The Brue Family Learning Center

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 us for an in-person event that celebrates the power of food, memory, and family storytelling. Participants are invited to bring and share a beloved family recipe—whether it’s a handwritten card passed down through generations or a dish that has become a new household favorite.

Online family trees are a powerful tool—allowing you to organize different branches of your family in one place, to consolidate your documents and timelines, and to make new discoveries through publicly shared trees. However, there is a flip side to online trees! When researching, it can be easy to get swept up in your discoveries and to begin adding people to your tree without documentation—before you know it, your tree has grown, but you find yourself questioning how much of it is accurate! In this online lecture, Senior Genealogist Rhonda R.

Did your ancestors fight to win America’s independence? Join us for an engaging lecture that unlocks the tools, records, and strategies needed to trace soldiers of the colonists' cause.

This lecture will guide you through essential sources—including military service records, pension applications, muster rolls, and state archives—and demonstrate how to uncover personal stories and connect your findings to larger historical events.

This is a hybrid event.

Our ancestors moved near and far seeking economic opportunities, religious freedoms, and closeness to family. These mobile ancestors, however, are notoriously difficult to research. We might have an ancestor in our sights and then—poof!—they’re gone; or we may have an ancestor for whom we have no idea of where they came from. In this online lecture, Senior Genealogist Melanie McComb will offer several strategies for discovering ancestral origins and future movements.

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.

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.

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.

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.