Category: American Revolution
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Mercy Otis Warren: The First Lady of the American Revolution
Editor’s Note: In celebration of Women’s History Month, Old North is highlighting influential women in both modern day and historic Massachusetts. This post is a short bio on Mercy Otis Warren, an influential writer and historian of the American Revolution. Mercy Otis Warren was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts to a prominent family on September 28th,…
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An Unknown Tea Party: York, Me – September 15th, 1774
Last week, December 16th marked the 243rd anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, one of the most remembered acts of resistance against British tyranny in the years before the American Revolution. Highly regarded today, this protest garnered the attention of other patriots throughout the colonies and inspired numerous other “tea parties.” Tea was one of the most…
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The People in the Pews: Owen Richards
In the spring of 1768, John Hancock’s vessel, the Lydia, pulled into Boston Harbor after a transatlantic voyage. Suspected of smuggling tea and other cargo, the vessel became a target for two customs officials, Owen Richards and Robert Jackson. When the captain of the vessel informed John Hancock of their arrival, he instructed the captain to…
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On This Day in Old North’s History: October 7
It isn’t often that we can know exactly what someone was thinking on a specific date back in 1775, but today is one of those rare days. It was exactly 241 years ago today that former Old North Reverend Dr. Mather Byles put quill to paper and noted his frustration with the church’s parishioners. It…
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The People in the Pews: The Wells Family
With all the marrying, death, remarrying, job switching, and political positioning that occurred in the 18th century, it’s no surprise how interconnected a small town like Boston was. Captain Francis Wells, who owned pew #49 and attended Old North Church with his family in the mid-1700s, serves as an example of someone with diverse professional experience…
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Bon Voyage, Rev. Byles
On March 17, 1776, the Rev. Mather Byles, Jr. second rector of the Old North Church, sailed from Boston to New Brunswick, accompanied by the remaining Anglican clergy in Boston, all British troops, and many British loyalists. Byles served as rector as Christ Church in the City of Boston from 1768 until April 18, 1775.…
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The People in the Pews: Francis Shaw
Francis Shaw, who owned Pew #16 in the eighteenth century, was the great-great-grandfather of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Francis Shaw was born in Boston on March 29th, 1721. He attended Old North Church in the mid-eighteenth century, serving as a Junior Warden from 1760-62 and as a Senior Warden from 1763-66. In November of 1744,…
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The People in the Pews: The Vassalls
Major Leonard Vassall, the owner of pews #10 and 11, was born in Jamaica in 1678. Before he moved to Boston in the early 1720s, he owned several large sugar plantations with enslaved labor in his native Jamaica. He was a staunch Episcopalian, became a member of Old North, and was elected warden in 1727.…
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The People in the Pews: Capt. Daniel Malcolm
Capt. Daniel Malcolm was born in Boston in the 1720s. He lived on Fleet Street and attended the Old North Church. He served as a Junior Warden and owned two pews, #4 and #25, during his lifetime. He had a reputation for being a smuggler by British authorities. On Sept. 24, 1766, Deputy Collector of…