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| Gymnasium at the Normal School, Bridgewater, Massachusetts |
The exhibit runs from September 14 through December 31, 2015 and can be viewed outside of the Library, Room 341 of the State House. Library hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Massachusetts Through the Lens is now available in Flickr
The exhibit runs from September 14 through December 31, 2015 and can be viewed outside of the Library, Room 341 of the State House. Library hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
Monday, September 21, 2015
Funeral Sermons: A Useful Genealogical Resource
An often-overlooked resource for genealogists and historians, funeral sermons can provide interesting details about the lives of our ancestors. The State Library’s holdings include a number of funeral sermons and orations, the majority of which are from the 18th and early 19th centuries. During that time in history, funeral sermons were often printed and distributed to family members and other mourners as keepsakes.
Although these publications tend to be brief, they often include details that might have been omitted from an obituary, such as the personality and temperament of the deceased, family details, and information about the funeral service itself. For example, the following sermon for Mary Skinner of Colchester, CT, printed in 1746, includes eight pages of personal details about her temperament, such as, “As she had a Genius and Turn for Government beyond what is common for Persons of her Years, so she was regular and strict in ruling those under her Care.”
Another common trait of funeral sermons is the use of a mourning border, which is a heavy black border typically found on the cover or title page of a sermon and often printed on stationery used in periods of mourning. These borders are sometimes embellished with drawings, such as the skull and crossbones found in this 1765 sermon for the rector of Christ Church in Boston, the Rev. Timothy Cutler:
One of the most interesting funeral sermons in the State Library’s collection was printed in Boston in 1717. This sermon, which includes a preface by Increase Mather, was preached by his son Cotton Mather at the funeral for Wait Still Winthrop, one of the magistrates for the Salem witch trials and grandson of John Winthrop, one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The sermon includes interesting details about Winthrop’s life, such as, “This Gentleman, having furnished himself with Medical Skill, became also a Master of Medicines, which he freely gave away as well as his Counsils, unto a Great Multitude of People, who from all parts flock’d unto him.”
Whether they are used to research important historical figures or distant relatives, funeral sermons are a resource that can provide a glimpse into the personal lives of our ancestors. To find these and other sermons, search our online catalog for the phrase “funeral sermons,” or visit us at the State Library’s Special Collections Department, Room 55 in the Massachusetts State House.
Laura Schaub
Cataloging Librarian
Although these publications tend to be brief, they often include details that might have been omitted from an obituary, such as the personality and temperament of the deceased, family details, and information about the funeral service itself. For example, the following sermon for Mary Skinner of Colchester, CT, printed in 1746, includes eight pages of personal details about her temperament, such as, “As she had a Genius and Turn for Government beyond what is common for Persons of her Years, so she was regular and strict in ruling those under her Care.”
Another common trait of funeral sermons is the use of a mourning border, which is a heavy black border typically found on the cover or title page of a sermon and often printed on stationery used in periods of mourning. These borders are sometimes embellished with drawings, such as the skull and crossbones found in this 1765 sermon for the rector of Christ Church in Boston, the Rev. Timothy Cutler:
One of the most interesting funeral sermons in the State Library’s collection was printed in Boston in 1717. This sermon, which includes a preface by Increase Mather, was preached by his son Cotton Mather at the funeral for Wait Still Winthrop, one of the magistrates for the Salem witch trials and grandson of John Winthrop, one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The sermon includes interesting details about Winthrop’s life, such as, “This Gentleman, having furnished himself with Medical Skill, became also a Master of Medicines, which he freely gave away as well as his Counsils, unto a Great Multitude of People, who from all parts flock’d unto him.”
Whether they are used to research important historical figures or distant relatives, funeral sermons are a resource that can provide a glimpse into the personal lives of our ancestors. To find these and other sermons, search our online catalog for the phrase “funeral sermons,” or visit us at the State Library’s Special Collections Department, Room 55 in the Massachusetts State House.
Laura Schaub
Cataloging Librarian
Monday, September 14, 2015
New exhibition on Photograph Collections at the State Library of Massachusetts opens today
Photographs tell very different stories than the printed texts in the State Library. Opening this week at the State Library of Massachusetts is a new exhibition entitled Massachusetts Through the Lens: Photographic Collections at the State Library of Massachusetts. This exhibition features collections that hold photographs of people, places, and events in Massachusetts history, from tintypes and cartes de visite of the Civil War to snapshots from the 1970s.The exhibition runs from September 14 through December 31, 2015 and can be viewed outside of the Library, Room 341 of the State House. Library hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. This exhibition will also be available to view online as a set of images on the State Library's Flickr site.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
ArtWeek Boston at the State Library
This
fall the State Library will participate again in ArtWeek Boston, a “twice-annual 10-day collection of events
throughout the city that features unexpected and creative experiences that are
interactive or offer behind-the-scenes access to artists or the creative
process.”
Our event, a Special Collections Tour, will take place on Thursday, October 1,
from 1-2pm, in the Special Collections reading room. Visitors will see
treasures from the State Library collections that are not normally on public
view, including some of the earliest published laws of Massachusetts, a
realistic facsimile of Mayflower passenger William Bradford’s manuscript
journal Of Plimoth Plantation,
broadsides recruiting soldiers for the Civil War, photographs of
African-American soldiers, a handwritten journal by a Civil War soldier from
Massachusetts, early maps of Boston, and 19th-century birds-eye view
maps of other Massachusetts cities and towns.
