HISTORIC NANTUCKET
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Hadwen-Satler House July, 1975 Published Quarterly by Nantucket Historical Association Nantucket, Massachusetts
NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OFFICERS
President, Leroy H. True Vice-Presidents, Albert G. Brock, George W. Jones, Alcon Chadwick, Albert F. Egan, Jr., Walter Beinecke, Jr., Mrs. Charles Clark Coffin Honorary Vice-Presidents, W. Ripley Nelson, Henry B. Coleman Secretary, Richard C. Austin Treasurer, John N. Welch Councillors, Leroy H. True, Chairman, Robert Metters, George A. Snell, terms expire 1975; Mrs. H. Crowell Freeman, Miss Mary Gardner, terms expire 1976, Benjamin Richmond, Francis W. Pease, terms expire 1977; Mrs. R.A. Orleans, H. Mitchell Havemeyer, terms expire 1978. Curator, Miss Dorothy Gardner Historian. Edouard A. Stackpole Editor, "Historic Nantucket", Edouard A. Stackpole; Assistant Editor, Mrs. Merle Turner Orleans.
STAFF Oldest House: Chairman, Mrs. Kenneth S. Baird Receptionists: Mrs. Margaret Crowell, Miss Adeline Cravott Hadwen House-Satler Memorial: Chairman, Mrs. Phoebe P. Swain Receptionists: Mrs. Irving A. Soverino, Miss Marjorie Burgess, Mrs. Alfred A. Hall, Mrs. Henry G. Kehlenbeck, Mrs. James Nelson. 1800 House: Receptionist: Mrs. John Kittila, Sr. Old Gaol: Chairman. Albert G. Brock Whaling Museum: Chairman, Hugh R. Chace Receptionists: Mr. Clarence H. Swift, Mrs. Harold Killen, Mrs. Herbert Sandsbury, Mr. Frank Pattison, Abram Niles, James A. Watts, Jesse Dunham, Miss Jane Appleyard, Miss Lucia Arno. Peter Foulger Museum: Chairman and Director, Edouard A. Stackpole Receptionists: Mrs. Elizabeth B. Worth, Mrs. Clara Block, Mr. Joseph Sylvia, Mrs. John Stackpole. Librarian: Mrs. Louise Hussey Nathaniel Macy House: Chairman. Mrs. John A. Baldwin Receptionists: Miss Dorothy Hiller, Mrs. Henry C. Petzel Archaeology Department: Chairman, Paul C. Morris, Jr. Field Supervisor, Miss Barbara Kranichfeld Old Town Office: Chairman, Hugh R. Chace Old Mill: Chairman, Richard F. Swain. Miller: Hugh MacVicar -olger-Franklin Seat & Memorial Boulder: Chairman. Francis Sylvia riends Meeting House-Fair Street Museum: Chairman, Mrs. Harding U. Greene, Cochairman, Mrs. Alfred M.P. Amey, Receptionist, John G. Lathrop
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 24
July, 1975
No. 1
CONTENTS
Nantucket Historical Association Officers and Staff Editorial — Lessons From the Past
2 5
Report of the Administrator
7
Ancestors for Lucretia Coffin Mott by Robert J. Leach Nantucket's Civil War Monument
9 15
Gifts to the Nantucket Historical Association
I7
Print of Old Nantucket Map Available
25
Financial Report Governor Edward Everett's Visit to Nantucket Grace Brown Gardner — A Tribute by Emil F. Guba, Ph.D. The Other Nantucket by Theodore C. Wyman Legacies and Bequests
26 28 30
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 $5.00; Sustaining $25.00; Life — one payment $100.00 Second-class postage paid at Nantucket, Massachusetts Copyright, 1975, Nantucket Historical Association. Communications pertaining to the Publication should oe addressed to the Editor, Historic Nantucket, Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554.
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5
Lessons From The Past Ail Editorial THE FIRE which destroyed the Straight Wharf Theatre several weeks ago was a severe test for the Nantucket Fire Department, and through the efforts of the firemen Nantucket was saved from a con flagration that could have burned out the entire area of the closely built structures. One of the major reasons for the success of the firemen in controlling the blaze and confining it to the Theatre building was the fact that the old brick warehouse next door served as a bulwark against the spread of the flames and enabled the firemen to concentrate on saving the Captain Tobey's Restaurant on the east side of the Theatre. Despite the fact that the entire side of the old warehouse had to have a complete new brick wall the structure stood up against the searing heat and provided the stop against the leaping menace of the flames. Here was a case where a lesson learned from the Great Fire of 1846 had a direct application in preventing what could have been another major disaster. No sooner had the devastation created by the con flagration of 1846 been assessed than the merchants of the town began to plan for the rebuilding of the businesses and wharf areas. On Main Street Square the brick blocks were constructed, which today contribute so much to the atmosphere of the entire area. Richard Mitchell built the brick candle house that was later taken over by Hadwen and Barney and is now the Whaling Museum, and on Straight Wharf another brick warehouse was erected for Thomas Macy. The sons of Thomas, Isaac and Philip Macy, took over the owner ship of the building, and the manager of the firm was Joseph B. Macy who, a few years later, acquired the warehouse. Here he set up the counting house for outfitting the last whaleships to sail from Nantucket, and when the bark Oak cleared from this harbor in 1869 it marked the end to the great industry that had made Nantucket world-famous. Here, also, Joseph B. Macy organized the Nantucket Fishing Company and, with hfs associates, tried to create a fleet of fishing schooners for Nantucket. One of the features of the Macy counting house in the structure was the huge iron safe that had been removed from the ashes of the Manufacturers & Mechanics Bank on the corner of Federal and Main streets, presently "The Hub". The iron doors are now in the Whaling Museum's reception area. In July, 1905, the Macy warehouse was sold to James A. Holmes Jr., and B. Chester Pease, and became a carpenter shop for two decades, subsequently serving as a storage warehouse. Kenneth Taylor,
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
impressed by its sturdiness, purchased it and it became the headquarters for the Kenneth Taylor Foundation. Upon his death it was converted into an art gallery and is now owned by the Association which bears his name. The Macy warehouse was built against the day another disastrous fire might endanger Straight Wharf. It represents a lesson learned from the past.
