America's Tapestry Project in New Hampshire

The New Hampshire team is working with this rendering

to create their panel for the America's Tapestry Project

This year will mark the 250th anniversary since July 4th, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed, usually recognized as the birthday of the United States of America.  The America's Tapestry project is a collaboration of the 13 states representing the original 13 colonies who signed the Declaration of Independence, creating 13 embroidered panels.  Each tapestry illustrates stories and images from the colonies during the Revolutionary War. 

According to the website, over 1,000 volunteers are participating to embroider the panels, from ages 5 to 96, from New Hampshire to Georgia. Here in New Hampshire, the volunteers have been meeting every Friday and Saturday at the Millyard Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire.  I recently visited to see what was happening.  The embroiderers were busy completing scenes of an Abenaki village, Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth, and the Pine Tree Riot which took place in Weare, New Hampshire. The volunteers were kind enough to describe the project and even let me place a few stitches into the tapestry. 

The New Hampshire panel is scheduled to be completed in April 2026, and then it travels out of state to be prepared for display.  If you want to see these talented embroiderers at work, hurry over before the end of April!  You can follow the progress of this beautiful tapestry with their very active Facebook page, which posts photos every week.  See the link below. 

All thirteen panels will be displayed together as part of a moving exhibit in each of the original 13 states.  The New Hampshire display of the America's Tapestry Project will be January 2027 to April 2027 at the Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford Street, in Manchester, New Hampshire.  Save the dates!  If you live in another state, please check the website link below for dates and places.  

I was honored to be asked to add a few stitches in the stone wall! 

Volunteer Carol Tewes Ganse showed me how to include my stitchwork. 

A close up view reveals textures, 3 dimensions, and interesting

materials such as moose hairs, and various other fibers

A close up of the stone wall under Fort William and Mary

reveals some Easter Eggs (stones shaped like the 13 original colonies)

This pattern for the seawall includes another Easter Egg

(the profile of the Old Man of the Mountain at the far left) 

This detail includes native Abenaki beadwork and porcupine quills.

An embroidered depiction of an Abenaki canoe full of fur bundles was made of

milkweed fibers, rabbit and bison fur, and other natural materials. 

Busy volunteers on a Saturday morning at the Millyard Museum

My two tiny stitches in the stone wall

My friend Sherry Gould showed me some of her needlework

on the New Hampshire tapestry

For the truly curious:

America's Tapestry:     https://www.americastapestry.com/  

America's Tapestry New Hampshire Facebook group:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/770145248992414/  

The Millyard Museum:  https://manchesterhistoric.org/millyard-museum-2/   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "America's Tapestry Project in New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 18, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/americas-tapestry-project-in-new.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday Ancestral Magnets?

This Christmas Santa brought me these unusual magnets made from tombstone art of a member of my family tree. Mary Munroe (daughter of John Ball and Elizabeth Pierce) was born about 1651 and died in August 1692 in Lexington, Massachusetts.  She was the second wife (of three!) of William Munroe, a Scots prisoner of war captured at the Battle of Worcester and sentenced to forced indentured servitude in Boston.  They had ten children together.  I descend from William's first wife, Martha George.   I also descend from Mary's brother, John Ball, who married Sarah Bullard.  See the link below for my blog post on the BALL family. 

These details are 3D prints of details taken from the tombstone of Mary Ball Munroe. 

HEART AND SOUL

This small hearn adorns the gravestone of Mary Munroo

symbolizing the heart as the seat of the soul. Her sould was

released for its flight to Heaven upon her death

August 12, 1692 at the age of 41.  she is buried in the

Old Burial Ground, Lexington, Massachusetts.

This piece of historic cemetery art is cast

directly from the face of an old New England gravestone.

It is completely handmade and finished. Item #0110

MUNROO '92

A windged skull adorns the gravestone of Mary Munroo

as symbol of her sould flying to Heaven; the goal for

Colonists of her era.  She served 41 years and hoped

for eternal life when she died August 12, 1692.  She is 

buried in the Old Burial Ground, Lexington, Massachusetts.

