by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, March 12, 2021.

On a February day in 1881, 13-year-old Lillian Perkins signed her name on the roster at the Robinson Female Seminary. She and her cousin, Maude, were new students having only recently qualified from their sub-grammar class. Having grown up on her father’s farm on Perkins Hill, it was not inevitable that Lillian would attend or even complete the full course. Her parents, B. Judson and Sarah Giles Perkins, were not your average farmers. Judson, had lost his left hand at the age of 16 while using dynamite to clear land. Perhaps thinking he might not be capable of farming, his father had encouraged him to attend Phillips Exeter Academy, where the boy excelled. He completed his studies in 1861 – having spent one year studying with Robert Todd Lincoln as a fellow student. He kept diaries for the years 1860 and 1861. He knew he would not be going to war due to his disability and turned instead to farming and courting a young schoolteacher named Sarah Giles. Even in his diary he was too shy to write her name, switching to Greek letters when he wrote about her.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, February 26, 2021.

Henry Mainjoy, formerly enslaved by Noah Emery, lived into his eighties in his house on Green Street. Here are a few reminiscences about him from some nostalgic white neighbors. “It is not necessary that I should say much in regard to Harry. He was well and favorably known to nearly all now living in Exeter and vicinity (this was written in 1879 –by an unidentified commentator to the Exeter News-Letter). “I remember him when he was first brought to Squire Noah Emery’s. Judging from his size I should think he could not have been more than 12 years of age. He was the blackest, sleekest, lithest little chap that I ever saw.” Exeter’s historian, Charles Bell, said of him, “Harry Manjoy, sometimes called Emery, is well remembered. He was brought to Exeter by Noah Emery, a shipmaster, not from Africa, probably, but from some foreign port where he was offered for sale. He claimed to have been a prince in his native country. He lived with Captain Emery until the latter’s death, and afterwards supported himself by his labor. He was industrious and respectable, and lived to a good old age.” Dr. William Perry, who delivered most of Mainjoy’s children, told a similar tale, “A negro well known in those days was Harry Manjoy. He was brought here by Captain Noah Emery, a sea captain, who picked him up in some foreign port. He was a very steady and industrious man and had a family equally industrious and respectable.”

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, February 12, 2021.

A few months after taking office in 1789, President George Washington took a tour of the New England states. His diary entry after his visit to Exeter had this to say about the town’s industries: “Above (but in the town) are considerable falls, which supply several grist mills, 2 oyle mills, a slitting mill, and snuff mill.” It’s slightly disappointing that he didn’t mention a chocolate mill. New Englanders, we are told, were crazy about drinking chocolate in the early republic. But was it popular in Exeter? After all, if we’re to time travel back, we’ll need chocolate.

By Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, January 29, 2021.

The darkest days are still ahead of us. This is the winter of COVID-19. A year ago we didn’t see it coming – couldn’t imagine that half a million people would die and we’d shrug off the numbers as they rose. As bad as things have become, there’s just the slightest sliver of hope. Since last Friday (January 22nd) when people over the age of 65 became the anointed ‘group 1-B,’ I’ve heard voices – spoken aloud, through email or hastily typed into Zoom chat – delightedly announcing their dates. The dates, mostly February and March, are for appointments to get COVID-19 vaccinations. A few people said the on-line registration was frustrating and complicated, a few more have said it went smoothly. Your results may vary, we can suppose. The 65+ crowd has become increasingly more tech-savvy in the past year.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, January 15, 2021.

In June of 1835, the newly formed New Hampshire Anti-Slavery Society met in Concord. Among the many resolutions passed was this: “Resolved, That this Society earnestly recommend to all its auxiliaries, to circulate, as soon as practicable, in their respective vicinities, petitions for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and forward the same to Congress, at the opening of the next session of that body.”

By Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, January 1, 2021.

We all know how 2020 went. It was a year suspended. A year we’ll forever break into the “before times,” prior to mid-March, and the pandemic times. 1920 was the “after time.” It was after the horrors of World War I and after the fear of the 1918-19 influenza. These two shocks still left lingering discomfort.

By Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, December 18, 2020.

As if there weren’t enough deadly things to worry about in the 1880s, what with all the infectious diseases lurking in every cough, the Boston Globe began publishing articles warning the public that they might be slowly poisoned by the wallpaper in their homes. In January, 1886, Harvard professor David Gordon Lyon recounted his household’s close call after renovations to his Cambridge home. “There is a general impression that arsenic is used in the manufacture of wall papers, but most people are sadly ignorant of the extent to which this poison is thus employed,” he wrote.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This “Historically Speaking” column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, December 4, 2020.

A recent inquiry arrived, via social media, with a photograph of a large white house. “Any info out there about this house?” Generally, it’s hard to find information about a large white house in Exeter – so many houses in town fit that description. Numerous people replied that they remember the house and had, perhaps, known someone who lived there. The picture was a post card with the label “The New Lincoln House, Exeter, NH.” Sounds like a project for the Exeter Historical Society!

by Barbara Rimkunas

This “Historically Speaking” column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, February 12.2016.

Buried on the last pages of the Exeter News-Letter in late January of 1834, was the following notice: “At the request of a number of Gentlemen of this town, notice is hereby given that a meeting will be held at the Court-House, on Thursday evening…for the purpose of organizing a Lyceum in this town.” It was buried so deeply that the editor felt impelled to add another notice to draw attention to the first notice, “We ask the attention of our readers in Exeter, to a notice in another column, on the subject of forming a Lyceum in this village.” What’s the big deal? And what was a ‘lyceum,’ anyway?

A few weeks ago, I encountered, a young child and his adult walking towards me on the sidewalk. As we drew nearer, the little boy – unprompted – pulled the loops of his face mask up over his ears, covering his nose and mouth completely. Then he waved happily, and we kept walking. This is everyday life during the 2020 pandemic. I couldn’t get my own kids to even wear mittens, but somehow this little guy knows that he needs to wear his face mask. It’s a temporary measure (we hope), but it makes one wonder about hygiene and public health and how things have changed over the years.

In late October of 1920, the Exeter News-Letter noted: “Visitors in Exeter are two former residents, Mrs. J.P. Emerson and her daughter, Mrs. J.H. Gay, of San Diego, California.” To better identify these married ladies, the notice continued, “As Miss Jennette P. Talbot, the latter graduated in 1893 from Robinson Seminary, in which she retains keen interest.” The mother and daughter, who most Exeter residents knew as Jeannette and Jennette Talbot, were visiting during a crucial year for women. In just a few weeks, the nation’s women would be casting their ballots for the first time in a presidential election.

George Dearborn was never described as an ordinary man. Accounts of him, written later in his life, describe him as eccentric. He was born in 1815, along with his twin brother, into a large family. His father, Freese Dearborn, was from Hampton, but had deep roots in Exeter. The family’s emigrant ancestor, Godfrey Dearborn, had arrived with the Reverend John Wheelwright in 1638. Freese moved his family from Hampton to Exeter around 1802, and long served as the town jailor. It must have caused some excitement when twin boys were born. Freese Dearborn celebrated the birth by naming his sons George Washington Dearborn and John Adams Dearborn.

As we approach Halloween, let's take a look at an intricate set of mourning jewelry from our collections. These drop earrings and brooch, dating to 1844, are made from braided human hair, and were created in memory of Mary Anne Martin Lovering.

If ever there was a chaotic election, it was 1860. The United States was walking the plank towards disunion, although they didn’t realize it at the time, and the political parties, well, let’s just say they weren’t what they used to be.

Exeter’s men found themselves conflicted when facing the election. There were still a lot of Democrats in town, but Abraham Lincoln had made an impressive speech at the town hall in early March promoting free soil. He’d won over a lot of voters. But then again, the Douglas’s Democrats were offering popular sovereignty to the new territories – allowing the population out there to decide whether to be a free or slave state seemed pretty darn fair. And, of course, maybe all this talk about slavery, abolition, nullification, and possible secession were just distractions from real honest American government. Hrumph. Hrumph. Who could make sense of all this?

The Dickey-Lincoln School dam project, first proposed in 1965, seemed like the answer to Maine’s energy needs. Funded by the U.S. government, it would have produced 1.45 million kilowatts of energy annually when at full capacity. The trade-off (because there’s always a trade-off) was the destruction of 88,000 acres of Maine forest, and the removal of several small logging communities. The plan was deauthorized after twenty years of haggling when a small plant, the Furbish lousewort – long thought to be extinct – was discovered to be thriving on the proposed site.

In May of 1896, Sarah Clark, the ever-diligent treasurer of the Union Five Cents Savings Bank, puzzled over a small town account. It had grown, over the previous decades, from $500.00 to $583.38. What was the money for, she inquired of selectman B. Judson Perkins. Perkins, and the other Exeter town selectmen, had no idea and hadn’t been aware the money existed. The Exeter News-Letter later reported, “it was finally explained by ex-Town Clerk (William) Belknap, who recalled the fact that many years ago the town had received from one Kate Holland a bequest, of which the income should benefit deserving colored residents.” The money was withdrawn and reinvested (most likely at Clark’s recommendation) into a municipal bond. The accrued income was split evenly between two Exeter women; Annie Scott, a widow, and Rebecca Walker, recently divorced with a blind daughter in need of care. The trust fund was dubbed the “Kate Holland Fund” in honor of its benefactor. The trust fund still exists and is occasionally awarded.

The first week of August in 1917 brought with it a five-day heat wave. “Saturday and Sunday were delightful,” reported the Exeter News-Letter, then began a period of extreme heat, the 2 pm temperature at Boston on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday having been 98. These figures doubtless approximately correct for Exeter, are official and taken in absolute shade and away from the reflected heat of streets and buildings.” Twenty year old Betty Tufts was home, working on her Victory garden on Pine Street. She noted the heat in her diary, “HOT! 92 degrees late afternoon on front piazza.” Through the hot days, a long line of mules slowly made their way to Exeter. The Borax 20-Mule Team was on an advertising junket across the northeast.

In 1974, an athletic shoe company called Blue Ribbon Sports began to seriously pursue a location in Exeter. The old Wise Shoe Shop, on Front Street, had been vacant for nearly two years after losing business to foreign imports. Blue Ribbon, itself an importer of Japanese shoes, seemed interested in creating its own product – some of which would be produced in the United States. That firm would rebrand itself as Nike and the plant on Front Street would become its first stateside factory.