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December 2021
Researching Civil War Ancestors
The American Civil War was a defining moment for our young country, changing its trajectory forever. Nearly 3 million Americans served, resulting in approximately 750,000 casualties: everyone living in America at that time was affected in some way by the events of 1861 to 1865 and its long aftermath. Whether your ancestor wore blue or grey, this three-week online course led by Chief Genealogist and military history expert, David Allen Lambert will explore the records, resources, and strategies for tracing…
Find out more »A Look Back at Winter 1621
This program is supported by a grant from the Bridge Street Fund, a special initiative of Mass Humanities. 2021 marks the anniversary of the famous event known as the First Thanksgiving. As the year progresses join Plimoth Patuxet Museums’ Deputy Executive Director and Chief Historian, Richard Pickering, in a series of Lunch & Learn lectures as he chronicles the Pilgrims' first year in New England. This month's focus will be Winter 1621. Not long after the First Thanksgiving the Fortune…
Find out more »Julie Flavell with The Howe Dynasty: The Untold Story of a Military Family and the Women Behind Britain’s Wars for America
Many historians have documented the lives and exploits of Howe men including Richard Admiral Lord Howe and his younger brother British General Sir William Howe, victor in the Battle of Bunker Hill. But few have measured the influence of the Howe women including sister Caroline Howe, a friend of Benjamin Franklin, and her savvy aunt Mary Herbert Countess Pembroke. Drawn from letters and correspondence, The Howe Dynasty sheds new light one of one of England’s most famous military families and…
Find out more »Photo Scanning Days
Bring in your photos taken in the Taunton area (people, events, landmarks, holidays, and more) and let us scan them for our digital collection. We'll give you back the originals and your images will become a part of OCHM’s photographic record of our community.
Find out more »M is for Museum story time
M is for Museum is the OCHM’s initiative to encourage early literacy in our future historians! Books will be middle-elementary level with stations for coloring and Legos and fidget boxes available. Families of all ages are welcome! Drop by the Museum or watch from home on Facebook Live!
Find out more »New England on Parade Exhibit Virtual Tour
New England has a rich history of parades and community celebrations, from muster days and Fourth of July festivities to temperance parades and Decoration Day commemorations. Join us for a virtual exploration of Old Sturbridge Village’s exhibition “New England on Parade” and learn more about the many different functions parades served in our region’s history.
Find out more »William Lloyd Garrison Lecture
The William Lloyd Garrison lecture is on December 10 at 7 PM at Old South Church on 29 Federal Street, Newburyport. The lecture is supported by the Newburyport Daily News, The Massachusetts Humanities Bridge Street fund, and the Newburyport Preservation Trust. This important event addresses themes first proposed by Garrison, and relates them to modern issues (especially around diversity, race, gender, and inclusion). In our inaugural lecture in 2020,author Kate Clifford Larson discussed the relationship between Harriet Tubman and Garrison…
Find out more »A Salem Witch: The Trial, Execution and Exoneration of Rebecca Nurse
Meet the Author, Dan Gagnon. "Dan has written a highly readable and first scholarly biography of Rebecca Nurse . . . Meticulously researched, Gagnon’s account traces Nurse and her family through their New World settlement; the dramatic events of her accusation, trial, and final execution; and her legacy. Gagnon makes the complex history of the Salem witch trials more easily understood, while at the same time giving us a very good read." – Richard Trask, author of The Devil Hath…
Find out more »February 2022
Frederick Douglass Community Reading
On February 6, 2022, the Salem Athenaeum will host a public reading of Frederick Douglass’s speech, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July.” Douglass first gave this speech, perhaps his most famous, in Rochester, New York on July 5, 1852. As an acclaimed abolitionist orator and agent for The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, Douglass gave speeches across the North and Midwest United States, including in Salem. While public readings of this speech are often conducted on or around the Fourth…
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