History is centered in the family, historian David McCullough says

All history is family history, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian said in Salt Lake City Thursday.

"It is through the family that we get to the vital nerve center of history. History is about life, one generation to another," David McCullough said.

McCullough is in Utah in connection with the National Genealogical Society annual conference, which is being held in Salt Lake City this year. Genealogy aficionados will enjoy an evening program celebrating family history, which will take place tonight in the Conference Center.

Through music, video and the spoken word, the program will demonstrate how much family history matters, says Jay Verkler, CEO of FamilySearch, the division of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an event sponsor.

Featured speakers will be Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, and McCullough.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon, McCullough, Verkler and Pam Sayre, director of education for the National Genealogical Society, talked about the importance of this kind of program.

We have done an inadequate job of educating our children and grandchildren on the history of this county, McCullough said, "and that is primary our fault." But there's a lot of things parents can do to encourage that interest, he said. "Take kids to places where things happened. Show them the buildings, the tangible things. Architecture is very important; it's all around us. Go into old homes, and feel that world again."

Talk about family history at every opportunity, he said. It can be a gateway to a lifelong interest in history, a lifelong love of learning. "Enjoyment of history begins at home, at the dinner table, with stories from our own families," he said.

One of his ancestors was in the tannery business and specialized in making the finest harnesses and equipage for horses around. "And along came the automobile, and that was the end of his business. But instead of complaining and saying 'woe is me,' he decided to invest in electricity and started the McCullough Electric Company. It was because of the McCullough Electric Company that I got to go to Yale."

McCullough also talked of his Scottish ancestors who were weavers — "I often think of them as I'm trying to weave together words" — and his Irish ancestors who were storytellers — "that's such a wonderful quality."