Historic Nantucket, October 1963, Vol. 11 No. 2

Historic Nantucket

August Gale Makes Exciting Bathing at Town Beach, Surfside

OCTOBER, 1963

Published Quarterly by NANTUCKET HISTORICAL

ASSOCIATION

NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS

NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OFFICERS President, George W. Jones.

Vice-Presidents, Miss Grace Brown Gardner, * Alcon Chadwick, W. Ripley Nelson, Albert Egan, Jr., Mrs. William Mather.

Secretary-Treasurer, Miss Ethel Anderson.

Auditor, Ormonde F. Ingall.

Councillors, George W. Jones, Chairman; Mrs. Francis W. Pease, H. Errol Coffin, term expires 1964; Henry Coleman, Norman P. Giffin, term expires 1965; Mrs. Nancy S. Adams, A. Morris Crosby, term expires 1966; Miss Helen Powell, Albert G. Brock, term expires 1967.

Publicity Committee, W. Ripley Nelson, Chairman.

Honorary Curator, Mrs. Nancy S. A lams.

Curator, Mrs. William Mather.

Finance Committee, Albert Egan, Jr., and Alcon Chadwick.

Editor, Historic Nantucket, A. Morris Crosby; Assistant Editors, Mrs. Mar­ garet Fawcett Barnes, Mrs. R. A. Orleans.

Exhibits' Publications Committee. * Chairman; Mrs. John Bartlett.

Chairmen of Exhibits, Fair Street Museum, Mrs. Nancy S. Adams; Whaling Museum, W. Ripley Nelson; Old Mill, Henry Coleman; Old Jail, Norman Giffin; 1800 House, Mrs. William Mather: Gardner Street Firehouse, H. Errol Coffin. *These positions held by the late Burnham N. Dell have not yet been filled.

STATEMENT OF OWNEESHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION filed with Postmaster, Nantucket, Massachusetts, according to Act of October 23, 1962; section 4369, title 39, United States Code. DATE OF FILING: October 1, 1963. TITLE OF PUBLICATION: HISTORIC NANTUCKET. FREQUENCY OF ISSUE: Quarterly LOCATION OF KNOWN OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: Nantucket Historical Asociation, Fair Street, Nantucket, County of Nantucket, Massachusetts, 02554.

LOCATION OF THE HEADQUARTERS OR GENERAL BUSINESS OFFICES OF THE PUBLISHERS: Fair Street, Nantucket, Massachusetts. NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF PUBLISHER, EDITOR, AND MANAGING EDITOR: PUBLISHER: Nantucket Historical Association, Fair Street, Nantucket Massachusetts. EDITOR: A. Morris Crosby, 6 Step Lane, Nantucket, Massachusetts. MANAGING EDITOR: None.

OWNER: Nantucket Historical Association, Fair Street, Nantucket Massachusetts; OFFICERS: President, George W. Jones, Nantucket, Mass.; Vice-Presidents, Miss Grace Brown Gardner, Alcon Chadwick, W. Ripley Nelson, Albert Egan, Jr., Mrs. Wiliam Mather, all of Nantucket, Massachusetts. SECRETARY-TREASURER, Miss Ethel Anderson, Nantucket, Massachusetts. KNOWN BONDHOLDERS, MORT­ GAGEES, AND OTHER SECURITY HOLDERS OWNING OR HOLDING 1 PERCENT OR MORE OF TOTAL AMOUNT OF BONDS, MORTGAGES OR OTHER SECUR­ ITIES: None (Non-Profit Corporation). I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete, (signed) A. Morris Crosby, Editor.

HISTORIC NANTUCKET Published quarterly and devoted to the preservation of Nantucket's antiquity, its famed heritage and its illustrious past as a whaling port.

Volume 11

October 1963

No. 2

CONTENTS Nantucket Historical Association Officers

2

Annual Report of the President

5

Annual Meeting

9

Historical Essay Contest

10

Mid-Summer Fantasy

14

Gardner Street Hose Cart House

15

Silk Industry in Nantucket, by Rev. Myron S. Dudley

19

Exhibition of Old Slides, by W. Ripley Nelson

23

What Became of the First Book of Town Records, Hidden in 1677?, by Clarence King

24

In Memoriam, Stokeley W. Morgan, Burnham N. Dell

27

Recent Events

28

Diary of William C. Folger, edited by Nancy S. Adams

30

Legacies and Bequests

35

Historic Nantucket is published quarterly at Nantucket, Massachusetts, by the Nantucket Historical Association. It is sent to Association Members. Extra copies $.50 each.

Membership dues are — Annual-Active $2.00; Sustaining $10.00 ; Life—one payment $50.00.

Entered as Second Class Matter, July, 1953, at the Post Office, Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Copyright, 1963. Nantucket Historical Association.

Communications pertaining to the Publication should be addressed to the Editor, Historic Nantucket, Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket, Massachusetts.

North Side of Sanford House This fine example of Late Federal or Classical Revival architecture, standing at the corner of Federal and Broad Streets, was built by Fred­ erick C. Sanford in 1847, the year after the Great Fire. With its lovely gardens, long since gone, it was for years one of Nantucket's showplaces.

Here Frederick Sanford lived and entertained many important people.

It was bought by the Town in 1928 and remodelled for Town offices.

At the last Town Meeting it was voted to consider plans for the con­ struction of a new town and county building at this site.

5

President's Annual Report for the Year 1962 - 1963 FOR THE SEVENTH TIME I submit to you my report on the operation and condition of your Association. During these seven years the organization has continued to grow in membership, real estate, and exhibit material. Our assets have increased from $71,500 to $146,800.

I take pleasure in reporting such advances, but what is more important I feel that the public as a whole, members and non-members, is showing an increased interest in the history of the island community and the works of its inhabitants of former years.

In this period when sudden extinction may overtake us at any time I believe that thinking people are revaluing the quiet courage and determin­ ation of our forefathers who faced as many if different personal dangers.

Three times the main economic life of this community was all but ruined, only to be brought back to a healthy state by these peoeple who would not admit defeat.

We can profit well by their example and a continued interest in their activities will assist us in overcoming our present problems.

This year has been marked more by quiet progress than by anything as spectacular as a 300th anniversary celebration.

We continue to perform the functions for which this organization was formed, to serve people by acquainting them with and forming a link to the past.

The Fair Street Museum and Friends Meeting House are our oldest exhibits and continue to draw those who are not only interested in the ro­ mance of chasing the whale but in how folks lived on the Island itself. Many also come to check and list any of their ancestors which may be recorded in our genealogical records. The personnel here has undergone another change: Miss Alice Crocker, our genial and helpful librarian, after having been a patient at the Nantucket Hospital this last winter, did not feel equal to the demands of this position and tendered her resignation to the Council.

It was accepted with many expressions of regret from Council members.

She was a loyal and helpful member of our staff.

Past President Nancy Adams assumed the duties of this office, for which she is extremely well fitted. Mrs. Elizabeth Worth, our former treasurer and therefore no stranger to this organization, took over the position at the admission desk relieving Mrs. William Mather who was there last year.

We have had a number of welcome accessions which Mrs. Mather as Curator and Chairman of this exhibit has mentioned in her report.

Mrs. Francis Pease has continued to watch over the Coffin House, to care for the repairs necessary for its maintenance, and to tend to all the other details which the chairmanship of an exhibit entails. Miss Ida Parker, the regular custodian, and Mrs. Reginald Hussey, who assumes the position

6

HISTORIC NANTUCKET

one day each week, make the visitors welcome and answer their questions when they are not too far afield.

Much has been done to improve the appearance of the "Old Mill" property by the Chairman. Henry B. Coleman. The brush has been cut back to expose the cobble-stone track on which the wheel travels when the top and vanes are rotated into the wind. An old dead pine tree has been removed as have odd pieces of timber which have been discarded and replaced from time to time. Needed rails have been set in the fence, a new timber installed in one of the vanes, and an entrance stile erected. I am happy to state that Mr. John E. Greene, who has been custodian for a number of years, is again in attendance to watch over this valued structure, giving out information and keeping the exuberant youthful visitors under control.

At last a replacement of the dilapidated main door has been made and installed at the Old Gaol under the able direction of Chairman Norman P. Giffin. This was quite a chore, as the door is made of two thicknesses of 3-inch oak, iron strapped and riveted, and weighs two hundred pounds or more. Mr. Allen McGarvey, our dependable mechanic, performed this task and we now have a door which will last for a number of years. Mr. William Garnett continues to give his interesting lecture on the Gaol and I can assure you from having heard it that it is very well presented.

Considerable work has been completed on the 1800 House and it now presents as fine an appearance as it ever has. Unfortunately the Chairman of this exhibit, Mrs. Joseph King, after three constructive years has asked to be relieved at the end of her term as Councillor, which occurs this year.

Her work is appreciated and I regret her retirement from this position.

Miss Ethel Clark, a loyal member of our staff for many years, who replaced Mrs. Susan Cowden last year continues as custodian assisted by Mrs. Joseph Rounsville who relieves her one day each week. Mrs. George Clapp, Mrs. Charles Amey, and Mrs. Grace Brownell have donated time and effort as volunteers for several years and their generosity is appreciated and de­ serves recognition.

