Article from Collectors Weekly by Stephen Decatur
This
article focuses on silversmith Samuel Drowne and his involvement in the
American Revolution and U.S. politics.
It also provides information on the other silversmiths in his
family. It originally appeared in the
September 1940 issue of Antique Collector, a publication which ran from
1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.
Undoubtedly, the name of Samuel Drowne is as well known as that of any
of the early silversmiths of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but, locally, at least,
it is more generally remembered because of the prominent part its owner played
in the affairs of his community during the period of the American Revolution
and in the years immediately thereafter.
Like many other American silversmiths of the time, he was an ardent
supporter of the patriot cause and, in fact, he was concerned in an affair
which, since its antedates the fights at Lexington and Concord, is considered
by many historians as marking the beginning of the Revolution.
Early in December 1774, a rumor became current in Boston that the
British intended to send troops to occupy Fort William and Mary at the mouth of
Portsmouth Harbor. On the thirteenth of
the month, Paul Revere galloped to Portsmouth with letters to the Committee of
Correspondence there reporting the expected move.
The following evening a part of several hundred men from Portsmouth and
neighboring towns went down the river in boats and, in spite of the fire of the
small garrision, landed, stormed, and captured the fort. As it turned out there were no casualties on
either side, a happy chance which may explain why this exploit did not achieve
greater prominence. The originator and
one of the leaders of it was Captain Thomas Pickering, Drowne’s brother-in-law,
and the silversmith was a member of his company.
The principle object of the patriots in this affair was to rescue the
powder stored in the fort before the Britich troops could get it and upwards of
four hundred barrels of this precious material were taken and secretly removed
upriver to places of safety. This part
of the program was engineered by Drowne and he arranged it so successfully that
the authorities were unable to recover a single barrel. Later, some of this powder was used at the
Battle of Bunker Hill where it would seem, there was, unfortunately, not
enough.
Samuel Drowne was a member is an interesting family to which Shem
Drowne of Boston, Massachusetts, a prominent coppersmith, also belonged. Leonard Drown, the first of the name in this
country, settled near Portsmouth about 1670, but ultimately the family removed
to Rhode Island.
The silversmith’s father, also named Samuel, was a grandson of the
original settler. He was first a
minister of the Calvin Baptist denomination, but and in that capacity was
called to Portsmouth in 1758. Although
devout Christians, the members of his flock, having left from the established
churches, were not highly regarded; commonly they were contemptuously referred
to as “New Lights”. In fact, Governor
John Wentworth of New Hampshire issued a special edict permitting all ministers
in the Colony to perform the marriage ceremony “except one Drowne”.
Samuel, the silversmith, a son of this preacher, was born in
Providence, Rhode Island in 1749, and died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in
1815. He married Mary, a daughter of
Captain Pickering, one of the largest landowners of Portsmouth, a prominent
citizen and a military officer who was killed in battle with the Indians at
Casco. The Captain Thomas Pickering of
the Fort William and Mary exploit was, of course, a brother of the silversmith’s
wife. He was a captain of privateers and
was killed in 1779 during the capture of a British letter or marquee, a vessel
much more powerful than the 20-gun ship Hampden, which he commanded.
A few months after the capture of the fort, Samuel Drowne was placed in
charge of the leading Tories in his neighborhood to see that they conducted
themselves discreetly. In 1778 he was a
member of Colonel John Langdon’s Company of Light Horse, an organization
especially formed from among the gentlemen of Portsmouth, to assist in the
operations in Rhode Island, and was with it during the attempted capture of
Newport.
The silversmith lived on the southern side of what is now State Street,
not far from the waterfront, and, as was the usual practice at the time, he had
his shop in the same building. His
spoons and flatware are not too difficult to find, but pieces of hollow ware by
him are exceedingly scarce. His best
known mark is “S. Drowne” in a rectangle with shaped ends. He also used “S.D.” capitals in an elongated
oval.
While the best-known silversmith of the family, Samuel Drowne, was not
the only member of it to follow this profession. His brother Benjamin (1759-1793), of
Portsmouth also, was a silversmith.
Since he died at a comparatively early age, examples of his work are
quite rare and, practically speaking, are confined to spoons.
Like his brother, he made a good marriage, his wife being Frances, a
sister of the Major William Gardner, whose name is so familiar to visitors to
Portsmouth through its connection with the beautiful Wentworth-Gardner mansion,
one of the finest Georgian houses in the country.
Benjamin was also a vigorous supporter of the patriot side during the
Revolution and in 1780 was on the staff of Colonel Thomas Bartlett’s regiment
of New Hampshire militaries. His name is
omitted from many lists of silversmiths, but he the mark “B. Drowne” capitals
in a rectangle, and possibly also “B.D.” capitals in a rectangle. His house and shop were diagonally across
the street from those of his brother.
Samuel, the silversmith, had two sons who followed in the father’s
footsteps. The youngest generation
dropped the final “E” from their surname.
The eldest was Thomas Pickering Drown (1729-1849) whose mark “T.P.Drown”
capitals in a rectangle, is generally familiar.
He was prominent in local affairs and in 1817 abandoned his silversmith
business to become Town Clerk, and office he held until 1826. The for ten years he was connected with the
Portsmouth branch of the United States Bank; but, with the abolishment of this
institution during Jackson’s administration, he seems to have returned to his
original trade and then possibly worked in Newburyport for a few years,
although this has not been verified. His
early work closely resembles that of his father, but apparently, is not as
highly regarded.
Daniel P. Drown (1784-1863), the other son of Samuel, is listed as a
silversmith as late as the Portsmouth Directory for 1860-1861. Undoubtedly, however, he worked with his
father in his early years. During the
War of 1812 he was a Lieutenant of New Hampshire troops, then he was Deputy
Sheriff until he succeeded his brother as Town Clerk in 1826, an office he
retained until 1832. Two years later,
when serving as a Selectman of the town, he was appointed Collector of Customs
for the Portsmouth District, retaining that office until 1841, when he became
connected with the railroad. He was
afterwards a Justice of the Peace, and the Commissioner for the State of Maine
in New Hampshire.
