Historic New England

Peter Banner, Architect, Moves from New Haven to Boston

Around 1805, architect Peter Banner moved to Boston from New Haven, Conn. It was a mysterious move, as sudden and strange as his departure from New York to New Haven about 7 years earlier. But during his time in Boston, he left his mark, designing churches and meetinghouses in the area. Elmer D. Kei...

Date: 1967

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169763

Ref. Code: SC001.1967.057.207.001

An Unrecorded Portland Engraver

The discovery of an engraving by David G. Johnson sheds new light on his career. A portrait painter and engraver working in New York from 1831-35 and 1843-45, a work by Johnson depicting the Portland Nautical Society reveals that before residing in New York, Johnson worked for a few years in Portlan...

Date: 1967

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169764

Ref. Code: SC001.1967.057.207.002

Short and Simple Annals

In a deposition taken in 1823 - reprinted here - Hannah Shaw talks about the journey she took with her husband from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts and the trouble they ran into in Sunderland, Mass.

Date: 1967

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169765

Ref. Code: SC001.1967.057.207.003

Memoir of my life & character written by my own hand & completed January 10 1843

Born on June 25, 1774, in Barnstable, Mass., Joseph Hilliard wrote his memoir right before his death in 1843. He looks back at his life, from his childhood to the time of the writing of this memoir, as well as commenting on his perseverance in religion and his views on death, judgement and eternity.

Date: 1967

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169766

Ref. Code: SC001.1967.058.209.001

John Davenport's Rock

Did Rev. John Davenport carve his initials into a rock in Weston, Mass., during an outing in 1639? A call for any readers to submit information to solve this historical mystery.

Date: 1967

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169767

Ref. Code: SC001.1967.058.209.002

A Mark Upon the Land : The Life and Work of Charles D. Lawrence, A Mid-Nineteenth-Century Fairfield, Maine, Builder

Charles D. Lawrence made his mark on the land with the simple white farmhouses that comprise Fairfield Center. The houses, now more than a century old, seem to belong there, like they grew out of the ground. But with the discovery of Lawrence's architectural designs, the thought process that went in...

Date: 1967

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169768

Ref. Code: SC001.1967.058.210.001

The Brick Trade in Early Haverhill, Part 1

While it is a commonly held belief that bricks were brought to America from England, three 18th-century brick houses in Haverhill, Mass., indicate that an early brick industry existed in Essex County before 1800. But who were the craftsmen who made the bricks? What was the nature of their trade? Joh...

Date: 1967

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169769

Ref. Code: SC001.1967.058.210.002

Parris' Perusal

Architect and engineer Alexander Parris' buildings have always been appreciated, but what about his personal library; not how it was constructed, but what books it contained. What or who influenced Parris' designs? This article looks at the books Parris owned, examining his sources and how they insp...

Date: 1967

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169770

Ref. Code: SC001.1967.058.210.003

A Study in Early Boston Portrait Attributions : Augustine Clement, Painter-Stainer of Reading, Berkshire, and Massachusetts Bay

It has been the subject of much debate as to who could rightfully claim the title of Father of American Painting. Research shows that the title could belong to Augustine Clement. Clement, who emigrated to New England in 1635, was certainly the only Painter-Stainer in the Massachusetts Bay colony. Si...

Date: 1968

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169771

Ref. Code: SC001.1968.058.211.001

The Rediscovery of Milk-Based House Paints and the Myth of "Brickdust and Buttermilk" Paints

Reports of paints in colonial America being made of brickdust and buttermilk solution are common but untrue. Where did this myth come from? It seems to derive from a common misunderstanding of terminology. This article looks at how this misunderstanding arose.

Date: 1968

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169772

Ref. Code: SC001.1968.058.211.002

Pewter Communion Service of the Rocky Hill Meetinghouse

A close look at the remains of the pewter communion service from the Rocky Hill Meetinghouse of Amesbury, Mass.

Date: 1968

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169773

Ref. Code: SC001.1968.058.211.003

Notes and Miscellania

Notes and Miscellania" illustrates an unusually well-documented heirloom tea service, purchased in Paris, and the original letter of transmittal.

