A Visit to the Family Heritage Experience at American Ancestors

American Ancestors (The New England Historic Genealogical Society)

Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts

I haven't made the trip into Boston to visit American Ancestors (The New England Historic Genealogical Society) on Newbury Street since before COVID.  The library and archive was closed for a long time due to COVID, and then closed due to rennovations that included adding another whole building.  Part of the rennovations included adding a museum called "Family Heritage Experience" on the first floor.  This interactive experience opened on 24 April 2025, so it was well past time for another visit. 

The new Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Family Heritage Center is truly an amazing new addition to all the wonderful museums in Boston.  This is an experience for the entire family, so bring your favorite kids along with you on your visit.  There are lots of high tech displays, starting with the first room where you can drop a pin on an interactive map showing where your ancestors lived. It's fun to see where all the visitors to this exhibit originated. 

Yours truly highlighting where my ancestors lived in Nova Scotia, England, Scotland, Germany and The Netherlands. Vincent dropped pins for Spain and Portugal. 

There are interactive stations with technology to look up newspapers, censuses and other genealogical resources about particular ancestors. Visitors are encouraged to ask questions by choosing a disk off the wall with statements like "Are my ancestors in newspapers?" or "From where did they migrate?" These disks have QR codes that can read at the stations to help find the answers to your genealogical questions.  

There are hands on activities for all ages, and displays of family memoriablia like quilts, family trees, samplers, religious objects, and more.  You are welcome to push buttons and open drawers to learn more.  It was fun to find some personal family connections, like the Folger family tree (see photo below).  Flora Stewart, who I have blogged about several times as a Londonderry resident, was one of the featured photographs on the wall.  

If this exhibition gets you all excited about learning more, you can step upstairs to the archives on the 5th and 7th floors and dig deeper.  Or you can make an appointment with one of the staff genealogists to assist you.  There is also the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center on the 5th floor, and also online (see link below) with its own archives and events for Jewish genealogy.  A membership to American Ancestors gives you free access to the libraries, archives and all the online resources to be found at their excellent website. 

An untraditional family tree

The Folger family traditional family tree

My finger pointing to my Folger ancestor, Bethshua Folger,

who was dropped off the first branch of this family tree

only because she was a daughter. 

We snapped a photo of the floor directory by the elevator

The Family Heritage Experience is open Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 am to 6 pm. Check the website (below) for hours and holidays.  Members are always free, as well as children under age 12.  Adult admission is $10. Right now there is FREE admission every Thursday through May 21st. 

On April 23 at the Family Heritage Experience there will be a new exhibit commemorating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolutionary War entitled "Patriots of Color: Stories of Courage, Resistance, and Legacy".  This exhibit will feature 26 Patriots from all 13 colonies, and display how genealogical research brought these stories to life. 

There is a brand new shop behind the Family Heritage Experience, with lots of new family and genealogy gifts and books.  These items are also available online (see the links below). 

We met up with David Lambert, chief genealogist, as we were leaving! 

For the truly curious:

American Ancestors
97 - 101 Newbury Street
Boston, Massachusetts

Family Heritage Experience:    https://fhe.americanancestors.org/  

American Ancestors (The New England Historic Genealogical Society):   https://www.americanancestors.org/  

American Ancestors Family Heritage Experience gift shop webpage:    https://shop.americanancestors.org/collections/apparel-gifts?&pass-through=true   

The American Ancestors Bookstore webpage:  https://shop.americanancestors.org/?pass-through=true 

Flora Stewart, Londonderry, NH resident:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/02/flora-stewart-black-history-month-in.html  

Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center:   https://jewishheritagecenter.org/   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Visit to the Family Heritage Experience at American Ancestors", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 31, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/a-visit-to-family-heritage-experience.html: accessed [access date]). 

My Revolutionary War Patriots, Jonathan Flint of Reading, Massachusetts

 This is Patriot #3 in this series of blog posts about my ancestors in the Revolutionary War.

My 5th great grandfather Jonathan Flint was born on 11 August 1730 in Reading, Massachusetts, the son of Jonathan Flint (b. 1689) and Mary Collston Hart.  Mary was the daughter of Elizabeth Collston, who was only 16 when she was accused of being a witch during the 1692 witchcraft hysteria.  She was arrested along with her mother, Mary Duston Collston, and grandmother, Lydia Dustin.  Lydia died in prison in Cambridge, Massachusetts before being exhonorated. Elizabeth escaped twice, once from the Cambridge prison, and a second time while being transported to the courthouse in Charlestown.  

