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Mystic River Historical Society

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historicstonington

Development@stoningtonhistory.org

Grace Denison Wheeler (1858-1956), pictured here i

Grace Denison Wheeler (1858-1956), pictured here in the black dress, was one of Stonington's foremost historians. The daughter of Richard A. Wheeler, noted author and historian, and his wife Lucy Noyes; Grace grew up in the ancestral Wheeler homestead. Considering the fact that Grace was born before the Civil War, she became a woman well ahead of her time. Ms. Wheeler had a professional career as an author, lecturer and newspaper reporter; raised four adopted children; wrote and published four books, the last of which when she was 93 years old; and conducted research into countless families and historic homes of the town. When she was 72, Grace travelled to the more than 60 cemeteries in Stonington, transcribing the engravings on every stone. Grace never married, but the adoration and respect of the community ensured she was never lonely. When she was finally admitted to an assisted living facility, her birthday was celebrated every year with gusto. The year before she died, on her 97th birthday, tea was poured from a silver tea service presented to her grandparents on their golden wedding anniversary in 1868. Her contributions to documenting the history of Stonington cannot be overstated, and continue to inform researchers, community members and staff alike. Cheers to this incredible woman!

The other woman in the photograph is identified as Eliza Denison; taken in 1883.
#womenshistory #community #stoningtonct #history #localhistory #wheeler #genealogy #progressive #womenshistorymonth #celebrate #themoreyouknow #mysticct #pawcatuckct #cemeteries #author #historian #researcher #photography #memories #archives #girlpower #19thcentury

Doesn't this feel like the longest winter ever? Co

Doesn't this feel like the longest winter ever? Come and join us for a slice of spring on March 22nd at 10am at the Captain Palmer House. All supplies are provided to create your own tiny terrarium and it is just $10 per person! Register at historicstonington.org, and click "Buy Tickets".

#localhistory #spring #green #plants #terrarium #wardiancases #botany #travel #plantingseason #program #familyfriendly #handson #stoningtonct #mysticct #pawcatuckct #community

This unidentified portrait of a baby was found in

This unidentified portrait of a baby was found in our collection, but provides a significant insight into having children in the 19th century. On average, the infant mortality rate in the United States during that time was about 30%, meaning one in three children born would die before their first birthday, and about 43% did not survive past the age of five. Most of these deaths were caused by malnutrition, infectious diseases and anemia. Women were key in the development of vaccines that would help dramatically reduce the infant mortality rate. For example, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) introduced smallpox inoculation into Western medicine, after visiting the Ottoman Empire and witnessing the success of smallpox inoculations. She wanted to spare her children from suffering from the disease, and in 1718 had her four-year-old son, Edward, vaccinated. When she returned to London, she promoted the medicine, despite deep resistance from the medical establishment. In 1796, Edward Jenner was credited with developing the smallpox vaccine, although Ms. Montagu had realized its potential nearly 80 years previously. Dr. Anna Wessels Williams (1863-1954) developed a diphtheria vaccine in 1894, which is still in use as part of the DTP vaccines that children receive worldwide. Two other women, Dr. Pearl Kendrick (1890-1980) and Dr. Grace Eldering (1900-1988) were responsible for developing the whooping cough vaccine, on a very limited budget. The women tested the vaccine on themselves first, before running a successful clinical trial.

#womenshistory #women #womeninstem #historyofmedicine #childbirth #infantmortality #history #community #womenandchildren #19thcentury #20thcentury #vaccines #science #leadership

Gertrude Matilda Carlsen was born in Kristianopels

Gertrude Matilda Carlsen was born in Kristianopels, Sweden on August 6, 1893 to August and Annie Carlsen. At the age of five, she immigrated to the United States, arriving in Boston in 1898. Gertrude married Henry A. Pringle in 1914 , and had her son Lawrence Arthur Pringle in July the following year. However, Henry and Gertrude had a tumultuous marriage and they divorced before 1930. She married her second husband, Edward Daniel Murray, (who was twenty two years her elder), in Newport, RI on November 16, 1936. Not long after their marriage, Gertrude and Edward opened The Gertrude Pringle Murray Nursing Home, at 81 Granite Street in New London. Edward died in 1942, and three years later, Gertrude became the proprietress of Edgemere Manor, opening it as a restaurant and inn. Her business was very popular, especially as men returned from War looking to forget their troubles and relax. For many years Edgemere Manor was the place for school reunions, Christmas parties, and celebratory family dinners. After eleven years in business, at the age of sixty three, Gertrude sold the business on Cove Road. She lived another thirty seven years, dying at age ninety nine in 1993.

