A Pictorial Genealogy of the Wyman Family of Deering and Concord NH

Reuben Wyman

Reuben Wyman (1784-1857). Photograph taken by Kimball & Son, State Block, Corner of Main and School Streets, Concord NH

The Wyman family of Concord, New Hampshire, were originally of Deering, the elders being Reuben & Rhoda (Hartwell) Wyman. Reuben Wyman was a direct descendant of Francis Wyman Jr. and Abigail Reed of England and Woburn, Massachusetts. Rhoda (Hartwell) Wyman was a direct descendant of William Hartwell and Jazan of England and Concord, MA.

In 1827 Reuben Wyman and his family moved to Concord NH where he set up shop as a butcher, and several of his sons, and a grandson followed in his footsteps.

Concord’s Amsden manuscript, Chapter 36, page 28 states: “Farther down on State Street, at No. 87 stands an old brick house in its original simple dignity. It was in 1831 that Reuben Wyman “yeoman,” purchased this lot of an acre with a frontage of four rods on the street and built his house. A few years later he extended his holdings back to Union St., and in the 1834 Directory he was listed as “butcher.” The large barn on the place is said to be of more ancient construction, and it may be a relic of the David Hall farm which in 1810 when this section of State Street was opened, occupied the Court House lot and extended west beyond State Street.”

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Newmarket New Hampshire’s Tiger No. 1 and Its Creator Edward S. Lesley

Tiger No. 1 fire engine, back of photograph dated June 1952, Dover NH. If any can identify the exact location and the identity of the man, please contact me or leave a comment.

Tiger No. 1 hand-tub fire engine, back of photograph dated June 1952, Dover NH. If any can identify the exact location and the identity of the man, please contact me or leave a comment.

Fire can be a great creator or a great destroyer. In 1936 several newspapers carried a story about annual Fire Prevention week, where it describes that Ahun, a little town of 2,000 people in central France, claimed a notable record of no fires for 600 years.

The story goes on to say that fires, like tigers, are most easily tamed when very young. Perhaps this thought is the origin of the name of the Tiger No. 1 hand-tub engine built for the Newmarket New Hampshire fire department in 1852.  Continue reading

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New Hampshire Slanguage: Fagged Out

frayed ropeI remember my grandparents and parents using the term, “fagged out,” to mean exhausted or weary.   Although I cannot prove that the term originated in New Hampshire, an ancient newspaper from this state seems to contain the earliest usage in print in the United States. Continue reading

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Merrimack NH Honors World War 2 Veterans

Veteran's Memorial Park in Merrimack NH showing the World War 2 memorials

Veteran’s Memorial Park in Merrimack NH showing the World War 2 memorials. Photograph copyright Janice Brown, taken  November 2015

At least 207 of Merrimack, New Hampshire’s citizens were veterans of World War 2. When that war ended, a high schools student named Lester Langley built a wooden memorial, hand-painting their names. The memorial was placed by the town’s public Library, Lowell Memorial, on Baboosic Lake Road. When the parking lot for the library was expanded, the wooden memorial was removed and then lost.

As of September 2015, and due largely to a young man named Hayden Faust, a newly awarded Eagle Scout, from Merrimack Troop 424, the memorial was replaced in a different location — at Veteran’s Park on Camp Sargent Road in Merrimack NH.
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The Baldwin Family of Pittsburg, Coos County, New Hampshire

Baldwin's Store in Pittsburg, NH, one of Justus Baldwin's early ventures, later run by his son Frank.

Baldwin’s Store in Pittsburg, NH, one of Justus Baldwin’s merchant ventures, later run by his son Frank Baldwin.

It would be a sad event if the Baldwin family of Pittsburg New Hampshire were only remembered for their trained deer. Though owning performing deer that jumped through hoops was an interesting part of this family’s history, they had a much earlier and influential history in the town of Pittsburg, in the northern-most region of the state.

Following its brief existence as the Indian Stream Republic, and the resolution of the Canadian-American border, the town of Pittsburg, New Hampshire was incorporated in the November 1840 session of the New Hampshire legislature. The boundary line was officially recognized in 1842 with the signing of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. Continue reading

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