Under the able chairmanship of Mr. W. Ripley Nelson, the Whaling Museum Committee continues to carry on its good work and this branch of our organization continues to prosper and grow. Each year the problem of exhibit space presents itself as more and more material is presented to us.

Each year Mr. Nelson manages somehow to move things around and accom­ modate the new accessions, but undoubtedly there will come a time when no more room is available.

Mrs. Herbert Foye, who controls the desk which cares for our income here; Mr. Everett Chapel, custodian in Sanford Hall; Mr. Bertram Morris in care of craft-shops; Mrs. Ellen Chace, our most dependable librarian; Mr. John Kittila, the relief man; and Mrs. Reginald Hussey, who relieves at the desk and in the library one day each week, are all doing fine work.

Each year sees more people entering the door to acquire knowledge of whale fishing as it was carried on more than a hundred years ago.

The Fire Engine House on Gardner Street is open each day for inter­ ested persons to look in and see some of the old apparatus upon which the

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

7

town was dependent in the past century. Mr. Errol Coffin, Chairman, with the assistance of Vice-President Egan, is caring for this exhibit, and has ideas for improving it to create as much interest as possible with an un­ attended exhibit.

The oaken seat at the Folger-Franklin Memorial has received a coat of preservative administered by and on the advice of Mr. Earl Ray to prevent checking and rotting. Care has been given the shrubs and, although we have no means of counting the attendance, we believe that each year sees many visitors to this spot. Those of us who take note when passing Peter Folger's home-site often see people standing or seated reading the inscription on the bronze tablet and enjoying the fine view from this spot.

Benjamin Franklin's grandfather, were he living there today, would find many problems similar to those about which he wrote and spoke still with us and I am sure he would be quite outspoken in his effort to solve them.

The Annual Gam, held as it is each year in the Maria Mitchell Library in the month of February, had its usual success and a large attendance to enjoy the resulting recollections.

Mr. A. Morris Crosby, who has now completed his first year as Editor of our quarterly magazine, HISTORIC NANTUCKET, deserves our applause.

He has continued the fine work which was instituted and carried on by the two former editors and has produced copies containing some very interesting material for both local members and for Nantucket's many descendants in the Middle West, people whose grandparents migrated from Nantucket in the middle 1800's.

Miss Ethel Anderson keeps very comprehensive records of the Council's monthly meetings which always encompass a number of subjects; keeps her attention on our finances; is in charge of the membership records; helps each quarter to address and mail over eleven hundred copies of HISTORIC NANTUCKET; and in her spare time cares for the correspondence which of itself is quite time-consuming. In other words, she acts as engineer for the whole machinery and we are most fortunate in having her services.

The certificate for the best historical essay about Nantucket from the contest held by the Nantucket High School each year was awarded this year to Miss Wendy Lawrence for her composition on "Mysteries and Ship­ wrecks of Nantucket."

A series of lectures at the Nantucket High School was sponsored by our Association again this year and were given by four of our members who all have an affection for Nantucket and her former days. They were presented early in the year by Mr. Laurence Bunker, Mr. Edouard Stackpole, Mr. Leroy True, and Mr. W. Ripley Nelson. I assure them that their efforts were appreciated by the students, the faculty, and myself.

I had the privilege of showing some of our Harry Turner slides to several organizations here during the last few months. The Winter Club, Episcopal Women's Organization, Rotary Club, and Chamber of Commerce at their luncheon. All viewed the pictures with keen interest and many expressed the hope that another showing could be arranged in the future.

8

HISTORIC NANTUCKET

The Nantucket Historical Trust has continued to support our endeavors both by additions to our exhibits and financial help in maintenance at the Old Mill.

Our membership continues to grow in response to the efforts of Miss Ethel Anderson and we now have approximately 1160 paid up members.

Publications under Mr. Burnham Dell and Publicity under Mr. W. Ripley Nelson have been well cared for.

I was able to act as a representative at two of the Bay State League quarterly meetings this year. Mrs. Jones and I attended the fall meeting in Petersham and the spring meeting in Danvers, both of which showed by the large number present the interest of the member organizations through­ out the state.

The renovation of the store on Main Street between Union and Wash­ ington Streets together with the opening and successful operation of the Jared Coffin House, furnish reminders of the good work being done by the Nantucket Historical Trust in preserving and restoring our valuable old structures.

Added to these examples we have seen the brick residence at 69 Main Street returned to its former elegance and beauty, to become an added attraction to our beautiful Main Street area.

I again extend my thanks to all the officers, council members, and exhibit personnel. One and all have shown their personal interest in what we are trying to accomplish and are all good members of the team.

We always regret the necessity of losing good Council members when their terms expire, but in conformity with the by-laws they cannot succeed themselves. Two very able and interested members retire this year; Mrs. Joseph King and Mr. Herbert Terry. I thank them for the help they have given during their terms in office and trust they may again serve in this capacity sometime in the not too distant future.

As I have before noted, our finances are sound and although we are not a wealthy organization we continue a healthy growth.

Touching on old business, I can report that the sale of the two pieces of land, one near the Old Mill and one next to the Old Gaol, which was authorized at our last annual meeting, has been consummated.

I submit this report, trusting that, although it may have been unduly long, it may furnish some idea of your Association's activities throughout the year.

I thank you for your patience and express the wish that we may all meet here again next year about this time.

Respectfully submitted, George W. Jones, President CORRECTION The Whaling Museum has asked us to revise the number of admissions to the Whaling Museum for 1962 from 32,815, as contained in its report published in HISTORIC NANTUCKET for last July, to 25,842. The total of all admissions should, therefore, be corrected to 43,378. Perhaps the error was inadvertently prophetic; for it will be noted that total admissions as revised topped those of 1961 by 4,952, and the total admissions for 1961 topped those of 1960 by 7,100. — Ed.

9

Annual Meeting THE sixty-ninth Annual Meeting of the Nantucket Historical Association was held in the Friends Meeting House, Tuesday, July 16th, at 2:30 p.m.

The attendance numbered about fifty persons, and the President in his welcome address expressed appreciation for the interest shown in the work of the Association by the number present.

The report of the Secretary was read and accepted as read.

The report of the Treasurer was accepted as printed in the July issue of HISTORIC NANTUCKET. The President then gave his annual report on the functions of the Association during the past year, and also expressed his appreciation for all members who had given generously of their time in support of the Association.

Before new business was conducted Mr. Jones stated that he had been approached by several members to increase the dues of Annual Membership from $2.00 per year to $3.00 per year, this to take effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year. No change is to be made in the Life or Sustaining Membership. This was open for discussion and as there were no comments or questions, the matter was put to vote.

Voted — that the Annual dues of the Nantucket Historical Association be raised to $3.00 beginning with the next fiscal year 1964-65.

The report of the Nominating Committee was then read.

Tuesday, July 16, 1963 Annual Meeting of the Nantucket Historical Association.

The following are the nominations submitted by your committee to the Annual Meeting held July 16, 1963: For President, George W. Jones.

For Secretary-Treasurer, Miss Ethel Anderson.

For Councillors, to fill the expired terms of Mrs. Joseph King and Herbert I. Terry, for the term of three years — Mr. Albert Brock, Miss Helen Powell.

For Vice Presidents, Miss Grace Brown Gardner, Burnham Dell, Alcon Chadwick, W. Ripley Nelson, Albert Egan Jr., Mrs. William Mather.

For the nominating committee, Mrs. C. Clark Coffin, Herbert I. Terry, Burnham N. Dell, Chairman.

Mr. Albert Brock made the motion that Mr. Leroy True cast one ballot in acceptance of the report of the Nominating Committee. This was done and the report accepted.

Mr. W. Ripley Nelson then took the Chair and the election of the President proceeded in the usual manner.

Mr. Jones then introduced the speaker, Mr. Leroy True, Administrator of the Nantucket Cottage Hospital, who spoke on the subject of Thomas Macy, one of the first settlers of the Island. He emphasized the fact that Macy had the courage of his convictions to leave a comfortable home in Chilmark, England, coming first to the colonies in America and again re­ belling against religious intolerance and coming to Nantucket, to "find and help build a perfect community."

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:25 p.m.

Ethel Anderson, Secretary

10

Historical Essay Contest THE essays submitted for the annual award given by the Nantucket Historical Association to High School students were screened this year by the Faculty, a procedure much appreciated by the judges who last year were nearly swamped by almost a hundred manuscripts. The customary framed certificate and a year's membership in the Association went to Miss Wendy Lawrence, a Freshman, for her novel treatment of two outstanding events in the Island's history. Unfortunately, only two papers from the Vocational School were presented to the judges. These compositions were adjudged below the standards set for the competition and, accordingly, no award was made to the Vocational School. The judges earnestly hope that greater interest will be shown in 1964 by the pupils in that branch. Miss Lawrence's essay follows:

Mysteries and Shipwrecks of Nantucket

BY WENDY LAWRENCE

Because each of these true stories is different, and in no way related to each other, I am going to tell each story and give a summary.

THE NANTUCKET HEART IN A SMALL BOOKSTORE in Boston was a book called "Island of Nan­ tucket." On page 61 was written, "At the south of Nantucket lies buried the heart of Dr. Winslow, whose body was cremated." The man who was reading this book was greatly intrigued and wanted to know if it was true.

