Our co-founder W. Dean Eastman passed away in March 2025. Dean was an educational legend whose legacy lives on in the lives of the many that he taught and inspired over his long career and that continues on through this website. Conceived and inspired by Dean, PrimaryResearch.org highlights the many ways that history and the lives of everyday people can be brought to life through hands-on investigation.
Women’s History Month
In honor of Women’s History month, we’re featuring our collection of unique documents from local collections highlighting diverging views and the evolution of the movement toward woman suffrage in Massachusetts.
New: Articles from The Bostonian in the late nineteenth century describing the state of women’s clubs in Boston and around the country.
African Americans in Antebellum Boston
The Civic Engagement of the Antebellum African-Americans of Boston’s Beacon Hill and West End, 1848-1855
The time of the Fugitive Slave Law in Boston saw a tremendous outpouring of bravery by ordinary citizens. This student-developed project focused on the predominantly African-American neighborhood of Boston’s Beacon Hill and West End to connect a variety of biographical sources and in many ways bring these individuals to life.
[Continue reading]The “What Ever Happened to…” Project
We're excited to announce this venture aimed at integrating the efforts of high schools, historical societies and anyone interested in local history. A collaboration of these institutions and interested people in Essex and Middlesex Counties will … [Continue reading]
Boston Overseers of the Poor
Called "the documentary record of the most comprehensive public approach to the relief of poverty in colonial and revolutionary America", The Eighteenth Century Records of the Boston Overseers of the Poor, edited by Eric G. Nellis and Anne Decker … [Continue reading]