In the October 1821 letter, purchased with funds from board member donations, Gardner writes to his niece Sarah Burk in Alexandria, VA. He references her most recent communication to him, “I received yours dated June 25 with great pleasure; for as cold water to a thirsted soul so is a good news from far country: I rejoice to hear that there are two coloured churches there, and that one of these have two hundred communicants; I hope they are not only professor, but professor of true religion.” He then updates her on the health and loss of several family members.

When Occarmar Marycoo arrived in Newport he was around fourteen years old. He was purchased by Newport ship captain Caleb Gardner, who then changed Occarmar’s name to Newport Gardner. Within four years Gardner learned English, French, the basics of music and became a Christian. He also began to show great aptitude for composing music.

By 1791, Newport Gardner had married a woman named Limas, and they later had five children. It is reported that in 1791, he and several friends purchased a lottery ticket and won. With his share of the profit, Gardner bought his freedom for his family and himself. After he established a house on Pope Street, he supported his family by teaching music and today he is credited as the country’s first black music teacher.

Gardner befriended Dr. Samuel Hopkins of the First Congregational Church and later helped form the Free African Union Society “where the Negro might worship God without segregation.” The Free African Union Society evolved into the Union Congregational Church on Division Street. Influenced by Dr. Hopkins, Gardner became involved in the African colonization movement. With several other Africans, Gardner raised funds, and on the last day of December 1825 he and a group set sail for Africa,  though he died a few months after arriving.

Richard Scott was married to Catherine Marbury, sister of Ann Hutchinson, who also had her spiritual issues. Catherine was whipped and jailed in Boston and later became the first Quaker convert in Providence, with many ties to Newport. They had many descendents including the merchant Nicholas Brown of Providence and the Godfrey Malbone family of Newport.

Footstone of Ann Vernon, dated 1716/ 17, who died between January and March. On display at The Museum of Newport History.

When the ball dropped in Times Square and Dick Clark ushered in the New Year, few were aware how arbitrary the date was, as it is not based on a specific astronomical event.

January 14, 2012 at 11am

Discover Colonial Newport. Hear stories of revolution, struggles for religious liberty and remarkable entrepreneurship among Newport’s diverse people. $12 per person, $10 Newport Historical Society members. Weather dependent; reservations suggested. Departs from Museum & Shop at Brick Market, 127 Thames Street. 401-841-8770

January 15, 2012 at 11am

Souls and Stones Tour. Explore the Common Burying Ground, view the remarkable gravestones that make this cemetery a work of art and learn about select colonial-era and 19th century residents who helped shape Newport’s history. $12 per person, $10 Newport Historical Society members. Weather dependent; reservations suggested. Departs from Museum & Shop at Brick Market, 127 Thames Street. 401-841-8770

January 16, 2012 at 11am

Road to Independence. Riots and rebellion, enemies and allies! Hear stories from the years surrounding the American Revolution in Newport. $12 per person, $10 Newport Historical Society members. Weather dependent; reservations suggested. Departs from Museum & Shop at Brick Market, 127 Thames Street. 401-841-8770

February 4, 2012 at 11am

Newport’s Buried History. Discover the early history of Newport’s people of color, enslaved and free. Visit the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House and the colonial African burying ground. $12 per person, $10 Newport Historical Society members. Weather dependent; reservations suggested. Departs from Museum & Shop at Brick Market, 127 Thames Street. 401-841-8770

The Historical Society holds several items associated with President Lincoln in its collections, including military commissions and a silver tassel from his catafalque.

The catalog record is here: “http://newport.pastperfect-online.com/32053cgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=2124487C-4A9E-4AD4-A880-761922141993;type=101“

Santa Claus, an essential participant in the season, has very close ties to Newport. Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) was a classics scholar and Episcopal vestryman who lived on Catherine Street in Newport during the summer. He is the author of A Visit From St. Nicholas (The Night Before Christmas), first published in 1823. Written to entertain children, the poem inspired much of what we now consider to be a traditional Christmas, including our vision of Santa Claus. Inspired by Moore’s poem and its descriptions of St. Nick, political cartoonist and satirist Thomas Nast (1840-1902) refined the modern image of St. Nicholas as the large, bearded, jolly elf we know today in the 1881 edition of Harper’s Weekly.  Nast himself was best known for his stinging images of Boss Tweed and the Tamany Hall gang of New York and creating the political icons of the donkey and elephant. While visiting Newport, he made a drawing of himself being posted for late payment at a local drinking establishment.

 Clement Clarke Moore’s desk, made by Duncan Phyfe in New York, is on display at the Museum & Shop at Brick Market.

And, you can see its catalog record here.

St. Mary's Church, image from the NHS Collections

Thursday February 2, 2012 at 5:30pm 

Colony House $5 General Admission, $1 NHS members

New England was inhospitable territory for Catholics from the colonial era until the Civil War. In colonial Massachusetts priests who entered the territory would be subject to imprisonment. In the nineteenth century, a Jesuit was tarred and feathered in Maine, a convent near Boston was torched, and another nuns’ residence in Providence narrowly escaped attack. Newport, by contrast, accepted Catholics just as it had accepted Jews, Quakers and Baptists before them. Dr. Quinn will explain how, from 1780 when French troops landed in Newport to aid with the Revolutionary War, through the following decades when the Irish settled, Newport proved to be an oasis of tolerance for Catholics in New England.

John F. Quinn is Professor of History at Salve Regina University, where he has taught since 1992. He specializes in Irish and Irish-American History. His publications include Father Mathew’s Crusade: Temperance in Nineteenth-Century Ireland and Irish America (University of Massachusetts Press, 2002) and articles in the New England Quarterly, the Catholic Historical Review, the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography and the Newport Historical Society’s journal Newport History.

Thursday January 19, 2012 at 5:30pm

Colony House, Washington Square

$5 per person, $4 for active duty military with ID, and $1 for NHS members. RSVP to 401-841-8770.

Everyone has a few old books. But are they valuable? Dust off those books and join the Newport Historical Society for The Value of Books with Ray Rickman.  

During this interactive program, Rickman will discuss what makes a book valuable. Using an Antiques Road Show-format with books brought by audience members, Rickman will provide information and insights about what types of books have the highest retail value and he will offer complimentary estimates of the books’ value. Guests can bring up to three books.

Rickman is a long-time rare book dealer and former host of “Bestsellers” on Rhode Island Public Television. He is the founder of The Rickman Group, which raises money for nonprofits, including the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Research Foundation. A former State Representative, he often lectures throughout the Rhode Island community on a range of cultural topics pertaining to American literature and African American history.

Thursday February 23, 2012 from 1pm-2pm

$10 per person, free for NHS members

Winter is the perfect time of year to research the Newport history questions that have been on your mind. Whether you would like to know more about your house’s history or discover your family genealogy, the Newport Historical Society’s library can help.

This January and February, the Newport Historical Society will offer two library workshops to help acquaint you with its collections. Learn how to research the history of your house, family, neighborhood, or any period from Newport’s history from the Historical Society’s expert staff. The workshop will introduce you to the NHS library holdings and help you identify research strategies.

Reservations required as space is limited. 401-846-0813