Boston History
The Edwards Family Property in Boston
Travel Back to 1775 – Original Artwork by Cortney Skinner
Alexander Edwards (1733-1798) and his wife Sarah Greenough Edwards (1735-1823) lived on Back Street in the North End of Boston. Alexander was a cabinetmaker and a member of the Sons of Liberty. Both appear in Ben’s children’s book One April in Boston.
The research and preparation for painting the three views of the Edwards family property as it may have looked in 1775 was a collaborative, intensive, and continuous process. As new information was found, adjustments were made to the ongoing paintings. With the help of historical specialists, tax records from 1798 were found that revealed details about the buildings. (For example, we learned that the Edwards house was 1,140 square feet, 3 & 2 stories, had 25 windows, and was valued at $3,000.) The 1798 Clough Atlas of Boston helped to lay out the basic placement of the property lines and locations and footprints of the structures.
In some cases, the details of the buildings are conjectural, but based on historic examples. In other cases, 18th century buildings no longer surviving were preserved in 19th and 20th century photographs and provided reference for recreating the structures.
To get the perspective view for how the buildings looked from the viewpoint of the painting, in one case, a model was built upon the map of the 1798 Clough Atlas. In other instances, a digital 3D model of the neighborhood was created, so that a virtual “walk-around” of the properties and buildings could be used to get the view that was desired. Several references were used for the citizens of the North End of Boston. Historically clothed models, and photographs were used in each instance.
This map of the North End of Boston in 1775 shows the location of the Edwards family home on Back Street.
The lower portion of Salem Street (formerly Back Street) as it appears today. The Edwards property was on the left.
This painting by Cortney Skinner shows the Edwards home (at left) on Back Street as the street may have looked in April 1775. Cortney’s research for the artwork was aided extensively by “Clough’s Atlas – Property Owners of the Town of Boston based on the Direct Tax Census of 1798.”
The home of Alexander Edwards (1733-1798) and his wife Sarah Greenough Edwards (1735-1823) is shown on the left, and next to it their stable and Alexander’s cabinetmaking shop.
Videos of the Art
One of 48 Pen and Ink Illustrations from One April in Boston
Ben and Betsey Edwards on the evening of April 19, 1775
Coming from Cortney Skinner in Summer 2025
Paul Revere’s Ride: An Illustrated History by Cortney Skinner is the first book to accurately illustrate the key moments of Paul Revere’s famous ride based on Revere’s own handwritten accounts.