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| The Common Man Restaturant, formerly the Hannah Jack Tavern, in Merrimack, New Hampshire |
This building was constructed by Edward Goldstone Lutwyche,
a Tory whose property was seized during the American Revolution. Dr. Matthew Thornton, signer of the
Declaration of Independence, bought the property at auction and it was
inherited by son James. He named it
Hannah Jack’s Tavern, after his mother. She
was born in Chester, New Hampshire in 1742.
Today this restaurant is known as The Common Man Restaurant on the Daniel Webster Highway in Merrimack, New Hampshire, but until 2004 it was known as Hannah Jack’s Tavern.
Hannah and Dr. Thornton are buried across the street at the
Matthew Thornton cemetery. You can read
all about their gravesite
HERE at this blog post.
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| Hannah Jack Thornton's gravestone in Merrimack, New Hampshire |
UPDATE!
Over the years many restaurant workers have claimed to see
ghosts in the building. Some have
reported seeing an Indian; some see servants in colonial clothing. A few of the sightings have been in the
basement, and some on the stairs. I’ve
been to this restaurant many times, and it seems bright and sunny, not at all
dark and creepy, but I admit that I’ve never been down in the basement. In October 2008 the Nocturnal Society of
Paranormal research and Investigations surveyed the restaurant for "ghostly activity". People believe that James Thornton hung
himself off a rafter in the dining room, but I hadn’t seen proof of a suicide
in any historical record. Then reader and fellow genealogy blogger Janice Webster Brown sent me this item from the 5 July 1817
Farmer's Cabinet newspaper!
"DIED- .... - In Merrimack, 3d inst. Capt. James Thornton, aet. 53 - (suicide
from derangement.)"
Thanks, Janice!
For more information:
Ghosts and Legends of the Merrimack Valley, by C. C. Carole,
published by Haunted America, A Division of The History Press, Charleston, SC,
2009, pages 66 -69.
Haunted Pubs of New England: Raising Spirits of the Past by
Roxie J. Zwicker, published by Haunted America, A Division of the History
Press, Charleston, SC, 2007, pages 73 – 77, and it is also readable online at
Google Books.
Nutfield Note:
It is interesting to note that Edward Goldstone Lutwyche’s
unusual surname was the middle name of Reverend Edward Lutwyche Parker, the Nutfield, New Hampshire historian and the
author of The History of Londonderry in 1851. Rev. Parker was a graduate of Dartmouth
College and ordained in 1810. He served
as pastor at the First Church in Derry until his death in 1850, and his son
published his history posthumously. Rev. Parker's father was a great friend of Edward Goldstone Lutwyche, and named his son after
him.
Edward Goldstone Lutwyche was also one of the Loyalist men
who assembled a posse to arrest the protesters at the “Pine Tree Riot” in
Weare, New Hampshire. This was one of
the first acts of resistance to British authority in the American Colonies,
taking place on 13 April 1772. His
loyalty to the crown must have made Lutwyche very unpopular with his
neighbors. Thornton and Lutwyche also
had a long standing feud over the rights to a ferry across the Merrimack River
to Litchfield. This area was known as
Lutwyche’s Ferry, but is now known as Thornton’s Ferry in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
Other ghostly haunted locations posted at this blog:
The Coach Stop Restaurant in Londonderry:
Pinkerton Tavern in Derry (no longer standing):
The Towne Burial Ground in Londonderry:
Fort Warren in Boston Harbor:
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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/10/haunted-hannah-jacks-tavern.html
Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
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