New Exhibit: Raising the Alarm

The State Library of Massachusetts joins the rest of the country in celebrating our 250th anniversary in 2026, and we are excited to announce that our new exhibit, Raising the Alarm: Revolutionary Broadsides at the State Library, is now open!

Boston and the surrounding area are known as the “Cradle of Liberty,” staking its claim as the birthplace of the American Revolution. And while many of the thirteen original colonies could make similar claims, the first battles and protests were waged within Massachusetts, the Sons of Liberty sprung up from its citizenry, and the first Committees of Correspondence, an integral system of communication employed during the war, were established here by Massachusetts’ own Samuel Adams.

Exhibit cases outside of the Library

Displayed chronologically, Raising the Alarm uses a selection of broadsides dating from 1773 through 1779 to interpret the Revolutionary War period in Massachusetts, providing a historical overview and examining how news was shared during the war, while also highlighting a significant primary source resource in our collection. Beginning in 2017, the State Library focused on a multi-year effort to conserve and digitize the 18th century broadsides in our collection. Recognizing the significance they hold in documenting the Revolutionary period, our Special Collections Department worked with the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, Massachusetts to treat 70 broadsides. 

Ten broadsides are featured in our exhibit, like the one shown here from April 17, 1776. In this broadside, the topic of equal representation is raised by members of the Committees of Correspondence of Salem and Marblehead who acknowledge the loosening connection with Great Britain and looked towards the growing possibility that “we may soon be obliged to take up Independency for ourselves . . . as undoubtedly a Republic or Commonwealth will be our Form of Government.”

In the final case, the broadsides are complemented by other 18th century items found in Special Collections, including newspapers, almanacs, directories, and more. The exhibit also explores the Committee of Correspondence and some of the well-known patriots in its ranks, and gives special notice to one of our most famous broadsides, the Declaration of Independence, published by Ezekiel Russell in Salem on July 17, 1776.

Raising the Alarm is on view in the display cases outside of the library (Room 341) and is available during our open hours, Monday through Friday from 9:00 to 5:00, through spring 2027.

Elizabeth Roscio, Preservation Librarian
Exhibits Working Group

First a Declaration of Independence, Then an Oath of Allegiance

This month, the country is gearing up for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To coincide with that historic milestone, we are sharing An Act for Prescribing and Establishing an Oath of Fidelity and Allegiance in our Collection Spotlight case. Visit us from June 16 through August 4 to see this item on display.

Published on February 3, 1778, this is a broadside printing of an Act that was enacted by the Council and the House of Representatives in the General Court. As the new country was establishing its independence, oaths of allegiance were commonly administered by the colonies as a means to confirm loyalty from its citizens while affirming separation from Great Britain. This act recommends the manner in which an oath of allegiance should be established and enforced within Massachusetts. It begins with these stirring words:

Whereas the King of Great-Britain hath abdicated the Government of this and the other United States of America, by putting them out of his Protection and unjustly levying War against them, and the said United States by their Representatives in General Congress assembled by a Declaration bearing the date of the fourth day of July, A.D. 1776, for the Reasons therein mentioned, solemnly declared, that the United Colonies of North-America, are and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Union between them and the State of Great-Britain is, and ought to be totally dissolved; which Declaration has been solemnly Ratified and Adopted by this State.

As this Act harkens back to the language of the Declaration of Independence, it seems a fitting broadside to display as we come upon the July 4 anniversary. The Act then goes on to describe how an oath should be administered, under what circumstances, and by whom. If an individual was presented with an oath and refused to take it, then the county’s Justice of the Peace could commit them to the county jail. Forty days after refusal, the individual would then be removed to a port within the “Dominions of the King of Great Britain, at their own expense."

The Act also includes the language of the oath, as follows:

I, A.B. do swear (or affirm as the Case may be) that I will bear true Faith and Allegiance to the State of Massachusetts-Bay, and will faithfully support and maintain and defend the same against George the Third King of Great-Britain, his Abettors and all other Enemies and Opposers whatsoever, and will discover all Plots and Conspiracies that shall come to my Knowledge against said State, or any other of the United States of America. So Help Me God.

It is interesting to note a line included at the bottom of the Act, that allows Quakers to omit the word “defend” and the phrase “So help me God” should the Oath be administered to them, as it is language that is against their religious beliefs.

