The Beehive: the official blog of the Massachusetts Historical Society

Happy Halloween, 1874: Sketches Here and There

Series: From Our Collections
By Rakashi Chand, Reader Services
I love Halloween, so when I saw these lovely India ink sketches in our Graphics collection I was thrilled! Sketches Here and There by Franklin B. Gardner portray the fun and frolic of Halloween almost 150 years ago.  Amazingly, this is exactly what I had hoped [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 31 October, 2016, 10:13 AM

Anti-suffrage Records Available Online

Series: Collections News
By Nancy Heywood, Collections Services
A few years from now, in 2020, the United States will recognize the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing women's voting rights across the country. Although some states and territories had granted women the right to vote [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 31 October, 2016, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHs

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
Looking for a little history in your life? Here is what's on tap for public consumption at the Society this week... - Tuesday, 1 November, 5:15PM : Join us for an Early American History seminar with John Wood Sweet of the University of North Carolina at Chapel [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 30 October, 2016, 12:00 AM

Margaret Russell’s Diary, October 1916

Series: From Our Collections
By Anna J. Clutterbuck Cook, Reader Services
Today, we return to the line-a-day diary of Margaret Russell. You can read previous installments here: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September October begins balmy, “really warm,” with lovely days on which to walk and drive. [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 26 October, 2016, 10:24 AM

Three Fully Digitized Collections

Series: Collections News
By Peter K. Steinberg, Collections Services
In 2014, the MHS made available nine fully digitized collections relating to the Civil War. Since that time, we have been at work digitizing more full collections, this time under the topic of "Women in the Public Sphere." There have been two posts on the Rose Dabney Forbes [...] read more

comments: 1 | permalink | Published: Monday, 24 October, 2016, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
It's another active week here at the Society, chock full of programs to take in. Here is what we have on tap: - Tuesday, 25 October, 5:15PM : Drawn from his forthcoming book, Welcome to Fairyland, Julio Capó of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, presents [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 23 October, 2016, 12:00 AM

Rose Dabney Forbes and women’s suffrage (part 2 of 2)

Series: Collections News
By Laura Wulf, Collections Services
In an earlier post I gave you a preview of the Rose Dabney Forbes papers. Her papers are one of seven collections that have been fully digitized and are now available on our website as part of an LSTA funded project that we are calling “Women in the Public Sphere.” [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 17 October, 2016, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
Here we are again with the round-up of events in the week to come at the Society. - Wednesday, 19 October, 12:00PM : "The Nature of Colonization: Natives, Colonists, and the Environment in New England, 1400-1750" examines how the natural world shaped and was shaped by the [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 16 October, 2016, 12:00 PM

Mount Auburn: A Guide through the Nation's First "Rural" Cemetery

Series: From Our Collections
By Shelby Wolfe, Reader Services
When friends and family ask me what they should do while visiting the Boston area in the fall, I generally get a strange look after my main recommendation. I tell them to visit Mount Auburn Cemetery, the first landscaped “rural” cemetery in the United States, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 14 October, 2016, 12:00 AM

Letters to Rosamond

Series: From Our Collections
By Grace Wagner, Reader Services
    For most of her life, Rosamond Gifford was a resident of Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. However, she was also received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Radcliffe College, attended the Sorbonne in Paris, and was fluent in French.[i] Clearly, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 12 October, 2016, 12:41 PM

Rose Dabney Forbes and the American Peace Movement (part 1 of 2)

Series: Collections News
By Laura Wulf, Collections Services
The Digital Projects team here at the MHS has spent much of the past two years working on an LSTA funded project that we are calling “Women in the Public Sphere.” This grant allowed us to fully digitize and make accessible seven collections related to women’s [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 10 October, 2016, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
It is a holiday-shortened week for the staff here at the Society, but we still have five days of programs to take in. Please note that the library is closed on Monday, 10 October, for Columbus Day, and will re-open on Tuesday, 11 October. Here is what is on tap this week: - [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 9 October, 2016, 12:00 AM

Guest Post: The Boston Post Road

Series: Education Programs
By By Dylan Oesch-Emmel, Megan Cleary, Patrick Cann, and Mari Avola , Stoneham High School
National History Day (NHD) was upon us. The dreaded three-month research project that requires scouring the depths of every database for any primary or secondary source that could help prove our thesis. After many late nights of research, and enough tears (and pizza) to [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 7 October, 2016, 12:00 AM

October is American Archives Month!

Series: Around MHS
By Rakashi Chand, Reader Services
The archive of the Massachusetts Historical Society is not only home to an invaluable and incredible collection of American history, but it is also staffed by amazing people. Get to know your local archivists in Reader Services! We are here to assist you with all your research [...] read more

comments: 2 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 5 October, 2016, 12:00 AM

Fully-Digitized Manuscript Collections Now Available

Series: Collections News
By Nancy Heywood, Collections Services
The Massachusetts Historical Society is pleased to announce that seven collections relating to women in the public sphere have been digitized thanks to funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 3 October, 2016, 3:35 PM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
Our program schedule is ramping-up as we enter October. Here's a quick look at all of the events on offer in the week ahead: - Monday, 3 October, 6:00PM : The first program of the week is an author talk with James Traub. Join us for a talk about his new book, John [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 2 October, 2016, 12:00 AM