From Library Journal
Many people think of family history and genealogical research as the collection and preservation of dry facts about our ancestors. That's true, to some extent, but what sort of artifacts did our ancestors create to commemorate their loved ones and what can we gain by studying them? Simons (New England Historic Genealogical Society) and Benes (Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife), together with a who's who of scholarly contributors, demonstrate that a great deal can be learned from the things our ancestors left behind. The essays are divided into sections that highlight the popularity, varieties, and significance of family registers, family-tree lithographs, portraitures, gravestones and epitaphs, mourning jewelry, and silver pieces of New England in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Through the examination of these artifacts it becomes clear that our ancestors desired not only to preserve genealogical data but also to declare their love and devotion and perpetuate their memories of family. This book provides a solid foundation for social historians, genealogists with New England roots, or those with an interest in decorative arts of the era. Recommended for academic and large genealogy and public library collections. Elaine M. Kuhn, Allen Cty. P.L., Ft. Wayne,
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
D. Brenton Simons is Assistant Executive Director of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and Executive Editor of New England Ancestors. He is the author of The Langhornes of Langhorne Park. Peter Benes is cofounder and Director of The Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife. He is the author of The Masks of Orthodoxy: Folk Gravestone Carvings in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, 1689-1805, Old-Town and the Waterside, and Charles Delin: Port Painter of Maastricht and Amsterdam.