He asked the price of the book and found.it was much more than he could afford. Three weeks later he returned prepared to pay for the book. When "ie arrived there the clerk told him it had been sold. Because of his interest in the truth of the story, he made a trip to Nantucket to visit the grave of th' Winslow family. When it became known to the islanders the reason for his visit, he was not socially accepted. It was also denied that the story held any truth at all.

After the war he returned to the island and was the guest of Dr. Will Gardner. One rainy night beside the fire Dr. Gardner said, "Ed, 1 wish you'd let me know how much truth there is to the story you've been telling about Dr. Winslow's heart." For the next half hour he explained to the Doctor how it happened. When he was through the Doctor told him that before the night was over he would see the book again. The Doctor pointed to a bookcase and said, "There is almost every book written about Nan­ tucket." Finally, after a long search, he found the book and the story of Dr. Winslow's heart. The next morning they went to the Genealogical Society and explained the story of Dr. Winslow. The woman in charge said she would check on it for them. At 3:00 the phone rang and the lady said she would see them. She told them the year the Dr. had died. After that they went to the Atheneum Library and asked for the July newspaper of 1877. In the paper it told about his past life. In his will he stated he wanted his body to be

HISTORICAL ESSAY CONTEST

11

cremated and placed beside his wife's grave in Boston but that his heart was to be removed, embalmed, and placed beside his parents' grave on Nantucket. The reason was that he wanted to be both with his Mother on Nantucket, and his wife in Boston. There was still doubt as to the truth of the story so they got permission from the relatives to dig up the grave.

When the grave had been opened, they found a small box. When they opened the box . . . they found the heart of Dr. Winslow.

The two men thought a grave stone should be placed over the grave so as to avoid controversy all over again. They started a collection and before long had enough money. The marker was bought and inscribed with the following legend: "The Heart of Dr. Charles F. Winslow Lies Buried Here."

T. B. W1THERSPOON THE BOAT WITHERSPOON, bound from Boston on January 10, 1886, came ashore at the south side of Nantucket Island near Little Mioxes Pond, in a driving snow storm.

The crew had experienced bad weather accompanied by thick snow squalls and had been unable to get an observation for several days. Shortly before they struck they sighted Sankaty between squalls which they mistook for Montauk and shaped their course accordingly until they brought up in the breakers. It was sixteen degrees when the citizens rushed to the shore and remained there the rest of the day unable to help. The crew slowly per­ ished in the rigging or fell into the sea and were drowned. Lines were thrown to the crew but they were frozen.

In the face of almost certain death, a life raft was launched with nine men attempting to haul off by a small line which had been shot over the vessel. After they got started, a huge wave smashed over the raft knocking two overboard who managed to cling to the raft and were taken on board.

That afternoon, a successful attempt was made with a mortar gun which secured a line on the vessel. There were only two active men left on board.

The men, more dead than alive, were finally landed on shore by nightfall and were taken to the life-saving station.

Only two of the nine on board were saved and only six bodies were recovered. One was picked up at Siasconset, four were washed up on shore, and the last was found encased in a block of ice.

Of the many shipwrecks occurring on the island, the story of the T. B. Witherspoon is known in history as one of the most harrowing. Others have been disastrous but were sudden and overwhelming, while these poor victims of the Witherspoon lingered many hours, perishing slowly within speaking distance of the powerless hundreds on shore.

12

HISTORIC NANTUCKET THE NINE LIVES OF CROSS RIP

One of the oldest and best known of all lightships is Cross Rip and it has undergone more than its share of mysterious accidents and disasters.

During one December, when the Captain had gone ashore to spend Christmas, a terrific gale hit the vicinity of the Cross Rip Lightship. The force of the storm soon had the small ship straining and pitching at her cables.

Around midnight the cable broke causing the helpless craft to drift from her station. One wave hit a liftboat and crushed it to bits.

The crew tried to hold the ship with the spare anchor but the next morning the cable broke. Two hours later, Great Point Lighthouse was sighted by one of the crew, so the mate turned the ship out to sea to prevent it from going ashore to be wrecked. That afternoon the mainsail broke and four feet of water was found in the hold. All hands began working on pumps.

More bad luck followed. The foresail split at 8:00 that night. Despite the pumping, five feet of water was in the hold at midnight and it was steadily gaining. At 4:00 a.m. one man was sick with fever, another had fallen and hurt himself, the rest were all right but near exhaustion. A ship was sent to the disaster area and supplied transportation to New Orleans.

On Nantucket, the crew had been given up as lost. The weeks passed and there was no news of the crew. Memorial services were held and few had hopes they would be found alive. On January 31, however, word was received from New Orleans that the crew was alive. Over a month had gone by since the ship had been lost.

A number of ships held the position at Cross Rip Shoals until the Cross Rip 5th came along. She served many faithful years.

The next Cross Rip Lightship was a strange looking craft which had been re-modeled. Her masts had been removed and acetylene lights installed.

Renamed Cross Rip 6th, she was sent to the Cross Rip Station where she was anchored firmly to the bottom by a strong cable. Unfortunately, no provision was made for a possible cable break. There was no way for the vessel to navigate itself. Many Nantucket sailors predicted that disaster would follow if the cable snapped.

This time the enemy was not a great storm that brought the mysterious end to the 6th, but another enemy . . . ice!!

During February, 1918, great floes of ice surrounded the area where the lightship was stationed. On February 5th the lighthouse keeper at Great Point noticed the masses of ice as they hit the Cross Rip beacon and pulled the craft from her moorings. The floe began slowly to drift away with the illfated lightship in its grasp. Neither the ship nor her helpless crew were ever seen again. The following is an interesting portion of the editorial of The Inquirer and Mirror describing the disaster as the people of Nantucket saw it:

HISTORICAL ESSAY CONTEST

13

'"Nothing has been gained . . . which would give any indication of what became of the lightship after she passed out of Great Round Shoal and was swept out to sea in the icefield. . . .

"The Cross Rip vessel disappeared on the morning of Feb. 5th, when she was far to the eastward of Nantucket headed for the dreaded Rose and Crown shoals. Whether she passed over the rips and went out into the deep sea is a matter for conjecture. . . .

"If she struck on the Rose and Crown, or Bass Rip, or some other shoal, there is small chance that any of her men escaped, as the powerful ice would soon make quick work of a small craft like that. The afternoon of the disappearance of the lightship, the keepers at Sankaty reported what looked like a bell buoy encased in ice showing up about four miles east-south from the Round Shoal lightship, near the broken part of Bass Rip. That object may have been the tower of the Cross Rip vessel.

"The government was negligent in not providing the Cross Rip with power; it was negligent in not having masts and sails on the little craft; it was negligent in not equipping the beacon with wireless communication.

If the six men who were on board the Cross Rip lost their lives it was not their fault, for they were helpless. . . . They were completely at the mercy of the elements."

The date of the different Cross Rips is in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Needless to say, they are now well equipped with power.

14

Mid -Summer Fantasy ONE EVENING early last August we strolled down to the end of Straight Wharf to watch the full moon come up.

It was a perfect summer's night, warm (to paraphrase the beer com­ mercial) but not too warm. A gentle breeze stole out of the southwest and "the low declining sun" tinted a cloudless sky with a pale and dusky saffron, preparing the stage for her lunar majesty. A truly tropical night. One thought, perhaps, of the Bahamas, or the Virgin Islands, or Jamaica. But it was all Nantucket, with the Little Grey Lady in one of her most hospitable and mellow moods.

The wharf was thronged with cars and bicycles and people. Made fast at wharf's end, a handsome yacht rubbed her sleek side gently against chafing blocks. In the middle harbor two outboard motorboats chased each other in dizzy circles. While we watched their reckless but entertaining antics, S.S. Nobska, her lights blazing from every port hole and cabin window, the long finger of her searchlight probing the channel, came majestically around Brant Point and the lighthouse, already flashing its brilliant red warning.

Then came the moon!

Slowly at first. Peeping timidly as it were across distant Saul's Hills, she seemed reluctant to face the curious throng watching her; but little by little she rose until at last she hung over Monomoy, a great orange disk in all her full splendor, ready to commence her queenly orbit.

And now came the other actors in the evening's unexpected drama.

First, Tabor Boy. Rounding Brant Point under her auxiliary power, her masthead lights atop her towering spars gleaming in the darkening night like twin stars, she headed smoothly for Old South Wharf, then backed off and came in to dock at Straight Wharf, where her young crew from Tabor Academy set about making everything snug and shipshape for the overnight visit.

The reason for her change of course soon became apparent, for hard astern round Brant Point slipped the Kateri Tek, one of the excursion boats from Hyannis operating on a new schedule. Glowing with lights to rival Nobska now quietly asleep at Steamboat Wharf, Kateri Tek slid smoothly into her accustomed berth at Old South.

Meanwhile, the moon rose ever higher, casting her silvery light on the placid harbor, scarcely ruffled by Tek's stern wash, or the saucy outboards, now with their running lights on, moving about like marine fireflies.

Suddenly somebody called out, "There come the Porgy boats!"

