Abigail Hooper

From the Manchester Historical Society School Curriculum:

Abigail Hooper Trask: 1788 – 1885 Abigail Hooper also grew up in Manchester. In her mid-twenties and un-married, Abigail ran her own store, selling ship supplies as well as groceries. When Abigail married Captain Richard Trask she was well into her thirties and had already distinguished herself as an able businesswoman, not common at the time. During the summer of 1823 she undertook to enlarge and modernize an old building in the center of town. It was to be splendid, a home with a store connected, and when finished it was very like the Trask House as seen from the street today.

In November of that year, Abigail Hooper astonished the town and possibly herself, by marrying Captain Richard Trask, a widower with two children. (It was custom for a woman to marry in her teens, otherwise she was considered an “old maid” by the time she was in her 30’s.) Their son Charles was born in 1824 and Abigail continued as storekeeper, thus becoming a working mother. In the 1830’s she improved the house with a modern curving stair and a third-floor addition from which the Captain could see the ocean. As owner of the house, she retained title to the house—very unusual at that time, for when a woman married, everything she owned automatically became the property of her husband.

Strong of intellect and will, Abigail also insisted her husband change his name! Richard Trask was originally Richard Tink. She did not like the name and requested he change it to his mother’s maiden name of Trask. Richard did not object and the name has been Trask ever since—quite modern of both of them. Abigail lived to the old age of 93 years, a woman whose opinion was both respected and sought after by friends, business associates and town fathers alike. It is fitting her house is the home of a society whose focus is to preserve the history of the town. 

"In 1925, the Manchester Historical Society acquired the Abigail Hooper Trask House for use as their headquarters and museum. Built in 1823, it is the former residence of Abigail Hooper Trask, a prominent businesswoman, and her husband Captain Richard Trask..."