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| READ OUR MAIL December 1999 Mailbag SeacoastNH.com |
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December 29 BEGAT OF MATTHEW THORNTON Hello...I just wanted to write and tell you thank you for having info about Matthew Thornton on your web site. I am a direct descendent of his and it is nice to see he is remembered. We had my great grandmother's (her maiden name was Jenny Thornton) history traced about 18 years ago and it was then I found out that I was related to someone who had a profound impact on the US as we know it today. Bravo for your web site in keeping people informed on important and influential people in US history. Keep up the great work! Stacy Brown silverm00n9@hotmail.com EDITOR'S REPLY: Thanks, and we have plans to add more info int he future on Thonrton who is very popular and seems to be related to almost everyone. Via the NH Historical Society we will be providing a quickie genealogical background on MT and others in 2000. We've only scratched the surface and now have another 1000 years to get the job finished. http://www.seacoastnh.com/framers/thornton.html December 29 TBA ALIVE AND ONLINE Guttenberg has at least two of his books, free online .I think the "Bad Boy" and "Town by the Sea" . Derb@ttlc.net EDITOR'S REPLY: Actually Project Guttenberg has seven Thomas Bailey Aldrich texts recently added online. Hopefully the creation of our TBA site helped promote the old boy's web image. We'll be linking to those pages soon. We like our picture version of Old Town better, but you can't beat plain vanilla text sites for easy reading online. We can only applaud Michael Hart's continued efforts to get literature online for free. http://promo.net/pg/_authors/i-_aldrich_thomas_bailey_.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/aldrich/index.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/postcards/aldrich/index.html December 28 REBUILD THE RANGER, A READER POEM A contemplative sonnet in iambic tetrameter to urge a great project forward. In memory of the late Max Maynard.
BUILD THE RANGER - build her fast - December 27 CAPTAIN HURT IN 1774 FORT RAID Hi, I recently read your article on the raids of fort William & Mary and I noticed some information that was left out. In Paul W. Wilderson the III s' article in the 32 vol. No.4 Historical New Hampshire winter 1977 book by the N.H. historical society, there is an account of Dec.14th & 15th 1774. In one part it said that a total of 2,100 men on the 15th marched (this also shows that it was more of a militia act than a mob)to the fort and took; "-16 small Cannon, 10 carriages,42 good Musquets, about 50 useless irreparable arms, Some Shot of all sizes, and a quantity of ordanance Stores-". This is what was taken along with the commonly known barrels of gunpowder. Another interesting fact is that although nobody was supposedly hurt, the account tells of a few injuries on the 14th when Gen. Sullivan and his 500 men marched to the fort, the cannon were fired, and when they stormed over the walls they were; "-repell'd & kept employ'd by the bayonets-" It then goes on to say that after Capt.. Cochrans' gun was broken; "-he still kept his bayonet with which he wounded one Man thro his Arm." It also goes on to describe more injuries from fist fights in which Capt. Cochrans' wrist was severely hurt. There are more interesting details in this account about the raids plus at least two more books in the series with articles in them about the raids on fort William & Mary. I would also recommend these books(the Historical N.H. series by the N.H. Historical Society)as a historical reference on N.H. in the Revolutionary war and N.H.s' history. Matt Payson of Lee, NH cartlandtavern@hotmail.com http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/photosmorang3/index.html December 26 WHERE IS JPJ's SWORD? I have found some information regarding a gold sword presented to JPJ by Louis XVI. Have you ever seen a picture or read a description of his original sword? Is the gold sword the one that is described in the 1906 government report? Any information is appreciated. John Phillippe jphillippe@qtm.net EDITOR'S REPLY: As usual, we are indebted to biographer Morison for the story of the sword which was presented to JPJ in 1780 at the peak of his fame by French King Louis XVI. The gold-hilt sword was inscribed in Latin and decorated with images of Mars and Hercules. It was Jones' most prized possession and reported was given at his death to Robert Morris who passed it to Commodore John Barry, who turned it over to Captain Richard Dale who passed it on to Annapolis. It is still there at the site of JPJ's tomb, we can assure you, or some sword is. A member of the Ranger Foundation was in the tomb at Annapolis last week and can testify to its presence. (Click to see a picture of the sword) December 26 PISCATAQUA SHIP HISTORY Is there any books on the shipping history of the harbor? Tony from Portsmouth antoniosd@mediaone.net EDITOR'S REPLY: Yes, some excellent books that document much of the history of shipbuilding in this region have been produced by the Portsmouth Marine Society under publisher Peter Randall. Some of the key titles include: The Piscataqua Gundalows (Winslow), Clippers of the Port of Portsmouth (Brighton), Port of Dover (Beaudoin & Whitehouse), The Golden Age of Privateers (Winslow), Tall Ships of the Piscataqua (Brighton), Consturction Munitions of (the Civil) War (Winslow) and Tugboats of the Piscataqua (Openo). http://www.perpublisher.com/ December 24 HANG ON PLUPY, PLUPY HANG ON Henry Shute was born in 1856 in Exeter, NH. I need to find out as much information as possible about him, and Exeter, NH from 1856-1943. He wrote The Real Diary of A Real Boy (1902) as well as 19 other books. If you could be of any help at all it would be greatly appreciated. J. Holman holmanj@hartwick.edu EDITOR'S REPLY: We have a number of the Plupy books in our personal library and they are on the shelves of most public libraries in the Seacoast area. Shute's stories, like those of his predecessor Thomas Bailey Aldrich (Story of a Bad Boy) were popular at the turn of the century, especially locally, during the rise of juvenile fiction for young boys. Local filmmaker Louis DeRochemont hoped to turn the "Little Rascal" style stories into film as late as the 1970s, but today they seen only at your local used book store. We suggest starting your research with the Exeter Historical Society (no web site, sorry) and the Exeter Library which have lots of info on Plupy. We'll get to him eventually. If it's any consolation, we did just a new section that tours every room of the Aldrich "Bad Boy" house in Portsmouth. http://www.seacoastnh.com/louis/unmade.html#exeters http://www.seacoastnh.com/postcards/aldrich/index.html December 24 IT WAS THE SQUALUS Could you tell me the name of the US Sub that sunk off Portsmouth, NH in 1939? Thx EMAZZM@aol.com EDITOR'S REPLY: The revised book by Peter Maas is now available. It is called "The Terrible Hours : The Man Behind the Greatest Submarine Rescue in History." Mr. Maas was in Portsmouth earlier this year researching this revision of his earlier book. To read and hear the "Ballad of the Squalus" by John Perrault in Real Audio on SeacoastNH.com, click below. http://www.seacoastnh.com/artists/Perrault/ December 22 NAVY YARD 2000 Is there a schedule of hours published that the base will be open to the general public during this years anniversary event. M Morrissey morrisseys@mediaone.net EDITOR'S REPLY: As far as we know, the much trumpeted 200th anniversary of "the oldest federal navy yard in the nation" comes down to an open house on June 10 and 11 to coincide with Market Square Day. We'll put up additional info when it is available. Also, the Navy Yard Museum has been moved to the building at the Kittery Gate and is open a few regular hours to the public. SeacoastNH.com, on the other hand, will open our own Portsmouth Naval Shipyard history theme section early in 2000 and it will be open to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We started early with the article linked below: http://www.seacoastnh.com/postcards/yard1/index.html December 22 DOES FRENCH TOAST COUNT? Do you have any bakeries on the New Hampshire Seacoast that have French Pastries? A. Fogell moosehaven@rocketmail.com EDITOR'S REPLY: Café Brioche in Market Square should qualify since they are named after a French pastry. Their phone number is 603-430-9225. December 21 SEACOASTNH NOW ON HOLIDAY AUTOPILOT Assuming you 6,000 daily readers are too busy e-shopping to need anything from us for a few days, we've put the web site on auto-pilot until Monday December 27. That means you will have to access nearly 2,000 of our archived pages on your own. When in doubt, remember our nifty SEARCH engine is almost as smart as we are. Our obligatory Christmas article is already in WHAT'S NEW. Don't worry, we'll be back in time to guide you gently into the new millennium. Look for some MAJOR additions to your favorite site in 2000, including the release of Seacoastsearch.com, the first regional search engine with a heart. Happy Holidays! Your Humble Editor http://www.seacoastnh.com/search.html December 20 MAKING THIS HISTORIC REGION "VISITOR FRIENDLY" Thanks again to SeacoastNH.com for putting us in touch with the people at the Tobias Lear House. Though the gathering at the house took place in April, all those in attendance have expressed their enjoyment of the occasion many times since then. We plan to have another similar gathering this year, and will give a generous donation to Seacoast and the Tobias Lear House. Thanks again!!! Harry W. Lear, Jr. of Topsfield, MA Learfarm@aol.com EDITOR'S REPLY: We always look forward to the Lear visits (see the Lear family below) and the support they and others bring to preserving SeacaostNH. We hope those "inside" our communities here are beginning to see the importance of this ENTIRE region as an historic destination point. We believe that the solution to preserving our amazing local history is in sharing it with others who, in turn, help support the tremendous cost of preservation. To do this, we need to make our region accessible, interesting, understandable to visitors, easily navigable and we need to create a new level of "customer service" for visitors - just the way readers of a web site need a user friendly interface. That means, we in the historical community need to work together to "interpret" our messages clearly for the public and to coordinate our messages. The advantages to the business community cannot be overstated, but as yet, we do not see a unified "Seacoast history" message being presented from local chambers, cities, schools, tourism or economic development agencies. We can only keep hoping that the message begins to shine through: COME TO HISTORIC SEACOAST NH. We thank the Lears for reminding us - and hope they notice that we took a trip to Mt Vernon the other day to visit the Virginia Lear heritage. http://www.seacoastnh.com/tobiaslear/reunion.