American writer Will Durant once said, “the family is the nucleus of civilization,” and the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History is taking that statement to heart.

Registration is under way for a five-part beginners genealogy workshop scheduled for February and March. The workshop is being conducted in collaboration with the Surry County Genealogical Society.

Local genealogist Esther Johnson will conduct the five-class workshop, designed for residents interested in researching their family trees.

The classes are set for Tuesdays on Feb. 12, 19, and 26 and March 5 and 12.

The first two classes will be conducted in the museum’s second-floor classroom from 6 to 8 p.m. The third class, set for Feb. 26, will be held in the county’s Register of Deeds office in Dobson from 6 to 8 p.m. The fourth class will be held at the Carlos Surratt Genealogy Room at Surry Community College in Dobson from 6 to 8 p.m., and the final class will be in the museum’s second-floor classroom from 6 to 8 p.m.

Matt Edwards, director of the museum, said the classes are ideal for residents who want to learn how to research their family’s history.

“For those people who are interested in tracing their roots and learning how to work through that process, this is a tremendous resource to learn about the process,” he said. “So many times today, we take for granted the genealogical research that we can do on the Internet, but at some point, we have to delve into the hard paper records in order to continue that research. This class will give folks some direction in how to do that.”

The classes are free to museum members, and non-members can take the classes for $5 each, or $25 for the series.

Museum memberships can be purchased for $25 for seniors and students, or $35 for an individual membership without the discount.

The genealogy workshop has a limit of 25 students, Edwards said.

To register for the classes or for further information, contact Amy Snyder at the museum at 786-4478.

Reach Keith Strange at kstrange@civitasmedia.com or 719-1929.