Finding Your Roots—Unpuzzling Your Past
Dr. Carol P. McCoy (Jan 23 – Mar 7, 2007)
USM Center for Continuing Education
Tuesdays: 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Description
Are you curious about your ancestors—who they were, where they lived, what they
did, who you take after? This fun and inspiring workshop will help you to learn
sound techniques for tracing your family genealogy and history. Using Croom’s
best-selling book, Unpuzzling Your Past as a spring-board, this class will teach you
ways to track down your ancestors, learn more about their lives, and create a
meaningful family history.
Learning Objectives:
As a result of this course, you will be able to:
1. trace your family’s genealogy by using memorabilia, public documents, the
internet, and other sources
2. make use of forms and charts to track your ancestors and family and keep
your family history organized
3. learn to make sense of census records
4. recognize sound strategies and avoid pitfalls for pursuing genealogy
5. gain ideas and inspiration to break down brick walls on those hard to find
ancestors!
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Some Roots of Carol Prescott McCoy, Ph.D.
www.find-your-roots.com
Born in Bronxville (Westchester Co.) NY, Carol Prescott McCoy is the oldest
of three sisters. Having a family that loved telling stories and taking pictures, she
caught the family history bug at an early age. She has been tracing her roots for
more than a quarter century. After learning that she enjoyed helping others trace
their roots, she started her own genealogy business Find-Your-Roots.
Her father, Rawley D. McCoy, was born in NJ, and grew up in NYC and in
Bronxville. Rawley’s father, Paul McCoy, was born in WV, and died in Bronxville.
Rawley’s mother, Irma (Connie) Pollock, was born in NYC and died in Bronxville at
age 98. Her mother, Jane Wiske, lived and died in Bronxville. Jane’s father,
Prescott B. Wiske, was born in NY and died on a business trip; Jane’s mother,
Kathryn Mildred Utz, was born in Mt. Vernon NY and died at age 95. Jane’s
grandfather, C. Mortimer Wiske, born in Bennington Vermont, built a music camp,
Birch Villa, on Lake Christopher in Bryant Pond Maine in 1903. He died in Maine.
Carol received her B.A. in psychology from Connecticut College for Women in
New London, CT where her British ancestor Johnny Whiskey first reached the
shores of America as a prisoner aboard the newly captured frigate Macedonian
during the War of 1812. (He managed to escape and marry Betsey Rogers of New
London.) She obtained her M.S. and Ph.D. in psychology from Rutgers University in
New Brunswick, N.J. She began her career as a teaching assistant in Piscataway,
NJ. At the time she was teaching there she did not know that Piscataway was
founded in the 1660s by a group of people including one of her ancestors, John
Martin.
She began her teaching career as a grad student at Rutgers and then taught
psychology to nursing students in the Bronx NY. She transitioned to management
development and worked for Chase Manhattan Bank in NYC before moving to Maine
to work for Unum in 1991. She started McCoy Training and Development Resources
in 1999 and now divides her time between genealogy, consulting, and training.
She has spoken on training and management topics at several national and local
conferences and has also taught a course on genealogy for USM, and given talks on
genealogy for the Portland chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society and for the
Falmouth Historical Society. She has written two books on training as well as
numerous articles, which can be found on her web sites: McCoytraining.com, and
Find-Your-Roots.com.
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Session 1: Getting Started.
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Why trace your roots?
Determining your goals for research—selecting an ancestor of focus and
deciding what you want to know.
Getting familiar with common charts and forms (5 generation chart,
family group chart, chronological profile).
Identifying memorabilia that can help trace and learn about your
ancestors.
Preparation for Next Session—
Reading in Croom’s Unpuzzling Your Past.
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Ch. 1—In the Beginning
Ch. 2—Charting Your Course
Ch. 3—Strategies for Winning in Genealogy
Ch. 9—Family Sources and Beyond
Suggested Activities
1. Decide on a focus ancestor.
2. Create a family group sheet for your focus ancestor. Be sure to document
your sources.
