Wentworth Cheswell
Encyclopedia
Wentworth Cheswell was an African-American teacher, American Revolutionary War
veteran, assessor
, audit
or, selectman
and Justice of the Peace
. He is considered by some the first African American elected to public office, as well as the first archaeologist in New Hampshire
, despite being perceived by local contemporaries as white.
. The senior Cheswell was a biracial housewright and carpenter
who worked mostly in the thriving city of Portsmouth
. Among other projects, Hopestill Cheswell helped build the Bell Tavern in 1743 on Congress Street and the John Paul Jones House
, a designated National Historic Landmark
originally owned by Captain Gregory Purcell. The Jones house was an example of classic mid-eighteenth century elite housing. The Jones House now serves as the Portsmouth Historical Society Museum. Active in local affairs, the father passed on his love and knowledge of house wrightmanship, agriculture and community involvement to his son.
Hopestill Cheswell was born free to a white mother and Richard Cheswell, an enslaved
laborer, in Exeter, New Hampshire
. (Because his mother was free, the boy was also free, according to the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, which was incorporated into slave law in the colonies.) His father Richard Cheswell gained his freedom and purchased 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of land from the Hilton Grant. The deed, dated 18 October 1717, is the earliest-known deed showing land ownership by a black man in present-day New Hampshire. The land was located in what was to become the town of Newmarket. Hopestill was the only known child of this marriage.
Hopestill Cheswell earned enough as a housewright to purchase a total of more than 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land between 1773 and 1749, which he farmed while working as a housewright. Later he had part ownership of a sawmill and stream in Durham, as well as "mill privilege" at another falls, to handle his need for lumber. His prosperity helped provide for his son's education.
Wentworth Cheswell attended Dummer Academy
in Byfield, Massachusetts
. There he studied with Harvard graduate William Moody, who taught Latin and Greek
, swimming, horsemanship, reading, writing, and arithmetic. Wentworth Cheswell’s education was, in the terms of the day, "an unusual privilege for a country boy of that time." (Savage)
. In 1765, he purchased his first parcel of land from his father. By early 1767, he was an established landowner and held a pew in the meetinghouse
.
on 13 September 1767. Eleven months later, the first of their 13 children was born. Their children were Paul (1768), Thomas (1770), Samuel (1772), Sarah (1774), Mary (1775), Elizabeth (1778), Nancy (1780), Mehitable (1782), William (1785), Daughter (1785), Martha (1788), Daughter (1792), and Abigail (1792).
, the citizens of Newmarket, including Cheswell, were unequivocally for the patriotic cause. In April of 1776, along with 162 other men, Cheswell signed the Association Test. Signatures of people were gathered to oppose the hostile proceedings of the British fleets and armies. The abundance of the returns gave the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence
assurance that their acts would be sanctioned and upheld by the country.
Cheswell was with the party who built rafts to defend Portsmouth Harbor
. He was elected town messenger for the Committee of Safety
, which entrusted him to carry news to and from the Provincial Committee at Exeter
. Paul Revere
rode into Portsmouth to alert defenders of the impending arrival of the British frigate Scarborough
and the Canseau sloop of war. Portsmouth asked for help from neighboring communities, thus prompting Newmarket to hold a town meeting. There, townsmen decided to send 30 armed men to Portsmouth to help. Cheswell rode to Exeter to receive instructions from the committee on where the men were to be sent. Cheswell rode North as Paul Revere
rode West, where the British eventually went, causing Cheswell to be unknown for his accomplishments in the midnight ride.
It was on 15 December 1774 that Paul Revere rode to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to warn the town that British warships were on their way to attack Ft. William and Mary in Portsmouth. Paul Revere and William Dawes began their ride to Lexington on 18 April 1775. Four months apart, the two rides, to Portsmouth and to Lexington, had nothing to do with each other. The remainder of the story of the heroic actions of Wentwsorth Cheswell, the ride to Exeter for instructions, building the rafts, etc. is true, except for the dates.
Cheswell enlisted in the cause on 29 September 1777. He served under Colonel John Langdon
in a select company of "men of rank and position", called Langdon's Company of Light Horse Volunteers
, to bolster the Continental Army
at the Saratoga campaign
. His only military service ended 31 October 1777. Like many men, he served for a limited time, as he had to support his family and friends.
In 1776, the town elected five men to regulate the schools in town. Cheswell was one of them, thus becoming one of Newmarket’s first school board
members and the first African American elected to public office.
He has been called the first archeologist
in the state. The scholars W. Dennis Chesley and Mary B. Mcallister have said, "Cheswill's writings clearly contain the seeds of modern archaeological theory. His eighteenth century fieldwork and reports, limited though they were, justify calling him New Hampshire's first archaeologist."