We are excited to share that this broadside is part of our upcoming exhibit Raising the Alarm: Revolutionary Broadsides at the State Library, which opens on June 17 and will be on display in the cases outside of the Main Library (Room 341). Due to the nature of the cases, the exhibit utilizes facsimiles, but each month for the duration of the exhibit, one featured broadside will be on display in our Collection Spotlight case – beginning with this Act! The exhibit utilizes broadsides published from 1773 through 1779 to provide a historical overview of the Revolutionary War period in Massachusetts, while also highlighting a significant primary source resource in our collection. Stay tuned for more information about the exhibit later this month!

We would also invite you to join us for a special event on July 1 as the State Library celebrates the 250th! Come to our Main Reading Room (Room 341) between 11:00 and 1:00 to see our copy of the Declaration of Independence, printed in Salem on July 17, 1776, on display in our Collection Spotlight Case. Special Collections staff will be on hand to share the Declaration, and for this special event, all of the original broadsides featured in our new exhibit will be pulled from storage, giving visitors the rare opportunity to see them up close and imagine themselves receiving news of the Revolutionary War directly from the Boston Committee of Correspondence.

Our July 1st event is free and open to the public and we hope you join us to see these stirring documents on display as the country approaches its 250th birthday. Reach out to us at special.collections@mass.gov with any questions.


Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian

On Display: An Astronomical Diary or Almanack, 1771 and 1778

Our tradition of starting the new year off with historical almanacs on display in our Collection Spotlight case continues this year. We're featuring both the 1771 and 1778 editions of An Astronomical Diary; Or, Almanack by Nathanael Low.

These are the only two issues of Nathanael Low’s almanac in our collection, though he began publishing them in 1762 and continued into the 1800s. We are displaying our two copies closed and with facsimiles of the January pages so that we can highlight a small detail found on their respective front covers. Published leading up to and then during the Revolutionary War, 1771 is listed as "In the XIth (eleventh year) of the Reign of King George III" and then 1778 is described as "The second Year of American Independence, which began July fourth, 1776." As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence this year, it is moving to see this contemporaneous and significant change in wording.

The 1771 edition was printed and sold by Kneeland & Adams on Milk Street in Boston and the 1778 edition was printed by J. Gill on Court Street and T. & J. Fleet on Cornhill, all locations that are near the State House. On the cover of the 1771 almanac, Low lists the contents as containing information about eclipses, lunations, sun’s and moon’s risings and settings, courts in the four New-England Governments, feasts and fasts of the church, spring tides, judgement of the weather, time of high water, roads with the best stages or houses to put up at, some necessary rules with regard to health, and many other things useful and entertaining. These almanacs seem like a one-stop shop for all your needs in the 18th century! The header for each month also includes a few lines of verse from various poems, spread out over a few months. January leads off with the first few lines of “Friendship: An Ode” by Samuel Johnson. 

The 1778 edition includes much of the same practical information, but does begin with an address to the reader, on monopoly and extortion, in regard to the war that was being waged at the time of publication. While the young country was united in its feelings of patriotism and a shared enemy against the British, the essay draws a critical eye to the personal gain that some were making from the war, writing that “it is the poor chiefly that feel the calamitous effects of monopoly and extortion; tho’ it is evidence these men were never more necessary than now, never more useful, and their services were never yet of greater importance. Surely such men are worthy of some notice. They claim some attention. They deserve all possible encouragements.”

Almanacs largely included practical information or republished poems/verses from other sources, but they did also grant the author some leeway to include personal essays and anecdotes that were of interest, like the 1778 essay, which gives each almanac in our collection a slightly different slant. Nathanael Low was a physicist and astronomer who lived in Ipswich, Massachusetts before removing to South Berwick, Maine (which would have been part of Massachusetts at the time). He enlisted in the war in 1780, serving from Berwick. His home, built in 1786, is part of the South Berwick Village District, and you can read more on the Old Berwick Historical Society webpage.

January's pages from the 1771 edition (left) and 1778 (right)

Last year, these two volumes, along with other 18th and 19th century almanacs from our Special Collections holdings, were sent to the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, Massachusetts to receive conservation treatment. They were cleaned and mended and then rehoused in custom enclosures. Their original binding remains intact and they are still somewhat fragile for handling, but while at NEDCC for treatment, they were also digitized and will be added to our digital repository in the coming months, making them available for researchers to examine them remotely (and safely).

If you are in the Boston area, then be sure to visit the library from January 6 through February 3 to see these almanacs on display, and catch up on all of past almanac posts here.

