May 6, 7:30 PM at Antiquarian
Hall, 185 Salisbury Street, Worcester, MA
This program based upon
the newly published book entitled,
Friends of Liberty: Thomas Jefferson,
Thaddeus Kosciuszko, and Agrippa Hull. A Tale of Three Patriots, Two
Revolutions, and a Tragic Betrayal of Freedom in the New Nation
(Basic Books, 2008). In it the authors will describe the relationship
between Kosciuszko (1746 - 1817) and his black aide de camp and
Massachusetts native, Agrippa Hull. Kosciuszko rose to the rank of
Brigadier General in the American Continental Army before returning to
his native Poland and becoming a national hero, general, and leader of
the Kosciuszko Uprising in 1794. As completely different as these two
men were, their lives and that of Jefferson intersected with the issues
of freedom, race and identity on both sides of the Atlantic during the
Revolutionary era.
Graham Russell Gao Hodges is George Dorland Langdon, Jr. Professor of
History at Colgate University. He is the author of seven books including
Root & Branch: African Americans in New York and East Jersey, 1613-1863.
Gary B. Nash is professor of history emeritus at UCLA and Director of
the National Center for History in the Schools. He is the author of many
books on colonial and revolutionary America; past president of the
Organization of American Historians; and elected member of the American
Philosophical Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and
American Antiquarian Society More about AAS public programs
Location: Antiquarian Hall, 185 Salisbury Street, Worcester, MA
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Wednesday, May 7,
5:30 p.m.
Library Talk
Rhode Island Historical
Society Library, 121 Hope Street, Providence
Free Admission, To
R.S.V.P.: Lee Teverow, (401) 273-8107 x10 or
lteverow@rihs.org
Bringing
the War Home: Stereoscopic Views of Conflict from the 19th
Century
Rhode Island Historical
Society Executive Director Bernard Fishman completes his series of
illustrated talks, using stereoviews
from his own collection, with a presentation on the imagery of war as
seen through the popular stereoscopic format. From the Crimean War of
the 1850s through the Spanish-American War at the end of the century,
and including views of the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian
War, we will see what Americans of those times saw of these conflicts
through their parlor stereoscopes. This illustrated talk will last
about an hour.
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Thursday, May 15,
6:30 p.m.
Gallery Night
John Brown House
Museum, 52 Power Street, Providence
Free Admission, To
R.S.V.P.: Dalila Goulart, (401) 331-8575 x45 or
programs@rihs.org
If
These Walls Could Talk… The John Brown House in their Absence
Tonight, experience a
truly artistic Gallery Night at the John Brown House Museum.
Katherine Mangiardi, a Masters of Fine
Arts student at RISD, has been working on
an art installation and other pieces which
reference and play with both the space and history of the house.
Her work is homage to the women, specifically
Abigail Brown, affiliated
with the Brown family in the late 18th century. Mangiardi
explains that her “work brings a feeling of an intense female life to
the upstairs bedroom of the John Brown House, where Abigail’s wedding
reception was held in 1788. Various excerpts from women’s letters about
Abigail and Abigail’s own diary are juxtaposed with different pieces to
create a feeling of feminine introspection and quiet grace. My own
history attempts to fill in the blanks where voids in information about
these women exist. I invite the viewer to do the same.”
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Saturday, May 17, 1:00
p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Rhode Island Historical Society
Library
121 Hope Street,
Providence. For more information: Lee
Teverow, (401) 273-8107 x10 or
lteverow@rihs.org
Open
House at the RIHS Library!
The doors of the RIHS
Library will be open to one and all for a look at our newly painted
Reading Room and lobby. Take the opportunity to browse the Library’s
broad range of materials reflecting the people and history of Rhode
Island. The Library is open for research Wednesday through Friday from
10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the second Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to
5 p.m.
************************************
Historian Erik
Eckilson to Bring to Life the Neighborhoods of Woonsocket
at May 18 Meeting of
the Blackstone Valley Historical Society
LINCOLN - Globe, Bernon, Social and Fairmount are among the
neighborhoods that make up the City of Woonsocket. Erik Eckilson, a
Woonsocket historian, will present a talk on the evolution of these
unique neighborhoods of Woonsocket to the Blackstone Valley
Historical Society Sunday, May 18. His emphasis will be on the
original six mill villages and their present status. Other
neighborhoods such as Cato Hill, the North End and the East
Woonsocket area also will be discussed.
