WELCOME to the History of Massachusetts Library Corner where you’ll find free digitized copies of many rare and out-of-print books, articles and documents about Massachusetts history.
The collection includes firsthand accounts of historic Massachusetts events as well as many books written by and about famous Massachusetts residents.
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The collection is listed alphabetically, by subject, for your convenience:
American Revolution:
♦ The Trial of the British Soldiers [T. Preston and Others]; Captain Thomas Preston; 1824
♦ The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution; William Cooper Nell, Harriet Beecher Stowe; 1855
♦ Women of the American Revolution; Elizabeth Fries Ellet; 1856
♦ Diary of the American Revolution: From Newspapers and Original Documents; Frank Moore; 1860
♦ History of the Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770; Frederic Kidder, John Adams; 1870
♦ General Sir William Howe’s Orderly Book: At Charlestown, Boston and Halifax; Viscount William Howe; 1890
♦ American Revolution: Volume I; John Fiske; 1891
♦ American Revolution: Volume II; John Fiske; 1891
Boston:
♦ William Blackstone, Boston’s First Inhabitant; Thomas Coffin Armory; 1877
♦ The Freedom Speech of Wendell Phillips: Faneuil Hall; Wendell Phillips; 1890
♦ The History of the Great Fire in Boston, November 9 and 10, 1872; Russell Herman Conwell; 1873
American Civil War:
♦ Massachusetts in the War, 1861-1865; James Lorenzo Bowen; 1888
Dogtown:
♦ Dogtown Common; Percy MacKaye; 1921
♦ In the Heart of Cape Ann, Or the Story of Dogtown; Charles Edward Mann; 1896
♦ New York Times; The Haunt of Witches and Smugglers; Charles J. Rosebault; October 23 1921
♦ The Outlook; The Spectator; Volume 99; September through December 1911
Lincoln, Abraham:
♦ Notes on the Lincoln Families of Massachusetts; Solomon Lincoln; 1865
New England:
♦ A Description of New England; Captain John Smith; 1616
♦ A General History of New England; Rev. William Hubbard; 1815
♦ The History of New England; John Winthrop; 1853
Plymouth Plantation and the Mayflower:
♦ Mourt’s Relations, Or, the Journal of the Plantation at Plymouth; Edward Winslow; William Bradford; 1865
♦ Of Plymouth Plantation; William Bradford; 1856
♦ The Mayflower, or, Sketches of Scenes and Characters Among the Descendants of the Pilgrims; Harriet Beecher Stowe; 1846
Salem, Salem Witch Trials & etc:
♦ Records of Salem Witchcraft: Copied from the Original Documents, Volume I; 1864
♦ Salem Witchcraft: With an Account of Salem Village and A History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects; Volume II; Charles W. Upham; 1867
♦ Historical Sketch of Salem, 1626-1879; Charles Stuart Osgood; 1879
♦ Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases, 1648-1706; George Lincoln Burr; 1914
♦ The Wonders of the Invisible World: Being An Account of the Trials of Several Witches Lately Executed in New England; Cotton Mather; 1862
♦ The Witchcraft Delusion in New England: Its Rise, Progress, and Termination, As Exhibited by Dr. Cotton Mather, In The Wonders of the Invisible World; and by Mr. Robert Calef in his More Wonders of the Invisible World; Samuel G. Drake; 1865
Salisbury:
♦ New York Times; A Unique Affair: The Annual Gathering at Salisbury Beach – A Letter from Gen. Robert E. Lee; September 19, 1869
♦ History of Amesbury: Including the First Seven Years of Salisbury; Joseph Merrill ; 1880
♦ The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts; Volume I; David Webster Hoyt; 1897
Slavery:
♦ Boston Slave Riot and the Trial of Anthony Burns; 1854
♦ Slavery in Massachusetts; Henry David Thoreau; 1854
♦ Slavery in Massachusetts: Two Letters from the Historical Magazine; George Thomas Davis; George Henry Moore; 1866
♦ Notes on the History of Slavery in Massachusetts; George Henry Moore; 1866
Thoreau, Henry David:
♦ Cape Cod; Henry David Thoreau; 1893
♦ Walden, Or, Life in the Woods; Henry David Thoreau; 1899
Thank you for checking out the library corner!
I am interested in Massachusetts history/especially the colonial period.
I’m looking for origional or old source material on William Dawes. I’d like to see some first or second hand accounts of his life, association with the Sons of Liberty, his ride, role in the revolution , and last days.
Can you help or at least point me in the right direction?
Thanks.
Hi Ed, all of the source material I have on William Dawes is listed at the bottom of the article I wrote about Dawes. If you can’t find what you’re looking for there you can try the Boston 1775 blog. It has a ton of articles on Dawes.