Antrim New Hampshire And The Search for Captain Kidd’s Treasure

Posted on 7 November, 2007 by Janice Brown
Likeness of William Kidd from KIDD: A Morale Opuscule, by Richard J. Walsh and George Illian, 1922.

Likeness of William Kidd from KIDD: A Morale Opuscule, by Richard J. Walsh and George Illian, 1922.

Arrghh Matey! Have you heard of the Captain Kidd furor? I’ve written before about the real, and supposed pirates of New Hampshire’s coast.  The story of the search for Captain Kidd’s treasure in Antrim New Hampshire in 1823 is entirely a different matter.

Amid the pages of the “History of Antrim NH,” I learned  an odd tale of digging for gold at a land-locked body of water called Rye Pond.  According to the Antrim, New Hampshire town web site: “Rye Pond is approximately 13 acres in size with portions of the pond in the towns of Antrim, Nelson, and Stoddard. It is a warm water fishery with limited public access.” Continue reading →

Posted in Carnivals and Memes, History | 5 Comments

Smashing Pumpkins–New Hampshire Records That Is

Posted on 5 November, 2007 by Janice Brown

Native son Bill Rodonis of Litchfield New Hampshire used to hold the Guiness world-record title for growing the largest (or at least heaviest) pumpkin. He was beat out in 2007 by Joe Jutras of North Scituate, Rhode Island.  Joe’s 1,689 pound pumpkin was a measly 123 pounds more than Bill’s 1,566 pounder. Don’t worry, I’m sure Bill will be starting early to create the largest for next year’s Topsfield Fair weigh-off. [Editor’s note: This year the Topsfield Fair will be held October 3 – October 13, 2014].

The desire for bragging rights about the weight of pumpkins in the colonies probably goes back to the time when they first learned how to grow these plants from the Native Peoples. As early as 1792 Osborne’s New Hampshire Spy of Portsmouth, New Hampshire announced the following: “This season at the town of Newcastle five pumpkins were raised by Mr. Joseph Bell, whose weight together, amounted to 256 lbs. In this town, two pumpkins of the same kind were raised by Mr. John Seavey, which weighed 127 lbs. The weight of the seven, amount to 383 lbs.”

The size of pumpkins wasn’t New Hampshire’s the only concern last month.  In various locations pumpkins took center stage, such as at the Milford Pumpkin Festival (held October 5-7th) when so many people were expected that the Milford Oval was closed. At Keene’s famous Pumpkin Festival, they were not able to recapture their Guiness World record for the number of lit pumpkins (held on October 19-20), but folks had a lot of fun.

Pumpkin pie is one of my favorite desserts. I’ve never made this pie “from scratch,” and usually opt to buy the pie filling at the grocery store.  Cooks have it so easy these days. In November of 1865 the Farmer’s Cabinet of Amherst NH published the following recipe for pumpkin pie.

“HOW TO MAKE NICE PUMPKIN PIES.–Peal and cut the pumpkins pretty fine, then wash thoroughly in warm water; put the material into a strong linen or cotton bag, and steam it at high pressure two hours–never boil pumpkin for pies. After steaming sufficiently, place the pulp in a fine wire sieve, and suffer it to drain two hours longer. Then rub it through the sieve into a pan of new, sweet milk, made sweeter by the addition of first-class syrup until you think the pies will be sweet enough. The milk should be warmed, and salted and spiced just right, and if you have three or four eggs to spare, beat them up well and add them to the milk. The pie will certainly be improved by them. After rubbing in the pumpkin until you have a very thing batter, line pans an inch in depth with a short crust rolled thin, and fill the pan three-quarters full.– Bake in a moderately hot oven an hour and a half; and if you discover the least twang of that objectionable raw, pumpkin taste about your pies, you may set it down for a certainty that there is something wrong about the pumpkins or your proceedings.”