Date: 1968

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169774

Ref. Code: SC001.1968.058.211.004

Comparison of the Blackstone and Middlesex Canals

The Middlesex Canal began operation in 1803, while the Blackstone Canal began 25 years later. Both provided alternate trade routes for merchants and both ran into trouble trying to "stay afloat." Each canal's construction was an arduous task, taking huge sums of money and manpower. Brunton Dixon exa...

Date: 1968

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169775

Ref. Code: SC001.1968.058.212.001

Progress Report from the Cambridge Historical Commision

An update on a Cambridge Historical Commission project established in 1963. A unique architectural history that was unrivaled in scope in this country, the survey undertook "to conduct a survey of Cambridge buildings for the purpose of determining those of historic significance architecturally or ot...

Date: 1968

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169776

Ref. Code: SC001.1968.058.212.002

Local History in Legal Records

Legal records provide the historian with boundless resources for unlocking the past. The problem with the records is that they are sometimes obscure and require the reader to master new techniques. But Juliette Tomlinson argues that the reward of this hard work is bringing to light material that has...

Date: 1968

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169777

Ref. Code: SC001.1968.058.212.003

Notes and Queries

The accompanying picture to this article, taken from a daguerreotype dated around 1850, is shrouded in mystery. What exactly is it (an air compressor?) and who are the men pictured with it that seem to take great pride in the object?

Date: 1968

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169778

Ref. Code: SC001.1968.058.212.004

Editorial Postscript

A further look at American Cookery, which was written about in more detail in Vol. 57, No. 2.

Date: 1968

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169779

Ref. Code: SC001.1968.058.212.005

Early Buildings of the Asylum at Charlestown, 1795-1846 : Now McLean Hospital for the Mentally Ill, Belmont, Massachusetts

One of Charles Bulfinch's first designs for a private residence, the gracious brick mansion in Charlestown became the administration building for an asylum. Nina Fletcher Little examines the work done by Bulfinch for the Asylum at Charlestown, which was originally the home of Joseph Barrell, a wealt...

Date: 1968

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169780

Ref. Code: SC001.1968.059.214.001

Arthur Cushman Haskell : New England Architectural Photographer

Abbott Lowell Cummings profiles photographer Arthur Cushman Haskell, whose photograph collection SPNEA acquired in 1968.

Date: 1968

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169781

Ref. Code: SC001.1968.059.214.002

Nathaniel Fuller, Stonecutter of Plympton, Massachusetts

Born on Nov., 14, 1687, Nathaniel Fuller was a carver of traditional slate gravestones. Over 300 examples of his work remain standing in old burying grounds throughout Plymouth and Barnstable counties, a number that may represent half of his actual output. In this article, Peter Benes examines Fulle...

Date: 1969

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169782

Ref. Code: SC001.1969.060.217.001

A Documentary History of Plymouth Colony Architecture, 1620-1700

This survey of first-period architecture of the Plymouth Colony area emphasizes the major characteristics of form and construction as an index to the early culture of the region.

Date: 1969

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169783

Ref. Code: SC001.1969.060.218.001

In Search of Cahoone, the 1790 Diary of John Francis

John Francis was a shrewd businessman who, with John Brown, was part owner of Hope Furnace, an iron-smelting operation. In September 1790, Francis made a journey to Winchester, N.H., to find Daniel Cahoone, the "New Furnace" smelting operator. A portion of Francis' diary, which records the journey, ...

Date: 1969

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169784

Ref. Code: SC001.1969.060.218.002

Architectural Projects in the Greek Revival Style by Ammi B. Young

In 1847, four years after designing the State Capitol in Montpelier, Vt., Ammi Burnham Young won a competition for the Customhouse in Boston. Lawrence Wodehouse takes a look at how Young used the Greek Revival style in his work with the Customhouse and his designs for the expansion of the Capitol Bu...

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169785

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.060.219.001

Robert Salmon's Boston Patrons

Artist Robert Salmon's records reveal that almost all of his customers were engaged in Boston's prosperity as a seaport. These records provide a detailed documentation of Boston collectors in the first half of the 19th century, what they collected and how much they paid. John Wilmerding takes a look...

