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NANTUCKET  ODYSSEY 


NANTUCKET  ODYSSEY 

A  JOURNEY  INTO  THE  HISTORY  OF  NANTUCKET 

BY 
EMIL  FREDERICK  GTJBA,  PhD. 


WALTHAM,  MASSACHUSETTS 
1951 


Copyright,  1951 
By  Emil  Frederick  Guba 


Reproduction  permitted  only  with  the  understanding  and 
approval  of  the  author. 


PRINTED  AT  THE  EATON  PRESS,  INC. 
WATERTOWN,  MASSACHUSETTS,  U.  S.  A. 


To  THE  Memory  of  My  Mother 

BERTHA  KUPLENT  GUBA 
1874-1950 

this  book  is  most  affectionately  dedicated 


PREFACE 

There  is  a  voluminous  literature  on  Nantucket.  However, 
this  volume  has  been  written  to  give  you  a  factual  and 
straightforward  acquaintance  with  the  origin,  growth,  pros- 
perity and  decline  of  this  island  and  its  people,  and  the  re- 
discovery of  the  place  by  summer  visitors.  For  emphasis 
and  variety  the  episodes  are  supplemented  with  numerous 
poems  and  quotations. 

The  forefathers  came  bent  upon  building  an  industry  on 
whale  oil.  The  industry  flourished  until  man's  ingenuity 
found  something  better  and  cheaper  in  petroleum.  If  you 
climb  the  walks  on  Nantucket,  explore  the  historical  centers, 
and  survey  what  was  built  on  the  wealth  of  the  oil  of  the 
harpooned  whale  brought  here  from  all  the  oceans  of  the 
world,  you  will  become  inspired  with  great  enthusiasm  for 
the  place  and  those  who  made  it. 

The  story  of  Nantucket  and  its  people  is  the  story  of  the 
growth  of  America,  of  adventure,  hardship  and  toil,  human 
sacrifice,  and  free  enterprise  in  a  friendly,  unostentatious 
society  The  spirit  of  peace  and  restfulness  still  pervades 
the  island,  but  the  odor  and  industry  of  whale  oil  are  gone. 

The  writer  was  attracted  to  Nantucket  to  explore  its 
fascinating  fungous  flora  and  by  an  organized  interest  there 
in  the  island's  natural  science.  The  old  landmarks,  the  nar- 
row streets  and  the  old  houses  of  weathered  gray  shingles 
prompted  him  to  inquire  into  its  past.  He  was  inquisitive, 
but  he  never  intended  to  neglect  his  Nantucket  botany  to 
write  this  patchwork  quilt  of  episodes  of  the  island  and  its 
former  people.  Nevertheless  it  happened. 

"There's  a  spell  in  Nantucket  well  known  to  bewitch. 
Which  exerts  the  same  charm  o'er  the  poor  and  the  rich ; 


Vlll  PREFACE 

If  you  go  to  the  Island  you'll  quickly  learn  why 
When  you  look  at  her  moorlands,  her  shores,  and  her  sky ; 
And  you'll  say  that  you  love  her  if  never  before 
When  the  wild  breakers  dash  in  their  might  on  the  shore. 
0  thou  lovely  Nantucket,  fair  Isle  of  the  sea! 
With  sweetest  of  memories  my  thoughts  turn  to  thee." 
From  ''The  Magic  of  Nantucket"  by  I.  H.  Folger 

Use  of  the  facilities  of  the  Boston  Public  Library,  Har- 
vard College  Library,  Massachusetts  Archives,  Massachu- 
setts State  Library,  New  Bedford  Free  Public  Library,  and 
the  Waltham  Public  Library  is  gratefully  acknowledged. 

I  am  especially  indebted  to  the  large  family  of  Nan- 
tucket writers  and  to  the  Nantucket  Historical  Association 
for  their  admirable  and  vast  literature  of  the  island.  I  add 
this  volume  to  their  industry  and  accomplishment. 

E.  F.  G. 

Waltham,  Massachusetts 
August  15,  1951 


CONTENTS 


VI.  The  Nantucket  Legend  .... 

2.  Sale  of  Nantucket  to  a  Watertown 

Merchant        

3.  Purchase  by  a  Company  of 

Salisbury  Settlers     .... 

4.  Exodus  to  Nantucket 

5.  Motives  for  the  Removals  to  Nantucket 

6.  Nantucket  Indians  Under  Mayhew  . 

7.  Organization  of  the  Proprietors 

8.  A  Poll  of  Early  Inhabitants  . 
-^9.  Degradation  of  the  Indians  . 

-- 10.  First  Births  and  Deaths  . 

^-J.1.  The  Population  Expands  and 
Becomes  Self-Governing  . 

12.  Beginning  of  Civil  Strife  . 

13.  Nantucket  Ceded  to 

Massachusetts  Bay  Colony 

14.  The  Land  Question 

15.  Forefathers  Burial  Ground  and  Monument 

16.  Old  North  and  other  Burial  Grounds 

17.  Intermarriages  Among  First  Families 

18.  Illustrious  Sons  and  Daughters  . 

19.  Pride  of  Native  Homeland    . 

20.  Beginnings  of  Organized  Religion 

21.  Infidelity  of  Stephen  Hussey 

22.  First  Friends  Burial  Ground  . 

23.  Second  Friends  Burial  Grounds  . 


1 

5 

7 
9 
11 
20 
23 
25 
28 
33 

35 
38 

48 
49 
51 
60 
63 
67 
74 
77 
80 
81 
83 


contents 

24.  Winter  Evenings  on  old  Nantucket  in  the 

Eighteenth  Century 88 

25.  The  Quaker  Society 92 

26.  A  Nantucket  Quaker  Marriage  Contract     .  99 

27.  Rise  of  other  Religious  Denominations  .      .  103 

28.  Episodes  of  the  Schools 108 

V  29.  The  Quaise  Asylum  .      .      .      .      .      .      .117 

^30.  Whaling  and  Prosperity 120 

"^31.  Notable  Events  in  the  Whale  Fishery  .      .  127 

"^32.  Emigrations  FROM  Nantucket      .      .      .      .  131 

^33.  The  Decline .138 

34.  The  Rediscovery 143 

35.  Over  the  Moors  to  Madaket  .      .      .      .      .  149 

36.  East  to  Siasconset .  152 

37.  Quidnet,  Wauwinnet,  Polpis  and  Quaise  .      .  154 

38.  Journey's  End 156 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


1.  Portion  of  the  Sea  of  New  England 

2.  Jethro  Coffin  House     . 

3.  Old  Swain  House    .... 

4.  "Walk"  on  Old  Nantucket  House 

5.  Picturesque  Nantucket  Doorway 

6.  Various  Kinds  of  Whales  . 

7.  Population  of  Nantucket  1700-1950 

8.  Old  Mill  on  Mill  Hill  .... 


16 

45 

58 

76 

91 

122 

137 

146 


PLATES 

1.  Main  Street,  1835 64 

2.  William  Rotch  Counting  House,  1765  ...  65 

3.  Pauper's  Burying  Ground 80 

4.  Old  South  Cemetery 81 


INTRODUCTION 

Dr.  Guba  first  visited  Nantucket  some  sixteen  years  ago 
for  a  purely  routine  scientific  study  of  fungi.  In  the  process 
he  was  seduced  by  the  subtle  spell  with  which  the  Island  en- 
folds her  children,  those  born  to  her  and  those  who  adopt 
her.  Though  neither  he  nor  any  other  of  her  votaries  will 
ever  be  able  to  weave  that  spell  into  words,  he  has  made 
a  propitiatory  offering  by  contributing  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  history  of  the  people  and  the  changing  scenes  of  their 
activities.  He  has  traced  them  through  the  first  difficult 
years,  to  the  rise  and  zenith  of  prosperity,  through  the  de- 
cline, and  to  the  present  resurgence. 

Most  of  the  fundamental  facts  are  not  new,  of  course,  but 
such  topics  as  the  early  connections  with  the  Vineyard  and 
its  Indian  preachers,  the  ''battle"  between  the  half-share 
men  and  the  full-share  men,  and  the  history  of  education, 
are  treated  probably  more  fully  than  they  have  been  hereto- 
fore. The  confusing  subject  of  the  shares  in  the  common 
and  undivided  land  has  been  rather  skimmed  over,  which  is 
as  well,  for  no  one  so  far  has  written  of  it  with  satisfying 
authority,  and  the  subject  is  sufficiently  muddy  already. 

Controversy  will  arise  over  the  date  of  construction  and 
first  location  of  the  Congregational  Vestry,  but  what  has 
been  undoubtedly  an  unintentional  error  carried  on  by  tradi- 
tion and  in  good  faith,  should  now  be  corrected  on  the  basis 
of  Dr.  Cuba's  findings,  for  his  documentation  is  good. 

The  subject  of  emigrations  during  the  18th  and  19th  cen- 
turies never  has  had  much  attention  outside  of  an  occasional 
paper  before  the  Historical  Association.  Now  most  of  it  has 
been  gathered  together  and  made  into  one  story,  in  order 
that  it  may  take  its  proper  place  in  the  perspective  of  Island 
history.  On  this  it  had  a  very  important  impact,  since  most 
of  those  who  moved  away  were  possessed  of  the  robust 


XIV  INTRODUCTION 

pioneering"  and  independent  spirit  of  early  New  England. 
That  is  not  to  imply  that  only  the  dregs  remained  behind, 
because  there  are,  to  this  day,  many  Nantucketers  fully 
worthy  of  the  inheritance  of  their  forefathers.  Yet  certainly 
much  of  the  cream  must  have  been  lost  and  with  it  much  of 
the  drive  which  carried  the  house  flags  of  Starbuck,  Coffin, 
Macy,  Folger,  and  the  rest  throughout  the  Seven  Seas. 

Whether  the  reader  knows  Nantucket  or  whether  he  is 
delving  into  his  first  acquaintance  with  her,  he  will  find 
much  to  absorb  him  in  the  following  pages ;  he  will  find  both 
history  and  guide,  covering  all  the  essentials,  yet  not  too 
long  spun  out.  Some  authors  spend  a  few  weeks  on  Island, 
then  produce  books  which  contain  a  little  flotsam  and  jetsam, 
but  mostly  froth;  the  present  volume  has  been  written  by  a 
man  who  for  years  has  read  deeply  of  his  subject  and  gone 
to  the  sources. 


Charles  P.  Kimball 


Barnstable,  Massachusetts 
August  4,  1951 


NANTUCKET  ODYSSEY 


Chapter  1. 
THE  NANTUCKET  LEGEND 

Nantucket  is  the  Indian  word  for  'the  land  far  off  at  sea." 
Some  historians  assert  that  it  signifies  "it  is  heard"  or  "it  is 
sounding",  referring  to  the  roar  of  the  surf ;  others  that  it 
means  "the  place  of  the  hills."  The  old  records  and  maps  re- 
veal considerable  variation  in  the  name,  such  as  Nantuckett, 
Nantuckit,  Neutocket,  Nantoe,  Nantae,  Nantuchet,  Nantuc- 
kitt,  Nantuckket,  Natucket,  Nantukked,  Nantuckkut,  Nan- 
tukes,  Natocks,  Nantocket,  Natocke,  Natacei,  Nantock,  Nan- 
toket,  Nantockyte,  Nautican,  and  Nantakei.  Common  usage 
has  accepted  the  name  Nantucket,  and  this  appears  to  be  . 
the  best  translation  of  Indian  into  good  English. 

Nantucket  prospered  on  whaling  except  for  the  interrup- 
tions and  damaging  blows  from  the  Revolutionary  War,  the 
War  of  1812,  and  finally  the  Civil  War.  It  came  to  rank  third 
to  Boston  and  Salem  as  a  commercial  port.  Daniel  Webster, 
who  appeared  professionally  on  the  island  in  1835,  fittingly 
called  it  the  "Unknown  City  in  the  Ocean."  To  the  captains 
and  crews  of  its  whaling  vessels  it  was  the  "Little  Gray 
Lady,"  the  welcoming  town  of  weathered  gray-shingled 
houses.  Those  were  Nantucket's  "palmy  days,"  and  her  in- 
habitants point  with  pride  and  enthusiasm  to  that  "golden^ 
age"  of  prosperity  and  maritime  success.  They  were  her 
oily  days.  All  her  industries  flourished  around  the  central 
one  of  oil.  The  whaling  business  was  the  life  of  the  place. 
The  production  of  sperm  candles  reached  380  tons  annually, 
The  language  of  the  Nantucketers  was  a  nautical  dialect, 
Virtually,  they  cared  for  nothing,  thought  of  nothing,  knew 
nothing  except  whaling. 

The  queenly  capital  seat  of  the  island  remains  an  old- 
fashioned  town  of  narrow  streets  and  gray-shingled  houses. 


2  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

rich  in  history,  odd  to  the  traveler,  a  sapphire  anchored  in 
the  ocean  on  the  way  to  Europe.  The  architecture  of  the 
houses,  "95  percent  perfect,"  the  doorways  opening  on  the 
narrow  cobblestone  alleys  and  streets,  and  the  old  burial 
grounds  remind  us  of  the  long  past.  Nantucket  is  unspoiled 
and  refreshing.  Every  breeze  and  every  fog  and  storm 
comes  from  the  ocean.  The  odor  of  whale  oil  is  gone,  also 
the  cooper  shops,  but  the  old  houses  and  dignified  mansions 
built  by  oil  all  stand.  Here  the  artist,  the  antiquarian,  the 
historian,  and  the  naturalist  feel  thoroughly  at  ease.  Yowl^ 
are  no  longer  in  the  world ;  you  are  on  another  planet.  Here 
are  no  malaria,  intense  heat,  or  hay  fever  to  trouble  the 
traveler  in  search  of  rest  or  recreation.  You  relax  and  forget 
the  hustle  and  bustle  of  business  and  continental  life.  The 
visitor  invariably  returns  and  becomes  an  annual  pilgrim  ioJ^ 
"the  far  away  island." 

Take  out  your  map  and  look  at  it.  There  it  is  anchored 
in  the  ocean  in  a  quiet  corner  of  the  world,  long  and  low  like 
a  giant  whale  with  her  little  whales  by  her  side,  Tuckernuck, 
Muskeget,  and  the  Gravelly  Islands.  This  is  "The  Far  Away 
Island,"  "The  Land  Far  Out  at  Sea,"  "The  Glacier's  Gift"; 
a  blot  of  sand,  ponds  and  moors  "where  summer  is  five  Sep- 
tembers long" ;  a  "la^ip_chop"  of  30,000  acres  dumped  into  /y 
the  ocean  south  of  Cape  Cod,  Massachusetts,  and  peopled  by 
Indians  long  before  its  discovery  by  the  adventurous  navi- 
gators of  the  Old  World.  No  other  domain  of  the  United 
States  along  the  eastern  coast  line  is  so  far  from  the  main- 
land. None  has  had  more  recognition,  none  is  more  dearly 
cherished,  none  so  charming  and  alluring. 

One  of  the  tutelary  divinities  of  the  Nantucket  Indians 
was  Moshup,  a  monster  giant  who  now  and  then  made  Cape 
Cod  his  bed.  He  waded  the  ocean  sounds  around  him  and 
made  his  chief  abode  at  what  was  known  as  Devil's  Den  at 
Gay  Head,  Martha's  Vineyard.  Here  he  broiled  whales  on 
fires  made  of  the  largest  trees  (there  were  none  on  Nan- 
tucket) which  he  pulled  up  by  the  roots.  The  cooked  flesh 
and  oil  were  distributed  among  ifhe  hungry  natives.    The 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  3 

bones  of  the  whales  and  the  coals  of  the  fires  may  still  be 
seen  in  the  quaint  and  picturesque  geological  formations  at 
Gay  Head. 

This  legendary  giant  is  credited  with  the  origin  of  Nan- 
tucket and  Martha's  Vineyard.  One  sleepless,  restless  night 
on  Cape  Cod,  his  moccasins  filled  with  sand.  Becoming  en- 
raged, he  flung  them  from  his  feet,  both  falling  nearby  into 
the  ocean  to  build  the  islands.  After  establishing  his  resi- 
dence at  Devil's  Den,  in  a  similar  exciting  spell  he  meta- 
morphosed his  five  children  into  fishes  and  threw  his  wife 
over  on  Seaconnet  Point  near  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  where 
she  was  changed  to  stone.  There  she  remains,  a  misshapen 
rock. 

Indian  legend  also  ascribes  the  origin  of  Nantucket  to 
Moshup's  pipe  full  of  ashes.  Moshup  emptied  his  pipe  after 
a  thoughtful  smoke  on  Martha's  Vineyard  and  the  wind 
carried  the  ashes  out  to  sea,  to  the  eastward,  where  they 
settled  to  form  a  picturesque,  rolling  island.  This  legend 
explains  the  origin  of  the  derisive  name,  'The  Devil's  Ash 
Heap"  which  Nantucket  has  been  jocosely  called  by  an  oc- 
casional envious  historian  among  its  neighbors  with  a  sense 
of  greater  importance  of  his  own  small  island. 

Some  believe  that  the  first  Nantucket  Indian  was  borne 
with  his  dog  on  a  cake  of  ice  from  the  mainland.  Another 
legend  describes  a  monster  bird  that  was  wont  to  sweep 
down  upon  the  Indian  settlements  along  Cape  Cod  and  to 
carry  away  the  Indian  infants  in  its  talons  over  the  ocean 
to  the  south.  The  grief  stricken  parents,  seeing  their  child 
borne  out  of  sight,  followed  in  their  canoe  in  the  same  direc- 
tion where  they  came  upon  the  strange  island  and  the  skele- 
tons of  many  babies.  This  discovery  led  to  an  exodus  of 
Indians  to  the  island. 

There  are  numerous  other  legends  about  Nantucket,  Mos- 
hup and  the  Indians,  but  they  seem  too  fantastic  and  in- 
credible for  repetition  here. 

It  has  been  written  that  the  Nantucket  Indians  were  in- 
clined to  be  warlike ;  those  of  Martha's  Vineyard,  peaceful. 


4  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

Legend  describes  a  feud  existing  between  the  tribes  of  the 
east  and  west  portions  of  Nantucket  over  the  boundary  line 
dividing  the  territories  of  the  tribes,  which  ceased  in  1630 
and  long  before  the  arrival  of  the  white  settlers  by  the  court- 
ship of  a  maiden  princess  of  one  tribe  and  the  son  of  the 
ruler  of  the  other.  The  island  was  divided  into  the  territories 
of  Sachems  Potconet,  Autopscot,  Wauwinet  and  Wanack- 
mamack  and  inhabited  by  about  seven  hundred  Indians. 


Chapter  2. 

SALE  OF  NANTUCKET 
TO  A  WATERTOWN  MERCHANT 

By  the  charter  and  grant  to  William  Alexander,  Earl  of 
Stirling  in  1635  and  by  decree  of  King  Charles  I,  Long 
Island  and  the  adjacent  islands  belonged  to  the  Earl  of  Stirl- 
ing. In  1641  the  name  of  Nantucket  appeared  in  the  deed 
granted  to  Thomas  Mayhew,  his  son  and  associates,  by  James 
Forret,  agent  for  William  Alexander,  Earl  of  Stirling.  For 
this  title,  Mayhew  paid  40  pounds.  By  the  charter  and  grant 
to  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  by  King  Charles  I  on  April  3, 1639, 
Nautican  Island  belonged  to  Gorges.  Both  Lord  Stirling 
and  Ferdinando  Gorges  shared  in  the  division  of  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Council  for  the  Affairs  of  New  England  or  Ply- 
mouth Company  which  was  organized  in  Plymouth,  England, 
November  3,  1621.  King  James  I  in  the  charter  to  this  com- 
pany, dated  November  23,  1621,  granted  it  all  the  territory 
in  America  between  the  40th  and  50th  parallels  not  already 
settled,  which  included  the  islands  south  of  Cape  Cod,  Massa- 
chusetts. Subsequently,  the  claims  of  each  were  conflicting. 

To  secure  his  patent  to  the  islands,  Mayhew  paid  Richard 
Vines,  agent  of  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  Lord  Proprietor  of 
Maine,  an  undisclosed  sum  of  money.  As  the  result  of  the 
combined  purchases  from  Alexander  and  Gorges  represented 
in  the  execution  of  three  deeds,  two  from  Forret,  one  from 
Vines,  dated  October  13,  23,  and  25,  1641,  Thomas  Mayhew, 
Puritan  Watertown  merchant  and  his  son,  Thomas,  Jr., 
acquired  16  islands  south  of  Cape  Cod  comprising  Nantuck- 
et, Martha's  Vineyard,  and  the  Elizabeth  Islands.  Stirling, 
according  to  documents,  had  no  legal  claim  to  any  of  these 
islands,  and  Thomas  Mayhew  always  held  that  his  best  title 
was  derived  from  Gorges.    Up  until  September  27,  1666, 


6  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

Nantucket  was  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  Province  of  Maine. 
Richard  Nicolls  was  the  first  Governor  General  of  the  newly 
captured  province  of  New  Netherlands  in  1665.  Nicolls  ac- 
knowledged to  Mayhew,  ''that  the  power  of  these  islands  was 
proper  in  ye  hands  of  Ferdinand©  Gorges,"  and  as  late  as 
1668  he  regarded  the  Province  of  Maine  as  the  legal  author- 
ity over  the  island  of  Nantucket.  As  late  as  March  13,  1677, 
Nantucket  was  included  in  the  deed  of  Maine  to  John  Usher 
by  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges. 

In  1663,  the  Earl  of  Clarendon  purchased  for  his  son-in- 
law,  James,  the  Duke  of  York  and  Albany,  the  pretentions 
of  Henry,  the  fourth  Earl  of  Stirling,  to  his  territories  in 
America,  and  on  March  12,  1664,  his  brother.  King  Charles 
II  granted  to  him  the  patent  of  New  York,  Maine,  Martha's 
Vineyard,  Nantucket,  and  other  islands.  This  James  ruled 
England  as  King  James  II  from  1685  to  1688.  These  trans- 
actions were  made  possible  by  the  acquisition  of  New  Am- 
sterdam and  the  Province  of  New  Netherlands  from  the 
Dutch  in  1664.  But  Nicolls  did  nothing  to  enforce  the  Duke's 
claim  to  the  islands  south  of  Cape  Cod.  The  confusion  in  the 
claims  to  these  islands  was  anticipated,  and  Mayhew  was 
determined  to  secure  his  right  by  purchasing  the  patents  of 
both  Stirling  and  Gorges.   In  this  way  he  acted  wisely. 

In  1642  the  first  white  settlement  was  established  at  Great 
Harbor,  Martha's  Vineyard,  by  a  small  band  of  planters  un- 
der the  leadership  of  Thomas  Mayhew,  Jr.,  then  21  years  of 
age  and  the  only  son.  He  acted  as  Governor  until  the  arrival 
of  the  senior  patentee  approximately  in  1645.  In  this  group 
was  one  Captain  Humphrey  Atherton,  who  might  be  con- 
sidered the  first  white  person  to  graze  sheep  on  Nantucket 
and  Martha's  Vineyard,  receiving  authority  in  August  24, 
1654,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  from  the  government  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  Colony.  The  use  of  the  west  end  of  Nan- 
tucket as  a  pasturage  for  Vineyard  cattle  was  discontinued 
in  June  1667,  when  the  Vineyard  people  were  notified  to 
remove  all  their  beasts  within  two  months  under  penalty  of 
forfeiture  of  five  shillings  a  month  for  each  one  remaining. 


Chapter  3. 

PURCHASE  BY  A  COMPANY 
OF  SALISBURY  SETTLERS 

Having  acquired  the  islands  by  rightful  conveyance  from 
the  English  Crown,  it  was  Mayhew's  desire  to  settle  them. 
Tristram  Coffin  and  a  band  of  Salisbury  planters  were  seek- 
ing a  new  settlement  modelled  upon  a  mutual  and  equitable 
proprietorship  of  the  land,  apportioning  it  into  commons  of 
pasture  and  tillage.  After  suitable  investigation  by  Tristram 
Coffin  and  others  assisted  by  Peter  Folger  in  the  summer  of 
1659,  a  company  of  nine  men,  friends,  neighbors,  and  rela- 
tives was  organized  at  Salisbury,  and  the  purchase  of  nine- 
tenths  of  the  island  from  Governor  Thomas  Mayhew  was 
authorized.  The  price  was  thirty  pounds  and  two  beaver 
hats.  The  **beaver"  was  the  fashionable  top  hat  in  Europe 
and  America,  and  so  stable  was  a  beaver  skin  in  value  that 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company  issued  brass  coins  as  a  counter- 
part. 

Mayhew  retained  one-tenth  of  the  island  for  himself  and 
that  part  called  Quaise.  The  company  of  purchasers  com- 
prised Tristram  Coffin,  Sr.,  Thomas  Macy,  Richard  Swain, 
Thomas  Barnard,  Peter  Coffin,  Christopher  Hussey,  Stephen 
Greenleaf ,  John  Swain,  and  William  Pike.  The  first  meeting 
of  the  proprietors  was  held  at  Salisbury  in  February  1659. 
They  met  again  on  July  2,  1659,  to  organize  and  to  take  ten 
partners,  one  to  each  proprietor.  These  were  John  Smith, 
Nathaniel  Starbuck,  Edward  Starbuck,  Thomas  Look,  Rob- 
ert Barnard,  James  Coffin,  Robert  Pike,  Tristram  Coffin,  Jr., 
and  Thomas  Coleman.  Thomas  Mayhew,  Jr.  was  named  as 
the  partner  of  Thomas  Mayhew,  Sr.  These  were  known  as 
the  Twenty  First  Purchasers  in  the  subsequent  records  of 
Nantucket.    At  this  Salisbury  meeting,  it  was  agreed  to 


8  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

have  ten  other  partners  or  craftsmen  who  would  own  one- 
half  as  much  land  as  the  first  purchasers.  The  last  pro- 
prietors' meeting  at  Salisbury  took  place  on  May  10,  1661. 

What  the  Salisbury  company  of  men  bought  from  Gover- 
nor Mayhew  was  his  rights  to  Nantucket  together  with  the 
title  from  the  proper  Indian  Sachem.  Although  Mayhew's 
titles  to  the  islands  descended  from  the  English  Crown,  he 
regarded  them  merely  as  his  exclusive  right  of  ownership 
among  the  English.  The  Indian  occupants  were  the  owners, 
and  Mayhew  sold  only  the  right  to  the  European  settlers  to 
obtain  title  from  the  rightful  Indian  Sachem.  On  June  21, 
1659,  Mayhew  obtained  a  conveyance  of  the  title  to  Nan- 
tucket from  the  Indians  and  with  the  "sachem  rights"  se- 
cured he  was  able  to  sell  the  island,  the  sale  being  made  on 
July  2,  1659.  In  the  same  year  Tuckernuck  Island,  contain- 
ing about  100  acres,  was  acquired  from  Mayhew  by  Tristram 
Coffin  and  his  sons,  Peter,  James  and  Tristram,  Jr.,  for  the 
sum  of  six  pounds,  and  in  1661  they  bought  the  Indian  rights. 
Thus  in  the  sale  of  two  islands,  Tuckernuck  and  nine-tenths 
of  Nantucket,  by  which  Mayhew  realized  thirty  six  pounds 
and  two  beaver  hats,  he  practically  recovered  his  investment 
of  forty  pounds  in  the  sixteen  islands  south  of  Cape  Cod.  At 
first  the  Indians  sold  all  of  their  land  except  a  southerly  strip 
including  Miacomet  Pond.  Eventually  all  of  the  rights  to  the 
island  were  secured  by  the  company  of  proprietors  by  pur- 
chase and  donations  from  the  Indians. 


Chapter  4. 
EXODUS  TO  NANTUCKET 

Thomas  and  Sarah  Macy  and  their  five  children  arrived 
in  the  fall  of  1659.  Incidentally,  Thomas  Mayhew,  Sr.  and 
Thomas  Macy  were  cousins.  Accompanying  the  Macys  from 
Salisbury  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  were  Edward 
Starbuck,  Isaac  Coleman,  an  orphan  aged  twelve  years,  and 
James  Coffin,  aged  eighteen  years.  These  were  the  pioneer 
settlers.  Nothing  is  known  of  that  historic  voyage  except 
that  they  stopped  at  Great  Harbor  (Edgartown)  for  com- 
fort and  further  direction,  and  to  take  on  one  Dagget  to  pilot 
them  on  their  voyage  to  (Maticat)   Madaket. 

The  circumstances  underlying  the  emigrations  to  Nan- 
tucket are  well  described  in  G.  H.  Folger's  "Musings."* 

"Our  Pilgrim  fathers  forth  were  driven 
By  persecution's  rod. 
And  sought  this  isle  among  the  waves, 
Where  they  could  worship  God. 

When  Autumn's  clouds  lowered  in  the  sky, 
Old  Thomas  dared  the  sea, 
With  Edward  nobly  by  his  side, 
They'd  die  or  they'd  be  free." 

Macy  was  determined  to  relocate  his  homeland  and  to 
separate  from  his  Salisbury  associations  and  the  tyranny  of 
Puritan  dress,  custom,  and  clergy.  During  the  anxious, 
perilous  moments  of  that  historic  voyage  in  the  Macy  pin- 
nace, Sarah  begged  Thomas  to  turn  back.    Macy  retorted, 


♦From  Seaweeds  from  the  Seashores  of  Nantucket,  edited  by  Lucy 
CofOn  Starbuck,  1853. 


10  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

"Woman,  go  below  and  seek  thy  God.  I  fear  not  the  witches 
on  earth  nor  the  devils  in  hell."  He  had  set  his  course  for  a 
new  untried  land  and  a  new  social  order. 

The  Macy  children  were  Sarah,  thirteen  years,  Mary, 
eleven  years,  Bethia,  nine  years,  Thomas,  Jr.,  six  years,  and 
John,  four  years.  The  care  of  the  children  on  this  historic 
voyage  required  all  of  the  vigilance  of  their  devoted  mother. 
The  Macys  had  left  a  prosperous  homeland  to  seek  a  new 
lease  on  life  in  an  untried  land  inhabited  by  Indians,  with 
winter  near  at  hand.  In  a  little  hut  at  Madaket,  they  spent 
their  first  winter.  Here  they  found  the  Indians  peacefully 
disciplined,  kind  and  hospitable,  and  under  the  control  of 
their  head  sachems.  The  welcome  extended  by  the  venerable 
Wannackmamack  proved  him  to  be  the  true  friend  of  the 
white  emigrants. 


Chapter  5. 
MOTIVES  FOR  THE  REMOVALS  TO  NANTUCKET 

Starbuck  returned  to  Dover  the  following  spring  to  report, 
and  in  the  summer  of  1660  he  came  back  to  Nantucket  with 
ten  more  families.  What  motivated  these  families  to  leave 
their  homeland  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  and  to 
establish  another  on  a  barren,  strange,  far  away  island? 
Were  they  dissatisfied,  and  what  were  the  factors  which  en- 
couraged them  to  remove  to  this  remote,  barren  island? 
Silvy,  "po*r  ole  lady  of  color,"  the  "mammy  of  Tuckernuck," 
in  response  to  that  stirring  question  exclaimed,  "Dat  ar*s 
jes  what  no  man  can  find  out.  Oh  de  length  an'  de  bredfh  of 
it,  an'  de  ways  ob  de  Lord  is  pars  findin'  out." 

Then,  Nantucket  was  a  sand  bank.  Not  even  weeds  would 
grow  here.  Wood  for  fuel  was  as  precious  and  respected  as 
bits  of  the  true  Cross  in  Rome.  There  were  no  trees  large 
enough  for  architectural  timber,  no  timber  for  building,  and 
no  soil  for  agriculture.  Vegetation  was  limited  to  an  oc- 
casional mushroom.  Some  of  the  proprietors  became  dis- 
couraged and  withdrew  from  the  project.  William  Pike  with- 
drew and  conveyed  his  interest  to  Nathaniel  Boulter,  who 
then  deeded  one-half  to  John  Bishop  and  the  other  half  to 
William,  ten  years,  Mary,  six  years,  Ann,  four  years,  and 
Martha  Bunker,  two  years,  the  four  of  five  children  of  the 
deceased  George  Bunker.  The  mother,  Jane  Godfrey  Bunker, 
subsequently  married  Richard  Swain  of  Rowley. 

Others  chose  to  remain  to  make  history.  They  were  Trist- 
ram Coffin,  Sr.,  John  Swain,  Sr.,  husband  of  Mary  Weir  and 
the  only  son  to  accompany  his  father,  Richard  Swain,  to 
Nantucket,  Thomas  Macy,  Robert  Barnard,  James  Coffin, 
Thomas  Coleman,  Edward  Starbuck,  and  Nathaniel  Star- 
buck.  The  settlers  established  themselves  on  the  north  side 


12  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

of  the  island  close  to  Great  Harbor  or  Edgartown  and  to 
Mayhew's  company  of  planters  to  which  retreat  was  possible 
or  from  whom  help  could  be  obtained  in  the  event  of  trouble 
with  the  Indians.  Capaum  Pond  situated  inside  of  the  north 
shore  of  the  island  then  was  open  to  the  sea  and  afforded  a 
small  harbor.  It  was  completely  closed  during  a  furious 
storm  in  1722. 

The  area  about  Maxcey's  Pond,  then  known  as  Wyer's 
Pond,  about  the  north  end  of  Hummock  Pond,  was  the  cradle 
site  of  the  settlement.  Here  on  the  hill  adjoining  the  north 
end  of  Hummock  Pond,  Nathaniel  and  Mary  Coffin  Starbuck 
built  their  residence.  The  Nantucket  Monthly  Meeting  or 
Quakerism  on  Nantucket  was  born  in  the  living  room  of 
this  house  in  1708.  It  was  located  near  a  spring,  a  few  feet 
west  of  the  site  of  the  Cornish  barn.  Not  far  away  and  to 
the  east  of  Maxcey's  Pond  the  forefathers  established  the 
site  of  the  first  public  cemetery.  Within  a  stone's  throw,  and 
to  the  southeast  of  this  ancient  public  burial  ground,  is  the 
site  of  the  first  Friends  Burial  Ground.  Just  south  of  the 
Friends  Cemetery  stands  the  Elihu  Coleman  house  built  in 
1722  and  now  the  only  solitary  dwelling  to  mark  the  cradle 
site  of  the  primitive  settlement  of  Sherburne. 


l^ur 


A.     Religious  Persecution 

The  real  purpose  of  the  removals  of  the  Salisbury  settlers 
is  not  clearly  established.  One  school  of  thought  regarded 
these  first  families  as  Separatists  of  non-conforming  belief 
which  in  the  early  history  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony 
was  a  serious  breach  of  the  ecclesiastic  code.  For  fifty  years 
after  the  arrival  of  the  first  settlers  there  is  no  record  of  any 
organized  religion  on  Nantucket.  The  first  organized  wor- 
ship was  conducted  by  the  Society  of  Friends,  which  in  the 
early  history  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  was  perse- 
cuted and  forbidden. 

These  people  came  with  the  Puritan  migration  to  the  New 
World  from  England  to  live  and  to  worship  God  as  they 
pleased.  The  Puritans,  however,  compelled  people  to  be  re- 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  13 

ligious,  and  they  upheld  the  union  of  church  and  state.  No 
food  or  lodging  could  be  given  a  Quaker,  Adamite  or  other 
heretic.  No  one  was  allowed  to  run  or  walk  on  the  Sabbath, 
except  to  and  from  church.  No  one  could  sweep,  cook,  travel, 
cut  hair  or  shave  on  the  Sabbath.  No  woman  should  kiss  her 
husband  or  children  on  Fast  Day  or  Sunday.  Only  the  Pur- 
itans held  the  right  to  vote.  The  Puritan  code  permitted  no 
flexibility  in  thought  or  expression,  and  the  non-conf ormers 
soon  became  the  targets  of  religious  persecution.  Those  who 
refused  to  worship  according  to  the  English  prayer  book 
were  ordered  back  to  England. 

Some  of  the  settlers  were  Baptists  who  held  that  baptism  ^ 
was  a  ceremony  that  should  be  sought  by  the  free  choice  of  A/^ 
the  candidate.  Thomas  Macy,  a  Baptist,  was  fined  for  shelter- 
ing Quakers  in  his  home  in  Salisbury.  Richard  Swain  also 
"entertayned  Quakers."  These  Quakers  were  hanged  in  Bos- 
ton in  December  1659  ''in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  Also,  in 
1658,  Macy  violated  church  discipline  by  preaching  without 
a  permit.  Joseph  Peaseley,  Robert  Pike,  Christopher  Hus- 
sey,  and  John  Bishop  were  disciplined  for  espousing  the 
practice  of  public  speaking  without  license.  Edward  Star-^ 
buck,  an  elder  in  the  Salisbury  church,  was  suitably  fined  for 
publicly  expressing  his  views  on  baptism.  Dionis  and  Trist- 
ram Coffin  kept  a  public  house  at  Newbury.  Dionis  was 
charged  with  the  offense  of  selling  bad  beer,  but  on  suitable 
evidence  to  the  contrary,  she  was  discharged.  Her  ''pub" 
consequently  became  distinguished  as  the  place  where  the 
best  beer  was  sold  because  the  testimony  revealed  that  she 
put  six  bushels  of  malt  into  the  hogshead.  The  law  stated, 
"every  person  licensed  to  keep  an  ordinary,  shall  always  be 
provided  with  good  wholesome  beer  of  four  bushels  of  malt 
to  the  hogshead  which  he  shall  not  sell  above  2  pence  the  ale 
quart  on  penalty  of  forty  shillings  the  first  offense  and  for 
the  second  offense  shall  lose  his  license". 

Apparently  these  people  were  an  uneasy,  disfavored  group 
and  irksome  to  the  Puritan  majority.  Some  years  before 
(1636),  another  group  of  "uneasy  people"  under  the  leader- 


14  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

ship  of  Roger  Williams  founded  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island. 
Another  group  under  Thomas  Hooker  from  Cambridge  and 
Watertown  founded  Hartford,  which  became  the  beginnings 
of  Connecticut. 

The  removals  from  Salisbury  to  Nantucket  on  the  grounds 
of  religious  intolerance  and  persecution  makes  a  good  story. 
It  is  asserted  that  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Province  of 
New  York,  the  settlers  on  Nantucket  could  enjoy  a  more 
liberal  rule.  However,  the  story  of  new  jurisdiction  to  per- 
mit a  happier  society  is  erroneous  because  Nantucket  and 
the  adjacent  islands  were  not  absorbed  into  the  English 
province  of  New  York  until  1664  with  the  capture  of  New 
Amsterdam  and  New  Netherlands  from  the  Dutch.  In  fact, 
the  claims  of  New  York  to  Nantucket  were  not  enforced 
until  1668  with  the  arrival  of  the  second  governor.  Colonel 
Francis  Lovelace.  Nantucket  was  still  a  part  of  the  Province 
of  Maine.  The  agreement  of  Thomas  Mayhew  binding  him 
to  pay  a  tax  to  Gorges  and  Sterling  was  not  settled  until 
June  1671  when  Governor  Lovelace  issued  a  new  patent  to 
the  Nantucket  proprietors  and  recognized  Mayhew's  claim 
to  the  islands,  founded  on  Sterling's  patent,  but  only  after  a 
lot  of  ''stumbling"  and"  "faking."  Gorges*  pretensions  were 
not  accepted. 

These  emigrants  from  Essex  County  are  memorialized  in 
John  Greenleaf  Whittier's  legendary  poem,  "The  Exiles," 
which  portrays  Macy's  escape  from  the  sheriff  after  having 
been  detected  in  the  act  of  harboring  Quakers : 

"Far  round  the  bleak  and  stormy  Cape, 
The  venturous  Macy  passed. 
And  on  Nantucket's  native  isle 
Drew  up  his  boat  at  last. 

And  how,  in  log-built  cabin, 
They  braved  the  rough  sea  weather ; 
And  there,  in  peace  and  quietness, 
Went  down  life's  vale  together. 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  15 

How  others  drew  around  them, 
And  how  their  fishing  sped, 
Until  to  every  wind  of  heaven, 
Nantucket's  sails  were  spread. 

How  pale  Want  alternated 
With  Plenty's  golden  smile. 
Behold,  is  it  not  written 
In  the  annals  of  the  isle? 

And  yet  that  isle  remaineth 
A  refuge  of  the  free, 
As  when  true-hearted  Macy 
Beheld  it  from  the  sea. 

God  bless  the  sea-beat  island! 
And  grant  f orevermore 
That  charity  and  freedom  dwell 
As  now  upon  her  shore." 

This  version  of  the  emigration  to  Nantucket  by  the  Quaker 
poet  of  Haverhill  is  denied  by  most  historians.  Some  of  the 
first  settlers  on  Nantucket,  even  those  involved  in  infractions 
of  the  law  and  the  Puritan  code,  returned  to  their  Salisbury 
homeland  to  settle  their  affairs  and  for  long  visits.  Without 
the  oppressive  spirit  of  Puritanic  laws,  without  intolerance 
of  religious  opinions,  and  without  Indian  warfare  Nantucket 
was  indeed  ''plenty's  golden  smile"  and  a  ''refuge  of  the 
free." 

Macy  did  not  navigate  his  voyage  "far  round  the  bleak 
and  stormy  Cape."  He  followed  the  main  passage  laid  down 
through  the  town  of  Eastham,  Orleans  and  Chatham,  which 
was  used  in  early  colonial  times  by  small  vessels  in  voyages 
from  Maine  to  Connecticut  and  Virginia.  This  natural  pas- 
sage through  Cape  Cod,  called  "Jeremy's  Dream"  and  "Jere- 
miah Gutter,"  is  shown  on  the  early  Dutch  and  French 
charts,  and  on  the  map  constructed  by  a  British  hydrograph- 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  17 

ical  survey  party  around  the  years  1715-1720.  The  passage 
was  closed  around  1740  during  a  furious  gale  of  wind  at- 
tended by  a  tidal  wave. 

