The Friends Meeting House at Milford Haven, Wales Built by Nantucket Whaling Families OCTOBER, 1972 Published Quarterly by NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS
Historic Nantucket
Hose Cart House: Chairman, Charles Bartlett
Folger-Franklin Seat & Memorial Boulder: Chairman, Francis Sylvia
Old Gaol: Chairman, Albert G. Brock; Receptionist, Hugh MacVicar
Christian House: Chairman, Mrs. John A. Baldwin Receptionists, Mrs. Noreen Shea, Miss Eleanor Phinney, Mrs. Sarah Morris
Archaeology Dept.: Chairman, Paul C. Morris, Jr.
Hadweti House-Satler Memorial: Chairman, Alcon Chadwick Manager, Mrsi. Irving Soverino Receptionists, Miss Rosamond Duffy, Miss Marjorie Burgess, Miss Maud Jackson, Mrs. Oswell Small
Old Town Office: Ohairman, Hugh R. Chace
Old Mill: Chairman, Richard F. Swain Receptionist, Miss Helen MacDonald
NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
STAFF
Oldest House: Chairman, Mrs. J. Clinton Andrews Receptionists, Mrs. Charles Barr, Miss Adeline Cravott
1800 House: Receptionist, Mrs. John Kittila
President, Henry B. Coleman Vice-Presidents, W. Ripley Nelson, George W. Jones, Alcon Chadwick, Albert F. Egan, Jr., Mrs. Edith C. Andrews, Walter Beinecke, Jr. Honorary Vice Presidents, Miss Grace Brown Gardner, Mrs- William L. Mather Secretary, Albert G. Brock Treasurer, John N. Welch Councillors, Henry B. Coleman, Chairman; Mrs. H. Crowell Freeman, Mrs. Charles Clark Coffin, terms expire 1972; Henry Mitchell Havemeyer, David Worth, terms expire 1973; Mrs. Richard Swain, Bernard Grossman, terms expire 1974; Robert Metters, George A. Snell, terms expire 1975. Administrator, Leroy H. True Curator, Miss Dorothy Gardner Historian, Edouard A. Stackpole Honorary Curator, Mrs. William L. Mather Editor, 'Historic Nantucket", Edouard A. Stackpole; Assistant Editor, Mrs. Merle Turner Orleans.
Whaling Museum: Chairman, W. Ripley Nelson Manager, Walter W. Lindquist; Receptionists, Mrs. Elizabeth Lindquist, Clarence H. Swift, Mrs. Sterling Yerxa, Mrs. Reginald Hussey, Mrs. Harold Killen, Mrs. Joan Gallagher, Jesse Dunham Peter Foulger Museum: Chairman and Director, Edouard A. Stackpole Receptionists, Mrs. Elizabeth B. Worth, Mrs. Clara Block, Everett Finlay
A Young Whaleman Writes Home Nantucket Became Part of Massachusetts and Why, by E. A. Stackpole Chair Swains in Australia Colonial Petition from Nantucket to Sir Jeffrey Amherst .... 25 Relations, by Robert J. Leach and Bequests Nantucket is published quarterly at Nantucket, Massachusetts, by the Nantucket Association. It is sent to Association Members. Extra copies $.50 each. dues are — Annual-Active $5.00 ; Sustaining $25.00 ; Life — one payment $100.00. postage paid at Nantucket, Massachusetts. 1972, Nantucket Historical Association pertaining to the Publication should be addressed to the Editor, Historic Nantucket, Nantucket Hstorical Association, Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554.
28 Legacies
35 Historic
8 Whaling
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Second-class
13 When
WrSrw CONTENTS
Nantucket Historical Association Officers and Staff 2 Report Fund Drive Report Museum Report, by W. Ripley Nelson
Communications
Historical
Nantucket-Vineyard
6 Capital
9
15 The'Hussey-Sw^in
22 The
24 A
Membership
Editorial 5 Administrator's
Copyright
Published quarterly and devoted to the preservation of Nantucket's antiquity, its famed heritage and its illustrious past as a whaling port.
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Nantucket's Character for All Seasons
5
The busy summer months are over, and the island is entering a secondary period when visitors come to enjoy those weeks of fall which many realize bring some of the finest weather of the year. There are many visitors to whom Nantucket out of season represents something needed more and more in modern times — an opportunity to enjoy a town and island where the atmosphere of the past still serves as a tangible part of the present.
Thus, a visit to Nantucket over a winter's day is in the nature of a pilgrimage. Not only are the architectural appeals of interest but the old-time flavor of the earlier times becomes apparent and attractive. Something of the fundamental concepts of our American ideals is recaptured. The sturdy qualities of a people to whom the sea was a means of livelihood; the freedom of opportunity, of action and of expression which created Nantucket all are reflected by the visible evidences of a remarkable history.
It is this old-time flavor which does so much to rekindle the spirit of the ancient day, when the simpler life prevailed. Strolling through the streets and lanes of this island-town during winter months brings a marked appreciation for the character of the community, as well as a renewed respect for the men and women who created that Nantucket which became world famous.
Editorial
Association represents a distinct asset to modern Nantucket by maintaining the rich story of the island's past. When the late fall season arrives the Hadwen-Satler House, the Peter Foulger Museum and the Whaling Museum will continue to have Saturday afternoon openings, so that visitors may enjoy an opportunity to learn why Nantucket's part in the history of our nation is both fascinating and important. Revisiting the older American scene serves as a stabilizing influence, reminding us of the fundamentals of American life, those basic qualities which created the young United States and sustained it during its vigorous growth, and must continue to serve as inspirational forces for the future.
The various buildings maintained by the Nantucket Historical Association serve as excellent guideposts to the story of Nantucket. The richness of the whaling tradition, the uniqueness of the early days of island settlement, the years of depression and the coming of the era of "summer business" are presented through the Oldest House, Old Mill, Christian House, HadwenSatler Mansion, 1800 House, and Peter Foulger Museum. The Whaling Museum serves as a vivid reminder of the adventurous days when Nantucket ships sailed into the world's most distant seas.Our
"The Half Share Man," by Clarence King, was published by the Nantucket Historical Trust and given to us. It is obtainable at any of our museums or by mail from this office. This is a delightful story of Benjamin Franklin's grandfather, and grandmother, from early youth through the struggles as early settlers on Nantucket. The Kennedy Bill is noncontroversial when compared to the problems here which Peter Folger was involved in. Every member must read this fascinating story.
We have had the Friends Meeting House and Fair Street Museum open afternoons for the past month. Admissions have not been great, but the interest justifies the effort.
