Portsmouth in the Age of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall

Find out about Jonathan Mitchel Sewall, many of his friends and what it was like tolive in Portsmouth, N.H., from about 1770 until 1808. Visit the Portsmouth Athenaeum Randall Gallery for the “Portsmouth in the Age of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall” exhibit.  It runs Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. from June 27 to Nov. 15, 2025.

Sewall’s friends and neighbors included Primus Fowle, pressman; Stepehn Sewall, printer; Noah Parker, pastor and blacksmith; John Sewall, merchant; Cato and Peter Warner, servants; Abraham Isaac, merchant; Samuel Hale, Latin schoolmaster; John Hale, lawyer; Hall Jackson, physician; and Thomas Elwyn, lawyer.

Jonathan Mitchel Sewall

Jonathan Mitchel Sewall was a good and interesting man who documented his observations of the world—from Salem to Spain, and from slavery to the judiciary. A deeply emotional man prone to depression, he expressed his thoughts through poetry. Historian Nancy Hammond’s curiosity about him led to the rediscovery of his works and fragments of his life.

Born in Salem, Sewall was the great-nephew of Judge Samuel Sewall, a Puritan leader and Salem witch trial judge. Educated at Boston Public Latin School while living with his uncle, Chief Justice Stephen Sewall, he later studied law with his cousin, Massachusetts Attorney General Jonathan Sewall, before settling in Portsmouth, N.H. There, he became a beloved local figure, composing poetry and drafting the New Hampshire Bill of Rights. He was a frequent speaker at public events and likely aided enslaved individuals with their 1779 Black Petition.

Though from a mercantile family, Sewall’s apprenticeship was interrupted by a severe fever, prompting a health-driven voyage to Spain. While the warmer climate helped, historian Albert T. Batchellor noted that the illness and harsh treatments left him with lasting nervous afflictions. His brother-in-law, William Pynchon, described him in 1785 as having a “dark cloud over his visage, his eyes wild.”

Prone to hypochondria and anxiety, Sewall self-medicated with alcohol. Yet, as historian Charles Bell noted, his friends remained loyal. His second wife famously declared, “I would rather marry Mr. Sewall drunk than any other man sober.” Despite his struggles, Sewall’s intellect and charm left a lasting impression.