I am very pleased to find a portion of your site dedicated to the Isles of Shoals! The Shoals is very near and dear to my heart as I spent a year on White Island as a Coast Guard lighthouse keeper. Those are treasured memories for me and I have shared them with many people over the years. While it has always been the case that people are skeptical when I tell them that I used to be a lighthouse keeper, certainly that is more likely now given that the manned lights have all but vanished into history. I did take note of the fact that your White Island graphic does not include the keeper's residence on the island. Certainly the light tower is the key feature on the island, however I missed not seeing the house as well. Keep up the good work.
NATE164@aol.com

Does Exeter have a weekly newspaper?
A query from Arizona.
dkirk@ix.netcom.com (Don Kirkland)

(Editor's Reply: The Exeter Newsletter, now owned by the Ottaway chain, continues the grand tradition of a local paper, once produced by the Thayer family. Rockingham County Newspapers also publishes the Hampton Union and printed my first 200 columns -- now on-line as "As I Please." At last check, they were still the only major local newspaper not on line. Look for their address in our Print Media section. JDR)

Having just read your excellent and insightful piece on your recent theatre experience in Boston, I am moved to jot you this brief observation. I first saw "Krapp's Last Tape" in 1964 at a rural New York venue. It gripped and perhaps warped my collegiate mind and seemed a natural extension of Beckett's then-popular "Waiting for Godot"; it was presented on a double-bill with Beckett's "Breath", a thirty-second piece that left me grateful for "Krapp's". I, too, thought of film and how impossible either piece would be for a movie, let alone a typical movie audience, but what I want to pass on to you is this bit of "wisdom" I first heard from my director in numerous plays: Whereas cinema gives us artificiality in the disguise of reality, theatre gives us reality in the disguise of artificiality. When I bear this in mind, I can find pleasure in both stage and screen, even the disparities of Beckett and Spielberg.
Your devoted fan,
Julian Whipple

While interesting, your Web page article on Prince Whipple contains questionable information. Portsmouth Town Records, Vol. III, p. 95, New Hampshire State Library at Concord state he was allowed the rights of a freeman 22 Feb. 1781 and was legally manumitted by Gen. William Whipple 26 Feb. 1784. Of interest is the fact he was among the 20 Negro or mulatto slaves to petition the legislature 12 Nov. 1779 to be set free.

He died in November 1797. If, as your article indicates, he was 32 at time of death, his birth year would be 1765 which would have made him age 11 at the time of the battle of Trenton when author William Nell places him among George Washington's troops crossing the Delaware. Portsmouth historian Charles Brewster, in his Rambles About Portsmouth (Portsmouth, 1859), claims Prince was brought to America before 1766 when he was about 10 years old.

Your article states William Whipple joined the revolution as a captain. Whipple never held the military rank of captain. He was a captain of merchant vessels, achieving that status by his 21st birthday. Neither he or Prince ever served in the Continental forces. Both however, served in the New Hampshire militia.

Whipple's first military rank was Colonel. He was named colonel of the first regiment of New Hampshire by the colonial legislature 24 August 1775. He was named brigider genereal and given command of the first brigade of Militia 17 July 1777. John Stark was given the same rank as commander of the second brigade. Prince was with Whipple in the Saratoga and Rhode Island campaigns.

Your article indicates that the slave quarters where Prince and Cuffy Whipple and others lived can still be seen. I last visited the Moffatt-Ladd house, Whipple's home during his marriage to Katharine Moffatt, in Portsmouth in 1995, and there were no slave quarters. Prince's wife Dinah was the last of the Whipple blacks to live in the quarters and eventually had to move when it became "much dilapidated and scarcely tenable and dangerous to the neighborhood on account of fire." Whipple's widow then provided her a "life lease of a small house in Pleasant street and a small annuity."

William Whipple was serving in the Continental Congress at the time of the battle of Trenton. Congress fled Philadelphia -- which is 33 miles from Trenton -- early in December because of the impending British attack and reconvened in Baltimore. Whipple wrote his wife from Baltilmore on 22 December and to fellow New Hampshire delegate Josiah Bartlett on 31 December. His only comment about Trenton was in the Bartlett letter when he wrote "The success at Trenton will put new life into the Philadelphians and add to our strength in Jersey." Whipple was a prolific letter writer and his many letters (most of which I have read) were quite detailed. Had either he or Prince been involved in the Trenton skirmish, his letter to Bartlett would have acknowledged it.

The data in Nell's book has been described as being "somewhat thin . . . Some information came from personal interviews and he obtained more from visits to graveyards." It contains no documented sources but unfortunately has attained status as a source.

