Roots Quest: Inside America's Genealogy Boom

by Jackie Hogan

America is in the midst of a genealogy boom. In the last thirty years the number of Americans who said they were “very interested” in family history jumped from 29% to 87%. Online genealogy sites like Ancestry.com went from being a small genealogical research website into a NASDAQ-listed corporation with more than two million subscribers. In Roots Quest, sociologist Jackie Hogan digs into this genealogy boom to ask why we are so interested in our family history. She goes beyond simple demographics—retiring baby boomers with more time on their hands—to show that the surging popularity of genealogy is in part a response to some of the large-scale social changes transforming our lives, such as the increasingly virtual nature of social life, and the sense of rootlessness these transformations provoke. Roots Quest explores the way our increasingly rootless society fuels the quest for authenticity, for deep history, and for an elemental sense of belonging—for roots.

Genres: Nonfiction

235 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 15, 2019

Reviews

[Kimberly Schlarman]

Hogan presents an academic but accessible sociological study of American genealogy. She covers the history of genealogy in America from the status-driven, xenophobic genealogists of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries to the genealogists today who are more interested in genealogy as a tool of self-discovery and as a way to forge global connections through family history or DNA.

I found most interesting the chapter comparing American genealogy practices to other forms of ancestor worship and veneration in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. This seems to demonstrate a worldwide preoccupation with documenting and remembering family histories.

Also interesting was Hogan’s discussion of the role genealogy plays in an increasingly secular society. Some genealogists today use family history as a way of finding a sense of belonging or meaning in their lives. Through research, they attempt to answer questions like “Where do I come from?” “Why am I here?” “Who am I?” She observes that many genealogists today use family history as a way of attaining a type of secular immortality--an immortality achieved through written records and documentation instead of through divine means.

Hogan also gives an honest examination of the LDS Church’s relationship to genealogy. While I appreciate the FamilySearch organization, I continue to be uncomfortable with the whole posthumous baptism thing and I am sometimes uncertain of what to say when patrons ask about it so I really appreciated Hogan’s even-handed approach to the Church.

Probably a little too dry or academic for the casual genealogy hobbyist but as a genealogy librarian, this book gave me a lot to think about.

[Nancy]

Hogan takes an anthropological/sociological approach and raises many valid and intriguing questions about our current fascination with genealogy. The focus remains on larger societal issues and does not fully address the individual or personal level which seems like the next step in fully understanding and integrating the intriguing questions raised. A worthwhile, enlightening, and accessible read.

[Sandra Cohen]

Somewhat dry and academic and somewhat interesting in the place of genealogy in society. Feeling that place in history and part of the continuum of all human souls is what I love abort my own roots quest. Interesting to see how that fits within sociology

[Mhd]

Kindle sample was ok. Fairly heavy, need to be in right mood....