On (Virtual) Display in the State Library

As the calendar turns to June, it’s time to share another item from Special Collections in our virtual display case. In recognition of the 245th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, we’re featuring an “Ode Written for the Celebration on Bunker Hill, June 17, 1825.” The ode was written in honor of the 50th anniversary of the battle.

The Battle of Bunker Hill was on June 17, 1775 and actually occurred on nearby Breed’s Hill in Charlestown. The British won the battle and took the hill, but it was a much more costly endeavor than had been imagined at the start. The well-organized British army had not expected much from the American militia, but as they advanced on the hill they were pushed back twice and experienced a high number of casualties - 1,054 British soldiers and officers died during the battle or afterward from wounds. On the American side, there were 400 casualties, and among those was Dr. Joseph Warren, a leading member of the patriot cause who was serving as the President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress at the time of his death. Dr. Warren had been commissioned as a major general just before the battle, but rather than relying on his rank and staying in the back of the fray, he chose to serve as a private. In the ode, he is acknowledged with the following stanza:

Ye shades of martyred heroes,
Who rallied here to fight;
Whose hearts of oak the onset braved
That shook old Bunker’s height;
Who, with your WARREN, proved yourselves
The Spartans of the field;
Here ye stood -- here your blood
Freedom’s sacred charter sealed.
Here to Liberty your pledge ye gave,
And the sacred charter sealed.

Composed by Thomas Wells, “Ode Written for the Celebration on Bunker Hill, June 17, 1825” was part of a celebration that included the laying the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument. More than 100,000 people were in attendance, including almost 200 veterans of the battle. The ceremony was presided over by the Marquis de Lafayette, a key military leader from the Revolutionary War, and also included an oration by Daniel Webster, who was serving as a United States Representative for Massachusetts 1st District at the time.

The ode is set to the tune of “Ye Mariners of England,” a patriotic British war song by Scottish poet Thomas Campbell. This may seem like an odd pick for a song that honors one of the first and most famous battles of the American Revolution, but it must have been a popular early 19th-century tune, as it was also used for a song honoring George Washington’s birthday and a restoration of peace in February 1815.

Sometimes the printed material in Special Collections will have handwritten notations on the back, or verso, of the page. When I am on-site, I can easily examine the physical object to determine what these notations are. In this instance, I only have access to the digital copy but I can tell that something was written on the verso of the page because the ink has bled through the page. Once the library reopens, I’ll retrieve the item from storage to see the notations, so watch this space for a follow-up reveal! In the meantime, based on the spacing and what looks like a combination of both letters and numbers, I'm making a guess that it is a ledger or tally of some sort. Unfortunately, the ink bleeding from those notations has completely obscured one entire stanza of the ode, but I was able to find a copy of the ode in the online collection of the Library of Congress and have transcribed that missing section below:

Ye brave, in death triumphant!
In Glory’s rest that sleep;
Your Country shall your ashes guard,
Her watch around you keep; --
Your Spirits here that walk abroad,
Have no unheard appealed
From the sod where ye trod,
And the sacred charter sealed;
Where ye gathered with your hearty few,
And the sacred charter sealed.

Take a closer look at all of the lyrics, and see if you can decipher what’s written on the verso, by clicking the image above or checking out the full size version on DSpace.

Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian

On (Virtual) Display in the State Library

With the State Library closed to the public, we’re changing the exhibit case virtually again this month. May’s collection spotlight is a Proclamation for a Day of Fasting, issued by President John Adams in March 1798. The proclamation called for all citizens to observe May 9 as a day of solemn humility, with fasting and prayer, and an abstention from their customary worldly occupations. 

It might go without saying that proclamations like this one are religious in nature. The opening line reads, “as the safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially depend on the protection and the blessing of Almighty God.” Governors in Massachusetts had been issuing proclamations for a day of thanksgiving or a day of prayer and fasting for years, in fact, we have a few in our collection holdings. But they were somewhat less common in the newly formed country. During his presidency, George Washington only issued one in 1789 and one in 1795, and in addition to the proclamation featured here, Adams only issued one other, in 1799. Third president Thomas Jefferson believed strongly in the separation of church and state, and he did not issue any during his presidency. 

