In this episode we welcome Sarah McDonough of the Lexington History Museums. We discuss what happened when Paul Revere reached Lexington, some individuals’ stories from that revolutionary moment and that era, and the magic that happens in both costumed interpretation and large reenactments like the ones coming up. In the Our Favorite Questions segment, Revere House interpreter Jay shares some details of 18th-century daily life.

Please note that the episode includes discussion of some of the violent realities of both war and slavery.

• Lexington History Museums
• 1825 book that includes William Munroe’s account
• A History of the Fight at Concord, by Ezra Ripley (Google Books link)
• Dolly Hancock’s account
• “Mark Hung in Chains:” Slavery & Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride” from our Revere Express blog
• Liberty and Servitude at the Hancock-Clarke House
• Patriots’ Day events in Lexington
• April 18th events in Boston and Charlestown

https://www.paulreverehouse.org/

This episode’s guest is Nikki Stewart, Executive Director of Old North Illuminated. She says that Old North Church is famous for just one minute, when Paul Revere’s signal lanterns shone, but there’s a lot more to the church’s long history. Nikki shares information that research has uncovered in the past five years and how it has reshaped their interpretation of the historic site. In the Our Favorite Things segment, interpreters Corbin and Derek talk about historical legends and how people in different eras could have markedly different ways of viewing the world.

• Old North Illuminated
• Hub history podcast
• Play: Revolution’s Edge
• Lanterns and Luminaries event honoring Ken Burns
• 250th events at Old North and beyond
• Upcoming events at the Paul Revere House, including April 18 events
• Dr. Jaimie Crumley on Beulah Speen: “The Social Construction of Race in Early Massachusetts History”
• Dr. Jaimie Crumley’s PRMA lecture "Old England in New England: Contradictions in the History of Boston's Old North Church"

https://www.paulreverehouse.org/

In the kickoff to season 4, we are re-airing excerpts from a five-part series that previous host Robert released in 2020, all about the Midnight Ride. The 250th anniversary of the Midnight Ride is this April 18, so more Ride content is coming soon! In addition, Paul Revere House interpreters Derek and Hann kick off this season’s Our Favorite Questions segment, discussing disease and death in the colonial era, Rachel Revere, and more.

• Revere Express blog post, “Paul Revere’s ‘Other Rides’”
• Midnight Ride information on our new website for students and teachers, including primary sources
• Revere’s report to Jeremy Belknap
• Upcoming events at the Paul Revere House
• Book: Spies, Soldiers, and Saboteurs: Women of the American Revolution, by K.M. Waldvogel

https://www.paulreverehouse.org/

3.6: If not “The Black Paul Revere,” Who was Wentworth Cheswill?: interview with John Herman

NH patriot Wentworth Cheswill is sometimes termed “The Black Paul Revere,” but he’s a fascinating historical figure in his own right. John Herman is an English teacher who got hooked on researching and sharing Cheswill’s story. To wrap up season 3, former podcast co-host Robert is the guest on the segment Our Favorite Questions.

• Book: Wentworth Cheswill’s Ride: Chasing a Would-Be American Folk Hero by John Herman
• John’s website
• The Lakewood (Ohio) Historical Society

https://www.paulreverehouse.org/

In 1954, during a legal battle over her right to perform in Boston, actress and singer Christine Jorgensen visited the Paul Revere House. This episode’s guest, Mehitabel Glenhaber, wrote a Revere House Gazette article about these events. Interpreter Cal shares how her training as a historical archaeologist informs how she answers her favorite visitor questions.

• Photo: Christine Jorgenson walking into Paul Revere's home
• Photo: Christine Jorgenson outside Boston Information center
• Photo: Christine Jorgenson inside Paul Revere's house, kneeling beside a rocking cradle
• Book: Christine Jorgensen, a Personal Autobiography by Christine Jorgensen
• Information on Paul Revere House membership and Gazette subscription
• Information on archeological work done at the Paul Revere House, 1980s-2010s
• Book: Purchasing Identity in the Atlantic World: Massachusetts Merchants, 1670-1780 by Phyllis Whitman Hunter

https://www.paulreverehouse.org/

On select Saturdays, visitors get to interact with Paul Revere himself, as portrayed by Mike LePage. In this episode, Mike shares his experiences in the world of historical reenacting. Interpreter Adam is the guest on Our Favorite Questions.

• Upcoming Paul Revere House events, including visits with Paul Revere
• Book: Paul Revere's Ride by David Hackett Fischer
• Book: A True Republican: The Life of Paul Revere by Jayne E. Triber
• Book: Johnny Tremain: a story of Boston in Revolt by Esther Forbes
• Winslow House Museum
• Adams National Historic Park
• Book: Midnight Ride, Industrial Dawn: Paul Revere and the Growth of American Enterprise by Robert Martello

https://www.paulreverehouse.org/

On September 16, 1774, Paul Revere delivered the Suffolk Resolves to the delegates at the First Continental Congress, held at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia. This episode’s guest is Michael Norris, Executive Director of Carpenters’ Hall, which is now a historic site. We’ll also hear a second excerpt from the Suffolk Resolves and hear from interpreter Cadee in Our Favorite Questions.

• Carpenters’ Hall
• The Suffolk Resolves full text, from the Massachusetts Historical Society
• John Adams’s “Sinful Feast” journal entry (about ⅓ down the page, Septr. 8.)

https://www.paulreverehouse.org/

On September 11, 1774, Paul Revere set out from Milton, MA to Philadelphia with a document that left the royal government “thunderstruck,” the Suffolk Resolves. In this episode, Diann Ralph will describe the impact this now-obscure document had on the Revolution. We’ll also hear an excerpt from the opening of the document, and Tegan will introduce Derek, who will be hosting the segment Our Favorite Questions.

• Milton Historical Society (Suffolk Resolves House)
• The Suffolk Resolves full text, from the Massachusetts Historical Society
• Book: 1774: The Long Year of Revolution by Mary Beth Norton
• Book: ​​King and Congress: The Transfer of Political Legitimacy, 1774-1776 by Jerrilyn Greene Marston
• Pamphlet: The Story of the Suffolk Resolves
• Book: Life and Times of Joseph Warren by Richard Frothingham
• Information on Paul Revere House membership and Gazette subscription

https://www.paulreverehouse.org/