New Hampshire WWI Military: Private Joseph Arthur Irene Brisebois aka Rene Woods of Sandown

Posted on 28 July, 2018 by Janice Brown

Photograph of Rene Woods from the NY Times insert of 1918. This photo scanned from the original in the possession of J. W. Brown.

The town of Sandown New Hampshire sent more than its share of heroes to serve during World War I. In fact that small place sent the highest percentage of men based on population. Among those men was one who would not return. The newspapers called him Private Rene Woods, and stated he served in B Company, 104th Infantry, and was of Sandown NH.

It was not easy to track Rene down. I looked at the census records, the WWI Registration forms and burial records. There were Woods families who lived in the area, but I could not find Rene’s. The Gold Star Record of Massachusetts gave me my biggest clue. Apparently Rene and his family had used the surname Brisebois interchangeably, and even then the Gold Star record didn’t get it exactly right. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Missing Places: Riverside Inn of Hooksett

Posted on 26 July, 2018 by Janice Brown

Photograph from old postcard depicting the
Ayer House that sat on the site of the later
built Riverside Inn.

Riverside Inn, the focus of this story, was not the first public lodging to be famous in Hooksett. Before the American Revolution travel to this part of New Hampshire was often accomplished by boat. The boatmen and passengers would stop at inns and taverns in the area that were built near the water, with the sale of liquors being popular.  The River Road (now called Riverside Drive) that ran alongside the Merrimack River became part of the prominent Merrimack Valley Road system, an early main route between Manchester, Concord and the White Mountains. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire WWI Nurse and First Woman Delegate to American Legion Convention: Ruth Ferris Corey of Manchester

Posted on 24 July, 2018 by Janice Brown

Built in 1909, this photograph shows the “new”
Hillsborough County Hospital where Ruth
Corey attended nursing school.

World War I has many unsung heroes, and the war nurses are among them.   Ruth Ferris Corey was born 20 October 1894 in Manchester, New Hampshire, daughter of Charles R. & Emma Cynthia (Ferris) Corey. She grew up at #12 Nashua Street in Manchester. Her father was connected with the Corey Needle Factory and managed the Corey Estate, a task Ruth performed later when her parents died.

In 1917 Ruth F. Corey graduated from the Hillsborough County Hospital Nursing Program at the hospital in Grasmere (Goffstown) New Hampshire in a class of fourteen.  Almost immediately she enlisted in the U.S. Army Nurse Corp (on 17 November 1917).   She was sent to U.S. Army Base Hospital, Camp Custer, Battle Creek Michigan to work, and for additional training. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire WWI Military: Wagoner Ray Elhanan Cooper of Sunapee

Posted on 23 July, 2018 by Janice Brown

Ray Elhanan Cooper was born 30 November 1895 in the small town of Sunapee NH, son of Henry Remington & Fannie Day (Young) Cooper. The 1900 U.S. Census shows him living with his parents in Sunapee with siblings Eva M. Cooper (who married William F. Galusia), and Ralph Henry Cooper. Continue reading →

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Derry New Hampshire’s Premier Woman Poultry Farmer: Celia (Gardner) Whitney (1895-1974)

Posted on 21 July, 2018 by Janice Brown

Celia Gardner from the NH College (now UNH) year book of 1919.

History is composed of time or location-related people, events and artifacts. Usually the ones we hear or read about are touted as being famous or important from someone’s viewpoint. Yet the majority of our collective history was created by individuals who flew under the history radar, so to speak. Celia Gardner was one of these people.  My thanks to Karen Blandford-Anderson and the Derry (NH) Historical Museum for their help in locating Celia’s home.

My quest to learn about Celia Gardner began when I came across a story in the Carroll County Independent newspaper of Friday, November 26, 1926. The headline of “RAISES 6000 CHICKENS YEARLY” practically screamed, or should I say squawked that I needed to investigate this lady.  Today we might think that raising that many chickens is an interesting feat, but for 1926 it was quite amazing. Continue reading →

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