Sarah Goodwin, recalling from her childhood the Sunday services at old North Church, wrote,  "When the theology became very terrible, the expression on Mr. Webster's face was more awful than could be described." The man she remembered was Daniel Webster, one of the eminent figures of American history. At that time, though, Webster was a young lawyer just beginning his career. During part of his residence in Portsmouth, Daniel Webster lived in the small house that now stands at the corner of Hancock and Washington Streets in Strawbery Banke.

Daniel Webster was born in 1782, the son of a farmer in Salisbury, New Hampshire. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College, he came to Portsmouth in 1807 to begin law practice. Portsmouth was the logical place for a young man from up-country New Hampshire to test himself for the first time. As the largest, most cosmopolitan town in state it provided a challenge, but without the intimidating prospect of a more populous center such as Boston.

Webster bought a house on Pleasant Street where he took his new bride, Grace Fletcher Webster, and where their first children were born. Though he opened an office on Market Street, he spent most of his time following the Superior Court sessions through the counties of the state. Webster, nevertheless, did find time for local politics. It was largely by his persuasion, in fact, that Portsmouth was convinced that as a town dependent on international trade, its allegiance belonged more rightly with the Federalist rather than the Republican Party. Within only a few years Daniel Webster became the spokesman for the New Hampshire Federalists, and in 1812 he was elected to Congress.

Daniel Webster's first term in Washington corresponded with the outbreak of the War of 1812. This was fortunate for Webster because it allowed him to make a name for himself as spokesman for those who opposed the war. His biographer, Irving Bartlett, has recently remarked that the Federalist press was gleeful to find someone "capable of matching the arrogance and eloquence of Clay and Calhoun." Accordingly they "put Webster in the front rank of parliamentary speakers on either side of the Atlantic."

The nine years of the most active portion of my life spent here in Portsmouth are treasured in my heart with my dearest, my most enduring recollections.Daniel Webster 1844 Developments back home in Portsmouth, however, were not as happy. A great fire swept through town late in 1813 and took the Webster home with it. Webster was in Washington at the time and none of his family was harmed, but the house was not insured and he had to go heavily into debt to set up housekeeping again. It is not surprising that in 1814 the Webster’s moved into this unassuming house now part of Strawbery Banke.

George Massey, a trader, built the Daniel Webster House on High Street in 1785. One of its most unusual features is the roof with one gable end, one hip end, and heavily overhanging eaves. This and the fine doorway, topped by a segmental pediment, give the house an inordinate amount of dignity for its size. When Daniel Webster moved in, a wing, which may have served as, the kitchen extended from the gable end of the house. Although the Webster house has only four rooms, the interior imparts a decided feeling of spaciousness. The triple-run stairway is narrow which provides added room in the front hall. The rooms themselves, each with a fireplace, are good sized. The many windows, which allow in an extraordinary amount of light, contribute to the feeling of openness. Although modest in size, the Daniel Webster House possesses as much charm as any dwelling in the neighborhood.

It is known that the Webster’s owned fine furnishings during their years in Portsmouth. Their Sheraton-style sofa, apparently made in Portsmouth, is now in the White House.

By 1816 Daniel Webster had become an important figure in Washington. He realized that he needed a political base closer to the center of national power and also that, for financial reasons, he had to develop a larger law practice than Portsmouth could support. So in August of 1816, before finishing his term as congressman from New Hampshire, Webster moved his family to Boston.

Daniel Webster claimed residence in Massachusetts for the rest of his life. But this man who was recognized by generations as the preeminent spokesman for American nationalism, and who was one of the greatest orators ever produced by America, never forgot his beginnings in Portsmouth. On his last visit in 1844, eight years before his death, the great statesman, with tears in his eyes, told a gathering that his early years in the town were among his fondest memories.

The Daniel Webster House was moved from High Street to Strawbery Banke in 1961 when it was threatened with demolition. Several groups and individuals including the schoolchildren of New Hampshire, Mrs. Howard W. Alling, and the Charles T. and Marian M. Thompson Foundation of Kansas City, Missouri, made Restoration possible.