News from the Manchester Historic Association

Collect, Preserve, Share

Manchester

March 2, 2022

In This Issue

1 Manchester Historic Association Announces Staff Changes

2 Celtic Tunes with Jordan TW Trio at the Millyard Museum March 12

3 The People's Sculptor: The Life and Works of John Rogers

4 Manchester Trivia Questions

Manchester Historic Association

Announces Staff Changes

The Manchester Historic Association has announced that Executive Director John Clayton (at right) will be transitioning to a new position as Director of Community Relations, with Jeffrey Barraclough assuming the role of Executive Director.

“For the past seven years, the Manchester Historic Association has had the great good fortune to have John Clayton as its executive director,” said MHA board chair Colleen Kurlansky. “During that time, John has worked to bring the organization to prominence, and we are grateful for his unstinting dedication to elevating all things Manchester.

“Now, John is looking forward to transitioning into a new role, that of Director of Community Relations, a part-time position that allows him to concentrate on what he knows best: community relationships in all their iterations,” Kurlansky added. “We are delighted that he will be maintaining this connection with the MHA and look forward to seeing him at the Museum and around Manchester, continuing to promote the city’s rich history.”

During Clayton’s tenure, the MHA has more than doubled its grant support, memberships are at record levels while also setting attendance records at the Millyard Museum. The museum has also hosted more than a dozen temporary exhibits under his leadership, ranging from Manchester’s role in the Presidential Primary process, the history of public health in Manchester to the recent exhibit “Sweaters in the Millyard: Pandora by Design.”

“Since I arrived here in 2015, I’ve always said, ‘If you don’t have money, you’d better have friends,’” Clayton said. “As a non-profit, we’ve been able to partner with other non-profits in the city, and those relationships - which I hope to continue - have helped the MHA regain its stature in the community.”

Kurlansky added, “As John transitions to his new role, we are also delighted to welcome back Jeff Barraclough as the new Executive Director. Jeff was the former Director of Operations at the MHA, so his familiarity with the organization will make for a smooth transition.”

Barraclough will assume his new duties March 28.

Jordan TW Trio at Millyard Museum March 12

Join us at the Millyard Museum on March 12 for a performance by the Jordan TW Trio, featuring award-winning fiddler and singer Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki.

Jordan's last solo performance at the museum was completely sold out, so get your tickets now for this group's fresh spin on traditional Celtic music. Jordan will be joined for this appearance by New Hampshire natives Matt Jensen and Chris Noyes in a show that blends traditional music of Ireland and Scotland with their own original material.

This 2:30 performance will be the perfect prelude to get you in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day. For tickets, click here.

“The People's Sculptor:

The Life and Works of John Rogers”

This spring, the Manchester Historic Association will unveil a new exhibit: “The People's Sculptor: The Life and Works of John Rogers” at the Millyard Museum.

Rogers was a well-known artist whose statuary "groups" became extremely popular in the mid-to-late 1800s. He was the first American sculptor to mass produce his work and worked mostly in plaster to make his sculptures more affordable.

The artist came to Manchester in 1850 at the age of 20 and went to work as a draftsman at the Amoskeag machine shop, where he began dabbling in sculpture using clay he discovered near the Merrimack River in Hooksett.

In 1856, Rogers left Manchester for New York City and began mass-producing his sculptures. Between 1860 and 1893, Rogers created 80 different groups - many Civil War-related, such as Council of War seen above - and sold more than 80,000 sculptures, which made art attainable to the American middle class for the first time.

Incoming Executive Director Jeff Barraclough will serve as curator for the exhibit. For more information, call 603-622-7531. If you would like to assist the MHA in staging more exhibits such as this, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our Heritage Fund by clicking here.

Did You Get Last Month's Manchester Trivia Question?

Last Month's Trivia Question: Manchester's first mayoral election in August of 1846 ended without a victor when none of the four candidates received a majority of the vote. A second election was held two weeks later and Manchester's first mayor was:

John S. Wiggin
Isaac C. Flanders
Hiram Brown

ANSWER: Hiram Brown was Manchester's first mayor and served from 1846-1847.

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This Month's Trivia Question: Nine men from the Queen City have been elected Governor of New Hampshire, the most recent being the late Stephen E. Merrill. Can you name at least three of the remaining eight?

The answer will appear in next month's newsletter.

The Manchester Historic Association is an independent tax-exempt charitable 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization with the mission to collect, preserve and share the history of Manchester, New Hampshire USA. The Association operates the Millyard Museum and Research Center.