Who We Are

    Founded in 1892, the Colonial Society of Massachusetts is a non-profit educational foundation designed to promote the study of Massachusetts history from earliest settlement through the first decades of the nineteenth century. The central mission of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts is to publish documents and other resources related to the early history of Massachusetts, broadly defined, from colonization to c. 1830, and taking in local, regional, transatlantic and other perspectives.

    The Publications Committee of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts accepts proposals for publications made by CSM members and others, in accordance with the Society’s central publishing mission. In considering proposals, the CSM is committed to achieving greater diversity in its publications, particularly in regard to documents and sources relating to Indigenous peoples, women, people of color, and LGBTQ history, and to increasing the diversity of its editors. Projects accepted for publication may be made available in print or in digital form, or both.

    All ninety-eight volumes of the Society’s publications are freely available to the public either for download or consultation through this website. (See Publications for the full list.)

    Please visit Activities for a more complete description of the Society's activities. 


    The Colonial Society is pleased to announce two new publications. The Minutes of the Dartmouth, Massachusetts, Monthly Meeting of Friends, 1699---1785, edited by Thomas D. Hamm, and The Correspondence of Thomas Hutchinson, Volume 5: July 1772 ---May 1774 edited by John W. Tyler and Margaret A. Hogan. Both are available from the University of Virginia Press and Amazon, and can also be seen online on our Publications page).


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    Forthcoming Publications

     

    The Writings of Daniel Gookin edited by David Hall and Adrian Weimer


    William Bradford: Correspondence, Dialogues, and Other Writings
    edited by Francis Bremer, Kathryn Grey, David Lupher, and Kenneth Minkema, 

    The Diary of William Bentley
    edited by Thomas Knoles

    William Hubbard's A General History of New England revised and annotated by Christopher Jedrey and Kenneth Minkema


    The Memoirs of Josiah Cotton & Allied Documents
    edited by Douglas Winiarski

    The Account Books of John Hull edited by David Hancock and Mark Peterson


     

    News

     

    Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 6 p.m.

    Hybrid Event: Finding Anne Bradstreet: An Archaeological, Historical and Literary Study of the Poet’s North Andover Homes

    Please join us at No. 87 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, to hear of an exciting new archaeological discovery. Solving a centuries-old mystery, English professor Christy L. Pottroff and archaeologist Donald A. Slater have positively identified the two North Andover homes of famed author Anne Bradstreet and her husband Governor Simon Bradstreet.  Committed to the continued study and preservation of this extraordinary site, which includes the remains of the first Bradstreet house destroyed by fire in 1666 and the replacement home still partially standing today, Slater & Pottroff have established the Bradstreet-Phillips Historic Preservation Trust in the hopes of acquiring the soon-to-be sold property.

    Christy L. Pottroff is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at Boston College.  Donald A. Slater is an Instructor of History and Social Science at Phillips Academy, Andover.

    Refreshments available at 5:30 p.m.  The talk begins at 6:00 p.m.

    If you are unable to attend in person, join the live stream by clicking on this link:  CSM Live Stream  

    To submit a question for the speakers during the presentation, please email [email protected] 

     

    All events take place at 87 Mount Vernon St., Boston MA 02108 and (unless noted otherwise) are free and open to the public.