If you were to walk . . . Boston’s North Union Station, 1895

January 31, 2012.Reading time 11 minutes.

Any discussion on “Lost Boston” has to include Boston’s North Union Station, which once stood on Causeway Street, on the current site of the TD Garden (better known locally as “the Boston Garden” and by some as the “Fleet Center”). North Union Station, which consolidated the operations of four different railroads into one building, was […]

The Ebbing Excitement Surrounding the Opening of Boston’s Tremont Street Subway, 1897

January 28, 2012.Reading time 7 minutes.

Have you visited Boston? Do you have ancestors who lived or visited here? Since you’re reading a blog called Forgotten New England, chances are good that you, or someone on a branch of your family tree, has ridden Boston’s subway. Boston’s subway, or ‘the T’ as its locally known, makes a very walkable city even […]

Abraham Lincoln’s Visit to Lowell, 1848

January 22, 2012.Reading time 7 minutes.

If you spend a considerable amount of time reading turn-of-the-(twentieth)-century editions of the local papers of Lowell, Massachusetts, you’ll soon come across the name of Samuel P. Hadley, who presided as a Justice for the Lowell Police Court for close to three decades. In fact, I think a few of the people I’ve researched for […]

Unexpected Family Tree Finds – Western Electric’s Merrimack Valley Works

January 18, 2012.Reading time 3 minutes.

Sometimes, you need to work really hard to land the latest find in your family tree discoveries. Sometimes, family history finds just fall in your lap. Before going to work yesterday morning, I stopped at the barber shop, and checked Facebook while waiting for my turn in the chair. And I found – quite a […]

Worries of the Past: Smallpox and Boston’s Epidemic of 1872

January 13, 2012.Reading time 7 minutes.

First, flu-like symptoms emerge -fever, aches, pains, nausea. Exhaustion soon follows. It’s not until a few days later when the telltale, flat, red spots appear about the face, hands, and arms. The spots evolve into pus-filled blisters that scab first and then fall off, to reveal deep, pitted scars. Smallpox was one of history’s most […]

Most Likely to . . . Visit a Local History Center? High School Yearbooks and their Value to Genealogists

January 8, 2012.Reading time 11 minutes.

In these days of point-and-click genealogy (think sites like Ancestry.com or familysearch.org), local and regional history centers of the brick-and-mortar variety are sometimes unjustly overlooked. Some, like the New England Historic Genealogical Society, have online resources and an impressive web presence themselves. Others, especially those dedicated to smaller cities or even towns, have wonderful resources […]

Boston’s Immigrant Experience in 1900 – Anticipation & Hope Amidst Confusion & Exploitation

December 28, 2011.Reading time 16 minutes.

Imagine the anticipation of these folks aboard the SS Canopic as it docked in Boston over 90 years ago. Were your grandparents or great-grandparents among these immigrants, who had perhaps spent more than a week aboard ship traveling to a new life? How long had these families planned, sacrificed, and prepared for this moment as […]

If you were to walk . . . or race a sleigh through Downtown Lowell’s Streets – 1906

December 24, 2011.Reading time 7 minutes.

Did you know that Jingle Bells was composed by James Lord Pierpoint in Medford, Massachusetts in 1850? It’s claimed that the town’s 19th century sleigh races inspired the song, and that it was originally written as a Thanksgiving, not Christmas song. Why “jingle bells”? Music historian James Fuld informs that the horse-drawn sleighs of the […]

The Grand Fires of 1904: Huntington Hall; Lowell, Massachusetts

December 20, 2011.Reading time 12 minutes.

Huntington Hall/Merrimack Street Depot By 1904, the building that housed both Huntington Hall and the Merrimack Street Depot had served as the city’s main public gathering place for generations. The City of Lowell and the Boston & Lowell Railroad entered into a joint agreement to build the hall in 1853, providing the railroad with the Merrimack […]

The Grand Fires of 1904 – St. Patrick’s Catholic Church; Lowell, Massachusetts

December 10, 2011.Reading time 16 minutes.

Note to readers: The St. Patrick’s Church fire of 1904 occurred just one day before the Fellows Block fire covered in last week’s post. This post marks the third installment of the Grand Fires of 1904 series. On Monday, January 11, 1904, Sister Josephine, a teacher at Notre Dame Academy in Lowell, Massachusetts, awoke, rose from […]