[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12689]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING WENTWORTH CHESWILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bradley) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay 
tribute to Wentworth Cheswill, the founding father of Newmarket, New 
Hampshire.
  On June 25, descendents of Wentworth Cheswill will gather in 
Newmarket to pay tribute to him and his contributions to the town of 
Newmarket. Wentworth served his town in varied capacity every year from 
1768 to 1817, including terms as town selectman, justice of the peace 
and town assessor. During the Revolutionary War, Wentworth acted as the 
town's messenger, delivering messages between Exeter and Newmarket in a 
duty quite similar to Paul Revere's. As the town scrivener, he hand-
copied the town's records, which date back to 1727. These town records 
remain a part of Newmarket Historical Society's collection.
  Born on April 11, 1746, in Newmarket, the son of Hopestill March and 
Catherine Kennison Cheswill was named in honor of Governor Wentworth. 
Two accounts describe him as ``colored'' as it was reported that his 
grandfather, a former slave named Richard Cheswill, had married a 
daughter of the Wentworths of Portsmouth. This union was considered a 
disgrace to the Wentworth family, who sent them away to the woods of 
New Hampshire. It is in part because of his African American lineage 
that Wentworth truly stands out as a leader in diversity and equality 
in my State of New Hampshire.
  In 1768, Wentworth became active in Newmarket town affairs at the age 
of 22. His first appointed position was as justice of the peace that 
same year, and he went on to serve as town auditor, coroner and 
moderator.
  The Massachusetts Historical Society has in its collection a document 
that is thought to be the earliest archaeological report from New 
Hampshire. Coauthored by Mr. Cheswill, this report was later sent to 
the Reverend Jeremy Belknap of Boston to be included in his history of 
New Hampshire. The undated document is believed to be written in 1790 
or 1791 and details the aboriginal artifacts and relics he had 
recovered in the area surrounding Newmarket.
  Many historians agree that Wentworth's writing contains the seeds of 
modern archaeological theory. Despite the limited scope of Wentworth's 
writing, scholars defend his title as New Hampshire's first 
archaeologist.
  Wentworth stands for all we admired about our Founding Fathers, 
integrity, dedication and resolve. Wentworth's legacy has gone 
uncelebrated for far too long. It is due to the hard work of his 
descendants and Mr. Rich Alperin, president of the Newmarket Historical 
Society, that his contributions have finally come to light. I thank 
everyone for their involvement in restoring Wentworth's legacy to its 
rightful place in New Hampshire history.

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