Sure enough, there they came, one by one, five of them (two of the fleet which had been seining in the Sound were already docked), lights strung from stem to stern, evenly spaced as though tied together, and swung into the harbor. While they idled about, waiting for the Harbor Master to usher them from the main channel to their proper berths, they presented a fascinating almost eerie picture, their hulls and rigging dissolving into the night and their rows of lights criss-crossing as they moved slowly into their appointed places. Dingy little porgy boats out of Point Judith, transmuted by the alchemy of night into fairy craft of mystery and charm.

All in all, it was truly a brilliant water-spectacle vouchsafed that lovely August evening to the fortunate people who, like ourselves, had gone to Straight Wharf just to see the Moon come up.—A.M.C.

15

Gardner Street Hose Cart House THE little old fire house at Gardner and Howard Streets, one of the last two of its kind standing at its original site, was put in commission as the most recent exhibit of the Historical Association late in the season of 1962 and was fully ready for visitors again last season. With Mr. Errol Coffin in charge as Chairman, it is a sort of self-service exhibit. That is to say, there is no regular attendant, but the building is so arranged that the interior containing hand-pump 'Sconset No. 1, with an added assortment of hand apparatus, may be viewed through the double front doors, protected by a stout wire screen, and also, from within, along a sort of corridor made by a wire partition setting off the various exhibits. This section is entered through a rear door on the Howard Street or northerly side of the building. With this arrangement, the only attention necessary is the opening of the doors at nine and the closing of them at five in the afternoon. Fastened to the inside of the wire screen is a contribution box.

For the opportunity to preserve some of the atmosphere of the old Fire Department thanks go to Miss Edith M. Bartlett, of 4 Gardner Street, who gave the land and building to the Historical Association to maintain it as a memorial to her father and mother, William Macy Bartlett and Lizzie A. (Nash) Bartlett.

This house is linked through the misty years with the old Cataract Engine and Hose Cart No. 7, now housed as exhibits in the Fair Street Museum.

The story originates with a Town Meeting of February 19, 1884, to which the Firewards, as they were known before the creation of the office of Chief of the Fire Department, presented a request from Engine Company No. 6 that the Town assume the ownership of their engine (Cataract) and release them from the burdensome expense. This engine came to the Island in 1831 and had performed notably through the years. The Town Meeting voted to accept the report and authorized the lease of a parcel of land at the corner of Bull Lane and Gardner Street, belonging to John S. Hosier, for the sum of twelve dollars a year.

As it so happened, however, the extra buildings contemplated for this property were not immediately built, Siasconset needing more and immediate protection, and Cataract was removed to a house on Centre Street. At the same time the land on Gardner Street was under lease and the Firewards recommended to the 1886 Town Meeting that a suitable house be built on this property, for $400, to house Engine No. 6 and Hose No. 8.

It was not, however, until the following year, action having been post­ poned, that the money was appropriated. In May of 1887 the house was completed and engine No. 6 and its companion Hose No. 8 were moved into their own quarters. The Firewards in their report said, "The utility of an engine house in this particular locality is beyond question."

In 1893 the Firewards reported that the Gardner Street lease would expire that year and recommended that the Town purchase the property.

William Hosier, then the owner of the land promptly deeded it to the Town.

At the end of 1895 Cataract was still in service, although the Firewards

The Gardner Street Fire Hose House

GARDNER STREET HOSE CART HOUSE

17

recommended that it be disposed of as it was impossible to keep it in good serviceable condition. They then recommended the addition of a "hand steam fire engine" (meaning to be drawn by hand?), which was accordingly added to the Fire Department that year.

Beginning with 1896 there are no comments about the Gardner Street Fire House and its equipment until 1911, except that in 1903 the Firewards urged the purchase and equipment of one or more hose carriages to be placed in the house on Gardner Street, and their report was accepted at the 1904 Town Meeting.

The precise date of the "passing" of the old Cataract, Engine No. 6, is obscure; but it is believed to have been about the year 1905, when the Historical Association's new fireproof building in Fair Street was opened.

In the memory of several people still living, the veteran apparatus was ex­ hibited in the basement of that building not long after its opening. At any rate, after 1905 the Gardner Street Firehouse was the home of several hosewagons, and bore the name board it carries today, namely, "Hose Cart No. 7 & 10."

In 1912 the Nantucket Fire Department was reorganized. Hose Com­ pany No. 8 (formerly on Gardner Street) being disbanded, a detailed inven­ tory of the equipment in the Gardner Street house was filed and included Hose Reels Nos. 7 & 10. Thus it appears that these two pieces of apparatus were housed there prior to 1912, probably about 1906, and the present name board was set up about that date.

In 1914 the control of the Fire Department was transferred from the Firewards, the office of Chief created, and Arthur A. Norcross appointed the first official "Chief of Fire Department."

In the Department report for 1931, the Gardner Street fire house re­ ceived its official quietus, in a recommendation by the then Chief that the land and building be sold to reimburse the Town for the cost of two new service trucks.

An auction sale was promptly held. William Macy Bartlett, owner of the adjacent land which, together with the Fire House lot, had comprised the Hosier homestead, bid in the property and thus in a real sense may be said to be the man responsible for the preservation of this notable relic.

Happily, the Gardner Street Fire House now stands secure in its own right against the further vicissitudes of time and change. — A.M.C.

Thanks are due to Mr. W. Ripley Nelson, Chairman of the Advertising and Publicity Committee, for the use of a full news release in preparing the above article. — Ed.

The Silk Factory, now residential, still stands at the head of Gay Street.

SILK INDUSTRY IN NANTUCKET

19

THERE are many interesting and historically valuable articles in the annual "Proceedings" of the Nantucket Historical Society. They lie there virtually buried, read only by an occasional researcher or antiquarian.

This seems a pity. HISTORIC NANTUCKET believes that these essays, after a lapse of many years, can be reprinted with profit and pleasure for the current reader. We shall, therefore, reprint from time to time such of these articles as may have renewed pertinence or be especially worthwhile.

As a start, in view of the revived interest in weaving and other hand­ crafting on the Island, we have selected Rev. Myron S. Dudley's paper on the silk factory at Nantucket read by him at the fourth annual meeting of the Society, July 25, 1898, and printed in the "Proceedings" of that date. Rev. Dudley was pastor of the Congregational Church and a very competent writer on matters concerning Nantucket's history. He is particularly noted as the collector and editor of the invaluable "Timothy White Papers." — A.M.C.

Silk Industry In Nantucket

I

BY REV. MYRON S. DUDLEY

N 1830, AND FROM THAT DATE, or thereabouts, until 1840, the people of New England became deeply interested in the introduction and permanent establishment of the silk industry. The mulberry tree was extensively imported from various parts of Europe, the Italian or white mulberry being a favorite variety, and from China, and factories were started at various points. The suggestion of this new industry was taken up with great eagerness in many sections of the country. The interest de­ veloped into almost an epidemic. It was diagnosed as the Morus Multicaulis fever.

Nantucket did not escape the contagion, though we cannot find many evidences of its presence earlier than 1835. In 1832, William H. Gardner, Esq., planted the mulberry in an exposed position, on light sandy soil, at Quaise. Little attention was given these trees, but in 1835, one tree measured five and one half inches in girth, and stood seven feet in height. One hundred twenty of these trees — the Italian or white mulberry were planted on the town farm at Quaise. Some specimens there reached a girth of four feet and were known to be thirty years old. Mr. George Fitch had trees on his home lot on Academy Hill. On the grounds of Mr. Thomas Macy, Main Street, in 1835 was a tree six years old. These isolated cases seemed to prove that the climate of the island was congenial to the mulberry. Accordingly there was a movement to organize a company for the purpose of establis ing a mulberry plantation. The project did not materialize. But there were in­ dividuals who went into the business of cultivating the tree.

Mr. Albert Easton tells the compiler of these historical notes that his father, George Easton, had a mulberry orchard of 1000 trees about the homestead on North Water Street, in the rear of the house next south of the Springfield House. In 1836 there was a grove of 4000 trees, owned by Aaron Mitchell, about a mile outside of the town. What is now known as

20

HISTORIC NANTUCKET

* "The Thorn Lot," owned by Prof. Henry Mitchell, about a mile west by south west of town, was formerly a mulberry orchard planted by, Gideon Gardner with a thorn hedge about it.

In 1835, in the issue of November 14, the editor of the Nantucket In­ quirer wrote an extensive review of Kendrick's "American Silk Grower's Guide." This book was a work upon the "art of raising silk on the system of successive crops the same season," and it was the especial purpose of the writer to urge a plan "to enrich the people of the less fertile regions throughout the country."

The editor closes his quite lengthy and interesting review, with an appeal to the citizens of Nantucket to make a move for the introduction of the silk culture. "To those whose duty it is to anticipate coming events," he writes, "to reflect on the consequences of decay in the fisheries, and to provide substitutes whereby their dearest interests may still be saved and fostered — we commend a perusal of our friend Kendrick's Guide."

In the issue of November 18, he returns to this subject: "Actual exam­ ination will convince the most skeptical that the mulberry may here be brought to a high state of cultivation."

The local papers keep this project constantly in mind by editorial notes and quotations from the press. The reward for this persistance comes when in the issue of December 4, 1835, it is announced that there is. a movement started for the establishment of a silk factory. A company is organized and incorporated, known as the Atlantic Silk Company. William H. Gardner, Esq., is prominent in the work of organizing the company, and Mr. Aaron Mitchell is a leading capitalist who invests liberally.

