Sara Cochran

The Skeleton Whisperer

https://theskeletonwhisperer.com/

Sara holds a Bachelor Degree in Library Science/Liberal Arts and a Certificate of Genealogical Research from Boston University. She made the transition to professional genealogist after spending over 11 years working for a pre-employment background check company.

As a teenager attending a family reunion, Sara was awed by her Grandmother's collection of photos that documented the early years of her family. Inspired to know more about the people in the photos and bitten by the genealogy bug after exploring just some of the information her Grandmother had gathered over the years, Sara began her own explorations into the family tree, which has roots in Britain, Ireland, Italy, and Austria, as well as most of the United States.

In the course of over 20 years of research, she has found both black sheep and heroes in her trees and their stories have been a source of inspiration and personal growth. Locating a few individuals who "fell off the tree" and disappeared from the family history is an achievement which carries great joy and personal pride. And while there are a few brick walls left to demolish, she has not given up on them yet.

September 6, 2025 - Live in person / Webinar

Please register whether you plan to attend
in person at the library or virtually via Zoom:
OCCGS-09-06

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
You can disregard this message if you are attending in-person.

10:10 AM PDT - My DNA Brought me to the Forest, but Where are all the Trees?

Genealogical DNA tests are bringing thousands of new cousins to our attention, but many of them don't have trees yet, or the trees aren't attached to their test. Learn some new techniques for figuring out where how these individuals connect with you. (Focus is on Ancestry.com results system).

11:15 AM PDT - Meet Your New Research Assistant: AI for Genealogists

Discover how AI can act as your personal research assistant. This class will introduce you to AI tools like ChatGPT and FamilySearch's full text search, offering practical tips and techniques to save time, find hidden records, and enhance the accuracy of your family history research.

Speaker Handouts, when available, can be found in OCCGS Members Only on the Speaker Handouts page.