McCoy Training and Development Resources

FIND-YOUR-ROOTS

Family History & Genealogy Research

Talks & Workshops

May 3, 2008 - "Sound Strategies for New England Genealogy Research"

Sponsor:Greater Portland Chapter, Maine Genealogical Society (www.gpcmgs.org)
Date:May 3, 2008 following the GPC Meeting at 1 p.m.
Location:Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Cape Elizabeth ME

SESSION ABSTRACT:
Learn tips and tactics for locating your ancestors with New England Roots. Find ways to maximize traditional resources, historical societies, family mementos, and the Internet to learn about your family heritage. Create a solid research plan and avoid common pitfalls in genealogical research. This fun and informative talk hopes to help you make progress in seeking your own New England ancestors, especially those with Maine and Massachusetts roots.

Endorsement: Thank you for doing your talk on Sound Strategies for New England Genealogy Research for our historical society. It was a lot of fun and very informative. Your enthusiasm is contagious! You can really tell you thoroughly enjoy what you do. The response from the group after the meeting was very positive. Thanks again for a wonderful afternoon! Mary Anderson, Program Committee Member, Limerick (Maine) Historical Society

June 5, 2008 - "Strategies for Finding Your New England Roots"

Date:June 5, 2008 from 6 pm to 8 pm
Location:Naples, Maine Public Library, 940 Roosevelt Trail, Naples, Maine

SESSION ABSTRACT:
Learn tips and tactics for locating your ancestors with New England roots. Find ways to maximize traditional resources, historical societies, family mementos, and the Internet to learn about your family heritage. Create a solid research plan and avoid common pitfalls in genealogical research. This fun and informative workshop hopes to help you make progress in seeking your own New England ancestors, especially those from Maine and Massachusetts. A case study identifying the parents of 91 year old female person of color who died in New Bedford Massachusetts in 1928 will help clarify ways to find female ancestors.
For more information: Contact Dr. McCoy at www.find-your-roots.com
or call 847-3271.

September 20, 2008 - "The Maine-Canada-Ireland Connection: Seeking Rogers’ Roots" - MGS FALL CONFERENCE

Sponsor:Maine Genealogical Society
Date:September 20, 2008
Location:Wyndham Portland Airport Hotel, 363 Maine Mall Rd., S. Portland, Maine
Registration: Contact www.maineroots.org. Contact Dale W. Mower, Conference Chair (dale@mower-family.com.) 207-942-9375
FYI: Talk Flyer

SESSION ABSTRACT:
The Maine Canada Ireland Connection: Seeking Rogers Roots. An entertaining case study shows how we discovered the Canadian and Irish roots of the Rogers’ family who lived in Brewer in 1850. Learn how US and Canadian census, land, probate, historical, and newspaper records as well as archival material, online sites and databases and internet contacts can bring a complex family to life.

Genealogy and Family Research Presentations

By Carol P. McCoy, Ph.D.

Dr. McCoy will be pleased to give talks or workshops for your group. She can give presentations of one hour to one and one-half hour as well as longer workshops given individually or in a series.

She has an informative, engaging and motivating style and uses many examples to enliven her talks. While some of her topics are listed below, she can also speak on other topics as well.

Making the Most of Census Research. Learn tips and tactics to make the most of your census research. Learn how to avoid common pitfalls and use a variety of censuses to learn about your ancestors and track down those elusive relatives. Get beyond the census indexes and broaden your focus beyond a specific relative to get the whole story.

Finding Your Family Roots in New England—Sound Strategies for Genealogical Research. Learn tips and tactics for locating your ancestors with New England roots. Find ways to maximize traditional resources, historical societies, family mementos, and the internet to learn about your family heritage. Create a solid research plan and avoid common pitfalls in genealogical research.

Enriching Genealogy with Memorabilia and Pictures. There is only so much excitement that can be generated from ancestor charts and family group sheets. Pictures are indeed worth a thousand words. Find out types of memorabilia that can enrich your family history and become inspired to locate them! Share ideas of what others have done to enliven their stories to give people a feel for what their ancestors’ lives were like.

Tracing Your Ancestors—Getting Started. This talk presents the fundamentals of genealogy and family research to help people get started on a solid foundation. Learn how to unravel family mysteries and avoid common pitfalls in genealogical research.