Historians have relegated William Whipple to lesser status in the Continental Congress when in fact he was one of its major workhorses and recognized by his peers as one of its leaders. No other New Hampshire delegate comes close to matching his impact in the Congress. Thank your for your consideration.
Blaine Whipple

(Editor's Reply: Many thanks for your exquisite corrections. We will work them into our articles as soon as possible. Readers should note that Mr. Blaine Whipple has since sent us a great deal invaluable information about Gen. Whipple from his as-yet-unpublished manuscript. With his help and that of the Whipple Society --whipple.org -- we hope to create an entertaining and enlightening new site. We are not historians, just mere writers, who want to spread the word about Seacoast NH history. JDR)

I was wondering how old you have to be to rent a room for a week. I'm 19 years old and everywhere I've called say that you have to be over 21 or 25. A few friends (3) and myself were looking to have a vacation in New Hampshire. If you do not rent to someone my age would you please tell me if any hotels in your area or in Hampton Beach will rent to someone my age. Shakes119@aol.com

(Editor's Reply: We can find no evidence that you have to be 21 to stay the week in NH. Most likely landlords are fearful since the demographics of Hampton crime point toward youthful offenders. Unfair, yes. JDR)

I recently put together an idea I'd had brewing for some time - a LOCAL classifed ad site on-line. There are already lots of "world-wide" classifieds on the web, but I always thought that there was a need for something more local. I like your site, and was hoping you'd be interested in linking to mine (www.localwantads.com).
TomRaynor@aol.com

(Editor's Reply: I think we just did. Good luck. JDR)

I hope you don't think this is too strange a request. My parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in July. They honeymooned at Hampton Beach in 1947. I am trying to obtain pictures, posters or pamphlets of that era.
dependmoron@uno.com

(Editor's Reply: Check the new Hampton photo history in our This Just In Archives and note that the Hampton Library is on-line. We also suggest the Tuck Musuem and Peter Randall's history of Hampton. JDR)

Hi! I live in the seacoast area, coincidentally, and I am doing a fan club page for my friend Kieran Culkin. When I put "Freak the Mighty" into Yahoo, I came up with your site but cannot access the article. Could you please send me the URL so that I can link it- and maybe get some cool quotes? Thanks so much!
Kieran's page is at:
http://broph.simplenet.com/linda/Kieran.html
http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~lgeorge
lgeorge@nh.ultranet.com

(Editor's Reply: Linda, you can always SEARCH from our home page. The link you are looking for includes Kittery author Rod Philbrick's story of meeting Kieran on the movie set in Toronto. When we spoke to Rod last week, he noted that the movie opening of "The Mighty" has been pushed up to Christmas 1997. We'll be covering since the story is set in this region. JDR)

I used to visit your Web site daily, now I've changed jobs and have e-mail only 'til 1 Sept. I'm site coordinator for College for Lifelong Learning/Interactive Television Network over at Pease. This is a new position and a new job. Very exciting. So since I'm missing my daily Web tours, could you sign me back up for your e-mail mailing list. Got to keep in touch somehow. (Oh yeah...do you still have Seacoast NH T-shirts available? If so from where can I order them via "snail mail"?
B_MCGRATH@unhf.unh.edu

(Editor's Reply: Our snail mail address is at the bottom of each web page. As an equal opportunity seller, we accept money in all forms, amounts and denominations. JDR)

Do you have a section on apartment, condo rentals? Stationed here in New Castle with USCG?

(Editor's Reply: That's the kind of idea we wish we could put into action. Maybe some independent webster will do so and link with us. Until then, you're stuck with the newspapers that already do it so well. JDR)

Please include in your beautiful & very well done site, more about the religious life & heritage of your region. I have an idea that it is also very rich & worth bragging about.
John Paul Todd

(Editor's Reply: Too true. We have a plan in the proposal stage for bringing more religious history on-line since it is integral to an understanding of the region. Rest assured, it will come to pass. JDR)

I am searching for information on women in business in the seacoast area of N.H. Please assist me if you can to find areas, websites, councils, gov't agencies, etc. that deal with women in business specifically.
Tina Crellin

(Editor's Reply: We instantly sent Tina a half dozen people to contact. Now readers, it's up to you. JDR)

Dumfries, Scotland 5th July 1997
To the Portsmouth Historical Society in the State of New Hampshire in the United States, greetings from the birthplace of John Paul Jones at Kirkbean, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

On the occasion of the birthday celebrations of John Paul Jones, hero of the American Revolution, I send our greetings from his birthplace cottage on the Solway Coast of Scotland. Dumfries and Galloway is honoured in being the corner of the world where this great man was born and gained his early experience of life and of the sea. Born within sight of the sands and tides of the Solway it is clear to us here today how the sea must have fired his imagination and ambitions. It is also clear how the wildness and beauty of this place could have inspired his great love of freedom, which developed here but was brought to its full flowering in the service of his adopted country, the United States of America.

Both nations, the United States and Scotland, have equal credit in producing a citizen whose humanity, courage and love of liberty is now renowned throughout the world. Robert Burns, a contemporary and countryman of John Paul Jones, put into words an aspiration which Jones himself put into actions,

"That man to man, the world, oer
Shall brithers be for a that."

