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FIND-YOUR-ROOTS
Family History & Genealogy Research
Dr. Carol Prescott McCoy
Biography
Dr. Carol P. McCoy, President of Find-Your-Roots and McCoy Consulting, has been tracing her family history for over 25 years. She has been helping others discover their roots for the past seven years.
She will be pleased to help you research your family history. She can do the research and writing for you, teach you to do the research yourself, or speak to your organization about genealogy.
Focus of Her Research
With each new case, Dr. McCoy learns more about researching families in different eras and areas. Her focus is on tracing families in North America, particularly in the Northeast and in West Virginia. She uses a variety of sources—online databases, traditional repositories, historical societies, visits to cemeteries, courthouses, town halls, registries of deeds, maps, and a wide network of personal contacts.
She enjoys solving mysteries, discovering solid evidence to prove relationships, finding new family members for people, collecting interesting details of ancestors’ lives and creating a readable and interesting family history report for others.
Carol Tracing of Tombstone of Joseph McCoy Who Died 1 Nov 1877
Polly Archer Cemetery, Tyler County, West Virginia
Tracing her family and others’ families has given Carol particular familiarity with researching the following geographic areas:
West Virginia (especially in Tyler, Monongalia, and Marion Counties)
New York (especially NYC and Suffolk County, NY)
Maine
Connecticut (especially New London)
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
New Hampshire
Vermont
Canada (Maritime Provinces)
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Genealogy Talks and Workshops
As a professional trainer she has spoken for audiences of over 300 people throughout the United States, and in the U.K. After many years of giving presentations and workshops on training, communication and leadership, she now offers workshops on genealogy and family history.
Popular Topics Include:
Creative Strategies for Solving Genealogical Problems
Getting Started in Genealogy
Making the Most of the Census
Having Fun with Memorabilia and Photographs in Genealogy
Finding Your New England Ancestors—Sound Strategies for Genealogical Research
The Maine-Canada-Ireland Connection: Seeking Rogers’ Roots (A Case Study)
Where Do Your Talents and Passions Come From? What You Can Learn from Your Ancestors
She has taught several genealogy workshops at the Center for Continuing Education at University of South Maine.
Students in Dr. McCoy’s Genealogy Workshop at USM
Dr. McCoy has given genealogical talks for the Maine Genealogical Society (MGS) Conference in Bangor Maine, the Greater Portland Chapter of the MGS in Cape Elizabeth Maine, the Limerick Maine Historical Society, the Falmouth Maine Historical Society, the D.A.R. sponsored conference in Winslow Maine, and for other groups.
Memberships
Carol was elected president of the Greater Portland Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society in January 2008. This MGS chapter meets monthly at the Church of Latter Day Saints in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
She is a member of the National Genealogical Society (NGS) and a graduate of their core genealogy home study program.
Other memberships include:
New York Genealogical & Biographical Society
New England Historic Genealogical Society
Maine Historical Society
Maine Genealogical Society
Bennington Vermont Historical Society
Tyler County West Virginia Heritage and Historical Society
Marion County WV Genealogy Club
Connecticut Society of Genealogists
New London Connecticut Historical Society
Rhode Island Historical Society
Rhode Island Genealogical Society
Jewishgen.org
Carol McCoy at the Genealogical Fair in Winslow, Maine June 2007
Education and Early Background
She grew up in Bronxville, NY and graduated from Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut with an A.B. in psychology. She then attended graduate school at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey where she had a teaching scholarship in psychology. She received her M.S. degree and Ph.D. degree in psychology from Rutgers. Her master’s research was on the development of humor in children. Her doctoral thesis was on Early Childhood Recollections and Two Aspects of Lifestyle: Internal-External Locus of Control and Positive-Negative Worldview.
Graduate school taught her to appreciate the complexity of the human personality, to analyze data to support a theory, to write clearly about complex topics, and most importantly to stick with a project until it is finished! All of this learning has proven helpful in genealogical and family research.
Professional Background
Her first full-time teaching job was social science chair person (really a one-person psychology department) at Misericordia Hospital School of Nursing in the Bronx, NY. After that she worked as a management development consultant for Chase Manhattan Bank in NY City. Having enjoyed the hustle and bustle of NYC for 15 years, she migrated north to more bucolic Maine in 1991. Prior to starting her own genealogy business in 2001 and her training consulting business in 1999, Carol worked as a training director for UNUM in Portland, Maine.
She has written several books on training, is a life coach, and also conducts workshops on genealogy and on training. (Please visit her other web site for more information on her training career. www.mccoytraining.com She has written several informal articles on genealogy. A popular conference speaker, Carol has given many work shops on training and development, leadership and communication skills.
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