May 28
SEEKING SIMAS KUDIRKA
I am trying to find the video of The Defection of Simon Kurdirka...any ideas? Have been searching the web and only you even mention it...help (its for a gift). Any help would be great. thank you
b j. hingos of Henrietta, TX

EDITOR’S REPLY: The 1978 TV movie of the Soviet defection in Portsmouth, NH, during the Cold War -- “The Defection of Simas Kudirka” -- is listed on Internet Movie Database. But it appears not to be available on VHS, unless you find it used on an auction site, it appears.
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0077418

May 24
THOSE LOVABLE BARTLETTS
Hello, I am interested in obtaining a copy of "They Paved the Way-A History of NH Women". I am a descendant of Simeon Bartlett, Josiah Bartlett's brother and was very interested in reading about Mary Bartlett, Josiah's wife. On your website, it is stated that Mary's letters are preserved. Is it possible to obtain copies of these letters? Thanks for your time.
Susan (Bartlett) Chomeau

EDITOR’S REPLY: That book has been out of print for 25 years, but author Olive Tardiff, who lives in Exeter, NH, may have copies left. We see it now and then on eBay. But the entire piece on Mary Batlett is reproduced in full on our web site, so you have the whole chapter. The last time we saw the letters of Jeb and Mary they were on a shelf at the New Hampshire Historical Society (nhhistory.org) but we don’t see it listed on their online museum store catalog. You should call, or call the Kingston Library (home of the Bartlett’s in NH). The papers of Josiah Bartlett are available on Amazon.com, and that would be a good starting point for any serious Bartlett research. There are a number of other books that are out of print and available on Bookfinder.com or Bibliofind.com. There is also plenty of info available from the Bartlett family genealogy sites. Since Jeb was a signer of the Declaration and since his name has been used on the most popular NBC TV series, there’s plenty of research going on still and lots of resources to tap into, many listed at the end of the article on our site.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/women/bartlett.html

May 24
TRY WENTWORTH.com
I left N.H. in 1987 after living in Bedford for 10 yrs. I recall a "grand old hotel" on the Sea Coast, New Castle I believe that at the time of my leaving was being converted to condominiums, or Time Share or something similar. I believe there was a Golf Course there as well. We are planning to return to N.H. when our overseas assignment is concluded. Please share w/ me if there is such a place. If yes, how I might contact.
David P Murray, Melbourne, Australia
http://seacoastnh.com/wentbysea/

May 22
JOHN PAUL JONES ONLINE IN SCOTLAND
I am a writer and composer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Last year my musical play "John Paul Jones" premiered here, to very good reviews and enthusiastic audience responses. This is a full-scale epic work based on the life of the "Father of the American Navy", scored for a 16-piece orchestra and large on-stage company. In writing the libretto I attempted to remain as true to the historical record as the requirements of musical drama allowed. I believe I succeeded in creating an exciting, uplifting, moving and entertaining piece of musical theatre while maintaining respect for historical integrity. A CD of the soundtrack to John Paul Jones is now available and making good headway. I believe this work will be of interest to those with an interest in Jones' life and would therefore be very grateful for any help you can give me in the links department.
Julian Wagstaff in Scotland
http://www.thefreedomcompany.co.uk/

EDITOR’S REPLY: We’re especially interested since our own local version of the story by writer James Patrick Kelly will premiere here next week at the Portsmouth Music Hall. This very morning, when we left the office for lunch – Jones, Ben Franklin, John Adams and a young French coquette were strolling the grounds here at the JPJ House, shooting publicity film for the upcoming play. We've added your link to our JPJ Hotlinks page and also linked it above for our readers to explore.
http://seacoastnh.com/jpj/

May 22
GO IS A “GO” IN CANADA
Your attractive GOseacoast site is coming along nicely. Congrats. The newsletter is enjoyable reading and always brings a few chuckles. Nice Work! (related to he of "plucky Scot" fame, supposedly)
Jeanette Paul, Longueuil, Quebec
http://goseacoast.com

