Celebrate Grandparents Day at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House with an immersive afternoon exploring family, legacy, and shared history. Discover the intertwined lives of the generations who lived and worked on these grounds and learn how their legacies continue to shape the site today.
Event Highlights:
Descendant Voices: Hear direct, powerful stories from descendants of the people who lived and worked at Woodlawn.
Genealogy Workshop: Gain practical research techniques and actionable tools to uncover your own family origins.
Hands-On Family Activities: Design and build your own custom family tree to take home.
Historic Site Exploration: Walk the grounds and connect with local history.
Schedule of Events:
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Discover the intersection of family history and textile art with Sheryl Sims. Sheryl will share how her raw-edge applique quilts are inspired by her research into her family history. This work is informed by connections to National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Alexandria Quaker Meeting. These affiliations revealed unexpected ties to Woodlawn through several families that lived and worked here.
1:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Join Susan Hellman, Architectural Historian and former director of Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House, as she shares her family history and discusses her recent donation to Woodlawn: a signature Quaker quilt, currently on display in the Friends Gather Here: A Legacy of Two Communities at Woodlawn exhibit.
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Taking a Second Look at the Freedman’s Bank Records
Have you ever found a historical record that stopped you in your tracks? Join Edwina Parks and Lisa Crawley—Genealogy Reference Assistants at the NMAAHC’s Robert F. Smith Explore Your Family History Center—for “Taking a Second Look.” This presentation explores a remarkable Freedman’s Bank record that uncovers the story of a formerly enslaved spinner and three generations of her family in Eastern North Carolina just after the Civil War then traces their story into the 21st century using “reverse genealogy.
Bring your family, share your stories, and start tracing your roots.
Admission: $30 Adults | $10 Children | Free for Children Under 5