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/dct/mountvernon.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/tobiaslear/index.html December 19 WOW! What an outstanding site! My name is Jim Lightizer. I was born and raised in Portsmouth and even though I now live in North Carolina, I still indulge myself in a love affair with our town. I just found Seacoastnh.com tonight, and I look forward to spending way too many hours burning the images of this site into my head when I have the time. I am a soldier at Fort Bragg, and I am coming home for the holidays on the 22nd. This is a good gear up for the trip home. I plan to leave the Army this summer and I pray that relocation back home is possible. Wish me luck in finding a good job...got a family to take care of. Thank-you for running this site! -Jim Lightizer in NC Lvfreordi1@aol.com EDITOR'S REPLY: Welcome home Jim. Any more of these and we can re-stage the early homecomings and have Return of the Sons and Daughters 2000. Best to get the job here now while the E-conomy.com is booming. We'll be releasing our new seacoast search engine soon in time for your job hunt. December 16 SPECTRAL VISION REVEALED i recently saw a band perform at a Christmas party and i thought they called themselves The Spectra's. It's an 8-10 piece band; they have drums, singer, saxophone, trumpet, etc. they said they were now online so people would know where they will be performing, but I'm unable to locate the information. i believe they said they perform in the NH area. They said they've been performing since the 70's around Mass and some of the NH colleges. What I would like to know is if you have any information on this band could you email me and tell me where to find the information? I would really like to hear them perform. Thanks for reading this. Barbara Sheehan VivaLasVagas@webtv.net EDITOR'S REPLY: Maybe we really DO know everything around here! We've attached The Spectras' new web address below. We not only saw them in the 70s, but our editor played keyboard to a band (The Blue Lanncers) that used to back up the Spectras when they performed at the "Swing Thing" a funky roller skating rink in Bedford, NH. Actually that was the late 60s!! One of the musicians is Gary Anderson, well known in these parts as the video producer of Cineworks, now NH Movies. http://twww.thespectras.com/ http://www.nhmovies.com/ December 14 NEW INDEPENDENT FILM COMING TO PORTSMOUTH? Who is the current president of the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce? Who is the Mayor of Portsmouth? Do you know who is running the Portsmouth Music Hall and how I can contact this individual about screening a film there? I am a former Portsmouth resident who moved to LA to produce and direct an independent film and would now like to screen it in Portsmouth. melissa puch de fripp, Los Angeles, CA melissap@wrslabs.com EDITOR'S REPLY: Robin Comstock is president of the local chamber and Mayor Evelyn Sirrell runs the city with an iron hand. You can find them both at the links below as well as the link to the Music Hall where we look forward to seeing your film soon. What is it about? Not California, we hope? http://www.portcity.org/ http://www.cityofportsmouth.com/ http://www.themusichall.org/ http://www.seacoastnh.com/film/ December 11 COSTLY PLUMMETS Why so much work for an article so easily lost; especially at sea ? I have seen a plummet 7-8 inches long weighing a pound or more. Any other uses for them. Thank you for your answer. CHARLES J Grey doceray@juno.com EDITOR'S REPLY: If you are referring to the "whale" plummet in our archeology section, here are two thoughts from a nonexpert who has spent a lot of time with archeologists. (1) We don't know if it is a plummet. That is a guess. (2) Nothing in our world lets us understand what significance an early Native American may have placed on this device. If catching a large fish meant the difference between life or starvation, one might certainly want to use a holy object, carved over many hours, to cause the spirit of the fish to be satisfied with its own sacrifice. We can only assume from contemporary accounts, that the relationship between the hunter and the hunted was much deeper and more spiritual than between 21st century schizoid man and a double bacon cheeseburger deluxe. One might assume that the more valuable the plummet, the more closely it resembled the fish that was being hunted, then the more it would please the creature or the deity - and thus the more likely it would bring success. Losing the plummet would carry with it a message as well of great significance from a time in which every action was interpreted, not in terms of science, but as something revealing a purpose and direction. http://www.seacoastnh.com/history/prehistoric/plummet.html December 10 FATHER OF THE US