During the quarter we have had some very valuable gifts. An exceptional collection of whaling and marine books from Mr. and Mrs. J. Seward Johnson. A darting gun harpoon from William C. Riker, and a number of small but much appreciated gifts from others. Also the payment of several previously mentioned bequests.Mr.
Charles Pearl has informed us that he will teach Nantucket history in the High School this year. We cannot claim direct credit for this but it is something the association has been urging for years.
0
Admissions to our exhibitions this season have been exceptionally good. The exact figures have not been tabulated as yet fcr comparison but I am sure they will exceed last year by a sizable number and the sale of Nantucket books and handmade candles has drastically increased especially at the Whaling Museum.The
Christian House has been well received both by professionals and interested visitors. All praise it highly as one of the best exhibits of the period in existence. In spite of this, the number of visitors has been disappointing and it needs more publicity. 1 urge all members to mention it to friends and acquaintances.
Administrator's Report
Edouard A. Stackpole, the Association's Historian, has conducted a course in history for the Nantucket Institute this summer and lectured to a number of visiting groups. No record has been kept of the number of inquiries we have received pertaining to Nantucket history and genealogy but he has answered all of these. We received no income from these services, but they are part of the educational program the association is developing.Mr.
Three Bricks and Three Brothers — Gardner(paper) 3.50
AD KINISTRATOR'S REPORT 7
We think we have located a source for corn and have ordered enough to try it at the mill this fall. We expect some additional repairs will be indicated when we start to grind, but Chairman Swain hopes to have everything ready for next year.
A Bibliography of Source Material American Whaling in the Chatham Grounds—Richards 1.00
Do we have your winter address? We pay out a sizable sum for return postage on Historic Nantucket which could be avoided if people who change their addresses would only let us know.
The heather planted by the Garden Club' at the Oldest House looked beautiful all summer. The drive in front, however, presents a problem in that cars driving and parking on the grass have worn it down. Probably we should widen the cobble drive, but this will be quite expensive.
Beroy H. True, Administrator
Hand dipped Spermaceti Candles per box of 2 candles with legend 1.50
Nantucket books which can be purchased at the museums or by mail from this office are as follows:
The Half Share Man — King $ 4.95
Repairs to the 1800 House had to be stopped for the summer but will be continued soon. The amount of money we have for this will not complete the needed work but will take care of the most pressing needs and put the house in sound condition.
The Coffin Family — Coffin 10.00
Triumphant Captain John — Gardner 3.00
A 3% tax should be added and if the order is to be mailed, please add enough postage. Any of these would make a good Christmas present as would a life membership to the Association for some family member.
History of Nantucket Island — Coffin 10.00
8
Capital Fund Drive
Obviously, since only 20% of this goal has been reached to date, plans had to be curtailed but we have done the following:
Cash received (less expenses)
Total $ 265,039.00
We stated in the appeal brochure that we hoped to raise $750,000.00: one hundred thousand for major repairs, and six hundred fifty thousand for an Endowment Fund to cover the annual cost of a maintenance and management staff.
3. A start has been made on other repairs, less pressing but necessary as soon as the money comes in.
We have also benefited by an increase in membership and annual donations.
Invested all moneys received using the income only. This, with donations, admissions, dues and profit on the sale of books, etc., have made possible:
4. A full-time management and professional staff has been employed; Administrator, Historian and Sec
Obviouslyretary.it
Consideration has been given to prolonging the drive, but this seems inadvisable at this time; possibly some time in the future. We will, of course, benefit as the balance of the pledges come in and we feel certain most of these are dependable.
As reported by the Administrator at the Annual Meeting
was a disappointment not to have done better on the Capital Funds Drive, but considering the pressure from other local organizations for needed money, and the stock market situation at the time, we probably did remarkably well.
1. Continued normal operation of the Association.
2. All emergency repairs have been or are being made.
Unpaid pledges $ 112,624.00152,415.00
The construction of the whale house and the presentation and assembling of the whale skeleton were donations of Mr. Walter Beinecke, Jr., through the Nantucket Historical Trust. Public interest and comments, since the opening, more than justify the expense and work involved in completing this exhibit. It is particularly appropriate for, as stated in last year's report •'when Nantucketers first went whaling it was the right whale species which was attacked and taken. Thus, the finback, probably the most elusive of the right whale species, represents the origin of Nantucket whaling as an industry."
The Finback Whale Skeleton and the Whale Room
During the midsummer, through the cooperation of an interested Association member, we acquired another unusual item, the skull and tusk of a "narwhal" technically known as Monodon monoceros. It is described as a circumpolar Arctic Ocean animal which seldom strays to warm waters. The tusk is said undoubtedly to have been the source of the mythical unicorn horn. The tusk has been known for a considerable period of time and was highly valued during the Middle Ages. The skull and tusk were cured for exhibition by Mr. Andrew Konnerth of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute who also designed the exhibit case and wrote the technical description of the "narwhal" displayed with the exhibit. This exhibit was placed in the whale house where there was ample room for the display without interference with the finback whale skeleton exhibit. ,
9
Narwhal Head
Whaling Museum Report
The foremost event of the season took place on May 29, 1971 upon the opening of the Whaling Museum's 1971-72 season when the new Whale Room addition to the museum -and the finback whale exhibit housed therein were opened to the public. The Whale Room addition and the acquisition of the finback whale skeleton and its restoration and assembly by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute scientist Andrew Konnerth, were described in the museum's annual report for the fiscal year 1970-71 published in the July 1971 issue of Historic Nantucket.
BY W. RIPLEY NELSON, CHAIRMAN
The fiscal year, May 29, 1971 to May 31, 1972 proved to be another outstanding year of progress for the museum from various viewpoints.
The museum was officially closed October 16, 1971 but a special schedule was approved by the Council for the museum to be open from October 16, 1971 through May 20, 1972. This schedule covered Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. which, on November 3, was changed to cover the hours of 2 to 5 p.m. so as to take care of the many weekend guests arriving Saturday noon. The museum also was open for the holiday weekend of November 26, 27, and December 27 through the 30th, then again January 1, 1972 through January 12. These openings have proved popular for weekends and holiday periods and are attracting more visitors to the island each year for the opening of the museum provides a real historical attraction for these visitors and attendance proves it is appreciated.
Duringresearch.thewinter and spring the museum was opened for special visits of mainland and island groups of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Student groups from Nantucket gi-ammar and high schools, with accompanying teacher escorts, were also gladly received as the museum's contribution to the historical education of island school children.