This piece of historic cemetery art is cast

directly from the face of an old New England gravestone.

It is comepletely handmade and finished. Item #0109

These magnets were created by "The Gravestone Girls" who I have met at many genealogy conferences, and heard their cemetery lectures at many historical societies and libraries.  I have several other art pieces from ancestor's graves made by the Gravestone Girls.  There is a link to their website below where you can find a schedule of their events, and shop for art objects made from copies of New England gravestones. 

For the truly curious:

The Gravestone Girls website:   https://www.gravestonegirls.com/#/  

My original 2011 "Tombstone Tuesday" blog post on the gravestones of Mary Munroo and her husband William in Lexington, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/06/munroes-in-lexington-ma-tombstone.html  

My Surname Saturday blog post on the BALL family:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/surname-saturday-ball-of-watertown.html

My Surname Saturday blog post on the MUNROE family of Lexington, Massachusetts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-munroe-of-lexington.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday Ancestral Magnets?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 30, 2025, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/12/tombstone-tuesday-ancestral-magnets.html: accessed [access date]). 

Millie the Mill Girl of Manchester, New Hampshire - An Update

More than a year ago I reported that the city of Manchester, New Hampshire was rennovating "Millie", the statue that honors generations of mill girls who toiled in the textile mills along the Merrimack River.  You can read that blog story HERE.   I'm happy to report that the restoration project finished several months ago, but I never had a chance over the winter to take new photographs.  You can see the finished project now below!

THE MILL GIRL

She stands here for thousands

of 19th century working women

Industrial Revolutionaries who broke

with the past to earn their living,

making history and creating the future.

In 1880 one third of Manchester's population,

3385 women, worked in the textile mills of

the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, situated

below along the banks of the Merrimack River.

Sculptress:

Antoinette Schultze

Funding for this public art project

was made possible by gifts from

Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation

and 

Samuel P. Hunt Foundation

Dedicated September 9, 1988

Presented by the City of Manchester Parks and Recreation Commission

and

Manchester Art Commission

For the truly curious:

My blog post from August 2022 about the rennovation of Millie:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/08/millie-in-millyard-manchester-new.html   

A blog post from 2012 about Millie the statue:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/02/millie-mill-girl-of-manchester-new.html     

The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoskeag_Manufacturing_Company  

"Mill Girl makeover: New accessible surroundings for historic city landmark", Manchester Ink Link, July 26, 2023   https://manchesterinklink.com/mill-girl-makeover-new-accessible-surroundings-for-historic-city-landmark/  

"Mill Girl Plaza in Manchester unveils accessibility additions", WMUR TV, July 26, 2023  https://www.wmur.com/article/mill-girl-plaza-manchester-accessibility-additions/44655616        

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Millie the Mill Girl of Manchester, New Hampshire - An Update", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 25, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/03/millie-mill-girl-of-manchester-new.html: accessed [access date]). 

Millie in the Millyard, Manchester, New Hampshire

I've blogged about this beloved state before (you can find the link below) and this artwork is even more beloved today.  The original name of the statue is "The Mill Girl", but she is affectionately known as "Millie" here in Manchester, New Hampshire.  Millie is located on North Commercial Street, next to the Stark Mill on a flight of stairs that has become quite hazardous and broken.  The city has not yet roped off the area, but as you can see in the photos below, the staircase is quite dangerous.  

I decided to photograph the area around Millie because the city of Manchester is going to soon revamp this and change the layout of the pedestrian way.  They want to include a ramp, signage, and a new location for Millie.  The city was seeking ideas and feedback from the public last year. 

When the construction begins, I will document this, and the final results, too! 

The restoration project has begun!

