Category: People of Old North
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Police & Protests: Italian Immigrants and North End Buildings That Remain
Walking through Boston’s North End, it’s hard to ignore the beautiful brick tenement buildings that line the crowded streets. Built during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these buildings housed many of Boston’s Jewish, Portuguese, and Italian immigrants. They are not famous landmarks like the Old North Church or the Paul Revere House, but…
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The People in the Pews: Matilda Bibbey, the First Woman of the Vestry
In the rear of the church, there is a modest plaque honoring Matilda F. Bibbey. It is the only plaque in Old North solely dedicated to a woman. Matilda Frances Bibbey was born in the North End in 1868. Her mother, like many other North End residents at the time, was an Irish migrant. Her…
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Boston’s Smallpox Epidemic: 18th C. Quarantine and Inoculation
Boston in the early 1720s was a town in the midst of an epidemic. Brought to Boston on a ship from the carribean in early 1721, the disease referred to as Smallpox had swept through the town. By 1722 over half of the city’s populace of 11,000 had fallen ill to Smallpox Boston in the…
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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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The People in the Pews: Capt. Newark Jackson
The number of mariners among the early pew owners of Old North provides an indication of the importance of sea trade as well as its potential for generating wealth in pre-Revolutionary Boston. One such man was Captain Newark Jackson, who owned Pew #13 from 1738 until 1743. The historical record reveals a man who engaged…
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Announcing the Retirement of the Rev. Stephen T. Ayres
With much affection and gratitude for his service, Old North Church & Historic Site shares the news that The Rev. Stephen Ayres will retire as Vicar and Executive Director at the end of 2019. Vicar Ayres has served Old North Church for over twenty years, first answering the call to lead the church as Vicar…
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The People in the Pews: Gertrude Bibbey
Have you heard someone say, “Perhaps I’ll quit my desk job, buy a small farm in the country, and spend my days tending to chickens, gardening, and baking pies”? According to NPR and the Washington Post, this is a twenty-first-century phenomenon: twenty and thirty-something millennials seeking out organic, sustainable food and escaping exorbitant housing costs.…
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1st Michigan Colonial Fife and Drum Corps
Every year for the past three decades, the annual Lantern Ceremony at the Old North Church & Historic Site has begun with a musical kick-off courtesy of the 1st Michigan Colonial Fife and Drum Corps. This unique and dedicated group of musicians perform colonial music using instruments made with 18th-century techniques while wearing period-accurate uniforms. The…
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The Women of Old North Church
Happy International Women’s Day! Here at Old North, women from all different backgrounds play important roles on our campus, as educators on the church floor, gift shop employees, staff in the Old North Foundation offices, and leaders in the congregation. Although the women of Old North today are celebrated for their contributions to our site…
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Presidential Visits To the Old North Church
Happy President’s Day! Did you know that in the 295 years that Old North has been around, we’ve been visited by multiple presidents of the United States? 1. James Monroe Our very first presidential visitor was James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States. In 1817, the first year of his presidency, Monroe completed a…