Paid admissions for the 1971-1972 fiscal year totalled 36,107 persons of whom 30,026 were adults and. 6081 were children between 5 and 12 years of age. In addition, there were many visiting children under 5 years of age who are admitted free when accompanied by an adult paid admission. The record of paid admissions showed an increase of 3321 over the previous year's total. This produced a total of $33,462.,86 which showed an increase of $3470.26 over the previous season.
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
The Guest Registry Book
Other Special Visitors
The guest registry book showed that all but two states of the Union, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands were represented this year. The two missing states were
10
Admissions and Sales
Wednesday and Thursday, February 9 and 10, 1972, the museum opened for a group from the Education Development Center at Cambridge, Mass. According to their letters of appreciation, they were very pleased and stimulated with the results of their
As in the past, special attention is being given to producing additional revenue from sales which includes diversification and additions to the various items for sale but still restricting them to items pertaining to whaling. This effort resulted in sales for the 1971-1972 fiscal year of $13,698.09, an increase over the previous year of $5217.29.
Our staff for the 1972-73 fiscal year will be as follows: Walter Lindquist will serve again as Manager. Mrs. Elizabeth Lindquist will again greet visitors at the reception desk and will supervise the scrimshaw room and the sales desk. Mrs. Reginald Hussey as Librarian will continue her constructive work. Mr. Clarence H. Swift will be head receptionist for Sanderson Hall, the Whale House, the South Seas Room, the Portrait Room, and the second floor hall exhibits. The balance of the staff will be Mrs. Elizabeth Yerxa, Mrs. Beatrice Killen, Mrs. Joan Gallagher, and Mr. Jesse Dunham.
visitors from foreign lands recorded 32 represented this year. Those represented were: Germany, Australia, Haiti, W. Indies; England, France, Canada, Japan, Israel, Belgium, Holland, Finland, Peru, South Wales, Egypt, Ireland, Italy, India, Sweden, Jamaica, W. Indies; Bahamas, Scotland, Portugal, Nova Scotia, Mexico, Switzerland, Colombia, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Brazil, Chile, Hungary, Taiwan.
Again it has been proven that domestic and foreign visitors are no longer limited to the short summer season but are recorded in increasing numbers during the off-season months, especially during holiday weekends. This is an important factor in the economy of Nantucket and places a real responsibility upon the Association to extend to all visitors, seasonal and off-season, a cordial welcome and considerate attention. This is the policy the Whaling Museum endeavors to carry out at all times.
Summary
Again we repeat the statement made for several years past, namely; "while Nantucketers still roam and visit foreign lands, here is outstanding proof of how the tables have turned with respect to people from all parts of the world visiting Nantucket."
WHALING MUSEUM REPORT 11
Personnel
As in past years the 1971-72 fiscal year staff served loyally and constructively in handling our many visitors. Spare moments were willingly devoted to improving the proper presentation and preservation of our many exhibits.
The museum committee repeats its often made statement that it constantly bears in mind, that the Whaling^ Museum is the outstanding asset and earning power of the Association. Further, that our Whaling Museum is recognized nationally and internationally as one of the outstanding whaling museums of the world.
South Dakota and Nevada. Last year all but two states, namely Montana and Idaho, and the District of Columbia were represented.Registered
The committee is constantly striving to protect and improve the museum. The staff also contributes its loyal and helpful cooperation.Numerous
Dear Parents:
I take my pen in hand to inform you of my good health, hoping these lines may find you the same. We have succeeded in getting 700 bbls. We shall start for the coast of Patagonia the last of this month, in hopes to fill the ship by Oct. It has got to be very rugged and a-plenty of snow and hail and rain and wind. I went a-gunning the other day and got 100 geese and 7 bullocks. We have a good pilot for the coast of Patagonia. We have got about 200 bbls. of water to get on board and then shall be ready for to start for the coast, where the ships Charles Adams and Mercury got 1600 bbls. of oil. 1300 bbls. will fill the Richard.
The museum committee for 1972-73 remains unchanged with Mrs. Kent King, Albert F. Egan, Jr., Charles F. Sayle, and W. Ripley Nelson serving as members.
WHALING
interesting and valued donations have been received, recorded and reported to the Curator.
Young Whaleman Writes Home
Among recent gifts to the Peter Foulger Library is a letter written in 1836 by a young Nantucket man serving on board the whaling bark Richard, of Salem, under Joseph Hodges, of Nantucket. The bark had sailed in October, 1835, and returned in February of 1837. The letter was presented by Alcon Chadwick, great-grandson of Andrew Brooks, and reads as follows:
The large addition, the Whale House, built to house the whale skeleton, is more than welcome but as such, does not solve the need for additional space for our present exhibits and evergrowing number of additions. This is still our foremost problem and need. As stated last year, space is still available on the east side of the museum's main building for an addition to provide needed floor and wall space. Financing the cost of construction is the problem to be solved but with each year's delay, it becomes more difficult because of rising costs.
Falkland Islands, June 14, 1836
MUSEUM REPORT 13
14 HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Andrew B. Brooks was the son of William and Ruth (Brock) Brooks, and was 25 years old when he wrote home. He married Lucretia Coffin in 1837. After another voyage he became First Mate on the Nantucket Whaleship Ontario, Capt. Stephen Gibbs, which sailed in 1843 for the Pacific Ocean.
A portrait of Andrew Brooks was also presented by Stuart Chadwick, older brother of Alcon Chadwick, together with a framed newspaper clipping reporting the incident. Both of these are displayed on the second floor of the Peter Foulger Museum. The exhibit constitutes a unique part of the far-reaching history of Nantucket's maritime life.
The Acasta of Stonington and the Jones of New London came from Cape Horn the first of April with 1400 bbls. of oil, and two New York ships, one with .800 bbls. The Richard is a fine ship and well fitted and has a very good crew. We have had a plenty of geese, hogs and beef ever since we came to these Islands, to last over to the coast of Patagonia. We got one whale that made 130 barrels of oil.
I want you to ask Eliza Brock if she has got the letter that I sent her. If she has I will send another by the first ship that is boundYours,home.Andrew
While off Tecamus, Peru, in August, 1844, while Captain Gibbs and the crew were ashore gathering provisions, a mutinous sailor, who had been confined below in irons, managed to escape, obtain a musket from the cabin, and gained the deck. Mate Brooks attempted to recapture the man and was shot, and the mutineer escapedTheashore.cookrecalled
Captain Gibbs and the men, but when they reached the Ontario the wounded mate had died. He was buried in the "foreigners' ground" ashore, with boat crews from the ship E. L. B. Jenney, of Fairhaven, and from the Ontario, escorting the body three miles up the river to the cemetery.