For the truly curious:

A previous blog post about Millie, the Mill Girl from 2012

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/02/millie-mill-girl-of-manchester-new.html   

From the Manchester Ink Link website: 

https://manchesterinklink.com/city-seeks-ideas-for-mill-girl-makeover/   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Millie in the Millyard, Manchester, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 9, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/08/millie-in-millyard-manchester-new.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Gunnister Purse

 

Replicas of the 1600s "Gunnister Purse" found in Scotland
knit by Laurel Wilkinson 2022

In 1951 in Gunnister, Shetland, Scotland a bog body was found dating from the 1600s.  The remarkable thing about this discovery was the clothing found on the body, including many examples of knitted items including a purse, stockings, gloves, two caps and several knitted patches on his woolen clothing.  Knitters around the world and historians have been examining the stitching and patterns to reproduce some of the items.

The purse and other items have decorative stitches now known as “Fair Isle” patterns.  This type of knitting is well known in Scotland and Scandinavian countries, and the discovery of the body proves that this type of knitting dates from at least the 1600s.  The original objects found in the bog are on display at the National Museum of Scotland, and replicas can now be found around the world.  Re-enactors of the 17^th century enjoy making “Gunnister Purses” for their costumes.

Knit purse from Beth Veazie Lambright
worn at the Pilgrims Progress 2021

I first learned about the knit pouches while I was participating in the Pilgrims Progress march during the General Society of Mayflower Descendants Board of Assistants meeting in Plymouth, Massachusetts last September.  Beth Veazie Lambright from the Oregon society sat next to me during the meetings, and she was wearing a similar knitted purse tied to her waist during the Pilgrims Progress.  I Googled the story of the Gunnister purse that same night.  My husband was particularly interested since neither of our Pilgrim outfits have pockets, and we had no place to store keys, phones, ID cards, etc.

A participant at the 2021 Pilgrims Progress
wearing a knitted pouch similar to the Gunnister purse

It is amazing that fragile knitted objects and garments survived being buried in a Scottish bog, and even more amazing that these little pieces of clothing have captured the imaginations of historians and re-enactors.  During the Mayflower 400^th anniversary commemoration, many people became interested in recreating authentic costumes instead of “cartoon Pilgrim” outfits of black and white decorated with buckles (which are not historically accurate at all).  These little Gunnister purses are not only practical (a place to carry a phone and an inhaler), but also completely authentic to the time period!

Not only were the Gunnister man’s artifacts from the correct time period for Pilgrim re-enactors, but there is much evidence to suggest that he might have been from Holland.  The coins in his purse were from Holland and Sweden (although the knitting suggests Scotland).  His cap was a Dutch style. Some other objects (a quill and ink horn) were also Dutch.  The Pilgrims lived for one generation in Leiden, Holland, and picked up lots of clothing and lifestyle customs from their Dutch neighbors.

I told my sister about the Gunnister purse, thinking that perhaps I could learn how to knit one as a beginner project.  My sister is an avid knitter, and she surprised Vincent and I with these purses for Christmas.  The patterns for Gunnister purses (as well as the cap, gloves, and stockings) are available online, see my links below. Do you think my little pocket will last another 400 years?

For the truly curious:

Gunnister Man Wikipedia article:    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnister_Man 

A photo of the actual Gunnister purse with bands of Fair Isle knitting from the National Museums of Scotland:  https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/collection-search-results/purse/19665  

Free patterns for a Gunnister Purse Replica from Ravelry:   https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/gunnister-purse-replica  and this one from Plimoth Patuxet Museum:  https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/gunnister-purse 

A nice blog post describing all the Gunnister Man’s clothing, especially the knitted pieces:  http://costumehistorian.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-gunnister-man-project.html

Would you like to buy a book with 12 patterns for 17^th century knitted garb, including the Gunnister purse, the Gunnister Cap, and some Gunnister gloves?  This book was published in 2010 from the Plimoth Platuxet Knitter’s Club:  https://www.plimoth.com/products/copy-of-knitted-garb-inspired-by-originals-designs-for-plimoth-plantation-and-beyond 

You can Google “Gunnister Man” or “Gunnister Purse” for many more websites with information on these interesting artifacts from the 1600s.

