Historic Nantucket, Winter 2000

THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION Dorothy Slover President

David H. Wood

Peter W. Nash

Alan F. Atwood

Virginia S. Heard

First Vice President

Second Vice President

Treasurer

Clerk

Frank D. Milligan Executive Director

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Sarah Baker Patricia M. Bridier Laurie Champion Prudence S. Crozier John H. Davis Alice F. Emerson Thomas C. Gosnell Barbara Hajim

William A. Hance Julius Jensen III Arie L. Kopelman L. Dennis Kozlowski Jane Lamb Carolyn MacKenzie Albert L. Manning Jr.

Bruce D. Miller Aileen M. Newquist Steven M. Rales Arthur I. Reade Jr. Alfred Sanford Richard F. Tucker Marcia Welch Robert A. Young

ADVISORY BOARD William B. Macomber Paul Madden Robert F. Mooney Jane C. Richmond Nancy J. Sevrens Scott M. Stearns Jr. John S. Winter Mary-Elizabeth Young

Nina Hellman Elizabeth Husted Elizabeth Jacobsen Francis D. Lethbridge Reginald Levine Katherine S. Lodge Sharon Lorenzo Patricia Loring

Walter Beinecke Jr. Joan Brecker Patricia Butler Helen Winslow Chase Michael deLeo Lyndon Dupuis Martha Groetzinger Dorrit D. P. Gutterson

RESEARCH FELLOWS Dr. Elizabeth Little

Nathaniel Philbrick

Patty Jo S. Rice

Renny A. Stackpole

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Mary H. Beman Susan F. Beegel Richard L. Brecker

Thomas B. Congdon Jr. Charlotte Louisa Maison Robert F. Mooney Elizabeth Oldham

Nathaniel Philbrick Sally Seidman David H. Wood

PROPERTIES OF THE NHA Oldest House Hadwen House Macy-Christian House Robert Wyer House Thomas Macy House 1800 House Greater Light Old Mill Old Gaol

Old Town Building Thomas Macy Warehouse Fire Hose Cart House Quaker Meeting House Nantucket Whaling Museum Fair Street Museum Peter Foulger Museum Museum Shop

Bartholomew Gosnold Center and Annex Folger-Franklin Memorial Fountain, Boulder, and Bench Settlers Burial Ground Tristram Coffin Homestead Monument Little Gallery Eleanor Ham Pony Field Mill Hill

Cecil Barron Jensen

Helen Winslow Chase

Elizabeth Oldham

Claire O'Keeffe

EDITOR

HJ STO RIAN

COPY EDITOR

ART DIRECTOR

Historic Nantucket welcomes articles on any aspect of Nantucket history. Original research, first -hand accoW1ts, reminiscences of island experiences, historic logs, letters, and photographs are examples of materials of interest to our readers.

Copyright ©2000 by Nantucket Historical Association Historic Nantucket (ISSN 0439-2248) is published quarterly by the Nantucket Historical Association, 2 Whaler's Lane, Nantucket, MA 02554 .

Second-class postage paid at South Yarmouth, MA and additional entry offices.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Historic Nantucket Box 1016 • Nantucket, MA 02554-1016 • (508) 228-1894; fax:(508) 228-5618 • infonha@capecod.net For a map of our walking tour and historic sites: http://www.pointinfinity.com/ mapandlegend

NANTUCKET VOLUME 49, NO. 1

WINTER2000

5 Letter from the President

by Dorothy Slover

6

9

"Nantucket in a Nutshell"

"That pride in our Island's history": The Nantucket Historical Association

by Elizabeth Oldham

by Aimee E. Newell

12 An Island in Time An Overview of the NHA's Collections with Accompanying Timeline

On the c~ver:

Detail of View of the Town of Nantucket by Thomas Birch (1799-1851), drca 1811-15.

Gz/t a/Robert M. Waggaman in memory a/Floyd Pierpont Waggaman and Jean Mackenzie Waggaman.

Contributors to this issue: Betsy Lowenstein, Amy Jenness, Cecil Barron Jensen, Aimee E. Newell, Claire O'Keeffe, Elizabeth Oldham, Niles D. Parker, Peter Schmid, Kate Stout Deszg,n: Claire O'Keeffe I communicationDESIGN Photography: JeffreyS. Allen, Rob Benchley Printing: On-Cape Lithographers, Hyannis, Massachusetts

The exhibition Away OffShore: From the Collection of the Nantucket Historical Assodation was on view at the 46th annual Winter Antiques Show, Seventh Regin1ent Armory, Park Avenue and Sixty-seventh Street, New York, N.Y., January 21-30,2000.

3

W

ELCOME TO A VERY SPECIAL ISSUE

of Historic Nantucket. It is the first full-color presentation of the magazine and it celebrates the Nantucket Historical Association.

When the editorial staff and writers began planning the issue, they discussed how to best present the association's holdings, precious artifacts, structures, documents, and archives. As the discussions evolved, a theme also evolved. History is made of past, present, and future. The association is deeply committed to preserving each of those parts of history. Nantucket's past is preserved in depth in the association's collections, properties, and archives. It is those holdings that the staff wanted to present collectively; but more than just a cataloguing, they wanted to fit the holdings into the past history of Nantucket - and the world. They set for themselves an ambitious task. This issue of Historic Nantucket, the last to be prepared in the twentieth century, presents the collections of the NHA in a chronological timeline of the island, intertwined with the physical and intellectual evolution of Nantucket.

Looking at our holdings, we reflect on the people who made Nantucket's past history. There are so many names and families associated with this history Coffin, Starbuck, Gardner, Macy, Folger, Hadwen.

Did these people know they would become a part of the historic fabric of Nantucket? It is doubtful.

They were living their lives with their goals and their dreams - all the while unknowingly creating a history for future generations to learn from and enjoy.

We are doing the san1e thing at the present, creating a history. I think of the names of people who, in the twentieth century, have been dedicated to preserving and restoring the past: Crosby, Beinecke, Stackpole, Tupancy are some of the names that come to mind.

And then there are those who turn to the future.

For the Nantucket Historical Association, .Heinz, Gosnell, Kozlowski are names of those who are building for the future and will take their places beside the time-honored names of Nantucket. The Heinz fanlliy is restoring the Whaling Museum. The Gosnell family is building a new museum center. Dennis Kozlowski is building our resources so that we can be assured of funds to support the association. Many more individuals and families are contributing significantly to our capital can1paign, and ¡history will single out those names in its own way.

I often wish I could go a hundred years out and study and read about Nantucket in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Who were the people who made a difference? I believe the answer would be each and every person who loved Nantucket, each in his own way.

Of those names, some will be recorded, not because their contribution was more meaningful, but because it was identifiable.

As the Nantucket Historical Association studies itself upon leaving the twentieth century, we evaluate where we are, where we have been, and where we are going.

The Nantucket Historical Association will be 106 years old at the turn of the century. The first period of the association, from its birth in 1894 until the 1980s, was primarily a period of acquisition. Thanks to the work and dedication of vast numbers of people, the association is the proud steward of the collections, archives, and properties shown in this issue of Historic Nantucket. As the association neared its hundredth birthday, attention was turned from acquisition to conservation and restoration, with increasing emphasis on interpretation, exhibitions, and programs. In 1994, the Nantucket Historical Association completed a museum support center, the Bartholomew Gosnold Center, to house the growing collections in proper conditions and under one roof.

The association then turned to its properties, and rented three of its buildings to provide a revenue stream for restoration and maintenance of its twenty-two other properties.

Feeling that the past and the present are well in hand, the Nantucket Historical Association has now turned its energies to the future, to address the way it can better fulfill its mission and serve the community. Plans are in place to renovate the Fair Street Museum into a research library. In addition, plans are under way to build a new museum center connecting the Whaling Museum with the Peter Foulger Museum to provide an orientation center and more exhibition space. These plans are the tide that sweeps the Nantucket Historical Association into the twenty-first century.

History is made up of past, present, and future.

The Nantucket Historical Association has enjoyed a period of acquisition in the past and restoration in the present; it looks forward to building in the future.

o!r~~ Dorothy Slover President

A Nantucket family tree for Walter Folger and Elizabeth Starbuck, watercolor and ink on paper

by an umdentified maker, 1813- 23.

5

"Nantucket in a Nutshell"

by I This title is borrowed/rom a little (5 1/2'' x 4 1/2'') book

Elizabeth Oldham compiled by R. B. Hussey and published by the Inquirer and Mirror Steam Press, 1889.

ROM THE BLUFF AT SANKATY HEAD IN

Nantucket Redux: the Nantucket

H

I

ote.

as buzlt

in 1884.

6

Siasconset, looking eastward straight across the Atlantic Ocean to Spain, it is not difficult to imagine a late summer's day in the year 1602 and in the mind's eye sight the bark Concord, under the command of Bartholomew Gosnold, tacking alongshore. The vessel had embarked from Falmouth, I England, and having passed around Cape Cod was bound for the Virginia colony; Gosnold did not go ashore, but was the first to chart the island's location a remote remnant of "the glacier's gift."

I For the next several decades Nantucket would continue to be populated solely by some 3000 natives of the Wampanoag tribe, whose subsistence depended on what they could grow, hunt down, or take from the ponds and shorelines. There would be no incursion of Englishmen I until1641, when the island was deeded by the authorities then in control of all lands between Cape Cod and the Hudson River to Thomas Mayhew and his son, also Thomas, merchants of Watertown and Martha's Vineyard. From their base on Martha's Vineyard, the Mayhews not only grazed sheep on Nantucket but had zealous1y "Christianize d" much ofth e native pop ulation, ¡ Indians. " wh o wo uld come to b e kn own as "praymg I Now the Mayhews owned the island and would hold

onto it until1659, when they sold it to nine solid citizens from the Merrimack Valley who were seeking to improve their circumstances; among them were Tristram Coffin, Thomas Macy, Christopher Hussey, and Richard Swain, whose names would resonate throughout Nantucket's history. The Nantucket Historical Association's contemporary "true copy" of the purchase agreement suggests that it may have been Thomas Macy's occupation as a merchant and clothier that prompted Mayhew senior to include in the purchase price of thirty pounds sterling "And also two Beaver Hatts, one for myselfe, and one for my Wife. " Although the purchase of Nantucket from the Mayhews was primarily a business venture, the "first settlers "-especially Thomas Macy, who had had a doctrinal run-in with the town fathers in Salisbury - wished to extricate themselves from the increasingly repressive conditions being imposed by the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Thus, in the late fall of 1659, the Macy family, with several neighbors and friends , twelve people in all, sailed in a small boat bound for Nantucket, rounding the hook of Cape Cod- where even today sailors keep a weather eye for shifting winds and rough water-at last coming ashore at the west end of the island. Fortunately for the settlers, the Wampanoags were friendly, and had it not been for their hospitable succour during the long cold winter at Madaket the newcomers might have starved or frozen to death. It would be a long time before those hardy souls would be followed in sufficient numbers to form a community. By 1700, only about 300 white people and 800 Indians were living peacefully with one another, the native population having been decimated by diseases introduced by the Europeans.

Nantucket - along with Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands - was attached to the New York colony until1692, when by act of Parliament it became a part of the Bay Colony of Massachusetts. The first town, established around a natural harbor on the north shore, was called Sherburne, but that harbor silted up and by the end of the eighteenth century the houses, businesses, and most of the citizenry had moved eastward to the shores of the Great Harbor. In 1795 the town was named Nantucket, making it unique in the

country-an island, a county, and a town, all with the same name.

Conquering the "watery world" Beginning with the English settlement, the "faraway land," as Nantucket is translated, developed into a community of small farmers and sheep herders (the manufacture of wool was a vital industry in colonial New England). In addition to farming the land and hunting small game, the natives and the newcomers took sustenance from the waters surrounding antucket, in which varieties of finfish , particularly cod, and shellfish abounded. Species of small whales occasionally washed ashore and were prized for their oil, but by the 1690s the Nantucketers had begun to organize expeditions in small boats to pursue the "right" whales- so-called because they were of moderate size and slow moving and therefore easy to catch - that passed close to shore on their annual migrations. Whale houses with elevated platforms were established along the south shore, and when the spouting whales were spotted the boats set off through the pounding surf to capture them. They were towed to shore and the carcasses stripped of the blubber that would be "tried out" to extract the valuable oil.

Deep-sea whaling began around 1715, a few years after the first sperm whale had been taken by a¡ sloop blown out to sea in a gale. Oil from the "head matter" of this gigantic creature was found to be of a quantity and quality unmatched by any natural or manmade product then available. But the great sperm whale inhabited the deepest parts of the oceans, so Nantucket men began to make offshore voyages of fifty miles and more, but needed to be within reach of shore to offload their catch and have it processed. By the mid-eighteenth century larger whaleships were being built and became seagoing factories, with all the equipment need-

ed to extract and store huge quantities of oil. For the next hundred years Nantucket whaleships would traverse the oceans of the world on their legendary three-, four-, and five-year voyages in search of" greasy luck."

Back on the island, the economy was centered on the whale fishery, with ropewalks, cooperages, blacksmith and boatbuilding shops, ship chandleries, sail lofts, and warehouses. Supporting businesses such as seamen's boarding houses, grog shops, clothing shops, purveyors of groceries and dry goods sprang up. When the whaleships came back to port, their precious cargo was sold at great profit to mainland refineries for use in domestic lamps and street lights and for myriad industrial uses. Candles made from the solid spermaceti wax derived from the head matter were the finest household illuminants yet known and were produced in enormous quantities on the island, accounting for some of the impressive fortunes amassed in the industry. The town was a bustling, vital, commercial center, the sleek vessels of the China trade bringing home porcelains and silks and exotic artifacts - items that found a ready market among the island's prosperous families. For a century - from the mid-1700s to the late 1830s Nantucket was the whaling capital of the world. As Melville wrote in Moby-Dick: "Thus have these . . .

Nantucketers overrun and conquered the watery world like so many Alexanders."

Throughout that period the island's political, economic, and religious leadership was dominated by the Religious Society of Friends - the Quakers. Their experience of persecution, in England to begin with and subsequently in the New World, led them to Nantucket's shores, where although they were not welcomed with open arms they were at least tolerated. By the turn of the eighteenth century the Friends, according to one historian, "had secured a hold upon the islanders such as no other religious denomination had

Nantucket Town was established around the shores of the Great Harbor.

Panorama circa 1890.

7

ever acquired." Their rejection of worldliness, their up the Union cause, seventy-three of them losing their spurning of adornment, and their "lack of sympathy for I lives. Their families on Nantucket, with no economic I anything calculated to make earthly life happy or even infrastructure in place, would have hard times. The pleasant" did not prevent them from having an astute once bustling waterfront was filled with rotting hulks; business sense; many of Nantucket's first families- the there was no industry that could succeed or replace the Starbucks, Barneys, Coffins, Macys, Folgers, Gardners, whale fishery. Between 1840 and 1870 the population Husseys, Colemans, Worths - Quakers all - would I of Nantucket decreased from almost ten thousand to a little more than four thousand.

