Archives Month Activities at the Windsor Historical Society
 

In the past decade, public libraries have evolved from their late 19th and 20th century roles. Once primarily repositories for books and quite often community art and history, libraries have embraced a community center role with banks of computer stations, public programming space and even cafes as print media and public funding have declined. Learn how the history and evolution of libraries, what might be coming next and how new media affect library design, staff training, and how people think and process information. Our thoughtful and eloquent panel of librarians and historians includes Chris Bradley, Assistant Director of the Norwalk Library, preservationist Bill Hosley, Vince Juliano, Assistant Director of the Russell Library in Middletown, and Windsor Library Director Gaye Rizzo. COST: $6 adults, $5 seniors and students, $4 members.

Decades before Salem’s witch trials, Connecticut put seven people to death for witchcraft including Alse Young and Lydia Gilbert of Windsor. This talk at Windsor Historical Society, by Connecticut’s state historian Walter Woodward, focuses on Connecticut Governor John Winthrop, Jr. and the Hartford Witch hunt of the 1660s. Taken from Woodward’s new book, Prospero’s America: John Winthrop Jr., Alchemy and the Creation of New England Culture  it shows how this colonial alchemist, physician, political leader, and authority on the occult intervened to transform Connecticut from New England’s fiercest witch hunter into a colony that ended witchcraft executions permanently a generation before Salem. COST: $6 adults, $5 seniors and students, $4 members.

Experienced professionals from the Connecticut Society of Genealogists give individual consultations on pursuing family history research. Immigrant ancestors and internet research will be covered. You can even get the handwriting of your ancestor (or your own) analyzed by a certified Graphoanalyst.    COST: $6 adults, $5 seniors and students, $4 members. Must pre-register to be assigned to genealogist of your choice.