace your family tree and also know more about the traditions that may have been part of your clan.

By registering with generationdb.com, you open doors to information about your ancestry by getting acquainted with your grandparents or other relatives. Knowing more about your family history helps you know more about the quaint social customs and values you have followed for long, but never knew the origin of. You will be able to trace as much as you can find on distant relatives, cousins and other people related to you. Try it, you will be amazed by the results!

The best thing about our website is that you need not put in any legwork to track down your family members. Know more about your family history and traditions by registering with us. You can also submit additional data related to your family, so that we can help you refine your search, and help your distant cousins find you. By registering with us, you will find more about your family history, and know more about your heritage.

Your family tree could be very complex, with several branches and roots. We instruct you on how to source information about your family connections should you wish to submit a family tree. Do not hesitate, register with us now to know more about your family tree. Trace distant cousins in the land from where your ancestors migrated, or find out the fascinating history of your origin. Nothing can be as satisfying as tracing your extended family. Let us help you in your search for other members of your family.

Family Bonds Nurture Community Spirit

Family is the smallest unit in a community. It is also the child’s first school for learning values like sharing, caring and compassion. The family provides a secure setting where citizens of the future are molded to become responsible members of the community. This makes the family an important unit of the community, a place where the child learns human values and feels rooted.

The community spirit that is so important to keeping societies together is taught in the family. Families are increasingly becoming small, nuclear units. Migrations and other factors have led to the break up of the extended family system that once held together traditional communities. There was a time when an entire village or locality in a town would be inhabited by members of the same family, and everybody was everybody else’s cousin, aunt, brother, uncle or grandparent.

Migrations and economic realities have increased the physical distance between members of the extended family, and has resulted in the fragmentation of close knit communities that were once the backbone of any society. Young people feel increasingly alienated in a setup without community bonding. Their parents may not be able to spend quality time with them, or help them through various problems of growing up, and the community may not extend the help needed.

Families are the crucial element of a community. An extended family is a precursor to the larger social unit, society. Being part of an extended family teaches young people the importance of sharing and giving. Since the physical extended families are a rare experience, family trees that gives the relation a link on the monitor where people spend most of their time would be a better option. It helps them adapt better to the world at large. If the family has some trouble, then all members of the extended family chip in to help. Most importantly, the extended family absorbs shocks of death, divorce, illness, unemployment and other rampant problems facing families, giving children a safe, secure environment to grow in. This leads children to become better citizens who are able to fit in well in society and make important contributions to the community.

Our website is a tool to bring members of the family together. You can find your cousins, grandparents, uncles, aunts and even distant relatives by searching through our generations database. We do not ask for sensitive information like credit card numbers, and you can choose which information you wish to display publicly in your search for family members. If you cannot visit your relatives, our website offers ways for you to share your happy memories and celebrate important occasions with them online.

