The Brue Family Learning Center

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 1924 Iris and Antonio Origo—an Anglo-American heiress and an Italian marchese—purchased La Foce, a vast Italian estate with a half-ruined, 15th-century villa at its core. Located in the Val d’Orcia, a spectacularly wild and desolate valley in southern Tuscany, the restoration of the estate became Iris and Antonio’s lifetime project.  Katia Lysy, granddaughter of Iris and Antonio Origo, tells an enthralling story of love, war, and rebirth, all documented by new and old photographs from the Origo family archives.

Presented by Katia Lysy

Chief Genealogist David Allen Lambert will provide an introduction and overview to Massachusetts research. He’ll discuss the historical context of available record sets, go-to resources, and helpful strategies.

In this richly illustrated lecture Dr. Ridgway will discuss the Howard family’s many achievements, while also considering how some members of the family lost their heads while others kept them.

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 American Ancestors’ Conservator, Todd Pattison, for a hands-on workshop that introduces participants to the art of creating a handmade book. Todd will guide you through key techniques such as paper selection, folding, and hand-sewn binding—skills that can be used to create journals, sketchbooks, ledgers, and more.

From mandolin clubs to musical theatre, Jewish women found joy, bonds, and purpose through musical self-expression in the early twentieth century. JHC Historian in Residence Madeline DeDe-Panken explores how music was a means for women to navigate changing societal expectations, including pursuing education and careers.

Men were certainly not the only ones affected by—or involved in—the American Revolution. Women boycotted British goods, produced home-spun cloth and supplies for soldiers, and some even took to the battlefield. This presentation will look at women’s role in the fight for American Independence and how to research your female ancestors during this period.

Best-selling author Adrian Tinniswood tells the histories of the legendary Guinness family of brewers, philanthropists, and socialites through their mansions and townhouses.

With Curt DiCamillo