Marek 1780s, animals, cows, Henniker, Hopkinton, Maine, religion, sabbath

Welcome to New Hampshire (Hopkinton, 1781)

Mr. Peabody just wants to drive his oxen from Maine to his new home in Henniker, NH...

Marek 1770s, death, forestry, Henniker, Massachusetts, revolutionary era, SOURCE=Cogswell

A Very Singular Circumstance (Henniker, 1775)

Out of the firing line, into the forest. 19 April 1775 SOURCE: Cogswell's History of Henniker (p.262)

Marek 1600s, deer, encounter & exploration, Journal of Martin Pring, music & dance, seacoast, snakes

Pring 04 ~ Sassafras Dance

Quite possibly the first world-fusion dance party in New England history...

Marek 1820s, death, Piscataquog, SOURCE=Little, Weare

Drowning (Weare, 1824)

Oh no, another disaster down by the Piscataquog... Or IS it?!?! Robert Peaslee was born in Weare 11 April, 1818, so this must have happened in in 1824.  He was the great grandson of Moses & Mary Peaslee.  Mary Peaslee once helped to "lay" a ghost at Rockland Mills.

Marek 1760s, 1770s, Amherst, colonial, construction, death, food, forestry, graves & memorials, Henniker, milk, Nashua, SOURCE=Cogswell

Ward’s Arrival (Henniker, 1763)

Some of Henniker's earliest settler families arrive in town...

Marek 1790s, animals, milk, SOURCE=Little, Weare, witches

Mrs. Dustin’s Witchcraft

How did they know the "Great Witch of Weare" was really a witch? << BEFORE: Mrs. Dustin rides to Whitefield ... I'm dating this story in the 1790s, since Amos W. Bailey was born in 1789 and was a "boy" when Mrs. Dustin was active in town.  Bailey would have related his memories to town … Continue reading Mrs. Dustin’s Witchcraft

Marek 1700-1799, birth, horses, SOURCE=Little, Weare, Whitefield, witches

The Witch’s Ride (Weare)

Mrs. Dustin is up to her infernal sorceries again... this time on a cross-country jaunt! << BEFORE: Meet Mrs. Dustin, the Great Witch of Weare! NEXT: More unspeakable bedevilment from Mrs. Dustin >> Once again, modern readers may be surprised at the Old Timers' concepts of what was and was not an outrage against all … Continue reading The Witch’s Ride (Weare)

Marek 1930s, 1938 Hurricane Letter, animals, chicken, Contoocook, Henniker, Hillsboro, Hopkinton, milk, mills, religion, weather

Hurricane Letter from Henniker (1938) (Part 3)

Dorothy's account continues, with some rather surprising twists...

Marek 1810s, Antrim, death, graves & memorials, Lyndeborough

Woman from Lyndeborough (Antrim, 1812)

If you read the town histories, these sorts of things happened all the time back in the day: << BACK: Violent deaths in Antrim ... This story presents a disappearance and death as a casual, common, corner-of-the-next-field sort of experience.  It perhaps explains a bit of the early settlers' readiness to see ghosts & shades … Continue reading Woman from Lyndeborough (Antrim, 1812)

Marek 1700-1799, SOURCE=Little, Weare, witches

The Great Witch of Weare

What lively places these NH towns must have been, back in the early days with the witches and ghosts! The little quatrain Little quotes comes from the poem "A Long Story" by Thomas Gray: "...Fame in the shape of Mr. P—t (By this time all the Parish know it) Had told, that thereabouts there lurk'd A wicked … Continue reading The Great Witch of Weare

Marek 1700-1799, cats, colonial, ghosts, religion, SOURCE=Little, Weare, weather, witches

Powers of Witches (Weare)

Here's an overview of witches and their supernatural powers, from the early days of Weare: What a fascinating list of malevolent powers!  Little's litany of satanic skills speaks volumes about what was important to the families of colonial-era Weare.

Marek 1780s, 1810s, Antrim, death, mills

Violent Deaths (Antrim)

Here's a look at fatalities during the early days of Antrim, NH: << BEFORE: More deaths in Weare.   MORE: Death in general... >>

Marek 1800-1899, chicken, ghosts, SOURCE=Little, Weare

Terribly Troubled with Ghosts (Weare)

In which strange noises emanate from the unfinished room above ... One of Mary Peaslee's progeny later became well-known for nearly drowning in the Piscataquog.

Marek 1800-1899, Concord, Dover, NH State House, politics, Rochester, statues

John Hale Statue (Concord)

John P. Hale was a radical anti-slavery Republican during the Civil War. As his epitaph indicates, he did indeed dedicate his political career to the abolition of slavery, running for President in 1852 with the Free Soil Party and serving in congress during Lincoln's administration.

Marek 1700-1799, corn, ghosts, SOURCE=Little, Weare

Ghost in the Corn Field (Weare)

Weare historian William Little has little patience for rumors of hauntings.  Here, John Hodgdon boldly investigates a spooky shade in his corn field ... Something about this story was bothering me as I drew it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  Then, around panel 11 or 12, I realized I'd been drawing a modern 20th … Continue reading Ghost in the Corn Field (Weare)

Marek 1800-1899, death, forestry, SOURCE=Little, Weare, weather

More Deaths (Weare)

More tragic ends for some of Weare's early citizens: << BEFORE: Deaths ... NEXT: Fatalities a couple towns over, in Antrim >>

Marek 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, death, dogs, hunting, milk, SOURCE=Little, squirrel, Weare

Deaths (Weare)

How folks died in the early days of Weare... 17 October 1816 11 September 1824 NEXT: You know there will be more... >>

Marek 1810s, death, horses, SOURCE=Little, Weare

Kick of a Horse (Weare)

Town histories often include detailed (and fascinating) lists of the various ways early settlers met their ends.  Let's take a look at some interesting cases ... 20 June 1816

Marek "Live Free or Die", 2000-2099, graves & memorials, John Stark, Manchester

Stark Park (Manchester)

A visit to John Stark's grave as the light fades on 24 Hour Comics Day 2012 ... LINKS:  Manchester's Stark Park (The Friends of Stark Park are currently raising funds for a restoration of the Stark family gravesite; see the Park's ABOUT page for more information about this and other projects.) 24 Hour Comics Day  … Continue reading Stark Park (Manchester)

Marek 1800-1899, hunting, snakes, SOURCE=Little, Weare

Snakes (Weare)

Let's see what the old timers were up to in Weare, as related in William Little's exhaustive History... (1888):

Marek 1980s, Christa McAuliffe, education, guest artist, science

“Happy Child 1986” by Matt Reidsma (Guest Post)

Guest artist Matt Reidsma has granted his kind permission for us to repost this memoir about watching NH teacher Christa McAuliffe leave the Earth in 1986...        GUEST ARTIST / artwork & story (c) 2009 Matt Reidsma / http://www.highmaintenancemachine.com/ 28 January 1986

Marek 1800-1899, Daniel Webster, Old Man of the Mountain, White Mountains

“God almighty has hung out a sign…”

Daniel Webster's orating again... or IS he?!?! Drawn after attending Maggie Stier's talk "The Old Man of the Mountain: "Substance and Symbol" (NHHC-HTG catalog) hosted by the Antrim Historical Society. For more on the Old Man of the Mountain, visit NHStateParks.org or wikipedia...