In 1801, Cheswell and other men established the first library
in Newmarket, the Newmarket Social Library. Of the estates of men who started the library, Cheswell's was valued the highest at over $13,000. In his will he stated, "I also order and direct that my Library and collection of Manuscripts be kept safe and together…if any should desire the use of any of the books and give caution to return the same again in reasonable time, they may be lent out to them, provided that only one book be out of said Library in the hands of any one at the same time." He was a subscriber to Jeremy Belknap
's three-volume History of New Hampshire. Belknap quoted Cheswell more than once at length, and they corresponded several times.
Cheswell was a self-appointed town historian. He copied all of the town records, including two regional Congregational Church
meetings. He collected stories and took notes of town events as they occurred. Still intact, his original work is kept in the Milne Special Collections and Archives at the University of New Hampshire
's Dimond Library.
Cheswell’s writing ability and legal knowledge were likely why his townsmen's supported him as Justice of the Peace for Rockingham County
. Cheswell was responsible for executing deeds, wills, legal documents and was a justice in the trial of causes. He served as Justice from 1805 until his death in 1817.
In 1820, shortly after Cheswell died, New Hampshire Senator David L. Morril
used him as a positive example in a speech to the United States Congress
regarding the damage of discriminatory racial legislation. Morril opposed a bill to forbid persons of mixed race
to enter or become citizens of the black community of Missouri
. In his speech Morril noted, "In New Hampshire there was a yellow man by the name of Cheswell [sic], who, with his family, were respectable in points of abilities, property and character. He held some of the first offices in the town in which he resided, was appointed Justice of the Peace for that county, and was perfectly competent to perform with ability all the duties of his various offices in the most prompt, accurate, and acceptable manner." Angrily, Morril added, "But this family are forbidden to enter and live in Missouri."
In his will, Cheswell requested that "the burying place in the orchard near my dwelling house be fenced with rocks, as I have laid out (if I should not live to finish it) and grave stones be provided for the graves therein…." On 8 March 1817, Wentworth Cheswell died from typhus
fever.
His daughter Martha, as his last surviving heir, willed to provide
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
veteran, assessor
Assessor (law)
In some jurisdictions, an assessor is a judge's or magistrate's assistant. This is in fact the historical meaning of this word.-By country:In Denmark, it was the former title given to Supreme Court judges. Today the title is given to Deputy Judges...
, audit
Audit
The general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, enterprise, project or product. The term most commonly refers to audits in accounting, but similar concepts also exist in project management, quality management, and energy conservation.- Accounting...
or, selectman
Board of selectmen
The board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...
and Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
. He is considered by some the first African American elected to public office, as well as the first archaeologist in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, despite being perceived by local contemporaries as white.
Early life and education
Wentworth was the only child born to Hopestill Cheswell, a free black, and his wife, Catherine (née Keniston) Cheswell, who was white, in Newmarket, New HampshireNewmarket, New Hampshire
Newmarket is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 8,936 at the 2010 census. Some residents are students and employees at the nearby University of New Hampshire in Durham....
. The senior Cheswell was a biracial housewright and carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
who worked mostly in the thriving city of Portsmouth
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
. Among other projects, Hopestill Cheswell helped build the Bell Tavern in 1743 on Congress Street and the John Paul Jones House
John Paul Jones House
The John Paul Jones House was the home of Captain Gregory Purcell and his wife in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. They had it built in 1758 and Purcell lived there until his death in 1776. The widow Purcell then took in boarders. American naval hero John Paul Jones rented a room during 1781-1782...
, a designated National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
originally owned by Captain Gregory Purcell. The Jones house was an example of classic mid-eighteenth century elite housing. The Jones House now serves as the Portsmouth Historical Society Museum. Active in local affairs, the father passed on his love and knowledge of house wrightmanship, agriculture and community involvement to his son.
Hopestill Cheswell was born free to a white mother and Richard Cheswell, an enslaved
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
laborer, in Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...
. (Because his mother was free, the boy was also free, according to the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, which was incorporated into slave law in the colonies.) His father Richard Cheswell gained his freedom and purchased 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of land from the Hilton Grant. The deed, dated 18 October 1717, is the earliest-known deed showing land ownership by a black man in present-day New Hampshire. The land was located in what was to become the town of Newmarket. Hopestill was the only known child of this marriage.
Hopestill Cheswell earned enough as a housewright to purchase a total of more than 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land between 1773 and 1749, which he farmed while working as a housewright. Later he had part ownership of a sawmill and stream in Durham, as well as "mill privilege" at another falls, to handle his need for lumber. His prosperity helped provide for his son's education.