7
Administrator's Annual Report DURING THE PAST year we have made considerable progress in restoring portraits and prints and in making major repairs to our buildings. Unfortunately, I cannot say "Everything is now completed" because all old buildings, furniture, and pictures have one thing in common, they are constantly in need of care. We had just finished shingling the mill when a 32 foot 8 inch x 8 inch timber supporting the vanes broke and the fence at the Hadwen House had just been repaired and painted when a car crashed into it. Improvements have also been made in most of the exhibits. I especially wish to call your attention to the work done in the Oldest House, Whaling Museum and Hadwen House; each has been ac complished through the efforts and often physical labor of the Chair man. Several opportunities to purchase artifacts have been turned down because we lacked the funds. I deeply regretted passing up an Eastman Johnson painting which should be in Nantucket and I have no doubt it will increase in value within the next few years. In conjunction with the Board of Selectmen we have made an in tensive effort to secure the lightship "Nantucket" and Mr. Beinecke assured us of an excellent place to dock it. However, as I write this, it looks doubtful if we will succeed. One never having been involved in such an undertaking cannot imagine the work, frustration, and out of pocket expense involved in such an effort. More than ever we have opened our exhibits to school, church, scout and college groups for visits and study. A class from the University of Massachusetts worked in the Peter Foulger Museum most of the win ter; students from the Preservation Institute are using our facilities, four hundred came from the Barnstable Middle School with three smaller groups in one day, and hundreds of young people from the two scout camps and youth hostel have benefited by what we offer. We do a good job for these people but it would be greatly improved were we able to find a person to plan and co-ordinate the program. Mr. Stackpole has lectured and presented slides on several oc casions and given historic talks to a number of civic organizations. These have been well and enthusiastically attended and supplement the articles published in Historic Nantucket as a means of teaching Nan tucket history.
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Forty-seven people participated in one archaeology dig at Quidnet last summer. It is being carried on again this year. Plans for the 1976 Domestic Arts display are progressing but we have been disappointed at the small number of distinguished pieces of furniture offered for the exhibit. Hopefully, this will improve in the next few months because Mrs. Greene has plans for a very worth-while display but must have the material. A group of men did an excellent job this spring polishing brass and treating furniture at the Hadwen House. There are many exhibits which could be improved had we a few more people willing to donate a couple of hours a week of their time. Not only for the care of the exhibits but we need volunteers to expand our history teaching program for our schools, to help number and correlate our artifacts; to dress up the yards, especially restoring the Hadwen House garden to its former beauty, to assist in securing grants from government and private foundations and to assist the hostesses during busy hours. Dr. Emil Guba sent us his collection of rare books to sell. These represent a small profit to the Association but more to the point, they let us offer interested collectors some historic books long out of print. Please call this office if you are interested. I wish to again express my appreciation and thanks to the officers and members of the Council, the staff, the personnel who help make our exhibits so interesting for thousands of people and the volunteers who contributed so generously of their time. Above all, we are indebted to the Chairmen of our exhibits who have contributed so generously of their time and special talents; Mrs. Kenneth S. Baird Mrs. John A. Baldwin Mr. Albert G. Brock Mr. Hugh R. Chace Mrs. H. Crowell Freeman Mrs. Harding U. Greene and Mrs. Alfred M. P. Amey
Mr. Paid C. Morris, Jr. Mr. Benjamin S. Richmond Mr. Edouard A. Stackpole Mrs. Phoebe P. Swain Mr. Richard F. Swain
We hope you all will visit the museums this summer to see for yourself the grand job these people are doing. Leroy H. True
9
Ancestors For Lucretia Coffin Mott By Robert J. Leach LUCRETIA COFFIN MOTT may be the most famous of famous people born on Nantucket. She was born in 1793, the second daughter of Thomas Coffin (1761-1815) and his wife Anna (Folger) Coffin (1771-1844). The family migrated to New York State, where in time Lucretia married James Mott and moved to Philadelphia. At the time of the Orthodox-Hicksite separation within the Society of Friends the Motts chose the Hicksite branch. After that same separation struck Nantucket in 1831 the Motts made several visits to Nantucket, when she preached in the Hicksite Meeting House on Main Street which stood on the present site of the White Eagle guest house. Who were Lucretia's ancestors? There are many evidences that she was a gifted speaker, as well as an ardent