On 1 August 1751 Jonathan Flint married Lydia Proctor in Salem, Massachusetts.  By coincidence, Lydia was the great granddaughter of John Proctor who was hanged as a witch in 1692.  John Proctor was the protagonist in the famous play "The Crucible" written by Arthur Miller. Lydia had several relatives involved with the witch hysteria, including the grandparents William Buckley and Sarah Smith.  Her grandmother Sarah was arrested on 14 May 1692 for witchcraft and imprisoned. Two pastors spoke to her innocence, but she still spent eight months in prison until found not guilty in January 1693.  

Jonathan and Lydia had eight children between 1751 and 1767.  They lived in North Reading, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, not far from Lexington and Concord.  When the alarm rang out for the British regulars attacking Lexington on 19 April 1775 Jonathan was 44 years old.  As a corporal in Captain John Batchelder's Company, his militia responded to the alarm and marched towards Lexington.  The company arrived after the battle, but Jonathan re-enlisted again in 1776.  The musket he used in the American Revolution was supposed to be preserved in the collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society, but they have no record of this artifact. 

Captain John Batchelder's Company was part of Ebenezer Bridge's Regiment, also known as the 11th Massachusetts Regiment. This regiment fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill and served in the Siege of Boston until it was disbanded in December 1775. This regiment had eleven companies, including Batchelder's company.  I don't know if Jonathan Flint saw action at Bunker Hill. 

Jonathan returned to his life as a farmer in the North Precinct, now called North Reading and died around 1800 at about age 70.  The exact date is unknown and I have not found a grave for Jonathan.  I descend from his son, John Flint, who was born in North Reading on 3 April 1761 and died there on 26 August 1836. John married his cousin, Phebe Flint, daughter of George Flint and Hannah Phelps.  Phebe had eight children with John, and died in 1846.  John was also married to Mehitable McIntire, daughter of Archelaus McIntire and Abigail Felton, who had two children with John Flint.  

My 5th great grandmother, Lydia Proctor,  must have died before 1794.  I have found no death record for her, nor a grave site.  On 24 June 1794 Jonathan Flint remarried to Sarah Smith.  They had no children.  I have not found a death record for Sarah, or a grave site. She did not apply for a widow's pension for Jonathan's Revolutionary War service. 

For the truly curious:

A Genealogical Register of the Descendants of Thomas Flint, of Salem, by John Flint and John H. Stone, published by Warren F. Draper, Andover, Massachusetts, 1860, see pages 9 and 14. 

#1 in this series Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html  

#2 in this series Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Woburn, and Danvers (now Peabody), Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots, Jonathan Flint of Reading, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 24, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-jonathan.html: accessed [access date]). 

America's Tapestry Project in New Hampshire

The New Hampshire team is working with this rendering

to create their panel for the America's Tapestry Project

This year will mark the 250th anniversary since July 4th, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed, usually recognized as the birthday of the United States of America.  The America's Tapestry project is a collaboration of the 13 states representing the original 13 colonies who signed the Declaration of Independence, creating 13 embroidered panels.  Each tapestry illustrates stories and images from the colonies during the Revolutionary War. 

According to the website, over 1,000 volunteers are participating to embroider the panels, from ages 5 to 96, from New Hampshire to Georgia. Here in New Hampshire, the volunteers have been meeting every Friday and Saturday at the Millyard Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire.  I recently visited to see what was happening.  The embroiderers were busy completing scenes of an Abenaki village, Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth, and the Pine Tree Riot which took place in Weare, New Hampshire. The volunteers were kind enough to describe the project and even let me place a few stitches into the tapestry. 

The New Hampshire panel is scheduled to be completed in April 2026, and then it travels out of state to be prepared for display.  If you want to see these talented embroiderers at work, hurry over before the end of April!  You can follow the progress of this beautiful tapestry with their very active Facebook page, which posts photos every week.  See the link below. 

