Join the Rhode Island Historical Society on Wednesday, October 22nd at 5:30pm for a conversation between Director of the John Carter Brown Library Karin Wulf and RIHS Executive Director Morgan Grefe on Wulf's new book Lineage: Genealogy and the Power of Connection in Early America.
In eighteenth-century America, genealogy was more than a simple record of family ties--it was a powerful force that shaped society. Ranging from handwritten notes to stone carvings, genealogical records wielded significant influence across governmental, legal, religious, cultural, and social spheres.
These documents reached all walks of life, with enslaved individuals using them to seek freedom, and the Founding Fathers looking to increase their own status. Lineage delves into an era where individuals, families, and institutions meticulously documented their connections and created a foundational element of American history.
Karin Wulf is the Beatrice and Julio Mario Santo Domingo Director and Librarian at the John Carter Brown Library and Professor of History at Brown University. A historian of early America, what she refers to as “Vast Early America,” from 2013 to 2021 she was the Executive Director of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture and Professor of History at William & Mary. Wulf earned her PhD in history from Johns Hopkins University. She writes for public and academic audiences about early American history, the worlds of scholarship and scholarly publishing, and why footnotes can save democracy (really). The author or editor of prize-winning scholarship on gender, family, and politics, her new book Lineage: Genealogy and the Power of Connection in 18th Century British America is published by Oxford University Press in 2025. She has served on a variety of non-profit boards, her current board memberships include the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc. and the National Humanities Alliance, and is a co-founder of Women Also Know History.
The Rhode Island Historical Society, the state's oldest and only statewide historical organization, is dedicated to honoring, interpreting and sharing Rhode Island's past to enrich the present and inspire the future. Founded in 1822, the RIHS is an advocate for history as a means to develop empathy and 21st -century skills, using its historical materials and knowledge to explore topics of timeless relevance and public interest. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, it is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible public programming and educational opportunities for all Rhode Islanders through its four sites: the John Brown House Museum, the Museum of Work & Culture, the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center and the Aldrich House.
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