Coming Soon: A Theater Near You
Several months ago, I wrote about actress Nancy Hallam (“In Praise of Artistic Genius,” September 10, 2020) and the rundown playhouse (“A Dramatic Scheme,” October 8, 2020) in which she […]
Rising Joys
Christmas Eve 2020 is a fitting day to look back to a Christmas poem published in the Maryland Gazette 250 years ago. The verses penned by “P. K_N___DY” (perhaps a […]
Liberty is what we are all contending for…
Two months had passed since a group of Baltimore merchants called for a meeting in Annapolis to consider whether Maryland should continue enforcing a strict boycott of certain British imports […]
A Predictable Pattern
Maryland’s last proprietary governor, Robert Eden, was nothing if not predictable. Early in his administration, he established a pattern of proroguing the General Assembly (suspending the legislature without officially dissolving […]
Unanimous Resolutions
Following her husband Samuel’s death in August 1770, Anne Middleton assumed control of the family’s Annapolis tavern and ferrying business. October 25th was a busy day for her, as that […]
Cracks in the Wall
By the autumn of 1770, serious cracks were appearing in the American colonies’ united front against unpopular British policies. More than six months after Parliament repealed the Townshend Duties (except […]
A Dramatic Scheme
Last month, I wrote about actress Nancy Hallam, who caught the eye of an Annapolis gentleman (most likely Rev. Jonathan Boucher, rector of St. Anne’s Church) at a 1770 performance […]
What’s The Story?
It is for a gentleman to whom I have done (as the Saying is) Ninety-nine good Turns…” I sometimes come across a notice in the Maryland Gazette that leaves me […]
Agreeable to the Association
In September 1770, more than a year into a partial economic shutdown, many Annapolitans were weary but still committed to seeing it through to an acceptable outcome. In the summer […]
In Praise of Artistic Genius
The anonymous gentleman was smitten. He had just attended the American Company’s performance of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, King of Britain, and he simply had to share his enthusiastic admiration of one […]
Melted Majesty
These days, most news stories about public statues consider them as objects of destructive rather than constructive acts, but 250 years ago, subscribers to the Maryland Gazette read about the […]
Warm Zeal in the Cause of Liberty
For the past few weeks, I’ve been looking at the dispute between Annapolis merchants Williams and Company and the local Committee of Inspection that played out on the pages of […]