June 28 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Imagine discovering that a patch of ground just a half-mile from your home was first cleared by your 8x great-grandfather in 1638; or learning that the church you thought you found by happenstance had been your ancestors’ spiritual community since its founding in the 1840s. This lecture explores how genealogical research tracing back to the founding families of Portsmouth has the power to transform one’s understanding and experience of their island home. In place of isolated historical snippets, an all-lines genealogical perspective weaves stories that span centuries and documents how family histories intertwine. This lecture is intended for all who call Aquidneck Island home and wish to connect with its fascinating past.
Additionally, this lecture is an invitation to all descendants of early Portsmouth families to join in this gratifying research, discover if their family lines connect to the expansive local genealogy I’ve begun, and together amass a community-scale genealogical database for the ages. It’s a call to that surreal and visceral experience when seemingly every named street, pond, valley, brook, or gravestone connects the researcher with the imagined lives of relatives in places we can stand in but in times out of reach.
About the Presenter: Christopher Barker is a 12th-generation resident of Aquidneck Island whose genealogical research has identified more than 70 direct ancestors who were 17th-century English immigrants to the area, with the majority of those present in Portsmouth at or near the founding of the settlement. Christopher has spent 30 years researching family histories, he stewards one of the largest family archives known to exist in the Armenian diaspora, and he traces his Scottish ancestry back to Viking forebears. He coordinates policy development for the University of Rhode Island, and volunteers with the Portsmouth Historical Society to assist others with local family research.