So this whole New Hampshire Colony religion question got me wondering—who actually called the shots back then? It’s one of those things you kinda assume was like the rest of New England, all Puritans and strict rules, right? But I kept bump into references that made it sound… messier. Figured I’d dig in and piece it together myself.
Starting With Google Was a Mess
First thing I did? Just smashed “New Hampshire colony religion founders” into Google. Big mistake. Got flooded with tourism sites, vague history pages saying stuff like “diverse religious views” with zero names, and links selling genealogy kits. Total dead end. Realized I needed to get way more specific.
Hitting the Books (Well, PDFs)
Switched gears. Found a digital archive of colonial charters and letters. Started scanning through old correspondence and land grants. Super dry stuff at first—legal jargon about boundaries and fishing rights. But then, bam! Kept seeing two names popping up where settlers were arguing over faith: John Wheelwright and John Mason. Mason was some big-shot investor back in England, but Wheelwright? He was actually there.
Turns out Wheelwright got kicked out of Massachusetts Bay Colony for being too radical—Anne Hutchinson’s buddy. He bounced north with his followers and basically started Exeter in 1638. His crew? They weren’t your standard Puritans. More like… extremely fed-up Puritans. Less “obey the church elders,” more “listen to your own conscience.” Basically set up shop as dissidents.
Putting the Pieces Together
So here’s how it shaped up:
- John Mason: Had the royal land grant, dreamed of profits, but never set foot in NH. Religion wasn’t his thing—cash was.
- John Wheelwright: The one actually leading people on the ground. His settlement at Exeter became a magnet for folks who hated Massachusetts’ rules. He wasn’t founding some new church—he was running away from the old one. They stuck to Puritan beliefs but fiercely protected independence.
- The Portsmouth Crew: Another bunch showed up near Portsmouth around the same time. More trad Puritans, loyal to the Massachusetts church at first. But even they eventually rebelled when Mass tried bossing them around.
Realized there wasn’t one single “founder” calling religious shots. It was this chaotic scramble of groups fleeing stricter colonies, protecting their own little patches. Exeter under Wheelwright was the lightning rod—pissed off enough people to get a whole settlement rolling based on religious defiance. Meanwhile, Mason back in England is just yelling about timber profits. Wild contrast.
Why It Sticks With Me
What blows my mind? How raw it was. No grand plan. Just people like Wheelwright getting exiled and saying “screw it, let’s build our thing.” The religion wasn’t some unified system—it was pure rebellion at the start. You can feel the desperation and stubbornness in those old petitions they wrote. Really admire how they carved out space just… because they needed to breathe. Makes you appreciate how messy starting something truly is.
