Now Available Online: Legislative Photograph Collection

We at the State Library are excited to announce that our photograph collection of members of the Massachusetts legislature, also known as Photograph 361, has been made available through our DSpace electronic documents repository.

This collection is a priceless historical, genealogical, and legislative resource that provides visual documentation of over 3400 individuals who served in the Massachusetts General Court from 1855 up to 1908. These photographs, many of which cannot be found elsewhere, wonderfully supplement resources such as the biennially-published Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and help paint a more complete picture of the history of the General Court.

This project would not have been possible without the folks at the Boston Public Library’s digitization lab, as well as the support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

For more information about our legislative photograph collection, please contact our library’s Special Collections Department at 617-727-2595.

Kaitlin Connolly

Reference Department

Unidentified Legislative Photographs: The Mysteries Continue!

A few months ago, I shared an interesting photographic mystery that piqued our curiosity: the seated picture of a woman from our bound 1869 Senate photograph album.  We at the State Library wondered—who was she?  What relationship did she have with the legislature in 1869?  Was she an important figure in Massachusetts history?  Unfortunately, we haven’t come any closer to an answer, but these questions did engender many spirited attempts to uncover her identity—and we have had a lot of fun throughout the process.

However, she is just the beginning of many more mysteries surrounding identity.  While most of the legislators and officers in our legislative photograph collection (known also as Photograph 361) have been successfully identified, there are about 70 photographs that still remain otherwise.  In an effort to attach names to these faces, as well as involve the public in this fun project, we have made all of the unidentified photographs available for viewing on our State Library Flickr account.

If you recognize any of these past members of the Massachusetts General Court, or have strong suspicions that you might know who one or more of them are, let us know by contacting the State Library at reference.department@state.ma.us. 

Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department

 

 

A Photographic Mystery: An Anonymous Picture of a Woman in the 1869 Senate Album

Sometimes a little mystery makes a project all the more interesting! In a recent blog entry, I reported on our newly digitized legislative photograph collection and some of the characteristics I observed. Since then, I have been working ardently on creating and fixing metadata that will be attached to each photograph. Although the project is moving along pretty smoothly, some snags are to be expected—namely trying to identify unidentified legislators, officers of the court, and other images included within the collection. I’ve been largely successful with the bound Senate albums, relying greatly on the relationship between the order of the pictures in the album and the senators’ seating arrangements found in the Manuals of the General Court, but I am finding that the loose photographs are incredibly difficult to identify.

One image in particular pleasantly surprised me: our Senate album for the year 1869 concludes with a final picture of an anonymous woman. Keep in mind, the first female Massachusetts legislator did not serve until 1923 (also see our updated list of women in the Mass. Legislature), so this is a bit of a head-scratcher. Who was she? Was she the widow of an important Massachusetts legislator? Women’s suffrage continued to be an active cause during this time period—could she have been making waves in the legislature? Was she an officer for the Senate? Her picture comes at the end of the album where the officers were typically located. Nevertheless, officers and appointees of the General Court in the 19th century were, like legislators, exclusively men; it wasn’t until the early 20th century that we begin to see women appointed to positions such as cashiers and stenographers. Unfortunately, the 1869 Manual of the General Court, as well as the Journal of the Senate for that year, provide no helpful information on who she was and the role she played.

If you recognize the woman in this picture, or have strong suspicions that you might know who she is, please contact the State Library at reference.department@state.ma.us.

Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department

State Library Legislative Photograph Collection

Thanks to the hard working folks at the Boston Public Library, our large collection of legislative photographs has finally been digitized! The collection, which spans inclusively from 1855 up to 1908, is comprised of various formats of loose photographs, as well as bound legislative portrait albums depicting members of the Massachusetts General Court during their years served. Also digitized are the versos of photographs when necessary, which provide important identifying information and, in many cases, the name of the photography studio.

As mentioned in our previous blog post, which details our efforts to produce a comprehensive database based on our legislative biographical file, our goal is to make all of these images electronically accessible to the public in the near future. The photographs will compliment images already available in our digitized collection of “Bird Books” and Souvenirs of Massachusetts Legislators, as well as fill in some of the years that are not currently available.

While browsing through the photographs, one thing I found interesting was that many images (as evidenced on those from the 1855 Senate) were signed by their respective legislators and have various handwritten messages such as “With great respect”, “Yours in love”, “Fraternally yours”, and “Receive my considerations”. Also notable in this collection is a wonderful early image of John James Smith (1825-1906), a native Virginian, entrepreneur, and African American legislator who was elected to serve Boston in 1868, three years after the conclusion of the Civil War.

