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.

Monday, July 6, 2026
“Importantly, as we celebrate the July 4th 250th Anniversary of our national Declaration of Independence, we should remember that on January 5, 1776, at the Fifth Provincial Congress in Exeter, Deacon James Knowles, on behalf of the Town of Rochester, signed the New Hampshire Declaration of Independence. New Hampshire was the first colony to establish a separate government. That document created:

A two-house legislature;
– Representatives to the Lower House were selected by towns;
– These Lower House members, in turn, chose members to the Upper Council;
– Together, both houses exercised both legislative and executive power;
– New Hampshire selected a president rather than a governor; and
– The legislature appointed judges and officers.

This declaration governed New Hampshire until 1784.”

Patrick O. Connelly is a historian, researcher, and author whose work focuses extensively on the colonial history and development of Rochester, New Hampshire. 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.