By Mark Hurwitz 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 […]
This Old Pew: #23 and 38 – Captain Arthur Savage & the First Lion in America
By Mark Hurwitz In 1718, Arthur Savage displayed the first exotic animal to set foot in the American colonies. He exhibited a male lion at his Brattle Street home where a hand painted sign declared, “The lion King of beasts is to be seen here.” Such a royal and commanding African animal surely would have […]
This Old Pew: #30 – The Sword Dueling Phillips Family
By Mark Hurwitz The connections between families in 18th century Boston and subsequently their connections to Old North Church are truly fascinating. Take Gillam Phillips for instance. Through his life journey, he can be connected to Cotton Mather and Peter Faneuil, AND an illegal sword duel started by his brother Henry. And yes, he attend […]
This Old Pew: #49 again – The Sounding Board
By Bernard Trubowitz Many visitors chuckle upon seeing the contents of pew 49, pointing to the large 1980s sound board and mixer that runs the church’s “modern” audio system and proclaiming “Look! The original colonial speakers!” Ironically, these visitors need only look up to find that they are nearly directly below the church’s real audio system: […]
This Old Pew: #49 – The Wells Family Connections
By Mark Hurwitz 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 […]
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