2019: Valentines Day Remembrances

Posted on 5 February, 2019 by Janice Brown

My very gentle Valentine,
Since for me you were born too soon,
And I for you was born too late.
God forgives him who has estranged
Me from you for the whole year.
I am already sick of love,
My very gentle Valentine.
— Charles Orleans to his wife, Bonne of Armagnac, 1415.

Valentines Day will soon be here. What I have discovered over the 13 years that I have published this blog is that the more I research, the more contrary and contradicting information I discover. Everyone wants to take credit for being first, whether it is a superb invention, or the publication of the first valentine. Continue reading →

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2019 Black History Month in New Hampshire

Posted on 1 February, 2019 by Janice Brown

February is African American History Month, an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time to recognize the role of black men and women in United States and also in New Hampshire history. As I noted in my March blog story last year, New Hampshire has never had a large number of African American citizens, but it makes recognizing them not any less important. Their contributions often went ignored or when known, simply left out of the history books. Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy, History, New Hampshire Men, New Hampshire Sports, NH Persons of Color | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

New Hampshire Poem: Evening Tea

Posted on 22 January, 2019 by Janice Brown

EVENING TEA
Dedicated to Linda Boyd

It is time to be seated for evening tea,

Tea service at Winterthur. Photograph copyright Janice W. Brown at Cow Hampshire Blog.

The silver’s well-polished and so are we.
With place cards discovered, genteelly we pose,
To chat with our neighbor–anticipation grows. Continue reading →

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200 Years Old: The New Hampshire State House in Concord

Posted on 17 January, 2019 by Janice Brown

Representative Hall, New Hampshire State House, between 1864 and 1909; George W. Perry Scrapbooks, New Hampshire Historical Society

 

I first wrote about the New Hampshire State House in 2006, when the building was only 187 years old, and since then I’ve updated that story several times.  This year (2019) the building is officially 200 years old, and the oldest legislative chamber in the United States still in continuous legislative use.

 

Continue reading →

Posted in History, NH Tidbits, Really Old News, Structures | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Journey to the Isles of Shoals New Hampshire in 1882

Posted on 12 January, 2019 by Janice Brown

Boat Landing at Star Island, Isles of Shoals, c1910, Library of Congress

My earliest New Hampshire ancestors hailed from the Isles of Shoals, off the coast of New Hampshire (or Maine, depending on your perspective).  I have often pondered on their origin, as the surnames are not found on any known ship list.  They could have been servants of David Thompson (1623).     Perhaps they were Spanish or Portuguese fishermen who arrived early and remained on the new continent (DNA from the Iberian Peninsula shows up as part of my ancient ancestry).

An important part of genealogy is to study the history in which your ancestor lived.  I came upon an 1882 story of the Isles of Shoals in a newspaper [The New York Times, 25 July 1882, page 5 ] that I found to be the best description of the area with its history.  Even though written 100 years after my ancestors were removed from the Isles during the American Revolution, this story provides me (and you) with intriguing insight into the Isles of Shoals and its people. Continue reading →

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