The meeting will be held in North Gate, the Society’s home at 1873
Old Louisquisset Pike (Route 246) at 2:15 p.m. The session will be
held in the downstairs, handicap accessible, hall. The program is
free and open to the public.
According to
Eckilson, “While Woonsocket is well known as a manufacturing center,
it also has a number of very historic residential
neighborhoods.” There are fine examples of company-built housing
along Lincoln Street in the Globe District and Farm Street in the
North End. Cato Hill is a unique example of a mid-nineteenth century
working class neighborhood. And along opposite ends of the City -
South Main Street and Harris Avenue - Woonsocket’s affluent
merchants and manufactures built stately homes on beautifully
landscaped lots. Eckilson claims that Woonsocket’s North End is one
finest early 20th century residential subdivisions in the state –
rivaled only by Providence’s East Side.
Prior to the program, at 1:30 p.m., the Society will hold its annual
meeting and election of officers. Nominated for positions are: Pat
Armitage, president; Albert Klyberg, vice president; Gail Harris,
secretary; Peter Moreau, treasurer; and Jim Bethel, Jason Dionne and
Stacy Harris, members-at-large.
Members of the Blackstone Valley Historical Society are interested
in the history and antiquities of the northern Rhode Island
communities of Pawtucket,
Central Falls, Lincoln, Cumberland, North Smithfield and Woonsocket.
New members are welcome.
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Thursday, May 22,
6:00 p.m.
Exhibit Opening,
Aldrich House, 110
Benevolent Street, Providence
Free Admission, To
R.S.V.P.: Dalila Goulart, (401) 331-8575 x45 or
programs@rihs.org
“Prepared
to Do My Whole Duty”: Elisha Hunt
Rhodes in War and Peace.
As part of the 200th
anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, please join us at the Rhode
Island Historical Society’s Aldrich House for the Providence opening of
the exhibit “Prepared to Do My Whole
Duty”: Elisha Hunt Rhodes in War and Peace.” Rhodes enlisted
at the age of 19 in the RI 2nd
volunteers during the Civil War, and rose through the ranks
to achieve colonel status. The exhibit features excerpts from his
diaries and letters detailing his personal experiences, as well as
objects illustrating his life of service during and after the war. Doors
will open at 6:00 p.m. with remarks beginning at 6:30 p.m. We are
delighted to welcome Civil War expert and author of
War’s Relentless Hand: Twelve Tales of
Civil War Soldiers, Mark
Dunkelman, as our lecturer this evening. Please stay
afterwards to view the exhibit and enjoy refreshments.
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At the Providence Public Library …
For more information:
Tonia Mason, Marketing & Communications
Director, 401-455-8090,
www.provlib.org or
www.thelibraryonline.org
“Benjamin
Franklin: In Search of a Better World” traveling exhibition
Schedule of Events:
Martha Elena Rojas –
“Imprinting the New United States:
Benjamin Franklin’s Seals and Medals”
Monday, May 12,
6:30
pm – Providence
Public Library, 150 Empire Street, 455-8000
Book
Discussion/Signing –
The Americanization of Benjamin
Franklin, by Gordon Wood
Monday, May 19, 6:00 pm –
Providence Public Library, 150 Empire Street, 455-8000
Book discussion will be led by a Providence
Public Library librarian. Professor Gordon Wood will attend the book
discussion to answer questions and be available for book signing.
Family Kite Making Day
Sunday, May 18, 1:30 and 3:00
pm
– Providence Public Library,
150 Empire Street, 455-8025
Local
kite-maker Tom Casselman will lead two kite-making programs for
families. Workshops are free; registration required. Call
455-8025 to register. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
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Founded in 1822, the Rhode Island Historical Society is the nation’s
fourth oldest state historical society and is today the steward of tens
of thousands of books, manuscripts, prints, photographs, paintings,
artifacts, and other historical materials. The Society maintains its
research library and John Brown House Museum in Providence and operates
the Museum of Work & Culture in Woonsocket. The Society’s ongoing
public and educational programming includes publication of the
historical journal
Rhode Island History
and the presentation of exhibitions,
lectures, workshops, and tours. www.rihs.org
