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Bryant University – The Archway
My Walking Tours of Boston
Honoring Prince Estabrook – Slave and Soldier
October 16, 2009 by Ben Edwards · Leave a Comment
On a recent trip to Lexington and Concord, I photographed the Prince Estabrook memorial located in a prime spot near Buckman Tavern overlooking the Lexington Battle Green. The memorial was dedicated in April 2008 and pays tribute to a slave and soldier named Prince Estabrook who fought with Captain Parker’s militia in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. Estabrook was wounded in the battle. While visiting the memorial, I wondered how many teachers across the country were aware that an African American had fought for freedom in this historic battle even though he was still enslaved. If they knew that a slave had participated and displayed such bravery in the first battle of the American Revolution, I’m sure it would be something teachers would want to include in their curriculum.
Reporter Alice M. Hinkle was of a similar mindset in 1987 after she had the opportunity to interview Charles H. Price Jr., past commander of the Lexington Minute Men for a newspaper article. For more than 20 years, Price had played the role of Prince Estabrook during the annual Patriot’s Day battle reenactment. This interview with Charles H. Price Jr. served as an introduction to Prince Estabrook and made Alice M. Hinkle want to learn much more about a man who in her words had “slipped between the cracks of history”. In late 1994, she began a research journey that spanned nearly seven years and involved visiting sites, searching through archives and following numerous leads. In 2001, her hard effort was rewarded when Alice M. Hinkle’s outstanding book Prince Estabrook, Slave and Soldier was published. Copies can be purchased today from the Visitor Centers in both Lexington and Concord as well as other sites along Boston’s Freedom Trail.
Below is a video from the dedication ceremonies of the Prince Estabrook memorial in April 2008 with wonderful speeches by William Hinkle, husband of the late author Alice M. Hinkle, and Charles H. Price Jr.
Prince Estabrook Memorial Dedication, Part 1
Prince Estabrook Memorial Dedication, Part 2
Prince Estabrook Memorial Dedication, Part 3
Teaching History While Walking in My Ancestors’ Footsteps
October 14, 2009 by Ben Edwards · Leave a Comment
For the past six years, I’ve had the opportunity to teach Colonial American history to grade school students while walking in the footsteps of my early Boston ancestors. During my field trips of Historic Boston, students walk the same streets my Edwards ancestors once strode with well known Bostonians like John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. As a tour guide and a teacher, I find this personal connection to history — and the stories I’m able to convey about it — to be a wonderful way to engage students. What makes it even more interesting for them is that these stories continue well after the tour is over. They come to life in my children’s book One April in Boston, and every student participating in a Boston field trip or any of my school programs receives the downloadable MP3 audio version for free.
Through the tour and the book, students learn that my Edwards ancestors arrived in Boston around 1700. My sixth great grandfather Captain Benjamin Edwards (pictured in this post) was 19 years old and living in the North End of Boston in 1706 – the same year Benjamin Franklin was born on Milk Street! That year he was married by Cotton Mather according to an entry in the 1708 Edwards Family Bible which still exists today. Benjamin Edwards was a sea captain and I discovered records of his many voyages including a battle with pirates in the Caribbean in 1722. His son Dolling Edwards, my fifth great grandfather, was a mastmaker at a shipyard in the North End and his son Benjamin was a cooper.
My fourth great grandfather, cooper Benjamin Edwards was an orphan by the time he was eight. Ben lived with his Aunt Sarah and his Uncle Alexander Edwards, a cabinetmaker and member of the Sons of Liberty. The family lived a few blocks down the street from the Old North Church and Ben was 10 when the signal lanterns were shown from its steeple and Paul Revere made his Midnight Ride. Toward the end of the Revolution, Ben’s older sister Sally Edwards married silversmith Paul Revere Jr., firstborn son of the famous patriot.
Ben’s son Joseph Edwards, my third great grandfather, was born in 1799. He was my last Edwards ancestor to live in Boston his entire life. Joseph was a paver who set granite paving stones in the city streets. He was also an innkeeper. Joseph lived in the West End not far from Boston Common, where most days you can spot me surrounded by enthusiastic schoolchildren and teachers heading off on my one-of-a-kind walking tour of Historic Boston.
The Colonial Edwards Family Tree (PDF)
Teachers: If you are interested in integrating family stories or genealogy into your history curriculum, the following genealogy resources will prove very helpful.
