Salem Community Patriot 8 - July 23, 2010


Salem Historical Society Gets Haverhill History Lesson


by Robyn Hatch The Salem Historical Society had a great field


trip to the Haverhill Historical Society, which is also known as Buttonwoods. While there, they were able to the Samuel White Duncan House, a federal-style brick house c. 1814; the John Ward House, a tenant farmhouse c. 1710; and the Daniel Hunkins Shoe Shop, c. 1860. These three structures tell the story of Haverhill’s past during early settlement, maritime trade, and industrial development. Terrace Hall gallery, the area after the Museum entrance, joins the older part of the Museum with a 1980s addition that also includes Tenney Hall, which was named for Martha Tenney, who researched Haverhill genealogy. The importance of this trip for the Salem


people was showing how the two towns exhibit similarities in their people and occupations, making the trip a real eye-opener and well worth it. Tom Spitalere led the presentation during the visit. Founded in 1897, the Haverhill Historical


Society began with a mission to collect everything—just like the mission of the Salem Historical Society. This mission was pared down to collect objects that help to tell the story of Haverhill. In 1903, Mary Duncan Harris donated her family home, the Buttonwoods, to the Historical Society as a site in which to keep their collections. Europeans settled the area around what is


now Haverhill around 1640. Native Americans from the Pennacook nation lived and farmed in villages near the Merrimack River. The area was known as Pentucket, or land of the winding river, in Algonquian, the language spoken by the Pentucket Indians. The Native Americans and later Europeans used the river for fishing, travel, and trade. The Pentucket lived in Wetus or Wigwams, round houses made of bark and houses made with the same materials. This was a rich area for farming and food—wild animals and fish were plentiful. Early settlers Tristram Coffin and Rev. John


Ward came up the Merrimack River from Newbury, MA. Rev. Ward, who later became the first minister of Haverhill (Haverhill is named for Ward’s hometown of Haverhill, England), deeded this land to his daughter, Elizabeth, who married Nathaniel Saltonstall in 1663. This house was used as a refuge when Haverhill was under attack during the years with the French and their Indian allies. Hannah Dustin, Haverhill resident and famous captive, was


captured in 1697 during one of many raids on the then frontier town of Haverhill. The Buttonwoods is named after the sycamore


trees that Saltonstall Irish servant Hugh Tallent originally planted in the early 1740s, when the property belonged to the Saltonstall family. The Saltonstall seat was located at this site until after the American Revolution. In 1814, the prosperous merchant James Duncan, Jr. bought the property and built a new house for his son, Samuel White, and his wife, Mary White Duncan. Salem Historical Society members then moved


on to see the John Ward House. Rev. John Ward was the first minister of Haverhill. The older part of the house that contains the kitchen was built between 1710 and 1720. The other half (parlor) was built in the early 1820s. The house was built on property originals owned by John Ward, and later, the Saltonstalls. This house was used by tenant farmers who farmed the Saltonstall property and later, the Duncan farm. John Ward did not live in this house, but may have had built an earlier structure for farmers who worked on this land. In 1906, a Saltonstall descendant moved this house to its current site. Moving on, members then viewed the DH


Shoe Shop, which was built circa 1850 by shoemaker and farmer Daniel A. Hankins, who came to Haverhill from southern NH to work in the shoe industry. Shoe making was a cottage industry in Haverhill until the mid- 1800s. Similar shoe shops dotted Haverhill, Bradford, and Essex Counties, and shoemakers and farmers who made shoes hand-sewed, cut, and pegged shoes. Their wives and daughters, however, did most of the sewing on the uppers, and the men in the shop stitched or sewed the uppers to the soles. Men sat at the benches and used awls, pincers, and knives as displayed. The DH Shoe Shop is called 10 Footer because all shoe shops at that time were about 10 feet by 10 feet. This shop is actually 16 feet by nine feet to accommodate customers better. Daniel Hunkins built his shop as factory-produced shoes were on the rise in Haverhill. With the invention of stitching and sewing machines, more shoes came out of factories. There were still a large number of shoemakers who stitched shoes for factory owners and their wives. The Duncan House, which is not a period


house, but furnished with museum collections from the late 1700s to the 1900s, is a good example of the type of a house built by prosperous merchants in the early 1800s. This house was built around 1814 by James Duncan, a