Anti-Slavery and Women's Rights advocate, in part, because of her inheritance. Nantucket is said to have been run by women, when the men were away whaling. It is interesting to note if any of Lucretia's ancestors were notable as teachers, preachers or moral advocates. The answer is obviously in the affirmative. But, exactly, who were they? First her parental grandparents come to view. Grandfather Ben jamin Coffin (1705-1780) was the keeper of a famous Quaker school from about 1730 to 1777. In addition, he was the first banker on the Island. Benjamin was an elder in Meeting, its Clerk for many years, and father of fifteen children, of whom Thomas was the fourteenth. Lucretia never knew him, but she probably did know her maternal grandmother, Deborah (Macy) Coffin (1726-?), who apparently accompanied her oldest son, Isaac to Nova Scotia, after the Revolutionary War, hence the uncertainty of her date of death. Grandfather Benjamin's parents were Captain Nathaniel Coffin (1671-1721), not a Friend, who ran a coastal vessel and Damaris (Gayer) Coffin (1675-1764), Quaker and inheritor of a third of the Gayer fortune, literate in the Latin Classics, which enjoyment she passed to Lucretia's Grandfather. Benjamin's Grandfather was Magistrate James Coffin (1640-1720). Benjamin's Grandmother was a Boston woman, Mary (Severance) Coffin, (1645-1695). Neither were drawn to Friends. And of course, James' father, Lucretia's thrice Great-Grandfather, was Tristram Coffin, (1604-1681), a principal figure in the first settling of Nantucket. Benjamin Coffin's Grandfather was Magistrate William Gayer, (1635-1710), youngest son of an English Baron, in a line
Lucretia Mott
ANCESTORS FOR LUCRETIA COFFIN MOTT
11
descended from the English Crown, without a bar sinister. Grand mother Gayer was born Damaris Starbuck, (1638-1696), daughter of Edward Starbuck, (1604-1690), and Tristram Coffin's close associate in the earlier years. He was a lay preacher in a liberal Baptist tradition. In turning to Lucretia's maternal grand-parents, one finds William Folger (1728-1815), and his wife, Ruth (Coleman) Folger, (1733-1814), both alive in Lucretia's time. William Folger's parents were Representative Abishai Folger, (1700-1838), also a Quaker ancestor, and Susan (Mayhew) Folger, (1708-1734), Abishai's first wife. Abishai Folger's father (William's Grandfather), was Nathan Folger, (16781747), and his mother was Sarah (Church) Folger (1676-1745), from an old Plymouth family of note. Neither was a Quaker, but they were well educated and could converse in Latin, an ability handed on to the Provincial Representative. Abishai's Grandparents on his father's side were Eleazer Folger (1648-1716), and Sarah (Gardner) Folger (16521729). Eleazer Folger was the first school teacher on the Island. His father (Lucretia's thrice Great-Grandfather) was Peter Foulger (1618-1690), a Baptist lay preacher, who had been associated with Governor Thomas Mayhew, the founder of the Martha's Vineyard settlement — and still another ancestor for Lucretia, as may well be divined. Peter Foulger's wife was Mary (Morrill) Folger (1630-1704). Peter and Mary certainly used Latin when they had a mind to do so, for she had received a classical education in an age when it was rare for a woman to be so favored. Peter Foulger was strongly in favor of Indian rights, and was in fact a missionary converting the Nantucket Indians to Christianity. Eleazer's wife, Sarah (Gardner) Folger was the daughter of Cap tain Richard Gardner (1631-1688) and Sarah (Shattuck) Gardner (16321724) — the latter a Quaker pioneer when some Quakers were hanged on Boston Common. She was Lucretia's second thrice Great-Grandmother on the Island. In returning to Sarah (Abishai's wife) we find she was the daughter of Representative Paine Mayhew, the outstanding political figure in the early 18th century on Martha's Vineyard. Neither she nor her father were Quakers, nor, naturally, her Great-Grandfather, the Rev. Thomas Mayhew, Jr., the man who converted the Vineyard Indians to Christianity. Thomas Mayhew, Sr., (Lucretia's thrice GreatGrandfather's father) was the founder of English life and communities on the Islands — the old Governor with whom Peter Foulger was associated. There are still two branches of ancestry to follow — the more im portant, possibly — Lucretia's paternal Grandmother's family. Grand-
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
mother Deborah (Macy) Coffin was in fact Grandfather Benjamin Coffin's second wife. Deborah was the daughter of Quaker Thomas Macy (1687-1759) of the Tattle Court Macy house, which he built in 1717, and of Deborah (Coffin) Macy, (1681-1760), who was born in Edgartown. This happened because her father, Major John Coffin, (1647-1711) had settled in Martha's Vineyard when he married in 1668. His gravestone is the oldest in Edgartown. He had married Deborah (Austin) Coffin (16521718), of Kittery, Maine. They were Quaker converts, suprisingly, toward the end of their lives. Deborah (Austin) Coffin was the daughter of a famous pioneer Quaker preacher Sarah (Starbuck) Story AustinVarney, (1632-1720), who lived on Nantucket for a few years after the Quaker Meeting was founded. Thereby, Lucretia found a second descent from the first