The Probert Encyclopaedia of Places of the World

NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire (formerly known as Laconia) is a state in north east USA and was one of the original thirteen States. On August the 10th, 1622, a grant was made to Sir Ferdinando Gorges amd John Mason of the land between the Merrimac and Sagadahock (Kennebec) Rivers. The state was subsequently first settled in 1623, Rye, Dover and Portsmouth being settled by Churchmen and royalists. In 1629 John Mason obtained a separate grant for the territory between the Merrimac and the Piscataqua. In 1631 Mason and Gorges formed the Laconia Company and obtained an additional grant between Naumkeag and the Piscataqua. Upon the death of John Mason the colony was left to itself until 1641, when it was annexed to Massachusetts. In 1679 New Hampshire was made a royal province; in 1685 it was again annexed to Massachusetts, and in 1749 it again became a royal province. At the outbreak of the American War of Independence, in 1775, New Hampshire was advised by the general government to form a temporary government. Constitutions were adopted in 1776, 1784 and 1793, which last has been twice amended in 1853 and 1877. The National Constitution was ratified with difficulty, on June the 21st, 1788, by a vote of 57 to 46. New Hampshire is nicknamed the Granite State on account of its granite mountains.
Research New Hampshire