Black Heroes: Wentworth Cheswell, the Black Man Who Joined With Revere, was written by Tony Evans.
In New Hampshire, he was a teacher and a Revolutionary War veteran.He was of mixed race and was listed in the census as white.He served in local government until his death, but he was elected to other positions every year.
George Mason University believes that Cheswell is the first African American elected to public office in the history of the United States.He bought a piece of land from his father around the time of his marriage.Richard is thought to be the first African American in New Hampshire to own land.In 1717, Richard purchased 20 acres from the Hilton grant.In his will, the founder of the first library in the town provided for public access to his personal library.
There was only one child born in New Hampshire and it was a black man and a white woman.The senior Cheswell was a master housewright and carpenter who worked in the city of Pompey.The Bell Tavern was built in 1743 on Congress Street and the John Paul Jones House was originally owned by Captain Gregory Purcell.The Jones house was a classic example of elite housing.The Jones House was a museum for many years.The Samuel Langdon House is a central exhibit demonstrating 18th-century construction technology.[4]
The first Cheswell to be recorded in New England was born to a white mother and an indentured black man.According to the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, the boy was free because his mother's status was incorporated into slave law in the colonies.Richard Cheswell bought 20 acres of land from the Hilton Grant.The earliest known deed shows land ownership by a black man in New Hampshire.The town of Newmarket was to be located on the land.Hopestill was the only child of this union.[3]
Between 1773 and 1749, Hopestill Cheswell purchased a total of more than 100 acres (40 ha) of land, which he farmed while working as a housewright.He owned a sawmill and stream in Durham, New Hampshire, as well as "mill privilege" at another falls, to handle his need for lumber.His prosperity provided for his son's education.[3]
Governor Dummer Academy is in Byfield, Massachusetts.The youth studied with the Harvard graduate William Moody who taught the classical subjects of Latin and Greek, reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as swimming and horsemanship.
The education of the youth in the first three generations of Cheswells was noted in Tuveson's thesis.
It was an unusual privilege for a country boy.Few people of the colonial era were educated due to cost and lack of public schools.There was a high degree of elite social status in colonial New England.[4]
After completing his education, Cheswell returned to his hometown to become a schoolmaster.He bought his first piece of land from his father.He held a pew in the meetinghouse and owned more than 30 acres.He owned 114 acres by 1770.[5]
After being first elected to public office as the town constable in 1768, he went on to serve as a town selectman, auditor, and other positions until his death in 1817.The first African American elected to public office in the history of the United States was declared in 2008 by George Mason University.He was preceded by Alexander Twilight of Vermont, Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina, and John Mercer Langston of Virginia.
Mary Davis was 17 years old when she was married to Cheswell.The first of their 13 children was born eleven months later.Their children were: Paul (1768), Thomas (1770), Samuel (1772), Sarah (1774), Mary (1775), Elizabeth (1778), Nancy (1780), Mehitable (1782), William (1785), a daughter.
Thomas Cheswell became a deacon after attending the academy.Thomas' wife and children are buried in a cemetery.[5]
During the American Revolutionary War, the citizens of Newmarket were for the cause.In April 1776, along with 162 other men, he signed the Association Test.The British fleets and armies were considered hostile by the people who collected signatures.The signers of the Declaration of Independence were reassured by the abundance of returns that their acts would be upheld.
He was elected town messenger for the Committee of Safety, which gave him the responsibility of carrying news to and from the Provincial Committee.The British warships were on their way to reinforce Fort William and Mary when Paul Revere was sent to warn the town.Newmarket held a town meeting to decide on their response to Portsmouth's request for help.30 armed men were voted on by the townsmen.The Provincial committee gave instructions for where the men would be sent.The party built rafts to defend the harbor.There is a citation needed.
On the morning of 14 December 1774, John Langdon made his way through Pompey with a drummer, gathering a crowd to descend on the fort.Hundreds of men responded to his call and set out for The Castle.100 barrels of gun powder, light cannons, and small arms were removed by the colonists.At the Siege of Boston, captured supplies were used by New Hampshire's forces.
The Continental Army at the Saratoga campaign was aided by the work of the "Langdon's Company of Light Horse Volunteers".The first major American victory in the Revolution came at the Battle of Saratoga, when the Light Horse Volunteers defeated British General John Burgoyne.31 October 1777 is when the only military service in Cheswell ended.His family was dependent on him for support, so he served for a limited time.
After the war, he returned to work in town affairs.He ran a store next to the school house.As a teacher, Cheswell supported his family and was elected to serve in local government for the rest of his life as a selectman, auditor, scrivener, and other roles.He was elected to the convention to draft New Hampshire's first constitution, but he was unable to attend.[7]
He has been called the first archeologist in New Hampshire for his work and he was interested in artifacts from the town."Cheswell's writings clearly contain the seeds of modern archaeological theory," said W. Dennis Chesley and Mary B. Mcallister.He was called New Hampshire's first archaeologist because of his limited fieldwork and reports.The New Hampshire Archaeological Society has not officially bestowed the honor on him.[8]
The first library in Newmarket was established by the men in the 19th century.The highest value of the estates of men who started the library was over $13,000.He stated in his will.
I 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[6]
He was a town historian.He copied many of the town records from 1727.He took notes of town events and collected stories.The author of the History of New Hampshire credited the man with his local histories more than once.They exchanged messages several times.
In 1805, Cheswell was elected as the Justice of the Peace.He was a justice in the trial of causes in that position.He died of typhus on March 8, 1817, a month before his 71st birthday.[5]