I be pre-eminent in the conduct of the whaling industry.

The demise of whaling coincided almost exactly with the dwindling influence of the Society of Friends.

Greasy Luck Runs Out Torn apart by decades of factionalism, the Quakers The palmy days would not last. A series of events over a faded out of the picture, leaving as heritage the period of about thirty years would see the "nation of I pristine little town - and, of course, two centuries of Nantucket," as it was dubbed by Ralph Waldo dynamic history.

Emerson, brought to its knees. In the 1830s the petroleum fields of Pennsylvania were producing kerosene, cheaper and more easily obtainable than the liquid gold Nantucket Redux the whalers pursued. A devastating fire - the Great The summer visitor would be the catalyst for I Fire of 1846 - roared through the night, leaving the I Nantucket's recovery. As early as 1828 island entretown a smouldering ruin and hundreds homeless and preneurs were touting "the necessary, invigorating, and destitute. The years-long whaling voyages were horren- delightful indulgence of Sea Bathing." By 1845 several dously costly and the whaling grounds had been over- large hostelries had been established, and that summer fished. A sandbar at the entrance to Nantucket's the editor of the Nantucket Inquirer wrote "We see magnificent harbor prevented the much larger and by the papers that Nantucket is becoming quite a place ... and that a larger number than I heavily loaded whaleships from approaching the fashionable usual have resorted to the island the present season, in wharves, and they had to be off-loaded outside the bar quest of health or pleasure .... If suitable accommodaor carried over it in an ingenious floating drydock called tions were provided, both in town and at Siasconset, the "camels." The mainland ports of New Bedford and [the island] would take a prominent station among the Salem had access to the burgeoning railroads. Gold was watering places, which collect their crowds during the discovered in California and hundreds of Nantucket summer months." men went there to seek their fortunes in the earth as The selling of Nantucket began in a big way in the they had been sought in the sea. The Civil War would Boatzng party, 1870s.

Mainland newspapers carried advertisements for strike the final blow: almost 400 Nantucket men took August 1886. the big hotels, several of them still here today.

Respected monthly magazines of the day -Scribner's, Harper's, Lippincott's- sang the praises of the faraway island in lengthy feature articles. The war behind them, Nantucket women opened their homes to summer boarders, providing "large airy rooms" and "nicely cooked bluefish" as attractions. The town got behind the effort, advertising "two boats a day" and printing a flyer titled "Nantucket Island, An Ideal Health and Vacation Resort." The Season was created, and Nantucket has never looked back.

Now one of the most popular and attractive destinations in the world, Melville's little "elbow of sand" has become a new nation of Nantucket, unparalleled in the distinction of its architecture and its historical ambience.

1

8

"That pride in our Island's history": The Nantucket Historical Association "History may be properly said to contrzbute to the necessities of our species, inasmuch as the experz(mce of past generations is oftentimes the only criterion by which to judge of the consequences of present acts."

Obed Macy- The History a/Nantucket, 1835

A

LMOST

SIXTY

YEARS

AFTER

ISLANDER

Obed Macy published his History of Nantucket, a small group of island residents took his words to heart and on May 9, 1894, met at 97 Main Street (West Brick), the home of Mrs. George Starbuck, "in accordance with the sentiment so widely spread and so deeply felt that a society should be formed at once for the purpose of collecting books, manuscripts, and articles of any sort, to illustrate the history of our Island." Under the leadership of the first president,]. Sydney Mitchell (1839-98), the Nantucket Historical Association was incorporated on July 9, 1894, and almost immediately purchased the Quaker Meeting House on Fair Street, where the association held meetings and exhibited artifacts to educate island residents and visitors.

Nantucket, like the rest of the country, underwent a great deal of change during the second half of the nineteenth century. The formation of the Nantucket Historical Association was one way to preserve ties to a seemingly simpler past, while also providing a touchstone for longtime residents as tourists began to arrive in droves. As the NHA's recording secretary, Mary Eliza Starbuck (1856--1938) wrote in her 1895 report to the membership: "Nantucket salt, truly, has not lost its savor; but the old pungency is somewhat abated by modern admixtures."

From its inception, the NHA focused its attention on the island's glory days- the period from 1740 to 1840 when Nantucket was the premiere whaling port in the

world. Many of the early gifts of artifacts were items by associated with the island's whaling trade and its seafar- Aimee E. Newell ing people. At the NHA's first annual meeting in 1895, the organization announced 295 donations of artifacts and manuscript material and an additional120 loans of family heirlooms and papers. Islanders were not so con- I fident about the prospective longevity of the group: many early accession-book entries include the proviso "In case of dissolution of Nantucket Historical Association this [gift] is to be returned to donor or his heirs. " In 1916, HenryS. Wyer (1847-1920) recalled his thoughts about the establishment of the NHA this way: "[M]ost of us, naturally, were pessimistic, or at least lukewarm. " However, by the association's third annual meeting in 1897, the group had purchased a second historic structure, the Old Mill on Mill Hill, and public interest and confidence in the NHA had grown, allowA snow-covered ing one NHA officer to remark, "There has been during Whaling Museum, the year a noticeable increase of local interest in the February 1987.

Groundbreaking /or the Fair Street Museum, 1904.

10

society . . . people generally have seemed to have no clear idea of what we wanted until they had seen what we had, and there were very few of the visitors . . . who were not reminded of something which they could and did contribute." And in 1916 Wyer went on to comment, "[W]e, the skeptical of twenty-two years ago, have, thanks to the generous support of Nantucketers and their friends far and near, 'builded better than we knew,' and have ample reason for pride in our achievement."

The prosperity of Nantucket's "greasy" days of whaling allowed many families to establish substantial fortunes and furnish their homes with quality furniture, ceramics, textiles, and paintings during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many of those artifacts were handed down for generations, eventually given to the NHA by a descendant of the original owner or maker.

In her first report to the membership in 1895, Mary Eliza Starbuck encouraged islanders to "make an active search for all sorts of relics, particularly manuscripts, before it is too late and these valuable mementoes are carried away from the island as trophies, or by progressive housewives 'cast as rubbish to the void."'

The founders of the NHA began amassing a historical collection with an open philosophy toward appro-

priate artifacts, directed by their mission to pursue the "collection and preservation of such memorials, books, papers and curiosities as may tend to illustrate and perpetuate the history of the early settlers of this island .... " The NHA's first curator, Susan E. Brock (1852-1937), a native islander who traveled on her father's whaleships as a child, reported to the membership in 1903 , "It has been well said that a historical society should be something more than a "strongbox" to hold collections.

It must be a living institution. . . ."

A year later, the NHA was successful in raising the money to build its first museum at 7 Fair Street. One of the earliest poured-concrete structures in Massachusetts, the Fair Street Museum was attached to the first property acquired by the NHA, the Quaker Meeting House. Early photographs demonstrate the "catch-all" nature of the museum. The museum's exhibition was a relic of its time-a jumble of artifacts, important for their connection to Nantucket or its people, with few labels and little interpretation of the displays.

By declaring the preservation of Nantucket's history as their mission, the founders of the NHA laid the groundwork for establishing a rich collection of artifacts and manuscripts that relate to each other and to islanders past, present, and future. The strength of the NHA's collection lies in its connections between artifacts and the people who owned, used, and learned from them. In addition to manuscripts, photographs, and decorative artifacts, the association also collected historic structures. The twenty-five sites it now owns span a wide spectrum of time and function - from the Oldest House, a wedding gift in 1686 for Jethro Coffin and Mary Gardner, whose marriage ended a family feud , to Greater Light, an eighteenth-century structure renovated in 1930 by two Quaker sisters from Philadelphia, which helps illustrate the rebirth of the island in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries when artists and vacationers found a charming haven for work and play. The diverse nature of the NHA's properties, ranging from historic houses to the Old Gaol and Fire Hose Cart House, allows a fully

textured interpretation of island history, using material culture and interweaving artifacts, written words, and stories.

The Whaling Museum, which has become the NHA's flagship property, opened its doors in 1930 in the old Hadwen & Barney candle factory building on Broad Street. The museum owes its existence to the generosity of Edward F. Sanderson (1874-1955), who first came to Nantucket in the 1920s, enchanted by the island 's domestic architecture. Sanderson also became interested in whaling history and quickly developed an extensive collection of the tools and gear necessary for a whaling voyage. Sanderson's collection grew "far beyond his hopes or anticipations," and the space available in Moors End, his house at 19 Pleasant Street, so "he decided that its extent and value warranted its permanent establishment as a public museum."

Fortunately for the NHA, Sanderson felt that Nantucket "was the place of all others where it should be kept and displayed for all time. " At just this point, around 1929, the Hadwen & Barney candle factory was available for sale. Sanderson assisted in purchasing the building and kept it until the NHA could raise the necessary funds to own the building. He then presented the NHA with his collection of whaling gear, which still makes up the bulk of the exhibition on view at the museum in Sanderson Hall.

In 1964 the NHA received what its quarterly magazine, Historic Nantucket, called "the most important acquisition ... since the conversion to the Whaling Museum of the old candle factory." Built originally in 1845 for William Hadwen (1791-1862) and his wife, Eunice Starbuck (1799-1864), the Hadwen House, at 96 Main Street, was given to the NHA by Jean Satler Williams, whose family had owned it since 1923. At the same time, Williams's husband , Winthrop, bequeathed to the association his collection of scrimshaw, totaling over three hundred pieces of ivory.

Over the association's 105-year history, thousands of individuals have contributed to the NHA's success. The gifts of artifacts, money, and time form the heart of the association, allowing it to manage

and interpret twenty-five structures and sites; educate residents and visitors; and provide supplemental programs, such as lectures, concerts, and exhibitions.

Ninety years ago, Susan Brock's report to the membership expressed her hopes for the young organization: "Our society is, as its name implies, the custodian and conservator of the history of Nantucket, and we hope that its utility will be more appreciated from year to year, and long after its .. . present patrons have passed from the stage of action, we believe its work will abide among the most cherished possessions of the Nantucketers that are to be. " As the HA approaches the twenty-first century, we continue to look to the future - collecting, preserving, and educating for generations to come.

Groundbreaking /or renovation of the Fair Street Museum to house the NHA's new research lzbrary, December 1999.

11

n Island in Time • • • Native Americans Nantucket's origins can be traced to the Archaic period more than 5,000 years ago when temperatures and sea levels rose, turning a ridge of hills into an island.

Ocean currents shaped the land into a rough approximation of how the island looks today. Late Archaic Indians fished the surrounding waters with hooks and spears made from stones and pebbles found on the shore.

They also fished in weirs placed in the island's inland estuaries. However, by the late Woodland period, between 400 and 1,000 years ago, the Native Americans were farming and hunting. They moved around the island seasonally, closer to the ocean in the summer and to low, protected areas in the winter. They were tall, healthy people -more than an inch taller and living three and a half to four years longer than their mainland counterparts.

As Europeans began to settle on the mainland, Nantucket became a place of refuge for regional Indians.

The growing population also welcomed seasonal visitors- groups of Native Americans who traveled to the island to fish and, later, harvest the whales that regularly washed up on the island's shores. By the time the English arrived in 1659, "driftwhaling" was a wellestablished and competitive industry. There were close to 3,000 Native Americans living on Nantucket- a community of farmers, hunters, fishermen, and whalers.

A Native American legend explaining Nantucket's origins: Once upon a time there lived on the Atlantic coast a giant who used Cape Cod for a bed. One night, being restless, he tossed /rom szde to szde tzll his moccasins were filled with sand. This so enraged him that on rising in the morning he flung the offending moccasins /rom his feet, one alighting to form Martha's Vineyard, while the other became the since famous island of Nantucket.

-EvA FOLGER,

NANTUCKET THE GLACIER'S GIFT,

POPULATION (roughly- sources vary; early figures limited to white population)

1675

190

1800

5,389

1905

2,930

1700

300

1820

6,992

1930

3,678

1726

917

1840

9,712

1950

3,484

1764

3,220

1860

6,094

1975

5,707

1784

4,269

1880

3,727

1999

8,737

1602

1659

1661

1662

BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLD

ISLAND DEEDED TO

FIRST DIVISION OF HOUSE

RECORDING OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

SIGHTS AND CHARTS

TRISTRAM COFFIN

LOTS TO EACH OF

BEGUN , SHOWING SIX DEATHS AND

NANTUCKET ISLAND.

AND EIGHT OTHERS.

THE ORIGINAL

SEVENTY·FOUR BIRTHS IN THE FIRST

SETTLERS LED

TWENTY PROPRIETORS.

FIFTEEN YEARS. FIRST WEDDING

BY THOMAS MACY

TOOK PLACE THIS YEAR BETWEEN

ARRIVE ON NANTUCKET.

MARY COFFIN AND NATHANIEL STARBUCK.

Photograph and object credits found on page 39.

12

1911

Association In 1659, Thomas Mayhew, a Puritan leader, purchased a portion of Nantucket directly from the Native American Indians who inhabited the island. Mayhew, in turn, sold the island to a group of nine English settlers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire who wanted to develop their own community outside the boundaries of Puritan control. Among the buyers were Thomas Macy, Mayhew's cousin, and Tristram Coffin, father of the Coffin family in America. This group of families became the "original proprietors" of Nantucket.

Mayhew's compensation for the land - thirty pounds sterling and two beaver hats -is symbolically recorded in the seal of the Nantucket Historical Association, adopted in 1898. Thirty coins are depicted along with two hats. Also on the seal are a crossed arrow and harpoon, recognizing the island's history as both a hunting ground and a whaling center.

1686

1665 Indian Deed Prior to the establishment of the first permanent English settlement in 1659, it is estimated that as many as 3,000 Indians may have made Nantucket their home. As the European community expanded, the English purchased, or were given, various island territories. In 1665 Wanackmamack and Nickanoose, two sachems of the island, gave to Edward Starbuck "all that tract of land called by the Indians Cohuoightuet." Cohuoightuet or, as we know it, Coatue, is a barrier beach that borders Nantucket harbor to the north. The presence of the English would drastically change the lives of the Indians.

Over the ensuing century, the Indian population would be weakened by disease, alcohol, and debt servitude a form of slavery. A plague in 17 63 killed 222 of the 358 remaining Indians on the island. Nantucket's "last Indian," Abram Quary, died in 1855.

