Illustration: Ousamequin, or “Massasoit” (Wampanoag term for “Great Sachem”) and Governor John Carver smoking a ceremonial pipe at Plymouth Colony in 1621. Credit: Sutro Library; Wikimedia Commons.

Photos from the Past: Wampanoag Tribes of Mashpee and Gay Head (Aquinnah) (part 10)

By Melissa Berry on October 23, 2026

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry focuses on Mashpee Chief of Police Louis/Lewis Francis Mills and family... (Read More)

Illustration: a drawing of Edgar Allan Poe made from the “Ultima Thule” daguerreotype by Mathew Benjamin Brady, before 1849. Credit: National Archives at College Park.

Edgar Allan Poe, Father of the Macabre: Perfect for Halloween (part 2)

By Katie Rebecca Merkley on October 23, 2026

In this article – as Halloween approaches – Katie Rebecca Merkley concludes her two-part series about Edgar Allan Poe, the “Father of the Macabre.”.. (Read More)

Photo: Edgar Allan Poe, c. May-June 1849. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Edgar Allan Poe, Father of the Macabre: Perfect for Halloween (part 1)

By Katie Rebecca Merkley on October 22, 2026

In this article – as Halloween approaches – Katie Rebecca Merkley writes about Edgar Allan Poe, the “Father of the Macabre.”.. (Read More)

Photo: John C. Parker and his daughter Wilma Parker outside his family home in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Credit: Wilma Parker.

New England Ghost Hunter and His Haunted Houses (part 4)

By Melissa Berry on October 21, 2026

With Halloween approaching, Melissa Davenport Berry writes about ghost hunter John Parker, focusing on a spooky house in Springfield, Massachusetts... (Read More)

Photo: Family History Month graphic. Credit: https://depositphotos.com/home.html

Family History Month, Week 3: What Am I Missing?

By Gena Philibert-Ortega on October 19, 2026

To celebrate Family History Month in October, Gena Philibert-Ortega discovers some missing information about her maternal great-grandfather... (Read More)

Photos from the Past: Wampanoag Tribes of Mashpee and Gay Head (Aquinnah) (part 9)

By Melissa Berry on October 16, 2026

Melissa Davenport Berry focuses on Amelia (Peters) Bingham, a former Elder of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe who preserved the traditions of her people... (Read More)

Photo: Franklin family monument at the Granary Burial Ground in Boston, Massachusetts.

Leaky Court Drama in Newbury

By Melissa Berry on October 14, 2026

Melissa Davenport Berry writes about some tricky legal problems that plagued Benjamin Franklin, uncle of the Founding Father of the same name... (Read More)

Bender victims’ graves, Dr. York’s grave at far right, 1873. Credit: George R. Gamble; Wikimedia Commons.

Little Horror House on the Prairie: The Bender Murders

By James Pylant on October 13, 2026

In this article, James Pylant describes the Bender family, serial killers who ran a tavern in Kansas in the 1870s... (Read More)

Family History Month graphic. Credit: https://depositphotos.com/home.html

Family History Month, Week 2: Create a Timeline

By Gena Philibert-Ortega on October 12, 2026

To celebrate Family History Month in October, Gena Philibert-Ortega describes how she created and used a timeline for her paternal grandfather... (Read More)