Portsmouth Historical Society Records – MS023*
Provenance: Placed on deposit by the Portsmouth Historical Society in July 1991. A small amount of material (ca. 1940s) was found in the collections of the Portsmouth Athenaeum and has been intergrated. Also placed on deposit were the Portsmouth Historical Society Collection (MS022), New Castle Bridge Association Records (MS024), Tredick and Brewster Family Papers (MS019), and the Portsmouth Historical Society Photograph Collection (P018).
Citation: Portsmouth Historical Society Records, MS023, on deposit at the Portsmouth Athenaeum
Size: 3 1/2 Hollinger boxes (1.3 linear feet)
Access: No restrictions
Processed by: Carolyn Eastman in January 1992
Historical Note
The Portsmouth Historical Society was established in 1917 “to preserve, collect and perpetuate…any and all of [Portsmouth’s] historical facts, traditions, biography, features, and possessions which may seem desirable, feasible, and possible.” (from the Act of Incorporation). Soon after its incorporation the Society, using funds given by Woodbury Langdon, purchased the John Paul Jones House from the Granite State Insurance Co.; the house opened for tours in 1920. The Portsmouth Historical Society is supported by the dues of its members and admission sales for house tours.
Summary
The records of the Portsmouth Historical Society, established in 1917, located at the John Paul Jones House in Portsmouth. Primarily the records of the house and its summer visitors, and the correspondence and receipts relating to the collections of the Society: manuscripts, photogrpahs, objects, paintings, furniture, etc. Also included are thr Act of Incorporation, some financial and investment material, and printed matter.
Box 1
Folder 1 Act of Incorporation, 1917
Folder 2-7 Correspondence, 1891-1990
Folder 8 Correspondence regarding Woodbury Langdon donation, 1903-1939
Folder 9 Correspondence & donation lists from Annie D. Ferree, 1928-1942
Folder 10 Correspondence about the Ship Ranger, 1957-1958
Folder 11 Correspondence on placing the John Paul Jones House on the National Register, 1972
Folder 12 Meeting Minutes and notes for Annual Meeting, 1944, 1946, 1986
Folder 13 Membership Lists, 1944-1988
Folder 14 Presidents’ and Curator’s letters to membership, 1984-1989
Folder 15 Newsletter, January 1983
Folder 16-17 House Records notebooks, 1959-1965
Folder 18-21 House Records, 1966-1982
Folder 22 Attendance Reports, 1960-1965
Folder 23 Bills, Receipts, and Estimates, 1945-1989
Folder 24 Investment Records, 1920-1983
Folder 25 Lists of stolen items, 1961, 1971
Folder 26 Printed material, 1919- ca. 1978
Folder 27 Suggested Plan for Joint Operation of Historic Houses in Portsmouth, n. d.
Box 2
Folder 1-2 Guest registers, 1920-1929
Box 3
Folder 1-4 Guest registers, 1929-1964
Box 4
Folder 1-4 Guest registers, 1964-1981
Additon in 1998
Folder of miscellaneous correspondence and minutes, 1997