Also - In the British National Archives there are lists of gifts given to Queen Elizabeth 1561 – 1562, including 28 different knitted purses filled with coins: http://www.larsdatter.com/gifts/1561-2.htm   None of these purses survive, but the archives describe the purses including the colors and materials (mostly silk threads).  This blog post shows photos of someone recreating these purses, which are close to the 1620 time frame of the Mayflower Pilgrims: https://shannon.paradise.gen.nz/Knitting  but probably much more opulent than what they would have been carrying daily.

Photo credit to Beth Veazie Lambright of the Oregon Mayflower Society for the photo of the yellow knit purse above. 

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To Cite/Link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Gunnister Purse”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 1, 2022 ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-gunnister-purse.html: accessed [access date]). 

Chicken Farmer, I Still Love You! - Who was the Chicken Farmer?

 

Anyone driving through Newbury, New Hampshire on their way to Mount Sunapee has passed this unusual bit of graffiti, which has been on this boulder since the 1970s.  And I'm sure most of the passers-by have wondered "Who was the chicken farmer?"  or "What's the story behind this?"

Over the years the sign has been repainted, and the vegetation has been cleared, making it visible to everyone passing by on Route 103.  In 2011 the New Hampshire Department of Transportation painted over the rock after a graffiti complaint, but this caused a local uproar and the Chicken Farmer sign reappeared and has been freshly repainted annually ever since.  It is such a local favorite, this story even appeared on NH Public Radio's "Fresh Air" as a full episode. 

Originally the rock read "Chicken Farmer I Love You", but after the town of Newbury (less than 2,000 souls in Newbury, and 192 signed the petition) complained to the state of New Hampshire to have their graffiti remain on the boulder, the message now reads "Chicken Farmer I Still Love You".   No one knows the real story, but many people have theories.  I've included some links to stories I found online that explore some of these theories. 

The Chicken Farmer Rock has been the subject of a story in the February 1998 Yankee magazine, bumper stickers, a movie, in the book Chicken Soup for the Lover's Soul, and there is even a Chicken Farmer 5K race every year in Newbury.  If you haven't seen it, take a detour off Interstate 89 and drive along Route 103 to see it for yourself!

For the truly curious:

The Chicken Farmer Rock is on the right side of Route 103 heading west, about 4 1/2 miles after the intersection of Route 114. It is difficult to see heading east, and is located just after Colburn Farm Road. 

Atlas Obscura:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/chicken-farmer-rock  

NH PR "What's up with that Chicken Farmer I still love You rock?": https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2017-11-03/you-asked-we-answered-whats-up-with-that-chicken-farmer-i-still-love-you-rock  

Youtube film version of the Chicken Farmer story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK4nK7l9d38&t=1s  

New Hampshire Magazine:  https://www.nhmagazine.com/nh-love-stories-chicken-farmer-rock/  

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To Cite/Link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Chicken Farmer, I Still Love You!  - Who was the Chicken Farmer?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 4, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/01/chicken-farmer-i-still-love-you-who-was.html: accessed [access date]). 

At the Peabody Essex Museum's new Witch Trials Exhibit

 The featured exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts is now "The Salem Witch Trials: Reckoning and Reclaiming".  This show runs through March 20, 2022, and it is really three small exhibits inside one gallery, including two artistic projects by living people who used the 1692 witch hysteria as inspiration for their installments on display. 

John Proctor's sundial

George Jacob's walking stick 

This chest was owned by the Osborn family of Salem

Before the two featured art installations there were some artifacts and documents related to the 1692 witch trials on display.  Many of these artifacts and trial documents had been featured in last year's exhibit "The Salem Witch Trials 1692".  I was disappointed to not see a lot of new objects, but glad that these objects were here to put the art installations into context. 

Alexander McQueen, the fashion designer, knew that his family history included Elizabeth How, who was hanged as a witch in 1692.  His mother was an amateur genealogist.  He was inspired to create his 2007 winter collection in memory of How, and used symbols from the witch trials in his design.  A long, elegant, black evening gown from this collection is on display, as well as photographs and videos of the fashion show that featured these.  A long timeline of the witch trials encircles the room, with the actual documents and artifacts from Elizabeth How's trial and other trials.  This installation was well done. 

