To Celebrate Boston’s Founding, A Look at Its Early Institutions

Partnership of Historic Bostons announces its 2019 Boston Charter Day event schedule

[Boston, MA, August 26, 2019] What was everyday life like for Boston’s first immigrants? How did they shop for goods, raise their kids, practice their religions? 

The Partnership of Historic Bostons will host a series of events and lectures this fall examining the network of institutions—religious, civic, commercial and familial—that held together Boston’s Puritan community at a time when its survival was threatened. 

The series, “Puritan Primetime: Politics, Faith, Children and Money in 17th century Boston and New England,” will begin on September 8 and continue into November. 

“Puritan Primetime” is the centerpiece of the Partnership’s annual commemoration of Boston Charter Day—officially September 7, 1630— the day that the Puritan settlers named Boston, Dorchester and Watertown.

This year’s program includes lectures by distinguished scholars on Boston’s earliest economy, the influence of the Quakers on religious life, Puritan family life, and a survey of the ways in which artistic, literary, and historical representations of the Puritans have changed over time. The Partnership will also lead walking tours through old Boston in September and October.

“We are delighted to have such a strong lineup of events this year,” says John Morrison, president of the Partnership. “In the past, we have examined 17th century marriage, medicine, crime and punishment. This year, we are interested in the breadth of everyday experience; how Puritan men, women and children moved through their days. I think we will learn much that is surprising, but also relevant to our own lives.”

Partnership of Historic Bostons, a nonprofit volunteer organization founded in 1999, celebrates the extraordinary legacy of the Puritan founders of Boston and New England, and preserves their unique historical connection to Boston, England. All are welcome to our free Charter Day walking tours, lectures, events, and discussions. 

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For more information about the Partnership of Historic Bostons, visit http://www.historicbostons.org/home.html.

The calendar of 2019 Boston Charter Day events includes:

Founders Trail: A Walking Tour

Sunday, Sept. 8 th , 1:30 to 3:00pm

Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02133 

“The Puritans: Who Were They, Who They Are” with Lori Rogers-Stokes

Wednesday, September 11, 6:00 – 7:30 PM

Rabb Auditorium, Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

“Growing Up Puritan: The Family in 17th-century New England” with Judith Graham

Tuesday, September 17, 6:00- 7:30 PM

Third Church, Old South Church, 645 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

“The World in a Shilling: Money and Political Economy in Early New England” with Mark Peterson

Wednesday, September 25, 6:00 – 7:30 PM

Old State House, 206 Washington St, Boston, MA 02109

Survival 1630-1635: A Walking Tour

Saturday, Sept. 28 th , 10:00 to 11:30am

Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02133 

“Democracy or Oligarchy? Revisiting the Practice of Politics in Early New England” with David D. Hall

Wednesday, October 2, 6:00 – 7:30 PM

Old North Church, 193 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113 

“Elizabeth Hooten’s Journeys: Quakers and Toleration in Mass Bay” with Adrian Chastain Weimer

Thursday, October 10, 6:00 – 7:30 PM

Friends Meeting House, 6 Chestnut St, Boston, MA 02108 

The Third Generation: A Walking Tour

Saturday, Oct. 19, 10:00 – 11:30 AM

Park Street T Station

“Puritans in Print: Historiography of the Puritans in Literature and Illustration” with Peter Drummey 

Wednesday, October 23, 6:00 – 7:30 PM

Suffolk University Law School, Sargent Hall, 120 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02109 (5th Floor, Blue Sky Lounge and reception area)

To register for events, visit: http://historicbostons2019.eventbrite.com/