Oldest House and Mary Gardner Coffin

This portrait, attributed to the Pollard Limner, depicts Mary Gardner Coffin (1670-1767). Mary Gardner was born on Nantucket and married Jethro Coffin, grandson of Tristram, in 1686. Their home, built later that year, is still standing on Nantucket. Now known as the Oldest House, it is owned and operated by the Nantucket Historical Association. The Coffin/Gardner marriage symbolized the end of an early conflict in Nantucket society involving their families that was known as the "half-share revolt." John Gardner and Tristram Coffin were key figures in

Nantucket's early governance. Coffin represented the "full-share" men, or original found~rs of Nantucket, while Gardner was one of a group of tradesmen who came to work on the island but received only half-shares. Bitter debates between the full-share and half-share parties raged on Nantucket about land rights, who could hold public office, and the future directions for the island. A tentative compromise between the two factions was reached in 1678, but it was not

and the eventual marriage of his grandson into the Gardner family that a full resolution of this conflict occurred.

1681

1686

1686

1692

DEATH OF

MARY GARDNER

JAMES II OF ENGLAND

NANTUCKET

TRISTRAM COFFIN.

AND JETHRO COFFIN

RESTRUCTURES

TURNED OVER

ARE MARRIED

THE COLONI ES

TO THE

AND GIVEN THE

BY CREATING

BAY COLONY

"OLDEST HOUSE"

THE FEDERATION

BY NEW YORK.

ON SUNSET HILL

OF NEW ENGLAND.

AS A WEDDING GIFT.

13

1750-1850 The Whaling Industry at Home

Navigation Instruments

A selection of the "tools of the trade" /rom the NHA's collection. Learning about navigation was an important part of the island's educational

Procuring the raw products of the whale on long ocean voyages - spermaceti, oil, and baleen was only part of the island's primary industry.

At home on the island, Nantucketers devoted their resources to outfitting ships and processing oil into candles.

Both the raw products and by-products generated profits for captains and merchants, who then purchased many necessities and luxuries, such as food, cloth , furniture, and tools for their personal use and to stock island shops.

When John Cartwright (1752-1837) , shown at left, died in 1837, his candlehouse and cooper's shop were valued at $2,000 and the newspaper eulogized him as "having passed through a long and active life without an imputation on his integrity, or a desire to be otherwise than useful to his fellow men." These traits suggest that Cartwright chose to live by Quaker tenets, although he was not formally a member of the Society of Friends. Having his silhouette cut instead of his portrait painted was considered "proper" by the Society, expressing a "plain and simple" aesthetic, without taking on worldly airs.

Pictured /rom the top: backstajf or Davzs's quadrant, used to help determine a ship's position at sea, made by Thomas Greenough /or David Macy, 1737; nautical telescope used by Captain William Cash, circa 1830; octant, circa 1840.

1683-1738 Nathaniel Starbuck Jr. Account Book Nathaniel Starbuck Jr. was a blacksmith . The account book, which spans the years 1683 to 1738, lists the work Starbuck performed for various Nantucketers , from shoeing horses to making locks , hinges, chains, and pitchforks. Starbuck's mother, Mary Coffin Starbuck, daughter of Tristram Coffin , also kept a ledger recording her accounts with the island 's Native Americans, who purchased goods from her shop.

The NHA library contains more than 475 account books that span three centuries and display the profits and expenditures of local businesses and households.

Walter Folger Jr. (1765-1849) "astronomical" tall-case clock and set it in motion. Pictured here, the clock tells not only the time of the day, but the motion and declination of the sun , the phases and motion of the moon, the day of the month , and the year.

The Honorable Walter Folger Jr. was a self-taught mathematician , scientist, and astronomer, as well as a lawyer, inventor, and U .S. Congressman. Folger married Anna Ray in 1785 and the couple had ten children.

In 1787, Folger finished construction of his

1700

1702

1708

1712

1717

BY 1700,

QUAKER JOHN RICHARDSON

NANTUCKET' S

FIRST SPERM WHALE

FISH LOT AND WAREHOUSE

SHORE WHALING,

VISITS THE ISLAND AND INSPIRES

RELIGIOUS SOCIETY

TAKEN OFFSHORE

LOT DIVISIONS DEFINE

WITH CREWS OF

MARY COFFIN STARBUCK.

OF FRIENDS

WHEN AN ISLAND SHIP

NEW TOWN CENTERED

BOTH ENGLISH AND

ALREADY A BUSINESS AND CIVIC LEADER ,

REQUESTS OFFICIAL

IS BLOWN OUT

AROUND THE GREAT

NATIVE AMERICANS,

STARBUCK ENDORSED QUAKERISM AND

RECOGNITION

TO SEA IN A GALE.

WAS A THRIVING

HELPED CEMENT IT AS THE ISLAND'S

FROM THE

OF THE ORIGINAL

DOMINANT RELIGIOUS AND

NEW ENGLAND

SETTLEMENT.

CULTURAL FOUNDATION.

YEARLY MEETING.

FISHERY.

14

HARBOR TO THE EAST

1746

The Old Mill In 1723, Richard Macy, a grandson of the first permanent white settler, proved himself a visionary when he built Straight Wharf. Macy correctly anticipated a shift in waterfront activity to Nantucket's large inner harbor, and his wharf soon becan1e central to island commerce. That same year Macy began to think about using the island's prevailing wind for grinding com and grain, but there was a problem: he had never seen a windmill. Just as he was about to employ an off-island millwright, Macy claimed to have had a dream that showed him in detail how to build each part of the structure. Based on his dream, Macy successfully built the first windmill on one of the Popsquatchet hills, now known as Mill Hill.

Of the four "smock" mills that were eventually erected in the Mill Hill area, only one still stands. The Old Mill was built in 1746 and functioned as a gristmill until1892. In 1897 Miss Caroline French, of Boston, purchased it at auction for $850 and donated it to the Nantucket Historical Association. The NHA operates the still-functioning mill as a historic site in season.

1770 Log of the Friendship Kept by Reuben Hussey from April12, 1770, to May 29, 1770, the log recounts a voyage of the ship Friendship from London to Quebec. Latitude, longitude, course, winds, and "remarks" are recorded for each day of the voyage. It was not only whalers that Nantucket sent to sea; merchant vessels, such as the Friendship, transported goods, including oil and candles, to various ports along the North American coast, to the West Indies, and to Europe. Trading vessels returned to the island with foodstuffs, rum, lumber, pitch and tar, and other commodities. In 1774 the Nantucket fleet comprised nearly 150 sail- both whalers and merchantmen.

1765 The Fishing Lady of Boston Common Stitched by Susan Colesworthy (1752-1811) in 1765, this needlework picture is part of a group of similarly designed pastoral embroideries called "The Fishing Lady Pictures." Pastoral canvaswork pictures were fashionable in England throughout the first quarter of the 1700s, becoming part of the curriculum at Boston boarding schools during the mid-eighteenth century. The Colesworthy fanlliy were neighbors of Paul Revere, and Susan's father, Gilbert, took part in the Boston Tea Party. Around 1773, Susan and some of her fanlliy moved to Nantucket where Susan, who never married, gave birth to her daughter Persis that year. A treasured family heirloom, the "Fishing Lady" needlework picture was passed down through generations until it was bequeathed to the NHA in 1937 by the association's first curator, Susan E. Brock (1852-1937).

1723

C. 1725

1726

1746

1750-60

CONSTRUCTION OF

NORTH SHORE MEETING

SHORE WHALING HAS

OLD MILL BUILT.

SHIPS BEGIN TO BE

STRAIGHT WHARF

HOUSE. NOW KNOWN AS

ITS BEST YEAR-

OUTFITIED FOR LONG

BEGUN.

OLD NORTH VESTRY.

86 WHALES TAKEN .

WHALING VOYAGES.

WAS BUILT AT CAPAUM

11 IN A SINGLE DAY.

AND WAS THE ISLAND"S FIRST HOUSE OF WORSHIP.

15

1800-25

Quaker Aesthetics

The Religious Society of Friends, the dominant island religion during the eighteenth century, was based on the tenet that the spirit of God exists in everyone and that individuals could worship God directly, without an intermediary. Those beliefs engendered an independent spirit and a simple aesthetic that continued to shape island culture, even as the society's influence began to wane. Quaker leaders urged Friends to "keep out of the vain fashions of the world [and] keep all in modesty and plainness. " The silk dress, desk, and silver pieces pictured here show good quality, but with simple lines and restrained decoration. As Nantucketers began to travel farther and farther around the world, achieving success from the whale fishery, many used their wealth to pursue a more comfortable lifestyle. The portraits of Obed (17 62-1844 ) and Abigail (1764-1842) Macy reproduced here, suggest the conilict that financial success posed for island Quakers. Although the Macys are shown wearing traditional Quaker-style costume, Religious Society of Friends teachings proscribed having one's portrait painted at all. As the whaling industry brought wealth to Nantucket, islanders began to adopt their own sense of style, incorporating new colors and motifs into their traditional "plain and simple" Quaker lifestyle.

Owning and using silver dining implements was a way to display the wealth achieved by many islanders through the whaling industry. The Quaker culture, whzle urging the use of plain home furnishings, dzd allow zts members to own szlver. Two of the best known szlversmiths active on Nantucket during the eigltteenth and nineteenth centuries were Benjamin Bunker (1751-1842) and john Jackson (1730-72), examples of their work are zllustrated here.

1750

1751

1763

1770

1770-75

ROBERT WYER

FIRST VOYAGE IN PURSUIT OF

EPIDEMIC, POSSIBLY

THOMAS MACY HOUSE

MOST DRAMATIC SPAN IN

HOUSE BUILT AT

SPERM WHALES TO THE

YELLOW FEVER ,

BUILT AT

A 30-YEAR PERIOD OF

33 ORANGE STREET,

CAROLINAS AND BERMUDA,

KILLS 222 OF

99 MAIN STREET,

PROSPERITY AND

NOW AN NHA

WITH PELEG FOLGER

THE REMAINING

NOW NHA PROPERTY.

COMMUNITY GROWTH ,

PROPERTY.

AT THE HELM OF THE GRAMPUS.

358 NATIVE AMERICANS ON THE ISLAND.

WITH WHALERS SETTING SAIL FOR THE SOUTH PACIFIC AND INDIAN OCEANS.

16

1775-1783 Nantucket and the American Revolution During the eighteenth century, the whaling industry became Nantucket's Captain Hezekiah Coffin primary economic resource. When the American colonies declared war of the Nantucket ship Beaver acquired this chair as part on Britain in 1775, few Nantucketers supported the effort. Between of a set of six during a voyage the Quaker tenet of pacifism and the island's reliance on the British to Europe in 1773. whale-oil market, there seemed little reason to upset the status quo.

His ship is famous However, not all Nantucketers remained neutral, and as the war for its return voyage, raged on pressure mounted from both sides for island residents to when it was one take a position. Kezia Coffin's (1723-98) reaction became symbolic of of three vessels Nantucket's pro-British tilt for many mainland rebels. involved in the Coffin made herself a profitable business Boston Tea Party. smuggling supplies to Nantucket during the Revolution, causing controversy on both sides of Nantucket Sound. Coffin's daughter, Kezia (Coffin) Fanning (1759-1820) is depicted in a late-nineteenth-century portrait, given to the NHA in 1952.

Fanning kept a journal from 1775 through 1820, which serves as one of the best primary sources for information on Nantucket's late-eighteenth- and earlynineteenth-century history. The painter of this portrait is unidentified, perhaps inspired by Fanning's journal entries, for it is unclear whether the painting is based on a life likeness, or merely conjecture.

1785-1800

Dunkirk, France

Between 1768 and 1772, whale oil accounted for fiftythree percent of all sterling earned by direct exports to Great Britain from the New England colonies, and most of that whale oil was gathered by Nantucket-based ships.

Nantucketers maintained strong ties to the mother country during the colonial period, relying on the English market for whale oil to support their existence on a small island off the coast of Massachusetts. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many British ships employed Nantucket captains and seamen. However, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 wer devastating to Nantucket's whaling industry. Both wars cut off trade between Nantucket and Britain, creating serious economic hardships for islanders.

While Kezia Coffin supported British interests during the Revolution, William Rotch (1734-1828), a prominent Quaker and one of Nantucket's most powerful whale-oil merchants, shown at right, wanted no part of the war. At the beginning of the conflict, it was Rotch's ships, including the Beaver, that were attacked in Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party. Rotch's beliefs in pacifism and

unrestricted international trade iniluenced his neutrality stance. After the American Revolution, and the resulting closure of the British whale-oil market, islanders needed to find a new outlet for their primary export. Rotch reached an agreement with the French to organize a whaling port in Dunkirk. Approximately twelve island families moved to France and created a duty-free market for whale oil through Nantucket, eventually allowing the island to regain leadership in the whaling industry. Other settlements established by migrating Nantucketers in search of a more favorable economic climate in the wake of the Revolution included Dartmouth, in Nova Scotia, and Milford Haven, Wales.

1770-90

1772

1773

1775- 83

LAND PURCHASED ON AND AROUND

ROTCH & SONS, OWNERS OF

LONG BELIEVERS

AMERICAN

YORK AND PLEASANT STREETS THAT WOULD

TWO VESSELS INVOLVED IN

IN ABOLITION,

REVOLUTION.

BECOME KNOWN AS "NEW GUINEA"-

BOSTON TEA PARTY, BUILT

THE QUAKER

A COMMUNITY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS,

HEADQUARTERS NOW KNOWN

COMMUNITY ENDS

NATIVE AMERICANS, AND

AS PACIFIC CLUB BUILDING.

SLAVERY ON-ISLAND.

CAPE VERDEAN PORTUGUESE.

17

Peculiar Customs at Nantucket 1784 Cook's Voyages Captain James Cook, the wellknown English explorer and navigator, commanded three voyages to the Pacific in the 1760s and 1770s. (Cook was killed by natives in the Hawaiian Islands on the return voyage in 1779.) Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, published in London in 1784 and comprising four volumes, recounts the discoveries of Cook's third voyage. As Nantucket whalemen began rounding Cape Horn in the 1790s, the Pacific became a prin1e whaling ground. Whalers began penetrating the same territories explored by Cook, gathering provisions and water at the islands that dotted the Central Pacific Ocean, including the Friendly Islands, or Tonga. The volume displaying this plate, which was created by John Webber, the official artist of the voyage, is part of the NHA library's collection of rare books. The collection includes seventeenth- and eighteenth-century atlases, nineteenthcentury accounts of Pacific and Arctic exploration, Bibles, Quaker texts, a substantial group of Melville first editions, and, of course, unusual books about whaling and Nantucket events and people.

1792

( (They are so tenacious of their ancient habits of industry and frugality, that if any of them were to be seen with a long coat made of English cloth on any other than thefirst-day (Sunday) he would be greatly ridiculed and censured_¡ he would be looked upon as a careless spendthrift, whom it would be unsafe to trust, and in vain to relieve. ) ) -HECTOR ST. JOHN DE CREVECOEUR, LEITERS FROM AN AMERICAN FARMER, 1783

Stephen Hussey Certificate Nantucket's Customs House was established in 1791. In 1792, Stephen Hussey was appointed the first "Inspector of the Revenue for the Ports of Nantucket and Sherburne."

