When a family member recently was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, the doctor told them the disease is hereditary, and it was passed down to their generation by a family member.

We thought of every family member who might have had the symptoms, but none came to mind. The disease could skip a generation, but an older family member could fill in those gaps when determining whether anyone had the disease. There would be little medical history for an ancestor who died early in life, and that person possibly could be the carrier.

Many genealogists have made medical history as important in their research as vital statistics and traditions. It is an important part of our family history to keep track of all diseases and especially those diseases that are hereditary. Include hearing losses and eye diseases when compiling your medical history.???

The latest thing in family reunions is those reunions where medical history is discussed and compared by those attending.

You might think this is a dull way to spend a day, talking about your "aches and pains," but it could prove to be very important when there is a disease that can be stopped with the right medication.

There are several Web sites that can help the researcher set up his or her medical history. The Web site, "About," includes parenting, genealogy, DNA, health and genetics and health history (All in the Family -- Tracing your Medical History).

The Web site can be accessed at http://genealogy.about.com/od/health_history/a/medical.htm.

The Mayo Clinic's Web site at www.mayoclinic.com/ health/medical-history/HQ 01707 gives instructions on how to compile your medical history.?

As genealogists we are aware of the procedures used to compile our family history. Compiling the medical history almost is the same.

It might be easier to get someone to talk about their illness than it would be to get them to tell you when they got married. In a medical compilation we look at the relationship of those who have similar illnesses.

Child birth problems including miscarriages should be compiled. We can annotate the dates when children died at early ages by looking at census records, especially the 1900 and 1910 when the census taker asked the number of children born to the wife and the number still living.?

Cemetery records also can be used. By researching collateral lines we can learn which families have children and those that did not.

The cause of death should be documented when known. In some areas of Ohio there were cholera epidemics and many children died, and there could be other epidemics including flu.

Diabetics were not known in our family for two generations, but we now have four first cousins who share the disease and one in the next generation.

All share Type Two diabetes which is a red flag for future generations to change their lifestyle. Watch the diet and remember to exercise.