Genealogy is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of lineages. This course covers the fundamentals of finding ancestors/relatives and building a family tree. Participants will gain an understanding of how to kickstart your family history research through learning how to access historical records, such as: census and other public records, newspaper archives, computer databases (Family Search and Ancestry), military records, etc.

*Registration includes a Genealogy workbook and free guided visits to the library of the Ross County Genealogical Society.

Instructor: Ross County Genealogical Staff

Max. Enrollment: 30

Cost: $45

BIOS OF TEACHING TEAM

Paul Hixon has a BSEE from Ohio University. He worked as a civilian program manager in the U.S. Navy in Washington DC, retiring in 2006 as the Director of Communications Systems for the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition. He started family research in the 1970s using the National Archives and court records. He currently is the President of the Ross County Genealogical Society.

Susan Byers Schwartz holds a master’s degree in Education from Ohio University. She taught Ohio History, English, and Spanish in junior high and high schools in the area. Susan retired after 30 years of service working for the five-county Paint Valley ADAMH Board as Associate Director. She has been researching her family history for over 20 years.

Johnda Scott has been involved with volunteering at the Ross County Genealogical Society and researching her family’s genealogy since 1989. She is currently the webmaster for the RCGS website. She is a graduate of Zane Trace High School and attended OU-C before accepting a position at the VA Medical Center where she retired in 2005 after 36 years. Other interests when not doing genealogy includes attending her nieces and nephews sporting events.

Carol Cottrill is a lifelong resident of Ross County. She is a graduate of Chillicothe High School and enjoyed a 45-year long career at Mead/Glatfelter. She was active with her children’s 4H, scouting, and school sports and now enjoys watching her grandchildren play. A lifelong hobby of gardening led to training as a Master Gardener and later a coordinator for that program in Ross County. She has sifted through family history for almost 50 years and encouraged others to record their own story. She has extensively used DNA to assist other family members in finding their roots.

Karen Cydrus received her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Ohio University, Class of 1980.  She was raised in Ross County and graduated from Huntington High School, Class of 1972. She started researching in genealogy in the 1980’s when her children took Genealogy as 4-H projects.  That research has continued into the computer age, where information is more readily available. Three grandchildren have taken genealogy projects with 2 being state award winners. Currently, she is a 20-year member of Ross County Genealogical Society.  Since becoming a member, the titles of Librarian and Treasurer have been added.  She is also a member of The Ohio Genealogical Society for 9 years. Currently, Karen is a Trustee with that organization for 8 years.