In 2021, the Mayflower Society launched a very popular Lecture Series covering a variety of Mayflower Pilgrim-related topics including their odyssey, their life and times, their maritime experience and, of course, genealogy!
Please plan to join us to enjoy learning more about Mayflower Pilgrim and genealogy topics from the comfort of your home.
- Monthly webinar lectures are free and open to the public.
- No pre-registration required.
- Live event links are posted below.
- Webinars are recorded and available on demand.
Missed a lecture? View previously recorded lectures on demand.
2023 Mayflower Society Virtual Program Schedule
Thursday March 23, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Eastern time
Zoom webinar information:
- Webinar Link
- Webinar ID: 868 7354 3593
- Webinar Passcode: 583066
Donna Curtin, “Welcome to Pilgrim Hall Museum”
Pilgrim Hall Museum is the nation’s oldest continuously operating public museum and America’s museum of Pilgrim possessions. Dr. Donna Curtin, executive director of the museum, will give you a sneak peek as to what the museum offers and what it will be exhibiting later this year.
Tuesday March 28, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Eastern time
Zoom webinar information:
- Webinar Link
- Webinar ID: 889 4255 6984
- Webinar Passcode: 590364
Joan DeJean, “Mutinous Women”
In celebration of Women’s History Month, author Joan DeJean tells the secret history of the rebellious Frenchwomen who were exiled to colonial Louisiana and found power in the Mississippi Valley.
In 1719, a ship named La Mutine (the mutinous woman), sailed from the French port of Le Havre, bound for the Mississippi. It was loaded with urgently needed goods for the fledgling French colony, but its principal commodity was a new kind of export: women.
Falsely accused of sex crimes, these women were prisoners, shackled in the ship’s hold. Of the 132 women who were sent this way, only 62 survived. But these women carved out a place for themselves in the colonies that would have been impossible in France, making advantageous marriages and accumulating property. Many were instrumental in the building of New Orleans and in settling Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, and Mississippi.
Drawing on an impressive range of sources to restore the voices of these women to the historical record, Mutinous Women introduces us to the Gulf South’s Founding Mothers.
Thursday April 27, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Eastern time
Zoom webinar information:
- Webinar Link
- Webinar ID: 812 2359 8432
- Webinar Passcode: 949184
Brett Phaneuf, “The Voyage of Mayflower 400”
The Mayflower 400 autonomous ship crossed the Atlantic in the summer of 2022, following the path of the original Mayflower voyage. This artificial intelligence powered marine research vessel helped chart what the original passengers may have encountered. Now located at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Brett Phaneuf is the director of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project and he will explain what went into the voyage as well as what the future for Mayflower 400 will be.
Wednesday May 24, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Eastern time
Zoom webinar information:
- Webinar Link
- Webinar ID: 861 9933 4308
- Webinar Passcode: 706939
Tom Begley, “Welcome to Plimoth Patuxet”
Plimoth Patuxet, formerly known as Plimoth Plantation, is a complex of living history museums illustrating life in the original Plimoth settlement along with life for the indigenous peoples. Tom Begley is the director of collections and special projects for Plimoth Patuxet and he will provide a preview of what visitors may see when they spend time there.
Thursday June 29, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Eastern time
Zoom webinar information:
- Webinar Link
- Webinar ID: 867 6967 5867
- Webinar Passcode: 913629
Misha Ewen, “The Virginia Venture: American Colonization and English Society, 1580-1660”
The Virginia Venture is an innovative exploration of how a wider public of women, children, and men across English society contributed to the foundation of the first permanent English colonies in America. Drawing on sources from dozens of archives in the United States and England, it provides a fresh perspective on how capital and labor were mobilized to help build the colonies―not from the perspective of elite investors alone, but from the point of view of ordinary people across the country. Women and the laboring poor have been overlooked in these efforts: The Virginia Venture brings them center stage.
