Saving the Oldest House: Tristram Coffin of Poughkeepsie

WHEN THE COFFIN REUNION was held in Nantucket in 1881 there were m?ny descendants of Tristram and Dionis who came to the island from many parts of the country to "join in the gathering of the clan." It was the good fortune of Nantucket to have among the visitors another Tristram Coffin — a well known lawyer and leading citizen of Poughkeepsie, New York, a direct descendant of the Coffin patriarch. It was his first visit to the island and when he went up to Sunset Hill to view the "Oldest House," the Jethro Coffin House, he was deeply disturbed to find it in an extreme state of dilapidation. With its roof broken, walls sagging, and windows boarded on the sides it had every appearance of its true condition.

Finding the property for sale, Mr. Coffin purchased it and engaged the services of a carpenter to make the roof tight and complete other necessary repairs to keep the weather out. The work was completed before the winter set in. The repairs could not have come at a more crucial time. But the interest of Mr. Coffin continued. He retained the carpenter and financed further work in making the old dwelling habitable, and in 1886 — the 200th anniversary of its construction — he placed it in the charge of a caretaker and had it opened on occasion to the general public, or at least for those interested in visiting it.

In 1897 Mr. Coffin decided to make the house a regularly opened attraction and placed it under the care of its first custodian, Miss Ellen Clisbee Bartlett, of Poughkeepsie, who spent that summer and the following winter at the house. In 1899 Mrs. Anna Starbuck Jenks, a native of Nantucket, became the custodian and she served in that capacity until 1923, when failing health forced her retirement.

The year before he died — Tristram Coffin passed away in 1924 he offered the house and land to the Nantucket Historical Association at a modest price, and the Association very quickly accepted the opportunity. Thus, the "Oldest House" became a valuable exhibit — thanks to the interest and financial aid provided by this thoughtful man.

It remained for another Coffin descendant to complete the saga. In 1926 Winthrop Coffin, of Boston, proposed that the house be completely restored — offering to finance the work. Work began in the spring of 1927 and in the summer of the following vear the "Oldest House was dedicated at a significant ceremony. Thus two of the descendants of old Tiistiam Coffin rescued an important landmark in island history. It may be said that the timely attention of Tristram Coffin of Poughkeepsie served as an inspirational force for the invaluable aid of Winthrop Coffin of Boston.