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Latest Posts

LaSalle Academy at 150 – Still Going Strong
3 years ago

LaSalle Academy at 150 – Still Going Strong

LaSalle Academy, as most readers know, is a Catholic college preparatory school located in Providence. It began in 1871 as a result of discussions among Bishop Francis McFarland, Rev. Michael …
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The Execution of John Gordon, a Victim of Anti-Irish Catholic Prejudice
3 years ago

The Execution of John Gordon, a Victim of Anti-Irish Catholic Prejudice

If you love true crime stories, or tales of political and judicial corruption, or if you are just a fan of history, you will love my book, The Hanging & …
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John Gordon
3 years ago

John Gordon

By  •  Biography

I never met John Gordon. According to Rhode Island court records, John Gordon was a convicted murderer, executed in 1845 for the brutal murder of Amasa Sprague, a wealthy industrialist. …
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Pawtucket in the Roaring Twenties:  My Story as a Kid
3 years ago

Pawtucket in the Roaring Twenties: My Story as a Kid

The Roaring Twenties started out leisurely.  The first couple of years were pretty slow, almost a recession although the country hadn’t really experienced anything it could recession from.  But things …
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The Vampire Case of Sarah Tillinghast
3 years ago

The Vampire Case of Sarah Tillinghast

An old and easily overlooked cemetery lies tucked away in a neighborhood in Exeter, Rhode Island. It’s small, measuring 50 square feet, and contains just 25 burials. Beneath one of …
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The Canonization of Thomas Wilson Dorr
3 years ago

The Canonization of Thomas Wilson Dorr

In 1912 a third edition of Jacob Frieze’s book, A Concise History of Efforts to Obtain an Extension of Suffrage in Rhode Island; from 1811 to 1842, was reprinted by …
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The Unexpected Preservationist of Old Slater Mill: S. Willard Thayer (1869–1925)
3 years ago

The Unexpected Preservationist of Old Slater Mill: S. Willard Thayer (1869–1925)

By  •  Local Sites

Simon Willard Thayer is celebrated today as one of Rhode Island’s earliest historic preservationists, though he perhaps never intended to be. Tragically, Thayer was killed on the very day that …
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Slater Mill Now Part of a National Park
4 years ago

Slater Mill Now Part of a National Park

Did you know that Slater Mill, one of the most important historic sites in Rhode Island, was transferred in March 2021 to the U.S. National Park Service? I am embarrassed …
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Self-Determination in Rhode Island and Massachusetts
4 years ago

Self-Determination in Rhode Island and Massachusetts

A book review: The City State of Boston: The Rise and Fall of an Atlantic Power, 1630-1865. By Mark Peterson. Princeton University Press, 2019.

Once upon a time there was …
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A Fourth of July Salute to Congressman George O’Shaunessy
4 years ago

A Fourth of July Salute to Congressman George O’Shaunessy

Rhode Islanders have produced some of America’s greatest patriotic songs. Julia Ward Howe, who composed “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a Civil War anthem, was descended from two Rhode …
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