by Barbara Rimkunas
This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, May 12, 2023.
Smack in the middle of Center Street, on a small wedge of land, stands a memorial to John Templeton. Like many civic markers, it can be difficult to get a good look at it, particularly since one needs to stand in traffic to see the inscription. It reads:
“IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF
JOHN TEMPLETON
BORN OCTOBER 1, 1854
DIED JULY 4, 1938
A MAN JUST IN WORDS AND DEEDS WHO AS PRINTER, EDITOR, AND CITIZEN FOR OVER HALF A CENTURY SHOWED THAT THE STRAIGHT WAY LEADS TO LASTING HONOR
Erected by the Citizens of Exeter, 1938”
The monument was dedicated on November 27, 1938, just four months after Templeton’s death. The speed at which the fund-raising took place indicates just how much the townsfolk admired Templeton.
John Templeton was an immigrant, having been born in Neilston, Scotland. He arrived in New York with his family when he was 10 years old. The family settled in Massachusetts to work in the textile mills. Young John, however, didn’t become a mill worker. He took a job with the Lawrence Eagle and became a printer. At the still-tender age of 19, he arrived in Exeter in 1873 to take a position with the Exeter News-Letter. He would remain with the paper for the next 65 years. “Here as a capable and trusted worker he made himself thoroughly familiar with the details of publishing a weekly newspaper,” it was later written of him. “Through the administrations of several owners and editors, including Charles Marseilles, William B. Morrill, and Andrew J. Whyte, he gradually became the key man in the production of the paper, the guiding hand, the driving force, the filler of gaps.” Not only could he run the press and lay type, he was able to jump in and write short pieces when needed. “He had grown appreciative of good writing and in his modesty undervalued his own gift.” In later years, he wrote nearly all the editorial content, his staunch Republican views hid any attempt at non-partisan commentary.
He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1876 – the centennial year, sponsored by Exeter lawyer Albert Perkins. With citizenship, he gained the vote and became quite active in local politics. Although he ran for office only once, he maintained a presence in all town affairs.
It was during his early years with the paper that he met Ella Gilman, who worked in the composing room. They married in 1879. She was from old-stock Exeter, related to both the Gilman and Cass families. Together they went over every sentence in the paper. It missed no one’s notice that John and Ella worked on the paper together. After his death, Ella’s contribution was acknowledged in his obituary, although this was not noted in her own. “Mrs. Templeton, who had worked in the composing room before marriage, shared her husband’s devotion to the paper, and gave him her constant help in preparing it. Together, when the week’s issue was out, they would consider its virtues and faults, and plan to maintain the former and amend the latter in future editions.” The Reverend Roland Sawyer, a frequent contributor to the paper, further commented, “In my life I have never seen a more beautiful picture than that of Mr. And Mrs. Templeton, in their long years together, as week by week, brought forth the News-Letter, working over it, loving it, sending it forth.”
In 1887, the lead printer, Andrew Whyte, died and Templeton took over general management. A year later, he bought the entire shop. He walked to work each day, prowling the town streets for bits of news. He was nominally a member of the Unitarian Church, but was married by a Baptist, best friends with the Catholic priest, Father Cotter, and his funeral held at the Congregational Church. He ran free notices for the Christian Scientist reading room and noted when spiritualist speakers came to town. He befriended Dr. Lewis Perry, principal of Phillips Exeter Academy when he was newly assigned to the school. Templeton published the Exonian student newspaper. Perry arrived in town just after the Academy suffered a major loss – the main building had burned to the ground. He recalled that he was walking to Merrill Hall one morning after the fire, “On the way, I met a quiet gentleman, who asked if I were the new principal. When I told him I was, he said, ‘I am very sorry that the Academy Building burned, I want to help a little,’ and put some bills in my hand. I thanked him, and when I reached the office I found that he had given me five hundred dollars.”
Other than serving with the fire department, Templeton wasn’t keen on joining fraternal organizations. Men, during his lifetime, frequently were members of a long string of associations like the Masons, Odd Fellows, Elks Club, and the like. Templeton was in none of these, although he knew most of the members.
He never served in the military, always the wrong age at the wrong time. He sent free subscriptions of the Exeter News-Letter to servicemen serving overseas during World War I. When the town was trying to decide how to best commemorate the Great War, it was John Templeton who suggested contacting sculptor Daniel Chester French to create a memorial statue. “It happens more often than we might expect that the love of the adopted citizen for the home which he has chosen exceeds that of the native born.”
Templeton was deeply involved in the town’s 1938 Tercentenary celebrations. He printed, at no cost to the town, the large programs that were available. Festivities, including a parade, were scheduled for July 4th. That morning, it was discovered that he’d died quietly in his sleep. He’d filed his last edition of the Exeter News-Letter just days earlier. The town’s grief was deep, even though it was a day of celebration. It was no wonder that a committee quickly formed to place a monument to Templeton in the street just outside of the News-Letter building.
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org.