Archive Record
Metadata
Catalog Number |
MS043 |
Title |
Wentworth-Gardner Historic House Association collection, 1753-2017 |
Scope & Content |
The Wentworth-Gardner Historic House Association collection includes both manuscript collections and organizational records. The manuscript collections include the papers of Samuel Hale of Portsmouth. The majority of the records are the association's organizational records, including correspondence related to collections pieces (donations and loans). There are also records related to the operations of the association, such as tours and events, as well as maintenance of the association's historic houses (painting, wallpapering, etc.). The records also include the association's financial materials and tax returns. The collection is arranged in four series. The first series contains the Samuel Hale papers, dated 1753 to 1781. The papers include a letter from George King, written from Albany, N.Y., relating to a shipment of wheat from Schenectady, N.Y., to Hale in Portsmouth on the schooner Esther, mastered by Daniel Moses; a letter to Hale from Joseph Atkinson of Newbury, Mass., concerning the death of Enoch Robinson and other family members due to an epidemic; materials from John Noyes reflecting Hale's administration of the estate of Thomas Wright, particularly regarding Wright's pew rent at South Church; legal accounts with the town of Portsmouth reflecting Hale's efforts to discount the taxes of William Hart and others, with the signed approval of selectmen William Langdon, George Gains, and Supply Clap; and Hale's petition to Gov. John Wentworth requesting 200 acres of land to replace the poor land contained in a large tract surveyed and laid out by Capt. Walter Neale, as well as complaining about his small military pension received for his participation during the 1745 siege of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. The second series contains the organization records of the Wentworth-Gardner Historic House Association. The records include deeds and abstracts of deeds related to the Wentworth-Gardner and Tobias Lear houses, owned by the association; bills and receipts; lists of items donated to the association and correspondence relating to these gifts; correspondence; newspaper clippings; meeting minutes; photographs; and income tax forms. The third series contains the Lear family papers, dated 1851 to 1991. The papers include genealogical records and notes made by family members, deeds, birth and marriage certificates, passports, wills, and photographs related to the Lear family, including the papers of Nathaniel Lear (1791-1868), Calvin D. Lear, Valentine C. Lear, and Mary Louisa (Touchings) Lear. There are also records related to the White/Hoyt families as well as records and photographs related to the Coleman family. In addition, there are papers related to Portsmouth High School Class of 1929, including graduation programs, newsletters, student writing, and class rosters. The fourth series contains two account books of Leonard Cotton, dated 1825 to 1826 and 1846 to 1864. Arrangement I. Samuel Hale papers, 1753-1781 II. Wentworth-Gardner Historic House Association records, 1918-1973, 2017 III. Lear family papers, 1851-1991 IV. Leonard Cotton account books, 1825-1826, 1846-1864 Folder Listing I. Samuel Hale papers, 1753-1781 Box 1 Folder 1 Samuel Hale papers, 1753-1781 1753 Oct. 3, Joseph Atkinson, Newbury to Samuel Hale, "Piscataqua," announcing the death of Enoch Robinson and two of the Atkinson children. 1755 Oct. 14, John Noyes, Newbury to Samuel Hale, Portsmouth, desiring a letter from Hale, interested in reading books. 1756 July 1, Samuel Hale estate information concerning Thomas Wright and Thomas Parker 1756 July 2, Samuel Hale and George King agreement concerning purchase of wheat 1773 Jan. 14, Samuel Hale petition to Governor John Wentworth regarding an "unimprovable tract of land" that Hale was granted, outlines the financial hardships Hale was facing due to poor crop production 1781 March 24, Receipt for Samuel Hale from the town of Portsmouth II. Wentworth-Gardner Historic House Association records, 1918-1973 Box 1 Folder 2 Collections correspondence, 1939-1949 Folder 3 Collections correspondence, 1950-1972 Folder 4 Collection inventories, part 1 Folder 5 Collection inventories, part 2 Folder 6 Museum operations Folder 7 Meeting minutes, 1939-1941 Folder 8 Research requests Folder 9 Financial records Folder 10 Tax documents, 1964-1975 Folder 11 Canceled checks Folder 12 Lear House deed, 1940 Folder 13 Ballots from the November 6, 2017, annual meeting used to vote to deaccession the Tobias