By Research Librarian Jessica Zaricki
On Monday, September 22, 2025, I held a library instruction session in the Shaw Research Library for the Portsmouth High School (PHS) Honors History class focusing on some of History’s Mysteries. The group of 15 seniors, led by teacher Maya Glos, spent the first part of September reading the novel The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve, examining the underlying history of the 1873 murders at Smuttynose, and preparing to write their own piece of historical fiction based on the events.
This summer, I met with Maya and High School Librarian Heather Hanson to determine how we at the Athenaeum could offer additional support to this brand-new class. We set the students up with transcripts and pretrial documentation from Louis Wagner’s trial, as well as the article “A Memorable Murder,” written by Celia Thaxter and published in The Atlantic. But we also wanted to give the class the opportunity to dig into records and information they might not be able to find online through a web search or a database.
During the course of their visit, the class explored a variety of primary resource materials we hold in our collection, including pamphlets, maps, and contemporary newspaper articles from the 1873 Daily Chronicle and the 1875 Evening Times. Neither of the newspapers is reliably indexed and available online, requiring us to know pertinent dates and dig through each issue of the paper in search of coverage. We discussed some of the differences between modern newspaper reporting and that of 150 years ago, and how these differences might affect public opinion regarding the murders, the trial, and the execution. We also discussed how these different resources might be used in the development of their own fictional narrative.
The students were engaged and interested in the different source materials, giving particular focus to the many advertisements placed in both the Chronicle and the Times. They also had a variety of questions about the other types of research done at the Athenaeum, including house history research and genealogy. Don’t be surprised if you see some return later in the year for their own personal research!
IMAGES: Courtesy of PHS Librarian Heather Hanson.