Starbuck on the Island. In the Macy line, Lucretia's thrice-Great-Grandfather was John Macy (1655-1691), whose wife was Deborah (Gardner) Macy, (1658-1696) — both non-Quakers. She was naturally another daughter of the original Quakers in Massachusetts and Nantucket, from whom Lucretia was descended a second time, but with an additional generation, as in the case of the second Starbuck descent. Thus, Lucretia had a double combination of the Coffin, Starbuck and Gardner inheritance. There was, also, John Macy's father — Thomas Macy, (1608-1682) — cofounder of the Nantucket settlement, who had been a Baptist lay preacher, and a man who had been fined by the Puritan-controlled Massachusetts Bay Colony for harboring some Quakers during a rain storm, at his home in Salisbury. Lucretia was not descended from Mary Starbuck — the leading woman in Nantucket in her own time — but from Mary's father, Tristram Coffin; also, from two of Mary's brothers, and twice from Mary's father-in-law, Nathaniel Starbuck. Her great-great grandfather, Nathan Folger, was a full first cousin of Benjamin Franklin. Her uncle was the Hon. Isaac Coffin, who sat in the Massachusetts Legislature. It was her uncle, Capt. Mayhew Folger, who re-discovfcred Pitcairn Island and solved the mystery of what had happened to H.M.S. Bounty. The other branch is the true distaff side — that is, to trace Lucretia's mother's people. There were Grandmother Ruth's parents, Richard Coffin (1694-1718), Town Moderator, and his wife Ruth (Bunker) Coffin, (1702-1779). They joined the Society of Friends upon marrying. Richard's parents: John Coffin (1672-1747), and Hope (Gardner) Coffin, (1681-1750), were typical of many Nantucketers, neither of a church or of Quaker Meeting. His father was Magistrate James Coffin, from whom Lucretia was already descended (as thrice
ANCESTORS FOR LUCRETIA COFFIN MOTT
13
Great-Grandfather), and Hope was a daughter of Captain Richard Gardner — thus tripling both the Coffin and the Gardner descent. The first true Quakeress was Lucretia's distaff ancestor. The Bunker descent takes one to Jonathan Bunker, (1676-1721) who had married Elizabeth (Coffin) Bunker, later Clark, (1681-1769), a daughter of Magistrate James Coffin — thus tripling his descent. She was a Friend, joining after Jonathan's death. His parents were William Bunker (1650-1712) and Mary (Macy) Bunker, (1684-1729), daughter of two founders of Nantucket. So Lucretia's Macy inheritance came in two ways. In the final analysis she had four parts Coffin, three parts Gard ner, two parts Macy, two parts Starbuck, one part Folger, one part Bunker, one part Mayhew, one part Church, one part Severance, and one part Morrill. She had seventeen Nantucket Quaker ancestors.
Capt. Thomas Coffin Father of Lucretia (Coffin) Mott
Anna (Folger) Coffin Mother of Lucretia (Coffin) Mott
The Civil War Monument
Nantucket's Civil War Monument Dedicated 100 Years Ago IT WAS ON THE OCCASION of Memorial Day, May 30, 1875, that the Civil War Monument on Upper Main Street was dedicated at imposing ceremonies. The prospect of such a memorial to the memory of those Nantucketers who served in the army and navy during the four year conflict between the northern and southern states was first advanced by the Rev. Ferdinand C. Ewer in 1868, on the occasion of the second gathering of the alumni of the Nantucket High School, and he gave a lecture, the proceeds from which were given towards the fund. From this beginning the sum was increased by contributions from towns people and other interested parties. In October, 1874, the amount necessary was completed and the shaft ordered, and Captain Joseph Mitchell, the Chairman, announced it was to be cut from Quincy granite by the firm of Churchill & Hitchcock. The site for the Monument had been selected two months earlier, when a special town meeting authorized the County Commissioners to set aside a place for its erec tion. At first, it was proposed that the South School building on Orange Street be itorn: down and the area made into a park for the ac commodation of the Monument. It was finally determined that the Main Street junction with Milk and Gardner streets would be a more ap propriate location. The shaft was brought from Boston by Captain Henry Pinkham in the packet W. O. Nettleton and carted up from the wharf to the site in October, 1874. The task of erecting the Monument was accomplished by Charles H. Robinson, a Nantucket contractor and builder. The masonry work was done by Michael Ring. It is of interest to note that the foundation was one of the old grind-stones from the Round Top Mill, which stood on the land now occupied by the New North Cemetery. The Monument Fund's final total was $3,252.85 — of which the Town subscribed only $450. Ceremonies for the dedication began at 9:00 o'clock on Memorial Day morning, when school children assembled at the Unitarian Church, with bouquets of flowers, and then joined a procession on Main Street, where the Civil War veterans and a large delegation from the Odd Fellows fraternity gathered. The parade was led by Nantucket Police, under Captain William M. Eldridge, and the Nantucket Band also formed on, with the members of the Board of Selectmen also a part of the procession.
