ASK, RANT OR PRAISE, BUT NEVER IGNORE
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JUne 27
IN SEARCH OF CUTT FAMILY GRAVES
I have just read Richard and John Cutt's Wills. It [the article] states that some of the Cutt family is buried on Green Street. I assume Portsmouth, NH. Can you please help me quickly as I am leaving from South Carolinas for your area on Thursday of this week. Do you know any thing on John Cutt the first President of NH? He was one of my many great grand fathers. I would like to visit his gravesite and get any information on the Cutt family. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Ed Zeigle
EDITOR’S REPLY: I assume you are referring to the wills published in Brewster;s Rambles on my web site? That is the key info we have online and was written around 1850. John and Richard Cutt were Puritans, two of the three biggest landowners in Portsmouth in the mid-1600s. John lived for a time in the Great House (built 1631), the founding building in Portsmouth near what is now Strawbery Banke Museum. Richard owned what is now the North End of town. It was the death of John Cutt (or his fatal illness) that led to the creation of Fast Day, a holiday no longer celebrated in Portsmouth. I wasn't aware of any gravesites for either Richard or John. Marked graves from that period are rare. I called cemetery expert Glenn Knoblock (author of Portsmouth Cemeteries, Arcadia Press). He notes that the oldest marked grave in the city belongs to Hannah Cutt, wife of John Cutt, who died in 1674, Her marker used to be on Green Street, near the site of the modern Sheraton Hotel, but that cemetery was moved to South Cemetery. Glenn says the marker is part of the Cutts--Penhallow plot that is located near the curved field area at South Cemetery near the central pond. He also believes there is a Cutt memorial marker at Point of Graves, the oldest cemetery in town, off Marcy Street across from Prescott Park. We don't know exactly who is buried there, if anyone, and at this writing, we don't know of a marker dedicated to the first governor of the state. Memory of the Cutt family has all but faded here in Portsmouth, I’m afraid.
June 26
WRITERS WEIGH IN ON WORKSHOP
Dear Dennis, Thank you again for your dual role in this year's Seacoast Writers Conference. Your keynote address and workshop were very well received. Apologies for the lack of a whiteboard. FYI I've copied some of the comments from the evaluations we received. Lots of superlatives. Doesn't get much better:
"Excellent"
"Mr. Robinson was wonderful."
"valuable, informative and interesting."
"Humorous, informative."
'Dennis was great."
"Excellent speaker. Really enjoyed it."
"Bravo."
"... wonderful presenter."
"informative, humorous, great."
"...engaging."
"witty and worthwhile."
"encouraging, honest, educational.
"terrific presentation - motivating and amusing."
"very helpful.."
Best regards,
Chuck Grosky, President
Seacoast Writer’s Association
June 25
LAND-LOCKED SHOALER
As always, I enjoyed the latest issue of SeacoastNH news. Thanks for all the pictures of Smuttynose (in Scenic Walks in TRAVEL section). This land-locked Star Islander cannot get there from Minnesota this year and the pictures gave me a sense of being there! Thanks for all the great work you put into the Seacoast news. It means a lot to me.