Land for the factory is secured on an elevated site, on Coffin's Court.

Here a handsome edifice, 60 by 30, is to be forthwith erected. Machinery is to be put in after the pattern of that used by the Rhode Island Silk Company, in Providence. This machinery is the invention of Mr. G. Gay, of Provi­ dence, an inventor, and he is to have charge of putting it in. A 16-horse power engine is to be secured, made by Babcock, also of Providence. The silk company is to have eventually a capital stock of $30,000, or $40,000, and books, in December, 1835, were shortly to be opened for the first instalment of $12,000. Foremost in the organization and management of this industry was Aaron Mitchell, a merchant, and also in the shipping business. Mr. Mitchell was an enterprising public-spirited citizen of the town, commanding respect always, and among its leading citizens.

In due time, the factory was erected on the south east corner of Gay and Westminster Streets, the last building on the left as one goes up Gay Street towards the High School. The building is now owned by two summer residents, Mrs. Ward of Rochester, N. Y., and Mrs. Holdbrook of Boston.

On the north side of Gay Street, which, doubtless, takes its name from the inventor who made and placed the machinery of the silk factory, the land, now occupied by several houses, between Gay Street and Academy Lane, from Westminster Street down to the Bunker residence, opposite Capt. Rule's stable was unoccupied. Directly opposite the factory on the site of what is now used as the Methodist Parsonage, there was a small pond of water into which the waste water from-the vats of the dye works was drained. This was near the bottom and on the west side of a deep gully extending from

Looking down Gay Street from Westminster

Silk Factory at right.

22

HISTORIC NANTUCKET

Academy lane, near the corner of Westminster Street, across what is now Gay Street, and Quince and Hussey, growing shallow as it approached Pearl Street.

On the east side of this gully, a few feet north of this pond or waste pool of the dye house, there was a copious spring. There is still a living and flowing fountain of sweet water in the basement at the rear end of the house now occupied by Mr. Joseph Terry, formerly the residence of the late Wm. S. Chadwick. It used to supply a number of families with water and is now used by one or two households. Capt. Obed Swain's house is supplied from this spring.

The legislature of Massachusetts, in the spring of 1836 authorized a bounty of one dollar on every ten pounds of silk. At the same session, the Atlantic Silk Company was chartered, the last of seven companies in the same line incorporated during that session of the General Court. In May of this year the factory was near completion. In July, the factory was in partial operation, and was open to visitors. It was inspected at this time by Edward Everett. Governor of the Commonwealth, who manifested much interest in this new and promising island enterprise.

E. A. Waite was the first superintendent. Silk vesting and handkerchiefs were among the first products offered for sale. In September, 1836, the Silk Company placed samples of its goods in a fair of the New York Mechan­ ics Institute, New York City, and received an award for the exhibit.

The industry, however, was short lived. The people generally did not take kindly to the raising of silk, and the trees in spite of the early promise did not thrive. There were difficulties and complications that resulted in a lawsuit. This was about 1840, and before the great fire of 1846, probably as early as 1844, the factory was closed.

Aaron Mitchell, as chief, if not sole owner, at the latter date moved the machinery to his warehouse which stood on Sea Street, in rear of his fine two story brick mansion that occupied the corner of North Water and Sea Streets, on the site of the house now the residence of the family of the late George K. Long. This machinery, placed in the second story of the warehouse, was so heavy that the building collapsed and the machinery of the Atlantic Silk Company went down in a cloud of dust. Mr. Mitchell's brick mansion went down in the fire of 1846, and was the limit of the fire to the northward on North Water Street.

23

Exhibition of Old Slides

BY W. RIPLEY NELSON

NEARLY one hundred persons gathered on Friday evening August 23 at the Unitarian Church to enjoy the Nantucket Historical Association's showing of photographic slides of Old Nantucket views dating from 1845 to 1912.

Explanatory historical comments by President George W. Jones on each slide as it was flashed on the screen brought forth interesting questions and com­ ments which added to the success of the evening's entertainment.

The showing started with a picture of the old steamer "Nantucket" which was built and placed on the run in 1886 and continued until sold in 1915. Thus a voyage through the old times was appropriately launched.

The picture of the old "Hotel Wauwinet" and the landing pier in 1885 emphasized the great change which has taken place. The Wauwinet boat "Lillian" pictured in 1921 brought back fond memories of the daily sailings from Town to Wauwinet.

Not many remembered that the Riverside Hotel on Providence River was taken down and brought to Nantucket in 1883, re-erected at Surfside, and formally opened that year. Even this venerable old building could not withstand rampaging nature. While in 1885 the edge of the bank at Surfside was 265 feet from the front of the hotel, here was a picture taken in 1899 showing the collapse of half of the building, and this was only the beginning of the erosion on that shore line.

The Old Cross Rip Light, lost in the ice Feb. 1-5, 1918, was shown to­ gether with scenes in the same year of skating and ice boating on the harbor.

This was the year no boat ran from January 29 to February 13th and the temperature made a low of 6.2 degrees below zero F. Another slide showed the Nantucket steamer in the ice landing passengers in 1904 at Beachside.

Pictures of numerous wrecks reminded the audience of the activity of shipping under sail as it used to be. These views included Bark Ninmanueth ashore at Miacomet 1873 and the Bark W. F. Marshall wrecked at Mioxes, March 1, 1877. Exciting special comment was the wreck of the schooner Alice M. Lawrence on Tucknernuck Shoals in December, 1914. This was a six-master and the largest vessel wrecked in Nantucket waters. She struck an old wreck — that of the French Van Gilder which sank in 1885 carry­ ing a load of paving blocks.

Various street views showed many dwellings recognized and bringing forth interesting comments.

'Sconset and Quidnet fishermen received recognition, especially one "oldster" sitting on a dory dressed in his dungarees but wearing, at a rakish angle, a marvelous old "silk hat." 'Sconset fishermen were grouped on "Front Street," a very different looking area from that of today.

A round of applause at the end of the showing proved the enjoyment of the evening by those present.

(The slides shown were a part of a collection numbering nearly 400 bequeathed to the Nantucket Historical Association by the late Harry B. Turner. They were made from photographic prints ingeniously bound together between sheets of glass, which has made them impervious to atmospheric deterioration. They are in a truly remarkable state of preservation. — Ed.)

24

What Became of the First Book of Nantucket Town Records, Hidden in 1677

O

BY CLARENCE KING

N THE TENTH OF FEBRUARY, 1677, Peter Folger left his home in Rogers Field to consult his friend Captain John Gardner, who lived near Wesque harbor landing in the village of Sherburne. He carried with him the Book of Nantucket Town Records. As Town Clerk, Folger was Register of Deeds, Clerk of the Town Court and of the General Court for the Islands and Clerk of the meetings of proprietors and freeholders.

Earlier in the day Constable William Bunker had come to Peter's home with an order signed by Thomas Macy as chief magistrate, which read as follows: "Tis ye Order of ye Court that ye Constable be sent to Peter Ffoulger for ye Court Books and all Records of that nature and this is to impower ye Constable herein, and to bring them to ye Court forthwith and Peter Ffoulger is hereby required to deliver them.

Per me Thos. Macy, Mag." Peter had sent back the following reply in writing: "Ye Booke was put in my hands by ye General Court, and 'til ye same Power, or a higher, did cal for it from me I should indeavor to keepe it, but if they would have any Coppys out of it they might at any time have them." * A struggle was going on between the Half-Share Men led by Captain Gardner and the original proprietors led by Tristram Coffin. The proprietors were rebelling against the provision in the Lovelace Charter which deprived non-resident proprietors of the right to vote. There were six of these offislanders and Tristram Coffin controlled their votes. Edward Starbuck, al­ though a proprietor, stuck with the Half-Share men throughout the struggle and he controlled two other votes. At first Thomas Macy, a proprietor, had also sided with the Gardner faction and. he controlled three other votes.

This gave the Half-Share men a majority even if the votes of the non­ residents were counted and hence they controlled the town government.

But Macy was heavily in debt to Tristram Coffin, who held a mortgage on Macy's home at Watercomet on the shore east of Capaum harbor.

At a town meeting on February 13, 1676, Macy had switched sides and carried the three other votes with him. This gave the Coffin faction a slight majority and they, with the illegal non-resident votes, took over control of the town. Captain Gardner, who had been employed to organize the fish­ ing industry, was deposed and this power was given to Thomas Macy and Peter Coffin jointly. These same two were appointed a committee to ex­ amine the Town Clerk's records. John Gardner believed they wished to get hold of the deed of land from the Indians signed by Sachems Nickanoose and Wanackmamack on May 10, 1660. At Fort James in New York, where copies of Nantucket deeds had to be filed, there was what purported * See Peter Folger's letter of March 27, 1677 to Governor Andros; also Anderson's "A Grandfather for Benjamin Franklin," page 346 and following.

NANTUCKET TOWN RECORDS

25

to be a copy of this deed, but the description of the land differed and would have granted more land to the settlers than had been agreed to by the Indians. If the original deed could be destroyed, the copy in New York would take precedence. So when Peter Folger was ordered to produce the Record Book he refused. He knew that the officers demanding it had no legal au­ thority because they were elected by the votes of non-residents. He conceived it his duty to guard the book carefully lest it come into the hands of unau­ thorized persons.

