Posted on June 22, 2020 by Jenny ONeill
Please visit www.PaulCuffe.org to learn more Paul Cuffe was born on Cuttyhunk Island, at the west end of the Elizabeth Islands chain in Massachusetts, on January 17, 1759. He was the seventh child and fourth son of Cuff Slocum, an emancipated slave from West Africa, and Ruth Moses, a Native American woman from Cape […]
Continue ReadingPosted on June 12, 2020 by Jenny ONeill
“Like the fleeting years and days, Like all things that soon decay, Pass the Indian tribes away.” (Daniel Ricketson, History of New Bedford, 1858) This lamentation was written by Daniel Ricketson, local historian, in 1858. Was Ricketson unaware of the many Native Americans living at the time in Dartmouth, whose ancestors had survived war and […]
Continue ReadingPosted on October 29, 2019 by Jenny ONeill
How Events of 1958 Triggered Serial Official Actions That Determined Westport’s 2018 Conditions. Claude A. Ledoux, June 2018 REVISED PART NO. 2 OF A HISTORY OF WESTPORT IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (Original printed in 1995. Titled “A HISTORY OF WESTPORT IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY” authored by Carmen Maiocco, Part 1 and Claude Ledoux Part 2.) […]
Continue ReadingPosted on September 9, 2019 by Jenny ONeill
The following paper was written by Peter Innes following his internship at Westport Historical Society, during the spring semester 2009. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tremendous change occurred within the Westport Public School system. This change occurred gradually and not without opposition, but ultimately was the result of not only a better […]
Continue ReadingPosted on January 23, 2019 by Jenny ONeill
On June 20, 1925, the Old Dartmouth Historical Society again visited the Hix Bridge area, as it had in 1912. Seated under the trees at the Handy house as guests of its owners, Mr. & Mrs. Abbott P. Smith, the society was first addressed by its president, George H. Tripp, and then heard a paper […]
Continue ReadingPosted on November 29, 2018 by Jenny ONeill
Polish Families of Westport Get Together August 6, 2022 Research compiled by Russell T. Hart PART 1 Polish Families of Westport, Massachusetts from Westport Historical Society on Vimeo. PART 2 Polish Families of Westport, Massachusetts research by Russell Hart, presented at the Westport History Group, 2008 The history of the Polish families in Westport […]
Continue ReadingPosted on January 15, 2018 by Jenny ONeill
Native Americans of Dartmouth and Westport A Presentation by R. Andrew Pierce Westport Historical Society January 13, 2018 Select Bibliography Akin, Benjamin of Dartmouth, Mass. Account Book. Ms 204, Dubois Library, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. Boston Evening Post, 26 May 1738, story about Dartmouth squaw killing her infant daughter, she was committed to Bristol […]
Continue ReadingPosted on December 28, 2017 by Jenny ONeill
The best-known citizen of Westport is Paul Cuffe, a master mariner with African and Indian roots who rose to prominence as a captain, ship-builder, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and advocate for civil rights and school integration. Less well known is Pardon Cook, also an accomplished master mariner from Westport, who commanded more whaling voyages than any other […]
Continue ReadingPosted on June 26, 2017 by Jenny ONeill
I knew Gooseberry was a popular place, but I really didn’t expect such a turn out. What fun! And so many of you had some wonderful things to add about Gooseberry conveying facts and flavor that were wonderful to hear. Link to slideshow The preceding includes an embedded link to the wonderful David Sprogis drone […]
Continue ReadingPosted on November 29, 2016 by Jenny ONeill
Whaling was a dangerous business. On long voyages so many things could go wrong. Men got sick far from land. They fell overboard. Boats were stove by whales. Ships were wrecked, or simply never heard from again. And sometimes, men went to great extremes to survive. The following stories are all true, and all happened […]
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