portsmouthhistorynotes

What books would you think Portsmouth’s first schoolmaster had in his collection? You might guess an arithmetic book and a dictionary. Schoolmaster James Preston had those, but would you think of books for seamen and navigators? We happen to know what books he had because there is a record of the town selling eight books that comprised the library of the ” James Preston, school master, late deceased.”

Preston’s book titles lead me to believe that Preston was trained as a navigator, not a teacher.  Attracting a well trained teacher would have been difficult in the small town of Portsmouth.  Town records show that in 1724 it was voted that “that the schoolhouse erected and built in said town be improved by the freemen of said town and will hire and settle a schoolmaster in each house for the benefit of all children as shall be sent to be instructed therein.”  The Southermost School would serve the children in the south end of the town and the Northermost School would be built to serve the students in the more settled area of the north part of town.   By the next year at least the Southermost School was open.

Historian Edward West was able to go through town records to write an article about Portsmouth’s early schools and schoolmasters.  He found that our first school teachers were mostly poor, had large families and with the little salary they received they had a hard time providing for their families.  West believed that Southermost School was built to house the families of the schoolmasters because it was constructed with an oven in the cellar. West found a mention in the town records that “James Preston (school master) present at this meeting Engaged upon his word that he would Remove himself and his family out of the School House by the first day of September next except the Freemen of the Town should see cause to Improve him to keep school there after the Expiration of said Term.”

Although Preston and his family had lived in the cellar

Southermost School on the grounds of the Portsmouth Historical Society.

of Southermost School, it was clear from the records that they also boarded with parents of students.  Documents show that James Strange had been boarding Preston and his family.  West found records that it was the town’s responsibility to keep the schools in repair, but that the parents of the children who attended the school paid for the expenses of the school.

The town had responsibility for the poor and there were few public buildings to house someone who was down on his luck.  In December of 1727 the Town Council heard that James Preston was sick and helpless.  Two men were appointed to “take care for his relief,” to find a place of residence for him and his family and to provide a nurse for his wife.  All that James Preston had, including his books and his cow, were sold to contribute to his upkeep.  When James Strange refused to house Preston any longer, it was ordered the the family be relocated to Southermost School in the cellar.  By 1729 the Town Council ordered ” that James Preston and his family be removed out of the School house wherein they now live…”  His wife was ordered to “bind out” her oldest children so they would no longer be a burden on the town.

In April of 1730 James Preston died and the town paid for the funeral expenses.  We don’t know what became of his family.  The Southermost School housed other families through the years.  Sarah Strange, who with her husband had turned the Preston family out of her home, found herself inhabiting the schoolhouse in 1746 after her husband’s death.

Credit to the work of Edward H. West:  Early Schoolhouses and Schoolmasters of Portsmouth, Rhode Island.  In the files of the Portsmouth Historical Society

Preston’s books:

Norwoods Epitomy of Navigation, Cockers Decimal Arithmetic, Mariners Compass Rectified, Seamans Kelender or an Ephemerides, The Art of Measuring, Marriners New Calendar, The Great English and Latin Dictionary and Gumbers Scale.

So often we focus on the famous people associated with Portsmouth – Anne Hutchinson, Julia Ward Howe, the Vanderbilts.  This blog will call attention to one of those pillars of Portsmouth life who gets little recognition.  As I research Portsmouth history, George Manchester’s name keeps appearing.  He is like a thread that runs through the fabric of town society.

George Manchester was born in 1822, the son of John and Lydia (Albro) Manchester.  If you look at the town directories, George  is listed as  a carpenter.   He helped construct many homes in Newport County working with his wife’s family, the Coggeshalls.  One of his descendants has parts of his diary and from a diary entry we were able to mark the construction of the Leonard Brown House because he reported on construction there in 1850.  George built his own home and it was part of our “Whose Home Is It.” exhibit at the historical society museum last year.

As clerk of the Christian Union Church, George provided us with beautifully written descriptions of the spiritual life of the church.  He was a devoted member of the church at the location of today’s Portsmouth Historical Society, and taught Sunday School there.

Many Portsmouth farmers and tradesmen filled town positions, but George held quite a number of offices.   He was a public servant who represented Portsmouth in the RI General Assembly for several terms, as had his father, John, and his grandfather Giles Manchester.  At various times George held the offices of Superintendent of Public Schools in Portsmouth, State Railroad Commissioner, State Auditor, Customs Officer, Justice of the Peace, and High Sheriff of Newport County.  George was an active Republican and he helped organize an event for the Newport Wide Awakes (a group of young Republican men who were supporting Abraham Lincoln).  Newspaper articles are filled with examples of George’s ability as an orator.

George served as Vice President of the local Temperance organization.  He loved to read and collect books.  He wrote book reviews and articles for magazines such as Harper’s, and for religious publications such as the Herald of Gospel Liberty and the Christian Inquirer.  When the new Christian Union Church was built in 1865, a lending library was included.  George was part of the Library and Intellectual Culture Committee at the church.