Now, on February tenth, 1677, he carried the book with him as he strode along. Near No Bottom Pond he passed the town jail. It was seldom used and the door stood ajar. Pigs had sheltered there and the floor was covered with refuse. When he reached Captain John, he gave the book into his hands, asking him to hide it. So far as we know today that was the last that anyone saw of it. A little later Constable Bunker arrived with an order for Peter's arrest.

Arraigned before the magistrates, he practiced passive resistance, re­ fusing to answer their questions and maintaining absolute silence. As he explained in a letter to Governor Andros in New York: "I came before them and carried myself every waie as civilly as I could, only I spake never a word, for I was fully persuaded that, if I spake anything at all they would turn it against me, I remembered also ye old saying that of Nothing comes Nothing."

Exasperated by his silent resistance to their demand that he give them the Record Book, the magistrates committed him to jail. When he still persisted in refusing, they disfranchised him and fined him five pounds. This was a heavy burden for Peter, who now had no income. He probably would have refused to pay even if he had had the money, for he would not recognize the authority of magistrates illegally elected. When the fine was not paid, the authorities seized a pig belonging to Folger, which was at pasture at Polpis.

Technically, Peter's imprisonment lasted three years and nine months.

On November 25, 1680, Governor Andros signed an order that the pig ^'probably not the same one) be returned to Peter, meat, hide and all. At first there were times when the magistrates were lenient and allowed Peter to sleep at home, returning to jail by day. When this did not induce him to yield the Record Book they then became more severe. Toward the end of his term he was allowed out on parole to do surveying for the town or to pacify the Indians, who were incensed over the imprisonment of the white man whom they regarded as their best friend.

Meantime where was the Record Book? Mrs. Anderson in her book, "A Grandfather for Benjamin Franklin," makes several plausible suggestions: "Perhaps it was handed over to official keeping and chanced to be lost or mislaid. Perhaps it had gone up in flames. ... It was only too easy to toss something among the blazing faggots. . . . But it is not consonant with the strictly legal tactics . . . conducted on both sides to believe that either of the two 'rebels' had destroyed Town Records or that . . . the opposition would have done the same thing. The missing deed is intact with its mates among the papers filed in the Nantucket Registry and proper copies are on file in Albany. Therefore in due time the deed . . . was restored. . . . Peter may have kept it night and day on his person. But ... it is rather to be inferred that it was outside the prison.

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HISTORIC NANTUCKET

Was it hidden in the home of one of his married children, Eleazar's for first guess, Joanna Coleman's for second?" (pp. 375-376) "If one sets aside, as out of character, the idea that Folger had destroyed the book or connived at any one's else doing so, two plausible answers suggest themselves. The book . . . might have been conveyed by Gardner to the Governor of New York. ... It might have been placed for temporary keeping among Andros' own papers and thus have trav­ eled to England when he was recalled. ... It might come to light in some country house on that side of the Atlantic. But more consistent with Folger's habit of thought and action is the second theory:—That, when a General Court of the Islands was constituted which he could, without doubt, consider legal he surrendered it to that body. . . . The first General Court which answered to his requirements would have been that assembled after judgment had been rendered at Fort James on the question of Gardner's disfranchisement. My guess is that, with fidelity to the letter of his duty, he surrendered the book ... to the President of the General Court, Thomas Mayhew. ... I offer the sug­ gestion that some one look for Clerk Folger's lost book, first in the Town Archives of Edgartown and failing success there, in some attic where generations of Mayhews have stored old lumber and litter." (pp.

418-419) Here is another suggestion which seems plausible to me. All legal pro­ ceedings against Peter Folger ceased with the return of the Polpis Pig in the latter days of 1680. The Coffin faction no longer controlled the Town Government. The book may have been hidden by Captain Gardner aboard his ship, the "Expectation" where no search warrant could reach it. Captain Gardner, himself, was now Chief Magistrate with a legally chosen set of town officers. Peter Folger had a life-long reputation for integrity and de­ pendability. He had sacrificed over three years of his life to defend that precious book. Would he not have moved heaven and earth to restore the book to its proper place in the office of his successor, the Town Clerk?

May not the original binding of this Record Book have disintegrated over the years and yet its original pages be still preserved in the Nantucket Registry? The present Volume One of the Town Records appears to have been rebound in recent years, probably in the nineteenth century. It contains many entries and ancient documents dated before February, 1677, when Peter Folger went to jail. Some of them are undoubtedly in Peter's handwriting and some are signed by him. Some of the old pages are now mounted on thin silk and rebound in the present volume. All bear evidences of antiquity and are of the type of entries that should have been in the old Town Record Book on the day Peter Folger carried it to Captain Gardner. May they not be the very leaves of the old book preserved for posterity through the self-sacrifice and devotion of Peter Folger?

Clarence King, a summer resident of Nantucket since 1929, is a retired lawyer living in New Canaan, Connecticut, where he was at one time prosecuting attorney. A native of Wisconsin, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Columbia Law School, and holds a degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Columbia. He was for a while professor at the New York School of Social Work and has written widely on that

NANTUCKET TOWN RECORDS

27

subject. Spending last winter on the Island, he and his wife worked with Dr. Will Gardner in making an index to A Grandfather For Benjamin Franklin, Florence Bennett Anderson's authoritative biography of Peter Folger. Mr. and Mrs. King are members of the Society of Friends. — Ed.

In Memoriam Stokeley W. Morgan 1893 — 1963

Burnham N. Dell 1889 — 1963

THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION has lost two long and active members in the deaths of Stokeley Williams Morgan and Burnham North Dell almost within a week of each other. Stokeley Morgan died in Nantucket on September 10th last and Burnham Dell in Boston on September 21st. Services for each were held at St. Paul's Church, Nantucket, with in­ terment in Prospect Hill Cemetery.

Stokeley Morgan, a graduate of Harvard College, was for most of his life a career man with the Department of State, holding many important diplo­ matic posts while in the Foreign Service. He also engaged for a time in banking and aviation. Making his home in Nantucket since his retirement in 1955, he interested himself actively in the affairs of the Association, having been a member of the Council and a Vice President, posts which increasingly poor health forced him to relinquish earlier in the year. Mr. Morgan s Nan­ tucket antecedents derived through the Coffin and Mitchell families.

Burnham Dell was an ordained minister, with degrees from Princeton, Union Theological Seminary, and Harvard. He served as assistant rector at St. George's Episcopal Church in New York and at Emmanuel Church in Bos­ ton; also as an army chaplain in World War I. Later he joined the faculty of Princeton as an economist. Greatly interested in athletics, having distin­ guished himself in track and tennis as an undergraduate, he was appointed to important posts in the athletic department. He reentered the Army in the second world war, retiring as a Colonel, and came with his wife to reside permanently on Nantucket. Here he was at one time a member of the School Committee and, continuing his interest in athletics, gave with Mrs. Dell, a running-track to the High school. The school s athletic field is named in his son's honor. Burnham Dell was vice president and a member of the Council, holding these positions at the time of his death. As Chairman of the Exhibits Publications Committee, he handled a very important part of the work of the Association and was responsible for the recent revision of the popular "Rambles." He was an assistant editor of HISTORIC NANTUCKET during its infancy.

Both Stokeley Morgan and Burnham Dell exemplified in their quiet way the substantial contribution which earnest men can make to a good cause.

28

Recent Events BECAUSE of compositional reasons, credit was not given in the July issue for the photographic reproduction of the Boston Tea Party and for the studio portrait of Mr. Nelson, both by Bill Haddon. The informal study of Miss Robbins was by the Editor. *

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The summer season just passed has been outstandingly successful for Nantucket financially. Every business on or connected with the Island, with the one exception of Northeast Airlines, is reported to have done very well.

Aside from Northeast, hotels, inns, guest houses, stores, gift shops, restau­ rants, and suppliers of the many wants of a busy summer resort have pros­ pered beyond early expectations that were somewhat dimmed by a rather cold and foggy June. There has been, however, one fly in the ointment of this success: the "motor-scooter." This busy little vehicle, originating in Italy and rapidly spreading world-wide, is increasing on Nantucket almost like the earwigs, and to many people just as unpopular. "Something," they say, "must be done about it," meaning, of course, that motor-scooters should be suppressed. Now, there is no use minimizing the motor-scooter's appeal.

There is a certain exhilaration peculiar to this type of locomotion. The motorscooter is handy, is cheap to operate, gets around easily in traffic, and oper­ ates in places where an automobile cannot. But it is noisy, capable of high speed with a very short pick-up, and can be a really dangerous vehicle on the road. We agree "that something must be done about it," if Nantucket is to be a safe place for quiet-minded vacationers and little children, not to mention the hundreds of young people who like to poke about the Town and its environs on bicycles. "What to do about it" is, of course, the problem and it is not for us to presume to tell the authorities, who are really disturbed, how to solve it. Nevertheless, it seems to us that driving a motor scooter with a passenger (usually a girl) gripping the operator around the waist is "driv­ ing to endanger" of the worst kind, and that the suppression of the well-nigh intolerable noise made by a motor-scooter is clearly within the police power of a town respecting a public nuisance. *

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A young guest, who had been impressed by his hostess with the im­ portance of preserving Nantucket's traditional peace and quiet, especially at night, was heard to remark to a neighbor's son returning a bit too volubly from a late party, "S-sh . . . don't you know this is Whisper Street!"

