About

Genealogy is everywhere-online, on screens, and through organizations and conferences and more. But technologies aside, genealogy was everywhere in the eighteenth century, too. And while we may think of eighteenth-century Americans as largely the subject of genealogy research, they were active participants in what was a foundational interest and practice in their own time. Family histories were deeply meaningful for diverse early Americans, but it was also baked into the very structures of their society through law, politics, and religion. From deep research across eighteenth-century British America, Karin Wulf’s new book, Lineage: Genealogy and the Power of Connection in Early America examines how we can understand the role of genealogy then, and its impact now.

Dr. Karin Wulf is a professor of history and the Beatrice and Julio Mario Santo Domingo Director and Librarian, John Carter Brown Library, at Brown University. She is a historian of gender, family, and politics in eighteenth-century British America. Dr. Wulf was the Executive Director of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and a professor of history at William & Mary and taught at American University and Old Dominion University. She is the author of numerous scholarly articles and several books, including Not All Wives: Women of Colonial Philadelphia and Lineage: Genealogy and the Power of Connection in Early America.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Program Notes:

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