Some little known facts about the pumpkin….
– it is native to the western hemisphere, but is now grown in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and India
– it is botanically classified as a fruit, but usually is often thought of as a vegetable
– some pumpkins are not orange (some are green, white, red or gray).
– the early colonist may have called them “pompions,” a nickname given to most squash at that time.
– the pumpkin is New Hampshire’s official state fruit

Janice

*Additional Reading*

–Keene NH Pumpkin Photographs–

–Curcurbita pepo–

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New Hampshire’s "Father of Naturopathy," and "Father of American Herbalism," Samuel A. Thomson (1769-1843)

Posted on 3 November, 2007 by Janice Brown

In New Hampshire’s colonial history, herbal medicine (or sometimes doing nothing at all) was the safest course to remedy an ailment.  Many doctors prescribed purgatives, violent cathartics, and sometimes poison (such a mercury and strychnine) for their patients.  Often physicians “bled” their patients (sometimes to death), believing it would help them.

This was an era when it was not necessary to attend a school of medicine in order to call oneself a doctor. Alternative medicine in the form of herbal remedies began to thrive. Concoctions and poultices were prepared from plants found in local fields, or combined with natural ingredients imported from Europe.  An herb quickly garden became an essential part of the household garden.

On 2 March 1813, Samuel A. Thomson was able to obtain a patent on “Thomson’s Improved System of Botanic Practice of Medicine.” This action, although well intended, probably jump-started the practice of creating and selling “patent medicine.”

Likeness of Dr. Samuel Thompson.

Samuel Thomson’s actions also were the introduction of what is now called “naturopathy” in America. His medical system marked the beginning of the botanical medicine movement.  Ultimately this led to the creation of early pharmaceutical companies, and eventually to the pharmaceutical industry itself.

Thomson was a New Hampshire native who lived in Alstead, in Cheshire County. His “system of health” recommended the use of hot baths and steam to produce sweating. This, combined with taking certain herbs, and specific diets were recommended to produce health. And he was against the practice of bleeding. He wanted “to make every man his own physician.”

In 1809 he was accused of killing a patient with this “method,” but he was acquitted. Later many states passed laws prohibiting the sale of patent medicines, but many of those same laws were repealed by the 1820s.

Janice

*Additional Reading*

–Narrative of the Life &c. of Samuel Thomson–

–History of Naturopathy–

-New Hampshire Glossary: Patent Medicine-

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**FAMILY TREE OF SAMUEL A. THOMSON**
(Family surname spelled various ways)

John Thompson (1535-?) & — res. Frieston, Lincolnshire, England
James Thompson (1593-1682) & Elizabeth — (1596-1643) res Woburn MA
Simon Thompson (1618-1658) & Mary Converse (1622-1659) res. Woburn MA
Jonathan Thompson (1654-1691) & Susanna Blodgett (1637-1698) res. Woburn & Mendon MA
Benjamin Thompson (1684-1750) & Sarah Aldridge (1683-1690) res. Mendon MA

William Thomson, son of Benjamin & Sarah (Aldridge) Thompson, b. 16 Apr 1713 in Mendon, Worcester Co MA and d. in Grafton, Worcester Co MA. He m. 25 Oct 1740 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co MA to Mehitable Hilliard. She b. 22 Nov 1721 in Southampton, Hampshire Co MA and d. 20 Nov 1811 in Jericho, Chittenden Co VT.
Children of William & Mehitable (Hilliard) Thompson:
1. William Thompson, b. 13 Jan 1742 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co MA
2. +John Thomson, b. 19 Jan 1743 in Uxbridge MA
3. Methitable Thomson, b. 1746 Uxbridge MA
4. Eunice Thomson, b. 14 July 1748 Uxbridge MA
5. Jeremiah Thomson, b. 1749 Uxbridge MA
6. Benjamin Thomson, b. 1751 Uxbridge MA
7. Joanna Thomson, b. 8 March 1752 Uxbridge MA
8. Joseph Thomson, b. 22 Dec 1753 in Uxbridge MA, ?twin
9. Mary Thomson, b. 22 Dec 1753 in Uxbridge MA, ?twin
10. Martha Hannah Thomson, b. 1756 Uxbridge MA
11. Sarah Thomson, b. 1762 Uxbridge MA