In addition to the services provided by the BPL, the project was supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. For more information about our legislative photograph collection, please contact our library’s Special Collections Dept. at 617-727-2595.

Kaitlin Connolly

Library Technician, Reference Dept.

In the Works! An Electronic Legislative Biographical Database

Here at the State Library, we receive numerous requests for information regarding past and current Massachusetts legislators. In addition to our “Bird Books”, one great resource that we’ve provided for over one hundred years is our Legislative Biographical File, which is located behind the library’s reference desk on the 3rd floor.


This collection contains well over 20,000 index cards, alphabetically indexed by last name, with legislative biographical information that spans over 300 years—beginning from as early as the 18th century. Information provided on both the front and back of each card contains the legislator’s first and last names, and, if known, his or her middle name or initial, birth and death dates, birthplace and place of death, place(s) of residence, date(s) in which the individual served in the House or Senate, party affiliation, occupation, and education; other information that sometimes appears includes date of baptism, further details concerning a legislator’s death, and the location in which the legislator is buried.



This collection of biographical materials would not exist if it had not been for Caleb Tillinghast, Massachusetts’ first State Librarian. Tillinghast (b. 1843-d. 1909) was deeply interested in genealogy, and was driven by his passion to compile biographical information about all of the Massachusetts legislators. In his efforts to retrieve this information, he estimated that he had sent out more than 75,000 letters and questionnaires total; much of these manuscript materials, upon which our Legislative Biographical file is based, can be located in our Special Collections. For more information on Caleb Tillinghast, please visit our blog entry, which discusses his life and contributions he made during the span of his career: http://mastatelibrary.blogspot.com/2011/04/sculpted-to-inspire-caleb-tillinghast.html

As part of the State Library’s reference department, I am currently in the final stages compiling this legislative biographical information into a database for in-house use. It is our hope in the near future to convert the database to one that is electronically accessible for library users through our DSpace repository. Every index card in the collection has been digitized, and it is our ultimate plan to link searchable metadata to each card image, as well as link digitized images from our legislative photograph collection.

This huge endeavor, though, has not been without a few bumps along the way. Some of the cards provide inconsistent, ambiguous, or even incorrect information that has snagged the process, and further research has not always proven successful in untangling questions that arise. In addition, many cards provide decidedly little or no information other than the legislator’s name. City and town names, as well as municipalities, have changed over the years, so information on locations and naming conventions has been an issue during the compiling process, as well.

If you’re doing research or have general questions about a specific Massachusetts legislator, please come by Room 341 of the State Library. In addition, you can contact us by phone at 617-727-2590, or through our Ask a Librarian online form at:
http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/oversight-agencies/lib/ask-a-librarian.html

Library hours are: 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Friday

Kaitlin Connolly
Library Technician, Reference Department

A Celebration of Facial Hair in the Legislature

Anyone who has been on a library tour I've given in the last four years will know that one of my favorite library collections is Photograph 361, which contains approximately 3,000 images of state legislators from 1855 through 1908. While my love for old photographs plays a part in my devotion to this collection, the anthropological study of facial hair trends presented in this collection is really the draw for me.

Changes in facial hair styles have a long history, and until recently were primarily guided by the ruling monarch or clergy, some even specifying in law or edict which class of men should shave and which should grow their beards. The last true heyday of facial hair in the United States occurred in the last half of the 19th century when, heavily influenced by European trends, men grew all styles of moustaches, sideburns and beards. In fact, from Abraham Lincoln's presidency (1861 - 1865) through Grover Cleveland's second term (1893 - 1897) only one President lacked some form of facial hair: the clean-shaven Andrew Johnson.

Members of the Massachusetts legislature did not escape these trends. For example, in the 1880 House of Representatives photograph album, 230 of the 244 representatives pictured wear some sort of facial hair! The diversity of styles worn is truly amazing and I highly recommend visiting the Special Collections department to look through these albums.

As shaving technology advanced (led by Massachusetts-based King C. Gillette) beards began to fall out of fashion. By the early 1900s a safety razor with disposable blade made it easier, safer and less expensive for men to shave regularly. The impact of this technology can be seen in the 1915 volume of Who's Who in State Politics. When facial hair is present, it is predominantly relegated to a well-trimmed moustache. Very dapper, but quite the contrast to the free-wheelin' 1880s styles.

