September 25
CEO JONES
My company is dedicating a conference room to John Paul Jones. I am looking for reproductions of original art featuring him, his ships and the battles he was involved in. Do you sell any of the above? If not, can you suggest where I may find this type of art?

EDITOR’S REPLY: I’m not sure JPJ would have been too effective in a conference room setting, but he would have liked to see his name on the door. We don’t sell images and there are few who do. The one we see most often with a giant collection appears on eBay under the name (I think) Line-of-Battle images. Just go to ebay, type in John Paul Jones and comb your way through the entries. You’re bound to find a cluster of images (ships and portraits) by one dealer, whom may be connected with Annapolis. Oh, that’s the other source. Check with the bookstore or gift shop there. Or look up Annapolis Press. That’s your best bet for commercially available items. We’ve collected about 100 images and books digging through eBay over the years.
http://seacoastnh.com/jpj/

September 23
ROLL OUT THOSE BARRELLS
Seeking The Barrell Mansion in York: Hi, My name is Gitti Barrell, and I am a descendent of Nathaniel Barrell (whom my father was named after). My niece is looking for an American History project, and we are researching the idea of the history of the Barrell's in N.H. Can you give us a jump start and some direction as to where to go from there?
Gitti Barrell in Buffalo, New York

EDITOR’S REPLY: We check with the York librarian who noted that there are a few references to Nathanial in Banks, History of York. We are unfamiliar with a Barrell Mansion. Your best bet is to contact the Olde York Historical Society. They will do research for about $15/hr. There is a link on their site to the research library and an online request form for information.
http://www.oldyork.org

September 23
SEEKING LIGHTHOUSE KIDS
I was recently at the International Lighthouse Conference in New Bedford, MA and had a chance to see the Lighthouse Kids with Sue Reynolds. I would like to get in touch with her. If you have an address, phone number, e-mail...please send them to me. Thanks very much.
Jerry Leeds

EDITOR’S REPLY: Our article on the Lighthouse Kids appears in Site of the Week archives. You can reach them at the North Hampton Middle School or via their web site LighthouseKids.com. To date, the endangered White Light is still in need of saving.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please012802.html

September 23
A NOTE FROM GINNIE IN AZ
I LIVED IN N.H MOST MY LIFE,I HAD FIVE BOYS AND 1 GIRL, 2 OF MY BOYS SEVERED IN THE ARMED SEVERUS, THEY ALL KNOW WHAT OUR STATE MOTTO STANDS FOR, NOW THAT I LIVE IN AZ. I STILL HAVE A STICKER ON MY CAR. WE ARE ALL PROUD OF THE MOTTO AND STATE OF N.H.
GINNIE

September 20
WHAT IS MEMORIAL BRIDGE DEDICATION?
I was wondering if you could help us. My daughter is doing a bridge project, has chosen the Memorial Bridge to research and we were wondering what the New Hampshire side of the bridge reads, at the top where the eagle is?? we were looking on the internet at the photo of the veterans standing in front of it (the plaque is above their heads) during the rededication in 1998, and were unable to discern the writing (other than the "New Hampshire").
L. Nelson

FROM NICOLE CLOUTIER at the Portsmouth Public Library: The Inscription directly below the eagle is as follows: MEMORIAL TO THE SAILORS AND SOLDIERS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE WORLD WAR 1917-1919

There is also a plaque found on the side of the bridge. It includes a lengthy list of those responsible for the bridge. If you are interested in more information, the entire bridge has been entered into the Smithsonian Inventory of Am. Ptg and Sculpture. You can search their Art Inventory on the web at: http://www.siris.si.edu. Also, if you need more local information, news clippings and such, please do contact me directly. I would be happy to provide copies, for a nominal fee, of what is in our vertical file about the Memorial Bridge. (And a note from Dennis at SeacoastNH.com: There is an extensive photo file of the building of the bridge at the Portsmouth Athenaeum, as a film clip of the dedication ceremony on video at the Portsmouth Library.)
http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please081698.html

