Category: American Revolution
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The People in the Pews: John Hooton, Jr.
John Hooton, Jr., owner of pew #17, was born September 4, 1754 in Boston. He served as Junior Warden of Christ Church (Old North) in 1770-71 and as Senior Warden in 1772, following in the footsteps of his father, John Hooton, Sr., who served as Junior Warden in 1732-34 and Senior Warden in 1735. John…
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99% Sure | Ep 5: The Curious Case of General Gage
Welcome to Episode 5 of “99% Sure”, a video series where we take a deeper dive into the history, people, and events that made Old North the legendary historic site you know and love. Tune in every other week as Old North’s Education Manager and intrepid public historian T.J. Todd explores some of our most…
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99% Sure | Ep 2: Interpreting Longfellow’s “Paul Revere’s Ride”
Welcome to Episode 2 of “99% Sure”, a video series where we take a deeper dive into the history, people, and events that made Old North the legendary historic site you know and love. Tune in every other week as Old North’s Education Manager and intrepid public historian T.J. Todd explores some of our most…
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Old North’s Mini Courses: #1 – a Crash Course in the American Revolution
Has it been awhile since your high school history classes? Have you been watching too many historically inaccurate movies or TV shows? Or maybe you’re just looking for some old-fashioned intellectual stimulation? Then look no further than Old North’s Mini Courses! Each month we will offer a new mini-course on a variety of topics for all…
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New Video Series | 99% Sure: Who Held the Lanterns in the Steeple of Old North?
We’re excited to launch today a new web series, “99% Sure” all about the history, people, and events that made Old North the legendary historic site you know and love. Tune in every other week as Old North’s Education Manager and intrepid public historian T.J. Todd explores some of our most frequently asked questions and shares…
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Q&A With Christian DI Spigna | Founding Martyr
Q&A with Christian Di Spigna, author of Founding Martyr: The Life and Death of Dr. Joseph Warren, The American Revolution’s Lost Hero Q&A with Christian Di Spigna, author of Founding Martyr: The Life and Death of Dr. Joseph Warren, The American Revolution’s Lost Hero Old North Church & Historic Site will be hosting a Speaker Series and…
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The Occupation of 1768 and the Threat to Boston
Regulars of the British army occupied Boston in 1768 ostensibly to enforce the Townshend Acts, passed the previous year by Parliament, and to protect those Royal officials tasked with the collection of revenue. The occupation presented a multi-faceted set of threats to the order of Bostonians’ lives: the occupiers threatened economic livelihoods, physical safety, social…
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The Messenger | The Mechanicks of Boston and the American Revolution
On New Years Day of 1762 or ’63, young apprentice shoemaker George Robert Twelves Hewes called upon the gentleman John Hancock at his residence. Hewes’s master had instructed him to exchange well wishes for the coming year. Hewes, the man who would be made famous when he was “rediscovered” in the 1830s as being perhaps…
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Keeping Order in the North End: On Patrol with the Night Watch
In July 1765, Constable Isaac Townsend sat quietly at the door of his watch house, listening to sounds of Boston’s North End. Just after twelve PM, Townsend recalled hearing “somthing noisey.” A group of rowdy young men passed, disrupting the stillness of the warm evening. Townsend, moving from his post as sentry, approached the group.…
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Longfellow, Anglo-Saxons, and Paul Revere
Twenty-two years before he wrote “Paul Revere’s Ride,” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned an article for the July 1838 issue of The North American Review. [i] Nothing would indicate that this piece was particularly special: the index simply lists a review of several publications pertaining to Anglo-Saxon literature, a dictionary included; most items were five or more years old; the…