My Old New Hampshire Home, Historical American Sheet Music, Duke University Library, Digital Collection
Considered a sentimental ballad, the tune “My Old New Hampshire Home,” was composed by Harry Von Tilzer, and lyricist Andrew B. Sterling in 1898. Neither of these two men were from New Hampshire, though they were intimately connected with the New England vaudeville shows.
An undated photograph of Vera Althea Tryon, probably taken at her 8th grade graduation circa 1905 in Manchester NH.
Vera Althea Tryon stands frozen in time, with her hands clasped delicately around a diploma. She wears a white, ruffled summer dress. Her hair is pulled back, and tied with a large white silk bow. She wears elbow high white gloves. Around her throat she wears a cameo necklace. Her clothing and accessories are typical at the turn of the 20th century.
This is probably a formal photograph of Vera’s eighth grade graduation (taken about 1905 when she would have been 13 years old) in Manchester, New Hampshire. She grew up at 96 A Street where her family was still living in 1910. Continue reading
From 1897 to 1927, a span of thirty years, Charles Henry Shaw photographed the people of Manchester. His studio for most of that time was at 895 Elm Street, though briefly it was also located at 68 Opera Block. Charles and his wife Ida (Doughty) Shaw lived in the city and raised their children while they lived on 510 Maple and 73 Malvern Streets. When their children grew and moved away, they spent the rest of their lives at 219 Walnut Street. Continue reading
Photograph of Edward Wagner, father of Ottilie (Wagner) Hosser, for whom (along with his wife, Wilhelmina) Wagner Memorial Park in Manchester NH was originally dedicated, and from whom it derives its name. From The Mirror’s Pictorial Manchester 1846-1896.
Wagner Memorial Park is a well-landscaped park with a Greek-revival monument and benches, located in the Arts & Cultural District of Manchester, New Hampshire. The park was created on an entire block of land (one and one-half acres) located between Prospect, Myrtle, Maple and Oak Streets. Before it became a park it was part of a larger farm belonging to the Weston Family.
The land was given to the city by Ottilie “Matilda” (Wagner) Hosser to honor her parents, Edward & Wilhelmina (Seelig) Wagner. According to a history article written in 2012 by Aurore Eaton, and published in the Union Leader newspaper, when Ottilie died in 1944 her will offered the land to the city along with $150,000 to build a memorial park to her parents that would be a place of “peace and love,” a reminder of the friendship between the German American people. Aurore notes in her article, “Understandably, the city was reluctant to make these feelings known while the park was being constructed in 1944 and 1945, in the middle of World War II.”
Mrs. Oriseville Sarah (Fisher) Frost of Peterborough NH, from a gem sized tintype photograph
At first I thought the handwriting on the back of a lovely gem-sized tintype photo read Drusilla. The other side with the actual photograph was entitled “Mrs. Frost,” in pencil. The face that looked out at me was lovely, and strangely I had not remembered purchasing it. It had arrived in an envelope with several others that I did order. I dutifully researched and connected the relationships between those other photographs. But this one of Mrs. Frost seemed to be unrelated.
After several hours of pouring through records, I had a genealogist’s “Aha!” moment. It became clear that the wording on the back of the photograph read Oriseville.