NAVY OR NOT? I was always under the impression that John Paul Jones was the 'father of the American Navy' but after reading an article on a newsgroup, I'm a bit confused. Can someone clear this up for me please? Thanks. Helen Ramsay helenr@cableworks.org EDITOR'S REPLY: There is no right or wrong on this one. Technically, no; the Navy does not officially recognize him, or anyone, as their dad. As your newsgroup letter points out, JPJ was commissioned as a lowly lieutenant after the technical formation of the Continental Navy in 1776, but that's not too weighty. The term is meant symbolically and, to that end, JPJ is a good candidate. His frequent letters to the "powers that be" show he was concerned with creating a disciplined, fair, skilled navy based on clear principals, especially when the current whims of the era kept him from gaining rank, commissions, glory and prize money that he felt was his due. JPJ was often ignored in his day and his advice unheeded. When it suited the government for JPJ to be the "father" of the Navy - as when Roosevelt promoted JPJ's corpse to whip up public passion to build a great naval fleet - then he was the given that unofficial title. Of course, after Roosevelt displayed the body, it was left half-forgotten in a temporary tomb at Annapolis for a half dozen years more. That's how it was with JPJ in life too. Out of sight, out of mind. In the end his body ended up at Annapolis, which certainly hasn't missed the chance to promote his legend. But as your anonymous newsgroup writer points out so eloquently, and we quote: "There are several candidates for the title "father of the Navy," including George Washington, Continental Navy officers Esek Hopkins, John Barry, and JPJ, as well as civilians John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, Joseph Hewes, and Silas Deane." JPJ had a powerful impact on the US war effort abroad at a key point in time and came to represent the Navy at its best and earliest. That makes him a parental figure. Did he help conceptualize the organization? Partly. Was he seminal in its formation? No. JPJ was present around the time of the birth of the Navy, but he spent most of his time in the waiting room. --- JDR http://www.seacoastnh.com/jpj/index.html December 10 JPJ FOR KIDS Do you have a recommendation for a children's book on John Paul Jones? My son age 8 1/2 has to do an oral book report on him. What a colorful character to write about!!! Paul B. Kourtz KOURPSC@worldnet.att.net EDITOR'S REPLY: We don't. Our collection of JPJ kids books are from 1850-1950 and mostly out of print. We've never read through the children's versions of new biographies, assuming most of them are thick with inaccuracies and legends from the Buell biography. JPJ is certainly interesting enough without the addition of fiction. Sorry, this is where we need help. A half dozen teachers from Virginia have called us (JPJ is required reading in first grade there) looking for titles, but none have yet reported back on their findings. We will try to get this often requested info up this coming year, while In the meantime, you'll find a decent selection at Amazon.com of books actually in print.. "Salt Water Boy" and many others are always available for a couple of bucks on bibliofind.com. http://www.seacoastnh.com/jpj/heroic.html December 08 THOSE LOVELY SINKING SHIPS I love SeacoastNH.com! So when will the ship calendar be printed again? Those are gorgeous prints. Joseph Danko jdanko@gpdco.com EDITOR'S REPLY: Sadly, never. They have been returned to a forgotten drawer in a local museum where they'll sit in acid free paper until some alien civilization discovers them, as we did, by accident. Maybe the surviving Phoenix Insurance Co should take on the job! Alas, we don't know anyone in charge over there. http://www.seacoastnh.com/jpj/jpjcal.html December 08 ODIORNE A WINNER WITH US Thank you so much for the prize in your recent contest. My family (Odiorne) settled in Rye in 1660's so I have a special interest in the area. We have our family reunion at the Odiorne Point State Park annually. I enjoy browsing your website. Nice job. Keep up the good work. Harold J. Odiorne, Jr. harold.odiorne@the-spa.com EDITOR'S REPLY: Anything we can do for the Odiorne family is still not enough. We can't go near Rye without feeling guilty for the amazing family farm there that was taken by the US government by eminent domain during WW2 to built fortifications there that were never used. What an amazing loss since the location was the same one sited for the original founding of NH in 1623 at the mouth of Piscataqua River looking out to the Isles of Shoals. Luckily, at last, the Seacoast Science Center has turned the region into a wonderful museum, ideal for children. The state still runs the part there, and the public benefits greatly. Visitors can see the old stone Odiorne family home there and read about the family history while in the museum. http://www.seacoastnh.com/contests/index.html http://www.seacentr.org/ December 06 PAUL REVERE RIDES AGAIN ON DECEMBER 11 I read an article about the re-enactment of the taking of Ft. William and Mary. Do you know any of the specifics? Date? Time? If we go to NewCastle, is there anywhere to park the car? Sue PICRIN1633@aol.com EDITOR'S REPLY: Click below for our