Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture

Uncommon Sense—the blog

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When the Past Still Hangs in the Parlor

· November 19th, 2019 · No Comments

by Janine Yorimoto Boldt “My Will is that none of the Pictures of what Sort Soever be Removed out of my Dwelling Hall.” With those words, Henry Custis (ca. 1677-1733) of Northampton County, Virginia clearly stated his intention that the family portraits (and any other pictures) should remain with his house in perpetuity. Custis would… Read More »

“By the Meanes of Women”: Jamestown on the Vanguard of English Women’s Settlement

· October 28th, 2019 · 2 Comments

by Emily Sackett Emily Sackett was awarded an OI–Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation fellowship in spring 2019. She spent the month of September 2019 in residence at the Omohundro Institute and conducted extensive research in the collections at Jamestown Island. The OI offers numerous short-term fellowships for scholars—from advanced graduate students to senior scholars. Applications for the… Read More »

Friends in All the Right Places: The Newest Legal History

· October 8th, 2019 · 3 Comments

Today’s post accompanies “American Legal History and the Bill of Rights,” episode 259 of Ben Franklin’s World and part of Doing History 4: Understanding the Fourth Amendment. By Gautham Rao In 1965 a lawyer named Malcolm S. Mason wrote an article for the Journal of Legal Education with a simple problem: legal history was boring.… Read More »