B. Brooks
became the tenth proprietor of the island as he reserved for himself the "neck of land called Nashatay," and also assumed a "twentyeth part of all lands and privileges," directing that the purchasers must pay what the Indian sachem wanted for Masquetuck.InOctober
15
of that same year, the island of Tuckernuck was purchased for five pounds by Tristram Coffin, Sr., Tristram Coffin, Jr., Peter Coffin and James Coffin.
has generally been lost sight of in the various arguments and discussions is that Nantucket as a town, county and island did not enter into the early political scene, as it does today.
As far as the English ownership of Nantucket is concerned, the first date of any importance is the year 1641. In this year, Lord Sterling, who had been granted by the Crown all the lands between Cape Cod and the Hudson River, (meaning offshore lands) through his agent, James Forrett, sold Nantucket, Tuckernuck and Muskeget to Thomas Mayhew, merchant, of Watertown, and his son, Thomas Mayhew, Jr.
With the prospect of the "islands trust" legislation in the offing, it will be of interest to review the background of the original processes of law in regard to Nantucket, and to point out just how and why the island happened to be transferred from New York State to Massachusetts.
As the corporation known as the"Proprietors of the Common and Undivided Lands" also enters into the discussion, a description of this body must of necessity be included, for the early settlers were the Proprietors of Nantucket. Many of their good intentions, so far as the rightsof their descendants are concerned, have gone astray during the 313 years since the island was settled by them.What
Soon after Mayhew, Sr., purchased the title to Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. It seems, at this time, Sir Fernando Gorges, Lord Proprietor of Maine, also had claimed the islands, and Mr. Mayhew obtained of his agent a grant, also.
When Nantucket Became Part Of Massachusetts And Why
BY EDOUARD A. STACKPOLE
The next important date occurs in 1659, when the nine original proprietors of Nantucket purchased the island from Thomas Mayhew for the stipulated price of "Thirty pounds of Currant pay . . . and also two bever hats one for my self and one for myMr.wife."Mayhew
February, 1659, marks the beginning of the actual settlement, for the ten owners then voted to each choose a partner. It also voted that no land on Nantucket was to be purchased from the Indians for private use but for the "general account of the twenty owners." It also was voted to admit ten other inhabitants — tradesmen and seamen.
WHEN NANTUCKET BECAME PART OF MASSACHUSETTS 17
The year 1664 saw the beginning of the actual domination of the island by outside interests — namely, by the Province of New York. Charles II was on the throne of England and one of his acts affecting the colonies was the granting to his brother James, Duke of York, of a portion of lands which had been granted to the Earl of Sterling. Nantucket was included in this grant. Francis Lovelace became the Duke of York's appointee as the governor of New York, and in May, 1670, ordered "all about vou [Thomas Mayhew] who are concerned" to come to New York and show what "clayme to any of those islands," meaning Martha's Vineyard and the adjacent islands,as well as Nantucket.
Tristram Coffin was appointed the Chief Magistrate for Nantucket and Tuckernuck, the first to hold this office.
The Sachem Wanackmamack, who was accounted the head of the island, granted lands under deed of February, 1661, by which the English settlers were able to claim practically all of the Indian ownership to Nantucket. In these deeds Sachem Nickanoose was a co-signer and later Sachem Wauwinet, son of Nickanoose.Over
the next decade, while the various petty chiefs were assigning their lands to the English, acknowledging the Wanackmamack deed, the house lots at the original settlement to the west of the present town, were being developed.
came the famous "Lovelace Patent," under which Nantucket was acknowledged to be owned by the Proprietors or inhabitants, who had a right to "chuse their inferior officers," both civil and military; were told to treat the Indians in a certain manner; were allowed to have joint General Court with the Vineyard once in each year; and by which a chief magistrate and military officer was appointed.
In response to this order, the Proprietors of Nantucket sent Thomas Macy to New York and Tristram Coffin accompanied him in the interests of the owners of Tuckernuck and other Coffin lands.Then
These original Proprietors came almost wholly from Salisbury, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The next step accomplished was the purchase of lands from the Indians, this being done by deed of 1660.
It was during the next month, July, 1672, that this general court decreed that "two of the selectmen and any other freeholder with them have the power to appoint a town meeting."
"That all Ancient and Obsolete Deeds, Grants, Writings and Conveyances of Lands upon said Island, shall bee esteemed of noe force or Validity, but the records of Everyone's Clayme or interest shall bear Date from the first Divulging of the Patent granted to the Inhabitants by Authority of His Royall Highness, and soe forward, but not before the Date thereof."
Then came the return of the Dutch to New York. From 1673 to October, 1674, they held New Amsterdam, and Nantucket governed itself as a town, province, and colonial possession of the English Crown, without the supervision of any royal governor.
During the Dutch occupation, however, the "half-shares men" on Nantucket, who had been admitted as the tradesmen, sailors, etc., resolved that the above clause in Lovelace's new laws gave them as much right in the affairs of the island as the orig-
The situation became further embittered when Governor Lovelace, siding apparently with the Gardner faction, in 1673 appointed Richard Gardner Chief Magistrate and Captain John Gardner, leader of the military.
The town was therefore recognized as a municipality for the first time, and not just as a settlement of the original proprietors of the island. In April, 1673, Gov. Lovelace ordered it be called the "town of Sherborne upon the Island of Nantuckett."
The lawful governing of Nantucket by its freeholders was mapped out at a General Court, held at Edgartown in June, 1672. Judicial procedures, drunkenness, licenses for sale of such strong liquors as "beere, syder or the like," weights and measures (uniform with those of Winchester, England), traffic with the Indians, officers such as treasurer, secretary and constables — all these were taken care of under a code of laws set up.
18 HISTORIC NANTUCKET
The most important action handed down by the Lovelace regime, after his Patent had been drawn up, was the Governor's "Additional Instructions and Directions for the Government of the Island of Nantuckett," given on the 18th of April, 1673. One of the clauses stated:
Important local political history had begun in real force by the appearance of rival groups among the settlers. The first Magistrate, Tristram Coffin, led one faction, while Richard Gardner directed the energies of another. While the Gardner party outnumbered the Coffin, the latter had the backing of Thomas Mayhew, who was a strong influence in colonial affairs.