Once I selected this item for our virtual display, I started to conduct some research on it and was surprised to come across references of both Adams’s 1798 and 1799 proclamations as being controversial! Adams did not win re-election in 1800, and in an 1812 letter to Benjamin Rush he wrote:

“The National Fast, reccommended by me turned me out of Office. It was connected with, the general Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, which I had no concern in. That assembly has allarmed and alienated Quakers, Anabaptists Mennonists, Moravians, Sweedenborgians, Methodist, Catholicks, Protestant Episcopalians, Arians Socinians, Arminians & &c. Atheists and Deists might be added. A general Suspicion prevailed that the Presbyterian Church was ambitious and aimed at an Establishment as a National Church. I was represented as a Presbyterian and at the head of this political and ecclesiastical Project. The Secret Whisper ran through them all the Sects “Let Us have Jefferson Madison, Burr, any body, whether they be Philosophers, Deist or even Atheists, rather than a Presbyterian President. This Principle is at the Bottom of the Unpopularity of national Fasts and Thanksgivings, Nothing is more dreaded than the National Government meddling with Religion. This wild Letter I very much fear, contains Seeds of an Ecclesiastical History of the U.S. for a Century to come.”

A transcription of the full letter is available on the National Archives website. For an in-depth analysis of the two proclamations issued during Adams’s presidency, be sure to check out the article by J.L. Bell on Boston 1775.

I often include a note on preservation in my posts, usually focusing on physical repair, re-housing, or the general condition of the exhibited item. But working from home has emphasized the need to highlight another important component of preservation - digitization. State Library staff members work hard to digitize our collection and upload the information to our digital repository DSpace, which also maintains our born-digital electronic resources. There are many benefits to a digitized collection - from a conservation standpoint, having a digital copy of an item reduces the frequency that the item is handled, thus lessening its risk of damage. Digitization also makes our collection accessible to wider audiences who can only visit us remotely. While I work from home, our digitization program makes it possible for me to easily access materials in our Special Collections holdings. Though we can’t currently display items in our library, we’re happy for the opportunity to highlight collection pieces and share them virtually. To take a closer look at this proclamation, click on the image above or check it out on DSpace. 

Elizabeth Roscio

Preservation Librarian

On (Virtual) Display at the State Library

State of Massachusetts-Bay. In the House
of Representatives, January 20th, 1777...

At the beginning of each month we change the display case that is located in the reading room, and though the State Library is currently closed, we are taking this opportunity to virtually change the case and share a new item with our patrons. Featured this month is a broadside from our Special Collections Department. It was issued in 1777 and called for a supply of blankets to be provided in support of the defense of American states.

In 1777 the country was in the midst of the American Revolution. On January 20, 1777 the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a resolution that the state was required to provide aid for the Continental Army in the form of blankets. This resolution was printed as a broadside by Benjamin Edes, who also published the patriotic and influential newspaper The Boston Gazette and Country Journal. Once printed, the broadside was distributed throughout the Commonwealth with instruction for selectmen and Committees of Correspondence to share it with residents.

Faced with a supply shortage as winter set in, the resolution stated that Massachusetts was responsible for acquiring blankets for the Continental Army. The blankets were to be purchased, collected, and stored within individual towns and plantations until they were called up by the state, at which point they would be reimbursed from the public treasury. In total, the Commonwealth was required to supply 5,000 blankets, with each individual town or plantation assigned a specific number that they were responsible for providing. This broadside includes a listing of the towns and plantations and their required contribution, a number that  was seemingly based on population size. Look closely at the broadside to see that Boston - the largest town in Massachusetts - was required to provide the most at 461 blankets, while some smaller towns or individual plantations in Berkshire County and Cumberland County (now part of Maine) were only required to supply one or two blankets.

