The Brim-DeForest Library

The Brim-DeForest Library is a public family history research library located in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. It houses the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections, one of the world's most extensive collections of genealogical books and manuscripts. 

We welcome American Ancestors members and the public to conduct family history research to explore the depth of their ancestry and strengthen their connections to the past. 

The Brim-DeForest Library will be open starting January 21, 2025, Tuesdays though Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

Whether you are planning your first visit, are one of our "regulars," or simply accessing resources from home, this guide will help you get the most out of your visit.

We have been collecting, preserving, and providing access to manuscripts and photographs since 1845. The documents in our collection represent New England and many other regions. Our manuscript holdings now include handwritten and typed family histories and charts, material with vital statistic data such as town, church, and cemetery records, genealogical papers compiled by genealogical researchers and authors, family association collections, and original primary source documents donated individually and in collections of family papers.

Explore a library of detailed guides to a broad variety of topics in family history. You will need to create a FREE American Ancestors account to access this material, or log in if you already have an account.

Our library catalog is an important tool for anyone planning a trip to our library or patrons needing to locate a certain resource while they are at the library. You can access the catalog from home or from the computers on every library floor. You do not need to be an American Ancestors member or even be logged in to search the catalog.

You can search by keyword (anywhere in record), title, author, subject, call number, or advanced. A good place to start is with the keyword search.

This website contains digitized materials from the three repositories at American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society. The repositories include the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center, the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections, and the Research Library. The site features digitized archival and published materials such as letters, diaries, photographs, newspapers, business records, genealogies, city directories, organizational records, and other sources for historians and genealogists. The contents focus on the study of family history in America and on the Jewish community in New England.