Manuscripts | Portsmouth Athenaeum

Researching Black History in the North Church

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Jun 16, 2020 | Announcements, Manuscripts

By Archivist Susan Kindstedt No collection at the Athenaeum provides the names of more individuals of African descent living in Portsmouth than the MS036 North Church Papers, 1640-1970 collection. Although the papers include the names of individuals, the...

Logbooks of Capt. Nathan Parker Simes

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Apr 16, 2020 | Announcements, Manuscripts

By Susan Stowe-Kindstedt, Athenaeum Archivist The Athenaeum recently received a generous donation from a descendant of nineteenth-century Portsmouth sea captain Nathan Parker Simes. Simes was born in Portsmouth on August 1, 1833, the son of Ann (Yeaton) and Stephen...

School’s in Session at the Athenaeum!

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Dec 19, 2019 | Announcements, Manuscripts

Digitizing the Portsmouth School Department Records Thaxter Grant awarded to process material by Susan Kindstedt, Portsmouth Athenaeum Archivist The Portsmouth Athenaeum is excited to announce a collaborative project with the Portsmouth Public Library and New England...

J. Dennis Robinson Book Talk & Signing

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Dec 5, 2019 | Events, Manuscripts

Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019 5:30 p.m. Research Library Longtime Athenaeum proprietor J. Dennis Robinson wants to tell you about the “making of” his latest history gift book now available. Instead of a reading, Dennis will present a 30-minute slideshow...

The Case Against Sambo

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Aug 23, 2019 | Announcements, Manuscripts

By James Smith, photographic collections manager This past week marked the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans brought to the English colonies. These “20. and odd Negroes” landed at Point Comfort, Virginia, where they were traded for...

Temperance in Portsmouth

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | May 17, 2019 | Announcements, Manuscripts

By Athenaeum Archivist Susan Kindstedt Alcohol consumption has always been a part of America’s history. In the early years of colonial settlement, alcohol was consumed with most meals by all members of the family as it was believed to be safer than water....