September 19
RICHARD CANDEE ON JEFFERSON HALL
In response to your recent reader letter (below): Jefferson Hall was the upper story of the c. 1800 Market House, which was burned out in the fire and rebuilt within the brick walls. There is one photograph of the exterior before it was Victorianized; there is a copy at the Athenaeum. There is also one political broadside at the American Antiquarian Society that purports to show the interior. I have a good deal of description of Jefferson Hall in the essay I did for the "1823 Celebration" recently published by the Dublin Seminar -- also at the Athenaeum. The church records are also deposited at the Athenaeum, as are lots of Elias Smith writings, I believe.

Jim Garvin did a reconstructed drawing (published in "Historical NH") and there is now a model at City Hall (?) done for the group trying to see the Old State House reconstructed. It stood right in front of North Church, in the middle of the Market Square roadway at the head of Congress St. Do NOT use the silly and erroneous drawing in Gurney's "Portsmouth Historic and Picturesque".

Looking for a picture of the Chapel on Hanover Street. It was there in 1850. There is a cut of Chapel on Hanover Steet from Bragdon's Seabord Towns (1857) illustrated in Richard Candee, "Building Portsmmouth," p. 81

Also the Court Street Christian Church - 1862. I think I have seen an old photo of the Court Street Christian Church that shows it as a single story, before it was lifted in 1891 -- but I can't recall where. It may be at the Athenaeum, but I doubt it. I suggest you look in the Masonic Hall's Whalley Library (open Wed's by appointment). That may be the place where I saw it.

As to the "Big Lift" -- lifting one-story buildings into two was not uncommon. There is even a photograph of this happening to the Gen. Chamberlain House in Brunswick, ME and quite a few more about. I think this also happened to The Freewill Baptist Church on Pearl St. (Now "the Pearl of Portsmouth") -- although it may have looked more like the Hanover St. Chapel when first built.
Richard Candee

September 19
EVEN MORE ON JEFFERSON HALL
It was the Democratic-Republican (ie Jeffersonian) political party space in town. There is a huge number of descriptions of political and 4th of July events there. Besides the AAS broadside showing a purported view if the interior I mentioned before, here is part of the text from my Dublin Seminar essay in "New England Celebrates":

". . . After the formal services ended, at two o'clock invited gentlemen (only) assembled by the Academy so that they might march down Congress Street to Jefferson Hall. This room, over the brick market which gave its name to Market Square, long served as the favored dining spot for the town's Republican majority on Fourth of July. Being above a meat market led Federalist songster Jonathan M. Sewall to dub it 'Jefferson's stall.'

Lit by a Palladian window on the west gable-end, you actually entered "the most capacious" hall in Portsmouth from the east, up two staircases through anterooms. Here town meetings, political rallys, and dinners were celebrated. Fourth of July dinners were recalled for "the long extended and well-filled board"; any "citizen who did not master at least one bottle of wine was reproached as weak or puritanic." Perhaps this afternoon "two tables the whole length of the hall were set in good taste." With nearly 200 gentlemen arriving en mass between 2:30 and 3 o'clock, the food -- "fish of all known names and cooked in all possible variety" -- was already on the table, "served up in Wildes' usual style" by the hotelier who earlier hosted the committee meetings. The meal was organized by a committee under U.S. Senator, John F. Parrott, of Portsmouth, who as 'President of the Day' asked everyone to write his name on the back of the ticket of admission before delivering the same to the head waiter, who was directed to collect the tickets on the removal of the cloth; but amid the joy and hilarity which prevailed, few attended to the request. Nevertheless, a list later compiled from memory shows the elite character of this group. Almost a quarter, counting out of state dignitaries, had academic degrees and more than half of those from Portsmouth already belonged to its Athenæum. "On the removal of the cloth, many excellent toasts were drank, intersperced with appropriate and patriotic songs, several of them composed for the occasion." Among these "was a song by William P. Adams, Esq., a custom house inspector, then noted for his merry off-hand rhymes on like occasions, fragments of which, from reading it in print, have lingered in my memory." One verse "that was the cause of much merryment at the table and elsewhere," named two of the state's early settlers:

Tom Warnerton he planted peas, / And Humphrey Chadbourne taters, / Their children hopped as thick as fleas -- / Dear little chubby 'craters.'

