Portsmouth NH Executive Secretary and Named Bridge Honoree: Sarah Mildred Long (1916-2004)

Posted on 18 September, 2018 by Janice Brown

S. Mildred Long . Photograph from book, “The Sarah Mildred Long Bridge, A History …” by Woodard D. Openo, page vi, , published by Peter E. Randall, Portsmouth NH. Used with permission.

Three of the state’s largest bridges span the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine. The second longest bridge is the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge that connects Portsmouth NH with Kittery Maine via the U.S. Route 1 Bypass. (The longest is the Memorial Bridge | Route 1)

The Sarah Mildred Long Bridge was recently rebuilt and opened in March of 2018. The former bridge of the same name, completed in 1940, is the 2,000-foot steel truss that originally honored Mildred Long, though the updated bridge continues to bear her name. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire WWI Military: Heroes of Plymouth and Rumney

Posted on 16 September, 2018 by Janice Brown

The Grafton County towns of Plymouth and Rumney are adjacent to each other, Rumney being the northernmost of the two. Throughout their history they have shared citizens as many were born in one town and removed to the other. It does not belittle the service of their people to combine the two into one story that recognizes their war dead. The U.S. Army Transport Service Passenger Lists provide us with a partial compilation of those who served in Europe during World War I. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire WWI Military: Heroes of Andover

Posted on 14 September, 2018 by Janice Brown

Andover New Hampshire’s town green, photo showing location of war monument.

The United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917.  On the 5th of June following that announcement the first of three registrations took place, and many of those registrants entered military service.  These documents included personal details and their signature.  Besides those serving in various branches of the military, no doubt the entire town became involved in supporting “the boys over there.”  There would have been great activity in Red Cross work, YMCA organizations and the local fraternal societies.  The town of Andover NH would not have been immune to the terrible influenza pandemic that raged through New Hampshire. Continue reading →

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100 Years Ago: United States Naval Schools of WWI

Posted on 12 September, 2018 by Janice Brown

U.S. Navy Recruitment Poster,
Lithograph, 96×63 cm. 1910-1920.
Library of Congress Prints and
Photographs Division, Washington DC.

Although much of my focus has been on those who served in the United States Army during WWI, there were other branches of the armed services equally involved, including the marine corps and the navy.  The Sextant, a web site maintained by the Naval History and Heritage Command states that starting in 1916, “the United States began a gigantic six-year program of naval expansion … from 1916 to 1922, the Navy added 10 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier, 287 destroyers and 88 submarines to the fleet…”

Once WWI was declared in the U.S., it became a necessity to set up camps to train those would would soon staff these ships for the United States Navy, and the Portsmouth Navy Yard Camp was among these.  In addition, several of the above mentioned ships and submarines were built at the Portsmouth Navy yard.  That topic will involve a great deal of research, and so for now I will just list the primary U.S. Naval Schools  and their locations, as found in the Nashua Telegraph newspaper of Wednesday September 18, 1918 page 5. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire WWI Military: Private Alfred J Cote of Warren

Posted on 10 September, 2018 by Janice Brown

Headstone of P1c Alfred J. Cote at Arlington National Cemetery. Photograph from ANC website.

Private Alfred J. Cote is a bit of a mystery, though his military service in WWI and his death is not. In various records he is shown as being of Keene NH (the NH Adjutant General’s List of WWI Casualties) and of Warren New Hampshire (from his U.S. Military Transport Records).

What is known is that Alfred J. Cote was a Private in the U.S. Army who served in Company B, 314th Infantry, U.S. Army. His service number was 2886471. On 8 July 1918 he departed the United States at Hoboken NJ aboard the ship Leviathan bound for military service in Europe. At that time his next of kin was a “Mrs. Alice Contois” of Child Street, Warren New Hampshire. Continue reading →

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