3. Start a chronological profile for your focus ancestor
4. Build on your 5 generation chart starting with yourself
5. Bring in some (copies of) memorabilia/documents that hold clues to your
ancestors and family traditions. Be prepared to share with the class.
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Session 2: Keys to Success in Genealogy.
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Identify key strategies and pitfalls to avoid.
Documenting and evaluating evidence!
Learn about your ancestor’s names, naming patterns, and avoid assumptions
about names!
Class activity-share and discuss memorabilia and clues they suggest.
Discuss interview techniques.
Preparation for Next Session—
Reading in Croom’s Unpuzzling Your Past.
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Ch. 4—What’s in a name
Ch. 5—Begin Solving the Puzzle with Interviews
Ch. 6—Hand Me Down Traditions
Ch. 7—Life History: Beginning to End
Ch. 8—History as the Family Lived It
Suggested Activities
1. Decide on an ancestor or another resource to interview
2. After reviewing Croom’s suggested questions, decide on your interview
questions and create a plan for an interview (i.e., questions, how to ask for
the interview, how to record the interview, how to share the interview.)
3. Bring your plan to class.
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Session 3: Understanding the Census.
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Learn about information gathered in federal censuses and other censuses,
where to find copies, how to interpret results.
Discover ways to locate your ancestors in the census.
Using city directories.
Class debrief—review your interview questions with others.
Preparation for Next Session—
Reading in Croom’s Unpuzzling Your Past.
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Ch. 10—Beyond the Family: Federal Census Records
Appendix C—Federal Census, 1790-1930 (p. 243-45)
Appendix D—Blank Forms: Census Form 1790-1930 (p. 255-269)
Suggested Activities
1. Create a census log, showing where you expect your ancestor to be in the
census.
2. Through the Internet or resources available at a library, look through at
least one census index to find an ancestor. Note: you can view the 1880
census index for free.
3. Try to find your ancestor in at least one census. Be sure to write down your
source and the location of the source.
4. Look for the location of a city directory that might contain an ancestor.
5. If possible, arrange to search the directory for your ancestor.
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Session 4: Vital Records.
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Learn about the importance of obtaining vital records (birth, marriage,
death certificates)
Key information included in vital records
Where to find them
What to use as substitutes when official records didn’t exist or were
destroyed.
Visiting cemeteries and court houses.
Preparation for Next Session—
Reading in Croom’s Unpuzzling Your Past.
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Ch. 11—Beyond the Family: County and State Sources
Ch. 12—Beyond the Family: Local Sources
Ch. 14—Where Do I Look for That?
Ch. 16—Read It Right: Handwriting of the Past
Suggested Activities
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Obtain vital record information on an ancestor.
Try to determine a cemetery where an ancestor is buried.
If possible visit a cemetery where an ancestor is buried.
Plan to share your search results with others.
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Session 5: Building on Others’ Work—Using the Library, Archives and the Internet.
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Learn what information may be on the Internet and how to use it for clues
Avoid common mistakes when using the Internet
Using archives and libraries—sources to seek.
How can family histories help or mislead you?
Using maps for clues.
Preparation for Next Session.
Reading in Croom’s Unpuzzling Your Past.
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Ch. 13—Beyond the Family: Additional Federal Resources
Ch. 15—What’s In a Name?
Suggested Activities
1. Visit a local library or archive. (Consider the Maine Historical Society on
Congress Street, Portland; The Portland Room in the Portland Public Library,
Congress St., Portland; The Maine State Library and The Maine State
Archives in Augusta.)
2. Make yourself familiar with some of the resources available by reviewing any
guidebooks and by talking with the librarian and/or archivist.
3. Search microfilm and/or books for clues about your ancestor.
4. Make a copy of an interesting finding and bring the copy to class.
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Session 6: Organizing and Digging Deeper.
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Ways to get and stay organized.
Further sources to check.
Pitfalls to avoid.
Techniques for breaking down brick walls.
Identifying next steps.
Sharing tactics to use to pursue a particular problem.
Reading in Croom’s Unpuzzling Your Past.
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Ch. 17—Fitting the Pieces Together
Ch. 18—Sharing Your Family History
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