John Thomson, son of William & Mehitable (Hilliard) Thomson, b. 19 Jan 1743 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co MA, and d. Aug 1819/1820, aged 76 in Boston, Ohio. He m. abt 1765 in MA to Hannah Cobb, dau of Edward & Hannah (Allen) Cobb. She was b. in Medway MA 7 March 1738, and d. 13 May 1790 in Alstead, Cheshire Co NH. Were Baptists. In 1788 he purchased a piece of land on Onion River in Vermont. In 1790 he gave a deed for 1/2 of his Alstead farm to his son Samuel, and removed to Jericho with five of his children, settling on what was later known as the Tarbox farm in the southwest part of the town. His wife Hannah died in the spring of 1790, and so never went to Jericho VT. He first built a log house, and later several sawmills. He created several orchards. In 1817 he drove an ox team and a cow to Ohio for his daughter.
Children of John & Hannah (Cobb) Thomson:
1. Lucy Thomson, b 23 Dec 1766 in Grafton, Worcester Co MA, and d. 22 Aug 1850 in Surry, Cheshire Co MA; She m. 9 March 1792 to Samuel Hills, Esq., son of Benjamin & Elizabeth (Stevens) Hills. He b 9 March 1766 in Grafton MA and d. 24 May 1827 in Surry, Cheshire Co NH; res. Surry, NH. Had issue: Lucy, Polly, Benjamin, Samuel Robinson, Ilock, Isaac Cobb, and Elizabeth Stevens (all b. in Surry NH).
2. +Samuel A. Thomson, b. 9 Feb 1769 Alstead, Cheshire Co. NH
3. John Thomson,  b. abt 1771 in Alstead NH; m. Nancy Ware; lived on a farm in the south district of Jericho VT. They had a daughter who married Orange Remington, living in Jericho until 1858 when they moved to Morristown VT.
4. Joel Thomson, b. 18 Jan 1774 in Alstead NH; died in his 14th year.
5. Jesse Thomson, b. 14 Oct 1775 in Alstead, Cheshire Co NH; d. 7 Sep 1848 in Jericho, Chittenden Co. VT;  res. Jericho VT; He m. Dec 1801 in Jericho VT to Nancy Humphrey. She b. 1782 in Brookfield, Orange Co VT and d. 5 May 1829 in Jericho VT. Had issue: Rural (b 1802, m. Betsey Jackson, had issue); Amy (b 1804, dy); Orley (b 1805, m. Eliza Messenger, had one ch Nancy); Rodney Winchester (b 1807); Hosea (b 1809, dyo); Watrous (b. 1811); Relief (b. 1813); Betsy (b 1815); Corey (b 1817) Jesse (b 1819) William Smiley (b 1821); and Nancy (b 1823, dy).  Jesse m2) Samantha –. They had one ch, b. 1842.Smiley, Nancy.
6. Hannah Thomson, b. 11 March 1777 in either Alstead NH or Jericho VT and d. abt 1850 in Ohio; m. 1798 in VT to Waters [sic Watrous] Mather, son of Eleazer & Irene (Starling) Mather; res. Ohio; in 1830 living in Boston, Portage Co. Ohio; He b. 11 March 1778 in New London, Lyme Co CT, and d. 1843 in Akron, Summit Co. Ohio. Had issue [Mather]: Lucy, Don, Polly, Zelotus, William T., Elvira R. and Hannah.

