Posted on February 3, 2015 by Jenny ONeill
Our collection includes a bound set of The Non-Slaveholder, a 19th century publication with a special approach to the anti-slavery movement. “Whoso gives the motive, makes his brother’s sin his own.” This caption appears under the title of “The Non-Slaveholder”, a mid-19th century publication dedicated to the anti-slavery movement. The publication focused not only on […]
Continue ReadingPosted on February 2, 2015 by Jenny ONeill
This article was written by Christa M. Beranek and Katharine M. Johnson Fiske Center for Archaeological Research, University of Massachusetts Boston This project was paid for by Community Preservation Act Funds from the Town of Westport. Collected artifacts are property of the Town of Westport, donated by Muriel Bibeau, property owner. Introduction The Waite-Kirby-Potter House […]
Continue ReadingPosted on February 2, 2015 by Jenny ONeill
In the early 20th century seven major companies were engaged in the production and sales of “kit homes.” Sears Roebuck and Company was one of the best known. While potential home owners could buy almost everything they needed to build a house—down to the blueprints–from a Sears Catalogue as early as 1908, it was not […]
Continue ReadingPosted on February 2, 2015 by Jenny ONeill
We see her name on the street sign in the center of Westport: Charlotte White Road. She is mentioned in local history books as a healer, a midwife, a poet. But what do we really know about Charlotte White? Let’s start with her name. The typical pronunciation of the name Charlotte is “Shar-lot” but there […]
Continue ReadingPosted on February 2, 2015 by Jenny ONeill
We all learned the word secession in school, and probably associated it with South Carolina’s departure from the Union in late 1860. But the concept is not just about civil war, or specifically related to states. To secede is to withdraw formally from membership in an organization, association, or alliance. And in the 1920s, the […]
Continue ReadingPosted on January 29, 2015 by Jenny ONeill
This collection of 50 cards, including many Valentine cards dating from 1902, was donated to the Westport Historical Society by Elizabeth Acheson. Click on each image to view the details.
Continue ReadingPosted on January 26, 2015 by Jenny ONeill
An item recently found in the collection is a Civil War register of sick and wounded from Ward No. 4 of the U. S. General Hospital in Portsmouth Grove, RI. Included in the list of “Citizen Nurses” is Cornelius T. Allen, as Chief Nurse and Pardon S. Allen, both of Westport. Both started nursing for […]
Continue ReadingPosted on January 21, 2015 by Jenny ONeill
We welcome our new intern, Westport High school senior Elizabeth Broadbent, as she embarks on a project to photograph many of our three dimensional artifacts. Elizabeth is donating not only her skills as a photographer, but also use of her equipment and Photoshop know how. We look forward to sharing some of her photographs in […]
Continue ReadingPosted on January 20, 2015 by Jenny ONeill
This collection includes many documents relating to the family of William Gifford (1722-1793). As was typical of many families in the Dartmouth/Westport region during the late 18th century, some members left this area and moved to New York State, specifically to an area close to Albany. The NY state towns of Easton, Troy, and Cambridge […]
Continue ReadingPosted on December 15, 2014 by Jenny ONeill
Enjoy these humorous newspaper reports about Westport from the 1860s. Westport Point reporter Thomas W. Mayhew laced his stories with a particularly dry sense of humor: “Any person passing by would think the advent day was high at hand.” May 14, 1860 A worthy member of the Society of Friends at Westport thinks that the […]
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