The Duke of York succeeded to the throneof England in 1681. As James II he appointed Thomas Dongan to replace Andros as Governor of New York. The year 1687 is an important one for Nantucket, for it was in this year that the now famous Dongan Patent was issued — a code by which the land titles were fixed and the rights of the Proprietors established from that time to the present day.
The "island revolt" had found its way to New York by means of the various memorials and letters sent to him by the parties involved. Governor Andros, with characteristic ignorance, ordered that Thomas Mayhew should preside at the General Courts to be held at Nantucket. He also declared the provisions of the Lovelace Patent were to be followed as originally given. This latter was no more than fair, as it provided for the protection of the lands and properties of the original settlers and purchasers.
This Patent granted a manor similar to that of East Greenwich, in the County of Kent, England. It created a body corporate and politic of freeholders, and gave them the power to elect
WHEN NANTUCKET BECAME PART OF MASSACHUSETTS 19
When Governor Edmund Andros assumed the Governorship of New York, following New Amsterdam's recapture by the English, he sent an order, (among several) to the island in which was the following clause:
In 1683, when the Province of New York was divided into counties, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and adjacent islands were constituted Dukes County.
"That the Rights, Propertyes, and Privileges of the first Purchasers, or Proprietors and their Associates, bee preserved unto them; And that all Graunts, Concessions of Lands, Privileges or what else hath been since made by them to any others, bee likewise punctually observed and made good."
Some time after Andros had chastened the "insurrectionists" the group joined with some Vineyarders in the launching of an effort to get the jurisdiction of the islands transferred to the Province of Massachusetts. This was not successful. It was bitterly opposed on the Vineyard by Thomas Mayhew, who believed his rights were better protected by the New York government.
While it would appear that the so-called "half-shares" men were justified in wishing an equal share in the voice of the governments as concerned themselves, they were undoubtedly in the wrong in attempting to overthrow the established rights of the purchasers and their partners.
inal twenty proprietors and partners. The "insurrectionists," as they were called, found an able leader in John Gardner, who had removed from Salem in 1672.
In January, 1692, Phipps replied:
officers for the government of the town. The tribute to be paid to the State of New York for these privileges was set at three pounds annually.Theoriginal
Dongan Patent is now in the office of the Registry of Deeds in the Town and County Building on Broad Street.
of jurisdiction was strongly opposed by Thomas Mayhew, in Martha's Vineyard, but on Nantucket no recorded opposition was made by individuals or by the town.
Governor Fletcher, of New York, in 1692, called his Council into session. The Council wrote:
The Province of Massachusetts Bay passed an act soon after for the confirmation of titles with the islands of Martha's Vine-
James II was forced to abdicate and William and Mary became the rulers of Britain and her colonial possessions. The date October 7, 1691, now takes its place alongside other important ones in Nantucket history. In this year, the new rulers issued a new charter, under which Maine and Plymouth Provinces became consolidated with that of Massachusetts Bay.'The new area of this Massachusetts Bay Colony included from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Just why it was decided that the two island possessions of New York shoul4 be handed over to Sir William Phipps, the new governor, is just one of the puzzling developments in the case. It may have been due to the variety of maps made of this coast by the geographers of that
Theday.transfer
The Council considered the letter from Phipps ("not attested") and reported that it did not believe the grant included Capoag Island (Martha's Vineyard) or Nantucket. The councillors said, "Thatfurther:theycan have no pretences to the s'd L'res Patents to Martin's Vineyard or to any other Island to the westward of Nantuckett, which we humbly submit and desire yo'r Excellency will be pleased to recommend the same to the M'ties by their Sec'y of State for their Decision in that Affair."
20 HISTORIC NANTUCKET
"It is the opinion of this Board that a Letter be sent to S'r Will'm Phipps, to see by what authority he takes over" the jurisdiction of Dukes County (which included Nantucket).
"I lately Received yours of the 10th of nov'r past, In which you mention something about the Islands of Nantuckett and Martha's Vineyard. I presume you cannot be ignorant That it has been their Ma'ties pleasure to incorporate these Islands , into the real province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England."
WHEN NANTUCKET BECAME PART OF MASSACHUSETTS 21
This seems to have concluded the jurisdictional question of who owned Nantucket — New York or Massachusetts — for Nantucket County was incorporated as a part of Massachusetts in June,In1695.1795, the town was incorporated as the town of Nantucket, the name being changed from Sherborn, as there was a1 town by that name in Massachusetts chartered earlier.
yard and Nantucket. This act guaranteed all the rights and privileges granted to the islanders under the government of New York. This was passed in June, 1693.
The opportunity for Nantucket to set up a government independent of Dukes County now presented itself. After considerable petitioning, this became a reality, for in June, 1693, the island of Nantucket became separated and allowed to "remain and continue under the same Forme of government as is already there settled."
The Elihu Coleman House on Hawthorn Lane built in 1723
ThisSwain.incident
The chair should thus be called more properly the "HusseySwain" chair. It was originally owned by David Hussey (17751848) and then by David G. Hussey (1812-1891). It was purchased by Thurston C. Swain of Nantucket in 1888, and coming down through the Swain family is now owned by the grandson, Don Day
demonstrates the close links which Nantucket has with its past. Perhaps there is no other place in the nation where family ties are more a part of the visual scene. To have the "Hussey Chair" as a part of the museum's exhibits is another indication of this element in island connective links. In itself the chair is an excellent example of the durable craftsmanship of the builder, but most important, of course, is the association with the old gentleman who personifies the quality of the island Friends.
a prominent position in the area of the Foulger Museum devoted to the Quakers is the enlargement of an old photograph. Taken in the early 18,80s, the photo is of David G. Hussey and shows an elderly Quaker seated in a Chair, wearing a frock coat and high beaver hat. All the traditional dignity of the Island Friends is shown in this view as, with his cane held upright in one hand, the old gentleman looks serenely away from his calm vantage point of age.
Among those visiting last season was a long-time member of the Association, Don Day Swain, of Westborough, Mass. He informed us of the unusual fact that the same chair shown in the photograph was still in existence — that it was in his possession — and that he would be willing to loan it for exhibit at the Foulger Museum. It had been carefully preserved with other family heirlooms at his mainland home in Westborough.
Early in June Mr. Swain brought the chair to the island in his car, and placed it with us on loan. It is exhibited at the Foulger Museum within an arm's length of the photograph of David G. Hussey mentioned above. The photograph was one of those taken by Henry S. Wyer, of revered memory.
