Faces of Stratham
FACES OF STRATHAM
Say hello to John Fred Emery (1869-1963), also known as J. Fred Emery, also known as Fred Emery, also known throughout Stratham as a market gardener, a farm stand owner, local historian, a servant of the town and the church and more. You might say before making history Fred was born into history. His father’s 1740 house still sits at the end of Emery’s Lane where it meets Portsmouth Avenue. The house also sits on the National Register of Historic Places as the former tavern of Thomas Chase, and then his widow Lovey Chase followed by their son Major Dudley Chase. While the Congregational, now Community Church held town meetings in its basement, the business of Stratham was also conducted in winter by fireside at Chase’s Tavern. The selectmen happily debated over a mug of flip. Phinehas Merrill’s maps of 1793 and 1806 depict Chace’s Inn on the Main Road.
In a town known for agriculture and innovation, Fred’s father John Emery was considered the first of many in the State of New Hampshire to popularize market gardening. As many as a dozen Stratham market gardeners would follow, characterized by small to medium size farms worked primarily by family members, with roadside farm stands promoting sales to the public and local deliveries by carriage or truck to neighboring towns. The Emery Farm was once 80 acres. Fred inherited his father’s passion for direct sales. His friendly face was often seen at his farm stand where a noteworthy sign advised “God help those who help themselves, but God pity those found here helping themselves.” Fred even passed his enthusiasm for market gardening along to Ed Rawson who worked for Fred at the barely ripened age of 10. The tradition continues today at family owned and operated Rawson’s Farm on College Road.
Born in Stratham, Fred attended public schools and graduated from Exeter High School in 1886. The family farm was his next stop with time taken to serve 4 years as Stratham Tax Collector and 4 years on the Select Board where he rose to chair. As state representative he and Thomas Sheehy of Newfields drafted a bill that would pass ownership and maintenance of the toll bridge to the state and eliminate the toll. Fred was active in the Congregational Church and anointed Great Sachem in the Improved Order of the Red Men of the State of New Hampshire. Known for his poetry and more than occasional oration, in 1943 Fred composed a lengthy poem dedicated to the history of the church and its succession of ministers titled THE OLD CHURCH ON THE HILL. Motivated by the death of a venerable tree, Fred’s 1934 poem THE PARSONS ELM touched on Stratham’s prehistory, the arrival of Captain Thomas Wiggin, the arrival of Henry Rust as first preacher, George Washington’s Stratham visit, the old brick schoolhouse, Phinehas Merrill and more.
In 1949, Fred Emery addressed a Town Meeting with a lengthy oratory about Stratham history and particularly the history of the Stratham Post Office and how its succession of postmasters gave importance to the town. As part of his presentation, he presented a framed photo of Zebulon Wiggin who was appointed Stratham’s first postmaster by President James Madison in 1822. The photo was to be hung on a wall of the then George A. and Emma B. Wiggin Memorial Library facing the site of the 1822 post office (where M&T Bank sits today). That framed Zebulon Wiggin photo still has its place on the wall of the current Stratham Historical Society overlooking the original post office location across Winnicutt Road.
It’s not hard to recognize that Fred Emery was a well-known Stratham resident who had a passion for his craft and contributed much to our town throughout his lengthy life. A monthly column in the Exeter News-Letter allowed Fred to share his vast knowledge and writing skills in a wider community. His innovative farming practices led to cultivated strawberries and the roadside farm stands that we now see everywhere to this day.
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Donations of Stratham materials related to town history are of great interest to us and our fellow current, past and future residents. They enable important research and entertainment. For many, they keep the past alive. Please consider donating Stratham heirlooms, artifacts and photos, scans and copies of Stratham items with which you may not be ready to part to the Stratham Historical Society. We are committed to respectfully preserving such items, and to sharing them with people who share enthusiasm for Stratham.
Faces of Stratham are brought to you by the Stratham Historical Society. The Stratham Historical Society Museum & Library is now open on Tuesdays from 9 am to 11:30 am or by appointment. We hope to expand our open hours in the coming months. Anyone with an interest in Stratham and local history is invited to stop by, become a member, donate or volunteer. We are actively seeking to expand membership and identify those with an interest in volunteering time to advance and share their learning of Stratham history. We can best be contacted by emailing info@strathamhistsoc.org or by telephone at 603-778-0434.