ou've passed it while shopping, but you never knew the oldest genealogical society in America was hidden in a former bank on Newbury Street. And yet the ornate lobby of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, founded in 1845—complete with the original safe where the wealthy Brahmins of the Back Bay kept their money—is open to the public, with selections of historic art holdings, including works by John Singleton Copley and Rembrandt Peale, and curiosities including the key to the prison cell where John Brown was held before the fiery abolitionist was hanged for his raid on Harpers Ferry. Of course, you can also trace your own roots in the library. Marcus