Saturday, March 7
RIGS to Meet on March 7th in Jamestown
12:30 pm to 3:30 pm
26 North Road, Jamestown, RI
RIGS to Meet on March 7th in Jamestown
The next meeting of the Rhode Island Genealogical Society will take place on Saturday, March 7th at the Jamestown Philomenian Library located at 26 North Road. This half day meeting will begin at 12:30 pm with coffee and light refreshments.
Our first speakers will be Robert Gumlaw and Jan Burkhart of the American French Genealogical Society located in Woonsocket. So much has been happening there. They will give us an update on the many changes, which will be of help to our members. Robert Gumlaw is the current President and Janice Burkhart has been the Librarian for the American French Genealogical Society since 1982. She is a past President of the Society and over the years has been involved in many of the Society’s activities. She is a graduate of Bridgewater State College and Boston University.
Our second speaker will be Christine DeLucia, who is Assistant of History at Williams College and formerly at Mount Holyoke College. Her book Memory Lands: King Philip’s War and the Place of Violence in the Northeast was published by Yale University Press. She is currently working on new research about Native, Colonial and African American entanglements in the 18th-Century Northeast.
Her talk will be on: Memoryscapes of Narragansett Bay: Revisiting the Histories and Legacies of King Philip’s War. The 17th-century indigenous resistance movement and colonial conflict known as King Philip’s War (1675-1678) shaped the region around Narragansett Bay in important ways. This presentation revisits Native American and colonial encounters before, during and after this pivotal period, examining how and why di- verse communities pursued diplomacy, peacemaking, and violence at different points. It traces the meanings of home- lands for indigenous people and nations including Nipmucs, Narragansetts, and Wampanoags, and the aspirations of and pressures exerted by colonial societies in Plymouth, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This talk invites conversation about how the past continues to matter in the present, and the opportunities as well as challenges related to heritage, preservation and caretaking of meaningful lands, waters and stories.
Robert Grandchamp will speak on How many Rhode Islanders died in the Civil War? Since 1865, the number has ranged from 1,300 to 2,500. Using ground breaking research into cemeteries, books, and other sources, award winning historian Robert Grandchamp has nailed down the number to 2,217. Come hear Robert’s incredible story of how he made this determination. This is Robert’s only Rhode Island appearance this year. A long time RIGS member, Robert Grandchamp is the author of fifteen books, including his most recent Rhode Island’s Civil War Dead: A Complete Roster. He received his M.A. in American history from Rhode Island College. He lives with his family in Jericho Center, Vermont. If you would like to bring something for the refreshment table, it would be greatly appreciated. Everyone is invited to attend, so bring along your non- member friends who have an interest in exploring their genealogy. Free and open to the public!