Oral histories are always interesting, often fun, and sometimes “tall,” especially when it comes to snow stories: “I had to walk to school, three miles up hill each way, barefoot in deep snow...” Snow in New England is just a fact of life, and one my..

In documenting the dates on Mabelle..

[Editor’s note: This blog post originally appeared in Vita Brevis on 10 September 2015.]

Mabel Winters, my..

Much has happened with the Society’s Civil War digitization project, funded by the Cabot Family Charitable Trust, since Abbey Schultz’s last article on quality assurance. Our vendor completed all scans in June 2016, ending the imaging portion of the project. The focus..

I frequently contribute to a column on The Root online magazine, where I respond with Henry Louis Gates Jr. to genealogical questions from the readers. Often the questions involve trying to trace families..

This year I was sorry to miss a festival my family has participated in annually since my childhood. During the..

[Author's note: This series, on Mrs. Gray's reading habits, began here.]

The name of “John” Alden was passed down for five consecutive generations.

John¹ Alden, of course, was the passenger on Mayflower with his soon-to-be bride, Priscilla Mullins.

John² Alden, their first son and second child, was born about 1626. He went to the big city,..

One might be surprised to learn that the profession of “historian” in America is a fairly recent creation. The American Historical Association..

[Author's note: This series, on Mrs. Gray's reading habits, began here.]