THIS SUNDAY -- All welcome to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, votes for women.

Sunday, October 27 at 1:00 p.m. at 175 Pine Street, retired State Senator Mary Ann Handley will present "Votes for Women, 1919" -- a lecture on the passage of the 19th amendment by congress for American women's right to vote (ratification occurred in 1920). Mary Ann, a retired Manchester Community College history professor, has conducted research on this topic, and at the lecture will establish a foundation for understanding the background of the equal suffrage movement, and the controversies and disputes that delayed voting privileges for women. She will present information about Manchester's involvement in the work to bring about change. The talk will be followed by a question-and-answer period. Bill Ludwig, the Town Troubadour, will present music of the period.

Speaker, Mary Ann Handley.

Parking for the lecture is available along Pleasant Street, off Forest Street (no on-street parking) as well as in a small lot north of the History Center. $5 for non-members, $3 for Society members, and free for children under age 16.

Art classes for all levels

At the Cheney Homestead, 106 Hartford Road, starting in October and continuing into 2020 and beyond. Classical Drawing with Trudy Mitchell, Provincetown Print with Steven Sottile, Book Discussion with Joyce B. Teed. And in 2020, Painting wi th Christina Grace Mastrangelo. Dates, details, instructor bios: Art at the Homestead .

More info about events on our website .

Campfire storytelling themes:

October 25, our own story of "Ichabod Crane, Connecticut Schoolmaster."

Campfire storytelling at the Homestead --

Last event in the series, today, October 25 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., 106 Hartford Road. Popcorn, cider, and stories on the big lawn behind the Homestead. Please bring a blanket. Event is inside if there's rain. Suggested donation: $2 per person, $5 per family.

Woodbridge farmstead

at Manchester Green

Sunday, October 27 -- fall finale with games and food at our last-of-the-season 2019 Open House at the Woodbridge barn and grounds, weather permitting. Open House with g uided tours of the 18th-century barn. The Woodbridge barn is located at 495 East Middle Turnpike, Manchester.

S top by! Spend 10 minutes or 2 hours!

Visit: Woodbridge poster for details of where to park, etc. Free.

Manchester Herald digitization.

Announcing a matching gift.

An anonymous philanthropist will donate $2500 if we can get other donors to contribute a total of $2500 by November 8. Can you help? Send a check to: Manchester Historical Society, 175 Pine Street, Manchester, CT 06040. Please note Manchester Evening Herald project in the memo line of the check. Questions? Call the Society at 860-647-9983, or reply to this email.

At the completion of the project, web viewers will be able to see the old Heralds in their entirety: news, sports, letters to the editor, obits, etc. More info about the newspaper itself on our website: The Manchester Evening Herald.

Pictured at right, a drawing of the former location of the Church of the Nazarene, a building still active today as a location of MACC Charities, near Lincoln Center, part of the Town Hall complex. More from the church's 100th anniversary history book, published in 1998, part of which is on our website.

Pictured above, the S&H Green Stamp redemption center, listed in the 1966 town directory at 974 Main Street, Downtown, across from Fairway. View the 1966 directory here .

North End walking tour --

Saturday, November 2, at 1:00 p.m. starting at the parking lot of the Eighth Utilities District offices, 18 Main Street, corner of Hilliard and Main. Stroll to the former Mather Electric/Bon Ami building. View the location of the former Depot Square as well as many historic buildings still in existence. The walk takes about one and a half hours. Read about the North End, also known as "Union Village" at: Walking Tour Flyer: North End. Union Village is on the National Register of Historic Places, and includes historic icons such as the Second Congregational Church and the Whiton Memorial Library.

The walk will be held rain or shine, but extreme weather cancels. Check this website for last-minute changes. Cost is $3 for Historical Society members, $4 for non-members, and free to children under 16 years of age. More: Events page .

FREE -- Genealogy at Manchester's Town Hall

Saturday, November 9, from 9:00 to 1:00. Come visit the Historical Society's booth at this free and helpful genealogy event where you can learn how to do genealogical research. Optional -- register in advance (860-647-3037) for a free 30-minute private consultation with a professional genealogist, but walk-ins welcome. The Town Clerk's office and vault will be open for records of birth, marriage, death, probate, land, and military service. Other booths will provide information about research and resources. All are welcome -- beginners, advanced, non-residents and residents.

