I’ve always loved history.  I considered studying it in college, except for the fact that it’s not entirely useful to the career I wanted.  So, it is now my hobby, and recently I started doing some research on my family history.  I want my kids to understand their heritage and their background.  I want my grandchildren to know not only me, but also their great-grandparents and even their great-great-great grandparents, whom they will never get to meet.  One of my best tools is a marriage records search.  It helps me connect many of the dots in the family history, such as who came from where and at what point.