Tracing History: My Family Tree

The American Folk Art Museum hosts many art objects that treat the important theme of family history.  Individuals have used many different mediums to trace their families’ genealogies throughout history: in 18^th century America, no printed standard existed for tracing genealogies.  In the lesson plan, My Family Tree, the museum’s Education Department invites educators and students to explore the recurring family tree motifs as seen in Joshua Pool’s Family History for Andrew Bickford and Olive Clark, and to develop their own design for a personal family tree.