Our Chapters
There are chapters of the Massachusetts Society throughout the Commonwealth from Cape Cod, through the North and South Shore, and into Western Massachusetts. Through these, since 1898, the Massachusetts Society has provided tens of thousands of people opportunities to give back to their community. If you are interested in what is happening in a particular part of the state, use the links below to write the local chairperson. Ask to be put on their email list or to attend a meeting to learn more.
To keep atmosphere fresh, most chapters have a "ladder" for a regular succession of officers, usually starting with Chairman and moving along on a three-, four-, or five-year path to President. This ensures continuity in the chapter and allows people to plan for additional responsibility.
Click on the name of the chapter below to write them for more information or to join their mailing list.
| Name | Location | Overview |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | Boston | The people of Boston were most outspoken and violent in their reaction to taxes, threatening to harm British customs officials trying to collect taxes. As a result, the British quartered troops in Boston to protect their officials. Then, in 1770, the Boston Massacre occurred as British troops fired into a group of protesters, killing five of them. Later, in 1773 the British granted the East India Company a virtual monopoly on the importation of tea. |
| Cape Cod and Islands | Various locations | On June 20, 1775, a general notice was given to all inhabitants of Martha's Vineyard to turn out and assemble at Tisbury on June 25th to see what measures should be taken to guard against the Island's exposed position. A large majority was in favor of applying to the General Court at Boston for soldiers. The next step was: "To sound the minds amongst the young men to see who would join the volunteer corps of Edgartown." |
| Col. Henry Knox Color Guard | Statewide | In 1775, General George Washington inspected a rampart at Roxbury designed by a 25-year old former bookbinder named Henry Knox and was impressed with the younger man’s abilities. Self-educated in engineering and military strategy, Knox soon became Washington's chief of artillery and eventually rose to the rank of Major General. |
| Col. William Henshaw | Worcester | William Henshaw served under General Amherst in 1759 and was stationed at Fort Edward and Crown Point. In 1774 he was a member of the Provincial Congress which voted to enroll twelve thousand minute men. William became a commander of a regiment of minute men raised in Worcester County. In 1775 he was an assistant to General Gates during the Siege of Boston, and participated in the Battle of Long Island, August 1776. |
| Gen. Benjamin Lincoln | Scituate | Benjamin Lincoln served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln oversaw three major efforts during this time: the Battles of Saratoga where John Burgoyne surrendered the British army, the American surrender of the war at the 1780 Siege of Charleston, and, as George Washington's second in command, the acceptance of the British surrender at Yorktown. Lincoln served from 1781 to 1783 as the first United States Secretary of War |
| Old Essex | Manchester-by-the-Sea | The 14th Continental Regiment, also known as The Marblehead Regiment, was raised as a Massachusetts militia regiment on April 23, 1775 at Marblehead under the command of John Glover. The regiment soon joined the Continental Army in June of 1775 where the seafaring men would man the boats during the New York Campaign and the crossing of the Delaware River during the Battle of Trenton. |
| Old Middlesex | Concord | The Battle of Concord occurred in the late morning hours of April 19, 1775. After British soldiers fired on the militiamen of Lexington, and were frustrated in their attempt to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams, they headed to Concord as their spies had informed the British Governor of Boston, Thomas Gage, that there was a large collection of weapons and gunpowder there. |
| Plymouth Blue Water | Plymouth | Building a chapter from the ground up has always been one of the hardest and most rewarding challenges of the society. Members, potential members, and friends interested in American History are welcome to join the Plymouth Chapter to learn, and to become involved. |
| Robert Treat Paine | Fall River | Robert Treat Paine, signer of the Declaration of Independence and a native of Massachusetts, was born in 1731. He was expected, by family tradition, to become a Minister. He received high marks at the Boston Latin School and was admitted to Harvard College where he graduated in 1749. He was admitted to the bar of Massachusetts in 1757. He first set up office in Portland, Maine (then part of Massachusetts) and later relocated to Taunton. In the trials of British soldiers following the Boston Massacre, Paine served as associate prosecuting attorney. |
| Seth Pomeroy | Northampton | Western Massachusetts was originally settled by Native American societies including the Pocomtuc, Nonotuck Mohawk, Nipmuck, and Mahican. The first European explorers were English Puritans who, in 1635, ventured west from the Massachusetts Bay Colony settlement of Boston to the modern site of Springfield. In 1636, a group of English settlers—lured by the promise of a "great river" and New England's most fertile farmland—returned there to establish a permanent colony. |
Ladies Auxiliary
During the American Revolution thousands of women took an active role in both the American and British armies. Many were the wives or daughters of officers or soldiers. These women, who maintained an almost constant presence in military camps, were known as "camp followers." At Stony Point Battlefield, for example, there were 52 women who were captured with the British garrison on the night of July 15, 1779 by the American Corps of Light Infantry. Despite the fact that these women were not considered to be part of the army, they were still included in the list of British prisoners taken at Stony Point. Yet, because women had no military function during the war, their individual names most often were unlisted in the records of the day and are lost to us now. To be sure, women in the revolution went well beyond their traditional roles as dictated by 18th-century society.
Membership in a ladies' auxiliary is open to women who are related by marriage or blood line to members in good standing currently or at the time of his death. The organization assists the state society and/or chapter to which which it is affiliated. It holds meetings in accordance with the its schedule.
Members of the Auxiliary are vibrant, active women who are passionate about community service, preserving history, educating children, as well as honoring and supporting those who serve our nation. Write the Auxiliary for more information.
- Supports the activities of the organization.
- Participates in projects of the society.
- Educates the public about our purpose.
- Sponsors events at conferences and meetings.
- Enhances the social environment.
- Participates with other patriotic organizations.
- Engages the community of women in the society.