Wentworth Cheswell attended Dummer Academy
The Governor's Academy
The Governor's Academy is an independent school located on in the village of Byfield, Massachusetts, United States ; north of Boston. The Academy enrolls approximately 385 students in grades nine through twelve, 70% of whom are boarders...
in Byfield, Massachusetts
Byfield, Massachusetts
Byfield is a village in the town of Newbury, in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It borders West Newbury, Georgetown, and Rowley. It is located about 30 miles north-northeast of Boston, along Interstate 95, about 10 miles south of the border between New Hampshire and...
. There he studied with Harvard graduate William Moody, who taught Latin and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, swimming, horsemanship, reading, writing, and arithmetic. Wentworth Cheswell’s education was, in the terms of the day, "an unusual privilege for a country boy of that time." (Savage)
Early career
After completing his education, Wentworth Cheswell returned to Newmarket to become a schoolmasterSchoolmaster
A schoolmaster, or simply master, once referred to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British public schools, but is generally obsolete elsewhere.The teacher in charge of a school is the headmaster...
. In 1765, he purchased his first parcel of land from his father. By early 1767, he was an established landowner and held a pew in the meetinghouse
Meeting house
A meeting house describes a building where a public meeting takes place. This includes secular buildings which function like a town or city hall, and buildings used for religious meetings, particularly of some non-conformist Christian denominations....
.
Marriage and family
Cheswell married 17-year-old Mary Davis of Durham, New HampshireDurham, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,664 people, 2,882 households, and 1,582 families residing in the town. The population density was 565.5 people per square mile . There were 2,923 housing units at an average density of 130.5 per square mile...
on 13 September 1767. Eleven months later, the first of their 13 children was born. Their children were Paul (1768), Thomas (1770), Samuel (1772), Sarah (1774), Mary (1775), Elizabeth (1778), Nancy (1780), Mehitable (1782), William (1785), Daughter (1785), Martha (1788), Daughter (1792), and Abigail (1792).
Revolutionary War
During the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, the citizens of Newmarket, including Cheswell, were unequivocally for the patriotic cause. In April of 1776, along with 162 other men, Cheswell signed the Association Test. Signatures of people were gathered to oppose the hostile proceedings of the British fleets and armies. The abundance of the returns gave the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
assurance that their acts would be sanctioned and upheld by the country.
Cheswell was with the party who built rafts to defend Portsmouth Harbor
Piscataqua River
The Piscataqua River, in the northeastern United States, is a long tidal estuary formed by the confluence of the Salmon Falls and Cocheco rivers...
. He was elected town messenger for the Committee of Safety
Committee of Safety (American Revolution)
Many Committees of Safety were established throughout Colonial America at the start of the American Revolution. These committees started to appear in the 1760s as means to discuss the concerns of the time, and often consisted of every male adult in the community...
, which entrusted him to carry news to and from the Provincial Committee at Exeter
Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...
. Paul Revere
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
rode into Portsmouth to alert defenders of the impending arrival of the British frigate Scarborough
Scarborough (ship)
'Scarborough' was a transport ship of 430 tons, built at Scarborough in 1782. She formed part of the First Fleet, which commenced European settlement of Australia in 1788....
and the Canseau sloop of war. Portsmouth asked for help from neighboring communities, thus prompting Newmarket to hold a town meeting. There, townsmen decided to send 30 armed men to Portsmouth to help. Cheswell rode to Exeter to receive instructions from the committee on where the men were to be sent. Cheswell rode North as Paul Revere
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
rode West, where the British eventually went, causing Cheswell to be unknown for his accomplishments in the midnight ride.
It was on 15 December 1774 that Paul Revere rode to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to warn the town that British warships were on their way to attack Ft. William and Mary in Portsmouth. Paul Revere and William Dawes began their ride to Lexington on 18 April 1775. Four months apart, the two rides, to Portsmouth and to Lexington, had nothing to do with each other. The remainder of the story of the heroic actions of Wentwsorth Cheswell, the ride to Exeter for instructions, building the rafts, etc. is true, except for the dates.
Cheswell enlisted in the cause on 29 September 1777. He served under Colonel John Langdon
John Langdon
John Langdon was a politician from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and one of the first two United States senators from that state. Langdon was an early supporter of the Revolutionary War and later served in the Continental Congress...
in a select company of "men of rank and position", called Langdon's Company of Light Horse Volunteers
Langdon's Company of Light Horse Volunteers
Langdon's Company of Light Horse Volunteers was formed on July 21, 1777 at Portsmouth, New Hampshire for Gen. John Stark's Brigade gathering at Charlestown, New Hampshire during the Saratoga Campaign. The company was formed by picked volunteers from other New Hampshire militia units. The company...
, to bolster the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
at the Saratoga campaign
Saratoga campaign
The Saratoga Campaign was an attempt by Great Britain to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War...
