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...
Tag: Bidwell House Museum
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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 – Jemima Bidwell Partridge
Welcome to week 17 of Bidwell Lore! Last week, we introduced you to Reverend Bidwell’s youngest daughter, Theodosia, with a wonderful guest post by Bidwell descendant Wilma Spice. This week we will introduce you to Reverend Bidwell’s oldest daughter, Jemima, with a guest post from Russ Taylor, one of our 2018 History Talk speakers and a Bidwell descendant. ...
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Bidwell Lore – Adonijah Bidwell, Jr.
Welcome to the thirteenth week of Bidwell Lore! In the previous three installments, we discussed the wives of the Reverend Adonijah Bidwell. Now we move on to his children, beginning with his oldest, Adonijah, Jr. Adonijah Bidwell was married three times and it was with his second wife, Jemima, that he had his four children: Adonijah, Jr. (1761-1837)Barbabas (1763-1833)Jemima...
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Bidwell Lore – Jemima Bidwell’s Wedding Pewter
Welcome to the twelfth week of Bidwell Lore! As we learned in the last two issues of Bidwell Lore, Adonijah Bidwell was married three times and his first two wives died when they were still fairly young. Sadly we know very little about the day-to-day lives of these women, but we were very lucky in 2019 to...
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The Last Skirmish of King Philip’s War, 1676 – Part II
Welcome to the ninth week of Bidwell Lore! Last week we read Part I of the essay The Last Skirmish of King Philip’s War, 1676 from guest writer and local Berkshires historian Bernard Drew. This essay has been adapted by Mr. Drew from a chapter in his book Henry Knox and the Revolutionary War Trail in Western Massachusetts (McFarland, 2012). At...