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Nathaniel Barber, he's a son of liberty, and his family Bible is amazing.

He writes about his wife dying because the British during the occupation of Boston,

they're leaving Boston, she's sick, and she dies very soon after after and he says it's them.

They killed my wife.

But the two of them also have these children that they name Little Oliver Cromwell Barber and

Catherine McCauley, Barbara and John Wilkes.

Barber, like they're really political.

And that family Bible is amazing as a revolution-centric document.

Hello and welcome to episode 416 of Ben Franklin's World.

The podcast dedicated to helping you learn more about how the people

and events of our early American past have shaped the present day world we live in. And I'm your

host, Liz Covart. Have you ever wondered why genealogy captivates so many people? Whether it's

tracing a family tree back generations or holding onto stories told around the dinner table,

genealogy offers a powerful sense of connection, a connection that can shape identities,

claims of property, and even arguments for freedom.

But genealogy isn't just a modern day hobby.

In early America, genealogy was a deeply consequential practice with social,

political, and legal implications. Karen Wolfe, a professor of history and the eighth director

and librarian of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University, joins us with details from her new

book, lineage, genealogy and the Power of Connection in Early America.

She joins us to help us explore the ways that early Americans kept and traced their family

...