And the last stanza is said to have 'brought down the house.'

Two hundred years have now elapsed / Since we became a nation, / and if you'll all attend, --perhaps / I'll sing next celebration.

For Jefferson Hall see the drawing across p. 89 in "Building Portsmouth."
Richard Candee

September 18
JEFFERSON HALL?
The church I attend will be celebrating its 200 ann in October. Founded 1802 by Elia Smith. Looking for pictures of Jefferson Hall - burnt apparently in fire of 1802. If no picture location. The North School House and Old State House - picture and its location in 1806. Looking for a picture of the Chapel on Hanover Street. It was there in 1850. Also the Court Street Christian Church - 1862. Looking for any old photo that shows it as a single story. It was lifted in 1891 to add a vestry under it. Also any info about the "Big Lift".
Barry from Eliot, Maine

EDITOR’S REPLY: That Jefferson Hall formerly in Market Square is a fascinating topic. We know of no image, which is why this very important building seems to float through history. We suggest contacting the Portsmouth Athenaeum on this one, which has the largest gallery of images on this topic. Prof. Richard Candee, author of Building Portsmouth, is also an ideal source. You can reach him via the Athenaeum. You can find the Athenaeum listed in GOseacoast.com.

September 16
WISER AND WHITTIER
I recently came across your website when I was looking for information on John Greenleaf Whittier's Amesbury home. Last year I purchased an early picture etching titled "The Birthplace of John Greenleaf Whitter." Attached to the back of it was a postcard titled "The Home of John Greenleaf Whittier, Amesbury, MA. The postmark date on back is June 19, 1929. Since I am a 1984 graduate of Whittier College in Whittier, CA I was attracted to the etching. Do you have this postcard in your collection. If not, I could e-mail a copy to you if you'd like.
Mrs. Valentine Iamartino

EDITOR’S REPLY: Thanks for the offer, but we’re just tourists too. While at the Whittier home a few years back, we purchased a series of postcards. They have a large collection of duplicate early postcards relating to JGW in their collection that are for sale. Since they had no web site, we provided a few pages on SeacoastNH.com, since Whittier wrote a good deal of poetry about our region. Amesbury, MA is just a stone’s throw from here. Souvenirs of Whittier from the late 19th and early 20th century abound since he was as popular as a rock star, the Stephen King of Victorian poetry, so-to-speak. When in this area, be sure to tour the house which is virtually the same as it was when Whittier lived there. Use our on-site Search function or go to the Poetry section to index much of the JGW stuff on our site. We took a quick look at the Whittier College web site and couldn’t find a single mention of poor JGW. We assume he is the namesake since the town of Whittier was incorporated as a Quaker community near LA at the height of the poet’s popularity. He was at that time a Quaker icon and continued to speak in the “Quaker way” all his life.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/poems/index.html
http://www.seacoastnh.com/dct/whittier1.html
http://www.seacoastnh.com/postcards/whittier/index.html

September 16
LEARS AFIELD
MY NAME IS HOLLY LEAR AND MY GRANDFATHER'S NAME IS ROLA JUNIOR LEAR AND MY GREATGRANDFATHER'S NAME IS EARL LEAR (WIFES NAME ANN LEAR) WHO ALL LIVED IN OHIO IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN TELL ME ABOUT MY FAMILY. THERE SEEMS TO BE ALOT OF SECRETS IN OUR FAMILY EARL AND ANN HAD CHILDREN NAMES: JACKLYN LEAR (OHIO) WILLIAM LEAR (DECEASED) ROSEMARY LEAR(ARIZONA) WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF EARL LEAR IS REALLY MY GRANDFATHER ROLA JUNIOR FATHER.