May 20
SAN JOSE DISCOVERS SEACOASTNH
I came across your website looking for info on that series of little booklets on American history produced by the John Hancock Insurance Co in the 1930's when I was a kid living in NY. Thanks so much for the information! I went on from there to read about Thomas Bailey Aldrich, whose "Story of a Bad Boy" was required reading for seventh-graders in my English classes when I was a teacher in (of all places!) Niagara Falls in the early 1950s. Finally, the information on Portsmouth's history and historical sites brought back many fond memories of visits there when our family lived in nearby Dover (between 1965 and 1985). My wife and I are Californians now, but your website helped recall why we still love the NH-Maine Seacoast area. Many thanks -- and best wishes!
Bill Brady in San Jose, CA

EDITOR'S REPLY: Thanks. This letter exactly expresses our original goal -- to attract a growing audience of readers, local and distant, who are responsive to this region. As well as educating and entertaining our readers with our newsletter and updates each month, we hope to build a sensitive base of contributors who will support historic preservation and cultural and environmental resources in this area. And each new reader is a potential tourist who can bring in needed income and help our tiny region to continue to preserve and exhibit its resources. This service, in return we hope, will encourage local companies to support the work we are doing with four Seacoast area portal web sites. What goes around, comes around in what -- we believe -- is an upward spiral of education and support. Thanks for the great letter and for reading our site and signing up for our newsletter.

May 16
WALKABLE BEACHES
after july first i will begin planning a coastal walk either from seabrook or wallis sands beach to (or from) lamoine beach, maine (adjacent to trenton on the north side of the town). there are many spots one cannot wallk because of access to the waterfront. however, i am seeking a list of all the beaches and walkable shoreline. is any such list available? i was born in rhode island and raised (til age 11) in portsmouth, and 75% of my genealogy is coastal (unfortunately, one grandfather is pennsylvanian). my ancestors in general trod between portsmouth and what was formerly trenton, massachusetts. i am also a writer and counselor, and am planning to gather material for a historical romance novel, which includes the settler of lamoine. i want to research sponsors for the trek, and private homes where i can be hosted along the way. hopefully some of these will be with distant relatives, but that is yet to be researched.
carolyn c. in laurel mnt borough, pa

EDITOR’S REPLY: As far as we know, all of NH’s beaches are “walkable” but they’re few and far between. Then there’s a gap up to York and Ogunquit, and it gets pretty slim pickings after that in Rocky Maine. Here’s the list of beaches from the NH border to Kennubunkport maybe not quite in order. To see what area they cover, you’ll need a good map. Seabrook, Hampton Beach, North Beach, Bass Beach, North Hampton State Beach, Rye Harbor State Park, Wallis Sands, Foss, Sawyer’s, Jenness, Odiorne State Park, New Castle Beach. Starting in Kittery Maine you’ll find Seapoint, York Harbor Beach, Long Sands, Short Sands, Cape Neddick Beach, Ogunquit Beach, Footbridge Beach, Wells Beach, Drake’s Island, Parson’s, Kennebunk Beach, Gooch’s, Mother’s, Colony Becah, Goose Rocks and Old Orchard.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/101nh/beaches.html

May 16
100 FAMOUS NH PEOPLE - NOT YET
Good evening. I love your website. The bios (live free or die) are great and easy to read (especially for my fourth graders) We were questioning how to get to the 100 famous people. On the web screen, there are 15 featured and then Matthew Thornton has just been added. Is there a trick to get to the others, or are the famous people rotated? Please let me know. My students are dying to find out more! Thank you for your time.
Brenna Jones

EDITOR'S REPLY: The goal is to create an Internet links page for 100 famous NH people. That's the goal. What you see is what I've been able to do without funding or support, so far. It's a time-consuming, and extremely satisfying project, but it moves ahead at a snail's pace as the search for funding continues. Link Free or Die is living up to its name. We are linking for free and we are, well, struggling. Did I just move from the first to the third person pronoun in the same paragraph? Bad grammar, but good intentions. Just tell the kids to click in as they matriculate up through toward college. The site should be done by then. And thanks for the kind comments.
http://www.seacoastsearch.com/nhlinks/people/index.html