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169786

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.060.219.002

The Orcutt & Crafts Pottery in Portland, Maine

M. Lelyn Branin looks at the first stoneware pottery of Maine, that of Martin Crafts, who moved from Whately, Mass., to Portland in 1833 or 1834. His move to Portland and partnership with Eleazer Orcutt began what developed into one of the major industries of Portland in the latter part of the 19th ...

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169787

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.060.219.003

The First Harrison Gray Otis House in Boston : A Study in Pictoral Evidence

A picture showing the first Harrison Gray Otis House in the distance provides new insight about the building's façade. Abbott Lowell Cummings examines the changing face of SPNEA's headquarters.

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169788

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.060.219.004

Editorial Preface

To mark the 60th anniversary of Old-Time New England, this issue is devoted to a single subject: the startling and virtually unchronicled development of sawmills in 17th-century New England to cope in both commercial and utilitarian terms with the abundance of timber.

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169789

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.060.220.001

Mill Sawing in Seventeenth-Century Massachusetts

The General Court of Massachusetts Bay Company awarded the first patent for a sawmill in America to Joseph Jenkins of Saugus, Mass., on May 6, 1646. So began a prosperous enterprise, a practical way to support the young colonies. Benno M. Forman follows the development of mill sawing in 17th-century...

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169790

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.060.220.002

Merchant and Millwright : The Water Powered Sawmills of the Piscataqua

The early development of water-powered sawmills in southern Maine and New Hampshire raises questions of English familiarity with power milling technology, while the interest of merchants in northern New England sawmills suggest the economic importance of lumbering in the region. This article traces ...

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169791

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.060.220.003

Sixty Years of Historic Preservation : The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities

In this article, Edward P. Alexander traces the history of preservation in America, specifically that of SPNEA, founded by William Sumner Appleton in 1910. Alexander reflects on the past 60 years of the organization, celebrating its role in the preservation of some of New England's finest antiquitie...

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169792

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.061.221.001

The Past Decade

Between 1960 and 1970, SPNEA enjoyed unprecedented growth. Abbott Lowell Cummings, director of SPNEA, reviews the events that have shaped and defined the organization over that decade.

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169793

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.061.221.002

Pompeii and New England : The Archaeology of Early American Murals

According to the author, only two peoples have been known to have applied painted decoration deliberately and consistently to the walls of their ordinary dwellings: the ancient Romans and 18th- and 19th-century New Englanders. Robert L. McGrath compares the art of murals in the homes of Romans and N...

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169794

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.061.222.001

Books of the Pilgrims, As Recorded in their Inventories and Preserved in Pilgrim Hall

Rose T. Briggs reviews the intellectual life of the Pilgrims by focusing on their books, which were recorded in 21 inventories filed between 1633 and 1640 with the General Court of Plymouth County. Some of these books are preserved Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Mass.

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169795

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.061.222.002

Ammi Burnham Young and the Gilmanton Theological Seminary

The Gilmanton Theological Seminary's career was short-lived, and its principal building, Seminary Hall, has long since been razed. The hall, with its simple, pleasant Greek Revival design, was recently definitely determined to be the work of Ammi Burnham Young. This article traces the history of Sem...

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169796

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.061.222.003

A Vermont Country Wedding in 1858

Ellen Lyon Wright attended her sister Sylvia's wedding in Colchester, Vt., on June 8, 1858. The letter printed here was written by Ellen to her brother John, who lived in California, on June 25, 1858.

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169797

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.061.222.004

The Kiss of Death Story

In weaving, it used to be that shuttles were reloaded by the weaver drawing the thread through the shuttle's hole with his breath. Tuberculosis outbreaks soon made a new method necessary. Horatio Rogers, M.D., takes a look back at the "Kiss of Death" shuttle.

Date: 1970

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169798

Ref. Code: SC001.1970.061.222.005

Materials in Early New England

When settlers first arrived in the New World, they were greeted with seemingly boundless resources. Timber and stone provided these settlers with materials to successfully start new settlements. Marian Card Donnelly reviews the building materials which colonists found and their initial response to t...

