We
hope to see it regarded as a handmaid of evolution, just as are the
other sciences; we hope to see it linked with the great biological
movement of the present day, for the betterment of mankind.
So much for the science as a whole. What can the individual do? Nothing
better than to broaden his outlook so that he may view his family not as
an exclusive entity, centered in a name, dependent on some illustrious
man or men of the past; but rather as an integral part of the great
fabric of human life, its warp and woof continuous from the dawn of
creation and criss-crossed at each generation. When he gets this vision,
he will desire to make his family tree as full as possible, to include
his collaterals, to note every trait which he can find on record, to
preserve the photographs and measurements of his own contemporaries, and
to take pleasure in feeling that the history of his family is a
contribution to human knowledge, as well as to the pride of the family.
If the individual genealogist does this, the science of genealogy will
become a useful servant of the whole race, and its influence, not
confined to a few, will be felt by all, as a positive, dynamic force
helping them to lead more worthy lives in the short span allotted to
them, and helping them to leave more worthy posterity to carry on the
names they bore and the sacred thread of immortality, of which they were
for a time the custodians.
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