May 15
WHY DO PEOPLE CLAIM JPJ BLOODLINE?
Ok brace yourself I have been informed John Paul Jones is a distant relative of mine. I was totally blown away by the number of people also claiming him as a relative, looking through your mail archives. He is the only famous relative my family claims. I never had any reason not to believe Jone Paul Jones wasn't a distant relative of some sort until now. My sincere question to the experts: Can you think of any reason why so many claim him as a long ago ancestor when it is so doubtful that such a huge number of people are in fact related? It looks like a very large book could be made about the relatives of John Paul Jones. Classify it under myths, legends, and tall tales. Your mail archives are eye opening. Thank you.
Stanley C in Parsons, Kansas

EDITOR’S REPLY: I can only assume that most people live fairly normal hum-drum lives. The fact that they may be kin to someone famous makes them feel like they belong in some way to history, which were it true, genealogically they would. In Jones’ case, no one is directly related since he sired no known children. Only those related to, as yet unconfirmed “illegitimate” children would be true descendants. Those related to the Paul family of Scotland and Jones’ sisters would be collateral descendants. I remember being told as a kid that I was related to Davy Crockett and to Calvin Coolidge. Turns out that one wasn’t true and the other was such a distant relationship that it barely mattered, but these two opposing forces became my role models for a brief period. Luckily, I managed to outgrow the idea that being related to someone meant anything even before I learned I wasn’t. Still, I feel a kinship to these two strange men, and for a time, they provided a sense of self-esteem that probably helped when I was about 8 years old. Why people who are 80 years old still draw a sense of value from being impossibly distantly related to someone like Jones continues to fascinate me daily. Anyone who truly knew him, would not want to be related, but in most cases, the claimants don’t do any research – and are often the most vociferous advocates of false history. They want the glory, plain and simple, to rain down on them. For many,it stakes their claim as a solid American, when Jones, of course, was Scottish, and never an American citizen. It’s the down-side of genealogical research. You can’t imagine how many people have written whose letters we have NOT published simply for lack of space. I’d like to see them all get together and do something useful, like help us support the cost of maintaining the John Paul Jones House Museum, or paying for a statue of Jones in Haymarket Square in front of the house. Instead, most that we’ve talked to are in an endless quest to prove some inane theory to support evidence of their own bloodline. Such a waste of energy, but blood – even fake blood – is thicker than money. Thanks for your note.
http://seacoastnh.com/jpj/

May 14
GROUP TOURING THE BLACK HERITAGE TRAIL
I am trying to find some information on when the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail Tours/Walks are given so that I can take some of my students on a field trip. Can you please tell me where I can find this information (for the month of June).
Jennifer at Simmons College Upward Bound

PBHT TRAIL DIRECTOR VAL CUNNINGHAM REPLIES: The Trail is set up as a self-guided walking and driving tour. However, we have volunteer guides who are available by pre-arrangement for groups wanting a guided tour. We are particularly interested in accommodating school groups. Please contact Gerry Copeland (phone and email attached) for more information about setting up a guided tour. Last summer we had a trial run of scheduled guided tours but I don't know if we'll do that again this summer -- a lot depends on whether we have volunteers available. Thanks for your interest and we'd like to hear any comments/suggestions in the future.
http://seacoastnh.com/blackhistory/trail.html

May 14
ROOTING AROUND RYE
I am trying to learn more about the history of the Rye Beach Are (particularly Wallace Sands and Odeon State Park). Could you refer me to any books, or places that I could research?
Mary Ellen Vazzana

EDITOR’S REPLY: You want the Rye Historical Society at PO Box 583 Rye, NH 03870. They are moving into their new museum building this July, but there is currently no phone or web site for this all volunteer group. In the meantime you could contact the Rye Library linked below. Since Rye was the settling point for the first NH arrivals from Europe AND is in charge of the NH islands at the Isles of Shoals, it’s got a lot of history to tell.
http://www.rye.lib.nh.us/

May 13
OLD IRONSIDES FOUND IN BARN
I have a true "barn find" cast iron model of Old Ironsides, plated with copper or brass (I'm afraid to clean it with any caustic solutions for fear of losing the originality of the ship.) At the rear of the ship it says: "1 IRONSIDES," and at the stern side of the ship is the numeral 4. It is 5 1/4" wide, 2" deep, and 5 5/8" inches tall to the top of the mainmast. A local antiquities dealer said the model is at least 100 years old. The casting is almost of investment quality. The model weighs 1 1/2 pounds. It is a dead ringer for the original Old Ironsides, and I'm very anxious to have it identified. Can you help?
William McNelis

