Date: April 21, 2026 Time: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM Location: Brewster Ladies' Library, 1822 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631 and via Zoom.

Understanding Court Records

Guest speaker: Melanie McComb, American Ancestors®

This presentation will give a brief history of the often-complex legal system in the United States starting with the colonial times. We will discuss how to understand the laws specific to a region and time period, examine the types or format of records you’re likely to find (dockets, minutes, orders, case files, etc.), and explore the ways your ancestors may appear in the records.

Click HERE to request the Zoom link.

Melanie McComb is a Senior Genealogist at American Ancestors. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. She is an international lecturer who teaches on various topics including colonial through twentieth-century American military research, genetic genealogy, Atlantic Canadian, African American, Jewish, and Irish genealogy. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society. She has had articles published in American Ancestors Magazine and Fifty Plus Advocate. She is a blogger, known as The Shamrock Genealogist.