Date: March 25, 2019
Time: 7 P.M.
Location:
Stone School Museum
3 Granite Street
Newmarket, NH
Fee: None. Donations greatly appreciated!
(photo: old tintype of Matt Kennedy & his Irish kin)
The following figures are from the US Census Bureau Report - Issued in June 2004:
Irish in America: “Irish” are defined as people who marked their ethnic origin as “Irish” on the Census survey in 1990 and/or 2000.
Massachusetts was first in the country, followed next by New Hampshire, and third by Rhode Island — states with early Irish textile workers.
* Highest number as percentage of region population not total population.
| State/Region (2000 population) | % of Region’s Population | Ethnic Group Population |
| Massachusetts (6,349,097) | 22.5 | 1,428,547 |
| New Hampshire (1,235,786) | 19.4 | 239,742 |
| Rhode Island (1,048,319) | 18.4 | 192,8 |
According to WMUR in 2013: the highest percentage by town of Irish heritage in the State.
Alton, NH was #1, Newmarket came in as #43.
Presented by:
John Carmichael, President of the New Market Historical Society.
NOTICE: This presentation will follow our first business meeting for the year
Date: April 29, 2019
Time: 7 p.m.
Location:
Stone School Museum
3 Granite Street
Newmarket, NH
Fee: None. Donations greatly appreciated!
Also: Who were our first English settlers—the first immigrants to Newmarket?
”Indigenous New Hampshire” is a collaboration between the University of New Hampshire Anthropology Department, Denise and Paul Pouliot of the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook Abenaki People, local historians, archaeologists, and participants of different educational backgrounds. This long-term project intends to reframe New Hampshire’s history from an Indigenous perspective. During the 1600s, settler communities rapidly grew larger. Many Europeans considered the Indigenous peoples to be living in poverty and compared them to England’s beggars (Cronon 1983: 33). This perception was largely based on how Indigenous communities utilized the land. What many settlers failed to recognize was that New England’s abundance of resources was a direct result of Indigenous peoples’ use the land during the precolonial period. (Cronon 1983, 80)” — from the Interactive Map website
Speakers will be members of the Indigenous NH Collaborative Collective, Associate Professor Svetlana Peshkova, PhD and students from the University of New Hampshire Anthroplogy Department. The students will explain the creation and purpose of the Indigenous New Hampshire Story Map (https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=693c9b595c5847cfb07d100935e423ef )
Also Anthony Conti, New Market Historical Society Treasurer, will briefly describe Newmarket’s first immigrants — the earliest English settlers.
Date: May 20, 2019
Time: 7 PM
Location:
Stone School Museum
3 Granite Street
Newmarket, NH
Fee: None. Donations greatly appreciated!
In the 2003 City-Data.com listing of towns and cities with significant percentages of residents born in Laos in their population, Newmarket was 16th in the nation. Others have cited Newmarket’s Lao population percentage to be the largest in NH. Laotian refugees first came to Newmarket in the 1970s to escape the carnage of the Vietnam War. Laos was heavily bombed during the war; tens of thousands of civilians were resettled in the United States. Figures from 2010 list about 350,000 Laotians living in the U.S., according to the Laotian American National Alliance.
The first few families who resided here were brought by the sponsorship of town churches and the US refugee resettlement program. This presentation covers the history of Laotians in Newmarket during the 1980’s, and community and school acceptance. Topics include Lao Culture in Laos vs. Lao Culture in America.
Photo: Newmarket residents Chantavone Hongmani and Alex Persson celebrated their 2013 marriage with both Laotian and American traditions. The baci ceremony is part of many Laotian celebrations— not just weddings. It emphasizes the value of life, social and family bonds, forgiveness, renewal and homage to heavenly beings
Our presenter is Chanpheng Hongmani-Beckles, who was born in Laos and came to Newmarket when she was 6 years old. She attended the elementary school and Newmarket High School, and later earned a college degree. Now she teaches at the elementary school and serves as an interpreter.
As Newmarket’s ESL teacher, Champheng has been instrumental in organizing Laotian cultural events at school, including numerous Laotian New Year’s celebrations for nearly two decades.
Date:
Time: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Location:
Stone School Museum
3 Granite Street
Newmarket, NH
Fee: None. Donations greatly appreciated!
(Photo of Darius Mariotti in front of his Main Street grocery shop, 1909)
Here’s a sample of some of Newmarket’s immigrant stories:
Darius Mariotti was an Italian grocer in Newmarket. The Museum has a special display of his family’s letters, and descriptions by his daughter (Edna Ellen Mariotti) who retells his story in rich detail — of his flight from Italy at age fourteen, travel to France where he worked as a baker for two years, on to England working in a fruit store before he had enough money to come to America. Landing in New York, he worked for fruit dealer; later on he went to Boston to build religious statues before settling in Newmarket. In the early 1900s he opened this shop.
