Massachusetts Historical Society
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
history. It is located at 1154 Boylston Street, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and is the oldest historical society in the United States.
History
The Society was founded on January 24, 1791, by Reverend Jeremy BelknapJeremy Belknap
Jeremy Belknap was an American clergyman and historian. His great achievement was the "History of New Hampshire", published in three volumes between 1784 and 1792. This work is the first modern history written by an American, embodying a new rigor in research, annotation, and reporting.Jeremy was...
to collect, preserve, and document items of American history. He and the nine other founding members donated family papers, books, and artifacts to the Society to form its initial collection. Its first manuscript was published in 1792, becoming the first historical society publication in the United States. The society incorporated in 1794; signatories included William Baylies, Jeremy Belknap
Jeremy Belknap
Jeremy Belknap was an American clergyman and historian. His great achievement was the "History of New Hampshire", published in three volumes between 1784 and 1792. This work is the first modern history written by an American, embodying a new rigor in research, annotation, and reporting.Jeremy was...
, Alden Bradford, Peleg Coffin, Manasseh Cutler, John Davis, Daniel Davis, Aaron Dexter, John Eliot, Nathaniel Freeman, James Freeman, Thaddeus Mason Harris, Isaac Lothrop, George Richards Minot, John Mellen Jr., Thomas Pemberton, William Dandridge Peck, John Prince, Ezekiel Price, James Sullivan, David Sewall, Peter Thacher, William Tudor
William Tudor
William Tudor was a wealthy lawyer and leading citizen of Boston. His eldest son William Tudor became a leading literary figure in Boston...
, Samuel Turell, Dudley Atkins Tyng, James Winthrop, Thomas Wallcut, Redford Webster
Redford Webster
Redford Webster was an apothecary, town official, and state legislator in Boston, Massachusetts. He helped establish the American Antiquarian Society, the Boston Library Society, and the Massachusetts Historical Society....
, and William Wetmore. Indeed, the Society claims to have been the only historical collection in the United States until establishment of the New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library located in New York City at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. Founded in 1804 as New York's first museum, the New-York Historical Society presents exhibitions, public programs and research that...
(1804) and the American Antiquarian Society
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society , located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and national research library of pre-twentieth century American History and culture. Its main building, known also as Antiquarian Hall, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark...
(1812), after which time the Society's collecting activities began to focus primarily on Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
"The society, for several years after its organization, met in the attic of Faneuil Hall
Faneuil Hall
Faneuil Hall , located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts, has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain, and is now part of...
; afterwards rooms were occupied in Hamilton Place, and then in Franklin Street
Franklin Street (Boston)
Franklin Street is located in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. It was developed at the end of the 18th century by Charles Bulfinch, and included the now-demolished Tontine Crescent and Franklin Place.-See also:...
. In 1833 ... quarters on Tremont Street were occupied" in the building of the Provident
Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston
The Provident Institution for Savings in Boston, Massachusetts, was the first chartered savings bank in the United States. James Savage and others founded the bank on the belief that "savings banks would enable the less fortunate classes of society to better themselves in a manner which would...
bank through the 1890s. The society's current building in the Back Bay was built in 1899.
Collections
Today the Society continues to collect, preserve, and communicate historical information about Massachusetts and the United States. It is now organized in five departments: Library, Publications, Education and Public Programs, Research Programs, the Adams Family Papers, and Administration. Major collections include:- Adams Family Papers (1639-1889) - material relating to President John AdamsJohn AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
(1735-1826) and Abigail AdamsAbigail AdamsAbigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth...
(1744-1818), as well as other family members including Charles Francis AdamsCharles Francis Adams, Sr.Charles Francis Adams, Sr. was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat and writer. He was the grandson of President John Adams and Abigail Adams and the son of President John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams....
(1807-1886), John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
(1767-1848), Louisa Catherine Adams (1775-1852), Charles Francis AdamsCharles Francis Adams, Jr.Charles Francis Adams II was a member of the prominent Adams family, and son of Charles Francis Adams, Sr. He served as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War...
(1835-1915), and Henry Adams (1838-1918). The collection includes correspondence, diaries, literary manuscripts, speeches, legal and business papers, etc.
- Jefferson - The personal papers and architectural drawings of Thomas Jefferson.
- Manuscripts and printed texts - approximately 12,000 biographies and more than 10,000 local histories, as well as newspapers and broadsides including John DunlapJohn DunlapJohn Dunlap was the printer of the first copies of the Declaration of Independence and one of the most successful American printers of his era.-Biography:...
's July 4-5, 1776, Philadelphia printing of the Declaration of IndependenceUnited States Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
. Notable manuscripts include Paul ReverePaul ReverePaul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
's account of his ride, handwritten copies of the Declaration of IndependenceUnited States Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
by both Thomas JeffersonThomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and John AdamsJohn AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, and the Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Manuscripts containing thousands of pages of Jefferson's correspondence, manuscripts of writings, and MonticelloMonticelloMonticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
records including account books, journals, and more than 400 architectural drawingArchitectural drawingAn architectural drawing or architect's drawing is a technical drawing of a building that falls within the definition of architecture...
s.
- Artwork - paintings by John Singleton CopleyJohn Singleton CopleyJohn Singleton Copley was an American painter, born presumably in Boston, Massachusetts, and a son of Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Irish. He is famous for his portrait paintings of important figures in colonial New England, depicting in particular middle-class subjects...
(1738-1815), Sarah GoodridgeSarah GoodridgeSarah Goodridge was an American painter who specialized in miniatures. She was the older sister of Elizabeth Goodridge, also an American miniaturist....
(1788-1853), Chester HardingChester Harding (painter)Chester Harding was an American portrait painter.-Biography:Harding was born at Conway, Massachusetts. Brought up in the wilderness of New York state, he was a lad of robust physique, standing over 6 feet 3 inches...
(1792-1866), Alonzo HartwellAlonzo HartwellAlonzo Hartwell was an engraver and portrait artist in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 19th century. He trained with Abel Bowen. Hartwell's work appeared in the American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge and other publications....
(1805-1873), Samuel Stillman OsgoodSamuel Stillman OsgoodSamuel Stillman Osgood was a 19th-century American portrait painter.-Biography:He was born in New Haven, Connecticut to James Osgood and Elizabeth Badger. He studied painting in Boston, Massachusetts. After his marriage to poet Frances Sargent Locke he continued his art education at the Royal...
(1808-1885), John Smibert (1688-1751), and Richard Morrell StaiggRichard Morrell StaiggRichard Morrell Staigg was a portrait painter.-Biography:When he was about thirteen years of age he was placed in an architect's office, and he subsequently received a few weeks' instruction in portrait painting...
(1817-1881), as well as sculptures by Thomas BallThomas Ball (artist)Thomas Ball was an American artist and musician. His work has had a marked influence on monumental art in the United States, especially in New England.-Life:...
, Richard Saltonstall GreenoughRichard Saltonstall GreenoughRichard Saltonstall Greenough was an American sculptor and younger brother to Neoclassical sculptor Horatio Greenough....
, Henry Dexter, and Hiram PowersHiram PowersHiram Powers was an American neoclassical sculptor.-Biography:The son of a farmer, Powers was born in Woodstock, Vermont, on the July 29, 1805. In 1818 his father moved to Ohio, about six miles from Cincinnati, where the son attended school for about a year, staying meanwhile with his brother, a...
.
The Society continues to produce scholarly books, but now augments these publications with digital editions available through its website and other online resources.
Further reading
- A short account of the Massachusetts Historical Society: originally prepared by Charles Card Smith, together with the act of incorporation, additional acts and by-laws and a list of officers and members. January 1791-June 1918.
- The act of incorporation: with the additional acts and by-laws of the Massachusetts Historical Society : with a list of officers and resident members. Boston: printed for the Society, 1882.
External links
- Massachusetts Historical Society
- Review of "Adams Family Papers" website. Teachinghistory.org.