All thirteen panels will be displayed together as part of a moving exhibit in each of the original 13 states.  The New Hampshire display of the America's Tapestry Project will be January 2027 to April 2027 at the Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford Street, in Manchester, New Hampshire.  Save the dates!  If you live in another state, please check the website link below for dates and places.  

I was honored to be asked to add a few stitches in the stone wall! 

Volunteer Carol Tewes Ganse showed me how to include my stitchwork. 

A close up view reveals textures, 3 dimensions, and interesting

materials such as moose hairs, and various other fibers

A close up of the stone wall under Fort William and Mary

reveals some Easter Eggs (stones shaped like the 13 original colonies)

This pattern for the seawall includes another Easter Egg

(the profile of the Old Man of the Mountain at the far left) 

This detail includes native Abenaki beadwork and porcupine quills.

An embroidered depiction of an Abenaki canoe full of fur bundles was made of

milkweed fibers, rabbit and bison fur, and other natural materials. 

Busy volunteers on a Saturday morning at the Millyard Museum

My two tiny stitches in the stone wall

My friend Sherry Gould showed me some of her needlework

on the New Hampshire tapestry

For the truly curious:

America's Tapestry:     https://www.americastapestry.com/  

America's Tapestry New Hampshire Facebook group:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/770145248992414/  

The Millyard Museum:  https://manchesterhistoric.org/millyard-museum-2/   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "America's Tapestry Project in New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 18, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/americas-tapestry-project-in-new.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Reverend William Morrison Meetinghouse in Londonderry, lost the town vote for preservation

The Reverend Morrison meetinghouse was built in 1770 originally erected on the corner of Harvey and Pillsbury Roads, and it moved to it's current location at 256 Mammoth Road in 1845 by a team of oxen.  Over more than 250 years it was a meetinghouse, and then the town hall, the public library, and more recently it was known as the Lion's Hall.  The structure is owned by the town of Londonderry.  Now it is sitting unused due to safety issues.

In August 2025 David Ellis, a Londonderry resident, started an effort to have the Morrison meetinghouse listed on the Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire. It is a 5,000 square foot building. The town hoped it could be restored and used again by the residents.  Many renovations are needed on the building to bring it up to code and to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Detailed designs were created showing how the building could be used by the town for offices and meetings, and by the public for events and as a community center. 

At the town elections on Tuesday, March 9, Article 4, the proposal to renovate the Morrison Meeting House for $3.38 million, was rejected by the voters 894 to 3,515.  

For the truly curious:

"Councilors to consider state status of historic hall in Londonderry", Union Leader, August 10, 2025, https://www.unionleader.com/news/local/derry_londonderry/councilors-to-consider-state-status-of-historic-hall-in-londonderry/article_8e55a38e-4e24-4a2c-8ab1-7a256dbebe54.html  

Town Meeting coversheet "Presentation and receive public input for the renovation of the Reverend Morrison Meeting House commonly referred to as the Lions Hall"  https://www.londonderrynh.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/2338?fileID=1897  

"Londonderry NH 2026 Town Election Results", Londonderry Patch, 10 March 2026, https://patch.com/new-hampshire/londonderry/londonderry-nh-2026-town-election-results  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Reverend William Morrison Meetinghouse in Londonderry, lost the town vote for preservation", Nutfield Genealogy, posted 11 March 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-reverend-william-morrison.html: accessed [access date]). 

My Revolutionary War Patriots - Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts

 

Yours truly and granddaughter in front of the

Munroe Tavern in Lexington, Massachusetts

This is Patriot #2 I have written about for this series on my Revolutionary War ancestors.  Major Andrew Munroe was born 31 March 1764 in Lexington, Massachusetts, the son of Andrew Munroe (1718 - 1766) and Mary Mixer (1727 - 1783).  His mother was married three times, first to Daniel Simonds, second to Andrew Munroe and third to Caleb Simonds.  Caleb had been married three times, too, and with his second wife, Susanna Converse had a daughter named Ruth Simonds.  Ruth was Andrew Munroe's step sister, and they married 22 March 1785 in Burlington, Massachusetts. 

Andrew Munroe was the great grandson of William Munroe ( about 1625 - 1718), a Scots Prisoner of War who was captured at the Battle of Worcester in 1650 and sent in chains to be sold into servitude on the docks of what is now Charlestown, Massachusetts.  He lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts briefly and then removed to Cambridge Farms, now known as Lexington, Massachusetts in a part of town near the Woburn line that became known as "Scotland".  He had fourteen children by three wives, and left many descendants in Lexington and Middlesex County who eventually fought in the Revolutionary War. 

