The Beehive: the official blog of the Massachusetts Historical Society

The First Publication of Phillis Wheatley

Series: Around MHS , From the Reference Librarian 
By Daniel T Hinchen, Reader Services
Recently, the MHS hosted a program called “No more, America,”* which featured a conversation with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Peter Galison, both of Harvard University. In it, the two men reimagined a 1773 debate between graduating Harvard seniors Theodore Parsons [...] read more

comments: 2 | permalink | Published: Friday, 21 December, 2018, 1:00 AM

Christmas 1918

Series: From Our Collections
By Rakashi Chand, Reader Services
Christmas of 1918 should have been jubilant--the war was over, soldiers were starting to come home and women were on the verge of gaining suffrage. But sadly, dark shadows loomed over festivities and revelry that year, as the aftermath of the war and the widespread Influenza [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 19 December, 2018, 10:00 AM

This Week @MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By @MHS
It is our last week of programming at the MHS for 2018. Join us for a seminar, a Saturday tour, or stop by to see our current exhibition. - Tuesday, 18 December, 5:30 PM: Transgender History & Archives: An Interdisciplinary Conversation with Genny Beemyn, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 17 December, 2018, 1:00 AM

A lovely day for a cup of Tea!

Series: From Our Collections
By Rakashi Chand, Reader Services
"This is the most magnificent Movement of all. There is a Dignity, a Majesty, a Sublimity, in this last Effort of the Patriots, that I greatly admire. The People should never rise, without doing something to be remembered -- something notable And striking. This Destruction [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 17 December, 2018, 1:00 AM

“On the Borders of Nonsense”: John Quincy Adams, Poet

By Rhonda Barlow, Adams Papers
It was a rainy day in May 1839 and John Quincy Adams, stuck inside, was amusing himself writing poetry. He was trying to imitate the Roman poet Horace, and outdo the English poet Alexander Pope. Horace’s Ode 4.9  encapsulated the idea that without a poet to praise [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 14 December, 2018, 1:00 AM

Barefoot Families and Demon Rum: The Work of an Urban Missionary

Series: From Our Collections
By Susan Martin, Processing Archivist & EAD Coordinator
In June 1854, the Boston City Missionary Society appointed a Methodist Episcopal clergyman named Luman Boyden to serve as missionary to the poor in East Boston. The 48-year-old Boyden (pictured above, about ten years later) had had a distinguished 20-year career as a minister [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 12 December, 2018, 1:00 AM

This Week @MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By @MHS
Join us for a program at the MHS this week! - Tuesday, 11 December, 12:00 PM: Robert Treat Paine’s Life & Influence on Law with Maura Healey, Massachusetts Attorney General; Alan Rogers, Boston College; Christina Carrick, Assistant Editor, The [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 10 December, 2018, 1:00 AM

Barbara Hillard Smith’s Diary, December 1918

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 [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 7 December, 2018, 1:00 AM

Remembering Former President George H. W. Bush

By MHS
As the United States remembers former President George H. W. Bush, who died on Friday, 30 November 2018, at the age of 94, the MHS remembers him too.
George H. W. Bush addressing guests at the MHS Annual Dinner on 10 October 2002. In 2002, MHS staff (and items [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 5 December, 2018, 1:00 AM

This Week @MHS

By @MHS
Here is a look at what is going on this week at the MHS: - Monday, 3 December, 6:00 PM:  Rochambeau: The French Military Presence in Boston with Robert Selig, The Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail. In July 1780, the French troop transport Île [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 3 December, 2018, 1:00 AM