SeacoastNH Mail -- November 2005

A complete archive of mail from Novemberr 2005

November 17
KEEP NEWSLETTER COMING
As a transplanted Portsmouth native now in northern Maine, I really enjoy the e-zine you send. Keep 'em comin'! And the daily calendar is great!
Susan Lee, Houlton ME

November 16
SULLIVAN IN NEW JERSEY
Thank you for sending me a newletter about General John Sullivan. It is very interesting article. I did not know him very well but now I learn more about him. I want to tell you that our school, New Jersey-Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf. Our front of the campus is Sullivan Way which the road from Trenton to West Trenton. The name was after him. It is something to interesting. Long time ago I read the Historic Landmark post where was near Girl's Hockey field. Said that Sullivan and his army marched toward to Trenton to capture city of Trenton with surprising attack in Christmas Day in 1776. I am hearing-impaired.
Robert Strohmeier in San Jose CA

November 14
BLACKBEARD REUNION IN TEXAS
On Jan 19, 2005 Anthony Blackbeard wrote a letter to SeacoastNH.com stating that he would like to meet other blackbeards. I am certain that his grandfather, was my husband's brother, William. Any assistance in contacting him would be appreciated. i would like him to know that he has an uncle, aunt, and cousins in Texas.
blackbeards in texas

EDITOR’S REPLY: We forwarded the note to Anthony in hopes that he will receive it and reply. That’s the best we can do since our goal, originally, was to write about Blackbeard the pirate during his visit to Seacoast, New Hampshire.

November 14

November 12
HONORING POLLAND HOPEWELL
The USS Hopewell Association is inquiring whether anyone in Boston is interested in honoring Midshipman Pollard Hopewell, a Sailor who lost his life aboard the USS Chesapeake in 1813?. At a time when so many are questioning the value of a life lost, we could learn from the story of this fine young man and the honor paid him by his government. With the coming of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 we should be thinking ahead on this. The USS Hopewell Association will be planning our Reunion in for 2012. The Hopewell DD-681 Association is considering an appropriate Memorial.
Noel Nichols, MM3
USS Hopewell Association
USS Hopewell Association

November 10
JENNY LIND, THE SHIP FIGUREHEAD
Australian figurehead, Jenny Lind?/ SeacoastNH.com My name is Ced Janson I am the president of the Gladstone Maritime Museum (Queensland Australia ) . Recently I was given on loan for display a figurehead found off the Qld. coast about fourty odd years ago , After many hours research I found a web site that has a photo of a figurehead Jenny Lind ,it is from the ship Nightingale ,there is four in the photo and one of them strongly resembles the one we have . As a ship named Jenny Lind (built Canada1847 484 ton) was wrecked off the Qld coast 21-9-1850 I am inclined to think it might be off that ship . I would be thankful for any information you may give me, or maybe you might tell me where to go from here to help solve the mystery Thanking you
ced janson in Australia

EDITOR’S REPLY: Our longstanding interest in this story began years ago simply because the ship Nightengale was built the Portsmouth, NH region in the 19^th century. The figurehead was discovered by Karl Svärdskog in Sweden. Karl is convinced that his figurehead is Jenny Lind and has written an entire book to that effect. It was published a few years back by the Portsmouth Marine Society and Peter Randall. That book should supply all the info you could possibly want to know. The figurehead visited Portsmouth for a while, then moved on the Mystic Seaport Museum and has been traveling every since. Our online article about the figurehead has become one of our most visited pages over the years largely because interest in "Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind continues unabated. Thanks to PT Barnum, her agent in the USA, she was seen by millions who have passed those stories and souvenir ephemera on to generations that followed.

RESPONSE FROM KARL SVARDSKOG: it was interesting to read about your figurehead find. It seems that it is quite possible that the figure is from the JENNY LIND, however I am a little bit skeptical since Jenny Lind rarely used jewelry. I hope you will get some help from this web site to solve the mystery.

November 5
JENNY LIND, THE TRUNK
I have, what I think, is a Jenny Lind trunk. It does have thin layer of what appears to be leather covering the trunk. It is need of some repair, but it's not that bad. There is a design on top and front of the trunk almost like a starburst that has been etched in the leather.How rare or valuable is the Jenny Lind trunk. I bought it for 102.00.
Linda Ward

PAT MORSE REPLIES FROM TRUNK.com Hi, Linda. Without seeing at least one picture of your trunk it's hard to even agree that you do, in fact, have a Jenny Lind style trunk. If you do have an embossed leather JL, then I would say that you got a deal at $102.00. If it's in reasonably good condition it would be worth restoring and at that point you would have a trunk that is worth $600-$800 or perhaps more depending on the exact construction. We currently have one on our web site, Trunk.com, that is selling for $1500.00. JL trunks were named after the Swedish singer of the same name and were only made for a very few years from about 1850-1865. They were difficult to produce and brought a premium. We discuss this type of trunk in great detail along with a number of pictures in our book, Antique Trunks: Identification and Price Guide, which can also be found on our web site. Good luck with your trunk.

November 3
FIRE STATION PHOTO
I am looking for a photograph of a City Of Portsmouth Fire Station located on Deer Street. My wife says her great great grandfather worked out of that fire station. We would like to obtain a copy of this photograph or any history of this fire station if possible.
Roger in Eliot, Maine

EDITOR’S REPLY: All we know was what appears in the book we gathered this info from – Historic Portsmouth by James Garvin. It has recently been reprinted by Peter Randall and offers more detailed info on the photos in our online and newspaper series. For many more local photos check the photo archives at the Portsmouth Athenaeum. You’ll need dates to locate the photos. The Athenaeum is open to the public Tues, Thurs and Saturdays.

November 2
GRAVES ON SMUTTYNOSE
I just finished reading your article about Smuttynose Island and found it to be very interesting. I had an ancestor by the name of John Bourne that was born on that island in the yer 1708, and left and moved to Kettery abt 1727. I was just wondering if you knew about how many people did settle on that island and are there alot of graves stones there? I've never been able to find the parents of John Bourne and often wondered if that was where they were buried. I really enjoyed your article and I am glad I was able to stumble across it.
Jessa Lee Hersom Kingr

EDITORS: There are no marked graves on Smuttynose other than those in the Haley family plot behind the Haley House. We know almost nothing about life there during the 17^th and early 18^th centuries. When searching, be sure to spell the Maine town name "Kittery". A lot of the cemetery records have been placed online by genealogy groups.

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