B.     The  Whale  Fishery 

These  people  were  essentially  traders,  mechanics,  and 
business  men.  It  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  they  were  in- 
terested in  the  whale  fishery.  Whales  then  had  a  high  com- 
mercial value.  "The  new  Plymouth  colony  made  great  profit 
by  Whale  Killing,"  wrote  Secretary  Randolph  in  1664.  The 
pursuit  of  whales  by  the  Indians  along  the  New  England^"**^ 
coast  is  described  in  the  record  of  Captain  Waymouth's  voy- 
age in  1605.  "One  especial  thing  is  their  manner  of  killing 
the  whale."  (They)  "strike  him  vdth  a  bone  made  in  fashion 
of  a  harping  iron  fastened  to  a  rope,  which  they  make  great 
and  strong  of  the  bark  of  trees." 

When  Thomas  Mayhew,  Jr.,  and  his  company  of  planters 
arrived  at  Great  Harbor  in  1642,  they  found  the  Indians 
catching  whales  offshore  in  canoes  and  seizing  those  cast  up  ' 
by  the  sea.  Here  the  whaling  industry  was  pioneered  by  the^ 
American  Indian.  When  Governor  Mayhew  bought  "Chick- 
emmoo"*  from  the  rightful  Sachem,  in  1658,  he  acquired 
with  the  land  "four  spans  round  in  the  middle  of  every  whale 
that  comes  upon  the  shore  of  this  quarter  part  and  no  more." 
The  Indian  "powdawe"  or  whale  oil  was  used  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  Indian  dishes  of  peas,  maize,  and  other  pulse  when  the 
English  explorers  arrived  in  the  first  decade  of  the  17th  cen- 
tury. In  the  sales  or  conveyances  of  land  beached  whales 
were  included  in  the  title.  For  details  the  reader  is  referred 
to  an  entry  in  Registry  of  Nantucket  Deeds,  June  20,  1672, 
giving  Ahkeiman  use  of  land  on  Nantucket  and  a  portion  of 
the  whales  in  settlement  or  exchange  of  the  rights  to  Tuck- 
ernuck  Island,  which  he  inherited  from  his  father  Potconet, 
a  Tuckernuck  sachem.  Whales,  those  royal  mammals  of  the 
sea,  represented  wealth,  and  the  English  Crown  recognized 


*Ohickeminoo,  a  weir  or  fishing  place,  now  a  portion  of  land  between 
Lambert's  Cove  and  the  west  head  of  Tashmoo  Pond,  Martha's  Vineyard. 


18  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

it.  British  law  gave  to  the  Crown  a  share  in  every  whale 
cast  up  by  the  sea. 

"A  tenth  branch  of  the  king's  ordinary  revenue,  said  to 
be  grounded  on  the  consideration  of  his  guarding  and  pro- 
tecting the  seas  from  pirates  and  robbers,  is  the  right  to 
royal  fish,  which  are  whale  and  sturgeon.  And  these,  when 
either  thrown  ashore  or  caught  near  the  coast,  are  the  prop- 
erty of  the  king."    (Sir  William  Blackstone) 

Thus  the  ownership  and  division  of  the  whales  became  the 
subject  of  many  disputes  between  the  whites  and  the  Indians. 
Whale  catching  on  Long  Island,  Martha's  Vineyard,  and 
Cape  Cod  was  apparently  more  firmly  established,  and  so 
in  1672  the  town  of  Nantucket  drafted  its  agreement  with 
James  Loper  of  Salem  to  engage  him  to  teach  the  design  of 
whale  "citching"  on  the  island.  In  1690  the  Nantucketers 
employed  Ichabod  Paddock  of  Cape  Cod  to  instruct  them  in 
the  art  of  killing  whales  and  extracting  the  oil.  The  rivalry 
for  supremacy  in  whaling  developed  among  the  diif erent  set- 
tlements. Whaling  was  Nantucket's  opportunity  in  the  field 
of  commercial  enterprise.  On  July  5,  1673,  the  Dutch  ship 
Exportation,  bound  from  New  York  to  Holland,  loaded  with 
90  barrels  of  whale  oil,  and  tobacco,  longwood,  and  cowhides, 
was  wrecked  abreast  of  Siasconset.  Whale  oil  was  already 
an  important  article  in  the  colonial  export  trade. 

With  an  extemporized  harpoon  the  Nantucketers  captured 
a  scrag  whale  in  1668.  Shore  whaling  began  in  1673.  By 
1676  whale  houses  were  being  operated  along  the  shore  line 
at  Miacomet  Pond.  Whales  were  spotted  from  lookouts  on 
shore.  The  primitive  business  seemed  well  organized  in 
1690,  and  then  in  1712  the  adventurous  Christopher  Hussey 
captured  a  sperm  whale  on  a  short  voyage  off  shore,  which 
gave  a  new  turn  to  the  industry.  Vessels  of  thirty  tons  bur- 
den called  sloops  were  fitted  for  deep  sea  whaling,  there 
being  six  such  vessels  in  1715.  In  1720  the  first  sperm  oil 
was  shipped  to  England  via  Boston.  The  settlers  looking  to 
the  sea  remarked,  "There  are  the  green  pastures  in  which 
our  children's  children  will  find  their  bread."    Was  it  the 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  19 

whale  and  the  wealth  it  offered  that  induced  the  £ralisbury 
colonists  to  remove  to  Nantucket? 

C.     A  Landed  Aristocracy 

An  equally  creditable  story  to  explain  the  settlement  of 
the  chosen  island  was  the  desire  to  promote  a  model  kingdom 
of  land  owners  or  landed  aristocracy,  copied  after  the  Eng- 
lish system  in  which  only  the  proprietors  or  stockholders 
would  have  the  right  to  vote.  Tristram  Coffin  was  loyally 
devoted  to  this  plan.  Similarly,  Thomas  Mayhew  came  to 
Martha's  Vineyard  intent  upon  a  feudal  lordship  and  to 
found  a  family  of  landed  magnates  and  to  better  his  financial 
condition.  The  intention  of  the  leaders  of  the  settlement  to 
establish  on  Nantucket  a  landed  gentry  like  that  in  England 
was  revealed  in  later  years  when  the  families  divided  into 
insurrectionary  factions. 

Nantucket  was  not  adapted  to  farming,  and  it  was  not 
forested.  Here  were  30,000  acres  of  island,  of  which  some 
1050  acres  were  ponds  and  750  acres  peat  swamps,  a  heap  of 
glacial  drift  with  a  coast  line  of  seventy-five  miles.  The  soil 
was  sandy,  and  there  was  no  wood  worthy  of  notice.  The 
climate  was  temperate  and  healthy  but  marked  by  frequent, 
very  unpleasant  storms.  These  were  the  conditions  con- 
fronting the  settlers.  'They  found  the  island  so  universally 
barren  and  so  unfit  for  cultivation  that  they  mutually 
agreed  not  to  divide  it,  as  each  could  neither  live  on  nor  im- 
prove that  lot  which  might  fall  to  his  share."  After  more 
than  one  hundred  years  of  tillage,  corn  yielded  an  average  of 
twelve  bushels  to  the  acre ;  rye,  six  bushels  to  the  acre ;  and 
oats,  fourteen  bushels  to  the  acre.  Certainly  the  situation 
must  have  been  apparent  to  those  who  investigated  the  is- 
land. If  not,  the  settlers  became  aware  of  it  after  their  ar- 
rival. Circumstances  compelled  them  to  turn  to  the  sea  for 
their  livelihood.  Here  they  found  an  abundant  source  of 
food,  a  commercial  enterprise,  and  a  potential  source  of 
great  wealth.  The  romance  of  the  sea  offered  far  more  al- 
lurement than  the  pastoral  occupation  of  farming. 


Chapter  6. 
NANTUCKET  INDIANS  UNDER  MAYHEW 

Here  upon  their  arrival  the  settlers  found  some  seven 
hundred  Christian  Indians  peacefully  disciplined  and  under 
the  religious  teaching  and  influence  of  the  Mayhews  and 
Hiacoomes,  pastor  of  an  Indian  church  on  Martha's  Vine- 
yard. As  far  back  as  1642,  when  Thomas  Mayhew,  Jr.  and 
his  company  of  planters  came  to  Great  Harbor,  religious 
meetings  were  established  among  the  Indians.  On  Nantuck- 
et, John  Gibbs  and  Joseph,  Samuel  and  Caleb  are  also  on 
record  as  Indian  teachers.  Harvard  College  at  Cambridge 
was  the  seat  of  learning  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony. 
Joel,  son  of  Hiacoomes,  and  another  Caleb  Cheeshahteau- 
muck  were  sent  to  Harvard  College  from  Great  Harbor  "to 
become  learned  and  able  preachers  unto  their  countrjrmen." 
Joel  especially  was  a  very  promising  Indian.  Caleb  was  in  the 
Harvard  College  graduating  class  of  1665.  Joel  would  have 
graduated  had  he  not  been  murdered  for  plunder  in  1664  by 
a  savage  element  of  the  Nantucket  Indians  on  his  return  i 
voyage  from  Great  Harbor  whence  he  had  gone  between 
semesters  to  visit  his  family.  His  murderers  were  found  and 
executed  in  1665,  but  the  event  proved  a  great  loss  to  the 
cause  of  Christian  work  among  the  Indians.  Caleb  died  of 
tuberculosis  within  a  year  after  graduation. 

In  1664  the  Indians  had  six  places  of  worship  on  Nan- 
tucket. In  1666  there  was  an  Indian  Chuch  under  John 
Gibbs.  By  1674  it  is  recorded  that  there  were  about  three 
hundred  devout  Indian  communicants  on  the  island,  young 
and  old,  and  meeting  houses  at  Miacomet,  Polpis,  and  Oc- 
cawa.  In  1695  there  were  three  churches  for  Indians  and 
five  assemblies  of  praying  Indians.  The  services  were  Pres- 
byterian in  form. 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  21 

When  their  meeting  was  concluded,  the  Indians  would 
take  their  tinder-box,  strike  fire,  light  their  pipes,  draw 
three  or  four  whiffs,  swallow  the  smoke,  and  then  blow  it  out 
of  their  noses ;  first  one  would  smoke  and  then  hand  the  pipe 
to  his  nearest  neighbor.  One  pipe  of  tobacco  would  serve 
ten  or  a  dozen  of  them,  and  they  would  say  'Tawpoot," 
which  is  "1  thank  ye."  It  seemed  to  be  done  in  a  way  of 
kindness  to  each  other. 

The  influence  of  the  Mayhews  in  this  missionary  work 
among  the  Nantucket  and  Martha's  Vineyard  Indians  was 
a  bright  chapter  in  the  history  of  Indian  settlements  in  the 
Colonies.  With  such  a  Christian  influence  the  Indians  re- 
mained peaceful  and  tolerant.  The  interest  of  the  white 
colonists  in  the  welfare  of  the  Indians  created  a  reciprocal 
interest  in  the  whites,  for  in  1665  we  find  that  Attychat, 
son-in-law  of  Sachem  Wauwinnit,  declared  the  allegiance  of 
his  people  to  the  English  Crown. 

Indian  villages  were  located  at  Occawa  in  the  area  near 
Siasconset,  at  the  northern  extremity  of  Miacomet  Pond,  at 
the  western  side  of  Squam  Pond  at  a  place  known  as  Apapa- 
chonsett,  near  Shawkemo  south  of  Abram's  Point  and  north 
of  Shimmo.  Here  in  this  latter  place  is  believed  to  be  an 
Indian  burying  ground.  In  1700  there  were  Indian  villages 
at  Sachacha  and  at  Pedee. 

In  1657,  and  before  the  acquisition  of  Nantucket  by  the 
Coffins,  Hussey,  Swain,  and  all  the  rest,  Thomas  Mayhew,  Jr., 
at  the  age  of  thirty-six  years,  set  sail  for  England  to  give  an 
account  of  the  state  of  the  Indians  and  to  solicit  help  for  the 
further  advancement  of  religion  among  them.  His  ship  was 
lost  with  all  hands.  This  tragedy  left  entirely  to  his  father, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years,  the  direction  of  the  Indian 
missions  on  the  islands  in  addition  to  his  responsibility  as 
Governor  of  the  colony.  This  loss  might  readily  have  con- 
tributed to  negotiations  which  led  to  the  sale  of  Nantucket 
two  years  thence. 

Thomas  Mayhew,  Sr.,  acquired  the  islands  to  found  a  man- 
orial system  of  land  tenure  and  to  better  his  financial  con- 


22  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

dition.  He  was  attracted  to  the  pitiful,  unfortunate  lot  of 
the  Indian,  and  every  action  of  his  long  life  was  spent  in 
bettering  their  spiritual  and  material  welfare.  He  received 
greater  respect  and  devotion  from  the  Indians  than  probably 
any  other  European  missionary  leader  in  the  American 
Colonies.  The  Indians  at  Martha's  Vineyard  showed  the 
same  admiration  for  Peter  Folger,  who  ably  assisted  May- 
hew  in  teaching  them  the  Scriptures,  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic. 


Chapter  7. 
ORGANIZATION   OF  THE   PROPRIETORS 

At  the  organization  meetings  at  Salisbury  the  need  for 
craftsmen  to  assist  in  the  development  of  the  Nantucket  set- 
tlement was  recognized,  and  accordingly  14  men  were  at- 
tracted to  the  project.  The  Coleman  family  was  asked  to 
join  because  of  their  experience  with  sheep.  Peter  Folger, 
who  had  been  teaching  the  Martha's  Vineyard  Indians  read- 
ing, writing,  and  the  catechism,  came  over  as  a  joiner,  miller, 
interpreter,  and  surveyor;  Eleazer  Folger,  his  son,  joined  as 
a  shoemaker  and  blacksmith.  Thomas  Macy  came  as  weaver ; 
Joseph  and  Richard  Gardner,  as  shoemakers ;  Samuel  Street- 
er,  as  tailor,  Nathaniel  Wyer,  as  farmer,  and  William  Worth, 
Joseph  Coleman,  John  Gardner  and  Nathaniel  Holland 
joined  as  seamen.  John  Bishop  from  Newbury  was  invited 
as  a  carpenter;  after  acquiring  one  half  share  he  bought 
one  half  of  William  Pike's  proprietorship  but  then  decided 
to  withdraw.  The  tradesmen  were  offered  each  one  half 
share  of  ownership,  and  in  addition  to  the  twenty  whole 
share  owners  there  were  then  27  shares  or  parts  in  which 
the  island  common  land  was  held  with  the  exception  of 
Quaise,  which  was  retained  by  the  Mayhew  family. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  proprietors  residing  on  Nan- 
tucket in  July  15,  1661,  it  was  agreed  that  each  man  should 
choose  his  house  lot  and  that  each  house  lot  would  comprise 
60  square  rods  of  land  to  a  whole  share.  Tristram  Coffin 
was  honored  to  make  the  first  selection,  and  he  chose  a  site 
at  the  head  of  Cappamet  Harbor  (Capaum  Pond).  Edward 
Starbuck  selected  a  spot  near  Cambridge  (north  head  of 
Hummuck  Pond),  and  Thomas  Macy  established  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Reed  Pond,  called  Watercomet  or  the  Pondfield. 
Peter  Folger,  who  settled  in  1663,  was  allotted  one-half  share 


24  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

of  land  at  a  site  known  as  Roger's  Field,  the  area  just  out- 
side of  town  traversed  by  the  Madaket  Road.  These  were  the 
homestead  set-offs  of  the  various  families,  and  they  repre- 
sented the  only  territorial  property  allotted.  The  remainder 
of  the  island  was  kept  as  an  open  pasture  held  in  common 
among  all  of  the  proprietors.  Each  man's  share  in  the  com- 
mon land  at  the  outset  was  720  Sheep's  Commons,  each  sig- 
nifying as  much  land  or  Sheep's  Common  as  would  furnish 
pasturage  for  a  sheep  estimated  originally  at  one  and  one 
half  acres. 

The  qualification  of  a  voter  was  presented  "as  a  resident 
who  was  a  freeholder."  Religion  was  not  a  factor.  Orginally 
there  were  twenty-seven  proprietors  and  19,440  sheep  com- 
mons, and  as  each  represented  II/2  acres,  there  were  approxi- 
mately 29,000  acres  of  available  common  land. 

According  to  later  accounts  (1790)  each  proprietor  was 
entitled  to  560  sheep,  and  four  geese  equalled  one  sheep, 
eight  sheep  represented  one  cow ;  and  two  cows  equalled  one 
horse.  This  was  the  method  used  for  enjoying  in  common 
this  new  pastoral  settlement.  The  number  of  proprietors  in- 
creased by  sales  of  shares  and  inheritance  so  that  many  could 
claim  only  a  portion  of  a  share.  In  1792  the  properties  varied 
from  1  to  1400  Sheep's  Commons  rights.  Then  there  were 
nearly  500  proprietors.  Godfrey  (The  Island  of  Nantucket, 
1882)  and  Douglas-Lithgow  (Nantucket,  1914)  stated  that 
at  that  early  period  the  person  who  owned,  for  example, 
45/19,440  of  the  common  land  (there  were  19,400  sheep 
commons)  would  also  be  owner  of  45/720  of  a  share  in  the 
divisions  as  they  were  successively  laid  out,  designated 
"dividend  lands."  Examples  of  such  divisions  were  Squam, 
Southeast  Quarter  and  Smooth  Hummocks. 


Chapter  8. 
A  POLL  OF  EARLY  INHABITANTS 

From  several  significant  incidents  occurring  in  the  early 
history  of  the  settlement,  it  is  possible  to  identify  most  of 
the  families  comprising  the  population.  Such  incidents  as 
the  drawng  of  lots  for  the  homesteads  in  July  1661;  the 
sheep  owners ;  and  the  people  involved  in  the  salvage  of  the 
wreck  of  a  French  vessel  in  1678,  are  helpful  in  compiling 
a  list  of  the  adult  male  inhabitants  between  1659  and  1678. 
These  were : 


Nathaniel  Barnard 
Robert  Barnard 
Thomas  Barnard 
Samuel  Bickf  ord 
John  Bishop 
William  Bunker 
Thomas  Carr 
Edward  Cartwright 
John  Challenge 
James  Coffin 
John  Coffin 
Peter  Coffin 
Tristram  Coffin,  Sr. 
Tristram  Coffin,  Jr. 
Stephen  Coffin 
Isaac  Coleman 
John  Coleman 
Joseph  Coleman 
Thomas   Coleman 
Tobias  Coleman 
Edward  Cotter 


Eleazer  Folger 
John  Folger 
Peter  Folger 
John  Gardner 
Joseph  Gardner 
Richard  Gardner 
William  Gayer 
Nathaniel  Holland 
Christopher  Hussey 
John  Hussey 
Stephen  Hussey 
Moses  Knapp 
Thomas  Look 
John  Macy 
Thomas  Macy 
Richard  Pinkham 
Robert  Pike 
William  Rogers 
John  Rolfe 
Nathaniel  Starbuck 
Edward  Starbuck 


26  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

Samuel  Streeter  John  Trott 

John  Swain,  Sr.  William  Vaughn 

John  Swain,  Jr.  William  Worth 

Richard  Swain  Nathaniel  Wyer 
Thomas  Tray 

Also  the  record  of  deaths  up  to  the  year  1700  helps  to 
identify  the  first  families.   These  are  as  follows : 

Arey,  Richard.  November  19,  1669. 

Austin,  Joseph.  Second  husband  of  Sarah  Starbuck,  widow 

of  William  Storey  (d.  of  Edward  and  Catherine 

Reynolds  Starbuck). 
Barnard,  Bethia,  wife  of  John.    Drowned  crossing  from 

Martha's  Vineyard,  June  6,   1669.    Daughter  of 

Peter  Folger  and  Mary  Morrill. 
Barnard,  John,  husband  of  Bethia  Folger.    Drowned  with 

his  wife,  June  6,  1669. 
Barnard,  Robert.   Husband  of  Joanna  Harvey.    1682. 
Brown,  John.   Son  of  John  and  Sarah  Walker.   August  29, 

1683. 
Brown,  John.  Husband  of  Sarah  Walker.  February  28,  1685. 
Brown,  Sarah.  Wife  of  John.  September  6,  1672. 
Bunker,  Daniel.   Son  of  William  and  Mary  Macy.   1691. 
Coffin,  Love  Gardner.  Wife  of  James  Coffin,  Jr.   1691. 
Coffin,  Peter,  Jr.  Husband  of  Elizabeth  Starbuck.  November 

1699. 
Coffin,  Tristram.    Husband  of  Dionis  Stevens.    October  2, 

1681. 
Coleman,  Isaac.  Son  of  Thomas  and  Susanna.  Drowned  with 

the  Barnards  in  the  crossing  from  Martha's  Vine- 
yard. June  6,  1669. 
Coleman,  Joseph.   Husband  of  Ann  Bunker.   April  1690. 
Coleman,  Thomas.  Husband  of  Susanna;  husband  of  Mary, 

widow  of  Edmund  Johnson;  husband  of  Margery 

Fowler  (Osgood)   (Rowell)  1682. 
Cottle,  Dorothy.  Wife  ri  Edward.   October  1,  1681. 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  27 

Folger,  Peter.   Husband  of  Mary  Morrill.   1690. 

Gardner,  Mary  Starbuck,  first  wife  of  James  (son  of  Rich- 
ard) .  First  child  born  of  English  settlers  on  Nan- 
tucket.   1696. 

Gardner,  Richard.  Husband  of  Sarah  Shattuck.  January 
23,  1688. 

Gayer,  Dorcas  Starbuck.  First  wife  of  William.  August 
1696. 

Macy,  John.  Husband  of  Deborah  Gardner.  October  14, 
1691. 

Macy,  Thomas,  Jr.  Son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  Hopcot.  De- 
cember 3,  1675. 

Macy,  Thomas.   Husband  of  Sarah  Hopcot.   April  19,  1682. 

Roby,  Elizabeth  Philbrick.  Widow  of  John  Garland,  widow 
of  Thomas  Chase,  third  wife  of  Henry.  February 
11,  1677. 

Starbuck,  Edward.  Husband  of  Catherine  Reynolds.  De- 
cember 4,  1690. 

Starbuck,  Jethro.    May  27,  1663. 

Swain,  Richard,  Sr.  Husband  of  Jane  Godfrey  Bunker. 
April  14,  1682. 

Wyer,  Nathaniel,  Sr.   Husband  of  Sarah.   March  1,  1680. 

Those  were  the  people  who  comprised  the  settlement  for 
the  most  part  in  the  first  decades  of  its  history,  and  many  of 
them,  and  their  sons  and  daughters,  were  identified  with 
prominent  events  in  the  civil  and  spiritual  affairs  of  the 
island.  Not  a  stone  or  record  of  any  kind  exists  to  identify 
the  site  of  their  remains. 


Chapter  9. 
DEGRADATION  OF  THE  INDIANS 

The  hospitality  of  the  Indians  was  a  blessing,  but  their 
association  with  the  whites  became  their  misfortune.  They 
were  amazed  at  the  effect  of  firearms  by  which  more  birds 
could  be  killed  in  a  day  than  they  could  destroy  with  arrows 
in  a  month.  They  were  astonished  by  the  method  of  plowing 
with  a  plow  share.  But  their  commerce  with  the  whites  led 
to  the  corruption  of  their  morals.  The  introduction  of  spirits 
among  them  added  to  their  misery.  They  imitated  to  an  ex- 
treme the  manners  and  poisonous  intemperance  of  the 
whites.  The  Indians  became  troublesome  after  they  had 
learned  to  drink  rum.  Early  court  records  refer  to  trials, 
convictions,  and  sentences  of  Indians  to  be  whipped  for  in- 
toxication and  for  petty  larcencies,  and  to  fines  imposed  on 
white  men  and  women  for  selling  rum  to  the  Indians.  Al- 
though the  first  General  Court  for  Nantucket  and  Martha's 
Vineyard  enacted  laws  prohibiting  sales  of  intoxicating 
liquor  to  the  Indians,  the  whites  frequently  violated  the  law 
for  love  of  gain.  It  is  recorded  that  a  half  barrel  of  rum 
belonging  to  Captain  John  Gardner  was  seized  by  Chief 
Magistrate  Thomas  Macy  in  1676  apparently  for  violating 
the  law. 

"Tooth"  Harry  and  "Jo"  Bones,  Indians,  were  tried  and 
convicted  for  breaking  windows  in  Thomas  Bunker's  house 
and  stealing  eight  gallons  of  precious  rum,  and  it  was  the 
sentence  of  the  court  "that  Tooth  Harry  and  Jo  Bones  shall 
be  branded  in  forehead  with  the  letter  B  and  shall  pay  to 
Thomas  Bunker  £7-7s-6d  and  for  other  court  charges  16s- 
6d."  They  were  both  branded  with  the  letter  B  according  to 
the  sentence.  So  troublesome  at  times  were  the  Indians  that 
the  whites  appointed  the  Indian  James  Skouel  called  Kadooda 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  29 

to  adjudge  their  cases.  His  method  required  before  starting 
the  hearing  that  both  parties  be  soundly  flogged,  a  procedure 
spoken  of  at  the  time  as  "Kadooda  law".  For  their  delinquent 
and  obstinate  boys  the  Indians  practiced  "medomhumar," 
which  today  would  be  regarded  as  a  most  inhumane  form  of 
juvenile  punishment.  A  water  extract  of  the  bark  of  bay 
berry  root  was  squirted  into  the  nose  passages  as  the  boy 
was  held  firmly  on  the  ground  on  his  back,  and  this  was  re- 
peated twice  or  thrice  until  the  boy  was  nearly  strangled. 

Disputes  arose  over  the  division  of  whales  cast  upon  the 
beach.  Stealing  from  the  whites  was  a  frequent  occurrence 
and  annoyance.  The  records  of  the  settlement  for  the  first 
hundred  years,  1664-1774,  reveal  land  sales  to  whites,  Indian 
complaints  against  each  other  and  against  the  whites,  and 
numerous  attempts  on  the  part  of  Indians  as  late  as  1754 
to  regain  their  lands.  Feeling  the  lack  of  justice  in  Nan- 
tucket courts,  they  tried  in  vain  to  have  their  claims  tried 
in  Boston.  They  lost  their  land  by  conveying  title  in  the 
legal  manner  of  the  English  whites,  and  when  it  became 
understood  by  them  that  their  conveyances  deprived  them 
of  trespass,  fishing,  hunting,  and  the  use  of  land  for  planting, 
it  caused  bitter  feeling.  The  whites  came  to  a  land  occupied 
by  Indians,  and  they  were  welcomed.  Before  too  long  the 
Indians  became  their  wards. 

In  1665  the  young  settlement  was  stirred  to  excitement 
by  the  arrival  of  King  Philip.  Although  entertaining  no 
claim  to  the  land  of  Nantucket,  rather  only  authority  over 
certain  Indians  who  had  escaped  to  the  island  from  the  main- 
land, he  came  to  slay  them  for  speaking  ill  of  King  Philip's 
father,  Massasoit.  The  Indians  were  concealed  by  the  whites. 
Only  a  heavy  ransom  paid  by  the  settlers  persuaded  King 
Philip  to  abandon  the  objects  of  his  search. 

Among  those  sought  was  John  Gibbs,  who  was  educated 
at  Harvard  College  and  later  became  a  preacher  to  an  Indian 
church  on  Nantucket.  King  Philip's  invasion  of  Nantucket 
and  his  policy  in  the  matter  were  in  accordance  with  an  old 
Indian  law.   It  must  not  be  overlooked  that  the  Sachem  of 


30  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

Mt.  Hop  resented  the  allegiance  of  the  Nantucket  Indians  to 
his  Royal  Highness,  King  Charles  11.  His  visit  to  Nantucket 
may  have  had  the  more  important  purpose  of  restoring  the 
loyalty  of  the  Nantucket  Indians  to  their  kindred  on  the 
mainland,  and  to  secure  the  help  of  the  Indians  in  their  v^ar 
against  the  European  intruders  upon  their  domain.  The 
Nantucket  Indians  were,  in  the  period  around  1665,  treated 
kindly,  provided  with  food,  farming  implements,  and  cloth- 
ing. The  trouble  resulting  from  the  occupancy  of  the  Indian 
domain  on  the  mainland  by  the  colonists,  which  led  to  King 
Philip's  War,  did  not  develop  on  Nantucket  until  after  the 
turn  of  the  century  and  long  after  King  Philip  had  been 
subdued  and  slain  on  August  13,  1676.  On  Nantucket,  dis- 
putes between  the  Indians  and  the  whites  went  no  further 
than  court  actions  in  which  the  Indians  were  usually  the 
losers.  In  nearby  Dartmouth  on  the  mainland  (1675)  every 
settler  who  had  not  been  killed  in  King  Philip's  War  was 
back  in  the  shelter  of  Plymouth. 

In  the  process  of  time  the  Indians  became  thievish,  neg- 
ligent, irresponsible,  and  slothful.  A  contagious  malady, 
either  yellow  fever,  typhoid,  or  smallpox,  to  which  the  whites 
were  only  mildly  susceptible,  resulted  in  an  epidemic  among 
them  beginning  on  the  16th  day  of  the  8th  month  in  1763, 
and  when  it  was  over  on  the  16th  day  of  the  2nd  month 
1764,  less  than  one-third  of  them  survived.  Their  numbers 
were  reduced  from  358  to  136.  Two  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  died;  thirty-two  were  sick  and  recovered;  thirty-six 
who  lived  among  the  Indians  escaped  the  illness ;  eight  lived 
on  the  west  end  of  the  island,  not  among  the  villages,  and 
escaped  the  disease ;  eighteen  were  at  sea  and  survived ;  forty 
lived  with  the  English  whites  and  did  not  acquire  the  disease. 
The  Indians  became  too  few  to  rule  or  disturb.  In  1792  there 
were  four  males  and  sixteen  females;  in  1809  there  were 
three  or  four  pure  blooded  Indians  and  a  few  of  mixed  race. 
The  last  full  blooded  Indian,  Dorcas  Honorable,  Benjamin 
Tashma's  granddaughter  by  his  daughter  Sarah,  died  in 
1822.  Abram  Api  Quary,  the  last  man  of  Indian  blood,  died 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  31 

in  1854  at  the  age  of  84  years  (Starbuck,  History  of  Nan- 
tucket, 1924,  says  82  years,  10  months) .  With  the  death  of 
native  remnants  of  a  once  populous  and  primitive  race,  the 
Nantucket  Indian  passed  into  the  realm  of  people  who  are 
no  more.  Folger  has  portrayed  his  hospitality  and  his  fate 
in  the  following  lines  from  *'Musings": 

Great  Wa-nack-ma-mack  here  did  dwell, 
This  side  of  Ok-a-wah; 
A  brave  old  Sachem,  mild  in  peace, 
But  terrible  in  war. 

In  Squam  lived  Sachem  Nickanoose; 
And  on  Pops-quatchet  hills. 
The  famous  warrior,  Autopscot, 
Where  stand  our  peaceful  mills. 

In  Nature's  simple  charity. 
They  stretched  the  open  hand. 
When,  fugitives  from  Christian  hate, 
Our  fathers  sought  this  land. 

They  oped  to  them  their  choicest  stores. 
Bestowed  on  them  their  lands. 
Tasted  their  poison  and  disease. 
And  perished  at  their  hands. 

The  site  of  their  remains  is  a  mystery  as  are  the  burial 
grounds  and  scattered  graves.  Have  you  seen  the  grave  of 
Benjamin  Tashma  and  his  daughter  Manta,  who  lie  side  by 
side  with  their  heads  pointing  to  the  west  in  the  circular 
burying  ground  of  the  tribe  near  the  head  waters  of  Lake 
Miacomet  and  near  the  site  of  the  old  shearing  pens?  The 
little  grassy  hillocks  piled  over  their  graves  were  still  visible 
and  undisturbed  by  the  hand  of  desecration  when  J.  C.  Hart 
saw  and  wrote  of  them  in  1834  {Miriam  Coffin  or  The  Whale 
Fisherman).   There  are  many  other  small  hillocks  here  in 


32  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

a  bushy  area  of  two  to  three  acres  that  mark  the  graves  of 
many  of  those  who  died  in  the  Indian  sickness  in  1773. 
Other  burial  grounds  are  believed  to  be  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Shawkemo,  Pocomo,  Folger's  Hill  on  the  Polpis  Road, 
and  at  Quaise. 

According  to  Obed  Macy  (History  of  Nantucket,  1835) 
the  Indians  lived  all  over  the  island  in  frail  shelters. 
They  were  a  people  of  weak  intellect,  irreligious  and  prone 
to  vice,  intemperance,  and  immorality.  The  use  of  intoxicat- 
ing liquor  (strong  waters  of  hell)  brought  distress  and  death 
among  them.  Often  the  effect  of  the  poison  would  cause  them 
to  drop  by  the  wayside  on  their  way  back  to  their  habita- 
tions. Exposed  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  sometimes 
they  died  there  and  were  buried  where  they  were  found.  On 
May  9,  1676,  Thomas  Macy  wrote  Governor  Lovelace  con- 
cerning his  apprehension  of  the  Indians  if  strong  drink  was 
permitted  to  be  sold  them  and  requested  an  order  prohibiting 
vessels  coming  into  the  harbor  from  selling  strong  drink  to 
the  Indians.  Wrote  Macy  in  concluding  his  strong  repre- 
sentation of  the  situation,  "For  my  own  part  I  have  been  to 
the  utmost  opposed  to  the  trade  these  thirty  eight  years,  and 
I  verily  believe  it  has  been  the  only  ground  for  the  present 
ruin  to  both  nations.  It  has  kept  the  Indians  from  civility, 
and  they  have  been  drunken  and  kept  all  the  while  like  wild 
bears  and  wolves  in  the  wilderness."  Their  indebtedness  to 
the  whites  caused  them  to  go  whaling  to  pay  back  "their 
masters"  as  they  called  them.  Under  the  Mayhews  the  In- 
dians received  encouragement  and  good  management,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  the  indiscretion  of  some  of  the  English 
in  furnishing  them  with  rum,  they  would  undoubtedly  have 
remained  industrious,  co-operative,  and  of  much  service,  for 
many  of  the  Indians  were  good  whalemen,  seemingly  reli- 
gious and  of  good  and  regular  habits. 


Chapter  10. 
FIRST  BIRTHS  AND  DEATHS 

Before  the  winter  of  1662-1663  had  passed  a  mist  of  joy 
and  suspense  fell  upon  the  toiling  settlement.  Among  priva- 
tion, cold,  and  want  a  child  was  born  on  March  30,  1663,  to 
Nathaniel  and  Mary  Coffin  Starbuck.  This  was  their  first 
child,  and  they  named  her  Mary.  She  was  the  first  child 
born  of  English  parents  on  Nantucket.  Then,  more  than  a 
year  later,  on  September  1,  1664,  the  first  boy  was  born, 
John  Swain,  Jr.,  son  of  John  and  Mary  Wyer  Swain.  This 
first  Nantucket  son  became  the  husband  of  Experience 
Folger,  daughter  of  Peter  Folger  and  Mary  Morrill,  and  thus 
a  first  uncle  to  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin. 

But  the  year  1662  had  nearly  passed  away  when  on  Oc- 
tober 31  the  death  of  Jane  Godfrey  Bunker  Swain  cast  a 
gloom  over  the  little  settlement.  Jane  and  George  Bunker 
settled  in  Topsfield,  and  here  George  was  accidentally 
drowned  in  May  1658  while  crossing  a  stream  with  his  team. 
Surviving  him  were  his  wife  Jane  and  five  children,  Eliza- 
beth 12,  William  10,  Mary  6,  Ann  4,  and  Martha  II/2  years. 
In  1659  Jane  married  Richard  Swain  of  Rowley,  father  of 
five  children,  among  them  being  one  John  Swain.  They  re- 
moved to  Nantucket  to  share  in  the  fortunes  of  the  new  set- 
tlement. With  them  came  John  and  the  Bunker  children.  It 
was  as  if  death  had  entered  every  Nantucket  shelter,  and 
especially  was  it  sad  for  her  orphaned  children.  All  that  was 
mortal  of  Jane  Bunker  was  laid  under  her  own  doorsill,  not 
upon  the  hillside  later  consecrated  as  the  burial  ground  for 
the  first  dead.  Richard  died  in  April  1682,  surviving  his 
wife  Jane  by  twenty  years. 

Then  on  the  27th  of  May,  1663,  Jethro  Starbuck,  aged  12 
years,  was  killed  when  run  over  by  a  cart.  He  was  the  son 


34  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

of  Edward  and  Catherine  Reynolds  Starbuck  and  the  brother 
of  the  noble  Nathaniel,  the  eldest  son.  This  was  the  second 
death  on  Nantucket.  On  September  16,  1663,  a  son  was 
added  to  the  family  of  Peter  Coffin  and  Abigail  Starbuck, 
and  out  of  respect  for  their  deceased  brother  they  named  him 
Jethro.  Jethro's  marriage  to  a  fair  Gardner  in  1686  played 
an  important  part  in  the  reconciliation  of  the  Coffin  and 
Gardner  families,  which  since  1673  were  separated  into  two 
bitter  opposing  factions. 

Mary  Starbuck,  the  "Virginia  Dare,"  of  the  Nantucket 
settlement  became  the  wife  of  James  Gardner,  son  of  Rich- 
ard. She  passed  away  at  the  tender  age  of  33  years  (1696) 
leaving  six  children.  James  married  three  more  times,  and 
each  time  a  widow. 

On  June  6,  1669,  John  Barnard,  his  wife  Bethia,  Isaac 
Coleman,  and  an  Indian  were  drowned  while  crossing  in  a 
canoe  from  Martha's  Vineyard  to  Nantucket.  This  was  the 
same  Isaac  who  10  years  previously  accompanied  the  Macys 
on  that  historic  voyage  from  Salisbury  to  Nantucket.  Eleaz- 
er  Folger,  also  among  the  party  from  the  Vineyard,  clung 
to  the  canoe  and  drifted  to  a  shallow  shoal.  With  a  plow- 
share he  bailed  out  the  water  and  escaped.  Sorrow  hung 
over  the  settlement. 

These  were  some  of  the  first  incidents  of  sorrow  which 
visited  this  Nantucket  family  of  settlers  and  which  mul- 
tiplied as  the  population  grew  in  number. 


Chapter  11. 

THE  POPULATION  EXPANDS 
AND  BECOMES  SELF-GOVERNING 

Many  of  the  children  of  the  first  settlers  were  born  in  Old 
England,  some  in  Salisbury,  Amesbury,  Dover,  Haverhill, 
and  adjoining  towns;  the  others  were  born  on  Nantucket 
and  Martha's  Vineyard.  The  settlement  required  grov^h, 
industry,  and  a  larger  population.  The  marriage  of  William 
Worth  and  Sarah  Macy  in  1665  was  the  first  solemnized  on 
Nantucket.  Peter  and  Mary  Morill  Folger  with  their  nine 
children  came  in  1663  after  the  share  holders  had  voted 
Peter  and  his  son  Eleazer  two  half-shares  of  land.  The  news 
of  his  acceptance  was  received  with  joy,  as  his  large  family 
would  increase  their  numbers  considerably.  Peter  was 
everything  to  Nantucket.  He  was  the  most  useful  man  on 
the  island  and  a  godly,  learned  Englishman.  One  Martha's 
Vineyard  historian  would  have  us  believe  that  Peter  Folger 
was  invited  to  leave  Great  Harbor  because  of  his  liberal 
religious  views.  His  removal  to  Nantucket,  in  about  1663, 
was  Nantucket's  gain,  and  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  Nan- 
tucket as  an  advancing  prosperous  settlement  without  the 
notable  contributions  of  Peter  and  the  later  Folgers.  Peter 
came  to  Boston  on  October  8,  1635,  with  his  father  John,  his 
mother  Merraba  Gibbs,  and  his  sister.  John  Folger  died  in 
1660,  and  his  remains  lie  somewhere  at  Great  Harbor. 

Richard  Gardner  and  Sarah  Shattuck  came  to  Nantucket 
in  1666.  There  is  no  better  confirmation  of  his  arrival  on 
Nantucket  than  the  inscription  on  a  silverplate  on  Richard 
Gardner's  cane  which  reads,  "Richard  Gardner  came  to  Nan- 
tucket in  1666."  They  had  ten  children.  John  Gardner  came 
in  1672  with  Priscilla  Grafton,  also  with  a  large  family  of 
twelve  children.  Fourteen  children  were  born  to  James  Cof- 


36  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

fin  and  Mary  Severance.  There  were  8  children  born  to 
Stephen  Hussey  and  Martha  Bunker;  nine  to  John  Swain 
and  Mary  Wyer.  John  Macy,  son  of  Thomas,  married  De- 
borah Gardner,  daughter  of  Richard.  He  was  the  only  one 
left  to  bequeath  the  name  of  Macy  to  posterity.  It  seems  al- 
most incredible  that  from  one  solitary  individual  there  could 
have  sprung  so  many  Macys  belonging  to  the  island.  Another 
later  John  Macy,  husband  of  Bethiah  Cartwright  and  hus- 
band of  Phebe  Macy,  lived  to  be  90  years,  8  months  of  age 
(deceased  Nov.  23,  1839) .  He  was  the  father  of  19  children, 
of  which  eleven,  37  grandchildren,  and  47  great  grandchil- 
dren survived  him. 

Tristram  and  Dionis  Stevens  Coffin  were  the  parents  of 
9  children  and  grandparents  to  74.  They  were  the  seed  of  a 
mighty  brood  of  Coffins.  In  1728  Tristram  Coffin's  posterity 
numbered  1,582  of  whom  1,128  were  living.  The  name  now 
is  legion.  The  name  Tristram  has  been  carried  along  in  all 
the  generations  of  descendants.  The  name  Dionis,  his  con- 
sort, has  appeared  only  rarely  among  the  descendants.  One 
grandchild,  eldest  daughter  of  Stephen  Coffin,  was  christened 
Dionis,  but  upon  her  marriage  to  Jacob  Norton  the  name 
appeared  as  Dinah.  The  name  seemed  more  appropriate  for 
the  steam  locomotive  that  hauled  the  passenger  trains  of  the 
iNantucket  Railroad  in  a  much  later  era,  first  to  Surfside 
lj(J.881),  then  to  Siasconset  (1884).  The  origin  of  the  name 
is  not  understood,  unless  it  is  derived  from  Dionysus,  son 
of  Zeus,  who  in  Greek  mythology  was  originally  a  God  of 
Vegetation;  later  the  God  and  Giver  of  the  Grape  and  its 
Wine,  and  identified  with  Bacchus.  Or,  rather,  it  is  the 
diminutive  of  Dionysia,  often  written  Dionys. 

In  1671  Nantucket  became  a  distinct  enfranchised  town- 
ship with  the  issuance  of  a  new  patent  from  Governor 
Francis  Lovelace  dated  June  28.  In  1672  the  town  govern- 
ment was  established  in  its  present  location  near  the  middle 
of  the  north  side  of  the  island  with  its  harbor  lying  on  the 
east,  at  a  place  then  called  Wesko,  which  in  the  Indian  lan- 
guage signified  ''The  White  Stone."   This  large  white  stone 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  37 

of  quartz  lay  by  the  side  of  the  harbor  and  is  now  covered 
by  the  Straight  Wharf.  After  civil  government  was  organ- 
ized, the  town  was  given  the  name  of  Sherburne  in  1673.  The 
name  was  provided  by  Captain  John  Gardner  after  the  name 
of  the  ancestral  home  of  his  family  in  Sherborne,  Dorset- 
shire, England.  The  Nantucket  Sherburne  has  also  appeared 
as  **Sharborn",  in  the  records.  In  1678  Wesko  was  laid  out 
in  five  divisions,  each  8  x  80  rods  with  streets  and  highways. 
Each  division  contained  4  lots,  each  2  rods  wide. 

But  the  new  charter  with  its  form  of  government  pre- 
cipitated strife  and  insurrection  which  lasted  for  seven  long 
years,  from  1673  to  1680.  The  families  split  into  two  op- 
posing factions  led  by  Tristram  Coffin  and  John  Gardner, 
and  thus  the  co-partnership  of  kinsfolk  conceived  to  provide 
a  common  interest  in  the  general  prosperity  now  seemed 
destined  to  collapse. 


Chapter  12. 
BEGINNING  OF  CIVIL  STRIFE 

Upon  the  incorporation  of  the  town  and  the  institution  of 
civil  government,  Tristram  Coi!in  v^as  commissioned  Chief 
Magistrate  of  Nantucket  and  Tuckernuck  Island  by  Colonel 
Francis  Lovelace,  a  cavalier  of  the  Court  of  Charles  II  and 
another  ducal  favorite.  Lovelace  became  the  second  govern- 
or of  the  province  of  Nev^  York  in  1668.  Thomas  Mayhew 
at  the  same  time  v^as  made,  at  the  age  of  78  years,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Martha's  Vineyard.  The  meeting  with  Lovelace 
was  attended  by  Thomas  Mayhew  and  his  grandson,  Mat- 
thew Mayhew,  the  latter  representing  the  proprietary  in- 
terests of  Thomas  Mayhew,  Jr.,  deceased;  Tristram  Coffin, 
representing  the  "house  of  Coffin"  and  Thomas  Macy,  rep- 
resenting "ye  inhabitants  of  ye  towne  of  Nantucket." 

In  the  first  sitting  of  the  General  Court  at  Edgartown  in 
June  1672,  a  body  of  just,  sensible  laws  was  established.  At 
the  second  sitting  of  the  General  Court  at  Nantucket  in  1673, 
the  judges  refused  to  follow  the  rules  of  procedure  provided 
at  the  Lovelace  conference.  Protest  to  the  provincial  gov- 
ernment was  in  vain,  for  in  July  1673,  the  Dutch  had  re- 
gained possession  of  New  Amsterdam  and  held  it  until  Oc- 
tober 1674.  Differences  between  the  Dutch  and  British  were 
adjusted  in  1674,  and  New  Amsterdam  was  again  acquired 
by  the  British,  and  Major  Sir  Edmund  Andros  became  the 
third  Governor  General  to  his  Royal  Highness  James,  the 
Duke  of  York,  holding  office  from  1674  to  1683.  The  Gard- 
ners obtained  control  of  the  government.  Richard  Gardner 
became  the  Captain  of  Militia.  A  new  charter  favorable  to 
the  resident  free  holders  was  inaugurated ;  all  prior  deeds  to 
island  lands  derived  from  Thomas  Mayhew  were  dissolved, 
and  claims  of  land  were  changed  to  date  from  the  Lovelace 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  39 

charter.  Absentee  ownership  of  land  was  dissolved.  This 
was  a  blow  to  Thomas  Mayhew  and  the  non-resident  Coffins 
(Peter,  James  and  Tristram,  Jr.)  and  other  original  pro- 
prietors and  absentee  landlords  (Greenleaf,  Pike,  Hussey 
and  Smith)  who  had  invested  their  wealth  in  the  islands. 
Mayhew  complained  bitterly:  ''Noe  man  had  a  right  to  a 
foot  of  land  before  date  of  last  charter,  and  they  by  the 
Book  endeavor  to  dethrone  our  libertys,  announcing  my  right 
obtained  from  the  Earle  of  Stirlinge  nothing,  also  the  In- 
dian Right  nothing,  my  quiett  occupation  there  of  29  years 
nothing,  the  grounding  of  the  ten  partners  upon  my  first 
graunt  nothing." 

A.  Coffin  and  Gardner  Factions 
The  rebellion  at  Nantucket  was  a  contest  between  the  first 
purchasers  knov^m  as  whole  share  holders  headed  by  Trist- 
ram Coffin  and  half  share  holders  headed  by  John  Gardner. 
The  Coffin  faction  was  supported  by  Governor  Thomas  May- 
hew. Tristram  Coffin  favored  a  land  owner's  aristocracy,  a 
manorial  system,  and  the  rule  of  the  few.  He  claimed  the 
right  to  vote  on  the  shares  of  his  two  sons  who  never  lived 
on  the  island.  He  wanted  two  votes  for  the  full  share  owners 
and  one  vote  for  the  half  share  owners.  The  restriction  of 
suffrage  was  current  in  the  government  of  that  day.  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  defended 
it  in  these  words :  "The  best  part  is  always  the  least,  and  of 
that  least  part  the  wiser  part  is  always  the  lesser."  Tristram 
stood  for  conservatism.  Historians  have  marked  him  as  a 
feudal  lord  aspiring  to  introduce  on  Nantucket  a  land  ovni- 
er's  aristocracy  patterned  after  the  British  system.  The 
Gardners  and  free  holders  fought  to  abolish  the  distinction 
of  whole  and  half  shares.  The  purpose  was  to  confiscate  the 
idle  lands  of  the  proprietors  without  compensation  and  re- 
vert them  to  common  lands  in  which  the  half  share  men  held 
an  interest.  The  Gardner  faction  demanded  rule  by  all  land- 
owners and  a  single  vote  for  each  individual,  but  they  never 
thought  of  conferring  suffrage  on  those  inhabitants  who 


40  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

were  not  land  owners.  Their  branch  of  democracy  hardly 
went  far  enough  although  some  historians  regard  the  Gard- 
ners as  representing  the  general  welfare  of  all  of  the  in- 
habitants. Since  the  Gardners  were  in  control  of  the  Nan- 
tucket courts,  there  was  no  way  for  the  whole  shares  men  to 
bring  them  to  account.  The  leaders  of  the  factions  went  to 
New  York.  John  Gardner  and  Peter  Folger  represented  the 
half  shares  men,  and  Tristram  Coffin  and  Matthew  Mayhew 
the  whole  shares  party,  and  after  four  days  of  conferences 
with  Andros  the  island  lost  some  of  its  autonomy  in  local 
government.  Mayhew's  patent  to  the  islands  was  respected, 
and  ownership  of  land  by  non-residents  was  retained  pro- 
viding the  properties  were  improved. 

B,  Deflection  of  Macy  and  Intrusion  of  Peter  Coffin 
But  the  complexion  of  politics  changed.  In  1676  two  votes 
switched  to  the  Coffin  faction.  Thomas  Macy,  one  of  the  few 
whole  share  men  and  affiliated  with  the  Gardner  faction,  was 
made  Chief  Magistrate.  At  the  end  of  his  term  of  office, 
Governor  General  Andros  for  some  unknown  reason  did  not 
commission  a  new  magistrate.  Trouble  developed  when  it 
was  voted  to  continue  Macy  in  office.  The  whole  share  men, 
by  the  deflection  of  Macy  and  his  son-in-law  William  Worth, 
won  control  of  the  government.  Turmoil  ensued  because 
opinion  was  divided  on  whether  Macy  under  the  circum- 
stances could  continue  in  office.  It  was  permissible,  how- 
ever, in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  the  provincial  govern- 
ment at  New  York.  More  serious  circumstances  arose  when 
Peter  Coffin,  an  off -islander  and  absentee  owner  from  Boston 
and  Deputy  of  the  General  Court  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
Colony  in  Boston,  was  chosen  Assistant  Magistrate  although 
legally  he  could  not  serve.  This  aroused  the  ire  of  Folger 
and  the  half  share  owners. 

C    Peter  Folger's  Refusal 
Peter  Folger  as  Clerk  of  Court  refused  to  make  any  en- 
tries of  court  actions  or  to  give  up  possession  of  the  court 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  41 

records.  He  was  indicted  for  contempt  of  court  and  for  re- 
fusing to  speak  when  presented  to  the  court.  This  man,  the 
most  useful  craftsman  on  Nantucket,  on  February  14,  1677, 
failing-  to  find  a  bondsman,  was  imprisoned  in  a  sty  which 
was  then  the  town  prison.  He  was  then  60  years  of  age.  A 
hog  lay  there  the  night  before,  and  the  place  was  foul  with 
dung  and  wet  from  snow,  about  which  Peter  complained  bit- 
terly. The  order  of  the  court  which  led  to  his  conviction  read, 
"  Tis  the  order  of  the  Court  that  the  Constable  be  sent  to 
Peter  Folger  for  the  Court  Booke  and  all  the  Records  of  that 
Nature,  and  this  to  impower  the  Constable  herein  to  bring 
them  to  ye  Court  forthwith  and  Peter  Folger  is  hereby  re- 
quired to  deliver  them.  Thos.  Macy,  Magistrate."  Macy  then 
appointed  his  son-in-law,  William  Worth,  Clerk  of  Court. 

Peter  Folger's  incarceration  continued  for  one  and  one 
half  years.  Involved  in  the  incident  was  the  loss  of  Peter 
Folger's  "Court  Booke"  containing  the  records  from  1661 
to  1672.  This  treasure  has  never  been  found,  and  with  this 
single  exception,  the  records  of  all  the  departments  of  the 
history  of  Nantucket  are  remarkably  complete.  Folger  ap- 
pears to  have  had  the  education  of  a  genius.  The  evil  in 
society  and  government  existing  and  repeating  itself  in  his 
generation  is  deplored  in  his  political  message  in  homespun 
verse  dated  April  23,  1676,  "A  Looking  Glass  for  the  Times 
or  The  Former  Spirit  of  New  England  revived  in  this  Gen- 
eration." This  doggerel  verse  is  an  excellent  testimonial  to 
Folger's  advanced  education ;  and  his  regard  for  faith,  peace, 
civility  and  good  will  among  men  and  his  distrust  for  the 
evil  in  magistrates. 

John  Gardner,  the  chief  rebel  against  authority,  refused 
to  answer  a  summons  to  appear  before  the  Nantucket  Gen- 
eral Court.  He  was  fined  and  disfranchised.  Sarah  Shattuck 
Gardner,  wife  of  Richard,  Tobias  Coleman,  Eleazer  Folger, 
and  Richard  Gardner  were  convicted  of  speaking  evil  of 
authority.  Governor  Andros  was  promptly  acquainted  with 
the  serious  state  of  affairs  by  letters  from  Captain  John 
Gardner  dated  March  15  and  May  31,  1677,  and  by  a  lengthy 


42  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

epistle  from  Folger  on  March  27  bearing  the  endorsement 
of  Richard  Gardner,  Edward  Starbuck,  and  Thomas  Cole- 
man, in  which  he  discussed  the  evil  magistrates  blaming  them 
for  all  the  ills  of  humanity,  the  Indian  Wars,  and  the  perse- 
cution of  the  Anabaptists.  Peter  Folger's  imprisonment 
caused  unrest  among  the  Indians.  They  resented  the  judg- 
ment of  their  court  cases  by  Peter  Coffin.  Bitter  animosities 
were  cultivated  against  Thomas  Macy.  Then  on  September 
16,  1677,  Tristram  Coffin  was  commissioned  Chief  Mag- 
istrate for  a  year,  and  for  the  last  time. 

In  1679,  Captain  John  Gardner  was  elected  Assistant 
Magistrate,  but  the  General  Court  controlled  by  Tristram 
Coffin  and  his  gentry,  refused  to  recognize  the  election  to 
office  of  a  disfranchised  man  and  declared  the  town  in  con- 
tempt of  the  Court's  order.  But  Andros  ordered  that  the 
sentence  of  disfranchisement  was  illegal  and  beyond  the 
court's  authority,  and  ordered  the  retraction  of  the  court's 
sentence  upon  Folger  and  Gardner.  Gardner's  citizenship 
was  restored  by  Governor  Andros,  and  in  1680  Andros  com- 
missioned him  Chief  Magistrate. 

Tristram  Coffin's  bitter  opposition  to  Captain  John  Gard- 
ner and  to  the  rulings  of  Andros  was  most  unpleasant  and 
unfortunate.  His  dissenting  attitude,  his  irritability,  his  de- 
sire to  rule  rather  than  to  govern,  and  his  disregard  for 
human  rights  were  inexcusable  and  wholly  foreign  to  the 
spirit  of  a  small  struggling  community. 

D.  Passing  of  the  Leaders 
Tristram  Coffin  was  now  old,  weak,  and  tyrannical.  He 
failed  his  authority  in  the  plundering  of  a  French  vessel 
wrecked  on  Nantucket  in  1678.  This  incident  a  few  years 
later  caused  him  much  sorrow.  Governor  Andros,  hearing  of 
the  incident  ordered  a  trial  by  a  Court  of  Admiralty,  which, 
sitting  at  Nantucket  on  August  28,  1680,  found  him  guilty. 
Tristram  pleaded  his  unfamiliarity  with  the  maritime  laws. 
A  large  portion  of  the  fine  was  met  by  his  son  James.  Also, 
Captain  John  Gardner  nobly  befriended  him  by  obtaining  a 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  43 

substantial  reduction  in  the  penalty.  After  suitable  repara- 
tion, Tristram  was  discharged  from  the  judgment  of  the 
Court  by  Andros  on  November  1,  1680.  Less  than  a  year 
later  on  October  2,  1681,  Tristram  passed  away  at  his  new 
and  second  residence  on  the  hill  at  Northam  near  Capaum 
Pond  at  the  age  of  76  years.  Tristram  found  a  sepulchre 
upon  the  island,  but  no  one  can  point  out  the  place.  If  the 
ancient  cemetery  east  of  Maxcey's  Pond  was  used  for  burials 
as  early  as  1681,  as  it  very  likely  was,  he  was  doubtless  in- 
terred therein ;  if  not,  then  on  his  own  estate  at  Capaum. 

Fully  a  year  before  his  death,  Tristram  became  endeared  to 
Captain  John  Gardner,  whom  he  now  regarded  as  his  loving 
neighbor.  The  bitter  experience  in  the  court  room  in  1677, 
where  Tristram  Coffin  addressed  Gardner  as  a  delinquent, 
and  which  caused  Captain  John  Gardner  to  remark,  "I  know 
my  business  and  it  may  be  that  some  of  those  who  have 
meddled  with  me  had  better  have  eaten  fire"  was  completely 
forgotten. 

Others  passed  away  in  close  succession :  Thomas  Macy  in 
1682 ;  Richard  Gardner  in  1688 ;  Peter  Folger  and  Edward 
Starbuck  in  1690.  Thomas  Mayhew  in  1681  preceded  them 
all.  This  patriarch  of  89  years,  thirty-five  of  them  as  a  min- 
ister to  the  Indians,  was  buried  in  the  Mayhew  family  burial 
ground,  along  what  is  now  South  Water  Street  in  Edgar- 
town.  He,  like  Tristram,  was  the  grave  and  majestic  father 
of  a  distinguished  posterity. 

Thus  ended  a  most  unhappy  incident  in  the  history  of  the 
early  settlement,  known  to  posterity  as  the  Nantucket  Insur- 
rection. The  remains  of  these  men,  and  those  of  others  in- 
volved in  that  memorable  political  struggle  presumably  lie 
together  in  the  Ancient  or  Forefathers  Burial  Ground  on  the 
breezy  hill  top  overlooking  Maxcey's  Pond  and  the  wide 
moors  of  Sherburne.  Only  the  grave  of  Captain  John  Gard- 
ner is  marked  by  a  head  stone,  and  this  is  the  oldest  certi- 
fied grave  upon  the  island. 

Jane  G.  Austin's  verses,  in  her  Quaint  Nantucket  (1883), 
seem  particularly  appropriate  here. 


44  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

"Tired  of  tempest  and  racing  wind, 
Tired  of  the  spouting  breaker, 
Here  they  came  at  the  end,  to  find 
Rest  in  the  silent  acre. 


Feet  pass  over  the  graveyard  turf. 
Up  from  the  sea  or  downward ; 
One  way  leads  to  the  raging  surf. 
One  to  the  perils  townward. 

'Harken,  harken,'  the  dead  men  call, 
'Whose  is  the  step  that  passes? 
Knows  he  not  we  are  safe  from  all. 
Under  the  nodding  grasses?'  " 

Another  century  was  about  to  dawn.  Turmoil  and  dis- 
unity had  passed.  Democratic  government  and  the  manage- 
ment of  the  land  by  the  proprietorship  were  well  established 
and  respected.  Now  the  social,  spiritual,  and  intellectual 
development  of  the  people  and  industry,  which  was  to  bring 
wealth  and  prosperity,  were  being  patterned  by  the  next 
generation  of  people. 

E.     Jethro  Coffin  and  Mary  Gardner 

Happily  the  Coffin  and  Gardner  families  were  brought 
close  together  by  the  marriage  in  1686  of  Jethro  Coffin, 
Tristram's  grandson,  and  Mary  Gardner,  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain John.  Both  families  shared  in  the  wedding  gift.  The 
site  of  the  house  was  donated  to  the  couple  by  Captain  John 
Gardner,  and  the  lumber  by  Peter  Coffin,  father  of  the 
groom,  from  his  mill  in  New  Hampshire.  During  the  feud 
Mary's  father  accused  Jethro's  father  of  having  his  "mouth 
full  of  vile  reports."  Peter  forbade  the  ceremony  until  the 
deed  to  the  land  on  which  the  house  was  built  had  been  prop- 
erly executed  and  conveyed  to  the  couple.  Captain  John 
hastened  to  meet  the  execution  of  the  conditions.  The  polit- 


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46  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

ical  feud  of  the  Gardners  and  Coffins  had  subsided.  Five  sons 
and  three  daughters  were  born  to  Jethro  and  Mary. 

This  house  is  a  beautiful  example  of  a  seventeenth  century 
Nantucket  house.  It  was  built  during  the  terrible  period 
preceding  the  dreadful  execution  of  the  Salem  witches.  The 
sills  of  the  house  were  laid  due  east  and  west  by  compass, 
that  it  might  front  the  south  without  a  hair's  variation. 
Now  the  house  bears  the  names  'The  Oldest  House,"  "The 
Jethro  Coffin  House,"  "The  Horseshoe  House."  Here  on  Sun- 
set Hill  it  occupies  an  imposing  spot.  Shall  we  call  it  "Cousin 
Frank's  Hill"  after  cousin  Frank  Gardner  of  a  later  genera- 
tion who  resided  a  few  hundred  feet  southwest  of  the  house? 
Notice  the  brick  horseshoe-like  character  built  in  front  of  the 
chimney.  Was  it  placed  there  to  protect  the  inmates  from 
the  machinations  of  the  evil  one  during  all  the  witchcraft 
excitement?  Or  is  it  merely  an  artistic  embellishment  of 
the  chimney?  Within  the  horseshoe  is  the  monogram  "J.  C." 
In  1707  the  house  was  acquired  by  Nathaniel  Paddock.  It 
was  restored  in  1881  and  opened  to  the  public  in  July  1897. 

Mary  Gardner  Coffin,  widow  of  Jethro,  died  on  October  28, 
1767,  at  the  ripe  age  of  97  years,  4  months,  20  days,  surviv- 
ing Jethro  by  forty-one  years,  the  latter  passing  in  1736. 
At  the  time  of  their  marriage,  Jethro  was  26  and  Mary  was 
16  years  of  age.  All  of  their  eight  children  were  born  on 
Nantucket. 

F.  Captain  John  Gardner  Opposes  the  Quakers 
While  Captain  John  Gardner's  leadership  may  have  ap- 
peared to  foster  the  general  welfare  of  all  the  settlers,  he 
showed  no  respect  for  religious  freedom.  He  blundered  in 
his  effort  to  restrict  the  Quaker  missionaries  from  England 
who  had  come  to  Nantucket  to  establish  Quakerism.  The 
teaching  of  this  sect  disturbed  him,  and  his  attitude  to  the 
movement  grieved  his  wife.  In  1680,  as  Chief  Magistrate, 
he  was  accused  of  opposing  a  Quaker  meeting  on  Nantucket. 
Since  the  arrival  of  Jane  Stokes  in  1664,  the  visits  of  the 
Quaker  missionaries  from  Old  England  were  frequent.   The 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 


47 


movement  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  Nantucket  Meeting 
of  Friends  in  1708,  which  came  to  be  the  first  organized  re- 
ligious society  on  Nantucket.  Captain  John  Gardner  had 
passed  on  two  years  before.  Another  leader  appeared  in  the 
person  of  Mary  Coffin  Starbuck,  the  first  great  woman,  who 
at  the  age  of  56  years  turned  Quaker  and  became  the  leading 
spirit  in  the  organization  of  the  Religious  Society  of  Friends 
on  Nantucket. 

Before  the  end  of  the  17th  century  many  of  the  first  fam- 
ilies had  died,  and  none  of  them  lived  to  see  an  English 
church  established  on  Nantucket.  They  were  buried  on  this 
remote  island  far  from  their  homeland,  and  the  site  of  their 
graves  has  been  lost  to  posterity. 


Chapter  13. 

NANTUCKET  CEDED 
TO  MASSACHUSETTS  BAY  COLONY 

On  November  1,  1683,  the  Duke's  Government  at  New 
York  ordered  the  organization  of  Nantucket  and  adjacent 
islands  into  the  County  of  Dukes  County.  A  new  patent  was 
issued  to  the  proprietors  by  Thomas  Dongan,  the  provincial 
governor  at  New  York,  dated  June  5,  1684.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  another  dated  June  27,  1687,  to  a  group  of  pro- 
prietors designated  the  ''Trustees  of  the  Freeholders  and 
Commonalty  of  the  Towne  of  Sharborn,"  which  gave  them 
the  right  to  purchase  land  from  the  Indians  and  to  perform 
all  the  acts  enjoyed  by  corporations.  On  May  29,  1695,  Nan- 
tucket was  separated  from  Dukes  County,  and  in  1701  Nan- 
tucket Island  alone  constituted  Nantucket  County.  In  1717 
Tuckernuck  Island  was  annexed  to  Nantucket  County,  and 
subsequently  Muskeget  Island  and  the  Gravelly  Islands  were 
also  annexed. 

In  1689  William  III  and  Mary  succeeded  to  the  throne  of 
England.  A  new  charter  was  issued  to  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  Colony  in  1691,  and  the  jurisdiction  over  the  islands  of 
Nantucket,  Martha's  Vineyard,  and  adjacent  islands  was 
transferred  to  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony.  The  provinc- 
ial government  in  New  York  opposed  the  change.  A  con- 
troversy ensued  between  the  governors  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  Colony  and  the  Province  of  New  York  upon  the  loss  of 
jurisdiction,  which  ended  upon  confirmation  of  the  change 
from  London  in  1693.  A  few  barrels  of  fish  in  lieu  of  taxes 
were  sent  to  the  Duke's  Government  at  New  York  each  year ; 
but  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony 
the  taxes  were  burdensome,  and  beginning  in  1696  Nan- 
tucket complained  and  petitioned  for  abatements. 


Chapter  14. 
THE  LAND  QUESTION 

With  the  change  in  authority  the  land  question  was  set- 
tled by  permitting  the  proprietors  to  meet  as  a  body  respect- 
ing the  land  apart  from  the  town.  Consequently,  the  pro- 
prietors of  Nantucket  in  1716  formed  themselves  into  a  body 
corporate  known  as  *'The  Proprietors  of  the  Common  and 
Undivided  Lands  of  Nantucket."  For  more  than  150  years 
all  the  land  of  the  island  except  the  house-lot  land  was  owned 
in  common,  and  no  person's  interest  could  be  set  off  in 
severalty.  Then  Obed  Mitchell,  failing  at  proprietors'  meet- 
ings and  following  years  of  litigation  in  the  courts,  ob- 
tained title  in  severalty  to  the  district  known  as  Plainfield. 
Others  followed.  Title  in  severalty  was  obtained  by  applica- 
tion to  the  court  and  the  appointment  of  commissioners  to 
set  off  the  portion.  Many  good  titles  have  been  secured,  but 
in  many  cases  the  undivided  interests  have  been  so  badly 
decimated  by  family  inheritance  that  a  perfect  title  by  deed 
is  impossible.  Now  the  common  land  is  under  the  control 
of  one  corporation,  the  Nantucket  Cranberry  Company.  It 
has  more  than  95  percent  of  the  sheep  common  shares. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  island  the  tillage  land  was  di- 
vided into  as  many  divisions  as  rights.  Each  year  the  pro- 
prietors voted  according  to  the  sheep  commons  rights  they 
owned  which  pasture  was  to  be  tilled,  which  used  for  cattle, 
and  which  for  sheep.  The  boundary  line  separating  the  til- 
lage lots  was  a  narrow  furrow,  or  it  was  marked  by  posts  or 
stones. 

This  system  of  rotating  the  use  of  the  land  among  the 
shareholders  seemed  to  exhaust  the  land  because  possession 
was  temporary  and  the  user  was  disposed  not  to  give  it  any 
permanent  improvements  but  rather  to  impoverish  it.   This 


50 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 


reduced  the  land  to  a  miserable  and  hungry  state.  In  1801 
the  tillage  land  in  the  opinion  of  Josiah  Quincy,  statesman 
and  educator,  had  a  most  wretched  look.  The  spires  of  grain 
looked  weak,  and  the  land  turned  up  by  the  plow  had  the 
appearance  of  a  sand  heap. 

The  sheep  were  allowed  to  run  at  large.  Each  year  the 
flocks  were  brought  together  for  shearing,  one  for  the  East, 
the  other  for  the  West.  In  1800  about  16,000  sheep  were 
sheared  in  two  days,  and  each  sheep  produced  about  two 
pounds  of  wool  each  year.  The  shearing  was  a  period  of 
great  festival  being  attended  by  hucksters  and  traders  and 
shearers  from  the  continent.  Sheep  were  the  national  flock, 
and  they  provided  mutton  and  wool  for  export.  Often  they 
were  confined  to  fertilize  small  areas  to  enrich  the  land  which 
was  planted  to  corn  and  crops.  In  1801  the  tillage  land  rep- 
resented 1350  acres  or  1/20  of  the  area  of  the  island. 


Chapter  15. 
FOREFATHERS  BURIAL  GROUND  AND  MONUMENT 

The  interments  of  the  forefathers  were  simple.  The  first 
to  die  among  the  whites  were,  according  to  tradition,  buried 
on  their  own  ground  near  their  dwellings.  There  are  no 
records  of  the  graves.  The  recovery  of  skeletons  in  Sher- 
burne in  excavating  operations  for  new  dwellings,  roads, 
etc.,  would  support  the  opinion  that  the  practice  was  fol- 
lowed before  there  was  an  established  burial  ground. 

Overlooking  Maxcey's  or  Wyer's  Pond  and  located  just 
east  of  it  is  an  ancient  burial  ground.  The  wind-swept 
ground  comprises  about  two  acres  in  area,  and  the  pretended 
corners  300  feet  apart  are  marked  by  cement  posts  hidden 
in  dewberry,  rose,  and  grass.  The  exact  site  and  the  boun- 
daries are  not  definitely  known.  The  old  maps  do  not  agree 
on  the  exact  spot.  To  the  north  is  the  Wannacomet  Water 
Tower  and  to  the  south  the  stone  house  of  Charles  P.  Kim- 
ball. No  one  knows  when  the  ground  was  set  aside  as  a 
burial  lot,  nor  when  the  first  burial  occurred.  Only  one  grave 
is  marked,  and  in  1875  according  to  Isaac  H.  Folger  the 
original  head  stone  was  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation,  bear- 
ing the  inscription  ''Here  lyes  ye  body  of  John  Gardner  who 
was  borne  in  ye  year  1624  and  died  A.D.  1706,  aged  82." 
There  were  other  stones  in  the  Ancient  or  Forefathers  Burial 
Ground  as  late  as  1883  (Austin),  but  none  of  them  was 
legible.  Vandals,  more  politely  relic  hunters,  to  whom  not 
even  the  abode  of  the  dead  is  sacred,  chipped  off  and  carried 
away  the  old  markers.  Captain  John  Gardner's  stone  had 
been  chipped  away  until  it  was  nearly  half  gone,  and  then  to 
avoid  its  complete  extinction  it  was  removed  in  1885  to  the 
Jethro  Coffin  or  Horseshoe  House  for  preservation,  after 
marking  the  spot  for  175  years  (1706-1881).  The  old  head 


52  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

stone  may  now  be  seen  in  the  bridal  chamber  of  his  daughter, 
Mary  Gardner  Coffin.  The  present  stone  was  erected  De- 
cember 20,  1881,  and  on  it  is  inscribed,  "Here  lyes  buried  ye 
body  of  John  Gardner,  Esq.,  aged  82,  who  died  May,  1706." 
Why  the  inscription  on  the  original  and  the  new  headstones 
should  not  read  alike  is  not  understandable.  When  Harriet 
B.  Worron  (Trustum  and  Grandchildren,  1881)  saw  the 
dark,  moss  covered  stone  slate,  it  was  nearly  sunken  from 
sight,  defaced  by  time,  but  still  more  by  rude  human  hands. 
The  remains  of  most  of  the  forefathers  are  buried  here. 
Traces  of  some  of  the  graves  were  apparent  as  late  as  1906, 
according  to  Wyer  in  his  Sea-Girt  Nantucket. 

Only  a  few  feet  from  Captain  John  Gardner's  grave  is  a 
granite  monument  within  an  iron  fenced  enclosure  erected 
in  1882  by  private  Coffin  enterprise  (1881  on  stone),  on 
which  are  inscribed  the  names  of  some  of  the  first  male  set- 
tlers buried  here.  This  pretentious  monument  struck  Austin 
(Nantucket  Scraps,  1883)  as  somewhat  impertinent  and 
the  two  head  stones,  one  of  John  Gardner,  the  other  not  leg- 
ible, then  crumbling  into  dust  on  the  lonely  hillside  seemed 
more  harmonious  with  the  setting  than  with  the  addition  of 
a  modern  fenced-in  monument.  The  monument  was  voted  at 
the  first  big  reunion  of  the  Coffin  family  on  the  island  on 
August  16-18,  1881  to  commemorate  the  200th  anniversary 
of  Tristram's  death.  The  Coffins  came  from  everywhere. 

The  names  of  some  of  the  male  members  of  the  settlement 
buried  here  are  inscribed  on  the  monument  as  follows : 


1609 

Tristram  Coffin 

1681 

1598 

Thomas  Macy 

1682 

1604 

Edward  Starbuck 

1690 

1617 

Peter  Folger 

1690 

1624 

John  Gardner 

1706 

1664 

John  Swain,  Jr. 

1738 

1664 

John  Coleman 

1715 

1626 

Richard  Gardner 

1688 

1598 

Christopher  Hussey 

1686 

1640 

William  Bunker 

1712 

NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  53 

The  names  are  followed  by  the  inscription,  ''Many  of  the 
descendants  of  these  worthy  sires  have  been  distinguished 
for  their  courage  and  energy  and  left  a  record  for  others  to 
emulate." 

The  edification  of  the  male  members  of  the  settlement 
would  seem  to  be  quite  impertinent.  The  lines  are  a  bit  big- 
oted. What  about  the  women!  They  may  rightfully  claim 
their  share  of  credit  for  the  development  of  this  famed  is- 
land society.  They  were  courageous,  industrious,  and  de- 
voted. They  exposed  themselves  to  hardship  and  sacrifice  in 
order  that  the  settlement  might  be  peopled  and  endure. 
Love  Gardner,  daughter  of  Richard,  married  James  Coffin, 
Jr.,  grandson  of  Tristram,  Sr.  She  died  in  1691  at  the  birth 
of  their  first  child  Benoni  (son  of  my  sorrow).  ''And  it 
came  to  pass,  as  her  soul  was  in  departing  (for  she  died) 
that  she  called  his  name  Benoni;  but  his  father  called  him 
Benjamin."  On  March  19,  1692,  James  Jr.  married  Ruth, 
daughter  of  John  Gardner,  their  ages  being  twenty-seven 
and  fifteen  years  respectively.  By  that  union  there  were 
eleven  children. 

Mary  Morrill  had  nine  children  by  Peter  Folger,  and 
Abiah,  the  only  child  of  this  union  born  on  Nantucket  (Au- 
gust 15,  1667)  was  the  mother  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin. 
Of  all  the  women  of  those  early,  trying  times  Mary  Starbuck 
was  most  eminent.  She  was  the  mother  of  four  sons  and 
six  daughters  and  the  guiding  spirit  in  the  organization  of 
the  Religious  Society  of  Friends. 

The  first  men  and  the  first  women  who  settled  here  might 
equally  share  in  the  credit  for  the  energy  and  achievements 
of  their  posterity. 

A.  Christopher  Hiissey 
Why  should  the  inscription  on  this  pretentious  monument 
include  the  name  of  Christopher  Hussey.  Has  it  occured  to 
the  historians  that  Christopher  Hussey  was  not  buried  on 
Nantucket?  He  died  at  Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  March 
6,  1686.  He  was  one  of  the  purchasers  of  Nantucket,  but  his 


54  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

interest  there,  with  that  of  Robert  Pike  on  the  west  side  of 
Trott's  Swamp,  was  acquired  by  Stephen  Hussey,  the  only 
child  of  Christopher  and  Theodate  Bachelder  to  move  to 
Nantucket,  Christopher,  or  Captain  Christopher,  was  for  a 
time  a  sea  captain,  and  he  undoubtedly  visited  Nantucket 
for  the  drawing  for  house  lot  land.  He  was  one  of  the  orig- 
inal settlers  of  Hampton  and  in  1679  was  appointed  one  of 
six  governing  councillors  for  the  newly  organized  state  of 
New  Hampshire.  His  remains  are  definitely  not  in  The  Fore- 
fathers Burial  Ground  as  the  inscription  on  the  monument 
would  lead  us  to  believe. 

Burials  were  continued  until  a  late  date  in  the  Forefathers 
Burial  Ground.  Jonathan  Coffin  (1692-1773),  grandson  of 
Tristram  and  Dionis  Stevens  and  fourteenth  child  of  James 
and  Mary  Severance,  and  his  wife  Hepsibah  Harker  (de- 
ceased Dec.  30,  1773)  were  both  buried  there  in  1773,  They 
were  the  last  to  be  buried  there. 

B.     The  First  Church 

The  inscription  on  the  fenced-in  monument  also  places 
the  erection  of  the  first  church  on  or  adjacent  to  the  Fore- 
fathers Burial  Ground  in  1711,  and  its  subsequent  removal 
to  where  it  now  stands  as  the  Vestry  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Society.  But  all  this  is  false,  for  here  is  the  record. 

In  January,  1716,  the  Town  Meeting  voted  to  build  a 
Town  House  34  x  24  feet.  It  was  erected  on  the  hill  on  the 
south  side  of  Westchester  Street  and  north  of  No  Bottom 
Pond.  In  1783  this  Town  House  was  moved  to  Milk  and  Main 
Streets  where  it  stood  for  many  years.  It  is  significant  that 
in  January,  1716  the  town  voted  to  place  notifications  of 
proprietors  meetings  on  the  Town  House  and  Meeting 
House.  On  the  29th  day  of  the  11th  month  1716-17,  it  was, 
"Voted  by  ye  town  yt  for  time  to  come  all  ye  proprietors 
meetings  shall  be  warned  by  setting  up  a  Notification  on  ye 
Town  House  and  on  ye  Meeting  House."  At  this  time  there 
was  but  one  Meeting  House,  that  of  the  Quakers,  on  the  site 
of  their  first  burial  ground  southeast  of  Maxcey's  Pond. 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  55 

At  the  town  meeting  on  the  18th  day  ye  11th  month  1725-26, 
it  was  voted  "yt  ye  method  for  ye  future  to  warne  ye  Town 
Meetings  shall  be  set  up  notification  at  ye  two  meeting 
houses  and  ye  town  house  setting  forth  ye  occasion  of  ye 
meeting,  etc."  The  two  meeting  houses  referred  to  are  the 
Friends'  and  Presbyterian,  the  latter  being  the  present 
vestry  of  the  Congregational  Church,  newly  erected  about 
1724  or  1725. 

On  May  9,  1725,  Timothy  White  began  preaching  the 
Gospel  on  Nantucket;  he  was  the  first  minister  of  which 
there  is  any  record  being  appointed  in  1732,  but  he  was  not 
an  ordained  minister  and  on  the  Lord's  Day,  June  11,  1732, 
he  preached  very  well  at  the  newly  built  Presbyterian  Meet- 
ing House.  There  is  no  evidence  of  a  Presbyterian  church 
organization  before  his  coming  in  1725.  The  vestry  was  lo- 
cated on  the  hill  near  the  town  house  and  jail,  just  north  of 
No  Bottom  Pond,  not  earlier  than  1725.  This  high  piece  of 
ground  north  of  No  Bottom  Pond  was  part  of  land  acquired 
from  the  heirs  of  William  Bunker,  who  died  June  6,  1712, 
and  other  land  was  given  by  the  proprietors  in  exchange. 

Dudley  (Churches  and  Pastors,  1902),  Hosmer  (Sanc- 
tuary of  our  Fathers,  1865)  and  Ewer  (Hist.  Map  of  Nan- 
tucket, 1869)  refer  to  the  traditional  church  of  1711  on  a 
site  north  of  No  Bottom  Pond.  The  fenced-in  granite  monu- 
ment on  the  site  of  the  Ancient  Burial  Ground  east  of  Max- 
cey's  Pond  claims  this  as  the  site  of  the  first  church  or  vestry 
built  in  1711.  There  is  no  record  of  a  meeting  house  on  this 
site,  and  the  old  vestry  of  the  First  Congregational  Society 
(Presbyterian)  was  never  here.  The  traditional  year  1711 
was  derived  from  the  story  that  an  individual  "remarkable 
for  his  knowledge  of  primitive  history"  had  seen  a  bill  dated 
1711  against  the  First  Congregational  Society  for  timber 
which  was  used  in  building  the  original  meeting  house.  The 
traditional  date  then  rests  on  a  traditional  bill.  It  has  been 
written  that  the  timber  used  in  building  the  traditional  house 
of  worship  of  1711  "was  obtained  from  the  huge  and  tower- 
ing white  oaks  with  which  the  island  was  once  covered" 


56  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

(Hist.  Sketch,  First  Congreg.  Church  Nantucket,  1850). 
Nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth.  There  were  no 
such  large  trees  on  Nantucket  within  the  history  of  the  white 
settlement  to  furnish  timber  for  the  construction  of  the 
vestry  or  any  of  the  dwellings.  After  the  white  settlers 
came,  large  quantities  of  building  timbers  were  shipped  to 
Nantucket  from  New  Hampshire  and  Maine. 

The  gable-end  of  the  vestry  is  inscribed  with  the  date  1711. 
The  figures  should  be  investigated  and  revised.  The  year 
1711  corresponds  to  the  period  that  the  Friends  built  their 
first  meeting  house  southeast  of  Maxcey's  Pond.  There  is 
no  record  of  a  meeting  house  on  the  sloping  site  north  of  No 
Bottom  Pond  at  this  period. 

In  1765,  during  the  ministry  of  Joseph  Mayhew,  the  sec- 
ond pastor,  the  church  vestry  was  taken  down  and  removed 
to  Beacon  Hill  on  Center  Street,  about  on  the  site  of  the 
present  First  Congregational  Church.  On  November  25, 
1767,  Rev.  Bezaleel  Shaw,  graduate  of  Harvard  University, 
class  of  1762,  became  the  third  minister  leading  services  in 
the  vestry  until  his  death  in  February  1796.  The  dilapidated 
marble  slab  on  his  grave  in  the  Old  North  Burial  Ground 
bears  the  inscription  **He  was  uncle  to  the  late  Chief  Justice 
Shaw  and  left  one  daughter."  During  his  pastorate  a  move- 
ment developed  in  the  church  which  led  to  a  division,  and 
the  organization  of  the  Second  Congregational  Church  in 
1809,  later  the  Unitarian  Church. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Reverend  Stephen  Mason,  April 
29,  1830  to  March  30,  1935,  the  vestry  was  moved  (1834)  to 
where  it  now  stands  to  make  possible  the  building  of  the 
present  First  or  North  Congregational  Church.  The  build- 
ing was  completed  and  dedicated  Nov.  6,  1834.  The  original 
steeple,  now  removed  was  123  feet  high.  Only  the  cubical 
base  remains  with  a  small  steeple  on  each  of  its  four  corners. 
This  is  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Meeting  House  or  the 
First  Congregational  Church  Vestry. 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  57 

C.  John  Swain,  Jr. 
The  name  of  John  Swain,  Jr.  is  inscribed  on  the  fenced-in 
monument  in  the  Forefathers  Burial  Ground.  Is  this  the 
site  of  his  remains?  He  was  born  on  September  1,  1664, 
and  was  the  first  male  white  child  born  on  Nantucket.  He 
was  the  son  of  John  Swain,  Sr.  and  Mary  Wyer,  both  Quak- 
ers, and  the  husband  of  Experience  Folger,  daughter  of 
Peter. 

The  Swain  family  bought  land  in  Polpis  from  the  Indians 
in  1680,  which  was  confirmed  in  1684  and  1686.  John  Sr. 
and  his  father,  Richard,  both  original  proprietors,  owned  the 
lands  on  the  Plain  at  the  south  head  of  Hummock  Pond,  and 
Richard  probably  lived  there  until  his  death  in  1682.  The 
records  state  that  the  land  and  house  near  Hummock  Pond 
were  sold  in  1687.  It  is  known  that  John  Sr.  had  a  house  at 
Polpis  in  1676  or  1677,  and  in  that  year  he  was  licensed  by 
the  town  to  operate  a  fulling  mill  near  his  house.  At  that 
time  John  Jr.,  who  accompanied  his  father  to  Polpis,  was 
thirteen  years  of  age.  Another  authority  claims  that  the 
Swain  house  was  built  in  1684,  two  years  before  the  Jethro 
Cofiin  house  (1686),  and  another  in  1672.  If  the  original 
house,  a  single  room,  was  built  in  1672,  then  it  was  enlarged 
by  additions  at  the  east  and  west  ends  after  1684.  The  site 
of  the  first  house  is  on  the  farm  of  the  late  Franklin  P. 
Chadwick.  Nearby,  until  1902,  stood  the  third  oldest  house 
in  Polpis,  constructed  by  John  Swain  Sr.,  in  1704,  for  his 
daughter  Elizabeth,  who  married  Joshua  Sevolle.  This  house 
was  situated  across  the  road  from  the  original  site  of  the 
old  Polpis  school  house.  The  school  house  was  moved  to  a 
site  adjoining  the  east  side  of  the  Polpis  cemetery  several 
years  ago  and  converted  into  a  dwelling.  The  original  site 
of  the  school  house  is  shown  on  Walling's  Map  of  Nantucket 
County  1858.  This  old  Swain  house  was  demolished  by 
lightning  in  1902.  Love  Smith  was  its  last  occupant. 

Richard  Swain  died  in  1682.  His  son,  John  Swain,  Sr., 
died  in  1715.  John  Jr.  died  on  November  29,  1738,  at  the 
age  of  73  years.  It  appears  strange  that  of  the  three  genera- 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  59 

tions  of  Swains  only  John  Jr.  of  the  third  generation,  and  a 
native  of  Nantucket  by  birth,  should  be  listed  among  the 
names  of  the  first  settlers  inscribed  on  the  Forefathers*  Mon- 
ument. He  might  have  been  buried  in  the  First  Friends 
Burial  Ground  southeast  of  Maxcey's  Pond,  since  the  Swains 
were  Quakers.  It  is  more  probable  that  John  Jr.  was  interred 
in  the  Polpis  Burial  Ground,  the  mound  of  land  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Polpis  road  and  about  200  feet  west  of  the  original 
site  of  the  Polpis  school  house.  The  site  of  this  ancient  cem- 
etery is  plotted  on  Ewer's  Historical  Map  of  Nantucket 
(1869),  and  it  is  the  only  Nantucket  map  that  shows  the 
location  of  the  Polpis  cemetery. 

A  story  that  John  Swain's  money  is  buried  on  Swain's 
Neck  has  been  handed  down  to  the  present  time.  In  1695 
a  French  privateer  anchored  off  Squam  Head.  Some  of  the 
buccaneers  came  ashore  on  a  predatory  mission  and  learned 
from  the  Indians  the  location  of  the  nearest  white  settle- 
ment at  Polpis.  One  of  the  Indians  sped  to  John  Swain's 
house  to  reveal  the  danger.  Swain  sped  west  to  Swain's 
Neck  with  his  bag  of  money  and  spade,  to  save  himself  from 
being  robbed.  The  location  of  the  buried  treasure,  which 
for  that  day  was  a  large  sum,  has  remained  a  mystery. 
Swain  died  in  1715  so  that  the  story  of  secreting  his  treasure 
for  twenty  years  in  the  face  of  want  would  appear  to  be 
incredible. 


Chapter  16. 
OLD  NORTH  AND  OTHER  BURIAL  GROUNDS 

You  must  visit  the  Old  North  Cemetery  on  the  northwest 
section  of  New  and  Grove  Lanes.  Originally,  this  was  the 
"Gardner  Burying  Ground,"  having  been  started  by  Gard- 
ners. About  half  the  stones  announce  the  marriage  of  Gard- 
ners and  Coffins.  Afterwards,  however,  it  was  taken  over 
by  the  First  or  North  Congregational  Society.  This  ground 
was  set  aside  in  the  first  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  the  first  interment  there  was  the  body  of  Abigail  Coffin 
Gardner,  wife  of  Nathaniel  Gardner,  the  tv/elfth  child  of 
James  Coffin  and  Mary  Severance  and  granddaughter  of 
Tristram,  who  died  March  15,  1709.  Richard  Gardner,  Jr., 
third  child  of  the  first  settler  was  buried  here  in  March  1728, 
and  many  thousands  more  including  the  Rev.  Bazaleel  Shaw, 
pastor  for  29  years  of  the  North  Congregational  Society, 
who  died  February  28,  1796.  The  original  set-off  of  this 
burial  ground  is  unknown,  and  there  is  no  record.  A  cat- 
alogue of  all  the  legible  inscriptions  on  the  stones  was  pre- 
pared for  the  Nantucket  Historical  Association  by  Reverend 
Myron  S.  Dudley  and  Dr.  Benjamin  Sharp.  In  1936  Charles 
P.  Kimball  reported  the  oldest  stone  then  standing,  identify- 
ing the  grave  of  Margaret  Hussey,  wife  of  Obed  Hussey,  de- 
ceased December  14,  1746.  The  last  interment  was  that  of 
Robert  Ratliff  in  1882,  who  was  shipwrecked  on  Nantucket 
in  1820.  Much  is  written  about  him.  Further  back  is  the 
grave  of  Capt.  Reuben  Chase. 

Reuben  Chase  v/as  born  on  Nantucket  June  23,  1754,  and 
died  there  June  23,  1824.  He  was  immortalized  by  James 
Fenimore  Cooper  in  his  famous  novel  The  Pilot,  as  a  per- 
fect type  of  sailor  character  and  hero.  Long  Tom  Coffin.  The 
epitaph  on  Reuben's  stone  was  in  keeping  with  the  practice 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  61 

of  recording  all  circumstances  attending  one's  last  illness 
and  demise. 

"Free  from  the  storms  and  ills  of  human  life, 
Free  from  the  noise  of  passion  and  of  strife, 
Here  lies  Reuben  Chase,  buried,  who  hath  stood  the  sea 
Of  ebbing  life  and  flowing  misery. 
He  was  no  dandy  rigged ;  his  prudent  eye  foresaw 
And  took  a  reef  at  fortune's  quickest  flaw. 

He  luffed  and  bore  away  to  please  mankind. 
Though  duty  urged  him  still  to  head  the  wind. 
Rheumatic  gusts  at  length  his  masts  destroyed, 
Yet  jury  health  awhile  he  still  enjoyed. 
Laden  with  grief  and  age,  and  shattered  here, 
At  last  he  struck  and  grounded  on  his  bier. 

There  careening  thus  he  lay 

His  final  bilge  expecting  every  day 

Heaven  took  his  ballast  from  its  deepest  hold. 

And  left  his  body  a  wreck,  destitute  of  soul." 

His  brother  Captain  Joseph  Chase,  also  a  whaleman, 
wrote  these  lines  and  had  them  inscribed  on  Reuben's  head- 
stone. But  Reuben's  son  Obed  later  dismounted  the  stone 
and  put  up  the  one  now  standing  and  bearing  the  inscription, 
"An  honest  man,  a  revolutionary  olflcer  and  a  pensioner." 
Some  contrast.  Obed  was  absent  on  a  voyage  at  the  time  of 
his  father's  death  and  being  young  did  not  sense  the  mean- 
ing of  the  lines  to  his  father. 

In  1883  Jane  Austin  wrote  that  the  gravestones  are  al- 
most lost  in  a  riotous  growth  of  vines  and  grasses,  mostly 
rose  and  dewberry.  She  asserted  that  the  bare  middle 
ground  is  packed  closely  with  graves  to  make  many  little 
hollows,  and  she  surmised  that  the  Quakers  buried  here 
before  they  had  a  place  of  their  own.  The  early  families  did 
not  believe  in  markers,  and  they  were  not  available.  No,  no, 
there  are  no  Quakers  here  in  this  cemetery. 


62  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

Stevens  visited  the  cemetery  and  described  it's  appearance 
in  Nantucket y  the  Far- Away  Island  (1936).  At  that  time 
he  found  the  site  so  overgrov^rn  with  bayberry  and  wild  rose 
as  to  make  it  difficult  to  get  at  the  gravestones.  Many  of  the 
markers,  of  which  the  earliest  were  of  slate,  have  been 
obliterated.  In  1936  the  town  of  Nantucket  cleared  the 
ground  of  brambles  and  bushes,  giving  the  old  peaceful 
cemetery  a  sense  of  dignity  and  respect.  The  bushes  and 
brambles  are  chiefly  poplar,  bayberry,  beach  plum,  and  dew- 
berry. They  thrive  here.  The  complete  circuit  of  exotic 
privet  hedge  planted  to  replace  the  old  historical  wooden 
fence  in  1936  gives  an  artifical  and  unnatural  complexion 
to  this  moorish  wind-swept  place.  It  is  not  proper  here. 
There  is  indeed  an  atmosphere  of  peace  and  loneliness  in 
this  quiet  spot.  '"This,"  Stevens  says,  "is  the  place  to  recite 
Grey's  'Elegy  Written  in  a  Country  Churchyard.'  " 

The  burial  ground  for  colored  people  occupies  an  open  site 
just  beyond  or  south  of  Mill  Hill  Park.  Many  of  the  men 
who  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  War  were  of  the  colored 
race,  and  here  in  this  lonely  cemetery  as  in  the  others  num- 
erous American  flags  are  placed  every  year  to  mark  the  site 
of  the  graves  of  the  men  who  served  their  country  in  its 
struggle  to  preserve  the  Union. 

The  ground  for  people  of  color  v/as  set  aside  before  1800. 
There  is  one  stone  bearing  the  year  1798.  Many  of  the 
graves  are  marked  with  native  stones  from  the  fields  and 
sea  shore,  and  several  are  without  any  inscription.  Many  of 
the  graves  have  no  markers.  Numerous  Pompeys  are  buried 
here.  The  site  of  the  remains  of  Reverend  J.  E.  Crawford, 
eloquent  preacher  and  best  known  minister  to  the  colored 
Baptists,  and  of  Ann  W.,  his  first  wife,  deceased  in  1858,  on 
his  right,  together  with  those  of  his  second  wife,  Dianna  S., 
deceased  1860,  on  his  left,  is  most  conspicuous.  The  ground 
is  no  longer  used  for  burials. 


Chapter  17. 

INTERMARRIAGES  AMONG  FIRST  FAMILIES 

The  numerous  children  of  the  first  settlers  intermarried, 
and  all  of  the  families  became  related.  Every  Coffin,  Cole- 
man, Gardner,  Hussey,  Starbuck,  Swain,  Wyer,  Macy,  and 
Worth,  was  a  cousin  to  all  the  rest.  One  of  Maria  Mitchell's 
admirers  once  told  Maria  that  she  had  met  her  cousin  on 
Nantucket,  which  brought  the  reply  that  she  had  5000  cous- 
ins on  Nantucket,  which  at  that  time  was  the  island's  popula- 
tion. Reverend  Dr.  F.  C.  Ewer  once  said  that  his  precious 
blood  was  chemically  composed  of  the  following  consanguin- 
eous Nantucket  compounds,  and  for  all  of  which  he  was 
humbly  grateful : 

Silicate  of  Trott  2.0% 

Protoxide  of  Swain      3.0% 
Chloride  of  Cartwright  11.0  %o 

Bicarbonate  of  Burnell  2.0% 

Nitrate  of  Worth  3.0% 

Sulfate  of  Starbuck  11.0% 

Hydrated  Sulfuric  Acid  of  Ewer  11.0% 

Aurate  of  Folger  29.0% 

Superphosphate  of  Coffin  12.0% 

Hydrated  Pentoxide  of  Gardner  1 5.0  % 

Traces  of  Tobey,  Wing  and  Macy  1.0%) 

The  ocean  and  isolation  imposed  further  barriers  to  mar- 
riage selection.  The  pride  of  island  blood  and  the  close  ties 
of  the  first  families  encouraged  close  marriages.  Even  the 
prevailing  religious  code  imposed  a  barrier  to  marriage 
selection  by  requiring  the  intermarriage  of  the  "Faithful." 
Quakerism  forbade  marriages  with  the  world's  people,  which 
on  Nantucket  represented  and  excluded,  at  the  zenith  of  its 
strength,  fully  one-third  of  the  population  of  the  island.  The 


64  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

penalty  for  outmarriage  was  disownment,  and  this  in  the 
early  history  of  the  faith  was  considered  a  great  loss  and 
disgrace.  At  the  beginning  of  the  decline  in  the  early  part 
of  the  19th  century,  disownment  because  of  outmarriage  was 
common,  and  by  1850  fully  one-half  of  the  Friends  of  the 
Nantucket  Meeting  had  married  members  of  other  religious 
faiths.  This  was  the  will  of  God  as  He  spoke  unto  Moses, 
saying,  "Ye  shall  therefore  keep  my  statutes,  and  my  judg- 
ments; which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall  live  in  them;  I  am  the 
Lord.  None  of  you  shall  approach  to  any  that  is  near  of  kin 
to  him,  to  uncover  their  nakedness ;  I  am  the  Lord."  Levit- 
icus 18:5-6. 

Consanguineous  marriages  on  Nantucket  were  fraught 
with  danger.  It  may  be  inferred  that  they  produced  serious 
physical  defects  and  abnormal  mental  traits  similar  to 
those  reported  in  contemporary  studies  by  Dr.  S.  M.  Bemiss 
and  Dr.  S.  G.  Howe.*  Idiocy,  however,  is  only  one  of  the 
forms  in  which  Nature  manifests  that  she  has  been  offended 
by  intermarriage. 

Dr.  Alexander  Graham  Beil  (1880)  reported  that  consan- 
guinity on  Martha's  Vineyard  resulted  in  117^  deaf  mutes 
or  1  out  of  every  25  of  the  whole  population,  and  many 
hermaphrodites.  Other  information  on  the  subject  in  rela- 
tion to  Martha's  Vineyard  is  offered  by  Dr.  Charles  F.  With- 
ington  in  a  very  interesting  article  ''Consanguineous  Mar- 
riages; Their  Effect  upon  Offspring"  (1885). 

No  studies  have  been  reported  on  the  genetics  of  the  early 
Nantucket  population.  Formidable  barriers  to  marriage 
selection  existed  here,  and  inter-marriages  were  unavoid- 
able. In  consequence  mental  defects,  deaf  mutism,  insanity, 
feeble  mindedness,  and  peculiar  traits  were  common.  Up 
to  1850  deaths  due  to  tuberculosis  ran  tremendously  high. 


*In  1858  Dr.  Bemiss  reported  28.7%  defective  children  among  3,942 
offspring  of  833  consanguineous  marriages. 

In  1853  Dr.  Howe  reported  a  percentage  of  idiocy  as  high  as  50%.  yor 
further  studies,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Document  51,  The  Senate, 
Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  1848:  Report  of  Commissioners  to 
inquire  into  conditions  of  idiots  of  the  Commonwealth,  February  28,  1848. 


PLATE   1 


Main  Street,  Nantucket  in  the  third  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century 
All  of  the  center  of  the  town,  save  the  Pacific  Bank  and  the  Methodist 
church  in  the  background,  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  night  of  July  13,  1846. 


PLATE  2 

Counting  house  and  warehouse  of  WilHam  Rotch  built  in  1765.  It  is  now 
the  property  and  meeting  place  of  the  Pacific  Club,  formerly  an  organization 
of  retired  sea  captains,  now  of  some  of  the  townsmen  who  gather  here  to 
exchange  news,  josh  each  other  and  play  cards. 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  65 

Reverend  Shaw  (Births,  Marriages,  and  Deaths  1789-1792) 
reported  frequent  deaths  from  pulmonary  consumption  or 
hectical  decay. 

Tuberculosis  is  the  resultant  of  infection  added  to  natural 
and  acquired  non-resistance.  Susceptibility  was  perpetuated 
and  increased  by  consanguinity.  The  clear  eugenic  advice 
should  have  been  out-marriage,  but  Quakerism  deplored  such 
/  a  doctrine.  The  mist  which  shielded  the  Quakers  here  was  in 
reality  far  from  being  a  blessing. 

Here  are  some  examples  of  first  cousin  marriages.  Na- 
thaniel and  Mary  Barnard,  son  and  daughter  of  the  brothers 
Thomas  and  Robert  Barnard  respectively,  gave  birth  to  ten 
children.  Elizabeth  Starbuck,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and 
Mary  (Coffin)  Starbuck  married  her  cousin  Peter  Coffin, 
Jr.,  son  of  Peter  and  Abigail  (Starbuck)  Coffin.  These  first 
cousins  were  both  grandchildren  of  Tristram  and  Dionis 
(Stevens)  Coffin.  Both  also  were  grandchildren  of  Edward 
and  Katherine  (Reynolds)  Starbuck.  Nathaniel  Starbuck, 
Jr.,  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  (Coffin)  Starbuck,  married 
Dinah  Coffin,  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  (Severance) 
Coffin.  Both  cousins  were  grandchildren  of  Tristram  and 
Dionis  (Stevens)  Coffin.  Rachel  Gardner  Brown,  daughter 
of  John  and  Priscilla  (Grafton)  Gardner  and  widow  of 
John  Brown,  married  her  first  cousin  James,  son  of  Richard 
and  Sarah  (Shattuck)  Gardner.  This  was  the  third  of 
James'  four  marriages,  and  it  resulted  in  one  child,  James, 
Jr.  ,who  married  his  first  cousin,  Susanna  Gardner,  daughter 
of  Nathaniel  and  Abigail  (Coffin)  Gardner.  Of  the  seven 
children  from  this  marriage,  Susanna,  the  seventh  child, 
married  William  Gardner,  son  of  Stephen  and  Jemima 
(Worth)  Gardner  and  a  direct  descendant  of  Richard  and 
Sarah  (Shattuck)  Gardner.  Elias  Coffin  (son  of  John  Coffin 
and  Hope  Gardner)  married  his  first  cousin.  Love  Coffin 
(daughter  of  Ebenezer  Coffin  and  Eleanor  Barnard).  John 
and  Ebenezer,  brothers,  were  grandchildren  of  Tristram 
and  Dionis.  Experience  Look,  daughter  of  Thomas  Look  and 


66  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

Elizabeth  Bunker,  married  her  first  cousin,  Stephen  Coffin, 
Jr.,  son  of  Stephen  Coffin  and  Mary  Bunker. 

The  mental  traits  and  the  physical  condition  of  the  pro- 
genies of  these  cousin  marriages  would  make  an  interesting 
study  in  eugenics  but  the  vital  statistics  for  such  a  study  are 
lacking. 

Although  the  parents  even  though  blood  relatives  may  be 
of  strong  mentality  and  free  of  any  physical  infirmities,  any 
defects  lurking  in  their  blood  tend  to  reveal  themselves  in 
their  children.  The  intermarriage  of  parental  strains  or 
blood  relatives  free  from  undesirable  traits  and  free  from 
the  predisposition  to  disease  or  infirmity  also  existed  in  this 
primitive  New  England  stock  because  from  the  first  families 
on  this  sea-girt  island  were  descended  men  and  women  who 
have  made  American  history.  Students  of  heredity  can  find 
no  better  illustration  of  the  transmission  of  successful  and 
superior  mental  traits  and  physical  fitness  than  those  which 
appeared  among  the  numerous  lineal  decendants  of  the  first 
Coffins,  Gayers,  Gardners,  Starbucks,  Colemans,  and  Macys. 
Many  manifestations  of  achievement  and  leadership  have 
appeared  in  business,  literature,  and  science;  and  from  the 
beginning  of  the  settlement  the  lines  have  included  leading 
merchants,  public  officials,  authors,  educators,  and  profes- 
sional and  scientific  men. 


Chapter  18. 
ILLUSTRIOUS  SONS  AND  DAUGHTERS 

Have  you  heard  of  Timothy  Gardner  Coffin,  born  of  Quak- 
er stock  November  1,  1788,  and  educated  at  Brown  Univers- 
ity? He  v^as  the  nestor  of  the  legal  fraternity  of  Bristol 
County,  Massachusetts,  for  many  years  and  proctor  of  mag- 
nificent attainments.  Daniel  Webster  is  reported  to  have 
said  of  him  after  a  court  battle  at  Nantucket,  ''Tim  Coffin  is 
the  ablest  lawyer  in  the  United  States.  He  is  one  of  all 
others  I  should  prefer  not  to  meet."  Although  of  Quaker 
stock,  he  carried  none  of  its  distaste  for  form  and  ceremony 
to  the  grave.  His  burial  lot  in  Rural  Cemetery,  New  Bedford, 
Massachusetts  is  beset  with  a  tall,  pretentious  m.onument. 

Hail  to  Lucretia  Mott,  the  earliest  champion  of  woman 
suffrage.    She  was  the  embodiment  of  human  perfection : 
"She  spoke  of  justice,  truth  and  love 
How  soft  her  words  distilled ! 
She  spoke  of  God  and  all  the  places 
Was  with  His  presence  filled." 

T.  W.  Chadwick 

To  the  end  of  her  life,  Lucretia  Mott  was  active  in  the  pro- 
motion of  temperance  and  in  the  elevation  of  women.  Her 
portrait  appears  with  those  of  Elizabeth  Stanton  and  Carrie 
Chapman  Catt  on  a  three-cent  United  States  postage  stamp 
issued  July  19,  1948,  to  commemorate  the  one  hundredth  an- 
niversary of  the  first  Women's  Rights  Convention  at  Seneca 
Falls,  New  York,  and  *'100  Years  of  Progress  of  Women, 
1948-1948".  She  was  truly  a  "women's  rights"  woman. 

We  cannot  overlook  the  noted  Phebe  Ann  (Coffin)  Hana- 
f  ord,  the  first  woman  pastor  in  New  England.  She  was  noted 
as  a  Universalist  minister,  Lyceum  lecturer,  author  and 
editor,  ardent  champion  of  anti-slavery,  temperance,  social 


68  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

reform,  and  women's  rights.  She  was  descended  8  times 
from  Tristram  Coffin,  6  times  from  Edward  Starbuck,  and 
3  times  from  Peter  Folger. 

There  was  Anna  Gardner,  daughter  of  Oliver  and  Hannah 
(Macy)  Gardner,  who  for  many  years  taught  school  in  the 
South,  a  writer  of  great  ability,  champion  of  the  colored 
people,  and  a  strong  advocate  of  women's  suffrage. 

Abiah  Folger  was  the  daughter  of  Peter  Folger  and  the 
mother  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin.  Abiah  married  Josiah 
Franklin  at  the  age  of  18.  She  was  his  second  wife ;  and  by 
this  marriage  they  had  10  children,  of  whom  Benjamin  was 
the  youngest  son.  Josiah  had  7  children  by  his  first  wife, 
but  Benjamin  was  the  gem  of  all  of  them.  Abiah  was  born 
on  Nantucket  on  August  15,  1667,  and  she  was  the  only  child 
of  Peter  Folger  and  Mary  (Morrill)  who  was  born  on  the 
island. 

William  Mitchell  was  a  talented  teacher  and  astronomer, 
principal  of  Nantucket's  first  public  school,  president  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Coffin  School,  promoter  of  general 
knowledge,  delegate  to  the  State  Convention  in  1820  to 
revise  the  Constitution  of  Massachusetts,  member  of  the 
State  Senate,  member  of  the  Governors'  Council,  Chairman 
of  the  Harvard  Observatory  Committee,  and  for  many  years 
an  overseer  of  Harvard  College  and  in  close  academic  con- 
tact with  learned  scientific  men  in  this  country  and  abroad. 
He  was  the  father  of  Maria  Mitchell  and  he  accompanied 
her  to  Vassar  College  in  1865.  He  died  there  on  April  19, 
1869.  His  remains  were  removed  to  Nantucket  and  interred 
on  April  22  in  Prospect  Hill  cemetery  in  accordance  with 
the  customs  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  to  which  sect  he  be- 
longed. 

Maria  Mitchell,  1818-1889,  is  another  member  of  Nan- 
tucket's Hall  of  Fame.  She  rose  to  great  prominence  al- 
though her  only  instruction  was  her  father's  teaching,  Nan- 
tucket schools,  and  her  own  reading.  She  was  computer  for 
the  Nautical  Almanac,  first  woman  member  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  professor  of  astronomy 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  69 

and  director  of  the  observatory  at  Vassar  College.  The  li- 
brary, observatory,  and  astronomical  and  biological  labora- 
tories established  in  the  setting  of  her  birth  place  and  admin- 
istered by  the  Nantucket  Maria  Mitchell  Association  are 
splendid  memorials  to  this  great  Nantucket  daughter.  Maria 
Mitchell  is  buried  at  the  foot  of  a  small  hillock  in  Prospect 
Hill  Cemetery  in  a  lot  enclosed  by  a  low  iron  fence.  A  modest 
tablet  of  stone  identifies  the  site  of  the  earthly  remains  of 
this  talented  daughter  of  the  island.  In  1948  Maria  Mitchell 
v^as  impressively  portrayed  in  a  nation-wide  radio  broadcast 
^'Diamond  in  the  Sky"  sponsored  by  E.  I.  du  Pont  de  Nem- 
ours &  Co.  More  recently  (1949)  Helen  Wright  has  written 
an  outstanding  biography  of  her  life  entitled  Sweeper  in 
the  Sky. 

Mary  Coffin  Starbuck's  fame  is  spread  over  all  of  the  pages 
of  Nantucket  history.  She  has  been  called  the  "great  wo- 
man," the  "mother  superior"  of  Quakerism  on  Nantucket. 

Sir  Isaac  Coffin,  admiral  in  the  British  Navy  and  a  great 
grandson  of  Tristram  by  way  of  James,  gave  the  Nantuck- 
eters  a  school. 

Miriam  (Keziah)  Coffin,  wife  of  John  Coffin  and  daughter 
of  Daniel  and  Abigail  Folger  and  a  devout  loyalist  during 
the  Revolutionary  War,  carried  on  a  monopoly  in  trade  be- 
tween Nantucket  and  New  York  under  the  protection  of  the 
British  Navy  while  the  Nantucketers  faced  cold  and  starva- 
tion and  their  ships  rotted  at  the  wharves.  Keziah  is  the 
heroine  in  J.  C.  Hart's  novel,  "Miriam  Coffin  or  the  Whale 
Fisherman."  Her  court  battles  and  lawsuits  completely  dis- 
sipated her  fortune,  and  she  died  in  poverty.  Historical  re- 
seach  has  refuted  the  common  accusations  against  Kezia 
Coffin,  and  there  is  no  record  of  her  arrest  for  smuggling. 
Smuggling  was  merely  the  attempt  to  run  provisions  into 
Nantucket  when  the  American  colonies  prohibited  exporta- 
tions  to  the  islands.  Kezia  Coffin  and  others  including  Wil- 
liam Rotch,  noted  whaleman,  were  arrested  on  the  charge  of 
corresponding  and  trading  with  the  enemy  (treason),  but 
the  court  would  not  convict  them. 


70  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

The  Honorable  Walter  Folger,  Jr.  was  a  great  astronomer, 
mathematician,  civil  engineer,  writer,  lawyer,  and  states- 
man. Like  all  the  Folgers  he  was  a  brainy  man  exhibiting 
a  high  development  of  the  notable  trait  of  the  "Knowing 
Folgers,"  famous  for  his  astronomical  clock  and  for  his 
Memoir  on  Aerolites,  now  an  exceedingly  rare  publication 
whose  search  for  truth  reached  far  beyond  the  stars.  Also, 
it  is  written  that  he  was  "as  odd  as  huckleberry  chowder". 

The  Honorable  Charles  J.  Folger  was  a  great  lawyer  and 
in  1882  was  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Treasury  and 
later  Republican  candidate  for  governor  of  New  York. 

The  Reverend  Dr.  F.  C.  Ewer,  was  a  clergyman  of  note, 
a  versatile  genius,  a  civil  engineer,  and  something  of  a  geo- 
logist. In  1869  he  made  a  survey  of  Nantucket  and  adjacent 
islands  and  prepared  an  excellent  historical  map  which  bears 
his  name. 

Dr.  Zaccheus  Macy  (December  7,  1713-October  27,  1797) 
was  for  almost  fifty  years  the  principal  surgeon  on  the  is- 
land. He  performed  over  2,000  operations  and  never  charged 
for  his  services.  He  was  a  staunch  friend  of  the  Indians.  He 
is  the  author  of  "Short  Journal  of  the  First  Settlement  of 
Nantucket,"  which  he  wrote  in  the  79th  year  of  his  age 
(Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.  I,  Vol.  3:155-161,  1792). 

Obed  Macy  was  the  author  of  the  earliest  history  of  Nan- 
tucket, published  in  1835  and  written  in  the  last  decade  of 
his  life. 

Alexander  Starbuck,  ardent  son  of  Nantucket,  migrated 
to  Waltham,  Massachusetts,  as  a  young  man  to  follow  the 
watchmaker's  trade  but  left  it  to  enter  journalism;  he  was 
the  author  of  a  very  complete  and  authentic  history  of 
Nantucket. 

Rowland  Hussey  Macy,  founder  of  Macy's  Department 
Store  in  New  York  City  in  1858,  was  an  islander  with  a 
spirit  of  enterprise  in  various  fields.  At  the  time  of  his  de- 
cease in  1877  he  employed  upwards  of  five  hundred  clerks. 
The  business  of  the  store  took  on  a  great  impetus  in  1888 
when  it  was  acquired  by  Isador  and  Nathan  Straus. 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  71 

William  Rotch,  son  of  Joseph  Rotch  and  Mary  Macy,  was 
a  large  whaleship  owner  and  merchant  who  carried  on  his 
immense  whaling  business  in  Nantucket,  Dunkerque 
(France),  and  New  Bedford.  He  was  a  man  of  great  force 
and  ability  and  has  been  regarded  as  Nantucket's  greatest 
son.  He  came  back  to  Nantucket  from  France  in  his  61st 
year  (1794)  and  thence  went  to  New  Bedford  where  he  be- 
came a  leading  citizen  and  merchant.  Here  is  the  prayer  of 
the  New  Bedford  Courier  at  the  time  of  his  decease  May 
16,  1828. 

"May  his  bright  example,  which  has  so  long  been 
spared  as  a  beacon  to  successive  generations  be  held 
in  grateful  remembrance,  and  be  preserved  as  a 
model  worthy  of  imitation  by  his  children's  children 
throughout  unborn  ages  yet  to  come." 

Dr.  Charles  Frederick  Winslow  (1811-1877)  was  educated 
at  Harvard  College  and  Paris,  France  and  practiced  med- 
icine in  numerous  hospitals  in  the  Pacific,  Nantucket  and 
Waltham,  Massachusetts  (1853)  and  subsequently  in  the 
far  western  states.  He  became  more  scientist  and  business 
man  than  medical  doctor.  His  investments  were  in  mining 
enterprises  and  his  major  interests  in  science,  politics, 
cosmography,  the  temperance  movement  and  education  for 
women. 

Neither  will  time  forget  the  noteworthy  339  young,  able- 
bodied  men  who  served  in  the  army  and  navy  during  the 
four  long  years  of  struggle  to  preserve  the  Union.  These 
were  Nantucket's  gallant  men  in  blue  of  the  Civil  War. 
(Army  213,  Navy  126) .  This  was  56  more  than  Nantucket's 
quota.  Nantucket  was  justly  called  the  banner  town  of  the 
Commonwealth.  Many  of  them  were  mere  boys,  and  many 
of  them  died  in  prison  and  on  the  battlefield.  The  names  on 
the  Soldiers'  Monument  recall  the  pathetic  incidents  of  dis- 
ease, starvation,  wounds,  and  deaths.  The  death  of  Arthur 
M.  Rivers  was  especially  tragic  and  shocking.  He  was  born 
June  19,  1848,  and  lacked  six  months  of  seventeen  years  of 
age  at  the  time  of  his  death  on  December  21,  1864,  in  the 


72  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

Confederate  prison  at  Salisbury,  North  Carolina.  Ada,  the 
only  daughter,  died  January  31,  1863. 

Rivers  enlisted  in  the  Union  Army  on  August  13,  1862, 
being  then  but  a  little  over  14  years  of  age.  The  young  lad 
was  v^ounded  and  taken  prisoner  at  Gettysburg.  Other  Nan- 
tucketers  to  die  in  prison  were  Samuel  Crocker,  George 
Spencer,  and  Benjamin  Ray.  Seth  C.  Chase,  another  pris- 
oner at  Salisbury,  arrived  at  Nantucket  on  March  19,  1866. 
He  lived  less  than  a  month  after  his  return.  He  revealed 
the  news  that  young  Rivers  died  in  his  arms.  An  American 
flag  smuggled  into  the  Confederate  prison  was  wrapped 
around  him,  and  the  "gallant  boys  in  blue"  brought  him  out 
wrapped  in  the  flag.  There  was  no  twinkle  in  Chase's  eyes 
when  he  revealed  the  sad  news  of  young  Rivers'  death. 

The  Rivers'  family  lot  may  be  found  in  the  Prospect  Hill 
Cemetery.  On  Arthur's  headstone  is  inscribed,  "He  rests 
from  his  labors."  Close  by  are  the  graves  of  his  mother  Ann 
and  his  sister  Ada.  The  burial  plot  is  hidden  by  clumps  of 
bayberry,  beach  plum,  scrub  pine,  dewberry  vines,  and 
golden  rod.  He  was  a  noble  boy,  a  soldier  in  the  service  of  a 
great  cause.  The  mother,  Ann,  deceased  March  20,  1874, 
was  interred  beside  her  two  children.  Another  son  Alonzo 
M.  and  his  father,  a  mariner,  left  the  island. 

And  alas!  The  whaleman.  Nantucket  was  his  creation. 
His  industry,  hardship,  suffering,  and  sacrifice  on  long  voy- 
ages from  the  island  on  the  clumsy  "blubber  hunters"  far 
away  from  friends  and  family  were  "a  sailor's  horror."  The 
forecastle  or  fo'lk'sle,  a  gloomy  den  below  deck,  sometimes 
referred  to  as  the  "Black  Hole  of  Calcutta"  with  its  intense 
odor  of  grease  and  oil,  was  his  home.  The  eating  utensils 
were  tin  plates,  and  the  food  was  "long  lick"  (tea,  coffee,  and 
molasses)  and  "scouse"  (hard  tack,  beans,  and  meat)  and  a 
bucket  of  water  and  one  cup  for  all. 

After  four  long  years  of  toil  in  the  face  of  privation  and 
sacrifice,  if  the  whaleman  lived  to  return,  came  the  earnings, 
a  share  of  the  "lay,"  a  few  hundred  dollars,  if  the  voyage 
was  moderately  successful,  less  the  depletions  by  the  cap- 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  73 

tain's  "slopchest,"  the  account  for  tobacco,  clothing,  soap, 
and  incidentals.  All  honor  to  the  whaleman  "nimrod  of  the 
sea."  0  Nantucket!  Have  you  forgotten  your  whalemen? 
Where  is  your  whaleman's  memorial,  if  only  a  plain  ground 
and  a  simple  unpretentious  stone?  Edmund  Burke,  speak- 
ing before  the  British  House  of  Commons  in  1775  "On 
Conciliation  with  America,"  paid  him  undying  tribute. 

"Neither  the  perseverance  of  Holland,  nor  the  ac- 
tivity of  France  nor  the  dexterous  and  firm  sagac- 
ity of  the  English  enterprise  ever  carried  this  most 
perilous  mode  of  hardy  industry  to  the  extent  to 
which  it  has  been  pushed  by  this  recent  People ;  a 
People  who  are  still,  as  it  were,  but  in  the  gristle, 
and  not  yet  hardened  into  the  bone,  of  manhood." 

On  July  24,  1930,  the  Whaling  Museum  belonging  to  the 
Nantucket  Historical  Association  and  formerly  an  old  can- 
dle house  was  dedicated  to  the  Nantucket  whaling  industry. 
It  might  also  be  considered  a  memorial  to  William  F.  Macy, 
through  whose  interest  and  ceaseless  efforts  the  Nantucket 
Whaling  Museum  became  a  reality. 


Chapter  19. 
PRIDE  OF  NATIVE  HOMELAND 

A  distinguishing  characteristic  which  marks  the  people 
of  this  island  is  their  affection  and  loyalty  to  their  native 
birthplace.  They  pride  themselves  on  being  lineal  descend- 
ants of  the  first  families.  To  be  an  islander  by  birth  and  a 
lineal  descendant  of  one  of  the  first  families  too  is  something 
the  Nantucketers  cherish  beyond  all  else.  To  them  this  is 
the  acme  of  all  human  happiness.  One  of  the  Gardners  who 
eminently  qualified  for  the  second  category,  but  as  an  oif- 
islander  by  birth  not  for  the  first,  was  once  asked  if  he  were 
born  on  Nantucket,  to  which  he  replied,  "Unfortunately 
not."  This  too  was  the  experience  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin, 
grandson  of  Peter  Folger,  who  came  within  two  months  of 
being  a  Nantucket  native.  Nantucketers  are  born  with  all 
"tucket"  in  their  veins  and  habits.  The  islanders  apparently 
have  a  stronger  love  of  "native  land"  than  any  other  Amer- 
ican people.  To  come  back  to  its  quaint  streets  and  home- 
steads in  middle  or  later  life  and  to  spend  one's  last  days  here 
was  the  fond  dream  of  them  all. 

Dr.  Charles  F.  Winslow  who  died  in  Salt  Lake  City  in 
1877  willed  that  his  body  be  interred  beside  his  wife  Lydia 
Coffin  Jones  in  Mt.  Auburn  Cemetery,  Cambridge,  and  his 
heart  without  ceremony  at  mid-night  in  the  grave  of  his 
parents  in  Nantucket,  which  was  so  done.  With  appropriate 
ceremony  Edward  Rowe  Snow  of  Winthrop,  Massachusetts, 
historian  and  "flying  Santa  Claus"  who  drops  Christmas 
gifts  on  lighthouses,  on  July  14,  1947,  in  the  company  of 
numerous  decendants  of  Dr.  Winslow  placed  upon  the  site 
in  Newtowne  Cemetery  a  suitable  tablet  bearing  the  in- 
scription "The  heart  of  Dr.  Charles  F.  Winslow  lies  buried 
here." 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  76 

More  deep  feeling  is  portrayed  by  Mary  E.  Starbuck's 
beautiful  poem,  "Nantucket,"  as  follows: 

"Just  a  sandy  windswept  island ! 
What  more  would  you  have  it  be, 
With  a  turquoise  sky  above  it. 
Around  it  a  sapphire  sea? 

When  its  dawns  are  pearl  and  opal. 
Its  noons  are  crystal  clear. 
And  its  sunsets  shower  down  gold  dust 
Till  the  diamond  stars  appear, 

When  to  those  who  are  born  on  the  island, 
And  to  many  from  over  the  sea, 
'Tis  fairer  than  all  its  jewels. 
What  more  does  it  need  to  be  ?" 

Nantucket  and  Other  Verses,  1924 

A  similar  sentiment  is  expressed  by  Emily  S.  Forman  in 
her  poem  "Cactus" : 

"I  know  an  isle  clasped  in  the  sea's  strong  arms. 
Sport  of  his  rage,  and  sharer  of  his  dreams ; 
A  barren  spot  to  alien  eyes  it  seems. 
But  for  its  own  it  wears  unfading  charms. 
From  Spring's  first  kiss  to  Autumn's  last  caress, 
Gayly  its  moorlands  bloom  from  strand  to  strand. 
And  many  a  favored  nook  by  west  winds  fanned, 
Holds  flowers  unmatched  for  tint  and  loveliness." 

Wild  Flower  Sonnets,  1895 

Governor  Oliver  Ames  of  Massachusetts,  31st  Governor 
(1886-87-88),  was  engaged  to  marry  a  fair  Nantucket 
daughter.  When  he  arrived  on  Nantucket  for  the  marriage 
ceremony,  he  was  accosted  by  a  "scrap  islander"  who  asked 
him  if  he  had  come  down  to  attend  the  big  wedding.  "Whose 
wedding?"  inquired  the  governor. 


76 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 


The  Nantucket  "scrap"  replied,  "Why,  Anna  Ray's.  She's 
a  Swain,  you  know,  but  he's  nothing  but  an  off-islander." 
This  sort  of  clannish  circle,  from  which  those  not  native  here 
and  to  the  manner  born  are  excluded,  has  persisted  to  this 
day. 

The  Nantucketer  is  so  thoroughly  satisfied  with  his  island 
that  he  thinks  with  a  sort  of  pity  of  those  who  are  unfor- 
tunate enough  to  have  been  born  elsewhere.  This  pride  in 
the  island  is  deep  seated  even  among  the  school  children.  One 
pupil  began  his  composition  on  Napoleon  thus:  "Napoleon 
was  a  great  man,  a  great  soldier,  and  a  great  statesman; 
but  he  was  an  off  islander."  If  you  should  ask  the  islanders 
about  those  queer  white  railed  platforms  on  the  tops  of 
many  of  their  houses  called  "walks,"  they  will  wonder  where 
you  have  been  all  of  your  lifetime. 


Figure  4. 
The  "Walk"  on  an  old  Nantucket  house 


Chapter  20. 
BEGINNINGS  OF  ORGANIZED  RELIGION 

The  early  Nantucketers  had  no  organized  religious  teach- 
ing. At  first,  and  for  many  years  after  the  settlers  came, 
gatherings  of  the  families  for  religious  worship  occurred  in 
the  homes  in  the  same  manner  as  the  first  town  meetings. 
Every  home  was  graced  with  the  family  Bible.  Thomas 
Story,  Quaker  missionary  who  came  to  Nantucket  in  1704, 
wrote  in  his  autobiography  that  the  island  was  inhabited  by 
a  mixed  people  of  various  notions  and  some  Christian  In- 
dians, but  no  settled  teachers  of  any  kind.  There  were  Bap- 
tists, Presbyterians  and  some  Quakers.  Both  John  Swain 
and  his  step-brother-in-law,  Stephen  Hussey,  were  Quakers, 
as  early  as  1682  as  judged  by  the  fact  that  they  refused  to 
qualify  as  selectmen  by  "swearing."  As  there  was  no  law 
for  affirmation,  the  town  chose  Nathaniel  Barnard  and  Ste- 
phen Coffin  in  their  places.  Peter  Folger,  the  grandfather 
to  Benjamin  Franklin,  embraced  Quakerism  in  1680,  ten 
years  before  his  death.  The  population  of  the  island  was 
small.  Business  was  conducted  largely  on  a  barter  basis,  and 
incomes  were  meager.  Living  conditions  were  primitive. 
There  was  no  wealth.  The  population  of  the  whites  increased 
to  700  souls  before  any  religious  society  was  gathered  among 
them.  A  similar  parallel  among  English  speaking  colonists 
elsewhere  is  unknown. 

It  seemed  only  natural  that  Quakerism  should  be  the  first 
religious  sect  to  become  established.  Mary  Coffin  Starbuck's 
leadership  organized  the  Nantucket  Monthly  Meeting  of 
Friends  in  1708,  in  her  home^  following  a  series  of  Friends 
meetings  in  1698  by  Thomas  Chalkley;  in  1701  by  John 


^This  house  was  taken  down  and  rebuilt  on  upper  Main  Street  where 
it  is  known  as  the  Tobey  House. 


78  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

Richardson ;  and  in  1704  by  Thomas  Story,  all  Quaker  mis- 
sionaries from  England.  Nathaniel  Starbuck  built  another 
house  near  Maxcey's  Pond  for  his  son  Nathaniel  Jr.  in  1699, 
which  came  to  be  known  as  the  Parliament  House^  and  here 
in  its  ^'bright  rubbed  living  room"  religious  and  civic  meet- 
ings and  discussions  were  held.  Regular  First  Day  Meetings 
began  here  in  1704. 

On  Richardson's  visit,  Mary  Starbuck,  at  the  age  of  56, 
became  a  convert  to  the  Quaker  faith,  and  of  her  he  wrote, 
"To  this  woman  is  the  everlasting  love  of  God."  She  was 
born  in  Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  on  February  2,  1645,  and 
it  is  written  that  she  was  baptized  by  Peter  Folger.  Thomas 
Chalkley,  in  writing  of  his  visit  to  Nantucket,  stated,  "At 
this  time  a  Friend  was  convinced,  whose  name  was  Starbuck, 
who  became  very  serviceable  and  lived  and  died  an  eminent 
minister  of  Christ  on  the  island." 

On  September  4,  1722,  Rev.  Nathan  Prince,  then  visiting 
on  Nantucket  Island,  wrote  to  his  brother  Thomas,  pastor 
of  a  church  in  Boston,  "  Tis  strange  how  they  have  in- 
creased. Twenty  years  ago  there  was  scarce  one  and  now 
there  are  several  hundred,  and  all  proceeded  from  a  woman 
(one  Starbuck)  turning  Quaker ;  who  being  a  person  of  note 
for  wisdom  in  this  place  became  a  preacher  and  soon  con- 
verted so  many  as  that  they  formed  themselves  into  a  society 
and  built  a  meeting  house  and  became  the  prevailing  profes- 
sion of  the  island."  Upon  her  death  Nathaniel  Starbuck,  Jr. 
(1668-1753),  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  (Coffin)  Starbuck, 
carried  on  his  mother's  profession.  He  married  his  cousin, 
Dinah  Coffin,  daughter  of  James.  She  became  an  elder  in 
the  meeting  and  "sat  head"  of  the  women's  branch.  Nath- 
aniel Starbuck  Sr.  and  Mary  Coffin  were  married  in  1662 
shortly  after  Nantucket  was  settled.  They  bore  ten  children. 

It  was  known  to  the  Quaker  missionaries  before  1701  that 
the  Starbucks  were  in  some  degree  convinced  of  the  truth. 
John  Swain  and  Stephen  Hussey  were  under  the  profession 


^This  house  stands  today  at  Pine  and  School  Streets  and  is  known  as 
the  Austin  House. 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  79 

of  truth,  but  they  were  not  of  good  report,  could  not  agree 
among  themselves,  and  were  at  odds  with  most  of  the  neigh- 
bors. Story  dared  not  entrust  the  organization  of  Quakerism 
on  the  island  to  their  direction.  The  choice  of  the  Starbuck 
family  was  a  splendid  one. 

The  petition  of  nine  Nantucket  Friends  for  a  Nantucket 
Monthly  Meeting,  addressed  to  the  Rhode  Island  Annual 
Meeting  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  March  26,  1708,  bears 
their  signatures  in  the  following  order : 

Mary  Starbuck  (daughter  of  Tristram  Coffin) 

Nathaniel  Starbuck,  Jr.  (son  of  Mary) 

Dorcas  Gayer  Starbuck  (wife  of  Jethro  Starbuck) 

Priscilla  Starbuck  Coleman  (daughter  of  Mary) 

Stephen  Hussey 

Jethro  Starbuck  (son  of  Mary,  husband  of  Dorcas  Gayer) 

John  Coleman  (husband  of  Priscilla  Starbuck) 

Barnabas  Starbuck  (son  of  Mary) 

Anna  Trott  (wife  of  John  Trott) 

The  petition  was  submitted  by  Nathaniel  Starbuck,  Jr., 
who  was  the  first  clerk  of  the  Nantucket  Meeting. 

It  is  not  understood  why  Nathaniel  Starbuck  Sr.,  the  hus- 
band of  Mary  and  first  child  of  Edward,  did  not  sign  the  peti- 
tion and  did  not  join  the  meeting  until  a  year  later  (1709). 
The  signatures  are  those  of  mother  and  three  sons,  daughter, 
son-in-law,  and  daughter-in-law  and  two  others.  Of  the  other 
children  of  Tristram  Coffin,  only  Stephen  embraced  Quak- 
erism.  The  Coffins  were  strong  Puritans. 

Thus  the  Nantucket  Society  of  Friends  arose  in  the  first 
decade  of  the  18th  Century  from  the  interest  and  work  of  a 
single  family.  Quakerism  received  a  great  impetus  under 
the  strong  leadership  of  Mary  Starbuck.  It  grew  and  dom- 
inated the  life  of  the  settlement  for  a  century  and  a  half, 
reaching  its  zenith  of  power  parallel  with  the  whale  fishery 
before  the  middle  of  the  19th  century  or  near  1842.  Its 
tenets  were  simple,  and  it  appealed  to  a  simple,  industrious, 
isolated  people.  It  determined  the  manner  of  living,  dress, 
social  customs,  and  culture  of  the  community. 


Chapter  21. 
INFIDELITY  OF  STEPHEN  HUSSEY 

The  signature  of  Stephen  Hussey  on  this  historic  petition 
for  a  Nantucket  Monthly  Meeting  seems  odd.  He  was  the 
settlement's  pettifogging  lawyer,  born  in  Lynn,  the  son  of 
Christopher  and  Theodate  Bachelder,  and  the  only  Hussey 
to  settle  on  Nantucket.  At  the  age  of  46  he  married  Martha 
Bunker,  age  twenty  years,  in  1676,  and  by  this  marriage 
there  were  eight  children.  Martha  was  orphaned  in  1658, 
at  the  age  of  one  and  one  half  years,  by  the  death  of  her 
father,  and  she  subsequently  became  the  step-daughter  of 
Richard  Swain.  Stephen  acquired  his  father's  set-off  and 
that  of  Robert  Pike  on  the  west  side  of  Trott's  swamp. 

Stephen  Hussey  was  inclined  toward  law.  He  followed  a 
hectic  career  and  lived  in  continual  turmoil.  He  was  abusive 
at  the  town  meetings,  and  it  is  reported  that  he  schemed  to 
change  the  vote  on  important  issues  and  the  results  of  elec- 
tions of  candidates  for  office.  Of  nine-tenths  of  the  early 
court  records,  either  Hussey  or  some  Indian,  was  a  party 
to  a  misdemeanor,  and  many  of  these  were  actions  of  Hussey 
against  Indians  accused  of  being  in  debt.  At  various  times 
he  was  charged  with  contempt  and  presumption,  stealing 
timber,  and  smuggling  liquor  into  Nantucket,  for  which  he 
was  heavily  fined.  He  sued  the  constable  for  seizing  the 
liquor  but  lost  the  case.  He  was  the  harbinger  of  strife  and 
commotion.  The  Society  of  Friends  disowned  him  in  1717, 
following  a  series  of  litigations  against  members  of  the  so- 
ciety. He  died  on  February  2,  1718,  in  the  88th  year  of  his 
life,  and  was  decently  buried  in  the  first  Friends'  Burial 
Ground.  Martha,  his  vnte,  died  on  the  21st,  9th  month,  1744, 
in  her  88th  year. 


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Chapter  22. 
FIRST  FRIENDS  BURIAL  GROUND 

In  April  1708,  the  Nantucket  Monthly  Meeting  was  born 
in  the  house  of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  Starbuck,  and  at  this 
meeting  it  was  proposed  to  purchase  land  for  a  burial 
ground  and  meeting  house.  At  the  June  monthly  meeting 
it  was  voted  to  build  a  meeting  house  as  fast  as  possible. 

Nathaniel  Starbuck,  Jr.,  had  his  residence  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Madaket  Road  and  a  little  to  the  east  of  the 
south  end  of  Maxcey's  Pond.  At  a  meeting  of  the  town, 
28th,  1st  mo.  1709,  "ye  towne  do  agree  &  voat  yt  Nath'l 
Starbuck  shall  have  ye  liberty  to  take  up  one  acre  of  land  on 
exchange  for  to  sett  a  meeting  house  on  to  ye  eastward  of 
his  son  Nath'l  Starbuck  where  on  ye  timber  now  lieth."  This 
action  of  the  town  fixes  definitely  the  site  of  the  first  Friends 
Meeting  House  and  approximately  the  date  of  its  erec- 
tion. Macy  (Story  of  Old  Nantucket,  1915)  gives  the  year 
as  1711.  In  February  1716  the  Friends  voted  to  enlarge  the 
meeting  house. 

The  site  of  the  first  Friends  Burial  Ground  is  along  the 
Madaket  Road  and  approximately  one-third  of  a  mile  or 
slightly  less  to  the  eastward  of  the  site  of  Nathaniel  Star- 
buck  Junior's  house,  and  north  of  the  Elihu  Coleman  house. 

The  Friends  Burial  Ground  and  the  Meeting  House  were 
in  the  same  lot,  as  would  be  indicated  by  the  vote  of  April 
1708.  This  ground  was  used  for  interments  of  the  Friends 
from  1710  to  1760.  The  site  of  this  historic  burial  ground 
has  been  lost  to  recent  generations  of  Nantucketers.  Douglas- 
Lithgow  stumbled  on  it  and  wrote  of  it,  "The  first  burial 
ground  of  the  Quakers  was  situated  just  west  (error,  should 
be  north)  of  Elihu  Coleman's  house  on  the  old  Madaket 
Road  but  left  for  many  years  without  a  stone,  a  fence,  or  any 


82  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

kind  of  protection,  it  has  long  since  been  unrecognizable  and 
no  one  could  imagine  that  it  had  ever  been  a  place  of  intern- 
ment." {History  of  Nantucket,  1914,  p.  129).  Others  who 
have  stated  the  location  are  William  C.  Folger  in  Godfrey, 
Island  of  Nantucket,  1882  and  H.  S.  Wyer  in  Sea  Girt  Nan- 
tucket (1906).  The  first  book  of  births,  marriages,  and 
deaths  for  the  town  of  Sherburne  (p.ll) ,  reads :  ''Mary  Star- 
buck  departed  this  Liffe  ye  13  day  of  ye  9  o/m,  1717  in  ye  74 
year  of  her  age  and  was  decently  buried  in  Friends  Burying 
Ground."  She  was  the  seventh  child  of  Tristram  and  Dionis 
Stevens  Coffin.  Nathaniel  Starbuck,  her  husband,  the  first 
child  of  Edward  Starbuck,  was  buried  here  in  June  1719, 
and  Stephen  Hussey  in  February  1718. 

You  will  find  the  site  of  this  hallowed  ground  clearly  in- 
dicated on  two  excellent  maps  of  Nantucket,  namely.  Map 
of  Counties  of  Barnstable,  Dukes,  and  Nantucket  by  Henry 
F.  Walling,  Superintendent  of  State  Map,  1858  and  His- 
torical Map  of  Nantucket  by  Reverend  Dr.  F.  C.  Ewer, 
1869.  The  one  acre  site  of  ground  was  in  the  Starbuck  fam- 
ily and  verbally  transferred  to  provide  the  burial  lot  for  the 
Society  of  Friends. 

All  of  the  20th  century  maps  of  Nantucket,  including  the 
recent  excellent  map  by  R.  Newton  Mayall,  The  Highways, 
By-Ways  and  No-Ways  of  Nantucket  Island,  Mass.,  1945 
do  not  show  the  site  of  the  cemetery. 

The  remains  of  the  famous  Mary  Coffin  Starbuck  and 
eight  other  Nantucket  Quakers  whose  petition  to  the  Rhode 
Island  Annual  Meeting  established  the  first  society  of  relig- 
ious fellowship  on  Nantucket  are  in  this  cemetery.  The 
burial  ground  should  be  preserved  and  suitably  marked. 


Chapter  23. 
SECOND  FRIENDS  BURIAL  GROUND 

The  center  of  population  of  the  settlement  had  shifted  to 
Wesko,  the  present  site  of  the  town.  A  new  burial  ground 
and  a  site  for  a  new  Meeting  House  was  selected  at  Main 
and  Saratoga  Streets  in  1730.  In  1731,  Charles  Clasby, 
deceased  February  21,  1731,  was  buried  here  although  the 
first  Friends  Burial  Ground  further  west  on  the  Madaket 
Road  was  used  for  interments  of  the  Friends  until  1760. 

In  1732  the  Friends  were  collecting  money  to  build  a  new 
meeting  house  on  the  new  site.  In  1760  Nathaniel  Barnard 
was  interred  in  the  new  Friends  Burial  Ground.  As  late  as 
1762  more  work  was  done  to  enlarge  the  new  meeting  house. 
There  were  now  2,370  Friends  on  Nantucket.  The  old  meet- 
ing house  burned  down  in  1736  after  having  been  used  for 
a  school  by  Benjamin  Cofl&n,  a  Quaker  schoolmaster  called 
"Little  Draper."  This  was  the  first  building  on  the  island 
to  be  destroyed  by  fire. 

The  new  meeting  house  on  the  corner  of  the  burial  ground 
on  Main  and  Saratoga  Streets  was  taken  down  in  1792,  and 
rebuilt  on  a  lot  on  Main  and  Pleasant  Streets.  By  1833  it 
was  too  small,  and  the  Friends  then  erected  a  new  meeting 
house  on  Fair  Street.  This  was  used  for  the  first  time  in 
September  1833.  The  Main  Street  meeting  house  was  sold 
in  1843  and  the  materials  were  removed  to  Commercial 
Wharf  for  the  construction  of  a  store. 

This  religious  sect  carried  its  idea  of  simplicity  and  dis- 
taste for  form  and  ceremony  even  to  the  grave.  Here  in  the 
windswept  and  undulating  field  adjoining  the  site  of  the 
second  Friends  Meeting  House  are  buried  some  nine  to  ten 
thousand  human  remains  (Douglas-Lithgow),  or  five  to  ten 
thousand,   according  to   Stevens.    The  rough   undulating 


84  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

ground  is  literally  paved  with  bodily  remains  of  the  ances- 
tors of  every  Nantucketer.  They  v^ere  v^rapped  in  sailcloth 
and  buried  in  plain  boxes.  Before  1852,  the  burial  ground 
resembled  a  pasture  lot  or  hayfield  and  it  was  as  barren  as 
the  first  Friends  Burial  Ground. 

In  1827  to  1828  the  first  separation  from  the  conservative 
and  orthodox  Friends  took  place  in  Philadelphia.  An  evan- 
gelical, liberal  movement,  then  termed  Unitarian,  and  con- 
sidered radical  and  dangerous  was  led  by  Elias  Hicks,  a 
Long  Island  farmer.  The  name  Hicksite  was  popularly  at- 
tached to  this  liberal  Quaker  branch.  It  rejected  the  doctrine 
of  the  atonement  and  denied  Christ's  divinity.  On  Nantucket 
the  Hicksites  established  their  first  meeting  house  in  1836  on 
Main  Street.  In  1837  to  1838,  Joseph  John  Gurney,  an  ex- 
ponent of  a  milder  evangelical  movement,  aroused  the  Quak- 
ers in  large  numbers  to  his  views  whence  came  the  name 
Gurneyites  but  John  Wilbur,  a  Rhode  Island  public  school 
teacher  and  strict  orthodox  Quaker,  took  exception  to  the 
innovations  expounded  by  Gurney.  The  conflict  eventually 
led  to  the  expulsion  of  Wilbur  from  the  Society  of  Friends 
and  his  supporters  separated  in  1845.  On  Nantucket  the 
Wilburite  Friends  established  their  meeting  in  1850  on 
Center  Street. 

This  second  division  occuring  in  the  Society  in  July  1845, 
ended  in  litigation.  A  court  decision  deprived  the  orthodox 
Wilburites  of  their  property  and  burial  ground.  The  Massa- 
chusetts Supreme  Court  ruling  judged  that  the  Wilburites 
represented  a  revision  to  the  principles  held  by  the  original 
or  orthodox  Friends.  Thus  the  Wilburites  were  declared  to 
have  seceded  from  the  parent  body.  The  Fair  Street  meeting 
house  was  held  by  the  Wilburites  by  agreement,  then  sold  in 
1864,  and  funds  from  the  sale  were  divided  between  the 
Wilburite  and  Gurneyite  meetings.  The  building  was  taken 
down  and  the  materials  were  removed  from  the  island.  The 
Gurneyites  met  in  the  Main  Street  Meeting  House  previously 
built  (1836)  and  used  by  the  Hicksites  until  1850  when  they 
removed  to  their  own  Center  Street  Meeting  House. 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  85 

The  burial  ground  was  subsequently  maintained  in  com- 
mon, and  the  Gurneyites  or  true-continuing  Friends  buried 
their  dead  in  the  north  side.  Some  small  markers  fifteen 
inches  high  identify  the  site  of  the  heretic  Hicksite  and 
Gurneyite  sections.  There  are  also  a  few  modern  graves  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  lot  with  stones  marking  the  site 
of  the  remains  of  more  recent  members  who  had  even  less 
conscience  on  the  subject  than  the  Hicksites  or  Gurneyites. 
There  are  no  grave  stones  in  the  south  and  largest  part, 
which  was  reserved  for  the  Wilburite  Friends.  Their  part 
of  the  ground  is  destitute  of  any  sign  to  mark  the  graves  of 
this  once  influential  people;  rather  it  is  overgrown  with 
grass  and  weeds,  trailing  dewberries,  poplar,  and  beach 
plum.  But  this  simplicity  is  only  in  keeping  with  the  tenets 
of  the  faith  of  this  peace  loving  people,  which  prescribed 
that  everything  be  kept  as  simple  as  possible,  and  without 
marks  of  distinction  realizing  that,  ''there  are  memories 
greater  than  these,  embalmed  in  history,  their  graves  un- 
known while  sooner  or  later  time's  ruthless  hand  doth  seize 
the  perishable  stone."  The  Quakers  felt  that  "builded  tombs 
and  all  the  strong  desire  to  be  remembered  after  death  is 
vain,"  and  that  ''a  transient  name  on  the  stone,  a  transient 
love  in  the  heart,  we  have  one  day  and  are  gone." 

Crevecoeur,*  in  his  excellent  ''Letters  from  an  American 
Farmer,"  1793,  wrote,  "They  visit  and  comfort  the  sick; 
after  death  the  Society  bury  them  with  their  fathers  without 
pomp,  prayers,  or  ceremonies;  not  a  stone  or  monument  is 
erected  to  tell  where  any  person  is  buried ;  their  memory  is 
preserved  by  tradition.  The  only  essential  memorial  that 
is  left  of  them  is  their  former  industry,  their  kindness,  their 
charity,  or  else  their  most  conspicuous  faults.  How  simple 
their  precepts,  how  unadorned  their  religious  system.  At 
their  death  they  are  interred  by  the  fraternity  without  pomp, 
without  prayers,  thinking  it  then  too  late  to  alter  the  course 
of  God's  eternal  decree,  and  as  you  well  know  without  either 
monument  or  tombstone.  Thus,  after  having  lived  under  the 

*  Michel  Guillaume  St.  Jean  de  Crevecoeur. 


86  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

mildest  doctrine,  they  die  just  as  peaceably  as  those  who, 
being  educated  in  more  pompous  religions,  pass  through  a 
variety  of  sacraments,  subscribe  to  complicated  creeds,  and 
enjoy  the  benefits  of  a  church  establishment." 

The  burial  ground  on  Saratoga  Street  is  now  maintained 
by  the  Town  of  Nantucket.  A  sufficient  sum  of  money  to  pro- 
vide for  its  perpetual  care  was  raised  by  subscription,  and 
the  Dartmouth  Meeting  was  helpful  in  raising  funds  for  the 
purpose.  On  September  30,  1915,  the  Nantucket  Monthly 
Meeting  accepted  the  following  minute: 

"It  is  understood  and  agreed,  that  in  the  consideration  of 
the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars  deposited 
with  the  treasurer  of  the  Tov^n  of  Nantucket,  by  the  Nan- 
tucket Monthly  Meeting  of  the  Religious  Society  of  Friends, 
the  receipt  of  which  is  hereby  acknowledged,  that  the  Town 
of  Nantucket  under  authority  granted  by  Section  18,  Chap- 
ter 78  of  the  Revised  Laws,  assumes  the  perpetual  care  of 
the  Friends  Burying  Ground  abutting  on  Vestal,  Saratoga, 
and  Main  Street  in  the  said  Town. 

"Said  perpetual  care  is  understood  and  agreed  to  be  such 
as  is  the  common  practice  under  similar  conditions. 

"It  is  further  understood  and  agreed, 

1st,  That  a  good  and  substantial  fence  shall  be  maintained, 
the  turf  kept  in  good  condition,  the  grass  properly  cut,  and 
underbrush  thinned  out; 

2nd,  That  no  monuments  be  erected  unless  there  should 
be  other  burials;  then,  stones  no  larger  than  those  already 
there  and  similar.  All  stones  to  be  kept  in  a  clear  condition. 

3rd,  That  no  flower  beds  should  be  made,  but  if  desired, 
native  trees  or  shrubs  could  be  set  in  clumps  or  upon  the 
border  as  a  hedge. 

4th,  Other  changes  or  improvements,  if  any,  are  to  be 
made  in  accordance  with  the  understood  principles  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  at  the  time  of  the  acceptance  of  this 
instrument. 

"The  clerk  is  directed  to  forward  the  said  form  to  the 
Town  of  Nantucket  of  its  acceptance." 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  87 

The  instrument  was  accepted  by  the  Town  of  Nantucket 
at  a  special  town  meeting  held  December  1,  1915.  A  receipt 
from  the  town  treasurer,  G.  Howard  Winslow,  and  an  item 
in  the  Annual  Report,  Town  and  County  of  Nantucket,  1915, 
p.  68,  show  that  ?1,558.83  was  received  from  the  Nantucket 
Monthly  Meeting  at  Lynn,  Massachusetts.  Since  1915  the 
earnings  on  this  trust  fund  have  been  applied  to  the  care 
of  the  cemetery.  The  Annual  Report  of  the  Town  and 
County  of  Nantucket,  1944,  p.  4,  showed  a  balance  of 
$1,549.46. 

Contrary  to  the  opinion  of  Starbuck  (History  of  Nan- 
tucket, 1924),  the  Dartmouth  Meeting  has  had  no  jurisdic- 
tion over  any  property  of  the  Nantucket  Meeting.  On  April 
2,  1944,  after  years  of  assembly  off  the  island  and  in  the 
homes  of  the  members,  beginning  in  Lynn,  Massachusetts, 
and  ending  in  Rhode  Island,  the  Nantucket  Monthly  Meet- 
ing joined  in  a  group  the  Providence  Monthly  Meeting.  The 
valuable  records  of  the  Society  dating  from  1708  now  are  in 
the  care  of  the  Nantucket  Historical  Association,  and  per- 
manently housed  in  Nantucket  by  agreement  with  the  Nar- 
ragansett  (Rhode  Island)  Quarterly  Meeting  after  having 
been  removed  from  the  island  for  more  than  a  half  century. 


Chapter  24. 

WINTER  EVENINGS  ON  OLD  NANTUCKET 
IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 

The  plain  living  of  the  industrious  Nantucket  Quakers 
during  the  absence  and  the  hardships  of  the  brave  whale- 
men at  sea  have  been  related  in  all  the  texts,  but  here  v^e  are 
reminded  of  them  in  a  beautiful  poem  Winter  Evenings  on 
Old  Nantucket  in  the  Eighteenth  Century  by  Isaac  H.  Folger 
in  his  Quaint  Rhymes  of  Ancient  Nantucket : 

"The  early  settlers  on  Nantucket's  Isle 
Sought  not  to  beautify  their  homes, 
And  even  cared  but  little  to  beguile 
The  dullness,  which  with  evening  comes. 

Plain  speech,  plain  dress,  and  furniture  as  plain 
Left  few  attractions  in  the  scene; 
In  vain  adornment  few  would  spend  the  gain, 
Whose  price  the  father's  toil  had  been. 

The  ships  which  strand  upon  Nantucket's  shoals 
Send  wreck  to  shore,  0  woeful  sight ! 
Yet  that  which  landward  on  the  flood  tide  rolls, 
Makes  driftwood  for  the  winter's  night. 

In  every  house  was  found  a  fireplace  wide. 
From  which  huge  logs  sent  warmth  and  light, 
And,  where  all  else  so  sombre  was  beside. 
The  fire  became  a  joyful  sight. 

No  conversation  now  called  bright  or  gay 
Was  ever  heard  around  those  fires; 
To  let  your  yea  be  yea,  and  nay  be  nay, 
Is  what  the  Quaker  faith  requires. 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  89 

An  instrument  of  music  dared  not  steal 
Within  the  walls  where  mirth  was  mute ; 
'Twas  said  the  humming  of  the  spinning-wheel 
Was  better  far  than  harp  or  lute. 

The  chimney-corner  was  the  grandsire's  place 
When  he  had  passed  his  manhood's  prime ; 
His  youth  was  spent  in  whaling,  and  the  chase 
Of  whales,  now  furnished  many  a  rhyme, 

Which  in  the  evenings  he  would  sometimes  sing, 
Arousing  in  his  grandson's  heart 
The  hope  that  some  not  distant  day  might  bring 
His  chance  as  sailor  to  depart. 

The  mother,  saying  idleness  was  sin, 
In  household  duties  spent  her  day. 
And  in  the  evening  sat  her  down  to  spin 
As  though  her  spinning  were  but  play. 

At  times  sperm  candles  on  the  table  burned, 
Round  which  the  girls  would  knit  or  sew, 
Unless  an  honest  penny  must  be  turned, 
When  waxen  tapers  needs  must  go. 

When  sold  they  were  replaced  by  home-made  dips. 
Round  which  the  sewers  tried  to  see. 
And  boys  with  jack-knives  carved  out  whaling  ships 
Like  those  some  day  their  own  to  be. 

The  father  —  Where  was  he  ?   There  was  no  seat 
Prepared  for  him  at  evening  time ; 
Ah,  no,  his  ship  was  sailing  in  the  heat 
Of  distant  Afric's  sickly  clime. 

Or  in  the  frigid  zone,  where  ice  and  cold 
Brought  sore  disaster  in  their  train; 
The  hardship  of  his  life  can  scarce  be  told; 
Yet  whalemen  braved  such  toil  and  pain. 


90  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

Perchance  the  grandsire's  song  the  tale  would  tell 
Of  brigs  tossed  on  the  raging  sea; 
How  men  from  out  the  icy  rigging  fell, 
In  storm  and  darkness,  lost  to  be. 

Of  barbarous  isles  where  ships  were  wrecked,  and  where 

So  many  of  their  crew  were  slain ; 

Of  friends  at  home  who  sent  up  daily  prayer 

For  ships  that  ne'er  came  back  again. 

The  mother,  as  she  listened,  dried  her  tears. 
Yet  wept  afresh  at  thought  of  him 
So  far  away  in  peril;  and  with  fears 
Her  cheeks  turned  pale,  her  eyes  grew  dim. 

'Twas  well  when  grandsire  changed  his  doleful  strain 
To  sailors'  songs  of  'Homeward  bound!' 
His  listeners'  saddened  hearts  grew  light  again, 
Reviving  at  the  cheerful  sound. 

They  heard  the  sweetheart's  charms  sung  o'er  and  o'er; 
A  glad  return  from  foreign  lands; 
And  how  those  sailors  longed  and  hoped  once  more 
To  stand  on  Nantucket's  sands." 


•     '        Mill 


I   I  I  I  in  ')  I  I  I  III  I  'I'l  I  i-\  I  I — r 


Ml      I      I      I    T^l     I    111    1     I     f     I    I     I       I     I     I     I     I   I     <-|     I     I 1       I      I     I      I    I       \     , 

'I  1  '  M  I  I  <  1 1   '  I  \  i' r  i'  I  I  I   I  )  I  I  I  I  I  I  III'- 1  mi  I  I 


i  t  I  i  I  >  r    1    1 1 1  I  r  I  '  t 
■  1 1  I II  If  I  I  I  yi  I  [\i  \i  — 
I  I       *  ?   I  '  I  t    f 1 '    '    111 
rnrrri' 


'-mrrFtp. 


Figure  5, 
Picturesque   Nantucket   Doorway 


Chapter  25. 
THE  QUAKER  SOCIETY 

Quakerism  recognized  the  right  of  women  to  speak  in 
public.  It  held  for  social  equality  and  a  desire  for  little  of 
the  world's  goods,  yet  it  embraced  many  very  wealthy  people. 

Crevecoeur  (1793)  found  here  numerous  citizens  holding 
fortunes  of  20,000  pounds.  On  Nantucket  it  seemed  to  be 
an  ideal  sect  with  which  to  affiliate.  Simplicity  ruled.  There 
was  no  employment  on  the  island  for  lawyers  who  plea  for 
money,  doctors  who  prescribe  for  money,  or  ministers  who 
preach  for  money.  Differences  were  settled  by  arbitration. 
Eunice  Paddock,  who  died  in  1900,  was  the  next  to  the  last 
Nantucket  Quaker  and  Mary  Swain  Mitchell,  deceased  1902, 
the  last. 

The  tenets  of  the  Quakers  were  uncompromising.  The 
Quakers  abhorred  the  frivolities  and  fashions  of  the  world's 
people.  They  prescribed  to  extreme  moderation  and  sim- 
plicity. They  worshipped  plainness,  industry  and  parsimon- 
ious economy.  A  Quaker  could  marry  only  a  Quaker  or  suffer 
disownment.  On  Nantucket  this  fostered  blood  marriages 
and  violations  of  God's  natural  law.  Why  the  Quakers  tol- 
erated the  frightful  consequences  of  these  blood  marriages 
is  difficult  to  understand.  The  discipline  here  was  not  com- 
mon among  the  Quakers  elsewhere.  Human  nature  rebelled 
against  such  an  unostentatious  society.  Nevertheless  the 
Quakers  of  that  day  deserve  our  admiration.  They  respected 
people  of  color.  They  abhorred  slavery.  Forty-seven  of  their 
members  were  disowned  for  participating  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  and  twenty-one  of  them  served  under  John 
Paul  Jones.  As  early  as  1716  the  Nantucket  Quakers  went 
on  record  that  it  was  ''not  agreeable  to  truth  for  Friends 
to  purchase  slaves  and  keep  them  for  a  term  of  life."  Elihu 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  93 

Coleman  (1699-1789),  a  noted  Nantucket  Quaker  elder,  was 
one  of  the  first  men  in  New  England  to  preach  and  write 
against  slavery.  Isaac  H.  Folger  has  remembered  him  well 
in  his  poem  *'Elihu  Coleman"  in  Quaint  Rhymes  of  Ancient 
Nantucket : 


On  old  Nantucket's  sunny  moors, 
An  ancient  homestead  stands, 
Faced  south  like  all  old  settlers'  doors 
On  those  historic  sands. 

Severe   simplicity   is   there, 
In  every  low-ceiled  room, 
To  modern  eyes  it  may  appear 
Like   poverty   and   gloom. 

"Where  are  its  charms?"  the  visitors 
Who  see  it  now,  exclaim. 
Who  was  it  dwelt  within  these  doors? 
Tell   us  his   name  and  fame." 

"  Twas  Elihu  Coleman,"  is  replied. 
A   Quaker   preacher  he. 
One  of  the  first  great  souls  who  cried 
Shame    upon    slavery ! 

To  preach  such  lawless  doctrine  then 
Was  boldness  beyond  bounds. 
*'No  man  shall  own  his  brother  man !" 
Now  through  the  land  resounds. 

'Twas  held  a  crime  in  that  man's  day 
To  lend  a  helping  hand 
To  any  slave  who  dared  to  say, 
"I  live  in  Freedom's  land." 


94  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

*'Yet  suffer,  from  the  bitterest  wrongs 
And  no  redress  may  have. 
I  toil  in  chains.    A  thousand  tongues 
Announce   I    am   a    slave!" 

To  show  that  slavery  was  a  blot 
Which  nothing  could  efface, 
Our  Preacher  wrote,  and  spared  it  not, 
The  sin,  the  foul  disgrace. 

He  prayed  the  sin  might  be  forgiven, 
That  man  who  dealt  in  slaves 
Might  justice  learn  from  gracious  Heaven 
And  ask  the  grace  which  saves. 

In  turning  from  the  hated  past. 

By  faith  he  seemed  to  see. 

That  Freedom's  land  should  ovni  at  last 

No  son  who  was  not  free. 

Would  he  had  seen,  as  we  have  seen. 
The  advent  of  the  right! 
A  century  has  rolled  between; 
He   died   without  the   sight. 

So  now  we  stand  within  the  house 
Which  his  brave  life  recalls. 
And  picture  how  the  firelight  used 
To  dance  upon  the  walls. 

The  fire  is  gone.    No  cheerful  flame 
Lends   beautifying   grace. 
Not  so  the  lustre  of  the  name 
Which  still  adorns  the  place. 

In  1729  Elihu  Coleman  read  before  the  Nantucket  Monthly 
Meeting  his  manuscript  "A  Testimony  Against  That  Anti- 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  95 

Christian  Practice  of  Making  Slaves  of  Men."  This  docu- 
ment was  published  in  1733.  The  first  protest  against 
slavery  was  written  in  1688  by  Daniel  Francis  Pastorius,  a 
Germantown  Friend.  To  both  Nantucket  and  Germantown 
Friends  belongs  the  honor  of  being  early  in  the  right  of  a 
great  cause  which  finally  prevailed. 

In  1769  a  slave  belonging  to  the  heirs  of  William  Swain 
served  aboard  the  whaleship  "Friendship"  of  Nantucket,  a 
William  Rotch  ship.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  voyage  Rotch, 
a  staunch  Friend,  paid  the  slave  his  share  of  the  proceeds 
of  the  voyage,  but  the  owners  of  the  slave  claimed  his  lay. 
A  jury  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Boston  brought  a 
verdict  in  favor  of  Rotch,  who  defended  the  negro ;  and  this 
was  the  first  emancipation  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Thereafter,  all  the  colored  folk  were  free  and  al- 
lowed their  whaleship  lays. 

A  memorable  anti-slavery  convention  was  held  at  Nan- 
tucket in  August  1841  in  the  "Big  Shop,"  a  house  still 
standing  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Milk  and  Saratoga 
Streets.  Present  on  the  occasion  were  Anna  Gardner,  Lu- 
cretia  Mott,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Wendell  Phillips,  Park- 
er Pillsbury,  and  Edmund  Quincy,  all  reformers  and  staunch 
leaders  in  the  anti-slavery  movement,  and  a  young  colored 
man,  Frederick  Augustus  Bailey  calling  himself  Frederick 
Douglas,  a  name  used  to  conceal  his  identity  but  which  he 
retained  throughout  his  life.  He  was  a  runaway  slave  from 
Baltimore,  Maryland,  who  settled  and  married  in  New  Bed- 
ford, Massachusetts,  where  he  worked  as  a  day  laborer. 
Douglas's  first  speech  in  public  electrified  his  audience  by 
the  eloquence  with  which  he  pleaded  for  his  race  and  its 
emancipation  from  bondage. 

Garrison  arose  and  seeing  his  chance  to  promote  the  cause 
of  abolition  appealed  to  his  audience  with  the  question, 
"Have  we  been  listening  to  a  thing,  a  chattel  personal,  or 
to  a  man?" 

"A  man,  a  man,"  shouted  the  audience. 


96  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

Garrison  shouted,  ''Shall  such  a  man  be  held  a  slave  in  a 
Christian  land?" 

*'No!  No!,"  replied  the  audience  in  a  tremendous  voice 
that  seemed  to  shake  the  building. 

"Shall  such  a  man  ever  be  sent  back  to  bondage  from  the 
free  soil  of  old  Massachusetts?" 

With  a  tremendous  roar  the  whole  assembly  sprang  to  its 
feet  and  continued  shouting,  ''No!  No!"  and  Garrison's 
voice  was  drowned  in  enthusiastic  responses. 

Garrison's  paper,  "The  Liberator,"  issued  in  Boston  be- 
ginning January  1,  1831,  contributed  greatly  to  the  freedom 
of  the  slaves.  His  paper  attracted  attention  in  the  North 
and  South.  Hundreds  of  people  threatened  Garrison's  life. 
He  was  indicted  for  sedition  on  October  21,  1835,  and  seized 
by  a  mob  and  dragged  at  a  rope's  end  through  the  streets  of 
Boston.  This  episode  determined  Wendell  Phillips'  future, 
and  he  became  a  zealous  worker  in  the  American  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,  which  he  refused  to  dissolve  until  full  suf- 
frage for  the  negro  and  the  passage  of  the  Fifteenth  Amend- 
ment in  1870  were  accomplished. 

A  bronze  tablet  in  the  New  Bedford  Free  Public  Library 
bears  the  inscription 

In  Memory  of 
Frederick  Douglas 

1817-1895 

Slave  —  Abolitionist 

Orator  —  Statesman 

Erected  by  the  Citizens  of  New  Bedford 

This  son  of  a  Negro  slave  mother  held  many  public  of- 
fices ;  the  last  one  was  that  of  United  States  minister  to  Haiti 
in  1889.  He  died  in  Washington,  D.C.,  February  20,  1895. 
The  talent  which  he  revealed  in  his  momentous  lecture  at 
Nantucket  established  his  future. 

The  Quakers  were  repugnant  to  fighting  and  war,  yet  the 
whale  fishery,  which  they  dominated,  called  for  their  best 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  97 

fighting  qualities.  These  Quakers  launched  a  great  navy  of 
whaleships  and  engaged  in  a  mighty  war  of  extermination 
with  the  most  monstrous  animal  of  the  sea,  the  biggest  of 
all  big  game.  Two  stanzas  from  the  poem  Sqimre-Toed 
Princes'^  are  most  appropriate. 

From  Baffin's  Bay  and  Davis  Strait 
To  the  Serpent  of  the  South, 
They  had  the  whale-gaff  in  the  fist 
And  Scripture  in  the  mouth. 

They  brought  home  ambergris  and  oil 
In  hogsheads  and  in  tierces 
And  knelt  down  on  their  pine  board  floors 
To  thank  God  for  His  mercies. 

Here  are  sentiments  on  the  same  subject  in  stanzas  from 
"Musings"  by  G.  H.  Folger  compiled  with  other  poems  by 
Lucy  Coffin  Starbuck  in  1853: 

They  were  a  race  of  giant  souls, 
Of  stout  and  stalwart  forms ; 
In  boyhood  rocked  upon  the  waves ; 
And  cradled  in  the  storms. 

They  bear  our  country's  flag  aloft. 
In  battle  and  in  breeze, 
The  first  to  show  its  rebel  stars 
Within  Old  England's  Seas. 

The  frozen  waves  of  Labrador 
Bore  witness  to  their  toil 
And  Afric's  equinoctial  heat 
But  served  to  try  their  oil. 


*  Robert  P.  Tristram  CofiBn,  Ballads  of  Square-toed  Americans,  The 
Macmillan  Company,  New  York,  1933.  Reprinted  by  permission  of  The 
Macmillan  Company. 


98  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

No  seas  their  fisheries  did  not  vex 
No  bay,  nor  river's  mouth; 
The  North  Star  shone  above  their  way, 
And  the  Serpent  of  the  South. 

By  toil  and  industry  they  carved 

A  name  on  history's  page, 

Which  shines  as  bright  as  aught  appears 

Within  the  present  age. 

No  brother's  blood  pollutes  their  hands, 
No  murders  on  their  souls 
Their  battlefield  was  on  the  deep. 
Its  monsters  were  their  foes. 


Chapter  26 
A  NANTUCKET  QUAKER  MARRIAGE  CONTRACT 

Even  the  marriage  ceremony  is  marked  with  great  sim- 
plicity, occurring  only  after  the  contracting  parties  have 
exhibited  their  intentions  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  meeting. 
On  January  30,  1776,  Barzillai  Folger,  Jr.,  son  of  Barzillai 
and  Phebe  (Coleman),  and  Miram  Gardner,  daughter  of 
Stephen  and  Jemima  (Worth),  v^ere  united  by  marriage 
according  to  the  manner  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Their 
marriage  contract  reads  as  follows: 

WHEREAS  Barzillai  Folger,  son  of  Barzillai  Folger  of 
Sherborn  in  the  County  of  Nantucket  in  the  Province  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  and  Phebe  his  Wife; 
and  Miriam  Gardner,  daughter  of  Stephen  Gardner  of  Sher- 
born aforesaid  and  Jemima  his  Wife; 

HAVING  DECLARED  their  intentions  of  taking  each 
other  in  Marriage  before  several  publick  Meetings  of  the 
People  called  Quakers  in  Sherborn  aforesaid,  according  to 
the  good  order  used  among  them,  and  proceeding  therein 
after  deliberate  Consideration  thereof,  (with  Regard  unto 
the  righteous  Law  of  God  in  that  Case,)  they  also  appearing 
clear  of  all  others  and  having  Consent  of  Parents  and  others 
concerned,  were  allowed  by  the  said  Meetings. 

NOW  these  are  to  certify  to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  that 
for  the  full  accomplishing  of  their  said  Intentions  this 
thirtieth  Day  of  the  first  Month  called  January  in  the  year 
according  to  the  Christian  Account  One  Thousand  Seven 
Hundred  and  Sixty  Six,  they  the  said  Barzillai  Folger  and 
Miriam  Gardner  appeared  in  publick  Assembly  of  the  afore- 
said People  met  together  at  their  publick  meeting  House  in 


100  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

Sherborn  aforesaid;  And  in  a  solemn  manner  he,  the  said 
Barzillai  Folger,  taking  the  said  Miriam  Gardner  by  the 
Hand,  did  openly  declare  as  followeth: 

Friends,  I  desire  you  to  be  my  Witnesses  that  I  take  this 
my  Friend,  Miriam  Gardner,  to  be  my  wife,  promising  by 
the  Lord's  Assistance  to  be  unto  her  a  true  and  loving  Hus- 
band until  it  shall  please  God  by  Death  to  separate  us ;  and 
then  and  there  in  the  said  Assembly  the  said  Miriam  Gardner 
did  in  the  manner  declare  as  followeth, 

Friends,  I  desire  you  to  be  my  witnesses  that  I  take  this, 
my  Friend  Barzillai  Folger,  to  be  my  Husband,  promising 
by  the  Lord's  Assistance  to  be  unto  him  a  true  and  loving 
wife  until  it  shall  please  God  by  Death  to  separate  us. 

And  as  a  further  Confirmation  thereof  the  said  Barzillai 
and  Miriam  Folger  did  then  and  there  to  these  Presents 
set  their  Hands,  she  according  to  the  Customs  of  Marriage, 
assuming  the  name  of  her  Husband. 

Signed  Barzillai  Folger,  Jr. 

Miriam  Folger 

And  we  whose  Names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  being 
present  among  others  at  the  Solemnizing  of  their  said  Mar- 
riage and  Subscription  in  manner  aforesaid  as  Witnesses, 
hereunto  have  also  to  these  Presents  subscribed  our  Names 
the  Day  and  Year  above  Written. 


Barzillai  Folger  Nathan  Folger  Mary  Gardner 

Paul  Paddock  Christopher  Folger  Ruth  Jenkins 

Stephen  Gardner  Abishai  Folger  Jr.  Anne  Paddock 

Joseph  Jenkins  Silvanus  Coffin  Mary  Gardner 

Jethro  Folger  Seth  Coleman  Rachel  Coleman 

Jabez  Macy  Tristram  Gardner  Susanna  Folger 

George  Swain  David  Rand  Christopher  Clarke 

Nathaniel  Coleman  Elizabeth  Folger 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  101 

Elihu  Coleman  Jemima  Gardner 

Barnabas  Coleman  Judith  Barnard 

William  Gardner  Mary  Gardner 

Gilbert  Folger  Hannah  Gardner 

Jethro  Coffin  Kezia  Gardner 
Benjamin  Barnard 

Recorded  in  Friends  2nd  Book  of 
Records  of  Marriage  Certificates  in 
Sherborn  on  the  Island  of  Nantucket  p.  130 

By  Joseph  Marshall,  Clerk 

H»  ^  ^  H*  •!• 

Barzillai   Folger   m.   Miriam   Gardner    (Nantucket   Town 
Records,  Bk.  I,  p.  163,  1803). 

Four  children  were  born  to  Barzillai  Jr.  and  Miriam. 
They  were  Mary,  Jemima,  Judith  and  Benjamin  Franklin. 
Benjamin,  born  on  April  11,  1777,  was  their  first  child.  The 
mother  died  April  13,  1804.  In  March  of  1805  Barzillai  Jr., 
at  the  age  of  sixty-three,  married  Miriam  Worth  Gardner, 
daughter  of  John  Worth  and  Mary  (Gardner),  age  forty- 
eight.  Miriam  was  the  widow  of  Solomon  Gardner,  Jr.,  born 
1759,  son  of  Solomon  and  Mary  (Pollard),  by  her  first  mar- 
riage on  July  24,  1777.  Barzillai  Jr.  died  September  17, 
1831,  age  eighty-nine,  and  Miriam,  his  second  wife,  died  on 
July  8,  1837,  age  eighty  years. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Folger,  unmarried,  was  locally  re- 
nowned for  genealogical  knowledge  and  antiquarian  lore.  He 
lived  to  be  an  old  hermit,  abiding  in  his  last  years  in  a  dingy 
room  in  Siasconset,  where  he  died  in  1856,  age  79  years.  He 
maintained  a  collection  of  ancient  documents  which  have 
been  acquired  by  the  Nantucket  Historical  Association.  Sia- 
sconset then  was  a  settlement  of  some  fifty  little  houses, 
mostly  empty,  having  increased  by  twenty  houses  since  1801 
when  the  Honorable  Josiah  Quincy  visited  and  described  the 
village.  Folger  occupied  himself  making  genealogical  charts 
for  those  who  would  pay  for  them.   His  house  was  filthy  in 


102  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

his  last  years,  and  in  1852,  while  he  was  away,  some  of  the 
townsmen  with  the  help  of  Captain  Edward  W.  Gardiner 
cleaned  his  house.  From  his  room  they  removed  three  bar- 
rels of  dirt  and  some  precious  manuscripts  and  documents. 
Henry  David  Thoreau  of  Concord  visited  Nantucket  and 
Siasconset  in  1854,  and  we  refer  to  his  account  of  his  visit 
for  this  characterizaton  of  Folger. 

More  than  one-sixth  of  the  crew  of  131  of  the  American 
privateer  Ranger  serving  under  John  Paul  Jones  during  the 
Revolutionary  War  were  Nantucket  men,  and  of  this  crew 
Jones  said,  "It  is  the  best  crew  I  have  ever  seen,  and,  I  be- 
lieve, the  best  afloat."  The  Ranger  sailed  from  the  Isle  of 
Shoals  on  November  1,  1777,  and  arrived  at  Nantes,  France, 
on  December  2,  1777.  Among  the  crew  were  twenty-one 
Nantucket  boys  including  Barzillai  Folger.  Later  he  com- 
manded the  brig  Fox  on  a  whaling  voyage  in  1778  returning 
in  1789  and  sailing  again  on  September  1,  1789. 


Chapter  27 
RISE  OF  OTHER  RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS 

In  the  census  of  1719  there  were  721  whites  on  Nantucket 
or  approximately  100  families.  In  1755  the  population  was 
nearly  3,000,  of  which  there  were  nearly  1,500  religious 
Friends.  Worth  (1896)  stated  that  the  population  in  1794 
was  4,600,  and  nearly  half  of  that  number  attended  Friends 
meetings.  Another  authority  reported  577  houses,  4,690 
inhabitants,  and  no  slaves  in  the  last  decade  of  the  18th 
Century.  Of  this  population  two  thirds  were  Quakers,  and 
one  third  Presbyterians  and  ''nothingarians."  The  member- 
ship list  of  the  First  Congregational  Society  in  the  last 
quarter  of  the  18th  Century  showed  but  seventy-two  mem- 
bers. In  1765  there  were  forty-seven  pew  holders.  In  1799 
the  Methodists  organized  under  the  influence  of  Reverend 
Jesse  Lee,  Reverend  Joseph  Snelling,  and  Reverend  George 
Cannon,  all  veteran  ''war  horses"  of  the  Methodist  denom- 
ination, and  on  November  15,  1797,  the  funeral  service  for 
Anna  Paddock  Gardner,  first  wife  of  Francis,  was  the  first 
officiated  by  a  Methodist  clergyman,  the  Reverend  William 
Beauchamp.  Betsy  Crosby  Folger,  who  died  on  July  5,  1800, 
was  the  first  death  among  members  of  the  Methodist  society. 

In  1829  Nantucket  had  seven  houses  of  religious  worship 
as  follows: 

Presbyterian  (First  Congregational  Church) 

Arminian  (Wesleyan  Methodist;  Methodist  Episcopal;  The 

Chapel) 
Universalist 
Friends    (2) 

First  Methodist  (Teazer) 
African 
Second  Congregational  (Unitarian) 


104  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

The  organization  of  other  denominations  and  the  build- 
ing of  more  churches  followed  in  later  years.  Some  of  them 
enjoyed  only  a  brief  society.  These  were  as  follows: 

Protestant  Episcopal  or  Trinity  Church  1838 

First  Baptist  Church  1840 

African  York  Street  Baptist  Church  1831,  later  the  Pleasant 

Street  Baptist  Church  1848 
People's  Baptist  Church 
Roman  Catholic  Church 
African  or  Zion  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
Reformed  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
Mission.   Orange  Street  1866 

In  1829  there  were  two  Friends  Meeting  Houses  one  at 
Main  and  Pleasant  Streets,  moved  there  in  1790  from  Main 
and  Saratoga  Streets,  and  the  other  on  Broad  Street.  Both 
meetings  combined  in  1829  and  in  1833  they  met  in  their 
new  Fair  Street  Meeting  House.  The  second  Methodist 
church  known  in  early  times  as  the  "Chapel",  at  Liberty  and 
Center  Streets,  was  built  in  1823.  The  Parthenon  front  was 
added  in  1840.  The  First  Methodist  Church  known  as  the 
Teazer  church  and  situated  at  Lyon  and  Fair  Streets  was 
dedicated  on  January  1,  1800.  The  Protestant  Episcopal  or 
Trinity  Church  was  built  on  Broad  Street  in  1838  and  de- 
stroyed by  the  great  fire  eight  years  later.  The  new  building 
on  Fair  Street  was  erected  in  1849  as  St.  Paul's  Church. 

The  Second  or  new  South  Congregational  Society  on 
Orange  Street,  now  the  Unitarian  Society,  was  organized  in 
1809.  The  dedication  service  took  place  on  November  12, 
1809,  by  the  Reverend  Seth  F.  Swift.  Several  reasons  have 
been  advanced  to  account  for  the  separation  of  the  parish, 
the  most  logical  one  being  that  the  North  or  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  was  inconveniently  situated  for  the  people  on 
the  south  side  of  the  town.  The  families  that  withdrew  lived 
near  Main  Street  or  further  south.  The  organization  of  the 
South  Church  deprived  the  North  Church  of  much  of  its 
wealth  and  influence.   It  is  probable  that  the  wealthy  men 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  105 

in  the  church  also  may  have  desired  more  influence  than  the 
church  and  minister  were  willing  to  concede.  Separation 
was  not  due  to  any  doctrinal  controversy,  and  the  minority 
remaining  with  the  North  Church  retained  possession  of  the 
church  property.  The  Second  Church  at  first  was  thoroughly 
orthodox,  and  in  a  later  generation  the  founders  were  re- 
ferred to  as  ''blue  Presbyterians."  In  1837  the  church  adop- 
ted a  broad  and  liberal  creed  upon  a  Unitarian  basis  follow- 
ing the  First  Parish  Church  (Unitarian)  in  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts. 

The  first  town  clock  was  placed  in  the  tower  of  the  church 
in  January  1823,  and  after  a  half  century  it  was  replaced 
by  one  from  Boston  in  1881,  the  gift  of  William  Hadwen 
Starbuck.  The  bell  in  the  tower  was  obtained  by  Captain 
Charles  Clasby  in  Lisbon,  Portugal,  in  1812  and  was  brought 
to  Nantucket  by  Captain  Thomas  Cary.  It  weighs  1,575 
pounds  and  was  rung  for  the  first  tme  on  December  18, 
1815.  Nantucket  has  maintained  the  custom  of  ringing  the 
bell  at  7:00  A.M.,  12:00  noon  and  9:00  P.M.  The  towns- 
people's daily  life  is  regulated  by  the  nine  o'clock  bell,  that 
is  after  the  summer  season,  and  the  stores  close  and  the 
streets  become  deserted.   This  is  the  town  curfew. 

Inscribed  in  bold  relief  on  its  outer  surface  are  words  in 
Portuguese  translated: 

*To  the  good  Jesus  of  the  Mountain,  the  devotees  of  Lis- 
bon direct  their  prayers,  offering  Him  one  complete  set  of 
six  bells,  to  call  the  people  and  adore  Him  in  His  Sanctuary. 
Made  by  Jose  Domingos  da  Costa  in  Lisbon  in  the  year 
1810." 


Chapter  28. 

EPISODES  OF  THE  SCHOOLS 
A.     Private  Schools 

In  1716  the  Nantucket  annual  town  meeting  voted  to  hire 
Eleazer  Folger  as  schoolmaster  for  one  year  at  three  pounds 
of  current  money.  The  acts  of  the  General  Court  of  the 
Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  of  1642-43  required  every 
township  with  fifty  or  more  householders  to  provide  a 
teacher  to  teach  reading  and  writing.  The  wages  were  paid 
by  the  parents  or  by  the  inhabitants  in  general.  However, 
after  1716  and  for  more  than  100  years  there  were  no  teach- 
ers employed  by  the  town.  The  education  of  the  children 
was  left  to  private  schools  and  private  tutoring.  There  were 
separate  schools  for  boys  and  girls.  The  boys'  schools  were 
taught  by  men,  and  the  children's  and  girls'  schools  by  wo- 
men who  sought  this  small  income  for  their  living.  Most 
of  the  women  were  widows.  The  individuality  and  the  per- 
sonality of  the  teachers  determined  the  choice  of  the  school 
and  its  success. 

Reverend  Timothy  White,  a  missionary  from  Boston  and 
the  island's  first  clergyman,  engaged  in  private  teaching 
from  1732-1748,  for  which  he  received  food  and  clothing  for 
his  family  and  small  earnings,  which  in  addition  to  his 
meager  wages  as  clergyman  for  the  Presbyterians  were  in- 
adequate to  support  his  wife  Susanna  Gardner  (daughter 
of  Captain  John)  and  their  thirteen  children.  Reverend 
Bezaleel  Shaw  and  Reverend  James  Gurney,  who  followed 
White,  also  found  it  expedient  to  teach  school.  The  private 
schools  grew  in  number  and  variety,  and  they  flourished. 
Some  of  them  were  noted  for  excellence  in  the  teaching  of 
mathematics  and  languages.  The  private  school  system  ap- 
peared to  reach  its  perfection  with  the  incorporation  of  the 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  107 

Academy,  whose  building  was  erected  in  1800  on  a  site 
since  known  as  Academy  Hill. 

History  records  the  cent  schools  at  Nantucket.  These  were 
nursery  schools  fashioned  after  the  English  dame  schools. 
Children  came  with  a  cent  for  tuition  for  each  session  or 
the  pay  was  some  article  of  furniture  or  food.  The  children 
were  taught  reading,  writing,  recitation,  spelling,  simple 
arithmetic,  and  the  importance  of  honesty,  respect,  and 
kindness.  The  bill  for  tuition  was  usually  rendered  quart- 
erly, as  for  example: 

4  mo.  4th,  1808.  Moses  Joy  Dr.  to  Sarah  Russell 
To  teaching  David  1  quarter  2.17 

Fireing  and  Ink  .  .59 

2.76 

Nantucket  4m.  4th,  1808. 

Received  pay       Sarah  Russell 

There  were  evening  schools  for  the  young  men  who  dur- 
ing the  long  hours  of  the  day  were  employed  in  the  various 
occupations  associated  with  whaling.  For  them  instruction 
was  provided  in  ship  building,  navigation,  drafting,  cooper- 
age, and  gauging.  The  Quakers  operated  their  own  monthly 
meeting  schools.  Education  was  available  to  those  families 
who  could  afford  to  pay  for  it.  For  the  colored  children  edu- 
cation was  provided  by  charity  and  church  missionary  funds. 
For  the  orphaned  and  destitute  children  some  elementary 
education  was  provided  by  public  charity.  These  were  the 
charity  schools  peculiar  to  Nantucket  and  a  rather  incredible 
kind  of  education  for  young  people. 

An  example  of  such  a  school  was  the  Fragment  School, 
which  was  conceived  and  organized  by  a  small  group  of 
young  women  belonging  principally  to  the  Society  of  Friends 
from  a  deep  feeling  of  the  need  of  education  for  the  poor 
children.  This  occurred  in  1814  in  the  midst  of  war  with 
England  at  a  period  of  great  suffering  by  the  people.  The 
women  took  turns  teaching  for  one  month  during  the  warm 
season  of  the  year,  for  the  school  could  not  afford  a  fire.  The 


108  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

school  began  with  thirty  pupils.  The  children  were  so  poorly- 
clad  that  appeals  were  made  to  the  townspeople,  and  they 
contributed  articles  and  fragments  of  every  kind  of  cloth 
to  clothe  the  destitute  little  ones  and  hence  the  name  Frag- 
ment School.  Subsequently  a  society  was  formed  to  sew  and 
to  receive  benevolences,  and  it  was  called  the  Fragment  So- 
ciety. It  grew  and  contributed  to  the  needs  of  the  poor  from 
1814-1836  when  it  merged  with  other  benevolent  societies 
to  form  a  single  organization  designated.  The  Ladies'  How- 
ard Society. 

Into  this  remote  land  of  Quakers  and  world's  people  where 
elementary  schooling  was  provided  only  for  the  poor  under 
charitable  auspices  came  Cyrus  Pearce  (Peirce),  a  native 
son  of  Waltham,  Massachusetts,  and  then  fresh  from  Harv- 
ard College,  class  of  1810,  to  teach  private  school.  One  of 
his  pupils  was  Harriet  Coffin,  whom  he  married  on  April 
1,  1816.  Her  father  William  Coffin  was  a  great  Nantucket 
antiquarian  and  a  most  indefatigable  geneaologist  who  had 
gathered  by  vast  and  persevering  labor  the  family  statistics 
of  every  household  in  Nantucket.  This  marriage  to  a  fair 
Coffin  cemented  Peirce's  attachment  to  Nantucket.  In  a 
later  time  his  leadership  was  very  helpful  and  influential 
in  shaping  Nantucket's  public  school  education.  The  town 
was  not  yet  prepared  to  adopt  it.  From  1818  to  1830  Rev- 
erend Cyrus  Peirce  remained  ''off  island"  ministering  to  a 
church  in  North  Reading  and  teaching  school  in  North  An- 
dover,  Massachusetts. 

B.  Struggle  for  Public  Schools 
The  free  school  system  supported  by  public  funds  and 
universal  in  the  rest  of  Massachusetts  furnished  instruction 
to  children  of  all  classes.  Although  the  population  of  Nan- 
tucket early  in  the  19th  century  approximated  7,000  people, 
it  disregarded  the  state  laws  with  respect  to  free  schools  for 
all.  By  reason  of  the  town  and  county  being  one  and  her 
isolated  maritime  position,  Nantucket  was  inclined  toward 
independency  and  to  exercise  mild  exemptions  from  the 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  109 

state  statutes,  which  were  tolerated  more  or  less  by  the 
state  government  at  Boston. 

Samuel  Haynes  Jenks  came  to  Nantucket  in  May  1817  to 
attend  the  funeral  services  of  his  second  deceased  wife 
Lydia  A.  Stephens.  Jenks  had  close  family  ties  with  Nan- 
tucket. He  was  Boston  born  (1789)  and  educated  under  its 
free  school  system,  and  in  the  Nantucket  Weekly  Magazine 
of  July  1,  1817,  he  wrote  a  vigorous  communication  "Qui- 
dam"  in  advocacy  of  free  public  schools.  In  September  1818 
he  married  the  third  time  to  Eliza  Williams  ,his  first  wife's 
sister,  and  in  1819  they  moved  to  Nantucket.  He  was  wid- 
owed by  her  death  in  August  1822.  By  his  fourth  marriage 
to  Martha  W.  Coffin  in  January  1823,  daughter  of  William 
CoflSn  and  Deborah  Pinkham,  he  became  a  brother-in-law  to 
Cyrus  Peirce.  Jenks  and  others,  notably  Charles  Bunker, 
then  a  young  lawyer,  labored  earnestly  to  arouse  the  towns- 
people to  a  sense  of  their  duty  and  liability.  He  was  met 
with  repeated  rebuffs,  and  his  agitation  for  public  schools 
was  denounced  as  a  ''Boston  Notion."  The  townspeople  de- 
nounced him  as  an  ''officious,  intermeddling  stranger  and 
coof."* 

The  private  and  charity  schools  were  functioning  accept- 
ably in  the  opinion  of  the  town  government,  and  the  Quakers 
felt  that  the  charity  school  was  "good  enough"  for  those 
who  could  not  afford  private  school. 

Jenks'  invectives  against  the  opposition  to  free  public 
school  education  carried  some  measure.  An  investigating 
committee  appointed  to  study  the  situation  reported  April 
25,  1818,  that  300  children  from  three  to  fourteen  years  of 
age  and  of  parents  in  dire  circumstances  were  without 
schooling.  Subsequently  on  May  9  the  annual  town  meeting 
voted  $1,000  to  finance  four  free  schools  of  fifty  children 


♦According  to  English  literary  usage,  i.e.,  Allan  Ramsay,  (1724) ,  Robert 
Bums  (1795),  and  Margaret  Oliphant  (1858),  a  coof  is  a  dull  spiritless 
fellow;  one  somewhat  obtuse  in  sense  and  sensibility.  On  Nantucket 
it  was  applied  originally  to  Cape  Codders  and  later  more  generally  to 
everybody  in  "coofdom"  or  off-island. 


110  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

each  directed  by  a  school  committee  of  seven.  Among  the 
committee  was  William  Coffin.  On  May  16  the  complexion 
of  the  town  meeting  changed.  The  report  of  the  special 
investigating  committee  on  schools  was  reconsidered,  and 
''free  (publick)"  was  struck  from  the  report.  In  April  1819 
after  one  year  of  free  schools  for  200  children,  costing  the 
town  $1,014.38,  the  system  was  abandoned.  Another  in- 
vestigating committee  was  selected  to  study  the  question 
further,  comprising,  among  others,  Zenas  Coffin,  wealthy 
shipowner,  and  Aaron  Mitchel,  advocate  of  private  schools. 
This  committee  recommended  an  appropriation  of  $550.00, 
and  all  but  $100  to  be  paid  to  the  Fragment  Society,  a  local 
charitable  institution  engaged  in  schooling  destitute  children 
and  other  charitable  enterprises.  The  report  proposed  a  sum 
of  $100  to  support  a  school  for  boys  over  ten  years  of  age 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  school  committee.  It  was  fur- 
ther recommended  that  the  school  committee  provide  the 
annual  town  meeting  with  a  list  of  pupils  receiving  educa- 
tion at  the  town's  expense. 

The  school  committee,  now  being  restricted  by  the  action 
of  the  town  meeting  to  use  money  raised  by  taxation  for 
the  exclusive  benefit  of  children  from  families  in  indigent 
circumstances,  proposed  that  the  town  allocate  funds  to 
the  Fragment  Society  for  the  education  of  fifty  poor  chil- 
dren. The  Society  would  then  use  its  own  funds  to  keep  the 
children  decently  clad  and  for  other  charitable  purposes. 
In  addition  it  was  recommended  to  place  fifty  to  one  hundred 
girls  in  nine  private  schools.  Also  the  establishment  of  two 
schools  for  ninety  boys  was  recommended. 

Except  for  Gilbert  Coffin  the  complexion  of  the  school 
committee  changed,  and  at  the  annual  town  meeting  April 
28,  1821,  the  committee  reported  the  instruction  of  125 
children  at  a  cost  of  $387.81  of  which  thirty  children  were 
schooled  by  the  Fragment  Society.  There  was  an  unexpended 
balance  of  $12.53.  The  committee  was  so  well  pleased  with 
this  method  of  public  supported  education  of  the  needy  that 
it  recommended  the  system  to  the  continued  patronage  of 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  111 

the  town.  An  appropriation  of  $400.00  for  the  ensuing  year 
was  requested  and  authorized. 

Samuel  H.  Jenks  fought  hard  for  free  public  schools.  On 
October  15,  1822,  he  became  editor  of  the  "Inquirer,"  the 
local  newspaper.  Here  he  had  the  opportunity  to  publicize 
his  sentiments  for  the  establishment  of  free  schools.  Par- 
tisan feeling  on  the  subject  was  intense,  and  Jenks  was 
buffeted  around  rather  rudely  even  being  denied  the  op- 
portunity to  speak  in  public,  which  led  him  to  choose  as  the 
motto  for  his  paper  ''Quid  autem  si  vox  libera  non  sit, 
liberum  esse?"  What  is  liberty  without  freedom  of  speech? 

The  African  School  for  colored  children  was  established 
in  1823  under  the  auspices  of  Deacon  Wilson  Rawson.  This 
was  also  a  charity  school.  At  this  time  the  education  of  the 
white  and  colored  children  was  debated  pro  and  con  with 
the  same  fierceness  as  the  free  school  issue.  It  was  cus- 
tomary for  the  school  committee  to  attend  the  public  ex- 
amination of  the  schools  in  a  body,  but  the  records  show 
that  the  committee  usually  ignored  the  examination  of  the 
African  School.  The  climax  was  reached  in  1843  when  a 
colored  girl,  Eunice  F.  Ross,  was  refused  admission  to  the 
Nantucket  High  School. 

C.  Admiral  Isaac  Coffin  Lancasterian  School 
In  1826  Sir  Isaac  CofRn,  admiral  in  the  British  Navy  in 
Colonial  times  and  a  lineal  descendent  of  the  celebrated 
patriarch,  Tristram,  line  of  James,  and  Boston  born  came  in 
his  retired  old  age  to  visit  the  land  of  his  birth  and  to  Nan- 
tucket, then  a  large  community  with  no  public  schools,  to 
investigate  what  he  might  do  for  his  Coffin  kin  to  cause  his 
name  to  be  remembered. 

On  the  occasion  of  Admiral  Coffin's  visit  to  Nantucket, 
Samuel  Haynes  Jenks,  by  wise  counsel,  succeeded  in  en- 
couraging him  to  establish  and  endow  a  free  school  that 
might  benefit  his  numerous  kinsfolk,  then  numbering  one- 
half  the  population  of  the  island,  and  their  greatful  poster- 
ity.  In  February  1827  the  General  Court  of  the  Common- 


112  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

wealth  of  Massachusetts  granted  a  charter  to  the  Admiral 
Isaac  Coffin  Lancasterian  School,  incorporated  "for  the  pur- 
pose of  promoting  decency,  good  order,  and  morality,  and  of 
giving  a  good  English  education  to  the  youth  who  are  des- 
cendents  of  the  late  Tristram  Coffin."  A  legislative  amend- 
ment struck  the  "Sir"  from  the  name.  There  were  six 
trustees,  and  all  of  them  were  Coffins.  The  admiral  gave  a 
wooden  school  house,  which  opened  for  instruction  in  1827, 
and  an  endowment  of  5,833  pounds  sterling.  At  this  time 
there  were  between  500  and  600  children  between  seven  and 
fourteen  years  of  age  who  could  trace  a  lineal  or  collateral 
relative  to  Tristram,  but  the  number  of  pupils  was  limited 
to  one  hundred. 

For  a  time  the  school  operated  the  brig  Clio,  in  command 
of  Lieutenant  Alexander  Bunker  Pinkham,  for  instruction 
in  maritime  science  and  navigation  and  to  make  master 
mariners  of  the  Coffin  boys. 

The  establishment  of  this  school  was  a  victory  for  Samuel 
Haynes  Jenks  and  for  free  schools  in  a  community  disposed 
to  a  charity  school  system.  Admiral  Sir  Isaac  Coffin's  philan- 
thropy for  schooling  master  mariners  in  the  former  Ameri- 
can Colonies  of  Great  Britain  and  his  strong  attachment  to 
his  native  country  was  resented  by  the  King's  ministers, 
and  it  cost  him  a  peerage,  the  Earl  of  Magdalen,  in  the 
British  House  of  Lords. 

Sir  Isaac  died  in  Cheltenham,  England,  in  1839,  age  80 
years. 

D.     The  Crisis  and  Climax 

The  money  powered  junto  on  the  island  had  won  over 
Jenks  and  his  followers,  but  in  1826  the  situation  came  to 
a  head  by  criminal  process  against  the  town  beginning  with 
a  complaint  to  the  Attorney  General  of  Massachusetts,  Hon- 
orable Perez  Morton,  drawn  up  by  Samuel  H.  Jenks,  M. 
Pinkham,  and  the  Honorable  Charles  Bunker.  The  grand 
jury,  sitting  at  Nantucket  in  July  1826,  issued  a  bill  of  in- 
dictment against  the  town,  and  the  case  was  called  for  hear- 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  113 

ing  before  the  July  term  of  the  Massachusetts  Supreme 
Judicial  Court  (1827)  sitting  at  Nantucket. 

The  state  legislature  at  Boston,  session  of  1826-27,  revised 
the  school  laws  in  the  act  of  March  10,  1827.  It  provided 
heavy  penalties  for  violations.  The  Nantucket  town  meeting 
promptly  set  up  a  public  school  system  with  an  appropria- 
tion of  $2500  and  directed  by  a  vigorous  school  committee 
of  twelve  members.  There  was  no  need  to  press  the  indict- 
ment, and  it  stopped.  Thus  the  public  school  system  on 
Nantucket  made  a  new  beginning  in  1827  with  two  schools, 
one  taught  by  William  Mitchell  and  the  other  by  Nathaniel 
and  Obed  Barney.  There  were  about  350  pupils,  and  the 
white  and  colored  children  were  segregated. 

The  class  rooms  at  first  were  small,  and  the  parents 
complained  that  too  much  standing  was  required;  but 
those  in  favor  countered  that  the  pupils  stood  no  longer 
than  they  stood  for  prayer  in  church,  and  nobody  died  from 
too  much  prayer. 

Samuel  Haynes  Jenks,  distinguished  editor  of  the  Nan- 
tucket 'Inquirer,"  sold  his  paper  in  1828  and  left  the  is- 
land. He  returned  in  1835  to  resume  his  newspaper  work. 
He  and  Charles  Bunker  and  a  hopeles  minority  labored 
hard  for  public  schools,  and  they  won.  Jenks  never  swerved 
in  purpose.  He  gave  his  life's  effort  to  three  noble  accom- 
plishments, free  schools  in  Nantucket,  the  abolishment 
of  imprisonment  for  debt  in  Massachusetts,  and  a  girFs  high 
school  in  Boston.  All  he  sought  was  success,  and  in  all  these 
efforts  he  lived  to  see  their  accomplishment.  Although  not  a 
native,  Jenks  by  identifying  himself  with  all  that  concerned 
the  islands'  well  being  and  prosperity  is  worthy  of  a  place 
among  its  distinguished  and  honorable  men  and  women. 

In  1831  Cyrus  Peirce  returned  to  Nantucket  to  engage 
in  private  teaching,  which  he  regarded  as  a  more  congenial 
profession  than  the  ministry,  and  in  1832  he  opened  a  col- 
lege preparatory  school  for  boys  and  girls  in  his  home. 
He  took  an  active  interest  in  the  advancement  of  the  public 


114  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

schools  and  in  the  movement  to  grade  the  schools  in  regular 
succession  of  primary,  intermediate  grammar,  and  high. 
His  work  brought  him  in  contact  with  the  Honorable  Horace 
Mann,  member  of  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  great  exponent  of  legislation  for  all  phases  of 
public  welfare. 

In  May  1836  the  schools  were  North  Grammar,  West 
Primary,  North  Primary,  Bear  Street  Primary,  South 
Grammar,  and  South  Primary.  In  1850  there  were  twelve 
public  schools,  thirty-one  teachers,  and  about  1200  pupils. 
Nantucket  had  become  a  notable  example  of  remarkable 
progress  in  public  school  education  in  Massachusetts.  The 
first  high  school  class  to  be  awarded  diplomas  graduated  in 
1857.  The  brick  building  on  Winter  Street  was  erected  to 
house  the  Coffin  School  in  1852-53.  It  was  occupied  in  1854 
with  230  pupils  taught  by  William  Cofiin  Jr.  and  Miss 
Meach.  The  school  received  further  endowments,  and  even- 
tually all  were  admitted  on  the  payment  of  a  small  tuition 
fee.  As  the  population  and  wealth  of  the  island  declined 
and  the  usefulness  and  eflSciency  of  the  public  schools  ex- 
panded, there  was  not  suflficient  support  and  demand  for  an 
academy  whose  work  was  essentially  a  duplication  of  the 
public  schools,  and  it  closed  in  1898.  Also  the  Coffins  had 
become  so  dispersed  that  in  order  to  maintain  the  usefulness 
of  the  building  the  trustees  in  1903  approved  of  its  use  for 
a  manual  training  school  as  an  adjunct  to  the  Nantucket 
public  school  system,  and  in  1941  it  became  a  vocational 
school  jointly  supported  by  state  and  town. 

Thus  originated  the  public  school  system  at  Nantucket. 
Now  Nantucket  has  three  public  schools,  twenty-seven 
teachers,  564  pupils,  and  a  population  of  about  3000  people. 

E.     Cyrus  Peirce  and  the  First  Normal  School 

The  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Education  of  eight 

members  was  created  in  April  1837,  and  Horace  Mann,  who, 

as  president  of  the  Massachusetts  Senate  signed  the  act, 

was  named  its  first  secretary  in  June.   In  October,  Horace 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  115 

Mann  attended  the  first  conference  of  Nantucket  school 
teachers  at  Nantucket  and  delivered  an  eloquent  address 
on  the  subject  of  "Education  and  Free  Schools."  On  this 
visit  he  and  Cryus  Peirce,  his  host,  formed  a  strong  friend- 
ship. The  townspeople  v^ere  so  impressed  by  the  eloquence 
of  Mann's  address  and  his  ideas  on  education  that  he  was 
obliged  to  deliver  his  address  a  second  time  before  departing 
from  the  island.  The  town  voted  to  add  a  high  school,  and 
Cyrus  Peirce  was  named  its  first  principal.  It  opened  on 
April  16,  1838  with  fifty-nine  students. 

The  need  for  good  teachers  was  acute,  and  although  the 
idea  of  normal  schools  originated  with  Horace  Mann,  it  was 
Cyrus  Peirce  who  presented  several  resolutions  at  these 
meetings,  of  which  one  was  particularly  significant  as  fol- 
lows :  'That  without  questioning  the  character  of  the  high- 
ly respectable  and  useful  men  engaged  in  education  we  be- 
lieve that  there  is  a  lamentable  deficiency  of  well  qualified 
teachers  and  that  this  deficiency  is  not  likely  to  be  supplied 
without  the  establishment  of  normal  schools  to  teach  teach- 
ers how  to  teach." 

"That  a  petition  be  presented  from  the  town  to  the 
General  Court,  that  our  representative  be  instructed  to 
urge  the  same  on  the  consideration  of  the  legislature." 

On  April  19,  1838,  while  the  bells  were  ringing  a  tribute 
to  the  American  patriots  who  fired  "the  shot  that  was  heard 
round  the  world"  and  that  made  the  green  at  Lexington, 
Massachusetts,  a  hallowed  spot,  Governor  Everett  signed 
the  bill  authorizing  the  establishment  of  the  first  teachers' 
seminaries  or  normal  schools  in  America.  The  first  one 
"for  females  only"  was  opened  at  Lexington,  July  3,  1839. 
Horace  Mann  chose  Cyrus  Peirce  to  direct  this  great  ex- 
periment. The  school  continued  in  Lexington  until  1844, 
then  was  transferred  to  West  Newton,  and  in  1853  to  South 
Framingham.  It  is  now  the  Framingham  State  Teachers* 
College.  "Had  it  not  been  for  Mr.  Cyrus  Peirce,  I  consider 
that  the  cause  of  normal  schools  would  have  failed  or  have 


116 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 


been  postponed  for  an  indefinite  period."  So  spoke  Horace 
Mann.  Nantucket  has  historical  significance  and  pride  in 
this  great  crusade  for  adequate  teachers'  colleges,  and 
Nantucket  did  nobly  to  honor  Cyrus  Peirce  by  dedicating  its 
Cyrus  Peirce  School  in  his  memory  for  posterity. 


Chapter  29 
THE  QUAISE  ASYLUM 

At  2  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  February  21,  1844,  on 
Wednesday,  the  buildings  on  the  Quaise  Farm,  also  known 
as  the  Poor  Farm  or  the  Quaise  Asylum,  caught  fire  and 
were  totally  destroyed.  Ten  of  the  inmates,  five  men  and 
five  women,  were  burned  to  death.  This  event,  according 
to  Alexander  Starbuck  (History  of  Nantucket,  1924)  was 
more  calamitous  in  its  effect  on  human  life  than  any  other 
in  the  previous  history  of  the  island.  At  this  time  there 
were  fifty-nine  occupants  of  the  asylum  in  addition  to  the 
family  of  the  keeper.  Captain  Timothy  Baker.  The  ten 
victims  of  the  fire  were : 

Bowen,  Lydia.  d.  of  Henry  Folger  and  Polly  Hazell,  and 
wife  of  James  Bowen ;  age  29. 

Beebe,  Sophia,  "idiot",  d.  Nathan  Beebe  and  Elizabeth. 
Age  57. 

Cathcart,  Jonathan,  h.  of  Peggy  Gaul,  age  79. 

Davis,  Abigail,  w.  of  Benjamin  Davis,  formerly  w.  of 
Silas  Grew,  formerly  w.  Jeremiah  Driskill,  d.  of  Benjamin 
Clark  and  Abigail  (Mooers).  Age  89. 

Davis,  Wealthy,  d.  Benjamin  Davis  and  Abigail  (Clark) 
(Driskill)  Grew.   Age  53 

Holmes,  William,  h.  Lucretia  (Swazey)  Wilbur,  son  of 
William  and  Lydia  (Burrage).   Age  60. 

Hutchinson,  William.    No  record. 

Jenkins,  Paul,  son  of  William  and  Dinah  (Starbuck). 
Age  66. 

Hull,  Thomas,  h.  Mary  (Ames),  son  of  Thomas  and  Phebe 
(Folger) .   Age  67. 

Jones,  Phebe,  d.  John  and  Hepsibah  (Dagget).   Age  81. 


118  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

The  Quaise  farm  was  bought  by  the  town  in  April  1822, 
and  four  buildings  for  the  poor  and  unfortunate  were 
erected.  A  fifth  building,  House  of  Correction  and  Industry, 
was  built  in  1826.  The  institution  was  rebuilt  after  the 
fire  on  the  same  site  in  1854,  and  in  1854  the  Quaise  farm 
was  sold.  The  Asylum  building  was  moved  in  sections  to 
Organge  Street,  where  it  became  "Our  Island  Home"  offi- 
cially the  Town  Infirmary.  The  House  of  Correction  and 
Industry  was  moved  to  a  site  next  to  the  Old  Gaol,  a  prison 
for  recalcitrant  captives  and  criminals  on  upper  Main 
Street,  where  it  still  stands. 

Incidentally,  the  Old  Gaol  built  in  1805  has  been  restored 
and  opened  to  the  public.  Restoration  was  completed  with 
the  return  to  the  island  in  April  1948,  from  Daytona  Beach, 
Florida,  of  the  original  lock  weighing  twenty-two  pounds 
and  the  key  measuring  nine  and  one-half  inches  long.  It 
was  removed  and  dispatched  off-island  to  Connecticut  with 
a  box  of  fish  by  Joseph  B.  Macy  in  1867,  thence  to  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Florida.  The  Old  Gaol,  in  its  time,  was  a  com- 
paratively useless  affair  for  few  persons  were  ever  confined 
there.  In  the  ten  years  from  1872  to  1882,  only  fifteen 
offenders  were  committed  there. 

The  number  and  site  of  the  buildings  comprising  the 
Quaise  Asylum  are  shown  on  J.  Prescott's  Map  of  the  Town 
of  Nantucket,  County  of  Nantucket,  1831.  The  original 
Poor  Farm  was  the  country  home  of  Mark  Coffin,  born 
October  16,  1768,  the  son  of  Shubael  Coffin  and  Mary  Mit- 
chell, and  descendent  of  Tristram  from  James.  Misfortune 
compelled  him  to  sell  his  summer  homestead  at  Quaise. 
Mark's  first  wife,  Judith  Hussey,  was  a  Public  Friend, 
belonging  to  Nantucket.  His  second  wife,  Sarah  Olney, 
came  from  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  Mark  Coffin  was  a 
schoolteacher,  author,  and  proprietor  of  a  bookstore  in 
town,  but  he  became  poor.  He  died  October  2,  1839,  age  71 
years,  while  an  inmate  of  the  Poor  Farm,  once  his  home. 
His  remains  lie  in  the  lonely  Asylum  burial  ground,  a 


i 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 


119 


paupers'  graveyard  some  200  feet  south  of  the  present 
east-west  highway.  Here  in  this  paupers'  cemetery  lie  the 
remains  of  other  unclaimed,  deceased  inmates  of  the  asylum. 
This  burial  plot  is  densely  covered  with  waving  beard  grass, 
Andropogon  scoparius.  It  is  without  a  single  marker  to 
identify  the  site  of  any  of  the  graves. 

The  corners  of  the  burial  ground  are  50  feet  apart  and 
are  marked  by  stone  posts  installed  by  James  H.  Gibbs, 
deceased  February  24,  1940,  at  the  age  of  90  years.  The 
cemetery  borders  the  north  side  of  the  Old  Polpis  Road 
on  a  little  rising  stretch  of  ground.  Now  the  modern  high- 
way is  some  200  feet  north  of  the  cemetery,  the  two  sepa- 
rated by  a  stretch  of  low  ground.  It  is  regrettable  that  none 
of  the  Nantucket  maps  shows  the  site  of  this  lonely,  forgot- 
ten cemetery.  Were  it  not  for  the  interest  of  the  late  James 
H.  Gibbs,  the  site  of  this  graveyard  probably  would  have 
been  lost  to  posterity. 


Chapter  30 

WHALING  AND  PROSPERITY 

The  Nantucketers  were  the  first  to  have  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  Gulf  Stream.  One  of  them,  Captain  Tim- 
othy Folger,  was  the  first  to  map  it.  They  discovered  the 
whaling  grounds  and  many  of  the  Pacific  Islands.  Thirty 
of  the  islands  and  reefs  are  named  after  Nantucket  captains 
and  merchants,  and  these  and  all  the  rest  of  the  islands  of 
the  seas  were  household  words  in  every  family.  They  carried 
on  a  brisk  trade  with  distant  countries,  taking  whale  oil, 
sperm  candles,  soap  and  sealskins,  and  bringing  lumber, 
textiles,  and  farm  implements.  Here  was  a  flourishing,  in- 
dustrious, and  independent  commonwealth.  The  houses 
were  furnished  with  rich  mahogany  furniture,  and  the 
finest  chinaware  was  in  abundance. 

"The  streets  are  sandy  and  they  run  in  every  direction. 
When  you  go  out  walking  you  return  with  shoes  full  of  dirt 
although  some  of  the  streets  have  sidewalks.  The  houses  set 
any  way.  Travel  over  the  rutted  roads  is  mostly  in  a  calash, 
a  two  wheel  open  box  wagon  and  standing  mostly  to  soften 
the  jolting.  It  is  good  fun  once  in  a  while  but  such  exercise 
is  not  desirable  often.  You  never  saw  anything  like  the 
place."  So  wrote  Grandma  Mary  Gushing  Edes  in  1835  to 
her  sister  Charlotte  C.  Gushing  in  Dorchester  up  by  Boston. 

In  1840,  the  island  had  seventy  whale  ships,  a  property 
of  $6,000,000.,  population  of  9,712,  five  wharves,  ten  rope 
walks,  thirty-six  candle  factories,  sail  lofts,  cooper  shops, 
boat  and  blacksmith  shops,  and  shipyards.  Hundreds  of 
men  were  employed  on  the  island  making  casks,  irons, 
ropes,  and  other  whaling  gear  and  fitting  ships.  The  rest 
of  the  population  was  divided  into  three  parts :  those  away 
on  a  voyage,  those  returning,  and  those  getting  ready  for 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  121 

the  next  trip.  Prosperity  was  so  closely  identified  with  whal- 
ing and  a  maritime  life  that  a  Nantucket  wife  asked  no 
better  fortune  than  "a  clean  hearth  and  a  husband  at  sea." 
One  Nantucket  street  alone  comprised  the  residences  of  one 
hundred  sea  captains.  Nantucket  was  represented  in  the 
State  Legislature  at  Boston  by  nine  representatives  and  one 
senator,  and  in  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives 
by  one  Congressman.  This  was  Nantucket's  Golden  Age. 
There  was  no  place  in  the  world  where  whaling  vessels 
could  be  fitted  for  sea  to  so  much  advantage  as  at  Nantucket. 
From  long  experience  and  perseverance  the  people  of  this 
place  became  the  most  expert  and  knowing  in  the  whale 
fishery  of  any  people  on  earth.  The  merchants  bent  their 
whole  attention  to  this  branch  of  labor,  reduced  every  ex- 
pense, and  brought  all  their  supplies  to  the  nicest  point  of 
saving.  Industry  and  frugality  were  virtues;  idleness, 
a  vice. 

Daniel  Webster,  speaking  in  the  United  States  Senate  in 
1828,  was  struck  by  these  noble  virtues : 

"Nantucket  itself  is  a  very  striking  and  peculiar  portion 
of  the  National  interest.  There  is  a  population  of  eight  or 
nine  thousand  persons,  living  here  in  the  sea,  adding  largely 
every  year  to  the  National  wealth  by  the  boldest  and  most 
persevering  industry." 

The  chief  products  of  the  Nantucket  whale  fishery  were 
sperm  and  whale  oil,  whale  bone,  and  ambergris.  Sperm  oil, 
obtained  from  the  sperm  whale  or  cachalot,  was  used  chiefly 
in  the  manufacture  of  sperm  candles  and  refined  oils  for 
lubricating  purposes.  The  sperm  whale  is  the  largest  of 
the  toothed  whales  and  the  most  valuable.  It  has  the 
richest  kind  of  oily  fluid  in  a  cavity  in  the  top  of  its  blunt 
head.  This  is  the  source  of  spermaceti,  a  whitish  crystalline 
substance  which  was  used  in  making  candles,  ointments  and 
cosmetics.  The  blubber  of  the  whale,  a  thick  layer  of  fat 
beneath  the  skin,  was  the  source  of  body  oil.  This  was  used 
essentially  as  an  illuminant  in  whale  oil  lamps,  and  after 


122 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 


Nantucket's  time  it  found  use  in  the  manufacture  of  heavy 
lubricating  oils,  soaps,  glycerine,  and  in  leather  tanning. 
Whalebone  was  used  for  making  handles  of  various  kinds, 
stays  in  corsets,  and  umbrella  ribs,  but  for  these  purposes 
its  place  was  taken  by  flexible  steel,  celluloid,  and  similar 
materials. 


1 


Figure  6. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  whales.   Here  are  just  a  few  of  them.   A.  Sperm 

Whale.    B.  Bowhead.    C.  Finback.   D.  Pacific   right   whale.    E.  California 

Gray  Whale.    F.  North  Paciiic  Humpback.    G.  Sulphur  Bottom. 


Whalebone  is  not  bone  as  commonly  understood  but  a 
horny  outgrowth  from  the  skin  hanging  from  the  mouth  of 
the  toothless  whalebone  or  baleen  whales.    In  the  Arctic 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  '  123 

right  or  bowhead  whales  the  whalebones  are  ten  to  fourteen 
feet  long,  and  there  are  as  many  as  500  in  a  single  animal. 
The  right  whale  has  no  hump.  The  tongue  will  make  a 
ton  of  oil.  He  has  two  spouts  and  makes  a  forked  spout 
which  distinguishes  him  from  other  whales  at  a  distance. 
James  Fenimore  Cooper  noted  the  right  whale's  character- 
istics in  The  Pilot : 

'No,  Sir,  'tis  a  Right  Whale,'  answered  Tom;  'I  saw  his 
spout ;  he  threw  up  a  pair  of  as  pretty  rainbows  as  a  Chris- 
tian would  wish  to  look  at.  He's  a  raal  oil-butt,  that  fellow !' 

Other  whalebone  whales  are  the  New  Zealand  right  whale, 
the  fin  whale,  the  hump  back,  and  the  California  gray  whale. 
The  blue  or  sulphur  bottom  whale,  a  species  of  fin  whales, 
is  the  largest  animal  in  existence.  In  general  the  price  of 
whalebone  was  too  low  for  our  Nantucket  whalemen  to  be 
encumbered  with  it.  Before  the  Revolutionary  War  it 
brought  at  times  a  dollar  a  pound.  After  the  war  it  brought 
from  six  to  ten  cents.  After  1850  the  Nantucket  whalers 
were  more  interested  in  bone.  The  ship  Three  Brothers, 
Captain  C.  E.  Cleaveland,  in  1859  sent  home  from  the  Pacific 
31,000  pounds  of  whalebone,  the  largest  quantity  ever 
brought  into  Nantucket  from  one  voyage.  The  ship  Massa- 
chusetts from  Nantucket  brought  to  mainland  ports  38,000 
pounds  in  1851,  40,300  pounds  in  1853  and  sent  home  15,- 
500  pounds  in  1856,  and  43,000  in  1860  from  the  Pacific 
Ocean.   In  this  period  there  was  a  good  demand  for  bone. 

Ambergris  or  "ambergrease"  was  the  rarest  and  most 
valuable  product  of  the  whale,  usually  bringing  around 
$30  per  pound.  It  is  a  concretion  of  the  intestine  of  the 
sperm  whale  resulting  from  disease.  Occasionally  it  killed 
the  whale  by  clogging  the  intestine,  and  sometimes  it  was 
ejected.  The  ship  Watchman  of  Nantucket,  Captain  Charles 
W.  Hussey,  brought  800  pounds  or  4  barrels  in  1858,  the 
largest  amount  ever  brought  into  port  by  a  whaler.  This  sold 
for  $10,000.  Ambergris  was  in  great  demand  as  a  base  in 
the  making  of  fine  perfumeries. 


124  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

Some  of  the  Nantucket  ships  went  out  on  sealing  expedi- 
tions returning  with  thousands  of  seal  skins,  and  around 
the  year  1800  several  of  the  ships  came  in  full  of  elephant  oil 
tried  from  the  elephant  seal,  a  hideous  creature  up  to  30 
feet  in  length. 

The  narwhal  (the  nostril  or  unicorn  whale)  is  a  toothed 
whale,  an  Arctic  species  related  to  the  sperm  whale.  The 
male  has  a  tusk  protruding  five  to  ten  feet  forward  from  its 
jaw,  which  furnished  ivory  of  commercial  value. 

No  animal  in  history  has  exceeded  the  whale  in  size.  The 
large  blue  or  sulphur  bottom  whales  weigh  around  ninety 
tons.  Their  bulk  is  equal  to  one  hundred  oxen,  and  in  Japan 
where  whale  meat  is  used  as  food  one  whale  furnishes  about 
120,000  steaks.  These  whales  grow  to  one  hundred  feet  in 
length,  more  or  less,  and  the  jaws  are  up  to  twenty  feet  long 
and  open  thirty  feet  wide.  The  head  weighs  up  to  thirty  tons 
and  measures  up  to  thirty-five  feet  in  circumference.  The 
mouth  is  as  big  as  a  room  twenty  feet  long,  fifteen  feet  high, 
and  nine  feet  at  the  bottom  and  2  feet  wide  at  the  top. 
The  tongue  of  a  right  whale,  so  called  because  this  was  the 
right  kind  of  a  whale  to  catch,  equals  the  weight  of  ten  oxen. 
The  eye  is  the  size  of  a  cow's  eye,  but  the  range  of  vision 
is  very  short.  The  auditory  canal  of  the  ear  is  hardly  the 
diameter  of  a  knitting  needle.  Whales  live  up  to  eight 
hundred  years,  and  it  is  asserted  that  they  sleep  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean  literally  holding  their  breath.  Imagine 
the  weight  of  water  over  the  whale  when  sounding  to 
depths  of  200  feet  or  more  after  being  attacked  or  har- 
pooned. Obviously  the  strength  and  the  power  of  the  whale 
are  indescribable,  as  is  recorded  in  many  whale  songs : 

''Oh,  the  rare  old  whale,  'mid  storm  and  gale. 

In  his  ocean  home  will  be 
A  giant  in  might  where  might  is  right, 

And  King  of  the  boundless  sea." 

The  reader  who  cherishes  an  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  adventure  and  business  of  the  whale  fishery  with  all  its 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  125 

dangers,  drudgery,  and  horror  is  encouraged  to  read  Frank 
T.  Bullen's  The  Cruise  of  the  Cachalot  round  the  ivorld 
after  Sperm  Whales,  1898.  Of  this  book  Rudyard  Kipling 
wrote,  ''I've  never  read  anything  that  equals  it  in  its  deep  sea 
wonder  and  mystery."  It  is  a  vivid  account  of  the  cruise  of  a 
South  Sea  whaler  from  New  Bedford  by  a  seaman  who  at 
the  age  of  eighteen,  lonely  and  without  money,  is  desperately 
hungry  for  a  ship.  Although  the  book  is  almost  altogether 
fictitious,  the  reading  is  thrilling  and  excellently  done. 

The  lookout  on  a  New  Bedford  whaler  shouts  **Ah  bl-o-o- 
o-o-w,  blow,  blow,"  but  on  a  Nantucket  whaler  the  lookout 
crys,  'Thar-e-bl-o-o-ows",  and  the  crew  pulls  to  the  refrain 
"a  dead  whale  or  a  stove  boat."  "Give  it  to  him,"  yells  the 
mate,  and  like  a  flash  the  whale  disappears  under  water 
running  out  the  line;  then  the  whale  surfaces  and  races 
away  dragging  the  boat  at  twenty  to  twenty-five  miles  per 
hour  for  ''a  Nantucket  Sleigh  Ride."  Then  the  long  strenuous 
row  back  to  the  ship,  towing  the  whale  by  the  flukes,  and  the 
tedious  process  of  ''cutting  in"  and  "trying  out."  The  ship 
from  stem  to  stern  is  grimy  and  black  with  soot  from  her 
fires,  from  the  smoke  of  burning  scraps,  and  drenched  with 
oil  and  blood  from  the  flensing.  The  men  are  soaked  in  the 
evil  smelling  oil  from  head  to  foot.  This  was  Hell  on  a  large 
scale,  and  on  and  on  it  went  until  every  cask  was  full  and 
coopered  if  fortune  served  them  well. 

From  time  immemorial,  even  in  the  Bible  (Psalms  107, 
23-27),  there  is  awe  for  the  wonders  of  the  deep: 

"They  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships, 
That  do  business  in  great  waters; 
These  see  the  works  of  the  Lord, 
And  his  wonders  in  the  deep. 
For  he  commandeth  and  raiseth  the 
Stormy  wind,  which  lifteth  up  the  waves  thereof. 
They  mount  up  to  the  heavens,  they  go  down 

again  to  the  depths ; 
Their  soul  is  melted  because  of  trouble. 


126  NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY 

They  reel  to  and  fro,  and  stagger  like  a  drunken 
man,  and  are  at  their  wits'  end." 

The  tragedies  were  numerous  and  diverse.  Many  of  the 
whalemen  were  killed  by  whales.  Several  ships  were  lost 
with  all  hands.  Many  fell  sick  and  died  on  ship,  some  from 
scurvy.  Some  met  death  from  mutiny.  Many  experienced 
the  most  fearful  privations.  From  the  settlement  of  Nan- 
tucket in  1659  to  1853,  a  total  of  168  vessels  were  lost,  ex- 
clusive of  captures  by  pirates,  the  French,  British,  and 
Spaniards.  Four  hundred  and  fourteen  lives  were  lost. 
An  old  sailor  was  heard  to  remark,  *'Them  as  go  down  to  the 
sea  in  ships  see  the  wonders  of  the  deep,  but  them  as  goes 
in  schooners  sees  hell."  We  may  well  shudder  at  the  crew- 
man's diet  of  salt  pork,  potatoes,  and  hard  tack.  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  there  were  desertions  from  many  whaleships ! 

The  whalemen  were  courageous  and  brave  to  an  unusual 
degree,  and  they  were  subject  to  the  strictest  discipline.  In 
the  journal  of  the  voyage,  for  more  than  three  years,  of  the 
whaleship  Three  Brothers  by  Charles  P.  Coffiin  we  are 
furnished  with  a  glimpse  of  the  stern  stuff  the  whaling 
captains  were  m.ade  of  when  we  read  that  the  captain 
knocked  down  a  sailor  and  killed  him  one  day  and  on  the 
next  day  read  the  prayers  of  the  burial  service  over  him. 


Chapter  31. 

NOTABLE  EVENTS  IN  THE  WHALE  FISHERY 

Some  of  the  significant  events  in  the  history  of  the  whal- 
ing industry  at  Nantucket  are  as  follows : 

1722  Sloop  commanded  by  Elisha  Coffin  lost  with  all 
hands.  This  is  the  first  recorded  loss  of  a  whaling 
vessel  belonging  to  Nantucket. 

1730     Twenty-five  whaling  vessels  owned  at  Nantucket. 

1745  First  cargo  of  sperm  oil  shipped  directly  to  England 
from  Nantucket. 

1768  Eighty  whaling  vessels  averaging  75  tons  sailed 
from  Nantucket,  their  voyages  being  to  Davis  Straits, 
Straits  of  Belle  Isle,  Grand  Banks,  Gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence, and  to  the  Azores  Islands. 

1772  First  sperm  candle  factory  in  operation.  Ships  Dart- 
mouth, Eleanor,  and  Beaver  left  Nantucket  with  oil 
for  England.  The  ships  returned  to  Boston  with  tea 
which  was  thrown  overboard  in  the  famous  Boston 
Tea  Party  in  1773.  The  Beaver  was  owned  in  Nan- 
tucket. The  Dartmouth  was  the  first  whaleship 
launched  at  New  Bedford. 

1776  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  vessels  owned  at  Nan- 
tucket.  Some  of  them  large  brigs. 

1776-1782  About  1600  Nantucketers  lost  their  lives  during 
the  Revolutionary  War.  Fifteen  vessels  lost  at  sea 
and  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  captured  by  the 
British.  Nantucket  was  the  only  American  port  to 
carry  on  whaling  during  the  war. 

1783  Ship  Bedford,  Captain  William  Mooers  hoisted  first 
American  flag  with  its  thirteen  rebellious  stripes  in 
an  English  port  (February  3) .  One  of  the  crew  was 
hunchbacked,  and  on  shore  one  day  a  British  sailor 


128  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

clapped  his  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  said,  "Hello, 
Jack,  what  have  you  got  here?" 

''Bunker  Hill  and  be  damned  to  you",  replied  the 
Yankee. 

Ship  Washington,  Captain  George  Bunker,  was  the 
first  to  hoist  the  American  flag  in  a  Spanish  Pacific 
port. 

1786-1787  British  Government  lured  many  of  the  Nan- 
tucketers  to  pursue  the  whale  fishery  from  Nova 
Scotia  and  England.  Many  families  and  vessels  re- 
moved to  Dartmouth  adjoining  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia, 
and  to  Milford  Haven,  England.  Others  removed  to 
London,  and  Dunkirk,  France.  The  removals  de- 
prived the  island  of  much  capital  and  skilled  whale- 
men. None  of  the  undertakings  was  long  lived,  and 
by  1794  most  of  the  ships  had  returned. 

1791  Ship  Beaver,  Captain  Paul  Worth,  was  the  first  Nan- 
tucket whaler  to  double  Cape  Horn.  New  Bedford 
shows  increasing  activity  in  the  whale  fishery. 

1802  The  whaler  ''Rose",  the  first  whaleship  built  at  Nan- 
tucket. Three  other  whalers  and  a  large  schooner 
were  the  only  large  vessels  built  at  Nantucket.  Whal- 
ing fleet  comprised  forty-eight  ships. 

1807  Ship  Union,  Captain  Edmund  Gardner,  struck  a 
whale.  Crew  voyaged  600  miles  in  boats  reaching 
the  Azores  after  seven  days  and  eight  nights. 

1808  On  February  6  the  sailing  vessel  Topaz,  Captain 
Mayhew  Folger  of  Nantucket  (husband  of  Mary 
Joy) ,  sailing  out  of  Boston  and  calling  at  Pitcairn's 
Island  in  the  South  Pacific  discovered  on  this  sup- 
posedly uninhabited  land  many  middle-aged  Poly- 
nesian women,  a  score  of  beautiful  children  ruled 
by  a  white  haired  Englishman,  Alexander  Smith, 
the  only  survivor  of  fifteen  men,  nine  of  them  Eng- 
lish seamen  involved  in  the  famous  mutiny  of  His 
Majesty's  armed  transport  Bounty,  Captain  William 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  129 

Bligh.  In  the  collections  of  the  Nantucket  Historical 
Association  is  deposited  the  valuable  log  book  of  the 
ship  Topaz  dated  1808  mentioning  the  discovery  of 
the  rendezvous  of  the  perpetrators  of  the  mutiny  of 
the  Bounty  on  Pitcairn  Island. 

1812-1813  Seventeen  ships  and  seven  schooners  sailed. 
Eleven  captured  by  the  British  in  the  War  of  1812- 
1815.  Nantucket  was  the  only  American  port  during 
the  war  that  sent  out  whalers  to  dare  the  risks  of 
British  capture. 

1818  Captain  George  W.  Gardner  in  ship  Globe  discovered 
off  shore  whaling  grounds  bordering  the  coast  of 
Chile,  South  America. 

1819  Captain  Joseph  Allen  in  ship  Maro  discovered  Japan 
Whaling  Grounds.  The  British  claim  that  the  Coast 
of  Japan  Ground  was  first  cruised  by  the  London 
whaleship  Syren  in  1819. 

1820  Ship  Essex,  Captain  George  Pollard  was  sunk  by  an 
angry  whale  in  the  Pacific.  Crew  suffered  fearful 
privations  in  open  boats  for  three  months,  sailing 
2,000  miles  before  rescue.  Captain  Pollard,  first 
mate,  and  three  of  the  crew  of  twenty  survived. 
Seventy-two  whaleships  owned  at  Nantucket. 

1821  Captain  Christopher  Burdick  on  a  sealing  voyage  to 
the  South  Shetland  Islands  in  the  schooner  Huntress 
discovered  on  February  15  a  high  mountainous  land 
mass,  the  mainland  of  the  Antartic  Peninsula  which 
Burdick  in  his  log  book  called  a  continent.  This  is 
the  first  discovery  and  recognition  of  the  Antartic 
Continent. 

1823  Most  fearful  mutiny  in  the  whale  fishery  on  ship 
Globe.  Captain  Thomas  Worth  and  three  officers 
killed.  Ship  returned  to  Nantucket  November  14, 
1824. 

1824  Ship  Oeno,  Captain  Samuel  Riddell,  lost  on  the  Fiji 


130  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

Islands.  All  of  her  crew  save  William  S.  Gary  were 
murdered  and  eaten  by  cannibals. 

1828  Sixty  whaling  vessels  averaging  337  tons  ovnied  at 
Nantucket. 

1830  Ship  Sarah,  Captain  Frederick  Arthur,  out  two  years 
and  eleven  months,  brought  3,497  barrels  of  sperm 
oil  valued  at  $98,000,  the  largest  amount  of  sperm 
oil  ever  brought  into  Nantucket  on  one  voyage. 

1842  Eighty-six  whaleships  and  four  smaller  vessels 
owned  at  Nantucket.  Floating  docks  or  "Camels" 
were  launched  to  bring  ships  over  the  Nantucket 
Bar  into  the  harbor  and  to  dispense  with  the  practice 
of  lightering  outside  of  the  Bar  or  at  Edgartown. 
Ship  Constitution,  Captain  Obed  R.  Bunker,  was 
taken  out  over  the  bar  by  a  "Camel."  Ship  Peru, 
Captain  Joshua  Coffin  was  brought  in  over  bar  by  a 
"Camel"  with  1340  barrels  of  sperm  oil. 

1843-45  Peak  year  in  whaling.  Eighty-eight  ships  out  of 
Nantucket. 

1846  Decline  of  the  Nantucket  whale  fishery.  Only  seven 
ships  fitted  out  and  only  three  made  successful  voy- 
ages.   New  Bedford  cleared  sixty-nine  vessels. 

1849  Incoming  whaler  Martha  the  last  to  be  brought  over 
bar  by  a  "Camel."  Entire  crew  of  ship  Maria,  Captain 
George  A.  Coffin,  deserted  in  California. 

1868  Barque  R.  L.  Barstow  was  the  last  Nantucket  owned 
whaleship  to  leave  Nantucket.  Sold  in  1873  in  Peru, 
South  America. 

1869  Barque  Oak,  Nantucket's  last  whaler.  Left  Nantuck- 
et November  16,  1869.  Sold  at  Panama. 

1870  Brig  Eunice  H.  Adams,  last  whaler  to  arrive  at 
Nantucket. 


Chapter  32. 
EMIGRATIONS  FROM  NANTUCKET 

The  forefathers  came  in  search  of  enterprise  and  a  plain 
harmonious  society.  In  a  later  generation  the  same  desire 
for  opportunity  and  good  fortune  fostered  emigrations 
of  entire  families  from  the  island.  The  limitations  of  for- 
tune and  opportunity  on  the  island  with  frequent  privation 
and  heavy  material  losses  as  the  result  of  v^ars  with  Great 
Britain  and  later  the  decline  of  the  whale  fishery  created 
the  initiative  to  emigrate.  The  first  emigrations  were  at- 
tempts to  duplicate  Nantucket's  whale  fishery  and  prosperity 
in  seaports  more  advantageous  to  the  industry  with  re- 
spect to  the  building  of  ships,  accessibility  to  markets,  and 
freedom  from  the  adversities  and  losses  imposed  by  isolation 
and  war. 

Soon  after  the  expulsion  of  the  French  from  Nova  Scotia 
numerous  families,  as  early  as  1761,  settled  in  Harrington, 
Nova  Scotia,  but  by  1784  most  of  the  Nantucketers  had 
moved  elsewhere.  In  1786-1787  another  group  from  Nan- 
tucket eager  to  sell  oil  to  England  and  to  avoid  the  prohibi- 
tive duty  of  $80.00  a  ton  imposed  by  England  on  American 
oil  settled  in  Dartmouth,  a  place  on  the  shore  opposite 
Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  but  the  effort  to  develop  the  whale 
fishery  here  was  short  lived. 

The  British  were  anxious  to  establish  the  industry  in 
England.  Milford  Haven,  Wales,  a  site  on  the  west  coast 
of  England  was  selected,  and  inducements  were  offered  to 
the  whalemen  to  settle  here.  Many  of  the  families  came 
from  Dartmouth,  Nova  Scotia,  among  them  Timothy  Fol- 
ger,  who  later  held  the  post  of  American  consul  at  Milford 
Haven.  He  died  at  Milford  Haven  in  1814  and  like  numerous 
others  never  saw  Nantucket  again  after  emigrating. 


132  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

After  the  Revolutionary  War  the  American  market  was 
glutted  with  oil  and  candles.  Oil  was  selling  at  a  loss  of 
eight  pounds  sterling  each  ton.  With  a  heavy  duty  imposed 
by  England  on  foreign  oil  the  American  whalemen  were 
faced  with  ruin.  It  was  necessary  for  the  ship  owners  to 
transfer  their  industry  to  foreign  ports.  William  Rotch 
of  Nantucket,  born  in  1734,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and 
daughters  with  his  son  Benjamin,  accompanied  by  his  wife 
Elizabeth  and  son,  sailed  for  England  July  4,  1785,  to  ne- 
gotiate for  a  port  in  England.  Previously  Captain  Shubael 
Gardner,  husband  of  Judith  Barker,  and  family  removed 
to  Dunkirk,  France.  The  French  offered  an  attractive  price 
for  oil  and  a  bounty  on  oil  to  ships  sailing  from  French 
ports. 

Rotch  sought  to  settle  his  whaling  business  in  Falmouth, 
England,  but  acceptable  terms  from  the  British  Prime  Min- 
ister William  Pitt  and  Lord  Hawkesbury  were  not  obtain- 
able, and  he  went  to  France,  where  twelve  proposals  or 
advantages  to  the  people  of  Nantucket  to  settle  and  carry 
on  the  business  at  Dunkirk  were  successfully  negotiated 
with  the  Prime  Minister  of  France,  Count  de  Vergennes.  It 
was  agreed  that: 

1  American  whalemen  would  not  bear  arms. 

2  They  would  enjoy  complete  religious  freedom. 

3  Whaling    products    and   food    supplies    would    be 
duty-free. 

4  They  would  enjoy  all  the  privileges  of  native  fisher- 
men. 

5  They  would  have  the  right  to  command  their  own 
ships  and  choose  their  own  crews  . 

6  Oil  brought  in  foreign  ships  would  be  subject  to 
heavy  duties. 

With  these  proposals  secured,  Rotch  sailed  home  in  1786 
to  transfer  his  business  to  France,  and  upwards  of  nine 
Nantucket  families  or  sixty  persons,  all  Friends  moved  to 
Dunkirk,  France.  Over  seventy  ships  commanded  by  Nan- 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  133 

tucket  captains  called  at  Dunkirk.  But  the  bloody  state  of 
affairs  in  France  coming  with  the  outbreak  of  the  French 
Revolution  in  1789,  the  War  with  Austria  and  Prussia 
(April  1792),  the  execution  of  King  Louis  XVI  of  France 
and  Queen  Marie  Antoinette  (1793),  and  the  growth  of 
disunion  and  revolution  caused  William  Rotch  in  his  60th 
year  (1794)  and  most  of  the  whalemen  to  move  away  to 
Milf ord  Haven ;  others  more  directly  to  Nantucket.  Rotch 
in  1795  removed  to  New  Bedford,  where  he  remained  until 
his  death  in  1828  at  the  age  of  94.  Here  his  father,  Joseph, 
carried  on  the  business  from  1765-1778  until  the  catas- 
trophes by  the  British  associated  with  the  Revolutionary 
War  required  him  to  return  to  Nantucket.  Captain  Shubael 
Gardner,  the  first  whaleman  to  ship  out  of  Dunkirk,  was 
drowned  off  the  English  coast  in  1791.  His  wife  Judith  died 
in  Nantucket  in  1822.  Benjamin  Rotch  decided  to  remain 
in  England,  where  he  established  a  whaling  business  at 
Milford  Haven  amongst  other  Tory  exiles  from  Nantucket 
with  the  same  distrust  for  independence  and  the  desire  to 
remain  British.  Benjamin  Rotch  died  in  London  in  1839, 
and  his  wife  Elizabeth  Barker  died  there  in  1853  at  the  age 
of  94.  Two  of  their  six  children  were  born  in  Dunkirk  and 
three  of  them  in  England. 

A  series  of  emigrations  to  Hudson,  New  York  occured  in 
1783-1800.  The  enterprise  originated  with  Thomas  Jenkins, 
a  Nantucketer  and  resident  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  In 
1783  he  formed  an  association  of  thirty  members,  mer- 
chants, and  shipowners.  Cotton  Gelston  of  Providence  came 
to  Nantucket  to  sign  the  families  to  join.  Fifteen  families 
from  Nantucket  joined,  and  others  came  from  Martha's 
Vineyard,  Newport,  and  Providence.  The  original  settle- 
ment bore  the  name  Claverack  Landing,  which  on  Novem- 
ber 14,  1784,  became  Hudson.  Stephen  Paddock  led  the 
group  from  Nantucket  and  he  and  Thomas  Jenkins  were 
prominent  in  the  growth  of  the  settlement.  By  1786  some 
twenty-five  vessels  came  to  Hudson  from  Nantucket,  and 


134  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

the  first  ship,  Hudson,  Captain  Robert  Folger  was  launched 
in  1786.  The  place  became  an  important  whaling  port. 
Other  families  came  from  Nantucket  and  settled  at  Pough- 
keepsie  and  Nine  Partners.  Here  Lucretia  Mott,  a  famous 
Nantucket  daughter,  received  her  schooling  under  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

The  Hudson  settlers  copied  ''Mother"  Nantucket  in  al- 
most every  way.  They  adopted  the  lean-to  house  with  walks 
or  lookouts  on  the  roof.  The  mansions  of  the  wealthy  were 
models  of  the  mansions  on  Main  Street  in  Nantucket. 
Many  of  the  streets  were  named  after  Nantucket  streets, 
and  their  Meeting  House  on  Union  Street  was  almost  a 
copy  of  the  Nantucket  Meeting  House  on  Fair  Street.  The 
prosperity  of  Hudson  during  the  first  twenty  years  of  its 
existence  was  amazing,  even  outranking  Nantucket  as  a 
whaling  port.  The  American  Hero,  Captain  Solomon  Bunk- 
er, a  Hudson  ship,  in  1797  brought  the  largest  cargo  of 
sperm  oil  into  an  American  port  and  the  Ajax,  Captain 
Zephaniah  Coffin,  broke  the  record  in  sealing.  Prosperity 
from  whaling  was  short  lived,  and  various  events  brought 
on  the  end,  notably  the  birth  of  the  steamboat  and  the  War 
of  1812.  The  first  families  dispersed  and  most  of  them 
moved  west. 

New  Garden,  now  Guilford,  North  Carolina,  was  selected 
as  a  site  for  a  Friends  Meeting  for  Friends  from  all  parts 
of  the  colonies,  and  the  first  New  Garden  Meeting  was  set 
up  in  1754.  The  Nantucketers  began  coming  in  1771-1772. 
Similar  settlements  were  established  around  the  townships 
of  Center  and  Deep  River.  New  Garden  Friends  Boarding 
School  for  Boys  and  Girls,  now  Guilford  College,  is  situated 
between  Greensboro  and  Winston-Salem  on  the  very  site 
of  the  New  Garden  settlement.  The  original  Friends  Meet- 
ing and  Burial  Ground  are  adjacent  to  the  college  campus. 
Gravestones  bear  the  familiar  Nantucket  names,  Starbuck, 
Bunker,  Coffin,  Macy,  and  others.  Here  a  more  conservative 
Quaker  society  permitted  stones  ten  inches  high,  and  later 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  '  135 

the  restrictions  were  lifted.  Many  of  the  families  have 
remained  true  to  the  Quaker  faith  preserving  the  best  of 
the  spirit  and  quality  of  early  Quakerism  without  the  rigid 
discipline  and  forms  of  the  Nantucketers.  Here  the  Siamese 
twins,  born  in  Siam  in  1816,  assumed  the  name  of  Bunker. 
The  twins  died  in  1874  and  are  buried  at  Mt.  Airy  in  adjoin- 
ing Surry  County. 

Many  of  the  North  Carolina  Nantucketers  around  1800 
moved  into  Tennessee,  settling  in  Blount  and  Jefferson 
counties  near  Knoxville.  Friendsville  or  Friends  Station 
was  the  site  of  a  Friends  Meeting.  Around  1815  some  of 
the  families  moved  further  into  Union,  Fayette,  Rush,  and 
Wayne  Counties,  Indiana,  and  from  there  into  Ohio  and 
Illinois.  Abigail  Macy,  who  came  to  North  Carolina  from 
Nantucket  in  1774,  married  Benjamin  Stanton  of  Beaufort, 
North  Carolina.  Subsequently  they  moved  to  Jefferson 
County,  Ohio.  Here  their  grandson  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  the 
great  Secretary  of  War  in  President  Lincoln's  cabinet,  was 
born  in  1814. 

The  slavery  question  had  much  to  do  with  the  emigrations 
into  the  free-soil  states.  The  Indiana  Quakers  were  active 
in  the  abolition  movement.  Levi  Coffin  came  to  Newport, 
Indiana,  in  1826  and  assisted  hundreds  of  slaves  to  cross  the 
free  soil  border  to  freedom. 

The  village  of  Nantucket,  Indiana,  now  Economy,  was 
settled  at  the  turn  of  the  century  by  Barnards,  Coffins, 
Macys,  Swains,  and  Starbucks.  They  were  emigrants  from 
North  Carolina.  The  town  has  a  'Tucket  Burial  Ground," 
and  all  the  old  names  are  to  be  found  on  the  stones.  Nearby 
Richmond  is  a  leading  center  of  Quakerism  in  America. 

With  the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  1812,  some  of  the  Nan- 
tucket Folgers  went  by  covered  wagon  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
then  the  "Queen  City  of  the  West"  and  the  Swains,  Gardners, 
Macys',  and  others  followed.  There  is  a  Society  of  Sons  and 
Daughters  of  Nantucket  at  Alliance,  Ohio,  whose  mem- 
bership is  restricted  to  the  descendants  of  Nantucket  resi- 


136  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

dents  prior  to  1750.  In  1844-45  a  colony  of  Nantucketers 
moved  to  Ravenna,  Ohio,  and  engaged  in  farming.  A 
Friends  Meeting  was  organized  in  Salem,  Indiana,  in  1819 
by  Nantucket  descendants  "to  cherish  the  memory  and  emu- 
late the  example  of  the  pioneers  of  Nantucket  who  es- 
tablished and  maintained  a  commonwealth  when  there  was 
no  other  in  New  England."  At  Indianaoplis  the  descendants 
have  a  group  called  "The  Descendants  of  Nantucket  who 
trace  Ancestry  through  North  Carolina  Emigres."  There 
are  records  of  families  that  moved  to  Auburn,  New  York 
around  the  year  1835  and  to  Vassalboro  and  Kennebec, 
Maine. 

In  1849  came  the  exciting  news  of  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  California.  Nantucket  became  greatly  excited.  Every- 
body became  possessed  with  the  urge  to  go  to  the  land  of 
gold.  Nine  vessels  sailed  from  Nantucket  in  that  year 
for  California.  Hundreds  left  for  the  gold  fields,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  the  California  fever  would  depopulate  the  is- 
land. Before  long  some  came  back  with  a  little  "dust", 
poorer  than  they  left ;  and  the  fever  subsided. 

A  premonition  of  a  despairing  and  hopeless  future  hung 
like  a  mist  over  the  island.  But  before  the  decline  began 
attempts  were  made  to  establish  new  industries,  a  notable 
example  being  the  fabrication  of  silk  garments.  This  was 
a  New  England  enterprise  which  developed  into  an  epidemic 
in  the  period  from  1830-1840,  and  the  contagion  called 
"Morus  multicaulis  fever"  struck  Nantucket  in  1835.  Aaron 
Mitchell  had  a  grove  of  4000  mulberry  trees  outside  of  town, 
and  George  Easton  had  one  of  1,000  trees  on  North  Water 
Street.  The  Atlantic  Silk  Company  was  organized  and 
chartered  in  1836,  headed  by  Aaron  Mitchell,  its  chief  owner. 
A  factory  was  erected,  and  the  first  silk  goods  were  made  in 
1836.  The  mulberry  trees  did  not  thrive,  the  company  be- 
came involved  in  a  lawsuit,  and  it  closed  in  1840.  The  ma- 
chinery was  removed  to  the  second  story  of  Mitchell's  ware- 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 


137 


hoiise  in  the  rear  of  his  brick  mansion  at  the  corner  of 
North  Water  and  Sea  Streets. 

The  weight  of  the  machinery  caused  the  building  to  col- 
lapse, and  it  went  down  in  a  cloud  of  dust.  Then  MitchelFs 
brick  mansion  was  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  1846.  The 
"Morus  multicaulis  fever"  and  other  attempts  at  enterprise 
declined  and  so  did  the  population.  Families  were  leaving 
in  groups.  A  peak  population  of  almost  10,000  people  in 
in  1840  declined  to  about  3500  in  1880  when  the  emigrations 
subsided.  Industry  had  departed.  The  emigrations  merely 
symbolized  the  search  for  opportunity  and  livelihood  by  a 
people  accustomed  to  hard  work  and  frugal  living.  These 
lost  tribes,  the  descendants  of  the  forefathers,  the  Starbucks, 
Macys,  Coffins,  Husseys,  Colemans,  and  all  the  rest  are 
everywhere,  and  now  and  then  they  make  a  pilgrimage  to 
"Mother"  Nantucket  to  visit  the  historic  places,  to  see  the 
family  heirlooms,  and  to  review  the  familiar  memories 
of  the  distant  past. 


Figure  7. 
Population   of   Nantucket    1700 


1950 


Population  oC  fiflJitocKct 


Si  f^  ^  id -fy^  to  id  ^  Hi  2*0  to  4  ^  60  70  d'o  io  i^bo  t'o  20  7o  ^  so 


102030^5060, TO  80^ 
VekT  hejiy}y)\y\h  1700. 


Chapter  33. 
THE  DECLINE 

The  Nantucket  Bar  across  the  entrance  to  the  harbor  was 
an  obstacle  to  the  passage  of  ships  of  three  hundred  tons 
burden  and  it  was  the  main  cause  of  the  downfall  of  the 
whaling  industry  before  Fate's  allotted  time.  At  New  Bed- 
ford the  decline  began  in  1861.  The  Golden  Age  of  whaling 
was  between  1825  and  1860,  and  early  during  this  period 
New  Bedford  assumed  the  lead.  The  daring  Nantucketers 
who  had  taught  others  how  and  where  to  whale  gave  up  the 
industry  to  more  fortunately  situated  ports  like  New  Bed- 
ford, which  in  particular  owes  its  beginning  and  success 
in  whaling  to  its  proximity  to  Nantucket.  "Lucem  Diff  undo" 
— "We  diffuse  light."  This  was  the  motto  of  New  Bedford. 
It  was  the  light  of  sperm  candles  and  whale  oil  lamps. 

The  great  Nantucket  fire  (1846)  which  left  thirty-six 
acres  in  the  heart  of  the  town  an  indescribable  scene  of 
desolation,  the  California  gold  rush  (1849),  the  Civil  War 
(1861-1865)  between  the  North  and  South,  the  introduction 
of  lard  oil,  the  ascendency  of  New  Bedford  in  the  whaling 
industry  beginning  from  1760  by  Joseph  Russell,  all  put  to- 
gether brought  about  the  end.  Important  also  was  the  in- 
creasing scarcity  of  whales  and  especially  the  discovery  of 
methods  of  manufacturing  illuminating  oil  from  coal  and 
petroleum. 

Stevens,  in  his  Far  Away  Island,  (1936)  wrote,  "Some- 
body puttering  around  in  a  little  shed  in  Waltham,  Massa- 
chusetts, discovered  a  way  of  refining  the  earth  oil  of  Penn- 
sylvania into  an  illuminating  oil  that  was  both  better  and 
cheaper  than  sperm.  How  the  whaler  captains  laughed  when 
they  heard  that  a  petroleum  had  been  found  which  might 
put  whaling  out  of  business."   Starbuck,  in  his  History  of 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  139 

Nantucket,  (1924),  referred  to  the  discovery  in  a  small 
sheet  iron  building  on  the  banks  of  the  Charles  River  in 
Waltham,  known  among  the  residents  as  the  Tar  Factory, 
but  more  properly  The  United  States  Chemical  Manufactur- 
ing Company.  There  in  this  building  Luther  and  William 
Atwood  in  1854  produced  commercially  the  first  desirable 
burning  oil  from  petroleum  in  the  United  States.  It  was  far 
superior  to  coal  oil  distilled  from  coal  by  James  Young  in 
Scotland  in  1850.  Here  in  their  shop  in  1852,  the  Atwoods 
manufactured  coup  oil,  the  first  desirable  lubricating  oil 
from  coal  tar  in  the  United  States  and  used  for  lubricating 
the  machinery  of  the  New  England  mills  and  railroad  roll- 
ing stock.  Truly  this  was  a  coup  d'etat.  Their  illuminating 
or  kerosene  oil  was  derived  at  first  from  petroleum  pitch 
obtained  from  overflows  at  Petrolia,  Canada.  But  the  supply 
of  pitch  being  limited,  Luther  Atwood  turned  to  other  bitu- 
minous and  to  Pennsylvania  petroleum.  The  foremost  place 
of  Luther  Atwood  in  the  discovery  and  development  of  a 
desirable  illuminating  oil  from  coal  and  petroleum  in  the 
United  States  is  described  by  Joshua  Merrill*  in  a  letter  to 
Alexander  Starbuck :  "I  consider  Luther  Atwood  the  father 
of  the  oil  burning  industry  from  coal  and  petroleum,  and  to 
Waltham  belongs  the  honor  of  having  him  for  a  citizen  from 
1852-1854,  and  the  plant  from  which  the  great  industry 
subsequently  developed." 

Production  of  kerosene  from  coal  was  started  in  1854 
by  the  North  American  Kerosene  Gaslight  Company,  New- 
ton Creek,  Long  Island,  on  a  patent  secured  by  Dr.  Abraham 
Gesner  of  Prince  Edward  Island  in  1855.  It  was  not  a 
success.  Benjamin  Siller,  professor  of  chemistry  at  Yale 
University  in  1854,  contributed  to  the  technique  of  the  frac- 
tional distillation  of  petroleum.  Samuel  Kier,  a  Pittsburgh 
druggist,  in  1855  produced  a  lighting  oil  from  petroleum  by 
distillation.   H.  C.  Ferris  of  New  York  City  sponsored  im- 


*  Superintendent,    Downer    Kerosene    Oil    Company,    South    Boston, 
Massachusetts. 


140  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

provements  in  oil  lamps.  Much  oil  was  found  at  Tarentum, 
Pennsylvania.  In  1858,  Luther  Atwood  and  Joshua  Merrill 
in  the  South  Boston  works  applied  the  newly  discovered 
methods  of  cracking  to  petroleum,  and  in  the  large  scale 
production  of  illuminating  oil  inaugurated  the  most  profit- 
able event  in  the  technology  of  bituminous.  The  industry 
expanded  as  crude  oil  became  available.  An  adequate  source 
of  supply  for  distillation  to  meet  the  exorbitant  demands 
for  kerosene  was  met  by  Colonel  Edwin  L.  Drake,  who  drilled 
the  first  petroleum  well  near  Titusville,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1859.  The  oil  gushed  and  there  was  no  end  to  the  supply. 
This  was  the  start  of  commercial  oil  production  in  the  United 
States.  Kerosene  became  a  staple  article.  "Thar  blows"  or 
"Ah  bl-o-o-o-o-o-w,  blow,  blow"  meant  the  discovery  of  a 
whale  and  the  acquisition  of  a  few  hundred  more  barrels  of 
sperm  oil  to  help  light  the  world.  The  same  phrase  came  to 
mean  a  new  gushing  oil  well  had  been  tapped  to  produce 
light,  heat,  power,  and  wealth.  Into  countless  homes  kero- 
sene brought  a  new  form  of  illumination,  causing  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  whale  oil  lamp  and  the  tallow  and  bees- 
wax candle. 

Gloom  came  over  the  whaler  captains  and  Nantucket. 
Drake's  25-barrel  a  day  oil  well  and  others  that  followed 
made  the  whale  oil  industry  totter.  It  put  out  of  business 
m.any  companies  producing  kerosene  from  coal.  The  greater 
number  of  them  had  not  more  than  fairly  started,  but  some 
like  the  Downer  Kerosene  Oil  Company  converted  to  petro- 
leum distillation. 

The  last  whaleship  sailed  out  of  Nantucket  in  1869.  The 
last  whalers  arrived  in  1870.  The  wharves  which  had  long 
been  the  center  of  activity  became  silent  except  for  the 
sound  of  the  unending  waves  dashing  against  the  rocky 
foundations.  There  wasn't  enough  business  in  Nantucket 
to  keep  the  Pacific  Bank  on  Main  Street  (erected  in  1818) 
open  more  than  two  or  three  hours  a  day.  The  self-appointed 
town  crier,  who  made  his  rounds  blowing  his  horn  and  an- 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  141 

nouncing  the  news,  remained  on  duty  but  only  as  a  relic  of 
his  former  past  and  pretty  much  of  a  nuisance.  One  of  the 
last,  William  D.  Clark,  followed  his  profession  continuously 
for  more  than  forty  years  until  1903  when  illness  incapac- 
itated him  for  further  service.  He  actually  ''blew  his  lungs 
away."  Billy  Clark  was  the  life  of  Nantucket  in  his  time 
and  the  only  inhabitant  who  moved  faster  than  a  moderate 
walk. 

"Her  sounding  wharves,  which  echoed  the  taps  of  the 
caulking  mallet  and  the  cooper,  have  become  silent  and  have 
crumbled  to  ruin.  The  reverberations  of  her  rumbling  oil 
carts  have  died  out  like  a  summer  breeze.  Her  sail  lofts 
have  disappeared,  and  her  rope  walks  and  great  candle 
houses  have  been  swept  away,  leaving  not  a  vestige,  save  in 
memories  of  her  children,"  (H.  S.  Wyer,  Sea-Girt  Nantucket, 
1906).  One  Nantucketer  familiar  with  the  prosperity  and 
busy  years  of  the  past  and  measurably  annoyed  at  seeing 
his  beloved  island  dwindle  into  obscurity  wrote  in  1872, 
"Here  we  are  destined  never  to  make  our  mark  again  as  a 
strong  people."  Then,  in  1882,  Godfrey  disturbed  by  the 
general  apathy  of  the  Nantucketer s  exclaimed,  "Why  sit 
idle  mourning  over  glory  departed.  A  little  more  apathy 
and  Nantucket  will  become  so  dead  as  never  to  be  awakened 
again.  Make  her  a  watering-place,  make  her  a  manufac- 
turing town,  make  her  an  agricultural  town,  make  her  all 
three,  but  in  Heaven's  name  make  her  something!" 

Had  these  seafaring  Nantucketers  and  killers  of  ocean  le- 
viathans plowed  the  Nantucket  soil  as  they  did  the  seven 
oceans,  they  might  have  prepared  for  their  posterity  an 
enduring  agricultural  and  livestock  industry,  comparable 
to  that  of  the  Azores  Islands,  the  Channel  Islands,  Long 
Island,  Prince  Edward  Island,  and  other  island  outposts. 
To  be  sure,  the  soil  in  most  of  the  island  was  barren  and 
sterile.  Other  parts  are  as  rich  and  fertile  as  the  western 
prairie.  Once  these  acres  of  waste  land  gave  miserable 
support  and  shelter  to  flocks  of  starving  sheep. 


142  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

Whaling  was  a  transient  industry,  a  rich  enterprise  full 
of  adventure.  If  the  effort  with  some  planning  had  been 
applied  to  the  land,  a  thriving  agricultural  industry  might 
have  paralleled  the  whale  fishery  and  endured  to  supple- 
ment the  island's  fame  as  a  watering  and  summering  place. 
Agriculture  failed  because  the  settlers  were  not  farmers 
nor  of  the  farming  class.  A  Scandanavian  or  Mediterranean 
race  of  settlers  would  have  succeeded  or  fared  better. 

Inspiration  and  enthusiasm  with  the  support  of  capital 
may  yet  establish  here  a  durable,  profitable  agricultural  or 
horticultural  enterprise.  The  culture  of  the  cranberry,  sheep 
raising,  certified  seed  potato  culture,  and  the  growing  of 
special  drug,  food,  and  ornamental  plants  represent  some 
of  the  possibilities  offered  by  the  climate  and  variable  soil 
types  of  Nantucket.  In  the  fishing  industry,  the  location  of 
Nantucket,  assisted  by  modern  transport,  would  appear 
unsurpassed.  Nantucket  lacks  initiative.  It  requires  off- 
island  support  and  ingenuity  for  the  development  of  com- 
mercial enterprise.  But  Nantucket  will  always  live  and 
prosper  on  the  heritage  of  its  founders  and  makers  and  on 
its  enviable  geographic  position  as  a  summer  watering 
place. 


Chapter  34. 
THE  REDISCOVERY 

Nantucket's  oily  days  are  past.  No  longer  can  it  be  called 
"a  barren  sandbank  fertilized  with  whale  oil  only."  Dismay 
and  desolation  visited  the  island.  Families  moved  away. 
The  wharves  crumbled ;  grass  and  weeds  grew  in  the  streets. 
The  future  seemed  sad.  The  "Little  Gray  Lady"  in  the  sea 
with  all  its  vanished  glories  was  destined  to  become  a  ghost 
town.  But  in  the  seventies  the  coming  of  the  summer  people 
softened  the  decline.  The  ocean  environment  which  led  to 
the  fishing  and  whaling  industries  saved  the  fortunes  of 
the  people  who  remained.  Nantucket  became  a  thriving 
summer  resort.  Here  was  an  ideal  health  and  vacation  at- 
mosphere as  much  out  in  the  ocean  as  a  vessel  on  her  way 
to  Europe. 

Travelers,  scientists,  and  authors  became  impressed  with 
what  they  saw  here.  First,  Crevecoeur,  then  Obed  Macy, 
Marsillac,  Thoreau,  Godfrey,  Asa  Gray  and  others.  America 
was  reading  and  discoursing  about  Nantucket.  The  descen- 
dants of  the  original  settlers  began  coming  to  the  island. 
The  clan  of  CoflJin,  the  descendants  of  '*Ye  Firste  Chiefe 
Magistrate  of  Ye  Island  of  Nantucket,"  held  a  big  reunion 
in  August  1881,  and  the  Coffins  came  from  everywhere  on 
the  continent.  The  island  was  rediscovered,  this  time  as  a 
delightful,  peaceful,  and  healthful  seaside  summer  and  vaca- 
tion resort.  Now  the  "Scrap  Islanders"  live  on  strangers  in 
the  summer  and  on  each  other  in  the  winter. 

There  is  an  immense  literature  on  the  botany  of  the  island, 
notably  by  Grace  Brown  Gardner,  Maria  L.  Owen,  Alice 
Owen  Albertson,  Emil  F.  Guba,  and  Eugene  Bicknell.  Bick- 
nell  enumerated  1103  ferns  and  flowering  plants.  Guba 
enumerated  300  fungi.    The  first  collection  of  Nantucket 


144  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

plants,  of  which  there  is  published  record,  was  made  by 
William  Oakes  of  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  in  1829.  The 
moth  and  butterfly  population  of  the  island  have  been  care- 
fully worked  by  Charles  W.  Johnson,  Frank  M.  Jones,  and 
Charles  P.  Kimball.  Over  987  Lepidopterous  insects  have 
been  recorded.  Up  to  1945  scientists  had  compiled  a  list 
of  forty-six  distinct  species  of  shells,  and  in  1949,  Dwight 
Taylor,  a  17  year  old  amateur  from  California,  reported  a 
mollusk  lore  of  120  species. 

As  regards  other  sciences,  Nantucket  can  be  proud  of  the 
Nantucket  Maria  Mitchell  Association,  the  island's  science 
center,  organized  to  foster  research  and  teaching,  and  to 
perpetuate  the  name  of  Maria  Mitchell,  America's  first 
woman  astronomer,  professor  of  astronomy  at  Vassar  Col- 
lege and  an  eminent  Nantucketer.  You  must  visit  her  home- 
stead on  Vestal  Street,  now  the  Memorial  House  of  the 
Nantucket  Maria  Mitchell  Association.  The  annual  reports 
describe  the  activities  of  the  association  and  the  progress 
of  scientific  studies.  The  native  population  can  be  proud  of 
the  library  facilities  in  natural  history  and  astronomy.  At 
the  lectures  you  will  see  and  hear  many  famous  scientists 
who  visit  the  island  in  the  summer  season,  or  you  may  want 
to  spend  an  evening  in  the  observatory  studying  the  stars. 

If  you  are  interested  in  Nantucket  history,  you  will  want 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  Nantucket  Historical  Asso- 
ciation, which  was  organized  on  May  9,  1894,  in  the  most 
westerly  of  three  brick  houses  on  Main  Street,  then  the  home 
of  Elizabeth  Starbuck.  It  was  the  Reverend  Myron  S. 
Dudley  from  Peru,  Vermont,  a  "temerarious  stranger"  called 
to  minister  to  the  North  Congregational  Church  in  1889  who, 
in  1893,  conceived  and  fathered  the  organization  of  the  as- 
sociation. He  was  its  first  vice  president,  and  Dr.  J.  Sidney 
Mitchell  of  Chicago,  its  first  president. 

It  is  the  Nantucket  Historical  Association  which  main- 
tains the  Museum  in  the  Old  Friends  Schoolhouse  on  Fair 
Street  which  is  full  of  relics  of  the  island's  history,  and  the 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  145 

Whaling  Museum  on  Broad  Street,  where  an  attendant  will 
guide  you  through  all  the  exhibits  depicting  the  whaling 
industry.  Other  historic  places  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
society  are  the  Jethro  Coffin  House,  the  oldest  house  on  the 
island,  situated  on  Sunset  Hill ;  and  the  Old  Mill  off  Pleasant 
Street,  built  in  1746  and  the  last  of  four  similar  mills.  The 
old  burial  grounds  will  interest  you :  the  Quaker  Cemetery, 
Old  North,  New  North,  the  ground  for  people  of  color,  and 
Old  South.  The  Nantucket  Historical  Association  has  an 
interest  in  all  of  them.  Annual  reports,  dating  from  1895, 
have  been  issued  comprising  the  activities  of  the  society,  as 
well  as  excellent  compositions  on  all  aspects  of  the  island's 
history.  Many  of  the  papers  are  literary  and  historical  mas- 
terpieces. 

A  visit  to  the  society's  rooms  on  Fair  Street  and  to  the 
Whaling  Museum  on  Broad  Street  will  quickly  reveal  the 
wealth  of  historical  material,  probably  unparalleled  any- 
where for  its  completeness.  Here  is  to  be  seen  a  wax  figure 
of  the  Dauphin  taken  from  a  cast  of  Louis  Charles,  Dauphin 
of  France,  second  son  of  Louis  XVI  and  Marie  Antoinette, 
brought  to  Nantucket  from  France  in  1786  by  Captain  Jona- 
than Coffin  who  purchased  it  at  a  nunnery.  Also  here  on  dis- 
play is  a  brick  from  the  house  in  South  Orrianna  Street, 
Philadephia,  where  Benjamin  Franklin  lived  and  died  and 
where  he  wrote  his  immortal  autobiography.  Obviously  any 
relics  pertaining  to  Dr.  Franklin  are  welcomed  here. 

"Scrim-shont"*  pieces  by  the  whalemen  are  in  abun- 
dance, and  the  most  beautiful  specimen  of  the  art  is  a  dress- 
ing case  inlaid  with  1900  small  pieces  of  ivory  and  ebony 
made  at  sea  by  Captain  James  Archer  in  1850  on  the  whaling 
barque  Afton.  A  china  coffee  pot  taken  off  island  with  the 
emigrations  to  Hudson  in  1741  by  Laban  Paddock  came 
back  to  its  old  home  without  its  cover  in  1898.  From  all 
these  displays  one  will  learn  of  the  glory  of  the  island's 


*  Skrimshander  or  scrimshaw,  decorative  articles  made  from  shells  and 
bone  or  teeth  of  the  whale  by  sailors.   Sometimes  scrimshaun. 


Figure  8. 
Old  mill  on  Mill  Hill  built  in  1746. 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  147 

past,  the  story  of  whale  oil  and  sperm  candles  in  all  of  its 
fascinating  detail. 

At  the  foot  of  Main  Street  sets  the  historic  counting-house 
of  William  Rotch,  Nantucket's  greatest  whaler  at  the  close 
of  the  Revolutionary  War;  it  is  now  known  as  the  Pacific 
Club  Building.  In  the  prosperous  days  this  brick  building 
was  jocularly  called  the  "House  of  Commons." 

Nearby,  on  the  old  North  Wharf,  is  the  general  store  of 
"Commodore"  Herbert  Coffin  and  also  the  meeting  place  of 
the  Wharf  Rat  Club  headed  by  the  genial  commodore.  This 
club  has  no  by-laws,  regular  meetings,  or  dues  but  does  have 
a  long  waiting  list  of  applicants.  Its  emblem  is  a  white  rat 
smoking  a  pipe  on  a  blue  background.  Here  politics  and  all 
of  the  important  issues  of  the  times  are  discussed.  The 
club's  motto  is  "No  seats  reserved  for  the  mighty."  In  the 
summer  time  the  arrival  of  a  member  rat  on  the  island 
steamer  is  announced  with  a  three  gun  salute  from  the  club's 
miniature  cannon. 

The  Old  North  Vestry  in  the  rear  of  the  North  Congrega- 
tional Church  on  Beacon  Hill  is  the  oldest  house  of  worship 
on  the  island.  You  must  see  the  Unitarian  Church  on 
Orange  Street,  from  whose  belfry  comes  the  curfew  and 
other  hours  of  the  day.  The  Admiral  Isaac  Coffin  Lancas- 
terian  School  was  built  for  the  schooling  of  the  Coffin  clan 
of  Nantucketers  by  an  off  islander,  Sir  Isaac  Coffin,  admiral 
in  the  British  Navy.  The  Athenaeum  housing  the  library 
was  completed  and  opened  to  the  public  February  1,  1847. 
The  Nantucket  Athenaeum  was  incorporated  in  1834.  The 
original  building  with  its  library,  its  historical  documents 
and  valuable  museum  collections  was  destroyed  in  the  great 
fire  of  July  13,  1846.  In  the  past  century  both  library  and 
museum  featuring  the  whale  fishery  were  maintained  in  the 
present  building.  The  portraits  of  some  of  the  island's 
prominent  citizens  and  whaling  masters,  of  Abram  Quary, 
the  last  Indian,  and  other  subjects  will  impress  you. 

Before  you  leave  the  island's  metropolis,  you  should  visit 


148 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 


the  Old  Gaol  and  the  House  of  Correction  and  Industry  on 
Vestral  Street,  formerly  Jail  Lane.  Take  a  walk  up  Ray's 
Court  from  Main  to  Fair  Streets.  On  the  corner  of  Main 
Street  and  Ray's  Court  is  a  long  lived  and  rather  ugly  look- 
ing sycamore  tree,  the  oldest  tree  on  the  island.  Nearby, 
on  the  north  side  of  Main  Street,  Joseph  Starbuck,  whaling 
merchant,  in  1837,  built  three  handsome  brick  houses  for  his 
three  sons,  "The  Three  Bricks  and  Three  Brothers"  of  Dr. 
Will  Gardner.  A  walk  up  Stone  Alley,  east  of  Main  Street 
between  Orange  and  Union  Streets,  is  thrilling.  There  are 
no  scenes  like  these  at  home.  Time  has  not  changed  and 
spoiled  them  on  Nantucket. 


Chapter  35. 
OVER  THE  MOORS  TO  MADAKET 

We  leave  the  "Queen  City"  of  the  island  and  go  out  into 
the  hinterland  of  the  "commons"  where  in  the  olden  days 
large  flocks  of  sheep  ranged,  to  provide  the  population  with 
mutton  and  wool.  Here  you  will  encounter  ponds  of  various 
sizes,  and  rolling  moorlands,  groves  of  scrub  pine  and  an 
abundance  of  wild  flowers,  scotch  broom,  rose,  dewberry, 
and  golden  rod.  No  language  can  express  the  beauty  of  the 
flowers.  Truly  this  is  the  land  of  heart's  desire,  "a  little 
world  away  from  the  world."  You  are  amidst  a  bit  of 
bonnie  old  Scotland's  moorland  or  heathland.  To  those 
interested  in  the  out  of  doors,  there  can  be  no  more  delight- 
ful way  of  spending  part  of  a  vacation  than  in  making  the 
acquaintance  of  new  plants  amid  what  has  been  called  "a 
botanist's  paradise."  Nantucket  in  this  respect  is  like  a 
piece  of  New  Jersey  moved  up  the  coast.  On  Nantucket 
you  will  find  Nature  in  a  rare  mood.  "All  ye  who  would 
possess  one  fresh  memory  of  unaccustomed  enjoyment  of 
Nature  in  a  rare  mood,  fail  not  to  go  and  do  likewise."  The 
wanderings  over  the  moors  are  never  to  be  forgotten. 

We  are  headed  for  Madaket.  As  we  leave  the  town  we 
pass  the  old  Quaker  Cemetery  at  the  corner  of  Grave  Street, 
now  Saratoga  Street,  and  quite  some  distance  beyond  on  the 
right  of  the  road  you  will  see  the  memorial  fountain  to 
Abiah  Franklin,  the  famous  mother  of  Dr.  Benjamin.  Here 
she  came  as  a  child  to  fetch  water  for  the  Folger  household. 
Further  on,  looking  south  from  the  Madaket  road,  you  will 
get  a  glimpse  of  the  Elihu  Coleman  House,  the  sole  remain- 
ing homestead  of  the  original  town  of  Sherburne. 

This  old  house  of  17th  century  architecture,  fronting 
south,  is  situated  a  mile  or  more  from  town.    This  house 


150  NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY 

with  its  long  north  roof  is  an  example  of  splendid  work- 
manship and  a  tribute  to  the  housebuilders  of  early  Nan- 
tucket. Elihu  Coleman  put  the  best  lumber  into  his  house. 
Massive  field  stones  support  the  huge  sills  on  which  the  house 
rests  and  a  huge  chimney  sets  in  the  center.  The  fireplace 
in  the  summer  kitchen  projects  into  the  room  by  six  and 
one  half  feet  and  the  one  in  the  keeping  room  measures  nine 
and  one  half  feet  across  the  front. 

The  wooden  pegs  that  hold  the  timbers  together  are  simi- 
lar to  those  used  in  shipbuilding.  Beneath  the  thick,  hand 
weathered  shingles  are  wide  overlapping  boards  so  layed 
to  keep  out  wind  and  drafts.  Some  of  the  floor  boards  are 
twenty  two  inches  wide.  Paint  was  first  used  on  Nantucket 
houses  in  1740  but  this  house  has  never  been  painted 
and  the  weathered  shingles  have  a  beautiful  gray  appearance 
in  the  sunlight.  The  plaster  on  the  inside  walls,  made  from 
powdered  sea  shells,  is  still  firm  and  intact.  The  doors  have 
hand  wrought  H  hinges  and  wood  and  string  latches  and 
are  beautifully  paneled  with  a  cross.  These  "Christian 
Doors"  are  priceless  relics  of  a  by-gone  age. 

This  was  the  home  of  Elihu  Coleman  and  Jemima  Bar- 
nard. They  were  married  on  October  6,  1720,  or  two  years 
before  the  house  was  completed.  Their  family  comprised 
eight  children,  one  son  and  seven  daughters.  Elihu  came 
from  a  family  of  ten  children  of  John  Coleman  and  Pris- 
cilla  Starbuck,  and  all  of  them  were  staunch  Friends.  Elihu 
died  January  14,  1789,  and  Jemima  on  December  25,  1779. 

In  the  middle  of  the  19th  century,  a  William  Hosier  ac- 
quired the  house  after  the  passing  of  the  last  Coleman  oc- 
cupant. In  his  desire  to  preserve  it  for  posterity,  Hosier 
deeded  the  house  in  1897  to  the  Town  of  Nantucket  and  to 
its  care,  but  the  townspeople's  interest  in  the  preservation 
of  the  house  was  wanting  and  it  became  forlorn  and  desert- 
ed. In  1914  it  was  sold  at  auction  for  the  ridiculous  sum  of 
$500  to  Miss  Annie  Barker  Folger  who  bought  it  to  pre- 
serve it.  It  was  sold  again  in  1919  to  Mrs.  Rose  Ring  Forbes 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  151 

who  attempted  to  restore  it  to  its  original  charm  and  beauty. 
In  1939  the  property  was  acquired  by  Elizabeth  Hollister 
Frost,  novelist,  and  her  husband,  Walter  Dabney  Blair,  ar- 
chitect. The  Quaker  homestead  forms  the  setting  of  Mrs. 
Blair's  distinguished  Nantucket  novel  This  Side  of  Land. 
The  Blairs  have  continued  the  restoration  of  the  house  and 
the  preservation  of  its  moorland  setting. 

To  the  north  of  the  Madaket  Road  lies  the  Ancient  or 
Forefathers  Burial  Ground,  now  marked  by  a  pretentious 
monument.  Just  south  is  the  head  of  Hummock  Pond,  the 
largest  fresh  water  pond  on  the  island.  You  pass  the  stone 
house  of  Charles  P.  Kimball.  Either  by  traversing  the  Plains 
westward  or  by  the  north  route  through  Trott's  Hills  you 
come  upon  Long  Pond,  a  narrow  body  of  water  a  mile  and 
one  third  in  length.  Beyond  is  **Maddequet,"  the  place  where 
Thomas  Macy  and  his  family  spent  their  first  winter  (1659) 
on  the  island.  Here  you  might  look  for  the  Madaket  Ditch, 
originally  built  jointly  by  the  Indians  and  whites  in  1665  as 
a  fishing  weir  from  Long  Pond  to  the  head  of  the  creek  at 
Madaket.  The  fishing  rights  in  Long  Pond  and  the  Madaket 
Ditch  were  held  by  the  Island  Proprietary  from  1665  to  1841 
when  they  were  ceded  to  the  town  of  Nantucket.  From 
Madaket  one  gets  a  fine  view  of  Tuckernuck  Island,  meaning 
"loaf  of  bread"  and  the  second  island  in  size  included  in 
Nantucket  County. 


Chapter  36. 
EAST  TO  SIASCONSET 

Directly  south  of  the  capital  town  and  at  the  head  waters 
of  Miacomet  Pond  is  the  site  of  an  old  Indian  village  and 
burial  ground.  Just  east  of  the  pond  is  the  site  of  the 
historic  sheep  pens.  Don't  be  surprised  if  you  encounter  a 
herd  of  deer  or  see  some  unusual  bird. 

East,  out  of  Nantucket,  the  road  takes  you  to  Siasconset. 
Between  the  fifth  and  sixth  milestones  or  forty  rods  beyond 
the  fifth  milestone  and  on  the  north  side  of  the  road  you  pass 
the  site  of  Benjamin  Tashma's  wigwam.  Tashma  was 
the  grandson  of  Sachem  Autopscot  and  the  last  Indian  chief 
on  Nantucket.  He  was  a  school  teacher  and  ''cooutaumu- 
chary."  The  stone  which  was  his  doorstep  is  now  located  at 
the  entrance  to  the  Fair  Street  building  of  the  Nantucket 
Historical  Association.  He  died  in  1770.  To  the  north  is 
Gibb's  Pond  and  Gibb's  Swamp,  the  latter  now  a  large  cran- 
berry bog.  About  three  eighths  mile  east  of  Gibb's  Pond  is 
Split  Rock,  and  one  quarter  mile  further  is  the  site  of  an  old 
Indian  Meeting  House.  We  are  now  in  the  site  of  the  old  In- 
dian village  of  Okorwaw  (Occawa).  Here,  before  1700, 
Assassamoogh,  or  John  Gibbs,  Harvard  College  educated 
Indian  preacher,  ministered  to  the  converted  Indians  for 
nearly  twenty-five  years.  North  of  the  village  site  are  Macy's 
Hill  and  Altar  Rock,  ninety-one  feet  above  sea  level,  and 
the  highest  point  on  the  island.  To  the  east  is  Folger's  Hill, 
eighty-eight  feet,  and  further  east  is  Sankaty  or  Round 
Head,  eighty-five  feet  above  sea  level. 

Beyond  the  seventh  milestone  lies  Siasconset,  "The  Patch- 
work Village,"  a  fascinating,  romantic  place  and  formerly 
the  summer  resort  for  Nantucket's  wealthy,  a  sort  of  bygone 
Newport,  Rhode  Island.    The  native  Nantucketer  believed 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  153 

in  loyalty  to  his  own  little  country.  He  cared  not  to  summer 
among  "foreigners"  on  the  continent.  Here  was  the  eastern 
terminus  of  the  Nantucket  Railroad  running  from  Steam- 
boat Wharf  in  Nantucket  a  distance  of  eight  miles  and  a 
forty  minute  ride.  The  railroad  was  taken  up  in  1917  and 
shipped  to  France,  but  the  roadbed  is  still  recognizable  here 
and  there.  The  place  is  still  quaint  with  old  fishermen's 
houses,  many  now  converted  into  snug  little  cottages.  In 
1775  the  village  comprised  six  fishermen's  huts.  In  1801 
the  village  comprised  thirty  houses  built  in  three  rows. 
Now  Siasconset  is  built  up  with  many  beautiful  residences. 
Here  the  sea  breezes  are  fresh  and  strong.  The  old  houses 
are  in  little  enclosures,  two  or  three  in  a  group  with  nar- 
row cross  lanes  to  provide  protection  against  a  general  fire 
and  access  to  and  from  the  central  town  pump.  In  ye  olden 
times  the  pump  groaned  and  creaked  all  day,  and  here  all  of 
the  news  of  this  funny  little  village  was  transacted ;  who  was 
to  preach  and  what  was  lost  and  found.  Here  the  ocean  is 
something  more  than  water,  tide,  and  waves.  Here  you 
will  see  the  power  and  the  terror  of  the  enraged  sea.  On 
the  shoals  one  half  mile  off  in  the  sea  the  waves,  tide,  and 
wind  sometimes  meet  in  fierce  opposition.  Northrup  wrote 
a  fine  account  of  the  rips  and  the  roaring  waves  of  Sconset 
(Sconset  Cottage  Life,  1881).  Never  had  he  seen  anything 
that  impressed  him  as  much  as  this  battle  of  waves  and  tides 
of  "the  rips."  The  beach  below  the  village,  known  as  Cod 
Fish  Park,  is  dotted  with  squatter's  shacks.  Usually  there  is 
no  undertow  at  Sconset.  Beyond  lie  Spain,  Bermuda,  the 
Azores,  and  the  West  Indies.  The  place  has  no  rival  in  New 
England. 


Chapter  37. 
QUIDNET,  WAUWINET,  POLPIS  AND  QUAISE 

North  of  the  village  of  Siasconset  is  Sankaty  Head,  from 
which  towers  the  lighthouse.  This  is  the  most  southeastern 
headland  in  New  England.  Here  on  the  undulating  moor- 
land lies  the  Sankaty  Golf  Course.  Further  north  on  this 
quaint  highway  we  pass  the  edge  of  Sachacha  Pond,  the 
second  largest  fresh  water  pond  on  the  island,  which,  like 
most  of  the  large  ponds,  is  separated  from  the  ocean  by  a 
narrow  strip  of  sand.  We  come  to  the  east- west  highway. 
The  eastern  extremity  of  the  highway  stops  at  Quidnet,  a 
small  fishing  village  of  a  few  houses  on  a  hillside  on  the 
north  shore  of  Sachacha  Pond  and  bordering  the  ocean.  An- 
other easterly  branch  of  the  highway  terminates  at  Wauwin- 
et,  a  delightful,  quiet  summering  place  at  the  head  of  Nan- 
tucket Harbor  and  tucked  away  among  a  grove  of  Japanese 
pines.  Beyond  is  the  Haul-Over,  a  long,  narrow  stretch  of 
sand  separating  the  harbor  from  the  ocean.  The  walk  to 
Coskata  Pond  is  quite  too  formidable  for  most  people,  and 
although  I  have  made  it  several  times  I  can  recommend  it 
only  to  the  experienced  hiker.  Beyond  is  Great  Point  Light, 
a  white  stone  tower  in  the  most  remote,  inaccessible,  and 
desolate  place  on  the  island.  If  you  walk  the  Haul-Over  to 
Coskata  in  the  summer,  as  I  have,  you  will  be  fascinated  at 
the  sight  of  an  odd,  purple,  mushroom,  the  sandy  Laccaria, 
growing  in  the  shallow  sand  basins  drained  of  salt  water 
with  the  receding  of  the  tide,  and  all  around  grows  the  sea 
lavender. 

From  Wauwinet  we  go  west  to  the  farming  village  of 
Polpis  (divided  or  branched  harbor)  which  was  settled  by 
the  Swain  family  late  in  the  17th  century.  This  village  was 
the  most  prosperous  and  successful  farming  community  on 


NANTUCKET    ODYSSEY  155 

the  island  and  the  longest  in  point  of  active  history.  It  was 
also  the  site  of  numerous  fulling  mills  which  operated  here 
in  olden  times.  Here,  bordering  Polpis  Harbor  is  the  most 
productive  and  extensive  farm  land,  designated  Tisbury 
loam.  Peat  digging  and  salt  making  were  carried  on  here. 
Near  the  head  of  the  harbor  is  Eat-Fire  Spring,  a  natural 
garden  of  plants  and  the  source  of  the  purest  water  on  the 
island.  Joseph  Farnham  (Memories  of  My  Boyhood  Days 
in  Nantucket,  1915)  vividly  described  the  social  and  agri- 
cultural life  of  Polpis  village  in  the  middle  of  the  19th  cen- 
tury, now  a  quiet  little  settlement. 

While  you  are  in  Polpis,  you  must  visit  the  Hidden  Forest. 
There  is  nothing  like  it  anywhere  on  Nantucket.  Herman 
Melville,  in  the  14th  chapter  of  his  Moby  Dick,  implied 
that  there  were  no  trees  on  Nantucket  and  no  shade.  The 
people,  he  wrote,  plant  toadstools  around  their  houses  for  a 
place  to  get  in  the  shade  in  the  summertime.  No  one  takes 
turns  sitting  in  the  shade  here.  There  are  trees,  groves, 
and  forests,  and  the  Hidden  Forest  with  its  odd,  dwarfed 
beeches  and  slender  tupelos  is  a  wonder  no  visitor  to  Nan- 
tucket should  fail  to  see. 

South  of  Polpis  is  Spotsor,  named  after  a  chief  of  an 
Indian  tribe  living  here  and  son-in-law  of  Nickanoose,  chief 
of  the  Wauwinet  possessions. 

We  leave  Polpis  and  travel  the  highway  westward  through 
Quaise,  meaning  "the  end  or  point,"  the  site  of  the  Quaise 
Asylum  and  the  country  seat  of  Miriam  (Keziah)  Coffin, 
the  shrewdest  business  woman  in  the  history  of  the  island. 
From  here  she  carried  on  an  extensive  commerce  with  New 
York  when  the  British  blockaded  the  rest  of  the  island. 

We  are  approaching  Nantucket.  We  pass  the  institution 
for  the  aged  and  destitute.  Our  Island  Home,  and  then  fol- 
lowing Orange  Street  to  its  end  we  are  back  on  cobblestone 
Main  Street.  A  ride  over  the  cobbles  is  something  to  remem- 
ber. This  was  State  Street  previous  to  1835.  In  1837  it  was 
paved  with  cobblestones  shipped  from  Gloucester. 


Chapter  38. 

JOURNEY'S   END 

Our  story  has  come  to  an  end.  The  next  morning  we  board 
the  steamship  for  home.  Our  boat  passes  around  Brant 
Point,  the  site  of  seven  different  lighthouses.  We  steam  out 
between  the  jetties  into  the  ocean.  Gradually  we  lose  sight 
of  the  Wannacomet  standpipe,  and  we  pass  Cross  Rip  Light- 
ship. The  boat  docks  at  Oak  Bluffs,  Martha's  Vineyard.  The 
ship  is  crowded  with  passengers,  all  homeward  bound.  We 
cross  Vineyard  Sound  and  dock  at  Woods  Hole,  and  alight 
again  on  continental  United  States.  Again  we  resume  our 
work  amid  the  perturbations  and  strife  of  worldly  life, 
never  forgetting  the  beauty,  the  fascination,  and  the  charm 
of  that  queenly  sea-girt,  far  away  island  anchored  in  the 
ocean  south  of  Cape  Cod,  2100  miles  west  of  the  Azores 
Islands  and  690  miles  from  Bermuda.  Then  we  recite  again 
and  again  Henry  S.  Wyer's  ''Song  in  Absence." 

I  thirst  for  a  breath  of  the  good  salt  air 
Fresh-blown  from  the  open  sea, 
And  0,  mine  eyes  are  aching  sair 
For  a  "blink  o'  my  ain  countrie !" 

For  weary  is  the  worldly  strife 
To  a  spirit  sad  and  worn, 
And  lonesome  is  your  city's  life 
To  one  who  is  Island  born. 

In  dreams  I  fare  to  the  old  gray  town. 
And  wander  forth  at  will 
To  watch  the  reddening  sun  sink  down 
Far  over  the  western  hill. 


NANTUCKET     ODYSSEY  157 

On  either  side  of  the  deep  worn  road 
The  sweet  wild  flowers  I  see; 
All  friendly-wise,  from  the  moss-grown  sod 
Their  faces  look  up  to  me ; 

Fair  Autumn  now  her  largess  yields 
Of  aster  and  goldenrod, 
And  purpling  all  the  wayside  fields, 
Gerardia's  bell-flowers  nod. 

Like  nectar  now  is  the  spicy  air 
From  fragrant  swamp  weeds  blown ; 
With  breath  of  pines,  and  the  perfume  rare 
Of  marshlands  newly  mown. 

Along  the  line  of  the  distant  shore 
Sparkles  the  sapphire  sea. 
Where  foamy  breakers,  with  ceaseless  roar, 
Seem  waving  white  hands  to  me. 

0,  changeful  sea,  with  your  beckoning  wile, 
You  woo  me  in  vain  to-day. 
For  never  again  from  this  dreamful  isle 
Shall  you  win  my  heart  away! 

The  End 


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