The need for blankets expressed in this broadside highlights a continuing issue that the Continental Army faced during the war. The Continental Army was still relatively new, having been formed by the Second Continental Congress in June 1775. Previously, military actions had been left to local militias, who were part-time servicemen called for temporary aid and action. The establishment of the Continental Army drew individuals from all thirteen colonies (then states, after 1776) for the purpose of the common defense. But as historian Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. writes in an essay on The Washington Papers website, “the Continental Congress’s efforts to equip and feed its army were inadequate from the start.” Supply issues like the January 1777 call for blankets were not new, and Grizzard’s essay goes into further detail on the topic. He explains that, “inadequate administrative procedures, a scarcity of money and the failure of credit, a weak transportation system, and a lack of manufacturing all combined with the natural obstacles of geography and weather to create frequent shortages of food, clothing, tents, and other military supplies throughout the war.” Despite some reforms, these challenges continued to plague the army throughout the war. Access the full article on The Washington Papers website here - and while you’re there, spend some time reading more of the correspondence of George Washington and his family.

Faced with a difficult national situation, this broadside shows that regardless of size, each town and plantation in the Commonwealth was called on to support the larger war effort. Click on the above image or access the document in DSpace to take a closer look at this document - be sure to find your own town and see the contribution they made in 1777.

By Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian

On Display in the State Library

The State of Maine turns 200 this March, but prior to 1820 the District of Maine had been part of Massachusetts. On display from March 5 through April 1 is a broadside that was issued in 1818 by the Commissioners of the Land Office in Boston. In the broadside, which functioned as an advertisement, residents of Massachusetts were encouraged to move north and apply to settle on land in Hancock, Cumberland, and Somerset counties. To spread the word of the available land, copies of this broadside were distributed to town selectmen who were tasked with reading it at public meetings, posting it in public places, and depositing it with Town Clerks so it could be shared with many residents.

You may be familiar with the phrase “Go west, young man, and grow up with the country” which was used throughout the 1800s as a rallying cry to urge the settlement of the western United States. This broadside shares a similar call to draw Massachusetts residents north.  It is peppered with lines like “Ye men of the country, who are independent on your farms, and have many sons to provide for, why not take up a lot for one, and try the experiment of an improvement.” The broadside stressed the affordability of buying land in the District of Maine, as well as listing the many benefits of its natural environment, from navigable waters and plentiful fish to excellent land for grazing. For those concerned with the isolation of settling in a new area, the broadside assured readers that new roads were completed (or would be completed) that would connect Maine to the Commonwealth and to Canada. It described townships along these routes that were in development, and encouraged several families from one neighborhood to go in together and start up a new enterprise in Maine.

Control of land in Maine had been contested by various groups over many years, but the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, formally established Maine as part of Massachusetts. Maine tried to separate in 1807 and during the War of 1812, but did not achieve a successful vote to secede until 1819. Two years after this broadside was issued, Maine entered the United States and became the 23rd state on March 15, 1820. It joined as part of the Missouri Compromise, which established Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while also prohibiting slavery north of the 36°30′ parallel.

Mark Maine’s 200th birthday by visiting the library during March and taking a closer look at a piece of its settling history.

By Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian

On Display in the State Library

Visit the State Library through March 4 to see a “Proclamation on the Death of George Washington,” which was issued by President John Adams in 1800. In the wake of Washington’s death on December 14, 1799, this proclamation established February 22, Washington’s birthday, as a National Day of Mourning.

George Washington’s death meant that the relatively new country was faced with mourning its first president. Congress adjourned as soon as they received word of his death, and throughout the country bells tolled and memorial processions were organized. The funeral at Mount Vernon was a private affair for family and friends, but the country was saddened by the news and began a sixty-nine day period of public mourning that ended on Washington’s birthday.

