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D. Brenton Simons

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David Brenton Simons OBE is president and CEO of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (AmericanAncestors.org), a nonfiction history author, and an American genealogist.[1][2]

D. Brenton Simons

OBE
BornNew Haven, Connecticut
NationalityAmerican
EducationBoston University
GenreNon-fiction
SubjectHistory of pre-Federal Boston and UK/USA heritage
Notable worksWitches, Rakes, and Rogues
Notable awardsAward of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History

He served as Vice Chair of the Plymouth 400th Anniversary State Commission by appointment of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. In this role, he has led commemorative activities in the United States, United Kingdom, and The Netherlands,[3] and has established the world's largest online database of Mayflower descendants.[4] He was also appointed by Governor Baker in 2021 as a member of the Special Commission on the Seal and Motto of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[5]

He is President of the American Friends of St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and Descendants of The Knights of the Garter, a nonprofit organization supporting St. George's Chapel, a royal peculiar under the jurisdiction of King Charles III, affiliate of The Society of the Friends of St George's and Descendants of the Knights of the Garter.[6] He is also President of the 36th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences, a biennial conference begun in Barcelona in 1929, which will be held in for the first time in the United States in 2024, in Boston.[7]

Career

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Originally from New Haven, Connecticut, and a graduate of Boston University's College of Communication (1988) and School of Education (1994),[8] Simons joined the staff of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in 1993 and was appointed its president and CEO in 2005. During his tenure, membership in the organization has grown dramatically to over 300,000 individuals in 139 countries. The Society now conducts numerous research projects and activities in the United States and the United Kingdom, and, under Simons, serves as the anchor location of the PBS television series Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.[9] Simons has regularly announced the organization's research on the ancestry of presidents, presidential candidates[10] and other public figures.[11]

Simons initiated the Lifetime Achievement Award program at the New England Historic Genealogical Society which has attracted numerous high-profile individuals to the organization as members and honorees. Recipients have included the prize-winning authors David McCullough and Stacy Schiff;[12] actress Dame Angela Lansbury;[13] filmmaker Ken Burns;[14] historian Doris Kearns Goodwin;[15] and former UK Prime Minister Sir John Major;.[16] On July 28, 2022, Julian Fellowes accepted the Award in Newport RI. Honorary trustees of the Society now include Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Stacy Schiff.[17] In 2019, Simons announced a $1.25 million grant for youth education programs to the New England Historic Genealogical Society from bestselling authors Tabitha King and Stephen King.[18]

Published works

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The Art of Family: Genealogical Artifacts in New England, co-edited with Peter Benes, and essays by Simons, Abbott Lowell Cummings, John Putnam Demos, Wendell Garrett, and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2002.[19]

Witches, Rakes, and Rogues: True Stories of Scam, Scandal, Murder and Mayhem, in Boston, 1630-1775. Carlisle, MA: Applewood Books: 2005.[20]

Boston Beheld: Antique Town and Country Views Hanover, NH and London: University Press of New England: 2008.[21]

Awards and honors

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In 2021, Simons received the first John Adams Medal for Outstanding Merit in the Study of History and Lifetime Achievement in Institutional Leadership.[22] Also in 2021, he was awarded The History Medal from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution for his work in “significantly advancing the understanding of America’s past on a national level.”[23] He previously received the Spirit of 1812 Award in 2016. In 2006, the American Association for State and Local History, conferred its Award of Merit on Simons for his book Witches, Rakes and Rogues: True Stories of Scam, Scandal, Murder and Mayhem, in Boston, 1630-1775.[24]

  • 2021 The Bradford Award, Pilgrim Hall Museum[25]

Simons was granted a coat of arms from the College of Arms, London, in April 2019.[26] He was appointed a member of the Most Venerable Order of Saint John by Elizabeth II in April 2020.[27]

In 2023, Simons was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to Anglo-American history.[28]

In 2024 Simons received the HS Genealogy/History Achievement Award from the American Library Association.[29]

Family

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Simons is the son of the late paleontologist Elwyn L. Simons and his first wife, Mary Hoyt Fitch.[30] He is the grandson of philosopher Frederic Brenton Fitch, inventor of Fitch-style calculus,[31] and the great-great-grandson of New York City politician and financier Ashbel Parmelee Fitch.[32]

