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 90 and 91, the latest publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, edited by James B. Bell, is now available online. (See Publications page.) Hardback versions of the book are most readily available through Amazon.

    Colonial Records of Kings Chapel Volume One_0.jpg   Colonial Records of Kings Chapel Volume Two_0.jpg

    Featured

    Forthcoming Publications

    The Correspondence of Thomas Hutchinson, Vol. 2, 1767-1769
    edited by John W. Tyler and Elizabeth Dubrulle
    The Memoirs of Josiah Cotton & Allied Documents
    edited by Douglas Winiarski
    The Papers of Francis Bernard, Vol. 6
    edited by Colin Nicolson
    The Diary of William Bentley, Vol. 1
    edited by Thomas Knoles

    Next Meeting

    21 November 2019 Annual Meeting at 6pm followed by dinner. Members only. Resident Members will be invited to vote on a substantial revision to the By-Laws, the text of which is at this link. 

    News

    On Wednesday, October 23, 2019, from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM, the Colonial Society of Massachusetts will host a publication party for The Puritans: A Transatlantic History by Fellow Member David D. Hall, professor emeritus of American religious history at Harvard Divinity School. All are welcome.

    On Thursday, November 7 at 4:30 PM, the Maine Historical Society in Portland will hold a special reception to celebrate the publication of "The Insurgent Delegate: Selected Letters and Other Writings of George Thatcher," volume 89 in the Colonial Society's publications. The editor, Fellow Member William di Giacomantonio will speak briefly.

    On Thursday, December 5, 2019 from 5:30 - 7:00 PM, the Colonial Society and Kings Chapel will celebrate the publication of two volumes of the "The Colonial Records of Kings Chapel, 1686 - 1786" at the Kings Chapel Parish House, 64 Beacon Street in Boston. James B. Bell, the editor, will be on hand to talk about the books. All are welcome.