Independent New Hampshire Journalism · Northfield, NHNew Hampshire’s request to the Continental Congress on October 18, 1775, came 79 days before the January 5, 1776, constitution at Exeter, whose preamble cites a recommendation from that Congress. The same date holds a governor’s railroad-bill veto in 1887 and a 1940 state Supreme Court ruling that upheld the refusal to count nomination signatures obtained by dishonesty.
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Five of the seven October 18 entries in this edition involve a New Hampshire government body or court. In 1775 the province asked the Continental Congress for advice on administering justice and regulating its civil police. In 1887 a governor vetoed a railroad bill. In 1940 the state Supreme Court upheld a refusal to count nomination signatures obtained by dishonesty, and in 1995 the justices said a pay-suspension bill for judges would breach the separation of powers. A Portsmouth-built warship, a probate court in Concord and a Portsmouth submarine later sunk on a trial dive fill out the date.
October 18, 1775
New Hampshire Asks the Continental Congress How to Govern Itself
On October 18, 1775, New Hampshire’s delegates to the Second Continental Congress laid part of their province’s instructions before the body. The instructions asked Congress for advice on “a Method for our Administering Justice, and regulating our civil Police,” in the wording John Adams set down in his autobiography.
Adams later recalled that he used the moment to argue that Congress should recommend that every colony call a convention and set up a regular government. By his account, Congress was not ready. It put the matter off to the following Monday, and more days passed without action. The editors of the Adams Papers note that Congress was deeply divided and caution that his recollection may be inaccurate.
Congress acted on November 3, 1775. A committee named on October 26, made up of John Rutledge, John Adams, Samuel Ward, Richard Henry Lee and Roger Sherman, reported a resolution that day. Congress recommended that New Hampshire call “a full and free representation of the people” and set up a government that would promote the people’s happiness and keep good order while the dispute with Great Britain lasted. According to the Adams Papers editors, moderates made sure the advice applied only until that dispute was settled.
A chronology published by the University of Wisconsin–Madison records that the Fifth Provincial Congress met in Exeter beginning December 21, 1775, and drafted a constitution. The finished document is dated at Exeter, January 5, 1776, and its preamble ties the step to a recommendation from the Continental Congress. With its adoption, the chronology says, the Fifth Provincial Congress became the House of Representatives.
Seventy-nine days separate the delegates’ request in Congress from the constitution adopted at Exeter.
October 18, 1867
A Portsmouth-Built Sloop Carries Russia’s Commissioners to Sitka
The wooden screw sloop Ossipee was laid down in June 1861 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard and launched on November 16, 1861. Her sponsor was Mrs. McFarland, wife of the editor of the Concord Statesman, according to the Navy’s Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. On September 27, 1867, Ossipee left San Francisco for Sitka carrying the Russian commissioners for the ceremony that transferred Alaska to the United States on October 18, 1867. The Navy history records the voyage and its purpose. It gives no account of the ship’s part in the ceremony itself.
October 18, 1887
Gov. Sawyer Vetoes the Hazen Railroad Bill
A Concord dispatch dated October 18, 1887, printed on the front page of the Daily Kennebec Journal the next day, reported that Gov. Charles H. Sawyer had vetoed the Hazen bill. His message reached the legislature at five o’clock that afternoon and was referred to the judiciary committee. The National Governors Association biography of Sawyer, who served from June 2, 1887, to June 6, 1889, lists the veto of the Hazen railroad bill among the events of his term. The dispatch does not say what the bill would have done.
October 18, 1913
A Concord Probate Court Names the Trustees of Mary Baker Eddy’s Fund
A Concord dispatch dated October 18, 1913, reported that the Merrimack County probate court had appointed trustees that day to administer the $3,000,000 fund Mary Baker Eddy left to promote and extend the doctrines of Christian Science. The dispatch, printed in the Topeka State Journal, called the appointment “the final act in the prolonged litigation” over her will. The court named the five men who made up the board of directors of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston: Archibald McLellan, Allison V. Stewart, John V. Dittemore, Adam H. Dickey and James A. Neal. It added Josiah E. Fernald, a Concord banker the dispatch described as the practical custodian of Eddy’s estate.
October 18, 1937
Portsmouth Lays the Keel of the Submarine Squalus
The Portsmouth Navy Yard laid down the submarine Squalus (SS-192) on October 18, 1937. She was launched on September 14, 1938, sponsored by Caroline Brownson Hart, wife of Rear Adm. Thomas C. Hart, and commissioned on March 1, 1939, with Lt. Oliver F. Naquin in command. On a trial dive on May 23, 1939, the main engine air induction valve failed and water poured into the after engine room. The boat sank stern first and came to rest in 240 feet of water. Twenty-six men trapped in the flooded after part of the boat were lost. A rescue chamber brought the 33 survivors, 32 crew members and one civilian, to the surface, the last seven shortly after midnight on May 25. The Navy renamed the boat Sailfish on February 9, 1940.
October 18, 1940
The State Supreme Court Upholds the Refusal to Count Signatures Obtained by Dishonesty
In Nelson v. Morse, 91 N.H. 177, decided October 18, 1940, according to the CourtListener case record, the New Hampshire Supreme Court took up a dispute over nomination papers directly, citing an emergency: ballots had to be prepared for the election at hand. The commissioners hearing the objections had ruled that signatures obtained through the dishonesty of the petitioners or their agents would not count toward the number required. In an unsigned opinion, the court called that ruling correct and held that the principle that “fraud vitiates whatever is done under its influence” inheres in the statute. It rejected the petitioners’ objections on timeliness, notice and the sufficiency of the evidence and dismissed the petitions. The opinion does not name the office or the party at issue.