www.generationdb.com
contact@generationdb.com
Tel: +91 11 45531361

Search Ship Manifests for your Family's History

Before the days of airplane travel, emigrants typically left their countries of origin on ships and braved long and difficult journeys across the ocean. Finding evidence of an ancestor's journey to a new world through passenger lists and ship manifests can be a thrilling experience for anyone who is interested in their family history. Such valuable documents, kept by most shipping companies across the world, can be incredibly difficult to search, however, leading genealogists to spend countless hours in fruitless inquiry. Many of the lists, for instance, have not been put into indexes and lay moldering in some obscure or unreachable archive. At other times, even when genealogists do find their ancestors on a ship manifest, only their name and country of departure are listed; no other exciting information, such as birth date, country of origin, or occupation, is included. Such warnings aside, however, there are ways genealogists can increase their chance of success in finding their ancestors on passenger lists. First, remember that your ancestors may have been included on a number of lists, not just the ones made upon arrival in their new country. Lists were made when they first got on the ship and whenever they stopped along the way. Newspapers and organizations that may have paid for their journey, such as aid societies, would also have kept lists. Even passport applications and naturalization papers can provide valuable clues to your ancestor's journey.After becoming aware of the variety of places in which you can look for your ancestors, try and keep the time period in which they arrived in consideration. Passenger lists made for immigrants arriving in America before 1820, for example, are particularly difficult to search for because they were not standardized or carefully preserved and either do not exist anymore or are extremely difficult to find. The search for immigrants arriving between 1820 and 1891 is slightly less difficult but information is still limited. Finally, in 1891, the Immigration and Naturalization Service came into existence in the United States, and passenger lists were greatly improved, becoming more reliable, informative and well-preserved. Before you begin searching passenger lists, you need to know your ancestor's complete and original name, the date of his arrival in America, and the port at which he arrived. It is also helpful to know his age; the port from which he departed; his country of origin; his ultimate destination in the United States; and the names of his ship or of any fellow travelers. You can find this information through a piece memorabilia, such as a letter or ticket; through previously researched family history; through census records, which are available on the internet and on purchasable computer programs; through naturalization records, which are actually more informative than passenger lists for immigrants arriving after 1906; and through passport records, if your ancestor applied for one to visit his country of origin.If you discover that your ancestor arrived before 1820, there is no centralized place to search for passenger lists. Many ships did keep lists, which they left at the ports of arrival, but since the government did not require these lists to be kept or saved, they were lost, destroyed, or scattered in different libraries or private collections. Many of the surviving lists have been published on the web or in books, so these are the best places to search. Newspapers from the time which have been microfilmed are also valuable resources. Finally, the government does have records in the national archives for arrivals in New York from 1789 to 1919, in New Orleans from 1813 to 1819, and in Philadelphia from 1800 to 1819.If your ancestor arrived after 1820, then your main job will be in consulting the variety of resources available. Customs Passenger Lists, compiled by ship captains from 1820 to around 1891 and indexes for these lists can be found at the National Archives; in libraries, including the comprehensive genealogical archives of the Church of Latter Day Saints; online in images, transcripts, and indexes; on purchasable CD-ROMs; and in books. The archives and other resources contain notable gaps in information and errors, so it is best to search in a variety of indexes.Beginning around 1891, Immigration Passenger Lists replaced Customs Passenger Lists due to the flood of immigrants to the United States and the establishment of a Superintendent of Immigration. Immigration Passenger Lists are much more detailed and two pages long by 1906. They can be found in the National Archives, in the Latter Day Saints library, on the Ellis Island on-line database, and on other on-line sites. Once again, errors were made in microfilming lists and a variety of resources should be consulted. In the end, genealogy is like a scavenger hunt where you must use the clues provided to you and search in a variety of places before you find what you are looking for.

Article Source: http://www.familyhistoryarticles.com

Create your Own Traditions with Family to Help Future Genealogists

Have you ever wished you could ask your Great-Uncle George how soldiers felt about World War I or your Great-Aunt Georgina how she weathered the Great Depression? Or perhaps you rue the loss of your Grandmother Gretel's recipe for delicious German strudel? Family traditions and lore can be completely lost in a generation or two if families do not actively take steps to preserve their history. A family history is a legacy, and preserving your legacy for your grandchildren and great-grandchildren can be an invaluable gift. You don't have to sit down and write out a laborious record of your family history, however, in order to preserve your legacy, although that would indeed be an incredible gift. Small projects and new family traditions can instill an invaluable sense of history in future generations.If your house burned down tonight and you could only save one of your belongings, what would it be? A frequent reply to that question is "family photos." As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Nothing is more interesting than realizing you have your grandfather's nose or your great-grandmother's eyes. Photos can become disorganized, scattered, and, in the end, meaningless, however, if you don't take steps now to compile them into some semblance of order and to share them with younger generations. Ask family or friends if you can copy any original photos that you don't own. Describe the people in the photographs, either orally or in writing. Regale your children and grandchildren with anecdotes about your summer trips to the beach or the day you caught the prize-winning fish. Placing your photos in a scrapbook is a particularly powerful way to preserve their meaning and message, and be sure to incorporate captions and other written descriptions of the pictures. Also, don't forget to include other important documents, such as birth certificates, old report cards, or original art work, poetry, or songs in the scrapbook. Even if you are not artistically inclined, the acid-free scrapbook paper and glue will preserve your photographs and memorabilia for years to come, so just slap them onto the paper as best you can. A lovingly-composed scrapbook will really become a family treasure. Another way to capture an image is on video. On a lazy Sunday afternoon, take your home video camera and sit down with an older family member. By asking certain questions, you can mine their memories for gems of wisdom and valuable family anecdotes. You can also help steer the interview so that it is relatively chronological or comprehensive. Perhaps the interviewee may even want to prepare his answers beforehand. Ask about family residences, including physical descriptions or even a room-by-room verbal tour. Sensory descriptions are particularly interesting. Talk about ethnicity and religion and its impact on family traditions or customs. Ask family members about major historical events. Move the discussion from childhood friends to high school events to college, career, and romance. Perhaps you could even interview people from the past, such as old friends or current spouses, about the interviewee. Also encourage your family members to share the disappointments and struggles that they faced as well as the life lessons and wisdom that they gained. A permanent record of not only your family member's memories but also the way they looked and talked is an invaluable gift to future generations.If you don't have a video camera, then use a tape recorder; and if you don't have a tape recorder, then use a pen and pencil to record your family history. Start a journal, and include not only thoughts and feelings but also descriptions of current events and culture. Such a record will be fascinating to your descendants, no matter how mundane it may seem in the present. There are numerous book and internet sites about journaling or writing a memoir that can help you get started.Finally, make your family history an interactive experience for your children and grandchildren. Visit the house where you grew or the country from which your grandparents immigrated. Seeing a place first-hand will give future generations a sense of their background and roots. Permanent edifices also provide valuable clues about the economy, architecture, and culture of the time in which family members lived. In addition, make your grandmother's German strudel with your children, or teach them how to play a harmonica like their Great-Uncle George. Pass your skills and wisdoms down to them in ways they can enjoy. Such highly sensory experiences are not easily forgotten.
Article Source: http://www.familyhistoryarticles.com

