Fieldstone Common Season 1

Listen in to Fieldstone Common this week as host Marian Pierre-Louis talks to Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective, about her books The Last Muster and Fashionable Folks Hairstyles 1840-1900. The Last Muster is a collection of rare nineteenth-century photographic images of the Revolutionary War generation. This extraordinary collection of images assigns faces to an un-illustrated war and tells the stories of our nation's Founding Fathers and Mothers. The array of seventy images is expansive and includes veterans, loyalists, Native Americans, African Americans, children who witnessed battles and aided soldiers, and women who nursed the wounded and even took up arms themselves. Maureen Taylor is an internationally recognized expert on the intersection of history, genealogy, and photography. She has been featured in top media outlets, including The View, Better Homes & Gardens, the Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, MSNBC, New Morning (Hallmark Channel), Life Magazine, PBS Ancestors, Creative Memories’ Lasting Moments, Dear Myrtle, and Satisfaction Magazine. Maureen is the author of a number of books and magazine articles, as well as a contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine. Maureen investigates photographs the way private eyes investigate cases. She discovers stories behind family pictures by following clues … a hat, the shape of a woman’s sleeve, or a sign in the background. Through her website, PhotoDetective.com, Maureen offers practical, affordable advice on how to save and organize photos. She also writes about the latest photo-related topics, products, and media coverage on her Photo Detective blog. For more details and upcoming schedule see: http://FieldstoneCommon.blogspot.com

Listen in to Fieldstone Common this week as host Marian Pierre-Louis talks to author Diane Rapaport about her book The Naked Quaker: True Crimes and Controversies from the Courts of Colonial New England. The word “Puritan” conjures up dour images of 17th-century New Englanders. We rarely think of Puritans as people who had fun, or sex. Our ancestors used different words, but human nature was not so different 350 years ago. In the title story, a Quaker woman walks into Puritan Sunday meeting and drops her dress to protest actions of the colonial authorities. The Naked Quaker takes us into the lives of our ancestors, revealing how they behaved and spoke. A highway robber threatens his victim: “I will take you by your eyelids and make your heels strike fire!” A mysterious woman wields “enthusiastical power” over married men, who break the law to follow her. Diane Rapaport, a former trial lawyer, has made a new career as a historical consultant, genealogist, award-winning author and popular speaker. She offers an unusual combination of expertise and experience—in law, history and genealogy—and she enjoys discovering and telling the stories of our past. She specializes in court records and other historical resources of New England, and her current research focuses on African Americans and Native Americans in the colonial period. She is also the author of  New England Court Records: A Research Guide for Genealogists and Historians. For more details and upcoming schedule see: http://FieldstoneCommon.blogspot.com

The Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts, built c. 1637 is the oldest timber-frame house in America. It is unique for being owned and lived-in by 8 generations of the Fairbanks family. No other family ever lived in this house.  But this house is not just the best preserved 17th century home, it also demonstrates the changes that have occurred in New England and American history over 372 years. On Thursday, September 13, 2012 Marian Pierre-Louis will speak with Fairbanks House curator, Meaghan Siekham. Meaghan will explore many topics that bring the history of the Fairbanks House alive including the mysteries of the house, Puritan Superstitions, the lives of women at the house and much more. Tune in live to be eligible to win one of two copies of the book The Fairbanks House by Abbott Lowell Cummings generously donated by the New England Historic Genealogical Society. We'll also be giving out two pairs of tickets to tour the Fairbanks House. LIVE: THURSDAY, 13 September 2012 at 1:00pm EST

Lewis Hine was the photographer whose early 20th century photos of working children shaped child labor laws in the United States. For the past seven years, Joe Manning has been conducting the Lewis Hine Project, an effort to track down and interview the descendants of child laborers photographed by Lewis Hine in the early 1900s. His work has resulted in stories about the lives of over 300 of those children. The project has been featured on numerous National Public Radio news and interview programs, and in a lengthy article in Yankee Magazine. It is now also a current exhibit at the Lawrence, Massachusetts History Center. Join Fieldstone Common host, Marian Pierre-Louis on Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 1pm EST as she talks with Joe Manning about this fascinating project.

Martin Hollick wrote the definitive resource for genealogists researching New England ancestors in the 17th century. His book, New Englanders in the 1600s: A Guide to Genealogical Research Published Between 1980 and 2010 (Expanded Edition) has been updated to include 5 more years and additional resources. Tune in to Fieldstone Common as we talk to Martin about the challenges of researching in the 1600s and learn invaluable research tips to ensure success. Whether you are a novice researcher or have many years experience, you will surely learn something new. Tune in live to be eligible to win one of two copies of the book to be given away during the show. LIVE: THURSDAY, 30 AUGUST 2012 at 1:00pm EST

Paul Della Valle, author of Massachusetts TroubleMakers: Rebels, Reformers and Radicals from the Bay State, will talk about his book and the backgound that went into making it.  Come hear about 21 famous troublemakers from Massachusetts history including Thomas Morton, Anne Hutchinson, Daniel Shays, Henry David Thoreau and Robert Gould Shaw.  The stories will surprise and inspire you!