info on Fort William & Mary and more by Peter Payette our forts expert. Yes, you can see the fort. It is a sel-guided tour with no tour guide. The state of NH owns the site and provides no tours, limited access and maintenance. The fort is on the current property of the US Coast Guard and you are allowed to part outside a wire fence and walk down a blue line through the middle of the parking lot to the fort during standard business hours. You'll see more on Pete's site below. I image that on the day of the upcoming re-enactment, special arrangements will be made since there are only a half dozen parking spaces. The re-enactment of Paul Revere's "first" ride to Portsmouth NH will take place December 11. Re-enactors will gather at Strawbery Banke at 2pm, When Paul Rever arrives on horseback, the revolutionaries of Portsmouth and surrounding towns will enter whale boats and row (yes, we said ROW) in December to Fort William & Mary in New Castle, and there engage with the British troops there. For more information contact Clayton Emery of the Newmarket Militia at 603-964-7803. http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please052299.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/history/rev/revere.html http://www.geocities.com/nhfortress/harbor.html December 03 GET YOUR STAR ISLAND 2000 CALENDAR QUICKLY!!! I was hoping to give a couple of Star Island Calenders as Christmas gifts. Do you know where I could order them on the internet? Marc Spisto mspisto@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us EDITOR'S REPLY: We called the Star Island Corporation and there is no direct online location. They are usually sold at the gift shop on Star Island, but that's locked up for the winter. But you can order one or more over the phone from Howie at the Little Professor Bookstore in Portsmouth, NH. The number is 603-436-1777 and they are $10 each, plus shipping, of course. This is our favorite calendar and this year it features images from the Peter Randall summer photography gathering. Gorgeous pictures! Remember, you can reach key "shoalers" anytime via our new Shoaler BBS. http://www.seacoastnh.com/shoaler December 02 BUCKET, BUCKET, WHO'S GOT THE BUCKET? Can i go see the leather fire buckets? thank you Diane DLPleather@aol.com EDITOR'S REPLY: If you're talking about the picture in our tour of the John Paul Jones house (see belwo) the answer is - yes. But you will have to wait until May 2000 when the house reopens for the summer. Downtown Portsmouth had three major fires in the 19th century. Before the creation of professional fire fighting groups, citizens were required to show up and help when a fire occurred. Local homeowners, legend says, were provided with a leather budket. When the fire bell rang, everyone was required to show up and battle the blaze. After the fire, the buckets were collected. If yours was not among them, that meant you did not show up to help, and would be assessed a fine. Many of the Portsmouth historic houses have these leather buckets on display. http://www.seacoastnh.com/touring/jpj12.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/touring/jpjhouse.html December 01 CALEF IS A NO-DOT-COM i was told i could find information on how to order Calef's cheese at this site. if someone could help me out it would be appreciated. we would like to find out the prices of the cheese and shipping to the West Coast. My dad used to work at Calef's Country Store turning the wheels of cheese when he was a teen and in 1965 he took us there and showed us the store. Marc Buckley of Reedley, CA tuhnow@lightspeed.net EDITOR'S REPLY: For Calef's "snappy old cheese" you'll have to try the telephone. They do have one of those contraptions, we hear, but proudly advertise the old country store as "no-dot-com." That means no web ordering. Tell the operator to ring you through and say you got the number from the boys by the pickle barrel over at SeacoastNH-dot-com. (Call 603-664-2231 or 800-462-2118). They are listed in our TOURING section and are featured on our video about SeacoastNH. Sometimes we get their email, but it leaves here pony express. Our favorite are those hot cinnamon donuts on a cold Sunday morning with the Beantown newspaper. Don't know how you Californians live without it. http://www.seacoastnh.com/101nh/comm.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/earlyphotos/dover/ph8.html December 01 KING LEAR FOR A DAY First let me say I have been enjoying your site for months - what a fine job! As you may well know, December 14th marks the 200th anniversary of the passing of George Washington. Mount Vernon will mark this occasion with a re-enactment of the funereal procession and other events. I know for fact that the Ladies of Mt. Vernon have visited your site, looking for information.
I have been selected to portray the role of my distant relative Tobias Lear
and anticipate fielding many queries from the press. I intend to direct
attention to your site, as it is the most readily available, comprehensive
source of information I have found. Hopefully, you will experience an
increase in traffic and hopefully this too will generate some interest in
the Lear home. Thank you for your efforts in preserving the memory of Tobias Lear
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