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
At the ceremonies, the oration was delivered by the R.ev. N.A. Haskell; a poem written for the occasion was recited by its author, Dr. Arthur E. Jenks; the closing hymn — America — was sung by the assembly, with the Rev. N. A. Haskell pronouncing the benediction. A feature of the exercises was the strewing of flowers around the base of the Monument by the Nantucket children, many of whom were the young sons and daughters of the Grand Army Veterans assembled there. The Rev. C. K. Jones and the Rev. R. D. Fish also participated in the ceremonies. The monument was tastefully decorated under the direction of Wendell Macy. The description by the reporter for The Inquirer and Mirror was as follows: "The shaft was surmounted with a handsome wreath of flowers and evergreen, and a lot of the latter was entwined about it to just above the tablets below, when there was a wreath at the front and rear. That at the front was contributed by Miss Martha F. Alley, of Lynn, composed of everlasting flowers and moss, and was remarked by all present. The lady lost her brother (Lt. Leander Alley) during the war, and sent this beautiful piece of work as her contribution of flowers for the decoration. That at the rear was of yellow everlasting flowers, twined about with smilax, and had in its centre the initials S.M.W., Jr., Shubael M. Winslow, Jr. About the tablets were frames of evergreens and flowers, which were neatly fitted. At the base was spread in a tasty manner an American ensign. The railing was also decorated with green, and six of the posts were surmounted by wreaths of beautiful flowers; the remaining two were adorned with shields, made of violet myrtle flowers, red parish japonicas and white narcissus."
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Gifts to the Nantucket Historical Association From July 1, 1974 to July 1, 1975 and Donors
Framed photograph of the Old Mill with sails,
Mrs. Ellen J. Selden
Historical Records, telescope and doll's chair,
Mrs. Isabel Worth Duffy and Miss Florence Worth
Nantucket postcards,
Mrs. Edward W. Lombard
Letter from G. Cockburn to Sir Isaac Coffin,
Col. Lawrence Bunker
Check writer,
Mr. Augustus Breare
Naval papers and diplomas of Marcel E. A. Gouin and Gwendolyn L. Gouin,
Pacific National Bank
Bill of Sales to John Macy - 1729
Miss Doris B. Meeker
Xerox copies of manuscripts, logbooks and journals
Miss Helen Winslow
Xerox copy of Offley by Capt. J. W. Robinson
Miss Helen Winslow
Pictures and watercolors of Nantucket
Miss Mary Turlay Robinson
Collection from the Maddequet Admiralty Club
Maddequet Admiralty Club
Collection of Ships' Papers
Pacific National Bank
Book: Modern Manuscript Library
Mr. Edouard A. Stackpole
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Book: Case of the Vanishing Ancestry
Mr. Wallace E. Davis
Nantucket Postcards
Miss Margaret Harwood
Pages from the logbook of the Ship Weymouth
Mrs. West
Collection of letters and documents of William T. Swain
Mr. and Mrs. W. Cary
Selected letters of Dr. William Sturgis Bigelow
Mr. Bancel LaFarge
Contemporary copy of the Decision of a Committee of Arbitration in the matter of the dispute among the heirs of Nathaniel and Mary Coffin Starbuck
Mrs. Mary H. Mandell
Cradle
Mr. Lewis C. Cooper
Book: God Packed my Picnic Basket by Townsend
Mr. Geoffrey E. Fulton
Print from the painting by John Stobart of Nantucket Harbor — 1835
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Carpenter
2 Oars from a Humane Surfboat and photograph of boat Judy V
Mr. Wallace Robinson
Book: Whales and Destiny by Edouard A. Stackpole
Mr. Edouard A. Stackpole
3 Framed watercolor paintings by Marshall Dubock
Mr. George Vigouroux
Business Ledger — 1975-1831
Mrs. Cedric K. Little
Book: Charles Gardner Chase
Mr. Frederick Earl Chase
123 Stereopticon Views of Nantucket Chinese Mandarin coat
Thomas Cooke House and Museum of Edgartown Mr. Edwin Palmer Hoyt, Jr.
Genealogy Collection
Mrs. L. A. Lunden
GIFTS AND ACCESSIONS
19
Collection of logbooks, ships' papers, census lists, land .accounts and books
Mrs. Frank E. Lewis
Pictures of Nantucket
Mr. A. E. Watkins
Account book of E. J. Barney and shopyard book and letters of Jethro and Zachariah Hillman
Mr. Laurence H. Barney
Collection of books and material for the Peter Foulger Library
Mr. Richmond G. Wight
Photographs of Tuckernuck and Fire Map of 1846
Mr. Bancel LaFarge
Photocopy of Commission of Dr. Charles F. Winslow as American consul of Paita, Peru
Mr. F. L. Winslow
12 Photographs of Amos Smalley
Mr. Robert Blattner
Doll's clothes and photographs of the Joy Family
Mrs. Wylie Collins
2 Black Quaker bonnets
Mrs. Jane Lamb
Photograph of John W. Bartlett, Jr.