In 1789, shortly after being sworn in as president, George Washington visited Massachusetts for a ten-day tour of the state that spanned from Springfield to Newburyport with many stops in between. Near the end of his trip, Washington spent three days in Boston, where he was met with great fanfare and celebration. There was a large procession through the city that ended at the State House (what is now the Old State House, as the current State House was not built until 1798), and next to it was a temporary triumphal arch constructed by Charles Bulfinch in Washington’s honor. It was in this spot that Washington greeted the cheering crowd of Bostonians. One decade later, Massachusetts again commemorated Washington but with a much more solemn tone, as shown through the displayed proclamation. It is divided in two sections – the first part is issued by President Adams and states, “that it be recommended to the people of the United States to assemble on the twenty-second day of February next, in such numbers and manner, as may be convenient, publicly to testify their grief for the death of George Washington, by suitable eulogies, orations, and discourses, or by public prayer.” Using these general guidelines, each state then set their own specific memorials, stated in the resolutions in the second part of the proclamation. These were issued by Samuel Phillips, President of the Massachusetts Senate, Edward H. Robbins, Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and Moses Gill, Lieutenant Governor. These resolutions call for orations at Old South Meeting House and a worship service at Brattle Church. It was also requested that similar services be held throughout the Commonwealth so citizens could join together on this mournful occasion. In both the national and the state resolutions, one theme remains consistent – that citizens gather together to acknowledge their shared grief within their community. Washington’s death was one of the first instances in early American history where citizens from various backgrounds came together and experienced a shared sense of national unity, through a universal feeling of sorrow.

220 years after President Adams established February 22 as a National Day of Mourning we still mark Washington’s birthday, or Presidents’ Day, on the third Monday of February. The holiday has evolved and is now seen as a time to honor all who have served as president. The Library will be closed in observance of that federal holiday on February 17, but visit us any other weekday this month to view this proclamation in person.

By Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian

On Display in the State Library

Almanacs provide a glimpse into the coming year, and as we turn the page to 2020, the State Library is looking back at some of the historic almanacs in our collection. On exhibit in the library through January 29 is a selection of Isaiah Thomas’s New England Almanac. Thomas published the almanac from 1775 through 1803, at which point his son continued publication through 1819.

Similar to today’s almanacs, these pamphlets look to the year ahead and provide tide, lunar, and weather data, along with important historical dates and general information or “anecdotes.” Anecdotes cover everything from human anatomy, to postage rates, to recipes for manure. Each month is depicted with an illustration and also includes a brief verse, poem, or narrative that continues as a serial from month-to-month. In an introductory letter from the editor in the 1797 edition, Isaiah Thomas wrote that “I have ever made it a practice to present you with something each year which should be worth more at the end of it than the price you gave for the almanac” and with all of the information provided, it seems as though he delivered on his word.

We are currently displaying the almanacs from 1797, 1800, and 1812. A close examination of the title pages of the 1797 and 1812 almanacs allow us to note the change in price over fifteen years – the almanac increased from 10 cents to 12 ½ cents for a single, and 75 cents to 87 ½ cents for a dozen. During this range of years, it is also important to note the change in publisher from Isaiah Thomas to his son, Isaiah Thomas, Jr. The 1800 almanac is on display opened to the January pages, in part so that we can compare our weather to what was predicted 220 years ago (snow on January 6-8, 13-18, and 25-29, along with “foul weather” on the 21 and 22).

Isaiah Thomas was born in Boston in 1749, where he was apprenticed at the age of seven to a printer named Zechariah Fowle. At the onset of the Revolutionary War, Thomas moved to Worcester where he continued his printing business. He was a participant in the Battles of Lexington and Concord, but he is also remembered as the founder of the American Antiquarian Society, a learned society and national research library that actively continues today. Thomas donated his papers, books, and newspapers to the AAS and served as its president until his death in 1831.

Frequently when an item goes on exhibit in the library, it needs a little bit of preservation work beforehand. But none of these almanacs needed any work by us because they recently underwent treatment at the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC). The State Library holds fourteen editions of the almanac, dating from 1797 to 1813. The conservators at NEDCC cleaned each one and mended any tears. The pages were resewn and then the pamphlet was digitized (and now available in our digital repository). The almanacs are now in much better condition, though they remain somewhat fragile and the library must limit their use and handling. We are thrilled for the opportunity to display a selection of them this month in our special exhibit case. 

By Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian

On Display in the State Library

Visit the State Library from December 2 to December 31 to see our next displayed item – Map of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island: Constructed from the Latest Authorities. Published in 1825 by Anthony Finley, the cartographer was David H. Vance and the map was engraved by James Hamilton. Since this map, and others published by Finley, was based on the latest authorities, it could be counted on to be precise and accurate. The counties located within each state were hand colored, and nearly two hundred years later the map is still a vibrant representation of New England.

In addition to identifying county boundary lines, towns, and geographical features of each state, this map also provides interesting information about population growth in the early 1800s. The population size of each county found in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, as well as an overall count for the entire state, is listed for both 1810 and 1820. This data was likely compiled from the Federal Census, which continues to be taken every ten years. From 1810 to 1820, Massachusetts increased from 472,040 to 521,725, Connecticut increased from 261,924 to 275,248, and Rhode Island increased from 76,931 to 83,059. The increase in each of these states during the ten year span matches the general population increase that occurred in the United States, which experienced about thirty-three percent growth.

Before the map went on display, it needed to undergo a fair bit of preservation treatment. It had previously been pieced together with adhesive tape and fabric, so we worked carefully to remove as much of those materials as possible. Surface dirt had accumulated after years of handling, so the map was also cleaned, and tears and paper loss were mended with thin Japanese paper and wheat paste.

Anthony Finley was a prolific map publisher, including a map of the United States in 1827 and Massachusetts in 1831, which is also part of the library’s collection. The State Library has an extensive map collection, which can be searched on our online catalog and through our digital repository, DSpace. And visit us through the end of December to see this map in person. If you’re from southern New England, be sure to find your own town and county!

By Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian

On Display in the State Library: The Witches of Dogtown

What better way to celebrate the spooky month of October than by learning about some Massachusetts lore? This month, the State Library’s exhibit case features a few items from the collection related to Dogtown, the now-abandoned town in Gloucester that was rumored to be home to a few witches.

Today, Dogtown is a forested area with trails to hike and boulders to clamber over, but from its founding in 1693 until the early 1800s, it was an inland village with approximately 80 homes. The village was originally known as the Commons Settlement, but according to legend, the name Dogtown derived from the dogs that women kept with them while their husbands were fighting in the Revolutionary War. Due in part to its distance from the coastline, the village fell into decline and was abandoned by about 1830. All that remains from the settlement are cellar holes that mark some of the original foundations. An abandoned village often carries an air of mystery, but Dogtown’s is heightened by the lore that some of its last remaining residents practiced witchcraft. 

Thomazine “Tammy” Younger was born in 1753 and later in life she was referred to as the “Queen of
the Witches.” Tammy was known to have a colorful vocabulary, to host card games, and to tell fortunes. She accosted those who passed by her home and demanded that they give her any food or other items that they might be carrying. When she died in February 1829, her neighbor John Hodgkins prepared her coffin. Upon completion, John kept the coffin inside his home, but the rest of the Hodgkins family was so frightened of it they insisted that it be removed from the house before they went to sleep.

Luce George, who was Tammy’s aunt, and Peg Wasson were other local women who were rumored to practice witchcraft. Both of them would “bewitch” oxen to stand still in front of their homes and not move onward until they received some of the load – whether it was corn or wood, or any other product. According to local legend, Peg was also known to fly on a broomstick or to take the form of a crow, and once fell down with a broken leg at the same time a crow was shot down from the sky.

On display is In the Heart of Cape Ann, or, The Story of Dogtown, written by Charles Edward Mann in 1896 and “The Broomstick Trail” by Sarah Comstock and published in Harper’s Monthly Magazine in December 1919. Each of these sources tell the fascinating story of Dogtown and the legends that surround it. Stop by the State Library now through November 3 to see these items in person – if you dare!

By Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian

On Display in the State Library

From August 30 to September 30, the State Library is exhibiting a broadside from Special Collections, titled “Shipwreck! A memorial account of the unfortunate and distressing catastrophe of Capt. Samuel Soper and his crew, of the Brig Ardent.” The broadside commemorates the September 28, 1823 wreck of the whaling ship Ardent.

The Ardent was based out of Provincetown, Massachusetts, which was one of the leading ports for the whaling industry, as well as home to Captain Soper and many of his 13 man crew.  While on its return from a successful expedition, the Ardent was caught in a severe hurricane. Three crewmen were washed overboard and the ship took on significant water and damage to its masts. Though it righted itself and did not sink, the ship remained adrift at sea for 26 days, during which many of its crew members died from starvation, dehydration, and exposure. In an account of the wreck in Provincetown, author Herman Atwell Jennings wrote, “the British packet Lord Sidmouth, bound for Falmouth, England, sighted the wreck and took off the sufferes, who could not have lived but for a short time longer.” Only five men still survived when they were picked up by the Lord Sidmouth, and one man died shortly after being saved from the wreck. The four remaining survivors then traveled with the crew of the Lord Sidmouth on to England before returning back home to Massachusetts. Among the survivors was Capt. Soper, who continued in the whaling industry and died on December 8, 1860 in Provincetown.

This dramatic wreck of the Ardent led writer Seth T. Hurd to pen a “memorial account” of the disaster. The broadside includes a narrative of the wreck, followed by Hurd’s “poetical reflections” of the event. The poem uses strong and emotional language to convey the full tragedy of the Ardent and its crew – it progresses from the calm before the storm, to the wreck, aftermath, and rescue. Near the end of the poem Hurd provides closure when he writes, “Ye mourners of the fated crew! O may we all lament with you; and o may virtue be our guide, whatever storms through life betide.”

The broadside on display in the library was likely printed in 1873, on the 50th anniversary of the wreck. The State Library received it as a gift to the collection in January 1942. Prior to going on exhibit, some adhesive tape was removed from the back of the broadside and creases and tears were repaired and reinforced with thin Japanese paper and wheat paste.

Visit us this month to examine the commemorative broadside in person, or access it through DSpace, our digital repository!

By Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian

On Display in the State Library

A few months ago the State Library acquired a new exhibit case! Custom designed with UV filters
and SmartGlass, the case allows us to safely display some of our oldest and most important collection items. The contents of the case will change monthly, and while we encourage all of our readers to visit the main reading room to see the exhibited item in person, we will also share the item through our social media accounts and this blog!

This month, we’re displaying a broadside that was distributed as an “Appeal from Boston for Aid after the Great Fire, 1794”.  In 1794, the part of downtown Boston that is currently bordered by Milk, Pearl, Purchase and Congress Streets was home to residences and a number of ropewalks (a long, narrow building where ropes are woven by hand). In the early morning of July 30, a fire broke out in one of the ropewalks and spread quickly, destroying seven ropewalks and approximately ninety other buildings (primarily houses, outbuildings, barns, and stores). The fire was so extensive that additional engines were brought in from Brookline, Cambridge, Charlestown, Milton, Roxbury, and Watertown. An account of the fire was written up in the July 31 edition of the American Apollo, a copy of which is also in the State Library’s collection. The article, titled “Horrid Fire,” describes the affected area, lists the home and business owners who lost property, and thanks the fire engines from neighboring towns that provided assistance.

On August 5, Boston Selectmen issued a broadside in response to the devastation caused by the fire, calling attention to the residents whose lives changed “in an instant, from a situation convenient and comfortable, to a state of deplorable poverty and want.” The broadside was then distributed to cities and towns throughout the state in an effort to raise funds for assistance. The copy in the State Library’s collection was sent to the selectmen of Shutesbury, along with the handwritten instruction to share it with the town, likely as an announcement during a town meeting.

Do you notice a familiar name in the broadside’s list of selectmen? Charles Bulfinch, the architect of the State House (along with other Boston landmarks and the United States Capitol), served as a selectman from 1791 to 1795 and again from 1799 to 1817. During his tenure, he greatly improved Boston’s infrastructure, commercial areas, and public buildings. Stop by the State Library, in the building that Bulfinch designed, to see this document on display through August 29.

By Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian