Lantern for Lost Voices

09/23/2024

We are excited to announce our upcoming fundraiser with Chipotle 🌯.

When you place an order for Chipotle in Attleboro this October 5th, from 4 PM to 8 PM, 25% of the proceeds will go to Lantern for Lost Voices🤲

We invite you to participate by getting Chipotle on Friday, 10/05, at 228 Washington St, Attleboro, MA 02703. If you want to place an order online for pickup, make sure to use the promo code J6LP7RF.

Share your story and tag us .

P.S. Only pick-up and in-store orders are available. Show this flyer when you place your order ⚠️🚨

07/18/2024

It's been an exciting week at LLV! We are happy to announce that the YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts is our new fiscal sponsor!

YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts, with its commitment to empowering women and eliminating racism, aligns with our mission to amplify marginalized voices throughout history through research, commemoration, and community education.

“We are excited for this collaboration among our organizations. As someone who has worked with YWCA in the past on multiple projects in other capacities, I am happy to be part of this new journey,” states Danielle St. Pierre, Co-executive Director and Director of Education for Lantern for Lost Voices. “Empowering the voices of those that are often excluded from our systems is extremely important to both of our organizations. It is through this partnership that all voices will be heard, and we will be one step closer to creating a positive impact on our communities.”

02/02/2024

We've got a new blog post up! Grace (our Director of Anthropological and Political Research) talks with us about some of the cultural implications of the poor farms in America. It was a rough life, and one that most of the community wanted out of sight so it could be out of mind.

Read the post here:
https://www.lanternforlostvoices.org/the-cultural-forces-involved-in-poor-farms/

02/01/2024

In a nondescript cemetery along a hiking trail used by families in Goffstown, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire are over 700 adults and children buried and forgotten because they were "idiotic, insane, and poor." Adults received numbers on basic headstones while infants and children were buried in unmarked graves in the in-between spaces.

These forgotten individuals were more than just poor, ill, or elderly. They were mothers, fathers, siblings, sons, and daughters. They were veterans, teachers, neighbors, and friends.

Today, LLV announces our Hillsborough County Poor Farm Project. This project will serve as an example of how our communities can carefully document and discuss difficult experiences in order to promote healing and growth for the future. We are committed to offering support to local organizations and researchers wanting to document the stories of the marginalized. We are also dedicated to providing free online and in-person educational opportunities for adults and youth so we can all learn and grow together.

“We started this organization to challenge the status quo, to confront our history head on, and change our futures,” states Danielle St. Pierre, Co-executive Director and Director of Education for Lantern for Lost Voices. “Our stories are a powerful tool used to understand the intersectionality of all of our identities, to better understand each other and to grow together.”

Read the full press release here:
https://www.lanternforlostvoices.org/media-center/2024-news-releases/nonprofit-launches-project-documenting-stories-of-over-700-marginalized-individuals/

Want to help? We're already working with volunteers! Check out the website for more information.

Stephanie, Danielle, and the LLV Team

February 1, 2024 Nonprofit Launches Project Documenting Stories of Over 700 Marginalized Individuals Adults Buried at Hillsborough County Poor Farm Were Identified by Number While Children Went Unmarked, Furthering the Stigmatization of Those Who Live and Die in Poverty. ATTLEBORO, Massachusetts –...

01/16/2024

"All of the people buried in this cemetery known as the Hillsborough County Poor Farm Cemetery or Pine Grove Cemetery are forgotten, lost, erased, and silenced. I know what it feels like to be known as a statistic, as a number, and to be silenced. It is pain that grows to be a part of your story..."

This is not how their story will end. Not if we have anything to say about it.

Read the story behind LLV here: https://bit.ly/3vBRTlK

It started off with a fall hike with a friend in New Hampshire. What we found changed everything. No names, no dates, no memorials. Just simple headstones with single numbers displayed as an identifier.

01/11/2024

We are going through all of the research from our trip to NH! Big shout out to , , Wilton Historical society, for all of your help!

12/31/2023

Poor farms weren't filled with only those who were in financial need. Many of the residents were disabled, may have suffered from mental illness, or were elderly with no one to care for them.

People who had to turn to the poor farm for care could have wildly different experiences depending on the area and how well funded the facility was. One thing that was common, however, was to have residents separated by race and gender.

12/30/2023

Unfortunately, children made up a good percentage of residents in poor farms and almshouses. This section of the 1850 US Federal Census shows a family living in the HIllsborough County Poor Farm together: Elisabeth (age 28) along with children Thomas (age 10), Josephine (age 6), John (age 4), and little Elisabeth (age 2).

Today, according to the US Census Bureau, poverty rates for children (under 18 years of age) is 16.3%. NPR stated that after a record low, poverty among children skyrocketed in the United States in 2023. While we want to educate on the lives of the past, one of our goals is to connect the history to the lives of the present so we can promote understanding within our communities. It also shows how history isn't just dusty facts; it's being made all around us today.

The children in poverty today will be the history our children and grandchildren learn. How do we want them to understand the role poverty played in society?

Citation: Hillsborough County Poor Farm, 1850 U.S. census, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, population schedule, Goffstown, page 213 (handwritten), "Almshouse"; National Archives micropublication M432. Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

12/29/2023

It's time for another - - -

To you, what detail makes a person's life come alive? Is it a date, a life experience, or something different? SHARE IN THE COMMENTS!

We'd love to hear what you think (and what you'd like us to share about those we research!)

12/28/2023

Meet Stephanie Pitcher Whittier, co-Executive Director, Director of Research, and co-founder of LLV. A family history nerd since 1998 turned professional genealogist in 2012 and communications professional in 2023, Stephanie loves any type of historical and genealogical research.

"...the idea that the lives we discover will help educate others shows the impact that the average person's experience can have. All lives are worth remembering."
- Stephanie Pitcher Whittier

Get to know Steph, and say hi on social media. She hangs out there on the LLV accounts quite often!

www.instagram.com/lanternforlostvoices

12/27/2023

"History is not the past but a map of the past, drawn from a particular point of view, to be useful to the modern traveler." - Henry Glassie

How do you view history: story, map, something to ignore?

12/26/2023

Did you know that Boxing Day was originally a day for giving gifts to the poor? According to Britannica.com, December 26th was traditionally the day that gifts were given to servants, tradespeople of the area, and the poor.

Perhaps there are some traditions worth bringing back from the nineteenth century... ;)