Revere House Offers “Paul Revere’s Ride” MP3 Audio
October 9, 2009 by Ben Edwards · Leave a Comment
A special recording of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” is available now from the Paul Revere House. The audio was created for the museum’s 100th anniversary celebration last year and the MP3 download version is being offered through the Revere House website as a special “thank you” to those making a donation as small as $10 to the Revere Call to Action Capital Campaign. Donors receive instant access to download the 7-minute MP3 audio plus an educational document in PDF format that discusses the poem in detail, helps separate fact from fiction, and contains a map of the ride and photos.
Your donation will enable the Paul Revere Memorial Association to convert an 1835 two-family home that abuts their property and sits on land once owned by Paul Revere into a 3,600-square-foot Education and Visitor Orientation Center. This will enhance the visitor experience with modern facilities and amenities, expanded interpretation, and an enlarged museum shop. It will result in increased educational offerings for schoolchildren, teachers, and families and allow for a reprogramming of the space in the Hichborn House (ca. 1711) enabling this National Landmark to achieve its full potential as an interpretive site. The Association will also be funding other projects that will ensure the long-term preservation of the Paul Revere House (ca. 1680).
A sample of the special recording of “Paul Revere’s Ride” can be heard below. Make a donation today and receive instant access to the full version.
Students participating in Walking Tours of Historic Boston school programs receive this recording for free.
LISTEN TO SAMPLE NOW:
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Smart Board Lesson From a Social Studies Teacher
October 7, 2009 by Ben Edwards · Leave a Comment
Back in March of this year I had the opportunity to make an author visit to Leicester Memorial School in Leicester, Massachusetts. Every room was outfitted with a Smart Board and I heard rave reviews from the fifth grade teachers and their students. This was my first experience with electronic whiteboards and it really opened my eyes to the exciting future of classroom education. Smart Board is helping teachers rethink their approach to teaching. The options for imaginative lesson planning are vast. I saw firsthand how educators had instant access to a wide array of electronic resources and how this helped them to accommodate different learning styles. I was told the students showed increased motivation and enjoyed the interaction the technology offers. Today’s students are immersed in a world of electronic gadgets outside of school and they love it. It’s completely logical to utilize similar technologies in school to keep students fully engaged and make learning a lot more fun! That’s what Smart Board is doing for schools here in Massachusetts and across the country. Below are two videos that demonstrate how one Social Studies teacher is using Smart Board technology in his classroom.
Interactive Whiteboard Demonstration (as shown above)
Interactive Whiteboard Demonstration 2
Best Revolutionary History Blog: Boston 1775
October 6, 2009 by Ben Edwards · Leave a Comment
I’d like to make teachers aware of an outstanding online resource for information on New England just before, during, and after the Revolutionary War – the Boston 1775 blog. The blog is authored by J.L. Bell, a Massachusetts writer who specializes in the start of the American Revolution in and around Boston. J.L. has published scholarly papers and popular articles for both children and adults. His recent presentation “Gossiping about the Gores”, the story of one family from Colonial Boston, is archived by the WGBH Forum Network.
J.L. Bell is more than a writer who is passionate about history; he’s also a bit of a detective. Since 2006, the content on Boston 1775 has grown to over 1,300 posts, with many being the result of his exhaustive research into primary sources. Educators and all those passionate about history can truly spend hours on this blog learning information that will make them think about historical events in a different way. You’ll find numerous posts on Lexington and Concord, the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill and so much more.
Two posts I found particularly fascinating were on the myths and realities of the Quartering Act. Back in grade school I was taught that the Quartering Act forced Boston families to provide food and shelter for the King’s troops occupying the town. I had pictured colonists being required to open up their homes to soldiers without any payment in return or say in the matter. By reading posts at Boston 1775, I realized this was not the case. The Act only referred to shelter in “unoccupied” buildings and not inhabited ones.
Some Boston families did house British soldiers in their homes before the war but most did so due to economic necessity and were compensated for it in the form of rent. One example of this is the family of Old North Church sexton Robert Newman. Knowledge of the true nature of the Quartering Act came too late for me to catch a small Act related error on page 31 of my children’s book One April in Boston – but I guess that’s what second editions are for! It’s an example of what one can gain from reading Boston 1775, and ensures that today I’m conveying the correct information to the students I work with both on field trips and in the classroom. Thanks J.L. for all the time and effort you’ve invested in creating this important resource for educators and history buffs alike.