Te Salem Historical Society on tour at Buttonwoods


Haverhill merchant, as a wedding present for his son, Samuel. Samuel and his wife lived there for nearly 15 years until Samuel died of tuberculosis. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Essex


County was actively engaged in trade. Samuel, his father, and grandfather were merchants who had family ties to southern New Hampshire. The Duncans owned Trade along the Merrimack River, which was the backbone of Haverhill’s economy for hundreds of years. Having


learned a lot from their visit in Haverhill, Salem Historical Society members discussed many new ideas on how to make the Salem Museum more knowledgeable


Right: Buttonwoods Museum


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submitted by Colin Manning By the authority vested in me, pursuant to part II, Article 44 of the New Hampshire Constitution, on July 13, 2010, I vetoed HB 1490.


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The State of New Hampshire has a responsibility to do the very best it can to provide oversight of state-regulated financial institutions and protect consumers from fraud. Because this bill moves New Hampshire in the wrong direction, and does not serve the best interests of New Hampshire consumers, I am vetoing it. HB 1490 would make


changes to the Banking Department’s jurisdiction over consumer complaints against financial institutions that are inconsistent with the Attorney General’s Report concerning Financial Resources Mortgage, Inc. and recommendations for strengthening consumer protections and enforcement. This legislation extends existing law that provides


the Banking Department with exclusive authority and jurisdiction to investigate unfair conduct by regulated financial institutions, but it also purports to expand that exclusive authority to include enjoining violations of the consumer protection laws. The Attorney General has recommended that the Department of


Justice’s authority to regulate unfair or deceptive practices in the banking industry that was removed in 2002 should be restored, and I support the restoration of that authority. This bill moves this responsibility in the opposite direction by granting additional exclusive authority to the Banking Department to enjoin such unfair and deceptive trade practices by financial institutions. Moreover, the bill suggests that the Banking Commissioner will now have authority to appear in Superior Court to enjoin violations while, in fact, it is the responsibility of the Attorney General to enjoin unfair and deceptive trade practices in the courts. The joint Commerce Committees in the House and Senate held


extensive hearings into the Financial Resources Mortgage, Inc. matter, including issues pertaining to the investigation and oversight of consumer complaints of unfair and deceptive practices by state-regulated financial institutions. The Joint Committee is due to issue a report and recommendations this fall, and I intend to work closely with the legislature to ensure we restore the authority removed from the Attorney General’s office and make other necessary changes to strengthen oversight of financial transactions and financial services. There are other changes to the banking laws in the bill that will


improve financial services oversight, and I will work with the legislature to ensure that those provisions go forward again next session. My veto of this bill will not affect the Citizens Task Force on Revenues and Expenditures, as this provision was also included in Special Session HB 1, which is now law.


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Space Filling for Salem Family Resources Summer Parenting and Play Groups


submitted by Laurel Redden, Salem Family Resources-Success By 6


Limited openings are still available for Salem Family


Resources-Success By 6 Summer Parenting and Play Groups, and parents wishing to participate are encouraged to contact the group immediately. This popular program includes parents and their young


children, who meet once a week with a group leader for fun, age-appropriate children’s learning activities, stories, snack, parent support, and discussions about raising children. Themes for this summer include “Up in the Air, “Under the Sea,” and “Land Ho.” Friday field trips to local low-cost/no-cost destinations for families with young children are also planned. Groups run Monday to Friday through August 6. Registration information is available by contacting Salem Family Resources at info@salemfamilyresources.org or 898-5493.


Parents and their young children kicked off summer 2010 Parenting


and Play Groups last week at Salem Family Resources. Te week’s theme centered on camping with stories, crafts, snacks, and a Friday field trip to pick strawberries with other families. Here, Kristen Gonsalves of Salem helps her daughter, Stephanie, 3, with a craft. At right, Colin Dunne, 3, of Salem and Group Leader Julie Jones look on


and interesting to the many people from the who stop in and visit the museum on Sundays. For more information on the museum and the


Salem and Haverhill Historical Societies, please call Beverly Glynn at 893-8882.


photos by Robyn Hatch


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