The document is signed by both George Washington, president of the United States, and Thomas Jefferson. That Nantucket had its own Customs House is indicative of the significance of the port as a commercial center in the new republic.

With declining trade, Nantucket's Customs House closed in 1913.

It was housed in what is now called the Pacific Club Building.

1700-1900

Sheep Shearing

Due to Nantucket's sandy soil, me early settlers focused meir agricultural efforts on raising livestock ramer man crops. Raising sheep was particularly successful on me island and continued mroughout me eighteenm and nineteenm centuries. Margaretta S. Hinchman's (1876-1955) painting, illustrated here, depicts a popular annual island event- Shearing Dayswhen Nantucketers would gamer for a work party, shearing thousands of island sheep and enjoying the company of friends and fanilly.

1786

1789

1803

FOUR WHARVES , SEVERAL WAREHOUSES, A SAIL LOFT,

FRENCH

FIRST NANTUCKET SHIP

HOUSE AT

CANDLE FACTORY, A ROPE WALK, AND 150 DWELLINGS,

REVOLUTION

BUILT EXPRESSLY FOR

8 MILL STREET

1805

BUILT IN A STYLE THAT HAS COME TO BE KNOWN

THE CHINA TRADE,

BUILT FOR

AS "TYPICAL NANTUCKET HOUSE " STYLE.

THE ROSE, CROSSES

ISLAND SHERIFF.

ALSO THIS YEAR , THE VOYAGE OF THE

THE BAR.

UNITED STATES MARKED NANTUCKET'S

INITIATION INTO THE CHINA TRADE.

18

Hinchman painted this scene for the second edition of her mother's book Early Settlers of Nantucket, published in 1901. The book traces the history of the island's first families. In 1956, this painting and two omers used in me same book were bequeamed to me NHA by Hinchman, continuing a tradition started by Eastman Johnson and Elizabeth Rebecca Coffin of artists donating to me association works mey painted on Nantucket.

NOW NHA PROPERTY, 1800 HOUSE.

The Old Gaol and the 1800 House In October of 1805 the town chose to build a new jail at a cost of $2,090, comparable to that of a new whaleship. Known at the time as the "New Gaol," it was unusually well fortified. Today, it is called the "Old Gaol" and has been owned by the Nantucket Historical Association since 1946.

The wooden structure, at the end of a short path off Vestal Street, represents colonial architecture but was built with massive oak timbers and iron bolts running the length of the walls, iron rods across the windows, and heavy wooden doors, also reinforced with iron.

Seeing the detrimental effects of hosting sailors from all over the world as Nantucket evolved into a bustling, international maritime center in the late seventeenth century, the townspeople built their first jail in 1696. At the turn of the nineteenth century, Vestal Street was dubbed "Prison Lane," and the new jail was built. The solid design proved successful, forcing prisoners to plan creative escapes. One crafty prisoner held a burning mattress out the window and ran away when the jail keeper unlocked his cell to investigate. Another, jailed in 1888 for breaking and entering, escaped using a key supplied by a woman who had rigged a block-and-tackle line to his window. That prisoner was eventually caught in New York City and returned to jail. One enterprising fifteen-year-old boy managed escape by knocking out bricks in the chimney and crawling up the flue. He, too, was caught and the chimney was rebuilt with a smaller flue. The jail's last inmate, in 1933, slashed the keeper's face with a piece of masonry from the fireplace and escaped. Believed to have been smuggled off the island since a massive manhunt was unsuccessful, he was apprehended five years later when he inquired (using an alias) about the belongings of the escaped prisoner. The jail was closed soon after.

The 1800 House, on Mill Street not far from the jail, was also built in 1805 and housed the island's high sheriff, who also served as jail keeper. The large, sturdy building is characteristic of the Quaker aesthetic and soon became a social center for the island. Frederick Melhado, then owner of Moors End, gave the building to the Nantucket Historical Association in 1951.

1800 James Chase Liverpool Pitcher Brought to Nantucket by Captain James Chase (1738-1819) , this colorful Liverpool pitcher depicts a whaling scene on one side. A veteran of the American navy, Chase later served as captain of the Nancy and as captain of the Harmony during a 1791-92 cruise to the west coast of Africa.

Monogrammed, under the spout, for Chase and his wife Mary, the pitcher was passed down in the family for many generations, until it was presented to the NHA in 1998. Often pitchers like this one were gifts for family members and friends, but sometimes they were cherished by the purchaser, reminding him of past voyages. Used in the domestic setting, these items conveyed an understanding of the world beyond Nantucket.

Manners and Customs at Nantucket

( (Wherever I went I found a simplicity of diction and manners) rather more primitive and rigzd than I expecteel¡ and as soon I perceived that it proceeded /rom their secluded situation) which has prevented them /rom mixing with others. It is there/ore easy to conceive how they have retained every degree of peculiarity for which this sect was formerly distinguished. Never was a bee-hive more faithfully employed in gathering wax) bee-breacl and honey) /rom all the neighbouring fields) than are the members of this society)¡ every one in the town follows some particular occupation with great diligence) but without that servility of labour which I am informed prevails in Europe. ) ) - HECfOR ST. JOHN DE CREVECOEUR, LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN FARMER, 1783

1805 OLD GAOL BUILT ON VESTAL

rrs.Ei~~

I

1809

1818

1820

SECOND CONGREGATIONAL

STEAMER EAGLE

THE ESSEX.

MEETING HOUSE

FIRST STEAMBOAT

CAPTAINED BY GEORGE POLLARD,

(TOWN CLOCK)

TO COME TO

IS SUNK BY AN ENRAGED SPERM WHALE.

STREET,

BUILT ON

NANTUCKET FROM

NOW NHA

ORANGE STREET.

THE MAINLAND.

PROPERTY.

19

1800 Samplers and Family Records Little is known of the everyday lives of Nantucket women in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. But the samplers, quilts, and drawings they produced reveal some of the priorities of their domestic lives. Every eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American woman learned to sew, no matter where or how well she lived.

On Nantucket, as elsewhere, girls were taught to sew by making a sampler. Stitching a sampler helped girls learn the stitches required to mark clothes and linens and reinforced their knowledge of letters and numbers.

Samplers were not merely practical teaching tools. Stitching letters, verses, and motifs and choosing colors of silk thread allowed girls an opportunity to explore their creative impulses. Private needlework schools existed on Nantucket throughout the nineteenth century, often offering

1800

classes in the visual arts, literature and the sciences, along with needlework. The similarities in layout, color, verse, and design elements, along with the date of 1800, which appears on the two samplers pictured here and on three others in the NHA's collection, suggest that they were all made during the same term at the san1e island school. The fruit baskets and floral motifs are elements of the Quaker style, while the sawtooth border, outer wavy floral vine border, and the "Nantucket tree" seen on Mary Brown's sampler are unique island elements.

Family records painted in watercolor, like the one pictured on page 4, were also common school exercises during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Spurred by the Revolutionary War, newly declared Americans pursued an interest in the country's history and in their own genealogy. The record shows birth dates and marriage ties, with death dates added in ink long after the watercolor was completed. The piece may have been drawn by Rebecca Folger to trace her marriage and family.

The China Trade

In the wake of the Revolutionary War, Nantucket's whaling economy suffered a serious decline. With no other product to trade, islanders were forced to continue setting sail. Vulnerable to attack by both the British and the Americans, the island-based fleet was decimated by the end of the war. However, with independence came the ability to trade directly with foreign countries. In 1800, Captain Uriah Swain (1754- 1810) took the ship Mars to China, initiating a direct economic relationship between Nantucket and the Far East. Trading in sealskins allowed the ship to load a cargo of tea and other

Chinese goods and souvenirs. In 1803 , the ship Rose, under the command of James Cary (1777-1812) , became the first Nantucket-built vessel devoted to the China Trade. The NHA's collection includes several artifacts and manuscripts associated with Cary and his trading activities. The Foo dog candlesticks shown here were a

gift for his wife, Betsey (1778-1862) , and are marked with the couple's initials, "JBC." An account book, purchased by the NHA in 1995 , covers the period from 1802 to 1816 and shows entries by both]an1es and Betsey. James's entries from 1802 to 1812 track his mercantile business.

Unfortunately, during a voyage in 1812 , he died suddenly and was buried on the island of Whampoa, downriver from Canton. The account book entries from 1812 to 1816 were made by Betsey as she continued to sell calico, shoes, ribbons, and spices to other Nantucketers in order to support herself.

1821

1822

1823

NANTUCKET'S

AN ALL¡BLACK CREW,

METHODIST CHURCH

WASHINGTON NATIONAL JOURNAL

FIRST NEWSPAPER,

WITH ABSALOM F. BOSTON

BUILT ON

REPORTS NANTUCKET HAS

CENTRE STREET.

60 WHALING VESSELS,

THE INQUIRER,

AS CAPTAIN,

BEGINS PUBLISHING.

DEPARTS NANTUCKET

1825

40 IN THE PACIFIC,

ON THE WHALESHIP

EMPLOYING 2,000 PEOPLE.

INDUSTRY.

THAT SAME YEAR, THE AFRICAN SCHOOL WAS ERECTED AT

20

FIVE CORNERS.

1803 Peleg Folger Piecebook This booklet was created by Peleg Folger around 1803, "on his entering 24 year[s] of age." Original verse is accompanied by delicate and colorful ink and watercolor illustrations of birds and flowers. One poem, entitled "On the Married State," appears to have been composed prior to 1803, as Folger married Ann Macy in 1801, at the age of twenty-two.

"Grant me kind heaven a fond endearing mate, I Then would my pleasure be complete indeed," Folger entreats. The poem concludes:

Oh may it be my happy lot to find A wife thus charming, faithfu~ and as kind To Sympathize in trouble or in grief, In whose Sweet converse I can find relief With every tie that binds the Soul to prove, Her duty friendship, and her friendship love It can only be hoped that Folger's union with Ann Macy fulfilled his youthful expectations. Ann Macy bore five children before dying in 1821.

Within six months, Folger had married her third cousin once removed, Nancy Coffin.

1803 Ship Brook Watson The Brook Watson was built as a whaler and set sail from England in 1802 with Captain Benjamin Swift as master. After war broke out between Britain and France, the ship was reregistered in 1804 as an armed merchant vessel under the command of Nantucketer Obadiah Worth. The ship was the namesake of a man best known

from another painting. At the age of fourteen, while he was swimming in the harbor at Havana, Watson's leg was bitten off by a shark, an incident captured on canvas

by John Singleton Copley in his well-known work Brook Watson and the Shark. Despite his early misfortune, Watson assisted in the development of Lloyd's of London, was a director of the Bank of England, and was made a baronet in 1803, when this ship portrait was painted by St. Jean.

1827

1828

1833

1833

ADMIRAL SIR ISAAC COffiN'S

FIRST ATTEMPT TO

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY

OLD TOWN BUILDING ERECTED,

IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE.

THE OLDEST MUNICIPAL

LANCASTERIAN SCHOOL FOR

DREDGE THE CHANNEL

DESCENDANTS OF TRISTRAM COFFIN

TO FACILITATE

BUILDING ON THE ISLAND.

OPENS ON FAIR STREET.

WHALESHIPS GETTING

NOW NHA PROPERTY.

FIRST PUBLIC SCHOOL OPENS.

TO THE WHARVES.

21

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:;

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tf:tll ''""'"

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Frederick Myrick (1818-?)

Frederick Myrick was born on Nantucket in 1808. His high degree of skill and artistry is evident in both this example of his penmanship and his well-documented Susan's Teeth. At the age of 18, Myrick signed on for his second, and what is believed to be his last, whaling voyage. He sailed aboard the ship Susan from 1826 to 1829.

It was during that trip to the Pacific that Myrick created his highly decorative examples of scrimshaw. Myrick documented his work with both the date and his signature. After his return to Nantucket, Myrick married Mary P. Folger. The couple had six children and eventually left whaling and Nantucket behind for western New York State.

African American Community Absalom E Boston (1785-1855) When the schooner Industry set out from Nantucket in 1822 its captain and crew sailed into history. At the helm was Absalom F. Boston, a Nantucket native and the first known AfricanAmerican to command an all-black crew aboard a whaling ship. Boston returned to Nantucket after the voyage to become a prominent member of Nantucket's African-American community.

Becoming a prosperous innkeeper and prop~rty owner on the island, Boston was eventually

1835

22

involved with another historic event. In 1845 Absalom Boston and his daughter led a successful court case to desegregate the Nantucket school system. Although slavery was not abolished on Nantucket Island until1773, an earlier court case involving Boston's uncle did much to officially end Nantucket slaveholding.

At thattime, in large part because of its strong Quaker community, Nantucket remained firm in its abolitionist position.

1838

1841

OBED MACY' S ClASSIC

QUAKER MEETING

HISTORY OF NANTUCKET PUBLISHED.

HOUSE BUILT AT

FREDERICK DOUGlASS

IT HAD BEEN GHOSlWRITTEN BY

9 FAIR STREET,

SPEAKS AT

WILLIAM COFFIN, JR.

NOW NHA PROPERTY.

THE NANTUCKET ATHENEUM.

FORMER SlAVE AND ABOLITIONIST

1819- 29

Scrimshaw

Scrimshaw is the art of engraving images on whale teeth and bone. This form of folk art was practiced by men aboard whaleships during the nineteenth century. During the long voyages, ~ whalers would often turn to scrimshanding as a way to pass time and as an outlet for their creative energies. From the scrimshaw process the men would produce decorative objects, utilitarian devices, and jewelry.

It is one of the earliest recognized American crafts and remains one of the most highly desired forms of folk art for collectors of Americana.

Perhaps the best documented and most sought after examples of scrimshaw are the relatively few pieces produced aboard a specific whaleship in • the 1820s. What is now referred to as the Susan's Teeth is a series of carvings on sperm whale teeth completed 4l ~aboard the whaleship Susan between 1827 and 1830. The group constitutes the earliest known dated teeth ,. in a series produced by Frederick Myrick. At least fourteen and perhaps as many as twenty 1l documented examples are known to exist and are now in the collections of nw11erous • musewns. The Susan's Teeth are considered by many to be the finest series ~. of signed scrimshaw folk art.

•v ... . ./

f· · ',l· ..

... .....,;. • . i l l .

Circa 1829 Lucy Macy Map

<

; ~:t~~l ~··. "' '"

~

i-

I

~'4- .~ff' ,,

_________,

"-A~TITKJ:T ~·-".t'-, 10-~ .. '~' ~·lirol..r:

.,. .. ... ~.

~ t

Ill

I.