Elizabeth Roscio

Preservation Librarian

New Exhibit! “From the Good People of Massachusetts,” The Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee Records, 1917-1919

We are proud to share that our new exhibit "From the Good People of Massachusetts," The Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee Records is now on view in the display cases outside the Library (Room 341). Utilizing the Relief Committee collection, the exhibit tells the story of the 1917 Halifax Explosion, the resilience of the people of Halifax, and the goodwill of the people of Massachusetts. The exhibit also highlights the conservation work that the collection received in 2023-2024 and the connection that still remains between Halifax and Massachusetts.

The State Library received the Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee Records from the Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety in March of 1921. The collection contains correspondence, reports on the Halifax disaster, and reports prepared by the Relief Committee. The collection also contains meeting minutes of the Committee’s Halifax Branch, sample documents and forms, and copies of thank you letters from Halifax residents who received aid from the Committee. Four blueprints and 79 photographs of the damage in Halifax and the subsequent reconstruction efforts round out the collection.

A glimpse into the exhibit, showing two of the six cases

On the morning of December 6, 1917, two ships, the SS Mont-Blanc and the SS Imo, collided in Halifax Harbor. The Mont-Blanc, which was carrying munitions, caught fire. This led to an explosion and subsequent tsunami that devastated the Canadian city. When news of the explosion reached Massachusetts Governor Samuel McCall, he offered the mayor of Halifax immediate and unlimited assistance. In the weeks following, the Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee was established and raised money to assist residents of Halifax who had lost their homes and all their belongings. Ultimately, the Committee raised over $500,000, furnished 1,800 homes, and raised an additional $25,000 in medical and educational funds for people blinded by the explosion.

The materials contained within the Relief Committee’s collection are profoundly moving, perhaps none more so than the letters of appreciation from Halifax residents.

You can see this very letter and so much more from the collection in the exhibit. If you visit during December, you can couple it with a visit to Boston’s official Christmas tree on the Common, a continued expression of gratitude from Nova Scotia to the people of Massachusetts. Visit during our open hours, Monday-Friday from 9:00-5:00, to check it out. This exhibit will run until June 2026.

Alyssa Persson, Processing Archivist

Exhibits Working Group

Back to School on Federal Street

September is synonymous with “Back to School” and with that comes the opportunity to share some education related materials in our Collection Spotlight case. This month, our items take us to Federal Street in Boston in 1797, where we are highlighting materials that represent two schools found on that street: Memoir of Mrs. Rowson, published in 1870 and about the founder of a girls school, and Regulations for the Government of the School in Federal Street, published in Boston in 1797. Both Mrs. Rowson’s school and the Federal School came to be not long after Massachusetts passed “An Act To Provide For The Instruction Of Youth, And For The Promotion Of Good Education” in 1789.

Schools in the 1790s would have been segregated by gender, and we know from the language of the Regulations for the Government of the School in Federal Street that this was a school for boys. The small pamphlet is only sixteen pages long and includes thirty articles adopted for the governance of the school and pupils. A notation at the end reads that at a meeting of the proprietors on September 13, 1797 the articles were voted on and adopted. You may notice that some of them are marked with an asterisks, this indicates that these articles are permanent, and do not need to be voted on again in the future. We are displaying the pamphlet open to the two pages that include Articles 3 through 8, which primarily address appropriate school behavior. It appears that the Federal School was rather strict and the students were held to a high standard! Three of the articles are transcribed below:

Article VI: That Silence be considered as an essential preliminary to the business of the day, and that no conversation be permitted in the School, but such as immediately relates to it.

 Article VII: That all kinds of social or private Amusement, during the hours appointed for Study or Instruction, be considered a transgression of the Rules.

 Article VIII*: That any Scholar who shall break a square of glass, or any of the furniture of the Academy, such as desks, benches, &c. shall be required immediately to repair it; or, in default, to pay twice the cost of such repairs.

We doubt that Articles VI and VII would be very popular with students today!

After reading through all the regulations, we tried to find additional information about the school. A search of Federal Street School or even “schools on Federal Street” did not turn up any information. A stamp on the interior pages indicates that the State Library acquired this item on December 29, 1887, so with that information we checked the section in the 1888 annual report that lists additions to the collections, in case that listing included any identifying information. Unfortunately, the annual report did not shed any light, as the pamphlets listing simply reads “School in Federal Street, Regulations for the government of the school. Bost., 1797.” It’s possible that this was a short-lived institution, or not one that was formally established. 