Joan Johnson, Bloomington, MN
June 24
LOVES NH SEACOAST BEST
Dear Dennis: Thank you for being so generous in sending those additional books with our order of "A Brief History of Portsmouth" from Amazon.com. The way I see it, it is all worth the wait because my family and I absolutely love Portsmouth and everything it has to offer. We have spent many summers on the NH coast and I can honestly say it is my most favorite place to be. I really don't think anything can compare. Portsmouth is a true gem and I look forward to reading more about its history and how it came to be such a magnificent place. Thank you again,
Edward Bodick, CT
June 16
GET A BOAT & VISIT
This is our week on Smuttynose Island at the Isles of Shoals. If you've got nothing better to do , and you have access to a boat, come on out for a tour. Due to a snafu at Star Island, they had to cancel the first conference of the year, so it should be pretty quiet out on the Isles this week. There's no phone, so you just have to come on out during daylight hours. Bring food. You can see what the walking tour looks like with a new photo tour in Scenic Walks under TRAVEL starting Monday. New content will continue to appear on the site every day this week, so don't worry. But we don't bring a computer along. It's our one chance not to answer 100 emails a day. This month;s NEWSLETTER has been postponed until Monday June 25, so you didn't miss your copy. That's when we'll return all the emails -- ugh -- -- THE EDITOR
June 16This is our week on Smuttynose Island at the Isles of Shoals. If you've got nothing better to do , and you have access to a boat, come on out for a tour. Due to a snafu at Star Island, they had to cancel the first conference of the year, so it should be pretty quiet out on the Isles this week. There's no phone, so you just have to come on out during daylight hours. Bring food. You can see what the walking tour looks like with a new photo tour in Scenic Walks under TRAVEL starting Monday. New content will continue to appear on the site every day this week, so don't worry. But we don't bring a computer along. It's our one chance not to answer 100 emails a day. This month;s NEWSLETTER has been postponed until Monday June 25, so you didn't miss your copy. That's when we'll return all the emails -- ugh -- -- THE EDITOR
June 14
BAD NEWS ON THE SHOALS
We certainly appreciate the vast links of info on this site relating to the very special Isles of Shoals. You're always including some interesting tidbit, whether it be a reprint of a past article or a brand new captivating piece of trivia that sparks our interest. We especially enjoy your yearly adventures as Smuttynose Stewards. Recently, there's been the news of the heavy damage on White Island from the mid-April '07 storm, and now word of the hopefully short-lived closing of the Star Island Conference Center due to fire egress issues. We are surprised neither of these have been mentioned by you, especially the White Island news since it was awhile ago. Any possibility you could research and get more details as to the amount of damage; time frame for repairs; impact in general; maybe pictures, etc.? Also, what will it take to get Star Island up to speed for the summer; is the Corporation healthy enough to weather this unexpected turn; are they still struggling with boat issues since the Steamship Co. stopped ferrying people out? Lots of questions and requests. Once again, we appreciate your dedication to this site and look forward to any updates you can give. Check the links in our NEWS section for the latest updates.
Phyllis
EDITOR’S REPLY: Thanks for your note, but probably no chance. This is a one-man all volunteer operation and, that one man has to make a living elsewhere. SeacoastNH.com is not a newspaper, radio or TV station. Since those media do a good job of covering the news, we stick to our job of feature articles rarely covered. An unpaid staff of one shouldn't take on multi-million dollar companies (the local newspaper is owned by Dow Jones, eg, and Rupert Murdoch wants to buy it). We also don't attend press conferences, print press releases or cover car crashes, city meetgins or fires -- which these latest Shoals events appear to be. If we have specialized information, or if a reader offers unique material not available elsewhere, and it is content we can archive permanently, you can be sure it will appear here. Keep in mind that it was SeacoastNH.com that broke the original White Island story, but that was because none of the other local media thought it was "news" and the concerned parties called us to kick start the story in the media. Once we published the story about the crack inthe lighthouse with the Lighthouse Kids, the Boston Globe got interested, and finally the local newspapers followed up. But when it comes to short-lived news with little or no perspective or commentary -- we leave that to others. Think of SeacoastNH.com as an online feature magazine and travel guide. And now, off to Smuttynose.
June 12
ANNIE OAKLEY IN NH
HI, I was given you name by Wentworth by the Sea. I am searching for any information on Annie Oakley's summers there that might shed light on her performing outfits. Her outfits seemed to have disappeared. I was grasping for straws thinking maybe she left something at the Wentworth. I was referred to you as an excellent historian with lots of history about your area. Any info you have about the fabrics, color or embroidery done by Annie would be greatly appreciated.
Linda Rogers in Cody, WY
EDITOR’S REPLY: Interesting topic, but I'm afraid this is a dead end. There is nothing in the Wentworth Hotel that was there early in the century 90 years ago. Oakley was, as always, an itinerant summer employee. I've never seen a photo of her at the hotel, and the two I used in the book are standard public domain images of her both older and younger. You can see the pictures by looking INSIDE my book on Amazon.com.
June 10
MORE ON CRUISING
In case you haven't picked it up, the Halifax/Portsmouth containership shuttle service will resume in the first week of July. I am told, the rotation will be Halifax/Boston/Portsmouth/Halifax on a weekly basis. Who will be soliciting cargo is an important factor, but I have no idea to whom this responsibility has fallen. Some entity must do this. The shippers (exporters) and importers (consumers) have to be contacted and enticed to utilized the service, and paid for their efforts. More to follow. I hope!Cordially.
