The Southington Genealogical Society and the Southington Historical Society are pleased to co-sponsor a program entitled “Start Climbing Your Family Tree: Genealogical Research for Beginners” with Genealogists Diana Ross McCain and Carol Whitmer on Tuesday, November  27, 2018 at 7:00 pm at The Southington Historical Society.

This 90-minute presentation on today’s hottest hobby shows novice family historians how to begin their search, whether their roots stretch back to the Mayflower or their family first arrived in the United States in the twentieth century.

Genealogists Diana Ross McCain and Carol Whitmer of “Come Home to Connecticut” explain the first steps for gathering information from family records and relatives and recording it on charts. They introduce the most useful online genealogical resources for research in the United States and other countries, and explain what they contain, as well as how to access and make use of them. They debunk the belief that for genealogists “everything is on the Internet” and discuss records still accessible only in libraries, archives, and historical societies.

Diana Ross McCain is a genealogist and historian with more than 35 years of professional experience. She was on the staff of the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford, Connecticut, for 25 years, and was also a reference librarian at the Godfrey Memorial Library in Middletown, Connecticut. Diana holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history, and a master’s degree in library science.

Carol Whitmer is a professional genealogist, historical researcher, author, and lecturer. She has been doing genealogical research for over 38 years. She regularly teaches genealogy courses at the college level and lectures on various genealogical topics, including Genealogy for Beginners, as well as presenting specialized classes on New England genealogy resources and electronically available genealogical resources. Carol is a past president and past member of the the Board of Governors of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists and is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council.