Imagine That! opens May 6, but the Welcome Center and Museum Shop open April 1!
Welcome Center Opens April 1
The Discover Portsmouth Welcome Center & Museum Shop will be opening to the public on April 1! We’ll be staying open until 8pm for Art ‘Round Town, with Kevin Trainer and his new Gundalow board game on hand, and generally celebrating the arrival of spring!
Gundalow Campers’ Dad Invents Board Game!
Kevin Trainer, whose kids spent many happy weeks at Gundalow Company’s summer camps, heard from them that Gundalow staff were looking for activities that the children could do indoors when the weather is bad. “As an avid board-gamer myself, the idea of a creating a historical board game about gundalows that would be fun and educational was irresistible,” says Kevin. Initially, his plan was to make just a few rough copies using cardstock and simple components that the campers could use. But it turns out that campers and staffers were having so much fun at playing Gundalow: The Board Game of Trade and Adventure that Kevin decided to make it commercially available.
In GUNDALOW, each player is the captain of his/her own gundalow, earning money by trading goods and transporting passengers to the towns on Great Bay and the Piscataqua River. Players sail between towns on a board that uses a historical map of Seacoast New Hampshire. Kevin is donating a percentage of sales to Gundalow Co.
Looking for Volunteers!
We are always looking for more volunteers to spend a few hours with us each week, but today we’ve got a special request. The Development Office is looking for someone for 3 hours a week to help with general office work, special events, and mailings. If you are interested, please email Sue Ann Pearson, Director of Development at sueann@portsmouthhistory.org.
Photo by Ken Goldman
John Paul Jones House History
Part 3: Family in Mourning
by J. Dennis Robinson
Mourning ring for Gregory Purcell.
Gold, amethyst, hair.
Museum purchase with funds provided by Michael Kennedy, Karen Carpenter, Richard M. Candee, Tom McCarron, Louise Richardson, Mary Griffin, Brad Lown, and Reagan Ruedig (2015.004).
Sarah Purcell, mother of eight, was about 35 years old when her husband Gregory died on October 31, 1776. The date is clearly inscribed on a tiny gold “mourning ring” now in the collection of the Portsmouth Historical Society. Beneath a square embedded crystal on the ring is what appears to be a few strands of human hair. A detailed 1777 inventory of Captain Purcell’s possessions shows a wealth of items―from ceramics, fabrics, and furniture to shoe buckles and tea canisters. But Capt. Purcell’s death at age 49 left his family with a crushing debt that brought lingering lawsuits and liens on the family mansion at what is now the corner of State and Middle Streets. None of the inventoried items, many likely sold to pay off creditors, remained in the house now owned by the Portsmouth Historical Society.
A Purcell family prayer book, a mirror, and a table have been acquired since the building opened as a museum in 1920. The mourning ring, a fascinating link to the original owners of the house, may have been crafted in Portsmouth or Boston. The ring appeared at a local auction in 2020, and Society members quickly contributed to purchase it.
Once the prominent niece of New Hampshire’s royal governor and the wife of a seemingly wealthy sea captain, by 1777 Sarah Purcell found herself scrambling to find the funds to keep her house and support her children.
(…to be continued)
