
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! As we all prepare ourselves for the fun-filled frenzy of family gatherings and eating too much, the Rhode Island Historical Society would like to share some Thanksgiving recollections from one of our former librarians, Edwin Martin Stone (1805-1883).
Stone was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, the son of Martin Stone and Sally (Coolidge) Stone. The family moved to Vermont when he was eight, then to western Pennsylvania and Indiana. He returned to Massachusetts as a young man and worked as a printer and journalist in Boston before becoming a Congregational minister in Beverly, Massachusetts, serving from 1834 to 1847. He moved to Providence in 1847 to serve with the Ministry at Large through 1877. In 1851 he was appointed as the volunteer cabinet keeper (librarian) of the Rhode Island Historical Society and served from 1851 to 1880.
In his diary entry dated November 30, 1848, Stone describes in fond detail the Thanksgivings of his childhood:
He goes on to describe how much he would like to relive those days.
Stone’s Thanksgiving entry in his diary concludes with a description of his 1848 Thanksgiving Day festivities. As an adult he preached in Beverly, Massachusetts before moving to Providence to serve the poor communities as a member of the Ministry at Large.
Happy Thanksgiving!
– Michelle Chiles, Robinson Research Center Coordinator
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