Welcome to week 26 of Bidwell Lore! This week we begin a new three-part series, still in the world of Barnabas and Mary, titledUltracrepidarianism, Slavery, and The Age of Enlightenment. Thank you Rick Wilcox for all of your work writing these articles! Ultracrepidarianism: the habit of giving opinions and advice on matters outside of one’s knowledge. In my role...
Tag: Barnabas Bidwell
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Bidwell Lore: Love, Marriage, and Politics in the Early Republic, Part III
Welcome to week 24 of Bidwell Lore! We conclude our three-part series about Mary and Barnabas with some wonderfully illustrative letters between the two. This correspondence gives you an idea of the type of person Mary was and hints at the great affection Barnabas and Mary felt for each other. A February 26, 1805, letter from Mary includes:“We...
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Bidwell Lore – Love, Marriage, and Politics in the Early Republic, Part II
Welcome to week 23 of Bidwell Lore! Last week we began a three-part series about the lives of Barnabas and Mary. This week we will look at Mary’s biography in a lovely article written by Rick Wilcox. In the parlor of the Bidwell House Museum, hanging in an honored location, is a portrait of Mary Gray Bidwell. The...
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Bidwell Lore – Love, Marriage, and Politics in the Early Republic, Part I
Last week we shared with you some correspondence between Barnabas and Mary while Barnabas was in Washington and Mary in Stockbridge. This week we are beginning a three-part series about the lives of Barnabas and Mary. On February 16, 1801, in Washington City, after the 35th ballot by the Electoral College and upon receiving word from...
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Bidwell Lore – The Correspondence of Barnabas and Mary
Last week we introduced you to Barnabas and Mary Bidwell’s home in Stockbridge, The Elms. In 1806 and 1807, Barnabas spent much of his time in Washington while Mary remained in Stockbridge. Letters between Barnabas and his family during his time in Washington provide both scenes of everyday life in Stockbridge and the political intrigue of Washington...
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Bidwell Lore – The Elms, The Stockbridge Home of Barnabas and Mary
The Sedgwick Manor, The Elms [1], and Laurel Cottage, although scattered along the fabric of Main Street, have been connected by numerous common threads of Stockbridge history, from family and marriage to careers and political intrigue, weaving a myriad of stories of life in Stockbridge and beyond from the days of the Stockbridge Indians to the...
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Bidwell Lore: Barnabas’ In-laws, the Gray Family
Bidwell In-laws: The Gray Family Welcome to week 19 of Bidwell Lore! Last week, we introduced you to the most well-known of Reverend Bidwell’s children: his son, Barnabas. This week we want to tell you a little about his wife Mary Gray’s family and their local connections. If you wander to the west end of the “Old...
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Bidwell Lore – Introducing Barnabas Bidwell
Welcome to week 18 of Bidwell Lore! Last week we introduced you to Reverend Bidwell’s oldest daughter, Jemima, with a wonderful guest post by Bidwell descendant Russ Taylor. This week we turn to the last and most well-known of Reverend Bidwell’s children, his son Barnabas. He had a fascinating and at times dramatic life, and so we will...