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Diane
Rapaport enjoys speaking to groups about historical and
genealogical topics, and she is a member of the
Genealogical Speakers Guild. Her lively
presentations, illustrated with colorful PowerPoint slides, include:
“Tales from the Colonial Courthouse”
This
program highlights true colonial courtroom
stories—amusing, poignant, shocking—of remarkable men
and women nearly lost to history. Although our own
modern world differs in profound ways from Puritan New
England, these feisty characters prove that human nature
changes little, no matter how many centuries pass.
“Finding Your Ancestors in Court Records”
Court records offer a wealth of information for
genealogists tracing their ancestors, but these valuable
resources remain underutilized. Learn how to find and
use court records, from the 17th through the 20th
centuries, in courthouses, archives, books, microfilm,
and the latest digital/electronic sources. |
“Tracing New England History
Through Court Records”
Diane tailors her programs to the interests of the
audience,
highlighting court records research
about particular regions, time periods, or groups
(slaves, Native Americans, immigrants, women, etc.).
“Scots for Sale: The Fate of the
Scottish War Prisoners in 17th-Century New
England”
The
English Civil War brought hundreds of Scottish war
prisoners to New England in the mid 1600s. These captive
Scotsmen, sold to English colonists for terms averaging
five to eight years, labored at the Massachusetts
ironworks, at sawmills in New Hampshire and Maine, and
in towns and farms all over New England. This
presentation reveals the remarkable story of these
forgotten men, a little-known chapter of colonial
history.
Diane with bagpiper,
Brian Quirk
“Research
Your Scottish Roots – Without Leaving Home!”
Diane
shares resources for “armchair” genealogists, with tips
from her popular “Scottish Genealogy” column in
The
Highlander magazine.
In
addition to these topics, Diane will prepare customized
talks and workshops.
If your group, society, television show or radio program is interested in
scheduling a
presentation,
please contact Diane
for more information.
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What
Audience Members are Saying:
“What a hit you were! Our attendees were
enthralled with “The Naked Quaker” and your
presentation. Thank you, Ms. Rapaport, for all
that you did to make our 2008 Series such a
resounding success.”
- Sara Murphy,
Program
and
Publicity, Sweetser
Lecture
Series,
Wakefield,
Mass.
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“Many thanks for your visit to the Library and
your thoroughly interesting and engaging
discussion of the crimes and controversies of
our colonial past. As they say, “the more things
change….”
- Anne C. Peters, Director of
External
Relations,
Social
Law
Library, Boston, Mass.
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“Thank you for a fabulous program last month at
Forbes Library! The crowd loved it and we can’t keep
your book on the shelf.”
– Julie H. Bartlett, Archivist,
Forbes
Library,
Northampton, Mass.
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“I can’t tell you how much your wonderful
presentations enriched our understanding of the 17th
century, and this site. Your research was focused
and passionately presented, and we were thrilled to
have you.”
-
Bethany Groff, Northern Regional Site
Manager, Historic
New England, Spencer-Peirce-Little
Farm, Newbury, Mass.
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“You're
a wonderful speaker—lively, interesting, articulate, and
enthusiastic. It was a real pleasure for me to listen to
you and I know others felt the same because they told me
so.”
— Laurie Beckelman, Vice President,
Women’s National Book Association
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“That was a memorable talk last night. Thank you so
much. Your multimedia material was excellent and I for
one felt that I was back in the 17th Century.”
—
Jonathan Frank,
Scots’ Charitable Society of
Boston
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“Diane, I was very much impressed with your presentation
and your knowledge of the facts. The audience was
obviously engaged. A terrific job.”
—
Malcolm Hamilton, who attended lecture at the 2005 New
England Regional Genealogical Conference, Portland,
Maine
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“What
a delightful and informative evening you gave us. I
appreciated the clearness of your illustrations—the
first time I had seen a presentation with PowerPoint
slides. We all learned something last night thanks to
all your work.”
—
Jean
Nall, President, Wrentham (Mass.)
Historical
Society
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“A
wonderful way to begin the Dublin Seminar. Your elegant
visuals during your presentation have made me vow to
transform my classroom lectures. Your well-chosen images
focused hearers’ attention excellently; you were a hard
act to follow!”
— Ruth
Herndon, Associate Professor of History, University of
Toledo, after the 2003 Dublin Seminar for New England
Folklife in Deerfield, Mass.
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