In an oddly alphabetic way of “paying it forward,”
Grain of Salt has assigned me the letter “L.” My assignment: to write ten words beginning with that letter, along with an explanation of why I chose them. All of the words below are related to New Hampshire History.
If any readers would like to participate by posting a list on your own blog, leave a comment here, and I’ll assign you a letter.
1. Lawyer – a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice. From New Hampshire’s earliest days, attorneys practiced here. In 1716, a collection of law books belonging to the provincial government formed the first state library collection. Samuel Livermore was New Hampshire’s first Attorney General (from 1785 to 1786) and Chief Justice of the NH Supreme Court (from 1782 to 1789). Daniel Webster, one of New Hampshire’s most famous orators, practiced law in New Hampshire. Nathan Clifford, born in Rumney NH, was the 19th United States Attorney General (1846-1848). Amos Tappan Ackerman (born in NH in 1821) was the 34th U.S. Attorney General (1870-1872); Harlan Fiske Stone (b 1872 in Chesterfield NH) was the 52nd Attorney General of the U.S. (1924-1925); William French Smith (b 1917 in Wilton NH) was the 74th Attorney General of the United States (from 1981-1985). In October 1864, Lincoln appointed Samuel P. Chase as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, a position he held until his death in 1873. Salmon P. Chase (born in Cornish NH), as one of his first acts as Chief Justice of the United States appointed John Rock as the first African-American attorney to argue cases before the Supreme Court (1865). New Hampshire’s first woman lawyer was Marilla Ricker (1840-1920). She was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of the District of Columbia in 1882, and opened the New Hampshire bar to women in July 1890, when she was admitted to the bar of the state. Agnes Winifred McLaughlin (on one web site noted as the first woman ‘admitted’ to practice law in New Hampshire on June 30, 1917, however Marilla Ricker appears to have that honor) was one of the earliest women attorneys in NH. Linda Stewart Dalianis is the first woman to hold a seat on the New Hampshire Supreme Court (appointed by Gov. Jeanne Shaheen in the year 2000). Kelly A. Ayotte, the current (2006) Attorney General of NH, has the distinction of being the first woman and youngest attorney general in New Hampshire. David H. Souter, a resident of Weare NH, became a chief justice of the United States Supreme Court in October 1990. [He was born in Melrose MA]. See more New Hampshire Glossary.
2. Loyalist – also called “Tory,” an American who favored the British side during the American Revolution (especially those who afforded aid and comfort to the British army during the Revolutionary war) were designated “Tories,” a term borrowed from English politics. This term is sometimes used (erroneously) to describe anyone who refused to sign the “Association Test.”
3. Lumbering – this occupation been important in New Hampshire since the first sawmill was built on the Salmon Falls River in 1631. Most of the timber cut now is used in paper production. The first homes were either “lean-to’s” or made of logs. Even after lumber mills were built in the towns, often only the wealthier citizens built the early “framed” houses from sawed boards. A “surveyor of wood and lumber” was an elected town position whose responsibilities, during colonial times, was to oversee the local use of trees and lumber. On a higher level, deputy surveyors of the King’s Woods were appointed by the governor. The Deputy Surveyor and his crew had the authority to mark any and all suitable white pines (to produce masts for the King’s navy) with the broad arrow mark of the king. These masts became reserved for the British crown. The Deputy Surveyor also had the authority to check the sawmills run by the settlers [Learn about the Pine Tree Riot of Weare NH].
4. Lincoln – Abraham Lincoln visited New Hampshire in 1860, and he was introduced to a crowd by Frederick Smyth at Smyth’s Hall in Manchester NH, as the “next president of the United States”. Lincoln’s son Robert Todd attended Phillips Exeter Academy and, it is said, enthusiastic acceptance of Lincoln’s speeches here convinced him that he could run successfully for the presidency). Renomination of Lincoln split the Republican Party in New Hampshire as well as nationally, but in the election Lincoln and Johnson narrowly won this state.
“Commodore” George Washington Morrison Nutt, of P.T. Barnum fame, met Abraham Lincoln in 1862, when he was invited to the white house. Reportedly they had an amusing conversation.
At 10:00 A.M. on the day of his assassination, President Lincoln met with New Hampshire Senator John P. Hale, who had recently been appointed minister to Spain. Hale’s daughter Lucy happened to be John Wilkes Booth’s fiance at the time.
5. Legislature – The legislative branch of New Hampshire state government is the “Lower House” of the “General Court,” composed of 400 members. (The “Upper House” is composed of the New Hampshire State Senate with 24 members). New Hampshire General Court is the third largest English-speaking legislature in the world (the United States Congress and the Parliament of the United Kingdom have more). They meet in the New Hampshire State House in Concord, New Hampshire.
6. Loeb, Nackey – born Elizabeth Nackey Scripps, Nackey was not born in New Hampshire (she was born in California), she wasn’t married here (either time) and she did not live in New Hampshire until late in life (in Goffstown NH). But whether you loved or disliked her editorials in the “Manchester Union Leader,”there is no doubt that this remarkable woman influenced New Hampshire. She was b. 24 Feb 1924 in Los Angeles, California. She was educated at Francis Wayland Parker School in San Diego, at Bishop’s School for Girls in La Jolla, and at Scripps College in Claremont, Calif. The college was founded by her grandfather and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps, in 1926. She m1) George Gallowhur. They divorced in Nov 1949. She m2nd, 15 July 1952, to William Loeb, son of William Loeb (who was secretary to President Theodore Roosevelt), as his 2nd wife. He was divorced from Eleanore McAllister in 1952. Eleanore McAllister Loeb was b. 11 Oct 1909 in NY and d. 26 July 1984 in Sharon CT (she did not remarry). “Bill” Loeb was a newspaper publisher (for many years publisher of the Manchester Union Leader. In 1999 Nackey established the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications. Their residences included Reno, Nevada, and (later in life) Nackey lived in later in Goffstown NH. See her family genealogy.
7. Loon – although not designated as the New Hampshire state bird (the purple finch has that honor), this intriguing bird is one of the best known and easiest to identify by both residents and visitors to New Hampshire. According to a study, nearly half of all adult loon deaths on New England’s breeding lakes were determined to be the result of the birds ingesting lead sinkers and jigs left behind by fisherman. Leading the way, as usual, on January 1, 2000 New Hampshire became the first New England state to outlaw lead weights in fishing tackle.
8. Likenesses – Did you ever wonder what some of the movers and shakers of New Hampshire’s past looked like. Visit the “Likenesses of New Hampshire War Heroes & Personages in the Collections of the New Hampshire State House & State Library”
9. Lake Winnipesaukee – The largest lake in New Hampshire covers 72 square miles (186 km²) in the east-central part of New Hampshire. It is the sixth largest natural lake lying within the United States. The name is of Native American origin and means either “smile of the Great Spirit” or “beautiful water in a high place”.
10. Live Free or Die – adopted as the New Hampshire state motto in 1945; first stated by General John Stark. Also found on the New Hampshire state emblem (The state emblem is an elliptical panel with a picture of the Old Man of the Mountains. Surrounding the Old Man is the state motto)
