Abner Greenleaf (1785 - 1868)
Born at Newburyport (MA); died at Portsmouth (NH).
Coppersmith, local official and state legislator.
Portrait by U.D. Tenney, 1889, after 1840 Daguerrotype.
Presented to the State, 1889.

Greenleaf (1785 - 1868) was born at Newburyport (MA) but was at Portsmouth (NH) from an early age. By 1808 Greenleaf had established a reputation as a skilled coppersmith and was a member of the Portsmouth Mechanic Association. In 1814 Portsmouth Navy Yard awarded Greenleaf the contract for copper castings for the ship of the line Washington.

As an important local businessman Greenleaf was an early member of the Masons' Pythagoras Lodge Number 33 from 1819 onwards. He served Portsmouth in a variety of municipal posts for more than forty years. He was the first Librarian for the town's Apprentices Library, and he taught school for some years after his business closed for the day. Greenleaf was twice elected to the State Senate (1829, 1830); in 1829 he was chosen President of the Senate. In 1841 Greenleaf and his son published Portsmouth's New Hampshire Gazette newspaper.

In 1850 Portsmouth voted to adopt a city form of government. Greenleaf became the first Mayor of the new City of Ports-mouth. During his administration City Council voted $2500 to construct a new bridge across Sagamore Creek - a bridge which Portsmouth and Rye (NH) had sought since 1797. The opening of the span (November 1850) was marked with much celebration; the span, now cast in metal, continues to be an integral part of Route 1A today, 150 years after its opening.

Greenleaf worked all his life until his final illness. The Portsmouth Daily Chronicle (September 29, 1868) said of Greenleaf, "In all capacities, he was an honest and faithful man through life."

Reference: Gerald D. Foss, Three Centuries of Freemasonry in New Hampshire (1972).