#localhistory #coveroad #stoningtonct #mysticct #pawcatuckct #restaurant #business #womenshistory #womenownedbusiness #history #community #memories #wwii #immigrantownedbusiness #Swedish #biography

"Tigh le chéile agus seinn còmhla rinn" (Come si

"Tigh le chéile agus seinn còmhla rinn" (Come sing with us) at St. Michael's Parish Hall on Thursday, March 13th at 6pm when the Band of Steady Habits will present The Irish in Connecticut - songs of struggle, perseverance, acceptance and success. We bet you'll recognize more than a few of these songs! This event is fun for the whole family, and we can't wait to see you!

#localhistory #irish #immigration #Ireland #culture #history #community #pawcatuckct #catholic #themoreyouknow #eventsnearme #familyfriendly #concert #band

Just a friendly reminder that the Woolworth Librar

Just a friendly reminder that the Woolworth Library is closed today for professional development. Thank you for your understanding. We will see you next week!

#library #closed #community #localhistory #professionaldevelopment #stoningtonct

Did you catch Library Director Chelsea Mitchell's

Did you catch Library Director Chelsea Mitchell's talk at the Road Church in January on the Sister Sailors of Stonington? If not, we are happy to share this recording from The First Congregational Church of Stonington. It is an in-depth look at the experience of women who accompanied their husbands onboard ship for years at a time, through their own words recorded in letters and diaries. Click the link in our bio.

#womenshistorymonth #womenshistory #community #maritimehistory #whaling #chinatrade #sailing #women #19thcentury #diaries #letters #history #stoningtonct #pawcatuckct #mysticct #themoreyouknow #remember

Dia duit! Be sure to join us on Thursday, March 13

Dia duit! Be sure to join us on Thursday, March 13th at St. Michael's Parish Hall for a celebration of Irish music and culture. The Band of Steady Habits will be presenting a concert on the Irish in Connecticut, beginning at 6pm that will explore familiar tunes brought to America by the Irish, as well as stories of immigration to Connecticut. This is an event that's sure to be fun for the whole family. We can't wait to dance with you!

#localhistory #irish #immigration #music #concert #folk #Ireland #culture #celebration #education #history #community #pawcatuckct #band #eventsnearme #familyfriendly

Ice skating on "the mitten" - the cove near the Ca

Ice skating on "the mitten" - the cove near the Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House, undated. Gift of Harriet Babcock Brown.

#localhistory #winter #cold #snow #skating #iceskating #history #community #stoningtonct #memories #childhood #fun #games

Photograph of Booker T. Washington, 1904. Found in

Photograph of Booker T. Washington, 1904. Found in the Stone Acres Collection given by Heidi Simmons.
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) was born into slavery in southwest Virginia. When he was nine years old, he was liberated under the Emancipation Proclamation. He taught himself to read and write, and as a teenager worked in salt furnaces and coal mines in West Virginia to earn enough money to attend Hampton Institute (he was only 16). After graduating at the age of 19, he later attended Wayland Seminary in Washington DC. In 1881, he became the first leader of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, now known as Tuskegee University in Alabama. Washington purchased a former plantation in 1882 to be developed as the permanent campus of the school. Under his direction, the students built their own school - making bricks, constructing classrooms, barns and other outbuildings; raising their own crops and livestock; both for learning and to provide basic necessities. Men and women were taught trades as well as academics. He wrote an autobiography in 1901 entitled "Up from Slavery", and later that same year had dinner with Theodore Roosevelt at the White House, which was the first time a black person publicly met with the president on equal terms.

This photograph was taken at the height of Washington's popularity. We know the photograph was not taken in Stonington, but was taken with extended family members of the Paffard/Adams families.

#localhistory #blackhistory #memory #blackhistorymonth #bookertwashington #photography #nnbl #history #community #themoreyouknow #activism #education #civilrights

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VISIT
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JOIN &
SUPPORT
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