Today there is a resurgence of men growing full and intricate moustaches and beards. With the second annual National Championships of Beard Team USA set for this weekend in Lancaster, Pennsylvania I thought it appropriate to comb our digital collection for a few fine examples of beards and moustaches from the past. Please click over to the State Library's newest Flickr set, "A Celebration of Facial Hair Trends in the Legislature" to see some amazing styles and learn a bit about the men who wore them so elegantly.

- Lacy Stoneburner, Preservation Librarian

Photographs of Legislators

Did you know that the State Library has a collection of over 3,200 photographs of legislators?

The earliest photographs are from 1855 and the collection continues into the early 1900s. The photographs range in size from tiny tin type to oversize collages. All are housed in the climate-controlled library vault and are available for the public to view in the Special Collections department.

The collection is currently being digitized by a library intern and once complete, the images will be posted in the library's digital repository, DSpace. At left is one of the digitized images - Charles Dillingham (1821-1902). Mr. Dillingham was in the state Senate in 1861 and 1862, then in the state House of Representatives in 1886 and 1887, representing Sandwich during those periods. As you can see at the bottom of the image, this photograph was taken during his tenure in the Senate.

Images of legislators can also be found in several publications that the library has already digitized and are available online. Each book is listed on the Public Officers of the Commonwealth page of the library's web site. Click on any year and the digital version will open through the Internet Archive web site.

- Lacy Crews Stoneburner, Preservation Librarian

Profiles of Legislators

The State Library has a Legislative Biography file with information on legislators going back to the 1700's on 3 x 5 index cards. Over the decades staff recorded data about each person serving in the General Court. Recently someone called the State Library and asked for information on Captain John Bayley from Maine. Maine was part of Massachusetts until March 15, 1820. The information I found on Capt. John Bayley's card is:

Massachusetts House of Representatives: 1791.

Birthplace and date: Weymouth, Feb. 2, 1737; son of Rev. James and Sarah Bayley

Occupation: Farmer and soldier

Death place and date: Woolwich, ME on July 29, 1813

This card file is currently being digitized for the Library's electronic collection.

Other biographical sources are the Official Gazette for the years 1885 through 1890, the Souvenir of Massachusetts Legislators covering 1893 through 1917, and the Bird Book (a series of volumes published under various titles) for 1908 to the present. All contain brief profiles. Photographs of individuals began appearing in 1908. These items are accessible through the Library's digital collections.

Naomi Allen, Reference Librarian

Cambridge Women in Politics

The Library is pleased to announce the opening of another new exhibit, Cambridge Women in Politics, which will run September 21 to December 18 at Cambridge City Hall.

The exhibit is located along the staircase on the first and second floors and highlights five prominent Cantabrigian women who have played important roles in the city's political life. Current Mayor E. Denise Simmons, current State Representative Martha "Marty" Walz, current State Representative Alice Wolf, former Mayor Barbara Ackermann, and former Mayor Sheila Russell are all featured. Cambridge Women in Politics is a precursor to Massachusetts Women in Politics, the State Library's Winter 2010 exhibit produced in collaboration with the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators.

Cambridge Women in Politics is presented by the State Library of Massachusetts in collaboration with the Office of Mayor E. Denise Simmons and the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators.

Cambridge City Hall
795 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
Monday 8:30am - 8pm
Tuesday - Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 12pm

- Lacy Crews Stoneburner, Preservation Librarian

New Exhibit Now Open

African Americans in the Massachusetts Legislature: A History

January 30 - May 15, 2009

An exhibit documenting the lives and contributions of noteworthy people who have served the General Court of the Commonwealth and changed Massachusetts history.

Please visit the exhibit hall located outside the State Library, room 341 of the Massachusetts State House.

-Lacy Crews, Preservation Librarian

Massachusetts Legislators Information

The Massachusetts General Court (State Legislature) begins its next biennial session next week. State senators and representatives will be sworn in on Wednesday, January 7^th

The General Court's website should have a directory of the new legislators by next week. In the meantime, the library has paper copies listing the members of the legislature who recently were elected.

Election results are available on the Secretary of State’s webpage for the 2008 Return of Votes for the Massachusetts State Election. Organized by district, this details the candidates and vote totals for state and federal races and for statewide ballot questions.