OXFORD – Scarlett McNally doesn’t fit the profile of your standard genealogist. At 26, she’s decades younger than most who take an interest in researching their family’s past.

“Not many get the chance to do it this young,” the New Jersey resident admits.

For her, the opportunity arose two years ago, when her father asked if she’d be interested in researching the family tree. She agreed, and before long, she was hooked.

“The bug bit me,” McNally laughed.

Early on in her research, she discovered her family’s roots – on both sides – extend back to Colonial days. She has since spent countless hours digging up information on her father’s McNally line and her mother’s family, the Corbins. Plenty of that time has been spent online, exhausting the Internet’s vast resources. But her search has also taken her from Boston to Salt Lake City, and even to Texas. Not to mention many points in between.

“Genealogy almost forces you to travel,” she explained.

This week, the hunt to unravel her family’s past brought her to Chenango County, where the Corbin line has a long history in both McDonough and Oxford.

According to Vicky House, McNally first reached out to longtime Oxford Historian Charlotte Stafford, about a year ago.