Darius was famous for his 5 cent cigars, and his musical talent. He played the French horn in the Newmarket Band, and serenaded his customers with “Yes We Have No Bananas” when they came into the shop.
Date: July 14, 2019
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location:
Stone School Museum
3 Granite Street, Newmarket, NH
Fee: None. Donations greatly appreciated!
The Folsom clock — made by Newfields craftsmen, it first took up residence in Josiah Folsom’s Hersey Lane home around 1822. (Five years later his daughters would carry the clock to safety as the house burned down.) Recently restored, it is now part of the Haines Family Collection at the Museum.
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Judge Griffin’s rolltop desk — perennially covered with stacks of letters and invoices — sat in the office at Griffin Hardware while owners came and went) for almost a century.
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Dr. Towle’s car — In 1935, longtime Newmarket physician George Towle purchased a Pontiac with a “Doctor’s Addition” (a completely outfitted medical bag in its own compartment). Dr. Towle died within months of the purchase, and his new Pontiac passed through several owners before settling into its current rather pampered existence in Keene.
Presented by the Board of Directors of the New Market Historical Society
Date: August 4, 2019
Time: 2:00 to 4:00 PM
Location:
Newmarket Town Hall
Main Street
Newmarket, NH
Fee: $20 for Members, and $25 for Non-Members
This year’s tea is a special fund raiser for the Stone School Museum’s acquisition and collection projects.
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“The great thing about collecting stories is they’re free and you don’t have to dust them. Stories speak to us of community. They hold our history and reflect our identity.”
Rebecca Rule — New Hampshire storyteller, teacher and author.
Rebecca Rule has made it her mission over the last 20 years to collect stories of New Hampshire, especially those that reflect what’s special about this rocky old place. She’ll tell some of those stories —her favorites are the funny ones—and she’ll invite audience members to contribute a few stories of their own.
We are honored to have Rebbeca share with us her unique collection of humor and stories which many times teeter between truth and fantasy.
Rule’s Rules: (Becky has a few mottos by which she maintains her sanity):
“No thank you. I’ve got enough crazy on my plate already.”
“You can’t control the others.”
“That’s right, too.”
“Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story.”
“Start anywhere.”
“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly for as long as it takes.”
“It’s not time to worry about that yet.”
“Above all, be kind.”
Tea: Board of Directors and Volunteers of the New Market Historical Society
Presentation: Rebecca Rule
Date: September 30, 2019
Time: 7 p.m.
Location:
Stone School Museum
3 Granite Street, Newmarket, NH
Fee: None (Donations always appreciated!)
The French that migrated in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s expected to return to Canada after making enough money. Only about 10 per cent did return, however, and French Canada lost about half its French population. About a million and a half remained in New England.
In 1880 Newmarket census records show 284 residents born in French Canada; by 1900 that number had grown to 2,263.
The number and rapidity of immigration and assimilation changed the nature of the town for decades to follow. Even up to the late 1960’s Canadian French was still spoken on the streets of downtown Newmarket.
Presenting this program is Historical Society Life Member of French Canadian heritage Ron Lemieux. He is a member of the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce, and past lecturer for the Newmarket Heritage Festival. His collection of memorabilia and knowledge of Newmarket history is as vast as his knowledge of the insurance business.
Date: October 28, 2019
Time: 7:00 PM
Location:
Stone School Museum
3 Granite Street.
Newmarket, NH
Fee: None. Donations greatly appreciated!
The Polish Experience — The first Poles migrated to Newmarket during the late 1880s - early 1890s, but few stayed. They tended to move on to other Polish communities in Chicopee Falls, Lawrence, and New Bedford where employment was available and family networks were established. However, by 1910 several Polish families had established themselves in town.
Later on, two factors would encourage increased Polish immigration—the New England textile industry’s cash incentives for employees who brought trained family members to work in the cotton mills; and the poverty and devastation in Poland, caused by the Great War.
photo: Polish men in traditional costume, at the Ross Farm, 1927
Presenter: Michael Provost is a longstanding New Market Historical Society member who serves on its Board. He is a local historian who recently has presented his research and program about Durham’s Adams family to various community groups in the Seacoast area, including Portsmouth and Rye. Michael is a past member of the Newmarket Business Association; he has served on various town commissions and boards, and is currently a Newmarket Cemetery Trustee.
Date: December 7, 2019
Time: 10:00 am - 03:00 PM
Location:
Stone School Museum
3 Granite Street
Fee:
Historical Society Board of Directors
Date: December 14, 2019
Time: 07:00 PM til 10:00 PM
Location:
Downtown Newmarket
Fee: $20.00
Stroll throughout downtown dressed in your favorite holiday garb (with the exception of “Grinch” — No “Grinch” wear permitted) as you visit Newmarket’s several pubs and taverns and spread joy and good will up and down Main Street.
The Historical Society truly appreciates the support of all who participate in this fundraiser, which has become an annual event (last year we sold out). All proceeds go directly toward the preservation and acquisition of items for our permanent collection. 
