The Origin and History of New Hampshire’s Daniel Webster Highway

Posted on 18 August, 2015 by Janice Brown
Old postcard photograph of the New Daniel Bridge (built in 1922) showing the Library and Central Street in the distance. This street was a part of the Daniel Webster Highway that extended from Nashua to the White Mountains. Daniel Webster was born 2-3/4 miles form the Highway at lower Franklin.

Old postcard photograph of  Franklin New Hampshire’s “then new” Daniel Webster Bridge (built in 1922) showing the Library and Central Street in the distance. This street was a part of the Daniel Webster Highway that extended from Nashua to the White Mountains. The birth place of Daniel Webster is a few miles away.

The Daniel Webster Highway in New Hampshire was originally called the “Merrimack Valley Road” and followed the course of the Merrimack River. On January 23, 1921, the Anaconda Standard newspaper (of Anaconda MT) announced that “backed by many prominent citizens, the New Hampshire Bar association is completing plans for pushing through the legislature a bill for naming one of the three main roads (the so-called “middle road”) the “Daniel Webster highway.” Continue reading →

Posted in History, Structures, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Manchester New Hampshire’s 1946 Centennial Celebration

Posted on 14 August, 2015 by Janice Brown
Mary Manning Webster stands in the center. Red Hebert on the right, unknown person on left. 1946 Manchester City Centennial.

Mary M. Webster stands in the center with Arthur “Red” Hebert with the moustache (identified by great-granddaughter, see comments). 1946 Manchester City Centennial. Hoping someone will help identify the person in the dress. Photograph taken in 1946, copyright Janice W. Brown.

This story, as usually is the case, begins with a photograph–in this case several.  My mother (Mary Webster) was a “camera nut” and took hundreds of photographs in the Manchester area, but most were of family.  She did not take many of scenery without a human being included.

Four photographs are on the same page of her album, with her lovely hand writing in white ink: “Herty Ring – Arthur “Red” Hebert, Centennial Celebration.”  My mom is standing between two people looking youthful, and the photo pages are sandwiched between others of the World War 2 era.  This can only be Manchester’s 1946 Centennial. Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

New Hampshire’s First Woman Sheriff and Deputy Sheriffs: Helen Kenney of Concord, M. Jennie (Wood) Kendall of Nashua, and Lillian (Christian) Bryant of Conway

Posted on 10 August, 2015 by Janice Brown
My thanks to Ruth Speed for providing this newspaper clipping of July 18, 1944 source: Portsmouth NH Herald

July 18, 1944 source: Portsmouth NH Herald. News clipping courtesy of Ruth Speed.

Even today a woman sheriff in New Hampshire would be a rarity.  In 1906, 1939 and 1944 when the three women mentioned in this story were appointed, they were momentous occasions.  These women were not the first sheriffs in the United States, as I have found an appointment for a woman sheriff made in 1895 in Green County, Missouri [see end of this story].

In a nutshell: Helen M. Kenney of Concord New Hampshire made history being sworn in as New Hampshire’s first sheriff (of Merrimack County) on 7 September 1944.  New Hampshire’s first Deputy Sheriff was M. Jennie (Wood) Kendall in 1906 in Hillsborough County. On April 1, 1939 Mrs. Irene H. (Christian) Bryant of Conway became Deputy Sheriff of Carroll County.   [Editor’s note: My special thanks to Ruth Speed for bringing Helen Kenney’s story to my attention, and providing the newspaper clipping seen here.] Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy, History, New Hampshire Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Early History of Manchester New Hampshire’s Hesser Business College (now Mount Washington College) and the Hesser Family

Posted on 6 August, 2015 by Janice Brown
Hesser updated 2 watermarked

Likeness from Granite State Magazine, July 1906

The small business school started in Manchester, New Hampshire by Joel Harter Hesser on 1 June 1900 (for the first few years called simply “Hesser School”) still exists, though it no longer bears its founder’s name. [Editor’s note: At the time of this article’s publishing, the school DID exist, but it has since closed. See details below].

In 2013 Hesser College was “relaunched” (a term borrowed directly from the college’s web site history) as  Mount Washington College, and their web site states: “today …. students are …. studying for degrees in allied health, business, communications, criminal justice, graphic design, legal, liberal studies, and psychology and for diplomas in the field of medical assistants.” It is important not to forget how the college came to be what it is today. Much credit is due to one man with a vision, who spend 45 years of his life building this school.

How synchronous this story is.  The day after I finish writing it, the Manchester Union Leader newspaper has a story: “College to Close in City–Mount Washington Officials says 500 enrolled at former Hesser College,” that it has stopped accepting students, and that it will close its Manchester Campus in 2016  [which it did]. That completely ended the history of this 100 year old school’s presence in the city of Manchester.

Updated 2017:  For those attendees and graduates looking to obtain your records and transcripts, please contact the New Hampshire Department of Education.

Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy, History, New Hampshire Men, New Hampshire Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Manchester New Hampshire’s Premier Baseball Family: Fred and Robert “Curly” Clement

Posted on 2 August, 2015 by Janice Brown

Son and Father: Robert "Curly" Clement with his father Fred Clement, both of the Manchester [NH] Cardinals baseball team. Curly was a first baseman and Fred was the team manager in 1938 when this photograph was taken.

Son and Father: Robert “Curly” Clement with his father Fred Clement, both of the Manchester [NH] Cardinals baseball team. Curly was a talented ball player, and his father Fred was the team manager in 1938 when this photograph was taken. Photograph courtesy of Gail Wiley (Curly’s daughter, Fred’s granddaughter) and used with her permission.

In 1939 the Merrimack Valley Baseball League consisted of 11 baseball clubs, namely: Hillsboro, Peterboro, Milford, Merrimack, Londonderry, Derry [Merchants], Goffs Falls, Noa Club, [Manchester] Cardinals, International Shoe of Manchester, and the Bay State entry, Pepperell [MA]. The league officials included C.K. Johnson of Townsend MA, president; George W. Shattuck of Pepperell, 1st vice president; Fred Clement of Manchester NH, 2nd vice president, and Herbert C. Leach of Litchfield NH, secretary-treasurer. [Fitchburg Sentinel, Fitchburg MA, 12 May 1939, page 8].

That same year the opening games of this league including some form of pening [sic]  exercises. Manchester NH engaged a band and had a city official toss out the first ball. The first game was to be played at the “new” Derryfield Park field, considered to be one of the best diamonds in New Hampshire. Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy, History, New Hampshire Men, New Hampshire Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment