Birth, marriage, death dates and other facts? So important to family history research. But we know what really sticks are the stories – those quick, fascinating tales of romance, humor, triumph, tragedy that paint a picture and grab attention. A shipwreck, a satisfying comeuppance, a chance but significant meeting, a cooking disaster, a “clothing malfunction,” or an accusation of witchcraft – all possibilities for getting the attention of relatives whose eyes usually glaze over with the conversation turns to genealogy. Join Marilyn McPhie, professional storyteller and (very) amateur genealogist for ideas and resources for finding the stories and ways to share them.

Marilyn McPhie is a professional storyteller, speaker, and teaching artist, creating, performing, and teaching stories of all kinds – personal, literary, traditional, and more – for audiences of all ages and levels of storytelling experience. She has coached storytellers from school students to professionals preparing important presentations. She has performed nationally and internationally and has been seen in venues as diverse as the Exchange Place of the National Storytelling Festival and the TEDx stage. Marilyn is the president of Storytellers of Sand Diego and the past Pacific Region Director for the National Storytelling Network. She describes herself as “a very amateur genealogist.” She tells stories about ancestors in Dover, England; Salem, Massachusetts; Jamestown, Virginia; Aalborg, Denmark; Dinkelsbuhl, Germany – and has done presentations for both storytellers and genealogists on how to find and craft stories from your genealogy that don’t make people’s eyes glaze over.

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