A school on Federal Street that we could find a reference to is Mrs. Susanna Rowson’s Academy for Young Ladies, which also dates to 1797. Susanna Rowson was born in England but immigrated to Boston at age five; she was an actress, author, playwright, and an educator and early proponent of education for females. Over the course of thirty years, she lived in Canada, England, and Philadelphia before returning to Boston 1797. It was at this time that she established the girls school on Federal Street, which was the first of its kind in Boston. We’re displaying her memoir open to the page that describes the school's first year:

On leaving the stage in the spring of 1797, Mrs. Rowson, under the patronage of Mrs. Samuel Smith, began a school in Federal street, and with but a single pupil, Mrs. Smith’s adopted daughter, continued it for one whole term. She was known in Boston only as a novel writer, as an actress – how could children be confided to her care? But the light cannot be hid; her motto was "tant que je puis," and persevering steadily, she came before the close of the scholastic year to number one hundred pupils on her daily roll; and applications were received for more than she could possibly accommodate.

The image of Susanna Rowson shown above is also found in her memoir. The school relocated to Medford and Newton before returning to Boston in 1809.

Beyond these two items, the State Library holds an impressive collection of education focused materials, in part because in its early days as a research library, it was under the care of the Board of Education. From 1849 until 1893, the Secretary of the Board of Education also served as the State Librarian. Check out the links below to read about some of the items that we’ve shared in past years, click here to read through an education timeline, and visit us from September 8 through October 7 to see these two items on display.

Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian

Historical Textbooks, 1775 through 1828

"Rules and regulations for the public schools in Quincy: also, some remarks on the due observance of the rules, addressed to parents.” Quincy School Committee, September 1, 1835

“Rules and Regulations to be observed by the Teachers of the Public Schools in Dorchester” and “Order of Exercises at the Dedication of the Building and Installation of the Teacher of the High School” Dorchester Public Schools, 1810 and 1852

Lexington and Concord - Read All About It!

You can find a variety of historical newspapers in our Special Collections holdings, including some that date to the 1700s. We are lucky that amongst those is a bound volume of The Essex Gazette from 1775. This was a pivotal year in American history, full of events that culminated in the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. The Essex Gazette was published weekly, and this month in our Collection Spotlight case, we are displaying the issue that covered news from April 18 to April 25. As you may guess based on those dates, that issue included a write-up of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which occurred on April 19, 1775 – 250 years ago this month.

Lexington and Concord were the first military battles of the Revolutionary War. British troops were ordered to make their way to Concord to destroy military supplies that colonists had stored there. However, colonial intelligence knew that this attack was in the works, and preparations were made beforehand to hide the supplies and track the route of the British troops after they left Boston. Many are familiar with the line “one if by land, two if by sea” from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem "Paul Revere’s Ride." This refers to the lanterns that were placed in Old North Church on the night of April 18, 1775, notifying the Sons of Liberty if the British were making their way to Concord by land or by sea (really, by water, aka the Charles River). Upon seeing two lanterns, the colonists knew that the British were departing Boston by taking the Charles. Paul Revere set off from Boston to head to Lexington (where patriots John Hancock and Samuel Adams were stationed) warning townspeople of the British’s eminent arrival as he moved through Somerville, Arlington, and Medford. A full account of Paul Revere’s ride can be found on the Paul Revere House’s website. Revere’s alarm had roused militiamen in towns throughout the route; a group met the British in Lexington, and more militiamen gathered in Concord. Minuteman National Park is located throughout Lincoln, Lexington, and Concord, and its website provides comprehensive information about the battles that occurred on April 19. 

A List of Those Killed or Wounded,
as printed in The Essex Gazette

Since the Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements with the British, news of this significant event needed to be disseminated throughout the colonies. One of the ways that this was achieved was through newspapers, like the article from The Essex Gazette that we are displaying this month. From the article “The Newspaper Coverage of Lexington and Concord” by Frank Luther Mott and published in the December 1944 issue of The New England Quarterly, we learned that in April 1775 there were 37 newspapers in publication throughout the colonies. Newspapers largely shared information, sometimes reprinting articles verbatim as news moved geographically. The Essex Gazette was published on April 25, 1775, less than a week after the battle. It wasn’t the first newspaper to publish an account, but it was among the first and was published within close proximity of Lexington and Concord, two factors that lead to its publisher to having the time and means to compile a significant amount of information regarding the battles. Mott’s article states that, “it is rather commonly regarded as the most satisfactory early account of the battles.” You can click on the newspaper image above to see the text in full (it is in the middle and right hand column), and we have transcribed some of the opening text here:

On Tuesday Evening a detachment from the Army, consisting, it is said, of 8 or 900 men, commanded by Lieut. Col. Smith, embarked at the Bottom of the Common in Boston, on board a number of Boats, and landed at Phip’s Farm, a little Way up Charles River, from whence they proceeded with Silence and Expedition, on their Way to Concord, about 18 Miles from Boston. The people were soon alarmed, and began to assemble, in several Towns, before Day-Light, in order to watch the Motion of the Troops. At Lexington, 6 Miles below Concord, a Company of Militia, of about 100 men, mustered near the Meeting House; the Troops came in Sight of them just before Sun-rise; and running within a few Rods of them, the Commanding Officer accosted the Militia in Words to this Effect: – “Disperse you Rebels – Damn you, throw down your Arms and disperse:” Upon which the Troops buzz'd, and immediately one or two Officers discharged their pistols, which where instantaneously followed by the firing of 4 or 5 of the soldiers, and then there seemed to be a general Discharge from the whole Body: Eight of our Men were killed, and nine wounded. In a few Minutes after this action, the Enemy renewed their March for Concord; at which place they destroyed several Carriages, Carriage Wheels, and about 20 Barrels of Flour, all belonging to the Province.

The article then goes on to describe the action in Concord, the British’s retreat to Charlestown, and a list of individuals killed, wounded, and missing. It concludes with these stirring words, “the Public must sincerely sympathize with the Friends and Relations of our deceased Brethren, who gloriously sacrificed their Lives in fighting for the Liberties of their Country. By their noble, intrepid Conduct, in helping to defeat the Forces of an ungrateful Tyrant, they have endeared their Memories to the present Generation, who will transmit their Names to Posterity with the highest Honour.” An image of the list of those killed or wounded is included above.

But who was the individual behind the publication of this early account of the battles? Printer and publisher Samuel Hall established the patriot-leaning Essex Gazette in 1768, making it the first newspaper to be published out of Salem. His brother Ebenezer was brought on board in 1771. The paper’s masthead reads “Containing the freshest advices, both foreign and domestic,” which is reflected in its content shown here. The weekly newspaper isn’t very long, only four pages, but is packed with news from Boston and Massachusetts, elsewhere in the colonies and abroad, and advertisements. Interestingly, news of Lexington and Concord isn’t found on the first page, but rather on the third. This is because news from England was most often published on the first page. Shortly after the publication of this issue, Samuel and Ebenezer moved the printing operation to Cambridge and the name changed to The New England Chronicle. Ebenezer died in 1776, but Samuel continued printing The New England Chronicle until 1781. Though our holdings of this newspaper, throughout its various name changes, are not comprehensive (December 1774 through September 1776), we are lucky that the issues that we do have provide a primary source account from such a significant period in American history.

Mark the 250th anniversary of Lexington and Concord by visiting us to see The Essex Gazette on display in our reading room and take the opportunity to read a contemporary account of the battles that started the Revolutionary War. The newspaper will be on display from April 1 through April 29, and we are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 to 5:00 with the exception of Monday, April 20, when we will be closed for Patriots Day.

Elizabeth Roscio

Preservation Librarian

Farmer's Almanacs on Display

1793 title page

For the past few years, we've begun the New Year by sharing an historical almanac from our Special Collections holdings in our Collection Spotlight case. This year, we are keeping the tradition going by sharing three volumes of the Farmer's Almanac: 1793-1799, 1800-1809, and 1810-1819. Bound in ten-year increments, these almanacs are the earliest versions of the publication now known as the Old Farmer's Almanac ("Old" was used occasionally in the 1830s, but added permanently in 1848). You may also see older issues with the alternative spelling “almanack.”

The Farmer’s Almanac began publication in 1792 and continues today, which gives it the distinction as the oldest continuously running publication in North America. It was founded by Robert Bailey Thomas, a resident of Grafton, Massachusetts. Thomas was a schoolteacher who studied astronomy as a hobby, and then transitioned to a career as a bookbinder and bookseller and aspired to produce an almanac. He did so with the publication of the Farmer’s Almanac in 1792, and he served as its editor until his death in 1846.