Creative Ways to Solve Genealogical Problems. Have you hit the proverbial brick wall or road block in your genealogical research? Is an ancestor or two eluding you and hiding from the census taker or the town clerk? Learn some solid strategies and ways to take a fresh look at what you’ve tried and what else you can do to find those pesky hidden ancestors.

Finding Your Roots—Unpuzzling Your Past. A six-session workshop series. 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 Emily 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.

Session One—Getting Started

Session Two—Keys to Success in Genealogy

Session Three—Understanding the Census

Session Four—Vital Records

Session Five—Building on Others’ Work

Session Six—Organizing and Digging Deeper

The Maine-Canada-Ireland Connection —Seeking Rogers’ Roots. An intriguing and entertaining case study shows how we discovered the Canadian and Irish roots of the Rogers’ family who lived in Brewer Maine in 1850. Learn how US and Canadian census, land, probate, historical, cemetery, and newspaper records as well as archival material, online sites and databases and internet contacts can bring a complex family history to life.

Finding Treasures in Cumberland County Maine Deeds—Why Use Deeds in Your Research? . Deeds are a valuable research tool especially when early probate records have been destroyed. Carved from York in 1760, early Cumberland County covers areas which later became Oxford, Androscoggin and other counties. This lecture will clarify ways to use deeds effectively and inspire people to use them to discover family relationships, locations, and other key information.

PAST TALKS/WORKSHOPS

October 13, 2007 - "Finding Your Family Roots in New England—Sound Strategies for Genealogical Research"

Sponsor:Limerick Historical Society
Date: October 13, 2007
Location:: Limerick Historical Society, The Brick Town Hall, Limerick Village, Maine
Registration:Contact Mary Anderson - manderson@synergentcorp.com
FYI: Talk Flyer

SESSION ABSTRACT:
Learn tips and tactics for locating your ancestors with New England Roots. Find ways to maximize traditional resources, historical societies, family mementos, and the internet to learn about your family heritage. Create a solid research plan and avoid common pitfalls in genealogical research.

Endorsement:
Thank you for doing your talk on Sound Strategies for New England Genealogy Research for our historical society. It was a lot of fun and very informative. Your enthusiasm is contagious! You can really tell you thoroughly enjoy what you do. The response from the group after the meeting was very positive. Thanks again for a wonderful afternoon!
Mary Anderson, Program Committee Member,
Limerick (Maine) Historical Society

September 22, 2007 - "Getting the Most From Census Records."

Sponsor:Maine Genealogical Society 2007 Annual Conference "Footprints in Time: Discovering Your Ancestors' Lives"
Date: September 22, 2007; from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Location:Bangor Civic Center - Bangor, Maine
Conference Flyer
Conference Schedule & Details
Speaker Bios

SESSION ABSTRACT:
Getting the Most from Census Research. Learn tips and tactics to make the most of your census research. Learn how to avoid common pitfalls and use a variety of censuses to learn about your ancestors and track down those elusive relatives. Get beyond the census indexes and broaden your focus beyond a specific relative to get the whole story.

Note: If participants have specific questions they would like addressed during the presentation, please contact Carol McCoy before the meeting at 207-847-3271 or at cmccoy3333@aol.com .

Endorsement:
We were pleased to have Carol McCoy as a speaker at our 2007 conference. She is a dynamic speaker whose enthusiasm in genealogical research is readily apparent and contagious. Carol's delivery of material, no matter its complexity, is well-grounded and straightforward. Her presentations are very easy to relate to because she makes extensive use of real-life experiences and examples to illustrate the subject matter. I have sat in on a couple presentations by Carol at other events and would pretty much sum up the experience as "Exciting and Motivating!"

Dale W. Mower
President, Maine Genealogical Society

August 18, 2007 - "Making the Most of Your Census Research"
and "Enriching Genealogy with Memorabilia and Pictures"

Sponsor:D.A. R. Genealogy Conference in Winslow, Maine
Date: August 18, 2007
Location:: First Congregational Church, Lithgow Street, Winslow Maine
Registration:Contact Marilyn Dennis, Silence Howard Hayden Chapter of the D.A.R., Waterville, ME at 207-873-1171
FYI: Presentation Flyer

SESSION ABSTRACT:
Making the Most of Census Research. Learn tips and tactics to make the most of your census research. Learn how to avoid common pitfalls and use a variety of censuses to learn about your ancestors and track down those elusive relatives. Get beyond the census indexes and broaden your focus beyond a specific relative to get the whole story.

