New Hampshire -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775; Portsmouth (N.H.) -- Social life and customs
The mansion at Little Harbor is not the only historic house that bears
the name of Wentworth. On Pleasant Street, at the head of Washington
Street, stands the abode of another colonial worthy, Governor John
Wentworth, who held office from 1767 down to the moment when the
colonies dropped the British yoke as if it had been the letter H. For
the moment the good gentleman’s occupation was gone. He was a royalist
of the most florid complexion. In 1775, a man named John Fenton, and
ex-captain in the British army, who had managed to offend the Sons of
Liberty, was given sanctuary in this house by the governor, who refused
to deliver the fugitive to the people. The mob planted a small cannon
(unloaded) in front of the doorstep and threatened to open fire if
Fenton were not forthcoming. He forth-with came. The family vacated
the premises via the back-yard, and the mob entered, doing considerable
damage. The broken marble chimney-place still remains, mutely protesting
against the uncalled-for violence. Shortly after this event the governor
made his way to England, where his loyalty was rewarded first with a
governorship and then with a pension of L500. He was governor of Nova
Scotia from 1792 to 1800, and died in Halifax in 1820. This house is
one of the handsomest old dwellings in the town, and promises to
outlive many of its newest neighbors. The parlor has undergone no change
whatever since the populace rushed into it over a century ago. The
furniture and adornments occupy their original positions and the plush
on the walls has not been replaced by other hangings. In the hall--deep
enough for the traditional duel of baronial romance--are full-length
portraits of the several governors and sundry of their kinsfolk.
There is yet a third Wentworth house, also decorated with the shade of
a colonial governor--there were three Governors Wentworth--but we shall
pass it by, though out of no lack of respect for that high official
personage whose commission was signed by Joseph Addison, Esq., Secretary
of State under George I.
V. OLD STRAWBERRY BANK
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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