The 1793 almanac is the first edition of the Farmer’s Almanac, and we’re sharing its title page, which indicates that it is “fitted for the town of Boston, but will serve for any of the adjourning States.” This means that the information found within would be applicable to other surrounding states in New England, but there were other almanacs published regionally that would be relevant for other parts of the country. This almanac was published in Boston at the Apollo Press by printers Joseph Belknap and Thomas Hall, who were also the printers of the fairly short-lived newspaper, the American Apollo. The almanac was then sold at the Apollo office, and also by Robert Thomas himself. The title page gives readers an idea of what they’ll find inside, described as “containing, besides the large number of astronomical calculations and farmer’s calendar for every month of the year, as great a variety as are to be found in any other almanac, of new, useful, and entertaining matter.” We have several 18th and 19th century almanacs in our Special Collections holdings, but not all of them include a farmer’s calendar like this one does. For each month, in addition to predicted weather conditions, lunar phases and astronomical calculations, and important historical dates, there is also a notation of tasks that a farmer should be completing at a certain time. For example, January 16 is shown as “cold but pleasant,” January 17 as “Dr. [Benjamin] Franklin born in Boston, 1706,” and January 18 as “low tides” and for all three dates there is the following entry for the farmer’s calendar, “look well to your cattle, and see that they are kept clean.” There was a wealth of knowledge in the almanac to assist farmers throughout the year.

A page of miscellany, showing a new method for making butter,
rules for a long life, and "Anecdote of the Marquis de
Lafayette and an old soldier." 

In addition to the practical information described above, the Farmer’s Almanac also included interesting tidbits. Throughout the years, editions shared “recipes” to cure maladies like pimples, freckles, toothaches, and corns. Cures were not limited to people, as there were also instructions to cure a sore of any kind in horses, or a wound in sheep. But if you tired of reading about medical ailments, there were also biographical entries for historical figures and listings and descriptions of memorable occurrences throughout the years, almost like an abridged history textbook. Almanacs would also include information like locations of circuit courts, the routes of interstate roads, and academic calendars for local universities like Harvard and Dartmouth. And to add a bit of whimsy, in later years of the almanac’s publication, each month also included an illustration and either a few poetry lines that described the month or a few lines of a poem that continued from month-to-month. Also on display, and shown below, is the drawing and festive verse for January 1814, which reads “Wish you a happy new year — friends and neighbors! / I wish you a full purse, full cellars and barns, / I wish you good hearts to enjoy all your labours, / And not to neglect your immortal concerns.” The almanac was a one-stop shop for information of all kinds! 

Listing out everything that is found in almanacs would make for a lengthy blog post, so just a few sections have been mentioned. The best way to discover the variety of published content is to peruse them, and luckily, more and more are available digitally. Some in our collection are available through our digital repository (links included in the blog posts below), and we’re also in the process of conserving and digitizing even more. A selection of Farmer’s Almanacs, including the 1793 edition, can be found in the Internet Archive and HathiTrust.

If you are in the Boston area, be sure to stop by the library from January 7 through February 4 to see a few Farmer’s Almanacs on display, and check out the links below to learn more about the almanacs we’ve displayed in previous years:

Strong’s Almanack from 1796 and 1797 

The New-England Almanack from 1815 and 1818

Peter Parley's Almanac for Old and Young, 1837

Fleet's Pocket Almanack for the year of our Lord 1789: Being the First after Leap Year and the Thirteenth of American Independence

Isaiah Thomas’s New England Almanac from 1797, 1800, and 1812 

Elizabeth Roscio

Preservation Librarian

Marbled Monday at the State Library

Happy #MarbledMonday! Each Monday, libraries, archives, and personal collectors share examples of marbled pages found in their collections, and this week, we’re joining in the fun. Paper marbling is an aqueous paper design which is often found on a book’s end pages, fore edges, or covers. It has been used as book adornment for centuries, and we have many examples of it in our library collection, mostly dating to the mid-to-late 1800s. A few examples are included below:

You can search the #MarbledMonday hashtag on social media to see all sorts of beautiful examples, and learn even more in this blog post from the Carnegie Library. 

Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian

The State Library’s First Zoom Webinar—A Success!

On August 26th, from 2:00pm-3:00pm, the State Library’s Reference Department held its first ever Zoom webinar meeting to talk about collections available online through the Library that can help with legislative, regulatory, and government research.  Many government, law, and higher education libraries are still working remotely or are not yet providing onsite services to their patrons, so we thought it was important for this target audience to learn more about what resources are available through the State Library’s online repository, DSpace, as well as on our website.  