The Importance Of Family And Tradition - A Family Tree of Living People

The Importance Of Family And Tradition

I believe in traditions and listening to those grandma stories is the best way to grow the children which norishes the heart and Brain of every child. Are we able to get that luxury today? Can we find that in a modern way - A family tree as at www.generationdb.com ? A strong Family relationship can make changes in anyones life!!! Any family has its share of challenges in life – the children grow up, move out, change jobs, move to different communities. Other routine events are various births, deaths, marriages, and illnesses etc. that restructure the family. The aged need care. Only families whose members stay in touch manage to cope successfully with these shifts in relationships whenever it is necessary. It is a fact that families are a major force in the development of society. But with today’s busy lifestyles, somehow the family members tend to drift apart and these bonds become less strong. However, it is still possible to be in touch – through family traditions and, of course, intention. Family traditions cement the bond between members of a particular family and nurture positive feelings READ FULL

Family Unity and Relationship Enhanced on a Family Tree

If you would take a Poll Titled: “What is the most important “thing” in your life?” you would get an 80% or higher return with the Number 1 answer being: Family Unity. In an Age, where Generations no longer are only divided by age but also by distance, Family get together, the sharing of Traditions are now largely lost. The strong sense of Identity that comes with strong family Bonds is mostly a thing of the Past.

GenerationDB.com has made it their focus to give a modern day way to bring Family back together. Think of it as the 21st Century Version of Family Reunions. Their unique system, enables all who join, to reach even to most displaced Family Members thousands of miles away. Grandparents clear across the Ocean, can now share their family traditions, wisdoms and pass along those loved Recipes.

Photos of Family members are easily stored in their Databanks, uploaded and shared. Profiles are simple to create and browse. Family Anecdotes about Ancestors are no longer condemned to be forgotten. Once again, they can be revived, and told with the gift of the Family Storyteller. Siblings, Cousins, Parents and more can once again form that Bond, which will survive Family Trials and Tribulations.

Think of all those that are no longer in their Homeland and can not explain what produces in their Bloodline the unique individuals they are. Every Person has wondered at one time or the other about their Background and History. Here it is. A Community of not only the close family but extended universally. Neighbors and Friends, a global Village at your disposal. Family Unity and Relationship Enhanced on a Family Tree.

The good People at GenerationDB.com, have made it their Mission to create a warm family atmosphere. To give you the tools to grow a living, breathing Family Tree. To allow you to once again reach deep into your Roots and experience a long forgotten sense of Pride in who you are.

Think of it as a Calender of Events. It is no longer necessary to spend endless hours sending letters and emails announcing Birthdays, Marriages, Divorces and Death. It is all there in one simple Entry.

Find a Family here, within the Community at GenerationDB. Likeminded People create and “adopt” you into their Family. Learn from each other, share ideas, show your concern.

Create a Group of your own. Prayer Groups, the universal knitting society, tea drinkers’ unity, belly dancing through the generations… The Options are as varied as your imagination can produce.
You are responsible to share as much or as little of your-self and your Branch as you feel comfortable. GenerationDB has a very strong Privacy Policy and are available to answer any of your Questions. You have a choice to make your Information public or private. Only Data marked as Public will be displayed. Your Information will be treated with the up most respect and discretion.

Finally think of our Troops deployed in the war torn Countries. What a wonderful way to send Photos of the Newborn Babies of our Service Man, to give our Support, be there for each other in this torn Society.

Visit GenerationDB and become a Member of our Family. You will enjoy and delight in the Bonds that form, reducing Miles / Kilometers to mere seconds in the click of a Mouse. All right there at your Fingertips. Read about the News that you can not find on any Radio or TV Station. Learn the History that can not be found in any Schoolbook. A Piece of the old Values, couple with a slice of modern Communications without hassle or difficulties.


Source: Articles on www.generationdb.com