20. Old North Vestry votes to divide and sell the Bay Pew, Sept. 5, 1759. Old North Church (Christ Church in the City of Boston) records, vestry book, 1724-1802, Ms. N-2249. Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society. The story of the Bay Pew was largely forgotten for the next 200 years until the Old North Church emerged as a popular tourist destination. A national campaign raised funds to rebuild the famous steeple after it was destroyed by Hurricane Carol in August 1954. By the early 1960s, the church interior contained brass markers identifying the original owners and occupants of pews, like the Gentlemen of the Bay of Honduras, and lore surrounding the ride of Paul Revere.
Welcome to Commonplace, a destination for exploring and exchanging ideas about early American history and culture. A bit less formal than a scholarly journal, a bit more scholarly than a popular magazine, Commonplace speaks—and listens—to scholars, museum curators, teachers, hobbyists, and just about anyone interested in American history before 1900. It is for all sorts of people to read about all sorts of things relating to early American life—from architecture to literature, from politics to parlor manners. It’s a place to find insightful analysis of early American history as it is discussed in scholarly literature, as it manifests on the evening news, as it is curated in museums, big and small; as it is performed in documentary and dramatic films and as it shows up in everyday life.
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Author, “Title of Article,” Commonplace: the journal of early American life, date accessed, URL.
Sophie White, “Trading Looks Race, Religion and Dress in French America,” Commonplace: the journal of early American life, accessed September 30, 2019, https://commonplace.online/article/trading-looks-race-religion-dress-french-america/
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