Enriching Genealogy with Memorabilia and Pictures. There is only so much excitement that can be generated from ancestor charts and family group sheets. Pictures are indeed worth a thousand words. Find out types of memorabilia that can enrich your family history and become inspired to locate them! Share ideas of what others have done to enliven their stories to give people a feel for what their ancestors' lives were like.

Endorsement:
Hi Carol,
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your talks today (Making the Most of the Census and Enriching Genealogy with Memorabilia.) You are so enthusiastic! Just makes one want to go home and get started on new things. I always learn something new at each conference. As always, I appreciate that you think 'outside of the box' and talk about some of the less used sources. You make it very clear that good documented research is not completed overnight, but takes a lot of well thought out work. So many thanks for all your work.

Janice Gower, Frequent contributor to Maine Families in 1790 and a former member of the Maine Genealogical Society Executive Committee

Dr. Carol McCoy was the main speaker at our Sixth Annual Genealogy Conference in August 2007. She also did a workshop in the morning. All the comments from participants were very positive with no negatives — they said they learned a lot and that the handouts were extremely helpful. Carol was very organized, easy to talk to, on time and very prepared. Our Chapter would not hesitate to ask her to speak again.

Marilyn Dennis, Regent
Silence Howard Hayden Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution

January 23, 2007 Finding Your Roots--Unpuzzling Your Past

Sponsor:University of Southern Maine, Center for Continuing Education
Date:Six Tuesday Evenings (6:30 – 9:00 p.m.) starting 23 Jan 2007 (Dates: Jan. 23 & 30; Feb 6, 13 & 27, March 6, 2007)
Location:Abromson Center, Portland, Maine

SESSION ABSTRACT:
Are you curious about your ancestors—who they were, where they lived, what they did, who you taake after? This fun and inspiring workshop will help you to learn sound techniques for tracing your family genealogy and history. Using Emily 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.

As a result of this workshop, you will be able to:

trace your family's genealogy by using memorabilia, public documents, the internet, and other sources

make use of forms and charts to track your ancestors and family and keep your family history organized

learn to make sense of census records

recognize sound strategies and avoid pitfalls for pursuing genealogy

gain ideas and inspiration to break down brick walls

Session 1: (Jan. 23) Getting Started.
Session 2: (Jan. 30) Keys to Success in Genealogy.
Session 3: (Feb. 6) Understanding the Census.
Session 4: (Feb 13) Vital Records.
Session 5: (Feb 27) Building on Others' Work
Session 6: (March 6) Organizing and Digging Deeper.

Dr. Carol McCoy has been tracing her roots for over 20 years. As president of Find-Your-Roots, she has been helping others to learn more about their family history for the past six years. With her passion for genealogy along with her background in psychology, training, and coaching, Carol can help you become a better genealogist.

Cost: $145
Course Syllabus

The required textbook, Unpuzzling Your Past-The Best-Selling Basic Guide to Genealogy, can be purchased at the USM Portland Bookstore.

May 18, 2004 - Where Do Your Talents and Passions Come From? -Finding Your Roots--Discovering Yourself Through Your Ancestors

Date: May 18, 2004; 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Deb Elliot Salon, corner Forest Ave. & 1 William St., Portland, ME
Sponsor:A facilitated discussion for Women's Passion
Cost: $5 (includes hors 'oeuvres and beverages)
Registration: Contact Jayme Proctor (jproctor@maine.rr.com) or Lynn Marie Danforth (207-767-5776).
Description: Many people have a passion for discovering their family history. I am such a person-- I first became fascinated in tracing my own roots and then realized that I love helping others learn about their own history just as much. Genealogy is much more than filling in names and dates in charts. Through genealogy exploration, I have gained an appreciation of the struggles that our ancestors faced and ultimately learned more about myself--who I look like, what talents run through my genes, and what made those McCoy's so feisty and determined to succeed?
Learning about your ancestors ultimately enriches your understanding of yourself and your appreciation for your family. In this discussion group, participants will explore their family roots—Who iss your favorite ancestor? Why? Where do your talents, characteristics and passions come from? What nationalities and cultural practices contribute to your essence? From where, when and why did your ancestors come to America? What family myths are you curious about? This discussion will explore the joys of learning about yourself by learning about your family history and will provide you with ideas about how to learn more.