WE CAME TO AN UNDERSTANDING WHEN MY GRANDPA ROLA DIED THAT HE WAS 2YRS OLD WHEN ANN MARRIED EARL. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHO IS MY GRANDFATHER'S REAL FATHER.WE NEVER HAD A BIRTH CERTIFICATE EVERYTHING WAS DESTROYED. PLEASE LET ME KNOW ANY OF MY FAMILY'S FAKE OR REAL INFORMATION..
HOLLY LEAR

EDITOR’S REPLY: That sounds like a few years worth of genealogical research, out of our league. You are likely barking up the wrong Lear tree since Benjamin, son of Tobias of Portsmouth, died in the mid 1800s, thus ending the local Lear lineage. We support the historic house there by offering information about the Lear House pro bono as part of the SeacaostNH.com commitment to supporting local history.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/tobiaslear/index.html

September 15
MARYELLEN’S MAGIC DRESS
Thank you for adding me to your subscription list. I read with pleasure the story of Maryellen's magic bridal gown. May the happy couple continue to find joy in each day and each other. Warm regards to all,
Dot Meneghin
http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please082502.html

September 12
FROM THE MORAL VAMPIRE
I will be adding your logo to my web site for The Moral Vampire Series, I live right here in Danville, NH and have been writing this series of books since 1995 when the first one was published. I also have another book called Noah's Garden, which although intended for young adults, is widely read and loved by mature adults. My latest book, "Spiritual Vengeance," is featured on their main page along with Michael J. Fox and Jimmy Buffet. I hate to be "tooting my own horn," but I thought you'd like to know about another "talent" that is know around the globe, but lives quite humbly, and happily, right here in beautiful New Hampshire.
Rosemarie E. Bishop
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Chateau/1779/MoralVampire.html

EDITOR’S REPLY: Thanks, we’ll post that URL for our readers. And those who are interested in the old fashioned immoral vampires may want to reread our archived article on Food for the Dead.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/dead/foodforthedead.html

September 11
UFOS NOT FOR SALE
I want to buy the tv movie ufo incident staring James earl jones and estelle gettsy.
Frank B in North Huningdon, PA

EDITOR’S REPLY: Sorry dude, no can sell. As far as we know, the story of Betty and Barney Hill has never been released on video. The only copies Betty has, she tells us, were taped over TV and sent to her.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/ufo/bettyhill1.html

September 11
MORE WEIGHT, LESS FAT
Just in case you haven't already come across this bargain, Barnesandnoble.com is offering the paperback edition of THE WEIGHT OF WATER for $2.98 this week.
Dennis L. Hart of Marietta, SC
http://weight-of-water.com

September 09
GREAT GRAMPA OWNED HOG ISLAND
My 7th great-grandfather, Antipas Maverick, sailed, with his parents, on the MARY & JOHN, arriving in New England on 30 May 1630. Further, Antipas Maverick was a resident of Isle of Shoals late in 1647 when he sold "all my tittell and interest that I have or ever had in Hoge Illand at the Isle of Shoals to have two houses, one stage and the moreing places wch belong unto the stage or cove" and bought a dwelling house and 100 acres at Kittery, Maine. (I do not know when he went to the Isle of Shoals).

I do not find an island, among those of the Isles of Shoals, named 'Hog Island' on a map. Can you help identify 'Hog Island?' Is there any way to track land ownership back to 1640? Or otherwise discover new leads to this ancestor?
Herb in Washington, IL

EDITOR’S REPLY: That’s an easy one. Hog (or Hogg) is an early name for Appledore Island, owned today by the Star Island Corp and used mostly by Cornell and UNH for its Marine Studies lab. It is the site of the former Appledore Hotel of Celia Thaxter and her family. For more info on Shoals history, why not join ISHRA and build contacts through that organization who may be able to held with your further research? Much of the ISHRA research material is archived at the Portsmouth Athenaeum. You can see the name clearly in the map we have placed online below.
http://seacoastnh.com/shoals/maps3B.html
http://seacoastnh.com/shoals/ishra.html

