A poll conducted by Maritz Marketing Research, Inc. last year revealed that 60 percent of Americans say they are "at least somewhat interested" in tracing their family history. This is an astounding number. But how accurate is it?

Judging from personal experience, I would say that number can’t be too far off. For the last nine weeks, I’ve been traveling all over the United States and in England. In my travels, I’ve seen firsthand the overwhelming number of people seeking the story of their past.

In May I was in Portland, Oregon for the National Genealogical Society’s "2001 NGS Conference in the States." Nearly two thousand attendees demonstrated their interest in family history by traveling great distances for the four-day event. With 101 expert genealogists conducting eight concurrent sessions and computer labs, there was something for everyone.

Every NGS participant received a copy of My History is America’s History: 15 Things You Can Do to Save America’s Stories, a beautiful, full-color guidebook published by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Besides giving direction to those new to family history, this guidebook is finding its way into school classrooms, promising to inspire a whole new generation of would-be family historians.

Immediately before NGS, I had the pleasure of attending the Family History Fair in London, England. Five thousand people crammed the exhibit hall. It was clear that the exhibitor’s offerings and four tracks of lectures held over the two-day event were appealing to experienced family historians as well as the casually interested.

This spring, I celebrated my ninth anniversary with Ancestry by visiting our Utah headquarters. Because I work out of a Chicago-area office, it’s always a wonderful homecoming when I’m able to be with my Ancestry colleagues. Ancestry has grown with the genealogy field, and the high percentage of people interested in their family history reported by Maritz is witnessed by the company’s success. I’m excited to work with a talented team of people who have taken a small genealogical publishing company and created an Internet company that this year ranked No. 12 according to the Nielsen Net Ratings of Top Web sites. Ancestry has also reached the distinction of being the third largest subscription site, topped only by The Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.com, and Consumer Reports Online.

In April, I enjoyed being at Ellis Island for the grand opening of the American Family Immigration History Center. Created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the enormous database of passenger lists for the Port of New York (1892-1924) has enjoyed a sensational response from the public. National news reported that the new Ellis Island database had over 50 million hits in the first six hours of operation.

There’s no doubt. Interest in genealogy is growing at an exponential rate. But what does that mean for you and me as family historians? The high percentage of people interested in tracing their heritage may be, as some may think, the crest of a declining trend. But maybe it is just the beginning. All of us as family historians have enormous power to influence the future of this field. We can sustain the interest level and develop and refine ways of learning more about our ancestors if we act together as an informed genealogical community. And, the very best way to do that is to join a genealogical society. Attend genealogical meetings, conferences, and lend your voice to what is happening to historical record access. The next big conference will be hosted by the Federation of Genealogical Societies in the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois in September. Remember: We have enormous power to sustain growth and influence the future of family history.

Return to the Ancestry Magazine July/August 2001 Table of Contents.