It's a little more difficult to do in the South, because people are a little obsessive about genealogy (she says, glancing up at the shelf with 9 notebooks full of genealogy) . . . although it's a great secret weapon for kids who get picked on in school. My daughter went to a prep school where most of the kids had a lot more money than we do, but she could always shut the mean girls up by pointing out that SHE was descended from the brother of a Signer (we are Old Blood and Not Much Money, but that trumps No Blood and New Money any day of the week when the girls begin putting on airs.)
And it can also be useful for instilling manners. As Florence King's aunt whispered to her in Southern Ladies and Gentlemen, "Remember your grandmother was a Talbot!" (or a Byrd, or somebody. Don't exactly recall which family.)
My maternal grandfather was a hobby geneologist in his retirement. He traced my family through the male line back 12 generations in America. Fortunately, they stayed in the same place (Maine) until the mid 1800s. My Texas aunt used it as documentation for DAR purposes.
Luckily my Dad also caught the bug and did his back to the early 1800s when they migrated.
So I know the areas where many of my ancestors came from in England, Ireland and Germany. I think it’s kind of neat, but my kids aren’t curious about it.