_..1

S 011 1'11

~/iJ!/"

l:.~."i1'

-- ~

Qf. .-\RTL'R

l':f l.:\ NTH' Ot LlN -'--

Lucy Macy (1812-75) drew this map of Nantucket while a student at the Coffin School when she was sixteen or seventeen years old. The NHA library possesses several other hand-drawn maps of Nantucket and the neighboring island ofTuckernuck - clearly the product of a class exercise that date from the same period. This map reveals the island's most notable features, at least in the eyes of a young girl, circa 1829.

....... ..

1842 PETER FOLGER EWER DESIGNS FLOATING

1846 WILLIAM HADWEN

PHEBE BOSTON AND EUNICE ROSS

DRYDOCK, CALLED THE "CAMELS," FOR

BREAK THE COLOR LINE

TRANSPORTING SHIPS ANCHORED IN THE

AT NANTUCKET

HARBOR TO THE DOCKS. AS SHIPS GREW

96 MAIN STREET,

HIGH SCHOOL.

LARGER, NANTUCKET'S SHALLOW CHANNEL MADE THE CAMELS IMPERATIVE FOR

PROPERTY.

PRESERVING WHALING ON NANTUCKET.

23

1820--50 Whaling Implements

Painting, "The Packet Sch.

Heroine Geo. G. Hussey, Master, Bound for Chagres March 22nd

1850,"

circa 1850

The NHA's extensive collection of whaling tools and implements suggests the grueling work and effort required to harvest oil from the largest mammals on earth. Harpoons, like the one shown here, did not kill the whale, but attached rope "line" into the whale's blubber. The whale would fight the harpoon until it tired, sometimes rwisting the iron into knots. Once the whale tired of fighting the harpoon, the seamen could kill it with lances. Cutting-in spades, blubber gaffs, boarding and mincing knives were used to remove the blubber, which was boiled in large caldrons on board to render the oil. Most of those implements are illustrated in this drawing, found in a log kept by Eldred E. Fysh, surgeon for the bark Coronet during an 1837-39 voyage to the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. The American dominance of the whaling industry is exemplified by this drawing, which although produced on a British vessel, refers to the tools and implements

by American names, such as a "dollar-headed lance."

Nantucket blacksmiths made thousands of these tools to supply the whaleships departing from the island. The double-flued harpoon illustrated here is

1842-44

whaling port after Nantucket's decline in the late 1840s. Toggle harpoons became popular because of their superior efficiency in securely fastening to the whale. While Temple's invention was extremely successful, he reaped little material gain from his harpoon. Temple never patented his modifications and they were duplicated by all of his contemporaries. In 1853, Temple sustained debilitating injuries from a fall, ultimately dying from the wounds in 1854 at the age of fifty-four.

Log of the Washington

The Washington was out of New Bedford, but its captain, James G. Coffin, was of Nantucket. It was he who kept the log, from September of 1842 to October of 1844. The logbook contains unusually vivid illustrations of whaling activities, from hunting the whale with harpoon and lance to trying out, or boiling, whale blubber in large pots on the deck of the vessel, as is shown here in the background. For each whale taken the captain drew, or stamped, a small whale in

24

marked "G.S." and has been attributed to George Swain, an island blacksmith. One of the most in1portant innovations in whaling gear, the toggle harpoon, was developed by an Mrican-American blacksmith, Lewis Temple, in 1848. Temple worked in New Bedford, which became an important

1846

1846

THE GREAT FIRE OF 1846

THOMAS MACY WAREHOUSE

DESTROYS MOST OF THE

ERECTED ON

TOWN CENTER.

STRAIGHT WHARF

the logbook next to the day's entry, a symbol that would serve as a visual aid when the logbook was scanned by the captain or the vessel's owners.

A logbook is an official account of a ship's voyage kept by either the captain or the first mate. Accounts of voyages kept by other crew members are referred to as journals. The library possesses 365 logbooks and journals, spanning 200 years, of merchant, whaling, and even recreational voyages.

1847 MARIA MITCHELL MAKES A NAME FOR HERSELF, AND ALL l<

WOMEN IN SCIENCE, BY DISCOVERING A COMET. SHE RECEIVES AN AWARD FROM THE KING OF

AFTER THE

DENMARK AND LATER BECOMES A PROFESSOR

GREAT FIRE.

OF ASTRONOMY AT VASSAR COLLEGE, A POST

NOW NHA PROPERTY.

SHE HOLDS FOR 23 YEARS.

1820-45 Golden Age of Whaling Built in 1844 by William Hadwen, a prosperous whale-oil merchant and candle maker, this magnificent home was erected during the height of the Nantucket whaling industry. It remains almost intact as a reminder of those days. Situated at 96 Main Street, the Hadwen House is one of the most elaborate examples of Greek Revival architecture in Nantucket. Its tetrastyle ionic portico is original to the house and is

1848-53 Journal of the

Ship Nauticon

=~~],~~~Ji·~

From September of 1848 to March of 1853, Susan Austin Veeder (1816--c. 1890) accompanied her husband, Charles A. Veeder (1809-?), on a whaling voyage. Journals kept by ;:;f;t~:.:-~7 .;E_~-:.;;~~~i women are fairly rare; not many whaling wives went to sea with their husbands.

Numerous colorful watercolors reveal Mrs. Veeder's impressions of foreign ports, seas, and islands. Mrs. Veeder also observed shipboard life, from the painting and provisioning of the vessel to the activities of whaling and gamming, as socializing with another vessel was called.

In January of 1849, Mrs. Veeder delivered a daughter at the port of Talcahuano in Chile. Eleven months later, Mary Frances was dead: "She was a fine child to good to live, and at 11 Oclock AM she breathed her last."

The Veeders had three other daughters at home on Nantucket and three sons, at least one of whom was on this voyage. The length of the voyage, nearly five years, indicates the scarcity of whales and the difficulty in catching them in over-fished whaling grounds. By the 1850s, Nantucket's whaling industry was in de~line. ~...... ,;AI•· ••

~//.- ,

//. ' :

believed to have been built under the direction of Frederick Brown Coleman, an architect who worked on several important buildings in Nantucket, including the Atheneum, the Methodist Church, and the Unitarian Church.

The Hadwen House has been operated by the Nantucket Historical Association since 1964 and the period gardens are maintained by the Nantucket Garden Club. It is open to the public for tours in season.

1850--70

The China Trade

The clipper ship Houqua, named for a successful Cantonese merchant, was built in New York City in 1844 by the famous shipping company A. A. Low Brothers.

By 1854, when Nantucketer Henry Coleman took over command of the ship, the Houqua already had the enviable reputation of carrying tea and goods from China to America in record time. Coleman continued as captain until1856.

In 1855 Coleman brought his wife a lacquered sewing table from one of his trips aboard the Houqua. The eighteen internal compartments hold an array of needlework and sewing tools, including thread winders, tatting shuttles, needles, clamps, spools, and pin cushions. The table became a family heirloom and was passed down from mother to daughter for many generations.

After Coleman's retirement, William Cartwright took over as captain of the Houqua and sailed it between San Francisco and Japan.

In 1864 Captain Cartwright sailed from Yokohama, Japan, for New York City, but the ship disappeared en route, leaving no evidence of its sinking.

1847

1849

1850

1851

RICHARD M ITCHELL AND

THE FIRST NANTUCKET SHIP TO SAIL

SANKATY HEAD

MOBY-0/CK PUBLISHED;

SONS BU ILD A CAND LE

FOR THE GOLDFIELDS OF CALIFORNIA

LIGHTHOUSE

ELM TREES PLANTED

FACTORY AND WHALE OIL

WAS THE AURORA, IN JANUARY 1849.

ERECTED.

ON MAIN STREET.

REFINERY ON BROAD STREET; IT WILL BECOME THE WHALING MUSEUM.

25

1846 The Great Fire A fire that began at Geary's Store on Main Street on July 13, 1846, hastened the eventual fate of Nantucket's prosperous whaling industry. The blaze quickly spread out of control along Main Street's business section while two volunteer fire companies quarreled over how to fight it. The brick Pacific Bank on Main Street survived, although the Mitchell family's rooftop observatory went up in flan1es.

At that point firefighters considered blowing up the Methodist Church next door. One account, perhaps apocryphal, has a defiant Maria Mitchell, astronomer and daughter of the Pacific Bank cashier William Mitchell, standing on the church porch refusing to allow the church's destruction. At the last minute the wind changed direction and

the church was spared.

When the fire had finally burned itself out on July 14, over a million dollars in property was destroyed, one third of the island's buildings were gone, and 800 islanders were homeless. All along the waterfront the fire, violently fueled by burning whale oil and tar, leveled wharves, counting houses, ropewalks, sail lofts, warehouses, and cooper shops. Few buildings remained standing between Main and Broad Streets. Among those lost were the Nantucket Atheneum and all its collections, the newly built Trinity Church, and two of Nantucket's three newspaper offices.

In the days following the fire, assistance can1e from all over New England in the form of money and staples. The residents of Boston alone contributed fifteen thousand dollars.

When the townspeople rebuilt, they kept preventive measures in mind. Streets were widened and buildings were spaced farther apart. Large brick buildings were built in strategic locations to serve as potential fire breaks. The town also built hose-cart houses around town that stored hand-pumped fire carts. The last remaining hose-cart house (shown at far left), built in 1886, stands on Gardner Street and now belongs to the Nantucket Historical Association. But the island's vibrant whaling industry never recovered and the subsequent loss in population due to the California gold rush and the Civil War led to the island's further decline.

(Pre-1846) D aguerreotype Captured in this daguerreotype, at right, is a view of the north side of Nantucket's Main Street looking toward the intersection with Centre Street. The image is extremely rare for two reasons: first, it is probably the only extant photographic record of Nantucket prior to the Great Fire. The fire destroyed more than one-third of the town, including the original Atheneum, which was rebuilt only a year later at its present site. Second, due to the inl1erent technical difficulties of producing daguerreotypes out of doors, 1859

1860-65

1865

CHEAPER FUELS DERIVED FROM PETROLEUM

SOME 400

THE NANTUCKET

" NOT A SHIP, BARK, BRIG,

WILL QUICKLY ERADICATE THE NEED FOR

NANTUCKET MEN

INQUIRER AND

OR VESSEL OF ANY KIND"

WHALE OIL; ABRAM QUARY, NANTUCKET'S

GO TO WAR TO

THE MIRROR MERGE

FROM NANTUCKET'S

LAST NATIVE AMERICAN , DIES;

FIGHT FOR THE

TO FORM THE

GLORY DAYS

COFFIN SCHOOL REOPENS ON

UNION CAUSE.

INQUIRER AND MIRROR.

TO BE FOUND

WINTER STREET IN BRICK GREEK REVIVAL BUILDING.

26

landscapes are scarce in relation to the bulk of photographs made in the 1840s. The daguerreotype was mainly a product of the photographer's portrait studio.

Although the frame buildings on the right side of the image were destroyed by the

fire, in the black and white reproduction at top, one can see part of the Pacific National Bank at the top left and the colunms of the United Methodist Church in the background, both of which survived. Another interesting detail is that the word "warehouse" is barely detectable on the far right, indicating that the photographer had an adjusting mirror on the camera. Without such intervention, the letters would appear backward, as daguerreotypes are in-camera positives and therefore laterally reversed.

1870

IN THE HARBOR.

Maria Mitchell (1818-89) Born on Nantucket in 1818, Maria Mitchell learned about rbe stars from her farber, William Mitchell, an avid amateur astronomer as well as cashier at rbe Pacific Bank and a long-time educator. By rbe time she was eleven years old, Maria was assisting her farber in his observations of rbe sky. As a young woman, she was passionate about astronomy, foregoing rbe island's vibrant social scene and dominant Quaker religion to pursue her interest. In 1847, at rbe age of thirty, she discovered a comet using a tele-

scope her farber had installed on rbe roof of rbe Pacific Bank. As a result, rbe King of Denmark presented her with a gold medal and she was rbe first, and only, woman inducted into rbe American Academy of Arts and Sciences until1943. When Vassar College opened in 1865, Maria Mitchell became rbe first female professor of astronomy in rbe United States. She taught at Vassar for twenty-three years, where she distinguished herself as a scientist and an advocate of women's rights.

1850-1900 The Quaker Era Ends Quakerism is a religious movement rbat had its roots in mid-seventeenrb-century England. The earliest gatherings consisted of a group of "Friends" who believed rbat God's spirit, or rbe "Inner Light" was witbin each hwnan. Therefore, the worship of God did not require an intermediary, such as a minister or priest. Because of their radical beliefs, rbe Quakers faced persecution in both England and Puritan New England. A nwnber of Quakers found a haven on Nantucket where rbeir religious views, in rbe eyes of orbers, were not a prin1ary source of concern.

The Religious Society of Friends grew rapidly in nwnbers during rbe eighteenrb century. The Nantucket Quakers became rbe first religious group to formally organize on the island. Several meeting houses were built and repeatedly enlarged on the island. The Quakers were very active politi-

cally and many found prosperity in the island's whaling economy.

Throughout much of rbe eighteenth century, the Quakers formed a majority of rbe island population and their traditions, customs, and architecture became rbe dam-

1881 NANTUCKET

FIRE HOSE CART HOUSE

RAILROAD INAUGURATED.

8 GARDNER STREET, NOW NHA PROPERTY.

inant form of expression in Nantucket culture. Barb rbe Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 dealt a serious blow to rbe Quaker establishment, however. Their doctrine of pacifism alienated several members of the Friends during a time of great conflict and change. By the mid-nineteenth century, with the prosperity of rbe whaling industry rapidly vanishing and continued social change, the Nantucket group of Friends had splintered into several factions.

Their nwnbers on rbe island began dropping precipitously. By 1894, rbe meeting had declined to such an extent rbat rbe members decided to sell rbeir remaining meeting house to the fledgling Nantucket Historical Association- for $1000.

The Friends Meeting House on Fair Street provided rbe first home for rbe Nantucket Historical Association and is still used as an active place of worship.

1894

1900

NANTUCKET HISTORICAL

SIASCONSET CASINO

ASSOCIATION

BUILT BY SUMMER VISITORS,

ESTABLISHED;

MOST OF WHOM ARE

PURCHASES

PROFESSIONAL STAGE

QUAKER

ACTORS FROM NEW YORK.

MEETING HOUSE.

27

..

1849

California Gold Rush News of the gold rush reached Nantucketers on December 9, 1848, when the Weekly Mirror ran a story on President J an1es Polk's State of the Union address in which he announced reports of the precious ore's discovery in California.

On December 11 the Inquirer ran a similar report and a companion piece by California's Governor Mason, written from Monterey, in which he clain1s that "California is a perfect El Dorado, portions of which are reported to be almost paved with gold."

With the whaling industry dwindling, the men of Nantucket latched on to the idea of going to California with gusto.

Whaleships hastily converted into passenger

vessels. In all, more than forty-two whaleships were withdrawn from the industry for the specific purpose of travel to California. In addition, many men deserted their whaling vessels midway through the voyage to seek gold. The impact on the industry was catastrophic.

