The Beehive: the official blog of the Massachusetts Historical Society

The White Mountains in Summer: Maria G. Webber's Travel Diary, 1837

Series: From Our Collections
By Andrea Cronin, Reader Services
"Left Boston at ½ past two in the afternoon in a carry all with Mr. Webber and little Maria, went through Cambridge, Lexington, Concord to Acton, where we arrived about 8 oclock, it rained quite fast most of the way but we wrapt up well and were very comfortable," [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 31 May, 2013, 1:00 AM

Adams Family Advice upon Commencement

Series: From Our Collections
By Amanda A. Mathews, Adams Papers
When 20-year-old John Quincy Adams graduated from Harvard in 1787, both John and Abigail Adams, like all parents, had plenty of advice for the young man about to embark on legal studies and adulthood. Writing from London, where he was serving as the first American Minister [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 29 May, 2013, 1:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
Attention Researchers: The library of the MHS will be closing at 4:00pm on Wednesday, 29 May, and at 3:00pm on Thursday, 30 May. Please excuse any inconvenience. As summer unofficially begins this week, exhibitions officially close here at the Society. Thank you to [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Tuesday, 28 May, 2013, 8:31 AM

Lodge, Kennedy, and the 1952 Massachusetts Senate Election

Series: From Our Collections
By Emilie Haertsch, Publications
Massachusetts will hold a special election on June 25 to fill the United States senate seat left vacant by John Kerry, whom President Obama appointed to Secretary of State in February. The recent primary determined that the contest will be between Republican former Navy [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 22 May, 2013, 1:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
As we approach the long Memorial Day weekend, there is a lull in the activity here at the MHS. There are no public programs scheduled this week. However, this is your last chance to view our three current exhibitions concerning slavery, abolition, and Emancipation in Massachusetts. [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 20 May, 2013, 8:00 AM

Last Chance to Visit Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land

Series: Around MHS
By Jim Connolly, Publications
Boston enjoys a reputation for its role in the founding of the United States. That reputation is well deserved, but the American Revolution was hardly the last time Boston figured significantly in a radical and righteous cause. In the decades leading up to the Civil War, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 17 May, 2013, 10:00 AM

Massachusetts History Day: Young Historians at Work

By Anna J. Cook, Reader Services
On Saturday, April 6 -- one of the first truly spring-like days of the year -- I left my apartment before dawn to make my coffee-clutching way, along with several Massachusetts Historical Society colleagues, to Stoneham High School. What were we doing at a high school so [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 15 May, 2013, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
Last week saw the close to the seminar season here at the Society and as summer approaches the calendar opens up a bit. Still, there are some great programs coming up this week to experience. Here is what is on tap at the MHS this week. First, on Wednesday, 15 May 2013, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 13 May, 2013, 1:00 AM

Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch Diary, Post 21

Series: Civil War 
By Elaine Grublin
The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch. Monday, May 11th 1863 I must leave to history the public events of this agitating time; but I have sadly to record that my dear pupil and friend, Frank A. Eliot, was killed in the recent [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Saturday, 11 May, 2013, 8:00 AM

A Fair Trial for the Boston Massacre Soldiers

Series: From Our Collections
By Emilie Haertsch, Publications
In the aftermath of the tragic Boston Marathon bombings, the question remains of how to handle the trial of suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. There has been a public outcry for punishment, and it seems unlikely that the defense will be able to obtain an unbiased jury in a case [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 8 May, 2013, 1:00 AM

Whist & Poetry in 19th Century Brookline

Series: From Our Collections
By Andrea Cronin, Reader Services
Of the many social club records held by the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Brookline Whist Club's records are unique. Established in early 1874, the Whist Club's members gathered to socialize with crackers, cheese, and sherry and to play whist. The club's record [...] read more

comments: 1 | permalink | Published: Tuesday, 7 May, 2013, 1:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
It is time again for the weekly forecast of events here at the MHS! There are three public programs on offer in the week to come and with spring finally settling into its normal routine, plenty of reasons to take a walk and visit 1154 Boylston. First up, on Tuesday, 7 May, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 6 May, 2013, 1:00 AM

Advertising in America

Series: From Our Collections , From the Reading Room
By Dan Hinchen, Reader Services
If you are someone who regularly reads Boston newspapers, then you probably have noticed a few advertisements within the pages. In fact, on a given day you might find several pages worth of advertisements in a single issue. And then there is the Sunday edition which comes [...] read more

comments: 1 | permalink | Published: Saturday, 4 May, 2013, 8:21 AM

“My whole mind is at home”: The Letters of Civil War Sharpshooter Moses Hill, Part 2

Series: Civil War  , From Our Collections
By Susan Martin, Collection Services
A few weeks ago, I introduced you to Moses Hill of the 1st Massachusetts Sharpshooters, whose letters form part of the Frank Irving Howe, Jr. family papers. When we left Moses, in January 1862, his company was traveling along the C&O Canal. Unfortunately, weather and [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Thursday, 2 May, 2013, 1:00 AM

Harbottle Dorr Launched

Series: Collections News , From Our Collections
By Peter Steinberg, Collection Services
The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) holds an important collection of Revolutionary-era newspapers assembled, annotated, and indexed by a Bostonian shopkeeper named Harbottle Dorr, Jr. The Society has just launched a digital presentation of this collection. Dorr's [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 1 May, 2013, 1:00 AM