Wentworth Cheswell, sometimes pronounced Chiswell or Cheswill, is a Founding Father that few know much about. But, I thought it important to include Cheswell in this review of the Founders. Cheswell did not help to draft, nor did he sign, either the Declaration or the Constitution. But, he did ride the same night as Paul Revere, making an all-night ride carrying the same message as Revere, to warn citizens of the imminent British invasion. Unfairly, Revere’s ride is memorialized in a famous poem, but Cheswell’s is not.

Cheswell’s service to his community, his state, and to our Nation was great. In April 1776, Cheswell signed a document by which he pledged, “at the risk of . . . live and fortune,” to take up arms to resist the British. Then, Cheswell served in the Continental Army, fighting alongside other Colonists to help win our liberty. Later, in September 1777, Cheswell enlisted in a company of Light Horse Volunteers that were commanded by Colonel John Langdon.

Langdon became one of the 55 men who drafted the federal Constitution, helped draft the Bill of Rights, and eventually became the Governor of New Hampshire. Cheswell rode with Langdon’s company when it advanced 250-miles to Saratoga, New York, to join with the Continental Army under General Horatio Gates. At the Battle of Saratoga, Cheswell fought to help defeat British General Burgoyne – Saratoga was the first major American victory in the Revolution.

And, Cheswell was a finely educated man. He attended an academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, 30 miles from his home, where for four years he received an extensive education, studying Latin, Greek, swimming, horsemanship, reading, writing, and arithmetic. After completing his education, Cheswell became a school teacher.

Cheswell was also a family man. He married Mary Davis, and the two eventually had 13 children – 4 sons and 9 daughters. At the age of 21, Cheswell had already become an established and educated property owner and a stalwart in his local church, even holding a church pew.

Cheswell served in government and elected office. In 1768, he was elected town constable – the first of many offices he held throughout his life. Two years later in 1770, he was elected town selectman, the selectmen were considered the “town fathers” of a community. Other town offices in which he served included seven years as Auditor, six years as Assessor, two years as Coroner, seven years as town Moderator, presiding over town meetings, and twelve years as Justice of the Peace, overseeing trials, settling disputes, and executing deeds, wills, and legal documents. An 1813 document signed by Cheswell as justice of the peace can be seen here.

For half a century – including every year from 1768 until 1817 – Cheswell held some position in local government. And, after returning from Saratoga, in the spring of 1778, Cheswell was elected to the convention to draft his state’s first constitution, but for some unknown reason he was unable to attend.

Cheswell also served as Newmarket’s unofficial historian, copying town records from 1727, including the records of various church meetings, and chronicling old stories of the town as well as its current events. Additionally, having investigated and made extensive notes on numerous artifacts and relics he discovered in the region around Newmarket, he is considered the state’s first archeologist. Therefore, when the Rev. Jeremy Belknap published his famous three-volume History of New Hampshire (1784-1792), he relied on and openly acknowledged much information that he had gleaned from Cheswell.

In 1801, Cheswell helped start his town's library to preserve and disseminate useful knowledge and virtue. His commitment to providing helpful information is not surprising, for not only had he become a school teacher in 1767 but in 1776 he was elected as one of five men to regulate and oversee the schools of Newmarket.

In 1817, in his 71st year, Cheswell succumbed to typhus fever and was buried on the family farm, where other members of his family were later buried. In fact, when his daughter Martha died, his last surviving heir, her will provided that any members or descendants of the family could forever forward be buried on the farm. Unfortunately, that family graveyard long lay in disrepair, but in recent years friends and family have managed to restore it.

Oh, and one more thing. Wentworth Cheswell was the grandson of black slave Richard Cheswell, who early gained his freedom, and in 1717 became the first black to own property in the colony of New Hampshire; and he was the son of Hopestill Cheswell, a notable homebuilder who built the homes of several patriot leaders, including John Paul Jones and the Rev. Samuel Langdon. Wentworth was named after the famous Wentworth family, from whom came several state governors, including Benning Wentworth – the governor at the time of Wentworth’s birth.

Cheswell is considered the first black American elected to office in America. The legacy of Wentworth Cheswell is a lasting one: patriot, teacher, church leader; historian, archeologist; educator; judge; and official elected to numerous offices. He is truly one of our forgotten patriots and he is a laudable example for all Americans – a hero worth remembering and honoring this Independence Day.

Wentworth Cheswell
(1746-1817)
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Sources:

William C. Nell, The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, With Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons: To Which is Added a Brief Survey of the Conditions and Prospects of Colored Americans (Boston: Robert F. Wallcut, 1855), pp. 120-121.
Sidney and Emma Nogrady Kaplan, The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution, Revised Edition (Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1989), pp. 200-202.
Thomas Truxtun Moebs, Black Soldiers-Black Sailors-Black Ink: Research Guide on African-Americans in U.S. Military History, 1526-1900 (Chesapeake Bay: Moebs Publishing Company, 1994), pp. 226, 259, 280.