. His only military service ended 31 October 1777. Like many men, he served for a limited time, as he had to support his family and friends.
Local leader
After his service in the war, Cheswell returned to Newmarket and continued his work in local affairs. He also ran a store next to the school house. Cheswell’s career as a teacher was short lived, but he never stopped being concerned for the educational welfare of Newmarket’s children.In 1776, the town elected five men to regulate the schools in town. Cheswell was one of them, thus becoming one of Newmarket’s first school board
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
members and the first African American elected to public office.
He has been called the first archeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
in the state. The scholars W. Dennis Chesley and Mary B. Mcallister have said, "Cheswill's writings clearly contain the seeds of modern archaeological theory. His eighteenth century fieldwork and reports, limited though they were, justify calling him New Hampshire's first archaeologist."
In 1801, Cheswell and other men established the first library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
in Newmarket, the Newmarket Social Library. Of the estates of men who started the library, Cheswell's was valued the highest at over $13,000. In his will he stated, "I also order and direct that my Library and collection of Manuscripts be kept safe and together…if any should desire the use of any of the books and give caution to return the same again in reasonable time, they may be lent out to them, provided that only one book be out of said Library in the hands of any one at the same time." He was a subscriber to Jeremy Belknap
Jeremy Belknap
Jeremy Belknap was an American clergyman and historian. His great achievement was the "History of New Hampshire", published in three volumes between 1784 and 1792. This work is the first modern history written by an American, embodying a new rigor in research, annotation, and reporting.Jeremy was...
's three-volume History of New Hampshire. Belknap quoted Cheswell more than once at length, and they corresponded several times.
Cheswell was a self-appointed town historian. He copied all of the town records, including two regional Congregational Church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
meetings. He collected stories and took notes of town events as they occurred. Still intact, his original work is kept in the Milne Special Collections and Archives at the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
's Dimond Library.
Cheswell’s writing ability and legal knowledge were likely why his townsmen's supported him as Justice of the Peace for Rockingham County
Rockingham County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 277,359 people, 104,529 households, and 74,320 families residing in the county. The population density was 399 people per square mile . There were 113,023 housing units at an average density of 163 per square mile...
. Cheswell was responsible for executing deeds, wills, legal documents and was a justice in the trial of causes. He served as Justice from 1805 until his death in 1817.
In 1820, shortly after Cheswell died, New Hampshire Senator David L. Morril
David L. Morril
David Lawrence Morril graduated from Dartmouth College and later received his law degree from the University of Vermont. He was an American physician and clergyman and lived for a time in Goffstown, New Hampshire. He served as a U.S...
used him as a positive example in a speech to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
regarding the damage of discriminatory racial legislation. Morril opposed a bill to forbid persons of mixed race
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
to enter or become citizens of the black community of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. In his speech Morril noted, "In New Hampshire there was a yellow man by the name of Cheswell [sic], who, with his family, were respectable in points of abilities, property and character. He held some of the first offices in the town in which he resided, was appointed Justice of the Peace for that county, and was perfectly competent to perform with ability all the duties of his various offices in the most prompt, accurate, and acceptable manner." Angrily, Morril added, "But this family are forbidden to enter and live in Missouri."
In his will, Cheswell requested that "the burying place in the orchard near my dwelling house be fenced with rocks, as I have laid out (if I should not live to finish it) and grave stones be provided for the graves therein…." On 8 March 1817, Wentworth Cheswell died from typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
fever.
His daughter Martha, as his last surviving heir, willed to provide
"the burying yard at my farm as now fenced in, for a burying place for all my connections and their descendants forever…on the express condition that they and their heirs and assigns shall forever maintain and support the fence around said burying yard in as good condition as it now is."In accordance with their wishes, over the last several years, friends and family have restored or replicated the gravestones. Some descendants have recently discovered their heritage and connection to the Cheswells.
Further reading
- Fitts, James Hill. History of Newfields, NH, Volumes 1 and 2 (1912).
- George, Nellie Palmer. Old Newmarket (1932).
- Getchell, Sylvia (Fitts). The Tide Turns on the Lamprey: A History of Newmarket, NH. (1984).
- Harvey, Joseph. An Unchartered Town: Newmarket on the Lamprey-Historical Notes and Personal Sketches.
- The Granite Monthly. Volume XL, Nos. 2 and 3. New Series, Volume 3, Nos. 2 and 3 (February and March, 1908).
- Knoblock, Glenn A. "Strong and Brave Fellows", New Hampshire’s Black Soldiers and Sailors of the American Revolution, 1775-1784 (2003).
- Tuveson, Erik R. A People of Color: A Study of Race and Racial Identification in New Hampshire, 1750-1825. Thesis for M.A. in History (May 1995). Available at library of the University of New Hampshire.