A pivotal moment in Sandra Adams’ family history research came when she discovered that one branch of her family tree joined  the Quaker movement in England at the time of its inception. As the fervent evangelical Quaker faith of the 1650’s evolved into a quieter but uncompromising Quaker faith over the next 100 years, three generations of Sandra’s Dickinson family were shaped by Quakerism.  Because Quaker records are so informative, and because one of Sandra’s Dickinson ancestors had a brother who kept every piece of paper that ever crossed his desk, Sandra has been able to compile the stories of these Dickinson ancestors in more detail than any other of her ancestral lines. She will illustrate her talk with images of some of the family documents from the “Dickinson Collection” – a treasure trove held by the Somerset Archives.

Sandra Adams was born and raised in Montreal and earned a B.Sc in Mathematics and a M.Sc in Physics. She had a busy and satisfying career with IBM in Ottawa before retiring about 10 years ago. Her time now is devoted to family history, embroidery, travel, and grandchildren. She volunteers with BIFHSGO and the Ottawa Family History Centre, and thoroughly enjoys the freedom that this stage of life brings.