Lear House (acc. #2017.0223) III. Lear family papers, 1851-1991 (acc. #2022.0066) Box 2 Folder 1 Lear family miscellaneous papers, undated Folder 2 Lear family genealogical records, c. 1896-c. 1943 Folder 3 notebook with Lear genealogy, c. 1930s [includes photographs and newspaper clippings] Folder 4 Hoyt family papers, 1851-1935 Folder 5 Nathaniel Lear (1791-1868) papers, 1855-1857 Folder 6 Calvin D. Lear papers, 1943 Folder 7 Calvin D. Lear genealogy notes, undated Folder 8 Valentine C. Lear papers, 1910-1985 Folder 9 notebook from war service with autographs [Valentine C. Lear?], 1943-1945 Folder 10 Mary Touchings Lear papers, 1929-1978 Folder 11 Mary Touchings Lear nursing diploma, 1933 Folder 12 Portsmouth High School Class of 1929 banquet, 1929 Folder 13 Portsmouth High School Class of 1929 graduation 1929 Folder 14 Portsmouth High School Class of 1929 rosters, 1929 Folder 15 Lear family photographs, undated Folder 16 Lear family photographs, undated Folder 17 miscellaneous Lear family photographs, c. 1920s-1930s Folder 18 Coleman family photographs, undated Folder 19 Coleman family photographs, undated IV. Leonard Cotton account books, 1825-1826, 1846-1864 (2007 addition) Book 1 Leonard Cotton account book, 1825-1826 Book 2 Leonard Cotton account book, 1846-1864 |
Admin/Biographical History |
The Wentworth-Gardner House was built circa 1760 as a wedding gift for Thomas Wentworth (1740-1768). Major William Gardner purchased the house in 1793. After changing hands several times during the nineteenth century, the house was purchased by Wallace Nutting in 1915. In 1918, Nutting sold the house to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; the museum had plans of moving the house to New York as an exhibit. However, those plans never came to fruition because of the Great Depression. The house was later purchased by William Summer Appleton for the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England), which furnished the house and briefly operated it as a house museum. A local group formed to preserve the house, and by 1940 the association had purchased both the Wentworth-Gardner House and the nearby Tobias Lear House. The Tobias Lear House was built circa 1740 by Tobias Lear III. Later, it was home to Tobias Lear V, who served as secretary to George Washington. When the association formed in 1940, it was known as the Wentworth-Gardner and Tobias Lear Historic Houses Association. In 2017, the membership voted to deaccession the Tobias Lear House, which was sold in 2019, and the organization is now called the Wentworth-Gardner Historic House Association. |
Creator |
Wentworth-Gardner Historic House Association |
Collection |
Wentworth-Gardner Historic House Association collection, 1753-2017 |
Object Name |
Papers, Personal |
Date |
1753-2017 |
Extent of Description |
2 lin. ft. (2 boxes plus 2 vols.) |
Language of Material |
English |
Access Conditions |
Limited Access: box 1 includes organizational records; restrict to one folder at a time. Lear family papers in box 2 contain sensitive PII, including passports and social security numbers. |
Archival History |
Placed on deposit at the Portsmouth Athenaeum by the Wentworth-Gardner Historic House Association at an uknown date. |
People |
Atkinson, Joseph Clapp, Supply, 1742-1811 Coleman family Cotton, Leonard, 1800-1872 Gaines, George, c1736-1809 Hale, Samuel, 1718-1807 Hart, William, c1737-1812 Hoyt family King, George Langdon, William Lear family Lear, Calvin Davis, 1866-1945 Lear, Lydia Smith (Coleman), 1874-1943 Lear, Mary Louisa (Touchings), 1912-1994 Lear, Nathan W., c1828-1912 Lear, Nathan Warren Oliver, 1863-1900 Lear, Nathaniel, 1767-1824 Lear, Nathaniel, 1791-1868 Lear, Valentine Coleman, 1910-1995 Moses, Daniel, fl. 1752-1759 Neale, Walter, b. c1633 Robinson family Robinson, Enoch, d. 1753 Wentworth, John, 1737-1820 White family Wright, Thomas, d. c1754 |
Search Terms |
Lear, Tobias House (Hunking Street) Portsmouth (N.H.) Portsmouth High School Portsmouth High School Class of 1929 Portsmouth High School Class of 1930 Portsmouth Hospital (Junkins Ave.) Wentworth-Gardner Association (Portsmouth, N.H.) Wentworth-Gardner House (Mechanic Street) |
Subjects |
Birth certificates Churches Deeds England Epidemics Estates Families Genealogy Graduation ceremonies High school students Historic house museums History - World War, 1939-1945 Immigration Land Lawyers Louisbourg (Nova Scotia), Battle of, 1745 Marriage certificates Military campaigns New Hampshire New York Passports Pensions Pews and pew rights Politics and government Real property Records Selectmen Soldiers Taxes Town government Trade Wheat |