ASK, RANT OR PRAISE, BUT NEVER IGNORE

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PRESERVING HISTORY ONE TRUNK AT A TIME
Good afternoon. I have a pine chest labeled “J. Odiorne Portsmouth NH” which I have had in my possession since 1970. Before that It sat in my family attic in Manchester MA. It is plain and has the ancient nails. The pine is most common in width- no seams. It had been added to with what I think are modern hasps and clasps. The box was so common I assumed my Mom just picked it up as a blanket box at an auction. Except we are descendents through Harriet Spence Lowell; hence Whipples. My Grandfather settled his home at Elmwood in Cambridge in 1914 and moved everything to Manchester. The box was so plain I assumed it was 19th C. It did not register with me until I recognized your J. Odiorne in the Brewster Rambles on SeacoastNH.com. Thank you for your web site.
Chales Hayden Gallagher in Ester Alaska 

NOW WE’RE QUOTABLE
"Patriotism doesn't always wear a uniform."
--- J. Dennis Robinson, SeacoastNH.com

REPAIRING ROGERS
I very much enjoyed your article about Robert Rogers and Roger's Rangers.  However, I did notice one inaccuracy.  You mention the book "Northwest Passage" by Kenneth Roberts and mention that in the book the fictional character Langdon Towne marrieshis "portsmouth sweetheart".  That is not accurate.  Robert Rogers marries the "Portsmouth Sweetheart" Elizabeth Browne, Langdon Towne marries Ann Potter whom he met in England.
YJ Birch-Pettes   

GET THESE NEW BOOKS
I enjoyed your latest newsletter, and noticed that your book section does not list this new book: "Patriot's Reward" by Stephen Clarkson.  Info is available online. I saw it in the Portmouth Athenaeum last month & bought it.  It is not the great American novel, but it tells a very interesting story of life & slavery in colonial Portsmouth.  The author lives in Rye. FYI, I found that the "Devil on Great Island " book can be bought for $10 + S&H from Amazon.com.
Chris West Cataldo

EDITOR’S REPLY:  We have a copy of both in the queue for Book of the Week. Must be a good sign that we received a dozen new local books in the last couple of months, but the down side is, we need more readers who can write a nice clear review.

CRY OF THE EBAY WARRIOR
Great article! I have been in this same battle. In 2005 I was looking for Seacoast History on eBay. I eventually found a postcard of the Wentworth from 1912. I don't know why, but the minute I saw it I knew I had to have it. After a small battle, the postcard was coming home, from the midwest, to the Seacoast where it belonged. It is great to own a bit of history no matter how small or how large it may be.
Craig Brown   

EDUITOR’S REPLY: There is no Wentworth family as I noted in the book. The hotel name has absolutely no connection to the hotel itself and refers to the 18th century royal governors’ dynasty from the Portsmouth area. I think I also referenced in the book the names of the builders of the original hotel and the builder of the renovated hotel under Frank Jones, but let’s see what a real expert has to add.

DR. RICHARD CANDEE RESPONDS: The original box of a hotel --before Frank Jones owned it --was apparently designed by carpenters for the primary investor from Somerville, MA. The additions made c. 1880 by Frank Jones have never been attributed to an architect, although the contracting firm from down east Maine is well-known. The changes exhibit a pretty typical vernacular treatment for this area and may not have had any real architect at all.

Later unbuilt designs for huge additions in the 1890s were proposed by Boston architect Fred Footman (a minor figure from Dover, NH who designed Jones's breweries in South Boston). They were never built because the construction would have taken more than the winter “closed” season. I do not believe we know the name of the designer of the former dining room wing and "Colonial" Annex. A newspaper report called its designer a visiting architect from Boston, but I have no recollection of ever finding a name.

Later alterations to the hotel were made in the 1920s and plans for these changes are in the John Calvin Stevens collection at the Maine Historical Society, which owns the drawings of its most famous Portland, ME architect.

The only person in the Boston area I can think of who might have any idea of a Boston architect doing the Hotel Raymond is Roger Reed at the Brookline Historical Commission, Brookline, MA. He reads the trade papers of Boston and keeps extensive files of such odd facts.  -- Richard M. Candee, Prof. Emeritus, Boston University

ANOTHER GENRIC MONUMENT BEING RESTORED
I am currently serving on a committee, which is charged with restoring our local Civil War memorial.  As you might assume it is one of the standard white bronze memorials, manufactured by the Monumental Bronze Company. While performing my research I found your web site with information regarding the Portsmouth monument.  Specifically, I noticed you had some images of Monumental Bronze Company catalog and business card.  Do you happen to have copies of these documents, if so could I request a copy of these documents from you.  I can reimburse you for the copy expense. Our research effort for our [Crystal Lake's] memorial, is simply to assist in the restoration effort and to provide the Historical Society with documentation for our archives. 
Christopher O'Connor, Director, Crystal Lake Historical Society

EDITOR’S REPLY:  You want to talk to Nancy Carmer who was in charge of the restoration project at Goodwin Park in Portsmouth. She works in the Parks & Rec Dept, and the web site is City of Portsmouth. With a $250,000 federal grant, Portsmouth was able to restore its generic Civil War monument made out of “white bronze” or a soft and deteriorating zinc. The images on our site, I believe, are available there. Just tell her you talked to me at SeacoastNH.com.


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