And while we are in a lighter vein, we heard a four-year-old cherub at the Children's Beach say to his mother, "if I'm not dirty, I don't have to have a shower bath, do I, Mummy?" *

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T H E C O F F I N F A M I F Y . As the sponsors' donations to the Coffin genealogy and the payments therefrom were covered in two separate annual reports, it may be well to give the combined totals at this time. The sponsors contributed $5000 in ten sponsorships (later increased by an anonymous gift of $810) for the cost of producing the genealogy and this exact amount has been paid in full to the printing company. The books were given to the

RECENT EVENTS

29

Nantucket Historical Association and are being sold by it. All proceeds of the sales go entirely to the Association, as previously explained.

H:

SIC

Clouds shrouded Nantucket July 20th, the afternoon of the eclipse of the sun. While it was only about 94% of totality here, suitable preparations had been made to enjoy what was granted us, and great was the disappoint­ ment. The eclipse however, did not pass unnoticed. Just before and after totality, daylight under the cloud cover faded and a strange, weird calm seemed to fill the air. Without seeing it, one could sense that something mysterious, almost supernatural, was happening; then the twilight gloom passed. The clouds brightened and the northeast wind, which had brought them, together with welcome relief from the heat of the previous few days, blew once more. The next total eclipse of the sun visible in New England will occur on March 7, 1970, and, we are told, Nantucket will be the best van­ tage point from which to view it. Let's hope for cloudless skies.

HS

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In one of his week-end cruises in the Sound, President Kennedy with his family and friends visited Nantucket in early September on the family yacht, Honey Fitz• The vessel, escorted by a flotilla of security craft, moored in the harbor and the President contented himself with a deck view of the Town. The children, however, were taken ashore to Brant Point for an in­ spection of the Coast Guard Station. After a stay of three hours the Honey Fitz returned leisurely to Hyannis Port. Earlier in the season, the President had visited the Vineyard.

HE

H=

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•

H5

The Massachusetts legislature has recently passed a bill creating a Massachusetts historical commission and authorizing cities and towns to do the same. The machinery involved is somewhat complicated, but the purpose of the legislation, designed to save what is left in the Commonwealth of historic significance, is certainly laudable and necessary in view of the present craze to destroy everything deemed to be in the way of "progress." sj: * • * * On what would have been one of her last trips of the summer, M. V. Martha's Vineyard, returning to Hyannis, struck a submerged object near Tuckernuck Buoy and limped back to port with a badly damaged propellor.

Fortunately the weather was calm and the returning excursionists were merely inconvenienced.

30

Diary of W illiam C. Folger EDITED BY NANCY S. ADAMS

Continued from the July issue of "Historic Nantucket."

1837 Nov. 14—I settled with Reuben Champion for board up to this date, time 117 days minus 20 days absent, leaves 97 days, 14 weeks at 2.00 equals 28.00.

The note of interest amounted to 241.20 to Nov. 14 — and payments & in­ terest, etc. to 106.32 leaving 134.88 he now owes me. He paid me 50 dollars in bills leaving 84.88 he still owes me. I paid John Malvin 1.37 for pew hire at the Baptist church. 1 bought the Gazetteer of Ohio by Warren Jenkins for 1.50.

Nov. 19—R. Champion returned from Buffalo to-day.

Nov. 22—To-day began to snow — a very severe storm of wind.

Nov. 24—Reuben Champion paid me on Seth T. Hurd's note dated April 18, 1837, for 228.00, on interest at 4%, but he only paid me at the rate of 3% the interest would then be 49.24 added to the principal would be 277.24 which 1 think is the sum he paid me, 50.00 in Michigan money and the rest in Ohio. He had paid me some days ago 42.00 in Ohio and Kentucky, 46.00 in Cleveland & 25.00 in New England. I took of R. Champion a set of Encyclopedia Americana that had belonged to Seth T. Hurd and paid him 25.00 of Michigan bills. Gave Mrs. R. Champion 2 lbs. of spermaceti candles.

She had given me some time ago 4 views of Cleveland. 1 paid Elizabeth Coughtrey for washing 1.3 1. Paid at Post Office 26 cents for Inquirer to Dec. first & left written directions for my papers & letters to be sent back to Nan­ tucket.

Nov. 28—I paid carman 50 cts. for taking my trunks etc. from Reuben Champions to the Steamboat Milwaukee and left Cleveland at 10 a.m. Stopped at Grand River, Conneaut & Erie and arrived in Buffalo before daylight. I paid 3.00 for deck passage and 2.50 for freight. I had bought 121/2 cts. worth of crackers in Cleveland a day or two before I left and bot 25 cts. worth of bread & cheese. Bot a newspaper for 6V2 cts. & sent back to Reuben Champion. Left Buffalo about 9 o'clock in the evening for Rochester.

Nov. 30—I bought in Lockport bread and milk for 13 cts.

Dec. 1—Arrived in Rochester and bot groceries for lOcts. Left Rochester about 10 a.m. for Utica in the . . . Capt. Dubois.

Dec. 2—The sheriff of Munroe Co. came aboard the canal boat & took off a young woman who was accused of stealing. We stopped at Newark this forenoon and I bot cheese for 6V2 cts. We got to Lyons in afternoon. Two blacklegs left the boat in debt for passage & to day a notorious blackleg left at Port Byron. We passed the village of Syracuse in the night time.

Dec. 5—Arrived at Utica early this morn, here a number of our passengers took the railroad among other folks was John Edgerton of Hawley, Mass. who came from Cuyahoga Co. Ohio. Alva Blodgett & Orrin Bissell of Michigan a town of Palmer and myself, concluded to wait for a boat as we had baggage, so we took our things out in the store where the signal stopped and in the evening we put them aboard The Wave, Capt. Carl (Earl) for Albany. Bot 6 cts. worth of gingerbread. Bot at Owens Bake Shop I2V2 cts. w. of bread, 6 cts. w. rusk and 6V2 cts. w. crackers and some

DIARY OF WILLIAM C. FOLGER

31

cheese. I paid Capt. Dubois 2.82 for freight & passage from Rochester to Utica. I had paid from Buffalo to Rochester, the other Captain 3.25.

Dec. 6—Stopped at Little Falls about noon. I went across the Mohawk on the bridge and viewed the village. Bot 12'/i cts. w. apples.

Dec. 7—Got to Schenectady in the evening and here we parted with a good old lady passenger.

Dec. 8—I was up early this morning and saw the Cahoes Falls of the Mo­ hawk. Got to Albany about 11 o'clock. It was snowing some. Paid passage 1.10 and freight 1.88. Bot some pie. Saw John Foster Coffin and Richard H. Mitchell. Parted this evening with my fellow travellers Alva Blodgett and Orrin Bissell, they were from East Windsor, Conn., but had been about a year and a half at Palmer, Mich.

Dec. 9—Bot some groceries for breakfast. Paid 11 cts. to Canal boatmen.

Paid 19 cts, to carman to take goods to Steamboat Rockland, Capt. Coffin.

Paid fare 50 cts. and freight 75c. to Hudson, arrived about 3 p.m. at Hud­ son, much ice in the river. Changed my clothes and visited William F. Coleman and his sisters Phebe and Nabby and then walked out to Aunt Phebe Coleman's about 11 miles distant, arrived just after dark, found Laura Nye quite sick.

Dec. 12—Snow storm all day.

Dec. 12—I took leave of Aunt Phebe and her family & William M. Bunker's family & went with William to Hudson. Paid 10c. for crackers. Visited Wm. H. Coleman & Family. Paid carman \2Vi c. to take my things aboard Steam­ boat Gen. Jackson & Barker, left just at dark.

Dec. 13—Arrived at New York soon after daylight, paid carman to take my baggage to Schooner Imperial, Capt. Charles P. Swain which was laying at the foot of Rosevelt street. Bot 3c. w. gingerbread.

Dec. 14-—Bot 30 barrells Superfine flour of A. H. Wolfe near Quincy Slip at 9 dollars and a quarter — 277.50 & cartage 1.25. I had to pay discount on my U.S. Money — 4.80 in all.

Dec. 15—Bot 5 bbls. Greenings and 5 bbls. of Pippins for 15.60. Bot Gazzetter of Illinois in 1837 for 1.25.

1 went in the evening of the 14th to the Tabernacle church to hear J. Orville Taylor lecture on Common Schools, he was succeeded by Breckenridge, the great oriental traveller and member of the British Parliament, a large meeting probably four or five thousand there.

Dec. 17—Went to Baptist Church this afternoon.

Dec. 18—Visited Jehial Phinney & Bartlett Cobb.

Dec. 19—Left New York this morning at 9 o'clock. Passengers Mary Ann Chase & Eliza Ann Barney & children and two young men. We went in to Holmes Hole, about day light to wait for tide on the Bar., left about twelve o'clock on the 20th and arrived in Nantucket about 4 p.m. Paid 17c to car­ man to take things up to Lydia G. Bunker's. Sold 1 bbl. of flour to Lydia G. Bunker $9.62. Had my flour taken up to Uncle Walter's store. Sold Samuel H. Jenks 1 bbl. of Pippins. Sent the remainder of apples up to Asa G. Bunker's. Later sold apples to Capt. John H. Pease, Aunt Rebecca Bunker, Lydia G. Bunker and flour to George C. Gardner, George M. Bunker and Asa G.