22
The Hussey-Swain Chair
In the last issue of Historic Nantucket the account of the "Hussey Chair" contained an incorrect statement which we hasten to both acknowledge and set straight. The chair has attracted much interest on the part of our visitors at the Peter Foulger Museum and the correct facts of its acquisition are as follows:Occupying
The Hussey Chair
" "'New'Yes.' England?'
" 'Yes — my family did.'
24
Our Administrator, Mr. True, has recently received an interesting letter from Brisbane, Australia, written by Mrs. S. C. Foote, whose maiden name was Miss Nancy Swain. She wrote, in part:"My interest in the Swain Family began last year. My father, E. M. F. Swain, died in 1970, at the age of 87, leaving many writings. He was well-known as a Forester during his official life, and for putting together his story of early forestry in Australia, I have become involved in family history. I have also found a diary written by my grandfather, Edward Plant Swain."We have also the direct Swain line, found in Los Angele's by an aunt in the 1930's, and find it beginning with Richard Swain, of Essex, England, who came to Nantucket with the first settlers, and continuing through his son John Swain, who married Mary Wyer, down through George, Daniel, James and Samuel. The last named was my great-grandfather, Captain Samuel Swain, born in Nantucket in 1799, and dying in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1842. He married Louise F. Fulchard, of London, and they had five children, the first two being born in America (no doubt Nantucket), and the others in Deptford, England, one of whom was my father, Edward Plant Swain. Captain Samuel Swain was master of the English whalers Vigilant and Bermondsey.
"'Around 1700, in Nantucket, John Swain married Elizabeth Folger. My grandmother's name was Fulcher, and I am E. H. Fulcher Swain. So I asked of Mr. Folger:
" 'Yes — Nantucket.'
" '1950 — Whilst at FAO-UN head office in Terma de Caracalla, a bald-headed dapper bloke briefed me on Personnel, and his name, printed over his door, was Folger.
"I soon began delving into family history through references in history books, and so on, until finally I found The Sea Hunters and mention of your association.
" 'Do you come from the States?'
"As mentioned my father was a pioneer in Australian forestry, retiring in 1948 from the position of Commissioner For Forests in New South Wales. His most notable work was done in Queensland, where he built up a Forestry Department in the 1920's. After his retirement he was employed by the United Nations in Food and Agriculture Organization as Advisor in ReForestration to Emperor Haile Selassi of Ethiopia (1951-1955), and from a diary he kept I have extracted a paragraph which may interest you:
" 'Massachusetts?'
The Swains in Australia
" 'Well, I ask you, isn't that getting pretty close to family connections?' "
25
A Colonial Petition from Nantucket to Sir Jeffrey Amherst
On May 1, 1764, Franklin wrote to Richard Jackson explaining the petition he had drafted for his relative Timothy Folger of Nantucket: "The Nantucket Whalers, who are mostly my Relations, wanted a Settlement there (the Island of St. John), their own island being too full. At their Request I drew a Petition for them last Year, to General Amherst; but he had no Power to settle them any where. They are desirous of being somewhere in or near the Bay of St. Lawrence, where the Whale — as well as other — Fishing is excellent."
(Reprinted from Vol. 10 of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, Edited by Dr. Leonard W. Labaree. Original in American Philosophical Society Library.)
Folger, Benjamin Franklin's first cousin twice removed, was a ship's captain of Nantucket Island and later Franklin's informant on the Gulf Stream. Amherst, the British commander-in-chief in North America during the latter years of the Seven Years' War, returned to England in November 1763.
The Petition
"Last Year" dates this petition in 1763 and it is quite likely that Franklin drew it during his stay in Boston in the summer and fall. While there he probably met Keziah Folger Coffin and perhaps also Timothy Folger, two of his Nantucket cousins. This draft of the petition, in Franklin's hand, remains among his papers.Timothy
To his Excellency Sir Jeffrey Amherst, General of all his Majesty's Forces in America.
The end of the war with France aroused great interest in possible new settlements not only in the West but also in the region to the northeast, particularly in Nova Scotia and the Island of St. John in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, now Prince Edward Island. It was natural that these maritime lands -should seem especially attractive to the people of southeastern New England — Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket — for from new homes there they might be able to continue and expand the fishing and whaling activities in which they had long been engaged.
The Memorial and Petition of Timothy Folger of the Island of Nantucket in Behalf of himself and many others Inhabitants of the said Island,
26 HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Occupation of the Inhabitants of the said Island, hath ever been the Cod and Whale Fishery in which they now employ about One hundred Sail of Vessels.
That since the Reduction of Canada by his Majesty's Arms under the Conduct of your Excellency, they have entred the great Gulph of St. Laurence with their Whaling Vessels, and have met with extraordinary Success there in that Fishery.
A considerable Number therefore of the Inhabitants of Nantucket, induc'd by these Conveniences, as well as for that they are over populous and greatly straitned for Room in the Island they at present inhabit, would remove to the said Island of St. Johns, if they might be permitted so to do, and could obtain a Grant of Lands there for their Settlement.
And as many of them are desirous of making a Beginning there the ensuing Summer, they humbly pray your Excellency to grant them such Permission; and that you would also appoint Lands for them on the said Island, to be held on such Terms and under such Government as his Majesty in his Wisdom shall hereafter direct, which Terms they have no doubt will be good and encouraging; and that your Excellency would moreover in your Goodness recommend this Settlement to his Majesty that it may as soon as possible obtain the Royal Countenance and Protection.
And your Petitioners, as in Duty bound, shall ever pray, &c. Timo. Folger in Behalf of the People of Nantucket Endorsed: Petition of T. Folger to Gen Amherst
HumblyThatSheweth,thechief
That they could carry on the same with still greater Advantage to themselves and to the Publick if they had some Settlement in or near the said Gulph, which they might make a Home for themselves and Families, and where the Land would be capable of producing Corn and feeding Cattle for their better Subsistence. That some of them did the last Summer look into several Harbours and Places round the said Gulph of St. Laurence to see if any could be found suitable for that purpose; and have reported, that the Island of St. Johns, (which was early in the War reduced by your Excellency, and the French Inhabitants removed) is extreamly well situated to carry on the said Fishery, and has all the other Requisites for a comfortable Settlement.
the present Edgartown is mostly an early 19th century creation. Nantucket is older. It should be the other way round. Only in a few places is the "right" feeling registered. One such place is to view Edgartown from the Tower Hill burial ground to recall that much of the "old town" settlement was a farming complex stretching south and west toward the south beach. Large movement into Edgartown (as we know it) came only after the American Revolutionary War. Migration into Nantucket town from Capaum and southward took place a half century earlier. Both "urban" movements were directly related to the burgeoning whaling industry.