Mrs. Francis Van Arsdale
'Sconset Casino Memorabilia
Mrs. Peter Heller
Chalk drawing of Main St. about 1860
Mr. Harry Guest
26 Glass slides and negatives
Mrs. Alan Newhouse
Advertising booklet of Nantucket and 'Sconset
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Souza
Chronometer
Mr- Thomas M. Page
Solid piece of sperm oil
Mr- Glen Reynolds
Wooden plaque of various whales and stuffed porcupine fish
Estate of Louise Emerson
Figurehead of the Ship Highlander This photograph shows details of the excellent carving of the head and shoulders of the figurehead of a Scot warrior that measures 6'/j feet in height, presented to the Assefciation by Robert M. Waggaman. Among the interesting facts concerned with the figurehead is the description of a similar ship's carving which Herman Melville wrote in connection with the "Highlander" on which he sailed to Europe and became part of his book, "Redburn."
GIFTS AND ACCESSIONS Directory of Nantucket — 1914
Mrs. John Gardner
Collection of pamphlets, postcards, letters and souvenirs
Miss Margaret Harwood
Group picture of Naval Reserve of World War I at Nantucket
Mr. Seddon Lege Sr.
2 Sir Isaac Coffin pennies and pamphlet of Sir Isaac Coffin, Bart.
Mr. J. Chandler Coffin
Portrait of Harold H. Kynett, map of Nantucket streets and magazine articles of Burt McConnell and weathervane
Mrs. H. H. Kynett
Framed colored photograph of the Coffin School
Mr. Edouard A. Stackpole
Figurehead of a Scotch Highlander
Mr. Robert Waggaman
Collection of 296 glass negatives of Nantucket scenes and people
Mr. Edouard A. Stackpole
Black grosgrain vest, low cut
Mr. Edgar Lindstrom
Collection of material pertaining to Dr. William Gardner
Miss Helen Powell
Oil painting called Grandmother's Garrett by Miss Elizabeth R. Coffin
Mr. Robert Waggaman
Report of Student Research Projects
Mr. Wesley N. Tiffney
2 Antique rush bottomed chairs and 1 Miss Esther Gibbs Hitchcock chair 57 Bound copies of Harper's Magazine - June 1850-May 1879
Mr. Arthur Stetson
Photograph of Lauriston Bunker
Mr. Paul Bunker
Stone from the Falkland Islands
Mr. Thomas Devine
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Liquor decanter divided into four sections
Mrs. Edgar F. Orpin, Sr.
Silver case with spectacles
Mrs. Claude Emmons
Collection of doilies, lace cloths and sewing kits
Mrs. Wilbur H. Welch
Child manikin
Buttner's
Doll
Miss Mary Turlay Robinson
Patchwork quilt
Mrs. Lawrence C. Turton
Small block patchwork quilt
Mrs. Austin Tyrer
Patchwork quilt — fan pattern
Mrs. Irmgard E. Hird
Paintings of George Washington Barrett, Josiah F. Barrett and Samuel and Judith Fitch Barrett
Estate of Marjorie Barrett
Print of Steamship Massachusetts
Mr. Robert R. Covell
Fire bucket
Mr. Alexander M. Craig, Jr.
Snapshots of Nantucket and photographs of Vestal St. taken by Mrs. Alice Albertson Shurrocks
Mr. Robert Mooney
Bill to Massachusetts Humane Society and advertisement for the Underhill Cottages
Mr. Alexander M. Craig, Jr.
2 Pastel portraits of Capt. Nathanial Union Lodge Coffin Old shingle from the Old Mill
Mrs. George Bedell
Framed colored photograph of Aletha Macy
Mrs. H. H. Kynett
Microfilms of logbooks, journals, etc. Mr. Edouard A. Stackpole and filing cabinets
GIFTS AND ACCESSIONS
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Research material on Coast Guard, life Saving Service, Lighthouses etc.
Mr. Edouard A. Stackpole
Journal of Ship Constitution
Mr. Gilbert Verney
Journals of Ship Weymouth and Ship Maria
Mr. Gilbert Verney
Old style sewing machine
Mrs. Austin Tyrer
8 Copper plates of various subjects and 4 Arrowsmith charts printed in London
Mr. Arthur Stetson
Collection of letters, box from Pitcairn Island, doll, clippings and pictures of the Barrett Family
Estate of Marjorie Barrett
Logbook of the ship Nantucket
Mr. Richard Gerould
Bound volume of Travel Magazine — 1912
Mr. Edgar Lindstrom
2 Silver serving spoons one made by J. Easton, 2nd and the other by J. S. Kelley
Mrs. Ann Sanford
Book: John Thomas Gulick, Evolutionist and Missionary
Miss Mary B. Gulick
Last manuscript of Clarence King, Mrs. Clarence King Nantucket — 1776 (unfinished) Spectacles in case, child's shoes, lace cap and cake mould in shape of a shoe
Mrs. Ames Loder
Collection of books, pamphlets, etc. Miss Margaret Harwood pertaining to Nantucket Film of fire on moors in 1949
Mr. Sherwood Smith
Mr. Henry W. Pfeiffer Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Artists Limited Edition, illustrated by LeRoy Neiman, preface by Jacque-Yves Cousteau
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Genealogical Chart — John Mayhew's descendants
Mr• Samuel Mayhew Wilson
