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“So many Birds of several different species, all singing, chattering, whistling, fluttering, flying, hopping, leaping, on the ground, in the Air, and on the Trees, was a very pleasant Amuzement to me. It is very pleasant to see and hear the flocks of Birds, at their first Appearance in the Spring.” – Diary of John Adams, volume 1, 14 March 1759
Bracelet made of gold beads from necklace of Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman

This bracelet, consisting of a double strand of gold beads with an etched clasp, was made by the novelist Catharine Maria Sedgwick from a necklace belonging to Elizabeth Freeman, also known as “Mumbet.” An enslaved woman in her youth and early middle age, Freeman successfully sued for her freedom in 1781 and set the legal precedent for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts. After her win in court, Mumbet chose to work for her lawyer, Thomas Sedgwick, becoming “Madam Bet” to “her fellow servants, out of respect to her capability and character,” and “Mumbet” to the Sedgwick children, to whom she was a nurse. Mumbet gave her necklace to Catharine on her deathbed in 1829; her affectionate nickname is engraved on the clasp. See a miniature portrait of Mumbet wearing her necklace. 

On Tuesday 9 March, at 5:15 PM, Joyce Chaplin, Harvard University, presents Climate in Words & Numbers: How Early Americans Recorded Weather in Almanacs.

As we begin to consider climate as an everyday problem, it’s valuable to see how people did that in the past. With support from the Guggenheim Foundation, Joyce Chaplin is compiling and analyzing a database of manuscript notes about weather in early American almanacs,1646-1821, out of 10,578 almanacs from nine different archives or libraries. Her talk focuses on how people recorded the weather in numbers (including degrees Fahrenheit) and in words, ranging from “dull” to “elegant!” These notations are significant as records of a period of climate change, the Little Ice Age, also as records of how people made sense of and coped with that climatic disruption.

The Environmental History seminar invites you to join the conversation. **This session does not have a pre-circulated paper. Register for this online Seminar.
Redlining: From Slavery to $8 in 400 Years

On Thursday 11 March, at 6:00 PM, Lew Finfer, Massachusetts Community Action Network, and Stephen Gray, Harvard Graduate School of Design, present Redlining: From Slavery to $8 in 400 Years, with moderator Adrian Walker, Boston Globe. This is the first program in the Confronting Racial Injustice Series.

In 2015, the Boston Federal Reserve found the median net worth for Black families in Boston was $8, in stark contrast to $250,000 for white families. This discrepancy is largely driven by the gap in home ownership. Join community activists and urban planners as they discuss Boston’s history of redlining and discriminatory housing policies, the complicity of the banks and the real estate industry, and the consequent legacy of segregation and racial wealth disparity. We will also identify some specific actions we can take to address the inequities in home ownership. Register for this online program.

On Tuesday, 16 March, at 5:30 PM, Cynthia Van Zandt, University of New Hampshire, presents Women of the Underground: Political Repression, Kinship Networks, & the Transatlantic Resistance to Restoration Politics with comment by Adrian Weimer, Providence College.

On Wednesday, 17 March, at 12:00 PM, join us for our Visionary Circle Virtual Launch Event.

On Thursday, 18 March, at 5:30 PM, Lori Rogers-Stokes presents Heroic Souls: Records of Trial from Thomas Shepard’s Church in Cambridge, 1638–1649.

On Wednesday, 24 March, at 5:30 PM, Robert Krim presents From Revolution to Pandemic: What Makes Boston One of the World’s Top Innovation Centers? in conversation with Scott Kirsner.

On Thursday, 25 March, at 5:15 PM, Neilesh Bose, University of Victoria, and Helen R. Deese, Caroline Healey Dall Editor, MHS, present Marriage of Minds or Boston Divorce? The Lives & Good Works of Caroline Healey Dall & Rev. Charles Henry Appleton Dall on Two Continents with moderator Megan Marshall, Emerson College.

On Tuesday, 30 March, at 5:15 PM, Samuel Backer, Johns Hopkins University, presents The Parlor & the Public: Tin Pan Alley & the Birth of Manhattan Mass Culture with comment by Jeffrey Melnick, University of Massachusetts Boston

Visit www.masshist.org/events for more information and to register for programs.
Interested in Viewing Past Programs?
If you missed a program or would like to revisit the material presented, please visit www.masshist.org/video or our YouTube channel. A selection of past programs is just a click away.
Share Your COVID-19 Experience(s)

The MHS invites you to contribute your COVID-19 experience(s) to our collection. Record your experiences on a daily, weekly, or intermittent basis. You can contribute your thoughts and images online. Visit our COVID-19 web display to learn more and to share your thoughts. Or you can keep a journal and donate it to the MHS. Contact collections@masshist.org for more information.  
 
Thank you to everyone who has shared so far. If you have not yet done so or would like to contribute again, please visit www.masshist.org/projects/covid/index.php. You can also read what others have shared.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are core giving opportunities?
A: Bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts or unitrusts, and life insurance policies.

Q: How can I support the MHS with a planned gift?
A: The MHS welcomes many types of planned gifts. We can help you decide which is best for you based on your goals. 

Q: How can I get started?
A: Contact Maureen Nguyen at mnguyen@masshist.org or 617-549-6318.
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