Join us in welcoming historian and author John Bell to speak on  “As yet Unhanged”: Ebenezer Richardson and the Coming of the American Revolution. The focus is on Ebenezer Richardson, a customs agent and British informer convicted of shooting and killing a boy protesting outside of his house in 1770, making him “the most hated man in Boston.”   The incident provoked a similar response as the Boston Massacre less than two weeks later, and played a large role in turning public sentiment toward supporting an open rebellion. Over 1,000 people attended Seider’s funeral procession from Boston’s Liberty Tree.

Richardson was a well-known scoundrel with many connections in and around his native Woburn- including Stoneham, where his mother Abigail Johnson Richardson Gould, moved after her remarriage.

About the speaker: John Bell (who writes as J.L.Bell) is  a Massachusetts writer who specializes in (among other things) the start of the American Revolution in and around Boston. He is particularly interested in the experiences of children in 1765-75. He has published scholarly papers and popular articles for both children and adults and just published a book, The Road to Concord, which follows the fate of 4 cannon smuggled out of Boston to Concord – helping spark the Revolution.  Mr. Bell has been a consultant for History Detectives, contributed to a display at Minute Man National Historic Park and has produced other material for the National Park Service.  His research can be found at at https://boston1775.blogspot.com/

This program has been made possible by a grant from the Stoneham and Massachusetts Cultural Councils.