For Nantucketers, though, it opened up a new world of opportunities and explora-

1861-65

tion. Traveling to California, the men carried the hopes and dreams of their community. Gold, mementos, and souvenirs returned to the island with every ship carrying mail. Tales of opportunities in San Francisco sparked the imagination of the islanders, ultimately carrying fanlllies westward to settle. Although many men returned to Nantucket no richer than when they left, California had left an impression, a vision of their growing country. The NHA has a varied collection of letters, journals, and souvenirs from the California gold rush, including this map of the harbor of San Francisco. Found in a journal kept by James M . Bunker while on board the Aurora, the map details the harbor's water depth, latitude, and longitude. The Aurora was the first whaleship to leave Nantucket for California, on January 9, 1849.

Civil War

After war was declared in 1861, Nantucket established a militia known as the Island Guard, associated with the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Over the course of the conflict, 373 Nantucket men served, even though the island's quota was only 100 men.

Leander F Alley (1833-62) was the first to sign the roll of volunteers in 1861 and attained the rank of second lieutenant in September 1862. At that time, the men of Company I, as a mark of respect, contributed money to purchase this presentation sword for Alley, which was given to the NHA in 1948. At the battle of Fredericksburg, in December 1862, Lieutenant Alley was killed. His body was retrieved under fire and transported back to Nantucket for burial, where he received the island's first military funeral, including a procession, the flying of flags at half-mast, and the closure of island schools and businesses, so that all could attend the services. Alley is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery and his name appears on the Civil War Monument, on upper Main Street.

1900

1900

1901

NANTUCKET REBORN

THE FIRST CAR,

FIRST SHIP-TO-SHORE MESSAGE

MARIA MITCHELL ASSOCIATION

AS A " SPA."

A STANLEY STEAMER,

TRANSMIITED FROM SS LUCAN/A TO

FOUNDED.

FAMOUS FOR ITS

BROUGHT TO NANTUCKET

SIASCONSET WIRELESS STATION ,

HEALTH-GIVING WATERS.

BUT PROHIBITED

WHICH OPENED

FROM OPERATING.

IN AUGUST.

ATHENEUM OPENS AS A PUBLIC LIBRARY.

28

1902

1853-56 Archer Dressing Case Nantucket's reign as the world's premiere whaling port is well documented; however, after the Great Fire of 1846, the island never fully recovered. Whaling voyages continued to be launched from island shores until1869, but the "greasy luck" of the 1820s and 1830s was never recaptured. This elaborate dressing case was made by Captain James Archer (1810---69) for his wife, Mary C. (Ray) Archer, while on board the bark A/ton during an Atlantic Ocean voyage between 1853 and 1856.

The A/ton returned in 1856 with only 336 barrels of sperm oil and sixty-seven barrels of whale oil, suggesting the reason why Archer had so much free tin1e to make this gift. Although the voyage was not particularly prosperous, the dressing case became a valued fanlliy heirloom.

Given to the NHA in 1906 by Archer's children, in memory of meir mother, it also represents the importance that history played in the lives of Nantucketers during the early twentieth century.

1856

Nantucket Agricultural Society

Established in 1856, the Nantucket Agricultural Society was formed "to encourage Agricultural and Mechanic Arts in the county of Nantucket." A response to the effect that the declining whale fishery had on the island, this group of committed Nantucketers hoped to encourage their peers to pursue other vocations and revitalize the economy. Toward that end, the society initiated an annual Agricultural Fair in 1856. Held at the Atheneum, prizes were awarded in a number of categories including livestock, vegetables, needlework, and arts and crafts.

During its first year, the society raised funds through membership dues and by making the "friendship quilt" pictured here, which was given to the NHA in 1970. Although many autograph quilts were made as a group gift for a mutual friend, sometimes they were made to raise funds for a favorite charity. Individual blocks were "sold" for a small fee. Each person who paid could sign a block and have a chance to win the quilt when it was raffled. The Agricultural Society quilt contains over 250 signatures and reads as a "who's who" of the island community during the mid-nineteenth century.

1906

1907

1911

NANTUCKET YACHT CLUB

STATE LEGISLATURE

NANTUCKET COTIAGE HOSPITAL

FOUNDED.

PASSES BILL PERMITIING

FOUNDED ON

EXCLUSION OF CARS

WEST CHESTER STREET.

FROM JUNE 15 TO SEPTEMBER 15.

29

Circa 1870 Island Renaissance After the mid-nineteenth-century decline of the whaling industry on Nantucket, many residents abandoned the island, leaving it in a deep economic depression. But beginning in the early 1870s, Americans, particularly citydwellers, "rediscovered" Nantucket as a beautiful and healthy summer resort.

The island became especially popular

with writers and artists as it provided a relaxing climate in which¡ to work and endless sources of subject matter.

Scenes of island life were often captured in charming genre paintings that reflected a growing sense of nostalgia in an increasingly industrialized nation. Foremost among those artists who flocked to Nantucket's shores was Eastman Johnson (1824-1906) . One of America's best known and most accomplished artists of the nineteenth century, Eastman Johnson began summering on Nantucket in 1870. He spent the following twenty summers on Nantucket, drawing his inspiration from everyday life on the island and the people who inhabited it. In addition to painting portraits of several sea captains and whaling merchants, he recorded seasonal events like corn husking and cranberry picking, such as this study for his well-known The Cranberry Pickers, Island a/Nantucket, 1878-79.

In his studio on the north shore of Nantucket, Johnson completed several of his masterpieces. They are paintings that remain among the most loved and recognized examples of nineteenth-century American art.

Unfinished portrait of artist and subject

by Elizabeth Rebecca Coffin, c. 1885.

Eliza Ann McCleave (1811-94) In about 1840, Eliza Ann McCleave created a museum in her home at 109 Main Street, consisting of ethnographic specimens and souvenirs that her husband, whaling captain Robert McCleave (1809-78), and other seafaring friends brought home as gifts. These napkin rings, part of a set of twelve, were carved by a crewman on the ship Oliver Crocker during an 1854-1858 voyage under the command of Captain McCleave. When the vessel returned home, the sailor presented the set to Mrs. McCleave who exhibited them in her museum, as seen on the table in the photograph. Mrs. McCleave gave lectures to her

visitors, sometimes in verse, providing an introduction to the foreign cultures represented. Although her musewn may initially have been a way to occupy her leisure hours, she was eventually reported to use "the considerable funds of money received by her .. . for the relief of those dependent upon her," including her son, while her husband was away on whaling voyages.

1914

1915

1917

1918

EXCLUSIONARY ACT

WHARF RAT CLUB

PRESIDENT AND MRS. WOODROW WILSON

LAW BANNING CARS

BARRING CARS FROM

FOUNDED.

VISIT NANTUCKET; 192 MEN DRAFTED

IS REPEALED.

NANTUCKET VOTED IN.

INTO WORLD WAR I SERVICE; NANTUCKET RAILROAD CLOSES; RAILS AND ROLLING STOCK SENT TO FRANCE THE NEXT YEAR.

30

Susan E. Brock (1852-1937) A native Nantucketer, Susan E. Brock traveled on her father's whaleships as a child.

The daughter of Captain George H. Brock and Charlotte Coleman Brock, she was educated at island schools. As an adult, Brock was the organist at the Unitarian Church and gave music lessons. She also served as the NHA's first curator, from 1894 to 1928. Her appreciation and understanding of island history are evident from the care she took in recording early gifts to the collection.

Her 1909 report to the association's membership explained her view of the NHA's mission: "Our society is, as its name implies, the custodian and conservator of the history of Nantucket, and we hope that its utility will be more appreciated from year to year, and long after its ... present patrons have passed from the stage of action, we believe its work will abide among the most cherished possessions of the Nantucketers that are to be." A major early donor to the NHA's collection, in 193 7 Brock left a significant bequest of many family heirlooms including the "Fishing Lady" needlework picture (seen on page 15), ceramics, furniture, and paintings.

Nantucket Lightships Recognizing that shoals were serious hazards to shipping on American waterways, Congress authorized the building of lightships in 1819. By 1820 the first "floating light" was placed at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. Nantucketers saw their first lightship in Nantucket Sound in 1828.

By 1854 Nantucket had two lightship stations- one in Nantucket Sound at the Cross Rip Shoal and the other floating as far offshore as fifty miles on the South Shoal.

The Nantucket South Shoal lightship is perhaps the most famous of all lightships.

Painted bright red with "Nantucket" emblazoned on its side, the lightship marked one

of the most dangerous shoals on the Atlantic seaboard, standing as sentry for vessels approaching New York along the North Atlantic sea-lanes. Floating, isolated for months at a time, the lightship frequently was manned by retired whalers- men who understood the sea and were used to long desolate stretches of time alone.

To pass time aboard the Nantucket South Shoal lightship, the men made

baskets. During the summer months, they prepared wood and rattan for the manufacture of baskets through the winter. Weaving the rattan around a mold, kept onboard, the men made durable round or oval baskets. Sometimes five or eight baskets were designed to fit together into a nest.

On their return to Nantucket, the men sold their baskets to eager customers who recognized their practical, useful nature. The one pictured below dates from c. 1865, and is one of the earliest lidded examples. The term "lightship basket" became a general name with the advent of summer visitors to Nantucket. The baskets, first used as utility items in Nantucket households, found a market with the tourists by the 1870s and 1880s.

Today the baskets continue to be a popular island souvenir - a charming and beautiful reminder of the men who patrolled the dangerous waterways around Nantucket.

1920

1921

1924

1929

SUMMERTIME DAY AND

U. S. COAST GUARD

ON NANTUCKET,

STOCK MARKET CRASH ;

NIGHT ELECTRIC SERVICE

STATION AT SURFSIDE,

965 BALLOTS CAST

WHALING MUSEUM

BEGAN IN JUNE; WINTER

OPERATIONAL SINCE 1854,

IN THE PRESIDENTIAL

PURCHASED.

SERVICE WILL BEGIN IN

CLOSED.

ELECTION, 340 OF THEM

1922-23.

BY WOMEN.

31

Souvenir Ceramics The late-nineteenth-century boom in island tounsm fostered a market for Nantucket souvenirs, lzke the ceramic dzshes pictured here. Most featured images of well-known Nantucket landmarks: the Old Mzll, Sankaty Light, and the Oldest House.

1890s Tourist Guide This tourist guide, published in 1897, promotes the charms of the island and the Sea Cliff Inn, "A Delightful Summer Home 28 Miles at Sea, on the Island of Nantucket."

From June to October, guests could enjoy the hotel's "pleasant and favorable appointments," which included 115 rooms, five parlors, amusement hall, billiard room, and piazza, while receiving the "remedial benefits" of the island's sea breezes and salt water. With the decline of the whaling industry, Nantucketers turned increasingly to tourism as a way to rejuvenate the island's economy. They were successful: an 1897 resident and business directory listed nine boarding houses and seven hotels. Cottages, too, were available to accommodate hundreds of summer visitors, or "strangers," as the locals referred to the tourists.

Early 1900s Siasconset Actors Colony In the early to mid-1800s Nantucketers used to "vacation " in the fishing village of 'Sconset, on the island's southeastern shore. There they enjoyed a slower pace of life among the village's shanties and rose-covered cottages. Late in the nineteenth century, off-islanders also discovered 'Sconset and everyone from college presidents to admirals to painters traveled to find the peace and serenity of that corner of the island. By the early 1900s, 'Sconset had grown into a summer colony of theater people, due in large part to the influence of actor-manager George Fawcett and his actress wife Percy Haswell, who purchased a house on the village's Main Street where they hosted New York actors every summer. Margaret Fawcett Barnes, their daughter, made the house a centerpiece of her story 'Sconset Heyday.

By raising money with local performances, the then-famous actors built the Siasconset Casino in 1900 and laid out the 'Sconset Golf Course in 1901.

New York theater critic, actor, and New Yorker contributor Robert Benchley brought his family to 'Sconset for the summer beginning in 1922. Benchley's son Nathaniel, a novelist and children's book author, continued the family tradition and even persuaded his New York neighbor John Steinbeck to spend a summer in 'Sconset in the 1960s while writing

1904 NHA Fair Street Museum For the first ten years of its existence, the Nantucket Historical Association stored its collections in, and operated out of, the Quaker Meeting House on Fair Street. By 1904, with the collection nearing a thousand artifacts, it was decided that a larger space would be necessary in order to continue the NHA's work in the preservation of island history. A building was designed to connect to the Meeting House on the land already owned by the NHA. What was unique about the proposed structure was that it was to be one of the first poured-concrete buildings erected in Massachusetts.

The steel-reinforced building not only

provided additional storage and exhibition space, but allowed the NHA to safeguard its collections in a fireproof museum. The cost in 1904 was $8,300. The building has served as a museum since that time and symbolizes Nantucket's early recognition of the importance of preserving its cultural heritage.

By 2001 , the Fair Street Museum will be the new home of the Nantucket Historical Association's research library.

East of Eden.

Benchley's descendants still call 'Sconset home.

Actress Mary Shaw, summer reszdent of 'Sconset.

1933

1940

1942

SANKATY HEAD

STRAIGHT WHARF

CONSTRUCTION OF

NANTUCKET'S ART

STATE LEGISLATURE RATIFIES

AND BRANT POINT

THEATRE

NOBADEER AIRPORT;

COMMUNITY BEGINS

NANTUCKET'S HISTORIC DISTRICT

LIGHTHOUSES

ESTABLISHED.

WILL BE RENAMED

COOPERATIVE NAMED

COMMISSION, SECOND SUCH

NANTUCKET

THE ARTISTS '

HISTORIC PRESERVATION "WATCHDOG "

MEMORIAL

ASSOCIATION OF

ORGANIZATION IN THE NATION;

AIRPORT.

NANTUCKET.

ELECTRIFIED.

ITS INITIAL JURISDICTION IS OVER ONLY NANTUCKET TOWN

32

AND SIASCONSET.

+

1914-19 World War I During 1917 and 1918, Nantucket was headquarters for an active Naval Reserve force, numbering approximately three hundred men and officers. A large fleet was stationed off the island's coast. The reserve force became active in the island's social life during the winter months. Islanders expressed their patriotism in numerous ways, including some men and women who served in Europe. This apron from a Red Cross nurse's uniform, given to the NHA in 1976 by Miss Margaret Yates, was worn by Mrs. Daisy Parrish, who was awarded the Croix de Guerre when she served in France during the conflict. Back home on the island, Nantucketers subscribed a total of $1,665,000 in the nation's five "Liberty Loans," a per capita contribution of approximately $555.

1920s "Rainbow Fleet," by H. Marshall Gardiner Pictured here is Nantucket's Rainbow Fleet, a class of small catboats introduced in the 1920s. The colorful boats, just over twelve feet in length, sported brightly dyed sails and were favorite racing cats for decades.