Town Hall is located at 41 Center Street, with plenty of parking behind the building.

Genealogy --

Tuesday, November 12 at 10:00 a.m., the Historical Society's Genealogy Group -- Genealogist Meagan Cairns will present an “Introduction to Genealogy,” discussing how to conduct and organize your research, the various records used to trace your ancestors, and how to avoid common pitfalls in your search. All experience levels are encouraged to attend, as there is always something more that can be learned in this ever growing field of Family History Research. Meagan Cairns is a Professional Genealogist and Adult Programming Librarian at the Rockville Public Library in Vernon, CT. Before moving to Connecticut, she worked for the East Baton Rouge Parish Library in LA, where she began teaching genealogy classes in 2018. She currently specializes in Connecticut, Louisiana, DNA, and Deep South African-American Ancestry research. She is a member of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. Meet at the Manchester History Center, 175 Pine Street. The Genealogy Group consists of Historical Society members, but non-members are also welcome ($3.00 fee for non-members). The group usually meets on the second Tuesday of the month, except December, July, August. Visit Genealogy Page to find out more about the group.

Steampunk is coming --

...to the History Center on December 7. Something old, something new. Music, shopping, socializing. Host Oddball Newt is organizing an "Ugly Sweater, Woeful Waistcoat and Beastly Bustle contest. Show off your horrid holiday spirit and ungainly fashion sense." More: Events page .

Membership for yourself or --

Consider a gift membership for a friend or loved one. Why join a local historical society, even if you don't live in that town? Some reasons: • support education about the history of the town • support preservation of artifacts and vintage photos • join in advocating for preservation of historic buildings and parks that make Manchester charming.

Print this online donation form and mail to 175 Pine Street. Or drop by the History Center, Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:00 to 2:00. Direct questions to 860-647-9983.

Additional ways to donate: Employer matching gifts! Direct United Way donations to the Society. Sign in to Amazon via Amazon Smile and have a percentage of your purchases go to the Society. .

Votes for Women on TV --

Watch on your computer or on TV during October: "Susan B. Anthony and Isabella Beecher Hooker Speak at Cheney Hall,” a 29-minute television program recorded live at Cheney Hall on Wednesday, September 25. In this 100th anniversary year of the passage of the 19th amendment -- votes for women -- we celebrate the 1874 speeches at Cheney Hall by these two civil rights activists. With Town Historian Susan Barlow, Town Troubadour Bill Ludwig, emcee David Garnes, re-enactors Susan Barlow, Lynne Ferrigno, Steve Penny.

The show airs Saturdays at 12:00 noon and 8:00 p.m. on Cox cable channel 15 on Saturdays, and runs on all the Saturdays of the month. The show changes each month. This Channel 15 broadcasts in Manchester, Glastonbury, South Windsor, Wethersfield, Rocky Hill and Newington. W atch online: Suffrage Speeches at Cheney Hall or watch on the Public Access website Public Access TV -- choose Manchester Schedule, and then put "Historical" into the Search Box. You can also watch old TV shows there.

Cheney clock research, can you help?

Historical Society volunteers Dennis Gleeson, Dave Smith, and Kevin Ferrigno are researching clockmakers Benjamin Cheney (1725-1815) and Timothy Cheney (1731-1795) and their nephew, Daniel Griswold. The researchers have examined several clocks and want to examine more of these Cheney tall-case clocks, as well as account books, day books, letters, bills of sale, and diaries belonging to Timothy, Benjamin, or their customers. The research will lead to a book.

To help, contact Dennis Gleeson. All responses will remain confidential. 

Pictured above, circa 1775 clock, gift of Alice Poinier. At the History Center, 175 Pine Street. Visitors welcome

Above, sign for the clock pictured. Below: listing in Mantle Fielding’s Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors and Engravers , 1926, 1965: "Benjamin & Timothy Cheney, Engravers. These clock-makers were working about 1781-1801 [sic], and their well-engraved brass clock-faces show very considerable skill in handling the burin.”