September 07
GOSPORT REPRINTED
I am very interested in "Gosport Remembered" edited by Peter E.Randall and Maryellen Burke as my 6th great grandfather, Christopher Jose came from England and settled on Star Island (Gosport) in the mid 1600s. Would you please quote me a price and where I might find it.
Nellie J. Valente

EDITOR’S REPLY: You are in luck. Not only did your humble editor just marry the author (not Peter, the other one), but the book has just been republished in paperback. Many of the original hardcover copies were lost in a fire at the storage company, but the book is BACK as of this week. You can likely buy it at River Run in Portsmouth, or directly from the publisher at www.PERpublisher.com. The book is listed under the Portsmouth Marine Society catalog order form.
http://seacoastnh.com/shoals/photos.html

September 07
BLACK HISTORY & CLASSICAL MUSIC
I would like to suggest a link for your site: "Black History & Classical Music" An introduction to classical composers and musicians of African descent. Includes a Black History Quiz.
Bill Zick
http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/History.html

September 06
DID GW HAVE SYPHILIS?
Idiots that I work with are insisting that George Washington had syphilis. I just read in your mail that a man was able to deny that rumor with a quote from your website. I was wondering what that quote was so I can put this to rest. I don't remember the date of the letter, but I know it was in 1999. Please help!
Christi in Mishawaka, Indiana

EDITOR’S REPLY: Well that letter really send us down a rabbit hole. We found the letter on our web site dated September 25, 1999 (see link below). You can check our site anytime by just going to the special search engine on LETTERS ARCHIVE. It’s designed just for that purpose.

Then we started looking online for more info. All we could find on our site is the detailed story of the Death of Washington by his loyal Portsmouth secretary Tobias Lear. Washington certainly didn’t die of syphilis, but our online research turned up no hard evidence that he did not suffer from it. Responsible web sites refer to the “rumor” that GW has the sexually transmitted disease, while other sites run with the legend as if it were a fact. Washington is linked with other famous sufferers, reportedly including Pope Julius II, Henry VIII, Ivan the Terrible and Nietzsche. We wonder if the story isn’t given further spin by the recent government apology in Washington for the Tuskegee Syphilis Lawsuit in which blacks were tested for the disease by the US government and lied to. President Clinton tearfully apologized for this study in 1997 and many said is besmirched the image of Tuskegee founder George Washington Carver. We’re wondering if that connection may add fuel to the GW rumor. Anyway, we’re not helping much, but you can read the Lear report about GW on our site and then, we suggest, get a good up-to-date biography of GW and let us know what the prognosis is. We’re guessing it is a rumor that will never be proven.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/mail/mail0999.html
http://seacoastnh.com/history/rev/washdeath.html

September 06
SAWMILLS IN HISTORY
Your site on the internet mentions "50 sawmills", yet I do not find a thing about them except the sawyers having to move west as old growth was cut down, and the pine used for ships masts.

I hope you have an historian in the office, or know one. I need some information. During the American Revolution, how would these sawmills have been powered? Surely aterpower? No ox could walk fast enough in a circle to pull a chain attached to a wheel on the ground, to turn it fast enough to spin a gear somewhere down the line to turn a saw blade. Don't tell me that the mills were pits with a log across, two guys with a cross-cut saw, one above and one below? When DID the circular saw come into use?
Jo P of Lewiston, Idaho

EDITOR’S REPLY: We don’t see any fish flakes in New Hampshire either, but they and the sawmills were largely what built this region from a distant British colony to a thriving colonial capital. Originally sawmills, which appeared at most waterfall and rushing stream areas in this region, were water powered. The first steam powered sawmill in Maine appeared around 1839, 200 years after the initial mills were founded. The forests of the Seacoast were quickly cut back as loggers moved deeper and deeper into the woods of Northern New England. The only Revolutionary era sawmill we know is a reconstruction in Candia situated on the original site of the mill and now on private land just off the old rail road tracks.