4 Pairs of drapery holders, pewter with green glass rosettes
Miss Esther Gibbs
Patchwork quilt
Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Truby
Typed copy of pamphlet An Idyll from Nantucket
Mrs. Weston Howland
Dorothy Gardner, Curator
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26
Nantucket Historical Association Balance Sheet (Unaudited) As at May 31, 1975 (Subject to final adjustment by auditors, Rodrigues, Guckin and Tobojka) Assets: Cash on hand and demand deposits Savings accounts Investments (held by agent) Pledges receivable Real estate, exhibits and equipment
$ 13,648.64 21,755.46 $
35,404.10 637,352.16 1,125.00 1,202,969.53
$1,876,850.79
Liabilities and Fund Balances: Taxes payable Reserve for contracted expense Fund balances: Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Invested in plant
99.75 3,608.00
3,707.75
359,379.94 310,793.57 1,202,969.53 1,873,143.04 $1,876,850.79
INCOME STATEMENT (Unaudited) Year ended May 31,1975 Revenue: Memberships Income from investments Donations Sales Admissions Miscellaneous
25,434.55 42,122.53 7,405.73 20,019.39 56,447.98 2,623.53
154,053.71
27
FINANCIAL REPORT Expenses: Wages Utilities Supplies, repairs and maintenance Major building expense Advertising and printing Purchases for resale Insurance Professional fees Historic Nantucket Bicentennial expense Restoration paintings Accession reserve Miscellaneous Net
56,089.78 11,132.90 24,374.68 14,751.38 2,341.74 9,535.92 6,713.53 1,300.00 3,952.52 1,016.40 2,527.00 20,000.00 268.93
154,004.78
*
48-93
Gifts and bequests from the following are a proportion of the en dowment fund: Ella Starbuck Sidney Mitchell Elizabeth Blackburn Ruth H. Sutton Rev. William E. Gardner Maria Mitchell Starbuck MacKay Mary Eliza Macy Mary E. Walker Mary E. Gouin Edna Whitteken Elizabeth Coffin Fitzgerald Coffin Genealogy Laura K. G. Hecker Clara Baker Emma F. Hayward Life Membership 3os Mitchell & Elizabeth B. Mitchell William Swift Mr. and Mrs. Richard Swain Mary Chase Miliken Jethro Coffin House Old Mill Preservation Henry Carlisle Susan E. Brock James Reid Parker Mrs. Winthrop Coffin
23
Governor Edward Everett's Visit to Nantucket DURING HIS TERM of office as Governor of Massachusetts the Hon. Edward Everett decided to visit that portion of the Commonwealth which was vying with New Bedford as the leading whaling port in the world. Paul R. Frothingham, a biographer of Edward Everett, wrote: "There was one part of his duties that he did enjoy, and that to the ut most. He had a passion for travelling." In the summer of 1836 Governor Everett visited New Bedford, Naushon Island and Nantucket. Under the date of July 26, he wrote from New Bedford that he was leaving for Nantucket on the 29th. His letter from Nantucket follows: "My dear wife,. .. Yesterday morning, we took the steamboat for this place-... You touch Wood's Hole, where the passage, greatly resembles Hell Gate. You then cross over to Holmes's Hole, which is in Martha's Vineyard, and then stretch across to Nantucket. A glance at the map of Massachusetts, in any one of my atlases, will make it all plain. Nantucket is sixty miles from New Bedford. We arrived at halfpast two. Our passage had been a little delayed by towing a whale ship out of harbor. Our arrival was expected at Nantucket, and a good many persons gathered on the wharf to see us. After an introduction to several on deck, we went up to the hotel. I passed the afternoon walking round the place and the evening in receiving a considerable number of gentlemen who called. "This morning (Friday) I went at eight to see the silk factory; at nine to visit Admiral Coffin's school, where I had to make a speech; at eleven drove out to the asylum for the poor, and so continued on to Siasconset, a very singular village on the brink of the ocean. The principal families of Nantucket come here to pass the summer, somewhat like Nahant and yet very different. Whiled away two or three hours in visiting and then sat down to a sort of public dinner given by the gentlemen of Nantucket to me—where, of course, there were toasts and speeches. About half-past six I got back. I am spending the evening at Mr. Upton s. I thought to have been called to go there before now, but I have had time enough for a much longer letter then I expected. To morrow morning I take the steamboat for Naushon ... "New Bedford, August 1, 1836. My dearest wife, - Here I am, safe back from Nantucket... When I wrote you on Friday evening, I was about going to a party at Mr. Upton's. I found there all the respectability and fashion of Nantucket, and I assure you it was a most genteel party.