It may seem unkind to put the "younger" island first in this title. But in fact I have approached this sometimes tight relationship from the Nantucket vantage point. Last summer we chartered a plane to show the Vineyard to some house guests we were entertaining in 'Sconset where we spent the season.
As a third generation Vineyarder-turned Quaker (some thirty years ago), I was on Nantucket to get material for my forthcoming book on Nantucket Quakerism. I had got used to the barren moors, swamps, and scrub woods of the smaller island. How much more diversified, lush, and forested Martha's Vineyard appeared. Notwithstanding no Vineyard town (except Edgartown) echoes the metropolitan character of Nantucket town.Curiously,
in 1659 a cousin of Mayhew's, one Thomas Macy, began negotiations to settle Nantucket — to escape, as it happened, from the anti-liberal spirit then characteristic of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
28
We all know that Thomas Mayhew received both islands (and others) by a grant from the Earl of Sterling, confirmed by Charles I in 1641. Mayhew founded Old Town the next year, settling on the property now known as the Mayhew Parsonage. Apparently he found squatters (as well as many Indians) on Martha's Vineyard. Among the former group the family of John Pease (who came on perhaps as early as 1680) takes central position.Then
BY ROBERT J. LEACH
Nantucket - Vineyard Relations
By 1661 Nantucket began its corporate proprietary life, with Mayhew retaining both a full share and his position as Chief Magistrate. Tuckernuck Island was held by him in fee simple — and Muskeget was retained as a part of the Vineyard complex till 1881! Mayhew often attended the Proprietors' Meetings on Nantucket. He even arranged for his preacher (teacher) to come along to lead Sunday service on occasion — at Madaket — where the settlers first went.
The Folgers arrived with seven children. Two more were born during their seven year tenure in Old Town. These were John Folger, 1659-1732, who could recall his childhood home; and Experience Folger, 1664-1738, who was a mere infant when they
NANTUCKET-VINEYAKD RELATIONS 29
This lay preacher was, of course, none other than Peter Folger, 1619-1690, who had replaced Thomas Mayhew, Jr., in 1657, when the latter took sail for England and was never heard of again. Folger spoke Algonquin, and was thus invaluable in arranging land purchases on Nantucket — probably on both islands. His wife, Mary (Morrill) Folger, 1620-1704, was an educated woman, so that the tradition of the family to converse in Latin was quite possible.
Probablyleft.
second, Bethiah Folger, 1646-1669, wed in 1668, that is in four vears' time; choosing John Barnard, 1642-1669, son Robert and Joanna (Harvey) Barnard — the first of them name on the "far-away" island. Within the year John and Bethiah were drowned off Chappaquiddic, the first sea victims regis ered on Nantucket. John Coleman's brother Isaac C°]emun 1647-1669 norished the same day, while Eleazer Folger, 1648-1716, Bethiah s brother, clung to wreckage till he was saved. They had gone to Old Town presumably to trade.
The year the Folgers moved to Nantucket, their eidest danghter, Joanne Folger, 1645-1690 married Jo^Coleman 1640-1715 the first of that well known Nantucket family (It is interesting to note that one of their daughters, Phebe Coleman, 1674-1719, married Gershon Cathcart, 1670-1720, from the Vineyard m 1692 and went back to the larger island to establish their household there.)The
Before the year was out, Folger was asked to Join the Nantucket settlement (then moving to Capaum Pond — Harbo as it was originally known) as a half-share proprietor to intr duce a blacksmith's shop. He soon became the leading lay pr^cher as well To their nine children was then added the famous tenth , Abiah Folger, 1669-1752, who, in 1690, would marry Capt. Josiah Franklin of Boston, and then become mother of Benjamin Franklin, the first genuine American.
the Nantucket association cost Folger his pastorate in Edgartown. Thomas Macy and Edward Starbuck, two of the leading figures in the Madaket settlement were electarian Baptist lay readers: men who believed in adultbaptism and an unpaid clergy. By 1665 Folger had adopted their views, quarreled with Mavhew (who was a Puritan, albeit liberal) and went off wit his family to Newport, Rhode Island, then a center of Bap (and Quaker) activity.
And to bring the wheel full around again in Quaker John's family, it appears that one of Richard and Sarah (Pease) Folger's daughters, Susannah Folger, 1722- ?, married one Ebeneezer Cleveland, 1720-1794, (of undetermined Vineyard ancestry) like Paul Pease, Benjamin Marchant and Stephen Chase, he too moved to Nantucket, no doubt to participate in the enormous whaling boom which had not yet reached the Vineyard.
NANTUCKET-VINEYARD RELATIONS 31
However, the principal later Folger connection with the Vineyard came through the nearly fatally shipwrecked Eleazer and his Gardner wife. One of their grandsons, the Hon. Abishai Folger, 1700-1778, one-time representative of Nantucket County
the son of Isaac, Jr., and Mary (Pease) Chase, grandson of Lt. Isaac and Mary (Tilton) Chase, (thus nephew to his uncle Nathaniel's wife). Isaac Chase, Jr., and family also had returned to the Vineyard, probably a decade and more after the senior couple had gone back. Isaac, Jr's wife was born to James and Elizabeth Pease, and thus was in turn a granddaughter of the original John Pease (and great-aunt to Richard Folger's wife). This branch of the Chase family had no doubt frequently attended Nantucket Quaker Meeting so it is not surprising to learn that some of them joined the Society of Friends — as did Stephen. (Attention will be drawn to a sister of Dinah later on.)
Her sister, Rebecca Folger, 1721-1788, wed Benjamin Marchant, 1720-1777, son of John, in 1742. Marchant was probably a Vineyarder, though, in both cases, their husbands came to reside on Nantucket. None of the Nathaniel Folger family were, incidentally, in any way connected with Nantucket Quakerism.
Isaac and Mary (Tilton) Chase, reputed to be the largest landowners up-island. The Chases, however, had reversed the Folger tradition, having been Nantucketers and then Vineyarders. At least this was the case for Lt. Isaac Chase. His wife had been born in Chilmark, daughter of Benjamin Tilton of that place, but had removed to Nantucket in 1675 when they married. They returned to the Vineyard about the opening of the 18th century.