Seats
are limited, and reservations are required. Participants can sign up through
the ArtWeek
Boston website, which provides a link
for reserving a seat, and directions to the Special Collections department.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
The Legal View: from Native American Nations to Territories to States at the Massachusetts State Library
The earliest origins of the State Library’s collections date back over 200 years to 1811 when a formal exchange program of law books with other U.S. States, Territories, and Native American Nations was established by the Massachusetts General Court. These legal collections expanded to a point where the State Library was formally established to house them in 1826. Over the past two centuries, the collections eventually grew to number almost 24,000 volumes and form a vast and vital part of the library’s 19th and 20th century holdings, making it one of the largest collection of state publications in existence.
While some might call these “dusty old law books” in the
era of Westlaw and Lexis legal research, the volumes collectively tell the
story of our nation’s legal foundations as a democracy, and the growth of the
individual states to create the present United States of America. The State Library’s legal collections include
such varied items as the Laws of California written in their original Spanish, the
laws of Native Indian tribes and nations (i.e. Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw,
Choctaw, Osage), some even in the original native language, and the laws of
various territories that eventually became the familiar U.S. States we recognize
today (i.e. Dakota, Illinois, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Hawaii). 
One of the most curious volumes in the collection has to
be the Laws of the Jefferson Territory,
the one and only law volume printed for the Jefferson Territory that existed
from 1859 to 1861 and encompassed a land area that would eventually become the
states of Kansas and Colorado but was never legally recognized by the United
States government. The dissolution of
the Jefferson Territory coincided with the fallout from the 1860 election of
President Abraham Lincoln that precipitated the subsequent secession of the
original seven states to form the Confederate States of America. In order to augment the number of free
states, the U.S. Congress quickly moved to admit the state of Kansas to the
Union on January 29, 1861. This action left
the remainder of the Jefferson Territory unorganized until February 21, 1861, when
it was made part of newly formed Colorado Territory, leaving its legal legacy
behind for posterity in one 303 page volume.Judy Carlstrom
Technical Services
Monday, August 31, 2015
Must-Read Books at the State Library
Given to the State Library every year by the Massachusetts Center for the Book, the Must-Read Books include notable fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children’s/young adult books that are either about Massachusetts or written by Massachusetts-based authors. This year’s books include The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant, The Map Thief by Michael Blanding, Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire, and many others.
We encourage you to stop by the library to browse this year’s Must-Read Books, which are located just inside the library’s third-floor entrance, or to request previous years’ award-winning books from our stacks. All of the Must-Read Books are available for checkout by State Library card holders and are also available to the general public via interlibrary loan.
Laura Schaub
Cataloging Librarian
Monday, August 24, 2015
Massachusetts State Budget Resources
The Massachusetts State Budget goes through a number of steps before being passed into law. In the middle of July, a number of patrons called the reference desk wondering about updates on the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget and where to find information regarding what stage it was at, how it compared to past budgets and where to find the recommendations from the Ways and Means Committees. Since the budget must go through the House, Senate, committees and Governor, and is often changed with recommendations, amendments and vetoes, it can be hard to keep track of where we fall in the budget writing cycle. Fortunately, there are a number of resources available both online and in the State Library to help you better follow and understand the General Appropriations Act of this fiscal year and those that came before it.First there is the State Budget website through The Official Website of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This site doesn’t just lead you through the current budget process but also includes links to corresponding documents and budget information going back to 2007. There is also a link to a summary break down of specific government areas from Fiscal year 2013 to the current fiscal year, allowing you to track spending within a specific subject you may be interested in like education or health care. There are also pages devoted to the budget timeline, terminology, and agencies aiding in financial oversight and management of the budget.
Another resource is the State Legislature site which has a special section devoted to the State Budget. What stands out about this site is that it breaks down the Senate and House Ways and Means recommendations going back to 2012. The full text of their budgets, amendments and conference reports are available along with final budgets and bill numbers. These bill numbers can be quite helpful as the legislature’s site also lets you search Bills as well as Acts and Resolves.
Finally, The State Library assembled a quick outline to the State Budget Process to help with your research. We have also gathered all the House 1 (the Governor’s Recommendations) going back to 1939 in one area of our main reading room. For some of our more recent years, the House and Senate Committee on Ways and Means Budget Recommendations are also available in this section. These are grouped together as ready reference for our patrons hoping to quickly look up early stages of the past budgets. For recent budgets, one of the best resources is the bill tracking service MassTrac. The State Library subscribes to MassTrac because it combines bill history, text, reports, press releases, news articles, votes, debate transcript and much more in one place so that our patrons easily have access to all this information in one place. MassTrac can be incredibly helpful to someone who is looking for all the most up to date information regarding the Budget.
If you are interested in using the library’s resources to research upcoming, current or past budgets visit our website or the Massachusetts State Library in room 341 of the State House, Monday through Friday 9-5.
Stephanie Turnbull
Reference Department
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