Coat of arms of D. Brenton Simons
 
Crest
Upon a Helm with a Wreath Or and Sable A three-masted square-rigged Ship Vert sails set flags flying Argent charged on the hull with an Escallop Or between two May Flowers proper.
Escutcheon
Sable a heraldic Dolphin naiant on a Chief engrailed Or three Escallops Vert.
Motto
Je Vive En Esperance
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References

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  1. ^ Cowan, Alison Leigh, "In the Family: The Van Dusens of New Amsterdam,", The New York Times, 24 July 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2021
  2. ^ Hutton, Alice "Witches are icons:’ Americans embrace their family ties to Salem trial victims,", The Guardian, 29 October 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  3. ^ “Five Minutes With … Brenton Simons, head of New England Historical and Genealogical Society,”, Boston Business Journal, 24 April 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2021
  4. ^ "Now you can find out if you’re a Mayflower descendant", New York Post, 14 June 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2021
  5. ^ "Special Commission on the Official Seal and Motto of the Commonwealth". Retrieved 24 October 2022
  6. ^ Betlock, Lynn "Bringing Old England and New England Together - Brenton Simons Builds Bridges Across the Atlantic". Retrieved 24 October 2022
  7. ^ "About the International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences". Retrieved 24 October 2022
  8. ^ Boston University, College of Communication Classnotes. Retrieved 2 November 2021
  9. ^ Ring, Madelia Hickman, “Q&A: D. Brenton Simons,” Antiques And the Arts Weekly"Antiques and the Arts Weekly, 7 July 2000. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  10. ^ Harmon, Amy Retrieved 2 November 2021 "The Candidates as Cousins Much Removed,” The New York Times, 18 April 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  11. ^ Goodman, Ellen, “The Secret buried under a family tree,” The New York Times, 18 April 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  12. ^ The Pulitzer Prizes, “An Evening with David McCullough & Stacy Schiff”, 27 April 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  13. ^ Shanahan, Mark and Meredith Goldstein lansbury/K7rhn7bsOBj5CtxV7dcXLN/story.html “New England Historic Genealogical Society Honors Angela Lansbury,”[permanent dead link‍] Boston Globe, 14 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  14. ^ Bross, Judy with Todd Schwebel, (Summer 2020) “Tea with Mr. Simons”, The Social Register Observer, Summer 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  15. ^ Shanahan, Mark and Meredith Goldstein, “New award – and cousins – for Doris Kearns Goodwin," Boston Globe, 28 April 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  16. ^ Colli, Lisa “American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society Honors Former UK Prime Minister The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH” Archived 2021-11-02 at the Wayback Machine, 22 April 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Governance: Honorary Trustees,", Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Stephen and Tabitha King give $1.25M to genealogical society," Boston Globe. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  19. ^ Book review by Jane Kamensky, The New England Quarterly, Vol. 75, No. 4 (December 2002), pp. 666-668. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  20. ^ Glenn, Joshua, “CSI: Colonial Boston,” Boston Globe, 18 September 2005. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  21. ^ Boston Beheld: Antique Town & Country Views by D. Brenton Simons. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  22. ^ 19. Vail, Claire, “Brenton Simons Receives First-Ever John Adams Medal for Outstanding Merit in the Study of History …” 4 October 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  23. ^ Vail, Claire, “Brenton Simons Awarded History Medal by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution” 1 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  24. ^ Administration : D. Brenton Simons Archived 2021-11-02 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  25. ^ "Pilgrim Society, Pilgrim Hall Museum to host 202nd Forefathers Celebration" Old Colony Memorial, 20 December 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2022
  26. ^ “Recent Grants of Arms (July 2019), Newsletter of the College of Arms. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  27. ^ "Order of Saint John,” 7 May 2020, The Gazette. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  28. ^ "Honorary awards to foreign nationals in 2023". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  29. ^ Ladewski, Bill. D. Brenton Simons, President Emeritus and Chief Stewardship Officer at American Ancestors, named winner of the 2024 HS Genealogy/History Achievement Award RUSQ Update (April 2, 2024).
  30. ^ 24. Fox, Margalit, “Elwyn L. Simons, Who Discovered Early Human Forebears, Dies at 85,” The New York Times, 17 March 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  31. ^ “Frederic B. Fitch,” The New York Times. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  32. ^ 26. Bross, Judy with Todd Schwebel, “Tea with Mr. Simons” The Social Register Observer, Summer 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
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