3,000 pages of untold Laconia history

City woman transcribes journals of Jeremiah Jewett (1822-1909)

Jeremiah S. Jewett, who lived from 1822 to 1909, played a large role in the histories of both Laconia and the Grafton County township of Warren. He lived during a period of time in which the country was in turmoil and human life was frail and fleeting. Through it all, the eloquent and reflective Jewett kept a journal, which he wrote in every day for five decades.

The journals describe Jewett's family life, his three careers and a the mundanities of daily life, as well as the current events of the day. Brenda Polidoro, of Laconia, began transcribing Jewett's journal two and a half years ago, and she and Laconia Museum and Historical Society plan to publish the transcribed journals as a book.

Polidoro said she never had much interest in history. The project came about by coincidence, and started as a mystery. She was at the library, discussing a work of historic fiction, and was overheard by Judy Loto-Livingston, who was then director of the Historical and Museum Society. Loto-Livingston heard something in Polidoro's voice, and she recruited her to examine a stunning donation that the society had just received from Mary Orton: 3,000 legal-size pages of a journal covering 50 years of a man's life. Once she started reading, Polidoro said, she "got into his life" and found herself compelled to keep reading.

It helped that there was a bit of a mystery involved, which was that there was no clear indication in the journal of who the author was. It had been passed from family member to family member, and along the way the identity of the author was lost. At times when Jeremiah was unable to, Harriet Jewett, his wife, would write for him, but would only refer to her husband as "Mr. Jewett."

Then, in one of the entries, Jewett refers to a son, Martin, who was born in Lakeport on January 24, 1855. So then, with a first and last name, and a place and date of birth, Polidoro went to the library to search for a record of Martin Jewett's birth. She instead found his death certificate, as Martin had died of an acute intestinal condition in 1873.

From the death certificate, Polidoro gleaned a scrap of a detail: Martin's father was listed as "J. S. Jewett." However, she also found in the certificate that Martin was buried in the Warren cemetery.

One day in December, 2006, Polidoro and her family, husband Jack and kids John and Stephanie, found themselves trudging through knee-deep snow in Warren's oldest cemetery. It was Stephanie that found Martin's resting place, and within seconds Polidoro found herself standing in front of Jeremiah's grave, too, alongside Harriet and their adopted daughter Nellie and granddaughter Suzie.

For a month, Polidoro had been poring over the man's daily thoughts, and to simultaneously find his name, family and final resting place brought tears to Polidoro's eyes. "He is such an intriguing man. To be able to find his identity is very touching."

Jewett was born in the community then known as "Meredith Bridge," much of which later became Laconia. His early career was as a railroad man, starting in 1845 as a surveyor and engineer, and from 1848 to 1863 he helped to build railroad structures and shops in Lakeport. He married Harriet in 1842, who gave birth to Martin in 1855.

Jewett moved to Warren in 1863, where he operated the town's General Store with various partners until 1888. The store housed the area's first telegraph office, which allowed Jewett to stay informed on the latest news of the country and community. He also served as the Postmaster of the post office located in the store.

Martin died in 1873, while he was studying at the Tilton Seminary, with the goal of becoming ordained as a Methodist minister. Jewett, inspired by his son's passion and faith, decided that he would become a minister if his son couldn't, and he was ordained in 1878.

All of these happenings, and others, are described in Jewett's journals. He wrote a total of 10, but the collection the historical society has only includes journals two through eight. The first and last journal are missing, and Polidoro hopes they'll surface soon, she hopes in the same excellent condition that the rest are in.

He probably never imagined that it would be a century after his death that the journals would be read, but he did intend for someone to read them, explicitly saying so in the entries. "He wanted someone to gain something from it," said Polidoro. Initially he wrote that he wanted his son, Martin, to have the journals as a way to understand his father's actions and decisions. After his son's death, though, he kept writing, never missing a day.

After vicariously living Jewett's life, Polidoro said there are some striking differences between the city that Jewett resided in and the one today's residents know. Firstly, she was struck by how community-centered their lives were, and how the churches were the centers of the community. "Everything revolved around church. They were at church three or four times a day. It was such a community then because everyone was together so often — they really helped each other out."

Jewett's daily tasks, as described in his journals, reflect a time when people did themselves what the contemporary citizen would turn to a specialist for. Besides his professional duties as surveyor, postmaster, or reverend, Jewett also wrote legal documents such as deeds, operated a farm and even performed dental work on his friends and family members.

One thing that always came through in his journals was that Jewett's actions and decisions were driven by a strong moral code, one in which service to his fellow man was paramount. "He truly wanted to do good. If he could help somebody out, he would. It was as simple as that."

That part of Jewett's character was attractive to Polidoro, as was his devotion to his family. "Family was very important. No matter what else was going on, family always came first."

The same interest has shaped Polidoro's life. She left a position as vice-president of Franklin Savings Bank for a lesser demanding job at Laconia Eye Associates so that she could more spend time with her children and husband.

Jewett likely would have approved of that decision. There was yet one more connection between the two, though. Polidoro lives in a house on Pleasant Street that was built in the 1800s, by a woman named Harriet Gale. Gale was a friend of Jewett's, and he writes in his journal of visiting her at her home. For Polidoro, this connection is more than coincidence. "This was supposed to be my project. I really believe that."

Jewett became such a large part of Polidoro's life, and her family's life by extension, that there is even a photograph of Jewett on the family's mantle, accompanying the other familial photographs.

Polidoro felt a sense of loss when she finished transcribing Jewett's journals. Well, when one project is through, it's time to start the next one. Jewett's brother took a journey to South America, which he also documented by a journal. Polidoro has checked that journal out, and, like Jeremiah's journals, it is in excellent condition, just begging for someone to read it.