The Beehive: the official blog of the Massachusetts Historical Society

Sibley’s Harvard Graduates: Determination and Persistence

Series: Around MHS , Research Published
By Conrad Edick Wright, Research
One of the happy consequences of the Massachusetts Historical Society’s centuries-long institutional stability has been its ability to carry out extended projects. It is not that we actively try to transform small, modest undertakings into ones that never end, but [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 31 August, 2018, 12:00 AM

Brief Trip to Revere Beach

Series: From Our Collections
By Brendan Kieran, Reader Services
Last summer, I wrote a post for the Beehive based on my exploration of MHS materials relating to Lynn Woods, an outdoor public space I’ve enjoyed in my lifetime that I wanted to look at through a different lens. I decided to continue with that theme this summer by [...] read more

comments: 1 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 29 August, 2018, 12:00 AM

100 Years after the Influenza Pandemic

Series: From Our Collections
By Rakashi Chand
On this date a century ago, two sailors stationed in Boston went to the sickbay with flu-like symptoms; the next day eight more, the following day 58 more, and this was just the beginning. As we make plans for flu season this autumn, we should remember that this year marks [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 27 August, 2018, 12:00 PM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By
Welcome back to our weekly round-up of programs taking place in the coming days. Once again, this week is characterized by Brown Bag lunch talks, of which we have two for you. Here are the details: - Monday, 27 August, 12:00PM : Thomas Whittaker of Harvard University starts [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 26 August, 2018, 12:00 AM

“Long live the line”: An Abolitionist Remembers the Fight Against Slavery

Series: From Our Collections
By Susan Martin, Collections Services
  On 12 August 1895, Isaac A. Wetherby wrote to the firm F. W. Bird & Son of East Walpole, Mass. for a sample of their roofing material. But Wetherby recognized the name Bird, and what started as a perfunctory business letter became two pages of terrific stream-of-consciousness [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 24 August, 2018, 12:00 AM

Barbara Hillard Smith’s Diary, August 1918

Series: From Our Collections , From the Reference Librarian 
By by Lindsay Bina, Intern and Anna Clutterbuck-Cook, Reader Services
Today we return to the 1918 diary of Newton teenager Barbara Hillard Smith. You may read our introduction to the diary, and Barbara’s previous entries, here:   January | February | March | April May | June | July | August September | October | November | December   As [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 22 August, 2018, 12:00 AM

Travel Without Moving : Adam Matthew Digital and the History of Tourism

Series: Around MHS , From Our Collections
By Katie Loughrey, Reader Services
As summer draws to its inevitable end, I am somewhat grateful (In case you haven’t noticed, it has been a hot one!) and somewhat wistful. Although I’ve been privileged to take several trips this season, I am someone always thinking of the next place left to explore, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Tuesday, 21 August, 2018, 3:31 PM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By
After a very quiet week with naught on the schedule but a Saturday tour, we are back this week with a couple more programs happening in the days ahead. Specifically, we have pair of Brown Bag lunch talks as well as our Saturday building tour. Here are the details: - Wednesday, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 19 August, 2018, 12:00 AM

Adding Evening Hours in the Library

Series: From the Reading Room
By Elaine Heavey, Director of the Library
On Tuesday, 4 September, after a four-year hiatus, evening hours are returning to the MHS library! The library will operate until 7.45 PM every Tuesday, allowing researchers with 9-5 work schedules and full-time students more opportunities to work with the MHS collections [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Tuesday, 14 August, 2018, 8:00 AM

John Quincy Adams’ 1794 London Interlude

Series: From Our Collections
By Neal Millikan, Adams Papers
Lucia AmaliaSchueg When John Quincy Adams arrived in London on October 15, 1794, on his way to The Hague to become minister resident to the Netherlands, he was a 27-year-old beginning his new life as an American statesman. We know much about his two week stay in London [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 10 August, 2018, 12:00 AM

Revisiting the Nathaniel T. Allen Photograph Collection

Series: Collection Profiles , From Our Collections
By Susan Martin, Collections Services
Three weeks ago, I told you about the Nathaniel T. Allen papers and photographs, two collections available for research here at the MHS library. Allen founded the West Newton English and Classical School (or “Allen School”) in West Newton, Mass. As I processed [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 3 August, 2018, 5:03 PM

Summer Education Programs at the MHS

Series: Education Programs
By Kate Melchior, Center for the Teaching of History
Friday, June 20th marked the end of our three-day teacher workshop, “Loyalism in the Era of the American Revolution”. The program played host to 40 K-12 teachers and heritage educators from the Boston area to as far as Seattle, providing them with an in-depth [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 1 August, 2018, 1:00 AM