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 chief business of the Colonial Society is to publish documents related to the early history of Massachusetts. All eighty-eight volumes of the Society’s publications are freely available to the public either for download or consultation through this website. (See Publications for a complete list.)

    Volume 88, the latest publication of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, edited by Brock Jobe and Gerald Ward, is now available online. (See Publications page.) Hardback versions of the book are most readily available through Amazon.

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    Featured

    Forthcoming Publications

    The Diary of William Bentley
    edited by Thomas Knoles
    The Letter and Account Books of John Hull
    edited by David Hancock and Mark Peterson
    The Memoirs of Josiah Cotton and Allied Documents
    edited by Douglas L. Winiarski
    The Papers of Francis Bernard, Vol. 6
    edited by Colin Nicolson
    The Records of King’s Chapel
    edited by James Bell and James Mooney

    Next Meeting

    April 19, 2018 at 3PM- The Townshend Moment: The Making of Empire and Revolution in the Eighteenth Century, Patrick Griffin, Madden-Hennebry Professor of History, University of Notre Dame. Non-members are welcome to attend free of charge.

    News

    The Colonial Society of Massachusetts invites you to attend our annual Graduate Student Forum where promising young scholars report on their research in progress concerning topics in the history of early New England. The moderator for the day will be Richard D. Brown, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Connecticut. Please see "Graduate Student Forum" on the "Activities" page for a complete program.