Patrick O. Connelly 5:44 a.m.
Monday, May 25, 2026 5:44 am

Editor's note: In celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, and in collaboration with the Office of Mayor Chuck Grassie, Rochester Colonial Moments, a historical series highlighting notable moments from Rochester's past, is brought to you by Patrick O. Connelly, Rochester, New Hampshire, historian.

"In the year leading up to 1722, some 125 investors, mostly from Dover, in need of land to expand their families and open to opportunities to expand their wealth, petitioned the General Court in Portsmouth and then Governor Samuel Shute to form a town above the Dover headline. The territory was a risk to the province's four economic drivers in the south: Dover, Exeter, Portsmouth, and Hampton, and their growing populations. With war on the Eastern Tribes recently declared, the charter was hastily approved, and the Town of Rochester, Province of New Hampshire, was chartered on May 22, 1722. The saga of Rochester had begun."

Patrick O. Connelly is a historian, researcher, and author whose work focuses extensively on the colonial history and development of Rochester. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in History and French, Connelly has spent decades researching Rochester's earliest records, maps, land divisions, and settlement history.

Connelly is the author of two comprehensive works on Rochester's colonial history: Rochester, New Hampshire: Territory to Township, 1620-1799 and In Their Own Words: Transcription and Research of the Original Records of Colonial Rochester, New Hampshire, 1722-1799. Both books are available through his website at RNHCC.com.