On both sides of the Atlantic Ocean the people of his homeland and of the new nation which he helped to forge are joined in the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of his birth and in honouring his life and achievements.

With my very best wishes,
Alf Hannay,
Chairman,
John Paul Jones Birthplace Museum Trust
Reply to: david_lockwood@dumfriesmuseum.demon.co.uk

(Editor's Reply: To see the JPJ birthplace and more JPJ links, click here. Portsmouth has since since returned greetings to Scotland, via SeacoastNH.com. JDR)

To Whom It May Concern:
How do you get there??? I have been checking your sites. Nowhere is there any directions by car, bus, sea, whatever??? Kindly either put something on the web site indicating how do you get to there from say, Boston. Is there any public transportation? What about a private bus or rail? Otherwise, very informative. site
Rosalie@myway.com

(Editor's Reply: From Boston center drive East, turn left at the ocean and keep going. You can't miss us. If you enter Maine, you went too far. If stuck, try I-95 or Rte 1. Busses, yes. Planes, yes, Trains, not yet. Also, see our new MAPS section, clickable from the homepage.

Excellent site, nice design and good info, I'll be very pleased to put in a link to you.
Stuart Vine, The Mary Rose Trust

(Editor's Reply: The Mary Rose was sunk un the 1500s and is now recovered, renovated and on display in Portsmouth, England. See their excellent web site in our JPJ Hotlinks section. JDR)

Hi-just want you to know how much I enjoy "escaping" on a cyber vacation to Seacoast Online. I have found myself wandering the numerous historical (and hysterical) sites and whether it's for genealogy info or curiousity...I've enjoyed all of the writers & contributors! I've even visited a few of the Sponsors pages to see who else likes to see these kinds of URLs amongst the Internet...thanks for the efforts and foresight to go online.
Sandy Bressler
http://www.ns.net/~bbb/roots.htm
Or find the family pages ... http://www.ns.net/~bbb

Your web site is intresting so far, I was born in Exeter and I didn't realy know the roots of the coastal area. I presently live in OH schooling at the University of Toledo Majoring in Special Ed (Multihandycapped) Thanks for the Enlightenment....
David B. Annis

I'm planning a trip in your area in early September. Will it be necessary to make lodging reservations in advance? I'd prefer the flexibility of choosing lodging on a daily basis (because I'm unsure of my itinerary), but I don't want to be without a place to sleep. What do you advise? Thanks.
reillyd@worldnet.att.net

(Editor's Reply: One quick click on our LODGING directory and you'll see we have plenty of places to chose from. In July, reservations are a good idea, but after Labor Day, you will certainly find a selection that suits you. JDR)

Thank you for adding my name to your newsletter. I will be visiting your area the week of July 10 in search of employment and housing in the Seacoast area. I am originally from New England (now living in Washington, D.C. and am anxious to return as soon as possible for a permanent stay. Your newsleter and Web site ( very impresive, by the way) will be very helpful.
bonnie@medallionsys.com

I love the history section of your website! I live in South Berwick, ME and there are several historical places of interest here. SPNEA operates the Sarah Orne Jewett House, home of the author, and Hamilton House, a wonderful Georgian house museum and garden on the Salmon Falls River. There is also the Old Berwick Historical Society museum, Vaughn Woods (where the first cows in New England were landed), and the first waterpower site in America. I hope you'll include some of this information eventually!
Bjorn Swenson

(Editor's Reply: We couldn't love South Berwick more. Few realize that the Salmon Falls settlement was made as early as Dover, Portsmouth and York. Before the turn of the century, "SoBer" was a literary and manufacturing hot spot. Today the mills are gone except for the Counting House, now a fine little museum. We made sure to feature this wonderful town in our South Coast, Maine video -- the only South Berwick video we know of. And we hope to add history pages on the region in 1998. JDR)

I need info on paramedics, and obtaining a job there. I would love to relocate. I live in N.J. now, help me out in directing me to the right sources please
Unsigned

(Editor's Reply: The only paramedics program of study we located was up the road in Concord NH at 800-247-0179. They may also be a source of job listings if that is what you are looking for. There web site can be located at: http://www.nhti.tec.nh.us/ and e-mail address at: NHTI@tec.nh.us Hope this helps. TD)

Is there any information on the children of Josiah and Mary Bartlett? (birth dates, birth places, etc.) Or any information on their families??? I would appreciate anything or a suggestion on where to look??? I am doing some family history and I am at a stopping point. This is a great Web Site!!! I was so suprised to find it.
ksnider@kcstar.com

(Editor's Reply: We had an earlier inquiry from the Bartlett Genealogical Society -- see Letters Archive. We hope to eventually put up the letters between these important Revolutionary Era locals from Kingston. You'll find addresses for all the local Historical Societies under History, and we suggest a call to the Portsmouth Athenaeum or a trip to the UNH Library web site. JDR)