Richard and the Reverend Mary Upton
Wedding Photo, 1942
In 1941, Mary Breakiron, 23 years old and just finishing her training at the Baptist Institute of Philadelphia, took the train north to the Monadnock highlands. She came as a highly recommended candidate to pastor three churches – the Baptist Church of Chesham, the Congregational Church of Harrisville, and the Nelson Congregational Church. In those days, a woman in the pulpit was a rare thing, and this one spoke with a Pennsylvania accent so pronounced that some in the parish could barely understand what she was saying. But people looked beyond those obstacles, welcomed Mary, and called her to serve.
Within a year Mary met Richard (Dick) Upton of Nelson. Captivated by her exceptional singing voice, Dick asked in his novel marriage proposal whether Mary would sing lullabies to his children. The couple married in 1942 and bought the red colonial farmhouse and 17 acres of land at 54 Brown Road. This would be their home for the rest of their lives.
Photo of Dick and Mary by Roger Packard, c. 1990
Over the next decades Dick and Mary raised their four children and immersed themselves in the Harrisville and Chesham communities. Both were active members of the Silver Lake Grange and served on town committees. After a short break to care for her young children, Mary returned to pastor the united parishes of Nelson, Harrisville and Chesham. Beginning a year after Mary retired from full-time ministry, her years of service culminated with a span of 12 years serving as the Chaplain at Cheshire Medical Center. Dick worked at Kingsbury Machine Tool Corporation in Keene NH for 45 years, farmed, raised goats and sheep, and tended to his bees. The couple were named Harrisville’s “Citizens of the Year” in 2004.
The Archives of Historic Harrisville recently had the pleasure of talking with three of Dick and Mary Upton’s children – Dan, Kay, and Cindy – collecting some of their memories of growing up at 54 Brown Road. These memories are echoed in a video from our Oral History Collection of Ralph Bemis interviewing Dick and Mary Upton and touring their home at 54 Brown Road in 1998. The Archives shares that video here.
The Reverend Mary Upton, 2003
Upton family. Front: Richard, Mary, Back: Dan, Kay, Ginny, Cindy, c. 2002
The Upton House, 54 Brown Road
Painting of the Upton House by William Preston Phelps
Yard Tour with Richard Upton (1998)
Richard Upton Interview (1998)
House Tour & Interview with Reverend Mary Upton (1998)
Have memories, photographs or videos of growing up in Harrisville or Chesham? If you would like to share these please reach out to the Katy Burchett at the Archives at Historic Harrisville through her email hharchivekaty@historicharrisville.org