EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a weekly series on our region’s history coordinated by the Trumbull County Historical Society.

October is Family History Month — a time when exploring personal ancestry is encouraged.

Records that tie a person to previous generations have never been more accessible, thanks in part to the numerous online genealogy databases that are available to the public.

This was not always the case. It was once necessary for genealogists to travel to the land where their ancestors lived or hire a professional genealogist to complete research for them.

In Trumbull County, one woman delved extensively not only into her own past but into the pasts of hundreds of other people with familial ties to the area.

Grace Winnagle was a dedicated genealogist. She not only compiled her own family history, but the histories of more than 200 families.

Described as tiny, indomitable and an advocate for accuracy and completeness, Winnagle was at one time the foremost authority for Trumbull genealogy. Still today, her research is of great use and frequently referenced.

A Bazetta native, born Grace Marvin in 1882, Winnagle graduated from Cortland High School and Ohio University before working as a teacher. Her fascination with tracing family history began with a statement she remembered from her grandmother that they were related to a Mayflower passenger.

“I proved she was right,” Winnagle said. “I found I had not one but three Mayflower forebears.”

What started as an interest in her own family lineage turned into what would become a lifelong endeavor of helping others connect with their heritage.

In 1911, she married attorney Roscoe Winnagle. Her husband’s profession meant time spent in the county courthouse, diving into records and indexing the first 50 volumes of Trumbull deeds and wills.

She transcribed numerous records and compiled books detailing burials and court records for the county that are still used today. One example of this was her contribution to 100 Records of Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Ohio and the copying of grave markers in nearly every Trumbull County cemetery; a project that took 25 years.

Her list of accomplishments in the genealogy field does not stop there. Winnagle compiled three volumes of family and Bible records for Trumbull County. She also helped publish a book on the women who were in Trumbull County before 1850 and did research on the people of Ashtabula, Geauga and Summit counties.

Half of her life was dedicated to genealogy, and she was more than willing to leave an archive to find information, frequently visiting area cemeteries and encountering a variety of circumstances.

“Once, when we raised a fallen tombstone, a nest of snakes slithered off in all directions,” recounted Winnagle. “Another time, we disturbed a lot of hornets and were incapacitated for days.”

Winnagle died in 1965 and was still researching a month before her death. She is buried in Oakwood Cemetery — lying among many whose family names she helped preserve.

It is said that in her lifetime, she assisted people in all 50 states trace their roots to the county. Winnagle’s original work, including correspondence with those across the country, lives in the Local History & Genealogy Center at the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library and is available to the public. You never know what family history might be discovered in this collection.