October 18, 1995
The Justices Say a Pay-Suspension Bill for Judges Would Breach the Separation of Powers
On October 18, 1995, the justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued an advisory opinion on HB 586-FN, a bill that would have required the court to suspend the salary and benefits of any judge it suspended for misconduct, with the suspension time not counted toward retirement. The justices advised that the bill would violate the separation of powers under Part I, Article 37 of the state constitution, because its mandatory feature “impermissibly encroaches upon an exclusive judicial function.” They also advised that the court already holds discretion to suspend a judge’s pay as internal discipline. Justices David A. Brock, William F. Batchelder, William R. Johnson, W. Stephen Thayer III and Sherman D. Horton Jr. signed the opinion.
Your Turn
Tell us: Do you hold family papers, photographs or town records tied to any of these October 18 entries, from the Exeter congress of 1775 and 1776 to the Squalus crew? Write to granitestatereport@gmail.com, or call (603) 931-9264, and tell us what you have.
Fact check
| # | Claim | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | On October 18, 1775, New Hampshire’s delegates presented instructions asking Congress for advice on administering justice and regulating civil police. | VERIFIED | Papers of John Adams, editorial note on the Resolution on New Hampshire Government (Founders Online); Autobiography of John Adams, entry for October 18, 1775; the date also appears in the University of Wisconsin–Madison New Hampshire chronology |
| 2 | Adams later recalled urging that every colony form a government and that Congress delayed; the Adams Papers editors caution his recollection may be inaccurate. | ATTRIBUTED | Autobiography of John Adams (later recollection); Papers of John Adams editorial note |
| 3 | A committee named October 26 (Rutledge, Adams, Ward, Lee, Sherman) reported November 3, 1775; Congress recommended “a full and free representation of the people.” | VERIFIED | Papers of John Adams editorial note (Founders Online); UW–Madison chronology entry for November 3, 1775 |
| 4 | Moderates ensured the advice applied only until the dispute with Britain was settled. | ATTRIBUTED | Papers of John Adams editorial note |
| 5 | The Fifth Provincial Congress met in Exeter from December 21, 1775, drafted a constitution, and became the House of Representatives on its adoption January 5, 1776. | VERIFIED | UW–Madison New Hampshire chronology; Avalon Project text of the 1776 constitution, dated at Exeter, January 5, 1776 |
| 6 | The 1776 preamble ties the step to a recommendation from the Continental Congress. | VERIFIED | Avalon Project, Constitution of New Hampshire, 1776 |
| 7 | Ossipee was laid down June 1861 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, launched November 16, 1861, sponsored by Mrs. McFarland, wife of the Concord Statesman’s editor. | VERIFIED | Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS, Ossipee I |
| 8 | Ossipee left San Francisco September 27, 1867, carrying Russian commissioners for the October 18 transfer ceremony at Sitka. | VERIFIED | Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS, Ossipee I |
| 9 | A Concord dispatch dated October 18, 1887, reported Gov. Sawyer’s veto of the Hazen bill, the message arriving at 5 p.m. and going to the judiciary committee. | VERIFIED | Daily Kennebec Journal, October 19, 1887, page 1 (Library of Congress, Chronicling America) |
| 10 | Sawyer served June 2, 1887, to June 6, 1889; the Hazen railroad bill was vetoed during his term. | VERIFIED | National Governors Association, Charles Henry Sawyer biography |
| 11 | On October 18, 1913, the Merrimack County probate court appointed six trustees, named in the entry, to administer Eddy’s $3,000,000 fund. | VERIFIED | Topeka State Journal, October 18, 1913, page 7 (Library of Congress, Chronicling America) |
| 12 | Squalus was laid down October 18, 1937, at the Portsmouth Navy Yard; launch, sponsor and commissioning as stated. | VERIFIED | Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS, Squalus (SS-192) |
| 13 | On May 23, 1939, Squalus sank in 240 feet of water; 26 were lost and 33 survivors were brought up by rescue chamber; renamed Sailfish February 9, 1940. | VERIFIED | Naval History and Heritage Command, DANFS, Squalus (SS-192) |
| 14 | Nelson v. Morse, 91 N.H. 177, was decided October 18, 1940. | VERIFIED | CourtListener case record, date filed 1940-10-18, citations 91 N.H. 177 and 16 A.2d 61 |
| 15 | The court upheld the commissioners’ refusal to count signatures obtained by dishonesty and dismissed the petitions. | VERIFIED | Nelson v. Morse opinion text (CourtListener) |
| 16 | On October 18, 1995, the justices advised that HB 586-FN would violate Part I, Article 37, and that the court has discretion to suspend a judge’s pay; five justices signed. | VERIFIED | Opinion of the Justices, 140 N.H. 297 (CourtListener) |
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Related GSR coverage: October 17 in New Hampshire History; We Are Due for a Revolution. New Hampshire Wrote the Lawful One Into Its Constitution in 1784.; If the School Tax Cap Vote Is Close, the Law Doesn’t Say How the Ballots Get to the Recount.
Editor’s note. This edition draws on the Autobiography and Papers of John Adams (Founders Online, National Archives), the Avalon Project’s text of the 1776 New Hampshire constitution, a New Hampshire chronology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the Naval History and Heritage Command’s Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, the Daily Kennebec Journal and Topeka State Journal pages held by the Library of Congress, the National Governors Association, and New Hampshire Supreme Court opinions published by CourtListener. Images are from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. John Adams wrote his account of October 18, 1775, years after the fact, and the editors of his papers treat it with caution; this edition relies on their documented dates for the November 3 resolution.
Corrections: Granite State Report corrects verified errors promptly and appends a dated note identifying what changed and when. The corrections policy and the corrections register are public, and correction notes are never removed.