EDITOR’S REPLY: Souvenirs of Old Ironsides are extremely common largely from its 1930s tour of dozens of US ports following construction of the late 1700s USS Constitution. Zillions of souvenirs were made for sale in all sorts of uses and sizes. We’re not experts, but something similar to this item comes up often on eBay. Your best bet is simply to contact a number of local antique dealers for the combined info, and you may want to contact the USS Constitution Museum in Charleson, MA to see if they have a guide to Ironsides memorabilia. This sounds like a nice one. Think of Ironsides items as the Star Wars souvenirs of the early 20th century and you get the idea. They are common, but there are many dedicated collectors too.
http://seacoastnh.com/ussconstitution/index.html

May 13
DISTANCE BETWEEN ISLES
Can someone tell me the straight line distance between the Isles of Shoals Light on White Island and the "dock area" on Appledore.
Tony S in Waterbury, CT

EDITOR’S REPLY: We’ve forwarded your letters to those who know better, but here are some maps that may help. The two islands are close, probably within a mile and can be easily seen. Both “dock” areas are generally off limits and there is no public docking facility at either island, however. Appledore is managed by Cornell University and White Island by the state of NH and leased to a private individual.
http://seacoastnh.com/shoals/maps.html

May 11
PORTSMOUTH PRISONERS AT CAMP LONG
My maternal great grandfather, Jose Pineiro, was a sailor aboard the Protected Cruiser "Almirante Oquendo" which was destroyed in the battle of Santiago de Cuba. He was transported aboard the USS St. Louis to Camp Long, Seaveys Island before being repatriated to Spain. I want to find more detailed information about Camp Long, including a list of prisoners held there, photos, anything. Can you help? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Joe Figueiredo of Harrisburg, PA

EDITOR'S REPLY: Peter Payetee has a some info on Camp Long on his web site PortsmouthForts.com. This POW camp at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was set up for prisoners of the Spanish American war and was located near where the Naval Prison stands today. The camp housed 1,612 prisoners and there are many photos of the them - washing clothes in the river, etc. We've even seen a souvenir book from the even for sale to tourists who would view the group from boats. The story is covered briefly in Richard Winslow's 200 year history of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard called "Do Your Job" from Peter E. Randall Publishers (available in SeacaostStore.com). For detailed info, including a list of all the prisoners, you may contact the shipyard museum which is currently not open to the public. They have the archival material on the Camp Long there. Contact curatorJim Dolph or Walter Ross at 1-207-438-2325. It's a story we have yet to cover fully on SeacoastNH.com
http://www.seacoastnh.com/navyyard/index.html

May 11
CELIA MOVES TO CONCORD
Could you please tell me the dates and venues for the Celia Thaxter exhibit. A friend and I would like to see the exhibit this summer, possibly in conjunction with a tour to her garden on the Isle of Shoals.
Jean Aims

EDITOR'S REPLY: The Celia exhibit is in its final location after traveling from Portsmouth, NH to Boston, MA. It is currently on display at the NH Historical Society in Concord through October 19, 2002. Check their web site for details. It's worth the trip, and we're not just saying that because we wrote the book - which is also great and available from Peter E Randall Publishers in SeacoastStore.com.
http://www.nhhistory.org/
http://seacoastnh.com/celia/

May 05
STILL SUBMERGED, THE MOVIE
I am writing in response to an article by J Dennis Robinson on the "As I Please" webpage about Submerged from the story "The Terrible Hours" starring Sam Neil (not to be confused with another Submerged movie that was released in 2000)

My name is Angela and I'm from Queensland in Australia. My husband and I worked as extras on the movie "Submerged" by James Keach whilst we were living in Malta last year, and we are absolutely DESPERATE for a copy of the movie, as we don't get NBC television in Australia. If anyone could help me obtain (buy/borrow/whatever) a copy of the video/dvd i would be eternally grateful. Failing this, would you happen to know if Submerged will ever be aired in Australia, or when it will be shown again in the States?

