2021: Celebrating Black History Month in New Hampshire

Posted on 11 February, 2021 by Janice Brown

Photograph identified as “Quarters of Lt. Col. John H. Jackson 3rd NH between March-April 1862,” shows two African American men. Photographer Henry P. Moore, NH Historical Society. Used with permission. Colorized by the blog editor.

New Hampshire is probably the third-whitest state in the country (90-94 percent) following only its neighbors Vermont and Maine. Those facts notwithstanding, the stories of our black and brown citizens have been mostly ignored when it comes to being represented in both our local and national history.

Even today, their history stories are mostly given a token mention, if at all. We have a great amount of catching up to do, and public education is a good start. Continue reading →

Posted in History, New Hampshire Men, New Hampshire Women, NH Persons of Color | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

New Hampshire: The Snow-Storm, Or Was It a ‘Blizzard’?

Posted on 3 February, 2021 by Janice Brown

Snow covered hay rake in Merrimack NH. Copyright Tina Penrod-Bates. Used with permission.

Ralph Waldo Emerson perhaps said it best about a storm that includes snow:

“Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o’er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden’s end.
The sled and traveler stopped, the courier’s feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of Storm.”
— from the poem “Snow-Storm. Continue reading →

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Chief and 51 Year Member of Concord New Hampshire Fire Department: William Clarence Green (1853-1932)

Posted on 30 January, 2021 by Janice Brown

Photograph of Chief William C. Green from History and Genealogy of the Rix Family of America by Guy S. Rix; 1906; page 158B. HathiTrust. Colorized by the blog editor.

According to a 1932 obituary in The Boston Globe newspaper, William C. Green was appointed head of the Concord Fire Department on 11 December 1894, and it was then believed he was the oldest fire chief in years of service in the United States. His continuous connection with that department dated back 50 years.

He had first joined the Concord NH Fire Department in 1871, dropping out for a few years, but joining again on 1 July 1882, then being elected clerk of Kearsarge Engine Company. Later he became captain of the company and was made a member of the Board of Engineers in 1892. Two years later he was appointed chief of the Concord City Fire Department. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Tidbits: Wow–Palindrome Dates To Notice in 2021

Posted on 25 January, 2021 by Janice Brown

Wow. We were probably all so busy taking in the Inaugural Day events and performances that we didn’t even notice that the date  (1-20-21) was a five-digit palindrome. (A palindrome is a set of numbers or letters that read the same forward and backward). In fact January 2021 has one four-digit palindrome (1-2-21), two six-digit palindromes, and a total of nineteen five-digit palindromes. Amazingly the YEAR 2021 will have a total of 22 palindrome dates. Continue reading →

Posted in History, Humor, NH Tidbits, Oddities, Accidents and Crazy Weather | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Prolific Author and Poet: Eleanor Hallowell (Abbott) Coburn of Wilton and Portsmouth New Hampshire (1872-1958)

Posted on 21 January, 2021 by Janice Brown

Photograph of Eleanor Hallowell Abbott from The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore MD 19 Oct 1913 page 30. Colorized by the blog editor.

Eleanor Hallowell Abbott was not a native of New Hampshire, for she was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1872, daughter of Rev. Edward & Clara (Davis) Abbott. She was a third generation of New England Abbott authors and editors, and a prolific writer in her own right penning over 75 short stories and 14 romantic novels (for a final count of reportedly over 100). Continue reading →

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