As it was our first online webinar hosted solely by Reference Department staff, we were unsure what the audience turnout would be.  We were surprised and excited to have a turnout that greatly exceeded our expectations!  (About 57 audience members!!!)  Thank you to everyone who joined us—we hope you found the webinar informative.  For those who were unable to join us, you’re in luck!  Both a recording of the webinar and the presentation slides are now available online:

Webinar recording (YouTube)
Presentation slides (downloads as a PDF)

The State Library also continues to provide remote services to patrons, so please feel free to reach out to us via chat, email (Reference.Department@mass.gov), or our online form.  We’re happy to answer any questions, help you find and navigate resources, and provide research assistance.

Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department

The Courageous Men of the 104th Infantry Regiment

Detail of Richard Andrew’s  “Decoration of the Colors of the 104th United States Infantry,”
painted in the State House in 1927.

If you’ve ever visited the Massachusetts State House, you’ll know the halls are filled with wonderful works of art.  Portraits, plaques, murals, and sculptures throughout the building all pay homage to notable people and events in Massachusetts history.

A large mural on the third floor features a group of WWI era soldiers standing with two flags.   The men are from the 104th infantry regiment of the 26th “Yankee” Division, and in this painted scene they become the first American military unit to have its colors (flag) decorated by a foreign government.

French corps commander General Fenelon Passaga awarded the decoration for the unit’s exceptional bravery during the Battle of Apremont on April 20, 1918.  “I am proud to decorate the flag of a regiment which has shown such fortitude and courage,” he said.  “I am proud to decorate the flag of a nation which has come to aid in the fight for liberty.”
 

Almost 10 years after the decoration ceremony, a reenactment was held at Camp Devens in  Ayer, Massachusetts. 
This photograph of the scene served as inspiration for the mural.



Julian T. Martin of Company L,
104th Infantry Regiment.

The State Library of Massachusetts is proud to own a collection of over 8,000 portraits of World War I soldiers from the Yankee Division, including many men from the 104th infantry.  Part of the collection was recently uploaded to our digital repository, and anyone can browse the online collection for soldiers with last names from O to Z.  Click here to see the DSpace collection of World War I photographs, or visit the State Library’s Special Collections department to request to see photographs in person.   The Library also has many materials on the history of the Yankee Division, including select regimental histories, newsletters, newspaper clippings, calendars of record, and more.

The mural of the 104th Infantry Regiment is located on the third floor between the Senate Leader and Senate Clerk’s offices, opposite the entrance to the House of Representatives.  The State Library is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday.
 




Bianca Hezekiah
Reference Department

Treasures of the State Library for August, 2012: Massachusetts Legislators as Authors

Members of the Massachusetts legislature, known as the General Court, come to office from many professions- lawyering, insurance, social work, retail, teaching, policing, academia, manufacturing and farming just to name a few. Over the course of their careers, many also become authors of books which find a place in the world of politics and government. For many years, the State Library has requested that Legislators leaving office consider donating their papers to the State Library. The books and personal papers become part of the State Library's collections. 

Former Senate Minority Leader John Parker, from Taunton, relished writing about “legislative life” and about his long career in the Senate which ranged from 1953 until 1990. His The Fun and Laughter of Politics is full of chapters with enticing names such as “The Constituents always Write” and “The Country Needs Me.” The State Library also has his papers collection number is Ms. Coll. 35.

For another perspective on legislative life, one might wish to read former Representative from Framingham Barbara Gray’s book A Woman’s Ways and Means (her papers collection number Ms. Coll. 114).

Her tales about her role through twenty-four years in the Massachusetts House, have engaging chapter titles such as “What’s A Nice Girl Like You Doing in Politics?” and “Lost in the State House.” Representative Gray served from January 1973 through January 1997.

Massachusetts legislators are often known as experts on public policy. One recent example is former Representative John E. McDonough of Boston who served in the House from January of 1985 until December 1st 1997 when he resigned to join the Institute for Health Policy at Brandeis University. Representative McDonough played a major role in the formation of the Massachusetts Health Care Law signed in 2006 and has been touted as influential in the development of the federal Affordable Care Act.

In Experiencing Politics: A Legislator’s Stories of Government and Health Care, published in 2000, the author focuses on “Agendas and Children’s Health Care,” but also on issues such as “landlord and tenant” and “fiscal crisis.” His papers can are also available collection number is Ms. Coll. 101.

These are, of course, just three examples of a plethora of members who are published. And, it so happens that the State Library not only owns these three legislators’ books, but has also been fortunate to have garnered the legislative papers of all three. The manuscript collections, located in the Special Collections Department, are of great value to researchers.


