The Rhode Island Historical Society is a privately endowed membership organization, founded in 1822, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the history of Rhode Island . Its offices are located in Providence, Rhode Island .
17-582: Founded in 1822, the Society is the fourth oldest state historical society in the United States (after the Massachusetts Historical Society , New-York Historical Society , and Maine Historical Society ). The Rhode Island Historical Society was founded and funded by many of Providence's early Yankee philanthropists, including Moses Brown and Henry J. Steere . In 1854 the "Southern Cabinet" of
34-572: A Representative of Boston in the Massachusetts General Court , 1781–1794; as a State Senator , 1801 and 1802; Secretary of the Commonwealth , 1808 and 1809; and was a founder of the Massachusetts Historical Society , whose first meeting was held on January 24, 1791, in his house on Court Street , Boston. The Tudors' summer estate in Lynn (now Nahant ), Massachusetts, was accumulated over
51-529: Is a major historical archive specializing in early American , Massachusetts , and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Boston , Massachusetts, and is the oldest historical society in the United States. The society's building was constructed in 1899 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. In 2016,
68-502: The Boston Landmarks Commission designated it a Boston Landmark . The society was founded on January 24, 1791, by Reverend Jeremy Belknap to collect, preserve, and document items of American history. He and the nine other founding members donated family papers, books, and artifacts to the society to form its initial collection. Its first manuscript was published in 1792, becoming the first historical society publication in
85-783: The Tudor Ice Company and became Boston's "Ice King", shipping ice to the tropics from many local sources of fresh water including Walden Pond , Fresh Pond , and Spy Pond in Arlington, Massachusetts . Tudor received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1769, studied law in the office of John Adams , was admitted to the Massachusetts Bay Colony Bar, July 27, 1772, and became outstanding in his profession. He joined George Washington 's army in Cambridge where he provided legal advice to Washington and, on July 29, 1775,
102-554: The Massachusetts Historical Society are elected and serve as the society's legal governing body. Notable fellows include: Notes Bibliography Further reading William Tudor William Tudor (March 28, 1750 – July 8, 1819) was an American politician, military officer and lawyer from Boston . His eldest son William became a leading literary figure in Boston. Another son, Frederic , founded
119-820: The Newell D. Goff Center for Education and Public Programs, the Society offers a variety of educational programs including workshops, lectures, films, and walking tours of Providence. In recent years the Society has been very active in teacher-training programs seeking to improve the quality of history teaching in Rhode Island. The Society also presents exhibits, films, concerts, and many other community activities and programs. The Society publishes its journal Rhode Island History in either two or three issues annually covering various aspects of Rhode Island history from pre-colonial to recent. The Society’s most noteworthy recent advances include its first on-line collection access catalog and
136-678: The Rhode Island Historical Society became reorganized as the Newport Historical Society . As of October 2022, the organization’s executive director is C. Morgan Grefe, Ph.D., and the board chair is Robert H. Sloan, Jr. The Society has the largest and most important historical Rhode Island collection within its main library and two museums. The Society's collections include some 25,000 objects, 5,000 manuscripts, 100,000 books and printed items, 400,000 photographs and maps, and 9 million feet of motion-picture film. Through
153-591: The United States. The society incorporated in 1794; signatories included William Baylies , Jeremy Belknap , Alden Bradford , Peleg Coffin , Manasseh Cutler , John Davis, Daniel Davis, Aaron Dexter, John Eliot, Nathaniel Freeman , James Freeman , Thaddeus Mason Harris , Isaac Lothrop, George Richards Minot, John Mellen Jr., Thomas Pemberton, William Dandridge Peck , John Prince, Ezekiel Price, James Sullivan , David Sewall , Peter Thacher , William Tudor , Samuel Turell, Dudley Atkins Tyng, James Winthrop , Thomas Wallcut, Redford Webster , and William Wetmore. Indeed,
170-663: The attic of Faneuil Hall ; afterwards rooms were occupied in Hamilton Place, and then in Franklin Street . In 1833 ... quarters on Tremont Street were occupied" in the building of the Provident bank through the 1890s. The society's current building in the Back Bay was built in 1899; it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965 in recognition of the society's distinctive contribution to historic preservation. Today
187-600: The course of 25 years. In August 1787, Tudor bought the first 6 acres (24,000 m ) of farmland plus 31 acres (130,000 m ) of woodland. In May 1788, his father John Tudor purchased 3 acres (12,000 m ) of land as well as 6 acres (24,000 m ) of salt marsh in May 1788. William Tudor then purchased 2 acres (8,100 m ) more salt marsh in 1790, 16 acres (65,000 m ) of farmland in 1793, 8 acres (32,000 m ) of pine grove in 1799 and 3 acres (12,000 m ) more in 1801. After subsequent improvement by Tudor's son Frederic,
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#1732852793009204-399: The first major restoration of the historic John Brown House , a $ 2.5 million project that should be complete in 2010. The Society owns and operates the following notable museums and properties: 41°49′31″N 71°23′45″W / 41.8253°N 71.3957°W / 41.8253; -71.3957 Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society ( MHS )
221-572: The property has become the Nahant Country Club. Tudor also owned a country estate in Saugus, Massachusetts (then part of Lynn), which he had inherited from his father. Known as "Rockwood", it was from the estate's pond that Tudor's son Frederic began harvesting ice for shipment to the Caribbean. The Tudors vacated the property in 1807 and leased it to other families until 1823, when it was purchased by
238-606: The society claims to have been the only historical collection in the United States until establishment of the New-York Historical Society (1804) and the American Antiquarian Society (1812), after which time the society's collecting activities began to focus primarily on Boston and New England . In 1849, Frances Manwaring Caulkins became the first woman elected to the society's membership. "The society, for several years after its organization, met in
255-641: The society continues to collect, preserve, and communicate historical information about Massachusetts and the United States. It is now organized in five departments: Library, Publications, Education and Public Programs, Research Programs, the Adams Family Papers, and Administration. Major collections include: The society continues to produce scholarly books, but now augments these publications with digital editions available through its website and other online resources. The Massachusetts Historical Review has been published annually since 1999. The fellows of
272-517: The then-considerable sum of $ 40,000. Six of their children survived infancy and early childhood: William Tudor (1779-1830) ; John Henry (1782–1802), who roomed with Washington Allston at Harvard; Frederic (September 4, 1783 – February 6, 1864); Emma Jane (1785–1865), who married Robert Hallowell Gardiner ; Delia (1787–1861), who became the wife of Charles Stewart , captain of the USS Constitution ; and Henry James (1791–1864). Tudor served as
289-515: Was appointed Judge Advocate of the Continental Army with the rank of colonel, and then Judge Advocate General (ranked Lieutenant-Colonel) on August 10, 1776. He was also Lieutenant-Colonel of Henley's Additional Continental Regiment . He married Delia Jarvis on March 5, 1778, and resigned from the army on April 9, 1778, to re-establish himself as a lawyer. His practice flourished, and upon his father's death in 1796 he inherited an estate worth
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