Posts Tagged ‘1800s’
Debate Over Fugitive Slave Act Raises Questions of “Lawful Authority”
By Beth Folsom, 2026 On April 5, 1851, the Cambridge Chronicle reported that “an alleged fugitive named Robert Symmes was arrested in Boston on a warrant from Geo. T. Curtis, Esq., U.S. Commissioner. Symmes is alleged to be the slave of James Potter, of Chatham County, Ga.” In his struggle against arrest, Symmes allegedly “inflicted…
Read MoreMarch 26: Pricked and Painted: Tattooing in the 19th Century
Thursday, March 26, 20266-7:30 pmLongfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MAFreeSpace is limited; please register! Can’t make the event in person? Watch the livestream! Pricked and Painted: Tattooing in the 19th Century How prevalent were tattoos in the 1800s, how widespread were they, and who had them? Charles Longfellow, the…
Read More“The Absolute Majority of the Population”: Women in Twentieth-Century Cambridge
This article was originally published as a chapter in Cambridge in the Twentieth Century, edited by Daphne Abeel, Cambridge Historical Society, 2007. Inspired by Cambridge Historical Society’s 2020 theme—Who are Cambridge Women?—the author, Eva Moseley, has reviewed the manuscript and made a few updates which are noted in the text that follows. “The Absolute Majority…
Read MoreThe Huron Avenue Area: Development of a Streetcar Suburb
By Charles M. Sullivan, 2007 Huron Avenue is one of the newest neighborhoods in Cambridge, but it is intimately connected with one of the oldest. It is the sole example of the classic 19th century streetcar suburb in Cambridge, and owes its existence to another neighborhood’s rejection of that mode of transportation. The development of…
Read MoreSome Aspects of the East Cambridge Story
By John W. Wood, 1956 “This paper gives a totally inadequate account of an appealingly picturesque and colorful neighborhood, the area that might have been a slum and isn’t, the step-child of the University City. “ – J. W. W. For some reason, the local history of East Cambridge has been almost completely neglected. It…
Read MoreBull Curtis Papers, 1830-1910
Administrative Information Biographical Sketch Sources Scope and Content Note Series Description and Folder Listing View items from the Bull Curtis Papers on Flickr 6 file boxes Processor: Zinaida Tsemel 2.5 linear feet Date: November 2002 Updated: November 2008 Acquisition: The Bull Curtis Papers were donated between 1986-1988 to the Cambridge Historical Society by Sylvea Bull…
Read MoreThe Bee Records, 1861–1934
Administrative Information Historical Sketch Sources Related Collections Scope and Content Note Library of Congress Subject Headings Container List 2 ½ Boxes Processor: Mark Vassar 2 linear feet Date: September 2003 View photos of this collection on Flickr Acquisition: Donated 4 January 1934 by Alice C. Allyn on behalf of the surviving members of the Bee.…
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