George had his sorrows and struggles.  He and his wife Phebe Taber Coggeshall lived on Glen Road.   A Daily News article from November of 1862 provides an account of what they called “the melancholy death of the wife of George H. Manchester.”  At that time George was a clerk in the Providence Post Office.  He would stay in Providence during the week and come home to Portsmouth on weekends. This particular week, George “left his wife on Monday and she bid him good-bye and shortly after started for a walk to the Glen near by her residence.”  When she didn’t return her family looked for her and found her body near the old wharf.  “Near by was found her bonnet, shawl and parasol, all nicely laid together, and everything had the appearance of a premeditated death. ”  Why she would end her life seemed a mystery to her family and friends.  With the sorrow of his wife’s death, George would also have the responsibility for three children – Alfred, Charles and Leonora.    George found love again and in 1873, he married Eliza Maria (Peckham) Rogers, widow of Thomas G. Rogers.  George died in 1879 and is buried in St. Mary’s Church cemetery.

We owe a debt of gratitude to George Manchester and the others like him who volunteer their time and talents to make Portsmouth a better place.

Wide Awake insignia available on tee shirts on Amazon today.

A Newport Mercury account from 1860 details an excursion the Newport Wide Awakes made to Portsmouth Grove. I came across this article while researching George Manchester, a prominent citizen who will be featured in our History Comes Alive 2017 presentation on Oct. 8th. George was part of the group credited with organizing the event. He was part of the crowd that give the men “an honest farmer’s welcome” as they arrived on the steamer Perry at the dock to the Portsmouth House. They Wide Awakes performed a short drill and the men formed a line to listen to the speeches. The article mentions “blazing torches” revealing the military discipline and “noble appearance” of the men. It seems that George made a “brief, pithy, hearty speech” welcoming the companies of Wide Awakes to the hospitality of Portsmouth.  Major Paine of Johnston  gave  the principal speech which concerned Mr. Douglas, the Democrat candidate for President.  The group was treated to a bountiful supply of food.

I had never heard of the Wide Awakes, but the article gave me a few clues to what they represented. “The four companies were out in full ranks, making a fine show, while thee were many others present in citizens dress, who were unable to appear in the ranks from the want of uniforms.” This sounded like a military organization. The article quotes someone as saying “We hope that by efficient drilling..our boys can make themselves, as they can, the best in the state.

A Providence Evening Press article from September of 1860 provided information on the origin of the “Wide Awakes.”  In February of 1860 some young men were excited by Cassius Clay, a well known Republican orator.  These young men decided to act as an escort for Clay.  They borrowed torches from the fire department.  They cut capes out of glazed cloth to protect their clothes from the torches.  Some glazed caps as well.  Their makeshift uniform drew attention to the group.  On their way home they were attacked by a sturdy Democrat; but a blow from a torch stopped him from disturbing them.  They were angry at the attack so they formed a club equipped with swinging torches and black capes and caps to promote the Republic cause at public events.  The name “Wide Awake” came from the name of John Brown’s Company in Kansas.  There were about 400,000 “Wide Awakes” in the Northern States and they drilled, wore uniforms and had officers.  This military or militia like experience created a group of young men ready to volunteer for battle when the Civil War began.

When Emeline Eldridge died at eighty years of age in 1934, her obituary mentioned many ways she made a difference in Portsmouth.  She had been Superintendent of Schools in an era when that was a rare role for a woman.  Emeline (also known as Mrs. John Eldredge) was a long time board member of the Portsmouth Library Association.  She was an active member of St. Paul’s Church and the Ladies Association.  For many years she was in charge of the Social Studio at Bristol Ferry “where (said the obituary) young people used to gather for dancing lessons, instruction in wood carving and other work.”

The Social Studio was founded by Emeline’s friend and neighbor Sarah J. Eddy around 1900.  It was a gathering place for youth in Portsmouth.  Emeline had no children of her own, but she worked with young people at the Social Studio for twenty years or more.    A 1913 Newport Mercury article mentions that Emeline was directing a group of twenty two girls called the “Girls Industrial Club” which met at the Social Studio.  The girls learned basketweaving, leather work, wood-carving, embroidery and other useful arts.

Classes at Social Studio: collection of GSchmidt

Can you picture this School Superintendent, library supporter, craft teacher and church lady as a suffrage agitator?  Her obituary doesn’t mention anything about her efforts to secure the vote for women, but newspaper articles lead us to believe that she was an integral part of the Newport County Woman Suffrage League that was founded in 1908.  A group of Bristol Ferry area friends and neighbors was  (according to Elizabeth Cady Stanton) “among the nerve centers of suffrage activity in Rhode Island.” Among the members of this group were Emeline Eldridge, Cora Mitchell, Sarah J. Eddy,  Julia Ward Howe and her daughters Maud and Florence, Mrs. Oscar Miller and Mrs. Bertram Storrs and Mrs. Barton Ballou.  In Cady’s book on the History of Woman Suffrage, she compliments the women because “All rendered priceless service to what was then an unpopular and unfashionable cause.”  “..It took some courage in fashionable Newport to ‘come out’ for woman suffrage.  Emeline hosted some events by the Newport County Women Suffrage League at the Social Studio.  Emeline may not have been a nationally recognized figure in the suffrage movement but she certainly contributed to it here in Portsmouth.