We’re not the sawmill experts, but there are many around. Start will Davistown Museum in Liberty, Maine. You will find reconstructed mills in New England and elsewhere with some Web research. The Robinson-Herrling project in Wisconsin, for example, is part of a nearly $2million project to rebuild a typical water powered family-operated sawmill around the time of the Civil War. Or look for the reconstruction of a 1780 water-powered sawmill at Mill Creek on the Great Lakes in the Mackinac State Historic Park. We found an 1830s reconstructed sawmill at King;s Landing Settlement in New Brunswick or the fully operational mill at Sherbrooke Village in Nova Scotia (where we happened to be last week). Check Amazon for plenty of books on the topic including “Early Loggers and the Sawmill” by Adams and Kalman.
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/sv/sawmill.html

September 06
STAYING AT THE OCEANIC
I am very interested in spending some time at the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island - can you tell me how I go about doing this? Thanks very much!!
Richard Hurstfield-Meyer

EDITOR’S REPLY: This is one of the most commonly asked question we get, and we should certainly make more links to our Shoals FAQ page. Check it out and see all the key questions we get from readers – and pass it on.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/shoals/faq.html

September 06
HISTORY ACCORDING TO HANCOCK
I have 16 of the pamphlets, including The Presidents. How much are they worth ? They have been in our family and are in mint condition. I would never want to part with them. I was just curious. I was thinking about framing each one and hanging them. Right now they are on display in a safe spot in my dining room. How should I display them properly.

READER FOLLOWUP EMAIL: I e-mailed you earlier today about my pamphlets at home and I was more curious about which ones I had. Well, BIG SUPRISE !!! I have one called The story of Clara Barton. You site had said there was none about women that you know of. I have a total of 17, not 16. I also have Christmas Carol Book.-1923 from John Hancock Ins Comp too. I am really curious about how many are out there. Could you send me a list. Oh the previous E-Mail address I used was at work.
Boyanowski, Cheryl

EDITOR’S REPLY: Our guess, based on eBay sales, is that these little history brochures are worth a quarter to a dollar apiece to collectors. There are zillions in circulation. We bought our online collection for a few dollars on eBay. The artsy ad covers are attractive and it’s fun to see whom was considered a famous and patriotic American during the post WWI era in which they were produced. You may want to store them in acid free plastic or paper envelopes in a nice album, but not where the light can get to them. If framed, make sure to use protective glass. Although the content is often overly simplified, sometimes cloyingly patriotic and not necessarily accurate, their greatest value is in the reading. Kids like them because of their collectible format. We don't have a complete list and could not get one from the Marketing Dept at John Hancock, so we suggest you write to collectors on eBay. Our interest started only with the single booklet on John Paul Jones. We're also interested in the way it USED to be legitimate to use history to educate insurance company patrons. Now all that is out the windown. Selling is more important than sustaining and capitalism has run rampant as buyers got for price rather than service and reputation.
http://seacoastnh.com/jpj/johnhancock.html

September 06
WHERE IS PORTSMOUTH?
You have a very attractive website, but I'm not finding it easy to get the information I would like. We are flying into Boston and driving up to Maine for a family reunion. Someone suggested that we stop in Portsmouth. It took time to even find Portsmouth. I was hoping to find something I could print out (similar to what Salem, MA offers) that has an overview of historic sites, attractions, map, etc. able to be easily printed out as a packet. I should point out that I don't have a DSL connection, so every page change takes a lot of time. Maybe I missed something? Sincerely,
Nancy R in Roswell, GA

EDITOR’S REPLY: Most web sites put their HOME logo in the upper left corner. Ours is the lighthouse. Click there always to return to the homepage. We also provide a logo and text link to the homepage at the bottom of all 3,000 web pages. In this case, the key button for touring the region is TOURING. That will take you to GOseacoast.com. The other option is to use our search engine or to search from the compass on the homepage. We’ve been getting high marks for easy navigation. On GOseacoast, simply SEARCH BY TOWN. We list more Portsmouth things TO DO than any site online and each page can be easily printed with the spacial button at the bottom of each listing. We prefer to include Portsmouth as one of the 50 fascinating towns in the region. Hope that helps.
http://www.goseacoast.com/

