The Beehive: the official blog of the Massachusetts Historical Society

This Week @ MHS

By Dan Hinchen
After a long weekend to be thankful for we have a heavy list of events this week at the Society. First, stop by Tuesday evening, 2 December, for "Threads that Bind: Irish Linens, Immigration, and the Consumer Atlantic World." This installment of the Early American History [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 30 November, 2014, 10:00 AM

Thanksgiving in London

Series: From Our Collections
By Amanda A. Mathews, Adams Papers
On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation, calling for November 26 of that year to be celebrated as a day of thanksgiving by the whole nation now independent and united under a new Constitution. Exactly 74 years later, President Abraham Lincoln, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Thursday, 27 November, 2014, 1:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
Before the long holiday weekend ahead we have two events at the Society this week. On Monday, 24 November, join us for a Brown Bag lunch talk given by Nathan Jérémie-Brink, Loyola University Chicago. "'Gratuitous Distribution': Distributing African American [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 23 November, 2014, 12:00 PM

Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch Diary, Post 38

Series: Civil War 
By Elaine Grublin
The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch. Sunday, Nov. 6th In public affairs, I record the startling discoveries of election fraud in New York, & of a conspiracy against the gov’t in Indiana. Next Tuesday decides the [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 21 November, 2014, 1:00 AM

“For We Are Brother and Sister”: Luis and Isabel Emilio

Series: Civil War  , From Our Collections
By Susan Martin, Collection Services
One of the highlights of the Luis F. Emilio papers at the MHS is his correspondence with his younger sister Isabel. The siblings were obviously very close, but their relationship suffered a serious blow in 1862 as the result of a misunderstanding involving one of Luis' best [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 19 November, 2014, 1:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
We are kicking things off this week with a rare Sunday event, an MHS blue moon, if you will. Beginning at 1:30PM on Sunday, 16 November, is a special screening of The Better Angels, a film about Abraham Lincoln's childhood.The screening is followed by a discussion led by [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Saturday, 15 November, 2014, 10:04 AM

“Most Amusing”: A Brookline Couple on Holiday in California, 1915

Series: From Our Collections
By Anna J. Clutterbuck-Cook, Reader Services
In late October of 1915, as the days in New England grew shorter and the temperatures colder, twenty-seven-year-old Mildred Cox Howes of Brookline, Massachusetts, boarded a train with her husband, Osborne “Howsie” Howes, and headed west. Between 22 October and [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 12 November, 2014, 8:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
After a flurry of activity to close out last week, this one starts a little bit more slowly. Please note that the Society is closed on Tuesday, 11 November, in observance of Veteran's Day. Happy Armistice! On Wednesday, 12 November, join us at noon for a Brown Bag lunch [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 9 November, 2014, 8:00 AM

MHS Librarians Hit the Road

Series: From the Reading Room
By Dan Hinchen
Today, the library at the MHS is closed in preparation for our annual fundraising event, Cocktails with Clio. What is a group of librarians to do with a day off? Rather than sit by and toil in our respective offices as set-up goes on around us, we instead are opting to go [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 7 November, 2014, 12:00 PM

The Siege of Louisbourg, 1758: The Daring Capture of the Prudent and Bienfaisant

Series: From Our Collections
By Thomas Lester, Reader Services
During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the fortified French city of Louisbourg loomed over the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, denying the British access to the Saint Lawrence River - the route to capturing the key cities of Quebec and Montreal.  The fortress, considered [...] read more

comments: 1 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 5 November, 2014, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
Here we are again looking at events taking place at the MHS in the week ahead. On Wednesday, 5 November, there is a Brown Bag lunch talk beginning at noon and presented by the Society's new Director of Public Programs, Gavin Kleespies. In his talk "Choosing Challenges," [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 2 November, 2014, 8:00 AM