Sharon Hoyt is a researcher, speaker, and author from California’s Silicon Valley. Her primary research areas include New England, New York, the Midwest, Canada, and England. She is happiest when on the trail of a family story, particularly when it involves the Civil War. Sharon’s research has been published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, and Minnesota Genealogist. She is the winner of the National Genealogical Society’s 2017 Family History Writing Contest and the Minnesota Historical Society’s 2016 Michael Clark Family History Writing Award. She holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Science.