Still another of Quaker John's children destined to develop Vineyard connections (in another generation) was Jonathan Folger (like his father and grandfather a blacksmith). This third son did embrace Quakerism by marrying a daughter of the Friends minister Nathaniel Gardner (in turn a son of Quakeress Sarah Gardner). They had a daughter, Dinah Folger, 1720-1786, who married Stephen Chase, 1708-1787, in 1742 in Meeting (as his secondStephenwife).was
Two of Nathaniel and Priscilla (Chase) Folger's children in turn married Vineyarders. In 1737 their daughter Elizabeth Folger, 1719-1795, wed Paul Pease, 1715-1755, of Edgartown (whose ancestry I have been unable to trace — at least from the Nantucket records I have read).
Abishai and Sarah were joined in wedlock in 1727. After her early death, Abishai remarried in Meeting, so that her children grew up as Quakers. One Quaker grandson, Capt. Mayhew Folger "found" the mutineers of the Bounty. And his grandson, Admiral William Mayhew Folger, left the fortune which made possible the Peter Foulger Museum in Nantucket Town. It seems the good Admiral forgot what his middle name signified! And it appears that Sarah (Mayhew) Folger was in her own right descended from a Nantucket Quaker! Her mother, that is Paine Mayhew's wife, was Dinah Norton, in turn daughter of Jacob Norton, 1665-1740, who married Dionis Coffin, 1671-1750, of Nantucket, in 1690, she being a daughter of Stephen Coffin, Quaker (and niece of Mary [Coffin! Starbuck, the founder of Nantucket Friends Meeting). Thus the first family of Martha's Vineyard in its fifth generation was both Nantucket descended and Quaker in its inheritance. What would the old Governor have thought; for he deported any Quaker who reached his island shore.
NANTUCKET-VINEYARD RELATIONS 33
It should be noted that Jacob Norton was son of Isaac Norton, first of his name on Martha's Vineyard; that Jacob Norton, Jr., married a Mayhew (perhaps making a double marriage with Paine Mayhew's sister), and that a second daughter, Rachel Norton, 1705-1767, married Joseph Coleman, 1699-1756, of Nantucket in 1725. Joseph was son of Thomas and Jane (Childs) Challenge-Coleman and grandson of John and Joanna (Folger) Coleman. A third daughter of Jacob Norton's Elizabeth Norton, 1707-1730, married Benjamin Trott, 1685-1754, also of Nantucket, in 1729. Benjamin was the son of John and Anna (?) Trott (Quakeress). Still another daughter of Jacob's, Mary Norton, married a Norton cousin on the Vineyard.
in the General Court (Legislature of Massachusetts) married the daughter of his colleague, the Hon. Paine Mayhew. This girl, Sarah Mayhew, 1708-1734, grew up in the harborside house of her Harvard-educated grandfather, Matthew Mayhew (whose gravestone marks the roadside Mayhew plot). It is amusing to remember that Matthew had opposed the setting up of Nantucket County as separate from the County of Dukes County in 1695, as he thought Nantucketers to be too closely intermarried!
In finishing off the Folger interest at least one last interisland marriage must be considered, that between Timothy Folger, 1706-1750, Abishai's brother (sons of Nathan and Sarah [Church] Folger), and Anna Chase, 1710- ?, which took place in 1733; she being a daughter of James Chase, 1686- ?, and Rachel (Brown) Chase, 1687- ?, married in 1707 and granddaughter of Isaac, Jr., and Mary (Pease) Chase (thus niece of Stephen Chase, the Quaker). In fact Anna (Chase) Folger's parents were the product of another inter-island marriage; for her mother was a daughter of John III and Rachel (Gardner) Brown, in turn
Actually Tristram Coffin, his father, was the first magistrate on Nantucket (after Governor Mayhew). Tristram was a moderate Puritan who lined up with his Vineyard counterpart against such men as Folger (and Swain, Macy and Starbuck). Yet Deborah Coffin was niece of Edward Starbuck, through her mother, Sarah (Starbuck) Story-Austin — later Varney, wife to Joseph Austin of Dover, New Hampshire. Her liberal Baptist views became Quaker in the 1680s, so that in her turn Deborah Coffin became herself a Quaker by 1704, as did Major John by 1708. Their harborside house thus harbored a small Quaker cell.
(Continued in our next issue)
Perhaps the most startling of Nantucket connections comes from the John Coffin family. John's waterfront house, the "Wilson Crosby" place in Edgartown, stands a bit farther north from the original Mayhew property than Matthew Mayhew's stands to the south of the "Thomas Meilleham" residence. (Unfortunately, both the oldest Mayhew house and the manor house of 1698 are both gone.) Maj. John Coffin, 1647-1711, is remembered by the oldest stone in the Tower Hill burial ground. He removed to Old Town in 1668, with his bride, Deborah (Austin) Coffin, 1652-1718, to represent Coffin interests on the Vineyard (three years after Folger went to Nantucket).
It should be pointed out that Capt. John Gardner (brother-inlaw to the first Quakeress) equalled Governor Mayhew's zeal in preventing Quakers from visiting Nantucket in the 1680-1696 period when he was Chief Magistrate on the smaller island. In any case Timothy and Anna had no interest in Friends Meeting.
Parenthetically, this cell continued to reform itself for most of the 18th century, till in the 1780s the parent meeting on Nantucket peremptorily disbanded it, without stating why. Meanwhile visiting Quakers who got to the Vineyard made for Old Town (sometimes up-island to the Chase family) and nearly always to visit the Indian tribes. It would appear visiting Quakers were more popular with Vineyard Indians than with those of Nantucket. But familiarity breeds various less than admiring attitudes in most cases.
34 "HISTORIC NANTUCKET''
granddaughter to Capt. John and Priscilla (Grafton) Gardner; and of John, Jr., and Hannah (Hobart) Brown; all of Nantucket.
Legacies will be used for general or specific purposes as directed by the donor. A sample form may read as follows:
Please send all communications to the Secretary, Box 1016, Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554. Office, Union Street.
Legacies may be made also in real estate, bonds, stocks, books, paintings, or any objects having historical value, in which event a brief description of the same should be inserted instead of a sum of money.
"f give, devise, and bequeath to the Nantucket Historical Association, a corporation duly organized under the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and located in the Town of Nantucket, in said Commonwealth, the sum of dollars."
Legacies and Bequests
35
Membership in our Association proves that you are interested in its program for the preservation of Nantucket's famed heritage and its illustrious past, which so profoundly affected the development of our country. You can perpetuate that interest by giving to the Association a legacy under your will, which will help to insure the Association's carrying on. Counsel advises that legacies to the Nantucket Historical Association are allowable deductions under the Federal Estate Tax Law.
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