Samuel A. Thomson, son of John & Hannah (Cobb) Thomson, b. 9 Feb 1769 in Alstead, Cheshire Co. NH; d. 4/5 Oct 1843 in Boston, Middlesex Co. MA. On 7 July 1790 in Keene NH he m. Susannah “Susan” Allen, daughter of Abel & Sophia E. (Chapin) Allen. She b. 10 March 1772 in Surry, Cheshire Co. NH. As a child, he would help a botanic practitioner and midwife to gather herbs and plants. He had one month of education when he was 10 years old. He first experimented with the herb lobelia. He was the originator of the so-called Thomsonian system of medicine. He published “Materia Medica and Family Physician” (Albany); “New Guide to Health and Family Physician” (new ed. London 1849) and his “Life and Medical Discoveries” (Boston 1825 and 1832).  He is buried in Central Burial Ground, Boston MA.
Children of Samuel A. & Susan (Allen) Thomson:
1. Hannah Thomson, b. 4 July 1791 Alstead NH; d. 9 May 1813 in Surry NH; m. 13 Sep 1811 in Surry NH to Levi Brooks. He b. 9 Oct 1782 in MA and d. 18 Sep 1853 in Surry NH. He m2d) ? and had issue. Unk if any issue with Hannah
2. Susannah Thomson, b. March 1793/4 in Alstead NH
3. Joel Thomson, b. 11 Jan 1795 Alstead NH; he m. 14 May 1818 in Surry NH to Polly Holbrook. She was of Westmoreland NH; in 1850 Joel and wife Mary P. (age 55, b. MA) were farmers in Shalersville, Portage Co., Ohio, no ch living with them.
4. Cyrus Thomson, b. abt 1797 Alstead NH; possibly the Cyrus Thompson in 1860 living in Geddes, Onondaga Co NY
5. Samuel Thomson, b. 9 Feb 1799 Alstead NH
6. John Thomson, b. abt 1802 in NH
7. Jesse/Jessie Thomson, b. 12 Dec 1804 in Surry NH; possibly he is the Jesse Thompson found in 1850 and 1860 in Sanbornton, Belknap Co NH, a “keeper of bees”
8. Mary “Polly” Thomson, b. 26 June 1807 in Surry NH, d. 22 Feb 1886 in Washington, Sullivan Co NH; m. 25 June 1831 in Washington NH to David Farnsworth, son of Manassah & Charity S. (Rounseville) Farnsworth. He b. 1805 in Washington NH and d. 13 Nov 1859 in Washington, NH.
9. Benjamin Thomson, b abt 1814 Charlestown, Suffolk Co. MA; d. 5 May 1863 in Roxbury MA.  Merchant. He married Ellen M. Clapp, the daughter of James, at Boston on 20 May  1850.Buried near his father in Central Burying Ground, Boston MA.

SOURCES:
1. United States National Library of Medicine; History of Medicine; [likeness source]
2. The History of Jericho, Vermont by C. H. Hayden & Wilbur LaFayette; Burlington Vt.: Free Press Printing Co., 1916, page 634
3. United States Census
4. Narrative of the Life &c. of Samuel Thomson via Google Books

Posted in Genealogy, New Hampshire Men | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

New Hampshire Humor: The Puppy Bath, by B. Elwin Sherman

Posted on 1 November, 2007 by Janice Brown

I'd like to introduce B. Elwin Sherman to readers at Cow Hampshire.  He a distant cousin to a famous New Hampshire native, and he has become somewhat infamous himself.

Beginning today, his articles will occasionally be posted here. I know you will enjoy his tongue-in-cheek-Yankee humor as much as I do.

*************************************
The Puppy Bath–How to Shampoo a New Dog.
*************************************
by B. Elwin Sherman.

Today, everything pales compared to the perils of shampooing a baby dog.

 

It's time to give the new puppy a bath.

My apologies to cat fanciers and any other genre of animal husbandries, foreign and domestic, who may feel slighted by the following policies and procedures of puppy hygiene.  I intend no disrespect to your respective kitties, cows and the like.  If you'll kindly ride along with caniners for the duration, I'll gladly devote another day to your concerns on goldfish ick, mad bovines and scratching cat fevers.

We're here now to lather up the pup.

Here are the seven rules for washing a new puppy.  Before we're through, there may be more or less.  Right now, seven rules for four legs and one impossible job feels about right.

