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Featured: Stories and Destinations of American History

On this date...

Pullman Palace Company In 1659, the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law banning Christmas, forbidding “feasting and similar satanic practices”—with a penalty of five shillings. Back in 1621, the Plymouth Colony scrooge, er, governor had personally confiscated toys. In 1751, the first chartered hospital in the US was founded in Philadelphia. In 1776, Rumors swirl that German troops, hired by the British, are en route to America. To John Hancock, Washington proposes that Cong

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On this date...

Pullman Palace Company In 1659, the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law banning Christmas, forbidding “feasting and similar satanic practices”—with a penalty of five shillings. Back in 1621, the Plymouth Colony scrooge, er, governor had personally confiscated toys. In 1751, the first chartered hospital in the US was founded in Philadelphia. In 1776, Rumors swirl that German troops, hired by the British, are en route to America. To John Hancock, Washington proposes that Cong

Quote of the day...

“I will confess, indeed, that I am not a blind admirer of this plan of government, and that there are some parts of it, if my wish had prevailed, would certainly have been altered. But, when I reflect how widely men differ in their opinions, and that every man, (and the observation applies likewise to every state,) has an equal pretension to assert his own, I am satisfied that anything nearer to perfection could not have been accomplished... Regarding it, then, in every point

William Whipple

William Whipple was born on January 14, 1730, to Captain William Sr. and Mary (Cutts) Whipple. He was the eldest of five children. His paternal family can be traced back to Great-Great-Great-Grandfather Matthew Whipple, who left England and immigrated to Ipswich, Massachusetts, about 1638. He had been a clothier in Bocking, England. Whipple’s father was a brewer who later became a sea captain. His maternal line can be traced to William Cutts of Bristol, England, who had settl

Matthew Thornton

Matthew Thornton was born on March 3, 1714, in Lisburn County, Antrim, Ireland, to James and Elizabeth Thornton. He would be one of three signers born in Ireland. His parents had 8 children, and Dr. Thornton was the third-oldest. His family can be traced to England, then relocated to Scotland before finally settling in Ireland. Not much is known about his early years. We do know that the family left Ireland about 1717, when Dr. Thornton was three years old, and arrived in Bos

Josiah Bartlett

Josiah Bartlett was born on November 21, 1729, in Amesbury, Essex County, MA, to Stephen and Mary Bartlett. He was the youngest of seven children. His father was a cobbler, and the family lineage can be traced back to the Norman invasion of England in 1066. His ancestor, Adam Barttelot, was esquire to a Knight, Sir Brian, who would become Brian de Stopham. Adam fought at the Battle of Hastings during the invasions. There is limited documentation suggesting that Adam may have

On this date...

Coca-Cola advertisement In 1541, south of present-day Memphis, Tennessee, Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River, becoming one of the first European explorers ever to do so. In 1639, William Coddington founded Newport, Rhode Island. In 1776, Washington confirmed sentences from a court-martial: One soldier is to receive 20 lashes for deserting his guard. He also confronts the spread of smallpox, directing officers to identify infected men immediate

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