Category Archives: Genealogy

New Hampshire and Portsmouth’s First Woman Mayor: Mary Ellen (Carey) Dondero (1894-1960)

Residents of Portsmouth, New Hampshire are familiar with the Dondero name. A beloved former mayor, Eileen Dondero Foley, just passed away in February of this year (2016). Less known these days, but historically important, was Eileen’s mother, Mary Ellen (Carey) … Continue reading

Posted in Genealogy, History, New Hampshire Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Faces of the Benjamin G. Brooks Family of New Hampshire and Massachusetts

The faces of Benjamin Gove Brooks, his wife Frances Eliza (Downer) Brooks, and their son B. Ferdinand Brooks, look out at you from pale CDV photographs. Benjamin and his wife Frances were both born and raised in New Hampshire. Benjamin … Continue reading

Posted in Genealogy, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A New Hampshire Governor, Ghosts, and a Second Wife: Anthony & Eliza A. (Messinger) Colby

It is said that the ghost of former New Hampshire governor Anthony Colby haunts Colgate Hall at Colby-Sawyer College. That hall was built many years after his death on the spot where the former brick academy building sat. The original … Continue reading

Posted in Genealogy, Haunted New Hampshire, New Hampshire Men, New Hampshire Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Wonalancet Company of Nashua New Hampshire and its founder Harry Harmon Blunt (1875-1923)

The Wonalancet Company was founded in Nashua New Hampshire, incorporated in 1905 by Harry Harmon Blunt (not the Henry H. Blount as is printed in some sources). This company was an important cotton importing house in its day, specializing in … Continue reading

Posted in Genealogy, History, New Hampshire Men | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Edgerly and Cloutman Families of Farmington, Alton, and New Durham New Hampshire

The face of Patience Tash (Edgerly) Cloutman looks out from an ancient tintype photograph. I suspect that she sat for her portrait around the time of the Civil War, as her dress style was of that era. She would have … Continue reading

Posted in Genealogy, History, Military of New Hampshire, New Hampshire Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment