ill C!ass ^ . Book Gopyrightl^"_ COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr. ^ Nantucket A History By R. A. Douglas-Lithgow, m.d., ll.d. Formerly Vice-President and Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society of Literature of Great Britain and Ireland ; Life Fellow of the Royal Geological Society of Ireland ; Member of the Anthropological Society of Washington, etc. Author of "Dictionary of American-Indian Place and Proper Names of New England," " Heredity: A Study," etc. " It is important that many facts, which now exist hut in memory, should be seasonably secured. Time flies, and without some attempt to preserve these historical data, many of them must be obliterated forever." Samuel H. Jenks. With Illustrations and a Map G. P. Putnam's Sons New York and London Z\ic Ikntcherbocfter press 1914 'NIV73 Copyright, 1914 BY R. A. DOUGLAS-LITHGOW "Cbe "ffvnfcftcrboclicr iprces, 1Rcw Korit ©CI,A374709 JUL -8 1914 ^0 MY WIFE my appreciative companion in many historic rambles this volume is affectionately Dedicated FOREWORD As no systematic historical record of Nantucket has appeared since 1835, when Obed Macy's History was published, and as for some time past a general desire has been expressed that a new history, of a popular character, be issued, the writer, at the solicita- tion of several prominent islanders, at length consented to compile such a work. The present volume, which is the result of such an endeavor, has been written under difficulties, not the least of which has been the author's residence on the mainland. In view of this circum- stance it could not have been produced at all without the collaboration of numerous friends and much corre- spondence. While every competent authority has been con- sulted, a special effort has been made to compress the material at the writer's disposal into a work of limited compass, and at the same time to leave unchronicled no important matters. The history of the island in the latter half of the nineteenth century has not before been systematically recorded. In presenting this period in fuller outline and in offering a fresh survey of a section of the country that is deserving of the attention of the historian, the author trusts that he has done something towards supplying a want that has been long felt, and if such vi Foreword should be the case, he considers himself well repaid for this labor of love. Cordial and most appreciative thanks are due to Miss Grace Brown Gardner for the use made of her masterly- contribution on the Botany of the island; to Alexander Starbuck and to H. B. Turner of the Inquirer and Mirror for valuable collaboration; to Hon. Benjamin Sharp, Ph.D., Mrs. Eva C. G. Folger, Arthur H. Gardner, Henry S. Wyer, and William F. Macy, for their assistance and uniform courtesy, in addition to the granting by them of copyright privileges. Among many others to whom a debt of gratitude is owing for esteemed assistance, the writer must mention the names of Mrs. Ackley, Mrs. Hinchman of Philadel- phia, Irving Elting, Mrs. Albertson; Miss Caroline Parker, the courteous Librarian of the Athensum; J. H. Robinson of Washington; Sumner J. Kimball, General Superintendent of the U. S. Life-saving Ser- vice at Washington; Mrs. Anna Starbuck Jenks, the late Mrs. Judith G. Fish, Miss Anna Gardner Fish, Mrs. F. S. Raymond; J. Arthur Burton, Principal of Nantucket High School; James Walter Folger, John C. Gardner, Horace Coleman, and Miss Adah Porte. If the writer's labors tend in any degree to promote the welfare of the island or the happiness of the islanders, he will esteem such a result some slight return for the golden hours afforded him during his several sojourns in the region described. R. A. D.-L. Boston, Mass. CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I Geology and Physiography of the Island . ■■ ■ ■ ^ II Legends, Discovery, and Amerind Place-Names 1 7 III The Aborigines 35 IV The White Settlers and the Settle- ment 58 V The Early Development of the Island 78 VI The Nantucket Whale Fishery . 103 VII Quakerism IN Nantucket . . . nS VIII Nantucket Records . . • • 130 IX The Nineteenth Century . . • i54 X The Nineteenth Century— Cow/iwz^e(f . 179 XI Some Early Dwellings in Nantucket 205 XII Eminent Nantucketers ... 222 XIII The Nantucket Flora ... 245 XIV Villages, Districts, etc. ... 269 XV "Quaint Nantucketers" . . .284 vii Vlll Contents XVI Life-Saving Service and Wrecks XVII The Island Steamers . XVIII The Newspapers of Nantucket XIX In the Dredge-Net XX Chronological Data, 1602-19 12 Index ..... 304 320 329 340 365 381 ILLUSTRATIONS The Oldest House . Frontispiece Dorcas Honorable . . 52 Abram Quary . . . . . 56 The Old Mill . . . . . 84 An Old Friend . . 116 Main Street . 206 Billy Clark, Town Crier • 300 The Historical Society . 360 Map of Nantucket . At End BIBLIOGRAPHY History of Nantucket, Obed Macy, 1835. " " " " 2 ed., 1882. The Island of Nantucket, Edward K. Godfrey, 1882. Early Settlers of Nantucket, Mrs. Lydia S. Hinchman, 1896. Handbook of Nantucket, Isaac H. Folger, 1874. Topographical Description of Nantucket, Walter Folger, Jr., 1791. Nooks and Corners of Massachusetts, S. G. Drake, 1875. Nantucket Scraps, Jane G. Austin, 1883. Miriam Coffin, James C. Hart, Reprint, 1872. Trustum and his Grandchildren, Harriet Worron, 1881. Papers Relating to Nantucket, F. B. Hough, Albany, 1856. Wrecks around Nantucket, Arthur H. Gardner, 1877. Life of Tristram Coffin, Allen Coffin, LL.B., 1881. Genealogy of Macy Family, Sylvanus J. jNIacy, 1868. Sconset Cottage Life, A. Judd Northrup, 1901. MSS. of Geo. W. Howland Folger. Churches and Pastors of Nantucket, Myron S. Dudley, 1902. Timothy White Papers, M. S. Dudley, 1878. (Nantucket Historical Association.) MSS. OF F. C. Folger. Report of Geological Survey, Professor Sealer, Washington, 1889. Portfolio, 181 1. Letters of an American Farmer, Hector H. John Creve- ccEUR, 1778. xii Bibliography The Glacier's Gift, Eva C. G. Folger, 191 i. Quaint Nantucket, W. Root Bliss, 1907 Nantucket Steamers, H. B. Turner, 1910. Guide to Nantucket, J. H. Robinson, 2d ed. Lands and Landowners of Nantucket, H. Barnard Worth, 1901. File of Nantucket Gazette, 1816. Files of Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror, covering sixty years. Annual Reports of Life- Saving Service. Sea-Girt Nantucket, H. S. Wyer. The Oldest House, 1905. Nantucket Town and County Records, 170 vols. Scrap-hooks OF F. C. Sanford, Athenceum. Map OF Dr. Ewer. History of Martha's Vineyard, Dr. C. E. Banks, 2 vols. Indian Converts, Experience Mayhew Nantucket : Picturesque and Historic, H. S. Wyer, 1891. American Merchant Marine, John A. Spear, 1910. Talks about Nantucket, Christopher Coffin Hussey. Etc., etc. NANTUCKET Oh, lovely Isle, where Peace and Beauty reign Amid thy moorlands wild, and fragrant flowers; Where with Arcadian joys fond Nature dowers A thousand scenes within thy fair domain. Here, care-forgetting, have I oft-times lain, Dreaming, within the shade of thy sweet bowers, Winging the flight of summer's golden hours, Gazing the while upon thy wondrous main- God's glorious ocean, in its matchless might, Exulting in its awful majesty. How sweet its diapasoned song by night! How it still surges through my memory ! Oh, Isle of joy, serene and exquisite. May Heaven's choicest gifts abide with thee! R. A. D.-l God bless the sea-beat island ! And grant for evermore. That charity and freedom dwell. As now, upon her shore ! J. G. Whittier. Nantucket: A History CHAPTER I THE GEOLOGY AND PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NANTUCKET In the evolution of the earth's surface as a dweUing- place for man, the Great Architect of the Universe subjected the lithosphere, or body of the earth, to a series of transitional changes differentiated from each other and marked by the stratified deposition of certain rocks, for the most part characterized by the fossil remains of plants and animals, many of which forms are no longer in existence. The study of these changes constitutes the science of Geology. The strata of the earth were formerly divided into Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary in an ascending scale, the Primary being the oldest and deepest, and the Quarternary the most recent. Each of these divisions required incalculable ages of time for their production. More recently the formulary of geological epochs has been altered according to the 2 Nantucket order of the succession of the forms of life, as follows: 1. Palaeozoic, or oldest life. 2. Mesozoic, or middle life. 3. j Cenozoic, or recent life. 4. ( Pleistocene or most recent life. The Pleistocene, or Glacial period (now usually con- sidered a subdivision of the Cenozoic), although, com- paratively, of shorter duration than those preceding it, probably gave character to many succeeding ages. While the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic epochs are usually distinguished by their respective faunas and floras, the Pleistocene is especially marked by its climatic history. It is with this period that the an- tiquity of Man is intimately associated. As the Glacial period advanced, the temperature became increasingly colder, and mountains and fields of ice covered, to a great extent, the surface of the earth. Many theories have been propounded to explain the natural causation of this tremendous glacial submer- gence, but while none of these is universally accepted, the m.ost plausible are the following: (i) that which accounts for it by changes in solar radiation, — upon which atmospheric heat depends, — and (2) that which supposes changes in the geographic position of the earth's axis. Whatever theories may be assigned, how- ever, they are at best but hypothetical, and, as far as the present development of science extends, no mere theory can be established with absolute certainty. The Pleistocene period includes three epochs, or classes of phenomena, which may be briefly described as follows: 1st. The Glacial period, when great continental areas in the higher latitudes were raised to much higher Geology and Physiography 3 altitudes than at present exist, and when the inten- sification of climatic cold prevailed to such an extent as to produce an immense development of glaciers. 2d. What is known as the Champlain period, when the ice had melted, and the great high latitude areas were reduced to a lower level than at present, re- sulting in a vast co-extensive deposit of river and lake formations, and marine formations along the sea-coast. 3d. Recent period, when the land was again raised almost to its present level. The Glacial and Champlain periods were united by Lyell, in his later works, under the general designation of the Pleistocene period. It may be generally stated that while the Cenozoic period tended to the formation and differentiation of rock, and was characterized by the inclusion of recent organic forms, the operations of the Pleistocene period were applied to the broad surface of the continent, and particularly to its middle and higher latitudes, in filling up and leveling interstices, in rounding hills and constituting valleys; in a word, in smoothing over and consolidating the surface of the earth, to make it meet as a dwelling-place for man. According to modern science, the more recent geo- logical periods, i. e., the recent or post-Glacial, and post- Pliocene or Glacial, are estimated to cover a period of 625,000 years, as follows: post-Glacial or Recent, 25,000 years; Glacial or post-Pliocene, 600,000 years. These figures represent an approximate mean of the estimates made by the most trustworthy chronologists, and can be relied upon as at least suggestive of the relative lengths and orders of magnitude of the periods.^ ' Professor W. H. Holmes, American Anthropologist, vol. xii., No. 2, 1910. 4 Nantucket From his frigid fastnesses in Labrador and New- foundland, the desolating breath of the Ice-King smote the North American continent, and the glaciers already in existence, as those of the Rocky Mountains, the Sierras, and Alaska, rapidly expanded, and descended the mountain-slopes to greater distances. New glaciers were formed in many directions, and those of Alaska and the western mountains of British America coalesced and filled the intervening valleys, thus constituting an immense ice-field, almost as extensive as that of Green- land. In Northeastern America a still greater ice- field was produced, which spread eastward to the Atlantic, and westward almost as far as the Great Lakes. The entire surface of New England to its farthest southern boundary — some sixty or seventy miles beyond the spot where Nantucket stands to-day — was submerged beneath a vast, thick mantle of ice, which covered also the whole of New York State, most of New Jersey, and part of Pennsylvania, extending even to the Ohio River, at Cincinnati, and at several points to the Missouri. For incalculable ages the earth lay bound in icy fetters, ever increasing in massiveness, ever indurating, ever consoHdating, spell-bound as in a sleep of death, while the Ice-King exulted in the white crystalline palaces of his frozen domain. After her seonial swoon, however, Nature, obedient to the fiat of the Eternal, slowly and quietly awakened from her long rest, and stirred the earth in her awaken- ing. The gentle south wind hastened to do her bidding, and as its warm breath touched the cheek of the Frost - King, his crystal fastness shrank in terror, and, by degrees, his whole realm slowly but surely retreated. The masses of rock, which were separated by atmos- Geology and Physiography 5 pheric pressure from the mountains pounding the valleys along which the glaciers flowed, found a tem- porary resting-place on the surface of the ice, at the margin of the glacier, and were carried along with it. Sometimes two glaciers united, and one large trail in the middle of the trunk glacier was thus formed by the carried drift. Eventually, when the superimposed masses reached the end of the glacier, the melting ice deposited them in the form of a huge mound. These superficial forms of drift are known as moraines, and, from their position on the glacier, are generally recog- nized as constituting three varieties, distinguished as lateral, median, and terminal. The results of glacial action — to which are attributed many startling changes on the earth's surface — are classified as deposits, erosion, and drift. The most char- acteristic detrital deposit is known as bowlder clay or till, a mixture of fine and coarse clay or sand without lamination or stratification. The coarse material imbedded in the finer matrix ranges from grains and pebbles to cobbles and bowlders of immense size, showing worn surfaces and parallel markings, or flattened facets produced by grinding or attrition. Such material is mostly conveyed from long distances. In addition to the bowlder clay are found also marls and raised sea-beaches. Gravels and sands more or less laminated, some of which seem to have been subjected to the action of running water, are also characteristic. Sometimes, also, broad tracts are found covered bj'' laminated clays, including scratched pebbles and bowl- ders like those in till, and these deposits are ascribed to bodies of water in which icebergs have floated.^ Coincident with the great expansion of glaciers, ' G. K. Gilbert. 6 Nantucket local changes in the relative altitude of land and sea were produced, and the connection of these phenomena has been definitely determined in the case of the New England coast. Inasmuch as the island of Nantucket came into existence as the result of glacial action, this preliminary sketch may be acceptable as an introduction to an account of its geological formation. The island of Nantucket lies near the extreme south- eastern point of a great projection of lands and shoals forming the southern front of New England. It is composed of sands, gravels, and clays, which were brought into their present position during, or immedi- ately before, the last Glacial period. It may be stated that Nantucket Island is but a small fragment of a vast sheet of this glacially-trans- ported matter. The greater part of Plymouth Co., Mass., the whole of Cape Cod, the larger portion of Martha's Vineyard, and the whole of Long Island, with all the many islands and islets at its eastern extremity, are the dissevered remains of a great shelf formed of the debris brought to its present position by the glacial ice, and by the streams of water which flowed beneath it.^ As the result of glacial action, this vast shelf of land extended southwards of Long and Block Islands, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket ; it was at this time above the level of the sea, but became almost entirely submerged with the exception of the lands still existing as islands, ranging from Nantucket on the east to Staten Island on the west. The deposit of this sub- merged land was much more recent in its formation ' Professor N. S. Shaler. Geology and Physiography 7 than Nantucket, which, as a terminal moraine, had accumulated a vaster amount of drift material, and thus, as Dr. Ewer says : The whole region of southern New England was elevated at least six hundred feet above its present height, and this uplifting or uptilting of the eastern part of our continent pushed the Atlantic back some seventy miles south of where it is to-day, entirely out of sight from Quanaty. When the expanse of more recently formed land on which Nantucket stood was submerged, Nantucket was insulated by the advance of the sea around it, and the other islands in the same chain — Martha's Vineyard, Long, Block, and Staten Islands — were similarly left standing in the ocean. Nantucket was, therefore, a terminal moraine, — a halting-place of the glacial movement, — that is, it was formed by the advancing lower rim of the glacier which, melting, deposited its accumulations of drift — sand, clay, and bowlders — caught up in its southward march, and frozen within its substance, in great heaps where they exist to-day as islands in the ocean. There are evidences that, arrived at Nantucket, the glacial ice, owing probably to an increase of temperature, receded northwards for some distance, and advanced again. This testimony is sustained by the fact that a chain of glacial islands — more recent terminal moraines — stretches from the eastern coast of Cape Cod, and ex- tends through the Elizabeth Islands and Point Judith, to Fisher's and Plum Islands. In certain glaciated regions, as in Nantucket, glacial deposits are found overlain by peat and other growths, which could not have been formed under the ice, and these, in turn, also overlaid by other deposits. In 8 Nantucket the attempt to account for these phenomena, it has been suggested, with much probabiHty, that mountain glaciers and lowland ice-sheets advanced and retreated more than once. Some, indeed, aver that there must have been several glacial epochs; others maintain that there were at least two, separated by an inter-glacial epoch; but this is not yet determined. With regard to the general geological structure of the island, the lowest deposit is till, or bowlder clay, blue in color, and sparsely intermingled with pebbles and sand. The clay is sHghtly laminated, and some of the pebbles are scratched, as glacial pebbles fre- quently are. This can be readily seen at Wannacomet, near the pumping station, at Squam Head, and in the town. As a rule, the upper surface of the till is below the level of the sea, and it assumes in general an un- dulatory form. Above the surface of this clay deposit is a mass of more or less stratified sand, easily recognized in its formation and aspect as constituting kames and ter- races. These kames are low hills varying in height and shape ; sometimes conical and sometimes elongated, sometimes isolated, more frequently crowded together. Between the ridges are small narrow valleys, often extending downwards to swamps or ponds. Where these hills are steepest, bowlders of various sizes are usually found, but, as the stones on the island have been generally appropriated for economic pur- poses, they are not now seen as much as formerly. These kames are found for the most part in the central and northern portions of the island, and in few, if any, instances approach the shore. As a rule they taper down to a sandy plain, which descends gradually to the Atlantic. Professor Shaler thought that these kames Geology and Physiography 9 and moraines were deposited at a considerable depth be- neath the sea, and that the low spaces often found between them were formed by the separation of icebergs at the front of the glacier. These all slope oceanwards. Their lower extremities are invariably below the sea-level, and thus contain more or less ponds which are barred from the ocean by walls of sand. There are upwards of two dozen of these lacustrine depressions on the island. The internal structure of the kames and terraces presents a curious mixture of stratified and unstratified materials, — sand and small pebbles accumulated ir- regularly in layers. The bowlders frequently found among these pebbly sands are believed to have been deposited on floating ice, and, if this theory is correct, it goes far to prove that the kames and terraces were accumulated under water. Professor Shaler was of the opinion that all the glacial drift of Nantucket, except the bowlders transplanted by icebergs, came from far east of the Narraganset basin. The fossiliferous deposits of Nantucket are compara- tively unimportant, consisting mainly of fresh-water peats, and a variety of recent marine species, and need not be further noticed here. A few words may be devoted to the succession of geological events on Nantucket. The deposition of the unstratified blue clay under- lying the island must have taken place during the Glacial period, when the ice-sheet covered this section. It was probably formed as ground moraine either under the surface or immediately in front of the ice- sheet. After the deposition of the clay, the ice-sheet re- 10 Nantucket treated, and the climatic conditions permitted the return of marine life to the shore line. The level of this shore at one time must have been at least fifty feet below the present high-tide mark. After the fossil- iferous beds were formed, the ice again advanced until its southern front came at least to the middle of the island. During this readvance were accumulated the existing heaps of stratified and amorphous sand, gravel, and bowlders, and the southern sand-plains, which constitute the principal features of the island, were formed under the following conditions: 1 . The surface was below the present level of the sea. 2. The drift materials were partly shoved forward by the glacier and partly deposited by the streams which escaped from below the ice. 3. The existence of considerable streams rising from the ice front, and extending to the south, is shown by the numerous deep channels which are excavated in the south- ern terrace or sand plains. 4. The sand plains on the southern part of the island, which exist nowhere else on its surface, were deposited during the time when the detrital hills of the northern section were being accumulated. 5. After the foregoing stages of the re-advancing ice, the glacier appears to have again retreated northward for the last time. During, or after, this recession the surface must have been suddenly elevated above the level of the sea.' It is therefore inferred that the series of delicately moulded kames were formed below the surface of the sea and uplifted above its surface after the last retreat of the ice. So far as can be determined, the front of the ice, ' Professor N. S. Shaler. Geology and Physiography ii during the formation of the Nantucket moraine, lay in a nearly east and west direction. A few post-Glacial changes in the island may be briefly referred to, under three heads, viz. : changes of level; changes due to the alteration of the surface; and changes due to the wearing of the sea. The principal change of level was that which brought the sand and gravel hills, and the fringe of lower land on the south, above the sea-level. Allowing that the sandhills were originally formed on the sea floor, at the front of the ice, their summits must have been sub- merged to a depth of at least 200 feet below the sea- level. As the highest of these sandhills now lies about 100 feet above the sea-level, the post-Glacial uplift must have been over 300 feet, and probably much more. There must have been a subsequent submergence which brought the fresh-water peat deposits below the sea-level, — probably a submergence of ten feet. That part of the northern shore which lies inside Coatue beach has a very indented shore line, while the coast to the west of the harbor has an outline such as all shores have which have been subjected to the long-continued action of the waves. This shore, after the post-Glacial elevation, must have been much farther to the northward than it is at present; then came the subsidence indicated by the submerged peats, which brought the land to about its present level. The beach of Coatue was rapidly formed in front of a portion of the north shore, and has since served as a protecting barrier against the assaults of the vigorous waves which form in Nantucket Sound. It may be assumed that, when the island of Nan- tucket was deposited in the ocean, the salient points 12 Nantucket which now surround it were not in existence, and that Nantucket itself, Tuckemuck, and Coskata all appeared as separate islands. The great Glacial masses were moving southwards, and from their southern rim the waters were rushing in the same direction with their freight of drift. Doubtless the northern range of hills on Nantucket were then deposited, and, gaining im- petus in their southern flow, the drift-bearing waters spread their sand and gravel over the southern plains, excavating valleys in their impetuous course, and scooping out basins for pools and lakes, as they speeded on to sink once more within the breast of mother-ocean. Such, in briefest, if not in blurred outline, is a sketch of the geology of Nantucket, — the most interesting specimen of a terminal moraine in existence.^ PHYSIOGRAPHY Nantucket Island is the most southern point of Massachusetts. Its geographical position has been indicated elsewhere ; a brief reference to its topography may be made here. The shape of the island is somewhat difficult to define, but has been described as "triangular" and "crescen- tic." The writer beHeves that it resembles, more than anything else, a rough diagrammatic outline of the human stomach. The general surface of the island may be said to be level, but much of it is undulating, owing to a multi- plicity of Glacial drumlins. These run in the path of the ice movement, and, especially along the northern ■ In the compilation of this chapter the writer must express his obligations to a masterly scientific Report on the Geology of Nantucket, by the late Professor N. S. Shaler. Geology and Physiography 13 side of its main body, where the melting rim of the glacier stood, are a number of hills, in several instances approaching one hundred feet in height. Between these hills and the southern shore a level expanse extends gently downwards to the ocean, which expanse probably resulted from the glacial waters carrying down south- wards floods of drift laden with gravel, sand, bowlders, and clay, from the top and southern sides of the moraine, and their deposition upon the southern plains. The hills are known as Saul's, Trot's, Sankaty, Popsquat- chet, Shawkemo, etc., and the expanse is apportioned among districts known as Southeast Quarter, South Pasture, Smooth Hummocks, the Plains, Great Neck, Nanahuma Neck, etc. The southern plains are, moreover, diversified by a number of parallel valleys, all tending southward, viz. : Chappapemeset, Coffin's, Starbuck's, Madequecham, Barnard's, Wyer's, and other valleys, in several in- stances terminating in ponds, as Weeweder, Miacomet, Hummock, and Long Ponds. Indeed, quite a chain of ponds "^ formerly existed round the southern shore- line, but many of them have been, and are being, filled up by sand deposits swept down from the higher ground above, and by beach-sand blown or washed over from the ocean. The outline of the coast, especially on its northern and western aspects, is rendered unsymmetrical by the several sandy points and prolongations which reach out from it, but the southern and eastern shores are comparatively regular. The outer harbor is formed by an extensive bay on the north, and is enclosed by two sandy points, one at the northeast — Great Point; and one at the north- ' Vide Chapter XX. 14 Nantucket west part of the island — Smith's Point, — both tending towards the northwest. The inner harbor is entered between Brant Point and a long sandy promontory known as Coatue, which formations are about three-fourths of a mile apart, and almost entirel}^ land-lock the harbor. Near Wauwinet, at the head of the harbor, there was a narrow strip of sand which divided the ocean from the harbor and which was known as the "Haulover," because the fishermen found access to and egress from the harbor by hauling their boats across at this point. During a severe storm on December 17, 1896, the angry waves tore away the sandy partition, and, as time went on, the opening was gradually extended until it eventually reached Coskata, and converted the northern extremity of Coatue peninsula into an island. Subsequently the opening gradually closed up, and the "Haulover" now remains in its original condition. Within and on the west side of the inner harbor are the town of Nantucket and its wharves. A dangerous shoal crosses the outer harbor about two miles north of the island, extending from Muskeget Island to Cos- kata. Another great shoal extends round the southern shore, and there are several shoals on the east side of the island. These have proved terribly disastrous to navigation, for hundreds of vessels have perished round the island, in sight of home. The names of the many ponds of the Island will be found elsewhere.^ The moors are thickly covered with scrub-oak, bay, wild straw- and black-berries, and an infinitude of shrubs, ferns, mosses, and lichens, and present a very paradise of flowers from May to October. For those ' Vide Chapter XX. Geology and Physiography 15 who love solitude amid the charms of nature, a stroll over the fragrant moorlands forms, perhaps, the su- preme attraction on the island. If ever the island was wooded, it must have been before the beginning of the eighteenth century. That it was wooded in places, is very probable ; but the settlers evidently had little relish for forestry, and soon ex- hausted the supply. Nevertheless, the trees planted in the town, after the great fire of 1846, — especially those on Main, Centre, Federal, and Broad Streets, — have grown splendidly, as well as they do in any district in New England. The roads on the island are almost innumerable, and radiate in many directions from the town. There is a fine macadamized State road running from Nan- tucket to Siasconset. These unconventional roads are a delight to all to whom adventure appeals, and they lead to such varied scenes, and enticing solitudes of nature that every artistic soul must indeed be thrilled with joy. NANTUCKET TOWN From whatever aspect the town of Nantucket is regarded it is certainly tmique. Yet if one attempts to analyze its uniqueness, the experiment is usually dis- appointing, because the elements are so multiform and elusive. We may exhaust its historical associations, the beauty and fragrance of its moors, the absolute purity of its ocean-air, the proverbial geniaHty and quaintness of its inhabitants, the natural wildness of its gardens, the brightness of its sunshine, the pictur- esqueness of its buildings, the varied joys of its social Hfe, the magnificence of its ocean views, the sublimity i6 Nantucket of its sunsets, the peacefulness of its solitudes, but all in vain. There is a spell about the place; and he who has once succumbed to its gentle mesmeric influences ever leaves them with regret, ever longs for their renewal, and never forgets them. CHAPTER II LEGENDS, DISCOVERY, AND AMERIND PLACE-NAMES Among the Indian tribes of this vast American con- tinent much legendary lore prevailed, and there were few problems connected with human existence which had not been solved for them by the myths, legends, and traditions which had been passed down from gener- ation to generation. Unfortunately very few legends of the Nantucket Indians have been preserved, and, however difficult it is to account for this paucity of legendary lore, the fact remains. The following legends of the Nantucket Indians are all that the writer has, after much searching, been enabled to find. The first, concerning the creation of Nantucket as an island, is very interesting: Once upon a time there lived on the Atlantic coast a giant who used Cape Cod for his bed. One night, being restless, he tossed from side to side till his moccasins were filled with sand. This so enraged him that, on rising in the morning, he flung the offending moccasins from his feet, one alighting to form Martha's Vineyard, while the other became the since famous island of Nantucket. ^ ' The Glacier's Gift, Eva C. G. Folger. i8 Nantucket With regard to the primeval discovery of the island of Nantucket by the Indians the following legend is interesting (as all legends are), and it was related by the aborigines to the early English settlers, soon after their arrival: In former times, a good many moons ago, a bird, ex- traordinary for its size, used often to visit the south shore of Cape Cod, and carry from thence in its talons a vast number of small children, Maushope, who was an Indian giant, as fame reports, resided in these parts. Enraged at the havoc among the children, he, on a certain time, waded into the sea in pursuit of the bird, till he had crossed the Sound, and reached Nantucket. Before Maushope forded the Sound, the island was unknown to the red men. Maushope found the bones of the children in a heap under a large tree. He, then, wishing to smoke his pipe, ransacked the island for tobacco; but finding none, he filled his pipe with poke — a weed which the Indians sometimes used as a substitute. Ever since this memorable event, fogs have been frequent on the Cape. In allusion to this tradition, when the abo- rigines observed a fog rising, they would say, "There comes old Maushope's smoke. "^ (Here the legend unfortunately ends.) In approaching the consideration of the Nantucket Indians, the following beautiful legend^ cannot be passed over in silence, as it reveals the fact that self- sacrifice and the tender passion are not limited in their influence to any race or color, but are the hallowed ' Col. Mass. Hist. Soc, vol. v., First Series, p. 57. ^ A worthy poetic setting of this legend was published by The Inquirer and Mirror nearly forty years ago, from the pen of Miss Charlotte P. Baxter. It was republished in the Inquirer of January 21, 191 1, and the poetic quotations in this chapter have been taken from it. Legends and Amerind Place-Names 19 heritage of mankind. Such a record deserves a fore- most place in any associated local history. The in- cident referred to is supposed to have occurred about 1630, or, as Dr. Ewer suggested, about thirty years before the arrival of the white men. Wauwinet was the sage and beloved Sachem of the northeastern section of the island. He had one daughter, Wonoma, — The loveliest and the gentlest, and they were devoted to each other. Well she knew the art of healing; Skilled was she in all the uses Of the herbs that grew around them. And whenever from the waters Spoke the voice of the Great Spirit, She could tell unto her people What the words were, and the meaning. Fever had broken out among the natives of the southwestern section of the island, which was under the dominance of the chief, Autopscot, and he feared that his people would be swept away by the rapid spread of the pestilence. In his extremity he thought of the fair and graceful Wonoma, Wauwinet's daughter, and knowing she possessed the knowledge of a great medi- cine-man, he despatched one of his maidens, named Wosoka, to speed to Wonoma, Praying her to come and save them, From the cruel, blasting Fever. Wonoma, always delighting to do good, accompanied the little maid back to her stricken people, and, in a little time, the plague was stayed, and she healed and 20 Nantucket comforted those who would have died but for her skill- ful and kindly help. By her skill, her winsomeness, and her sympathy she won the hearts of all the natives, and, when the time of her departure came, they begged her to remain with them, so that they might show their gratitude, For the boon of Life She gave them. Then the brave Autopscot pleaded, not only for his people, but for himself, that she should not go from them, and he ended by eloquently and fervently de- claring his love for her; and Wonoma, deeply touched, smilingly replied : That because she loved his people But more truly loved their leader, She would come again among them, — Come again to go not from them. Later, the friendly and fraternal feeling which had long existed between the tribes of Wauwinet and Autop- scot gradually changed to feelings of anger and hatred in consequence of some petty differences as to the dividing line between their respective territories. A feud was generated and bloodshed was threatened between the contending parties. Wauwinet and his braves, in solemn council, had agreed upon a subtle plan for overcoming their enemies; but Wonoma had overheard the deliberations of the war-council, and resolved to save her lover at all hazards. When her people were asleep she stole out of her wigwam, and, securing a canoe, rowed through the darkness, with a prayer in her heart to the Father of all mercies that she might be enabled to save him who was now dearer Legends and Amerind Place-Names 21 to her than even her own people. Over sea and land she hurried on, her feet bleeding and weary, and when she arrived at her destination she was completely ex- hausted. When she had found him whom her heart desired, she told him what she had heard, and leaving her in charge of some of the maidens to rest, Autopscot called his people together, and bade them to be prepared to receive the enemy on the morrow. When, next day, Wauwinet and his braves proceeded to attack the enemy unawares, and found them armed and ready to receive them, instead of unprepared as he had expected, he simply turned around, and, with his warriors, retraced his footsteps to his own possessions. On the following evening, as Wauwinet stood in deep thought at the door of his wigwam, an oncoming footstep aroused him, and, bending courteously, Autop- scot stood before him, and thus addressed the father of his love : Oh, my father! Oh, most noble! Dark have been the days about us. And still darker have the nights been; — In our hearts the darkest hatred, Hear me speak, Oh mighty father! For the love I bear Wonoma, — For the sake of both our people, May there not be peace between us? Wauwinet's brow was clouded with anger as Autop- scot spoke, but graduallj'- the frown relaxed, and when the brave young chief had finished, the elder was silent for a time, and thus replied in tones of friendly feeling: . . . Oh, my son, Autopscot, Great has been the lesson taught me, 22 Nantucket That I, myself, am not almighty,— That there is a power beyond me, Unto which I have to yield me. Great the love I bear Wonoma, And if she so truly loves you, There should only be between us Words and thoughts that are most friendly. When Wauwinet had thus spoken, the two chiefs grasped each other by the hand in mutual affection, and, before they parted, they amicably arranged be- tween them the land which had caused their dispute, and while pledging themselves to enduring peace, Wauwinet gladly sanctioned the union of Wonoma and Autopscot. From that day to this peace has reigned over and blest the island of Nantucket. In his interesting Talks about Old Nantucket, the late Christopher Coffin Hussey reproduces a legend of curious interest, connected with Abram Quary, the well-known Indian half-breed. When the great sickness of 1764, elsewhere alluded to, carried off the Indians, from some cause, perhaps from the action of some deep-lying law of the connection between all animal hfe, the blue-fish, which had been plenty, sud- denly disappeared from the waters around the island. The Indian said, "When the houses of the red-men are laid low, the blue-fish will return." Whether from mere coincidence or nature's law it was so. Not far from the time of Abram's death, the blue-fish reappeared. The writer goes on to say: I distinctly remember hearing two men say that there had been taken at Madeket that afternoon, two blue-fish, the first that, with possibly an occasional exception, had been taken for nearly three quarters of a century. Legends and Amerind Place-Names 23 Since, with varying seasons, they have always been more or less plenty. On one occasion, Michabo, the Great White One, the Spirit of Light of the Dawn or the East, had an offering made to him, (by his subjects on Martha's Vine- yard), and, filling his great hopuonk or pipe, he sat down in front of his "den, " and enjoyed this huge smoke. After taking his fill of this diversion, he turned over the bowl, and knocked the ashes from it, and as they were carried by the wind to the eastward, they fell in a heap and formed the island of Nantucket which was known as the "Devil's Ash Heap."^ Finally the natives of the Elizabeth islands say that the Devell was making a stone bridge over from the main to Nanamesit Island, and while he was rowling the stones and placing them under water, a crab catched him by the fingers, with which he snatched up his hand and flung it towards Nan- tucket, and the crabs breed there ever since. ^ THE DISCOVERY OF THE ISLAND The date of the original discovery of the island of Nantucket by white men is still a moot point, although there can be little doubt that many of the adventurous navigators of early times sailed past its ocean-laved shores, without deigning however, to pay it a visit, or preserving a descriptive record for the benefit of pos- terity. What does history say about these ancient ' Mrs. M. A. Cleggett Vanderhoop, in New Bedford Standard, 1904. ' Memoranda of Naushon, by Wait Winthrop, 1702. For the last two legends the writer is indebted to Dr. C. E. Bank's admirable History of Martha's Vineyard. 24 Nantucket mariners? Erik the Red, a Norwegian, born A.D. 950, and the discoverer of Greenland, was probably the first white man who visited the American continent. Bjarne Herjulfson, voyaging to Greenland, in 986, had sailed too far south, and, in retracing his route, sighted land at three points. He did not, however, attempt to go ashore. It has been confidently deter- mined that the land he saw on each occasion was the American coast, and that the first land he observed was some part of New England; the second. Nova Scotia; and the third, Newfoundland. Leif Erikson, son of Erik, left Norway A.D. 1000, sailing to Greenland. Having heard of Bjarne's experiences, he resolved to investigate the lands previ- ously seen by him. He succeeded in discovering New- foundland, thence proceeded to Nova Scotia, and finally reached New England, where he remained during the winter of looo-i He sailed for Greenland early in the latter year. In what part of New England did he spend the winter? On what portion of New England did he bestow the name "Vinland"? If an answer had been possible to these two questions, much argument and speculation might have been spared; but so far no correct answer is possible, as there are not sufficient facts to warrant a determination of either question. It has been surmised and alleged that the island of Nantucket was the "Vinland" of Leif, and, perhaps, as much has been said about the "basin of the Charles River": but who knows? Leif is said, and with much probability, not only to have visited Nantucket, but to have bestowed the name of Nauticon upon it, and, if this is so, it seems corroborative that the name Nautican is that applied Legends and Amerind Place-Names 25 to the island by Sir Ferdinand Gorges {circa 1630), and Nawtican in Hougli's book, under date 1641. In all likelihood the name Nauticon was merely a Norse approximation to the original Indian name of the island, viz.: Natocket, meaning "The far away land," or "The far away land at sea" (literally, "The place of the land that is far off").^ A circumstantial account of Leif Erikson's voyaging and of the Norse discovery of America is given in the Norse Saga, — the Flate-yar-hok, and the Hauks-bok. These accounts were subsequently confirmed by Adam of Bremen, in the History of Bremen Church, etc., and in the MSS. of numerous historians from the eleventh to the fif- teenth century ; but the conjecture is not adequately sub- stantiated by facts to warrant a conclusion, and it seems impossible in this age to divest the ancient story of the cloud of myth and mystery which surrounds it. Numerous accounts are subsequently given of Nor- wegian and Icelandic navigators who reached the shores of America from time to time, but they have left no records of importance, and history has profited little by their ocean-wanderings. From 1347 to 1496 history records little of interest concerning voyages to North America, until June 24th of the latter year, when John Cabot, commissioned by King Henry VII. of England, arrived at Labrador. Ridpath declares that "this was the real discovery of the American Continent." Columbus never had his foot on North American soil, and there is not a shred of proof that Amerigo Vespucci made his vaunted voyage in 1497, with the exception of his own ipse dixit, which can be readily controverted.^ ' H. B. Worth, Nantucket Hist. Assoc, vol. ii., Bull. 6, p. 290. ^ Fide Winsor's Narrative and Critical History of America, ii., 137, 142. 26 Nantucket Cabot obtained a patent from the King "for the purpose of discovering unknown lands in the eastern, western, and northern seas." His son Sebastian ac- companied him, and, in 1497-1498, they cruised along the coast of America from Florida to Labrador. The claim oj the English Government to Nantucket, Martha s Vmeyard, and the Elizabeth Islands was based upon the voyages oj the Cabots. Nantucket, however, looms out of mythland and into genuine history in June or July, 1602. In one of these months — it is not certain which — there landed upon its shore at Sankaty Head, Bartholomew Gosnold, an English mariner, accompanied by some thirty sailors, who were en route for Virginia, seeking a new plantation. In May, 1605, Captain Weymouth is said to have "become entangled among the Nantucket shoals," and in 1620, Captain Dermer certainly visited the island.^ AMERICAN-INDIAN PLACE-NAMES IN NANTUCKET ISLAND* Agamy or Accomac, signifying "land on the other side, or beyond the water." The term was apparently applied to the plain on the western side of Hummock Pond. Ahapahant or Ahapachonsett, a tract of land on the western side of Squam Pond, referred to in a deed of 1667. A large Indian village was in its vicinity. ' Drake's Nooks and Corners of New England, p. 324. ' While the large majority of these Amerind place-names is copied from the writer's work entitled Dictionary of the American-Indian Place and Proper Names in New England, he is nevertheless indebted for aid to other sources, and especially to the list compiled by Mr. H. B. Worth in Bulletin No. 6, vol. ii., of the Nantucket Historical Association's Papers. Legends and Amerind Place-Names 27 Aquidness Neck, in the neighborhood of Shimmo, now- known as Abram's Point. It was known as Aquitnet Point in 1722, and the adjacent land was named Aquidnose tract. Aqunoonogqutut. a bound-mark mentioned in deed of January 9, 1668. It was on the property of Nicor- noose, and has been translated as "the hole where a stone stands." AsHiMMO, same as Shimmo, g. v. It means "a spring." 1668. AsTiMMOOST tract, mentioned in deed of June 5, 1677. BococHico. Main, Federal, and Broad streets bounded a section of Nantucket town so-called. It was laid out in 1744, and the word probably means "near to or next the harbor." BoGUE. "The end of Coatue Peninsula, across the harbor entrance from Brant Point." — H. B. W. Canopache, east end of Nantucket. "A place of peace." Chapomis and Chappapemiset, situated between Surfside and Tom Never's Head. Chappapemisset was alluded to as "the great valley" in 1691; also in a deed of July I, 1690. Coatue Neck or Coweightuet. This neck and point was given to Edward Starbuck by Nicornoose "out of free, voluntary love" on January 5, 1660. It was called "Coretue" in the deed. It means "At the pine- woods" which were then located there. The point was also known as Nauma, meaning "Long Point." — O. Macy. Coatue is also called "Coddude" in a deed of 1690. CocYEANiA, the name of an unidentified valley mentioned in deed of 1687. CoNsuE, a name distinguishing some meadows at the south end of Union Street. It may mean "a long miry place." CosKATA Pond, and Beach. The name is applied to the section of Great Point north of Wauwinet, which 28 Nantucket contains the pond. The derivation of the word is prob- ably from aboriginal words signifying "at the broad woods, " which are stated to have existed in the locality. The word has also been written Coskaty and Koskata. CoTACKTA or CoTOCHTA represents a tract southwest from Wauwinet where there is a large bowlder. Hashkinnit-chaopket, a bound-mark of Nicornoose's territory mentioned in deed of January 9, 1668. Hummock Pond, a corruption for Nanahumack. Kachkesset, a tract on the west side of Hummock Pond, where John Swain (the proprietor) and his father had their first residences on the island. The name means "at the beginning." Kestokas Field, a tract mentioned in deed of 1715. Koskata Head, vide Coskata. Kotget, a term used for Muskeget Island. De Laet's map, 1630. Lakeutta, mentioned in deed of July 6, 1751. Madeket. Madaket, the west end section of Nantucket, and harbor. Maddaket. The word Madaket usually means "bad Madaquet. land." AIaddequet Harbor. Mattaket. Madequecham Pond, at east of Surfside, on south shore. Maddequecham Pond. Mattaquitchame Pond. Mattaquitcham, applied to "land at west side of Matta- quitcham Pond," 1692. Mamre, a tract mentioned in deed of 1690. Mana, vide Mona. Spotso's deed, 1692. Mardadpoquehy, a boggy tract near Masquetuck. Polpis. Mascotuck Neck, west side of Polpis Harbor. This neck was reserved by Thomas Mayhew when he sold the island to the settlers. The name has been transferred from the river flowing into the harbor and means "Reed River." Legends and Amerind Place-Names 29 Masquetuck, same as Mascotuck, and Quaise. Mashquttoohk River. Polpis. "Reed River." Deed January 9, 1668. Mashquaponitib, a bound-mark of Nicornoose's territory, 1668. Masquopack or Masquopeck Creek, running through Pocomo Meadows. It means "Reed Creek land." Deed, 1687. Mattaquatcham, same as Madequecham, q. v. Deed, 1690. Mekinnoowake, a bound-mark of Wauwinet's territory. MiACOMET Pond, west of Surf-Side. Means "at the meet- ing-place." MiACOMET Village. MioxES, two small ponds near Surfside. The word is a diminutive of Miacomet, and means " the little meeting- place." MoNA or Moona: vide Mana. A tract "on the 'Sconset Road, south of the second milestone." There is "a well at Mona" mentioned as a bound-mark in a deed of 1692. The word means "deep," and may refer to the well.— H. B. W. Monomoy, a large tract in the vicinity of "the Creeks," opposite Nantucket, on the other side of the harbor. The word means "black earth or soil." jMusKEGAT Island, west of Nantucket. [MusKEGET Island. Possibly "place of grass-land." MusKEGET Channel. Myacomet, same as Miacomet, q. v. Nanahumacke. Petty sachem's name. He owned the neck which bears his name, of which Hummock is a corruption, and it has been transferred to the pond. Nanakumas (Gov. Winthrop). Nantucket (Natocket). "The far away land," or "the land far away at sea." — H. B. W. Naphchecoy. Sankaty. (0. Macy.) Vide Sankaty. 30 Nantucket Nashawomank Neck, near No-Bottom Pond. Meaning said to be, "an enclosed place in the midst of the swamp."— H. B. W. Nashayte-Neck, Polpis; also known as Swain's Neck. It means "land between two branches of a tidal river." Natuckett. Nantucket. Mass. Bay Col. Rec, vol. iv., p. 199. Nauma, another name for Coatue Point. " Long Point." — O. Macy. Now called " Great Point." Nebadier or Napaneah Pond, east of Surfside. A bound- mark, 1668. Nobadeer Pond. NoPQUE. Smith's Point, at the western extremity of the island. It means "the farthest point." It was formerly used as a landing place by the Martha's Vineyard Indians, who were known as Noapogs or Noapx, — meaning "the far away people," — during their intercourse with the Nantucketers. OccowA Tract. Plainfield, Nantucket. 1752. OccAWA, name of Indian village, and place of meeting- house. Oggawame or Oukawoom. Deed, June 5, 1752. Okormaw. Orkawa. Deed, 1751. Ougquahquam. a marshland in Shimmo near bowl- ders. Pacummohquah Neck, same as Pocomo. 1662. Pasocha Valley, near Chappapemiset : "a detached place." July i, 1690. Peedee Village, southeast of Sesachacha Pond. Penetahpah Creek, near Shimmo. Po.\TPOS Creek. Polpis? 1684. PocHiCK Shoal, off Siasconset. PocHic Rip, off Siasconset. PocoY, a tract east of Hummock Pond, signifying "clear or open." Legends and Amerind Place-Names 31 PocoMO, a head and tract northeast of Polpis Harbor. "A clear fishing-place." PoDPis, same as Polpis. Mass. Hist. Soc. Col. POKAMQUOH Neck. Deed, July 19, 1673. Polpis Village, about equidistant from Nantucket and Wauwinet. Polpis Harbor. PoNCAMMOONCOE Neck, Same as Pacummoquah and Po- como, 1662. PoPSQUATCHET, or Mill Hills, south of Nantucket. PoQUOMOCK Neck, east of Nantucket, same as Pocomo. Deed, 1671. Pquaopuackus, a tract in Gibbs's Swamp. PoTCOMET Tract, same as Pottacohannet. Pottacohannet Tract. Named after old sachem of Tuckernuck. QuAiSE, another name for Masquetuck, meaning "the end or point." QuAYZ, same as Quaise. QuANATA, a bluff or hill on the east side of Orange Street. "A long hill." QuiDNET, probably a contraction for Aquidnet or Aquit- net. "At the point." It is situated south of Wauwinet. Sanckatuck, same as Sankaty. Deed, Nov. 3, 1691. Sankaty Head, north of Siasconset, where the light- house stands. Derivation uncertain. Saxkoty Head. Sachacha Pond, north of Sankaty. Derivation uncer- tain. Sasacacheh Village, same as Sachacha. Mass. Hist. Soc. Col. Sasagachah Pond. Deed, 1745. Seanakonkonet, a bound-mark near Toupche Pond. 1668. Sesachacha. . Sesachaca Pond, same as Sachacha. 32 Nantucket Shaukimmo Tract, north shore. — Governor Winthrop. Shawkemo Tract, north shore, "middle field of land." — O. Macy. Shawkemo Hills and Creek. Deed, 1673. Shaukimnes, same as Shawkemo. Mass. Hist. Soc. Col. Shimmo Point and Shore, same as Ashimmo. "A spring." Shimmoah, Indian village. Siasconset. "Near the great bone." — H. B. W. SisiCKECHAR, same as Sachacha. Deed, 1682. Squam, a contraction for Wunnisquam, 1668. It may mean "at the top of the rock," or "beautiful water." Squatesit, appHed to a place where an Indian meeting- house stood. — Governor Winthrop. Squotesit. It has not been identified. Stirvakenishoos, a spring denoting a boundary at Mas- quetuck, 1678. Tautemco, the south part of Hummock Pond. Tawtemco. Tautemeo, "the west sea called Tautemeo." — Z. Macy. Tawnatpeinse, a tract near No-Bottom Pond. Tetankimmo, "a spring." — Governor Winthrop. Tetaukimmo, "a place north of second milestone on Siasconset Road."— H. B. W. Toupche, a small pond on south shore. TucKANUCK Island, west of Nantucket. The original word was Petockenock, signifying "a round cake of bread." De Laet, 1630. TUCKERNUC. TUCKERNUCK. Wagutuquab Pond, same as Waquettaquage. Deed, 1 67 1 . Wamasquid, an unidentified locality where there was a meeting-house in 1674. — H. B. W. Wammasquid. — Governor Winthrop. Wannacomet, district -on north side of island. 1664. "Beautiful field." Wannasquam, same as Squam. 1751. "Beautiful water or rock." Legends and Amerind Place-Names 33 Waquettaquage, usually applied to a pond, but should be a tract. Deed, 167 1. Waquittaquay. Waqutuquaib, applied to ponds north of head of Hum- mock Pond. Waunashqua, same as Wannasquam. Wauwinet, village at head of harbor, named for old sachem of district. {Weecodnoy, the rim of land between Sachacha Pond and the ocean. Weequodnoy. Weeweder Pond, at south shore ; from its shape, meaning "a pair of horns." — Macy. Wequitaquage, same as Waquettaquage. A bound- mark in 1660. Wesko, site of Nantucket town, meaning "a white stone." "Indian Bulletin," 1867. Wesquo, tract in east section of island. WoNNASHQUOON, Same as Wannasquam. THE NANTUCKET INDIANS^ The red-man trod thy hills. His thirst slaked at thy rills In days of yore; His cattle grazed the plain. His lowing herds' refrain Sounded in mingled strain From shore to shore. Ofttimes, at close of day. He hummed his own low lay. Along his sandy way Beside the sea: ' Condensed from Centennial Ode (in memory of Abram Quary), by the late Samuel Haynes Jenks. 34 Nantucket Taking his finny prey, He feasted daintily By the soft evening ray, In wildness free. Now softly doth he sleep Beside the bubbling deep, — The whispering foam; His life-work fully done. Its battle ably won, With dreams of setting sun To lure him home. Secure he rests from harm On the Great Spirit's arm. With upturned face. Where still at eventide, His soul to God allied, He rests in all his pride, Last of his race. Here the white-crested wave Doth in its beauty lave, And vigil keep: Madly the wild winds rave Within each secret cave. Where the lone Indian brave Sleeps his last sleep. CHAPTER III THE ABORIGINES A CONCENSUS of modem scientific opinion favors the belief that the so-called American Indian race repre- sents the autochthonous people or aborigines of the great American continent. Referring to the origin of the American Indians, Professor Pritchard says: The era of their existence as a distinct and insulated race must probably be dated as far back as that time which separated into nations the inhabitants of the Old World, and gave to each branch of the human family its primitive language and individuality. The origin of the Amerinds of America has still to be sought amid the sources of the various races of mankind from primeval times. The Indian tribes of New England belonged to the great Algonquian Confederacy — the most widely ex- tended of all the North American Indians, their terri- tory stretching along the Atlantic coast from Labrador to Pamlico Sound, and westward, from Newfoundland to the Rocky Mountains. The three principal Massachusetts tribes were the Massachusetts or Naticks, the Nipmucks, and the Wampanoags, the latter under the dominance of Mas- sasoit when the Pilgrims arrived, and, at that time, the third greatest nation in New England. 35 36 Nantucket The island of Nantucket, when first settled by the whites, was occupied by two tribes whose names have not been preserved. One occupied the west end of the island, and was supposed to have come from the main- land by way of Martha's Vineyard. The other lived at the east end, and is said to have come direct from the mainland. The two tribes were independent and were, at a time, hostile to each other. The tribe which came from Martha's Vineyard was subject to the Wampanoags. ' With regard to the number of Indians occupying the island when the whites arrived the statements vary considerably, some writers alleging 3000, others 1500, and some still less. There is some difficulty in forming a correct estimate, but it is known as a fact that they only numbered about 360 before they became victims to the epidemic which destroyed so many of them. When Nantucket was purchased, in 1659, by the colonists, there were two chief sachems, Wanackma- mack and Nicomoose (acting probably for Wauwinet), and at least two other sachems, Autopscot (or Atta- pehat) and Potconet or Pottacohannet, — besides a few petty sachems, — governing all the Indians on Nan- tucket and Tuckemuck. It may be assumed that at this time Wauwinet was old and feeble, and that his eldest son, known as Nicomoose, acted as his deputy, inas- much as among several of the earliest deeds we find Nicomoose signing as sachem, and there are no signa- tures by his father. Mr. Zaccheus Macy, in his valu- able letter to the Massachusetts Historical Society dated October 2, 1792, ^ mentions Wauwinet as living when the settlers arrived, but alludes to him as " the old sachem." ' Handbook of American Indians, vol. ii., p. 26. ' Vide Macy's History of Nantucket. The Aborigines 37 Among the Indian tribes there were generally one or two sachems who controlled all the others. These were known as chief or head sachems, and they ex- ercised absolute control. Such in Nantucket were Wanackmamack and Wauwinet or the latter's son and successor, Nicomoose. According to Zaccheus Macy, Wanackmamack's territory represented the southeast of the island and was bounded by a line running from Toupchue or Toupche Pond in the south, northward, roughly to Gibbs's Pond, and so over toward Podpis Swamp, and then eastward to Sesacacha Pond.^ Wanackmamack had one son, Saucoauso or Jeptha, who married Eastor. Saucoauso had two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain had one daughter, Jemima, who married James Shay, Shea, or Shaa. Abel had two sons, Ben Abel and Eben Abel. Wanackmamack died before June 9, 1682, because his son, Saucoauso, on this date, "having understood that his father Wanackmamack now deceased, had granted [to] English pasturage on east end of island, also sells same." Wauwinet's boundary line adjoined that of Wanack- mamack on the north, extending due north to Coatue and Nauma, westward to Wesco (now Nantucket), and hence almost due south to Weeweder Pond. Wauwinet had two sons, Isaac or Nicomoose (also known as Nickanoose), and Waupordongga, and one daughter, Wonoma, who married Autopscot. Nicomoose had two sons, Joshua and Isaac Wau- winet, and one daughter, Askommopoo, by his wife. ' These and the boundaries of the other sachems' property are clearly delineated on Dr. Ewer's map of Nantucket. 38 Nantucket Askommopoo married Spoospotswa, known as " Spotso." Nicornoose forsook his wife and by another woman had two sons, Wat and Paul Noose. Joshua Nicornoose was so disgusted by his father's leaving his mother that he left home altogether, and did not return until after an absence of over fifty years, when he claimed his inheritance. This was, after some delay, restored to him. Autopscot's jurisdiction extended over the south- west of the island from Weeweder Pond northerly to Monomoy, and then westward to the Popsquatchet hills and to Hummock Pond. Autopscot had a son, Harry Poritain, or Beretan, by Wonoma, his wife, who was the daughter of Wauwinet. Harry Poritain had a son named Isaac Masauquet. Masauquet had a son named Peter. Peter had a son known as Lame Isaac, who ceded the last rights of his sachemdom. Autopscot had also grandchildren named Tashama, of whom more anon. Potconet's (or Pottacohannet's) dominions are un- certain, and there is some doubt as to their limitations. It is at least certain that he was sachem of the adjacent island of Tuckernuck, but Zaccheus A'lacy, in his well- known letter, states that his bounds extended from Madaket down eastward to Wesko and Capaum Pond, thus lying north of Autopscot's possessions, and that they also included the western coast. Moreover, Dr. Ewer's map — probably based upon the information supplied by Macy — delineates the northwestern section of the island as having belonged to Potconet; but no proof is in evidence, and although it seems reasonable to suppose that some sachem must have represented this section of the island, no deed has been found to The Aborigines 39 cover it. Macy also asserts that Potconet sold all his rights to the English settlers, save those reserved and secured to some of the old natives. The sections re- served — known as the Hoights and Jafets — were in the neighborhood of Wannacomet or Capaum Pond. Be this as it may, from a footnote to Hough's Nan- tucket Papers, it appears that, on February 20, 1661, Wanackmamack, head-chief of Nantucket, sold to Tristram Coffin, Sr., Peter Coffin, Tristram Coffin, Jr., and James Coffin, for £10, half of the island of Tucker- nuck — one half down, and the other, when Thomas Mayhew decides who is the proper owner. Potconet or Pottacohannet had two sons, Akeamong, or Ahkeiman, and Jacob. Why did neither of these sons claim his rights until 1672 — a period of eleven years? Was Potconet living in 1 66 1? These questions have still to be answered, although the writer has unsuccessfully sought in every direction for a satisfactory reply. In the Registry of Nantucket Deeds, under date June 20, 1672, is the following entry: Ahkeiman laying claim to part of Tuckanuck his claim thereto is found no other but as he was a duke or principal man upon Nantucket; the Nantucket Sachems, together with his father, having sold Tuckanuck, it is ordered that he shall have such a part or portion of land for his use at Nantucket of the present Sachems as will become one of such quality, and a portion of the whales. On page 211 of the Book of Town Records, dated March, 1681, there is a record of a bargain between James Coffin, Peter Coffin, John Coffin, and Stephen Coffin, and Ackeamong and Jacob, sons of Pottacohan- net (Potconet), concerning Tuckanuckett, said Ackea- 40 Nantucket mong and Jacob claiming half of it. The said Coffins having delivered them forty acres arable land on Nan- tucket and £5, and disclaiming any right to any whale, the said Ackeamong and Jacob renounce any claim to any part of Tuckemuck, reserving liberty to save their whale that may come ashore. To this are affixed the marks of Ackeamong and Jacob, and the signatures of James Coffin and Stephen Coffin, 6th of March, 1681. Witnessed by William Worth and Richard Pincom (Pinkham), and acknowledged on the same date before William Worth, magistrate. It does not appear, however, why the order of the Court made in 1672 was not carried out until 1681 — a period of nine years. Potconet must, therefore, have died before March 6, 1 68 1, or his sons could not have made the above agreement; if, indeed, he was not dead before 1672, when Akeamong made his first claim. ' Some confusion has arisen as to the standing of Nana- huma, who signed the first Indian deed with Nicka- noose. Mr. H. Barnard Worth' says: . . . They (the English) obtained a deed, dated June 20, 1659, from the Sachems Nickanoose and Nanahuma, of a tract comprising the section of Nantucket west of Hummock Pond.^ George Nanahuma was the sachem of the Indians that lived in this section but Nickanoose held some sway over him, and joined in the conveyance. With this the writer is in perfect accord, with the ex- ception of Mr. Worth's using the definite instead of the 'Bulletin 3, vol. ii., p. 112, Nantucket Historical Association's Publications. ' The western half of Nantucket was sold by Wanackmamack, February 20, 1661. The Aborigines 41 indefinite article, as indicated in boldface in the above quotation. It should read thus: "Comprising a section of Nantucket west of Hummock Pond"; and further, "George Nanahuma was a sachem of the Indians, etc." The force of this will be seen presently. There is no deed to prove who was the legitimate sachem, if any existed, of the western section of Nan- tucket, but a section west of Hummock Pond appar- ently belonged to Nanahuma, viz., the neck which bears his name, part of the woods to the north of it, and he possibly may have had a proprietary interest in the large plain farther west. This view is borne out in the "first Indian Deed." In this deed "the plain" is evidently immediately west of Nanahuma's Neck from the use of the word Acamy in the deed ("on the other side of the water"), and its locality is further fixed by the description of its position, w^hich agrees almost mathematically with its exact actual position.^ While the writer is sorry to differ from Mr. Worth when he says, "the deed of Nanahuma indicates that at the time he was sachem over the west end of Nantucket," it might as truly be said that the co-signer was sachem over the west end of Nantucket, which we know he never was. It is very probable that Nanahuma was a subsidiary or petty local sachem, tributary to Nickanoose, and that all the property he owned as a sachem was re- stricted within the limitations already indicated. This is confirmed by his only subsequent deed, dated June 24, 1678, by which he disposes of "all his interest in the West plains, and to the Neck or long woods" to the EngHsh. Besides, according to the delimitation of the other sachems as already given, none of them ' Vide Ewer's map. 42 Nantucket interfered with those just mentioned as belonging to Nanahuma. Indeed, it is doubtful whether Nanahuma at this time owned the neck which bore his name, for, on July 4, 1664, "all the fields belonging to the Neck" were sold to the English by Pakapanessa, Jonas Kimmo, and Harry, son of Wapakowet, who were probably residents of the identical "plain" which was sold by Nanahuma in 1659. Moreover, in 1667, we find Nanahuma asso- ciated with "Mr. Larry Ahkeramo" and Obadiah in a plea to the Court that "whereas the sachems had sold the ground they formerly lived on to the English, the said sachems would not entertain them on the land unsold." Curiously enough, in 1678, we find George Nanahuma, alias Cowpohanet, selling to the English "all his interest in the West plains, and in the Neck or long woods." There verily seems to have been a joint stock company in these lands! If Potconet had no jurisdiction over the northwest section of Nantucket, and if no evidence is in existence as to any other sachem holding predominant rights over it, may it not be suggested that it was mainly divided up into reallotments for the Indians who were dispossessed by the requirements of the whites, and over whom subsidiary sachems or sagamores were ap- pointed, of whom there were several? Of course, this is a mere suggestion. We talk glibly and deprecatingly of the poor Indians as "mere savages," but the annals of American history afford but few instances of really nobler men than Massasoit, Passaconaway, Samoset, and Wanackma- mack, the controlling head sachem of Nantucket. Had it not been for the high personal qualities of such men New England might not have occupied to-day the The Aborigines 43 proud position which she now holds among the United States. The venerable chief Wanackmamack was not only the pride and glory of his insular braves, but the tried, true, and loyal friend of the English immigrants. He was as kind-hearted and judicious as he was courageous and high principled, and he governed his home-land so ably and satisfactorily as to justify his memory in history as an exemplary niler. Of Wauwinet little is known but that he was very old and much respected when the settlers arrived, and nothing, so far as I have been able to ascertain, has been said against him. Nicomoose, his eldest son and successor, has not a good record, as he deserted his wife and children, and had two children by another woman. Beyond the fact that Autopscot was called "a great warrior and got his land by his bow," and that he per- manently established peace throughout the island, very little is recorded of him. Nor does history mention anything concerning Potconet, the sachem ruling the proximate western islands, with the exception of a record of the sale of his lands to the settlers, in 1659. Such were the rulers of Nantucket when the settlers arrived. What a revelation the incoming of the whites must have been to the red men, who had lived on the island, probably from a very early age, among their own people, under their own laws, perpetuating their own habits and customs — living close to Nature — for the most part in peace and amity — simple in their lives, and knowing nothing, caring nothing for the external world beyond them! Yet, on the arrival of the new people who had come 44 Nantucket to supplant them, they received them amicably, treated them justly, and as they treated one another, relying upon what they recognized as the instinctive and in- alienable principles of humanity to govern their rela- tionships and to promote the mutual good and harmony of all. It is needless to inquire as to who first took advantage of the racial differences which distinguished these two peoples, or how the greater intellectuality and experience of the one eventually overcame the other, but Time tells the story; and to-day, while the whites glory in the beauties of, and the opportunities afforded by their island home, where are the poor Indians, the aborigines? All gone — melted away like dewdrops in the sun, and not even one remains to tell the story of their past history! When King Philip visited the island in 1665 and tried to induce the natives to join in his contemplated war with the English, they emphatically refused to do so, expressing themselves as perfectly satisfied and desiring to be at peace with the whites. Indeed, at a town meeting, on October 10, 1665, Attaychat (Autop- scot) "signified that himself with all the Tomokom- moth Indians subject to the English Government in Nantucket acknowledge subjection to King Charles II. This was done in the presence of Metacomet, alias Philip, Sachem of Mount Hop." Unfortunately, civilization has too often brought in its wake habits and customs which have ever proved degenerative, if not destructive, to the uncivilized races of the earth, and so they proved to the Indians, who were sober, industrious, and happy before the settlers introduced among them the iniquitous "fire-water," to the a'buse of which they fell a prey. Acting under its pernicious influence their primitive instincts were The Aborigines 45 aroused within them, and never afterwards were they the same people. Discontent soon spread among them, and litigation in the courts — to which they had equal access with the whites — became so very frequent that the records extend from 1673 to 1754. It is not alleged that alcohol was at the bottom of all these cases, but that it made the natives excita- ble, litigious, and dissatisfied is certain, without any reference to the misconduct and crime which it often prompted, and which frequently resulted from its in- fluence. In many cases they found that the courts decided against them, and they became discouraged. Moreover, they were astounded at the fastly increas- ing number of whites on the island (so that offensive measures were out of the question), and as a matter of fact they never could be made to understand that the execution of a sale-deed of their property involved its absolute surrender to the purchaser, however many attempts they made to regain their land. Mr. Thomas Macy wrote a forceful letter to the governor, in May, 1676, as to the pernicious effects of drink upon the natives, but every effort made to miti- gate the evil by legislative measures failed; the natives who craved for it would sacrifice all they possessed, and one way and another they generally found means of obtaining it. Fines and whipping were inflicted for drunkenness and misdemeanors, but the death-penalty was never exacted except in cases of de- liberate murder. It is recorded that, between 1704 and 1769, ten natives were executed for capital crimes.' On the other hand it has been stated that Quibby — • who murdered Harry Gardner — was the first and only Indian executed in Nantucket since its settlement by ' Obed Macy, opus cit. 46 Nantucket the whites. Macy's instances, however, seem well substantiated. ^ While allusion to such misconduct is made with some reluctance yet facts cannot be concealed, although the evildoers were always in the minority, but in justice to the memory of the natives it must be said that perhaps the majority of them were exemplary in their lives — many of them pious — and good steady husbandmen and craftsmen. As a race they have been much misrepresented, and if revengeful, it was only when their subduers had treated them cruelly or unjustly. Spirited efforts had been made to introduce Christian- ity among the natives, and the results on Nantucket were probably more successful than in any other sec- tion of New England. Thus Barber (in his Historical Collections, p. 448) says: "Soon after the English had settled on the island, attempts were made to convert the Indians to the faith of the Gospel, and, in course of years, all of them became nominal Christians." Soon after 1680, all the old sachems who were alive when the English arrived had passed away, and their successors reigned in their stead. As Macy says: "The Indians were instructed in the mode of fishing practised by the whites, and, in return, the whites were assisted by the Indians in pursuing the business." Another writer says: "There is no doubt that the Natick Indians hunted the whale in canoes, in a manner somewhat similar to that practised to-day by the Bow-Headers of the north coast of Siberia." More- over, the writer has been personally informed by a gentleman of much culture and experience who knows as much about the Nantucket whaling industry as any ' Miriam Coffin. The Aborigrines 47 'fe man now alive, that "hunting the whale was well- known and long practised by the Nantucket Indians." If any further evidence is deemed necessary it may be found in the following quotation from Weymouth's Voyage: One especial thing in their manner of killing a whale which they [the Indians] call powdawe, and will describe his form, how he bloweth up the water, and that he is twelve fathoms long, and that they go in company with their King, with a multitude of their boats, and strike him with a bone made in the fashion of a harping iron, fastened to a rope, which they make great and strong of the bark of trees which they veer out after him; that all their boats come about him, and as he riseth above water, with their arrows they shoot him to death. When they have killed him and dragged him to shore, they call all their chief lords together, and sing a song of joy, and these chief lords, whom they call sagamores, divide the spoil and give to every man a share ; which pieces so distributed they hang up about their houses for provision, and when they boil them they blow off the fat, and put in their pease, maize, and other pulse which they eat. There can be no doubt that the Nantucket Indians joined gladly in the chase of whales, and that they were fully as dexterous as the whites, not only in securing, but in dealing with the carcasses afterwards. The year 1763-64 was, indeed, a sad one for the Indians of Nantucket, inasmuch as, from August in the former year to February in the latter, they suffered from a mahgnant form of epidemic which, even yet, has not been identified, although the probability is that it was either typhus or typhoid fever, smallpox or yellow fever. Curiously enough, of the English who visited them daily, caring for and nursing the afflicted natives, 48 Nantucket not one was affected by the pestilence, which ceased suddenly, without previous abatement, on the i6th of February, 1764. Before the epidemic broke out there were 358 Indians on the island, of whom 222 perished, leaving only 136 natives to represent the race.' In 1 79 1 there were but four male Indians and sixteen females left on the island, and in 1809 there were only three or four persons of pure blood and a few of mixed race. From 1664 to 1774 the records consist mainly of land sales from the Indians to the English; of complaints of one Indian against another, or others in relation to land sales, and of controversies about their respective claims to whales. Within this period also one re- peatedly notices the names of the successors of the old sachems, for several generations; but, concurrent with these, up to 1754, are the records of many attempts on the part of some of the Indians to regain their lands. The perusal of these is very interesting, but those who may desire to obtain a full knowledge of such matters are referred to the ample and careful reports given by Air. Henry B. Worth in the Bulletins of the Nantucket Historical Association. ^ In 1693 the island of Nantucket, ceded from the Provincial Government of New York, was incorporated in the Province of Massachusetts. NAMES OF SOME OF THE NANTUCKET INDIANS OCCURRING IN THE REGISTRY OF DEEDS, PETITIONS, ETC. Wanackmamack, head sachem of Nantucket in 1659. Wauwinet, aged head sachem of northeastern section. NicoRNOOSE, successor to Wauwinet. ' Obed Macy, opus cit. * Vide vol. ii., Bulletin 3. The Aborigines 49 AUTOPSCOT (Attapechat or Attaychat), sachem of south- western section. PoTCONET (or Pottacohannet) , sachem of Tuckernuck, etc. Nanahuma, probably a petty sachem. Harry, a witness, son of Wapakowet. Wauwinnesit, or Amos, second son of Nicornoose. Saucoauso, alias Jeptha, son of Wanackmamack. Joshua Jethro, eldest son of Nicornoose. Wat Noose, bastard son of Nicornoose. Paul Noose, bastard son of Nicornoose. Masauquet, son of Autopscot. Harry Poritain, alias Beretan, son of Masauquet. Isaac Masauquet, son of Harry Poritain. AsKOMMOPOO, daughter of Nicornoose and wife of Spotso or Spoospotswa. Felix Kuttashamaquah, an interpreter. Cain, son of Saucoauso, or Jeptha. Abel, son of Saucoauso or Jeptha. Ben Abel, son of Abel. Eben Abel, son of Abel. Jemima, daughter of Cain, and wife of James Shea. Pakapanessa, Indian associated with Nanahuma. Jonas Kimmo, Indian associated with Nanahuma. Tequamomany, sold lands to English in 1604. Mekowakim, sold lands to English in 1604. Peteson, a complainer, 1667. Larry Akkeramo, a complainer, 1667. Obadiah, a complainer, 1667. Wequakesuk, a sachem, 1673. Isaac Wauwinet, son of Nicornoose, successor of father. Heattohanen, another name for one of Nicornoose's sons. Wohwaninwot, another name for one of Nicornoose's sons. CowpoHANET, another name of Nanahuma. Spotso, son-in-law of Nicornoose, signed also as Spoos- potswa. Sasapana Will, sold land to the English, 1687. Henry Britten, sachem, 1701. 50 Nantucket Eastor, wife of Saucoauso, 1709. JosHiAH or Josiah, son of Spotso. James Shay, Shea, or Shaa, husband of Jemima. Esau Cook, an Indian who sold land, 1742. Isaac Woosco, an Indian who sold land, 1745. Samuel Chegin, an Indian who sold land, 1747. Titus Zekey, an Indian who sold land, 1762. John Jethro, a descendant of Nicornoose. Abigail Jethro, a descendant of Joshua Jethro, son of Nicornoose. Jacob, son of Potconet, 1672. Ahkeiman, son of Potconet, 1676. Desire, or Desiah, a partner of Washaman in whales, 1676- Waquaheso, related to Nicornoose. Wakeikman, Sessanuquis, Wienakisoo, three associated Indians, 1678. Nautakagin, a companion of Nanahuma, 1678. Quench, an Indian who divorced his wife, 1677. Mequash, an Indian with whaling rights, 1678. Machoogen, an Indian burglar, 1677. Debdekcoat, a fraudulent creditor, 1677. Siiaakerune, an anti-prohibitionist, 1677. Seikinow, a complainer, 1 699-1 700. Titus Mamack, Joshua AIamack, John Mamack, descend- ants of Wanackmamack. Jouab, descendant of Wanackmamack. John Jouab, a disgruntled complainer. Jonathan, a disgruntled complainer. James Asab, a disgruntled complainer. John Tashime (Tashama), a descendant of Autopscot. John Jethro, a petitioner. Paul Jouab, a petitioner. Richard Napanah, a petitioner. Solomon Zachariah, a petitioner. Naubgrachas, a petitioner. Abel Nanahoo, a petitiDner. John Asab, a petitioner. The Aborigines 51 Barnabas Spotso, sachem. James Papamoo, son of Barnabas Spotso. John Quass, the choice of Lakedon Indians for sachem when they repudiated Ben Abel, the legitimate chief. Sanchimaish, a witness to Isaac Wauwinet's will. Abram Tashama, son of John Tashama, 1741. Old Hannah, a witness. Ben Jouab, grandson of Pampason, 1752. Memfopooh, a messenger, 1752. OowAMASSEN, a witness to Isaac Wauwinet's will, 1670. Joshua of Chappoquiddick, same as Joshua Jethro, eldest son of Nicornoose, 1706. Talagamomos, Keostahhan, Wumoanohquin, Quaquah- CHOONiT, witnesses to Nicornoose's will, 1668. Ben Joab Pampushom, a claimant to sachemdom of Occawa, 1745. Peter Tuphouse, witness to Pampushom's petition. Peleg Tuphouse, witness to Pampushom's petition. David Pompasson, said to have been a grandson of Nicor- noose. Samuel Humbrey, a witness to John Jouab's petition, 1752. Sarah Nesfield, a squaw. William Cowkeeper. Jack Never. Samcook. Tooth Harry. Jobone. Nakatootanit. Kuhapetaw. WOSOAK. Patience, a squaw. Nanespepo. Matakeken. Cutuarum. Coshomadamon. Zachary. Tomaso. 52 Nantucket ROAG. QuoQUASHA, a squaw. Waquaquenaway. Shanapetuck. Imqueness, Sam, Indian magistrates. MOAB. Alewife. COOTAS. Damaris, an Indian girl. Jasper, aspatchamo. Kessasum. "the last roll-call" of the NANTUCKET INDIANS (Copied from a private Indian Register hitherto unpublished.) Peter Mica, died March 28, 1801. Sarah Gutradge (Goodridge), died April 22, 1801. Orra Gethro (Jethro), died June 14, 1799. Isaac Tashmay (Tashama), died November i, 1801. Abigail Wainer, died November 10, 1801. Abigail Quary, died September 30, 1806. Mary Squab, died June 28, 1807. Abigail Job (Jouab), died October 21, 1808. MoACA Job (Jouab), died May 7, 1809. Hannah Joel, died August 27, 1810. Abiah Jeffrey, died October 12, 1810. Hannah Foster, died July 26, 181 1. Sarah Eeese, died February 16, 1812. Jemima Tobey, died February 3, 18 16. Mary Abil, died July 21, 181 7. Eliza Rose (or Ross), died January 22, 1818. Tabitha Marsh, died March 8, 1820. Abigail Jethro, died January 16, 1822. Sarah Tashmay (Tashama), died October 8, 1821. Molly Morrells, died January 21, 18 17. Dorcas Honorable The last pure-blooded Nantucket Indian Photograph by H. S. Wyer The Aborigines 53 Mary Warracks, died July 29, 1794. Abigail Taster (or Tastoo), died April 24, 1808. Betsy Goodrich, died July 21, 1838, aged seventy-nine years. Esther Keeter, died March 23, 1803. Venus, died December 14, 1789. Margaret Hunter, died September 30, 1789. Indian Girl, died November 17, 1784, Joseph Tobey, died May 22, 1796. HuLDAH Reffer, died September 30, 1797. Abram Quary, died November 25, 1854, aged eighty- two years and ten months. Darkis Onerable (Dorcas Honorable), died Friday night, January 12, 1855, at the Asylum, aged seventy-nine years. Buried from Baptist Church. — The last of her race ! Petty crimes and misdemeanors on the part of the Indians — too often caused by "fire- water" — frequently resulted in producing considerable trouble and annoy- ance to the proprietors. When the latter found that the imposition of fines and the infliction of whipping in graver cases were inadequate to permanently restrain them, they at length appointed a superior Indian to undertake the office of superintendent and local magis- trate, and with considerable success. The officer ap- pointed was James Shouel, better known as Korduda, and he soon became a terror to evildoers, his usual procedure being, when one Indian complained of an- other, to order both the complainant and the defendant to be well whipped. This subsequently became known as "Korduda's law," and in many, if not in most cases, it was found very effective. He was also in the habit of having delinquents whipped for neglecting the cultiva- tion of their com, for drunkenness, etc. 54 Nantucket A few other special Indians are referred to in Zaccheus Macy's well-known letter, viz. : " Old ^sop, ' the weaver, who was also a schoolmaster; "Old Saul," "a stern- looking old man"; Richard Nominash and his brother Sampson and little Jethro, who are described as "very substantial and very trusty men"; Zacchary Hoite, a minister who told his hearers "they must do as he said, but not as he did!" There were also some members of the old Hoight and Jafet families, and Benjamin Tashama, an Indian of strong individuality, to whom I shall now refer in detail. Benjamin Tashama, or Tashima, was, perhaps, the most noted Indian within the bounds of Autopscot. He was a grandson of Sachem Autopscot, and was distinguished as a good and worthy man, an esteemed preacher, and a successful schoolmaster. A portion of the industrious life of Tashima [says the author of Miriam Coffin] had been devoted to study; and he had succeeded, with infinite labor, in adapting his literary acquirements to the language and capacity of his tribe. He had nourished the vain hope of preserving the nation without a cross in its blood, and the language of his people in its pristine purity. It was a magnificent conception! The design was worthy of the last, as he was the greatest, chief of his tribe. He was the last, because none succeeded him; he was the greatest, for he was the most benevolent. While few details of his life are known, it is attested that he latterly lived on the eastern boundary of Gibbs's Swamp, about forty rods northeast of the fifth mile- stone on the 'Sconset road. Here, some years ago, the cellar of his dwelHng still remained, and the large stone which formed the entrance may now be seen in the rooms of the Nantucket Historical Association. The Aborigines 55 Here Tashama, often called "the last sachem of Nantucket," dwelt with his son Isaac and his daughter Sarah. Benjamin Tashama died in 1770. His brother, John Tashama, was alive in 1754, when he signed a petition to the Court. John had one son, Abram, mentioned by John Coffin and Abishai Folger in a report dated May 25, 1743. Sarah Tashama married Isaac Earop, and on April 27, 1776, a daughter was bom to them. She was named Dorcas Honorable. When this child grew up, she became a domestic in the family of Mr. John Cart- wright, where she lived for many years, and she died in 1855 at the asylum. She was a full-blooded Indian, and the very last of her race on Nantucket; and thus, little more than two centuries from the discovery of the island, passed away the only remaining one of the aborig- inal people who had dominated it from time immemorial. Abram Api Quady, or Quary, a half-breed, who lived in a hut at Shimmo for many years, died on November 25, 1854, 3't the age of eighty-two years and ten months, respected by all who knew him. He was the son of the notorious Quibby, already referred to, and of Judith Quary — a half-breed fortune-teller well-known on the island at one time. Abram, for obvious reasons, chose to assume his mother's name. A fine portrait in oil of this dignified old man may be seen in the Nantucket Atheneum. It may seem strange that no burial place of the Indi- ans has been discovered on the island of Nantucket, so far as I am aware. Skeletal remains and a few bones have been discovered at one time and another, and in various places, but I believe no regular place of Indian burial has ever been found. This may be thus accounted for, viz. : 56 Nantucket Island Indians usually buried their dead contiguous to the coast-line, and the progressive erosion of the coast during two centuries may have possibly washed such remains into the ocean. This is merely a sugges- tion, and as I have but few proofs to offer, I am subject to correction. It is probable, however, that the Indi- ans buried their dead in the neighborhood of Shawkemo, Pocomo, Folger's Hill on the Polpis road, at Quaise, beyond the present water-works, and at or near Mia- comet. It is recorded that there was a circular burying- ground for one of the tribes near the headwaters of Lake Miacomet, and that Benjamin Tashama was buried there. An opinion too generally shared, which regards the American Indian race as consisting of mere savages, almost inhuman in their ferocity and cruelty, and with- out a redeeming feature of any kind, is as untrue as it is unjust. They naturally possessed those character- istics shared by all unenlightened races of men who have been deprived of the elevating influences of civil- ization and a high code of ethics, but a careful study of their lives and history shows that, according to their enlightenment, they were actuated by many virtues which, in superior races, count for dignified manhood and nobility of mind. In personal bravery and courage they had few equals and yet they accepted conquest or punishment with a sublime fortitude and stoicism which scorned to ask for either life or pardon. Equal- ity, freedom, and independence constituted the very atmosphere of their being and, in their dealings with their own race, the rights of each individual, and his personal freedom, were universally acknowledged. Judged from our modem standard the principles of morality which governed their lives, if of a lower order, Abram (Juary The last Nantucket Indian half-breed Photograph by H. S. Wyer The Aborigines 57 were yet in keeping with their instincts and their en- vironment, and they believed that "the crimes of the vicious were punished by the disgrace, contempt, and danger they ensured for transgressors." When all that can be said against the Indians has been spoken, it must be conceded that they embodied a pure and lofty patriotism, for which they fought and died like men and true patriots, and although they had to gradually yield up their possessions and their homes in the land they loved, and to recede and dis- appear before the advancing wave of civilization, yet, as De Forest says: "We may drop a tear over the grave of the race which has perished, and regret that civilization and Christianity have ever accomplished so little for its amelioration." In the somewhat severe words of Obed Macy, "Their only misfortune was their connection with Christians, and their only crime the imitation of their manners." CHAPTER IV THE WHITE SETTLERS AND THE SETTLEMENT The purchase of the island of Nantucket, in 1659^ and its subsequent occupation by the white settlers form an interesting section of Massachusetts history, upon which much has been written. From time im- memorial the island had been inhabited by the abo- rigines of the country, and was therefore in a primitive and uncultivated condition when the settlers arrived. It has been alleged that their motive in selecting such an insular wilderness as a colony was to escape from religious persecution in their old home across the ocean, but such allegations have not been sustained by either fact or history, and are now utterly discredited. There cannot be any doubt that, mayhap associated to some extent with a spirit of adventure, their chief m.otive was really nothing more or less than a business speculation. That they were worthy, brave, and fearless men cannot be gainsaid, and, as Englishmen, they had manifestly inherited the grit and endurance which characterize their race. Then they were doubt- less impelled by duty to themselves and to their fami- lies, and not fear of persecution — golden opportunities and radiant possibilities — which had led them out of their ancient homes to a new and unknown land. 58 The White Settlers and the Settlement 59 They had seen a vision of hope, freedom, and opportu- nity beckoning them to a little island in the ocean where the white man's foot had seldom trod, an island unknown, uncultivated, a wilderness teeming with the hosts of a barbaric and uncivilized race. Yet they never hesitated. Taking their lives in their hands, and with a humble yet sublime trust in God, they arrived in safety, — dug their new homes in the hill- sides, wrought like men, and prospered accordingly. Numbering nineteen persons all told, — a number increased to twenty-seven later, — these men became the proprietors of the island of Nantucket, divided and cultivated the land, and lived with the aborigines in peace and amity. In less than a hundred years from its inception in 1690, the whaling industry in Nan- tucket port became the largest and most famous in the world. Not only one, but many volumes would be necessary to chronicle the experiences and achievements of these worthy men and their successors, but here a faint biographical outline of some of them is all that space will permit. Facile princeps was Tristram Coffin, a man of ancient lineage, a strong will, and dominant person- ality whose activities in many directions ensured the success of the settlement. He was bom at Brixton, Devonshire, England, in 1605, ^^^ married, in or about 1630, Dionis Stevens, of the same place. Im- pelled by a desire, which was very prevalent at the time, to visit the New World, and to found new plantations there on an agricultural and stock-raising basis, in 1642, when he was thirty-seven years old, he emigrated to America with his wife, five small children, his widowed mother, and two unmarried sisters. Until 1659, he 6o Nantucket lived alternately in Salisbury, Haverhill, and Newbury, Mass. In that year, he came to Nantucket, and made arrangements for the purchase of the island by a com- pany which he organized at Salisbury, He returned to the island with part of his family in 1660,' and there he lived until his death, which occurred on October 3, 1 68 1, at the age of seventy-six years. During his entire residence on Nantucket he resided near Capaum, and for the most part at a house which he built, and named "Northam." The interests which he and his sons and sons-in-law represented gave him power to control to a large extent the enterprises of the island.^ He was appointed Chief Magistrate of Nantucket by Governor Andros in 1667, and again by Governor Lovelace on June 29, 1671. Benjamin Franklin Folger, speaking of Tristram Coffin's relation to the Indians, says: The Christian character which he exhibited, and which he practically illustrated in all the varied circumstances and conditions of that infant colony is analogous to that which subsequently distinguished the founder of Pennsylvania, so that the spirit of the one seemed to be but the counterpart of the other. The names of more than twelve thousand descend- ants of Tristram Coffin can be traced. The ramifica- tions of the family extend to England, to all the British dominions, and to every State of the Union. ^ Indeed the CoflSn family furnishes an exceptionally good illustration of the persistence of fecundity, for ' Hinchman. ' Life of Tristram Coffin, Allen Coffin, LL.B., p. 32. 3 Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror, July 22, 1826. The White Settlers and the Settlement 6i Tristram Coffin, Sr., had seven children, Peter, his eldest son, had nine, Tristram, Jr., had ten, and left 177 descendants, James had fourteen, John had eleven, and Stephen had ten. Tristram's two daughters, Mary Starbuck and Elizabeth Greenleaf, each had ten children, a total of seventy-one children in his own immediate family ! Thomas Macy, often described as "the first settler," was a native of Chilmark, Wiltshire, England. It is stated that he embarked for America "probably in 1635, but not later than 1639." He occupied a good posi- tion in the old country, where he was much respected and prominent. Macy's History says: "He lived in Salisbury in good repute for twenty years, and acquired a good interest, consisting of a tract of land, a good house, and considerable stock." The allegation that he was compelled to leave Salis- bury, Essex Co., Mass., on account of having harbored Quakers, is entirely fictional. He was, however, along with a number of others, fined ten shillings' for "en- tertaining Quakers," in contravention of a law that was then in force. Furthermore the island of Nan- tucket had been purchased and deeded before the charge was made, and Macy had returned to Salisbury to settle his affairs, and was actually living there in 1664. In addition to this, in a letter written by Joshua Coffin, the historian, in 1831, he says: Thomas Macy was a merchant, an enlightened man, and much too wise to apprehend any danger to his person or property from any person or persons either legally or ille- gally. He was certainly a man of fortitude, courage, good sense, and education. ' Joshua Coffin, quoted by Allen Coffin, LL.B., opus cit., p. 26. 62 Nantucket During the time he spent on the island, 1659-61, Macy propitiated the Indians, and opened up negotia- tions with them on behalf of the other settlers. He probably lived with Edward Starbuck, who had built a house at Madeket. From 1661 he lived at Capaum Pond, near Tristram Coffin. Later his services on the island were highly appre- ciated. He was the first Recorder on the island and, in 1675, was appointed Chief Magistrate. He died at Nantucket, on April 19, 1682, aged seventy-five years. Edward Starbuck emigrated from Derbyshire, England, in 1635, and settled at Dover, N. H. It is stated that it was at Macy's suggestion that he left Dover for Nantucket. However this may be, it is an established fact that he accompanied Macy, with his family, Isaac Coleman, and James Coffin on their historic voyage to the island, which was accomplished in an open boat. Starbuck was a man in easy, if not affluent, circumstances who had attained a high posi- tion at Dover and an equally exalted reputation for worth and probity. He is also represented as having been "an active, enter[3rising man, fearless of danger." In 1660, it is said that he returned to the mainland where his representations regarding the island induced some eight or ten families to remove from Salisbury to Nantucket, thus adding to the number in the Httle settlement. Edward Starbuck was one of the associate members of the proprietary of the island, and he witnessed the sachems' deed confirming the sale of the island to the original purchasers. His wife was Miss Katharine Reynolds, and their son Nathaniel married Mary Coffin, the seventh child of Tristram, who was "uni- versally acknowledged to have been a great woman." The White Settlers and the Settlement 63 It is recorded that Edward Starbuck died on June 12, 1690, aged eighty-six years. From his son Nathaniel, and his wife Mary, daughter of Tristram Coffin, have sprung all the Starbucks in America. Peter Folger, one of the early settlers, was, in many ways, a very remarkable man. A native of Norwich, England, where he was bom in, or about, 161 7, he fell in love with Mary Morrell, who was sailing in the same ship, and married her soon after their arrival in 1635. Peter's father and mother accompanied him to America. His father, John, had married Meribah Gibbs, in England. He died in Martha's Vineyard in 1660; she died in 1663. For a time Peter and his wife lived in Watertown but removed to Martha's Vineyard in 1660. Here he became acquainted with the Mayhews, and acted as their surveyor, while he also discharged the duties of pedagogue. He became proficient in speaking the language of the Indians on the Vineyard, and in acting as an interpreter for those who did not understand it. In 1658, he visited Nantucket (in all likelihood accom- panied by Tristram Coffin) for the purpose of inspect- ing the island, and, in 1663, returned there in order to become a permanent resident. He later became the most useful man on the island of Nantucket as, in addition to a large store of general knowledge which he had accumulated, there was little in the way of handicraft to which he could not turn his skill. Not only was he a surveyor but had officiated as preacher and as schoolmaster; he was an excellent clerk, and ultimately became keeper of the records on the island; moreover he interpreted the Indian lan- guage when required, was betimes an author and a poet, and acted as miller, blacksmith, and weaver for the 64 Nantucket settlers. His son Eleazer was appointed shoemaker to the settlement, and Peter himself was constituted a half- shareholder with all the privileges that pertain to such a relationship. He died in 1690, and his de- scendants, numbering not a few distinguished men and women, inherited from this grand old settler the gifts and versatility which he possessed in such marked degree. His daughter Abiah, the only child of his that was born in Nantucket, became the mother of Benjamin Franklin. Another distinguished man must be alluded to who, although not one of the original settlers, was persuaded, in 1672, to cast his lot among them by the offer of a share of land to enable him "to carry on the cod-fishing business." His name was John Gardner, a brother of Richard Gardner who, since 1666, had been located in Nantucket. John had a family of twelve children. From his advent he became prominent in all the affairs that concerned the welfare of the island, and was undoubtedly the most capable man among the English settlers. His administrative power was little short of genius, and he thrice attained, in defiance of the fiercest opposition, the office of Chief Magistrate of the island. Ultimately he secured Governor Dongan's patent, which made him, with six associates, "One Body Cor- porate and Politiq to be called by the Name of the Trustees of the Freeholders and ComonaHty" of Nan- tucket. The keenest rivalry for leadership on the island was generated between Tristram Coffin and John Gardner, and for several years it pervaded opposing sections of the people. Although Gardner was success- ful in the end, peace reigned between the rival chiefs at last, and Tristram, doughty old warrior though he The White Settlers and the Settlement 65 was, before his death forgave Gardner, and alluded to him as his "loving neighbor." A tie of friendship was also strengthened between the two families by the marriage which took place in 1686, between Jethro Coffin, the grandson of Tristram, and Mary, a daughter of Captain John Gardner. In 1699, Gardner was appointed Judge of Probate, an office which he held until his death. Bom in Dor- setshire, England, in 1624, he died in Nantucket in 1706, aged eighty-two years. He was buried in the Forefathers' burying-ground, east of Maxcy's Pond. Christopher Hussey, the son of John Hussey and Mary Wood, was born in Dorking, Surrey, England. During his earlier years he resided for some time in Holland where he fell in love with Theodate, daughter of the Rev. Stephen Batchilder. When, in due time, he proposed to her, her father would only give his con- sent to the alliance on condition that they should both accompany him to America, which they ultimately agreed to do, arriving in Boston on the ship William and Francis, in 1632. Christopher Hussey became one of the original set- tlers in Hampton, New Hampshire, and from 1636 went through the various grades of promotion until, finally, he was elected as one of the Selectmen. In 1639 he was made a Justice of the Peace, holding the office for several years; later he was appointed Town Clerk, and one of the first deacons of the church. In 1659, he became one of the purchasers of Nantucket. Later on he pursued the occupation of sea-captain. From the evidence of Joshua Coffin and the Town Records of Hampton, N. H., there can be little doubt that he died on March 6th, and was buried at Hamp- ton, March 8, 1686. Although he was not one of the 66 Nantucket resident or active settlers of Nantucket, his eldest son, Stephen, to some extent made up for his deficiencies by residing in Nantucket, and by marrying a fair Nantucketer, Martha Bunker, on October 8, 1676. Stephen died on the island on February 2, 171 8, in his eighty-eighth year, leaving seven children. Stephen Greenleaf was the son of Edmund Green- leaf who came to America in 1635, and settled at New- buryport, Mass. Stephen was bom in 1630 and married Elizabeth Coffin, daughter of Tristram and Dionis Coffin. "He was one of the original proprietors of Nantucket, and authority says, 'a religious man.'" He was a soldier by profession and had had considerable experi- ence in the Indian wars. He was Ensign and Lieutenant in 1686, and Captain in 1690. He was also represent- ative to the General Court in 1676, a commissioned miagistrate and overseer of the poor, and a deacon over- seer, in Newbury, in 1686, and in 1689 was appointed as a consultant "for the conservation of the peace of the Country." In 1689 he petitioned the General Court for compen- sation for repulsing an Indian raid, in which he was severely wounded, and it was directed that forty pounds should be paid to him "out of the treasury of the Province." Stephen Greenleaf, with nine others, was wrecked and drowned off Cape Breton, December i, 1690. Little is known of Robert Pike beyond the fact that he was one of the original settlers of Nantucket, — that he shared the interest of Christopher Hussey as one of the proprietors, and that he was a warm friend of Thomas Macy. He was a representative to the General Court in 1648-49, and in 1658-59; Captain The White Settlers and the Settlement 67 and Major in 1670 ; an Assistant in 1682, and a member of the Council of Safety in 1689. He was actively associated with the settlers of the island "until his death, which occurred about forty years after the purchase." Thomas Coleman probably came to reside in Nan- tucket previous to 1673, as it is recorded that during October of that year he was "drawn on the jury." His name appears with that of Christopher Hussey and others in a list of settlers of Hampton, N. H. Thomas and Robert Barnard are said to have come to America about 1650. Thomas was one of those who in 1659 purchased Nantucket. He transferred half of his holding to his brother Robert. "Thomas died abroad," but Robert came to Nantucket in 1663, and died there in 1682. He had a son, John Barnard, bom in 1642, who married Bethiah Folger, daughter of Peter Folger, and a daughter Mary, who married her cousin Nathaniel Barnard, son of Thomas and Eleanor Barnard. Richard Swain came to Nantucket with his second wife and family. He had previously lived at Hampton, N. H., where he settled after his arrival in America, in 1635. His second wife was Jane, the widow of George Bunker, whom he had married in 1658. "John, the son of his first wife, married Mary, daughter of Nathan- iel Wier." Richard Swain, Sr., died in 1682. John Swain, the original settler, son of Richard, resided near Hummock Pond, and ultimately at Polpis. His house was standing until 1902, when it was de- stroyed by lightning. He died in 1717.^ ' For a few of the previous biographical sketches the writer is indebted to Mrs. Hinchman's Early Settlers in Nantucket, to which he has had access through her courtesy. 68 Nantucket THE SETTLEMENT The story of the transfer of the island of Nantucket from the English Government to Thomas May hew, and from him and the Indians to the white settlers, has so often been told that a mere summary is all that is required here, in order to preserve the continuity of the narrative. Nantucket was included in the royal grant to Ply- mouth Company in 1621, and Lord Stirling and Sir Ferdinand Gorges were the Commissioners deputed to promote the colonization of the territory, including the islands south of Cape Cod. Lord Stirling appointed James Forrett as his agent in New York for the sale or other disposal of the colony, and Forrett sold the island of Nantucket, in 1641 (when it was under the jurisdiction of the Province of New York), to Thomas Mayhew, an Englishman, who emigrated to New England in 1631, and who first settled at Watertown. Mayhew not only purchased Nantucket, and the adjacent islands, but became a part proprietor of Martha's Vineyard and Governor of that island. He is said to have been a good colonizer — always a friend to the Indians, and was the means of preventing them from engaging in Philip's war. He founded Edgartown in 1647, and from him were de- scended numerous missionaries to the Indians, amongst whom they had much influence, and spoke the Indian language fluently. The islands remained in the possession of the May- hews (father and son), until 1659, when they were transferred to ten purchasers, including Mayhew him- self (as he reserved to himself and his heirs one twentieth part of the property for his own use). The White Settlers and the Settlement 69 From a reliable genealogy of the Coffin family' it appears that in the spring of 1659 Tristram Coffin pro- ceeded upon a voyage of inquiry and observation — first to Martha's Vineyard where he secured Peter Folger, the grandfather of Benjamin Franklin, as an interpreter of the Indian language; and thence to Nantucket, his object being to ascertain the temper and disposition of the Indians, and the capabilities of the island, so that he might report to the citizens of Salisbury what inducements for emigration thither were offered. He was evidently impressed favorably by what he saw and heard, for, when he returned to Salisbury, Mass., a company was formed, and the purchase of the island determined. In the autumn of 1659 Thomas Macy, Edward Starbuck, James Coffin, Isaac Coleman, and some of their wives and children sailed in an open boat for Nantucket, where they arrived safely, and spent the winter of 1659-60 on the island at Madeket. In July, 1660, Starbuck returned to Salisbury and Amesbury, and induced a number of families to accom- pany him back to Nantucket, and as time went on the little colony received numerous additions. ^ Each of the original colonists was permitted to name an associate, so that the island was primarily divided into twenty shares, and as the colonists were anxious to add to their number, and to induce artisans and mechanics to come among them, the number of shares was ulti- mately increased to twenty-seven, these including the entire island, with the exception of the "common" land, and that reserved by Mr. Mayhew for his own use. ' Vide Godfrey's Island of Nantucket, p. 169. ' Most, if not all, of the English settlers came from Salisbury, Mass., and its neighborhood. yo Nantucket The first meeting of the proprietors was held at Salis- bury on the 2d day of February, 1659, in order to take in their partners. First, the partner of Thomas May- hew was John Smith; of Tristram Coffin, Nathaniel Starbuck; of Thomas Macy, Edward Starbuck; of Richard Swain, Thomas Look; of Thomas Barnard, Robert Barnard; of Peter Coffin, James Coffin; of Christopher Hussey, Robert Pike; of Stephen Greenleaf, Tristram Coffin, Jr.; of John Swain, Thomas Coleman. At the same meeting the above-named persons agreed to have ten other partners, who should each have half as much land as they themselves, called for that reason half-share men. They also agreed that John Bishop should have two of the said half-shares. After they came to Nantucket they granted the following rights: To Thomas IMacy one half-share in the year 1663. To Richard Gardner two half -shares in 1666; to Joseph Gardner one half-share, in 1667; to Joseph Coleman one half-share in 1665; to William Worth two half- shares in 1662; to John Gardner two half-shares in 1672; to Samuel Stretor one half-share in 1669;^ to Nathaniel Wier "one half of a sort of a poor one" in 1667. In the aggregate these shares and fractions of shares were equivalent to twenty-seven whole shares. Mr. Thomas Mayhew's Deed of Sale is as follows: Copy of Deed of Nantucket to Nine Purchasers (dated July 2, 1659) Recorded for M^ Coffin and M': Macy afores^ ye Day and Year afores':^ Be it known unto all men by these Presents that I. Thomas Mayhew of Martha's Vineyard, Merchant, doe hereby acknowledge that I have sould unto Tristram Coffin, Thomas Macy, Christopher Hussey, Richard Swayne, The White Settlers and the Settlement 71 Thomas Bernard, Peter Coffin, Stephen Greenleafe, John Swayne, and WilHam Pike that Right and Interest I have in ye Land of Nantuckett by Patent : ye w'^'' Right I bought of James Forrett, Gent, and Steward to ye Lord Sterling and of Richard Vines, sometimes of Sacho, Gent., Steward- Gen^^i unto Sir Georges Knight as by Conveyances under their Hands and Seales doe appeare, ffor them ye aforesaid to Injoy, and their Heyres and Assignes forever w*^ all the Privileges thereunto belonging, for in consideration of ye Sume of Thirty Pounds of Current Pay unto whomsoever I ye said Thomas Mayhew, mine Heyres or Assignes shall appoint. And also two Beaver Hatts one for myself and one for my wife. And further this is to declare that I the said Thomas Mayhew have received to myself that Neck upon Nan- tucket called Masquetuck or that Neck of Land called Nash- ayte the Neck (but one) northerly of Masquetuck ye aforesaid Sayle in anywise notwithstanding. And further, I ye said Thomas Mayhew am to beare my Part of the Charge of ye said Purchase above named, and to hold one twentieth Part of all Lands purchased already, or shall be hereafter purchased upon ye said Island by ye afores"^ Purchas""^ or Heyres or Assignes forever. Briefly: It is thus: That I really sold all my Patent to y^ aforesaid nine men and they are to pay mee or whom- soever I shall appoint them, ye sume of Thirty Pounds in good Marchantable Pay in ye Massachusetts, under w'^^ Governm* they now Inhabit, and 2 Beaver Hatts, and I am to beare a 20*^ Part of ye Charge of y® Purchase, and to have a 20**^ Part of all Lands and Privileges; and to have w*=^ of ye Necks afors^ that I will myselfe, paying for it; only ye Purchasers are to pay what ye Sachem is to have for Masquetuck, although I have y® other Neck. And in witness hereof I have hereunto sett my Hand 72 Nantucket and Seale this second Day of July sixteen hundred and fifty nine — (1659) Per me Tho. Mayhew. Witness: John Smith Edward Searle. Before the legal purchase of the island could be rati- fied, it was necessary to secure the sanction of the repre- sentative Indian chiefs and this was duly obtained as appears from the following deed, dated May 10, 1660: Sachems^ Deed of Nantucket These presents witness, May the tenth, sixteen hundred and sixty, that we, Wanackmamack and Nickanoose, head Sachems of Nantucket island, do give, grant, bargain, and sell unto Mr. Thomas Mayhew of Marthas Vineyard, Tristram Cofiin, Senior, Thomas Macy, Christopher Hussey, Richard Swain, Peter Coffin, Stephen Greenleaf, Thomas Barnard, John Swain and William Pile, all the Land, Meadow, Marshes, Timber and Wood, and all appurte- nances thereunto belonging, and being and lying from the west end of the island of Nantucket, unto the Pond, called by the Indians, Waqutuquab, and from the head of that Pond, upon a straight line, unto the Pond situated by Monomoy Harbor or Creek, now called Wheeler's Creek, and so from the northeast corner of the said Pond to the sea, that is to say, all the right that we, the aforesaid Sachems have in the said tract of land, provided that none of the Indian Inhabitants, in or about the woodland, or whatsoever Indians, within the last purchase of land, from the head of the Pond to Monomoy Harbor, shall be removed without full satisfaction. And we, the aforesaid Sachems, do give, grant, bargain and sell, the one-half of the remain- der of the meadows and marshes upon all other parts of the Island. And also that the English people shall have The White Settlers and the Settlement 73 what grass they shall need for to mow, out of the remainder of the meadows and marshes on the Island, so long as the English remain upon the Island, and also free liberty for timber and wood upon any part of the Island within the jurisdiction. And also, we, the aforesaid Sachems, do full grant free liberty to the English for the feeding all sorts of cattle on any part of the Island, after Indian Har- vest is ended until planting time, or until the first day of May, from year to j^ear forever, for and in consideration of twelve pounds already paid, and fourteen pounds to be paid within three months after the date hereof. To have and to hold the aforesaid purchase of land, and other appurtenances, as aforementioned, to them, Mr. Thomas Macy, Tristram Coffin, Thomas Mayhew, and the rest aforementioned, and their heirs and assigns forever. In witness whereof, we the said Sachems, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the day and year above written. The sign of Wanackmamack [S] The sign of Nickanoose [S] Signed, sealed and delivered, in the presence of us Peter Folger, Felix Kuttashamaquat, Edward Starbuck. I do witness this deed to be a true deed, according to the interpretation of Felix the interpreter; also I heard Wanackmamack, but two weeks ago, say that the sale made by Nickanoose and he should be good, and that they would do so, whatever comes of it. Witness my hand, this 17th day of first month, 1664. Peter Folger. Witness: Mary Starbuck, The mark of John (I. C.) Coffin. Wanackmamack and Nickanoose acknowledge the above written to be their act and deed, in the presence of the General Court, this 12th of June, 1667, as attest. Matthew Mayhew, Secretary to the General Court. 74 Nantucket It is rather curious that this deed, although duly witnessed on May lo, 1660, was not confirmed by Peter Folger until January i, 1664, and did not receive official attestation by the Secretary to the General Court until the 12th of June, 1667. This deed purchased the island from the original patentee and a greater part of it from the Indians, and the English are said to have paid twenty-six pounds for it. Almost a year before the execution of the above deed, however, what is known as "The First Indian Deed" was executed by Nickanoose and Nanahuma on Jime 20, 1859. It is as follows: This doth witness that we Nickanoose of Nantucket, Sachem, and Nanahuma of Nantucket, Sachem, have sold unto Thomas Mayhew of the Vineyard the plain at the west end of Nantucket that is according to the figure under written, to him and his heirs and assigns forever. In consideration whereof we have received by earnest of the said Thomas Mayhew the sum of twelve pounds. Also the said Sachems have sold the said Mayhew of the Vine- yard the use of the meadow and to take wood for the use of him, the said Mayhew, his heirs and assigns forever. In witness hereof, we the Sachems aforesaid have here- unto set our hands this 20th of June, 1659. The said Acamy lyeth north and by east, and south by west or near it. Nickanoose, X (his mark.) Nanahuma, X (his mark.) Witness hereunto: Mr. Harry, John Coleman, Thomas Macy, Tristram Coffin. During the next hundred years — say from 1664 to 1774 — the records contain the many transfers of lots The White Settlers and the Settlement 75 of land deeded by the Indians to the English, until, indeed, the entire island became the property of the white settlers. As an example of further deeds the following may be quoted. January 5, 1660, Nickanoose out of free voluntary love for Edward Starbuck gave him "Coretue," which was reassigned by Edward Starbuck, August 30, 1668. June 22, 1662, Wanackmamack signed a deed con- veying a neck of land in the eastern section of the island known as Pocomo Neck. This was witnessed by the younger Wauwinet, son of Nickanoose, and by Peter Folger. The purchase was made by Tristram CofHn and Thomas Macy. February 20, 1661, Wanackmamack, head sachem, sold the west half of Nantucket. November 18, 1671, shows that Tristram Coffin bought of Wanackmamack and Nicomoose from Mono- moy to Waquittaquage Pond, Nanahumack Neck, and all from Wesco to the west end of Nantucket. June 20, 1682, deed of Nicomoose, sachem, to James Coffin, William Worth, and John Swain — the grass and herbage of all his lands from Indian harvest to first of May. And thus the land sales go on, until 1774, when the sachems and Indians had virtually sold every spot in their possession to the English. As Mr. H. B. Worth aptly points out, Nickanoose signed deeds only of territory belonging to some other sachem; the fact is true of Wanackmamack. Neither signed a deed of any portion of the territory under his direct control. The sachem Attapehat (Autopscot), as far as has been found never signed any deed. 76 Nantucket These facts may be accounted for by assuming that these chief sachems thought it beneath their dignity to sign deeds conveying their own property while at the same time they permitted no deeds to be signed without their approval and attestation. This may appear a lame suggestion, but it is the best the writer can offer. The Provincial Governor of New York in 1671 (Lovelace) thought it desirable to obtain a new deed from the sachems, attesting the legality of the land sales, and an assurance that the stipulated terms had been duly complied with, before issuing a new patent. The necessary proofs were furnished in that year by Wanackmamack the chief sachem. The number of settlers who had arrived from Salis- bury in 1660 and 1661 soon began to make themselves comfortable in their new and strange environment, while the Indians could not but admire the novel type of dwelling houses which the newcomers had set up in strange contrast with the humble wigwams of the aborigines; indeed the new procedure which was being introduced in many directions must have caused them much surprise. For a time the English and the Indians — the civilized and the uncivilized — worked together amicably for the agricultural development of the island. Together they cleared and tilled the land (for the most part existing as a primeval wilderness), settling the allotments, cut- ting down the timber, which is said to have almost covered the island, and mutually performing the nu- merous farming operations involved in the reclama- tion and cultivation of the soil. In addition to farming they engaged also in fishing, in which art the natives were expert. Much time was also devoted to the rais- The White Settlers and the Settlement 77 ing of sheep, and thus while mutual forbearance was exercised, mutual trust was generated, and while the settlers acted faithfully and justly with the Indians, the latter were equally loyal in the discharge of their duties in their new relationships. What has been written thus far will, it is hoped, serve to illustrate the conditions under which the white settlers became established on Nantucket. It may be noted that the names of many of the origi- nal white settlers are perpetuated in teeming numbers among the inhabitants of Nantucket until the present day. CHAPTER V THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE ISLAND When the Indians found that the white men had come among them for peaceful purposes and not for warfare or to take advantage of them, they received the settlers kindly and with every assurance of friend- ship and help that they could offer. They were willing to work for them, or to sell their lands on fair terms, and, on the other hand, the settlers dealt fairly with them, and claimed nothing for which they were not willing to pay — making no bargains that were not strictly in accordance with the law, and not even deny- ing the red men permission to utilize part of the lands which had been purchased from them, when these lands were required for family purposes. Notwithstanding much that has been written to the contrary, the Indians gave little or no dissatisfaction, nor did they prove in any way troublesome imtil the demon rum was introduced among them by the settlers themselves. From that hour they began to degenerate, and it was the main cause of nearly all their disaffection and misconduct, contributing in no small degree to their ultimate extinction on the island, as elsewhere. That Tristram Cofifin was a leading spirit in the development of the island will be generally conceded 78 The Early Development of the Island 79 as the statement is supported by history and tradition ; and that his strong personality gave him a controlHng influence in almost every direction cannot be gainsaid. Towards the Indians he exercised a uniform kindliness which was almost paternal, and they soon learned to know, to esteem, and to trust him. In his relations with his fellow-settlers, although self-willed, and some- times obdurate, he was, nevertheless, conscientious in the discharge of every duty, as well as being kind- hearted, worthy, and reliable. The first care of the settlers on their arrival was to provide shelters for themselves and their families. This they succeeded in doing by digging cellars on the hillsides, or by building log cabins, which served every immediate purpose. They had also to examine the general conditions existing on the island, to provide a water supply, and to clear and divide the land for culti- vation. In these various endeavors they received valuable help from the Indians. In accordance with a plan which some of the settlers had previously inaugurated in Salisbury, they resolved to divide the island into twenty-seven shares, — one for each original proprietor, reserving a certain adequate portion for house-lots, and a large area for common or undivided land. When Mayhew sold the island, he reserved for his own private use about 370 acres at Quaise. The entire area of the island, when surveyed in 1813, was 29,380 acres, from which were subtracted 10,993 acres and 69 rods as common land, leaving 18,387 acres and 22 rods to be divided and laid out between 1659 and 1821.' The subdivision of shares into what was called Cows' Commons was somewhat complex, but I quote the ' O. Macy, History of Nantucket, p. 24. 8o Nantucket following explanation from a masterly report by the late William Hussey Macy, which renders the subject easily intelligible: A sheep common, as used by the early settlers, signified as much land as would furnish commonage or pasturage for a sheep. Its original equivalent seems to have been an acre and a half of land. In the olden time all the land, except such pieces as were set aside for homesteads, and designated as "house-lot land," was held in common by the twenty-seven original proprietors. Estimating, the whole extent of available land in round numbers at about 29,000 acres, each man's share would be 720 commons for sheep. The product of 720 x 27 = 19,440, which represents the whole number of sheep commons at the outset. When at a later period certain large tracts of land were laid out to form "divisions," and designated by names such as "Squam," "Southeast Quarter," "Smooth Hummocks," etc., each division was divided into twenty-seven shares as nearly equal in size as the nature of the case would admit, — quality and quantity considered. When these divisions were laid out, the number of proprietors was no longer twenty-seven, as it was constantly increasing by inherit- ance, as well as by bargain and sale, and few individuals could claim a whole share in any one of the divisions; but each share was supposed to contain seven hundred and twenty undivided parts, and each landowner owned the same fractional interest in one of these shares as in a full share of all the common lands. Lots were then drawn to determine in what particular share of the new division each man's interest should fall. The share might contain one acre or it might contain fifty acres, according to the extent of the division laid out; but 720 was the constant denominator, and a man who owned, say, forty-five sheep commons of the original land, or more correctly ra^irro of the common land, would also be the owner of 7^0, undivided, of a certain "share in Southeast Quarter"; of a certain The Early Development of the Island 8i other "share in Squam," and so on in the several divisions as they were successively laid out. All the land of the island, excepting house-lot land, was owned in this manner, whether used for planting or stocking purposes, — the several pro- prietors of each share holding it in common and undivided, and buying and selling only undivided fractional interests. The lands so laid out in divisions were known by the name of "dividend lands." The proprietors formed themselves into an organization under the name of "The Proprietors of the Common and Undivided Lands of Nantucket," held meetings, and kept records of their own, distinct from the records of deeds. For more than a hundred and fifty years, down into the beginning of the last century, all the land of the island — aside from the house-lot land — was thus owned in common, and the proprietors steadily refused to set off any one person's interest to him in severalty. But these fetters were soon broken by Obed. Mitchell and a few others, who, being large proprietors, desired to obtain a title in severalty to the district known as Plainfield, lying north of the village of Siasconset, and containing some two thousand acres. Failing in their efforts at the proprietors' meetings, they carried the case to the courts, and after several years of litigation they gained their point, and others followed their example with similar results. In 1 82 1 several tracts were laid out and apportioned under the names of Smooth Hummocks, Trott's Hills, Head of the Plains, and others, and these are often spoken of as the new "divisions." By the great set-off to Obed. Mitchell and others, the number of sheep commons had been reduced from 19,440 to 17,172 ; and although there were still twenty-seven shares in each division as before, the constant denominator was changed from 720 to 636. The owner of 2-0 part of an original share of land — provided no part of his interest had been sold — would own (or rather his heirs would own) — when this statement was made in 1 882 — thirty-six sheep commons 6 82 Nantucket in the common and undivided lands, with thirty-six sheep commons (meaning thirty-six undivided 720th parts) of a certain share in each of the old divisions, as Squam, South- east Quarter, etc., as also thirty- six sheep commons (mean- ing thirty-six undivided 636th parts) in some certain share of each of the new divisions, as Smooth Hummocks, Trott's Hills, etc. It was possible to buy and sell these interests in the "dividend lands" separate from the interest in the common land, and thus a proprietor who bought out all his co-tenants would own an entire share defined by certain specific boundary lines. A sheep common, then, signified, 19.440 of all the common land on the island. The original idea was an acre and a half of land ; but, as the term is now used, it indicates nothing definite, either in area or value, but means simply a certain undivided fractional part of a very uncertain something else, until the whole circumstances of each particular are investigated. As soon as a division was laid out and drawn in shares, the proprietors as an organization, ceased to have any control of it. If the owner of any portion of a share desired to hold his part in severalty he must make a formal application to the judicial courts, which would appoint commissioners to set ofl his portion; and many good titles have thus been secured. But in many cases where an undivided interest has remained in the same family for three or four generations, it has become so subdivided and split up by inheritance that it is practically impossible for a would-be pur- chaser to find all the present owners, and secure a perfect title by deed. ... By a gradual process of cancellation or absorption the whole number of sheep commons is now brought down to comparatively few, and the quantity of common land remaining is very much reduced. The greater part of the remaining commons are now in a few hands, while a small number of them have been quite lost sight of by the process of infinitesimal subdivision caused by death and inheritance. The Early Development of the Island 83 According to the records, the first sheep-shearing took place in 1696. The western shear-pen was near Maxcy's Pond, and the eastern near Gibbs's Pond. The last shearing took place near Miacomet, in 1847. It may be mentioned incidentally that in 1775 the flocks numbered over 15,000 head. As to the settlers' farming operations: The proprietors commonly plant about twenty-five acres of corn to a share, which are 675 acres for the twenty-seven shares which are in one field, and will produce on an average twelve bushels to the acre : that number multiplied by 675 gives 8100 bushels. The next year the same land is sowed with rye and oats; about eighty-one acres with rye. The produce, about six bushels to an acre, is 486 bushels. The remainder, 594 acres, is sowed with oats, which produces about fourteen bushels to an acre — that is, 8316 bushels. On the private farms there are about 200 acres planted with corn which will yield twenty bushels to the acre and as many acres for rye and oats. In addition to the commons there were, as Zaccheus Macy points out, various other portions of land, swamps and salt-meadows, which were divided among the shareholders in proportion to their shares, and these were utilized, as a rule, for house-lots, mowing land, and pastures. There can be no doubt that the settlers found the cultivation of the land sufficiently remuner- ative, and that it eventually enabled them to enjoy competence and prosperity. But times have changed, and we have changed with them! Farming, however, did not altogether monopolize their time, for the surrounding ocean teemed with almost every variety of fish, and during intervals of labor the settlers were able to supply their households and to find recreation in the process; besides, the island 84 Nantucket contained an abundance of wild-fowl and small game, which contributed materially to their food resources. The population was gradually increasing and indus- trial pursuits were soon organized, thus affording employment to artisans, while adding to the successful development of the settlement. The first grist-mill built by the English was erected in 1666 or 1667 at Lily Pond, which, at that time is said to have covered three acres. Peter Folger was placed in charge, but the bursting of the dam seems to have put the mill out of commission. About 1676, the second mill, a fulling mill, was installed in its place, with Peter Folger once more as manager. Subsequently four grist- mills were built and operated on the mill-hills, and are said to have been kept running until 1822. The first, having become useless, was blown up in 1836, in order "to prove the practicability of blowing up buildings in case of fire." Another was destroyed by lightning in 1817; a third was taken down in 1873, one of the mill- stones being used as part of the foundation to the Soldiers' Monument. The fourth grist-mill was erected in 1746, and still remains on its ancient eminence to tell of Nantucket's quondam enterprise. It commands a magnificent view of the surrounding island. From 1723 to 1875 there were no less than twelve mills oper- ated upon the island. Some were worked by wind, some by water ; some of them were grist-mills and others fulling mills, and they were placed in various positions through- out the island, tending much to its prosperity, and giving employment directly or indirectly to many workers.' ' Those interested in the subject of Nantucket mills will find many- interesting details in Mrs. Eva C. G. Folger's volume, The Glacier's Gift, to which the writer wishes to express many obligations. Vide Chapter XIX in this volume. The Early Development of the Island 85 While cereal and textile industries were thus inau- gurated and developed, the islanders had to select their house-lots, and build their residences. Some writers have asserted that the earliest settlers, includ- ing Thomas Macy, built their houses in the immediate neighborhood of Madeket, but this is undoubtedly an error, as there is not a shred of evidence to support the statement beyond the fact that Edward Starbuck had built a house at Madeket, and that Macy resided with him during their first winter on the island. On the other hand, it is a matter of established history that Tristram Coffin made his first home near Capaum Pond (where he resided until his death), and that Thomas Macy had his house-lot laid out to the eastward of Tristram Coffin's near the Wannacomet Pond, in 1661. It was, indeed, in this locality that the first village was located, viz: in the neighborhood of Hummock Pond, and to the south and east of Capaum Pond. In a few instances the places where some of the houses stood are still indicated by the remains of brick cellars, especially in the vicinity of Reed Pond, where it is believed Thomas Macy's residence was located. At a meeting held at Wannacomet, July 15, 1661, of the owners or purchasers residing there, it was agreed that each man should have liberty to choose his house- lot within the limits not previously occupied, and that each house-lot "shall contain sixty rods square to a whole share." As far back as 1642, the Mayhews, father and son, had been trying to convert the Indians to Christianity, but it is not generally known that the first house of worship erected on the island was built for the Indians in 1674, that in this year they had thirty devout com- mimicants, and, at least, three meeting-houses in 86 Nantucket different parts of the island, viz: at Miacomet, at Polpis, and at Occawa now known as Plainfield, — where every Sunday, and sometimes during the week, three hundred of the natives were in the habit of attend- ing service. John Gibbs, whose Indian name was Assassamoogh (whom King Philip previously sought on the island, 1665), was sent to Harvard by Mr. May- hew, and, when he was sufficiently educated, he served as a preacher to the Nantucket and Vineyard Indians for twenty-five years. Pastor Gibbs was assisted by three "praying Indians," Joseph, Samuel, and Caleb, — the last a sachem's son, whose Indian name was Wee- kochisit. This part of the history of the island has not hitherto received the attention it deserves. The noble efforts of the Maj^hew family to Christianize the aborigines are worthy of the highest commendation, and should never be forgotten. ' The first church, town-house, and jail were, it is generally believed, built on the road represented by the present West Center and Chester Streets a little to the north of No-Bottom Pond, and approximately half a mile west from where West Center joins Liberty Street. A tradition exists that the "first church" was identical with the building now known as "the old North Vestry," which was moved to Beacon Hill, Nantucket, in 1765, first placed where the Congrega- tional Church now stands and eventually, in 1834, removed to its present position at the rear of the church. Built of island-timber it may have been (although even ' Many and ample details will be found in Mr. Experience Mayhew's attractive book entitled Indian Converts, and in a valuable addendum to that work by Mr. Thomas Prince. The Early Development of the Island 87 this is problematical), but not in 171 1, as indicated by an inscription on its gable-end. That it was brought from the vicinity of the "first church" there can be little doubt, but the following, extract from Judge Lynde's Diary, dated at Nantucket in June, 1732, when he was visiting the island, shows pretty clearly that it could not have been the first church: "Lord's Day, June nth; Mr. White preached very well at the new-built Presbyterian Meeting-house.'' This should be enough to disprove the allegation that it was the original church of the settlers; but, in addition, a careful examination of the building itself, fortified by expert opinion, proves unquestionably that, although prob- ably built some years before its removal, it could not have been erected in 171 1, nor for perhaps twenty years thereafter. That the Presbyterians had an earlier meeting-house, which was existent in 1725, is evident from the town having issued an order to have one of its official notices "placed on the door of both meeting-houses," but as to what was done with it, or what became of it, there is not a vestige of proof to show. There is no evidence to show that any regular church establishment was in existence before the arrival of Timothy White, in 1725; nor had any minister been appointed to the charge before that year. In the Timothy White Papers,^ however, it is suggested that ministers of the Gospel temporarily visiting the island occasionally held religious services and ministered to the spiritual needs of the people. On May 9, 1725, Mr. Timothy White notes that he "began preaching the Gospel at Nantucket," and this is the first authentic record. IVIr. White, although he ' Page 13, footnote. 88 Nantucket had been educated at Harvard, was not an ordained minister, but had been appointed by a religious society to serve as the superintendent of religious work among the Nantucket Indians, and as a private school-teacher. Later he became minister of the congregation of the first little church. The first record of the administra- tion of baptism is made on September 29, 1728, by the Rev. Joseph Baxter of Medfield, and "at that time a Covenant is ox\Tied." ]\Ir. White was appointed minister of the Presbyte- rian meeting-house at Nantucket in or about 1732, and it is almost certain that no church organization existed among the whites until that year or thereabout. Mr. White surrendered his charge in 1750, and there is no record of an}^ minister having succeeded him until 1 761. "Since that date the roll of Pastors of the first Congregational Church has never been incom- plete."^ There was formerly a tower on the old Con- gregational Church, now kno"^Ti as the "Old North Vestry." ]Much collateral testimony tends to prove that the education of their children was not neglected by the settlers, although no public schools were probably erected before 1827. There can be no doubt that the Quakers had schools from an early period, and that there were, contemporaneously, private schools for pupils of various ages, supported by the general com- munity. It is a matter of record that, as early as 171 6, Eleazer Folger was engaged as schoolmaster at the rate of "three pounds current money to keep school one year"; and from 1725 to 1750, jMr. Timothy White acted as a private-school teacher as well as a mission- ' Dudley's Churches and Pastors of Nantucket, p. 20, and Timothy White Papers. The Early Development of the Island 89 ary and a minister. Many private schools existed from 1800 to 1827. There is not a word in the Town or Land Records to indicate where the town-house and jail were placed prior to 1 716. It has been stated that the original meeting-house, jail, and town-house occupied contiguous sites, but however probable this may have been, there are no known facts to sustain the allegation. Allusions are made in the records referring to these three institu- tions, records of orders for their erection, for repairs, etc., but not in a single instance is there any reference to the locality in which the buildings themselves were situated. In 1 7 16 it was voted that a town-house should be erected and here the location is sufficiently indicated to surmise that it was built on the south side of West Center Street, north of No-Bottom Pond. This is precisely the situation which tradition has always assigned to the three original institutions now under discussion, but no proof is offered as to whether they were erected here or not ; and even in this instance there is not a word about either the original jail or meeting-house having been placed in or near the same vicinity. In 1783, the town-house erected in 1716 was moved to the comer of Milk and Main Streets, where it stood for many years. As to the location of the old jail, no facts are forth- coming. There is a record to the effect that, in 1748, the town voted to sell "the old prison at Wesko to William Swain." Twenty years later it was voted "to repair the old prison, and build a new one near it." The town built a workhouse thirty feet long and sixteen feet wide in 1770. Later "the workhouse and 90 Nantucket the new poor-house were on the lot now occupied by the jail."' Judging from an inscription on the building, the present jail in Vestal Street may have been erected in 1775- In 1665, the redoubtable King Philip visited the island, bringing with him a number of natives in canoes. The alleged object of his visit was to find an Indian who had committed the unspeakable crime of having men- tioned the name of PhiHp's dead father! Philip finally found his Indian culprit, and the whites at once offered to purchase his liberty; but the sum asked by Philip was exorbitant, and beyond their means. However, they actually gave him all they could afford, viz: £11, which he immediately appropriated. After some bar- gaining, Philip remaining obdurate, the settlers at last became angry, and threatened that, if he and his braves did not leave the island immediately, they would rally the inhabitants. The result was that Philip became alarmed, and left the island at once, leaving his prisoner (John Gibbs alias Assassamoogh) unmolested. Civil government was instituted on the island and the town incorporated in 1671, when Tristram Coffin was appointed Chief Magistrate, with two assistants under him, and with Mr. Mayhew, of Martha's Vine- yard, and his two assistants, they constituted a General Court with appellate jurisdiction over both islands, under the Governor and Council of New York. In 1672 the first Selectmen were appointed. The Board comprised Edward Starbuck, John Swain, John Gardner, Peter Coffin, and WilHam Worth. In 1673 Captain John Gardner was appointed Captain of the Alilitary Company for the defense of the island. ' H. Barnard Worth, Nantucket Lands and Landowners. The Early Development of the Island 91 It was in 1673, ^^so, that the name Sherburne was bestowed upon the Httle township of settlers by Gover- nor Lovelace of New York Province, under the juris- diction of which the island was at this time; but in 1693, it was once more ceded to the Province of Mas- sachusetts by special act of King William III and Mary. Shore- whaling also commenced in 1673. Captain John Gardner was appointed Chief Magis- trate by Governor Andros in 1680. Tristram Coffin died in October, 1681. In or about 1700 the little harbor of Capaum was turned into a pond by a great storm which blocked the entrance, and cut the harbor off completely from the ocean as it remains to this day. The islanders were thus obviously placed at a great disadvantage for want of harbor accommodation, but evidently hesitated to repair their misfortune by immediate removal. They had been centred in the neighborhood of Wannacomet for many years, and were apparently well-satisfied with the locality they had selected until a catastrophe happened which was beyond their control, and under all the circumstances they doubtless felt that, in many ways, their interests would suffer by an immediate removal. Be this as it may, when they found that increasing prosperity would eventually force them to seek a new township with larger and more permanent harbor accommodation, they at length selected Wesko, — now Nantucket — for their future dwelling place. The exodus was accomplished in or about 1720. The new center commended itself in every way. Extensive building operations were carried on, and soon the town was flourishing apace. The outlook of the settlers about this time was hope- ful in the extreme, and the attractions of the island were 92 Nantucket being noised abroad. The inhabitants were increasing rapidly; artisans and mechanics had come among the islanders in sufficient numbers to ensure the skillful execution of handicraft in its various branches, and the settlers had added to their resources by engaging in cod-fishing, in which the red men were as proficient as the whites. A little later, having observed many whales disporting themselves about the island, the settlers resolved to capture some of these leviathans of the deep, and to turn them to their own advantage. They secured expert help in order to learn the best modes of killing whales, and extracting their oil, and Macy tells us that "the pursuit of whales commenced in boats from the shore, and increased from year to year, till it became the principal branch of business with the islanders." The Indians joined the whites with much spirit in these adventures, and, being good-natured and obedi- ent, as well as especially dexterous in every kind of sport, they were of the utmost assistance in the manning of extra boats. It was not, however, until 1690 that the whaling industr}', which made the island famous, was thoroughly organized and established on a business basis. This subject is, however, of such importance in relation to the progress of the island that a special chapter must be devoted to its brief consideration. In the meanwhile the dawTi of the i8th centurj^ found the development of the island and its resources in a ver}^ satisfactor}- and hopeful condition. The popula- tion was increasing rapidly, money was circidating more freely, the transfer of nearly all aboriginal lands had been arranged with the natives, and the soil had been proved sufficiently fertile and productive; the natives The Early Development of the Island 93 themselves were, for the most part, zealously co-operat- ing with the whites, the whaling industry was proving a great boon to the islanders, and prospects of still greater progress and success were fully assured. On the I2th of April, 1742, the House of Represent- atives voted that His Excellency the Captain General be desired to give orders that within twelve months there be erected within the Town and Harbour of Sherburn on Nantucket a good and sufficient Breast-Work, and a Platform built, and six guns, six pounders and others equivalent mounted, and all suitable Warlike Stores procured, and that the sum of £150 be granted, etc/ The above vote was taken for the purpose of forti- fying Nantucket. Numerous collateral branches of industry directly or indirectly connected with whaling soon became essential, and were duly instituted. Thus wharves had to be built for the accommodation of an increasing fleet of vessels, and that still known as the Straight Wharf was erected in or about 1723. From 1772 to 1775 new industries were established in every direction. The first candle factory for the manufacture of sperm candles was erected in 1772 and its annual output, at one time, amounted to 4,560,000 candles. Large rope- walks for the making of whale-lines and every de- scription of rope, were constructed; also salt-works, a brush-factory, brickworks (at Gull Island), a rum dis- tillery, a woollen factory, and many other mechanical arts and devices were established. The numerous mills which had been erected and were working upon the island about this time and other manufacturing indus- tries are referred to elsewhere.^ ' Mass. State Records. » Vide Chapter XX. 94 Nantucket In 1746 the first lighthouse bmlt at Nantucket, being the second built in the United States, was erected at Brant Point.' For forty-five years a light was maintained here by the town authorities until 1795, when the government assumed the responsibility. In 1764 a Hospital for Inoculation was established in Boston, and Dr. Gelston established a branch on Gravelly Island. The people, however, soon became dissatisfied, and eventually disapproved of the measure so strongly that the town was induced to petition the government against the practice, and this requisition stopped it for a time: but it was resumed in 1778, when the people persisted in their opposition, and Dr. Gel- ston was refunded for his outlay (£1072.17.6 — old tenor), and he was banished from the island. In 1775 the present jail was probably erected.^ A volume would be required to adequately describe the terrible experiences of Nantucketers during the Revolutionary War of 1 775-1 784, but beyond a few general statements, the briefest reference is all that the exigencies of space will permit here. It may be truth- fully said, however, that no other place in the Union paid a higher price for the independence thus obtained than the inhabitants of Nantucket. While their insular position laid them open to every kind of attack by an enemy inured to warfare for hundreds of years, and infinitely superior in numbers and experience, they were by the same conditions prevented from making any adequate defence, while, for obvious reasons, their own country could afford them but little protection. The islanders had no choice but to submit to the in- ' Boston Light was erected in 1715. ^ The adjacent House of Correction was built in 1805, and removed from Quaise, with the Asylum for the Poor, in 1854. The Early Development of the Island 95 evitable, and to do the best they could under any circumstances that might arise. The whaHng industry, on which the vital interests of the island entirely depended, ceased, and beyond a little risky trading carried on with the West Indies, and a little shoal-fishing round the shores of the island, all their maritime activities were paralyzed. In ever- increasing distress many of the islanders enlisted, others ventured on privateer service, and of those who left few returned to the island. It soon became impossible to import goods of any kind, the supply of fuel and provisions was almost entirely cut off, and many of those who ventured forth to obtain them were captured and imprisoned in the loathsome prison-ships, which the islanders dreaded far more than the suffering and privations which prevailed to such an extreme degree on the island. By degrees their pecuniary resources were almost expended and rank famine stared the people in the face; employment of every kind was at a standstill; food was becoming scarce, and fuel could not be pro- cured. In the latter emergency the inhabitants were driven to utilize peat, scrub-oak roots, and dried bark. The Nantucketers became as starving prisoners on their own island, for British cruisers infested the Sound night and day. Worse than all, perhaps, were the repeated threats of the enemy to plunder and rob the island; and on one occasion, in 1779, they landed about a hundred men, who robbed the islanders of property to the amount of £10,666.13.4.' In simple justice to the British Army and Navy it should be stated that the commanders-in-chief of both services, on being petitioned by the Nantucket authori- ' Macy, History of Nantucket, p. 91. 96 Nantucket ties, sympathized with the islanders and assured them that "no further depredations should be made upon the island, on property belonging to the inhabitants, by persons under the authority of Great Britain." But a few months afterwards, it having been falsely represented to the enemy that, on the 12th of Septem- ber, 1779, the armed schooner, Royal Charlotte, was prevented from seizing a Nantucket sloop by "wafts and signals" from the said sloop, a squadron of English armed vessels was despatched against Nantucket, and had actually arrived in Vineyard Haven; and it was only after explanations and interviews between the representatives of the island and the commanders of the royal forces that the matter was adjusted, and the war-vessels took their departure. Such vicissitudes and embarrassments kept the unfortunate Nantucketers in a continuous state of anxiety and alarm, but they had found in their isolated position that submission was the best test of prudence, and that patience under the decrees of Providence would in the end ensure their deliverance. In addition to the blighting ravages of the war, the exceptionally inclement winter of 1780 rendered the lot of the brave islanders desolate indeed. Not onl}^ was the cold intense, but the harbor, as well as the entire island, was fast-bound in fields of ice, thus cutting off supplies of fish and fuel, while there was a dire want of provisions and raiment. All classes of the community, however, joined in a mighty co-oper- ative effort to prevent the threatening famine, and everything that could be suggested was accomplished in order to improve the condition of the suffering people and to save their lives. Vegetation had been more prolific than usual during the preceding year, and the The Early Development of the Island 97 farmers had been enabled to accumulate a surplusage of grain and vegetables beyond their own requirements, and this was divided among the famished islanders without stint; there being thousands of sheep on the island, the women spun the wool, and kept those dependent upon them supplied with raiment; the pro- prietors of the island placed large tracts of land, amount- ing to thousands of acres, at the disposal of laborers for improvement and cultivation, and the people were permitted to dig peat out of the extensive island-swamps. From these conjoined agencies, added to the charitable organizations of the town authorities, much relief was brought to the poorer classes of the inhabitants, but the hearts of the seafaring men were ardently longing for an opportunity to plow the watery deep once more, and efforts in this direction were made by pe- titioning and interviewing the British authorities. Certain privileges were thus secured which enabled the whalers to re-engage in their industry. Peace was at length proclaimed in 1784, and, as Macy says: "Joy pervaded all parts of the country, and was nowhere more heartfelt than in Nantucket, for perhaps no place had suffered more."^ In 1775, when the war broke out, the aggregate tonnage of Nantucket ships was 14,867 tons. During the war fifteen ships were lost at sea, and 134 captured; total loss in tonnage, 12,464 tons, of which more than 10,000 tons fell into the hands of the enemy. The war had indeed demoralized every industry on the island, and while time and the continued blessing of peace could alone restore to the inhabitants generally their former happiness and prosperity, the poorer ' It has been stated that 1600 Nantucketers perished in one way and another, during the Revolutionary War. 7 98 Nantucket classes were severely handicapped for years to come, while many of the whalers were incapacitated from following their strenuous calling after such a lapse of activity as they had experienced during the "seven years war." Many were the trials made by the island- ers to recover from their deplorable condition. Cod- fishing was tried, and gave promise for a time, but it gradually failed from a variety of causes; agriculture languished, because those who had been farmers were no longer sufficiently strong or active to carry on the necessary operations, and the younger men were dis- inclined to engage in it. The w^haling industry offered the best prospects, and the majority of the men turned instinctively towards it, but those who re-embarked in it could not make it remunerative, although the government had put a bounty on whale oil. The English Government held out such inducements to whalers, if they would come to Nova Scotia or to Milford Haven in the west of England, that many Nantucketers left their island home, and this to a great extent thinned the ranks of those capable of taking arduous sea-voyages and engaging in whale-fishing. The industry, however, was spreading in other coun- tries, and Nantucketers at length determined not to be outdone in a calling which they had made their own ; and, although handicapped for a time, they succeeded at last. In 1784 the State erected a lighthouse on Great Point, and in 1790 the site became the property of the United States. The first vessel to engage in the pursuit of whales in the Pacific Ocean sailed from Nantucket in 1 791. In the latter part of May or early in June, 1795, the Nantucket Bank was established, and it was robbed of over $20,000, on June 20th of the same year! The Early Development of the Island 99 The following is a list of the money stolen, copied from an official source: VALUE 400 pieces of French-coined gold f 1733 150 Spanish Pistoles 550 300 English Guineas 1400 50 English Half-guineas 116 22 pieces of coined gold called Half Joannes 1 76 18 " " " " " Quarter Jo- annes 72 $4,047 In Dollars 12,007 4430 French Crowns 4.873 $20,927 It was in 1795, also, that the name of the town was changed from Sherburne to the modern form of its aboriginal name, Nantucket.' During 1796 general business depression prevailed, and a number of inhabitants sought for better conditions elsewhere. Some succeeded in their quest, while others might have done better if they had remained at home. Reverting to the exodus of the islanders to other places, from time to time, on account of abandoned hope, if not actual privation, it should be mentioned that, as early as 176 1-2, a large number of Nantucketers migrated to Nova Scotia; in 1771-75 nearly fifty fami- lies removed to New Garden, Guilford, North Carolina ; a little later, with the idea of bettering their fortune, ' An appropriation of about $900 was made in 1796 for the purpose of building a school, but the writer has found no other record concerning it. 100 Nantucket many of them effected a settlement on the Hudson River, New York. After the Revolutionary War, in 1786, mainly through the instrumentality of Mr. Rotch, the well-known Nantucket shipowner, a large contingent of whalers were induced to go to Dunkirk, in France. Still later, between 1835 and 1849, a further exodus took place to Maine, New York, Ohio, and California. These emigrations depleted the island of whalers to a great extent, and doubtless contributed to the failure of the whaling industry on Nantucket. From time to time the question has frequently been asked "Was Nantucket ever heavily wooded?" As far as can be ascertained, while undoubtedly possessing in certain sections clumps or groves of trees at an early period, the island was yet never what may be termed afforested. Trees of various kinds, but especially of white oak, grew at Coatue, Coskata, on the cliff, — near the O'Connor and John Gardner houses, — at Dead-horse Valley, in the "Plains Countr}^" and here and there over the island; but by 1780 these trees had, for the most part, been cut down and utilized by the settlers, so that after this period it could scarcely be said that any extensive growth of trees was in existence. In some of the island swamps tree-roots of good size have been dug up occasionally, but these simply testify that the trees of which they had formed part had been used for building and other purposes by the white proprietors before 1780. Although well-authenticated, it is not generally known that, between 1 790-1 800, a whipping-post stood at the comer of Main and Gardner Streets, and that a woman named Polly Walmsley was here publicly whipped — her outstretched arms being tied to the back of a cart. The Early Development of the Island loi In 1 798 the islanders were in fear of being implicated in the troubles between France and the United States, and were filled with gloom and anxiety as to the possi- bilities of another war. Although these forebodings were, fortunately, not fully realized, the resources of the island suffered to the extent of $150,000.' Fresh anxiety and alarm were felt concerning the safety of Nantucket ships around the Horn during the next year, but happily these fears were groundless, for although the Nantucketers had little confidence in the Spanish authorities, the ships proceeded safely after a few days' detention at St. Mary's. Between the War of the Revolution and that of 18 12, a formidable fleet of privateers infested the high seas. In 1793, when there was warfare between France and England, the United States was the leading neutral maritime nation. England foresaw that American shipping would soon dominate the Mediterranean if means were not taken to prevent such a contingency, and, as a check, pirates were loosed upon the Atlantic. On May 9, 1793, the French Government authorized the seizure of "all neutral vessels which shall be laden wholly or in part with food-products and destined for an enemy's port." This action was the cause of what has since been known as the "French Spoliations" of the American merchant marine, giving rise to a multitude of claims, which were finally settled by compromise. England was acting in defense of her maritime su- premacy, and was, therefore, boimd to oppose all possi- ble rivals of that supremacy, and, food being scarce in France, she determined to stop aU food-laden ships bound for that country. ' Alexander Starbuck. 102 Nantucket Spain also, in her privateering enterprises, seized scores of American ships, and under one pretext or another many were carried into the ports of Denmark and Sweden from piratical motives alone. But it should be remembered that despite all this, in 1880, America possessed 667,107 tons of shipping engaged in foreign trade/ The Nantucket streets were first named in 1797. The closing years of the century passed away amid alternating hopes and fears; but, notwithstanding their many discouragements, the islanders still looked forward hopefully for better fortune in the new era upon which they were entering. ' Spears's American Merchant Marine. The Macmillan Co., 1910. CHAPTER VI the nantucket whale fishery By Alexander Starbuck The prosecution of the whale fishery from the little island of Nantucket was an undertaking that might well have been a matter of pride for any community or any nationality. Such was the skill and daring of the islanders in this pursuit that they carried their employment, hazardous enough under the most favor- able aspects, to an extreme that seemed audacious, and won the plaudits even of those who were their rivals in the business. What England and France were unable to accomplish with a monopoly of trade and heavy bounties, whale- men of the United States carried on successfully with- out assistance from their government and in the face of all competition. Among the foremost were the seamen of Nantucket. Their keels vexed every sea, and the American flag floated from the mastheads of their ships in every port. Pushing their pursuit into unknown seas, large numbers of the islands of the Pacific were discovered, and their locations determined by these pioneers of the sea. At once producers and factors, their trade extended from China in the west to 103 104 Nantucket the shores of the Mediterranean in the east ; and they traded as well in the teas and silks of the Orient as in the fruits and wines and manufactured goods of the Occident. They brought as curiosities the dresses of the Esquimaux and the weapons of the natives of the Pacific islands; the trinkets of the Japanese and the natives of the lands bordering Behring's Straits, and the papyrus books of the people of India. At home, when peace reigned, the people were all busy, happy, and prosperous, the warehouses were crowded with goods, and the streets thronged with teams and foot passengers. At the wharves lay a large fleet of vessels taking in or discharging cargoes or refitting for new voyages. The cheery din of the coopers' hammers and the ring of the blacksmiths' anvils resounded on all sides, the sail-lofts, the shops of the riggers, and the "walks" of the rope-makers were occupied by the multitudes that the demands of the shipping gave employment to. In a thousand ways the activities of a prosperous business showed themselves. But all this is now changed. The ships long ago sailed on their last voyages from Nantucket. Not an ocean on the face of the globe but holds in its embrace the shattered remains of a portion of her fleet, while the surviving portion hails from other ports. The tools of the mechanic are silent, and the bustle of traffic no longer crowds the streets. The wharves are deserted, decaying, or decayed, and the warehouses have long been vacant and closed. To a native of Nantucket, it is a sad sight to thus see Ichabod written on her desolate places ; to look upon the ruined wharves and storehouses, and to see even the "toilers of the sea" themselves look old and weather-beaten; to see them rapidly nearing that port The Nantucket Whale Fishery 105 in which the anchor will be cast never to be weighed again. Of the early history of whaling at Nantucket, much is involved in obscurity. In common with all the hardy settlers of the New England coast, those here must have paid early attention to fishing, since it afforded one of the — by no means numerous — methods of subsistence to the first comers ; and to men inured to the sea, and appreciating the value of a pursuit which had already brought a goodly recompense to the Bis- cayans, the Dutch, and the English, it was natural that with the waters adjacent to their island teeming with the gigantic mammals, they should soon have turned their attention to the pursuit and capture of the whale. On the records of the town, under date of June 5, 1672, appears the draft of a proposed agreem.ent be- tween one James Loper of the one part and the proprie- tors of the island of Nantucket of the other part. As this is the first recorded recognition of whale-fishing in the history of our island, it may be a matter of interest to the reader, and is in these words: 5th. 4th. mo. 1672 James Lopar doth Ingage to carry on a design of whale Citching on the Island of Nantuckket, that is the said James Ingages to be a third in all respeckes, and som of the Town Ingage also to carrey on the other two thirds with him in like manner, the Town doth also Consent, that first one Company shall begin and afterward the rest of the freeholders or any of them have liberty to set up another Company Provided that they make a tender to those freeholders that have no share in the first Company and if any refuse, the Rest may go on themselves, and the Town do also Ingage that no other Company shal be al- lowed hereafter; also whosoever kil any whale of the Com- pany or Companys aforesaid they ar to pay to the Town io6 Nantucket for every such Whale five Shillings — and for the Incorrage- ment of the said James Lopar the Town doth grant him Ten acres of Land in som convenant place, that he may Chuse in, (wood Land exceped) and also Liberty for the Commonage of the Cows and twenty sheep and one horse with necesary Wood and water for his use on Conditions that he follow the Trade of whaleing on the Island two years in all the season thereof, beginning the first of March next insuing. Also is to build upon his land, and when he leaves Inhabiting upon the Island then he is first to ofer his Land to the Town at a Valluable price, and if the Town do not buy it — then he may sel it to whome he please — the commonage is granted only for the time he stays here. But although this would seem at first glance to imply that Loper took up his abode among the islanders, there is no proof that such was the fact. One James Loper (or Looper) was a resident of Easthampton on Long Island, and carried on the business of whaling at that place; but there is no evidence that up to 1678 he had left there, for at that time he was still a tax- payer in that town. Nowhere else on the Nantucket records, neither in the proprietors' list of grantees forwarded to New York in 1674, ^^^ i^ ^^e record of lands "layd out by the land layers," is his name men- tioned, nor does the document just quoted appear to be signed. In the absence of such evidence, which must have existed had he removed to the island, we must conclude that he had no share in giving to the islanders instruction in the art that subsequently made them world-renowned. According to the account of Macy {History of Nan- tucket) , the first whaling expedition in Nantucket was undertaken by some of the original purchasers of the island ; the circum- The Nantucket Whale Fishery 107 stances of which are handed down by tradition, and are as follows: "A whale of the kind called 'scragg,' came into the harbor and continued there three days. This excited the curiosity of the people, and led them to devise measures to prevent his return out of the harbor. They accordingly invented and caused to be wrought for them a harpoon, with which they attacked and killed the whale. This first success encouraged them to undertake whaling as a permanent business, whales being at that time numerous in the vicinity of the shores." The date of this expedition does not appear. Our judgment would be that it was prior to 1672, however, and that the proposed agreement with Loper w^as a result of it. "In 1690," writes Zaccheus Macy in a communica- tion to the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society "the Nantucketers, finding their neighbors on Cape Cod more proficient in the art of killing whales and extracting the oil than themselves, sent thither and employed Ichabod Paddock to remove to the island and instruct them on these points." It is prob- able that the removal was made, and that Ichabod proved a good teacher; we know that he had apt pupils. The early stages of whaling on Nantucket did not require either large vessels or elaborate equipment. So numerous were the whales that boats were sufficient for the former and for the latter such "craft" as could be easily and cheaply made was all that was necessary. For the purpose of systematizing the work, the southern shore of the island was arranged in four dis- tricts, to each of which a crew of six was assigned; the business as a whole being, however, carried on in com- mon. Near the center of each division, or about three io8 Nantucket and one half miles apart, was erected a mast provided with cleats, which was used for the purpose of a look- out. Nearby was built a temporary hut for the pro- tection of all excepting the one whose station was on the lookout. When the man at the masthead observed a whale spouting, the alarm was given, the boats were manned and launched, and the chase commenced. A capture made, the whale was towed ashore, and the oil-producing parts were removed in a similar manner to the custom on shipboard. Try- works were erected on the beach and the blubber, which had been cut and sliced, was subjected to the process of trying out. These try-works were used for many years after shore- fishing had ceased as a constant pursuit; the blubber of the whales captured at sea being cut up and stowed into casks on board of the vessels, and removed to the try-works and the oil extracted after they returned home. According to Macy's History, the first sperm whale known to Nantucket people was found on shore dead ; and the discovery, according to the account, created quite a sensation. In 1712 Christopher Hussey, while cruising near the island for "right" whales, was blown some distance offshore, and falling in with a school of sperm whales, killed one and brought it home. The discovery of Hussey gave a new turn to the business, and small vessels of about thirty tons' burden were fitted out for deep-sea whaHng. These vessels were fitted out for cruises of about six weeks' duration, and carried a few hogsheads, — enough probably to hold the blubber from a single whale, which having obtained they returned home; the owners taking charge of the blubber and trying out the oil, the vessels sailing again on another voyage. The Nantucket Whale Fishery 109 In 1 71 5 six sloops were engaged in this fisliery from Nantucket. Five years after this, Paul Starbuck, in the ship Hanover, William Chadder, master, made the first shipment of oil from Nantucket to England, the vessel sailing from Boston to London. In 1723 the Straight Wharf was built for the better accommodation for the vessels which were demanded by the necessities of trade and fishing. In 1730 twenty-five whaling vessels, of from thirty- eight to fifty tons' burden each, were owned at Nan- tucket; the returns being about 3700 barrels of oil, worth £3200. It was not far from the year 1726 that the high- water mark of shore whaling was reached at Nantucket. In that year eighty-six whales were taken by boats from the shore. From that time this mode of whaling declined, and that of carrying on the pursuit by means of vessels increased. As the boats had been manned in part by Indians, so the crews of the vessels contained many aborigines. In 1732 Davis Strait was visited by whalemen, prob- ably from Cape Cod, and we may be sure that the sea- men of Nantucket did not long delay following this example. It is difficult to prove, however, at what date trips to that locaHty commenced. Among the entries and clearances at Boston in 1737 are several to and from the strait. Among the names are many familiar to Nantucket. In 1745 our people loaded a vessel with oil and sent her direct to England. From this beginning grew a trade that eventually became world- wide, — France, Russia, Spain, the nations bordering on the shores of the Mediterranean, even China con- tributed in turn directly to the prosperity of our little isle. no Nantucket Matters continued to progress favorably, on the whole, with our whalemen down to the commencement of the Revolution. French and Spanish privateers had captured some of our vessels, and one time forced them to abandon the northern fishery ; but these troubles were of short duration, and of little comparative import- ance as affecting the general thrift. The Revolution found Nantucket with a fleet of 150 vessels with an aggregate burden of 15,000 tons, manned by 2025 men and producing 30,000 barrels of sperm and 4000 barrels of whale oil. Her seamen were familiar with the Atlantic Ocean from Davis Strait to the coasts of Guinea and Brazil. The cur- rent of the Gulf Stream was as familiar to them as the harbor of their island home; and the first man to describe upon a chart that now well-known body of water was, so far as history informs us. Captain Timothy Folger of Nantucket. Every effort was made by the best friends of the colonies in England to avert war; and it was in the debates in Parliament, in 1775, upon the adoption of severe measures towards the colony of Massachusetts Bay, that that speech of Burke's so familiar to the people of Nantucket, in which he so warmly eulogized those engaged in the fisheries, was delivered. During the Revolution, Nantucket was the only port from which any attempt was made to carry on the whale fishery, and from here the work was carried on under the most discouraging circumstances. No com- munity in the colonies was so hard pressed as was that of Nantucket. The Colonial Government was utterly powerless to protect them, and the island itself was indefensible, even had the people been disposed to protect themselves. By far the larger portion of the The Nantucket Whale Fishery in population were of the sect of Friends and abhorred war as a matter of religious faith. All provisions, fuel, clothing, the outfits for their vessels, everything that was needed for their sustenance, had to be brought to the island; if they imported nothing, they must perish; if they procured their supplies from colonial ports, they traded with rebels, and the British seized their vessels; if they got their supplies from foreign markets, they were smugglers, and they became a prey to colo- nial armed vessels and boats. Thus they struggled through the terrible seven years of war. Realizing the straits to which the islanders were reduced, the Colonial Government relaxed the rigors of their laws as much as was possible, and beyond a doubt closed their eyes to many things which, under other circum- stances, they would have punished. It would be extremely interesting, did space permit, to follow closely the history of the fishery during the Revolution, but the limits assigned to this article make such a narration impossible. At the earliest moment after peace had been declared, when safety rendered it expedient, the ship Bedford, Captain William Mooers with a load of four hundred and eighty-seven butts of oil, was despatched to London and to this ship belongs the honor of having been the first vessel to hoist the American flag in any British port.' Recovery from the disasters of the war was slow. The principal market for oil was in England; and to shut off the importation from America, Parhament passed an alien duty of £i8 steriing a ton. Although I F C Sanford, Esq., informed the compiler that this was February 3, 1783 and that she arrived at Nantucket from London May 31, 1783. her entry at the custom house at the time being in his possession. 112 Nantucket the General Court of Massachusetts, in response to the petitions of the people of Nantucket, declared a bounty, it did not permanently remedy the trouble. So heavy was the pressure brought to bear upon Nan- tucket by the adverse circumstances immediately succeeding the Revolution, that large numbers of her hardy mariners and wealthy merchants were compelled to leave the home endeared to them by so many happy associations, and seek in foreign countries the recom- pense for their toil and their investments that they were unable to obtain in the United States. Some of them settled in Nova Scotia, some in England, and some in France. To the English and French fisheries there sailed a large number of officers and men who once found a home on Nantucket. Following closely upon the stagnation resulting from the Revolution came the troubles with France, in which Nantucket suffered to the extent of nearly $150,000. Then again came compHcations with Eng- land early in the nineteenth century. Scarcely had a slight gain been made, and the business again become remunerative, when the War of 1812 occurred. A large portion of Nantucket's fleet of forty-six whale-ships was then at sea. The first of the fleet captured was the schooner Mount Hope; in rapid succession came the tidings of the capture of ship after ship, until one half of the number besides smaller vessels, had fallen a prey to British cruisers. Some were taken on the return voyage within sight of the island. The miseries and deprivations of the Revolution were repeated ; the same struggle for existence was maintained against the same terrible odds. In February, 18 15, came the tidings of peace, and again our islanders essayed to restore their shattered fortunes. The first vessel to return to any The Nantucket Whale Fishery 113 port in the United States with a cargo of oil after the last war was the sloop Mason's Daughter, which after a six weeks' voyage returned to Nantucket on the 9th of July, 1 8 15, with one hundred barrels of oil. Recovery from these disasters of 18 12-15 was rapid. In December, 1820, Nantucket possessed a fleet of seventy-two whale-ships (aggregating 20,449 tons), besides brigs, schooners, and sloops. In 1 8 19 occurred the accident to the ship Essex of Nantucket which has always been accounted one of the most singular and direful that has ever happened to a whaling vessel. An enraged sperm whale attacked and sunk her, and her crew were obliged to make a journey of three months' duration, and about 2000 miles in extent in frail, shattered whale-boats. But eight of the crew of twenty men survived to tell of the terrible perils and privations of their voyage. In 1824 occurred another memorable disaster to the crew of a Nantucket whaling ship. The crew of the ship Globe mutinied, killing the superior officers and some of the men. But eight of the crew returned alive to Nantucket to tell this tale of horror. The others — those who were not killed by the mutineers — were massacred by the natives of the Mulgrave Islands, to which place the vessel had been taken by the conspirators. The business of whaling from Nantucket reached its culmination in 1842 when eighty-six ships, and two brigs and schooners belonged to the port, having a capacity of 36,000 tons. From this time the pursuit from Nantucket declined. Losses from a terrible visitation of fire, the stampede for the gold mines of California, the scarcity of whales, the expense of fitting and increased dangers of the Arctic fishery, the decHne 114 Nantucket in the value of the product, the discovery of petroleum, — all served to cause the downfall of whaling, not only in Nantucket, but in other ports. In 1869 the last whale-ship sailed from the port of Nantucket; and the business, so far as the island's interest is concerned, is a thing of the past. Nantucket's mariners now sail from other ports, and the stories of their skill and daring are stories of by-gone years. CHAPTER VII QUAKERISM IN NANTUCKET " Nothing is more diflScult of explanation than the strength and moral influence often exerted by obscure and uneventful lives." — John G. Whittier. The sect known as Quakers was founded in England, by George Fox, about the middle of the seventeenth century. It has been stated that the name Quakers was first applied to them in 1650, when George Fox was brought before the magistrates of Derby, and he having told them to "quake at the name of the Lord," one of the magistrates, Gervose Bennet, an Independent, caught up the word, and, as Fox himself said, "was the first to call us Quakers." Without any definite creed of religious faith, the essential principle of their belief was that an inner Light "lighteneth every man that cometh into the world." This formed the basis of the sect's organiza- tion, and constituted its moral and intellectual claims for adoption. This inner light was a free gift from Heaven which dowered every individual bom into the world, and every soul was responsible for its recognition and development, while its directing influence was the unerring guide to the interpretation of the Holy Writ. 115 ii6 Nantucket In the seventh year of Fox's preaching (about 1650) there were more than sixty preachers following in his footsteps, but their peculiar views subjected them to persecution in every direction. As early as 1647 Fox had traveled twice to America — at that time little better than a wilderness — and during the two years of his sojourn was frequently maltreated, and suffered persecution and privations innumerable. He was beaten by a mob and left for dead. Abuse of every sort, imprisonment in the loathsome jails of that time, exposure, lack of decent food, all failed to touch his indomitable spirit; yet, in after years, North America, became the stronghold of the sect, numbering, as it did, at one time, over 100,000! In 1656 two Quaker women — Ann Austin and Mary Fisher — came to Boston — but they were regarded as witches, imprisoned, and later banished from the country. In 1650, three men and one woman were subsequently hanged for their fanatical zeal. It is further stated that the persecutions inflicted upon Quakers, during the first forty years of their existence, have hardly a parallel in the history of the last two centuries. Bad as are many of our prisons now, they are places of comfort compared with the loathsome dungeons of the 17th century. In these pesti- lential cells there were confined at one time more than 4000 Quakers. It has been estimated that there were in the world 200,000 Quakers during part of the nineteenth century, more than one-half of which flourished in the United States. Principally, it may be inferred, to escape persecution a number of Quakers became domiciled in the quaint, freedom-loving island of Nantucket, An Old Friend Photograph by H. S. Wyer Quakerism in Nantucket 117 early in the eighteenth century, but, although they met some opposition, they were never maltreated as they had been on the mainland. As early as 1664 (as appears from an original official document never utilized before), Jane Stokes, from England, was the first "Friend" that visited the island. In 1698, Thomas Turner, from England, and Thomas Copperthwaite, from Long Island, both Quakers, visited Nantucket. Thomas Chalkley, an Englishman, arrived in June of the same year; also John Easton and Joanna Mott, from Rhode Island. In 1699 came Ebenezer Slocum, Jacob Mott, and his son, from Rhode Island. In 1700 (from which year, the writer essays to faintly trace the history of Quakerism in Nantucket), Thomas Story arrived from England, and John Butler from Ireland. From this time forward, the leaven of the new doctrine began to work, and gradually propagated itself. Several other visiting Friends arrived in the meanwhile from England and various parts of the United States. Thus, in June, 1701, Thomas Thompson from England, and Jacob Mott, with Walter Clark, from Rhode Island, came amongst them, as did also, during July of the same year, John Clark, from England, and Susannah Freeborn and Ruth Fry, from Rhode Island. Between 1 701 and 1708 the following visiting Friends arrived : April, 1702: Jedediah Allen, from New Jersey; Thomas Cornell, from New Jersey; John Richardson, from England ; James Bates, from Virginia ; Jacob Mott, from Rhode Island; Susannah Freeborn, from Rhode Island; Peleg Slocum (first visit), from Dartmouth. June, 1703: John Kinsey, from England; Richard Gove, from England; John Hussey, from England; ii8 Nantucket Ephraim Hicks, from Rhode Island; Peleg Slocum (second visit), from Dartmouth. 1704: Thomas Chalkley, Richard Harper, Mary Slocum, from England. April, 1705: Samuel Bownas, Mary Banister, from England. July, 1705 : Ann Chapman, from England ; Hugh Cop- perthwaite, from Long Island ; Peleg Slocum (third visit) , from Dartmouth ; William Anthony, from Rhode Island. January, 1706: John Fothergill, celebrated London physician; William Comstead, from England; John Smith, from Philadelphia; Susanna Freeborn, from Rhode Island; Hope Borden, from Rhode Island. June, 1706: Joseph Manton, from Rhode Island; Ephraim Hicks, from Rhode Island; Mary Lason, from England; Esther Palmer, from Rhode Island. 1707: Jacob Mott and wife, from Rhode Island. It was fortunate for the success of the new religious movement that it received its first impulse from such zealous and eloquent preachers as Thomas Chalkley, who arrived in 1698, Thomas Story, who came in 1700, and John Richardson, who followed them in 1702. These three Englishmen were stalwart upholders of the new faith — well-versed in all its details, while pos- sessing enthusiastic temperaments, persuasive tongues, and rhetorical experience — and their meetings in Nantucket were not only well attended, but effective and highly appreciated by the islanders. There was an undercurrent of opposition to their peculiar views at first, but it never became aggressive, and was con- fined almost entirely to the official authorities, while no repressive measures were instituted. Little by little the tenets of the new religionists influenced the minds and hearts of the Nantucketers. Quakerism in Nantucket 119 In 1 70 1, at the age of fifty-six, principally through the preaching of Story, Mary Starbuck became inter- ested in the faith of the Quakers, and no event could have been better calculated to give a great impetus to the new movement which had already been inaugu- rated, for, from that time, she took the spiritual concern of the whole island under her special superintendence. Mary Starbuck was the seventh child of Tristram Coffin — the mother of four sons and six daughters — a woman of strong magnetic personality and extra- ordinary administrative ability, who had a judicial mind, clear understanding, and possessed a genius for participating in public, social, and domestic duties. She was withal a fluent and impressive speaker, and the whole island looked up to and consulted her in all matters of importance. She became one of the most celebrated preachers among the Friends, and gained many converts by her stirring and heart-touching addresses. In her own home she had a large room, known as the "Parliament House," and here the meetings took place during four years. In April, 1708, the Quakers were fully estabUshed in Nantucket, and in this year they sought communion (by means of a petition to the Rhode Island Yearly Meeting) with some "Quarterly Meeting," and to have a yearly meeting of their own. The latter was duly established. They evidently became affiliated with the Rhode Island and Sandwich Quarterly meetings, and a special note in an unpublished official return states that "the first quarterly meeting held at Nan- tucket was on the ist of the seventh month, 1782." Be this as it may, from 1708 the sect gained so rapidly that, in 171 1, they secured a lot, serving for meeting- house and burying-ground, and built their first meeting- 120 Nantucket house a little to the southeast of the ancient burial ground; and in 171 7 they were obliged to enlarge this by adding twenty feet more to its length. Mary Starbuck died on December 13, 1719, and her death was a serious loss to the community. In or about 1720, the town was moved from Wanna- comet to Wesko — the present Nantucket — and the Quakers, still increasing, resolved to build a new and larger meeting-house in the new town, which they accomplished in 1731, at the comer of Main and Sara- toga Streets, in the space still known as the "Quaker Burial Ground," and here the Friends held their m.eet- ings and flourished for over sixty years. Still increasing rapidly in nimibers, and finding their second meeting-house inconvenient, owing to its remote situation, the Friends once more, in 1792, determined to build a still larger house on the comer of Main and Pleasant Streets, and, in the building of this, much of the material of the former house was utilized. It was a spacious building of two stories, fifty-six feet long and thirty-eight feet wide, and, owing to its size, had on several occasions been used as a courthouse, and also for holding the annual meetings of Nantucket Friends, added to those of adjacent or affiliated centers. In the autumn of the same year (1792), they erected yet another meeting-house — the fourth — in order to accommodate the northern members. This was situ- ated on Broad Street, but was not so large as that on Main and Pleasant Streets. The membership was divided between these two meeting-houses, according to locality of residence, and up to the end of the eigh- teenth century, both houses were filled with large con- gregations, each being active, vigorous, and flourishing. A Nantucket monthly meeting was not estabhshed Quakerism in Nantucket 121 until 1 794 ; and the monthly meeting was the real source of power among the Friends. During this period, the success of the Quaker organ- ization reached its climax, and the elders had secured a hold upon the islanders such as no other religious denomination had ever acquired. They professed that although in the world, they were not of it, and therefore despised and spumed every form of worldliness, al- though in this matter they were frequently inconsistent. They were rigidly economical, and were opposed to a paid ministry, or to the slightest extravagance in outward attire, as a principle, and they had no sym- pathy with anything calculated to make earthly life either happy or even pleasant; but they were absolute in their self-righteousness, unnatural in their formal- istic aceticism, and as time wore on they tightened their authoritative grasp upon all concerned. Their form of church government consisted of a select committee comprising the "unco guid" in the community and connected with each meeting-house; monthly meetings for business and religious purposes; quarterly meetings, at which the agenda of monthly meetings were further discussed, and to which all matters concerning the monthly meetings were reported ; and yearly meetings, at which the combined power and wisdom of the organization considered and determined the discussions, findings, and suggestions of the various quarterly meetings "for the good of the order." From a list of English and off-island Friends who had visited the society at Nantucket from 1698 to 1845 — the year when the "sorrowful division" took place — it appears that Thomas Chalkley, from England (later of Philadelphia), visited the island four tim-cs, viz: in 1698, 1704, 1713, and 1737. 122 Nantucket Phebe Nichols, afterwards wife of James Newbegin, in June, 1746. John Woolman, in June, 1747. Samuel Fothergill, Esq., in 1755. Elias Hicks (subsequent Reformer), 1793. John Wilbur, of Hopkinton, Reformer, 1818, 1829, 1836, and 1839. Joseph John Gumey, of Norwich, England, Reformer, 1838. Curiously enough, one of the visitors in 1793 was Benedict Arnold of Smithfield. The name of Lucretia Mott does not appear at all, either on the visitors' list, or on an official "List of Female Members of Nantucket Monthly Meeting," dated "8th month, 1851." Before the end of the i8th century, when the popu- lation of the island was 5617, nearly one-half of this number belonged to the Society of Friends. It may here be in order to glance rapidly at some of the intrinsic causes which, originating early in the i8th century, became gradually more potential during the 19th century, and ultimately broke up and completely disintegrated the Society of Friends in Nantucket. A few of these can only be outlined here in the faintest manner; but fortunately Henry Barnard Worth has ably described the strife and subsequent divisions which hastened the decline of Quakerism on Nantucket during the last century of its existence, in one of the Bulletins of the Nantucket Historical Association' to which the attention of all interested in the matter is specially directed. For some years after the beginning of the 17th cen- tury the Quaker organization was flourishing on the ' Papers of Nantucket Historical Association, vol. i., bulletin i. Quakerism in Nantucket 123 old lines although their members had been thinned by an exodus from the island, by the War of 18 12, and by the institution of more popular sects. Symptoms of cleavage had also manifested themselves, arising from austere and uncompromising discipline, but in 1827-28, a great schism, which arose in the Philadelphia yearly meeting, almost disrupted the organization, and caused a permanent division in the American branch of the society. The orthodox party protested against the heretical teaching of Elias Hicks, which threw doubt upon the absolute divinity of Christ, and the full meaning of the Atonement, while the Hicksites pro- tested against unwarrantable interference with the liberty of individual belief. The division was, however, restricted to the Friends on the mainland, and did not affect Nantucket until 1830. Elias Hicks was a farmer in Long Island, and had for many years been a Quaker preacher, with a well- deserved reputation as an orator. In 1830, a preacher representing Hicks's views came to Nantucket, and those who sympathized with his views succeeded in ob- taining a meeting-place; so successful were his efforts that many of those who heard him, — including a number of those who had hitherto been staunch supporters of the orthodox sect, — were convinced by his preaching, and broke away from the original organization. Popular interest in the society gradually declined, and the membership of the sect was by degrees becoming less and less. On May 13, 1829, it was thought advisable to close one of the two meeting-houses which had been in such a flourishing condition at the beginning of the century, and accordingly the house in Broad Street, which had been instituted to meet the convenience of the northern section of the society, was dissolved and 124 Nantucket the remnant of members was transferred to the older meeting-house on Main Street. In 1833, the Hicksites, who became affiliated with the Westbury Quarterly meeting of Long Island, pur- chased a lot on Main Street on which in 1836, or 1837, they erected a large meeting-house where they met during several years, but with gradually decreasing congregations, until finally the building was sold. After its sale it was known as Atlantic Hall, and was used for various secular purposes. In 1833, also, the orthodox Friends resolved to re- move from their meeting-house on Main Street, which was no longer convenient, and, having purchased a lot on the west side of Fair Street, they erected, on the southern part of it, a large two-story building, which was opened for worship during September of that year. A little to the north was another building, which was utilized as a school-house. The old meeting-house on Main Street was sold and removed to Commercial Wharf as a warehouse. ' Up to 1845 the orthodox Friends continued in the old paths, but in addition to other influences their rigorous disciplinary code was gradually reducing their membership more and more. For a number of years previous to 1832 a new schis- matic movement had been gradually spreading itself among the members of the society generally through the teaching of Mr. Joseph John Gumey, an educated Englishman who, although belonging to an old Quaker family, introduced the study and interpretation of the Bible into the sect, as the sole guide in religion, instead of entire dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Gumey's powerful and persuasive pleading made him very ' H. B. Worth. Quakerism in Nantucket 125 popular in England, as well as in America, and gained him many adherents, and in him the orthodox Quakers recognized an iconoclastic opponent far more dangerous than Hicks had been. Matters came to a climax in the New England Yearly Meeting at Newport, in 1845. After thirty years of a severe struggle, and although the American Friends had appointed John Wilbur of Hopkinton, R. I., as far back as 1838, to oppose Gurney and his heretical propaganda, Gurney had carried every- thing before him in Great Britain, and every meeting he addressed had approved not only his preaching but his teaching. In New England, however, the bitterest contest was waged, and the Friends became divided into Wilburites and Gumeyites. Nantucket favored the Wilburites and stood out for the essential of the old Quaker faith; and when the division took place in the Nantucket meeting the majority was foimd to favor the Wilburites, — the only section which had remained faithful to the old principles throughout New England. A decision of the Supreme Court with regard to a division of property favored the Gumeyites, who demanded from the Fair Street Friends their meeting- house, records, and other property in accordance with the decision. To this demand no reply was given. The Gumeyites therefore sought temporary quar- ters, and on New Year's Day, 1846, had made arrange- ments for securing Atlantic Hall, where they continued to meet until November, 1850, when a new meeting- house, which they had been building, was ready for occupation, on Centre Street. Here they remained until 1866, when all their property was transferred to the New Bedford Monthly Meeting, and their last meeting was held on January 10, 1867. This building 126 Nantucket is now a part of the "Roberts House" property and is used as a dining-room in connection with that hotel. The orthodox members, or Wilburites, after 1845, struggled on with varying success until 1863, when the society was weak and dwindling. Under these cir- cumstances they deemed it advisable to sell their Fair Street meeting-house, but the Centre Street representatives put in a claim against it, and would not allow the property to be sold without their permission. At length by mutual concessions it was arranged that the deed of sale should be signed by both parties and it was ultimately sold and carried off the island. The north part of the property was repurchased by the ortho- dox Friends, and the building that had been used as a school-house was remodeled into a meeting-house in 1 864. Only one member of the Nantucket orthodox Friends resided in the town in 1894, and as there were only twenty-three persons in the Nantucket Monthly Meet- ing altogether, it was therefore determined to sell the meeting-house, and, in June of this year, it became the property of the Nantucket Historical Association, who still hold it as part of their premises. Beginning about 1700, and flourishing for a century, — at the end of which their membership amounted to thousands, — at the end of another century their last members, William Hosier, in 1899, and Eunice Paddock, in 1900, both died, and to-day there is not a single representative living in Nantucket. Such a history as this surely conveys a useful lesson, which cannot be better formulated than in the following apt and forcible words by Mr. Henry B. Worth: ... If they had established a better proportioned the- ology ; if they had not obscured or undervalued any portion Quakerism in Nantucket 127 of Divine Truth, wherever revealed ; if they had abandoned their discipHne and allowed the laws of the land to deal with offenders; if, instead of expelling members for trivial offenses, they had exercised towards them a wise charity; if, instead of maintaining their society as an organization composed of men and women who never departed from rectitude, it had been regarded as a portion of the Church of Christ, in which were men and women of every degree of moral acquirements; if their beautiful system of sim- plicity had been built on the rock, and not on sandy foundations they might have been as vigorous to-day as they were a century ago.^ There can be little doubt that, in proportion to its numbers, no other sect has so influenced public opinion as the Quakers, and it would be difficult to find a parallel under similar circumstances to their active and practical philanthropy. The consistent purity of their lives, and their united protest against immorality in every form have had a restraining and civilizing force which can be compared with no other similar movement of modem times; but they became too prosperous and this resulted in the development of a tendency towards arbitrariness and despotism in connection with the enforcement of their disciplinary code, which harassed and ultimately disgusted the rank and fde of the membership. Quakerism, in its essentials, was Utopian and reac- tionary — a dream of spirituality incompatible with the vital experiences and intellectual expansiveness of humanity. While generally law-abiding, the Quakers instituted a code of their own which made no allowance for the conventionalities of life sanctioned by custom and experience; nor did they recognize the recreative ' Opus cit. 128 Nantucket form of human activity or the usual amenities of polite societies; in fact, their narrow and inelastic formalism excluded the rational exercise of instinctive pleasures to a vanishing point. Acknowledging no duty to the state, and holding themselves aloof from all the political duties of citizen- ship, they outlawed themselves and were persecuted for it; but among their own people, and especially in the social life of their membership, they gradually assumed a rigidity of discipline which eventually became intolerable. They frowned upon music, mirth, and sports of every kind, and even dogmatized as to the apparel which young people should or should not wear, and to every infraction of their Draconic code punish- ment was invariably meted out; while in everything concerning love, courtship, and marriage they adopted such inquisitorial espionage as in these latter days would have caused a rebellion. Their zeal for purity, and for what they called "the good order of truth," was doubtless commendable, but they went too far, and failed to foresee or to recognize the spirit of tolerance which was evolving itself in all directions; the standard of ethics which they imposed so rigorously was far too high; in a word, they sought to oppose the rising wave of intellectual expansion which was gradually overspreading the country, by a too restrictive formalism in faith and morals, and thus becoming submerged their numbers melted away. Flattering themselves that they alone enshrined the "Inner Light," the Quakers assumed the right to be- lieve that all who remained out of their pale were heterodox and heretical. "Pride goes before a fall," and thus, becoming autocratic and tyrannical, they gradually instituted a system of pett}^ despotism, under Quakerism in Nantucket 129 the guise of discipline, which, even at the cHmax of their success, thinned the ranks of their followers, and later disrupted the organization altogether. Human nature, even in religious matters, is much the same in all j^laces and at all times. The Quakers but followed in the footsteps of the Pilgrims and the Puritans who preceded them, in dictating to the world what was right and what was wrong; but the world still goes on, buo3^ed up by Hope. Truth-seekers are everywhere, but God's in His Heaven — All's right with the world. By way of postscript it may be stated that the first burial ground of the Quakers was situated just to the west of Elihu Coleman's house on the old Madeket road, but, left for many years without a stone, a fence, or any kind of protection, it has long been unrecogniz- able, and no one could imagine that it had ever been a place of interment. In the latest burying place of the Quakers, at the corner of Upper Main and Saratoga Streets, with the exception of a few small markers in the Hicksite section, there is nothing to indicate that, beneath the weedy grass of the enclosure, between nine and ten thousand human bodies are buried without even a flower to mark any of their graves, and yet there is none of the older Nantucket families whose ancestors are not sleeping their last sleep in this neglected field. CHAPTER VIII NANTUCKET RECORDS The records of Nantucket County and Town cover a period of nearly 250 years, and are contained in about 170 volumes embracing Land Transfers Vital Statistics Court Proceedings Probate Records Town-Meeting Records Proprietors' Records Financial Transactions and a host of incidental matters, in later years separated and properly classified, but in the early days wofully intermingled. From 1660 to 1693, Nantucket was subject to the Province of New York, and all public documents were lodged in New York State House until 1795, when they were transferred to Albany. After 1692, when Nan- tucket was ceded to Massachusetts, all such papers were sent to Boston, where they remain in the State House. In 1 67 1, the town was incorporated under a Patent 130 Nantucket Records 131 from Governor Francis Lovelace. By this Patent it was authoritatively decreed that certain lands were purchasable from the Indians by the English, and that such purchases would be ratified and confirmed by the English King and Parliament. In 1687, another Patent was rendered necessary by the capture of New York by the Dutch, and Dongan's Patent was issued on June 2"] , 1687. By this document a general grant of the entire island was secured, which rendered unnecessary the provisions imposed by Love- lace's Patent with regard to the English being com- pelled to have all purchases from the Indians fully confirmed ; and thus were consolidated all the privileges granted by previous Patents on a basis which secured all the island's municipal rights. In 1692, Nantucket, with the adjacent islands, re- verted to the governance of Massachusetts Province in accordance with a special act of Parliament, and in the following year all grants previously made with the sanction of the governors of New York were confirmed by a law of the General Court, and thus all land- rights vested in the settlers were fully secured and confirmed by Dongan's Patent, which was indeed their Magna Charta. This voluminous document is copied in full in Hough's Book of Nantucket Deeds, and the original may be seen in the Nantucket Registry. Fortunately all the deeds and papers concerning Nantucket, which were transferred to the State capital at Albany in 1795, were copied and pubHshed by Mr. Hough of the Secretary of State's office, in 1856, and a list of the principal documents is herewith reproduced ' : 'Hough's Papers Relating to the Island of Nantucket, 1856. 132 Nantucket Passing over some deeds concerning Martha's Vineyard, and others already given or referred to in this vohime, there are several grants or disposals of land upon Nantucket, dated from 1659 to 1670, with regard to, inter alia, the prescribed limits of house-lots, the bestowal of several half -shares, and the appoint- ment of a seaman, a weaver (Thomas Macy), a shoe- maker (Joseph Gardner), and a "Taylour" (Nathaniel Holland). Next, Captain John Gardner's grant as a seaman, dated August 15, 1672. Governor Francis Lovelace's "Notice to the Inhabitants of Nantucket," etc., calling upon them to make proof of their claims, etc., dated May 16, 1670, and a certificate of appointment of Tristram Coffin to appear for them, dated April 2, 1671. The proposals of the Nantucketers about set- tling the government to the governor (undated: Deeds, iii., 59. Secretary's office), and the gov- ernor's answers to above proposals, dated June 28, 1671. Commission granted to Tristram Coffin as Chief Magistrate, June 29, 1671. Instructions to Mr. Mayhew, as Governor and Chief Magistrate of Martha's Vineyard, to consult and co- operate with Tristram Coffin as Chief Magistrate of Nantucket: undated. {Deeds, iii., 71. Secretary's office.) Additional instructions and directions for govern- ment of island of Nantucket, sent by Richard and John Gardner, April 18, 1673. License to purchase lands for the purpose of estab- lishing "a fishing trade" upon Nantucket. Dated, April 15, 1673. Nantucket Records 133 Richard Gardner's Commission as Chief Magistrate of Nantucket and " Tuckanuckett," April 15, 1673. Commission of John Gardner to be Captain of Foot Company on the island. April 15, 1673. Letter from Secretary to inhabitants of Nantucket dated April 24, 1673, acknowledging receipt of "8 barrells of ffish for two yeares," and a token of "fifty weight of ffeathers," etc. A Petition from Tristram Coffin and Mr. Mayhew {Colonial MSS., xxiv., secretary's office) with regard to interpretation of charter. Thomas Mayhew to Governor Andros, as to Gorge's Patent, etc., April 12, 1665. A petition from Nantucket to Governor Andros, praying that the liberties and rights conferred upon them by Governor Lovelace's charter "may not be impaired or diminished by any pretence of other aver- saries whatsoever." Sharborn, the 12 Aprill, 1675. An order to the Magistrates of Nantucket for per- mitting searches and copies of their records to be taken. E. Andros, April 17, 1675. Petition and proposals from Tristram Coffin and Mr. Mayhew (dated April 7, 1675), to the Governor as to charter rights. Petition of Magistrates and others of Nantucket to Governor Andros, concerning same. Dated April 28, 1675. Instructions and orders for establishing Courts and Prudential Bye-Laws in Martin's Vineyard and Nan- tucket, from Governor Andros, dated April 25, 1675. "To Governor Andros" "Petition from Peter Foulger about proceedings 134 Nantucket at the General Court of Martin's Vineyard, 1676." Dated "from Shearbum as a prisoner, March 27, 1677." Letter from Thomas Macy to the Governor, dated May 9, 1676, concerning the drinking habits of the natives. Letter from John Gardner to the Governor, during the "insurrectionary period," dated 15th March, 1677. Sentence of Captain John Gardner (for refusing to appear at the Quarter Court, after being summoned), disfranchising him, and fining him £10. Appeal of John Gardner: undated (N. Y. Col. MSS., xxvi., sec. office). Decision of case of John Gardner. "At a Councell, August 3d, 1677." Order about John Gardner and Peter Ffoulger, Septr. 21, 1677. Decision of a Court of Admiralty held at Nantucket with reference to Tristram Coffin's having sold part of a derelict. Tristram Coffin to Governor Andros, Nantucket, August 30, 1680. A discharge of Tristram Coffin from the judgment of the Court of Admiralty compounded. Dated 6th of November, 1680. Charges against Joseph Coleman for "revilling and reprochefull speaches against authority." March 25, 1864. Commission for pursuing a Pirate. Signed by Gov- ernor Dongan. March 30, 1685. Petition of Stephen Hussey (New York, August 12, 1686), about ten or eleven gallons of Rum of which Joseph Gardner forcibly dispossessed him. Dongan's Patent, dated June 2"/, 1687. Nantucket Records 135 TOWN RECORDS^ From 1 66 1 to 1671 (when the town was incorporated in accordance with Lovelace's Patent), whatever govern- ment was in force on the island was exercised entirely and absolutely by the landowners. The settlers had previously applied to the Governor of New York, and made certain proposals about a settled government {Deeds, iii., 59, Secretary's Office), and, in answer to these proposals, "at a Councell held at Forte James in New York, ye 28th day of June in ye 23d years of his Ma'ties Reigne Annoq Dom. 1671 " the Governor sug- gested the formation of a General Court consisting of two Chief Magistrates, one in Martha's Vineyard and the other in Nantucket, — one acting as President in each Coiirt, and acting in concert together, with two Assistants in each place. With additional instructions and directions a form of government was thus consti- tuted, and the town being duly organized and incor- porated the inhabitants met periodically to transact municipal business. The Town Records were instituted in 1699, and now consist of some twenty volumes in addition to nine or ten volumes of Vital Statistics. They contain the records of the Town-meetings and therefore the pro- posals, votes, discussions, and resolutions of all the town business, — the appointments of all municipal and county officers — the votes for Governor, Senator, and Representative, all appropriations of municipal ' In the compilation of this chapter the writer acknowledges his indebtedness to the State Library, New York, the State Library, Boston, Hough's Pap^-^s concerning Nantucket, H. Barnard Worth's Nantucket Lands and Landowners, Dr. C. E. Banks's History of Martha's Vineyard, and principally to the courtesy of the departmental staflf of the Nan- tucket Public Record offices. 136 Nantucket funds, the selection of petty and grand jurors, and every- thing concerning the government, regulation, and administration of the town. Before a separate book was kept for recording the town-meetings' business and ordinances, viz: from 1662-99, the limitations of space will prevent anything but the most meager reference to the matters recorded. Fortunately none of the entries is of much historical importance. At a meeting held in 1663 it was ordered that "no man shall fell or make use of any timber on Cowatu (Coatue), except it be for building houses, upon the penalty of ten shillings for every tree impred to any other use." On September, 1664, at a meeting of the town it was ordered that "the clerk shall have for his wages twenty shillings p. Ann. beginning at ye yeere 62." Again later (1667). "Every Indian to kill his dogs before March loth or be fined." November 20, 1669. Stephen Coffin to keep the pound "when once there is a lock to it, and he is to have twopence a time for turning the key to lock or unlock the pound." November 30, 1 670 . "No hogs to be placed upon any land belonging to any Indiand." October 16, 1671. "Thomas Macy to have five pounds for going to New York." January 19, 1679. "The town-meeting was held at the house of Nathaniel Barnard."' And so on until 1699. The earliest vital statistics are also found among the town records, thus: The first death recorded on the 'A few more quotations from early Town Records may be found in Chapter XV. Nantucket Records 137 island was that of Jean Godfrey, afterwards Bunker, wife of Richard Swain, who died October 31, 1662. The first birth was that of Mary, daughter of Natha- niel Starbuck, who was bom March 30, 1663. The first marriage was that of William Worth and Sarah Macy, on April 11, 1665. At a Town-meeting held at Sherborn, January 17, 1784, it was voted "that the workhouse near the jail be repaired," This was presumably on the lot still occupied by the jail which was erected in 1775. At the same meeting it was voted "that our repre- sentatives be entrusted to move for a Light-house to be erected on the end of our large Point, called Sandy Point, in the next sessions of the General Court." Also that "the selectmen be a Committee to rent out the Town-House for any Term not exceeding one year for a school-house to such person and upon such a Term as they shall think proper during the recess of public business." At a meeting at Sherborn, July 27, 1785, "The votes for a County Register were brought in and bundled up in order to be opened next Court." The following is selected from a Report of the Finance Committee for 1850, and appears on p. 149 of Town Records for 1 849-52 : The undersigned regret the absence of their comrades, the only two gentlemen who signed the Financial report of last year, and who were also members of this Committee, one of whom, beloved by all, has quietly passed away to that "bourne from whence no traveler returns." The absence of the other gentleman, owing to his having left the island, is alluded to in language equally rhetorical. 138 Nantucket The Report of the Committee of Firewards contains the following on page 116 of Records for 1849-52. After providing for the licensing of dogs : It is hereby further instituted, resolved, and enacted that the Selectmen be, and they are hereby requested, authorised, and empowered to appoint and employ one or more judi- cious and discreet men whose duty it shall be to kill and destroy all and any dogs and puppies of the canine species M^hich may be found running at large without collars, provided that it be done in as quiet and humane manner as possible, and as much as can be conveniently done away from the more compact part of the town, and the presence of the citizens generally. What follows is selected from a Report of the Health Committee in the same volume, and it speaks for itself. After animadverting upon measures to restrain the public use of alcohol, the report goes on to say: How different it would have been if our supposed wise had have been really wise enough, have turned their attention to the consideration of the best interest of their constituents by endeavoring to find out some method to preserve the public health and morals and prevent and assuage that rag- ing pestilence which still scatters its ruinous consequences throughout our State; and among the least of its evils costs every community a large proportion of its annual earnings: had they have done this Massachusetts might now have worn the brightest jewel that ever adorned any State or nation; that jewel is now worn by her noble sister daughter, the State of Maine, and well may the son of that thrice-honored Commonwealth walk erect and feel that they have indeed attained a preeminence, a glory beyond all Grecian, beyond all Roman fame. The Old Bay State should have won it, 'twas her's, and it would have been her's but that too many of her noble Nantucket Records 139 sons were diverted from the pursuit of pure glory, by the petty, party interests of the day, old hunker conservatism and the preservation of old errors on the one hand, and truck dicker and gluten on the other; but, let it pass, her daughters achieved the true Kohinoor, mountain of light, compared to which that all the World's Fair is but a bauble. We speak of the acquisition of this honorable fame by our sister State only in relation to the conservation of public health which though not its most blessed consequence, yet it is only secondary to that purity of heart which it may reasonably be hoped will prevail wherever alcohol is not used as a common beverage, but when it is so used, never, no never. From which it appears that there was much Prohibi- tion eloquence in those earlier days! The Town Records have been well-preserved, and are in excellent order. It only remains to be said that they contain much interesting and entertaining matter. The first volume of the Selectmen's Journal, beginning April 9, 1784 — the only volume accessible of an early date — is preserved in the Town Clerk's office, and is all the more interesting and valuable inasmuch as the subsequent early journals are missing. Its contents, however, are of little historical importance, consisting mainly of receipted bills, permits, town warrants, etc. COURT RECORDS The first Nantucket court records are contained in Book 2, in the Registry of Deeds, and the first entry is dated September 21, 1672. As the settlers took posses- sion of the island eleven years previously, it is reason- able to surmise that a court of some kind must have been instituted and records duly kept before 1672, especially as the Indians had to be kept in subjection, 140 Nantucket and many cases, doubtless, occurred among the whites and the aborigines, and between the Indians themselves, if not among the whites, w^hich would necessitate ju- dicial intervention. However, no court records of any kind, concerning the earliest administration of the island, have been discovered. The absence of such records is accounted for by the fact that there was a feud, beginning in 1673 and con- tinuing for some years, between two parties of the islanders, one section being partisans of Tristram Coffin, and the other of John Gardner, who were implacable rivals. Peter Coffin had been elected Assistant Magis- trate and Peter Folger (who was clerk of the writs and recorder to the General Court of the island) resented the appointment, and "refused to perform the func- tions required of him by the Chief Magistrate." Folger refused to produce his "Court Booke," and he vras indicted for contempt, and bound over in £20 to appear at the New York Assizes. Finding no bondsmen, he was placed in prison whereof he writes : A place where never an}" Englishman was put, and where the Neighbors Hoge had layd but the night before, and in a bitter cold Frost and deep Snow. They had only thrown out most of the Durt Hoge Dung and Snow. The Rest the Constable told me I might ly upon if I would, that is upon the Boards in that Case, and without victuals or Fire. Indeed I perswaded him to fetch a little Hay, and he did so, and some Friend did presently bring in some Beding and Victuals. He was imprisoned on Februar}^ 14, 1677, and in June of that year the missing court records had not been produced; and it was not until about two months later that Governor Andros ordered his release. Nantucket Records 141 Whether the book was destroyed or not is unknown, nor has it ever apparently been discovered, notwith- standing a report that the missing book had been found. The writer has taken pains to find out if there were any truth in the report, but no member of the official staff at the town offices had ever heard of such a discovery. This "Little Record Book" doubtless contained the court records from 1661 to 1672 or after, and its loss has been acutely felt. It is believed that all the other records in every department are practically perfect and complete. As has already been referred to, a judicial tribunal to be elected annually was established in 1672, in accordance with Governor Lovelace's order of June 28, 1671, and was regularly sustained until 1692. In 1672 Richard Gardner was elected Chief Magistrate, In 1673 Thomas Macy was elected Chief Magistrate. In 1674 Tristram Coffin was elected Chief Magis- trate. In 1675 John Gardner was elected Chief Magistrate. In 1673 Peter Folger was appointed Clerk, and, after his imprisonment, William Worth succeeded to the appointment. In addition to the above offices there were nine Assistant Magistrates or Deputy Justices. ^ The Court, as above constituted, had plenary juris- diction over "all matters civil, criminal, probate, and appeal from Indian Courts, in which the penalty did not involve forfeiture of life."^ The Court of Common Pleas was established in 1 720. The Records consist of twelve volumes up to 191 2, ' H. Barnard Worth, opus ciL, p. io6. ^ Ibid., p. 107. 142 Nantucket Volume I containing records dated from October 5, 1725, to October 4, 1785; and Voliune 2 containing records from March 28, 1786, to December 28, 1802. REGISTRY OF DEEDS (cOUNTY RECORDS) Exclusive of plans and indices these records are con- tained in volumes numbered from i to 95. Volumes 1,2, and 3 are the most important because they contain most of the early historical matter. Volume I contains land transfers for the most part, records of early town-meetings, court matters, allot- ments of land, etc. The first deed recorded is dated 1659. Up to page 77 the book consists of ordinances relating to the organization of, and laws for, town management at town-meetings. These were first described as meetings of freeholders, but subsequently as of trustees or selectmen. The remaining two- thirds of the book (which is inverted from page i to 109) consists mainly of transfers and sets-off of land dating from 1664. It is impossible here to chronicle the various deeds, but they have all been copied by Mr. H. Barnard Worth, and the copies at some future time will be de- posited at the rooms of the Nantucket Historical Asso- ciation. A few of the more important deeds may be enumerated here, viz: The conveyance of the island of Tuckernuck to Tristram Coffin et alt: by Governor Lovelace, on June 29, 1671 ; the deed appointing Tris- tram Coffin as Chief Magistrate, instead of Thomas Macy, by Governor Andros, dated September 15, 1677. The protest of Spotso and other Indians against the English settlers for placing them at a disadvantage with regard to their lands (undated). Nantucket Records 143 Deed annexing Tuckernuck to Nantucket, June 6, 1713- Protest and petition of Seikinnou and Spotso to Lord Bellamont, concerning transactions with the settlers. Curiously enough among these deeds is included an ordinance of the freeholders, dated at their meeting held on December 31, 1686, to the effect that owing to sheep having been chased on the island by dogs, all dogs must in future be muzzled; and that, whether muzzled or not, all dogs found harrying sheep should in future be killed. Book 2 contains items of court procedure, land transfers, and lay-outs. Passing over the court proceedings, the deed of sale of the west part of the island by the Indians to Tristram Coffin et alt: is recorded, bearing date May 10, 1660. There are also numerous Indian deeds, a few being written in the Indian language. Matthew Mayhew's renunciation of Nantucket property, January 6, 172!. Thomas Macy's deed conveying to his son one- fourth part of his land, etc. December 13, 1675. Tristram Coffin's deed conveying one-fourth of his house-lot "at Cappamet," etc., to his son, John Coffin. May 12, 1677. Tristram Coffin's gift of land to his grandchildren. October 3, 1678. Up to page 80 this book consists mainly of transfers of land, from July 21, 1673, to June 9, 1674. After page 80 the contents of the book are inverted and paged from I to 47, consisting of court records from July 19, 1673, to March 27, 1705. 144 Nantucket Of the Court proceedings the following will serve as an example: The sentence of the Court is that Edward Cowles shall be soundly whipt, and to go away from the island on the same vessall that he came in. And when he is a board the vessall he is not to come a shore upon the penalty of being whipt every time that he com a shore. Peter Folger's sentence for contempt of court appears on page lo; also the case of Quensh, an Indian, who sued his wife for divorce, which he obtained, and the woman was fined twenty shillings "in regard to his trobell." Thus minor charges are dealt with page after page, many of them concerning misconduct of the Indians. On page 26 is the appointment of John Gardner "as true and Lawfull Aturney" to Governor Andros, dated November 16, 1680, and John Gardner's appointmicnt as Magistrate, on June 26, 1680, by Governor Andros, followed by oath to be taken on appointment. On page 29 is Governor Andros's release of John Gardner as to the fine and disfranchisement inflicted upon him, and the sentence declared null and void, dated October 10, 1680. On page 30, an order by Governor Andros that a Court of Sessions (separate from each other) shall be held at Martha's Vineyard and at Nantucket, dated October 10, 1680, as requested by John Gardner and Matthew Mayhew. On page 31 is John Gardner's appointment as Chief Magistrate of Nantucket, signed by Governor Andros, and dated November 10, 1680. The last court entry in Volume 2 is dated March 27, 1705, on page 47. Nantucket Records 145 Book 3 consists of land transfers from page 2 to 149, the date of first record being May 6, 1708, the last March 29, 1720. Many of the earlier deeds in this book were not recorded until a number of years after their execution; for example: one on page 10 was exe- cuted on March 2, 1696, by Stephen Hussey, and was not recorded until June 14, 1700. Another executed by Peter Coffin, September 10, 1697, was not re- corded until June 10, 1700; and another (page 2), executed by William Worth on May 2, 1704, was not recorded until July 17, 1708. A deed from Wauwinet transferring land to Paul Noose (page 4), although executed on October 2, 1689, was not recorded until August 9, 1708. One deed (on page 3), purporting to convey a dwel- ling-house and land by Robert Evans, carpenter, to Jonathan Pinkham, and dated merely "the i8th of August," without specifying an}^ year, has neither been duly executed nor recorded. Some of these deeds are written in the obscure and perplexing autography of John Gardner, and are almost undecipherable. Many of the ear-marks, which were used to distin- guish the sheep belonging to different owners are recorded on pages 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 61, 62, and 66, and consisted of various devices cut in the ears of the sheep. On page 60 is a deed executed by the original pur- chasers of Horse Commons from the Indians, and in this ("in order to avoid any contention or strife which might hereafter arise between us"), we "fully and absolutely give up our claim to all such privileges . . . unto the inhabitants, freeholders of Nantucket, accord- ing to their several and respective shares, reserving to 146 Nantucket ourselves no more than our just and respective pro- portion in common with the rest." This is signed by twenty-two original purchasers, executed in 171 1, and recorded January 16, i/yl- Many of these deeds are executed by Indians as on pages 63, 64, 65, etc. On inverting the book there are some records of the Court of Common Pleas, unpaged, and beginning October 7, 1701, evidently in the handwriting of John Gardner, the primary records ending March 30, 1708. To these succeed a number of records of marriages, occupying about one page and a quarter, and dated from January 8, 1700, to August 5, 1712, twenty mar- riages altogether, and all performed by William Worth, Justice of the Peace. Beginning on October 5, 1708, are Court of Common Pleas records, the last ending March 28 or 29, 1721. Book IV. Land transfers are recorded from April 24, 1 72 1, to January 29, 1744. On pages 64 and 87 are records which are written in the Indian language, and on page 93 the first Indian deed is recorded, being the transfer of a tract of land in "the Plain Country" from Nickanoose and Nana- huma to Thomas May hew, executed June 20, 1659, but not recorded until March 26, 1731. It seems to have remained in the hands of Mayhew and his family until the Indians appealed to the General Court to recover their lands, when the owners of Nantucket found the old deed, and placed it on record. The Registry of Deeds also contains the list of Nan- tucket streets compiled by Isaac Coffin in 1799. The following record is quoted from the Registry as interesting, inasmuch as the locality of the "hors Commonage" transferred is not mentioned in the deed: Nantucket Records 147 This Bargain and sale made the 27th day of June, 1701, Witnesseth that Moamug, an Indian of Nantucket have bargained and soldo unto Mira on hors Commonage or pasturage on the Island of Nantucket for a valuable consid- eration by Mira payde, the Recept wherof i do acknowledg to my full satisfaction and Content befor the Signing and Sealing of these presance I Moamug aforesaid do therfor Sell, Alline, Rattifie and Confirme pasuredg or Liberty for the keeping on hors on the Island of Nantucket unto — Mira aforesaid, to him his heirs and Asigns for Ever to Have and to Holde and peaceably to Injoy the Said Liberty to him his heirs and assigns for Ever hearby binding me my heirs and assignes for Ever to Warantise and defend said Sale and Liberty against any person or person whatsoever Laying Claim thereto by, from, or under me, in witnes whear of i have put to my hand and Seal the day and year above Written. Signed sealed and delivered in the presence of us ,,.., William Gayer Moo.mak LS IV lines s: ^ „ Isaac Colman The above Written Instrument was Acknowledged by Moamak to be his ackt and deed on Nantucket July ye 9, befor me WiLLL\M Gayer Justice Peace. Recorded, August 13th. Seventeen hundred and one. proprietors' records A meeting of the original ten purchasers was held at Salisbury, in 1659, when it was adopted that each of the ten should be permitted to select a partner, thus increasing their number to twenty : it w^as also determined and concluded that no man whatsoever shall purchase any land of any of the Indians upon the sd. yland for his own or other private or pticular use, but whatsoever 148 Nantucket purchase shall be made shall be for ye general accompt of ye twenty owners or purchasers. And whatsoever pson shall purchase any land upon any other accompt it shall be accompted void and null, except what is done by license from ye sd. owners or purchasers. In pursuance of this order they were enabled to prevent any one outside of the Proprietary from pur- chasing land from the Indians, and "this policy was strictly followed by the English until every foot of land on the island had been conveyed by the red-men to the Proprietary."' Much confusion was, however, created later when, in 1692, Nantucket was annexed to Massachusetts and became subject to its laws, and the monopoly hitherto vested in the Proprietors had to be shared with the other citizens, and when, in addition to the freeholders, the town citizens became voters. For a time the Proprietors and citizens some- what indiscriminately assumed the functions of each other, — the freeholders discharging municipal duties and vice versa, the records of each being chronicled in the same books. In December, 1716, this practice came to an end, and the meetings of freeholders and citizens were held separately and apart, while their respective records were kept in separate books. ^ "This book," begins the first record of the Proprie- tors in 1 7 16, "is appointed for to Enter of business and votes of proprietors' meetings in from time to time pr. order of ye meeting." The first meeting recorded was held at Nantucket on "ye 13th day of 12 mo. 1716." These records contain for the most part the arrange- ments of house-lots, lay-outs, and divisions of land all ' H. Barnard Worth, opus cit. ' Ibid. Nantucket Records 149 over the island, the naming of locahties, the making of highways, the erection of mills and wharves, the ap- portionment of pasturage, the fixation of boundaries, and a hundred other matters cognate to Proprietary rights involving the welfare, division, and governance of the island. After 1700 the title of "Proprietors of the Common and undivided lands of the Island of Nan- tucket" was assumed instead of "freeholders and comonalty of the town of Sherborn."' The records consist altogether of eight volumes, and one Stock-book. In Volume i, page 136, is a table of the "several owners of the twenty-seven shares as they are mated and connected in draughting of the same, together with each man's several and exact interest therein"; and on pages 169, 170, and 171 of Volume i is a Regulation of the twenty-seven shairs of Land on the Island of Nantucket, and each man's interest Put as much together as is Covenient could be, and when Done Laid before a Proprietors' meeting and accepted and ordered to be passed on the Proprietors' records as by a vote on record ye 15 of 12 mo. 1790 will appear. The last record in Volume i is dated November 25, 1808. From page i to 10, inverted at end of Volume i, is a complete list of the sheep "ear-marks" "of the Inhabi- tants of Sherborn on Nantucket." These records, after 1700, are very carefully kept, and the manifold agenda of the Proprietors' meetings are chronicled with much exactitude, while in many instances the various allotments of land are delineated ' H. Barnard Worth, opus ciL, p. 187. 150 Nantucket with admirable accuracy, and the volumes have an ample index. Volume 2 is thus headed: "This Book was bought the 12 mo:, the 13, 1808, by the Proprietors of the Island of Nantucket to record all their doings in that they think ought to be recorded in their records." This volume, like Volume i, consists of lay-outs of land for the most part, the first record being dated 19th of December, 1808, and the last recorded on the 2d of May, 1836. INDIAN DEEDS The most important deeds executed between the settlers and the Indians in connection with the trans- ference of the island have already been reproduced in Chapter III. The Indian deeds conveying individual grants of land are numerously distributed through the Registry, and extend from 1659 to 1774, — a period of 115 years. Space will not permit further reference to these in any detail, but, as they have all been epitomized and tabu- lated by jMr. H. B. Worth, ' the reader is referred to his work for particulars. The first deed in this category is from Nicornoose and Nanahuma to Thomas Mayhew transferring land, and is dated June 20, 1659, and the last is from John Jethro, ceding "a, sheep's Common" to the Proprietors, and dated in 1774. There are also in the Registry numerous regulations with regard to "drift whales" (which the Indians had some undiscovered means of turning to their advantage) ; also records of much litigation in the courts from 1673 to 1757-8, concerning the many attempts made ' Opus cit. Nantucket Records 151 by the Indians to regain the lands they had sold and deeded to the settlers. These, however, are fully recorded in the work just cited, and, albeit interesting in themselves, cannot be further referred to here for the reason already stated. These efforts on the part of the Indians were insti- gated by the natives misunderstanding the English principle of land transference notwithstanding its perfect legitimacy, and their believing that the deeds they had executed did not absolutely convey their lands from them in perpetuity. The aborigines were also, doubtless, encouraged in their action by receiving aid and advice from disreputable Englishmen who were capable of skillfully drawing up petitions to the court and authorities for their own selfish interests. PROBATE COURT RECORDS Book 2 in the Registry of Deeds contains the earliest existing records of Probate, from 1671 (when Richard Gardner was elected Judge), until 1680, when John Gardner was appointed Chief Justice; and from that time until 1706, when John Gardner died. Earlier records probably existed concerning Probate matters before 1671, but if such records were made, they ha^'e never been discovered, and were possibly lost or de- stroyed. From 1706 the deeds have been well and carefully recorded in the Probate Office. After the death of John Gardner, James Coffin was appointed Judge, and Eleazer Folger, Registrar, the latter holding his appointment until 1 754. During the twenty-six years elapsing between 1680 and 1706, the paucity of deeds recorded is easily observ- able: this goes to show that there must have been 152 Nantucket great carelessness on the part of the Registrar in failing to record the estates administered, or else that the records themselves are no longer existent. The estates of the following — eight in number — are all that have been recorded from 1680- 1706, viz: Nathaniel Wyer, Benjamin Austin, Tristram Coffin, Thomas Macy, Sarah Wyer, Sarah Gardner, Joseph Coleman, and John Walch. There are thirty-two volumes of Deeds in the Probate Office. A full list of all wills administered, from 1706 to 1778, will be found in Mr. H. Barnard Worth's volume already referred to, to which the writer is under many obligations. The following method of electing officers in Massa- chusetts Colony in 1643 was prescribed, and, as it is interesting, it may be mentioned here : The freemen shall use Indian Corn and Beanes, the Indian Corn to manifest election, the Beanes contrary, and if any freeman shall put in more than one Indian Corn or Beane, he shall forfeit for every such offence Ten pounds.^ An allusion to this custom is thus described by Peter Folger, in 1676: In the like uncivil manner they chose two young men more, the said Stephen [Hussey] bringing his corn which betoken choice in his hand, and called upon others to corn this man and that man. (From Peter Folger's letter to Sir Edmund Andros, in New York Col. MSS.) Probably the first reference to a jail in the Massa- chusetts islands is found in the following quotation from the records of the General Court. ' Vide Dr. C. E. Banks's History of Martha's Vineyard, vol. i., p. 143. Nantucket Records i53 It is ordered by the Court in case there be not a sufficient prison built in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard within three months after the date hereof, they shall pay a fine of Ten pounds.^ This was passed on September 21, 1686, but was not carried out, as no jail had been erected in March, 1699." > Nantucket Records, ii., 38. ' Dr. C. E. Banks, opus cit. 1 CHAPTER IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY When the new century dawned upon Nantucket, the inhabitants were still suffering, directly and in- directly, from the effects of the Revolutionary War, — effects so disastrous as to render recovery inevitably slow and uncertain. Many of them became so dis- couraged that they left the island altogether ; but, amid doubts and difficulties, alternating waves of prosperity and adversity, the majority "with a heart for any fate," worked on, hoped on, doing their best, and oft amid circumstances which were neither hope-inspiring nor encouraging. At this time, the population of the island was be- tween five and six thousand (5617), and, curiously enough, was gradually increasing. The earlier years of 1800 were not marked by any events of more than ordinary interest, save the pursuit of some large whales on the north side of the island, two of which were secured, and one of which produced thirty-one barrels. After much previous consideration, the islanders, who for reasons which are obvious, had long been impressed with the necessity of having the sand-bar (extending from Muskeget Island to opposite Coskata 154 The Nineteenth Century 155 Pond) removed from the mouth of the harbor, resolved to petition Congress for its removal, and also for the deepening of the channel. Surveyors had prepared their plans, and duly reported their proposals, but, in the end, the entire matter was rejected by Congress, and thus abandoned for many years. With brightening prospects, the hopes of the Nan- tucketers were soon again in the ascendant. The ships were having successful voyages, and the demand for oil and sperm candles, at prices constituting good profits, had materially increased, keeping the whole machinery of the industry in active and remunerative operation. In 1804, the Pacific Bank and two insurance com- panies were established and in 1805, the present House of Correction was built at Quaise, was later removed to the town, and is now standing beside the jail. Up to 1807, the island was prospering; business was good and increasing; the outlook was hopeful; many new buildings were erected, and everybody, lulled in ap- parent security, was more than satisfied when, on June 22, 1807, a British war-vessel fired upon the Chesapeake, belonging to the United States. The possible results of this act created consternation in the minds of the islanders, and fears for the worst almost paralyzed the commercial activities of the island. Ships were with- held from sea, — in many instances haiiled up and stripped; day-laborers could find no employment, mariners returned home in enforced idleness, and, only too generally, once more destitution threatened. Thus matters proceeded from bad to worse, when, as Macy says: "Every new omen of war seemed to threaten a renewal of similar sufferings and distress." Many people sold their residences, and removed else- where to more desirable localities. The residents 156 Nantucket petitioned Congress, enumerating their grievances and praying that a declaration of war might be averted. On June 24, 181 2, the American Government de- clared war against Great Britain. It is not the purpose of the writer, nor is it feasible, to chronicle in detail either the privations and sufferings of the islanders during this terrible war, or the spirited efforts they made to mitigate its evils by fervent appeals to both the American and the British authorities. Their ships at sea, which represented their most valu- able possessions, were in imminent danger, all business was at a standstill, many of the families were reduced almost to beggary and starvation, and the condition of the involuntarily unemployed was, indeed, desperate. Nor is it possible to describe the feelings of joy and gratitude with w^hich the Nantucketers greeted the news of peace being duly ratified on February 28, 1815.^ In addition to the direful privations to which the islanders were subjected during the reign of terror just happily ended, they lost many of their vessels. When the war broke out, they had 43 ships, 47 sloops, 7 brigs, 19 schooners, — 116 vessels all told, and of this number only 23 remained, the others having been cap- tured, condemned, or lost. One incident occurred during this war, on October 10, 1 8 14, which cannot be passed over, and of which the Nantucketers were naturally proud, although the loss of life involved was very considerable, viz: the so-called " Maddequecham Fight," off Tom Nevers's Head, Nantucket, between boats from the British frigate Endymion and an American privateer, Prmce of Neufchatel, in which the Endymion' s men were re- pulsed with loss of 121 in killed and prisoners, and the ' A full account of this eventful period will be found in Macy's History. The Nineteenth Century i57 English merchantman Douglas was captured and beached after the fight. The fact that a Nantucket pilot (Kilburn) was engaged aboard of the Prince of Neufchatel was doubly gratifying to the islanders, who even yet recount the tale with much satisfaction. Relieved from the horrors of what had virtually been a blockade of the island, it can easily be imagined how readily the emancipated people set about repairing their misfortunes as far as possible; but although the war was ended, when they considered the dreadful ordeal through which they must pass before they could recover what they had lost, it cannot be a source of wonder that they felt discouraged and despairing. In the first flush of peace their hearts were rejoiced, but when the excitement was over, and neither money nor work could be had, the poorer islanders were driven almost to desperation to obtain the necessaries of life. A small number of ships had been sent to sea, but until these returned, the islanders could only exercise pa- tience, do their best, and trust in Providence. The island experienced a phenomenal fall of tem- perature on February i, 1815, such as had never beei\ known either before or since, viz: 11 degrees below zero*. On the 5th of May, 18 16, The Nantucket Gazette, the first newspaper published on the island, was issued by Tannatt and Tupper. It failed to win support, and did not survive beyond the first year. In November of the same year, the lighthouse on Great Point, a wooden structure erected in 1784, was destroyed by fire, and it was replaced, under the ^ di- rection of the government, by a new stone building. This light is seventy feet above the sea-level, and can be seen at a distance of fourteen nautical miles. Erelong the whaling ships began to arrive after 158 Nantucket successful voyages, and their coming revived the still drooping spirits of all classes ; for, owing to many causes, and notwithstanding the fact that two years had elapsed since the war, the islanders generally, and especially the laborers, were still suffering from reaction- ary distress from which time alone could deliver them. However, fortune smiled again when the ships came home, for new manufactures were started, ship-owners increased their fleets, and once again, it was hoped, the island would soon resume its wonted activities, and constant employment be secured for all. Inspired with new life themselves, the islanders soon emerged from the slough of despair into which they had been cast ; all classes of the community were work- ing together for the good of all; new markets were opening, food was no longer scarce, prices had fallen materially, and, notwithstanding all the terrible ex- periences of the past, the population had increased to over 7000 by 1820, while the whaling fleet had also increased to over seventy-two vessels, and the coasters to over eighty. In 1 82 1, trees were first planted in the town — a species of two-thorn acacia, known as locust-trees. Between 1810 and 1840, ship-building was instituted on the island, but not to a large extent. The vessels built were, for the most part, comparatively small, averaging about thirty or forty tons. The islanders, however, succeeded in building one beautiful ship, the Joseph Starbuck, which made one successful voyage, but was, unfortunately, totally wrecked on Nantucket bar on November 27, 1842, when proceeding on a second. ' Still later a large schooner was built. So far as the ' Vide Chapter XVI. The Nineteenth Century 159 names of these ships are known, the first (built at Brant Point in 18 10) was called the Rose, the second, in 1832, the Charles Carroll, and the Nantucket and the Lexington, in 1838. But, alas, this industry shared the same fate as the others which preceded and suc- ceeded it. In 1823, the tonnage engaged in Nantucket whaling was at its height, that of New Bedford exceed- ing it subsequently. About 1824, the Sconset milestones were set by Peter F. Ewer; they have been removed twice since then, once over to the middle Sconset road which runs by Hensdale, and finally to the road latest laid out. At present, they are all accurately located, with the excep- tion of the 7th and 'jy^ stones. In 1835, Daniel Webster appeared professionally on the island, and he was so astonished at its appearance and importance that he called it "The unknown city in the ocean!" Education. The early settlers were somewhat tardy in recognizing the necessity of educational development among their children beyond such domestic instruction as they could obtain at home, and probably from a few private elementary schools. In 17 16, they ap- pointed Eleazer Folger as their first schoolmaster.' Mr. Timothy White, in the first instance a missionary (since 1725) among the Indians, was, in 1732, appointed minister to the local church. It is now believed that a new meeting-house was built about the time of, or shortly before, Mr. White's appointment. Mr. White conducted a school during the time he remained in the district. However, it was not until 1827 that the corporate authorities founded two large public schools on the monitorial plan, after the removal of the town > Vide Chapter V. i6o Nantucket to Nantucket. Previous to this period, the Academy had, in 1800, been erected on Academy Hill, and there had been a number of private schools, in addition to an appropriation officially set aside for the benefit of the poorer classes of children. In 1835, there were two large grammar-schools, and four primary schools with an attendance of about three hundred, in addition to private schools ; but within half a century there were twelve flourishing public schools on the island, directed by thirty teachers, and aggregating twelve hundred pupils. The High-School was insti- tuted in 1838, but the present schoolhouse was not erected until 1854. The South Grammar School (now partially used as a Town-Hall and Courthouse), was on Orange Street, and the West School on Upper Main Street, beyond Gardner Street. These two schools were erected in 1827. Schools were established at Tuckemuck, Madeket, Sconset, and Polpis. In addition to these the famous Coffin School was founded in 1827, by Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, Bart, (a lineal descendant of Tristram Coffin in the fifth generation). This Lancastrian School was originally founded for the descendants of Tristram Coffin, but owing to a variety of causes it was closed in 1898. The school building, in the first instance, was placed on the east side of Fair Street, nearly opposite Farmer Street. In 1903, the school was reopened as a manual training school, and it is now in a flourishing condition and doing excellent work in this direction. The present building was erected in 1852. The schools of Nantucket, as at present carried on, are models of excellence in every department, and, so The Nineteenth Century i6i far as administration and educational results are con- cerned, will not suffer in comparison with any other schools in the United States. The future of the country- is safe amid such fostering evolutional conditions and activities. In 1830, Nantucket was described as "the third commercial town in the Commonwealth, viz: Boston, Salem, Nantucket." Would that she could have re- tained that position! The Poor Farms. There is no accessible record as to the date of erection of the building, still standing at Quaise, on the east side of Bellows Pond — which was utilized as the first Poor Farm. As far as can be ascertained, it was originally the homestead of a branch of the Coffin family, and was built probably about the middle of the i8th century or later. It is at least known that it was the country home of Mark Coffin, who was born October 16, 1768, married, first Judith Hussey, and secondly, Sarah Olney, of Providence, R. I. He died October 2, 1839, aged seventy-one years. He was the son of Shubael Coffin, who was born in 1739, and died in 1817.^ IVIark Coffin, or, as he was familiarly known, "Cousin Mark," had a sad and curious history. He is reputed to have been wealthy, well-educated, and the author of several books. Misfortune gradually assailed him during the time he occupied the Quaise homestead as his summer home, after leaving which the house became the first Poor Farm. He became a schoolmaster after the loss of his wealth, and had his school on the second floor of the house on Liberty Street, now occupied by ' Mark Coffin was the son of Shubael, who was the son of Henry, who was the son of Jonathan, who was the son of James, who was the son of Tristram and Dionis. — W. B. Starbuck Papers. i62 Nantucket Mr. Voorneveld, the florist. From this he migrated to Federal Street, where he kept a book and gen- eral store, on the site afterwards occupied by the Phoenix Bank, near the Roman Catholic Church. The bank was subsequently destroyed in the great fire of 1846. Tradition asserts that, toward the end of his life, Mark Coffin became an inmate of the Poor Farm which had once been his summer home. He died on October 2, 1839, leaving a daughter Mary, who became a school-teacher, and died on August 13, 1844.^ In April, 1822, the town bought Quaise Farm, for which they paid $6700. They also erected a new Poor Farm, consisting of four buildings, at a cost of $1910, to which additions, etc., were afterwards made (costing $1679.96), in 1825. In 1823, the poor were removed to the new asylum. In 1826, the Committee reported that the buildings are in fine condition, and there is sufficient accommodation for a very large increase in the number of tenants. They extend from east to west more than one hundred feet, two stories high, and about forty feet wide, with a cookery and ample accommodation for colored people in the rear.^ This building was situated on a knoll to the east side of Bellows Pond, and was totally destroyed by fire on the night of February 21, 1844, when ten of the inmates were burned to death. The following are the names and ages of those who perished: ' W. C. Folger Papers, and Quaker Records. ' Report of the Committee on Town Accounts, 1826. The Nineteenth Century 163 Paul Jenkins, 66 Sophia Beebe, 57 Thomas Hull, 67 L^'dia Bowen, 33 Jonathan Cathcart, 79 Phebe Jones, 80 William Holmes, 41 Abial Davis, 87 William Hutchinson, no age Welthy Davis, 53 During the ensuing year it was rebuilt on the same site, but in 1854 it was removed, in sections, to Orange Street, Nantucket. Here it still stands, and is now known as "Our Island Home," — this beautiful name having been bestowed upon it by the overseers of the poor on July 4, 1905. Its removal and re-erection cost $7500. On May loth, 1836, a great fire occurred in lower Main Street. On the original site of "Miriam Coffin's" famous house, situated at Quaise, to the northwest of Bellows Pond, the late Mr. W. B. Starbuck, in 1851, erected his dwelling-house, which is still standing. The Churches. Congregational. The original Congregational Church has already been discussed in Chapter V. The present orthodox Congregational Church in Nantucket, on Beacon Hill, was built in 1834, ^^^ superseded the little church, now known as "the old North Vestry," which was moved to the rear after the new church was built. After serving as the Congregational Church for nearly seventy years, it is now used as a Vestry and Sunday School. Methodist Episcopal. Methodism was introduced on the island in 1799. The public services were, at first, held in the Town Hall. The First Church was situated at the southwest 1 64 Nantucket corner of Fair and Lyon Streets, and was dedicated on New Year's Day, 1800. This building was known as the Teazer meeting-house from "the flag of the sloop Teazer, which was raised over the church during an early period of its occupancy." The chapel, sub- sequently erected on Centre Street in 1823, is said to accommodate seven or eight hundred people. The organ in this Church was formerly used at the ' ' Old South" Church in Boston. Unitarian, or Second Congregational, Church on Orange Street. This was instituted and incorporated in 18 10. This large and commodious church is distin- guished by the possession of a tower which, for the most part of a century, has enshrined that most valued of public benefits — the town clock. The first clock, made in Nantucket in 1823, was, in May, 1881, super- seded by a new one, a gift to the town by a respected and generous townsman, Mr. W. H. Starbuck. In this tower, also, is a Portuguese bell which was cast in Lisbon in 18 10, brought over to this country in 18 12, and placed in the belfry, in 181 5, at a cost of $500. It is a remarkably sweet-toned bell, and bears the following inscription, translated from the Portuguese: To the good Jesus of the mountain the devotees of Lisbon direct their prayers, offering Him one complete set of six bells, to call the people and adore Him in His sanctuary. lose Domingos da Costa has done it, in Lisbon, in the year 18 10. A splendid view of the island and the ocean beyond can be obtained from this gilded tower, from which, also, "in the good old days of yore," a watch was kept for the return of whaling ships. For many years the late Town Crier, William D. The Nineteenth Century 165 Clark, signalled, from this tower, the approach of the Nantucket steamboat, as soon as she was discernible through a powerful telescope, the signal being several long toots on his horn from the windows towards each point of the compass. This great convenience was entirely a voluntary and unpaid service on the crier's part, and has been greatly missed by many since it was discontinued. On hearing the horn, old Nantucketers used to say: "There's Clark — the boat's in sight." On very windy or stormy days, and in the early morning after a gale during the night, Clark was always on the watch for wrecks, warning the townspeople of vessels in distress, that help might be despatched. Probably many a poor sailor owed his life to this vigilance of the crier. In the South tower, watch was kept also for fires at night, and the direction of fires was signalled by lan- terns. These watchmen were paid by the town, and the custom was continued to within a few years, when the present system of electric fire-alarms was installed. The Episcopal Church owes its establishment in Nantucket to the efforts of the Rev. Moses Marcus, who, in 1837, visited the island as a diocesan missionary from New York. A church was organized in 1838, and Mr. Marcus was appointed the first Rector. The new church, known as Trinity, was built on the site of the Friends' meeting-house in Broad Street. The meeting- house was moved to the rear of the lot, and remodeled into a chapel and Sunday-school room, while the church itself was erected on the front of the lot, being consecrated September 18, 1839. It has been said, that Trinity Church was architecturally beautiful, and that the turreted tower contained a latticed window through which "the wind sighed forth, as an .^olian i66 Nantucket harp, strains of fitful melody, 'most musical, most melancholy.' The church was totally destroyed by fire during the great conflagration of 1846. After this catastrophe, the Trinity Society was dissolved and reorganized as St. Paul's Church. For some time afterwards the Episcopalians met for worship in the North Vestry, and removed in 1848 to Harmony Hall, on the site of which St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church was subsequently built. In 1849, they erected on Fair Street another church, which was opened for service in 1850. In 1902, a splendid stone-church was erected and presented to the parish by Miss C. L. W. French, of Boston, in memory of her father, and it stands on the site of the former less pretentious building, having been consecrated on St. Barnabas Day, June nth. The First Baptist Church on Summer Street, was organized in 1839, but the meeting-house was not erected until 1840. The Roman Catholic Church has been represented in Nantucket since 1849, but no priest was in residence and no regular place of worship instituted imtil about 1858. In that year the Rev. Father Hennis secured possession of Harmony Hall in Federal Street, and it was duly consecrated as St. Mary's Church. Previous to this time the church had been imder the spiritual guidance of New Bedford priests. In 1897, on the old site, enlarged by the purchase of an adjacent lot, a new church was erected under the incumbency of Father C. McSweeney, who began his ministrations in 1883. The Rev. Father McGee was appointed resident The Nineteenth Century 167 priest in 1903. The Rev. Father Kelly is now in residence, 19 12. There was at one time a Reformed Methodist Episcopal Church, an offshoot from the First Metho- dist Episcopal Church ; but there are no records. The York Street Colored Baptist Society was formed in 1831, and occupied the York Street meeting- house for some years, while the society existed. The Pleasant Street Baptist Society and Church was organized by and for colored people in 1847, when the Rev. James E. Crawford (colored) — the barber- minister — was appointed pastor, a position which he sustained very acceptably and efficiently for forty-one years, preaching every Sunday evening to large congre- gations. He died in 1888. The Universalists had a church where the Athe- naeum now stands, but it was destroyed by fire in 1846. The present Athenseum building was erected on the site in 1847. The First Universalist Church was incorporated on January 20, 1827, but it was in existence for less than ten years. The African Methodist Episcopal Church was instituted in 1835, near corner of Pleasant and York Streets. A People's Baptist Church was organized in 1897. It was the result of a secession from the First Baptist Church. Meetings were held in the Friends' meeting- house on Centre Street, now a part of the "Roberts House." The Nantucket Athen^um, when incorporated in 1834, was known as the Athenaeum, Library, and Museum, and was the result of a coalition between two previously existing societies, one, the "Me- i68 Nantucket chanics' Association," organized in 1820, and the other, the "Columbian Library Association," estab- lished in 1823. These two societies had become amalgamated, under the title of the "United Library- Association," in 1827, but when some of the promi- nent members of the society offered a valuable cen- tral site for the erection of a large and suitable building for the i\ssociation, the matter was taken up with much spirit and subscriptions were insti- tuted. These soon exceeded the amount required to carry out the wishes of the land-donors, and the association, with the donors' permission, secured the house and land then recently vacated by the Univer- salist Society. Having remodeled the house to suit their purposes, the "Nantucket Athenaeum, Library, and Museum" was inaugurated, under the most auspicious circumstances. Unfortunately the premises with their valuable contents were totally destroyed by the terrible fire of July 13, 1846. The official report of the trustees for the following year particularizes the irreparable losses sustained, which included 3200 volumes of books, many invalu- able records and documents pertaining to the early history of the island, and also valuable collections housed in the museum, consisting of shells, minerals, birds, insects, coins, and foreign objects of interest, and antiquities. Notwithstanding the inexpressible havoc wrought throughout the town by this tremendous conflagration and the disastrous effects upon the inhabitants, they, with much commendable enterprise, determined to erect a new building, and so prompt and effective was their activity that the imposing structure now existing was finished and ready for occupation on February i, 1847. The Nineteenth Century 169 Through the genial influence of Mr. William Mitchell, the then President, and some of his generous friends, the new Ubrary opened with 1600 volumes, a substantial basis on which to build up the splendid collection of books which now constitute the Athenasum Library, amounting to over 20,000 volumes. The museum was subsequently taken over by the Historical Society (which is referred to elsewhere 0, thus leaving more room at the Athenaeum for the ac- cumulation of literary treasures. Main Street, or "the Square," as it was then called, from the Bank to Rotch's market, was first paved with cobble-stones about seventy-five years ago (1837?). Above the Bank and extending up to the Starbuck houses, the street was first paved about sixty years ago (1852?).' The street was repaved in 1889. In the years 1836-37 a financial panic occurred which not only caused disaster among Nantucket merchants, but involved the island and its inhabitants in a web of difficulties and adversities from which they were unable to extricate themselves without severe and prolonged suffering. The situation was intensified by the suspension of specie payment by the banks, and the baneful and far-reaching results of this mis- fortune can better be imagined than described. The two Cliff beacons were erected in 1838, and were first lighted during November of that year; they were refitted in 1856. At Monomoy, in range with Brant Point, there was also a beacon, which was dis- continued about twenty years ago, and within the last six or seven years the government paid a man a nominal salary to look after it. ' Vide Chapter X. » David Folger, as reported to John C. Gardner. 170 Nantucket During 1842, a terrific storm biirst over the island, washing away part of Sconset bank and several houses. The year 1842 was the banner year of the Nantucket whaling industry. The fleet had then reached its climax, comprising 86 ships and barks, 2 brigs, and 2 schooners, with a capacity of 36,000 tons, and the island contained a population verging upon 10,000 inhabitants. But it is from this year, also, that its decline must be dated, for a series of grave and una- voidable misfortunes soon afterwards succeeded one another and these gradually dispelled all hopes as to the restoration of the industry. A few of these disasters must be briefly referred to here. For many years Nantucket had been exceptionally free from the ravages of fire, and from its settlement, in 1 66 1, until 1832, the aggregate losses from this cause were computed to amount to only $36,000, for the most part incurred by the destruction of isolated houses and places of business. In 1838, however, a fire occurred which was described as "the most extensive and disas- trous ever experienced in the community " up to that date, and the loss then entailed was estimated at $200,000. It was not, however, until 1846 that the terrible catastrophe distinguished as the "Great Fire" broke out on a sultry July night, and, since the town was principally built of wood, nearly the entire business section of the town was utterly consumed in the de- vastating virulence of the flames. Over three hundred buildings, extending over thirty-three acres, were burned, and property estimated at nearly $1,000,000 was completely destroyed. After the fire one could stand on the steps of the Pacific Bank and sec the ships anchored back of the bar, between the chimneys left standing. The Nineteenth Century 171 The progress of the fire was eventually arrested by four brick houses, viz: one at the corner of Main and Orange Streets, the Pacific Bank, the Ocean House, and Aaron Mitchell's house on North Water Street. This direful calamity contributed largely to the decline of the Nantucket whale fisheries, already waning. Although, at first, the inhabitants were almost para- lyzed by the results of this awe-inspiring holocaust, they, nevertheless, manifested the marvelous reserve force which has ever characterized them, by having most of the business thoroughfares rebuilt, reopened, and reUghted nine months from the date of the fire, viz : on March 24, 1847, when they, very rationally, made a festival of the occasion. During the year 1847 also, Norwegian pine-trees were first planted on the island, and more pine-groves were added, in 1852-53, by Josiah Sturgiss. As early as 1848, Nantucket boasted of two excellent hotels, the Ocean House in town, and the Atlantic House in Sconset. On February 12, 1849, an order was made by the Selectmen that the bells be rung at 7 A.M., 12 noon, and 9 P.M., the custom continuing to this day. The general decline of Nantucket, however, which appeared to have set in when its prosperity was at its zenith, was further hastened by circumstances which threatened to depopulate the island altogether, during 1849, when the people became crazed with the "Cali- fornian fever," which had spread to their shores from the mainland, and when every islander was seized with a violent desire to seek his fortune anew in the promise- land of El Dorado. Fourteen vessels, all owned and officered by Nantucketers, sailed for San Francisco 172 Nantucket during this year, bearing a freight of passengers in addition to stores of a manifold and various character. After their arrival, some of the gold-seekers remained and made their fortune; some never came back, and still others returned poorer, sadder, and wiser men. The year 1849 had, on the whole, been a most dis- tressful one for Nantucketers, and before it had ended commercial activities were weak and languishing. In 1850, the prospect seemed brightening, and final spasmodic efforts were made to reanimate the moribund whale-fishery. The ship-owners succeeded in refitting fourteen vessels, but such difficulties arose in obtaining officers and men for the ships that it became impossible to carry out the undertaking with anything like the desired success. In 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, and 1856, similar efforts were made, but, on the whole, with unremunerative results. In 1851-52, Main Street was planted with elm-trees by Charles G. and Henry Coffin, and Centre Street was planted with English maples by N. A. Sprague. The pines at Miacomet were planted by Henry Coffin in 1866-67. The willows on Centre Street are said to have grown from slips taken from Napoleon's grave at St. Helena. In addition to the causes already indicated as tend- ing to depreciate the whaling industry, the greater expenditure involved in the fitting out of vessels in consequence of the then prevailing high prices ren- dered the business less remunerative than it had been; whales were decreasing in the high seas, the consump- tion of whale-oil was lessening, the prices were declining, and petroleum was fast replacing sperm-oil in general use. All these factors militated against any further profitable sea-whaling, and in Nantucket, as well as The Nineteenth Century i73 elsewhere, the industry was soon among the things that had been. In 1850, the population of Nantucket amounted to 8779, a decrease of nearly 1000 since 1840. In 1852, efforts were made for an extension of the Cape Cod Railway to Hyannis as likely to estabhsh a readier communication between the island and the mainland. The Legislature was petitioned to permit the town to subscribe for $50,000 worth of stock, and accordingly the town purchased stock. The desired communication was duly opened up by Captain Brown, and the steamer Massachusetts on October 9, 1854. It may be mentioned that this service was suspended in 1872, and a more practicable route to the mainland established between the island and Woods Hole. The West schoolhouse was destroyed by fire on July 8, 1852. The first installation of gas works and light was carried out during 1854. and the Asylum for the Poor and the House of Correction were removed to Nan- tucket during this year. In September, 1855, the steamer Island Home, which was specially built to traverse the Sound, arrived at Nantucket, and became very popular, as she was an excellent sea-boat, and many pleasant memories are still associated with her. In 1856, the present Hghthouse at Brant Point was erected, and the Nantucket Agricultural Society was established. In 1857, yet another panic prevailed, and with dire- ful results throughout the country. Nantucket was not so much affected by it as she was by that of 1837; inasmuch as her commerce was aheady reduced to almost a minimum; but it succeeded in depleting her 174 Nantucket population still further, and by i860 her inhabitants were reduced to 6094, a decrease of 2685 during the previous ten years. In this year, also, attempts were made to connect the island with the mainland by a submarine cable, but the service was not successfully installed, and it was ultimately abandoned, after many futile endeavors to make it effective, in 1861. General commercial depression prevailed in Nantuc- ket during the three following years, notwithstanding many vigorous efforts on the part of the townsmen to obviate it. Many of them had given up hope of im- provement, many left the island to seek better fortune elsewhere, but some still persisted in believing there was yet a great future in store for her. The West schoolhouse was rebuilt and used as such for about twenty years. The making of shoes was subsequently instituted in it, but with varying success until August 3, 1873, when the factory was destroyed by fire, with a loss of $18,000, and the business was destroyed with it. The Civil War broke out in the spring of 186 1, and the distinguished position which Nantucket achieved for herself during its continuance is minutely recorded in the archives of the State. The history of this san- guinary but necessary warfare is better known in Nantucket than in most places, for so many of her patriotic sons have survived the terrible conflict, even though maimed and scarred by honor's wounds, that there are few of the islanders who have not heard their narration of heroic deeds and the thrilling episodes of death and victory. Here, unfortunately, only a few of the main facts can be briefly referred to. When the war began, and The Nineteenth Century 175 the Presidential call was made for men, every Nan- tucketer's heart thrilled with patriotic fire, and every man who responded to the call was a native-born islander, swayed alone by courage and patriotism. The island contributed two hundred and thirteen men to the army, and one hundred and twenty-six to the navy, being fifty-six above its quota, — thus earning the proud distinction of "Banner-town" of the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts. Of those who joined the services seventy-four met a soldier's death ! Where every man distinguished himself it may seem invidious to single out any one for special mention, but there is not a Nantucket soldier who will not admit that General George Nelson Macy well deserved all the honors he attained. The following record appears in the Genealogy of the Macy Family. From Ball's Bluff to Appomattox Court-House he marched and fought. He served through the Peninsular campaign of McClellan; through the dangers of the first and second attacks at Fredericksburg; lost a hand at Gettysburg; was wounded in the Wilderness, and again on the James. Starting as a Lieutenant, he won his way by gallantry and efficiency to be Major-General by brevet and Provost Marshal-General of the Army. Nantucket may well be proud of such a record as this ! Those who nobly did their duty to their country and still survive must be proud to mingle with their thanks of gratitude their tears of sympathy for the heroic dead — their brothers in arms — whose names are inscribed upon the enduring monument which com- memorates them. The total amount of money raised and expended by Nantucket for State aid to soldiers' families during the 1/6 Nantucket war was $27,492.20. The ladies of the island realized, by a Soldiers' Fair, $2038.12, which was almost equally- divided between the Sanitary Commission and the soldiers and their families; and the Ladies' Soldier Relief Society raised $2579.16 during the war for sol- diers and their families. It is the duty of men to fight, but in war, as in peace, it is the angelic prerogative of womanhood to minister relief to all who need it. In 1865, the population of the island had further decreased to 4830. During August of this year the High-School Alumni Association held its first meeting, the late Rev. Dr. Ferdinand C. Ewer giving the oration. The Governor was present and the celebration was continued for three days. In 1866, the second meeting took place, and a third in 1869, after which, for some reason, the meetings were discontinued. Such reunions of old schoolfellows are often among the sweetest joys of life, when old times and old experiences can be revived and compared with the present, and the friendships of youth are renewed, and new friendships formed even in old age. The happiest days of life are oftenest found among school-days, and the sweetest memories of school-days often brighten and sweeten old age. Such reunions should be encouraged. During the next two years, 1865-66, ineffective efforts were made once more to revive the whaling business, but, although some ships were purchased and fitted, the attempts were abortive and had to be given up. In 1867, during June the Children's Aid Society was instituted. In 1869, the last whaling ship — The Oak — sailed for the Pacific on November 15th, but she never re- turned, as she was sold at Panama during the same year. In 1870, the condition of the island was reversed The Nineteenth Century 177 from what it had been in 1842. Then her famous industry was at its cUmax, and then also her decHne set in. In 1870, she has reached the nadir of her mis- fortunes, but an alluring bow of promise is dawning over her which re-awakens Hope from her slumber, and the prayers of those who had never lost faith in her futiire seem about to be answered at last. Not a ship remains to the island ; scarcely a sound is heard where erstwhile the busy hum of a mighty in- dustry echoed and re-echoed among her glacial hills: all is silent save the lapping of the waves upon her sandy shores. According to the Census of 1870, the following stand- ard names of Nantucketers were thus recorded among a population of 4120: Coffin 185, Folger 138, Swain and Gardner 112 each. Chase 83, Hussey 76, Macy 76, Ray 67, Fisher 64, Coleman 61, Dunham 53, Starbuck 50, Brown 45, Chadwick 41, Barnard 38, Clark 38, Gibbs 36, Cathcart 35, Winslow 34, Smith 32, Bunker 30, Paddack 30. As far back as 1865, Mark Salom of Boston had advocated placing the island in a proper light before the country as a health resort. The interests of the people had, however, been identified so long with sea- faring and whale-fishing that, at first, and for a number of years afterwards, the new idea did not commend itself as of much practical importance, and it was considered as Utopian. In the meanwhile the regular communication with the mainland was attracting an increasing number of visitors to the island-shores, year after year, who not only spent money freely among the islanders, but served to advertise the many attractions of the island itself. At length, about 1870, some of the more far- 178 Nantucket seeing inhabitants awoke to the imperative necessity of developing the island on new principles in accord- ance with the requirements of a progressive age, and with a view to exploiting its many natural beauties and hygienic advantages. In 1872, a new steamboat service was inaugurated between the island and Woods Hole, and with its improved accommodation it soon became popular with tourists, and the traffic increased rapidly. Tending further to foster and develop this desirable enterprise, a few prominent citizens instituted an active and vigorous campaign with a slogan of "Two boats a day," by which they sought to establish a service of two boats daily between the mainland and the island. This was at length accomplished by the united efforts of Joseph S. Barney, the Rev. Ferdinand C. Ewer, Alexander Starbuck, and William B. Drake, powerfully re-enforced by active correspondence and editorial comment in the Inquirer and Mirror, which eventually convinced the public of its absolute neces- sity, in order to promote the best interests of the island. There can be little doubt that the realization of this enterprise seciired, in no small degree, the subsequent recognition of Nantucket as, perhaps, the most desira- ble health resort on the Atlantic Coast. As usual the proposition met with considerable opposition, in accordance with the instinctive conserva- tism of the islanders, and their determined obstinacy with regard to innovations of any kind; and, as a matter of fact, "two boats a day" was not practically realized until June 6, 1874, although the press and many of the most important and most influential Nantucketers had been contending for its accomplishment during the preceding years. CHAPTER X NINETEENTH CENTURY (Continued)^ A NEW era of prosperity was inaugurated by the regular installation of the improved steamboat service to and from the island : the consequent influx of visitors increased rapidly during the summer months, and the islanders, however disinclined at first to provide for them, soon found that the coming of the "strangers" was a soiirce of considerable profit to them.selves. In the meanwhile the town authorities were fully alive to the new duties devolving upon them in the requisite development of the island's natural charms, and in the establishment of such measures as were calculated to secure and improve its hygienic conditions and advantages. They had to convert an obsolete fishing- port into a sanitar}^ and attractive summer resort; but Nature had already done so much for the island that cooperative zeal and persistent energy were all that were required to merit and ensure success. Many of the islanders, however, fought as long as possible against the innovations proposed from time to ' The facts recorded in this chapter are so numerous that it has been found impossible, for the most part, to weave them into a continuous historical narrative. It has, therefore, been deemed best to transcribe them in chronological order. 179 i8o Nantucket time, but in most cases they were forced by the yearly increasing influx of visitors to provide accommodation and entertainment for them. It has already been stated that the disposition of Nantucketers has ahvays been first to oppose strongly any innovations, however calculated to benefit the community, and then to relent and regret, while gladly acknowledging the beneficence of the schemes which they had done their utmost to frustrate. Now that many of the innovations have been adopted, developed, and are in good working order, who would say that their institution was not a boon and a blessing? Who would dare to offer opposition now? But it was ever thus: primitive minds and ideas have always combated the march of civilization until overcome by the progressive factors of education and experience. The truth of this assertion will be apparent during the course of this chapter. But to return. Hotels and summer cottages were built and the town took on new lite. i\s usual the brunt of the hard work fell upon the women of the island, who were ever distinguished not only for their industry and prevision, but for their preeminent business quali- fications. Since the ruination of the whaling industry during the forties, the men, who were then in their prime and inured to every hardship, had become, in perhaps the majority of cases, aged and incapacitated, and were no longer eager to enter into a new mode of life for which they were utterly unfitted. Too, the stalwart young men of the island had departed in droves to seek their fortune elsewhere. But the women, ever ready for emergencies, had to fit out their homes and cater for the visitors who were coming in increasing hosts every summer to their shores. Who can even enumerate the The Nineteenth Century i8i new duties which this peaceful revolution had imposed upon them, or would have the temerity to assert that they, in any way, failed in their faithful discharge? During the eighth decade of the century, moreover, there was kindled in the community a spirit which takes care of its public buildings, its churches, its insti- tutions of learning, and which encouraged the founding of educational organizations, establishments of thrift, and schools for the arts, and this spirit manifested itself throughout the island, and with considerable effect. 1870. From 1870, the summer visitors annually increased and the islanders were kept busily engaged in making preparations for their comfort and in pro- viding for their accommodation. It is almost impossible to do more than record the general progress, adding merely a more or less detached note on any point of interest as it arises. 1871. In 1871, the Cash House — so long the sentinel of the Newtown Gate — which stood as late as 1821, was demolished, and this old landmark had survived for over 150 years. ^ During this year also, on June 27th, a grand Masonic Festival was held, and, before the close of the year, a large shoe factory was established in the old West Grammar-School building by Hayden and Mitchell. 1872-73. There was an unusually heavy snowstorm on the island during March, 1872 — the heaviest since December, 1867. The recently erected factory of Hayden and Mitchell was destroyed by fire on August 3. 1873. 1874. As already stated "two boats a day" were inaugurated on June 6, 1874, and since this event the number of visitors to the island materially increased, ' William Cash died October 23, 1828, aged eighty -eight years. i82 Nantucket 320 passengers having landed from the boat on August 13th, and there were several thousands of visitors during the season. The Island Review, a new paper, published by Folger & Rich, appeared on August 24th. General Grant visited Nantucket on August 28th. 1875. On June 5, 1875, the Monument (in Monu- ment Square), erected in memory of the brave citizens who gave their lives for their country during the Civil War, was dedicated on Memorial Day. 1876. The Nantucket Literary Union was instituted and held its first meeting on February 3, 1876. 1877. The Sherburne Lyceum was organized in 1877, met first in the small hall in the Atlantic Hall building, and later at Wendell's Hall. It had a large membership for many years, and most interesting meetings at which lively and interesting debates, etc., were held, which did much to stimulate the general uplift which had been inaugurated. The election of President Hayes was celebrated by general rejoicing and a display of illuminations on the island, March 5, 1877. As first suggested by Mr. F. C. Sanford during November, the Monument to the Forefathers was erected near Maxcy's Pond before the close of this year. 1878. A terrible storm visited the island on Satur- day, October 12, 1878, and very serious damage to property resulted. Nothing equal to it had occuired since the October gale of 1841. The loss was variously estimated at from $20,000 to $50,000. The Island Review ceased publication August 31, 1878. The Nantucket Journal, under the editorship of Arthur H. Gardner, was first issued September 27, 1878. The Nineteenth Century 183 1879. A protracted storm visited the island on March 31, 1879, during which many vessels were dis- abled or lost, while a number of deaths resulted, and there was a large general loss to vessel property and cargoes. After a lapse of twenty-five years, steam service between Nantucket and New Bedford was restored, on June 30, 1879. The site of the homestead of Tristram Coffin, south of Capaum Pond, was marked by a monolith, during the last week of September. The estabHshment, during 1878-79, of the water- works at Wannacomet, drawing the supply of water from spring-fed Wannacomet Pond, about one and a half miles from the town, was one of the most benefi- cent innovations ever introduced upon the island. The entire scheme was propounded, planned, and completed by Moses Joy, Jr., a native Nantucketer, in face of bitter public opposition, which was not overcome until the town of Nantucket was plenteously supplied with excellent water; and this inestimable boon remains as a monument to his persistency, enterprise, and skill. The pond has an area of almost eight acres, and a depth stated to be eighteen feet. The water is pure and of good quality, and is tested once in every month. The original pumping engine had a capacity of about five hundred gallons per minute, but, in 1900-01, a second pumping station was built, and a second line of piping laid to the town, which safeguards against any accident or emergency. The reservoir is one hun- dred and four feet above low water-mark, and is about forty-two feet from the ground, the pond itself being a few feet higher than the sea-level, and even from a distance it forms a conspicuous object. The summer supply of water is said to represent 1 84 Nantucket 300,000 gallons, and 60,000 in winter. There are some fifty-five or sixty hydrants in the town, for use in case of fire. 1880. During 1880, the Legislatitre granted a charter to the Nantucket Railroad Co. on April 19th, and in the following month a single narrow-gauge line was begun. But it was not imtil July 4, 1881, that three miles of the road were completed, and transit established between Nantucket and Surf-Side. It is stated that during this summer 30,000 passengers were carried over the road without an accident. On May 4, 1880, ground was broken for the Nantucket Railroad extension. An appropriation of $50,000 was passed by Congress for the improvement of the harbor, as a port of refuge, on June ist. On August 1st, the Bug-lights under the Cliff were temporarily discontinued, and a successful trial of the Wannacomet waterworks was realized. 1 88 1. On Tuesday, August 16, 1881, the reunion festivities of the Clan Coffin began and lasted until the following Thursday. Great preparations had been made for this auspicious occasion, and members came from every part of the country to join in the commemo- ration of the two hundredth anniversary of the death of Tristram Coffin, the first of his race who settled in America. The members of the clan, to the number of over five hundred, went by train to Surf-Side, where a sumptuous banquet awaited them. Tristram Coffin, of New York, was the orator of the day, and in an interesting and eloquent address he dilated upon the Coffin family and its association with the history of the island. His speech was listened to with profound attention, and was received with enthusi- astic applause. The address of Hon. Charles Carlton The Nineteenth Century 185 Coffin on "The American Citizen" was remarkable in many ways, and was characterized by subUmity of thought and elegance of diction. Perfect unanimity and the most cordial feeling per- vaded this immense family concourse throughout the notable festival. ' In this year also, the "Nantucket Improvement and Industrial Association" was instituted. On February 4th, five oxen were driven over the ice from the steamer to the shore, it being the coldest day for years. At the annual town-meeting, February 21, 1881, a resolution was adopted formally accepting the gift of a new town-clock from W. H. Starbuck, which duly arrived on May 23d, Work commenced upon the new jetty on April 26th. On December 20, 1881, a new gravestone was placed at the head of Captain John Gardner's grave in the Forefathers' Burial-place at Wannacomet, and the old stone, which had become dilapidated, was removed to the oldest house, where it still remains. The shoals around Nantucket have been accumu- lating from time immemorial and have always been not only an insuperable barrier to maritime commerce, but at all times a source of serious danger to navigation around the island. These obstructions and dangers have long been recognized and deplored, yet for many years the government turned a deaf ear to all petitions for aid in removing them or in making them viable. In face of the requisite outlay, it was obviously as useless as impossible for the islanders, unaided, to un- dertake such a gigantic proposition, and even when, ' A full report of these exercises will be found in the Nantucket Inquirer of August 20th, 1881. 1 86 Nantucket by their own exertions they had organized the great- est whale-fishing industry in the world, nothing was done to mitigate the evil. In 1826, the whole bay was surveyed from Brant Point to Great Point, and during the following year extensive dredging operations were carried out for two or three years; but it was found to be an Augean task, for the subsequent autumnal gales silted up the sand again and neutralized all the work that had been done. Several other projects were suggested from time to time, but it was not until 1879 that another careful govern- ment survey was instituted, and General Warren recommended the construction of two jetties, one ex- tending into the Sound at Brant Point, and the other from Coatue. An appropriation of $50,000 was secured from the government, and in 1881 the construction of the west- ern jetty was commenced. The eastern jetty was begun a few years later. From time to time consider- able sea-dredging has also been done, and general conditions are much improved, but there is still much to be done in this direction, and eventually it will be necessary to extend the jetties. During the same month, August 30th, a plot of land intended for a Union Chapel for all denominations — the gift of H. G. Brooks, of New York, was dedicated for that purpose, at Siasconset. President Arthur visited Nantucket on September 27, 1882. 1883. On the 8th of January occurred one of the most severe snow storms that for years had been ex- perienced on the island. The desirability of instituting a sewerage system in Nantucket was strongly advocated, but more strongly The Nineteenth Century 187 opposed, in consonance with the conservative predilec- tions of the islanders. March ist, work was commenced on Surf-Side Hotel, and it was opened for public use on July 4th, the occa- sion being celebrated by general rejoicing. On March i8th, was duly solemnized the first wed- ding that ever occurred on Tuckernuck. July 15th, the Union Chapel was first opened at Sconset. On the 17th, a musical and literary enter- tainment was given to celebrate the event, but the formal dedication did not take place until July 26, 1883. August 29th, an unusually heavy surf at Surf- Side was witnessed by thousands of people, the terrific fury of the ocean being phenomenal. September loth, the taking down of Atlantic Hall on Main Street commenced; it was removed to Brant Point to become part of Hotel Nantucket. The Methodist Episcopal Church on Centre Street was dedicated on September 24, 1823, and its sixtieth anniversary was observed on September 23, 1883. November 20th, the hands of the town-clock were changed to "standard time." During the autumn of 1883, in addition to the erec- tion of the Springfield and Surf-Side Hotels, the Ocean View annex at Sunset Heights and the Nantucket Hotel at Brant Point were erected. The latter was two hundred and sixty feet in length and with a spacious piazza and balconies. 1884. January 7th, the harbor was sealed with ice. Another mighty surf occurred on the south side on January 9th, hills and bluffs were swept away, and the bed of the railroad was seriously endangered. Febru- ary 4th, the proposed installation of a sewerage system was further considered from a hygienic point of view, 1 88 Nantucket and on the 9th official reports appeared concerning the matter. On February 23d, was organized as a corporation, a new cemetery company to be known as the Mount Vernon Cemetery Co. This was for the purpose of controlHng the land adjoining Prospect Hill Cemetery. March 22d, a new bell-buoy was placed on the bar. On July 8th, the Nantucket Railway was extended to Siasconset, when a spirited celebration was held. August loth, a shock of earthquake was felt all over the island. September loth, the hottest day of the year— 88°. 1885. During this year there is little of special interest to record concerning Nantucket town, but Siasconset made marked progress in its development. Many new buildings were added, the railway facilities naturally attracted an increased host of visitors, a post-office was established, and the many attractions of this famous village speedily enhanced its popularity. Some notice must, however, be taken of General Grant's funeral which took place on Saturday, August 9th, and very interesting and impressive memorial services were held at the Methodist Episcopal Church, Nantucket, at which Captain Dahlgren delivered a spirited address on "Grant as a Soldier," and the Rev. R. R. Shippen, of Washington, followed with an eloquent tribute on "General Grant as a Civilian." A touching and sympathetic memorial, in blank verse, was sub- sequently read by the gifted author, Dr. Arthur Elwell Jenks. Similar services were also held at Siasconset. 1886. A terrific storm occurred which involved great damage to property. On April 20th, the installation of the electric tele- graph on the island was completed. The Nineteenth Century 189 On the 30th of the same month, a citizens' meeting was held to celebrate the completion of the cable between Nantucket and the mainland. In order to carry out this purpose, a cable had been laid, in 1840, by way of Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard, and Tucker- nuck, but it proved unsuccessful, the only important message received through it being news of the loss of the steamer Lexington, by fire, on January 13, 1840, when one hundred and forty lives were lost. Another submarine cable was laid between Great Point, Nan- tucket, and Monomoy Point, Cape Cod, on August 19, 1856, but this also proved a failure, and it was not until October 18, 1886, that a satisfactory cable was laid by the Government across Nantucket and the Vineyard Sounds. This is still in every way competent and effective. During this year also, a station of the U.S. Weather Bureau was established on Nantucket. The geographi- cal position of the island renders this easterly station most essential, and of great importance. All meteoro- logical observations are daily reported to Washington, and when the approach of storms is indicated, warnings are radiated by the cable in various directions. The station is well equipped with the most complex and delicate instruments and appliances requisite for all meteorological purposes, and is in charge of a courteous and competent observer. The anniversary of that ancient, time-honored festi- val of sheep-shearing was celebrated at the Quaise farm by Harrison Gardner on June 21st, when the Union Benevolent Society and friends were present to the number of three hundred and thoroughl}^ enjoyed themselves in the realization of old scenes and modern pleasures. 190 Nantucket 1887. The "Sea-Cliff" was built in this year, and opened under the management of Mrs. Pettee. 1888. The personal property of Nan- tucket amounted to .... $1,312,264 and the real property to . . . $1,572,534 (From Assessor's Book) . . . $2,884,798 The Nantucket season during 1888 was most suc- cessful, thousands of strangers having visited the island, and the weather having been almost uniformly enjoyable. During three days of the week ending December 1st, a dreadful wind-storm visited Nantucket and did irreparable damage to property, the railroad having perhaps suffered most. 1889. On August 14th, the electric-light plant was first operated on the island, and the lights were satis- factorily tested. On December 27th, the Muskeget Life-Saving Station was totally destroyed by fire. 1890. Up to this time the island never had so many visitors as during this year, although an epidemic of grippe was prevalent. On February 29th, a blizzard, and on October 27th a cyclonic storm, did much damage. The Athenceum was made a free library in IVIay, by an arrangement with the town authorities. Once more the sewerage question was discussed and reported upon. 1 89 1. March was a month of storms; indeed 1891 was a stormy year, for from the first week in May until the last week in June was the greatest storm period since 1832-33. The Nineteenth Century 191 Point Breeze Hotel was opened for its first season on June 20, 1892. On February 8th, at a special town- meeting, the report as to a sewerage scheme was adopted, and an appropriation of $50,000 voted for its being carried out. Among the closing acts of the annual town-meeting held on March 2d, was the passing of a resolution to the following effect: "That we the voters of Nantucket in annual town-meeting assembled, will put forward all our energies and use all reasonable means, both in our corporate capacity and by encouraging individual efforts, to make Nantucket one of the most popular resorts in America." At this meeting also, after being agitated for seven years, the sewerage question was settled affirmatively, the votes being "Yes" 334, "No" 148. On March 31st, it was resolved to increase the num- ber of electric Hghts in the streets. On April 8th, a franchise was granted to extend the railroad to Siasconset by a new and shorter route, under the management of the Nantucket Central Railroad Co.; and an additional appropriation was granted during this month for further work on the jetties. During April, also, a new filter was built for the waterworks. In November, a new light ship, "No. 54," was placed at the mouth of Nantucket Sound; and, at the end of the month, a violent tempest, with a maximum velocity of sixty miles an hour, visited the island. However, although the hurricane was terrific, little or no per- manent damage resulted. 1893. In this year there is nothing of historic interest to chronicle except perhaps "the usual August storm," which occurred on August 20th and w^hich 192 Nantucket attained a maximum velocity of fifty-nine miles and caused much and irreparable damage. 1894. On April 14th, Alexander Starbuck proposed the institution of an association consisting of the Sons and Daughters of Nantucket, which was duly estab- lished and incorporated, and an annual meeting, with a large and progressive membership, has, every year since its inauguration, been held in Boston, where the islanders meet for recreation and social enjoyment. The meetings are usually held during November, at one of the large Boston hotels, and while conducing much to promote the confraternity of Nantucketers, they have brought them together from their new homes on the mainland, made them acquainted with each other, while renewing old friendships, and tending to foster ties of amity and camaraderie among new friends. On June i8th, a devastating whirlwind occurred on the island. During September a great fire broke out in Gibbs's Swamp and the surrounding neighborhood. The Nantucket Historical Association was established in May, 1894. The members constituting the Council purchased the old Quaker schoolhouse, on Fair Street (built in 1838), and became incorporated during the following July. Here a varied and valuable miscella- neous collection, consisting of maritime implements, domestic and foreign curios and antiquities, pictures, books, maps, charts, and historical sundries, soon accumulated, and rapidly increased to such an extent that, in 1903, the Council resolved to erect at once a fireproof building in order to protect and display the manifold objects with which they had been entrusted. In 1900, the Museum, which had been housed in the Athen^um, and which, owing to alterations in the arrangement of the latter institution, the trustees were The Nineteenth Century 193 willing to transfer, was turned over to the Historical Association, and the union of the two collections con- stituted an historical and representative collection such as is probably unsurpassed by any other provincial museum in the State. The new fireproof building was erected in the rear of the meeting-house, and con- sists of a large basement, ground-floor, and gallery, with a vestibule of one story on the east fagade, and the premises are all that could be desired, so far as utility, lighting, convenience, and ample room are concerned. The old meeting-, or schoolhouse, is still used for annual or other meetings, and remains much as it was when it was used for religious purposes. The Council was fortunate in receiving bequests which not only enabled them to liquidate all the expenses of building, but to serve as a partial endowment and to defray the expenses of their publications. Work on the new State road to Siasconset was be- gun at Barnard's Valley, on October 2d. 1895. An epidemic of grippe was prevalent on the island during June. Nantucket Island was widely advertised through circulars of its approaching centennial celebration. On July 9th, a century had passed since the name of the town was changed from Sherburne to Nantucket, and this occasion the islanders resolved to commemorate. Moreover, the town having been incorporated in 1671, the auspicious occasion really partook of the nature of a bi-centenary. No more extensive demonstration was ever attempted on "the little purple island." It was held on July 9th, loth, and nth, and was most successful and impressive, being most happily conceived and thoughtfully executed. Hundreds of the sons and daughters of the island, 194 Nantucket who had wandered far and near and to many cHmes, returned to their island home to share her rejoicing, and to renew the inspiring associations of childhood; and right heartily were they welcomed to the bosom of the fond mother who bore them. The old town was joyously arrayed, almost every house being gaily deco- rated, and while the national flag adorned every point of vantage, streamers and banners of every color fluttered brightly from one end of the town to the other. Triumphal arches, masses of taste and coloring, decked the prominent places of the principal thoroughfares, and everywhere, and in every way, the islanders showed how heartily and with what unanimity they had re- solved to make the occasion one never to be forgotten. Sheep-shearing, festivals, and squantums were re- instituted, and the quondam glories of the famous whale-fisheries were reproduced as far as possible once more. The proceedings commenced with the pealing of bells and artillery salutes, which re-echoed over the ocean, while the rapturous cheers from many hundreds of happy hearts made the island ring with joy. Literary exercises, as varied as interesting, as exten- sive as excellent, were held in the North Church, con- sisting for the most part of centennial odes, and of many masterly addresses on appropriate historical, social, and religious subjects. In the evening a ban- quet was held at which covers were laid for 1150 guests. As a chronicler has well said: "It was a universal week of rejoicing, love, and good-vrill to all mankind, which ought to make every Nantucketer sound the gladsome pasans of Nantucket for ever."' ' For a full report of this notable commemoration, vide supplement to Nantucket Inquirer^ issued July 13, 1895. The Nineteenth Century 195 The Nantucket Central Railroad extension was finished to Sconset, and the first train ran through, amid much rejoicing, on August 15th. On November 27th, a fierce gale (fifty or sixty miles an hour), wild waves, snow, high tides, and cold tempera- ture made up an experience which those who realized it will not soon forget. 1897. The "Old Mill" was purchased by Miss Caroline L. W. French at pubHc auction, and presented to the Nantucket Historical Association on August 4th. The price realized was $885. 1898. January 31st. A storm of tremendous energy burst over the island, but comparatively little damage was done. During April of this year, legislative authority was granted to the town to spend $1000 annually in adver- tising, and the resolution was approved by the Governor on April 26th. On July 29th, a collision occurred between the Nan- tucket and Gay Head steamers, off Nobska Light, in a fog. No lives were lost, but the Nantucket was badly damaged, Saturday and Sunday, November 26th and 27th, a terrible storm (popularly known since as "the Port- land storm," from the loss of the steamer Portland with all on board), having its centre at Nantucket, burst over the island, and did damage to the amount of $5000; the wind attained a velocity of ninety miles an hour, and the tide rose to an unprecedented height. 1899. February 12th to 15th, an unusual spell of cold and storm, followed by a severe fall of snow, was ushered in. The island became ice-bound. During this month the cold weather exceeded in severity and duration anything that can be remembered. 196 Nantucket Union Street was repaved, beginning April loth. The work of building the Orange Street road commenced during the week ending April 29th. 1900. Grippe was again prevalent on the island, during January. During the early part of this year there was much talk of progress in many directions. In connection with the exploitation of Coatue, a Coatue Building Syndicate was formed and builders were engaged, a railway to the Cliff was projected, a street railroad was proposed and discussed, a sewerage system for Sconset was considered, the relaying of Nantucket streets, a new road to Monomoy, tree planting, the booming of Surf- Side and general building operations; all these had their advocates, but the projects failed to materialize, and for a period peace and quietude reigned once more upon the island. Such spasmodic activities had been noticed aforetime with similar results, and no doubt this gave rise to the saying that "the authorities of Nantucket seem to wake up and to do something once in seven years!" About the middle of August, twenty-seven miles of electric wire had been installed on the island, and nearly one thousand incandescent lights. 1 90 1. An unusually heavy snowfall, eight inches, occurred on the island on February 23d, affording a splendid opportunity for sleighing. The leasing of Long Pond and Madeket Ditch was again considered after many previous discussions. After several previous trials, Nantucket Central Railroad new service was instituted on July 4th. Wireless telegraphy was installed at Siasconset during August, 1 90 1, and Nantucket Island was honored when it was selected as the first station in America The Nineteenth Century 197 whereon was erected Marconi's wonderful invention for the transmission and reception of messages to and from steamers on the ocean. This surpassing effort of inventive genius has indeed proved an inestimable boon to the "ships at sea," and it would be rash to forecast the future possibilities of this marvelous new system of intercommunication, ' A loop from the telegraph cable connects the office to the mainland, and the service is open both by day and by night. The first message received was from the steamer Liicania. The tide of travel to the island during the season of 1 90 1 tried the capacity of the hotels and boarding- houses to a degree never before experienced, and augured well for the continued success of Nantucket as a sea resort. 1902. At a town -meeting held on February 3d, appropriations were voted to the amount of $60,335, and a bill to acquire the Cliff Bathing Beach as public property was withdrawn, owing to the opposition of the committee. The River and Harbor Bill providing for the expen- diture of $70,000 passed the U. S. Senate on April 21st, $35,000 to be expended upon Nantucket and Hyannis. After much discussion at the annual town-meeting held on April 21st, by a vote of forty -nine to ten it was decided to raise $20,000 on notes, and $40,000 by taxa- tion, and thus maintain a lower tax rate. The manufacture of hygienic ice was established on the island during April, 1902. On May 2d, a bill to place the regulation of fares ' An accurate description of the system and its modes of operation will be found in the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror August lo, 1901. 198 Nantucket and freights on steamboat lines plying between ports of Massachusetts under the control of the Railroad Commission was carried in the House, after strenuous opposition and spirited debate, through the persistence of Arthur H. Gardner. St. Paul's Church was con- secrated on St. Barnabas Day, June 11, 1902. During September, Sconset wireless station was lighted by electric light; and the season closed as one of the gayest and most successful which the village had known. A lack of coal supply, owing to a great strike among the coal miners, made the islanders very anxious. On Tuesday, December 9th, occurred the last zero temperature recorded on the island, viz: 1° below. 1903. The minds of the islanders were relieved by a supply of coal arriving on January 4th. $60,852.67 was appropriated at February town- meeting, a large portion of which was devoted to roads. A bill was also passed by the Massachusetts Legisla- ture authorizing the town to purchase the Cliff Bathing Beach through a loan by the State to be repaid by the town. In June, an act was passed enabling Nantucket to provide a water supply for Sconset. On October 5 th the Coffin School was reopened for teaching manual training. The following inscription was found on a beam in the Unitarian Church tower, on September 26th, during repairs: "This tower was rebuilt by Perez Jenkins in 1830, — height 10 feet ^}4 inches to top of points." The Nantucket Athletic Club was incorporated in 1890 for the purpose of offering facilities for athletic games and recreation. It was not, however, until the autumn of 1904 that the proposed building was begun, The Nineteenth Century 199 and on April 5, 1905, it was finished, equipped, and opened to members and their friends. The club-house, near the steamboat landing, con- tains two bowling alleys, a billiard room, reception room, card rooms, and a large room for meetings, conversazioni, etc. In connection with the club-house are fine tennis courts, where tournaments are frequently held. Balls, receptions, concerts, readings, lectures, etc., are occasionally given in the spacious amusement hall. The club consists entirely of men but they accord many privileges to the fair sex, and the institution is a source of many refined pleasures not only to the town, but, during summer, to throngs of visitors,' During 1903 also, the Electric and Power Co. suc- ceeded by purchase to the Citizens Gas Co. and the amalgamation of these two companies under the name of the Citizens Gas, Electric, and Power Co. insured a vastly improved joint service which is now keenly ap- preciated, and the equipment is all that could be desired. 1904. The Civic League was formed on January 14th, in order to promote the welfare of the town gener- ally, especially to secure its cleanliness and good order, and in every respect the League has well fulfilled the purposes for which it was established. The Bathing Beach was leased for fifteen years, at $350 per annum, and the Bathing Pavilion was erected during May of this year. During June, a water plant was installed at Sconset. The Marconi Co. estabHshed a station at Siasconset, in this year. • In 1912, the name of the club was changed to the " Nantucket Club," and a fine pier was built out from the veranda at the back, which gives ample facilities for boating and aquatic sports. 200 Nantucket The corner-stone of a new fireproof building for the security of the historical collection was laid at the Nantucket Historical Association on September 17, 1905, A station of the New York Yacht Club was established at Nantucket in this year. This was due entirely to the enterprise and generosity of Paul The- baud, the well-known yachtsman of New York, who supplied the building, fully equipped, with landing- stage, tenders, and every accessory at his own expense. There is also an attendant in charge of it. Since its establishment the visiting yachts in the harbor have increased threefold, doubtless encouraged also by the deepening of the channel. During the spring, an appropriation of $80,000 was secured for the purpose of deepening the harbor and channel, of which $70,000 was available for Nantucket. At the same time economy and reform in town matters were strongly advocated owing to unhealthy financial conditions. The museum at the Athenaeum was transferred to the Nantucket Historical Association during April. Five thousand dollars was granted by the Legislature for improvement of the harbor during the same month. A reception was given by the Historical Association, on the occasion of the opening of their rooms, on June 15th. The overseers of the poor named the Asylum for the Poor "Our Island Home." The Civic League held their annual meeting and banquet at the Point Breeze Hotel on July 20th, eighty members being present. "Billy Clark," the Town Crier, had a successful "Song Recital" as a testimonial, at the Athletic Club on September 23d, added to a subscription of $388.50. The Nineteenth Century 201 The Nantucket Hotel property was sold at public auction on September 30th. Harbor dredging temporarily ceased at end of De- cember. 1906. Alvin Hull, one of the town criers, died sud- denly during this year. ^ He was a veteran of the Civil War, a whaler, and had officiated as town crier for over twenty years. He was generally esteemed. 1907. The new Bathing Pavilion was opened at Sconset in August. At the town-meeting in February, $1000 was appro- priated to further advertise the island as a health resort, and spirited efforts were made in this direction. During May, the town adopted a modem telegraph fire-alarm system; and the dredging of the harbor was recommenced in July. The question as to admitting automobiles on the island was rediscussed, and settled negatively during October. During the season the hotels and boarding-houses were filled to overflowing. The Marconi wireless station at Sconset was de- stroyed by fire on November 15th. A motor car arrived for Nantucket Railroad, and ran to Sconset in less than thirty minutes. 1908. On January ist, new automobile railroad mail service was installed between Nantucket and Sconset, vice the old mail coach. On January 23d, the worst storm for twenty years burst over the island; greatest maximum velocity eighty-three miles. Damages estimated at $5000. It is said that one puff registered a velocity of over one hundred and twenty miles per hour! ' August 10, 1906, aged sixty years five months. 202 Nantucket The new lightship, "85, " was placed in position dur- ing the first week in February. The town-meeting on February ist appropriated $60,000. An appropriation for defraying the expenses of a band was voted in opposition to one proposed for advertising. One thousand dollars was voted for the establishment of a town gymnasium. It was resolved to erect a new stand pipe at Wannacomet waterworks, eighty feet high, with a capacity of 180,000 gallons more than the present tank, and to contain 400,000 gallons. The expense of erecting the eastern jetty was com- puted at $375,000. The estimated cost of the western jetty, the construction of which was begun in 1881, was $112,000. The Cliff beacons ("Bug-lights") were finally dis- continued. In April a bill was passed at the State-House per- mitting the Selectmen practically to exclude auto- mobiles from the island, from June 15th to September 15th in each year. The Maria Ivlitchell Observatory was dedicated on July 15th. New range lights (skeleton towers) were placed at Brant Point on July 14th. The season of 1908 was the most successful in Sconset's history. A new motor car on the Nantucket Railroad had its trial trip, between Nantucket and Sconset, on July 30th, and the result was very satisfactory. On November 9th, the opening at head of harbor was entirely closed, and much discussion was entailed as to the possible results. 1909. The appropriation for town expenses has The Nineteenth Century 203 almost doubled during the past sixteen years, between 1893 and 1909. In 1893 it amounted to $34,900, and in 1909 to $68,455.38. "Billy Clark" died on Tuesday, August 17, 1909, (having been born at Nantucket, on November 17, 1846), after many years' service as an esteemed and respected town crier. 1 910. Nantucket got another appropriation of $50,000 for the jetties. The annual appropriations at town-meeting, held February 14th, totalled $71,681.08. During March it was proposed to raise by pop- ular subscription, another $1000, to advertise Nan- tucket. The Sewer Commissioners' report, issued April 226., showed a total cost of $7,524.00. This sum was subsequently appropriated. Many important improvements were suggested for Sconset in April, principally with a view to improved sanitation. During the past decade many experiments have been made regarding transportation to Siasconset, but early in June a new system was inaugurated with every- thing new. The new rolling stock arrived at the end of May, and was placed in operation on June 7th, with gratifying success. This year's season was not only the best ever experi- enced in Nantucket, but also the best ever known in Sconset; 10,000 visitors were accommodated on the island. The annual valuation of Nantucket shows an increase of more than $160,000 over that of last year. A further appropriation for Nantucket harbor was granted during December, 1910. 204 Nantucket 191 1. The new steamboat Sankaty arrived on May 2d. During the week ending August 5th, the Sconset Carnival was held, including the crowning of the king and queen, a street parade, games, etc. In the spring and summer dredging was continued, previous efforts having been unsatisfactory, if not inutile to a great degree, owing to the fact that the work had been carried on in deep water ! The present contract provides for the deepening of the water over the bar to the depth of seventeen feet. Another banner season, hotels, summer cottages, and boarding-houses being so crowded that many visitors had to return by the boats — the much aug- mented accommodation of the island being overtaxed. 1 9 1 2 . This year , while meager in matters of historical interest, was devoid of sensations, but replete with conventional happenings. The Legislature granted an appropriation of $10,000 for deepening the anchorage in Nantucket harbor. CHAPTER XI SOME EARLY DWELLINGS IN NANTUCKET However simple and unpretentious the earliest architecture on the island of Nantucket may have been, yet, like the law of evolution, it manifests progress from a lower to a higher type during the lapse of historic time. While the primeval habitations of the English settlers in the neighborhood of Hummock Pond and Wannacomet were of the humblest possible character, we recognize a still higher type in, for example, the "Oldest House," built in 1686. When the so-called town was removed from Wanna- comet to Wesko — the modern Nantucket — about 1 720, a still higher type prevailed in the adoption of two-story houses, with the northern roof sloping down to the first story, which now constitutes perhaps most of the houses in the town. At a still later period many of the houses assumed the character of having two stories in front and rear, and then, in a few instances, of gam- brel-roofed houses, but never to any great extent. Many superior houses of a colonial type were subse- quently built; for example, the imposing dwellings in upper Main Street and elsewhere. Probably not a vestige remains of the original houses built b}^ the primitive settlers from the settlement in 205 2o6 Nantucket 1 66 1 to 1680. The earliest house of which there is any record was that inhabited by Nathaniel Starbuck soon after his arrival in 1660, and it was built at the western end of the island. It must have been only a temporar}^ abode, as in 1670 it was no longer in exist- ence. While the location of the original house-lots may be indicated with some precision, there is no means of ascertaining the exact or even probable situation of the houses upon them. The "Cambridge Spring," near Hummock Pond, is believed to have indicated the position of the so-called "Parliament House" — the residence of Nathaniel and Mary Starbuck. James Coffin's house is said to have stood to the north of this; and tradition asserts that Tristram Coffin's dwelling occupied a spot at the south- west end of Capaum Pond, which has been marked with a monolith by his successors. It is also more or less authoritatively stated that John Coleman, senior and junior, and Jeremiah Coleman lived on the plains, as also did the early Barnards, and Allen and Richard Swain. John Mott had land in the Long Woods; William Bunker lived near Squam Pond; the earliest Cart- wrights, at Pocomo. Peter Folger lived on the western side of the Allen Smith house, near the west end of Jethro Folger's lane on upper Main Street. Eleazer Folger, his eldest son, lived on the hill back of the Abner Turner house on West Chester Street, and John, the youngest son, lived at Polpis. The Gardners, Richard and John, lived at the northwestern part of Nantucket, in the neighborhood where Hamblin's farm now stands. Thomas Macy, after residing near "Maticat," (Madeket) for a year or so, lived on the Pond field at Wannacomet, where he died in 1682. 1- TZ i\ Some Early Dwellings in Nantucket 207 Edward Starbuck resided near the north head of Hummock Pond, where he died in 1690, aged eighty-six years. The first town-house is said to have stood near the Thomas Backus house; the second, near the Holmes country. Here also stood the jail. As time progressed, the residences became centralized in the vicinity of Wannacomet; but, about 1720, when Capaum had been cut off from the sea, and had become a mere pond, the inhabitants resolved to remove the settlement to Wesko — now the town of Nantucket — principally because of the facilities rendered by spacious harbor accommodation at the latter place. A few houses had been erected in the neighborhood some years previously to the exodus, but it was not until about 1720 that building operations on an extensive scale were carried on at Wesko; and in numerous instances houses were removed from the old center to the new. With very few exceptions, therefore, Nantucket, as it now stands, consists mainly of houses which were built during the first quarter of the i8th century. A few notes on the earlier houses which still in part remain may not be without interest, if they serve no more useful purpose. THE "oldest house" IN NANTUCKET — I686-I912 On the quaintly delightful island of Nantucket — so full of natural charms, so brimful w4th historical associations — there are few objects of keener interest than the ancient house, built in 1686, as a wedding gift to a young pair, the bridegroom the grandson of one of the earliest white settlers, and the bride — "sweet sixteen" — a daughter of Captain John Gardner, also 2o8 Nantucket an early settler, and up to the time of his death, in 1706, Chief Justice of the island. What changes have taken place since, like a lonely sentinel, this primitive dwelling first raised its front on the north shore, at the top of Sunset Hill ! Two hundred and twenty-four years! Only one hundred and ninetj^-four years after the discovery of the New World, only eighty-four 3^ears after the discovery of the island by Bartholomew Gosnold, only sixty-six years after the landing of the Pilgrims! There it has stood diu-ing the decay of empires, the thwarted am- bitions of kings and emperors, and for nearly a century before the American Revolution had consecrated the United States "as the home of the brave and the land of the free" ; and there it still stands, as proudly as ever, where it has marked the rise, the fall, and the re-ascen- sion of "the little purple island," smiling amid its venerable associations, and the pride of all Nantucketers. We claim no stately architectural beauties for this antiquated dwelling-house, for it was erected long before colonial architecture had ever reached the "old country" from w^hich it was subsequently imported. It was, indeed, a mere cottage, as it stands to-day after two hundred and twenty-four years, but the happy home of one of the jDioneers of civilization on this vast continent. When the marriage was determined, it was arranged that Captain John Gardner should supply the land for the building, and, inasmuch as the prospective bride- groom's father "owned large acreage of forest at Ex- eter, N. H.," it was decided that he should supply the necessary lumber for the framework of the house, and, accordingly, this was conveyed in one of his own vessels. It has been stated that, when the house was built. Some Early Dwellings in Nantucket 209 there were not more than thirty houses on the island. When all was prepared, Jethro Coffin and Mary Gardner were duly married in their own house. "The site selected was about one hundred' and fifty feet from the brow of the hill, as it stands at the present day. . . . The main building occupying a space of about eighteen feet by thirty-five."' The house consists of two stories and an attic, and the southern aspect of the sloping roof was much shorter than that in the rear. When the house was built, the northern roof came down to within a few feet of the ground, running over a lean-to, which extended along the rear of the house from one end to the other. It is not generally known, however, that at one time the northeast corner of the roof was destroyed by fire, and when the damage was repaired the angle was not restored, so that pictures of the house only represent the downward extension of the northern roof on the northwest end. The reason assigned for the greater extent of the northern roof is that, in most old Nan- tucket houses the short roof is on the southern exposure, and the long roof on that of the north, because the prevailing winds are from the southwest, and in running up the south roof and running down the longer northern roof, the wind would not tend so much to tear ofif the shingles. Under the shingles the roof itself was origi- nally covered with boards about eighteen inches broad, running lengthwise up and down. Midway on the roof bridge is one large brick chimney- stack through which all the flues in the house are con- nected. Of this chimney more anon. On the front, or southern, aspect of the house are the front door and two windows. When the house was ' Trustum and his Grandchildren, by Mrs. Worron, 1881. 210 Nantucket built, there was an extensive wooden porch erected in front of this door, and upon this opened, on its eastern side, a massive door of oak, which constituted the real hall door of the house. The outer door was opened by passing a finger through a small hole in the door itself and lifting a solid bar of oak, which effectually secured the door when it was shut. This useful, as well as ornamental appendage, is no longer remembered, having disappeared in the flux of time. It is stated by Mrs. Worron, who resided in the house at an early period, that the space disclosed when this outer door was opened, "was large enough to admit a yoke of oxen." On the east end of the house are three windows, one for each story, and on the west end are four, one to light the living-room on the ground floor, a small narrow one lighting the little bedroom north of the living-room, one for the second story, and one for the attic. The window supplying the living-room, is somewhat remark- able, inasmuch as the upper sash has two rows with five panes in each, and the lower sash has three rows with five panes in each. So far as is known, there is no similar window on the island, and being in several ways more elaborate than any of the other windows, it may be assumed that it was of later origin than the house itself. The house is very substantially built of large oak beams averaging from twelve to fourteen inches in diameter, about a foot square; and none of these, even now, shows symptoms of decay. The main beams are strengthened on the second floor by means of "ship's knees" of oak, bolted to the floor beams and uprights. Cedar laths have been nailed to the flooring above, by hand-made nails, and the plaster, freely used in covering Some Early Dwellings in Nantucket 211 them, was mainly composed of ground shells. There are evidences of more modern lathing and plastering having been superimposed at a subsequent date. Entering the front door we find ourselves in a small vestibule, out of which open two large rooms, occupy- ing the whole of the ground-floor, that on the east being known as the "keeping-room," and that on the west the living-room. Between, in front of the large chim- ney, is a winding stairway leading to the second story. The keeping-room is a large room, but the ceiling is low, not more than six and one-half feet high. The superior workmanship of the house is apparent the moment one enters: heavy oak beams edge the ceiling, and one immense beam, flanked on either side by six or eight supports of sturdy oak planking, crosses the middle of the ceiling itself. In this keeping-room, as well as in the western or living-room, is a huge fireplace, which, in its original condition, monopolized more than half the length of the room, and its depth could easily accommodate a whole family. The fireplace in this room has, however, been more recently made smaller, part of it having been converted into a good-sized closet, and a narrower fire- grate installed. Here, also, on the spacious mantelpiece, is a specimen of colonial carving which is as dainty and elegant as is imaginable. Its delicacy and flawlessness, after all the years that have flown since its construction, are really most remarkable. This mantel was placed in the living-room at the time of the cutting down of the fireplace. At the north end of the room, is a small, narrow "back-entry" or closet, with a narrow back door, leading into the back yard, and at the sill of the 212 Nantucket door there is a large, flat doorstep of stone, well worn with time. The walls of the keeping-room are covered with the stern boards of ships (bearing their respective names), which have been wrecked in the neighborhood during the prosperous whaling industry, and are fraught with sad memories of other days. An imitation carpet, painted on the floor of this room, can even yet be discerned. As we cross the small vestibule between the two front rooms, there is noticed a small window about twelve or fourteen inches long and four inches high, at the east side of the front door. This is known as the "Indian Peep-hole." It has not yet been fully deter- mined why it was so placed, although from its situation it would have admirably served the purpose mentioned ; for, as has been stated, " It is so high that while persons outside could not see in, those inside could see out." In the living-room on the west side of the house is also a magnificent fireplace in all its original amplitude, measuring seven feet four inches in length and about five feet in depth. The back of the cavity is semi- circular instead of square, as is usual, and it is perhaps as perfect a specimen of late seventeenth century work as can be seen. These two lower rooms contain numerous relics — furniture, china, bric-a-brac and other objects of interest which space, unfortunately, will not permit to be particularized. At the back of this room are some domestic offices and a small bedroom. Up the gradually narrowing staircase we ascend to the second story, where there are three rooms; but the western or "Bridal Chamber" is the only one that claims our interest. It is a large room, nearly square. Some Early Dwellings in Nantucket 213 with one western window, and an admirable open fire- place remaining exactly as it was originally constructed. This room contains the only original mantel in the house, and its peculiar design is suggestive of the keel of a ship. The room measures eighteen feet long, the floor being covered with eleven boards, some nineteen or twenty inches broad. In this room, is a closet still known as "The Indian Closet." This room also contains all that remains of the headstone erected over the grave of Captain John Gardner, one hundred and seventy-five years ago. It was the only one discernible in the old burying ground near Maxcy's Pond, where it reposed from 1706 to 1881 ; and, in order to save it from the ravages of relic hunters, it was, for preservation, removed to "The Oldest House," in 1883. The inscription is still de- cipherable. Another flight of stairs leads to the attic, which has never been finished, but is almost made into two rooms by the stairway and the chimney. From the scuttle in the roof, which is reached by a few rough steps, a splendid view of the island is afforded, including the beautiful moorlands, the fine harbor, and the interesting buildings. A few words must here be devoted to the large chim- ney-stack projecting from the roof, which is remarkable, not only for its size, but for its uniqueness. There has been much difference of opinion as to the significance of its ornamentation. The chimney is built of bricks said to have been brought from England in Nantucket vessels as ballast, and it has an ornamental cornice of several rows of bricks around the top On its south aspect is a figure, wrought in brickwork, resembling an inverted U, which measures two feet by three and 214 Nantucket one-half feet, within the bend of which is the monogram J. C, representing Jethro Coffin. So strongly has the idea dominated the minds of the people generally that this U-shaped figure was designated a horseshoe to propitiate good luck and to exorcise demons, that the house itself is better known by the title of "The Horse Shoe House" than by any other, and especially so because, at the time the house was built, and for years previously, "the dark shadow of witchcraft hung like a pall over the primitive homes and hamlets of New England"; although the terrible Salem witchcraft trials did not take place until some six years later. It is possible, however, that the figure was intended only as an ornament; but who can settle the question? Such in outline is the house erected two hundred and twenty-four years ago as a wedding gift to Jethro and Mary Coffin, where "Little Peter," their child (named after his grandfather), was born, and where the "Bridal Chamber" remains almost exactly as they left it during the dawn of civilization on the island. When it was built (and it has been stated that Jethro himself was the principal artificer in its erection), it was considered one of the best houses in the neighborhood; and that its foundations were "well and truly laid" is proved by its having withstood the ravages of time during more than two centuries, and in its still surviving, almost as hale as ever, amid the vicissitudes of its venerable antiquity. The house was sold by the Coffin family to Nathaniel Paddock in 1707, the year after Captain John Gardner's death. For many years afterwards, it was abandoned as a dwelling-house and utilized for the storage of hay. In 1 88 1, at the time of a reunion of the Coffin family, commemorating the two hundredth anniversary of the Some Early Dwellings in Nantucket 215 original Tristram Coffin's death, when the house was be- coming dilapidated, it was rebought for preservation by- Tristram Coffin, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and his brother, who put on a new roof, repaired the top of the chimney, strengthened some of the supports, and partially re- shingled the exterior. Thus it remained until 1886, the anniversary of its building, when it was resolved to restore "The Oldest House" carefully and judici- ously. This was thoroughly done, though the original conditions were preserved with as little change as possible, and without destroying any of the ancient characteristics. It was during these repairs that the date of the erec- tion of the house was discovered in the attic, "1686," in figures eight inches long, being painted on the side of the chimney. These were unfortunately, destroyed in putting in an iron support to strengthen the chimney. After the house had been put into such repair as enabled the workman to say "it was good for at least another hundred years," it was kept securely closed for eleven years. In 1897, however, the summer visi- tors to the island clamored so vigorously that in June a curator was appointed, and the house has remained open for inspection ever since, much to the gratification of the general public. An original portrait, in oil, of Mary Coffin, for which she is said to have sat three times in Boston, is still in the possession of Mrs. Eunice Coffin Gardner Brooks, of Nantucket, — a Hneal descendant of Mary Coffin, — but though the portrait has been attributed erroneously to Copley, the artist remains unknown; the picture contains some of Copley's characteristics, which would suggest the probability^ of its having been painted by some one of the great artist's teachers. 2i6 Nantucket At the east end of the house was the well which sup- plied it with water. The old-fashioned "sweep" is still in its position, and the curbing having been restored and the mason-work put in sanitary repair, the water can be drawn to-day as pure and sparkling as when the sweet young face of the bride of sixteen was reflected from its depths in 1686. Up to 1902, the oldest house on the island was un- questionably that originally built and occupied by John Swain, one of the primitive settlers, who, after living for a number of years near the south head of Hummock Pond, bought land at Polpis in 1680, and afterwards built the house now under consideration. Unfortu- nately the house was destroyed by a thunderstorm in 1902, so that an opportunity of examining it has not been afforded, but from a photograph the house appears to have been a simple lean-to of one story, with a brick chimney, as usual, at the west end. On the east end a smaller lean-to was erected subsequently, and, still later, another was built on the west end. The original house was erected before the last decade of the seventeenth century, soon after the purchase of the land, but it is impossible to sa^^ definitely, under the circumstances, as an examination of the interior is no longer practicable. The house was evidently built on the ground and without a foundation. Many in- accuracies have appeared with regard to the year in which this house was built. What is now known as the barn at Hamblin's Farm, near the cliff, was originally part of an early house erected in 1696, as appears from a date cut into a granite doorstone, together with two initial letters, the first of which is indistinctly G, and the other distinctly E. Inquiry has elicited the probability that the letters Some Early Dwellings in Nantucket 217 stand for George and Eunice — George Gardner, the son of Captain John Gardner, having married Eunice Starbuck — and that the land on which the house is built was the property of Captain John Gardner. It is also alleged that Captain Gardner built the house in 1696 for his son and daughter-in-law. The allegation is further sustained by the fact that Captain Gardner's own residence — the site of which is still indicated — was only about four hundred feet from the house in question. George Gardner died in 1750 and was succeeded by his son Grafton, who died in 1789, he in turn having been succeeded by his son, Silas Gardner. In 1800, Thomas Brock purchased the house and some thirteen acres of land from Silas Gardner, and eventually the house became the property of Thomas C. Hamblin, through the descendants of Thomas Brock. The house and farm still belong to the Hamblin family. In or about 1842, Hamblin having built another dwelling near-by, the original house was used as a barn, having been mutilated by the removal of its western half, the original chimne}^ and a lean-to on the north side — thus leaving only the eastern section of the origi- nal house, which is all that now remains. The original house was evidently a double lean-to. The writer was unfortunate during a recent inspec- tion in being prevented from making a careful examina- tion of the interior by the fact that the barn was full of hay; but the original frame uprights are still in posi- tion. The walls are filled with clay, and clam-shell mortar has been used. The upright posts are strong and thick, and bracketed. The original two rooms have been thrown into one for farming purposes, and when 2i8 Nantucket the house was built it was evidently a lean-to house with all the usual characteristics, including a chimney in the middle of the roof, and the door in the middle ot the southern aspect. Although for several reasons it might be relegated to a somewhat later period, there is other evidence sufficiently strong to justify the claim of its having been built before 1 700. Another interesting old house, associated with the Starbucks in early days, is that now owned and occu- pied by Mrs. Benjamin G. Tobey, at the corner of Main and Gardner Streets. The house, as it now stands, con- sists of two incorporated sections — the west end from 1757, as appears from a date on the wall of an upstairs closet, when the house apparently assumed its present form — the eastern section of much earlier date. Tradi- tion asserts that the eastern section was brought from Madeket, which is not very improbable. It was unquestionably removed from elsewhere to its present position. From its general characteristics — its seven feet long brick fireplace and oven, the cedar frames to windows, long northern roof sloping down to lean-to, in addition to peculiarities of construction — this section was probably built during the first quarter of the eighteenth century. The house was formerly occupied by Zaccheus Star- buck, who was born on February 2, 1733, as recorded on the handle of a birth-spoon owned by Mrs. Tobey. He moved into the house from elsewhere, but it is difficult to trace it farther back. Tristram Starbuck, his son, was born about 1770. He was the grandfather of Mrs. Tobey, who was born in the house. In 1763, it was occupied by Christopher Starbuck. Tristram Starbuck had eight children, viz. : Phoebe and Mary (twins), Christopher, Charles, Eliza- Some Early Dwellings in Nantucket 219 beth, and Lydia, the mother of Mrs. Tobey, two others having died early. The house, now standing, is a two-story lean-to, which might indicate a later age, but some of the pe- culiarities of the east end render it possible that this section was built, wherever it came from, soon after 1700. The Caleb Gardner house, behind the present resi- dence of John C. Gardner, at the head of Main Street, is particularly worthy of notice, especially as it is in some respects unique. It is now used as a carriage house, and each side is flanked by a lean-to of com- paratively modern construction. John C. Gardner has a careful record of the house in his possession, estab- lishing the fact that it was erected in 1699 by Caleb Gardner, son of Joseph Gardner. The house itself was a two-story lean-to, the northern roof sloping down to the lower story in the rear, as usual, the front door being in the eastern aspect of the south- ern front. The stairs faced the door, and at the front of the door — the original framework of which is in situ — is a well-worn red-sandstone doorstone. The chim- ney, which has been removed, was, contrary to custom, on the east end, and the brick fireplace, which was quadrilateral, was about ten feet square. The latter has also been removed. Each story was occupied by one large room ; the walls were filled with clay, and clam-shell mortar has been used throughout. The framing of the house is un- usually strong and well-finished, and the brackets on lower story are, curiously enough, nicely rounded with a shoulder upon which the crossbeam, which runs north and south, securely rests. The west end was girt with cedar shingles, which, for the most part, re- 220 Nantucket main in their original positions, but have been rendered very thin by long exposure. Some time ago, surrounding the house for a distance of about three feet from the walls, a pavement of cobble- stones was found about six inches below the surface of the ground, and was continued from the east end of the house by a causeway leading to a well, which was distinguished for the purity of its water, and was much esteemed in the neighborhood. This house is remark- able as affording conflicting evidences of an earlier and a later date than has been assigned to it, and forms a very interesting study. So far as the writer has been enabled to ascertain, this concludes the list of the earliest houses built in Nantucket which still remain to some extent; but it is fair to assume that many ancient and historic houses were destroyed by the calamitous fire of 1846, which, beginning about the middle of Main Street, in the shop of W. H. Geary, on the 13th of July, destroyed over three hundred buildings, covering about thirty-six acres, representing about one-third of the town, and involving a loss of over $900,000. After the removal of the town from Wannacomet, during the first quarter of the eighteenth century, ex- tensive building took place at Nantucket, but instead of the one or one-and-a-half -story houses of the earlier period, the houses erected were almost uniformly two stories in front, sloping down to one in the rear, and these are still characteristic of perhaps the majority of the present town residences. A little later, two-story houses in front and rear became the prevailing type, and many of these may be seen throughout the town. The Major Josiah Coffin house on the Cliff is a perfect and most beautiful example of the post-removal houses, Some Early Dwellings in Nantucket 221 and was built in 1724. Many others might be cited, but space forbids. The Paddock house on Sunset Hill (now occupied by Callowa}^), although apparently much older, must also be relegated to about the same period, or a few years earlier. The Reuben Joy homestead, on Monument Square, until about five years ago, bore a tablet indicating that the house was built "about 1700," but it was probably erected some years later. There is a dilapidated barn on Gull Island which looks very old, but was built probably at the time of the Thomas Gardner house in the same locality — the latter also a fine example of the "after 1720" period. The Zaccheus Macy house is still standing at 99 Main Street, and probably represents the middle of the eighteenth century. Another house, at i Vestal Street, although not built until 1790, is peculiarly interesting as having been the birthplace of Maria Mitchell, the distinguished astronomer, born in August, 181 8. The house is now the property of the Maria Mitchell Memorial Association, and contains the astronomer's library, telescopes, etc. The association has built a modern observatory in the grounds. ' Few localities possess more interesting houses within a similar superficies than "the little purple island," and, if space permitted, many more examples might be added. ' Vide Chapter XII. CHAPTER XII EMINENT NANTUCKETERS The galaxy of intelligence representing the offspring of the little island of Nantucket has not been surpassed either in luminosity or numerically by any other place of the same size in the United States; and in a survey of human progress and knowledge there is not a depart- ment which is not either directly or indirectly repre- sented by some of those claiming Nantucket as their fostering birthplace. Science, literature, art, theology, invention, commerce, rhetoric, philanthropy, diplo- macy, statesmanship, navigation, the learned profes- sions, the military and naval services, pedagogy, and, in addition, all that goes to crown the purity, dignity, and surpassing worth of noble womanhood, have sent their votaries from this freedom-hallowed spot to work in the cause of human progress, to achieve national distinction and reputation, and to reflect unsullied honor upon the place of their nativity. A brief epitome of some of their lives and attainments, amounting to little more than a mere enumeration, must here suffice. Place aux dames! Maria Mitchell. On the roll of Nantucket's illus- trious women none stands higher than Maria Mitchell, the accomplished astronomer. The third child of Eminent Nantucketers 223 William and Lydia (Coleman) Mitchell, she was born at Nantucket on August i, 1818, the family being birth- right members of the Society of Friends. Her youth was spent mainly in assisting her mother in domestic duties, and in helping her father, a distinguished mathe- matician, by such aid as she could give him in his scien- tific studies. While still Httle more than a school-girl, she became the librarian of the Nantucket Athenaeum, a position which she efficiently filled for twenty years. During her spare time she devoted herself to study, and supplemented her income by m.aking calculations for the United States Nautical Almanac, the joint work of her father and herself for many years. On October i, 1847, she was awarded a gold medal for the discovery of a new comet, about five degrees from the North Star. Becoming known as an expert in astronomy, the savants of the world gladl}^ hailed her as one of themselves, while the positions held by her father as one of the Board of Trustees of Harvard, and a member of Gover- nor Briggs's Council, constituted her a persona grata. among the highest literary and scientific circles of New England. In the following year, she was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an honor which she was the first of her sex to obtain. In 1857, she visited Europe where she made many friends among those distinguished in science and art. In 1 861, she was appointed Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Observatory at Vassar College, received her first degree of LL.D. from Hanover in 1853, and her last from Columbia in 1887. She resigned her appointment after twenty-three years' valuable and much appreciated work, and the Trustees unanimously elected her Professor Emerita. She was also offered a home for life in the observatory, but this she declined, 224 Nantucket and passed away peacefully at Lynn (where she had removed with her father, after her mother's death), on June 28, 1889, highly honored and respected by all who had known her. Her old home at i Vestal Street, still constitutes a Mecca for visitors, and in the house is now installed a flourishing institution known as the Maria Mitchell Memorial Association, — a well equipped establishment for scientific inquiry and culture. It contains an excellent reference library, a research fellowship, and General Science Committee, in addi- tion to an Observatory Committee and numerous managerial committees, while the various rooms are devoted to branches of natural science, and contain manifold specimens and illustrations connected with each. In the room set apart for astronomical science is the 3-inch Dolland telescope with which Miss Mitchell discovered, in 1847, the comet which was named for her. A memorial observatory was built by subscription, after her death, and was dedicated on July 15, 1908. This is situated at the northern side of her birthplace. It is a square mosque-like building of brick, with a revolving dome on the top which, by means of appro- priate machinery, can be opened at any angle for astro- nomical purposes. The interior contains a convenient gallery, Miss Mitchell's scientific Hbrary, and the telescope which was presented to her, in i860, by Miss Peabody on behalf of the women of America. The genial and courteous Curator and Librarian of the Memorial Association, Mrs. Benjamin Albertson, — a cousin of the distinguished astronomer, — fulfils the duties of her appointment much to the gratification of her numerous visitors. Miss Mitchell was a great as well as a good woman. Eminent Nantucketers 225 and her star still gleams brightly in the firmament of science. Lucretia Mott. Lucretia Mott, daughter of Thomas and Anna Coffin, was born on Nantucket, January 3, 1793, and died near Philadelphia, November 11, 1880, in her 88th year. A long life but nobly lived; an ideal type of pure womanhood distinguished by many vir- tues, an all-pervading force for good, characterized by lofty intelligence, genuine philanthropy, and sublime spiritual fervor, a magnetic personality which attracted and never repelled, and a sweet voice which expressed itself only in golden words. Such was Lucretia Mott, moral reformer, abolitionist, humanitarian, as noble a woman as any country ever produced, and the first woman in America to advocate femiale suffrage. As a direct descendant of the Folger and Coffin strain, she inherited nothing that was not beneficent. Educated in Boston, and subsequently in New York State, she ultimately lived with her parents in Philadelphia, where, at the age of eighteen, she mar- ried James Mott, in whom she met her hallowed affinity, and brought up a family of five children with exemplary care and maternal affection. She became an eminent minister of the Society of Friends, an eloquent moral reformer, a profound and active sympathizer with human suffering irrespective of class or creed, and she has been happily described as "The bright morning star of intellectual freedom in America." Who can estimate the beneficent influences of such a life? Can time or death destroy them? A thousand times No! For they are linked with divineness and immortality. Abiah Folger was the only child of Peter Folger born at Nantucket, as "his two sons and other six daughters 226 Nantucket were born at Martha's Vineyard previous to his arrival " ^ on the more southern island. She was born August 15, 1667, and died in Boston about 1752. By her marriage to Josiah Franklin, she became the mother of the phi- losopher, statesman, diplomatist, and author, Benjamin Franklin, who very rightly attributed whatever of character he developed and whatever success he achieved to his mother's influence. What could even the Gracchi have accomplished without the qualities transmitted by their gifted mother, Cornelia? Very few details of Mrs. FrankHn's life have been handed down; but she is known to have had exceptional force of character, and to have been a most worthy and excellent mother and wife. Defective perhaps in the graces of cultured intelligence, she was, nevertheless, apparently of that class of women, frequently typified by the early colonial mothers of New England, which was characterized by distinctive qualities of head and heart, pervasive whole- souled excellence, and strong common-sense, fortified by a strong sense of duty and a never-failing trust in Providence. Be this as it may, her motherhood was honored in the birth of her distinguished son, and Nantucket is proud to acknowledge her as one of her own beloved daughters. The vital force of both mother and son was undoubtedly transmitted by that sturdy old pioneer, Peter Folger; for breeding tells, and without it the nations of the earth would soon become degenerate. Her tombstone in the old Granary Burying Ground in Boston is still standing and the inscription thereon may be read by the passer-by on Tremont Street. The Nantucket Chapter of the D. A. R. is named "Abiah Folger Chapter." ' W. C. Folger. J Eminent Nantucketers 227 Mary Starbuck " (The Great Woman)." Although not de facto born in Nantucket, she was the mother of the first white child born on the island, and as one of the earliest and most influential of the settlers, — the daughter of Tristram and Dionis Coffin — and perhaps the most gifted of them all, she was long regarded as the mother of the settlement, and Nantucket is only too proud to regard her as an adopted daughter. She was married at an early age to Nathaniel Starbuck, son of Edward and Katherine Starbuck, virtually spent her life among the islanders, and died upon the island. The Starbuck family in America trace its descent from this well assorted pair. Mary Starbuck was, indeed, a remarkably gifted woman, surpassing most in adminis- trative ability, and second to none in soundness of judgment and general intellectual capacity. In every political, social, and domestic movement she took a leading part, and no public meeting was considered representative without her. She was, moreover, an easy, eloquent speaker with a silvery tongue, and her arguments were as logical as convincing, while her diction was persuasive and elegant. At a later period, when she became interested in the Society of Friends, she was not only their most cele- brated preacher, but took the religious interests of the entire island into her care and keeping. The islanders hung upon her every word, and were proud to consult her on every question concerning their welfare and happiness whether as individuals or as the people of the island, for they knew her worth, trusted her, and were devoted to her. Indeed, the island sustained an irreparable loss when she passed away on February 2, 17 19. " Miriam " (Keziah) Co&n has achieved her niche in 228 Nantucket general as well as in local history. She was an extra- ordinary woman; and although some of the means she adopted to make money were rather questionable, she succeeded, and herein her power was exemplified. The strength of her character was manifested in mer- cantile pursuits, and she became not only the proprietor of a splendid town-house, on the west side of Center Street, between Pearl and Hussey Streets, which she built in 1770, and a country house at Quaise, but an ex- tensive shipowner, with her ships on every sea. She was the heroine of Colonel Hart's historical novel en- titled Miriam Coffin; or, The Whale Fisherman. She was charged and tried for smuggling at Watertown, and was suspected of having rendered aid to the British during the Revolutionary War. The late Mr. Sanford wrote of her: "She was a famous smuggler in her day, as can be found by the Colonial Records in Boston." That she had a mind capable of directing such risky enterprises proves her to have been a woman of more than average courage and ability, but it would have been more satisfactory if her talents had been utilized in some more worthy direction. As in most such cases, however, she was "found out," and her speculative tendencies shrivelled up. She ended her career by falling down stairs, which caused her death on May 29, 1798. Her maiden name was Keziah Folger and she married John Coffin. She was born on Nantucket, October 9, 1723- Phebe A. Hanaford. Mrs. Hanaford was born in the dehghtful village of Siasconset, on May 6, 1829. She is lineally descended from Tristram Coffin and Peter Folger, an inheritance dear to every Nantucketer. She received her primary education at Nantucket, Eminent Nantucketers 229 where she also received tuition from a private tutor. She is the daughter of G. W. and Phebe Ann (Barnard) Coffin, and early in life taught in the Friends' School on Fair Street, now the Historical Association. She married at an early age, and, between 1868 and 1874, she became a pastor of the Universalist Church at three places successively. She is a very effective speaker with a sweet, well-modulated voice, and has been very popular in her ministry: but it is in her auctorial ca- pacity that she reveals her real power, as is well exempli- fied in her well-known books. Women of the Century, and the lives of George Peabody and Abraham Lincoln. Here in one sense she is at her best, and some of her poems and other works reached a circulation of 20,000 copies. It is in her own beautiful home, however, that she reigns as "The Angel in the House." Surrounded with her many books, pictures, and articles of vertu, and in the presence of a few choice friends, she shines to the greatest advantage. Her charming face and sweet voice, with her amiable disposition and gentle manner, constitute a personality that, to be loved, has only to be seen, and once seen could never be forgotten. She is, indeed, a gentlewoman in the highest sense, and the memories of her long life must be as fragrant as spring flowers. Anna Gardner was bom in Nantucket, Januar}'- 25, 1 8 16. She was the daughter of Oliver and Hannah Macy Gardner, became a great abolitionist and or- ganized a remarkable anti-slavery meeting in Nantucket when she was twenty-five years of age. At this con- vention Frederick Douglass made his first oration as an abolitionist speaker. After the Civil War, Miss Gardner journeyed through 230 Nantucket several of the Southern States, lecturing to the freed slaves, among whom she remained until 1878. She was an ardent reformer, a staunch supporter of women's rights, and the author of several volumes in prose and verse. She died in Nantucket, February 18, 1891. The Rev. Louise S. Baker, daughter of Captain Arvin and Jerusha Baker, was born at Nantucket, October 17, 1846, and was educated in the Nantucket schools. For nearly eight years she was the pastor of the North Congregational Church, from December 12, 1880, to February 14, 1888, and it is stated that " during her ministry she attracted the largest congregation ever known in the church," She was not only an able preacher, but a distinguished lecturer, and "a prolific writer of graceful verse." A volume of her poems was published in 1893 and was well received. While her many accomplishments were highly appreciated, her charming personality made her, indeed, a beloved daughter of the island. It must not, however, be thought that the few ex- amples just given exhaust the list of Nantucket's eminent women. Many more might be cited, but these will serve as types^, as will those of the men that follow, and will, it is hoped, prove that Nantucket has not been wanting in either beauty of character or intellectual capacity. Charles James Folger. The distinguished subject of this sketch was bom at Nantucket in 18 18, graduated from Hobart College when eighteen years of age, was admitted to the bar in 1839, and became a prominent jurist and politician. In 1844, he was appointed Judge of the Ontario County Court of Common Pleas; in 1851, Judge of Ontario County; and in 1861 he was elected Eminent Nantucketers 231 to the New York State Senate. He was Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, 1 871-81, and became Secretary of the United States Treasury under President Arthur, 1881-84. In 1882, he was defeated as can- didate for Governor of New York by Grover Cleveland, and this defeat ended his political career, although he held his appointment as United States Treasurer until 1884, when he died. It has been well said of him: "He was the ablest State Senator since Seward's time, and maintained himself in that trying position without encountering a breath of reproach. He was never classed as any man's man." Such testimony is creditable to his official attainments and integrity; but behind all was the uncompromising sense of right and justice, the unalienable principles of a sublime selfhood, which never swerved from honesty of purpose, and which, ever actuating him in the discharge of every duty, were as exalted as they were incorruptible. Walter Folger, Jr., the famous astronomer and mathe- matician, was also a Nantucketer, born on the island June 12, 1765. Although generally recognized as an illustri- ous and versatile genius, he was, nevertheless, almost en- tirely self-taught. Restricted by no school or college routine, but always observant, ever studious, his Protean natural gifts enabled him to excel in many directions. He became an expert mechanic, a profound mathema- tician, as well as an accomplished scientist. As a lawyer, a jurist, and a statesman he also won unequivocal distinction. Of his many other attain- ments the late W. C. Folger thus wrote of him: He acted as surveyor of land, repaired watches, clocks, and chronometers, made compasses, engraved on copper 232 Nantucket and other metals, made several chemical and other scientific discoveries, calculated eclipses, and understood and spoke the French language. ^ In addition to all these acquirements, he studied medicine, became a justice of the Court of Sessions, a member of both branches of the State Legislature, and represented the Nantucket district of Massachusetts for four years in the United States Congress. He was, moreover, a man of exalted character, excep- tionally upright and honorable amid all the circum- stances of his life, through which he passed with an irreproachable reputation. Surely such a man was an honor to any place, or to any country, and Nantucket honors him as one of her sons of whom she is proud, and whose birth within her sea-girt domain has honored her. He died on Nantucket, September 12, 1849. William and Henry Mitchell, father and son, shared with one another the pride of being, respectively, the father and brother of Maria IMitchell, the famous astronomer. Quite apart from this distinction, both were men of light and leading, each in his own sphere distinguished and pre-eminent. William Mitchell's father having suffered pecuniary loss by the failure of the whale fishery, his son was prevented, when a young man, from entering Harvard, as he had intended. He was, however, a well-read man, with a cultivated scien- tific mind, and became master of the first free-school established in Nantucket in 1827. By temperament, disposition, and accomplishments he was remarkably well constituted for teaching, and he loved the work of ' For a description of the marvelous astronomical clock, invented and made by Mr. Folger, the reader is referred to Chapter XIX. I Eminent Nantucketers ^oo imparting knowledge as he loved the pupils whom he taught ; and he thus won their confidence and affection in return. He was modest and retiring, but was re- markably tender-hearted and affectionate, and his love for his own family was, perhaps, the greatest joy of his existence. With all his reticence he was a very scholarly man, and his attainments as a scientist were of a very high order, while his lectures on scientific subjects were always regarded as an intellectual treat. After teaching for a few years, his health failed, and he became Secretary of the Phoenix Marine Insurance Co., and, later. Cashier of the Pacific Bank. He re- mained, with great credit to himself, in the latter posi- tion until the lamented death of his wife in 1861, when he and his daughter removed to Lynn, where they lived until Maria was appointed Professor of Astronomy at Vassar College. During the previous thirty or forty years in Nantucket he had acted as President of the Athenaeum, had been a member of the State Senate, and for several years was a member of Governor Briggs's Council. He had also served as Chairman of the Observatory Committee at Harvard, and was for a number of years an overseer of Harvard University. He was, moreover, frequently In correspondence, on questions and observations connected with astron- omy, with the savants of Europe and America, in- cluding the Astronomer-Royal of England and Sir John Herschel. All who knew him loved and respected him. His last years were spent in quietude and comfort with his beloved daughter at Vassar College, where he died peacefully in April, 1869. The following expres- sions from a Poughkeepsie paper voice the grief that was felt at Vassar, for his loss : 234 Nantucket To the younger members of our little community Mr. Mitchell was like an affectionate grandfather, to the older ones a much loved father; and there is not a home in New- England, in the North, or in the South . . . but will feel that in his death it has lost a very dear friend. What Abraham Lincoln was to our country, William Mitchell was to us. He was interred in the Friends' burying ground at Nantucket on April 22, 1869. His son, Henry Mitchell, followed in the footsteps of his father and sister. He was an assistant in the Coast Survey where he made a world-wdde reputation, and was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Rev. Ferdinand C. Ewer, D.D., w^as well known and highly esteemed throughout America, not only as a theologian but as a litterateur and a scientist. He was born at Nantucket, May 22, 1826, and was always proud of his birthplace, in the w^elfare of which he was much interested. As a clergyman he belonged to the Episcopal Church, and was the author of numer- ous works more or less of a polemical character, in w^hich he displayed notable scholarship and a cultured literary style. He was a graduate of Harvard of the Class of 1848. Before his ordination he was engaged in literary pursuits, and officiated as editor of a news- paper and a literary magazine. He W'as ordained, in 1857, by Bishop Kip and succeeded him as rector, having obtained priest's orders early in January, 1858. Two years later, his health failing, he went to New York where he became assistant to Dr. Gallaudet and was subsequently called to the rectorship of Christ's Church. Finally he became Rector of St. Ignatius' Church, New Eminent Nantucketers 235 York, — a position which he occupied for a number of years with much success. He was an effective preacher and a good adminis- trator, and every aspect of his character was distin- guished by force, individuaUty, and pervasive geniahty. He was, indeed, a man of exceptional culture and varied attainments, and was ranked as a competent geologist as well as an accomplished civil engineer. He made a special study of the geology and topography of Nan- tucket, and his map of the island is remarkable for exactitude of detail and artistic delineation. Ivluch esteemed and lamented he died suddenly in his fifty- eighth year at Montreal, when preaching in the Church of St. John the EvangeHst in that city. Admiral Sir Isaac Cofiin,Bart., was a distinguished son of Massachusetts and of direct descent from Tristram Coffin, Nantucket's first Chief Magistrate. Although not actually bom on Nantucket Island, he loved it as the mother of his race, and, during a visit in 1826, acknowledged his kinship and alliance, by founding and endowing the well-known school which bears his name. The mere accident of birth cannot, therefore, justifiably preclude him from the fellowship of those representing the illustrious sons and daughters of the island. From the Life of Tristram Coffin,'^ it appears that Isaac Coffin was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Coffin, and was born in Boston, Mass., May 16, 1759- He entered the English Navy in 1773; was commis- sioned Lieutenant in 1778, Captain 1781, Rear-Admiral of the White in 1804, when he also obtained a baronetcy ; became Vice- Admiral in 1808, and Admiral in 1817. He died at Cheltenham, England, in 1839, aged eighty years, and without issue. I By Allen Coffin, LL.B. 236 Nantucket At the time of his being created a baronet he was granted an estate at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, known as the Magdalen Islands. He was a personal friend of the Dnke of Clarence who, when he became King William IV, continued to show him favor, and wished to create him Earl of Magdalen. The ministers objected, however, on the ground of his strong attachment to his native country. They cited especially his fitting out of a vessel with Yankee lads from his Lancastrian School at Nantucket to make master-mariners of them. This could not be viewed in England with favor; so it may in truth be said that the Cofhn School at Nantucket cost the Admiral an earldom, and came near sacrificing his baronetcy. ' Captain George William Coffin, U. S. N., was a dis- tinguished Nantucketer who was bom on the island December 22, 1845. He joined the U. S. Navy on December 20, i860, and worked his way up steadily through the lower grades until September 27, 1893, when he was appointed Captain. The following notes are taken from a biographical sketch of his career. In 1863, he was assigned to the U. S. sloop Ticonderoga, of the North Atlantic blockading squadron, serving in both attacks (1864-65) on Fort Fisher and subsequently had a long and honorable career. Captain Coffin was always a brave and efficient officer, who earned his promotion by hard and constant routine service. He was on sea duty sixteen years ten months; on shore duty for an equal period; on leave and waiting orders four 3^ears eleven months, making a total of thirty-eight years six months twenty- six days. In December, 1866, he was married to Mary ' A fine portrait in oil of Sir Isaac, by Sir Wm. Beechey, graces the walls of the Coffin School. Eminent Nantucketers 237 S. Cart Wright, of Nantucket. She died in 1893, one daughter, the wife of Dr. Anderson, surviving." ' Cap- tain Coffin passed away at Yokohama June 16, 1899, just as his long service and fideHty to duty were about to be rewarded by his promotion to the rank of Admiral. William Hussey Macy. It was vouchsafed to but a very few of all the thousands of sterling Nantucket men who participated in those stirring scenes which were enacted by the American whalemen ' ' around Cape Horn" in the early half of the nineteenth century to be able, in after years, w4th unfailing memory and facile pen, to re-enact those scenes and make them live again for the entertainment and information of others. Chief among these few, perhaps, was the subject of this brief sketch, and it may safely be said that no one has thus done more to ensure and perpetuate the fame of his native isle, or left a more graphic and enduring record of the distinctive type of industry which contributed so much to its early prosperity and high repute. Born on the island May 18, 1826, a direct descendant, in the seventh generation, from the first settler, Thomas Macy, he was reared in the faith of the Friends. At the age of thirteen, he was attending high school, work- ing in a grocery store between sessions, and teaching in an evening school — many of his pupils being older than himself. But Fate never intended him for a pedagogue. The love of the sea, inherited from genera- tions of mariners, and fostered by an environment reeking with salt and tar, was too strong to be resisted b}^ one of his lively and romantic imagination, so in the autumn of 1841, at the age of fifteen, we find him sailing before the mast in the new ship Potomac, of Nantucket, Isaac B. Hussey, master, for a sperm whal- ' Sea-girt Nantucket, by courtesy of H. S. Wyer. 238 Nantucket ing voyage to the Pacific, which lasted nearly four years. His private journal of this voyage is a model of its kind, and a document of rare and unusual interest, filled with his youthful impressions of the life and of the places visited, depicted with both pen and brush in a manner scarcely to be credited in one of his years and previous advantages. Returning in 1845, he apprenticed himself to a cooper for eighteen months, mastered the trade, and shipped again in '47, commanding a cooper's "lay," which, being one of the best, next to that of the captain and first officer, doubtless justified the "lost time" ashore. During the next ten years, as cooper, second officer, and mate, he made three complete voyages, on the return from the last of which, in 1857, he married Phebe Ann Winslow, of Nantucket, and for the next two years worked at his trade ashore. But times were hard just then, at Nantucket, so in 1859 ^^ was again at sea, this time as mate of a brig on a sea-elephant oil voyage to Kurd's Island on the edge of the Antarctic. This proved a "broken voyage," the ship was sold in a foreign port, and he worked his way home, arriving in 1861 poorer than when he set sail. The Civil War having broken out, he enlisted, went south with the 45th Massachusetts Infantry, which contained many Nantucket men, saw active service in Gen. Burnside's campaign in North Carolina, and re- ceived a bad gunshot wound in the leg at the battle of Kinston, December 14, 1862, which incapacitated him for further service. After eight weeks in hospital he received his discharge, and during the next few years was located at Philadelphia and Boston, working at coopering or whatever came to hand. Eminent Nantucketers 239 Returning to Nantucket in 1869, he was elected to the office of Register of Deeds for the county, and his wanderings were over. For twenty-two years, thereafter, until his death in 1891, he faithfully per- formed the duties of his office to the satisfaction of all. In 1874, t^is eyesight began to fail, the trouble being an atrophy of the optic nerves, and, though the best specialists were consulted and everything possible done to avert the calamity, in a little over a year he became totally blind. His devoted wife died at about the same time, in 1875, and he was left with a family of five young children to support and educate. And bravely did he perform the task. For fear of any possible legal com- plications, should the question of a blind man's fitness for such an office ever be raised, he formally resigned his position, and one of his friends (the late Andrew M. Myrick) was elected as the legal incumbent of the office. But the work was done, as before, by or under the direction of Mr. Macy, with a hired assistant, and that it was well done the records themselves, as well as the hundreds of deeds and other instruments drafted from his dictation, amply attest. Were this the whole story of the life of this remarkable man, interesting though it might be as an example of duty well performed and difficulties met and overcome, it might hardly prove worthy of a place in this book, but his particular contribution to the history of his native island is yet to be chronicled. From the days of his early voyages he had displayed an unusual gift for narrating the stories of his adven- tures, and while still in the twenties, with no other preparation than has been herein set down, he had found publishers for many of them. During the fifties 240 Nantucket and sixties, his whaling "yarns" and stories of the sea had found favor with many readers of the old Ballou's Monthly Magazine, The Flag of Our Union, Capt. Mayne Reid's Onward Magazine, The True Flag, and other periodicals, and many of these stories had been reprinted in the Nantucket Mirror, and later in the Inquirer and Mirror. Upon the approach of his blindness he felt the need of some method of continuing his literary work, and after examining all the appliances then known enabling the blind to write, and finding them all inadequate to his purpose, he invented a machine of his own, which he called his "blhid writer," and with this he turned out thousands of pages of fairly legible manuscript, continuing to delight a host of readers for many years thereafter. His best known work, There She Blows; or. The Log of the ^' Arethusa,'' published at Boston by Lee Shep- ard about 1878, has been called a classic in the annals of whaling, and it remains to-day perhaps the best all-round story of a whaling voyage which has ever been published. Other works of some length were Up North in the ''Gorgon,'' a story of a "right" whaling voyage in the Arctic, and Beyond Desolation, which describes the sea-elephant catching in the Antarctic. Scores of shorter stories from his pen were printed at various times and places during a period of some thirty years or more, and one book of poems Here and There in Verse, was published at Nantucket in 1877. For many years his "leaders," covering a wide range of subjects and appearing weekly in the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror, were eagerly looked for and read by his fellow-townsmen, and v.'ere widely quoted in the metropolitan journals of the day. This was also Eminent Nantucketers 241 true of many of his fugitive verses, mostly of a humorous nature, some of them gems of spontaneous wit and satire. He died at Nantucket March, 1891, in his sixty-fifth year, and was widely and sincerely mourned by all who had known him in life. A fairly complete collection of his writings may be found in the library of the Perkins Institution for the Blind at Boston. Lieut.-Col. John W. Smmnerhayes, son of the late William and Lydia Wyer Summerhayes, was born on Nantucket, January 6, 1835. He was a member of the Loyal Legion and of the Grand Army and had served four years in a regiment of Massachusetts volunteers at an early period of his career. For twenty-two years he was a lieutenant in the U. S. Army, serving through Indian campaigns and wild life on the frontiers. At one time, he was with General Stanley, Commander of the Department of Texas, at Fort Sam Houston during the first preliminary survey of the Northern Pacific Railway. Finally, he was raised to the rank of Lieu- tenant-Colonel, in deserved recognition of his sterling qualities as a man and as a soldier. Col. Summerhayes was a typical soldier. He had much decision of character, and an uncompromising repugnance towards anything that was not straight- forward; at the same time he was the most genial and companionable of men, and had a keen sense of humor which made him beloved by all who came into contact with him. Fortunately his noteworthy and checkered experi- ences during many years in the West have been vividly portrayed in Va?iished Arizona, a most interesting narrative written by his brave and gifted wife, who 16 242 Nantucket was his companion and helpmeet amid all his perilous services. He passed away at Nantucket, on March 8, 191 1, and his body is interrred in Arlington Cemetery, Wash- ington, D. C. Seth Mitchell Ackley, late Rear Admiral, U. S. N., was bom at Nantucket, October 13, 1845. He was appointed midshipman October 6, 1862. He served in regular order until October 25, 1901, when with the rank of Captain, he was retired for physical disability. He was reinstated, according to the Act of Congress, in April, 1904, and promoted to Captain on the active list. He was promoted to Rear Admiral February, 1907, and died in Washington, February 7, 1908. Born on the island of Nantucket of seafaring an- cestors, and bred in that home of hardy and adventur- ous seamen (his father a sea-captain, with whom as a boy he had made a voyage to California), he was sin- gularly well-prepared for the Navy, which he entered with enthusiasm. An examination of his official record shows that not only was his actual sea-duty extensive and varied, but that, when given "shore-duty," his scientific and pro- fessional bent led him to the Coast Survey, the Naval Observatory, torpedo duty, the Naval War College, the Hydrographic Office, and lighthouse duty. The confidence shown in him by his seniors was evidenced by their giving him, at various times, the highly important position of Hydrographic Inspector of the U. S. Coast Survey, and of Naval Secretary of the Lighthouse Board. All his life, in whatever position placed, from Mid- shipman to Rear- Admiral, at all times and places, as Eminent Nantucketers 243 classmate, messmate, shipmate, friend, or acquaint- ance, he was faithful, upright, and just. The keynote of Seth Mitchell Ackley's life was a single-hearted devotion to his duty, as an officer and a gentleman ; his reward was the affection and esteem of all who knew him. It is not generally known, nor is it recorded in the files of the Navy Department, that Admiral Ackley, when a lieutenant, nobly risked his life, in 1873, in trying to save a seaman who had fallen overboard from his ship, the Omaha. The Lieutenant, divesting him- self of his coat and shoes, plunged in after him, in a rolling sea infested with man-eating sharks, and only after considerable difficulty was he himself saved when two miles away from his ship. The poor fellow, whom Lieutenant Ackley so bravely tried to save, was in- jured by striking the rail of the ship in falling, and, probably thus rendered imconscious, soon sank in the deep to rise no more. Such an act as this assuredly merited public recogni- tion, if not the bestowal of a gold medal, but the hero's own sense of duty well-performed was the only reward forthcoming for such an heroic act. Admiral Ackley is buried on Nantucket within sound of the sea he loved, on the island which was the dearest spot of earth to him. Among many others that deserve notice as "Eminent Nantucketers" may be mentioned the names of Dr. Zaccheus Macy, Dr. Arthur Elwell Jenks, the gentle idealist, poet, and artist; Dr. Joseph Sidney IMitchell; Owen C. Spooner, Samuel Haynes Jenks, Alfred Macy, Roland H. Macy, William Francis Barnard, Reuben Chase, William Rotch, Reuben R. Pinkham, Colonel 244 Nantucket Brayton, and many others who have shed life and lustre over the island. The limitations of space prevent the inclusion here of any biographical details. CHAPTER XIII the nantucket flora By Grace Brown Gardner Islands have always been of particular interest to botanists. Their boundaries being definite, it is com- paratively easy to collect, classify, and arrange their flora, a task much more difficult where one section or country is separated from another by artificial boun- daries only. Among islands, surely none has proved more fascinating, not only to the amateur lover of flowers, but also to the most scientific of botanists, than has Nantucket. Small in area, but rich in the number of its plant species, many of which are rare or entirely unknown in the vicinity, the island has for many years been a Mecca for botanists. Mrs. Maria L. Owen, in her catalogue of Nantucket plants, speaks of a "Frenchman, Marsillac, who nearly a hundred years ago, regardless of his silk stockings, plunged into the swamps for their floral treasures." Since then William Oakes, Rev. Thomas Morong, Pres. Hitchcock of Amherst, Mr. Loren L. Dame, F. Schuyler Mathews, and Mrs. Nellie F. Flynn have made collections of the island flora. At the present time, Mr. Eugene P. Bicknell is publishing a most 245 246 Nantucket interesting list of "The Ferns and Flowering Plants of Nantucket," in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. While Nantucket is only thirty miles from the main- land, the nearness of the Gulf Stream modifies its climate perceptibly. The temperature averages, by several degrees, warmer in winter and cooler in summer than on the adjacent mainland. Many people who read of the occasional isolation of the island in the win- ter, on account of ice blockades, do not reaUze that it is rarely the ice frozen in place which makes the trouble, but drift ice from the shores north and west of Nan- tucket. Such drift-ice is driven in this direction by the prevailing northwest winds, and, owing to the peculiar formation of the island, is caught and piled up between Tuckernuck Island on the west and the arm of Great Point on the east, thus blocking the northern coast and harbor entrance. The autumn season is especially mild, and it is not uncommon to find garden plants continuing in bloom well into December. This not only gives plants a long growing season, and opportunity to ripen their seeds, but, combined with the mildness of the winter, allows plants to flourish here which can not stand the longer and colder winters of the mainland. We thus find Nantucket given in the botany as the northern limit for several species of plants. Among them may be noted the cactus {Opuntia vulgaris, Mill.), which is foimd on Coatue, and from there south to South Caro- lina. A species of bladderwort {Utricularia siihiilata, L.) has a range from Nantucket to New Jersey and south. St. Peter's-wort {Ascyrum hypericoides, L.) grows from Nantucket to southern Illinois, Nebraska and southward. The Nantucket Flora 247 The geological formation of the island has a direct influence upon its flora. As the soil is mainly composed of glacial drift, sand, pebbles, and occasional boulders, and as there are no rock ledges whatever, we find a marked absence of rock ferns, saxifrages, and other rock- loving plants. Since Nantucket is an island at a con- siderable distance from other land, some plants in the course of years have come to differ slightly from the same species elsewhere. Perhaps the most noteworthy is our sabbatia [Sabhatia gracilis, (Michx.) Salisb.], which varies from the type description in Gray's Manual. The tree-felling of the early settlers caused great changes in the flora. The probability is that at the time of the settlement of Nantucket, parts of the island were rather heavily wooded. ^ Large trunks and roots of trees have been found in peat swamps in various parts of the island.- It is a tradition that several buildings now standing were built of native timber.^ Early deeds speak of timber and fuel wood, and old wills bequeath wood lots. Names, as "Grove Lane," and "The Woods" still remain, though there are no trees in the vicinity at present. That these woods were quickly used up is shown by the fact that in a petition to Sir Henry Clinton in 1780, the petitioners represent themselves as being "wholly destitute of firewood."'' At present there are only a few pine and larch trees which have been planted within recent times. Doubt- less the wood plants common to this region were at one ' Macy's History of Nantucket, pp. 25-26. 'Sarah Winthrop Smith, Nantucket: A Brief Sketch of its Physio- graphy and Botany, p. 19. ^ The Congregational church vestry. < Macy's History of Nantucket, p. 117. 248 Nantucket time found in the Nantucket woods. The destruction of these woods probably caused the extinction of some plants, as the trilliums, the rattlesnake plantains, and the wood ferns. Other woodland species seem to be slowly dying out. The goldthread [Coptis trifolia (L). Salisb.j which Mrs. Owen, in 1888, includes with- out comment in her list of Nantucket plants, is an example. No one has been able to find a trace of it within late years, though diligent search has been made. Still other wood plants have adapted themselves to the changed environment. The pink lady's-slipper {Cypripedium acaule, Ait.), which is usually found in woods, grows here on the open commons among the reindeer moss and the mealy plum vines [Arctostaphylds Uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.]. The Indian-pipe {Monotropa iinijiora, L.) grows in great profusion in similar environ- ment, while the botany gives its habitat as "dark rich woods." The early system of land owning in common, and the former extensive industry of sheep raising, also, had marked influence upon the island plants. At the time of the settlement of the island, all the land, except such pieces as were set aside for homesteads, and de- signated as "house-lot land," was held in common by the twenty-seven original proprietors.' For many years, these "Commons" were used for sheep pastur- age, being divided into several pastures which were used in rotation, each man being allowed to pasture a number of sheep proportionate to the number of "Commons" he owned. The land being thus closely grazed, the native plants were almost, if not completely, exterminated, or grew only in places inaccessible to sheep. As may be readily seen, such a system of land- ' Macy's History of Nantucket, chapter ij. The Nantucket Flora 249 holding soon became full of complications. Since the early settlers refused to have land set off to individuals, shares were subdivided by inheritance to such an extent as to make it practically impossible to determine the ownership of much land. This land is imfenced, and has never been cultivated. Since laws were passed forbidding owners to allow sheep to run at large, plants have had a chance to grow unchecked. The result is an unusual luxuriance of growth. In the latter part of May, the comm.ons are blue with sheets of bird-foot violets {Viola pedeta L.). Bluets {Hous- tonia ccerulea L.) and a large variety of field chickweed {Cerastium arvense L.) bloom at the same time, and these three plants carpet the commons. The hudsonia, or poverty grass {Hudsonia ericoides L. and H. tomen- tosa Nutt.), a plant characteristic of poor soil, covers acres with its tiny yellow blossoms in June. In July, the polygala {Polygala polygama Walt.) is perhaps the most conspicuous, its tiny pinkish flowers growing in sandy soil and bordering the rutted roads. Its flowers bear a superficial resemblance to the Scotch heather, often deceiving summer visitors to whom the plant is unfamiliar. In August, the golden aster [Chrysopsis falcata (Pursh.) Ell.] takes its turn in beautifying the commons with its cheery yellow blossoms. Although the evergreen leaves of mealy plum [Arctostapliylos Uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.] cover the ground throughout the year, it is most noticeable during September, when its red berries contrast so beautifully with its glossy green leaves and the gray reindeer moss with which it is so often associated. The floral display closes with the goldenrods and asters which reach their perfection in October, but last well into November. While all of these plants are found on the adjacent mainland, they 250 Nantucket are not found in such profusion, as our commons furnish them with an unusually favorable environment. Many peat swamps are found on the island, and, as these were inaccessible to sheep and are unfit for cul- tivation, they have never been disturbed. Here some of our rarer plants reward the patient seeker. Among them are the orchids, the arethusa {Arethusa bulbosa L.), grass pink [Calopogon pulchellus (Sw.)R-Br.],andadder's mouth [Pogonia ophioglossoides (L.) Ker,], the white fringed orchis [Habefiaria hlepJiiariglottis (Willd.) Torr.], and that rarest of all our orchids, the yellow orchis [Habenaria ciliaris (L.) R. Br.]. The beautiful rose pink sabbatia [Sabbatia gracilis (Michx.) Salisb.] borders a few of our ponds. There are also found three varieties of sundew, {Drosera rotundijolia L., D. longifolia L., and D.filiformis Raf .) , whichhave curious leaves covered with glittering drops of a sticky substance to entrap tiny insects. The pitcher plant {Sarracenia purpurea L.), another insectivorous plant, is found in a few bogs, as are many other beautiful and curious plants too numerous to mention. Some of these plants, however, are in danger of extinction at present, as a result of the introduction of the cranberry industry, which makes it profitable to clear and drain the formerly worthless peat swamps. While we gladly welcome the new industry in Nantucket, the botanist can hardly refrain from feeling some regret at the passing of many of our rare plants with the peat bogs which furnished them with a suitable habitat. Since the coast line of the island includes exposed surf-beaten beaches, quiet harbors, and salt marshes, we naturally expect a large variety of marine plants. Besides the algas, which form a distinct branch of botany, we find many beach plants, as dusty miller The Nantucket Flora 251 (Artemisia Stelleriaiia Bess.), seaside spurge {Euphorbia polygonifolia L.), saltwort {Salsola Kali L.), and beach pea [Lathyrus maritimiis (L.) Bigel.]. In the salt marshes we find the marsh rosemary [Limonium Caro- linianum (Walt.), Britton], the samphires {Salicornia miicronata Bigel., 5. europcea L., and S. ambigua Michx.), which turn bright red in the fall, and add their ruddy- tinge to the yellows and browns of the autumn marshes. The hibiscus {Hibiscus Moscheiitos L.) opens its great rose-colored blossoms on the borders of brackish ponds, and the rare centaury [Centauriiim spicatum (L.) Fer- nald] grows in similar localities. Every year, new plants are appearing among our Nantucket flora. Many are introduced with grass and vegetable seeds and appear as weeds in the grain fields and gardens, while others occtir as ballast weeds on the wharves and waste places. The cow herb {Saponaria Vaccaria L.) is one of these recent importa- tions, and has been noted growing in fields of oats. It has pink flowers, and is a near relative of the bouncing Bet or bunch of keys {Saponaria officinalis L.) so common in the lanes and streets in the outskirts of the town. The Deptford pink {Dianthus Armeria L.) is also a recent introduction, as are several other members of the pink family. Among ballast weeds may be noted the purple thorn apple {Datura Tatula L.) found on one of the old wharves, and the hemp {Cannabis sativa L.), of which IVIrs. Owen mentions two plants, is now well established on the "dump" west of the town. Many garden escapes have strayed far beyond the town limits, among them the horehound {Marrubinm vulgare L.), catnip {Nepeta Cataria L.), motherwort Leonurus Cardiaca L.), spearmint {Menthaspicata L.), and peppermint {Mentha piperita L.). These were all 252 Nantucket introduced from Europe by the early settlers because of their medicinal qualities. Yarrow (Achillea Millie- folium L.), tansy {Tanacetum vulgare L.), and bonesct {Eiipatorium perjoliatum L.) doubtless recall to the minds of many dried bunches of herbs hanging in rows from beams in the attic, ready to be brewed into bitter teas for some unlucky victim. The inhabitants of Nantucket very early deplored the scarcity of wood on the island, and various attempts at reforestation have been made. To these attempts we owe the most noted of all our Nantucket plants, the heathers. Among imported Scotch pines at Miacomet we find the heather, or ling, [Calluna vulgaris (L). Hull.], and a European heath {Erica Tetralix L.). For many years, the locality of these two plants was a jealously guarded secret, and as a consequence they have been protected from ruthless picking, and, at present, appear to be thoroughly well established. New clumps are found each year, the plants gradually spreading in an easterly direction, probably because the seed is carried in that direction by the westerly winds prevailing in summer. Unless, as hardly seems probable, the blossoms are picked recklessly, or the plants uprooted, the heather will remain a permanent ornament to our island flora. A third species, the rarest of all, the bell heather {Erica cinerea L.), is found but in one place, the exact locality being known only to a favored few. This hasty survey of the Nantucket flora indi- cates a few of the factors which have operated in making it unique and of particular interest to lovers of wild flowers. The problems presented here are fascinating, and will repay most careful investigation. Of late years, there has seemed to be an awakening of interest The Nantucket Flora 253 in the subject of botany, and this science, instead of, as formerly, being a matter of dry technicahties and analytical keys, has, through the various wild-flowers books published in recent years, become of popular interest. Surely, to those interested in "out of doors," there can be no more delightful or healthful way of spending part of a vacation than in making the acquaint- ance of new floral friends on what has been called "a botanist's paradise." The following list of Nantucket plants has been com- piled from various sources. Many specimens named are in the herbarium of the writer, others are in that of the Nantucket Alaria Mitchell Association, while still others are plants which have been reported by various botanists. A Catalogue of Plants Groiuing without Citl- tivation in the County of Nantucket, Mass., published in 1888, by Maria L. Owen, and " The Ferns and Flowering Plants of Nantucket," by Eugene P. Bicknell, now ap- pearing in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, give detailed information regarding the less common plants. While there are doubtless errors, and certainly many omissions in this Hst, it may be of interest to botanists, and an aid in compiling a more complete and accurate list of the Nantucket plants. Nantucket Flora Aspidium. Dicksonia Boottii Tuckerm. punctilobula (Michx.) Gray cristatum (L.) Sw. Onoclea noveboracense (L.) Sw. scnsibilis L. simulatum Davenp. Polypodium spinulosura (O. F. MuUer) Sw. vulgare L. var. intermedium (Mtihl.) Pteris D. C. Eaton. aquilina L. Thclypteris (L.) Sw. var. pseudocaudata Clute Asplenium Woodwardia Filix-fcmina (L.) Bernh. areolata (L.) Moore 254 Nantucket Woodwardia — Continued virginica (L.) Sm. Osmunda cinnamomea L. Claytoniana L. regalis L. Botrychium obliquum var. dissectum (Spreng.) Clute ternatum (Thunb.) Sw., var. intermedium D. C. Eaton Ophioglossum vulgatum L. Equisetum arvense L. fluviatile L. Lycopodium alopecuroides L. var. flabelliforme Fernald inundatum L. var. Bigelovii Tuckerm. var. dendroideum (Michx.) D. C. Eaton tristachyum Pursh Isoetes echinospora Dur., var. Eraunii. Juniperus virginiana L. Larix decidua Mill. Pinus rigida Mill, sylvestris L. Typha angustifolia L. latifolia L. Sparganium americanum Nutt. var. androcladum (Rngelm.) Fernald & Eames eurycarpum Engelm. Najas flexilis (Willd.) Rostk. & Schmidt guadalupensis (Spreng.) Morong Potamogeton epihydrus Raf. hybridus Michx. mysticus Morong Oakesianus Robbins pectinatus L. perfoliatus L. pulcher Tuckerm. pusillus L. Ruppia maritima L. Zannichellia palustris L. Zostera marina L. Triglochin maritima L. Alisma Plantago-aquatica L. Sagittaria Engelmanniana J. G. Sm. latifolia Willd. Vallisneria spiralis L. Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv. Agrostis alba L. var. aristata Gray var. maritima (Lam.) G. F. W. Mey. hyemalis (Walt.) BSP. perennans (Walt.) Tuckerm. var. alata (Pursh) Hitchc. Aird' caryophyllea L. Aleopecurus geniculatus L. pratensis L. Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link. Andropogon furcatus Muhl. glomeratus (Walt.) BSP. The Nantucket Flora 255 Andropogon — Continued scoparius Michx. var. littoralis (Nash) Hitchc. virginicus L. Anthoxanthum odoratum L. Aristida dichotoma Michx. gracilis Ell. purpurascens Poir. Avena sativa L. Bromus commutatus Schrad. hordeaceus L. racemosus L. secalinus L. sterilis L. tectorum L. Calamagrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv. cinnoides (Muhl.) Barton Cenchrus tribuloides L. Dactylis glomerata L. Danthonia compressa Aust. spicata (L.) Beauv. Deschampsia flexuosa (L.) Trin. Digitaria filiformis (L.) Koeler humifusa Pcrs. sanguinalis (L.) Scop. Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene Echinochloa crusgalli (L.) Beauv. Elymus virginicus L. Eragrostis megastachya (Koeler) Link. pectinacea (Michx.) Steud. var. spectabilis Gray pilosa (L.) Beauv. Festuca elatior L. myurus L. octoflora Walt. ovina L. var. capillata (Lam.) Hack, var duriuscula (L.) Koch rubra L. Glyceria acutiflora Torr. canadensis (Michx.) Trin. grandis Wats. nervata (Willd.) Trin. pallida (Torr.) Trin. septentrionalis Hitchc. Hierochloe odorata (L.) Walilenb. Holcus lanatus L. Hordeum jubatum L, Leersia orj^zoides (L.) Sw. Leptochloa fascicularis (Lam.) Gray Lolium multiflorum Lam. perenne L. Muhlenbergia mexicana (L.) Trin. Panicum agrostoides Spreng. Bicknellii Nash capillare L. clandestinum L. columbianum Scribn. depauperatum Muhl. dichotomiflorum Michx. dichotomum L. linearifolium Scribn. mattamuskeetense Ashe meridionale Ashe 256 Nantucket Panicum — Continued miliaceum L. Scribnerianum Nash sphaerocarpon Ell. tennesseense Ashe villosissimum Nash virgatum L. Paspalum Mulilenbergii Nash psammophilum Nash setaceum Michx. Phalaris canariensis L. Phleum pratense L. Phragmites communis Trin. Poa annua L. compressa L. pratensis L. triflora Gilib. trivialis L. Puccinellia distans (L.) Pari. Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv. imberbis R. & S. italica (L.) Beauv. viridis (L.) Beauv. Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash Spartina cynosuroides (L.) Roth var. alterniflora (Loisel) Merr. var. pilosa Merr. patens (Ait.) Muhl. var. juncea (Michx.) Hitchc. Sphenopholis palustris (Michx.) Scribn. Sporobolus vaginiflorus (Torr.) Wood Stipa avenacea L. Tridens fiavus (L.) Hitchc. Triplasis purpurea (Walt.) Chapm. Zizania aquatica L. Carex albolutescens Schwein. buUata Schkuhr. var. Greenii (Boeckl.) Fernald canescens L. var. subloliacea Laestad. var. disjuncta Fernald comosa Boott. conoidea Schkuhr. var. gynandra (Schwein.) Schwein. & Torr. var. Rudgei Bailey. Goodenowii J. Gray hirta L. hormathodes Fernald intumescens Rudge lanuginosa Michx. leptalea Wahlenb. lupulina Muhl. var. pedunculata Dewey lurida Wahlenb. Muhlenbergii Schkuhr. muricata L. pallescens L. pennsylvanica Lam. var. utriculata (Boott.) Bailey var. capillacea (Bailey) Fer- nald scoparia Schkuhr. seorsa E. C. Howe. var. ambigua (Barratt) Fer- nald silicea Onle}'. var. cephalantha (Bailey) Fer- nald sterilis Willd. stipata Muhl. straminea Willd. The Nantucket Flora 257 Carex — Contintied var. echi nodes Fernald stricta Lam. umbcUata Schkuhr. var. tonsa Fernald varia Muhl. vestita Willd. virescens Muhl. vulpinoidea Michx. Cladium mariscoides (Muhl.) Torr. Cyperus dentatus Torr. diandrus Torr. esculentus L. ferax Rich. filiculmis Vahl. Grayi Torr. Nuttallii Eddy rivularis Kunth. strigosus L. var. capitatus Boeckl. var. compositus Britton Dulichium arundinaceum (L.) Britton Eleocharis acicularis (L.) R. & S. obtusa (Willd.) Schultes palustris (L.) R. & S. var. glaucescens (Willd.) Gray rostellata Torr. tenuis (Willd.) Schultes tricostata Torr. Eriophorum tenellum Nutt. virginicum L. viridi-carinatum (Engelm.), Fer- nald Rynchospora alba (L). Vahl. glomerata (L.) Vahl, Torreyana Gray Scirpus americanus Pers. :7 campestris Britton cyperinus (L.) Kunth. nanus Spreng. occidentalis (Wats.) Chase pedicellatus Fernald robustus Pursh rubrotinctus Fernald validus Vahl. Selena triglomerata Michx. Acorus Calamus L. Arisaema triphyllum (L.) Schott. Lemna minor L. trisulca L. Eriocaulon articulatum (Huds.) Morong Xyris caroliniana Walt. flexuosa Muhl. Tradescantia virginiana L. Heteranthera dubia (Jacq.) MacM. Pontederia cordata L. Juncus acuminatus Michx. aristulatus Michx. articulatus L. balticus Willd., var. littoralis Engelm. bufonius L. canadensis J. Gay dichotomus Ell. effusus L. var. compactus Lejeune & Courtois Gerardi Loisel. Greenei Oakes & Tuckerm. marginatus Rostk. mililaris Bigel. 258 Nantucket Juncus — Continued pelocarpus Mey_ tenuis Willd. var. anthelatus Wiegand Luzula var. multiflora ( E h r h . ) Celak. Aletris farinosa L. Asparagus officinalis L. Hemerocallis fulva L. Lilium philadelphicum L. superbum L. Maianthemum canadense Desf. Medeola virginiana L. Muscari hotryoides (L.) Mill Oakesia sessilifolia (L.) Wats. Omithogalum umbellatum L. Polygonatum biflorum (Walt.) Ell. Smilacina racemosa (L.) Desf. stellata (L.) Desf. Smilax Bona-nox L. glauca Walt. herbacea L. rotundifolia L. var. quadrangularis (Muhl.) Wood Hypoxis hirsuta (L.) Coville Iris prismatica Pursh pseudacorus L. versicolor L, Sisyrinchiiun arenicola Bicknell atlanticum Bicknell gramineum Curtis graminoides. Arethusa bulbosa L. Calopogon pulchellus Sw. R. Br. Corallorrhiza maculata Raf. Cypripedium acaule Ait. Habenaria blephariglottis (Willd.) Torr. ciliaris (L.) R. Br. clavellata (IMichx.) Spreng. lacera (Michx.) R. Br. Liparis Loeselii (L.) Richard Microstylis unifolia (Michx.) BSP. Pogonia ophioglossoides (L.) Ker Spiranthes Beckii Lindl. cernua (L.) Richard gracilis (Bigel.) Beck Populus alba L. candicans Ait. grandidentata Michx. tremuloides Michx. Salix alba L. babylonica L. cordata Muhl. discolor Muhl. var. eriocephala (Michx.) Anders fragilis L. humilis Marsh pentandra L. petiolaris Sm. The Nantucket Flora 259 Salix — Continued purpurea L. rostrata Richards sericea Marsh tristis Ait. viminalis L. Myrica asplenifoHa L. caroUnensis Mill. Gale L. Carya alba (L.) K. Koch glabra (Mill.) Spach. microcarpa Nutt. Alnus incana (L.) Moench. Betula populifolia Marsh Carpinus caroliniana Walt. Corylus americana Walt. rostrata Ait. Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. Quercus alba L. coccinea Muench. falcata Michx. ilicifolia Wang. prinoides Willd. stellata Wang. velutina Lam. Boehmeria cylindrica (L.) Sw. var. scabra Porter Cannabis sativa L. Humulus japonicus Sieb. & Zucc. Lupulus L. Parietaria pennsylvanica Muhl. Pilea pumila (L.) Gray Ulmus americana L. Urtica Lyallii Wats. urens L. Comandra umbellata (L.) Nutt. Fagopyrum csculentum Moench. Polygonella articulata (L.) Meisn. Polygonum acre HBK. amphibium L. aviculare L. var. angustissimum Meisn. var. vegetum Ledeb. Convolvulus L. cuspidatum Sieb. & Zucc. dumetorum L. Hydropiper L. hydropiperoides Michx. lapathifolium L. maritimum L. pennsylvanicum L. Persicaria L. prolificum (Small) Robinson forma atlanticum Robinson sagittatum L. setaceum Baldw. tomentosum Schrank. Rtimex AcetoseUa L. Britannica L. crispus L. obtusifolius L. pallidus Bigel. persicarioides L. Atriplex arenaria Nutt. patula. var. hastata (L.) Gray 26o Nantucket Chenopoditim album L. var. viride (L.) Moq. ambrosioides L. glaucum L. hybridum L. murale L. polyspermum L. rubrum L. Salicomia ambigua Michx. europsea L. mucronata Bigel. Salsola Kali L. var. caroliniana (Walt.) Nutt. Suaeda linearis (Ell.) Moq. maritima (L.) Dumort Amaranthus blitoides Wats. graecizans L. hybridus L. paniculatus L. pumilus Raf. retroflexus L. Phytolacca decandra L. Scleranthus annuus L. MoUugo verticillata L. Agrostermna Githago L. Arenaria lateriflora L. peploides L. serpyllifolia L. Cerastium arv^ense L. semidecandrum L. vulgatum L. Dianthus Armeria L. Lychnis alba Mill. dioica L. Sagina procumbens L. Saponaria officinalis L, Vaccaria L. Silene antirrhina L. Armeria L. dichotoma Ehrh. latifolia (Mill.)Britton & Rendle Spergula arvensis L. sativa Boenn. Spergularia canadensis (Pers.) Don. marina (L.) Griseb. rubra (L.) J. &. C. Presl. Stellaria graminea L. media (L.) Cyrill. Portulaca oleracea L. Ceratophyllum demersum L. Brasenia Schreberi Gmel. Castalia odorata (Ait.) Woodville & Wood Nymphaea advena Ait. Actaea rubra (Ait.) Willd. Anemone quinquefolia L. Aquilegia canadensis L. Coptis trifolia (L.) Salisb. Ranunculus acris L. The Nantucket Flora 261 Ranunculus — Continued bulbosus L. Cymbalaria Pursh delphinifolius Torr. laxicaulis (T. & G.) Darby repens L. Thalictrum polygamum Muhl. revolutum DC. Sassafras varifolium (Salisb.) Ktze. Argemone mexicana L. Chelidonium majus L. Alyssum alyssoides L. Barbarea vulgaris R. Br. Brassica arvensis (L.) Ktze. campestris L. juncea (L.) Cosson Napus L. nigra (L.) Koch Rapa L. Cakile edentula (Bigel.) Hook. Capsella Bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic. Cardamine parviflora L. pennsylvanica Muhl. Conringia orientalis (L.) Dumort Coronopus didymus (L.) Sm. Diplotaxis muralis (L.) DC. Draba verna L. Erysimum cheiranthoides L. Lepidium apetalum Willd. campestre (L.) R. Br. virginicum L. Lobularia maritima (L.) Desv. Radicula Armoracia (L.) Robinson Nasturtium-aquaticum (L.) Brit ton palustris (L.) Moench. sylvestris (L.) Druce Raphanus Raphanistrum L. sativus L. Sisymbrium altissimum L. oflEicinale var. leiocarpum DC. Thlaspi arvense L. Reseda lutea L. Sarracenia purpurea L. Drosera filiformis Raf. longifolia L. rotundifolia L. Sedum acre L. purpureum Tausch. Tillaea aquatica L. VaiUantii Willd. Ribes oxyacanthoides L. Agrimonia gryposepala Wallr. Amelanchier canadensis (L.) Medic. ohlongifolia (T. & G.) Roem. Crataegus Crus-galli L. 262 Nantucket Crataegus — Continued macrosperma Ashe. pruninosa (Wendl.) C. Koch Fragaria vesca L. virginiana Duchesne Geum canadense Jacq. Potentilla Anserina L. argentea L. canadensis L. var. simplex (Michx.) T. & G. monspeliensis L. pennsylvanica L. pumila Poir. Prunus americana Marsh avium L. Cerasus L. maritima Wang. Persica (L.) Stokes serotina Ehrh. Pyrus arbutifolia (L.) L. f. var. atropurpurea (Britton) Robinson communis L. Malus L. Rosa Carolina L. cinnamomea L. rubiginosa L. virginiana Mill. Rubus allegheniensis Porter argutus Link. frondosus Bigel. hispidus L. var. aculeatissimus (C. A. Mey.) Kegel & Tiling nigricans Rydb. occidentalis L. triflorus Richards villosus Ait. var. humifusus T. &. G. Spiraea latifolia Borkh. tomentosa L. Amphicarpa monoica (L.) Ell. Apios tuberosa Moench. Baptisia tinctoria (L.) R. Br. Cassia Chamaecrista L. Coronilla varia L. Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link. Desmodium obtusum (Mulil.) DC. sessilifoHum (Torr.) T. & G. Lathyrus maritimus (L.) Bigel. palustris L. var. linearifolius Ser. Lespedeza Brittonii Bicknell capitata Michx. hirta (L.) Hornem. procumbens Michx. Stuvei Nutt. violacea (L.) Pers. virginica (L.) Britton Medicago lupulina L. sativa L. Melilotus alba Desr. officinalis (L.) Lam. Tephrosia virginiana (L.) Pers. Trifolium agrarium L. arvense L. dubium Sibth, The Nantucket Flora 263 Trif olium — Continued hybridum L. incarnatum L. pratense L. procumbens L. repens L. Ulex europseus L. Vicia americana Muhl. angustifolia (L.) Reichard sativa L. tetrasperma (L.) Moench. Linum sulcatum Riddell usitatissimum L. virginianum L. Oxalis corniculata L. stricta L. Erodium cicutarium (L.) L'Her. Geranium carolinianum L. maculatum L. pusillum Burm, f. Robertianum L. Polygala cruciata L. polygama Walt. sanguinea L. verticillata L. Euphorbia Cyparissias L. maculata L. polygonifolia L. Preslii Guss. Callitriche heterophylla Pursh palustris L. Corema Conradii Torr. Rhus copallina L. glabra L. Toxicodendron L. Vernix L. Bex glabra (L.) Gray opaca Ait. verticillata (L.) Gray Acer rubrum L. Impatiens biflora Walt. Psedera quinquefolia (L.) Greene vitacea (Knerr.) Greene Vitis aestivalis Michx. labrusca L. Hibiscus Moscheutos L. Malva moschata L. rotundifolia L. verticillata L. Ascyrum hypericoides L. Hypericum adpressum, Bart. boreale (Britton) Bicknell canadense L. gentianoides (L.) BSP. mutilum L. perforatum L. punctatum Lam. virginicum L. Elatine americana (Pursh) Am. Helianthemimi canadense (L.?) Michx. Hudsonia ericoides L. tomentosa Nutt. Lechea Leggettii Britton & HoUick maritima Leggett. 264 Nantucket Lechea — Continued minor L. villosa EII. Viola blanda Willd. cucullata Ait. fimbriatula Sm. lanceolata L. palmata L. pedata L. sagittata Ait. Opuntia Rafinesquii Engelm. vulgaris Mill. Decodon verticillatus (L.) Ell. Lythnun Salicaria L. Rhexia virginica L. Circaea lutetiana L. Epilobium angustifolium L. coloratum Muhl. densum Raf. hirsutum L. palustre L. Ludvigia palustris (L.) EIL (Enothera biennis L. fruticosa L. muricata L. pumila L. Myriophyllum humile (Raf.) Morong tenellum Bigel. Proserpinaca palustris L. Aralia nudicaulis L. ^thusa Cynapium L. Conium maculatum L. Daucus Carota L. Heracleum lanatum Michx. Hydrocotyle umbellata L. Ligusticum scothicum L. Ptilimnium capillaceum (Michx.) Raf. Slum cicutaefolium Schrank. Cornus canadensis L. florida L. Nyssa sylvatica Marsh Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi (L.) Spreng. Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull Chamsedaphne calyculata (L.) Moench. Chimaphila maculata (L.) Pursh umbellata (L.) Nutt. Chiogenes hispidula (L.) T. &. G. Clethra alnifolia L. Epigasa repens L. Erica cinerea L. Tetralix L. Gaultheria procumbens L. Gaylussacia baccata (Wang.) C. Koch dumosa (Andr.) T. &. G. frondosa (L.) T. &. G. The Nantucket Flora 265 Kalmia angustifolia L. latifolia L. Lyonia mariana (L.) D. Don Monotropa Hj^popitys L. uniflora L. Pyrola americana Sweet chloranlha Sw. Rhododendron viscosum (L.) Torr. Vaccinium atrococcum (Gray) Heller corymbosum L. macrocarpon Ait. Oxycoccos L. pennsylvanicum Lam. vacillans Kalm Limonium carolinianum (Walt.) Britten Anagallis arvensis L. Glaux maritima L. var. obtusifolia Fernald Lysimachia Nummularia L. quadrifolia L. terrestris (L.) BSP. vulgaris L. Samolus Horibundus HBK. Trientalis americana (Pers.) Pursh Syringa vulgaris L. Bartonia virginica (L.) BSP. Centaurium spicatum (L.) Fernald Menyanthes trifoliata L. Nymphoides lacunosum (V^ent.) Fernald Sabbatia dodecandra (L.) BSP. gracilis (Alichx.) Salisb. Apocynum androsaemifolium L. cannabinum L. medium Greene Asclepias amplexicaulis Sm. incarnata var. pulchra (Ehrh.) Pers. phytolaccoides Pursh syriaca L. tuberosa L. Convolvulus arvensis L. sepium L. var. pubescens (Gray) Fernald Cuscuta Gronovii Willd. Echium vulgare L. Lithospermum arvense L. Mertensia maritima (L.) S. F. Gray Myosotis Laxa Lehm. Onosmodium virginianum (L.) A. DC. Verbena hastata L. urticEefolia L. Galeopsis Ladanum L. Tetrahit L. Hedeoma pulegioides (L.) Pers. Lamium amplexicaule L. Leonurus Cardiaca L. 266 Nantucket Lycopus amcricanus Muhl. virginicus L. Marrubium vulgare L. Mentha arvensis var. canadensis (L.) Briquet crispa L. gentilis L. piperita L. spicata L. Nepeta Cataria L. hederacea (L.) Trevisan. Prunella vulgaris L. Pycnanthemum flexuosum (Walt.) BSP. incanum (L.) Michx. virginianum (L.) Durand & Jackson Scutellaria galericulata L. lateriflora L. Stachys hyssopifolia Michx. Teucrium canadense L. Trichostema dichotomum L. Datura Stramonium L, Tatula L. Lycium halimifolium Mill. Nicandra Physalodes (L.) Pers. Physalis lanceolata Michx. Solanum Dulcamara L. nigrum L. Gerardia maritima Raf. paupercula (Gray) Britton purpurea L. tenuifolia Vahl. Gratiola aurea Muhl. Ilysanthes anagallidea (Michx.) Robinson dubia (L.) Barnhart Limosella Aquatica L., var. tenuifolia (Wolf.) Pers. Linaria canadensis (L.) Dumont vulgaris Hill Melampyrum lineare Lam. Pedicularis canadensis L. Schwalbea americana L. Scrophularia marilandica L. Verbascum Blattaria L. Thapsus L. Veronica arvensis L. Utricularia clandestina Nutt. cleistogama (Gray) Britton intermedia Hayne subulata L. vulgaris L., var. americana Gray Plantago aristata Michx. decipiens Bameoud lanceolata L. major L. Rugelii Dene. Cephalanthus occidentalis L. The Nantucket Flora 267 Galium circaezans Michx. Claytoni Michx. pilosum Ait. trifidum L. triflorum Michx. Houstonia csrulea L. longifolia Gaertn. Mitchella repens L. Linnsea boreaUs L., var. americana (Forbes) Rehder Sambucus canadensis L. Viburnum alnifoHum Marsh. dentatum L. venosum Britton Echinocystis lobata (IMichx.) T. &. G. Sicyos angulatus L. Campanula rapunculoides L. Specularia perfoUata (L.) A. DC. Lobelia cardinalis L. inflata L. Achillea IMillefolium L. Ambrosia artemisiacfolia L. Anaphalis margaritacea (L.) B. &. H. Antennaria neglecta Greene neodioica Greene plantaginifolia (L.) Richards. Anthemis Cotula L. Arctium minus Bcrnh. Artemisia annua L. caudata Michx. Stelleriana Bess. vulgaris L. Aster concolor L. dumosus L. ericoides L. Isevis L. linariifolius L. multiflorus Ait. novi-belgii L. patens Ait. spectabilis Ait. subulatus Michx. umbellatus Mill. undulatus L. Baccharis halimifolia L. Bidens cernua L. connata Muhl. frondosa L. Isvis (L.) BSP. Chrysanthemtun Leucanthemum L. Parthenium (L.) Bernh. Chrysopsis falcata (Pursh) Ell. Cichorium Intybus L. Cirsium altissimum (L.) Spreng. arvense (L.) Scop. lanceolatum (L.) Hill pumilum (Nutt.) Spreng. spinosissimum (Walt.) Scop. Erechtites hieracifoHa (L.) Raf. Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. 268 Nantucket Erigeron — Continued canadensis L. philadelphicus L. ramosus (Walt.) BSP. var. discoideus(Robbins)RSP. Eupatorium hyssopifolium L. perfoliatum L. var. truncatum Gray pubescens Muhl. purpureum L. rotundifolium L. sessilifolium L. verbenaefolium Michx. Galinsoga parviflora Cav. Gnaphalium polycephalum Michx. purpureum L. uliginosum L. Helianthus divaricatus L. strumosus L. tuberosus L. Hieracium aurantiacum L. canadense Michx. Gronovii L. venosum L. Inula Helenium L. Krigia virginica (L.) Willd. Lactuca canadensis L. hirsuta Muhl. Leontodon autumnalis L. Liatris scariosa Willd. Pluchea camphorata (L.) DC. Prenanthes alba L. racemosa Michx. serpentaria Pursh trifoliolata (Cass.) Femald Rudbeckia hirta L. Senecio vulgaris L. Sericocarpus asteroid es (L.) BSP. linifolius (L.) BSP. Solidago caesia L. canadensis L. Elliottii T. &. G, graminifolia (L.) Salisb. minor (Michx.) Femald neglecta T. & G. nemoralis Ait. odora Ait. puberula Nutt. rugosa Mill. sempervirens L. serotina Ait. tenuifolia Pursh. uliginosa Nutt. ulmifolia Muhl. Sonchus arvensis L. asper (L.) Hill oleraceus L. Tanacetum vulgare L. var. crispum DC. Taraxacum erythrospermum Andrz. officinale Weber Tragopogon pratensis L. Xanthium echinatum Murr. CHAPTER XIV VILLAGES, DISTRICTS, ETC. The Indian Villages. The Indians had numerous villages scattered over the island, but, unfortunately, the sites of but a few of them have been recorded. One of the largest is known to have been at Occawa or Orcawa, in the neighborhood of the modern Plainfield farm near Siasconset, and in this immediate vicinity they had also one of their meeting-houses. Another large Indian village was located about the northern extremity of Miacomet Pond, not very far from the northern boundary of the shear-pen district; and in this direction evidences of a large settlement have been found from time to time. Here also was one of their meeting-houses. On land occupying the western side of Squam Pond, a third village was situated, at a place then known as Ahapehant, or Apapachonsett. A fourth Indian village stood near Shawkemo, south of Abram's Point, and north of Shimmo; and it is be- lieved that there was also an Indian burying ground there. At Secacacha, and also at Peedee, southeast of Sacacha Pond, there were two villages existing in 1700, but whether these were fishing stages erected on pre- 269 270 Nantucket viously existing Indian villages or not, there is no evidence to show. The last three wigwams on the island were standing at Squam, in 1796. The last one was on Rock Island, and it was taken down in 1797. It was on Tristram Starbuck's farm, and was occupied by Abigail Fisher. Fishing Stages. From an early period the maritime advantages of the island induced the settlers to engage in the pursuit of fishing, and, as they had found cod- fishing remimerative, they naturally engaged in it to a considerable extent. Fishing stages were, therefore, erected at various points round the shore, especially at the south and east sides of the island, for the accom- modation of the fishermen. These consisted of small wooden huts or cabins capable of sheltering a boat's crew, numbering usually five men. There were several, at Siasconset on the east coast, and near Weeweder Pond on the south. The small village of Peedee, about one mile and a half north of Siasconset, had several, and a large number were erected at Sacacha Pond. Also there was a cluster at Quidnet, near the head of the harbor. They usually contained a stone fireplace, with a brick chimney at the one end, and, at the other, two bedrooms capable of accommodating four men. Above, a small attic constituted an apartment for the boys. A few of these miniature dwellings may still be seen at Siasconset. As a general rule, the location of these fishing-stages gave rise to numerous villages in the course of time, and the most important of these is Siasconset. Great Point (or Nauma — "Long Point"), with Cos- kata, the "Haulover," and Coatue, forms a natural breakwater, making the harbor of Nantucket almost completely land-locked. Villages, Districts, Etc. 271 Great Point, or Nauma, is situated at the extreme northeast of the island, at the end of a sandy prolonga- tion extending northwards from Coskata. By water, it is about nine miles from Nantucket. It has a govern- ment lighthouse upon it. The first lighthouse was erected in 1794, but was destroyed by fire in 181 6. The present stone structure was built, probably during the same year. " It is a favorite place for bluefishing." ^ Coskata ("at the broad woods") is the section of Long Point north of Wauwinet which, with the "Haul- over," forms the eastern and northern sides of the upper harbor. The "Haulover" — a narrow strip of sand formerly dividing the harbor from the ocean, and constituting the narrowest part of the island, still water on one side and surf on the other — was so named from the fishermen being in the habit of hauling their boats over it in order to avoid sailing round the point, thus materi- ally shortening their route. In 1896, the sea, during a storm, burst through this sandy partition, and con- verted the peninsula of Coatue and Great Point into an island, thus necessitating the laying of a cable between it and the Life-saving Station at Coskata. The opening has since closed up again. Wauwinet (named after the distinguished Sachem who ruled over this section of the island about the time of the arrival of the settlers) is a small village beauti- fully situated near the "Haulover," at the head of the harbor, on the eastern aspect of the island, about nine miles from Nantucket town (seven by water), and about four from Siasconset. Motor- and sail-boats ply regularly twice a day between Nantucket and ' Godfrey's Island of Nantucket, to which the writer is under many- obligations. 272 Nantucket the village. Wauwinet is situated on the narrowest part of the island — the harbor being on one side and the ocean on the other. Either the finest surf -bathing in the ocean, or the most perfect still-water bathing in the harbor, may be enjoyed within a distance of three hundred yards. Here also is a comfortable hotel, and a beautiful view can be obtained of the ocean, the harbor, and the town of Nantucket in the distance. Those who delight in scenery will be well repaid by a visit to this com- paratively wild and romantic spot. Squam is a tract of land to the east of Pocomo, and at the northeast part of the island. At its eastern boundary, very close to the ocean, is Squam Pond. This section also contains Herrecatur Swamp, a locality called Cotackta — where there is a large bowlder, and Eat-fire Spring, alluded to in Col. Hart's novel Miriam Coffin. This tract was within the boundaries of Wauwinet's possessions. It has been stated that this district during the latter part of the seventeenth cen- tury, was covered with trees to a great extent. Quidnet (a contraction for Aquidnet, meaning "at the place of the point ") was originally one of the fishing- stages, but afterwards became a good-sized village and famous for its fishing. It is situated north of Secacacha Pond, and consists at present of only a few straggling houses. Here, in the latter part of the nineteenth century, lived for many years, in a quaint old domicile, the hermit Frederick Parker. He was a genial, urbane man, who, although he had separated himself from the outer world, was nevertheless pleased to receive visitors and to exchange his views with them as to current events. He died many years ago. Villages, Districts, Etc. 273 Secacacha (usually contracted to Sacacha) village, so named from the adjacent pond, was erected about 1700, and up to 18 18, was well known as a fishing- place; indeed it was for a time the largest fishing-stage on the island. It was, however, ultimately abandoned for Sconset, and many of its numerous houses were removed to the latter place. Sacacha Pond covers over three hundred acres, and has always been famous as a fishing-place for perch. It is situated about seven or eight miles east of Nantucket. Sankaty Head' is one of the highest points on the island — ninety-two feet — and from its proud eminence gleams its famous lighthouse, the most important beacon on the island. Sankat}^ Head is about one mile and a half north from Siasconset, and the clifl walk between these two places is one of the most enjoyable that can be imagined. The tower of the beacon, which is built of stone, brick, and iron, is painted white, red, and white, alternately, and its extreme height is one hundred and seventy-five feet from the sea-level. It shows a "Fresnel" light which can be seen distinctly at a distance of twenty-eight miles or more at sea. This splendid light was flashed across the ocean for the first time on February 2, 1850; it consists of an intense white gleam for fifty seconds, varied by minutal flashes, each of ten seconds' duration. On October i, 1912, the supply of Sankaty light- house lamp was changed from "three- wick oil-burning kerosene" to incandescent oil vapor. Kerosene oil is ' The derivation of this word is obscure. If the hill was called by the Indians, as stated by Z. Macy, Naphchecoy, it cannot mean "round the head"; Mr. Worth plausibly suggests that it may mean "on the other side of Pochick," which is at least intelligible. 18 274 Nantucket forced by air-pressure from the holding tank, the neces- sary amount of pressure used being forty-eight pounds; the oil in burner is heated by alcohol for fifteen minutes until it becomes incandescent inside the mantle. The lenses from the oil-burning lamp gave light, fixed, 4000 candle power — flash 38,000. The lenses give from vapor 27,000 c. p. fixed light, and estimated flash-light 220,000. ' The lenses alone are said to have cost $6000. For many years, the genial Captain Remsen has been the very competent keeper of the lighthouse. It need scarcely be added that a most magnificent view can be obtained from the outlook-landing at the top of the tower. Sankaty Head is also interesting in a scientific sense as the slopes of the bluff afford a good opportunity for observing the glacial conformation of the island. Saul's Hills, about four miles and a half to the east from Nantucket, form the highest group on the island, Macy's and Folger's being the highest. Macy's hill reaches a height of one hundred and two feet. This range of glacial hills is very interesting from a geological point of view, and their rounded, dome-like tops supply a good illustration of glacial action, which was the last elemental factor in the preparation of the earth as a dwelling-place for mankind. Anyone with a heart attuned to Nature cannot fail to find amid the solitude and varied natural resources of this elevated region a benediction and a perennial jo}^ Siasconset, an Indian word signifying "near the great bone" (Worth). The word is now usually abbre- viated to Sconset, — at present a popular and flourishing summer resort on the eastern shore of Nantucket Island, ' By courtesy of Captain Remsen. Villages, Districts, Etc. 275 although, in 1748, it was merely a stage for fishermen, and many of its original cottages were removed from Sacacha. This quaint little township with its diminu- tive cottages has not inaptly been compared to the contents of a German toy-box left out of doors to sparkle in the sun. It is seven and a half miles from Nantucket town, with which it is in direct communication by means of an excellent macadamized road and a line of railroad. It is built upon the brow of a slight eminence over- looking the broad Atlantic, and is distinguished by the purity of its air, its attractive long sandy beach, and the sublime roll of surf which dashes upon its sandy shore. It is, moreover, constituted as a unique and independent republic, with its own — for the most part unwritten — laws, which are founded upon broad prin- ciples of conscience, reason, philanthropy, justice, and friendship, and if such as these were universally incor- porated, this "round terrestrial ball" would be a much better and pleasanter dwelling-place for humanit}^ at large. It has been set apart as a recuperative resting- place for the dramatic profession, many of whom have built their own cosy little bungalows to such an extent as to justify its designation as "The Actors' Colony." The native inhabitants are distinguished by that quaintness, intelligence, and true hospitality which have ever characterized the islanders of Nantucket, and there are few spots where one can enjoy the pre- eminent advantages of natural hygiene, quietude, and simplicity of regime so happily associated, as in this delightful resort. Siasconset can accommodate over 1200 visitors. The more recent part of the township extends north and south, and many elegant cottages have been erected 276 Nantucket in addition to many furnished dwellings and boarding- houses. There are three excellent hotels, viz: "The Ocean View," "The Atlantic" (now called "Old Sconset Inn"), and the "Beach House," — besides a well equipped Casino, splendid golf-links, unsurpassed surf-bathing, an ideal playground for children, complete telephone and wireless telegraph communication, and a chapel for worship which is used by all denominations in turn. Sunset Heights, at the west end of Siasconset, and about eight miles from Nantucket, are a continuation of the bank on which Sconset is built, and contain about thirteen acres. There is, perhaps, no point on the island from which a more sublime view of the broad Atlantic can be obtained. Here the mighty ocean breaks in elemental strife over Pochick and "Old Man" rips, and here, also, the fishermen dart through the foam with their laden boats, surf -bathers exult amid the music of the waves and the weird cry of hosts of sea-gulls, and those who love the majestic roll of ocean's diapason have only to listen while their hearts rejoice. Many summer cottages have been erected here, and this lovely spot is surely destined to become a colony of those who venerate Nature in her sublimest moods. Tom Never's Head (named from a distinguished Indian, so-called) is an extensive bluff overlooking the ocean, of which it affords a view which is unsur- passed for grandeur and sublimity. The bluff is in height about sixty-five feet from the level of the sea, and the headland is about six miles southeast of Nantucket. ' ' A vivid description of this grand head will be found in Mr. North- rup's Sconset Cottage Life. Villages, Districts, Etc. 277 Surf-Side, a name given to about four miles of coast on the south shore of the island, is about three miles and a half from Nantucket, and has received its name from the majestic waves which break upon its sands. The land is high and level, and the view of the ocean is magnificent and uninterrupted. The air is always pure, cool, and refreshing. One of the United States Life- saving Stations, installed in 1874, is situated here. Madeket, Madaket, Maddequet, Madaquet, Mat- taket are orthographical variations for the name of a small village on the west side of Nantucket Island, and about five miles from the town. It is situated on an excellent, though shallow, harbor of the same name, is a good place for fishing, and it contains a Life-saving Station, a short distance from v/hich are one of the boat- houses of the Humane Society, and a school which is open for six months of the year. On the old Madeket Road is the Benjamin Franklin Fountain, erected by the Abiah Folger Chapter of the D. A. R., near the site of Peter Folger's house. It was in the vicinity of Madeket that Thomas Macy, Edward Starbuck, and Thomas Coleman spent their first year on the island — 1659-60 — in making preparations for the settlement. Smith's Point is situated at the extreme western end of the island, and extends about two miles beyond the Life-saving Station. In 1790, the sea cut off a portion of it, thus constituting it a small island in itself. The cable-house is situated here ; also one of the boat-houses. It is traditional that this point was the landing-place used by the Indians of Martha's Vineyard in their intercourse with those of Nantucket, and it was called by them Nopque, meaning "the point far away." The word Noapx, erroneously regarded as synonymous, 278 Nantucket refers to the "Noapogs," or "far away people," i. e. the Indians of Martha's Vineyard. Smith's Point is about six miles west from Nantucket. The boat-house referred to above is that of the Humane Society, and is about two miles west of the Life-saving Station. Tuckernuck or Tuckanuckett^ — said to mean "a loaf of bread " — ^is a small island lying two miles or so to the west of Nantucket Island, and contains about 1260 acres. In 1659, it was sold by Thomas Mayhew to Tristram Coffin and others for £6. A number of families live on the island, and some influential visitors have summer residences there. It is a pleasant sail to the island, where there is first-rate fishing. A school is maintained during the summer months. It is marked on De Laet's map, 1630, as Pentockynock. Muskeget is the name of another small island, about ten miles west from that of Nantucket, where there is also a Life-saving Station. The derivation of the word is iincertain, but it may mean "the place of grass land." An earlier name was Kotget. It contains about three hundred acres, and is comparatively useless except for fishing and shooting. It it a popular place with those who are fond of these two varieties of sport, and it is famous as a breeding-place for gulls and terns. The Town of Nantucket is pleasantly situated on a gentle slope on the southwest side of the harbor, almost in the middle of the island. Until 1795, it was known as Sherburne, a name suggested, as some assert, by Governor Lovelace of New York Province; while others contend that the name was bestowed from Sher- burne, a small seaport town in Dorsetshire, England, which was the home of Thomas Gardner, the father of Richard and John Gardner of Nantucket. Villages, Districts, Etc. 279 The town covers a settled area of about six hundred and forty acres, or one square mile, and with the old- time architecture of its wooden houses it is as quaint as it is picturesque. The greater part of the town was built when the whaling industry was flourishing, when the town had a population of nearly 10,000, and the roof- walks on a multitude of houses still witness to the "olden golden days," when the inmates of nearl}^ every household were wont to look for the return of the whalers from long and perilous voyages. Many a stately dwelling still remains to keep a storied past in sweet remembrance, and there is a charm about the town's cobble-paved streets which has only to be once felt to be kept ever green in memor^^ About half a century ago, its chief thoroughfares were lined with elm-trees and maples which have grown into magnificent trees; and their interlacing branches, covered with foliage in summer- time, form a delightful shade. The variety and bright- ness of its many stores and markets rival those of more pretentious cities, while its historical associations are replete with interest; moreover, the inhabitants are characterized by geniality and intelligence, and possess a personality which is as unique as indescribable. Brant Point is situated at the entrance to Nantucket harbor. As early as 1700, beacon-lights of a primitive character were maintained by the islanders at this point, but the first lighthouse was not erected until 1746. This was the second beacon-light for ships ever built in the United States. Of four lighthouses erected on this point, three were destroyed by fire, and one was blown down in 1774. In 1791, the point was ceded to the government by the town authorities. The present lighthouse was built in 1856, and was in use 28o Nantucket until 1900 when, it being found that the construction of the jetties interfered with the range of the Hght, there was erected a smaller wooden structure, which is still in operation. ^ It was at Brant Point also, that ship-building was carried on, at intervals, from 1810-40. Coatue — "at the Pine- woods" — is a long, low, nar- row point of sand, about a mile from Nantucket, ex- tending from the entrance to the harbor to Coskata. Sherburne Bluffs is a beautifully situated tract of land, about twency-five acres in extent, a little more than a mile due north of the town of Nantucket by way of the Cliff road. A magnificent view of the entire bay is afforded from this delightful locality, where there are also numerous summer cottages and residences. It is stated that there was formerly a grove of white oaks in this vicinity, but it has long since disappeared. Monomoy is a large tract of land across the harbor from Nantucket, about one mile from the steamboat wharf, and two miles via Sconset road. It forms part of the southern boundary of the harbor. In 1678, the acreage of South Monomoy was eighty-seven and one hundred and fifty rods, and of West Monomo}^ in 1726-27 sevent3^-six acres and fifty-four rods. Several inland creeks formerly existed on this land, but they are gradually being filled up. There are a number of neat summer cottages at the northern end of this beautiful district. Other Sections of the island are known as Trot's Hills in the northwest. North, Middle, and South Pastures, Southeast Quarter, Town Pasture, Smooth Hummocks, the Woods, the Plains, the Head of the Plains, Nanahumack's Neck, etc., but their distinctive ' For further particulars vide Chapter XX. Villages, Districts, Etc. 281 features have been obliterated, the varied uses for which they were originally constituted no longer exist, and, for the most part, the silence and fragrance of the "moorlands" shroud them in oblivion. They call for no further notice here. Springs. There are innumerable springs of water on the island, and the early settlers were careful that one of these natural benefactions was in close proximity to their respective house-lots. A few of those springs which have received insular prominence may be enumerated: Sachem Spring, on the north shore beyond the bathing beach; Shawkemo Spring, at Shawkemo; Eat-Fire Spring, beyond the termination of Polpis harbor; Benjamin Franklin Spring which marked the site of Peter Folger's house on Madeket Road — now conducted to an ornamental fountain by the Abiah Chapter of the Nantucket D. A. R. ; and Consue Spring near the foot of Union Street. Wherever an old house exists, or has existed, one is sure to find a living spring of water adjacent, thus showing that our forefathers recognized in pure cold water one of the most invaluable gifts with which the All-Father has dowered humanity. Shimmo and Shawkemo — the former signifying "a spring," and the latter "the middle field of land," — are two conjoined tracts of land which constitute the south boundary of the harbor. At one time, it was proposed to build a new town in this locality, but the project failed to realize. Quaise or Masquetuck — the former referring to "the end or point," the latter meaning "reed-river, but transferred to the land" — is interesting as having been the neck of land reserved by Mr. Thomas May- 282 Nantucket hew for his own use when he sold the island of Nan- tucket to the settlers. Macy says: "It was a tract of land given to Mr. Thomas Macy by one of the old Sachems."' Quaise extends into Nantucket harbor and forms the western boundary of Polpis harbor. It is also interesting as the locality on which the famous Keziah Coffin had her country seat, and where she carried on smuggling for a considerable time before she was arrested and tried. Under the title Miriam Coffin, Colonel Hart related in his well-known novel, the history and adventures of this extraordinary woman. Polpis or Podpis — meaning "the divided or branch harbor" — a village about equidistant between Wauwinet and Nantucket, is interesting as having had the home of one of the early settlers within its boundaries. John Swain purchased land here in 1680, and presumably built his house when his title was confirmed in 1684. Additions had been made to it since it was built, and the house remained until 1902, when it was destroyed by lightning, — the oldest house on the island. The village is situated on an inlet of the upper harbor which bears the same name. This district represents the "Spotso Country," so-called from the old Indian Spotso who, through his wife, was resident Sachem for nearly forty years. The land is fertile, and the village still contains a number of dwellings in addition to a school- house. Swain's Neck, at Polpis, was known to the Indians as Nashua-tuck (generally corrupted into Nashayte), and means " the land between two tidal rivers." The term Mosquetuck, also applied to the neck of land, was originally given to the stream or river which flowed ' O. Macy's History. Villages, Districts, Etc. 283 into Polpis harbor beside the neck. It means "reed- »» river. Pocomo, Poocoomo, or Pacummoquah — "a round fishing-place" — forms the eastern boundary of Polpis harbor, and is a headland extending into the upper harbor of Nantucket. It is about four and a half miles from Nantucket by water, and contains, among other things, a number of good farms. CHAPTER XV QUAINT NANTUCKETERS The word quaint has many definitions, but, as applied to persons or things it usually implies something un- common and something attractive, — something which is interesting, and at the same time individualistic. Nantucket has long borne the reputation of being a quaint island, and Nantucketers are usually dubbed quaint people, and in both instances the term is, or has been, appropriate and relevant. Nantucket is still quaint because it is unique; Nantucketers have been quaint in other days, — a peculiar people, differing from others in manners and customs from the reaction of their environment, but they are now in a transitional state owing to environmental transmutation. The insular position of Nantucket — like a garden in the ocean, — the bounteousness of its natural gifts, and its remarkable history, render the island exceptional and unconventional, while the almost iminterrupted trans- mission of the virile qualities which they have inherited from the white settlers of over two hundred and fifty years ago still forcibly characterize the islanders who have spnmg from their loins. To do this subject justice would require a large volume: here there is only space for a brief reference 284 Quaint Nantucketers 285 to those characteristic manners and customs of Nan- tucketers which have hitherto distinguished them up to the middle of the nineteenth century when the off- islanders chose to share the beauties and health-giving ocean air, of their island-home, and gradually neutral- ized to some extent their personal peculiarities. Passing over the prevailing quaintness of the Quaker period, in habits, customs, and phraseology, with its predominating gray and sunless atmosphere, relieved by very few instances of marked individuality amid the stagnant uniformity, one does not recognize any thril- ling records of personality until the islanders assumed the dominance of the sea during the latter half of the eighteenth century. " j\Ien must work And women must weep" when the males of a restricted sea-girt community "go down to the sea in ships," and so it was in Nantucket when they followed the " sparmocityes " "from sea to sea" all over the world. The women had to gossip, and watch, and weep at home when the men, amid the perils of the deep, were risking their lives for their support. The minds of both sexes were consequently working in a very narrow groove — the one working and the other watching — and thus evolutional expansion was rendered nugatory, if not impossible. Both were doing their duty, but within Hmits of the severest restriction. If we seek for any evidences of personality under such circumstances, we can find them only in the log-books and ships' records of the male voyagers, and amid the reactionary experiences shared by the wives and families w^hen the sailor-men returned home. 286 Nantucket These log-books are replete with interest and quaint- ness to those who sympathize with the environment of these heroic seafarers of a time now long past. For- tunately, a number of these characteristic, if well- thumbed documents are still accessible, and throw much light upon the varied lives and experiences of Nantucket's once famous whalers. The most meager reference is all that is here possible. About the middle of the eighteenth century Peleg — (pronounced Pillick) — Folger began to keep a daily journal of his maritime experiences, and he thus begins his diary: Peleg Folger, his hand and Book written at sea on Board the sloop Grampus, May, 1751. Many pe pie who keep journals at sea fill them up with trifles. I purpose in the following sheets not to keep an over strict history of every trifling occurrence that happens; only now and then some particular affair, and to fill up the rest with subjects Mathe- matical, Historical, Philosophical, or Poetical as best suits my inclination — "Qui docet indoctos licet indoctissimus esset Ille quoque breve ceteris doctior esse queat."' This quotation at least evidences the fact that Peleg had had a better education than most of those in his position, and this is sustained by his apparent penchant for using Latin phrases not only correctly but appropri- ately, and in ever}^ instance with orthographical exacti- tude. That he was also of a religious turn of mind is evident from the ending of many of his paragraphs consisting of expressions in Latin — witnessing to his ' " He who teaches the unlearned may be most unlearned, although he is only a little more learned than the others." Quaint Nantucketers 287 dependence upon, or gratefulness for benefits received from, an overruling Providence. He was esteemed as a "character" in his day, if we may judge from the following fragment of a nautical ditty concerning him: "Old Uncle Pillick he built him a boat On the ba — ^ack side of Nantucket P'int; He rolled up his trousers and set her afloat On the ba — ack side of Nantucket P'int." His diary literally gleams with the strong individu- ality of the writer, a glare of selfhood which indeed characterized these hardy mariners from the commence- ment of the whaling industry, and in page after page he faithfully records, in his own quaint language, the varied experiences on board his craft, interlarded with personal remarks and sometimes with moral reflections. In these earher days when Peleg's journal begins, the cruises of the whalers usually extended for a few weeks instead of the several years' absence necessitated by their more venturesome ocean-wanderings at a later period. At the end of his first cruise, in 175 1, he writes on May 15th: This day we fell in with the South Shoal and made our dear Nantucket, and thro' God's mercy got round the point in the afternoon. So we turned it up to the Bar by the Sun 2 hours high. — Laus Deo. Returning from a third cruise, on July 14th of the same year, he writes: We have killed two spermaceties. Now for home, Boys. We have seventy barrels in our Hold — ex betieficia divina. 288 Nantucket Another nautical narrator, yclept Peter Folger, has also jotted down his experiences in his log-book from which the following memo is taken under date of July, 1761: July ye 29 we stoed away our whale. We saw 2 sloops to the Easterd of us, and we saw divers sparmocities, and we scruck one and maid her spout Blood. She went down, and their came a Snarl in the Toe-line and catched John Me3rrick and over sot the boat and we never saw him after wards. We saved the whale ! A careful perusal of these old journals indicates where we must look for the genealogical sources of Nantucketers' quaintness, and it is here alone that they can be discovered. Every trait and pecuHarity of an island-born Nantucketer has filtered through the heart's blood of these once-famous American Vikings, and it is from them have been transmitted those bright attributes of intelligence and character which distin- guish Nantucketers all the world over, and which, often above the average, and occasionally tending toward eccentricity, are always forcible and ever individualistic. Still later, the stream of descent receives a fresh impulse from the Pacific Club, where, like knights of old, the ancient mariners recounted their deeds of daring and the dangers of the deep, while their spellbound auditors blanched with terror and amazement as the blood-curdling narratives followed each other in rapid succession. For, as a modern writer has well said, "The threads that made up the strand of Nantucket were not diverse: in one way or another they all wove themselves into the sea." The Rotch Market, in which the Pacific Club has Quaint Nantucketers 289 its Captains' Room, was built in 1772, but it was not until 1 86 1 that it was purchased by trustees for an association of whaling masters to be called the "Pacific Club," and since that year the heroic captains of old, — unfortunately a fast-decreasing number — have met in the "Captains' Room" to tell the story of their adventures, to compare their experiences, to enjoy well-earned rest and recreation, to smoke their pipes, and to interest and entertain their numerous guests within their friendship-consecrated quarters, still sacred to memory, and fragrant with romance. One by one, alas, this jovial band has now disap- peared — Crossed the Bar for the last time on their last voyage; and the most recent — the sage and genial Captain Defriez, known and loved by all Nantucketers — passed away quietly in his ninety-first year, during the spring of 1913. The last link of a chain of heroes he was, the last leaf on a mighty tree which has borne good fruit on the island which bore them, the beloved mother of them all. The quaintness of manners and customs, of phrase- ology and of character, which has been associated with the islanders of Nantucket, has sprung from the bosom of the ocean, and has been transmitted from generation to generation. The following is quoted from an old periodical pub- lished over one hundred years ago, and shows how "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Every house in this sea-faring place has a look-out upon the roof, or a vane at the gable end, to sec what ships have arrived from sea, or whether the wind is fair for the packets. Sea-phrases accordingly prevail in familiar conversation. Every child can tell which way the ivind blows, and a.rvy old 290 Nantucket woman in the street will talk of cruising about, hailing an old mess-mate, or making one bring to, as familiarly as the captain of a whale-ship just arrived from the northwest coast will describe dimension to a land-lubber by the span of his jib-boom, or the length of his mainstay. If you have a spare dinner, it is short allowance, if you are going to ride, the horse must be tackled up; if the chaise is rigged out, you are got under way; should you stop short of your destination, you are said to tack about, or to make a harbour. This technical phraseology, however, is attended with the concomitant frankness and honesty of sea- faring life — you meet a hearty welcome wherever you go. The same authority says: "From the habit of trans- acting business, in the absence of their husbands, women are frequently concerned in mercantile affairs, and manage them to advantage." Again: Before the Revolution, the people of Nantucket were like a band of brothers. They were then an unmixed race of English descent. They were clad in homespun, and minded their own business. Such a thing as a bankruptcy was therefore almost unexampled. . . . They still frequently call each other by the familiar appellations of uncle, aunt, cousin, etc. Persons of note are saluted by everybody they meet; and the popular name of captain is often bestowed on respectable people who never followed the sea, and per- petuated, as a creditable title, like that of squire, on the continent, to those who have retired from business. Alluding to the absence of corporal punishment our ancient narrator says, with regard to the jail: The prison is admirably adapted to this state of things, for it would not readily contain more than two or three inmates at a time. Of its present incumbents one is a little deranged, and the other, it is said, might go if he would! Quaint Nantucketers 291 One more quotation : In common with other places of easy circumstances and difficult access, the people of Nantucket are happy to see strangers, and such as have anything to recommend them to notice are entertained with unbounded hospitality from house to house. Luxuries are held in common, whoever has anything better than his neighbours will send it to them without asking in cases of company or sickness. ' Such is unimpeachable testimony as to the quaintness of Nantucketers a century ago. If it is wearing away wdth age it can only be a matter for regret! A self-reliant, seafaring people, to a great extent shut ofif during many years from the rude world, will, as a matter of course, have their character, habits, and conversation evolved in accordance with their environ- ment, and peculiarities or idiosyncrasies will develop themselves in relation to circumstances and experiences. Their virtues may savour of ancient history, but they are none the less genuine and unaffected; and their language, modes of expression, and customs are all in strict accordance with the simple conditions amid which they have been developed. Not only among the seafarers but among the municipal authorities of the town the same strain of quaintness asserted itself, and a peep into the Town Records reveals it in all its integrity. The town-house was, and still is, the center of mani- fold and various activities, wherein all matters of municipal importance are considered amid frequent divergences of opinion. As far back as the spring of 1707, it was decreed that "the towne howse should be ' The Portfolio, vol. v., No. i, January, 1811. 292 Nantucket repaired," and then it was arranged that "thursday next should be the day to goe to a perambelation," an annual function involving walking along the bound- ary lines of public lands, and noting if the marks were standing, or if any man had encroached upon them; for which service, of course the " perambelators " were "paid for their time," the principal asset of many of them. It was somewhat of a hilarious procession, being accompanied by all the boys and dogs in the neighborhood. Anon, a schoolmaster had to be hired at "three score pound current money for the yeare," and sub- sequently the following legislation had to be "put through" concerning the commons: No hogg shall go thereon without an order. No man shall mow grass in the ram paster. Bethiah Gardner shall mow grass at Coatue in compen- sation of her grass eaten up by sheepe at Pacamoka. It was further resolved that "John Macy shall build a prison for the towne as soon as he can," In the records for 1710, it is stated that "George Gardner was chosen trustee by vote and was at ye same time put out againe." A number of farmers having suffered losses from depredating Indians who stole their sheep, and from dogs and hogs which killed and ate them, the natives were punished, — all swine were impounded, and the civic fathers ordered "that all the Dogs upon the Island of Nantucket be forthwith killed!" Later, as might have been ex- pected, a plague of rats infested the island, and the town-meeting ordered that "every person who shall Quaint Nantucketers 293 kill a Rat and bring his head to the towne treasurer shall Receive for every such Rat a sixpence." In order to avoid cheating by bringing the heads of young or harmless rats, it was further stipulated that "the Rat shall be so full grown as to be all over covered with hair." Constables were also appointed "to walk the town in the night-season, and on the first day of the week, to suppress the growing disorder of the young people and all others that act inconsistently with the princi- ples of morality and virtue" ; and this was followed up by the town-meeting petitioning the Legislature of Boston "to pass an act to put a stop to masters and mistresses of houses entertaining minors at unseason- able hours of the night, in Drinking and Carousing and Frolicking contrary to the minds of their parents." The Court of Common Pleas, sitting in Nantucket, licensed John Coffin to sell "Tea and Coffy," and Wil- liam Rotch ("who had been complained of by a licensed retailer"), to sell "Speritious Lickers" out of doors only! The court recorded the certificates of a magistrate that Stephen Norton had sworn "one profane oath," and also "one profane curs." Those who were found guilty of "not attending Public Worship for more than one month" were fined ten shillings each, and five shillings and sixpence as costs of court. A woman in a breach of promise case claimed damages of two hundred pounds from a sailor; but, as all the property of the defendant amounted to only twelve pounds four shillings and seven and a quarter pence, the court awarded this sum, and the woman expressed satisfaction ! 294 Nantucket It was voted to build a workhouse, and another vote was passed not to build one. The town paid Silas Paddock "for nursing a squaw thirteen weeks at twelve shillings per week"; and or- dered that "the negro woman Hager be considered one of the towns Poor." Finally, the collector of taxes, in 1771, being delin- quent, was put in jail, and he "refused to deliver the tax books, or any extract from them until he was let out!" Thus and thus, for page after page, the town's doings are faithfully recorded. It would have been an easy matter to quote many other illustrations, but the few which have been cited will serve to show that there is a congenital undercurrent of humor pervading the characteristic quaintness of the islanders of Nantucket. Individuality is preeminently a matter of inheritance, and, in reckoning up the personality of a Nantucketer, we must primarily regard his Quaker and nautical ancestry, and the unique elements which he has de- veloped for himself, representing a blend of both strains. Inherent humor is always a prominent characteristic of a Nantucketer, and it will be found on examination that, in almost every case, it is closely associated either with the sea or the gray fraternity of Friends, and in accordance with the elements of both as blent in his own personality. A few instances culled from many hundreds of island anecdotes will serve to illustrate the uniqueness of Nantucket humor, and they may be conveniently grouped under three heads, viz : Nautical, Quakerish, and Personal. An old captain, being invited out to dinner, frankly acknowledged that he was ready to "fall to" any time, for he'd "come with a swep' hold." Quaint Nantucketers 295 Another being asked why he retired from the sea repHed: "Well, I thought when I got to the No'thard o' sixty, 'twas time to heave to." Yet another, on a visit to New York, found fault with the lack of oysters in the stew served to him at a restaurant, and, calling to the waiter, inquired, "Say, can't you give us a few more oysters? These here are a day's sail apart!" A member of the " Sons and Daughters of Nantucket" wrote on a reply postcard accompanying the announce- ment of the annual reunion, "Sorry I can't fetch it, but I'll try and forelay for it next year." A thrifty wife of the old days, noting that the larder was getting low, and seeing no immediate prospect of its being replenished, is said to have re- marked to her lazy husband, who had been sitting in the chimney comer all winter: "Well, John, one or tother of us has got to go round Cape Horn, and I ain't agoin'." Long absences from home were accepted as so much a matter of course in the old days that we can almost believe the story of the wife who saw her husband coming up the street on his return from a four years' voyage "around the Horn," and, taking the empty water-pail from its place on the dresser, met him at the door with "Hullo, John, got back have ye? Here, go get a bucket o' water." A sailor just home from a voyage was strolling down the street on his sea-legs, in a brand new suit from the outfitter's shop — his pocket full of money which he couldn't get rid of fast enough — smoking a long "nine," ogling the maids, and with a general " the world is mine " air in his whole attitude and get-up, when he was thus indicated — "There's Jack ! Rolling down to St. Helena 296 Nantucket eighteen cloths in the lower studd'ns'l, and no change out of a dollar!" The captain of a whaling vessel called the Aurora had spelled the name phonetically in his log-book, Ororor, and this being noticed by the shipowner in looking over the log-book after the return of the vessel, he inquired the meaning of it, when the skipper in- formed him that "it was the name of the ship." "But," said the owner, "that is not the proper way to spell 'Aurora.' " "Well," replied the captain, "if Or-or-or don't spell Ororor, what in thunder does it spell?" Such anecdotes might be continued indefinitely, but the nautical expressions are so interlarded with the familiar every-day language of the islanders that they are unaware of the fact until their attention is directed to it by strangers. A Nantucketer does not pull, he always "hauls," he does not tie or fasten anything, he "splices" it; he rigs and belays, backs and fills, gets under way, heaves to, comes about and squares away so naturally and spontaneously that it never occurs to him that there is anything unusual in his mode of expressing himself. Quakerish anecdotes are equally numerous and characteristic, and may be exemplified as follows: An old Quaker schoolmaster set the following copy on the blackboard for his writing-class: "Beauty fadeth soon Like a rose in 6th month." This parallelizes the reference to Robinson Crusoe and his man Sixth Day! Aimt Elizabeth Black, schoolmarm, used to say, Quaint Nantucketers 297 when a pupil recited well: "Execllent! Excellent! Thee deserves a reward of approbation!" "Friend Charles," remarked an old Quaker to a sailor addicted to the habit of drawing the long bow, after an unusually stiff yam, "if thee'd ever been one- half as economical of this world's goods as thee is of the truth, thee'd be the richest man in Nantucket." How much better than calling a man a liar! Occasionally the Quakers dropped into verse, as witness the well-known proposal of Obed Macy to Abigail Pinkham: " From a long consideration Of the good reputation Thou hast in this nation, Gives me an inclination To become thy relation By a legal capitulation. And if this, my declaration. May but gain thy approbation, It will lay an obligation From generation to generation On thy friend, Who, without thy consideration, May remain in vexation." "It is gratifying to be able to record that this effu- sion had the desired effect, and that Obed and Abigail were married, in 1786, and had ten children." An old Quaker blacksmith, who always told the truth, when asked by a customer who brought him some work, when it would be done, replied: "Well, thee may call on fourth day." On Wednesday the customer called. "Is my job done, Uncle Obed?" 298 Nantucket "No, not yet." "Why, you said it would be done to-day." "Oh, no; I said thee might call on fourth day. I'm always glad to see thee." One or two of a personal character may here be quoted : When the honor of entertaining the minister fell to Annie Burrill, the good woman was so flustered that she forgot to put any tea into the tea-pot, although the water was duly boiled. The minister accepted the beverage without remark, and when the spirit of hospi- tality prompted his hostess to ask him repeatedly, "Is your tea satisfactory? " his invariable response was, " It has no bad taste, madam!" Thus, "as weak as Annie Burrill's tea " became a simile for her day and generation. In the far away time lived one Squire Hussey, lawyer, estate agent, justice of the peace, and withal a past master of the English language, as will appear in the following notices: For Sale: A dwelling-house situated on the Cliff. This notable headland commands an extensive view of the Vine- yard Sound, where vessels may be seen passing to and fro in accelerated velocity. For Sale: A dwelling-house on York Street. This is one of the most popular localities of the town, in the midst of a refined and enlightened community. The Colored Methodist Society contemplates erecting a house of wor- ship immediately opposite, which fact will commend itself to all rehgiously disposed minds. Finally, as emphasizing the "self-complacency and self-satisfaction of the average Nantucketer" concern- ing his native island, the following instances may be cited : Quaint Nantucketers 299 A Nantucket schoolboy being asked to mention the situation of Alaska, located it as being "in the north- west comer of off-island!" Another began a composition thus: "Napoleon was a great man; he was a great soldier and a great states- man — but he was an off-islander!" Alas, Napoleon! Devoted as ever to their island home, as to a fond and loving mother, Nantucketers have at length, to a great extent, become cosmopolitan, for there is not a corner of the earth into which they have not had access, and in which they have not maintained their reputation, and flourished accordingly. But times have also changed. The sea which still laps their island shores is no longer freighted with an argosy of ships; Hygeia has usurped the rule of Neptune, and association with thousands of health-seeking strangers, year after year, has wellnigh neutralized the quaintness of Nantucket- ers, which was once their birthright and their heritage. The lapse of time and the changes which it has wrought have relegated most of the old island customs into desuetude. No longer does the large blue flag floating from the south tower announce the home- coming of a whaler from foreign seas, nor do the sheep- shearing festivities gladden the hearts of the islanders as in days of yore ; no more do the whirring arms of the old mill grind the home-grown grist, nor is even the fish-horn of the town-crier heard again as it re-echoed but a few years ago in discordant blasts. But one old custom remains — the ringing of the belfry -bell at 7 a.m., noon, and 9 p.m., as if to emphasize time's rapid flight. The old "characters," too, who in one way and another gave piquancy if not picturesqueness to the island's life, have all passed away, — the quartette of town-criers, the weird sisters Newbegin, Mrs. McCleave 300 Nantucket and her museum, and others, mayhap forgotten. Memories and regrets are associated with each one of them, but sic vita est. Who does not remember Billy- Clark, the genial, the zealous, the indefatigable? Drake in his Nooks and Corners of Massachusetts thus refers to him : This functionary I met, swelling with importance, but a trifle blown from the frequent sounding of his clarion, to wit, a japanned fish-horn. Met him, did I say? I beg the in- dulgence of the reader. Wherever I wandered in my rambles, he was sure to turn the corner just ahead of me, or to spring from the covert of some blind alley. He was one of those who, Macy says, knew all the other inhabitants of the island ; me he knew for a stranger. He stopped short. First he wound a terrible blast of his horn: T-o-o-t, t-o-o-t, t-o-o-t!! It echoed down the street like the discordant braying of a donkey. This he followed with the lusty ringing of a large dinner-bell, peal on peal, until I was ready to exclaim with the Moor, "Silence that dreadful bell: it frights the isle from her propriety!" Then placing the fish-horn under his arm, and taking the bell by the tongue, he delivered himself of his formula. I am not likely to forget it: "Two boats a day! Burgess's meat auction this evening! Corned beef! Boston Theatre, positively last night this evening!" He was gone, and I heard bell and horn in next street. He was the life of Nantucket while I was there; the only inhabitant I saw moving faster than a moderate walk. Poor Billy! Having kept Nantucketers alive for forty years, he at length wore himself out, and died in 1909. He had three contemporaries, in some respects as quaint as himself, viz: William B. Ray, Alvin Hull, and Charles H. Chase; and each had his own following, Billy Clark, Town Crier Photograph by II. S. ^^'yer Quaint Nantucketers 301 while all were useful, obliging, and popular. The last named had the misfortune to lose his eyesight. A good story is told of him to the effect that when making one of his announcements in front of an hotel where a number of young ladies were sitting, one of the girls dared another to ask the crier where he got his bell. Mr. Chase overheard the remark, and when the young lady in question asked the crier where he got his bell, with a polite bow he replied: "I got my bell, young woman, where you got your manners — at the brass foundry!" Ding-dong! Ding-dong!* Mrs. McCleave — or more familiarly "Lizy Ann" — was one of several sisters, all of whom were more or less eccentric; she was not only the most peculiar, but possessed the strongest character, combining with her eccentricities considerable native shrewdness and tartness, and withal a kindly disposition. She lived in Upper Main Street, beyond Gardner Street, where her house became a Mecca for visitors. She came by slow and natural stages into her special field as " showman," beginning with a few articles (brought home by her husband from his whaling voyages as a sea-captain) which she was gradually induced to show and explain to more and more people, while, at the same time, the number of her curiosities constantly increased. Some of her visitors, amused by the "lecture" into which her explanations grew, sent additions of a nondescript nature to her col- lection. Thus it embraced things of all sorts, — the veriest trash, as well as really rare and choice articles — but IMrs. McCleave exhibited all with impar- tial appreciation. Of course she was herself more remarkable than anything in her collection, and was ' Godfrey. 302 Nantucket probably well aware of the fact. She ruled her audi- ences with absolute despotism, usually selecting some one person as the butt of her sallies and the recipient of her attentions. She expected laughter, and desired it at certain parts of her lecture, but woe betide the one who laughed in the wrong place! She was known to have dismissed from the room a prominent summer visitor to the island because he had made that mistake, and no apologies on his part would have reinstated him in her good graces. Many good anecdotes are told of her, but limited space prevents their reproduction here. She had an ingenious way of ridding herself of her audience at the end of her lecture by invit- ing them downstairs to see the cat, when, finding themselves at the front door, they could only take their departure. She died about twelve or fifteen years ago. A few words must be devoted to the three weird sisters, well-known to all Nantucketers of a generation ago as "the Newbegins." These weak-minded but worthy old souls were lifelong members of the Society of Friends. They were so eccentric that the islanders regarded them as curiosities, and frequently enter- tained their visiting friends or strangers from the mainland by taking them to pay a visit to the three quaint old ladies, who received all comers graciously, and on the departure of their guests invariably asked them to "come again." Phebe Newbegin, the eldest sister, died at the age of ninety-four, Mary at ninety-three, and Ann at eighty-one. They were buried in the Wilburite section of the Quaint Nantucketers 303 Friends' burying-ground at Nantucket, but the place of their interment is unmarked by any gravestone. ' Nantucketers not only resent as an aspersion, but categorically deny, that there is any quaintness asso- ciated with them ; but they might as well repudiate the fact that there are certain racial peculiarities which differentiate one race from another, or that individuals can conceal inherited differences between them which are as characteristic as indelible. The old stock from which they have descended was resourceful, honorable, capable, and self-reliant, and its modem representatives have inherited the same elements of character from their ancestors; but they have also had transmitted to them the maritime proclivities of their forefathers, and, generally segregated from the outside world as they have long been, in an insular environment, they have lived like one large family, in which the peculiarities of the original stock have been bred in and in without much external variation. They have developed, there- fore, into a people capable of being distinguishable by certain characteristics which are apparent to every off-islander during five minutes' conversation. Un- conventional or eccentric might describe their idio- syncrasies, but quaintness is more expressive, and delightfully quaint they are. ^ ' Those desirous of obtaining more particulars of these eccentric sisters will find a very interesting narrative concerning them in Miss Mary Catherine Lee's volume entitled An Island Plant, 1896; also a fully detailed paper by the writer in the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror of September 2, 191 1. ' The anecdotes recorded in this chapter have been selected from a most interesting paper on "The Humor of Nantucket," by Mr. Wm. F. Macy, whose courtesy has permitted the writer to reproduce them here. CHAPTER XVI LIFE-SAVING SERVICE AND WRECKS It is difficult to convey a just conception of the general scope and character of this invaluable service, founded in 1871, or even to enumerate the beneficent offices which it performs. While fulfilling the functions usually allotted to several different agencies, it rescues the shipwrecked by both the principal methods which human ingenuity has devised for that purpose; it fur- nishes them the subsequent succor which elsewhere would be afforded by shipwrecked mariners' societies; it guards the lives of persons in peril of drowning by falling into the water from piers and wharves in the har- bors of populous cities; it nightly patrols the dangerous coasts for the early discovery of wrecks, and the hasten- ing of relief; it places over peculiarly dangerous points upon the rivers and lakes a sentry prepared to send instant relief to those who incur the hazard of capsizing in boats ; it conducts to places of safety those imperilled in their homes by the torrents of flood, and conveys food to those imprisoned in their houses by inundation and threatened with famine; unaided, it annually saves, from total or partial destruction, hundreds of stranded vessels with their cargoes, and assists in saving scores of others; it protects wrecked property, after landing, 304 Life-Saving Service and Wrecks 305 from the ravage of the elements and the rapine of plun- derers; it averts numerous disasters by its flashing signals of warning to vessels standing in danger; it extricates vessels unwarily caught in perilous positions; It assists the customs service in collecting the revenues of the government; it pickets the coasts with a guard, which prevents smuggling, and, in time of war, surprise by hostile forces. In addition to these inestimable services, it has also rendered valuable aid to scientific research by contributing to the National Museum rare specimens of marine zoology; has saved from de- struction by fire many hotels, dwellings, mills, and other structures; has detected and prevented numerous burglaries and robberies, and has assisted in many directions in the performance of various and manifold incidental duties and emergencies. ' "The Sea and Lake coasts of the United States exclusive of the coast of Alaska, have an extent of more than 10,000 miles." In addition to the life-saving stations on the Mas- sachusetts coast, it is also guarded by the Massachu- setts Humane Society, founded by charter granted in 1 79 1, by the State Legislature "for the purpose of recognizing and rewarding all humane, daring, and gallant exploits of individual citizens of the State wherever performed." This admirable society, during the one hundred and twenty years of its existence, has been the means of saving many lives wherever it is represented, and many heroic Nantucketers have been rewarded by gold and silver medals from the society, bestowed for deeds of unselfish and conspicuous daring. In 183 1, some fourteen humane houses were built by private enterprise, provisioned and placed at various ' U. S. Life-Saving Service Report for igio. 3o6 Nantucket points around the island so that shipwrecked mariners might find food and shelter near at hand. The boathouses of the Humane Society, well equipped and always ready, are placed at Sconset, Smith's Point, Tuckemuck, Quidnet, Forked Pond, and at the head of Hummock Pond. In consequence of this extra protection, the Govern- ment has located its life-saving stations only at points where wrecks are unusually frequent. There are four of these stations on the Nantucket coast, viz: the old- est, at Surf -Side, founded in 1874; one ^^ Great Neck, in the Madeket district, six miles west of Surf-Side; one at Muskeget Island, near its western end; and one at Coskata, two miles and a half south of Nantucket Light, at Great Point. According to the recent report, every dangerous section of the shore line is patrolled by a system includ- ing two hundred and seventy-eight stations, divided into thirteen districts, of which the Nantucket group constitutes District No. 2. The station structures now being erected are larger and more durable than the earlier ones, and better conform to modem requirements and conveniences. They cost on an average from $10,000 to $15,000 each. Telephone service has been extended to the greater portion of the Atlantic coast. The active season on this coast is from August to May 31st. Continuous outlook is kept at all stations both by day and night, with beach patrol during hours of dark- ness and in foggy or thick weather. The night-patrol is divided into four watches, one from sunset until 8 p.m., one from 8 to 12, one from 12 to 4, and one from 4 to sunrise. Two surfmen are delegated to each watch. They set out in different Life-Saving Service and Wrecks 307 directions, as near the shore as possible, and walk to the ends of their respective beats. One patrolling surfman when he meets another from the next station gives him a metallic check marked with his station and crew number, and receives a similar one in exchange. The checks on the return of the men are delivered up to the keeper, who keeps a record of their due transference. The magnificent work rendered by this inestimable service in the saving of human lives and property may be partially computed from the following analysis : SECOND DISTRICT, COAST OF MASSACHUSETTS Vessels involved Vessels totally lost Persons on board Persons lost Persons succored at stations Days' succor afforded Value of vessels Value of cargoes Total value of property involved Value of property saved Value of property lost Documented $562 fi33 $108 77 II 563 3 51 77 ,200 .430 1630 .655 975 Undocic- inented Total 192 4 518 44 44 $112,815 * ^575 $113,390 $96,980 $16,410 269 15 1,081 3 95 121 $675,015 $134,005 $809,020 $683,635 $125,385 The above figures represent the results for the year 19 10, as appearing in the official report with regard to the Massachusetts coast. These figures speak for themselves. There is no branch of the Public Civil Service more entitled to generous recognition and liberal reward than is the Life-saving Service. Its officers and crews are happily exempt from political chicanery, and the unparalleled and peril-fraught duties which these brave and dauntless 3o8 Nantucket seafarers have to perform involve no chance of their positions in any way approaching governmental sine- cures. These noble, self-sacrificing men are selected for their noteworthy'' physical strength and endurance. In their exercise of perpetual vigilance, heroic devotion, fidelity to duty, and valorous intrepidity, they are unrivalled by any other service in the country, and should at least be as well remunerated as any. Risking their lives for the good of humanity every day, the Government should see to it that an ample pension is provided for the widows and orphans whom they may leave behind, and for themselves when they are inca- pacitated for further duty. Wrecks. Arthur H. Gardner, in his well-known and authoritative work entitled A List of the Wrecks around Nantucket, says: The chapter of wrecks is perhaps one of the saddest as well as one of the most interesting in the history of Nan- tucket. Lying as it does directly in the track of vessels plying between the principal American ports north and south of the island, the waves which dash upon its barren shores, or break in angry foam upon the shoals and rips nearby, have reaped a harvest of shipwreck and death almost unparalleled elsewhere upon the American coast. Up to 1877, it has been computed that over five hun- dred shipwrecks have occurred around the coast of Nantucket Island from the time of its first settlement by the white men. This number has at least been recorded, but how many noble ships, sailing hopefully and well have unexpectedly struck on to the treacherous shoals and have become total wrecks, while those on board have been engulfed within the ruthless deep, Life-Saving Service and Wrecks 309 never to be heard from again until "the sea gives up its dead"! Floating hither and thither, or sunk in the pitiless sand, here a rudder, there a broken spar, here a figure-head, and there a stern-board, are all that remain to tell, in silence, of the terrible story of those who "go down to the sea in ships." Imagination can alone supply the ghastly details of such awe-inspiring submergences. So far as the history of the island extends, the first recorded shipwreck on its shores occurred in 1664, when a vessel sailing from Martha's Vineyard to Boston was wrecked at Nantucket, and all on board either met a watery grave or were massacred by the Indians. "Amongst those murdered was a Christian Indian, named Joel, a senior of Harvard College, and son of the Indian preacher, Hiacomes."' Between this year and 1800, about thirty shipwrecks in all are recorded ; but here space will permit particular reference to only a few of the more important or re- markable associated with a later period. From 1664 to 1800, wrecks were comparatively un- frequent around Nantucket Island, and for several reasons. At the early period of the white settlement, and for many years afterwards, the North American continent was very thinly inhabited, and then only in a few places. The immigrants were mainly engaged in agricultural pursuits, and had little if any interest or experience in seafaring industries beyond the use of row-boats or canoes for short transit or for fishing purposes. Commerce on the high seas was excluded by their environment, and the breaking-up and culti- vation of the land, added to domestic requirements, ' Arthur H. Gardner, opus cit., to which the writer is much indebted for many facts in this chapter. 310 Nantucket almost absolutely monopolized all their care and atten- tion. This will account for the paucity of wrecks during most of the first century of their residence in the New World, and will also serve to explain the meagerness of the records. During the first ten years or so of the nineteenth century, almost as many wrecks had occurred on the Nantucket coast as during the previous hundred years; thus showing how maritime progress had increased with the increase of population and the opening up of the country's resources. Out of the five hundred wrecks recorded by Mr. Gardner up to 1877, many are of thrilling interest, and contain the saddest narratives of heroism and of resignation to the inevitable. One or two may be referred to here. On January 21, 18 12, an English ship. Sir Sidney Smith, a prize to the American privateer General Arm- strong of New York, struck on Bass Rip, off Siasconset, and all on board perished within sight of the people on shore, who were unable to render any assistance. The crew took refuge in the shrouds, and some, from time to time, were seen to fall off into the water, as their strength gave out or as they became numbed with cold, until, finally, the vessel rolled over and sank, burying the remainder with her. Notwithstanding the extreme cold, the mail packet Captain Childs, with a crew of volunteers, started to their relief, but, on account of the weather, was compelled to put back. Nothing was ever recovered from the wreck, although she had on board a very valuable cargo. Nov. 27, 1842 (Sunday). Ship Joseph Starbiick left Nantucket with a favorable breeze, in tow of steamer Life-Saving Service and Wrecks 311 Telegraph for Edgartown, where she was to load and proceed on a whaling voyage. There were on board, in addition to the full complement of hands belonging to her, a number of ladies who were intending to accompany their friends to Edgartown before taking final leave of them. The wind soon came out ahead, and blew so strongly that the steamer could no longer make any headway. The towlines were then loosened, and the ship came to anchor within about a mile of the Tuckcrnuck Shoal lightboat, while the steamer returned to the wharf. In the afternoon the wind increased to a gale, and the ship being light rode so violently that one chain cable after another parted, and she drove furi- ously from her moorings in an easterly direction. To pre- vent her going to sea in her then unprepared condition, the mizzenmast was cut away, the foresail set, and every effort made to return to port, but so fiercely w^as the gale blowing from the northwest that the attempt failed. The ship drifted toward the eastern extremity of the Bar until midnight, when she struck and rolled over, the seas break- ing over her frightfully, and sending volumes of spray far above the masthead. Next morning at daybreak she was discovered from town in this predicament: on her beam ends, her single sail still offering a mark for the hurricane; her hulk, wdth its living freight, lifting and falhng with crushing force. Of course it was immediately resolved by the townsfolk to put forth every possible effort toward saving the lives of those on board, and before 9 o'clock the steamer Massachusetts, manned by a party of volunteers, was on her way to their relief. To many it seemed a hope- less adventure. The wreck lay about four miles from town, and two miles from the nearest strand, while the sea upon the farther edge of the Bar where she lay, and from the vast extent of shoals nearby, ran almost mountains high, now rising into columns of angry foam, and anon leaving the subjacent ground nearly bare of water. Nevertheless, the steamer plunged through the accumulated perils before her, and in half an hour was made fast to the lee-side of the 312 Nantucket ill-fated vessel by a warp necessarily of considerable length. The paddles were kept backing sufficiently to keep the line taut, and the people on board the ship, to the number of thirty-five, were taken off by means of a single whale-boat, which passed to and fro no less than five times, transferred to the steamer, and returned to their friends in town, who had suffered the most intense anxiety. So excessively cold was the weather that the decks and rigging of the ship were coated with ice. The Joseph Starhiick was a beautiful and highly valued ship. She was built at Brant Point in 1838, of live oak, and was copper fastened. She had made but one voyage, and had now been fitted out for a second in the most liberal manner. The vessel was insured for $24,000. The ship eventually went to pieces, nothing of any material value being saved. Two of the most lamentable and terrible wrecks recorded as occurring on the Nantucket coast happened about the same time, during December, 1865, viz: those of the Haynes and tlie Newton. They are thus de- scribed by Mr. Arthur H. Gardner: December 226., schooner Haynes, of and for Boston, from the West Indies, loaded with logwood, ran ashore at the south side of the island, near the head of Hummock Pond. The crew abandoned her, and perished in attempting to reach the shore. Had they remained on board all would have been saved. On the following Sunday, a body iden- tified as that of the steward was found upon the beach. The cause of her getting ashore was unknown, but it was supposed that her captain mistook Sankaty light for Gay Head, and ran accordingly. The position of the vessel warranted this conjecture, as she lay about as far west of Sankaty as she should be from Gay Head on entering Vineyard Sound. Her cargo was discharged and carted to town, but the vessel went to pieces. Life-Saving Service and Wrecks 313 December 25th, ship Newton, Captain F. G. Herting, of and for Hamburg, from New York, with a cargo of kerosene, staves, rosin, fustic, etc., went to pieces early in the morning on the south side of the island, to the eastward of Madde- quecham Pond. One of the crew was found about half-a- mile inland, naked, with his face buried in the sand. He had probably reached the shore by swimming and started for the nearest house, but perished on the way. He was about twenty-five or thirty years of age. On his right arm were the initials "J. K." marked with India ink, and on his left arm "C. U." He was afterwards identified as the second mate of the Newton. The beach for miles to the eastward of the wreck was covered with fragments, appar- ently the result of an explosion, which many thought must have occurred, and everything seemed to favor such an opinion. Large spars were broken off short, as was also an iron truss about the size of a man's arm, and a large iron tank lay high upon the beach, one or two hundred yards from the wreck. The breakers were filled with bar- rels of kerosene, fragments of broken barrels, and other articles of which her cargo consisted, while her iron hull itself seemed to be crushed Hke an egg-shell, into a shapeless mass. Startling coincidence that within a little more than forty-eight hours, two vessels should thus land on our shores, and not a soul survive to tell the mournful story. Many conjectures were rife as to the cause of both disasters, but as there was not a single survivor spared to tell the tale, the whole affair must always remain shrouded in mystery. Along the line of the beach, stretching as far as Quidnet, dead bodies were to be seen floating in the surf, and after- wards thrown upon the sands. Seventeen bodies in all were washed ashore, the most of which were identified as belong- ing to the Newton. These were entombed in the Unitarian burying-ground, and afterwards buried side by side, each grave being numbered according to the order in which the body came ashore. Very solemn and imposing ceremonies 314 Nantucket were conducted in the Methodist church on the following Sunday afternoon, after which the citizens, with others who were inclined, formed in front of t e church and walked to the cemetery, where hundreds, including many ladies, gathered round the tomb to pay their last tributes of respect to the unknown dead. Upon evidence furnished by the ship's agent, it was ascertained that Captain Herting was a freemason, and his remains were taken in charge by "Union Lodge," and buried from their room the following afternoon with masonic rites. The Newton was an iron ship of 699 tons burthen, and nearly new, having made but one voyage. About 2200 barrels of kerosene, together with a quantity of fustic, etc., were saved, and the wreck was subsequently sold at auction, as she lay, to New Bedford purchasers for $510.* A few more recent wrecks may be briefly referred to as affording the highest possible testimony to the self- sacrificing bravery, and endurance of the heroic men who constitute the crews of the Life-saving Service which guards our Atlantic coast. To the ever alert Coskata crew came the report of a flashlight having been seen on the night of January 20, 1892, in the direction of the Rose and Crown Shoal. With no object to guide them, and unable to see their course, these fearless fellows shot their boat into the seething ocean, and hastened with all their might for twelve miles, before the wind, until they came up with an English ship, the //. P. Kirkham, in distress, from which, but one hour before the time she sank, to rise no more, they rescued seven men. But this was not all; for the life-savers had now fourteen men in their boat, the wind was dead ahead, and it was only after ' Some details of awful whaling experiences will be found in Chap- ter VI. Life-Saving Service and Wrecks 315 perhaps the fiercest struggle on record, lasting almost twenty-four hours, that they succeeded in landing themselves and those whom they had rescued on their own sandy shore. Such a feat cannot be erased from history, and it is almost needless to say that their gallant rescue was rewarded by medals of honor from the Humane Society. Another wreck, but one, alas, from which it was possible to save only two lives, was that of the schooner J . B. Wither spoon, which was stranded near Surf -Side on January 10, 1886. It was impossible to launch the life-saving boat in such a sea, but the men were deter- mined to save if possible, and actually shot a life-line over the doomed vessel jive times before any of the crew could avail themselves of it. There were nine souls on board, but of these only two were saved, although the life-savers stood by the vessel nearly all day, doing their utmost. On the night of February i, 1908, a terrible stormy night with a below zero temperature, keeper Norcross of the Coskata Life-saving Station discovered a vessel drifting to destruction toward the bar, nearly in front of his own station. The patrols were called in, and the surf -boat was got ready ; but no boat could be launched in such tumbling furious seas, and the darkness was intense. Carting the larger of the two surf-boats to a point on the beach directly to leeward of the drifting ship, the crew waited for an hour, while the cruel wind stung and cut their faces. As daylight broke, the word was given to launch, and every man sprang to his station, but at every attempt to float the boat they were hurled back upon the beach. Again and again they tried, but with similar results, and with their clothing frozen and covered with ice, the}?^ could only 3i6 Nantucket wait for a slight lull in the gale. They could see the waves strike the brow of the wreck, a mile away, and they watched the spray fly in clouds almost mast-high. A fishing steamer sailed up the inner harbor about noon, on board of which was the well known Captain Jesse Eldredge, a former member of the Coskata crew, and one of the best surfmen on the island. He volun- teered to assist, and Captain Norcross gladly accepted his service. With a vigorous and united effort they at length succeeded in launching the boat; while the icy water flew over the living freight, drenching the crew through and through, and nearly half -filling the boat, and after an hour's hard work they reached the brig. To board the endangered craft was impossible, but they worked the boat under the lee, and took off the Captain and crew of nine men, the Captain's wife, and a year-old babe. They began the return journey, which was safely accomplished. The rescued family and crew were soon made comfortable, and the brig turned out to be the Fredericka Schepp, belonging to Mystic, Conn., sailing from South Amboy to Vinal Haven with coal. On December i6th and 17th, 1910, during a tempestu • ous sea and zero atmosphere, associated with a sixty- mile gale. Captain Norcross and his men were called out of their warm cots. Shortly before 3 a.m., one of the night patrols had seen a light about a mile and a half from the shore, and had hastened to give the alarm. With a cheer the men ran their boat out, and with some difficulty managed to launch her, and by daybreak had rescued the crew and the mate (who had sustained an accident and couldn't help himself). The vessel was the Thomas B. Garland, bound for Salem with a cargo of hard coal. Life-Saving Service and Wrecks 317 Once more, on November 16, 191 1, a call came from Superintendent Bowley of the 2d Life-saving Station, Cape Cod, saying a small vessel was in distress off Nantucket. Keeper Norcross sped to the lighthouse and saw the vessel about four miles from the shore. The wind was blowing a gale, and the surf was terrible. All day long he tried to launch the boat but found it impossible, and just as he was preparing to spend the night on the shore a telegram came from Superintendent Bowley saying that a crew from Monomoy (on the Cape Cod shore) had boarded the vessel. About 2.30 A.M., the following morning. Captain Norcross, in accompanying the night patrol, discovered a vessel in distress on Great Point Rip. Telephoning to the station for his men, they arrived duly after a three hours' run, and with strenuous efforts got the boat through the breakers. The men were drenched with the icy water. They had never before experienced such wind or such a sea, so terrific that the oars were frequently blown out of the oarlocks, and it was impos- sible for the men to row together. They found their boat drifting, and, after struggling for three hours, they made for the shore once more, and effected a landing about a mile from where they had started. They got out their horse and truck, loaded their gear and dragged it back to the starting point once more. They felt there was not a moment to rest, as the masts of the vessel were liable to fall at any moment, and render all efforts to save the men or the ship impossible. They had been working five hours without a let-up, yet, when the boat was ready, the men (shivering in their wet clothes) were ready to start with a will. The tide had changed somewhat and the launching was more easily managed. With blistered and bleeding 31 8 Nantucket hands the men never relaxed an effort until they had reached the goal, and every frozen man in the rigging had dropped into their boat, safe at last! The vessel was the Charles S. Wolston, Macauley, master, with a mate, cook, and three sailors. Such is a part of the record of the Coskata Life- saving Station, which has no habitation nearer than the lighthouse, two miles and a half away ; for the town is eight miles distant. While it is one of the most exposed and desolate stations on the coast, a portion of the ocean side of the island being under the protection of Captain Norcross and his men, the territory he controls is one of the largest on the New England coast. ^ What has just been said of the Coskata life-savers is equally applicable to those of Surf-Side, Great Neck, and Muskeget; when danger is in sight the men are always ready to spring into their surf -boats, and what- ever men can do they will dare and do. Thirty thousand vessels pass through Nantucket Sound annually, and Coatue makes a lee shore for all in a north or northwesterly gale. How many crews on those thousands of vessels feel their courage rise and their hearts throb with gratitude when they realize that, amid the treacherous, complicated shoals of Nantucket — -which constitute perhaps the most peril- ous danger-bed around the Atlantic coast — the steady eyes of loyal life-savers are looking after the welfare and safety of their ships, by day and by night, every hour of the twenty -four, and who are ever ready at a moment's notice to hasten to their relief, fearless of either danger or death, in the discharge of their self- ' Compiled from paper, by Simon J. Ncvins, in Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror, January 20, 1912. Life-Saving Service and Wrecks 319 sacrificing duty, and ready either to succor them or die in the attempt! All honor to the noble Life-saving Service ! "Greater love hath no man than this, — that a man lay down his life for his friend." CHAPTER XVII the island steamers By Harry B. Turner Eleven years after Robert Fulton proved the practi- cability and feasibility of navigation by steam, the island of Nantucket was enjoying steamboat service with the mainland for the first time. Nantucket was then one of the leading ports on the coast, and it was in line with the progressive spirit of the islanders that the little steamer Eagle — a crude craft, to be sure, but at that time considered a big improvement over Ful- ton's Clermont, and in comparison "very fast and sea- worthy" — was built to operate across Nantucket Sound only a few months after the first steamboat had been seen in Boston harbor. Who the promoters of this first steamboat project were is not known — that much of the first venture has been lost to history — but it is safe to state that they were men closely allied with Nantucket. The Eagle was an awkward little boat of eighty tons, and was built at New London, Ct., making her first trip over to Nantucket on the 5th of May, 1818. For several months, she made trips between the island and New Bedford, and on the 30th of July made a "record " 320 The Island Steamers 321 of eight hours and seven minutes for the passage. The Eagle was 92 feet long, 17.8 feet beam, and was equipped with two copper boilers, burning wood for fuel. It is not surprising that this first steamboat venture was not a financial success. Nantucketers were not ready to patronize "steam" in preference to "sail," and as the cost of operation was heavy, the promoters abandoned the project the latter part of September. The boat was sold for service between Boston and Hingham, where she was operated until the year 1821, when she was sold for junk, the copper boilers bringing more than they cost when new. From the time the Eagle left Nantucket on the 21st of September, 18 18, six years elapsed before a second attempt was made to inaugurate successful steamboat service across the Sound. On the 20th of May, 1824, a Nantucket man named Captain R. S. Bunker, brought the steamer Connecticut to the island and endeavored to create enough enthusiasm and support among the islanders to form a company for her operation as a passenger and freight boat between the island and New Bedford. Bunker's project was turned dow^n, however, and four years more elapsed before another attempt was made. In the spring of 1828, the steamer Hamilton was put on the route in command of a Vineyard Haven m.an, the project having been started by New Bedford capi- talists. The Hamilton was even more of a failure than the Eagle, being unable to make any headway against a head wind or tide, and therefore able to travel only when conditions were favorable. She was a craft of only fifty tons, and her principal fuel was tar barrels, of which Nantucket and New Bedford could each furnish a generous amount in those days. The Hamilton's 322 Nantucket service was even shorter than the Eagle's, her last trip being made in August, 1828. It remained for Jacob Barker, the famous merchant — who, by the way, assisted Robert Fulton in his earlier project, importing from London the first steam-engine used in the propulsion of vessels — to inaugurate the first actually successful steamboat line across Nan- tucket Sound. Barker was of Nantucket lineage and deeply interested in the island, and, firm in the belief that a suitable steamer would receive the support of the islanders, he had the Marco Bozzaris built and placed her in service in April, 1829, under command of his nephew. Captain Edward H. Barker. The Marco Bozzaris proved the marked foresight of Jacob Barker, for she was successfully operated be- tween Nantucket and New Bedford for four years, and was withdrawn only when the merchants of Nantucket, brought to the realization that "steam" had come to stay, were ready to form a company among themselves and have a larger boat built for the service. Jacob Barker lent his assistance, both personal and financial, to the islanders' scheme, and, as a result, the steamer Telegraph was built and placed in operation in October, 1832, under command of the same Edward H. Barker who was captain of the Bozzaris. The new steamer was built especially for the Nantucket service, with a bow well-fitted for battling with the ice in the winter, being of 171 tons, 120 feet long and 19 feet 6 inches beam. She had copper boilers, and burned wood for fuel, as did her predecessor. The Telegraph really proved herself an able boat in every way, and remained in service in Nantucket waters twenty-three years. The Nantucket Steamboat Company, which was formed when the Telegraph was built in 1832, ten years The Island Steamers 323 later had a second steamer constructed, naming her the Massachusetts and expending $40,000 on her. She was of 308 tons, 161 feet long and 23 feet beam, and, with the Telegraph, became prominent in wrecking operations around Nantucket Island, as well as in the operation of regular passenger and freight service between the island and the mainland. In those days, "tugs" were unknown, and it was expected that the island steamers were to go to vessels wrecked or in distress, abandoning their regular service at such times, the proceeds from such exploits often netting the owners of the steamers immense sums of money in salvage. The year after the Massachusetts came in service (1843) the passenger travel had increased to such an extent that the company was operating both the Tele- graph and Massachusetts y the former running to Woods Hole and the latter to New Bedford. This scheme proved to be a losing venture, however, and the Tele- graph was thereafter used only as a spare boat. Some of the wrecking operations of the old steamers were fraught with great danger, especially when the Island Home was first in service. This steamer, which made a history for herself in a long and hard career, was built in 1855 to run on the route between Nantucket and Hyannis, and she had some very thrilling experi- ences, both in going to distressed vessels and in battling with heavy storms and the winter ice-fields. She first came to Nantucket on the 5th of September, 1855, having been built according to the views of the Nantucket men who had formed themselves into the Nantucket & Cape Cod Steamboat Company, for the purpose of opening up the Hyannis route. Her first commander was Captain Thomas Brown, but in the real history the Island IIo7ne made for herself. Captain 324 Nantucket Nathan Manter was at the helm, and the name of the boat and her genial skipper will long live in the memory of all Nantucketers. The old steamer, with her bluff but good-natured skipper, fought many a battle with the elements, weathered many a gale, butted many an ice-field, and won more laurels than any craft which ever traversed Nantucket Sound. She ended her days as a coal barge, being sold by the local steamboat line in 1895. In July, 1858 — having outlived their usefulness on the island route — the steamers Telegraph and Massa- chusetts left Nantucket for good, the Massachusetts towing the Telegraph, both boats having been sold to New Jersey parties. What became of the Telegraph is not known, but it is presumed she went to the junk- heap. The Massachusetts, however, was rebuilt, and, under the name of the Johfi D. W. Pentz, saw service during the Civil War, resuming, at its close, her former name, and plying the waters of Chesapeake Bay as a passenger boat until the early eighties. In 1873, steamer River Queen was placed in service on the Nantucket route as a sister ship to the Island Home, the two-boats-a-day schedule being inaugurated the following summer for the first time. The River Queen was built in 1864, and, during the closing year of the Civil War, was used by General Grant as his private dispatch boat on the Potomac River. It was on board her that the celebrated conference was held between President Lincoln of the United States and A. H. Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederacy. The River Queen was continued in service on the Nan- tucket route until 1881, and ended her days as an ex- cursion steamer, on the Potomac River. While Nantucket had its own steamboat company, The Island Steamers 325 operating its own steamers independent of Martha's Vineyard ownership, the Nantucket steamers, for many years, had been stopping at the Vineyard on the way down from New Bedford. Therefore, when the route was shifted from New Bedford to Hyannis it resulted in the formation of a rival line — the "Martha Vineyard Steamboat Company," in 1851, and three years later, the "New Bedford, Vineyard & Nantucket Steamboat Company." The stock of the new com- pany was largely owned in New Bedford, and the promoters determined to make every possible effort to prevent Nantucket's service from being transferred from that city to Hyannis, as seemed probable when the Island Home was being built. The new company constructed the steamer Eagle's Wing, and, while the finishing touches were being made to the boat, placed in service the steamer George Law. The Eagle s Wing was not ready and in commission until October 23, 1854, when she made a trip to Nan- tucket in command of Captain James Barker. Nan- tucket gave its patronage to the Island Home, however, with the result that the Eagle's Wing was running at a loss, and she was kept on the Nantucket route but two years, then being operated between New Bedford and Ed- gartown. She ended her days in 1861 , when she caught fire on the Providence River and was totally destroyed. Between 1840 and 1870 the steamers which were operating on the route between New Bedford and Edgartown occasionally came over to Nantucket, although not in service on this line. Among them were the Naushon, Metacomet, Canoniais, and Helen A iignsta, and, a few days after the great fire of 1846, a steamer called the Bradford Diirjee came to Nantucket from Fall River with provisions for the stricken inhabitants. 326 Nantucket In 1856-57, Nantucket had in service between the island and New York, a propeller steamer, which was called the Jersey Blue, commanded by Captain Nathan Kelley of Nantucket. She was owned by Nantucketers but was not a paying investment, although she was used occasionally in towing vessels up and down the Sound. One other propeller came to Nantucket a few years before — the Osceola — but only as an excursion boat. Not until the Monohansett was built in 1862, to replace the Eagle's Wing, was either of the Vineyard steamers a familiar figure on the Nantucket route. The Alonohansett, however, came to Nantucket many times during her career, both as an extra boat and to force ice blockades, but the greater part of her service was on the Vineyard route. In 1904, she was wrecked and totally lost in Salem Harbor. The Martha's Vineyard, built in 1871, is still in service — one of the oldest steamers in these parts, although now used as a spare boat. She is 171 feet long and 28 feet beam. In 1886, the rival companies — "Nantucket & Cape Cod Steamboat Company" and "New Bedford, Vine- yard & Nantucket Steamboat Company" — consoli- dated, the new company taking the name of the "New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket Steamboat Company," as at present. The new concern immedi- ately commenced the construction of the steamer Nan- tucket, which made her first trip to the island in July, 1886. She is of 629 gross tons, 190 feet long and 33 feet beam, and has been in almost continual service for over twenty-seven years, being rebuilt three years ago. Steamer Gay Head was built in 1891, and is of 701 tons, 203 feet long, and 34 feet beam. She made her The Island Steamers 327 first trip on July 8, 1891, under command of Captain A. P. Bartow. Steamer Uncatena was built in 1902 for the Edgar- town route, but each year has been making "alternating trips" to Nantucket with one of the other steamers. She is the first steel boat built for the island route, is of 652 tons, 187 feet long and 31 feet beam. The latest addition to the fleet is the steel propeller Sankaty, built in 191 1. She is 191 feet long and 36 feet deck beam, and her service has opened the ques- tion of whether or no side-wheel boats or propellers are best fitted for this service. Owing to lack of water inside of Brant Point, it was impossible to make the Sankaty of as deep draft as was desired, but with the harbor improvements contemplated, it is probable that by the time the company is ready to build another steamer, sufficient water can be "carried" into the wharf to permit at least three feet to be added to the draft of new" boats. This would in a large measure tend to remove whatever objectionable features there may be, at present, to the service of a propeller steamer across Nantucket Sound. It is now ninety-five years since the little Eagle ploughed its way across Nantucket Sound and opened up steam navigation between Nantucket and the main- land. The changes that have occurred during that period have been many. Nantucket reached its zenith as a whaling port, suffered a decline and dropped, for a time, almost into obscurity; yet, withal, the steam- boat service kept constantly improving, and with the "rejuvenation " which came when the island commenced to develop as a summer resort in the seventies, new and modern steamers were built and the service steadily improved. To-day, the island, thirty miles out at r«a, 328 Nantucket enjoys daily connections with the mainland from Octo- ber to June and twice daily connections from June to October, over fifty thousand passengers crossing the Sound during the twelve months of each year. I CHAPTER XVIII the newspapers of nantucket By Harry B. Turner With the enterprise characteristic of Nantucket in the early part of the eighteenth centur>% the first of the island newspapers was born in l8i6. It was called The Gazette and was issued for the first time on Monday, May 6th, with Abraham G. Tannant and Hiram Tupper as its publishers. Its pages were 12 x 20 inches in size, five columns wide, and the first sheet printed was purchased, for the sum of fifty cents, by Sylvanus Macy, who was anxious to own the first copy of a newspaper issued on Nantucket. The Gazette was printed in a building which stood on the corner of Main (then State) and Water Streets, and sold "for $2.50 per annum," yet it did not survive a full year, being issued but thirty-six times, its last being on the 1st day of February, 1 81 7, when it died from want of patronage. A few months later Mr. Tannant took on renewed courage, and from the ruins of The Gazette issued a lox 12 sheet which he called The Nantucket Weekly Magazine. This tiny weekly covered four pages of three columns each and was "devoted to literary and commercial 329 330 Nantucket reading. It was published every Saturday evening, its first issue being on June 28, 1817, and its last on January 3, 18 18, when Mr. Tannant gave up his news- paper efforts in despair, printing the following an- nouncement in his last issue : It is with extreme regret that we announce to our readers that with this paper the publication of The Nantucket Weekly Magazine and our labors as Editor, PubHsher, et cetera, at Nantucket, cease. Imperious custom demands from us some few remarks in regard to the decline of the paper. The local situation of Nantucket, the still more local views of its inhabitants, and the evident want of popular excite- ment, commingled, are the ostensible causes of its failure; and our repeated trial will warrant us in the remark that until a paper shall be better appreciated and more public spirit manifested, there can be no hope of a similar enter- prise hereafter. The first issues of The Weekly Magazine were quite readable, however, for among other things they con- tained some interesting private correspondence of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, published by his grandson, William Temple Franklin. In perusing the copies of this little paper, one can see at a glance that its editor and pub- lisher was using his best efforts to make it interesting to his readers, and was bravely striving to "make good"; but in this last he failed. Mr. Tannant's rather pessimistic farewell when he retired from the newspaper field doubtless prevented any more attempts to launch a successful newspaper on Nantucket for the three succeeding years, but, in 1 82 1, Joseph C. Melcher laid the foundation of what became a permanent institution — a newspaper which he called The Ijiquirer and which has survived the The Newspapers of Nantucket 331 trials and vicissitudes of over ninety years, to-day being known as The Inquirer and Mirror. Joseph Melcher was only the publisher of The Inquirer, however, for he had associated with him, as editor, Samuel Haynes Jenks, than whom no more talented and forceful writer ever filled the editorial chair on Nantucket Island. The first issue of The Inquirer was dated June 23, 1 82 1 , and it contained a two-column announcement signed by Mr. Melcher, in which he outlined his intentions and the policies he would pursue in the publication of the little newspaper. The size of the page was 12 x 20 inches, four columns to the page, and the files of the paper are in excellent condition to this day, considering the lapse of years. In 1823, Mr. Jenks assumed full control of The Inquirer and for over twenty years he ably filled the position of editor and publisher, by his efforts doing much for the benefit and development of Nantucket. Mr. Jenks was one of Nantucket's brilliant men — a gentleman and a scholar in every sense. In writing of the successful efforts of Mr. Jenks in the publication of The Inquirer, the late William Hussey Macy said : The Inquirer grew rapidly and acquired more than a local reputation. Mr. Jenks was a live editor, a ready and vigorous writer, and an earnest and fearless advocate of what he believed to be the right side of each current issue. Although not a native of Nantucket, he was for so many years closely identified with the town in all that concerned its prosperity that he is deserving a place among its distin- guished men and women. It was doubtless through his persistent efforts with pen and voice that public schools were established on Nantucket. Five years after its birth. The Inquirer had a rival, The Nantucket Journal having been started by William 332 Nantucket H. Bigelow, a Boston man who moved to the island. The Journal was first issued on the 14th of September, 1826, but the paper survived only thirty-eight issues, passing out of existence on June i, 1827. The Jounial was the only contemporary The Inquirer had until the year 1840, and during that period the latter was issued not only as a weekly, but as a semi- weekly and, for a few months, as a tri-weekly. Between the years 1830 and 1840, Mr. Jenks was assisted in the publication of the paper by G. F. Bemis, T. J. Worth, Charles C. Hill, John Morissey, and William A. Jenks, respectively, and, for a brief period in the early 30' s, he relinquished the editorial chair to Charles Bunker. The Inquirer was one of the old Whig papers and strongly opposed the re-election of General Jackson (who was, however, re-elected, although Nantucket gave him but fourteen votes, and was thereby called "the banner Whig town"). During the thirties The Inquirer wandered from place to place for its home. It was first printed in a back room of the second story of a building owned by Wil- liam Coffin, which stood on the comer of Main and Candle Streets. The lower part of this building was then the post-office, with George W. Ewer as post- master. In 1830, The Inquirer moved to a three-story build- ing owned by Charles G. Stubbs, where the shop of C. W. Ellis now stands on Water Street. It then moved to the building of PhiHp H. Folger, and, in 1833, went to a building standing on the west comer of Main and Federal Streets, where it remained but a few months. Then it again moved, this time taking up its residence in a building erected by F. F. Hussey, on Union Street. In 1836, Mr. Jenks having built a residence on Union Street, the office was transferred The Newspapers of Nantucket 333 to a small building on Coffin Street, near the head of Commercial wharf. The transfer was made just in time to escape disaster in the Washington House fire, which also destroyed the building belonging to Mr. Hussey, vacated by The Inquirer a. day or two before. The Inqiiirer continued to be published on Coffin Street up to the year 1841, when William A. Jenks assumed control on the ist of April, and moved the office to the new building of Frederick Hussey on Main Street. The paper was sold to Hiram B. Dennis in December of the same year, and Mr. Dennis continued in charge until August 12, 1843, when John Morissey assumed the editorship. In the year 1840, Nantucket's fifth newspaper, and The Inquirer's second rival, appeared in the shape of The Islander, a purely Democratic medium which was financed by the island Democrats, who at that period numbered quite strong. The editor of The Islander was Charles C. Hazewell, a young man from the Boston Post, who afterwards won considerable fame for his writings. Hazewell was a vigorous writer, and he did yeoman's work for the Democratic party during the fierce political campaign which resulted in the election of General Harrison to the Presidency. During the anti-slavery troubles of the next year or two, when attempts were made to prevent the abolitionists from holding meetings in Nantucket, The Islander cham- pioned the cause of the lecturers and dealt vigorous blows against those who attempted to break up the meetings. The paper was printed in a building which stood on the comer of Cambridge Street and Coal Lane, until March, 1843, when it was discontinued. The equipment of The Islander was purchased by two young aspirants for journalistic honors — Woodbury 334 Nantucket Bradford and Alexander B, Robinson — who commenced the pubhcation of The Weekly Telegraph in the same building, in June, 1844. Soon after the first publica- tion of the weekly, they commenced issuing a daily, which was the first daily paper ever printed on Nan- tucket. The Telegraph's enterprise caused The Inquirer to follow suit and for a time both papers were issued daily, with the result that neither was a paying propo- sition. Both papers were purchased by Edward W. Cobb in 1845, who continued publishing The Inquirer for ten years. After an absence from the loc: I newspaper field of only a few months, John Morissey returned to Nan- tucket in 1845, and commenced the publication of The Weekly Mirror in opposition to The Inquirer, which he formerly edited. The Mirror met with excellent success at the start, and for several months a bitter rivalry was waged between it and The Inquirer, but, on December 27, 1845, a third paper made its debut in Nantucket, "making it hard scratching for a living for all three," as Edward W. Cobb said when reciting his newspaper experiences a half century afterward. The third paper, called The Weekly Warder, was published by William C. Starbuck and edited by Samuel Haynes Jenks, the former editor of The Inquirer. Thus the old Inquirer was up against stiff competition with two live contemporaries and each edited by one of its former editors, and when the "great fire " occurred in July, 1846, there were three newspaper offices doing active business in Nantucket. This memorable conflagration destroyed the plants of both The Inquirer and The Mirror, but each re- covered from the disaster, issuing single 7x9 sheets for several weeks from temporary ofhces. The Warder, The Newspapers of Nantucket 335 the only one of the three papers which withstood the fire unharmed, had but a short hfe, for it was in exist- ence less than two years. It is recorded that while the fire was still in progress the wife of Samuel Haynes Jenks (who was a worthy helpmeet to him in his news- paper work), her husband being away from the island, wrote an account of the conflagration, hurried to The Warder's office, set her story in type, and ran off an edition giving the brief details of the disaster. Mr. Jenks, in later years, offered large sums of money for a copy of this little sheet, but he was unable to secure one. After the fire of 1846, Edward W. Cobb issued The Inquirer from a little school-house on Flora Street, in the south part of the town, later moving to the rear part of Thomas B. Paddock's store, and finally to Valentine Hussey's new brick block on Main Street. Seven weeks after his plant had been destroyed by the fire, Mr. Cobb issued The Inquirer, restored to its former size and appearance. The flames had wiped out all he possessed in the world, but with the assistance of friends he borrowed money enough to purchase a new equipment, and on August 31, 1846, issued The Inquirer in its old familiar form. That he fully realized the difficult task set before him, is apparent from the fol- lowing paragraph which appeared in that issue: We recommence our publishing deeply involved in debt. The proprietor of this paper lost his all by the fire, and he has been forced to replenish his office entirely on credit. His real struggle is just commencing, for, with but little to depend upon beyond the receipts of TJie Inquirer, he has got, within a few months, to raise funds to make some heavy payments. 33^ Nantucket However, for ten years Edward W. Cobb maintained his struggle, but in July, 1855, the control of the paper passed into the hands of John Morissey and Alexander P. Moore, who published The Inquirer over the firm name of Morissey & Moore. At the time of the '46 fire, Mr. Morissey was publishing The Mirror, and, as soon as he could get a temporary plant together, he had renewed publication over the grocery store of Frederick A. Chase on Union Street, issuing a little 7x9 sheet until he could make a complete recover^'. In 1849, when Morissey decided to go to California, he sold The Mirror to Samuel S. Hussey and Henry D. Robin- son, who published it over the firm name of Hussey & Robinson. Mr. Morissey remained in California six years, and it was upon his return home that he again entered the newspaper field by purchasing his former rival. The Inquirer, from Edward W. Cobb, and, associated with Moore, he continued its publication until 1858, when he retired. After the retirement of Morissey, The Inquirer was published by Moore for nearly three years, he serving as both editor and publisher. In 1861, however, the paper passed into the control of William H. Beekman as publisher, with Edward M. Gardner as editor. In the spring of 1863, Alfred Ivlacy assumed the editorial chair of The Inquirer and continued there until April i , 1865, when Hussey & Robinson, of The Mirror, pur- chased the plant, good will, etc., of The Inquirer, from William R. Easton, and merged it with their own publi- cation under the name of The Inquirer and Mirror. For nine years after the union of the two papers, The Inquirer and Mirror was the only newspaper pub- lished on Nantucket. In 1874, however, Isaac H. Folger started The Island Review, in the block on the The Newspapers of Nantucket 337 west corner of Main and Federal Streets, running it weekly for a time, then semi-weekly, at times tri- weekly, and even daily for a brief period. Later, he moved the plant to Center Street, and S. Heath Rich, now editor of the Brockton Enterprise, became asso- ciated with Mr. Folger on The Review, and they con- tinued publishing the paper until the autumn of 1878, when they purchased The Advance, in Brockton, and removed a portion of their equipment to that place. With the field thus left open for another newspaper, Arthur H. Gardner, a graduate of The Inquirer and Mirror office, immediately entered the opening, and issued the first number of The Nantucket Journal (the second of that name) from the ante-rooms of Pantheon Hall (over what is now Congdon's drug store) on the 26th of September, 1878. Mr. Gardner later removed the plant to the brick block on Main Street, over Jer- negan's periodical store, continuing its publication as a weekly until November 22), 1899, when it was dis- continued. Samuel S. Hussey and Henry D. Robinson continued publishing The Inquirer and Mirror until 1877, when the former retired from the business in favor of his son, Roland B. Hussey, who continued the partnership with Mr. Robinson, under the old firm name of Hussey & Rob- inson, until September, 1887, when Mr. Robinson retired. In June, 1878, the newspaper plant was moved to the rooms on the upper floor of the brick block on the east comer of Main and Orange Streets, where it con- tinued publication until May, 1890, when it was again moved to a building erected for its use on Milk Street, remaining there ten years. In October, 1900, the paper moved to its present quarters in Folger Block, comer of Main and Orange Streets. 338 Nantucket For twenty years after the retirement of Henry D. Robinson from the firm, The Inquirer and Mirror was pubHshed and edited by Roland B. Hussey, whose efforts brought the paper up to a high standard as a country weekly. In July, 1907, Mr. Hussey retired from the business, and was succeeded by Arthur H. Cook and Harry B. Turner, under the firm name of Cook & Turner, the present publishers. The plant of The Inquirer and Mirror has gradually, but steadily, become modernized. Prior to 1887, its press was laboriously turned by means of a hand-crank, but in that year the first mechanical power was in- stalled — a one-horse kerosene engine — and since that time numerous further improvements in power have been made. In 1890, a modem cylinder press was installed, and shortly afterwards an automatic folding-machine was added; and in 1902 the first type-setting machine on the island was installed, the first issue of The Inquirer and Mirror under machine composition being on the 29th of March. Other modem appliances have since been added to the mechanical equipment, the while an earnest and painstaking effort has been made to maintain the standard of newspaper inaugurated by Samuel Haynes Jenks ninety-odd years ago. Having had many contemporaries since The Inquirer was first published in 1821, The Inquirer and Mirror is now alone in the newspaper field on Nantucket and is considered one of the island's "institutions," making its weekly visits to every quarter of the globe. The last daily paper published on Nantucket was The Sconset Visitor, issued from the Journal office during the summer of 1889. The previous season The Sconset Pump had been issued as a daily from The The Newspapers of Nantucket 339 Inquirer and Mirror office, but neither was a paying investment, and each was a diminutive affair. In 1873, S. Heath Rich issued an amateur journal from a small hand press, it being a four-page sheet, 8J/2 X 12 inches, called The Magnet, two columns to a page, six inches long. Later in the seventies Fred V. Fuller also issued a little paper which he called The Sherburne News, which flourished for a brief period. For amateur journals these were both very creditable productions. CHAPTER XIX IN THE DREDGE-NET' The Town-House and Town-Meeting. The original civic assembly-hall on Nantucket was a room in the house of Nathaniel and Mary Starbuck, which was known as the "Parliament House," and was instituted about 1667. In 1707, a vote was passed that "the Town-house should be repaired." In 1716, an order was made that certain notices should be ' ' posted on the door of town- house." In this year, also, the town voted to "build a town-house 34 feet long, and 24 feet wide," and the site of this has been localized as having been on the south side of West Center Street, nearly north of No- Bottom Pond. It thus appears that the town-house was one of the first public buildings erected on the island. In 1783, it was determined to move the town-house again, and it was placed at the comer of Milk and Main Streets, where it remained for sixty or seventy years. This building was a plain and unpretentious one, with a square roof, and was neither structurally ' In this chapter are included items of historical interest which, while difficult to retain in a consecutive narrative, are nevertheless of such importance as to justify' preservation. 340 In the Dredge-Net 341 nor architectural!}^ imposing. Its seats were upright and unpainted, arranged in tiers, one above another, and its walls were undecorated by even a picture. Many a time, however, these desolate-looking walls re-echoed with fervid oratory in the days before the Civil War, when the question of abolition and many another burning theme were discussed before "the House." Eventually it was sold, and the town-meetings were subsequently held either in the upper story of the West schoolhouse, the lower story of Academy Hill school- house, or in Atlantic Hall on Main Street. Early in the seventies, when no purchaser could be found for the South schoolhouse, on Orange Street, the town- hall was reconstituted in its upper story, and here it remains. But, wherever the town-house may have been placed, it is regarded by all good Nantucketers as the cradle of their liberties. Almost from the time of the settle- ment, attendance at town-meeting was esteemed as one of their greatest privileges by the forefathers, and, amid the alternating prosperity and adversity of the island, this privilege has passed down from father to son, from generation to generation, amid peace and war, amid the distortions of politics and the transmutations of religious faith ; and it still stands pre-eminent as the embodiment of municipal rights ever sustained, ever appreciated by loyal and patriotic citizens of the island. "The local legislature," as the town-house has been aptly called, has always been carried on, in the main, within parliamentary lines, notwithstanding many scenes of perfervid eloquence and passionate zeal which have been enacted within its walls. Under the presidency of the moderator and the cor- 342 Nantucket porate wisdom of the Selectmen, the democratic As- sembly preserves the courtesy and decorum of debate in allowing every citizen to express his views, and in the genial acceptance of the decisions of the majority. It is, indeed, a time-hallowed institution, having been in existence for nearly two hundred and fifty years; and while it has been the arbiter morum of the town from time immemorial, it is still the controlling influence in working out and regulating its destiny, for everything concerning the municipality is valid only when the sign of "the local legislature's" approval has been affixed. Cemeteries. There is considerable uncertainty as to the location of the Indian burying-places on the island, but, as stated elsewhere, the writer believes they were situated for the most part near the shore-line, and in course of time have been washed away. It is very probable that there was one at Shawkemo, and another near a point intersected by the railroad, north of the upper end of Miacomet Pond. The original, or ancient (white) cemetery, was set apart at an early period, on the hill near Maxcy's Pond. John Gardner was buried there in 1706, and his was the last gravestone left standing in 1881 ; in that year a new granite headstone was erected in its place. In 1883, the remnant of the old stone was removed to the "Oldest House," where it may still be seen. The last burial in the old burying-place was that of Jonathan Coffin and his wife, who both died in 1773. On the burial-hill is now erected a memorial to the early settlers, many of whom were interred in its immediate vicinity. The first burial-place of the Friends was a little In the Dredge-Net 343 southeast of the ancient cemetery, and was used from 1705 or 1706 until 1731. Here, in 1717, was buried the famous Mary Starbuck ; also her husband Nathaniel, in 1 719; and Stephen Hussey was interred in this cemetery in 17 18. In Nantucket town, there are six cemeteries still in use, viz.: the Prospect Hill or Unitarian Cemetery, on Prospect Street, first used in 181 1. The Old North Cemetery, at the northwest comer of New and Grove Lanes, where many quaint and inter- esting inscriptions may be found. This was originally called the "Gardner Burying-ground," as the Gardners instituted it for themselves originally, and it was afterwards taken over by the North Church. It was probably laid out during the first decade of the eighteenth century. The North Cemetery is contiguous to the Old North. The Friends' burial-place is at the head of Main Street. Here there are no floral mounds or "storied urns" to tell of those interred beneath the tangled moorland vines, grass, and M^eeds; not even a wild flower decks this simple field of rest and peace; and yet it is said that ten thousand bodies have mouldered into dust within this unadorned but sacred enclosure. In one comer of the cemetery are, however, a few small markers to distinguish the graves of those who belonged to the Hicksite section of the Society, to whom the world appealed in a greater degree than it did to the more orthodox Wilburites; but what matter such distinctions here, " Where Life is perfected by Death "! The South Cemetery is in the south part of the town, about a quarter of a mile southwest of the Asylum. 344 Nantucket It is also known as the Newtown Cemetery and com- prises about two acres. The Roman CathoHc burial-ground on Prospect Hill is comparatively modern. The cemetery for people of color is in the southern district of the town, and has many graves. There is also a burial-ground at Polpis which has been in existence for many years. In former days, also, a number of people were buried "at the Quaise Farm when the Asylum was there."' At the rooms of the Nantucket Historical Association may be seen a card catalogue containing all the de- cipherable inscriptions upon the old headstones. Mills and Manufactures. In addition to what has already been referred to in Chapter V., with regard to the "Old Windmill" still remaining, the following ad- ditional particulars may be interesting. It was built for a Nantucket company in 1746. After some years, it became the property of Eliakim Swain and the Swain heirs, and in 1828 was purchased as fuel for twenty dollars by Jared Gardner. In 1834, and again in 1840, it was advertised for sale by Jared Gardner, and was bought by George Enos, who held it until 1864, when it was again sold to Captain John Murray, who finally sold it to John Francis Sylvia, in 1866. After Sylvia's death it was sold by auction, and, after brisk competi- tion, Miss C. L. W. French, of Boston, became its possessor for the sum of $850. Miss French, with her usual generosity, and in the belief that such an interesting landmark should become the inalienable possession of the island, presented it to the Nantucket Historical Association, who are careful in keeping it ' W. C. Folcrer. In the Dredge-Net 345 in perfect repair, and who have installed a keeper for the purpose of showing and explaining its structure and history to the thousands of visitors who evince a lively interest in this attractive relic of the past. ^ To the south of the mill is Dead Horse Valley, where, it is said, formerly grew the oak-trees of which the mill was built. There was not a nail or bolt used in its construction, and its oaken pegs are still in excellent condition. From its upper window a splendid view can be obtained. With the exception of a few gaps the old mJll has been grinding com for one hundred and sixty- five years consecutively. When fully in opera- tion, it had a capacity of ten bushels an hour, but one man being required to perform the oper- ations. The miller, according to old custom, re- ceived about ten per cent, of the grain ground, as compensation. Other Old Mills and Manufactures. Exclusive of the mills already mentioned, one was erected in 1834, for the combined purpose of grinding com and sawing logs, also staves for oil-casks. This was operated by Simeon Starbuck and Philip H. Folger. Previous to 1800, there was a horse-power grist-mill on Pine Street, which, however, was soon abandoned, and the proprie- tor (Joseph Chase) built the wind grist-mill which stood near New Lane. It was taken down about 1872. "A wind-mill was erected on his house on North Liberty Street, by Thomas B. Field, in 1875. The ' Mrs. Eva C. G. Folger, opus cit. 34^ Nantucket vanes were horizontal, and are said to have worked easily in certain directions of the wind."' In 1 66 1, the Gardner brothers built a tide-mill east of Mill Brook, and, in 1673, they built a fulling-mill at Polpis. In 1 741, Tristram Starbuck and Zaccheus Macy set up a fulling-mill. In 1763, a mill was built at Polpis Neck, and in 1786 it was removed to Polpis. A fulling-mill was erected at Mill Brook, near the old Madeket road, at the west end of the island in 1863. Another fulling-mill was operated in Shawkemo in 1770, and was working as late as 1828 or 1830. There was a fulling-mill at Quaise which was stand- ing in 1820. In 1772, a fulling and coloring mill was in operation between the schoolhouse at Polpis and the Milton House and ran until 1796-97.^ When to the manufacture of sperm oil and candles was added the manufacture of whale and sea-elephant oils, the total number of factories in Nantucket was thirty-six, representing an annual product of from one to one and a half millions of dollars. The fitting out of about ninety ships and smaller vessels involved the manufacture of casks, packages for candles, boats, iron work, duck, cordage, etc., aggregating about $160,000, including fifty thousand casks or barrels. Twenty-two were coopers' shops in operation, and eleven or twelve blacksmiths' forges for ironwork. There were also ' Mrs. Eva C. G. Folger, The Glacier's Gift, p. 93. * For many of the above items the writer is indebted to Mrs. Folger. In the Dredge-Net 347 utilized thirty-five thousand candle-boxes, from eighty to one hundred whale-boats, fifteen hundred bolts of duck, wrought into sails, etc. These amounts represent the outlay required annually for the business of this isolated community. There were likewise ten rope-walks in operation at one time, for the making of cordage for the whaling-ships and others. The first cut-nails ever used on the island were made by Eliphalet Paddack about 1797 or '98, and he continued to make them in Pine Street for several years after 1800. A duck factory was established by Joseph Chase and others in 1792 or '93, and was carried on for six or seven years. For many years a twine factory was operated. During the war of 18 12, a woollen factory was estab- lished by Obed. Mitchell on the New North Wharf; this continued until 18 18. It employed a force of two hundred persons. Salt-works of an extensive character were erected on Brant Point and on Quaise Point. A large brush and bellows factory was established during the War of 18 12, on Academy Hill, and was carried on for several years afterwards; and there was a linen-coat factory on Quince Street, run by John W. Hallett in the seventies or eighties. From an early period, and for many years, three leather tanneries were in full operation on land east of Union Street. The first steam mill erected on the island was estab- lished on the North Beach by Daniel Mitchell in 1832 or '33, for the manufacture of candle-boxes, etc.; an- other on a more extensive scale was built later on the 348 Nantucket South Beach, by Levi Starbuck, for the manufac- ture of casks, candle-boxes, grain-grinding, and the planing of boards, and was continued until the general decline. From 1834, ^ silk factory also, on Gay Street, was operated by Aaron Mitchell, and the writer has seen a beautiful specimen of its manufacture, now in the possession of Alexander Starbuck. A brass foundry was run on South Beach in 1821, and a straw manufac- tory, boot manufactories, block and pump manu- factories elsewhere on the island. In addition to these, there was a coast-wise and coast-wide trade extending from Portland, Me., to New Orleans, in Louisiana, which kept constantly running about twenty-six sloops and schooners, regular packets, besides lumber, coal, and wood vessels; but silence reigns over all now!^ Wharves. There are five wharves in Nantucket, the first, built in or before 1723, and known as the Straight Wharf, being at least one hundred and eighty- nine years old. What scenes must this old pile have mutely witnessed during Nantucket's alternating waves of prosperity and adversity! How many ships have sailed away from its anchorage, buoyed up with hope and happiness and returned in safety to find their loved ones with loving hearts waiting to welcome them home again! How many have sailed away cheerily, — alas, never to return again ! What rejoicings in prosperity must this old pile have seen — what suffering and poverty when times were bad, and the curse of war had desolated the ' The Story of the Island-Steamers, pp. 122-125. i In the Dredge-Net 349 hearths and homes of the islanders ! Old age may have rotted its timbers but it is still a monument to its builders. It has done its work well: would that a mighty fleet of whaling ships required its ser^dces even now! The following is a list of the other wharves: Commercial Wharf, about or after 1800. Old South, or Swain's Wharf 1 Old North, or Perry's Wharf [about 1770. The New North, or Steamboat Wharf J There was a fire on the South Wharf in 1769, when several buildings were destroyed, and the loss was estimated at $11,000. Indian Pestilence. Of the pestilence which assailed the Indians in 1764 the following details may be inter- esting : 34 were sick and recovered. 36 living among the Indians were not affected. 8 living b}'' themselves in the west end escaped. 40 living among the whites entirely escaped. 18 were at sea during the epidemic and escaped. 222 died of the epidemic. 358 total number of Indians on the island before the outbreak of the epidemic. ' Dates of Whale-fishing before the Revolution : Davis Strait, 1746. The Island of Disco, Baffin's Bay, 1751. Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1761. Coast of Guinea, 1763. Western Islands, 1765. Eastward of Newfoundland Banks, 1765. Coasts of Brazil, 1774. ■ Obed. Macy. 350 Nantucket The Monument. The monument erected in Main Street is in memory of the brave islanders who perished during the Civil War, all of whom freely gave their lives in patriotic zeal for the land they loved. The names of seventy-four of the heroic dead are chiseled in granite on the tablets of the memorial, but, deeply graved within the hearts of their fellow islanders, from generation to generation, their memories will outlive the records on bronze or marble; while the flag for which they died, and the laurel wreaths they won shall be renewed for countless years, as long as patriotism is cherished on "the little purple island." The inscription, which was written by the late Wil- liam Hussey Macy, and which was pronounced by President Eliot of Harvard College, on a visit to the island some years ago, to be the best he had seen on any soldier's monument in this country, is as follows: "Eternal Honor to the Sons of Nantucket, who by Land and Sea, gave their Lives to Present a United Country." Peace to their ashes! All honor to the brave ! Rotch Market was built, for business purposes, in 1772, by William Rotch, a successful and enterprising Nantucketer. He was a high-spirited townsman, and served the best interests of the community in many ways. He belonged to the Society of Friends, and died in 1828. Rotch Market is situated at the bottom of Main Street. In the upper part of the building is the custom- house ; but the large lower room has become famous as the "Pacific Club," wherein, in days gone by, the shipowners and their agents — known as the "House of Lords" — mingled in good fellowship with the cap- In the Dredge-Net 351 tains and other ship's officers, distinguished as "the House of Commons." The shipowners have, alas, long departed, and there are but few of the old captains left ; but there is still happily a remnant to tell of the dangers of the deep, and to spin yams to any extent for the entertainment of any strangers who may chance to meet them there, and who are always welcome, if properly introduced. Newtown Gate. This gate extended across the southern end of Orange Street in the good old days when man}^ hundreds of sheep browsed uncontrolled upon the flowery moorlands. A toll of one cent was exacted for passing through. Ancient Names of Nantucket : Natocke. De Laet's map, 1630. Nautican. Sir Ferdinand Gorges (born 1566, died 1647). Vide Drake's Nooks and Corners, p. 325. Nantican. Hough's Book, 1641. Nauticon. Macy's History, p. 17. Nantocket. 1703. Nantoe. Map 1746. Neutocket. " Natacei. " " Nantuket. " " Nantucket. Huske. Nantukket. De la Tour. Nantukes 1 Mantukes [in patents and other documents. NantucquetJ Natocket. This is probably the spelling representing the aboriginal name. It thus signifies "at the far away land," or "the land far off" (at sea). 11. B. Worth. 352 Nantucket Principals of High SchooL 1838-1912. Cyrus Pierce 1838 (February to June) Augustus Morse 1838 Alden B. Whipple 1855 B. F. Morrison 1858 Henry Dame 1862 Galen Allen 1865 LoRiN L. Dame 1867 George R. Chase 1869 Charles A. Baker 1871 C. M. Barrows 1871 A. B. Whipple (2d term) 1876 W. H. Spinney 1879 G. I. Hopkins 1880 A. H. K. Blood 1880-81 W. H. Russell 1881-82 A. J. Clough 1882-85 Lucius W. Craig 1885-88 William J. Long 1888-91 DwiGHT Miner 1891-92 Fred. P. Batchelder 1892-93 Stanley E. Johnson I 893-1 900 Herbert H. Rice I 900- I 90 I Frank E. Briggs 1901-1906 Benjamin M. Macy I 906- I 907 M. M. Harris I 907- I 909 J. Arthur Burton 1909; still in office, 191 2 An Early Abolitionist. It is worthy of mention that, as far back as 1733, Elihu Coleman, whose house is still standing on the old Madeket road, and who was one of the preaching brethren of the Society of Friends, published an eloquent plea for the abolition of slaver}^, entitled : A Testimony against the Anti-Christian Practice of Making Slaves of Men. In connection with this and in justice to the Society In the Dredge-Net 353 of Friends it is only fair to emphasize the following fact: At the Nantucket monthly meeting the following resolution was carried: "It is not agreeable to truth for Friends to purchase slaves and hold them term of liffe." Population of the Island : I7I9 721 whites 1726 917 1764 3220 1774 4545 1784 4269 (war). 1790 4620 1800 5617 I8I0 6807 1820 7226 IS30 7202 1840 9712 1850 8779 i860 6094 1865 4830 1870 4123 1875 3201 1880 • 3727 1890 . 3268 1900 . 3006 1905 . 2930 I9I0 . 2962 " The Camels. " The following description of the detachable dry-docks — known as "Camels," — ^ which were used for floating ships over the bar, the invention of Peter F. Ewer (father of the late Rev. Dr. Ewer), is from the pen of William C. IVIacy : They resembled two immense blocks of wood, each half as large as a ship, with no top rigging, each block with a ron- 354 Nantucket cave side, the shape of a ship. They were 135 feet long, 19 feet deep, and 29 feet bottom; 20 feet wide on deck, drawing 2 feet 9 inches, and connected at the bottom by 15 chains capable of bearing 800 tons. Each camel was divided into two parts, the lower hold and between decks. The lower hold contained 12 apart- ments, six on each side, the between decks 10 apartments each. These huge arrangements were easily filled with water and sunk to any required depth. The ship then sailed between the two, and was clasped in the embrace of the camels whose concave sides just fitted the shape of the ship. Of course these fifteen chains were under her bottom and when she was securely in the embrace of the camels, they being drawn together and secured tightly, the pumping out of the 12,000 barrels of water each held, commenced. The race-way running through each camel from stern to stern, and through which they were filled with water, was closed, and by the use of a double-acting force-pump of six horse power, in a comparatively short time the water was pumped or forced out, and as the water left, the ship and camels rose together, the whole drawing so little water that, as was the case with the Constitution (the first ship carried over the Bar by their aid) a shijD could be taken over the Bar fully loaded. The camels were introduced in 1842, but were little used, were soon abandoned entirely, and w^ere finally sold for a comparatively small sum after being in use for five or six years. An excellent model of the camels may be seen at the Historical Society's rooms. Jetties. In 1880 an appropriation of $50,000 was obtained from the Government for the purpose of sea- dredging, and the building of jetties at Nantucket. The western jetty, under the cliff, on the north shore was commenced in 1881 ; it bears a red light at the end. In the Dredge-Net 355 The eastern jetty, begun a few years later, extending into the Sound from Coatue, carries a white Hght. The build- ing of these jetties occupied a number of years, and in time they must be extended. Sea-dredging has been carried on from time to time, but much more is necessary ; and everything depends upon an adequate appropriation. Ponds. The following Hst of Nantucket ponds ap- pears in a book of surveys, by the late Benjamin Bunker, who died on April 14, 1842, aged ninety-one years. Acres in area Rods Hummock or Waquittaquah 320 Sacacha 310 c6 Long Pond 216 151 Miacomet 4= 128 93 24 24 Gibbs's ^i Cupaum 23 Fulling-mill Pond 10 Jonathan Small's Pond 4 46 Maxcy's Pond 10 88 23 95 Madequecham Pond 7 Mioxes Pond 15 Nobodeer Pond 7 104 51 52 Oifey's Pond 5 Cain's Pond 6 Poot No. I Pond I 148 49 Poot No. 2 Pond I Bellows Pond I 66 Reedy Pond (near Mioxes) 4 27 Reed Pond (Wannacomet) 5 8 Sheep Pond 4 Shallow Pond o Wannacomet Pond 7 51 Weeweder 5 97 Wigwam or Toupche 3 34 Total acreage 1049 33 123 52 356 Nantucket The following additional ponds are figured on Dr. Ewer's map, as existing in 1869, but some of them have dried up: North Pond Rotten Pumpkin Pond Saul's Pond Forked Ponds Wigwam Ponds (Saul's Hills) Almanack Pond Cato's Pond Tom Never's Pond Mika's Pond Flagroot Pond Pest- House Pond These altogether aggregate thirty-seven ponds on the island irrespective of extensive swamps, some of which formerly contained from one hundred to three hundred acres. Some of these were subsequently cleared and made into valuable meadow-land, especially in the vicinity of the town. The Hon Walter Folger's Astronomical Clock. This wonderful clock was first set in motion on July 4, 1790, and has been going ever since. But mere time-keeping is but a small part of its surpris- ing capacity. In its metallic dial-plate is a truncated ellip- tical slit, about three-fourths of an inch wide, in which daily circulates a bright, golden ball representing the sun, which daily rises at the eastern end of the slit, and sets and dis- appears at the western end of it at the exact recorded al- manac time; the difference in the length of the days being regulated by a slide at the end of this roadway which moved up or down by automatic machinery, according to the requisition of each day. The same machinery also records the sun's due place in the ecliptic. Outside this pathway of the sun is another similar slit, concentric to the first, in which the moon performs her daily and nightly journey, indicating her southing, and the time of full sea at Nan- In the Dredge-Net 357 tucket, and also the chief phenomena attendant upon the obHquity of her path, the revolutions of her nodes, the hunter's and harvest moons; and in one item involving a recurrent motion of the machinery for a period of eighteen years and some days. Near the top of the dial is another small slit, horizontal, where appears the date of the year, with such contrivance that exactly at midnight of the day which closes up the year, the old figures are politely dis- missed, or benevolently released from further service, and the necessary new ones take their place, ready to salute the awakening inmates with "A Happy New Year." Not even is that all; once in a hundred years there are century figures to be changed ; and this also is duly provided for by a wheel so arranged as to revolve once in a hundred years in the following manner; remaining motionless for ten years, then starting along one notch, and so on through ten notches until the century is complete. In the lifetime of the maker, at 12 o'clock midnight, December 31, 1799, three hoary and faded figures meekly withdrew, and three bright and beardless youngsters stepped briskly into their places shouting " 1800!" One of the best authentic instances of spontaneous generation ! Walter Folger, the maker of this marvellous clock, men- tally planned it at the age of twenty-two and submitting the plan to his father, himself a mathematical genius, was encouraged to undertake its construction. With his own hands he made every part of it, and set it in operation in 1790, from which date it never failed in its contemplated movements until his death in 1849. Since that time it has been once taken to pieces and cleaned; and through the lack of the extraordinary knowledge and skill necessary to perfect adjustment, it now hesitates in the performance of some of its former matchless feats. ' — From New York Times. Brant Point Lighthouse. As there has been much discussion as to the date of erection of the first light- ' This clock is now in the possession of John B. Folger, of Nantucket. 358 Nantucket house at Brant Point, a few additional facts may be mentioned here. There can be Httle doubt that it was built in 1746. This opinion was strongly maintained by the late S. F. Sanford, who thoroughly examined the question, and Brant Point Lighthouse could not have been, as has been alleged, the first erected in the United States, as that in Boston Harbor was undoubtedly built in 1715. The first Nantucket lighthouse was burnt down in 1759, a second was blown down in 1774, a third was burned in 1783, and several of a temporary character were subsequently erected. The Government assumed control in 1795,^ and erected the present brick and stone building in 1856. This was used until 1900, when it was discontinued and a smaller wooden tower built on the beach at low water owing to difficulties engendered by the jetties interfering with the range of the light. The present light is the tenth that has been erected on Brant Point, and Nantucket has had a beacon burn- ing on her coast for one hundred and seventy-six years, thus leading in this as in many other respects. ^ Societies, Clubs, and Institutions. There are few existing localities of Nantucket's size which have had more numerous or more varied social, economic, edu- cational, and charitable organizations. So numerous, indeed have they been that the bare enumeration of some of them is all that can be attempted here. Among the earliest, if not the first, are the Ladies' Howard Society, incorporated 1846, and the Nantucket Agricultural Society, which, founded in 1856, has re- .'"June 23, 1795": State-House, Boston. 'Vide, chapter XIV. In the Dredge-Net 359 cently held its fifty-sixth annual meeting, and is still prosperous. The Relief Association was founded February 25, 1873, and incorporated in 1874. The Farmers' Insti- tute was organized about 1880; the Sherburne Lyceum — a literary and debating society — was instituted in 1877, and after much success gradually died out. Among others are : the Children's Aid Society, organ- ized in 1869, and incorporated in 1894; the Union Benevolent Society, incorporated in 1883; the Industrial and Educational Society; Nantucket Improvement Society; Helping-Hand Society, incorporated in 1900; Boys' Gymnasium, 1908; Women's Christian Temper- ance Union, 1876; Nantucket Historical Association, 1894; Sons and Daughters of Nantucket Association, 1894; the Nantucket County Teachers' Association, 1896; the Civic League; Nantucket Hospital Corpora- tion, etc. In 1 77 1 a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons was constituted in Nantucket, in which year the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was petitioned for a charter, this being granted on May 27, 1771. The petition was signed by William Brock, Joseph Deniston, Henry Smith, William Worth, Christopher Hussey, and Timothy Folger. William Brock was the first Worship- ful Master, and the Lodge has been in continuous operation since it was first instituted, being the seventh in seniority in the State. Another Lodge was founded in 18 16, known as "Urbanity Lodge," but, during the political anti- masonic campaign, it surrendered its warrant and rejoined the original "Unity Lodge." Unity Lodge commemorated its centennial anniver- sary in 1 87 1, when the Grand Officers of the State 36o Nantucket attended as guests, in addition to many visiting breth- ren. The celebration was most successful in every way, and will not soon be forgotten by those who were present. The "Nantucket Lodge" of Oddfellows was founded in 1845 as No. 66. Unfortunately, during the following year, the great fire destroyed all its possessions, a disaster which crippled its progress materially for a time. It gradually recovered, however, and is now flourishing and most successful in every way, having two hundred members, and a financial condition which is very satisfactory. The "Island Lodge," No. 24, Daughters of Rebekah, I. O. 0. F., was formed in 1874. It has nearly two hundred members and admirably sustains its mission. The "Wauwinet Tribe" of Redmen, No. 158, estab- lished on Nantucket with a membership of one hundred and sixty, is well-organized and financially soimd, and is doing its work well, and prospering. Of the many social clubs which have been established in Nantucket the following may be mentioned as among the most important, viz.: the Sorosis Club, 1872; the Mendon, the Golden-rod, the Isis, the Unity, the Shakespeare, the Nantucket, the Pacific, and many others, some of which are no longer existent. Nantucket's Distinguished Inventor. Although clothed with all the modesty which characterizes true genius, Patrick B. Delany, the illustrious electrical engineer and inventor, who has chosen Nantucket for his dwelling-place, and has erected his wireless telegraph apparatus, and established his laboratory on the Cliff, has patented over two hundred inventions mainly in electricity and multiplex telegraphs, six messages simul- H £ In the Dredge-Net 361 taneously over one wire, automatic rapid telegraphy, a thousand words per minute, cable secret telegraph systems, and many experiments in wireless telegraphy. He has been honored with ten gold medals from the most famous American and European societies and institutions, and his private laboratory is in constant touch with the outside world. He has recently turned his attention to "talking machines," and in his "Vox Humana" instrument he has achieved the most won- derful and most nearly correct reproduction of the human voice ever invented. Agriculture. The long and persistent indiffer- ence of the majority of the islanders to developing the agricultural resources and possibilities of the island may, perhaps, be explained, but cannot be excused. The writer believes that there are com- paratively few acres of the moorland which could not be rendered productive by renewal of the soil and appropriate fertilization. Even now when the land is exhausted by the lapse of time and utter neglert, there is very little of it which could not be made to produce fruit, flowers, and vegetables to almost any extent; and after a time of careful preparation, there is no reason why crops of corn, wheat, barley, and oats could not be as success- fully cultivated as they were in the days of the early settlers. Even as late as 1870, there were one hun- dred and five farms on the island, with an average of one hundred and fifty-one acres in each farm, twelve acres of grass in each farm, each producing eighteen tons of hay, corn thirty-seven bushels to the acre, thirty bushels of oats, forty bushels of barley, and one hundred and trn bushels of potatoes. This accurate abstract 362 Nantucket from the census tells its own tale, and no more need be said. The Nantucket Agricultural Society has striven well during the fifty-six years of its history, and with con- siderable success; and its yearly fairs are very en- couraging. During the past ten years there seems to have been a slight gain in agricultural interests, but there is too little general enthusiasm and the laborers are few. When will Nantucket awake to appreciate and to utilize the many opportimities lying profusely around them, instead of waiting for a lower class of work to be brought from afar, and per- mitting a host of foreigners to teach them what can be done? Board of Health. Nearly as far back as 1791, when the first Nantucket vessel rounded Cape Horn, there was a Health Committee to safeguard the well-being of the islanders and especially of the whalers and their families; still later, probably up to 1882, there was a Committee of Health appointed from the Selectmen, the overseer of the poor acting as their advisory agent ; and, still more recently, there has been constituted a thoroughly organized Board of Health whose duty it is to inquire into and to conserve the public health, and to ensure sanitary and hygienic conditions on the island. In such competent hands the health of the island is assured. Interesting Figures. The following table will doubt- less prove interesting reading, as it contains the amount of appropriations made by the annual town -meetings since 1893, and also the amount raised by taxation and the rate of taxation each year: In the Dredge-Net 363 Amounts Raised by Rate per Year Appropriated Taxation Thousand 1893 $34,900.00 $31,816.93 $10.00 1894 31,000.00 32,015.33 10.00 1895 41,000.00 37.758.62 11.80 1896 41,000.00 45.188.65 14.60 1897 29,750.00 35.446.42 10.00 1898 37,285.00 44,099.74 12.60 1899 45,800.00 43,846.88 12.60 1900 46,850.00 44,074.76 13.00 1901 40,619.46 44,090.04 12.50 1902 60,335.00 42,073.04 12.50 1903 60,852.67 63,306.41 18.00 1904 59.726.50 61,505.58 18.00 1905 43,385.53 44.356.13 13.00 1906 62,091.66 48,350.00 15.00 1907 69,563.66 56,200.00 16.50 1908 60,791.66 65.363.07 19.00 1909 68,445.38 68,172.48 19.50 1910 71,681.08 61,323.62 17.50 1911 87.873.37 73.257.42 17.50 1912 83,301.66 65,482.21 15.00 1913 93,091.66 70,000.00 ? Nantucket's Expenses. From the table appended below it will readily be seen how the expenses of the town of Nantucket have increased during the last twenty years, through appropriations made at the annual town-meetings. In 1893 the total appropria- tions was but $34,900, and in 19 13 it had risen to $93,091.66 — almost three times as much. 1893— $34,900.00 1894 — $31,000.00 1895 — $41,000.00 1896 — $41,000.00 364 Nantucket 1897— $29,750.00 1898— $37,285.00 1899 — $45,800.00 1900 — $46,850.00 1901 — $40,619.46 1902— $60,335.00 1903— $60,852.67 1904— $59,726.50 1905— $43,385-53 1906 — $62,091.66 1907— $69,563.66 1908 — $60,791.66 1909— $68,455.38 1910 — $71,681.08 191 1— $87,873.37 1912 — $83,301.66 19 1 3— $93,091.66' The Gulf Stream. It is not generally known that a ship captain, ^ from the whaling port of Nantucket, was the first man to draw a chart locating and giving the course of the Gulf Stream. This incident is described in the Works of Benjamin Franklin, vol. iii., pp. 353 and 364. 'From the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror, February 15, 1913. ' Captain Timothy Folger. CHAPTER XX CHRONOLOGICAL DATA 1602-I912 1602. Discovery of Nantucket Island by Bartholomew Gosnold. 1630. A war waged between the eastern and western tribes about this year. 1641. The island deeded to Thomas Mayhew and son by Lord Stirling. 1659. The island deeded by Mayhew, for £30 and two beaver hats, to ' * The Ten original Purchasers/ ' viz.: Tristram Coffin Thomas Macy Richard Swain Thomas Barnard Peter Coffin Christopher Hussey Stephen Greenleaf John Swain William Pike Thomas Mayhew re- taining one-tenth of the island, consisting of that part known as Quaise. Each of the above chose an "Associate," with whom to settle the island, viz. : Tristram Coffin, Jr. Edward Starbuck John Smith Nathaniel Starbuck Robert Pike Thomas Look Robert Barnard James Coffin Thomas Coleman Thomas Mayhew, Jr. 365 366 Nantucket The island was purchased subsequently from the natives who owned it in small tracts, the boundaries thereof being defined with surprising exactness. Thomas Macy and family, with Edward Starbuck and others, arrived from Salisbury, Mass. Number of Indians on the island, probably about 700. 1660. Starbuck returned to Salisbury, and brought back to the island eight or ten families. West end of island bought from the Indians. 1663. Peter Folger moved to the island. The occupations of the settlers were fishing and farming. The island, with the exception of Quaise, was divided into twenty-seven parts. 1665. King Philip visited the island. 1666. The first grist-mill built on Wesko (Lily) Pond. 1667. August 15th, Abiah Folger born, daughter of Peter and Mary Folger. She married Josiah Franklin of Boston, and was the mother of Dr. Benjamin Franklin. She died in 1752. 1 67 1. Town incorporated. 1673. Whaling commenced in boats from the shore. The town was named Sherburne, by order of Lovelace, Governor of New York. 1676. About this time Sesacacha (containing about thirty houses) and Siasconset villages were built. Also the cluster of whale-houses at Miacomet, together with the fishing-stages of Peedee and Quidnet, and the fishing-stage at Weeweder. Sesacacha village continued in existence about 140 years, the last houses of the place having been moved to Siasconset in 1820. 1 68 1. Tristram Cofiin died. Chronological Data, 1602-1912 367 1693. The island (previously a part of New York Province), became a part of Massachusetts, in accordance with the request of the proprie- tors of the island. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 1704. Up to this date, i.e., for nearly half a century, the whites, though numbering now about 700 souls, had had no settled religious teacher, and were without a church, probably the solitary exception, in this respect, in all New England. They were, and had been during the half century, mostly Baptists, a few were Presbyterians, and one or two Quakers. The Mayhews had christianized the Indians, and the latter (with the New Testament translated into their language) had four meeting-houses (Presbyterian in form) con- ducted in their own language. During this year a Friends' Society was formed. The first Indian execution took place also. 171 1. The North Congregational Society formed, and the first meeting-house erected at the west- ward of the North burial-ground. It is said to have been built of oak that grew on the island. Names, if any, of the first pastors unknown. The first Friends' meeting-house built on hill north of town. 1712. About this time small vessels began making short voyages. First sperm whale taken by Christopher Hussey. 17 15. Six sloops engaged in whaling. 368 Nantucket 1715-20. Site of the town moved to Wesko, its present location. 1 7 19. White population 721. 1720. Paul Starbuck made first shipment of oil to England {via Boston) in ship Hanover, William Chadder, master. 1723. Straight wharf built, probably before. 1726. White population 917. 1730. Twenty-five whaling vessels owned at Nan- tucket. Quanaty Hill dug away to make land from Union Street to the present shore. Friends' meeting-house built on Main Street (comer of Friends' burying-ground) . Meet- ings were held here for sixty years. Build- ing removed in 1792 to lot, corner of Main and Pleasant streets, and a new meeting- house built on Broad Street. Meetings were divided between the two houses. 1732. Timothy White became pastor of First Congre- gational Church, 1745. First cargo of oil shipped directly to England. 1746. First lighthouse built on Brant Point, being the second erected in America. Supported for forty -five years by merchants of Nantucket. The Swain windmill built, and is still standing. 1763-4. White population 3220 Indian population 358 Total 3578 Indian plague swept off 222 natives, leaving only 136 on the island. 1765. North meeting-house removed to Beacon Hill (the present site). Out of 3220 whites only Chronological Data, 1 602-1 91 2 369 forty-seven were pew-holders. Whaling in boats from shore ceased. Ship Neptune built for William Rotch : Nathan Coffin, master; she was the first ship owned at Nantucket. 1772. Brick building erected at foot of Main Street by William Rotch and used by him as an office. Now owned by Pacific Club and occupied by them, and by the custom-house. First sperm candle factory started. 1773. Ships Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver cleared from Nantucket with cargoes of oil for Eng- land. After discharging in London the three ships were chartered to bring cargoes of tea to Boston. This was the famous tea which was thrown overboard by the Americans on its arrival in Boston Harbor. The Beaver was owned in Nantucket, and her captain was Hezekiah Coffin, of Nantucket. 1774. Population 4545. One clergyman, two doctors, and one lawyer on the island. From organi- zation of North Congregational Society in 171 1 to 1 78 1, there was but one settled clergyman on the island, and no public schools. 1775-81. About 1600 Nantucketers lost their lives, in one way or another during and on account of the Revolutionary War. 1776. About this time 150 vessels (aggregate 15,000 tons), owned at Nantucket. 1777. Twenty men and boys sailed as part of crew of the Ranger, John Paul Jones, master. 1778. Ratable property on island $866,630. Whaling seriously retarded by the war, from 1776 to 24 370 Nantucket 1782. Fifteen vessels were lost at sea, and 134 captured by the British. 1779. A hundred armed men from an English privateer, during April, landed and robbed stores of goods valued at $10,665. Soon after a com- mittee was appointed by the town to confer with British commanders at New York and Newport, the result being an arrangement for protection on condition of neutrality. 1783. Ship Bedford, Captain William Mooers, hoisted first American flag in an English port (Lon- don, February 3d). Returned to Nantucket May 3, 1783. Many Nantucketers settled along the banks of the Hudson, at Hudson and other points. Ship yVashington, Captain George Bunker, was first to hoist American flag in Spanish Pacific port. 1784. Population 4269. Lighthouse erected at Great Point. 1788. Ship Penelope, Captain Tristram Gardner, reached latitude 70°, Arctic Ocean. 1791. Ship Beaver, Captain Paul Worth, sailed, and was the first Nantucket whaler to double Cape Horn. 1793. Sixteen ships, five brigs, and schooners sailed from Nantucket. Name of town changed from Sherburne to Nantucket. Nantucket Bank started. Old North tower erected. Three Indian wigwams— the last — were the only ones left standing on the island at Squam. Chronological Data, 1 602-1 91 2 371 NINETEENTH CENTURY 1800. The Academy incorporated, and the building erected on Academy Hill. It was not a public school. Bell (weighing 1000 lbs.) placed in North tower. The Alethodist Society organized. Population 5617. 1804. Pacific Bank and two insurance offices estab- lished. 1807. Ship Union y Captain Edward Gardner, lost by striking on a whale. Crew made voyage of six hundred miles in boats. 1809. The Unitarian Society formed, the Rev. Seth F. Swift, pastor. 18 10. Population 6807. Ship Rose built at Brant Point. The Charles Carroll, 1832; the Lexington and the Nan- tucket, 1836, and the Joseph Starbuck, 1838, and a large schooner were the only whalers known to have been built at Nantucket. 181 1. Seventeen ships and seven schooners sailed from Nantucket. Eleven of these were captured by the British in 18 12 and 1813. 1 8 14. Fight off Tom Never' s Head, Nantucket, on October loth, between boats from British frigate Endymion and American privateer Prince of Neufchatel. British sailors re- pulsed with loss of 121 men in killed and prisoners. English merchant ship Douglas captured and beached after the fight. There was a Nantucket pilot (Kilbum) aboard of the Prince oj Neufchatel. 372 Nantucket 1815. Social Library started; Josiah Hussey, Presi- dent, Twenty-six ships and twenty-four other vessels sailed. Bell brought from Lisbon, Portugal, and placed in tower of Unitarian Church. 1816. Nantucket Gazette issued; lived on^y one year; succeeded in 181 7 by the Weekly Magazine. A society for the " Suppression of Intemperance" formed. Steamer Eagle (owned by Jacob Barker), placed on route between Nantucket and New Bed- ford. 181 8. Captain George W. Gardner, in ship Globe, discovered "off-shore grounds," coast of Chile; brought home 2090 barrels of sperm. 18 19. Ship Equator, Captain Elisha Folger, sailed and was first ship from Nantucket to visit Hawai- ian Islands, September 7, 1819. Captain Joseph Allen, in ship Mara, discovered "Japan grounds." 1820. Seventy-two whale ships (aggregate 20,445 tons) besides smaller vessels, owned at Nantucket. Wreck at sea of ship Essex, Captain George Pollard; sunk by an angry whale. Crew out in boats three months, suffering fearful privations. Sailed two thousand miles be- fore rescued. Captain Pollard, the first mate, and three men out of crew of twenty survived. Population 7266. Nantucket Inquirer started; Samuel H. Jenks, editor. Chronological Data, 1602-1912 373 1822. Ship Globe, Captain Thomas Worth, sailed. During 1823 the crew mutinied, kilHng Cap- tain Worth and three officers. Ship returned to Nantucket, November 14, 1824. Arthur Cooper, a fugitive slave from Virginia, with his family, were rescued from pursuers and protected by Quaker citizens (first case on record). Cooper lived and died here. 1823. Columbian Librar^^ Association formed. 1827. Two public schools established, and the "Coffin School" (founded by Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, Bart.) opened. 1829. Steamer Marco Bozzaris placed on route, E. H. Barker, Captain. Followed consecutively by the Telegraph (1832), and the Massachusetts, 1842. Ship Lopez, Captain Obed. Starbuck, sailed. After fourteen months and fourteen days brought home 2280 barrels of sperm oil, valued at $50,000. 1830. Ship Sarah, Captain Frederick Arthur, arrived. Out two years eleven months, and brought home 3497 barrels of sperm oil, valued at $98,000 — the largest amount of sperm oil ever brought in. Division in Society of Friends, the "Hicksites" seceding. 1833. Meeting-house built on Main Street for Hicksite Friends. Used for several years, then sold. Original body of Friends built meeting-house on Fair Street, comer of Ray's Court, also a Friends' school (John Boadle, master). Sloop Fame, Captain Peter Myrick, sailed in search of sea-serpents. Returned empty ! 374 Nantucket 1834. New North meeting-house erected. Athericeum incorporated. 1836. First great fire, Washington Hotel, Main Street. 1838. High School opened. Great fire, loss, $300,000. 1839. Trinity Church (Episcopal) erected in Broad Street, parish having been organized a short time previously by Rev. Moses Marcus, B.D. 1840. Population 9712. 1 84 1. Anti-slavery convention in Athenaeum Hall. 1842. Whahng culminated; eighty-six ships and four smaller vessels owned at Nantucket. The Camels (floating dock) launched. September 23d, ship Constitution, Captain Obed. R. Bunker, taken out by Camels. October 13th, ship Peni, Captain Joshua Coffin, brought in over Bar by Camels. Great enthusiasm in Nantucket. 1845. Nantucket Weekly Mirror issued, John Moris- sey, editor. 1846. Wreck of ship Earl of Eglinton, Captain Niven, off Tom Never's Head. From this date whaling declines. July 13th and 14th. Great fire which almost devastated the town. 1847. Pine-groves planted by Josiah Sturgis. 1849. Nine vessels sailed from Nantucket for San Francisco this year, bearing away many Nantucketers. 1850. Population 8779. Center Street Friends' meeting-house built. Sankaty Lighthouse erected; first lighted February 2d. 1852-3. More pine-groves planted. Chronological Data, 1602-1912 375 1854. Gaslight first used on the island. Abram Quar}^ Indian half-breed, died, aged eighty-two years and ten months, on Novem- ber 25th. 1855. Steamer Island Home placed on route. Con- tinued running until 1895. Dorcas Honorable, the last pure-blooded Indian, died January 12, 1855. 1856. Government lighthouse built at Brant Point. i860. Six vessels sailed from Nantucket. Population 6064. 1 86 1 -5. Nantucket sent 213 men into the Union Army, and 126 into Navy, 56 more than her quota. 1 861 -8. Fourteen vessels sailed from Nantucket. 1865. Population 4748 ; 809 voters. High School Alumni Association organized. Reunions held 1865, 1866, 1869. Nantucket Inquirer purchased by Hussey and Robinson and merged in Mirror under name of Inquirer and Mirror. December 25th, ship Newton wrecked off Surf- Side. All hands perished. 1868. Barque R. L. Bar stow sailed. She was the last whaler owned at Nantucket. 1869. Historical map of Nantucket surveyed and drawn by the Rev. Ferdinand C. Ewer, D.D. Three vessels sailed from Nantucket. Barque Oak, Captain W. B. Thompson, sailed Novem- ber 1 6th, and was sold in Panama in 1872. 1870. May 30th, arrived barque Amy, Captain Joseph Winslow, with 1350 barrels sperm oil, and June 14th, brig Eunice II. Adams, Captain Zenas IvI. Coleman, last whaler to arrive at Nantucket. Population 4123. ^^^(y Nantucket 1872. Nantucket begins to be popular as a summer resort, as first suggested and advocated by Mark Salom, of Boston, in 1865. 1873. Nantucket Relief Association organized. 1874. Two steamboats a day during summer, instead of one. 1875. Population 3201; 890 legal voters. 1876. Steamer runs between Nantucket and Wau- winet. 1878. Nantucket Journal started; Arthur H. Gardner, editor. 1880. Population 3727. Introduction of water supply by Wannacomet Water Co; Moses Joy, Jr., projector and first President. 1 88 1. Reunion of Coffin family. Nantucket Railroad constructed to Surf-Side. 1882. February 5th, steamer Island Home nearly wrecked off Tuckernuck. 1884. Nantucket Railroad extended to 'Sconset. 1886. Cable communication with Nantucket, by the United States Signal Service, satisfactorily installed. Consolidation effected between the Nantucket & Cape Cod Steamboat Co., and the New Bedford, Vineyard & Nantucket Steamboat Co., with corporate name "New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket Steam- boat Co." Steamer Nantucket built by the above company, and placed upon the route in July. (889. Electric lighting introduced. 1890. Population 3268. 1 89 1. Steamer Gay head placed upon the route. Chronological Data, 1602-1912 377 1894. State road (macadamized) to Siasconset com- menced, and two miles completed. Nantucket Historical Association organized and incorporated. J. Sidney Mitchell, M.D., President. Friends' meeting-house purchased for headquarters. 1895. Nantucket Central Railroad Company rebuilt road by shorter route to 'Sconset. Centennial celebration, anniversary of the changing of name from Sherburne to Nan- tucket ; also bi-centennial of incorporation of county of Nantucket. 1897. August, old Swain windmill sold at auction; purchased for Nantucket Historical Associa- tion through the generosity of Miss C. L. W. French, of Boston. 1898. Dr. J. Sidney Mitchell, president of Nantucket Historical Association, died. 1899. W. F. Barnard elected president of Nantucket Historical Association. William Hosier, last male member of the Society of Friends, died. 1900. Eunice Paddock, last member of the Society of Friends, died. Memorial fountain erected by Abiah Folger Chapter, D. A. R., to the memory of Abiah Folger Franklin, mother of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, near the site of her birthplace, a short dis- tance westward of present tov^Ti, on Madeket road. Twenty-seven miles of electric wire on the island up to August, and nearly 1000 incan- descent lights. Heavy snowstorm December 26th. 378 Nantucket 1 90 1. Nantucket Central Railroad service instituted July 4th. Wireless telegraphy installed at Siasconset, August 3d. 1902. St. Paul's Episcopal Church consecrated, June nth. Last zero temperature on island, i.i below, Tuesday, December 9th. 1903. Coffin School reopened for teaching of manual training, October 5th. Athletic Association organized, during October. 1904. Civic League formed, January 14th. New Bathing Pavilion erected on the beach. 1905. Nantucket Athletic Club opened to members and friends, April 5th. The museum at Nantucket Athenasum was transferred to the Historical Association during April. 1906. Alvin Hull died suddenly. He was a veteran of the Civil War, and a whaler. He had been a town-crier for over twenty years. New Bathing Pavilion opened at Sconset, during August. 1907. Nantucket adopted modern telegraph fire-alarm system during May. Marconi wireless station at Sconset destroyed by fire, November 15th 1908. Cliff beacons discontinued, March 1st. Maria Mitchell Memorial Observatory dedicated July 15th. 1909. "Billy Clark" died, Tuesday, August 17th. He was born on November 17, 1846, at Nan- tucket and had been town-crier for many years; he was much esteemed and respected. Chronological Data, 1602-1912 379 Celebration of 250th anniversary of settlement of island, W. F. Macy presided. 1910. The rebuilding of the State road was finished to Sconset at a cost of $52,983.83. 191 1. Nantucket's most successful season and Scon- set's also. Ten thousand visitors on the island. 1 9 12. The new auto-chemical arrived.' ' Revised and extended from list prepared by Mr. H. S. Wyer. (By permission.) INDEX Aborigines, The, 35-57 Academy built originally, 160 AcKLEY, Seth Mitchell, Admiral, biographical sketch of, 242-244 Agricultural Society established, 173 Akeamong, or Ahkeiman, son of Potconet, 39 Algonquian Confederacy, i Alumni meetings of High School Associations, 176 America, North, extension of ice- sheet in, 4 Amerind Local Place-names, 26-32 Amerind proper names mentioned in deeds, etc., 48-52 Amerinds, origin still unsettled, i AtheniEum made a free library, 190 Athenaeum Museum transferred to Historical Association, 192 Autopscot, one of chief sachems, 37; family, 38; character of, 43 Autopscot's territory, 38 Baker, Rev. Louise S., bio- graphical sketch of, 230 Bank, Nantucket, robbed of $20,000, 98 Banner year of whaling industry, 170 Bar, efforts to remove, 154 Barnard, Thomas, and Robert, 67 Bathing beach leased, 199 Beacon at Monomoy, 169 Beacons, Cliff, erected, 169 Bell, Portuguese, placed in Uni- tarian Church, 164 381 Botany of Nantucket, 245-268 Brant Point, 279; lighthouse erected, 173 "Bug-lights" temporarily discon- tinued, 184; finally abandoned, 202 Bureau, Weather, established, 189 Burial-place of Indians unknown, 55 ; suggestions as to, 56 Cable, submarine, unsuccessful efforts to lay, 174; to mainland completed, 189 "Cambridge Spring," 206 Cash House demolished, 181 Cemetery, new, incorporated, 188 Central R. R. Co. service insti- tuted, 196 Character, racial, of Nantucket Indians, 56 Chesapeake incident, 155 Children's Aid Society founded, J/6. Christianity, efforts to promote, among Indians, 46 Chronological Data (1602- 1912), 365-379 Church, first, 86-88 Churches on Island, 163-167 Civic government instituted, 90 Civic League formed, 199 Clan Cof^-ln, reunion of, 184 "Clark Billy," Town Crier, 165 Clock, town, first, placed in Uni- tarian Church, 164; new town, 164 Coal supply, lack of, owing to strike, 198 Coatue, 280 382 Index Coffin, Captain George Wil- liam, U. S. N., biographical sketch of, 236-237 Coffin, Admiral, Sir Isaac, Bart, biographical sketch of, 235-236 Coffin, Miriam (Keziah), bio- graphical sketch of, 227-228 Coffin, Mark, career of, 161 Coffin School opened, 373; re- opened, 198 Coffin, Tristram, character and residence, 59-60; as Chief Magistrate, 60 Commercial depression, general, 174 Correction, House of, 155 Coskata, 271 "Cows' Commons," 80 Criminal Indians, execution of, 45 Data, Chronological (1602- 1912), 365-379 Dead, all original sachems after 1680, 46 Deeds, Indian proper names men- tioned in, 48-52 Description of "oldest house," 207-213 Development, Early of Island, 78-102 Discovery of Island, 23-26 Dongan's Patent issued, 131 Dorcas Honorable, the last full- blooded Indian, 55 Dredge-net, In the, 340-364 Dwellings, Early in Nan- tucket, 205-221 Duration of Glacial Period, 3 Early Development of Island, 78-102 Early Dwellings in Nantucket 205-221 Early public buildings, no record of, 89 Earop, Isaac, father of Dorcas Honorable, 55 Education on Island, 88 Eleazer Folger, first schoolmaster, Electric and Power Co. estab- lished, 199 Electric-light plant first operated, 190 Electricity, Sconset wireless sta- tion lighted by, 198 Eminent Nantucketers, 222- 244 Epidemic fatal among Indians, 63-64 Ewer, Revd. Ferdinand C, D.D., biographical sketch of, 234-?35 Execution of Criminal Indians, 45 Exodus of islanders, 100 Farming operations, 83 "Fight, Maddequecham, " 156 Fire, extensive on Island, 170; great, devastating in 1846, 170- .'71 First trees planted in town, 158 Fishermen, Indians good, 46 Fishing-stages, 270 Fleet had seventy-two vessels and eighty coasters in 1820, 158 Flowers and plants of Island, 253- 268 Folger, A b i a h, biographical sketch of, 225-226 Folger, Charles James, bio- graphical sketch of, 230-231 Folger, Peter, 63 Folger, Walter, Jr., 231-232 Fountain, Benjamin Franklin, 277 "French Spoliations," 101-102 Gardner, Anna, biographical sketch of, 229-230 Gardner, John, biographical sketch of, 64 Geological, epochs, 2-3; structure, 8; succession of events, 9-12 Geology of Nantucket, 1-12 Gibbs, John, Indian preacher, sought by King Philip, 86 Glacial action, 2-6; results of, 6 Glacial period, characteristics of, 6 Grant, General, visited Nantucket, 182 Great Point (or Nauma), 270; Hghthouse destroyed by fire, 167 Greenleaf Stephen, 66 Grist-mill, first, 84 Hanaford, Phebe a., biographi- cal sketch of, 228-229 Harbor, outer, 13; inner, 14 "Haulover, "14, 271 Index 3^3 Hayes, rejoicing on election of, as President, 182 High-School Alumni Association, meetings of, 1 76 Hills on Island, 13 Historical Association founded, 192 Honorable, Dorcas, the last Nan- tucket Indian, 55 Hotel, Point Breeze, opened, 191 Hough's papers, 131 House-lots, 85 House of Correction built, 155 "House, Oldest," in Nantucket, 207-216 House, "Old Parliament," 206; Swain's, Polpis, 216; George Gardner's, 216; Benjamin To- bey's, 218; Caleb Gardner's, 219; Major Josiah Coffin's, 220; Paddock's, 221; Reuben joy's, 221; Zacchens Macy's, 221; Maria Mitchell's, 221 Houses, Old, on Nantucket, 205-221 HussEY, Christopher, 65 Hygienic ice, manufacture of, on Island, 197 Ice-sheet, glacial, extent of, 4 Indian, Benjamin Tashama a noted, 54-55; last full-blooded, on Island, 55; villages, 269 Indian, Place-Names Local, 26- 33 Indians, amicable with settlers, 44; rum the curse of the, 45; land litigation, 45; efforts of, to regain land, 45 ; modes of punish- ment inflicted on, 45; Christian, 45-46; execution of, 46; original Sachems all dead soon after 1680, 46; good fishermen, 46; number of, before epidemic, 48 ; number of, after epidemic, 48; disappearing rapidly, 48; proper names of mentioned in deeds, 48-52; a few special, burial place of, unknown, 55; sug- gestions as to burial places of, 56; racial character of the, 56; fatal epidemic among, 63-64; symptoms of degeneracy among, 78 In the Dredge-net, 340-364 Insurance offices established, 155 Island, purchase of, 58 Island Plants and Flowers, 253-268; Steamers, 320-328 Island Review, first issued, 182 Islanders, exodus of, 100; hopeful and prospering, 158 Jacob, son of Potconet, 39 Jail, first, 86 Journey, first, to Island, 69 Joy, Moses, established water- works, 183 King Philip visits Nantucket,44, 90 Korduda's law, 53 Legends of Nantucket, 17-23 Life-savers, duties, 304; character of, 308 Life-Saving Stations, 304-308; Surf-Side, 306; Great Neck, 306; Muskeget Island, 306; Coskata, 306 Light, electric-, plant operated, 190 Lighthouse, erected on Brant Point, 94; erected at Great Point, 98; at Great Point de- stroyed by fire, 157; present, erected at Brant Point, 173 Light-ship, new, placed in Sound, Litigation of Indians to regain lands, 45 Local Indian Place-Xames, 26-33 Lovelace's Patent issued, 131 Macy, career of General George, during Civil War, 175 Macy, Thomas, "first settler," 61-62 Macy, William Hussey, 237-241 " Maddequecham Fight, " 157 Madeket, 277 Main Street paved, 169; repaved, 169 Maria Mitchell, biographical sketch of, 222-225 Masonic Festival held, 181 Masquetuck, 281 Massachusetts Humane Society, object of, 305; boathouses of, 306 384 Index Mayhew, Thomas, purchased Island, 68; character of, 68; re- served land for own use, 79 Mayhew's Deed of Sale, 70 Mill, old, purchased, 195 Mitchell, William and Henry, biographical notice of, 232-234 Monomoy, 280 Monument, Soldiers', erected, 182; to Forefathers, near Maxcy's Pond, 182 Moors, character of, 14-15 MoTT, LucRETiA, biographical notice of, 225 Muskeget Island, 278 Muskeget Life-Saving Station destroyed by fire, 190 Nantucket, Geology of, 1-12; Glacial period in, 2-6; duration of, 3; a terminal moraine, 7; geological structure of, 8; suc- cession of geological events in, 9-12; shape and surface of, 12; Physiography, 12-16; Topog- raphy, 12-16; outline of coast, 13; hills on, 13; southern plains, 13; harbors, 13-14; "Haulover," 14; moors, character of, 14-15; woods on, 15; roads, 15; town, 15-16; Legends of, 17-23; Discovery of, 23; Early Voyages to, 23-26; Amerind Place-Names in, 26-32; In- dian tribes in, 36; Natick In- dians, 35; Nipmuck Indians, 36; number of Indians in 36; sachems of, 36; chief sachems, 36; his family, 36-37; Nicorno- ose, son and successor of Wau- winet, 37; his territory, 37; signed first Indian deed, 40; Nanahuma, a petty sachem of, 41; territory of, 41; character, 43; King Philip visits, 44; In- dians of, amicable with set- tlers, 44; Island purchased by settlers, 58; royal grant of, to Plymouth Co., 68; sold to Thomas Mayhew, 68; sold to settlers by Thomas Mayhew, 68; under jurisdiction of New York, 68; divided into twenty- seven shares, 70; Mayhew's deed of sale of, 71-72; sachems' deed of sale of, 71-72; first Indian deed, 74; early Indian deeds, 74-75; Early Develop- ment OF, 78-102; area of, 79; subdivision of shares, 80; organ- ization of shareholders, 80; first sheep-shearing on, 83; mills on, 84; house-lots on, 85; primitive education on, 88; early public buildings, no record of, 89; civic government instituted on, 90; Selectmen first appointed, 90; town in- corporated, 90; shore-whaling commenced, 91 ; name of town changed to Sherburne, 91; migration from Wannacomet to Wesko, 91; progress on Island, 92; whaling industry organized, 92 ; many new ir.- dustries installed, 93; Brant Point lighthouse first built, 94; inoculation instituted on, 94; Revolutionary War and its effect on, 94-98; lighthouse erected on Great Point, 98; bank robbed of $20,000, 99; resumes modern form of abo- riginal name, 99; streets first named, 102; whale-fisher}', vide Whaling Industry, 103; Quakerism, i 15-129; subject to New York Province, 1660- 1693, 130; Records, 130-153; reverted to governance of Mas- sachusetts Province 1693, 131; XlXth Century, 154-204; ships returning, hopes brighten- ing, 155; Gazette first issued, 157; "third commercial town in Commonwealth" (1830), 161 ; Athenaeum incorporated, 167- 168; destroyed by fire, 168; official report of loss, 168; re- built and reopened, 168; financial panic, 169; Norwegian pines first planted, 171; Select- men gave orders as to ringing of bell, 171; general decHne of, set in, 171; reasons for, 171; IMain Street planted with elms and Centre with maples, 1 72 ; population, in 1850, 8779, a falling ofT of nearly 1000 since 1840, 173; Cape Cod Railway Index o' 85 Nantucket — Continued extended to Hyannis, 173; more practicable service ar- ranged between Island and Woods Hole, 173; first installa- tion of gas works and light 173; Asylum for Poor, and House of Correction removed to, 173; steamer Island-Home arrived at, 173; Agricultural Society established, 173; com- mercial depression, general, for three years, during Civil War, 174; by sending 56 men above quota became " Banner- town " of State, 175; seventy-four men from, killed during war, 175; population of, decreased to 4830 after war, 176; reached nadir of her misfortunes, 177; relative proportions of old standard family names, from Census 1870, 177; Mark Salom advocates development of, as health resort, 177: rapidly in- creasing number of visitors to, 177; new steamboat service inaugurated, 178; "two boats a day" campaign at length successful, 178; new era of prosperity awakened, 179; progress made through opposi- tion, 179; new hotels and summer cottages built, 180; women of, as usual, do most of work, 180; a new progressive spirit manifested on, 181; Soldiers' Monument erected, 182; Forefathers' monument erected, 182; Island Review first issued, 1874, 182; ceased publication, 1878, 182; Joitrnal first issued, 1878, 182; water- works established, 183; Rail- way Co. chartered by Legisla- ture, 184; ground broken for railroad extension, 184; appro- priation of $50,000 for improve- ment of harbor, 184; "Bug- lights" temporarily discon- tinued, 184; waterworks suc- cessfully tested, 184; Clan Coffin, great reunion of, 184; Improvement and Industrial Association instituted, 185; five oxen driven over ice from steamer to shore, 185; new town-clock presented to town and accepted, 185; work com- menced on new jetty, 185; new gravestone placed on John Gardner's grave, 185; shoals dates of surveys, appro- priations, etc., 186; plot of land secured for Union Chapel at Siasconset, 186; President Arthur visited, 186; most severe snow-storm, 1 86 ; sewerage system advocated, 186; Surf- Side Hotel opened, 187; first wedding solemnized at Tucker- nuck, 1 87 ; Union Chapel opened at Sconset, 187; unusually heavy surf at Surf-Side, 187; Atlantic Hall taken down to become part Hotel Nantucket, 187; sixtieth anniversary of Methodist Episcopal Chapel, 187; harbor sealed with ice, 187; new cemetery incorporated, 188; new bell-buoy placed on bar, 188; railway extended to Sconset, 188; shock of earth- quake felt over, 188; General Grant's funeral, memorial ser- vices, 188; installation of elec- tric telegraph completed, 188; Weather Bureau established, 189; cable to mainland com- pleted, 189; property, personal and real of, 190; electric light plant first operated, 190; Mus- keget Life-Saving Station de- stroyed by fire, 190; Point Breeze Hotel opened, 191 ; sewer- age system adopted, 191 ; railway extension franchise granted, 191 ; Association of Sons and Daugh- ters of, instituted, 192; de- vastating whirlwind on, 192; Gibbs's Swamp, great fire on, 192; Historical Association established, 192; road, new State, work on, began, 193; widely advertised, 193; centen- nial celebration observed, 193; Central R. R. extension fin- ished, 195; Old Mill purchased, 195; collision between steamers Nantucket and Gayhead, 195; 386 Index Nantucket — Continued "Portland" storm occurred, 195; Union Street repaved, 196; appropriation for River and Harbor Bill $70,000, 197; regulation of "fares and freights " carried in House, 198; coal supply, lack of, owing to strike, 198; act passed concern- ing Sconset water supply, 198; zero temperature at, 198; in- scription found in tower of Unitarian Church, 198; Coffin School reopened, 198; Athletic Club incorporated, 198; Electric and Power Co., 199; Civic League formed, 199; Bathing Beach leased, 199; New York Yacht Club Station at, 200; corner-stone of Historical So- ciety's new building laid, 200; appropriation of $80,000 for harbor and channel, 200; recep- tion at Historical Association's rooms, 200; "Billy Clark" had a "Song Recital," 200; "Nantucket Hotel" property sold, 201; again advertised, 201 ; Alvin Hull, one of town criers, died, 201; modern telegraph fire-alarm system adopted, 201 ; crowded with visitors, 201; Marconi wireless station de- stroyed by fire, 201 ; new automobile R. R. mail service installed, 201; worst storm for twenty years, 201; new light- ship placed in position, 201; appropriation for band, town gymnasium, etc., 202; new stand pipe at waterworks to be built, 202; estimated cost of jetties, 202; "Bug-lights" discontinued, 202; automobiles to be excluded from, 202; Maria Mitchell Observatory dedicated, 202; new range- lights placed at Brant Point, 202; appropriations for town nearly doubled in sixteen years, 202; "Billy Clark" died in 1909, 203; another appropria- tion of $50,000 for jetties, 203; annual appropriation at town- meeting, $71,681.08, 203; Sewer Commissioners' report showed cost $7,524.00, 203; new R. R. rolling-stock very satisfactory, 203; 10,000 visi- tors on island, 203; annual valuation of, shows increase of $160,000 over last year, 203; new steamboat Sankaty ar- rived, May 2, 191 1, 204; 191 1, a banner year for visitors, 204 Nantucket Early Dwellings, 205-221; "oldest house," 207-216 Nantucket Flora, review of and introduction to, 245-253; list of, 253-268 Nantucket Lif e-S a v i n g Service and Wrecks, 304-319 Nantucket Newspapers, 320- 339 Nantucket Steamers, 320-328 Nantucket, town of, 278-279 Nantucketers, Eminent, 222- 244 Nantucketers, Quaint, 284; complex personality, 284; Quakers and sailor-men, 285; log-books and ship record, 286; Peleg Folger, 286; Pacific Club, 288; Captains' Room, 289; idiosyncrasies a century ago, 289; Captain Defriez, 289; early municipal authorities, 291; early municipal records, 291-294; inherent humor, 294; anecdotes, nautical, Quakerish, and personal, 294; Newbegin sisters, 299; Mrs. McCleave, 299; the town criers, 300; sum- mary, 303 " Old Mill " purchased, 195 "Oldest house," 207 Old houses on Nantucket, 205- 221 Operations, farming, 83 Outline of coast, 12 Oxen driven over ice, 185 Pacific, first whaling expedition to, 98 Pacific Bank established, 155 Panic, a second prevailed on is- land, 173 Parker, Frederick, hermit, 272 Index 387 Patent, Lovelace's, incorporating Nantucket, 131; Dongan's granted, 131 Paul's, St., new church conse- crated, 198 Phenomenal fall of temperature, 157 Philip, King, visits Nantucket, 44. 90 Physiography of Nantucket, 12-16 Pike, Robert, 66 Place-Names, Local Amerind, 26-32 Pleistocene period, 2-3 Pocomo, 283 Polpis, 282 Poor Farms, 161-163 Population of island, in 1820, 158; after Revolutionary War, 154 "Portland" storm occurred, 195 Potconet, one of original sachems, 38-40; territory of, 38; family of, 39; living when settlers arrived, 39; little known of, date of death unknown, 39-40 Pottacohannet, same as Potconet, 38-40 Preeminent Indian sachems, 42 Privations and losses caused by war (1812-1815), 156 Proper names of Amerinds men- tioned in deeds, 48-52 Proprietors of island, 70; first meeting of, 70 Public buildings, early, no records of, 89 Public schools founded, 159 Punishments inflicted upon re- fractory Indians, 45 Quady, Abraham Api, same as Quary, 55 "Quaint Nantucketers," 284- 303 Quaise, 281 Quakerism: in Nantucket, 115- 129; founding of, 115; principle of belief, 115; progress of, 116; persecution of, 116; aggregate number of, 116; first to visit Nantucket, 117; visiting from New England and abroad, II 7-1 18; preachers, three dis- tinguished, 118; ]\Iary Starbuck converted, 119; her character and influence, 119; fully es- tablished in Nantucket, 119; Mary Starbuck 's death, 120; serious loss to, 120; first meeting-house built, 120; new and larger meeting-house built, 120; removal to Wesko, 120; still larger meeting-house built, 1 20 ; fourth meeting-house built, 120; climax of, in 1794, 121; character and principles, 121; form of church govern- ment, 121; some distinguished visitors from England, 121-122; half of population on island professed Quakers, before end of eighteenth century, 1 21-122; intrinsic causes of decline, 122; Hicks, Elias, reformer, his views, 123; gradually decreas- ing congregations, 124; Gurney, J. J., another reformer, his view^s, 124; Wilbur, John, a contender for orthodox, 125; bitter contest long waged be- tween Gumeyites and Wil- burites, 125; Nantucket always represented orthodox, 125; action in Supreme Court as to division of property, 125; re- sult of action in favor of Gur- neyites, 125; Wilburites strug- gled on for eighteen years, 126; Gumeyites struggled twenty- two years, 125; last meeting of Quakers held in 1867, 125; meeting-house was sold in 1894, 126; after flourishing for a century, only two Quakers resided in Nantucket in 1899, and both died in 1900, 126; has no living representative in Nantucket to-day, 126; Mr. H. B. Worth's review of, 126; writer's Summary of, 127 Quary, Abraham Api, last Indian half-breed, 55 Quibby executed for murder of H. Gardner, 45 Quidnet, 272 Racial character of Indians, 56 Railway extension by new route sanctioned, 191 388 Index Reception at Historical Associa- tion rooms, 200 Records: of Nantucket, 130- 153 (cover a period of two hundred and fifty years con- tained in one hundred and seventy volumes, at Albany, copied by Wm. Hough and pub- lished in 1856); titles from Hough's book, 132-134; town, 135; court, 139; county Regis- try of Deeds, 142; proprie- tors' 147; Indian deeds, 150; Probate Court, 151 Regulation of "fares and freights," carried in House, 198 Roads on island, 15 "Roll-call last" of Nantucket Indians, 52-53 Sachems of Nantucket, 36 Sankaty Head, 273; lighthouse, 273 Saul's Hills, 274 School, High, instituted, 160; New High, built, 160; Tucker- nuck, Madeket, Sconset, and Polpis, 160; Coflfin, founded, 160; closed, 160; reopened, 160 Schools, public, 159-160 Sconset (Siasconset), 274-276; milestones set, 159; marked progress made, 188; wireless telegraphy installed in, 196; wireless station lighted by elec- tricity, 198; Water-supply Act passed concerning, 198; Mar- coni station established at, 198; Marconi station destroyed by fire, 201 ; improvements sug- gested for, 203; Carnival held at, 204 Selectmen, first, appointed, 90 Secacacha, 273; Pond, 273 Settlement of island by whites, 58-68; white, 68-77 Settlers, amicable with Indians, 44; character of, 58-59; first, 60-67; first duties of, 79 Sewerage system adopted, 191 Shape and surface of island, 12 Shawkemo, 281 Sheep-shearing anniversary ob- served, 189 Sherburne Bluffs, 280 Sherburne Lyceum instituted, 182 Sherburne selected as name of new town, 91 Shimmo, 281 Ship-building first instituted on island, 158 Ships built in Nantucket, names of, 158 Shore- whaling commenced, 91 Shouel, James, "Korduda, " 53 Smith's Point, 277 Snowfall unusually hca\^, 181, 196 Southern plains of Nantucket, Special Indians, a few, 54 Springs, principal, on island, 281 Squam, 272 Starbuck, Edward, 62 Starbuck, Joseph, ship built and wrecked at Nantucket, 158 Starbuck, Mary, biographical sketch of, 227 Steam service restored between Nantucket and New Bedford after twenty-five years, 183 Steamers, Island, 320-328 Storm, terrible, 170; terrific dam- ages amounting to $50,000, 182; protracted, 183 Streets of Nantucket first named, 102 Submarine cable, unsuccessful efforts to lay, 189 Summerhayes, Lieut. -Col. J. W., biographical sketch of, 241-242 Surf -Side, 277 Swain's Neck, 282 Sw'AiN, Richard, and John, 67 Tashama, Benjamin, a noted Indian, 54; Sarah, 54 Telegraph, electric, installation of completed on island, 188 Telegraphic fire-alarm s\^stem adopted on island, 201 Telegraphy, wireless, installed at Sconset, 196 Temperature phenomenal fall of on island, 157 Tom Never's Head, 276 Topography of Nantucket, 12 Town of Nantucket, 15-16 Town clock, first, installed, 164; new, installed, 164 Index 389 Town criers: Billy Clark, 165; Alvin Hull, 300; Charles H. Chase, 300; W. B. Ray, 300 Town rebuilt and renovated after great fire, 171 Town-house, first, 86 Trees first planted in town, 158 Tuckernuck Island, 278 "Two boats a day" inaugurated. Union Chapel opened at Sconset, 187 Union Street repaved, 196 Unitarian Church, inscription found in tower of, 198 Villages and Districts, 269-2S3 Villages, Indian, 269 Voj^agers, early, to Nantucket, 23-26 Wampanoags, 35 Wanackmanack, chief sachem of Island, 37; his territory, 37; his family, 37; his character, 43 War declared against Great Britain (1812), 156; Civil, posi- tion achieved by Nantucket during, 175 Waterworks established at Wan- nacomet, 183 Wauwinet, chief sachem of island, 37; his territory, 37; his family, 37; his character, 43; village, 271 Weather Bureau established, 189 Webster, Daniel, visited island, 159 Wesko, town removed from Wan- nacomet to, 205 West schoolhouse rebuilt after fire, 174 Whale-fishing Industry, 103- 115: first vessel engaged in whaling sailed for Pacific Ocean, 98; whale-fishing, its achievements and universality, 104; contrast since decay, 104; earliest history obscure, 105; unexecuted deed of James Lopar 105; original purchasers of island went on first expedi- tion, 106; first whale killed, a "scragg, " 107; Ichabod Pad- dock engaged as instructor, 107; organization of island for whaling, 107-108; first sperm whale found dead on shore, 108; Christopher Hussey killed first sperm whale, 108; vessels fitted out for deep-sea whaling, 108; six sloops engaged in whaling in 171 5, 109; Straight Wharf built about 1823, 109; in 1730, the island owned twenty- five whaling vessels, 109; shore- whaling reached its climax about 1826, 109; eighty-six whales taken in 1826, 109; Davis Strait visited by whalers in 1732, 109; trade eventually became world- wide 109; the fishing-fleet in Revolutionary times, iio-lli; 150 vessels in, no; havoc with industry during "Seven Years' War," I lo-i 1 1 ; first map of Gulf Stream drawn by Nantucketer, no; recovery very slow after war. III; "French spoliations " entailed a loss to Nantucket of $150,000,112 ; effects of war of 1812, 112; after 1815 recovery was rapid, 112; in 1820 Nan- tucket had a fleet of seventy- two whale-ships besides brigs, schooners, and sloops, 113; 1842 was the banner year and cul- mination of Nantucket whale- fishing, when she possessed eighty -six ships, 170; from this year the industry declined owing to unavoidable causes, 170; in 1869 the last whaling ship the Oak sailed from Nantucket, never to return, 176 Whipping-post used, 100 White, Timothy, schoolmaster and minister, 159 Wireless station, Sconset, lighted by electricity, 198 Woods on island, 100 Wrecks and Life-Saving Ser- vice, 308-316 LJCKET OADS AND CES \shinq \ion te of the Villaqi pf Sachacha \^ /700 ONSET iV^ J Wilson de.l ERRATA. Wannacomer should be Wannacomct. Maddcquet, Site of the First Town, sliotihi be Wannacomet, Site of the First Town. Colonial Homesteads And Their Stories By Marion Harland Author of " Where Ghosts Walk," etc. A Re-Issue, in One Volume, of " Some Colonial Home- steads " and " More Colonial Homesteads " 8°. With 167 Illustrations. $350 net By mail, $3.75 The author combines the accuracy of an his- torian with the charm of a story-teller. She has studied patiently and lovingly the traditions and historical associations that cluster about the old family estates founded by notable Americans of the Colonial period. How rich and varied is this lore, none can comprehend who have not, like her, visited the storied homes in person and had access to the family archives in each. Every house has its romance. The loves, the feuds, the tempers, the sports, and the tragedies revealed by such research are interwoven with descriptions of the houses as we see them to-day, and faithful pen-pictures of the worthies who built and lived in them when the history of our country was in making. L New York G. P. Putnam's Sons London MAP OF NANTUCKE SHOWING PRINCIPAL ROADS AND HISTORICAL PLACES L&^\ ^itnerttaii: Mistaric S'attrns Historic Towns of New England Edited by Lyman P. Powell. With introduction by George P. Morris. With i6i illustrations. Large 8°, gilt top net $3 00 Contents : Portland, by Samuel T. Pickard ; Rutland, by Edwin D. Mead ; Salem, by George D. Latimer ; Boston, by Thomas Wentworth Hicginson ; Cambridge, by Samuel A. Eliot ; Concord, by Frank A. Sanborn ; Plymouth, by Ellen Watson ; Cape Cod Towns, by Katharine Lee Bates ; Deerfield, by George Sheldon ; Newport, by Susan Coolidge ; Providence, by William B, Weeden ; Hartford, by Mary K, Talcott ; New Haven, by Frederick Hull Cogswell. "These monographs have permanent literari^ and historical value. They are from the pens of authors who are saturated with their themes, and do not write to order, but con amore. The beautiful letterpress adds greatly to the attractiveness of the book." — The Watchman. " The authors of the Boston papers have succeeded in presenting a wonderfully interesting account in which none of the more important events have been omitted. . ._ . the quaint Cape Cod towns that have clung tenaciously tc their old-fashioned ways are described with a characteristic vividness by Miss Bafes. . . . The other papers are presented in a delightfully attractive manner that will serve a make more deeply cherished the memory of the places described." — New York J'hms. Historic Towns of the Middle States Edited by Lyman P. Powell. With introduction by Dr. Albert Shaw. Wi: . 135 illustrations. Large 8°, gilt top net $3 00 Contents : Albany, by W. W. Battershall ; Saratoga, by Ellen H. Walworth ; Schenectady, by Judson S. Landon ; New- burgh, by Adelaide Skeel ; Tarrytown, by H. W. Mabie ; Brook« lyn, by Harrington Putnam ; New York, by J. B. Gilder ; Buffalo, by Rowland B. Mahany ; Pittsburgh, by S. H. Church ; Phila- delphia, by Talcott Williams : Princeton, by W. M. Sloane; Wilmington, by E. N. Vallandigham. " Mr. Powell's contributors have prepared a most interesting collection dl papers on important landmarks of the Middle States. The writers enter into the history of their respective towns with much elaborateness." — A^ Y. Tribune. Q. P. PUTNAM'S 50NS, New York and London 3immcaxt llistoric Towns Historic Towns of the Soutliern States Edited by Lyman P. Powkll. With introduction by W. P. Trent. With about 175 illustrations. Large 8°, gilt top "''^ !$3 00 Contents : Baltimore, By St. George L. Sioussat ; Annapolis and Frederick, by Sara Andrew Shafer ; Washington, by F. A. Vanderlip ; Richmond, by William Wirt Henry ; Williamsburg, by Lyon G. Tyler ; Wilmington, N. C, by J. B. Cheshire ; Charlestown, by Yates Snowden ; Savannah, by Pleasant A. Stoval ; St. Augustine, by G. R. Fairbanks ; Mobile, by Peter J. Hamilton ; Montgomery, by George Petrie ; New Orleans, by Grace King ; Vicksburg, by H. F. Simrall ; Knoxville, by Joshua W. Caldwell ; Nashville, by Gates P. Thruston ; Louis- ville, by Lucien V. Rule ; Little Rock, by George B. Rose. "Thj- very charming volume is so exquisitely gotten up, the scheme is so perfect, the seventeen writers have done their work with such historical accuracy and with such literary skill, the illustrations are so abundant and so artistic, that all must rejoice that Mr. Powell ever attempted to make the historical pilgrim- ages." — jfourna/ of Education. Historic Towns of the Western States Edited by Lyman P. Powell. With introduction by R. G. Thwaites. With 218 illustrations. Large 8°, gilt top. (By mail $3.25) . . .net $3 00 Contents : Detroit, by Silas Farmer ; Chicago, by Hon. Lyman r. Gage ; St. Louis, by F. M. Crunden ; Monterey, by Harold Bake ; San Francisco, by Edwin Markham ; Portland, by Rev. Thomas L. Cole ; Madison, by Prof. R. G. Thwaites ; Kansas City, by Charles S. Gleed ; Cleveland, by President Charles F. Thwing; Cincinnati, by Hon. M. E. Ailes ; Marietta, by Muriel C. Dyar ; Des Moines, by Dr. F. I. Herriot ; Indianapolis, by Hon. Perry S. Heath • Denver, by J. C. Dana ; Omaha, by Dr. Victor Rosewater ; Los Angeles, by Florence E. Winslow ; Salt Lake City, by Prof. James E. Talmage ; Minneapolis and St. Paul, by Hon. Charles B. Elliott ; Santa F6, by Dr. F. W, Hodge ; Vincennes, by W. H. Smith. X p. PUTNAM'S SONS, New York and London The St. Lawrence River Historical — Legendary — Picturesque By George Waldo Browne Author of " Japan — the Place and the People," " Paradise of the Pacific," etc. 8vo. 385 pages, with 100 Illustrations and a Map. $3.50 net In the American Waterways Series While the St, Lawrence River has been the scene of many important events connected with the discovery and development of a large portion of North America, no attempt has heretofore been made to collect and embody in one volume a com- plete and comprehensive narrative of this great waterway. This is not denying that considerable has been written relating to it, but the various offerings have been scattered through many vol- umes, and most of these have become inaccessible to the general reader. This work presents in a consecutive narrative the most important historic incidents connected with the river, combined with descriptions of some of its most picturesque scenery and delightful ex- cursions into its legendary lore. In selecting the hundred illustrations care has been taken to give as wide a scope as possible to the views belonging to the river. G. P. Putnam's Sons New York London LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 013 996 676 4 • ;i.i!i;iir