Date: 1971

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169799

Ref. Code: SC001.1971.061.224.001

The Winslow Pottery in Portland, Maine

In 1882, the Portland Stone Ware Company was renamed Winslow & Company. That name has survived to present time, even with all of the changes within the business since. M. Lelyn Branin takes a look at the Winslow Pottery in Portland, Maine, and explores its history.

Date: 1971

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169800

Ref. Code: SC001.1971.061.224.002

Portland, Maine, Engravers of the 1820s (Part II)

The work of engravers in Portland, Maine, in the 1820s mirrored a society that regarded engraving as a trade rather than an art. The engravings are respectably done, but none of the engravers of this period stayed long in Portland, probably because of financial problems. This article explores the li...

Date: 1971

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169801

Ref. Code: SC001.1971.061.224.003

Newburyport and a New Kind of Urban Renewal

Rehabilitation of Newburyport, Mass., provided the citizens with a unique downtown business district; one with "the flavor and nostalgia of the past, but with the conveniences of today." This article takes a look at Newburyport and how funds were raised for this new kind of urban renewal.

Date: 1971

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169802

Ref. Code: SC001.1971.061.224.004

What Is An Historic House Museum?

In excerpts from a speech given on April 24, 1971, George L. Wrenn III discusses how preservation serves to educate the public in its past in order to better understand its present and future.

Date: 1971

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169803

Ref. Code: SC001.1971.062.225.001

The Restoration of Original Paints at Otis House

Standards of accuracy when dealing with the restoration of old paints are fairly low; there just hasn't been much research on the subject. Morgan Phillips and Christopher Whitney discuss how SPNEA tried to restore the original paints of the first Harrison Gray Otis House in Boston.

Date: 1971

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169804

Ref. Code: SC001.1971.062.225.002

The Pendleton-Moore Shop : Lithographic Artists in Boston, 1825-1840

Because of new printing processes between 1825 and 1850, printed pictures flooded the market and found their way into American homes. During this time, lithography entered general use. David Tatham explores the pioneering Boston lithographic printing firm, the Pendleton-Moore Shop.

Date: 1971

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169805

Ref. Code: SC001.1971.062.226.001

Seven Utopias of Mid-Nineteenth Century New England (Part I)

This article, the first installment of a larger piece, looks at two spiritual communities of mid-19th-century New England: Brook Farm and Hopedale.

Date: 1971

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169806

Ref. Code: SC001.1971.062.226.002

Thomas Rundle, Housewright

Not much is known about Thomas Rundle, a housewright who was born around 1779. Richard Radis examines what is known about this man and his contributions to early American architecture.

Date: 1971

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169807

Ref. Code: SC001.1971.062.226.003

Hammatt Billings, Artist and Architect

Charles Howland Hammatt Billings was a versatile artist and architect who was commissioned to create designs for a pyrotechnic display on Boston Common, a Pilgrim monument, a theater and a clubhouse, among others. But many of Billings' accomplishments have gone unrecognized. With more research, argu...

Date: 1972

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169808

Ref. Code: SC001.1972.062.227.001

The Musical Puritans

Other than psalm singing, did the Puritans of New England take part in musical activities? There is a clear division of thought on the subject. Barbara Lambert, keeper of musical instruments at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, weighs in on the matter.

Date: 1972

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169809

Ref. Code: SC001.1972.062.227.002

Seven Utopias of Mid-Nineteenth Century New England (Part II)

In the second installment in an investigation of spiritual communities in mid-19th-century New England, this article focuses on the Northampton Association, Fruitlands, the Putney Corporation, Wallingford and the Come-Outers.

Date: 1972

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169810

Ref. Code: SC001.1972.062.227.003

Special Province House Issue : Editorial Preface

The last remains of Boston's celebrated Province House were demolished in May, 1922. In this special issue of Old-Time New England, five articles examine one of the most ambitious houses erected in 17th-century New England.

Date: 1972

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169811

Ref. Code: SC001.1972.062.228.001

The Province House, 1922

William Sumner Appleton recounts what he found in the Province House before it was torn down in 1922. The demolition revealed amazing characteristics of the house, such as its chimneys and brickwork.

Date: 1972

Collection: Old-Time New England

GUSN: 169812

Ref. Code: SC001.1972.062.228.002

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