Recent Events and Features What’s New September 2022

Rebecca Migdal, curator for the society’s exhibit “History Under One Roof: The Evolution of the Josiah Smith Tavern,” will bring to life the story of the Tavern as a residence belonging to the Jones Family. Her lecture will focus on three generations of the Joneses, as well as extended family and friends who, at one point or another, called the Tavern “home.” Rebecca is a freelance curator and Executive Director of Thoreau Farm, the birthplace of Henry David Thoreau in Concord. She specializes in American material culture and has been working in museums for over 15 years. 

Highlighting objects from the exhibit, Rebecca’s lecture will share some of the delightful details from her research. The Weston Historical Society collection gives us a window into the world of the Joneses: what it might have been like to encounter them at work, at play, or at home. Shovels branded with a Jones name, forgotten varnish cans from a carriage-painting business, beautiful paintings done by family members, a small account book, treasured doll furniture, decorative objects, and furniture in a range of styles — each tells part of the story of over a century of Jones ownership. It is a story of a family home with a mix of tastes, personalities, and activities that bridges the 19th and 20th centuries.

From tools to toys, these artifacts provide not only evidence to support the archival record but also clues to stories we have yet to fully uncover. Join this lecture to meet the Joneses: Marshall, John Sr, Abigail, Theodore, John Jr, Caroline, Ellen, Alice, and a host of Cutting, Stimpson, and other cousins.

Top: Jones family on the JST porch, late 19th c.
Above: JST exhibit curator Rebecca Migdal