Capt. George Duffy
June 6
MUSIC HALL REVIVAL MEMORIES
AS A LAD OF 11 TO 16 YEARS OLD, THE MUSIC HALL WAS CLOSED EXCEPT FOR SPECIAL EVENTS.TWO EVANGELISTS. BROTHERS CHARLIE AND LAUREL TAYLOR WOULD APPEAR AND PREACH THE GOSPEL FOR TWO WEEKS.THEY WERE VERY TALENTED,LAUREL WOULD PLAY THE PIANO AND THEY WOULD LEADS US IN SINGING HYMNS. I WOULD ATTEND WITH MY MOTHER EVERY DAY.THEY WOULD ALSO HAVE SLIDE SHOWS OF THEIR VISITS TO THE HOLY LAND (JERUSALEM, ETC,) STILL HAVE AN AUTOGRAPHED HYMN BOOK SIGNED BY THE TWO BROTHERS.THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I CAN REMEMBER THE MUSIC HALL BEING OPENED IN THE 1930'S. IT WAS STILL VERY PRISTINE AT THE TIME AND NOTHING HAD BEEN CHANGED THE WAY IT WAS.
BRAD HARRINGTON
NOTES FROM ZHANA AT PORTSMOUTH MUSIC HALL: We do consider the 1930s part of the time that we were primarily closed, however, we know that there were a smattering of events here and there. It has been very hard to find these shows on microfilm copies of the newspapers. I did a quick search of my current "Master List of Shows" and looked for anything that might resemble a revival, here is what I found:
We do have part of an old canvas poster advertising what looks like a "Church Lecture" of some sort in 1930, but I have yet to find more about it. There are a number of early films and lectures on the evils of drinking and then:
On January 13th, 1915 we showed a film called "The Fable of the Husband Who Showed Up and Did His Duty" which was one of a series of "moral" tales by George Ade.
On January 1, 1884 there was a Lecture by Samual F Cary of Ohio on Colonal Ingersol (a widely known and vocal atheist lawyer) called "The Emptiness of Infidelity shown up, Authenticity of the Bible Substantiated" aka "The Mistakes of Moses."
And on Jan 16, 1885 the aforementioned Ingersol gave a lecture titled "Orthodoxy"And then various lectures on moral behavior:
1878 - Mary A Livermore on "Superfluous Women"
1902 - Henry Austin Adams on "faith and Brains"
1902 - Jacob Riis on "Battle with the Slums"
June 4
HAIMES TO VISIT WEEKS HOUSE
I am writing from Minnesota. We are descendants from Samuel Haines. 13 of us "Haines" family are making a trek out to NH to see the Weeks house and see where our "family" landed in the US. We would really like to talk to anyone regarding our visit. We are flying into Boston Aug 1st and will drive up that afternoon and will be in town until the evening of August 3rd.
Susan Haines Hylland
June 2
MAPS OF PORTSMOUTH?
I would like to purchase a street map of Portsmouth from 1775 to 1810. Can you direct me to a source.
Rick Kamm
EDITOR’S REPLY: Bill Warren used to sell a great CD set with Portsmouth maps, but I don’t see it on the market any more. There is a 1771 map and an 1813 map, but we’re unaware of any one consistently selling copies. Best luck is to search in eBay.com where there is often someone selling historic maps of this region.
June 1
COPIES OF OLD PHOTOS?
I really enjoy the historic photos you choose for the Historic Portsmouth portion of the Herald. Today's was especially intriguing. Is there public access to this collection of photos? I didn't see any mention at the Strawbery Banke web site. Thank you again for reminding us of what we have lost. Maybe we have learned and we won't loose anything else -- maybe?
Melanie Wilson
EDITOR’S REPLY: The simple answer is no. Strawbery Banke has a library, but no librarian and, thus, no access. There are similar collections at the Portsmouth Athenaeum that you can browse with a Xerox file, and you can see about 600 of those images on the Portsmouth Athenaeum web site.
The best way to see more of these pix is to buy the book HISTORIC PORTSMOUTH at the Strawbery Banke gift shop. It was recently reprinted and contains many of the images seen in the column over the last three years. All of those images are online on this web site here.
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