The "Major Arcana: Portraits of Witches in America" exhibit is photographs of modern people who identify themselves as modern witches, presented by photographer Frances F. Denny. Each portrait includes a statement from the person abut their identity as a witch.  The public was invited to share their impressions of the exhibit on social media using #1692witchtrials, or by pinning up a card on a nearby wall.  

This exhibit was much smaller than the one last fall/winter at the PEM, "The Salem Witch Trials 1692". It's focus was on art, with a little of the history of the 1692 events on display to put the art into context. 

For the truly curious:

My blog post on the earlier PEM exhibit "The Salem Witch Trials 1692":

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-peabody-essex-museums-special.html   

From the Peabody Essex Museum website:

https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/the-salem-witch-trials-reckoning-and-reclaiming   

UPDATE:

A blog post by Donna Amelia Segar of Salem State University:

https://streetsofsalem.com/2021/11/12/in-which-i-try-to-understand-the-peabody-essex-museums-current-exhibition-on-the-salem-witch-trials/   

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To Cite/Link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "At the Peabody Essex Museum's new Witch Trials Exhibit", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 8, 2021, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2021/11/at-peabody-essex-museums-new-witch.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Dog Chapel, Saint Johnsbury, Vermont

The author and artist Stephen Huneck’s Dog Chapel has been a New England landmark since it was constructed in 2000 in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont.  It is located on Dog Mountain, on Huneck’s studio and farm. It was designed to resemble an 1820s New England church,  with stained glass windows and art work featuring dogs. The public was invited to post photos of their dearly departed dogs on the wall known as the Remembrance Wall.  Today every wall of the chapel is covered with photos and stories about dogs from their loving family members.

The farm at Dog Mountain is open to the public, and even when the chapel and gallery are closed.   Recently the Dog Chapel restored the Dog Angel and reinstalled it on top of the steeple.  You can read all about the installation project at the blog:  https://www.dogmt.com/dogmountain_news.html 

My friend Melissa McNulty visited Dog Mountain and Dog Chapel last week, and took these amazing photos. I thought it was beautiful and I wanted to write a blog post for Weathervane Wednesday!  However, the Dog Angel is not a true weathervane, but more of a sculpture and final on top of the steeple. So, Dog Chapel gets a blog post anyways. I hope to visit here sometime soon.

 

For the truly curious:

Dog Mountain website:   https://www.dogmt.com/home.php   

Dog Chapel web page:  https://www.dogmt.com/Dog-Chapel.html   

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To Cite/Link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo and Melissa McNulty, "The Dog Chapel, Saint Johnsbury, Vermont", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 18, 2021 ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-dog-chapel-saint-johnsbury-vermont.html: accessed [access date]). 

Derry History Mural, extended!

 

Two years ago I posted about the first phase of the Derry History Mural, which was started in honor of the 200th anniversary of Nutfield, New Hampshire.  You can read that first post HERE.  Recently, we revisited the mural to photograph the new section, which was painted last year during the pandemic on the wall of the Cask and Vine perpendicular to Broadway.  

This new mural added some of the pets (dogs, cats, even a goat) of Derry residents along the bottom of the first panel, and some more recent Derry history.  There is a moon with Alan Shepard's space capsule, a view of Broadway and some of the historic buildings and businesses, and landmarks such as Pinkerton Academy, Beaver Lake, Hood farm, and the horse fountain that was removed to MacGregor Park in 2019.  The mural can be seen as pedestrians and bikes travel along the rail trail that crosses Broadway.  

For the truly curious:

My 2020 blog post on the first phase of the Derry History Mural:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/10/derry-new-hampshire-history-mural.html   

Derry News, "History Continues in next phase of Derry Mural Project", August 26, 2020  https://www.derrynews.com/news/history-continues-in-next-phase-of-derry-mural-project/article_b502a121-b196-52de-9fb0-9f46d3da3d24.html  

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To Cite/Link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Derry History Mural, extended!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 8, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2021/06/derry-history-mural-extended.html: accessed [access date]).