September 05
SUBMERGED SINKS FROM VIEW
I am interested in finding out any more information available on the TV Movie "Submerged" - about the sinking and recovery of the USS Squalus. Aside from your website, I haven't been able to find out any more info on the film (i.e. - will it play any time in the near future, is it available on video/dvd, etc.). There were no links on the NBC page at all.
Tim Walton

EDITOR’S REPLY: We get this request each week, but for readers, we’ll print the answer once more. There is no video copy of Submerged available at this date. We’ve contacted the film producer and director and even the fan web sites for the actors. Nobody has seen it on video (it was never released in theaters) and nobody at any of the organizations we contacted will even offer a polite response. If we hear otherwise, we’ll post the info on our Submerged Movie pages – now the largest online summary of the film, it appears. Too bad. NBC must have made all the money it wants from this productoin about our important local history event.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please060201.html

September 05
SEEKING DRAKE ISLAND
When my wife was younger, she spent her summers on Drake Island. After over 35 years she would like to visit again. I can't locate Drake Island or find out anything on it. Can you help?
Ron Lear of Huntington Beach, CA

EDITOR’S REPLY: The only place we know locally with that name is Drake’s Island Beach (not an island) in Wells, Maine. Maybe your wife thought she was on an island due to the name? It's a nice little cluster of summer capes near the Rachael Carson wetlands center today. You can find the local chamber of commerce there by looking in SeacoastSearch.com. You can also check on MapQuest.com for a visual of Drake's Island Road.

September 05
BEST REGIONAL SITE ON THE WEB
This is the most thorough regional site I've ever seen. Congratulations! You're bookmarked already!
Louis Riggs of Hannibal, MO

September 05
A LETTER FROM LOUIS WAGNER!
Very Interesting stuff (Smuttynose Murders web site). And I thought, after all these years that Louis Wagner was a sea captain (rather than a murderer). Some years ago the Natl Geo printed a pix of the marker stone on one of the islands commemorating the last execution. I tried to get out to it but couldn't find a boat at the time and was in a hurry to get back to N.J. from a Maine Tuna fishing tournament. I don't think I'm a reincarnation, but I am a great fisherman and a sea captain ( retired). Regards
LOUIS Wagner, of Bethune, SC

EDITOR’S REPLY: We’re not aware of any marker on any island to Louis Wager, executed for the Smuttynose Murders in 1875. We’re guessing there was another, perhaps the sea captain you speak of. If you track down that article, let us know. Louis was among the last three men executed in the state of Maine, but it sounds like a coincidence to us.
http://seacoastnh.com/smuttynose/

September 05
FINE DINING AT GILLY’S?
I am taking my Nephews to Portsmouth (for the day) on Thursday. On another web site, many respondent's recommended a restaurant called "Gilly's". I can't seem to find it on-line. Can you give me directions? Do they have a web site that you know of?
Joanne S of Hudson, MA

EDITOR’S REPLY: That’s a good reason for sticking to our web site. Gilly’s is a diner on wheels serving hot dogs, beans, hamburgers and french fries. You’ll find it today on lower Fleet Street just below the large municipal parking garage. While we are often found there late at night (it’s open until 3am), we cannot recommend the sit down (stools) facility. Your nephews may get a kick out of the antique raw ambiance and the wide array of mostly youthful patrons. Before it moved permanently to Fleet St. Gilly’s Wagon appeared nightly in front of the North Church in Market Square, back when the seaport city was a rough and tumble town.

September 04
WE'RE BACK FROM THE HONEYMOON!
Wow, what a stack of emails to answer, and a new month already. Have patience. After we finish a new Site of the Week and prep a photo gallery, we'll answer a load of letters and update READ OUR MAIL archives. Then we'll post more sites on GOseacoast.com, clean up entries in SeacoastSearch.com and get to work on the latest newsletter! Stay tuned.
Your Humble Editor