Genealogical Abstracts from the New Hampshire Mercury, 1784-1788

The New Hampshire Mercury newspaper was published weekly by Robert Gerrish from December 24, 1784 to March 12, 1788. His printing office was located on Congress Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Most of the local news related to Portsmouth; however, significant events in the remainder of New Hampshire, northern Massachusetts and southern Maine (which was part of Massachusetts at the time) were also reported. There are few reports of vital records. The majority of those reported were deaths with next of kin noted in most cases. Also, there were many articles relating to settlement of estates of the recently departed. Some marriages were reported along with the location and minister. Births were not reported. Most other articles do not contain such direct genealogical information; however, these articles contain a wide variety of information which may provide useful clues to a genealogist. These articles include such items as advertisements; lists of office holders; collectors of excise; reports of crimes; requests for town meetings; reports of runaways; results of elections; dissolutions of companies; announcements of new businesses; letters held at the post office; houses for sale and rent; announcements of public auction; fraternal organizations; meetings and members; announcements of rewards; business disputes; court actions; militia musters and orders; results of court martials; lists of military, civil and ecclesiastical departments; post rider schedules; and alarm lists. As Portsmouth was a significant port in the late 1700s, there were many articles relating to shipping. Some relate how vessels were shipwrecked. Others tell of ships being readied for sea. However, most of the articles relate to ships arriving or departing the harbor. These abstracts include the name of the vessel, the master's name and the port from which the vessel came or the port of next call. More than 600 articles are abstracted here. Each abstract ends with a citation indicating in which newspaper issue the article appeared. An every-name index is provided for easy reference. Information in the abstracts provides the reader not only valuable genealogical information, but also a general understanding of life in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the late 1700s.