H. Marshall Gardiner (1884-1942) came to Nantucket as a young man in 1910; he learned the art of making hand-tinted photographs from his father, W H. Gardiner, who had estab-

lished a successful studio in Florida.

Gardiner photographed the beaches, historic sites, and daily life of Nantucket for thirty years, sometimes favoring rather sentimental tableaus depicting colonial customs and sensibilities. His focus on nostalgia and historic preservation is understandable, given Nantucket's reliance on these island qualities to promote tourism.

Tony Sarg (1880--1942) Artist, puppeteer, and author Tony Sarg was born in 1880 in Guatemala and grew up in Germany. Groomed for a military career, Sarg had other notions and moved to London in 1905 where he illustrated books and magazines and developed his self-taught, ebullient style. While there, Sarg also began a life-long fascination with puppeteering and gave marionette performances using the puppets he created.

In 1914 Sarg moved his family to New York City and in 1920 discovered Nantucket while on holiday with other New York artists. His affinity for the island was immediate, and he bought a house on the island in 1922. For twenty years, Sarg summered on Nantucket, exhibiting his artwork at

the Easy Street Gallery and operating a gift shop. He also assisted island institutions, like the Nantucket Cottage Hospital and the Nantucket Yacht Club, by designing posters and giving benefit marionette performances. In New York he illustrated for magazines, wrote and illustrated books, created animated films, and produced the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was Sarg who conceived of the display of huge balloons that now characterize the annual event. Always drawing and designing, Sarg liked to boast that he "never did a day's work. " Sarg died in 1942 from complications of appendicitis. In 1984, a large collection of Sarg's artwork, books, and papers was given to the NHA, including the hand-painted envelopes addressed to family members seen here.

1956

1959

1961

1964

1965

ITALIAN LUXURY LINER

COFFIN FAMILY REUNION

HURRICANE ESTHER

CROSS RIP LIGHTSHIP

SHERBURNE ASSOCIATES, WITH WALTER BEINECKE JR. AS A PRINCIPAL,

ANDREA DORIA SINKS

(415 ATIENDED) HELD

SEPARATES MADAKET

IS SOLD OUT OF SER·

OFF NANTUCKET;

IN CONJUNCTION WITH

FROM SMITH POINT.

VICE AND REPLACED BY

ACQUIRES HOTEL PROPERTIES.

NANTUCKET FAMILY

NANTUCKET"S 300TH

FORMING ESTHER ISLAND.

AN AUTOMATIC BEACON.

SHERBURNE ANNOUNCES

ABOARD SURVIVES.

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION,

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER ,

PLANS FOR REDEVELOPMENT

THEATRE WORKSHOP

AUGUST 11. SWAINS AND

THE ISLAND WOULD BE

OF THE WATERFRONT.

OF NANTUCKET

HUSSEYS ALSO HOLD

RECONNECTED NATURALLY

ESTABLISHED.

REUNIONS.

TO NANTUCKET.

33

Edouard A. Stackpole ( 1903-93) The library at the Nantucket Historical Association was named in honor of Edouard A. Stackpole. Author, teacher, newspaperman, and historian, Edouard A. Stackpole (1903-93) served as president of the Nantucket Historical Association from 1938 to 1953, and again from 1968 to 1971. For many years he was the NHA historian - collecting, preserving, and documenting Nantucket's past.

Stackpole is the author of numerous books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the island's history and presenter of countless programs and lectures, all of which can be found within the association's library. Upon his death in 1993 , Stackpole's collection of manuscripts, books, and maps was bequeathed to the historical association, forming an invaluable body of research material for present and future scholars.

Ten-Franc Note This ten-franc note is from the Robert L. Young Collection.

From 1942 to 1946 Young was a pilot in the United States Army Air Corps. After the Normandy invasion, on June 6, 1944, Young flew support for armor and infantry units during the advance across France, bombing, when the opportunity presented itself, rail lines, airfields, and bridges.

The verso of the note contains fourteen signatures. It was a tradition among military fliers to create a "short snorter," a one-dollar bill that was signed on the back by a pilot's flying buddies. Once assigned oversees, a pilot would add additional notes to his dollar bill, taping them end to end.

Young also gathered notes from England, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. The Robert L. Young Collection also includes letters home to family on Nantucket, military docun1ents, medals and pins, books, photographs, and a reel of film showing recreational flying in an L-5.

Edward F. Sanderson (1874-1955) and the Nantucket Whaling Museum Known primarily on the island as the benefactor of the Whaling Museum's Sanderson Hall, Edward F Sanderson was first drawn to Nantucket architecture in the 1920s.

When he bought "Moors End" on Pleasant Street in the late 1920s, he started collecting whaling gear to decorate a few rooms in the house. However, Sanderson quickly became hooked on the subject and soon raJ! out of room to store his collection. When the old Hadwen and Barney Candle Factory

came on the market in 1929, Sanderson helped to purchase it and made arrangements to sell it to the NHA as soon as the association could raise the necessary funds. Once the building changed hands, Sanderson gave his extensive collection to the NHA, feeling that

1966

1967

1970

1971

1972

NANTUCKET ISLAND IS NAMED

A FORTY-THREE-FOOT FINBACK

NANTUCKET

PETER FOULGER MUSEUM

ZONING REGULATIONS

A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK

WHALE WASHES UP ON THE

HISTORIC DISTRICT

IS BUILT BY NHA

ARE ADOPTED IN AN ATTEMPT

AND THEREAFTER IS PLACED

NORTH SHORE. THE NHA

COMMISSION"S

AS A SPACE FOR

TO CONTROL LAND USE:

IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER

PRESERVES SKELETON

JURISDICTION IS

CHANGING EXHIBITIONS.

SEA CLIFF INN IS DEMOLISHED;

OF HISTORIC PLACES.

FOR DISPLAY IN THE

EXTENDED TO

BRANT POINT LIGHTHOUSE BELL

WHALING MUSEUM.

ENCOMPASS THE

IS REPLACED BY A FOGHORN.

ENTIRE ISLAND.

34

"Nantucket was the place of all others where it should be kept and displayed for all time."

Opened to the public in 1930, the Whaling Museum is the flagship, attracting over 90,000 visitors each year. Sanderson's collection of whaling gear makes up the bulk of the exhibit in vi:U.tuctou Hall, where lectures on whaling history are presented three times a day during the summer. Significant collections of scrimshaw, marine paintings and ship portraits, South Seas ethnographic material, the skeleton of a forty-three-foot finback whale iliat washed up on the north shore in 1967, and ilie original Fresnel lens from ilie Lighiliouse provide visitors with an insight into Nantucket's whaling history.

George W. Jones (1901-1994) A Nantucket native, George W Jones was active in many island organizations, not the least of which was the NHA. As president from 1956 to 1967, Jones oversaw major additions to the NHA's collections and holdings, including the Hadwen House and the Winthrop Williams scrimshaw collection. Even upon his resignation from the NHA, Jones continued to assist the organization - for example, taking over supervision "of the Peter Foulger Museum upon the untimely death of the architect, H. Errol Coffin," giving "freely of his time, engineering knowledge, and good judgment to expedite the work with commendable results. " Those words were part of a resolution passed by the NHA on July 20, 1971, to express "grateful appreciation for this and past services to [the NHA] and the community. " In 1998, Jones's family presented a box of his papers to the association, including photographs, membership pins from various island and fraternal organizations, and a plaque with the text of this resolution.

1956 Wreck of the Andrea Doria Still making headlines today, often for claiming the lives of curious divers, the remains of the Italian liner Andrea Doria lie forty-five miles southeast of Nantucket in 225 feet of water.

Shortly before midnight on July 26, 1956, the 656-foot Andrea Doria was rammed on her starboard side by the Swedish liner Stockholm. Fifty-two of the Andrea Doria's 1,709 passengers were killed during the collision and subsequent sinking of the ship.

In 1970, the NHA was given a section of the Andrea Doria's Zodiac stateroom wall by Alfred Lowden, who found it along the island's south shore after the disaster. The wall section is illustrated here, alongside a photograph of the suite, taken before the disaster.

Matchbooks Souvenir matchbooks (1960s through 1980s) /rom popular island restaurants and businesses, many of which are no longer in existence.

1973

1974

I 1976

1977

1979

STEAMER NOBSKA

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

TOM NEVERS

FOR SECOND TIME IN ITS HISTORY.

SKELETON OF

MAKES FINAL RUN

SPONSORS

NAVY BASE

NANTUCKET CONSIDERS SECESSION

2.000-YEAR·OLD

TO ISLAND AFTER

FIRST CHRISTMAS

IS CLOSED.

FROM MASSACHUSETIS WHEN THE STATE

NATIVE AMERICAN

FORTY·NINE YEARS

STROLL.

OF SERVICE.

THREATENS (AND EVENTUALLY SUCCEEDS

IS UNEARTHED

IN) COMBINING MARTHA·s VINEYARD.

AT CONSTRUCTION

NANTUCKET. AND CAPE COD AS

SITE IN QUAISE.

SINGLE LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT.

35

1970s The Peter Foulger Museum and the Macy-Christian House The early 1970s marked a period of important growth for the Nantucket Historical Association. Another property was added to the list of historic structures to be owned and operated by the NHA. The MacyChristian House, at the corner of Liberty Street and Walnut Lane, was bequeathed to the NHA. Built originally in the early settlement of Sherburne, the dwelling was moved to its present site sometime before 1745. The home remains open to the public today and is an important link in the chronology of architectural types now in the possession of the NHA. The Peter Foulger Museum opened in 1971 , fortythree years after the initial bequest of Admiral William Mayhew Folger. In 1968, his estate was transferred to the Nantucket Historical Association with the understanding that a building was to be constructed and endowed as a "Historical Association." The NHA chose to build the facility on the lot adjacent to the Whaling Museum and stated that the institution ought to "present in logical order the story of Nantucket, its inhabitants, its work-a-day world, together with the relationships of one to the other."

1972 Greater Light

Originally built in the early nineteenth century as a barn, the house now known as Greater Light was converted to living space in the 1930s by two Quaker sisters from Philadelphia- Gertrude (1887-1962) and Hanna Monaghan (c. 1890-1972). Amateur artists who painted, acted, and wrote, the sisters stun1bled upon and fell in love with the building during a visit to the island and set al:5out furnishing it in their own unique way.

Although their ideas of design and furnishing caused a stir among Depression-era island residents, today they seem in keeping with many strongly held island traditions. Like eighteenthand nineteenth-century Nantucketers, the sisters were members of the

Society of Friends, with strong beliefs in inner light and a direct connection to God. Neither sister married, preferring instead to live together and pursue their talents and ambitions, like the many island women left on their own to support their fan1ilies while their husbands and fathers went whaling. The eclectic style that the sisters employed to decorate Greater Light included many colorful, ornamental knick-knacks and furnishings picked up during their lifelong travelsmuch as the whalers brought home outlandish souvenirs and beautiful ceramics and textiles when they traveled to the South Pacific and China.

When Hanna died in 1972, the house and its contents were given to the NHA. Complete with furnishings, down to the contents of chests, bureaus, bookshelves, and closets, the house represents an aspect of island life from the 1930s through the 1960s- the bohemian slill1mer artist colony where the Monaghan sisters entertained a group of friends who visited regularly, including many artists.

1980

1981

1982-86

1984

MUSKEGET ISLAND NAMED A

FIRST BUILDING CAP

SOUTH CHURCH

THE 166-YEAR-OLD

NHA'S MUSEUM SHOP BUILT;

NATIONAL NATURAL LANDMARK BY

IS VOTED IN,

(UNITARIAN) PRESERVATION

GREAT POINT LIGHTHOUSE

GREAT POINT LIGHTHOUSE

1986

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT

LIMITING SUMMER

FUND UNDERTAKES

COLLAPSES INTO THE SEA

RECONSTRUCTED

OF THE INTERIOR BECAUSE

HOUSE BUILDING

ISLAND'S MOST EXTENSIVE

FOLLOWING MARCH GALE.

TO REPLICATE

IT IS HOME TO THE UNIQUE

PERMITS.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION

CREATION OF NANTUCKET

THE ORIGINAL

PROJECT TO DATE.

LAND BANK APPROVED BY

AND

STATE LEGISLATURE.

REDEDICATED.

MUSKEGET VOLE.

36

The construction of the Peter Foulger Museum represented a "major step in the goal of the Nantucket Historical Association. " It has provided crucial exhibition space, storage, and has been home to the research library. In the words of past president and historian Edouard A. Stackpole, the museum "provided a dramatic reminder of the past, of the history of those islanders who strived so hard to build and maintain the Nantucket we have today. The association is in business to entertain the public, to show both swnmer visitors and islanders the influence of the past upon the present, and to give them all a chance to identify with the past, simply and directly.

The museum is no longer a repository, it is a living example of what those who came before us have turned over to us for safekeeping."

Windsor armchair, attributed to Frederick Slade, circa 1799.

1987 Friends of the Nantucket Historical Association In 1987, a group of residents with a keen interest in the NHA and its collections formed the Friends of the Nantucket Historical Association. The purpose of the organization is to raise funds that are specifically for purchasing important artifacts relating to Nantucket history. Such items add immeasurably to the depth and breadth of the NHA's collections. The impact of the Friends group is remarkable. Because of their efforts a great number of important artworks and artifacts have either been kept on Nantucket or have been returned to the island.

Portrait of Captain Charles A. Veeder, attributed to James 5. Hathaway, circa 1845.

1987 99 Main Street and the Tupancy-Harris Foundation Built in 1770, with an 1834 addition, and Tup, seen above, the house at 99 Main Street is an excellent believed that their example of Federal architecture. The home was an imporformer home of island merchant and ship tant representation of Nantucket history, owner Thomas Macy, the house was passed too valuable to be left to private ownership, down in the family until it was acquired by so they bequeathed the house to the Mrs. Julian Harris in 1947. The Harris NHA in 1987. Along with the house, the family used the house for summer vacations and, later, as a permanent home. Eventually, Tupancys established the Tupancy-Harris Mrs. Harris's daughter, Sallie Gail, inherited - Foundation, which underwrites the care the house and lived there with her husband, and maintenance of the house, along with funding many other endeavors by the Oswald A "Tup" Tupancy. Both Sallie Gail

NHA and other island nonprofit organizations.

Ninety-nine Main Street is an important resource for the NHA, used for special NHA events, meetings, and guest and staff housing, allowing the NHA to provide a wide variety of lectures and educational programming for the community by bringing experts and scholars to the island.

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

199 2

OLDEST HOUSE

A NON-BINDING TOWN

NANTUCKET'S AFRICAN

OLDEST HOUSE REOPENS.