Thursday July 13, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Eastern time
Zoom webinar information:
- Webinar Link
- Webinar ID: 830 6188 6792
- Webinar Passcode: 050191
Anne Mason, “Welcome to the Plymouth Antiquarian Society”
Founded in 1919, the Plymouth Antiquarian Society is Plymouth’s largest organization dedicated to preserving historic houses and landmarks. They serve as Plymouth’s historical society. The Society owns and maintains three historic houses representing three centuries of Plymouth history: the 1677 Harlow House, the 1749 Spooner House, and the 1809 Hedge House, as well as an ancient Native American site, Sacrifice Rock. Dr. Anne Mason is the executive director for the Plymouth Antiquarian Society and will show attendees what the Society has to offer visitors.
Tuesday October 3, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Eastern time
Zoom webinar information:
- Webinar Link
- Webinar ID: 878 3576 2378
- Webinar Passcode: 777728
Denise Cross, “Bridging the Gap: Getting Around Brick Walls”
Certified genealogist Denise Cross discusses overcoming some of the ‘brick walls’ that are encountered when tracing one’s genealogy. By showing case studies of New Englanders’ migration patterns, she will show how people can trace their own roots by gaining records from multiple sources and locations, and how people can get over that wall using research techniques.
Tuesday November 14, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Eastern time
Zoom webinar information:
- Webinar Link
- Webinar ID: 860 9002 2492
- Webinar Passcode: 539452
Bill Cole: “Puritans, Plagues and Promises”
A significant contributor to Plymouth Colony’s survival and success, William Collier was one of its most loyal investors from the beginning. Before and after Mayflower’s voyage, William Collier was one of the investor group who financed Mayflower’s voyage and continued to support the colony through the early difficult struggle for its survival. In 1633, he emigrated to Plymouth Colony with his entire family. Upon arrival he quickly became Governor Bradford’s key assistant. Author/presenter Cole explores his ancestor’s significant impact on Plymouth Colony. He was Assistant Governor many times, negotiated the Merchant Adventurers’ financial exit from the colony in 1641, and was selected as a commissioner to establish the New England Confederation (or United Colonies of New England) in 1643. Collier’s impact and legacy lasted well beyond him with five daughters who married well: Mary, Governor Prence’s second wife, Rebecca who married Job Cole, Sarah who married Love Brewster, Elizabeth who married Constant Southworth, and Ruth who married Daniel Cole—William E. “Bill” Cole’s eighth great-grandparents. William Collier is Cole’s tenth great-grandfather.
Tuesday December 12, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Eastern time
Zoom webinar information:
- Webinar Link
- Webinar ID: 865 7577 5992
- Webinar Passcode: 279541
Michael Tougias, “Indian Wars of New England”
NY Times bestselling author Michael Tougias will discuss the conflicts involving the colonists and Native Americans in New England in the 17th and 18th centuries. Tougias will cover the Pequot War, King Philip’s War, and the French and Indian Wars. Strategies of the natives as well as the colonial raids will be discussed in chronological order. These include Rogers Rangers raid on the St. Francis Indian village, Lovewell’s Fight in New Hampshire and Maine, Metacom’s uprising in the Connecticut River valley, and more. Gripping accounts of colonial women captives, such as Mary Rowlandson, Susanna Johnson, and Hannah Dustin, will also be covered.
View On Demand Webinars
2023 Mayflower Society Virtual Programs
Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History
Presenter: Richard Thompson Ford
Passcode: =Jvu#4y8
The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World
Presenter: Virginia Postrel
Passcode: nkSG^7h3
2022 Mayflower Society Virtual Programs
Beefing Up an Ancestor’s Timeline
Presenter: Jeanette Sheliga
Presenter: Bonnie Wade Mucia
Passcode: m3cL^zZC
Presenter: Mark Schmidt
Passcode: peNr@7j!
Presenter: Beth Finch McCarthy
Passcode: !Z#9hWdC
Presenter: Nancy Rubin Stuart
Passcode: %dLU$h17
Presenters: Mike Terry, Susan Abanor and Kenneth Whittemore
Passcode: ajI2.8wq
2021 Mayflower Society Virtual Programs
Made in America
Presenter: James W. Baker
Passcode: W?=YE77$
The Peregrine White Webinar
Presenter: Stephen C. O’Neill
Passcode: X&F9Sm5$