Special Guest Speaker: Mark Lewis (WSWNE member) about how he traced his roots in Wales.

"My wife of 35 years, Daria Valentini, encouraged me to explore my Welsh heritage as soon as she heard there was a story there. I began looking through what my father, Samuel W. Lewis, had researched during his retirement in the 1990s. 

I grew up near Milwaukee, WI and studied languages in high school and college. I went on to earn a PhD in German from the U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Today I am Director of the Geddes Language Center at Boston University (Alas, Welsh is not taught there... not yet anyway). I joined WSWNE eight years ago and have learned so much by participating in it.

I look forward to sharing what I have learned about what might be among the earliest immigrants from Wales to America in the 17th century. It began with the religious persecution of my ancestor Henry Lewis, a Quaker, who refused to partake in anything that the Church of England espoused as being acceptable Christian doctrine and practice. He left Wales never to return. What happened to Henry in America constitutes most of what I know to date.”

Researching our Welsh roots, answering questions, helping each other with our brick walls. Very informal and fun. Sometimes a guest speaker will give a presentation on a special topic.

All Welcome to attend this special presentation.
To receive Zoom link, please use our Genealogy Workshop Signup Form below.

Monday, November 2, 2026 is ZOOM ONLY at 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM ET

Monthly Pattern

We normally meet on Monday, twice a month (most often the 2nd & 4th Mondays) with:

• ZOOM normally available from
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM ET. Note: U.S. Eastern Time is used for all events on this website.

• IN PERSON opportunities, when offered, usually begin at 11:00 AM and end at 4:30 PM, but attendees are free to come for just part of the day. Or just ZOOM in from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM ET.

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