32

HISTORIC NANTUCKET

1838 Jan. 1—Sold Zaccheus Macy's wife half bushel of greenings at 60 cts.

Credit by washing & ironing. Attended the annual meeting of the Atheneum this evening.

Jan. 3—Let Joseph James have four bbls, superfine flour on 60 days credit.

Attended an Episcopal meeting at the Atheneum this evening. Paid the other day 50 cts, for a letter Asa wrote me on the 10th of Dec. that had been to Cleveland and back again. Advertised my Encyclopedia Americana in the Inquirer. 1 wrote to father last week and sent by an acquaintance.

Jan. 4—Sold Edward W. Cobb 2 bbls. of Pippins and Charles Worth 1 bbl. of same. Attended Dr. Southard's lecture at the Atheneum.

Jan. 8—My birthday, 1 have attained the age of 32 years. I weighed on the 1st. inst. 141 lbs.

Jan. 9—I sold Joseph James six bbls. of flour at 10.50 per bbl. He gave me his note at ninety days for 63 dollars without interest.

Jan. 11—Attended the lecture by Daniel Jones Jr. on Chemistry this eve­ ning. Sent 5 bbls. of flour to Gorham Macy's auction rooms to be sold.

Jan. 13—I delivered Frederick C. Gardner 1 bbl. of flour at 10.50 to be charged to the account of Edward C. Folger. Sold John Whittemore Vi bush, of apples at $1 a bush. He had fitted my two hats for me.

Jan. 17—Sold Lot Palmer 1 bbl. of flour and also 1 bbl. to William M. An­ drews. I settled with Charles P. Swain for freight passage etc. about the 1st. inst, amounting to $20.50. I paid George Parker one dollar being the semi­ annual tax on Atheneum share.

Jan. 20-—I bot bottle of Record Ink of N. A. & E. G. Kelley for 17 cts. I paid 6 cts, to carman to take 4 bbls. of flour to Gorham Macy & son's store as they had sold the five I sent before.

Feb. 1—I gave to the Atheneum about a dozen silver & Copper coins of a different kind from any that were in the Atheneum collection.

Feb. 2—Attended a lecture on Phrenology delivered by Dr. John Augustus Brevoort at the Atheneum, paid for ticket 25 ct. Joseph G. Coleman tapped a pair of boots and charged 75 cts.

Feb. 6—I bot two tickets for Dr. Brevoort's lecture and gave Alex. Hall one.

Feb. 9—Bot another ticket for Dr. B's lecture.

Feb. 10—I saw Dr. Brevoort examine Phrenologically the head of Uncle Walter this afternoon, he pronounced it the best head he had ever examined on the island. Very great firmness, hope, approbativeness, self esteem and very uncommon mathematical, analytical & calculating powers there being not more than one in 10,000 equal to it.

Feb. 1-1—I went this forenoon to the mansion house and Dr. Brevoort to examine my head and write the talents of character he inferred from thence in the book I bot of him. He furnished a chart and I paid him for that and my examination, one dollar.

Feb. 12—I attended a lecture at the Atheneum by Dr. B. Uncle Gideon was examined in public & gave him a correct character as being a very normal man, benevolent, have a large share of mathematical, con­ structive & reflective ability.

Feb. 13—Paid 25 cts, for a ticket to attend George Bradburn's lecture on Phrenology.

DIARY OF WILLIAM C. FOLGER

33

Feb. 14—There has been the Annual Town meeting the last three days.

This evening Dr. B. examined Uncle Gideon's family.

Feb. 15—I bot of Dr. Brevoort Spurzheims Phisiognomy with a biography 1 Vol. octavo with 35 plates for one dollar and a plaster cast of a head for one dollar. Dr. B. examined the heads of Cousin Walter and of Edward Coleman. I penned down the character which he gave, which I think is pretty correct. Heard John T. Burrell's lecture on man this evening.

Feb. 16—Brevoort left to-day for the continent. Uncle Samuel Macy was buried to-day from the Friends meeting house after a meeting heid on the occasion. Feb. 17—Joseph G. Coleman mended a pair of calf-skin boots.

Feb. 20—At an abolition meeting at the Town Hall.

Feb. 22—At Gardner's lecture on Belles Lettres this evening at the Atheneum.

1 finished reading Vol. I of George Bancroft's history of the United States which belongs to the Atheneum.

Feb. 23—I attended the examinations of the Grammar schools on the after­ noons of the 23rd and 24th and the examination of the Bear St. Primary on the 27th and the African School on the 28th.

March 1—I paid Henry Clapp fifty cents for binding the American Al­ manack for 1836 & 1837.

March 3—Gorham Macy credit for one bbl. of flour of mine that I took away from there, being the last of the flour I had carried there for him to sell. He only sold the first five bbls.

March 5—I attended Bradburn's lecture on Anti-Slavery at the Town Hall.

March 6—Attended the adjournment of the Anti-Slavery meeting this eve­ ning, gave 25 cts. toward papers etc. & signed the constitution of the Society.

March 7—My Common School Advocate came by mail to-day, I paid 1 ct. postage. Attended William Mitchell's last lecture on Astronomy at the Athen­ eum, an interesting performance.

March 10—Freeman K. Ford got for me 3314 yds of unbleached shirting 1 yard wide at 1214 cts. per yard. Got this for my father.

March 12—Attended Mr. John Lord's lecture at the Town Hall.

March 13—Finished reading Spurzheims "Education" and returned it to Atheneum and got his book on Phrenology.

March 15—Attended the lecture on D. Jones Jr. on Galvinism and also J. M. Bunker's lecture on heat, air and pressure of atmosphere.

March 23—Heard Rev. Holmes of New Bedford lecture on The Press this evening at the Atheneum.

March 29—Have examined a number of heads lately after reading the Phrenology. I attended a lecture at the Ath. by Dr. Southard on Anatomy wherein he exhibited 2 skeletons and showed the various bones of the human system.

April 3—Attended the Abolition meeting this evening at Town Hall. Wrote to father by Captain Hansel Hallet and sent the bundle of cotton cloth and 2 newspapers containing articles on wheat, paid Hansel 614 cts. for taking the care.

April 8—I commenced boarding to-day with Nancy Colesworthy at Lydia G. Bunker's house.

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HISTORIC NANTUCKET

April 27—Have attended a number of lectures by Rev. I. Codding on Abo­ lition at the Town Hall, he commenced on the 17th. At a party of the Friends of the down trodden slave at the house of J. Nickerson this eve­ ning — gave to American Anti-Slavery Society the sum of $2.00.

April 28—Aunt Phebe Coleman arrived here with her son-in-law Jonathan Nye. April 30—Went out to Sconset this day with Capt. Johnson Nye, we started about 10:30 a.m. Went by the way of Quaise and Polpis & Squam and stopped at Susan Elkins — walked about the village, went to Sankaty head the high­ est land on the island, being about 97 feet. Saw Franklin Folger at his house and got back to town just before dark.

May 1—Walked round with Capt. Nye. Wrote to Capt. Robert B. Chase and to Reuben Champion by Charles Bradburn of Cleveland, Ohio. I enclosed Lucretia Champions genealogy in Champions letter. At an Anti-Slavery meet­ ing this evening at Town Hall.

May 2—Aunt Phebe Coleman was at our house to tea this afternoon.

May 3—I heard Rev. Young's Eulogy on Dr. Nathaniel Bowditch read at the Atheneum this evening. Let Nancy Colesworthy have one dollar towards board. Hepsabah Ray finished making over my blue black coat.

May 7—I carried my surtout to Hepsy Ray to be repaired. Got at J. Law­ rence's velvet for cuffs.

May 10—Took to pieces my old coat to be turned & took to Hepsy Ray. May 11—I bot at auction this evening Blake's Biographical Dictionary I Vol. Royal Octavo, with 1060 pages for $3.3714 cts.

May 14—I have been going over Navigation by Logarithms & by Gunter at Uncle Walter's afternoons. I finished plane sailing to-day I returned Spurzheims Philosophy of Phrenology & paid a fine of 10 cts. for keeping it overtime.

May 15—Let Hepsy Ray have 5 dollars towards paying for making clothes.

May 19—I made out a genealogical chart for Sarah Gardner and another for Oliver C. Gardner this week.

May 23—Got the May number of the Common School Advocate and paid 2 cts. postage. It was accompanied with an engraving of a model school house.

May 24—Got Vol. 1 of the Mechanics Celeste by Bowditch out of the Ath­ eneum and carried it over to Uncle Walters.

May 26—I bot 15 cts. worth of biscuits of John G. Coffin & 6 cts. w. of cheese.

May 27—Began to board myself. Got 8 cts. w. of bread of Coffin.

May 30—Bot 6 cts. w. of bread. Settled with Nancy Colesworthy for board for seven weeks, she had had of Lydia Bunker. I had paid her one dollar.

(To Be Continued)

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Season's End