Pamela W. Schofield
Legislative Reference Librarian
State Library of Massachusetts

World War One Soldier Portraits Now in Dspace

A portion of our World War I photograph collection has finally made its way online! Digitization of over 8,000 soldier portraits begun in 2007 and was finally completed last summer. After careful review of files and metadata, 1,800 images were recently uploaded to the State Library’s digital repository.

Now patrons are able to browse photographs of members of the 26th “Yankee” Division who were based at Camp Devens (now Fort Devens) in Ayer, Massachusetts. Many soldiers have more than one image in their record because of material written on the reverse side of their portrait. Valuable information like hometown, address, promotion, and even names of family members may appear here, so make sure to click “show full item record” to check for more files and a transcription of the text.

Click here to browse photographs of soldiers with names beginning with S – Z, and stay tuned for more notices about future uploads!

Bianca Hezekiah
Reference Department

Remembering Black Heroes from the First World War

How much do you know about black servicemen? Buffalo Soldiers of World War II are often the first that come to mind, having been immortalized many times over in song, television, and film. In addition, with the recent release of the movie “Red Tails,” many people have learned about the Tuskegee Airmen and their significant accomplishments, but what about black soldiers before the Second World War? Few know of the Harlem Hellfighters, and still fewer know of the Blue Helmets. These brave regiments fought alongside the French in World War I because their American comrades had refused to do so. At a time when “colored” soldiers were always in separate units and rarely got the proper respect they deserved, these men were doubly courageous for their steadfast resolve whilst fighting two wars… the harder of which was amongst their countrymen.

Massachusetts’ Company L, Sixth Infantry was part of the National Guard, and the only black company to come out of the Commonwealth. As part of the 372d Regiment within the 93d Division, it was one of many companies that made up the entire “colored” division- between ten and fifteen thousand men. Originally the 93d Division was to fight under General John J. Pershing, but after pressure from France to provide U.S. assistance, Pershing decided to send the black troops to serve in the French Army.

Unlike the U.S. command, General Mariano Goybet and the French did not discriminate and were more than happy to have reinforcements. New York’s “Harlem Hellfighters” were the first of the 93d to reach France. They were soon joined by the “Black Devils” of Illinois and parts of the 92d “Buffalo Soldier” Division. Eventually the entire 93d would be nicknamed “The Blue Helmets” because of the blue Adrian combat helmets worn by the French Army.

Finally able to engage in combat instead of being relegated to labor-exclusive pioneer infantrymen, the men thrived. The efforts of the Americans were so extraordinary, over 500 awards and decorations were distributed by the French alone. The men of the 372d received a unit award of the Croix de Guerre with Palm (along with a second nickname, “The Bloody Hands”), many men received the Distinguished Service Cross, and Clarence Van Allen from Boston’s Company L even received the Médaille Militaire, which is one of France’s highest military honors.

When Company L returned to Boston they were given a parade, celebrated as heroes, and received formal recognition for the military honors that had been awarded at home and abroad. Evidently the pomp and circumstance was short lived, since so few people today remember their unique story. As we celebrate Black History Month, let’s remember not only the men of Company L, but all of the black men who served in the First World War at a time when equality was considered a luxury.

The above photograph of Company L is part of a collection of over 40 group photographs of units from Camp Devens. If you are searching for information on an ancestor from Massachusetts who served in World War I, visit the State Library’s Special Collections Department to check our database of soldier photos, or read even more about World War I in the Boston Globe by way of our microfilm collection.

Bianca Hezekiah
Program Coordinator, Reference Department

World War I Scanning Project Completed

As part of a long-term State Library project to make as many collections as possible available to the public through the web, we have been at work since late 2007 digitizing a collection of World War I portraits given to the State Library by the Boston Globe in 1935. With over 8,000 photographs and three times as many corresponding biographical cards, we have also created a database that includes basic information about each soldier – assignment, rank, merit awards, and sometimes even extra facts from newspaper clippings.

On July 20, scanning was finally completed—8,487 New England soldiers yielded over 11,000 images! The final photograph is of J.W. Zwinge, member of the 101^st Field Artillery, Battery A. Although the last photo scan suggests the end of an era, the database will continue to grow with over 25,000 biographical cards that have yet to be added. In addition, over the coming months these images will be added to our digital repository. To view a selection of photos from the collection, please visit the State Library's Flickr page.