Instructor Profile
“Genealogy gives you a better sense of the value of life and a new appreciation for the past. My ancestors walk with me.” - Margo Fariss Brewer
Meet Margo Fariss Brewer - By Lynn Lothman
We met for the first time at Fosters, the unpretentious eatery in Durham and the perfect backdrop for a down-to-earth country girl named Margo Fariss Brewer. She was born in New York City but raised and nurtured on a ranch in rural Northern California. I sensed immediately that Margo was an optimist who loves life and equally a challenge.
Margo has been teaching Genealogy courses during the winter sessions for OLLI at Duke since 2004. She was awarded an honorary instructional accolade in September, a certificate that recognized her for teaching more than 25 classes since she began. About teaching genealogy at OLLI, Margo says, “It’s the right combination of technology and face to face time. I love it!”
Her genealogy courses are extremely popular and she welcomes all students, those new to the research of their families as well as those more advanced and enmeshed in the stories of their ancestors.
Margo is a professional genealogist, organizing trips every fall with her business partner to Salt Lake City for those interested in doing research in the Family History Library (FHL)--the center and heart of genealogy. The Mormons, who consider themselves stewards of worldwide family history, believe we are all interrelated and family is of utmost importance. They scour the world, including the small courthouses in isolated corners of every state in the United States, copying and indexing all records, to be housed in the FHL. FHL has more than 3 million microfilms!
Margo is also a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Genealogy Speakers’ Guild. Her business partner will chair the National Genealogical Society (NGS) conference in Ft. Lauderdale in 2016 and Margo will share co-chair responsibilities with another genealogist.
When asked why she teaches, Margo hesitated. “So many reasons. I love to see my students make discoveries about their ancestors. I’ve had students publish memoirs, historical fiction based on family, find birth parents, or realize their journeys because of the people who came before them.”
Her students feel the same respect and admiration for her. One student writes,
“Prior to moving to Durham and taking Margo’s classes at OLLI, I had been dabbling in genealogy intermittently since 1976. Margo’s classes have sharpened y focus and greatly improved my skills. She is the consummate instructor to whom no question is ever “dumb” if the answer benefits the student. Her classes are always challenging and interesting. She is always sharing freely of her vast experience and happy to aid her students in their ancestral quests. I could not ask for a better instructor. Margo and her classes are the best!”
Margo credits her interest in genealogy to her father, an American Overseas Airline and Pan Am pilot and rancher, who kept the past alive by sharing family stories. As a pilot her father believed that all pilots should know something about navigation and where they were in relation to the horizon rather than relying strictly on instrumentation. In life, too, we need to understand where we are going and where we have been; his philosophies were planted firmly in the head and heart of his daughter, Margo.
Her aunt created a basic family tree for her when she was quite young. And so with her addictive compulsive nature, love of details, her tenacity to think outside the box to get around roadblocks, and her love of a puzzle, a genealogist was born.
When asked what others would be surprised to know about her, she said, “When I was in High School, I handled a 2.5 ton Harvester for my dad. He had to be away and it was time for the ladino clover seed to be harvested so I sat atop that machine for half a day for three weeks to get it done. I had a lot of time to think, dream, and plan.”
Margo will pilot a night course at OLLI for the coming winter term. The “OLLI at Night” course will be a second session of genealogy I. Please see the Winter 2015 catalog for a list of all her classes. Registration starts December 9 at 9:00 am.
“Good genealogy begins with yourself. You must be able to prove yourself first. The best source is the oldest living generation. Many of my students chuckle because they ARE their oldest living generation!” Margo said with a quiet giggle.
Margo has been teaching Genealogy courses during the winter sessions for OLLI at Duke since 2004. She was awarded an honorary instructional accolade in September, a certificate that recognized her for teaching more than 25 classes since she began. About teaching genealogy at OLLI, Margo says, “It’s the right combination of technology and face to face time. I love it!”
Her genealogy courses are extremely popular and she welcomes all students, those new to the research of their families as well as those more advanced and enmeshed in the stories of their ancestors.
- Classes I-II teach the student the basics of research, how to fill out forms, how to gather basic data, methodology, and organization, and analysis and critique of sources and data (building on many records including census, courthouse, school, church, military, and land plats) using primary and secondary sources of information.
- Classes III and V are more advanced genealogy, done in the computer lab and crafting a research plan and/or working on an established plan with the assistance and guidance of Margo.
- Class IV assists the student in writing their genealogy research as a narrative. The focus is on adding historical context, flow, and increasing the reader’s interest in the story.
Margo is a professional genealogist, organizing trips every fall with her business partner to Salt Lake City for those interested in doing research in the Family History Library (FHL)--the center and heart of genealogy. The Mormons, who consider themselves stewards of worldwide family history, believe we are all interrelated and family is of utmost importance. They scour the world, including the small courthouses in isolated corners of every state in the United States, copying and indexing all records, to be housed in the FHL. FHL has more than 3 million microfilms!
Margo is also a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Genealogy Speakers’ Guild. Her business partner will chair the National Genealogical Society (NGS) conference in Ft. Lauderdale in 2016 and Margo will share co-chair responsibilities with another genealogist.
When asked why she teaches, Margo hesitated. “So many reasons. I love to see my students make discoveries about their ancestors. I’ve had students publish memoirs, historical fiction based on family, find birth parents, or realize their journeys because of the people who came before them.”
Her students feel the same respect and admiration for her. One student writes,
“Prior to moving to Durham and taking Margo’s classes at OLLI, I had been dabbling in genealogy intermittently since 1976. Margo’s classes have sharpened y focus and greatly improved my skills. She is the consummate instructor to whom no question is ever “dumb” if the answer benefits the student. Her classes are always challenging and interesting. She is always sharing freely of her vast experience and happy to aid her students in their ancestral quests. I could not ask for a better instructor. Margo and her classes are the best!”
Margo credits her interest in genealogy to her father, an American Overseas Airline and Pan Am pilot and rancher, who kept the past alive by sharing family stories. As a pilot her father believed that all pilots should know something about navigation and where they were in relation to the horizon rather than relying strictly on instrumentation. In life, too, we need to understand where we are going and where we have been; his philosophies were planted firmly in the head and heart of his daughter, Margo.
Her aunt created a basic family tree for her when she was quite young. And so with her addictive compulsive nature, love of details, her tenacity to think outside the box to get around roadblocks, and her love of a puzzle, a genealogist was born.
When asked what others would be surprised to know about her, she said, “When I was in High School, I handled a 2.5 ton Harvester for my dad. He had to be away and it was time for the ladino clover seed to be harvested so I sat atop that machine for half a day for three weeks to get it done. I had a lot of time to think, dream, and plan.”
Margo will pilot a night course at OLLI for the coming winter term. The “OLLI at Night” course will be a second session of genealogy I. Please see the Winter 2015 catalog for a list of all her classes. Registration starts December 9 at 9:00 am.
“Good genealogy begins with yourself. You must be able to prove yourself first. The best source is the oldest living generation. Many of my students chuckle because they ARE their oldest living generation!” Margo said with a quiet giggle.