EDITOR’S REPLY: Thanks. We’ve received a couple dozen inquiries about the movie, but all we know is what appears on our web site. We’ve often emailed the production company/director, but have received no response to requests for further info, and didn’t even get our promised video promo copy. Our interest surrounds the fact that this film depicts a local event involving local people. We suggest contacting NBC via their web site, if you can work your way through the mass of buttons. They own it. We assume it will be distributed in every money-making form possible. It aired often here on the USA network which, we were told, had a reboradcast contract in the States. You might also try writing to the San Neil online fan club, the president of which was very helpful to us while we were doing the research. Sorry we cannot be of more help to readers who remain interested in the film and the story of the Squalus.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please060201.html

May 03
MORE SHOALS RELATIONS
I am looking for info on Joseph Bigelow Haley From Isle of Shoals,a sea captain, my great grandfather, born1850, or any resources of info @the Haley's.
Sean Murphy of Framingham, MA

EDITOR’S REPLY: There is no paid research staff to provide genealogical information on the Shoals, but there are ways to do research. You may write to the Vaughan Memorial librarian at Star Island (see our Shoals section) or visit the Shoals collection now housed at the Portsmouth Athenaeum during its hours open to the public. We suggest a first step is to join ISHRA, the Shoals history group, and get to know the membership there in hopes of finding someone who can work with you on your research. Or you can hire a prof. genealogist to do the work remotely.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/shoals/ishra.html

May 02
I THINK YOU GOT A VIRUS
For your information, I received an email from your computer, that had an Attachment to which Norton Antivirus said there is a virus. I went to Norton's website, www.symantec.com, and their main web page addresses this worm, which sounds like it could be a bad one: "The worm may include a virus that will destroy all files on the 13th of March and September. "
Troy in Utah

EDITOR’S REPLY: It’s a tricky on all right. Fact is, the letter you got IS the virus according to our tech. We have not been infected, although we now receive as many as 50 virus attempts per DAY here. The virus indicated it came from us, but the catch is, the virus steals the names off the harddrive of the infected person. Then it says the email is “from” that person – the stolen name. The person who is infected is not listed, but is merely the source of the stolen email addresses. Since thousands of readers have our email address in their browsers, when any one of them is infected, our name gets stolen from them and appears, with others, to be sending the message to you. In this weird case, the fact that it says it is from us, proves it isn’t.

Another indicator is that the virus you got came via MS Outlook Express. Since that is the most commonly user browser (and thus the most targeted by viruses) we simply don’t use it at all. And we keep the names of our 9,000 newsletter subscribers out of our email browser, making it virtually impossible for the virus to reach our readers. Our readers, however, have send us a thousand viruses in return without even knowing it. This stuff is really nasty, but as far as we know, the Norton letter is a hoax. It makes you think that Norton is contacting you re: a virus – but why would they? We pay them to protect us, not you. Millions of infected letters are sent daily, perhaps hourly, and they’re not going to expend their resources telling an unknown web surfer to be careful. The message you read on their site, however, is real, but anyone can create a link and send you there.

We suggest simply that you open NOTHING that is attached EVER unless it is from someone you know, and whom you know is sending you an attachment that very day. 99% of the virus scare letters are, in themselves, either hoaxes or viruses. Forget about online messages, protect your harddrive with the right software, and ignore the spam. That’s our advice. And thanks for writing.

May 01
SMUTTYNOSE GOES TO SCHOOL
hi my name is brittany for my 8th grade project i decided to do mysterie murders of maine. I picked 3 on of which was the smuttynose murders. I was wondering if i could use some of your sources for my webpage for my project I would give all credit to you guys. You have been a big help for my project!!
Brittany

EDITOR’S REPLY: It is totally okay to use material from our Smuttynose web site for a school report on paper. There are only three things you must do for us in return: (1) ask permission – which you have done nicely; (2) credit your sources correctly as you would a book or an encyclopedia; (3) be sure to use quotation marks on the parts you take word-for-word from us. That way the teacher can tell what we wrote and what you wrote and be better able to evaluate how your skills as a writer are growing. Glad we could help.
http://seacoastnh.com/smuttynose/