When Andrew was only eleven years old the Battle on Lexington Green took place.  Many members of his Munroe family were at this battle, including his uncle William Munroe who was captain of the Lexington Militia.  Several family members were killed including his two uncles, Robert Munroe (1712 - 1775) and Jonas Parker (1722 - 1775), who was married to his father's sister, Lucy Munroe. I'm sure that this event shaped Andrew's life in many ways, since he enlisted in the war very young.  At age 16, on 15 July 1780, he enlisted in the Continental Army for six months under the command of Capt. James Cooper in the 16th division. He served under Brigadier General Patterson at Camp Tottoway on 25 October 1780 for another six months.  Later Andew enlisted as a private in the Danvers Militia Company, where he served from 1796 to 1817.  He applied from Danvers for a pension on 14 August 1832.  

Andrew and Ruth were married in Burlington, and had two chidlren born in Woburn.  His next two children, twins Andrew and Ishmael, were born in New Grafton, New Hampshire on 1 April 1789.  Andrew had been given a land grant in New Grafton for his military service.  It doesn't appear that he stayed very long in New Grafton, but returned to Danvers, Massachusetts where seven more children were born. 

I couldn't find his being promoted to Major in his military records, but his gravestone at the King's Burial Ground in Peabody (formerly part of the town of Danvers) read:

"In the memory of Major Andrew Munroe Formerly of Lexington Soldier of the Revolution who died Aug. 7, 1836 aged 73 Erected by his daughter Mrs. Mary T. Taylor."   

I descend from the youngest child of the eleven children, Luther Simonds Munroe (1805 - 1851) who married Olive Flint, daughter of John Fint and Phebe Flint (second cousins), on 3 September 1826 in Reading, Massachusetts.  

More information on Major Andrew Munroe for the truly curious: 

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolution

History and Genealogy of the Lexington, Massachusetts Munroes by Richard S. Munroe, 1966

Report of the Committee Appointed to Revise the Soldier's Record by Danvers, Massachusetts, 1895 (see page 142) 

other blog posts about Andrew Munroe and the Munroe family:

2012 "Surname Saturday - Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts"   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-munroe-of-lexington.html  

2012 "5 November 1789, George Washington Dined Here!"   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/5-november-1789-george-washington-dined.html  

2013 "He married his step sister?"   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/he-married-his-step-sister.html  

2015  "The woeful life of a colonial woman"  (about Mary Mixer Munroe)   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-woeful-life-of-colonial-woman.html  

#1 in this series Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots - Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 10, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html: accessed [access date]). 

Two Roosters in the Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday

 

There were two of these gilded roosters above a church on the main square in Zierikzee, The Netherlands.  We enjoyed walking around the town, and had a coffee in the square while admiring these two weathervanes.  They appear to be identical, and over a church.  One sits above a round cupola, and the other over a pointed octagonal tower.  

There is a long history of rooster weathervanes (also known as weathercocks) above Christian churches that goes back at least a thousand years.  Pope Gregory I declared that the rooster, the symbol for St. Peter, was the symbol for Christianity.  Thus, church towers began to appear with weathercocks.  The rooster comes from the story of St. Peter denying Jesus Christ three times "before the cock crowed" on the night of the Last Supper.  

I have photographed many weathercocks above churches.  Another popular symbol for weathervanes above churches is the fish, which is also an acronym for Jesus in ancient Greek -  Ichthys.  The Greek letters are Iota (Iesous) Jesus,  Chi (Christos) Christ, Theta (Theou) God, Upsilon (Uios) Son, Sigma (Soter) Savior.  The fish is also popular because the twelve apostles were called "fishers of men".  

For the truly curious:

The Wikipedia article for Zierikzee, The Netherlands:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zierikzee   

Last week I featured a Weathervane Wednesday post on another Zierikzee weathervane of Neptune:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/a-merman-for-weathervane-wednesday.html  

Click here to see more than 550 more Weathervane Wednesday posts from around the world:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Two Roosters in the Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 4, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/two-roosters-in-netherlands-for.html: accessed [access date]).