The Brue Family Learning Center

In this online lecture, Senior Genealogist Rhonda R. McClure will discuss her advice for planning a research trip to New England, highlighting key repositories, research strategies, and other trip tips.

The Brim-DeForest Library at American Ancestors serves as a center for research, learning, and discovery, where history comes to life through archival collections and expert guidance. Learn more about the collections, services, and other library offerings during a brief tour.

Join Chief Genealogist David Allen Lambert and Senior Archivist Judy Lucey for a brief lecture on military memorabilia, a look at interesting items from our collection, and an opportunity to share and get help with your own.

Join our 2025 Genevieve Geller Wyner Research Fellow Benjy Maor to learn about how and why Jewish community leaders in Boston founded, in 1895, the first federation in the United States, The Federation of Jewish Charities of Boston (today known as Combined Jewish Philanthropies).

Join Kristen Weiss and Dr. Nora Ellen Carleson in a virtual exploration of the summer home of Henry Davis Sleeper, one of America's first professional interior designers. Learn about the man behind the house as well as the home and its dazzling and eclectic collection of curiosities, colored glass, folk art, and antiquities in every nook and cranny.

Anyone can do family history research! In this one hour lecture, you will learn about key resources, strategies, and first steps to discovering and recording your family history. We will also demonstrate how to use important organizational tools, such as the multi-generational chart, family group sheet, and research log. And you will learn how to create a solid research plan.

Share your genealogical finds, hot tips, and research stories while gaining new avenues of research and encouragement from fellow family historians and members of American Ancestors. Senior Genealogist Melanie McComb will be on hand to answer questions and lend support during the discussion.

Anyone can do family history research! In this one hour lecture, you will learn about key resources, strategies, and first steps to discovering and recording your family history. We will also demonstrate how to use important organizational tools, such as the multi-generational chart, family group sheet, and research log. And you will learn how to create a solid research plan.

In this online lecture, Senior Genealogist Rhonda R. McClure will discuss how examining dates in relation to one another in a timeline uncover new stories of your family tree.