How to Find Out the History of Your House and Lot

The following article was originally published on the Jamaica Plain Historical Society and being republished with permission from JPHS. A Guide to Boston Information Sources
Since records for your house and lot go by city and county respectively, any JP resident checking on these topics must be aware of our area’s history. Jamaica Plain has never been a separate political entity but rather a part of the Town of Roxbury from its founding in 1630 until 1851, when it became a part of the Town of West Roxbury during its existence from 1851 until 1874. When that town was annexed by Boston in 1874, all the municipal records of West Roxbury were taken over by the City of Boston, which had already annexed Roxbury in 1868. In the matter of counties also Jamaica Plain has gone back and forth—a rarity in Massachusetts cities and towns.

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The China Trade

Rescheduled from spring 2020, this Jamaica Plain Historical Society talk will now be held virtually. At a moment when our country has been facing great divisions, Prof. Dane Morrison of Salem State University will discuss how Americans forged a national identity after the War of Independence. After breaking free from British rule, American identity had more to do with sailing to the East than trekking into the West.  Private  journals, letters, ships’ logs, memoirs, and newspaper accounts help trace America’s earliest encounters on a global stage. This talk will particularly focus on the travels of the Forbes family, from Jamaica Plain to China. Free and open to the public. This talk will be virtual and we ask that you please pre-register so that we can send you the link and other event details: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-china-trade-tickets-133127843965

Remarkable Photos of Leon Abdalian

Rescheduled from spring 2020, this Jamaica Plain Historical Society talk will now be held virtually. The photographer Leon Hampartzoum Abdalian was born in 1884 in what was Cilician Armenia, then located in the Ottoman Empire (now modern Turkey). He migrated with his family to the United States in April of 1896 and they eventually settled in Jamaica Plain. It is believed that he was largely self-taught as a photographer. For most of the time he was photographing (1913 -1967) he also worked full-time as a conductor on the Boston Elevated Railway.

The History of 101 Carolina Avenue

At the corner of Carolina Avenue and Lee Street in Jamaica Plain sits a charming cottage on an unusually large parcel of land for the surrounding neighborhood. This house, at 101 Carolina Avenue, was the first to be built on the street. Though significant for its age, also important is the role it played in the history of Jamaica Plain and the development of the field of social work. Between 1853, when the house was constructed, and 1913, most of the owners and occupants of 101 Carolina Avenue were related by marriage, blood, or business ties. In 1913, the house transformed from a single-family home into the home of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood House Association, a settlement house that served the working people of Jamaica Plain and the influx of immigrants moving into the neighborhood.

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Jamaica Plain Historical Society Annual Members’ Event

This year the annual Jamaica Plain Historical Society members’ event will be a virtual meeting held on Zoom. We won’t be able to share our usual repast with the members, but we will provide the report on the past year’s activities and, of course, conduct the annual JP history trivia quiz. The event will provide a time to socialize (virtually) with your fellow JPHS members. Members, please look for your invitation in the mail which will include the details on how to participate. This event is only open to active members of the Jamaica Plain Historical Society.

JPHS: Immigration & Naturalization – Online Webinar

This is a Jamaica Plain Historical Society event
For many family historians, a time comes when they need to research their ancestor’s country of origin. Knowing what resources exist and how to find them can be particularly challenging when first beginning this search. Naturalization records are important resources for these family historians. Often these records provide the immigrant’s origins, age or birth date, and approximate arrival to the U.S. In this lecture, Rhonda R. McClure, Senior Genealogist at American Ancestors and the New England Historical and Genealogical Society, will go over what records exist, how to search them, and where to locate essential resources when researching your immigrant ancestor. Rhonda R. McClure, Senior Genealogist, is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer.

Walking Tour of Woodbourne

Join the Jamaica Plain Historical Society to tour this part of the JP neighborhood which developed from 19th-century summer estates into a model suburban enclave. It contains examples representative of New England architecture with designs by local architects and builders. It also contains an unusual garden city model housing development by the Boston Dwelling House Company which was founded in 1912. All tours are free to the public and are offered on dates shown. Tours last between 60 and 90 minutes and are canceled in case of heavy rain.

Who are the Suffragist Heroines of Jamaica Plain?

August 26 is the 100th anniversary of the official certification of the ratification of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which banned states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens on the basis of sex. Jamaica Plain was an important place in the suffrage movement, where many women's-rights agitators made their home. Judith Winsor Smith, who lived in Jamaica Plain in the latter part of her long life, was a suffragist and abolitionist. When she voted for the first time, in 1920, at the age of 99, she was dubbed "the oldest suffragist of them all." In Jamaica Plain she lived with her daughter, Zilpha Smith, who was a pioneer in the development of the field of family social work in Boston.

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Historical Society Leading (Real Life) Walking Tours of Stony Brook, Hyde Square, Jamaica Pond and More

The Jamaica Plain Historical Society is leading four real life walking tours during the next four weekends. The hourlong tours are on Saturdays . The tour schedule is as follows: Stony Brook; Hyde Square; Green Street; and Jamaica Pond. JPHS has had to adapt their tours to modern pandemic times. "Luckily, the tours are all outside and that also makes things safer.

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Reading Frederick Douglass Together Event on July 11 Kicks Off Anti-Racism Summer Programming

A bilingual community reading and discussion of Frederick Douglass' 1852 speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" on July 11 will kick off a series of anti-racist summer programming in Egleston Square. This will be the fifth annual reading of Douglass' speech in Egleston Square. This year's event is at the Egleston Square Peace Garden at 3129 Washington St. The event is being co-moderated by Anne Hernández, a social worker for Boston Public Schools, and Adjunct Professor at Boston College School of Social Work, and Josué Sakata, Assistant Director of History and Social Studies for Boston Public Schools.

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