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Interactive 3D snapshots of ancestors, artifacts, supporting characters, and pivotal places in time. Choose from the selection of free public content below to get started.
Bridget's Story

Bridget's Story

She came over in March 1863 with her cousin, Flynn.  Her brother John had sent for them.  As soon as the ship reached port, Flynn was carted off by two men to join the Union Army.  Then she found that John was missing.

Life in Five Points

Life in Five Points

Explore a slice of life in the Lower East Side of New York, a hub of immigration in the early 1800’s where — among peddlers and pigs — newspaper boys (and sometimes girls) became unwitting agents of political division.

Joseph's Dilemma

Joseph's Dilemma

For the third time in as many years, Joseph Bartley was in trouble with the Colonial government.  They wanted money -- this time for not declaring his wife as a tithable. Last time for not paying taxes on an old mule.

Louis Zwart the Lapidary

Louis Zwart the Lapidary

Levie "Louis" Zwart, a twenty-seven year old Dutch Jew and lapidary (diamond polisher), emigrated to New York in August 1894.  When he had established himself in his branch diamond factory, he sent for his betrothed, Anna Duker...

James's Story

Emancipation for James

We freed ourselves, me and my wife. Bunch of us ran when we heard the Union Army was camped a few miles up the river. The General said we were "contraband of war."

50's East L.A. Cruising

50's Lowrider Culture

To Luis, the cars signaled freedom – to go wherever he wanted to, far from East LA, where his family and almost everybody he knew lived.

Arthur Family Escape to Freedom

Arthur Family Escape

"The Peter Mott House is a window into the home of a mid-19th century freedom fighter who used his home as respite for the Enslaved fleeing North to freedom along the Underground Railroad."


Bridget's Story

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