Greenland Police Department

History of the Greenland Police Department

While Greenland was part of Portsmouth, prior to 1721, a constable for Greenland was chosen every March by the Portsmouth town meeting (sometimes he also covered Sandy Beach, which is know Rye). The constable's chief duty was to collect taxes; law enforcement was secondary. It was often hard to get men to serve as constables, since they had to extract taxes from their neighbors, and sometimes throw them in jail, then live with them for the rest of their lives. As a result, it was usually possible to get out of the job by paying a fine. The constable's was often a gateway job, however; anyone who did it pretty well was considered eligible for higher public officer, and usually achieved it.

Greenland men chosen as constables before 1721 include the following:

1682	Leonard Weeks	1711	James Berry
1683	Jotham Lewis	1712	Nathaniel Huggins
1687	Jotham Lewis	1713	Samuel Whidden (died in office)
1691	John Brackett		Jonathan Weeks
1695	William Philbrook	1714	Joshua Brackett
1705	Samuel Haines	1715	Samuel Neal
1706	Joshua Weeks	1716	Matthias Haines, Jr.
1707	John Cate	1717	Robert Goss
1708	Matthias Haines, Sr.	1718	Samuel Davis
1709	John Foss, Jr.	1719	William Wallis
1710	Ebenezer Johnson	1720	Walter Philbrook

Constables

1749	Samuel Haines Jr	1785	David Simpson
1750	James Brackett	1786	Samuel Hatch
1751	John Weeks	1787	Job Chapman
1752	John Johnson	1788	Job Chapman
1753	Paul Chapman	1789	Enoch Clark
1754	Eleazer Cate	1790	Job Chapman
1755	Wm. Jenkins Jr.	1791	Noah Haines
1756	Jonathan Barker	1792	Shadrach Robinson
1757	John Huggins (March)	1793	Samuel Hatch
	Henry Clark (December)	1794	Jona. Bailey
1758	Abner Haines	1795	Eben. Johnson Jr.
1759	Francis Berry	1796	Wm. Haines
1760	John Huggins	1797	John Johnson
1761	Abner Haines	1798	John Johnson
1762	Joseph Pickering	1799	True. G. Dearborn
1763	Rob T. Philbrook	1800	True. G. Dearborn
1764	Wm. Simpson	1801	Brackett Weeks
1765	Wm. Cates Jr.	1802	True. G. Dearborn
1766	Wm. Cates Jr.	1803	True. G. Dearborn
1767	John Folsom	1804	Wm. Simpson
1768	Wm. Cate Jr.	1805	True. G. Dearborn
1769	Abner Haines	1806	David Simpson
1770	Wm. Simpson	1807	Thos. Brackett
1771	Wm. Jenkins	1808	Jotham Johnson
1772	Ichabod Weeks	1809	Wm. Weeks Jr.
1773	Joseph Pickering	1810	John Johnson
1774	James Brackett	1811	True. G. Dearborn
1775	Samuel Chapman	1812	Samuel Pickering
1776	Samuel Chapman	1813	John Johnson
1777	Thomas Lang	1814	John Johnson
1778	Nathaniel Grant	1815	David Simpson (found unqualified, and replaced in June by Sam. L. Whidden)
1779	David Simpson	1816	Benj. H. Weeks
1780	Jonathan Bailey	1817	John Johnson
1781	Nthaniel Marston	1818	Joseph Weeks
1782	John Johnson	1819	Sam. L. Whidden
1783	Thos. Marston
1784	Thos. Marston

Constables After 1850

1850	Simes Frink	1862	Same
1851	Daniel Philbrook	1863	Elias P. Wentworth
1852	Charles W. Seavey	1864	Same
1853	Same	1865	Wm. H. L. Brackett
1854	Same	1866	Nathan Berry
1855	Nathan A. Durgin	1867	George E. Brackett
1856	Charles W. Seavey	1868	Nathl. Chapman
1857	Same	1869	George E. Brackett
1858	Joseph A. Lovering	1870	Joseph P. Simpson
1859	John H. Johnson	1871	No Record
1860	Elias P. Wentworth	1872	Nathl. Chapman
1861	Charles W. Seavey	1873	Erastus L. Senter

Tax Collector

1850	Daniel Philbrook
1851 and later	Same As Constable

Police

1891	Atwood J. Adams & Charles H. Brackett	1902	Brackett
1892	Adams, Jeremiah L. Godfrey, Wm. S. Bennett	1903	Brackett & Daniel Mahoney
1893	Chas. H. Brackett	1910	Frelinghuysen Moody
1894	Wm. F. Bennett	1913	John H. Pottle
1895	Brackett & Bennett	1915	George W. Brackett
1897	Same

Chiefs of Police

1921-25	Herman L. Bartholic	1930-31	Moses Howard Jr.
1926	Fred B. Kent	1932-51	Earle w. Caswell (Herbert C. Maker & Eugene F. Wilcox also served as officers in 1937)
1927-28	Moses Howard Jr.	1952	John R. Brackett
1929	Charles F. Marden

Railroad Police

1906	Frank Coleman

Dog Police

1916	Daniel Mahoney