1.  Brace yourself.  You've got to buck up and get hard.  If you're a sentimental softie, if a small, begging, whimpering, desperate ball of wet fur in the grip of his first fight-or-flight panic attack is too much for you, stop right here.

If you can't bear the sight and sound of desperate little claws attempting to burrow their way into the slopes of a bathtub, if you internalize this task and try seeing it through a dog's eye, i.e. the hot downpour of wet death in the great white porcelain canyon of sudsy suffocation, go no further.

2.  Brace yourself some more.  I direct this rule to any owners whose new genus canis would fit in the category of excessively hairy, furry or fluffy.

The first time you see him like this — wet, matted and quivering in eye-popping terror — he will look and act like a skinned, manic ferret.  It's important that you don't let your mix of recoiling horror and suppressed laughter show through.

Animals, in general, are extremely intuitive about these things.  He already thinks you're drowning him.  If he suspects you're combining torture and slapstick, you can consider your couch a permanent chew toy.

3.  Continue bracing yourself.  You will find, as you attempt to ignore his heart-rending squirming and squealing, that your initial feelings of horrified hilarity will be replaced by an overwhelming sense of cruelty and guilt.  Only a first-degree, premeditative, murderous ogre from the Planet Meanie could do such a dastardly thing to such a precious, helpless, loving companion.

Learn to live with it.  You’ll find the balance of a dog's life in Rule Four.

4.  Don't stop bracing yourself.  Your self-abasement will be distempered as you now start to wonder how it's possible for a football-sized hyper-kinetic mass of soapy critter to drench you and your entire bathroom, eat a shower curtain, extract a drain cap, puncture a shampoo bottle, and, before the deed is done, send you and/or him plunging flushlong into the toilet.

Don't linger on these phenomena.  You and your dog must consider them the first payments of lifelong membership dues in the union of fetch & carry-on.

5.  I know this may go without saying, but I can’t omit it.  There can’t be anyone out there who would attempt it, but you never know.  I can’t believe it's necessary for me to include this as a rule, but I can't be sure.

I don't want to drive this qualification into the ground, but, after the bath, unless you're prepared to have your pooch labeled the class clown in obedience school and become a prime underwriter of the Pet Psychiatry industry, unless your goal is to transform your home furnishings into shredded, post-traumatic stressors and your car into a rolling Poop DeVille forevermore:

DON’T use the blow-dryer.  Trust me.  DON'T

Oh, maybe down the road, after your full-grown dog has seen and heard you attacking your own head with a wind-driven heat wave, but if you use it on him before he sees you using it on you, you'll find him in the living room underneath your couch/chew toy combo whenever you dry your hair.

6.  A close restatement of Rule Five, I needn't tell you about puppies and vacuum cleaners.  No, they won't grasp your human notion of how this is an economical clean & massage.

Yes, I'll expect letters from readers who do indeed now apply both the blow and suction ends to their adult dogs, and claim that the dogs love it.

They don't.  They never have.  They think you’re trying to suck them through a pipe or blow off their hides, and are only feigning tolerance, even pleasure, because they know the Milk-Bone reward is at the end of it.

7.  Lastly, never let a running, traumatized wet puppy get near a stationary dry parakeet.

Bonus Rule:  Love your pets, from the beginnings of their beaks through the middle of their fins to the ends of their tales.
 
* * * * *
Copyright 2007 B. Elwin Sherman.  All rights reserved.
* * * * *

B. Elwin Sherman's Humor — Books/Columns
http://www.elwinshumor.com.
 
Humorist-At-Large
THE LITTLETON COURIER
http://www.courier-littletonnh.com.
 
NORTH COUNTRY NEWS
http://www.northcountrynewsnh.com.
 
THE COOS COUNTY DEMOCRAT
http://www.cooscountydemocrat.com.
 
THE AUBURN NEWS & WEBSTER TIMES
http://www.stonebridgepress.com.

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Allhallows Eve Has Come And Gone….

Posted on 1 November, 2007 by Janice Brown

Make your own.

Were you the recipient of any Halloween “Tricks?”  If so, please share!

Janice

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