Close
Current temperature in Boston - 62 °
BECOME A MEMBER
Get access to a personalized news feed, our newsletter and exclusive discounts on everything from shows to local restaurants, All for free.
Already a member? Sign in.
The Bay State Banner
BACK TO TOP
The Bay State Banner
POST AN AD SIGN IN

Trending Articles

Sarah-Ann Shaw, Boston's reporting legend, 90

Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey honors first African American Master Distiller’s legacy

NAACP urges Black student-athletes to consider alternatives to Florida public schools

READ PRINT EDITION

A 19th century photo album comes to life

Kenneal Patterson
A 19th century photo album comes to life
Virginia L. Molyneaux Hewlett Douglass. Photographed by G.H. Loomis, Boston, c. 1869. She was the daughter of the professor of gymnastics at Harvard University, Aaron Molyneaux Hewlett, and the wife of Frederick Douglass, Jr. PHOTO: COURTESY BOSTON ATHENAEUM

A rare collection of 19th-century photographs, belonging to a slavery survivor, abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor, are now available online through the Boston Athenaeum. With one click, people from all over the world can now view Harriet Hayden’s historic portrait albums.

“This is a part of living history,” John Buchtel, curator of rare books and head of special collections, told the Banner. “Almost all of the photographs in these albums were free African Americans in 1860s Boston, they were heavily involved in the abolition movement and in civil rights causes. And we hope that we’re able to actually connect with descendants of some of these folks. But we’re also hopeful that their stories, as we learn more about who they were and what they did, we’re hoping that those stories will be a source of inspiration for people.”

Dr. John V. DeGrasse. Photographed by Black & Case, Boston, between 1864-1867. One of the first African American doctors, and surgeon with the MA 54th Regiment during the Civil War. PHOTO: COURTESY BOSTON ATHENAEUM

Dr. John V. DeGrasse. Photographed by Black & Case, Boston, between 1864-1867. One of the first African American doctors, and surgeon with the MA 54th Regiment during the Civil War. PHOTO: COURTESY BOSTON ATHENAEUM

Buchtel said that the Athenaeum acquired the albums in November of last year. Ever since, librarians and catalogers have been working to digitize the albums and make them accessible to the public. All 87 photos were sent first to a conservation lab to examine and treat them before being photographed for the Athenaeum website.

“In acquiring the albums, the Athenaeum understood that even though they’re stewards of the albums, they truly belong to the community,” Theo Tyson, Polly Thayer Starr Fellow in American Art and Culture at the Athenaeum, told the Banner. “And with them belonging to the community, that means the community needed to have access to them. That community exists far beyond the city limits of Boston or the geographical area of New England.”

One of the most important parts of the digitization process was fully restoring each photograph to its original image, without any holes or torn edges. Now, anyone with a computer can easily look up the photographs and examine their full splendor, and Tyson said it was “imperative and critical” for people to view them in their entirety.

Tyson hopes that people inspect the photos and discover their family lineage. Someone may zoom in and notice their great-great grandmother’s brooch, she said, or suddenly recognize their great-uncle’s nose. These curious onlookers may then dig deeper into their ancestry by researching the names of the people in the photographs. 

On the web
See Harriet Hayden’s photos at:

“The remarkable thing about this collection is that not only do we know who owned it, but we know the names of almost every person in the albums,” said Buchtel. It was likely Harriet Hayden herself who wrote the names of everyone in the margins, he added.

“It’s just an incredible window into the social networks, into the lives of these people,” he said. “It some cases, this may be the only known photograph of some of these people.” Alongside the anonymous faces, however, are famous African Americans. The photos include the first African American man to earn a Harvard law degree, George Lewis Ruffin; the famous attorney Robert Morris; and the esteemed poet and suffragist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

The photos of these prominent figures wouldn’t exist without the efforts of Hayden herself. Alongside her husband Lewis Hayden, who in 1873 became one of the first black legislators in Massachusetts, Hayden fled Kentucky and escaped slavery in 1844. They traveled to Canada, but soon discovered that their bravery was required elsewhere.

Tyson said that Hayden’s “intrinsic and inherent need to help others” encouraged her to leave Canada and settle into a home at 66 Phillips Street, Beacon Hill. There, Hayden helped people as they made their way through the Underground Railroad. She risked her own freedom for others every single day.

Hayden’s story sends an important message, said Tyson. “You don’t have to have much to help. And you always should do everything you can to help others.”

Tyson said that the exhibit was a matter of inclusive representation. “We don’t know much about Harriet Hayden, and that’s for two reasons,” she said. “One, she’s black, and [two], she’s a woman. Women in this country, especially because we’re under a heteronormative patriarchal role, are immediately second-class citizens. You add being black to being a woman, and you’re almost invisible. It’s so important, not just for young women, but for young men, to see the strength that has always existed in black women and in Boston’s history in particular.”

Of the 87 photos, 33 are of women and 26 are of black women. 

Buchtel hopes that young people viewing the albums will recognize the historical significance. “Things haven’t always been like they are now,” he said. “It’s important to remember the past, it’s important to understand where we came from, and sometimes, how far we still have to go.”

In addition to the online catalog, the photos can be viewed via research appointments in the library’s Vershbow Special Collections Reading Room. Tyson is currently working on an Athenaeum exhibition featuring the albums and creating curriculum guides.

On May 16, the Athenaeum will host the event, “Up Close Presentations: The Harriet Hayden Albums,”  at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. Admission is free.