The most recent episode of Fieldstone Common featuring Ava Chamberlain author of the book The Notorious Elizabeth Tuttle: Marriage, Murder, and Madness in the Family of Jonathan Edwards is now available as a podcast.
The podcast can be played through the computer using your default media player (click play below) or downloaded to iTunes (also below).
LIVE: THURSDAY, 28 March 2013 at 1:00pm EDT
This week on Fieldstone Common, Marian Pierre-Louis interviews Prof. Ava Chamberlain, author of The Notorious Elizabeth Tuttle: Marriage, Murder, and Madness in the Family of Jonathan Edwards.
Who was Elizabeth Tuttle?
In most histories, she is a footnote, a blip. At best, she is a minor villain in the story of Jonathan Edwards, perhaps the greatest American theologian of the colonial era. Many historians consider Jonathan Edwards a theological genius, wildly ahead of his time, a Puritan hero. Elizabeth Tuttle was Edwards’s “crazy grandmother,” the one whose madness and adultery drove his despairing grandfather to divorce.
In this compelling and meticulously researched work of micro-history, Ava Chamberlain unearths a fuller history of Elizabeth Tuttle. It is a violent and tragic story in which anxious patriarchs struggle to govern their households, unruly women disobey their husbands, mental illness tears families apart, and loved ones die sudden deaths. Through the lens of Elizabeth Tuttle, Chamberlain re-examines the common narrative of Jonathan Edwards’s ancestry, giving his long-ignored paternal grandmother a voice.
The Notorious Elizabeth Tuttle not only brings to light the tragic story of an ordinary 
woman living in early New England, it also explores the deeper tension between the ideal of Puritan family life and its messy reality, complicating the way America has thought about its Puritan past.
Ava Chamberlain is Associate Professor of Religion at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She is the editor of The “Miscellanies,” Nos. 501-832, vol. 18 of The Works of Jonathan Edwards.
Following are some items that were mentioned during the 21 March 2013 Fieldstone Common interview with Peter F. Stevens, author of Hidden History of the Boston Irish: Little Known Tales from Ireland’s “Next Parish Over.”
The podcast of the interview is now available.
Hidden History of the Boston Irish, published by The History Press, is available for purchase from major books sellers online and off such as Amazon.com.
Other books by Peter Stevens include:
The History Press, the publisher of Hidden History of the Boston Irish: Little Known Tales from Ireland’s “Next Parish Over.”, donated two copies of the book that were given as “door prizes” during the live show to listeners in Michigan and Texas. A big thank you to The History Press for their generosity!
Fieldstone Common’s sponsor is Houstory, makers of the Home History Book and the Heirloom Registry. Fieldstone Common listeners can take 33 % off their Heirloom Registry order by visiting the Heirloom Registry at www.heirloomregistry.com, and entering RT2013 – in all caps – at checkout. Offer good through March 25, 2013.Fieldstone Common greatly appreciates the support of Houstory as a sponsor. Show your support for Fieldstone Common by visiting our sponsor’s site.
** Read “New Service Safeguards Heirlooms’ Lore” in Antique Trader Magazine featuring Fieldstone Common sponsor The Heirloom Registry by Houstory. **
The most recent episode of Fieldstone Common featuring Peter F. Stevens, author of the book Hidden History of the Boston Irish: Little Known Tales from Ireland’s “Next Parish Over.” is now available as a podcast.
The podcast can be played through the computer using your default media player (click play below) or downloaded to iTunes (also below).
LIVE: THURSDAY, 21 March 2013 at 1:00pm EST
This week on Fieldstone Common, Marian Pierre-Louis interviews Peter F. Stevens, author of Hidden History of the Boston Irish.
When it comes to Irish America, certain names spring to mind Kennedy, O’Neill and Curley testify to the proverbial footsteps of the Gael in Boston. However, few people know of Sister Mary Anthony O’Connell, whose medical prowess carried her from the convent to the Civil War battlefields, earning her the nickname the Boston Irish Florence Nightingale, or of Barney McGinniskin, Boston’s first Irish cop, who proudly roared at every roll call, McGinniskin from the bogs of Ireland present! Along with acclaim or notoriety, many forgotten Irish Americans garnered numerous historical firsts. In Hidden History of the Boston Irish, Peter F. Stevens offers an entertaining and compelling portrait of the Irish immigrant saga and pays homage to the overlooked, yet significant, episodes of the Boston Irish experience.
Peter F. Stevens, news and features editor of the Boston Irish Reporter, is a veteran journalist with a specialty in historical writing. His work is syndicated by the New York Times and has been published in dozens of magazines and newspapers.
Stevens has published ten books, and is also a two-time winner of the International Regional Magazine Association’s Gold Medal for Feature Writing. His awarding winning book, The Voyage of the Catalpa: A Perilous Journey and Six Irish Rebels’ Escape to Freedom, was also the chief historical resource for the PBS documentary “Irish Escape.”
We had a terrific show yesterday with two veteran genealogists, Barbara Mathews, CG and Melinde Lutz Byrne, FASG, CG. In the first half hour the discussion with Barbara Mathews centered around records access. The second half hour featured Melinde Lutz Byrne talking about researching in the 1600s. You will enjoy the topics!
Yesterday’s show was supposed to feature Bonnie Hurd Smith speaking about her book Mingling Souls Upon Paper. Due to illness she had to cancel at last moment. That show will be rescheduled for May 16, 2013.
Following are some items that were mentioned during the 7 March 2013 Fieldstone Common interview with Michelle Marchetti Coughlin, author of One Colonial Woman’s World: The Life and Writings of Mehetabel Chandler Coit.
The podcast of the interview is now available.
You can learn more about the book at the One Colonial Woman’s World website. The site also includes a list of appearance that Michelle Marchetti Coughlin will be making this year.
One Colonial Woman’s World, published by The University of Massachusetts Press, is available for purchase from major books sellers online and off such as Amazon.com.
The Chandler family was originally from Roxbury, Massachusetts. In 1686 a number of Roxbury families including the Chandlers settled “New Roxbury” which later became Woodstock, Connecticut.
Mehetabel Chandler’s maternal side, the Douglases, settled in New London. Mehetabel married John Coit, also of New London, Connecticut.
During the week of the show it was discovered that Fieldstone Common host, Marian Pierre-Louis, is a descendant of Mehetabel Chandler Coit’s parents John Chandler and Elizabeth Douglas continuing down through the line of Mehetabel’s brother, John Chandler and his wife, Mary Raymond. Fieldstone Common listener Heather Rojo is also a descendant through Mehetabel’s sister, Hannah Chandler who married Moses Draper.
The University of Massachusetts Press, the publisher of One Colonial Woman’s World, donated two copies of the book that were given as “door prizes” during the live show to listeners in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. A big thank you to The University of Massachusetts Press for their generosity!
To see the Heirloom Registry entry — including photos — for the radio, visit www.heirloomregistry.com and enter registration number: SNTS-256-996-3497-2012.
Fieldstone Common’s sponsor is Houstory, makers of the Home History Book and the Heirloom Registry. Fieldstone Common listeners can take 15 % off their Heirloom Registry order by visiting the Heirloom Registry at www.heirloomregistry.com, and entering FIELDSTONE – in all caps – at checkout.
Fieldstone Common greatly appreciates the support of Houstory as a sponsor. Show your support for Fieldstone Common by visiting our sponsor’s site.
** Read “New Service Safeguards Heirlooms’ Lore” in Antique Trader Magazine featuring Fieldstone Common sponsor The Heirloom Registry by Houstory. **
Be sure to mark your calendar. We’ll be giving away some great books during the live broadcasts of Fieldstone Common.
| 7 March 2013 at 1pm EST |  |
One Woman’s Colonial World with Michelle Marchetti Couglin. One Colonial Woman’s World reconstructs the life of Mehetabel Chandler Coit (1673–1758), the author of what may be the earliest surviving diary by an American woman. |
| 14 March 2013 at 1pm EST |  |
Mingling Souls Upon Paper with Bonnie Hurd Smith. Through the letters of Judith Sargent Murray, author Bonnie Hurd Smith brings to life an extraordinary 18th century love story. |
| 21 March 2013 at 1pm EST |  |
Hidden History of the Boston Irish with Peter F. Stevens. Peter Stevens offers an entertaining and compelling portrait of the Irish immigrant saga and the Boston Irish experience. |
| 28 March 2013 at 1pm EST |  |
The Notorious Elizabeth Tuttle with Ava Chamberlain. Elizabeth Tuttle was Jonathan Edwards’s “crazy grandmother.” This book brings to light the tragic story of an ordinary woman and explores the deeper tensions between the ideal Puritan life and its messy reality. |
The most recent episode of Fieldstone Common featuring Michelle Marchetti Coughlin, author of the book One Colonial Woman’s World: The Life and Writings of Mehetabel Chandler Coit is now available as a podcast.
The podcast can be played through the computer using your default media player (click play below) or downloaded to iTunes (also below).
*** Now extended until Thursday, March 14th ***
Last September the Photo Detective Maureen Taylor was on Fieldstone Com
mon. During that interview she made a News Breaking announcement regarding her plan to make a documentary film about The Last Muster.
Just last week Maureen and Verissima Productions initiated a Kickstarter campaign to raise seed money for the project. This is project that I believe in. I’ve already made my own pledge.
Here’s a video about the project –
Learn more about the project here.
I hope that Fieldstone Common listeners will consider supporting this worthwhile project.
To encourage that I’ll be raffling off a copy of The Last Muster. To be eligible to win the book you’ll need to pledge $25 to the kickstarter campaign by Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 6pm.
After you make your pledge leave a comment here or send an email so I’ll know to include your name in the raffle. After 6pm one name will selected to win the book.