"NO-NAME STORM "

TOWN APPROVES

DAMAGED BY LIGHTNING;

REFERENDUM ON

MEETING HOUSE

WOODS HOLE

ON OCTOBER 30 SAID

$75,000 STUDY

STEAMER NAUSHON

LIMITING DEVELOPMENT

PURCHASED BY

OCEANOGRAPHIC

TO BE COSTLIEST STORM

OF SANKATY BLUFF EROSION.

RETI RED, ENDING

HAS TH E COMMUNITY'S

MUSEUM OF

INSTITUTION UNDERTAKES

IN ISLAND'S HISTORY,

SCH EDULED STEAMBOAT

OVERWHELMING

AFRO AMERICAN HISTORY

THREE-YEAR , $250,000

WITH DAMAGES

SERVICE IN THE COUNTRY;

ENDORSEMENT.

IN BOSTON.

NANTUCKET HARBOR

EXCEEDING $30 MILLION.

FRIENDS OF THE NHA ESTABLISHED.

STUDY.

37

1970s The Peter Foulger Museum and the Macy-Christian House The early 1970s marked a period of important growth for the Nantucket Historical Association. Another property was added to the list of historic structures to be owned and operated by the NHA. The MacyChristian House, at the corner of Liberty Street and Walnut Lane, was bequeathed to the NHA. Built originally in the early settlement of Sherburne, the dwelling was moved to its present site sometime before 17 45. The home remains open to the public today and is an important link in the chronology of architectural types now in the possession of the NHA. The Peter Foulger Museum opened in 1971 , fortythree years after the initial bequest of Admiral William Mayhew Folger. In 1968, his estate was transferred to the Nantucket Historical Association with the understanding that a building was to be constructed and endowed as a "Historical Association." The NHA chose to build the facility on the lot adjacent to the Whaling Museun1 and stated that the institution ought to "present in logical order the story of Nantucket, its inhabitants, its work-a-day world, together with the relationships of one to the other."

1972 Greater Light

Originally built in the early nineteenth century as a barn, the house now known as Greater Light was converted to living space in the 1930s by two Quaker sisters from Philadelphia- Gertrude (1887-1962) and Hanna Monaghan (c. 1890-1972). Amateur artists who painted, acted, and wrote, the sisters stun1bled upon and fell in love with the building during a visit to the island and set about furnishing it in their own W1ique way.

Although their ideas of design and furnishing caused a stir among Depression-era island residents, today they seem in keeping with many strongly held island traditions. Like eighteenthand nineteenth-century Nantucketers, the sisters were members of the

Society ofF riends, with strong beliefs in inner light and a direct connection to God. Neither sister married, preferring instead to live together and pursue their talents and ambitions, like the many island women left on their own to support their fan1ilies while their husbands and fathers went whaling. The eclectic style that the sisters employed to decorate Greater Light included many colorful, ornan1ental knick-knacks and furnishings picked up during their lifelong travels much as the whalers brought home outlandish souvenirs and beautiful ceramics and textiles when they traveled to the South Pacific and China.

When Hanna died in 1972, the house and its contents were given to the NHA. Complete with furnishings, down to the contents of chests, bureaus, bookshelves, and closets, the house represents an aspect of island life from the 1930s through the 1960s- the bohemian swruner artist colony where the Monaghan sisters entertained a group of friends who visited regularly, including many artists.

1980

1981

1982-86

1984

MUSKEGET ISLAND NAMED A

FIRST BUILDING CAP

SOUTH CHURCH

THE 166-YEAR-OLD

NHA'S MUSEUM SHOP BUILT;

NATIONAL NATURAL LANDMARK BY

IS VOTED IN,

(UNITARIAN) PRESERVATION

GREAT POINT LIGHTHOUSE

GREAT POINT LIGHTHOUSE

1986

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT

LIMITING SUMMER

FUND UNDERTAKES

COLLAPSES INTO THE SEA

RECONSTRUCTED

OF THE INTERIOR BECAUSE

HOUSE BU ILDING

ISLAND'S MOST EXTENSIVE

FOLLOWING MARCH GALE.

TO REPLICATE

IT IS HOME TO THE UNIQUE

PERMITS.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION

CREATION OF NANTUCKET

THE ORIGINAL

PROJECT TO DATE.

LAND BANK APPROVED BY

AND

STATE LEGISLATURE.

REDEDICATED.

MUSKEGET VOLE.

36

The construction of the Peter Foulger Museum represented a "major step in the goal of the Nantucket Historical Association." It has provided crucial exhibition space, storage, and has been home to the research library. In the words of past president and historian Edouard A. Stackpole, the museum "provided a dramatic reminder of the past, of the history of those islanders who strived so hard to build and maintain the Nantucket we have today. The association is in business to entertain the public, to show both summer visitors and islanders the influence of the past upon the present, and to give them all a chance to identify with the past, simply and directly.

The museum is no longer a repository, it is a living exan1ple of what those who came before us have turned over to us for safekeeping. "

1997

Nantucket's Sperm Whale

From the early days of shore whaling to the height of the island's whaling industry in the eighteenth century, the sperm whale played a crucial role. Even today, you can appreciate the wonder, fear, and exhilaration of the white settlers as they saw their first sperm whale and its head case overflowing with clear, waxy spermaceti.

The island's long history with whales served to galvanize the community on December 30, 1997, when a forty-six-foot male sperm whale was spotted floundering

in the surf off the eastern end of the island.

People flocked to the beach in raw, bitter winds to catch sight of the massive creature.

They cried to see it struggle and cheered at its every meager effort to free itself from the sandy shores.

When the whale eventually expired on Low Beach, Nantucketers' determination to keep the whale on the island impressed state and federal representatives who agreed to grant the NHA permission to be the custodian of the skeleton. The sperm whale will eventually hang in the Nantucket Whaling Museum where it will greatly enhance the NHA's efforts to tell the long history of Nantucket whaling.

1999 Plans for the NHA's future began to take shape in December 1999 when members of the community joined NHA trustees, members, and staff to witness the groundbreak-

Fust

Floor

Pl an

1993

1994

1995

1997

1999

ATHENEUM ANNOUNCES

BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLD CENTER

NANTUCKET REGIONAL

SPERM WHALE WASHES

PRESIDENT CLINTON AND FIRST LADY

MAJOR RENOVATION, INCLUDING

BUILT AS A CONSERVATION AND

TRANSIT AUTHORITY

UP ON SIASCONSET BEACH

NEW CHILDREN'S LIBRARY;

STORAGE FACILITY FOR THE

INAUGURATES

IN DECEMBER AND

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

NANTUCKET ELECTRIC COMPANY

NHA'S EXTENSIVE COLLECTIONS;

SUMMER SHUTTLE BUS

IS "RENDERED " BY NHA.

VISIT NANTUCKET;

EMBARKS ON PLAN TO LAY

HARVARD LYME DISEASE STUDY

SYSTEM TO ALLEVIATE

NANTUCKET PRESERVATION

AFRICAN MEETING HOUSE

UNDER-SEA CABLE TO CONNECT

BEGUN ON NANTUCKET.

TRAFFIC CONGESTION .

TRUST ESTABLISHED.

OPENS TO THE PUBLIC FOR

NANTUCKET TO MAINLAND

38

ing for the association's new research library in the Fair Street Museum. The plans at right illustrate the first floor of the library, complete with exhibition space.

ELECTRIC SOURCE.

THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1912.

Timelzne color photography o/NHA properties by Rob Benchley

for its sponsorship of the Loan Exhibition

39

Credits: Unless otherwise noted, all photographs are from the NHA collection. Some donors are unidentified.

Page 4

Family record, gift of JaneL. Folger.

Page 12 Arrowheads, stone-headed axe, pottery fragment, and stone Indian marker. Photograph by JeffreyS. Allen. Drawing of Maushop by David Lazarus.

Page 13 Indian deed, gift of Eunice Barney Swain. Photograph by JeffreyS. Allen. Portrait of Abram Quary (1772-1854) by Herminia Borchard Dassel (?-1857), 1851 , gift of Dr. Clifford Mitchell. Photograph by Terry Pommett.

Photograph of the Oldest House by Rob Benchley. Portrait of Mrs. Jethro Coffin (Mary Gardner) (1670--1767) attributed to the Pollard Limner, c. 1720, gift of Mrs. Eunice Coffin (Gardner) Brooks.

Page 14 Silhouette ofJohn Cartwright (1752-1837) by unidentified maker, c.

1820, anonymous gift; backstaff, or Davis's quadrant, made by Thomas Greenough for David Macy, 1737, gift of the Friends of the NHA; nautical telescope used by Captain William Cash, c. 1830, gift of Deborah Anderson and Ronald Poole; octant, c. 1840, gift of Edouard A. Stackpole; tall-case clock, made by Walter Folger, Jr., c. 1787, bequest of Annie Alden Folger. Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen.

Portrait ofHon. Walter Folger, Jr. by William Swain, c. 1827-28, gift of the estate of Annie Alden Folger. Photograph by Terry Pommett.

Page 15 Photograph of the Old Mill by Rob Benchley. Log of the Fn'endship, and "The Fishing Lady of Boston Common," by Susan Colesworthy, 1765, bequest of Susan E. Brock. Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen.

Page 16 Quaker dress with scarf by unidentified maker, c. 1825-50, anonymous gift; desk attributed to Elihu Coleman, c. 1735-55, gift of the Friends of the NHA; portraits of Obed Macy and Abigail (Pinkham) Macy attributed to William Swain, 1834, gift of the Friends of the NHA; silver porringer, gift of Mrs. Frank E. Lewis; cann, gift of the Friends of the NHA, both by Benjamin Bunker, c. 1790--1800; tablespoon by John Jackson, c. 1753-72, gift of Mrs. Henry Barnard Worth.

Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen.

Page 17 Portrait of Mrs. Phineas Fanning (Kezia Coffin) by unidentified artist, c. 1875--80, bequest of Frank Howard. Side chair by unidentified English maker, c. 1770, gift ofJohn Locke. Photograph by JeffreyS. Allen. Detail of William Rotch, Sr., collection of Dr. Louise S. Clark, courtesy of Old Darttnouth Historical Society - New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Page 23 Thread winders, anonymous gift; knitting-needle holders, gift of Miss Helen Masten; jagging wheels, bequest of Winthrop Williams, all by unidentified makers, nineteenth century; map of Nantucket by Lucy Macy, c. 1829, gift of Eunice (Barney) Swain. Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen.

Page 24 Drawing from log of bark Coronet, attributed to Eldred E. Fysh, c. 1837-39; double-flued harpoon attributed to George Swain, c. 1820, anonymous gift. Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen. Painting, The Packet Sch. Heroine, gift of Henry S. Wyer. Photograph by Terry Pommett. Log of the Washington , NHA purchase.

Page 25 Photograph ofHadwen House interior by Carol Bates Photography.

Journal kept by Susan (Austin) Veeder on the ship Nauticon, 1848-53 , gift of the Friends of the NHA. Photograph by Terry Pommett. Chinese sewing table by unidentified maker, 1855, gift of Mary Hoadley. Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen.

Page 26 Daguerreotype by unidentified photographer, c. 1845, gift of Miss Lydia Macy and Mary S. Macy. Photograph by JeffreyS. Allen. Photograph of Hose Cart House by Rob Benchley.

Page 27

Friends Meeting House, photograph by Carol Bates Photography.

Page 28 Chart of San Fran cisco Harbor, by James M. Bunker on ship Aurora, 1849; Sword, 1862, gift of Mrs. Robert A. Nogle. Photograph by JeffreyS. Allen.

Page 29 Dressing case, gift of Clarence A. Archer and Mary E. Powley in memory of their mother, Mary C. Archer; quilt, gift of Charles Clark Coffin, in memory of Charles Frederick Coffin. Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen.

Page 30 In The Fields by J. EasttnanJohnson, c. 1878-79, gift of the Friends of the NHA; napkin rings, gift of Mrs. Helen Hussey Ludolph. Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen. Unfinished portrait of artist and subject attributed to Elizabeth Rebecca Coffin, c. 1885, gift of the Friends of the NHA. Photograph by Terry Pommett.

Page 31 Lidded lightship basket woven by Capt. Charles B. Ray, c. 1865.

Photograph by Jack Weinhold. Wreck of the Warren Sawyer by Wendell Macy, 1888, gift of the Friends of the NHA. Photograph by Terry Pommett. Shipwreck photo of the W F Marshall.

Page 18 Cook's Voyages; Stephen Hussey certificate; Sheanng Day by Margaretta Shoemaker Hinchman (1876--1955) , c. 1900, bequest of Margaretta S. Hinchman.

Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen.

Page 32 Tourist guide, souvenir ceramic plate, pitcher, sugar bowl, all anonymous gifts. Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen. Photograph of the Fair Street Museum by Rob Benchley.

Page 19 Photograph of Old Gaol by Rob Benchley. Liverpool pitcher by unidentified maker, c. 1792-1800, gift of Phyllis Burchell, James Franklin Chase, Jr. , Nancy Chase, and Susan Onison in memory of James Franklin Chase, Sr. Photograph by JeffreyS. Allen.

Page 33 Red Cross apron, gift of Miss Margaret Yates. Envelopes, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Murray. H. Marshall Gardiner postcard, NHA Collection.

Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen.

Page 20 Samplers by Sally Barker and Mary Brown, 1800, gifts of Annie Barker Folger and Helen Marshall Hall Brown (in memory of Florence Farrier Hall).

Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen. Foo dog candlesticks by unidentified Chinese maker, c. 1804, gift of the Friends of the NHA. Page 21 Peleg Folger piecebook, 1803; Painting of ship Brook Watson by St. Jean, 1803, gift of Renny A. Stackpole. Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen.

Page 22 Susan tooth by Frederick Myrick, 1829, NHA purchase. Penmanship sample by Frederick Myrick, 1821, gift of Maria L. Owen. Photograph by JeffreyS. Allen. Portrait of Absalom F Boston attributed to the Prior-Hamblin School, c.

1845-55, gift of Sampson D. Pompey.

Page 34 Ten-franc note, gift of Robert L. Young. Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen.

Photograph of Whaling Museum by Carol Bates Photography.

Page 35 George Jones memorabilia, gift of Anne Stinnett; matchbook collection, gift of H. Flint Ranney; Andrea Doria fragment, gift of Alfred Lowden.

Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen.

Page 36

All photographs by Carol Bates Photography.

Page 37 Portrait and armchair, gifts of the Friends of the NHA. Photographs by JeffreyS. Allen. Photograph of 99 Main Street by Rob Benchley.

Page 38 Photograph of whale in surf by Rick Morcom. Photograph of whale with person by Reema Sherry. Floor plan by Botticelli & Pohl.

39

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""""'-..........

uuusm:a quarterly by the

Nantucket Historical Association

~ ""....S::I:.Il 2 Whaler's Lane /P.O. Box 1016 Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554

© NHA 2000 ISSN 0439-2248

USPS 246460 ' ..