GOVERNOR EDWARD EVERETT'S VISIT
29
"Saturday morning we left Nantucket at nine o'clock. It was at first foggy and then for a short time rained hard; the first adverse cir cumstance which has befallen us. But it cleared up by the time we got to Wood's Hole, a little port in the town of Falmouth ... At eleven we came home and lunched; at twelve took the beautiful Fawn (a small yacht, belonging to Mr. Swain — who is Mr. Bowdoin's agent on the island of Naushon.) and all hands dashed over to Wood's Hole, and there in a few minutes the steamboat from Nantucket came up and took us onboard. . '
30
Grace Brown Gardner A Tribute
1880 - 1973 by Emil Frederick Guba, Ph.D. THIS WRITER met Grace Brown Gardner in 1934. He was escorted to her home by the late Grace Wyatt, then the natural science director of the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association. My interest was in the fungi and fungous diseases of the wild plants of Nantucket. He came to know Grace Brown Gardner even better by his research of Nantucket history which brought him to her home on Milk Street frequently to consult her volumes of newspaper clippings. Her hospitality and help were generous and most cordial. On one occasion she counselled him that the early grave sites on the island are burying grounds, not cemeteries. Correctly so according to the early maps and I accepted her information with warmth. Grace Brown Gardner wrote The Nantucket Flora, Chapter 13, pp. 245-268 for Dr. R.A. Douglas-Lithgow's book, Nantucket, A History (1914). It is a survey of the flora of Nantucket of different habitats and seasons and a catalogue of island plants following the nomenclature and classification in Gray's Manual of Botany, 7th edition. The publication of this manual in 1908 and the founding of the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association in 1902 stimulated the study of systematic botany on the island. The Nantucket Flora, Chapter 13 is based largely on Miss Gardner's own wild flower collections in her herbarium which she donated to the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association. This list of Nantucket plants of Chapter 13 was a great improvement over the first one by Mrs. Maria L. Owen's Catalogue of Nantucket Plants (1888). In the same period Eugene P. Bicknell of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was botanizing on the island and publishing his classic papers Ferns and Flowering Plants of Nantucket, the first in 1908 and the 20th in 1919 all of them in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club (New York). Then in 1921 George Putnam's Sons came out with Alice Owen Albertson's Nantucket Wild Flowers. These contributions brought the fame of Nantucket as a botanist's paradise to public attention. The herbarium of the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association with all of the data pertaining to each mounted specimen is a treasure to natural science. It is scheduled for publication. The name of Grace Brown Gardner identifying her specimens will reveal her prominence in the study of the wild plants of Nantucket.
GRACE BROWN GARDNER—A TRIBUTE
31
Grace Brown Gardner's other major Nantucket accomplishment was her vast collection of newspaper clippings on subjects relating to Nantucket, a total of 48 volumes, plus 7 supplementary volumes; Volumes 1 and 2 Churches, Volumes 8-11, Marine Subjects; Volume 20 Quakerism; Volumes 44-48, Whaling; etc., etc. identify the character cf this great project. Here is a vast source of information on Nantucket for one engaged in researching history or seeking information on any particular subject relating to Nantucket's past. With the encouragement and foresight of her parents especially of her father with continental origin and background, Grace Gardner departed from the island for a broad higher education. She attended Cornell University and Brown University. She began her long teaching career at the Framingham State Normal School (Framingham State College) in 1918. The college year book The Dial 1930, p. 31. states that she taught biology, microbiology and nature study. In 1930 she addressed a quotation from Emerson to the graduating class of 1930 reading "Beware what you set your heart upon for it surely shall be yours!". Grace Brown Gardner at Framingham, served on the faculty of the Biology Department with Dr. William H. D. Meier, the Head and noted biologist-educator, native of Illinois, educated at Illinois State Normal University and Harvard University, principal and superintendent of public schools in Illinois and botany instructor at Harvard University. He joined the Framingham faculty in 1911. Grace Brown Gardner could not have had a nicer professional association. A Waltham friend who was a student at Framingham Normal kept her book of notes of Grace Brown Gardner's lectures. She described her as a gracious, quiet mannered teacher with the quality of imparting a strong interest in her students in the natural sciences. "I loved her and respected her." A few years ago when the late Frank MacKeever of the New York Botanic Garden was studying the plants of the island and enthusiastically popularizing Nantucket botany by his weekly news articles in the Inquirer and Mirror, Grace Brown Gardner gave him her valuable personal copy of Mrs. Maria L. Owen's Catalogue of the Wild Plants of Nantucket published in 1888. Such a token of respect certainly added encouragement and stimulation to Frank MacKeever's dedicated effort of advancing our knowledge of the flora of Nantucket. He treasured this gift. Grace Brown Gardner's father, Arthur Hinton Gardner,was born in San Francisco in 1854, the son of Captain William B. Gardner of
32
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Baltimore and Charlotte (Coffin) of Nantucket. Her mother Mary M. Brown was born in Nantucket in 1355, the daughter of George F. Brown and Sarah M. (Nerberth) of Nantucket. George F. Brown died in San Francisco in 1873. Arthur H. Gardner and Mary M. Brown were married in Nantucket in 1879, he giving his occupation as editor, age 25 years. George F. Brown was the son of George Brown and Lydia (Folger) of Nantucket. Sarah M. Nerberth was the daughter of Edward Nerberth and Emeline (MeCleave). William B. Gardner was the son of Samuel Gardner and Elizabeth Morin of Baltimore. Charlotte Coffin was the daughter of George Coffin and Sarah Calder of Nantucket. Grace Gardner's earliest Gardner ancestry went back to Richard Gardner and Sarah (Shattuck) by son Nathaniel Gardner and Abigail (Coffin) (d. of James Coffin, s. of Tristram). Her earliest Brown an cestry runs to John Brown and Rachel (Gardner) d. of Capt. John Gardner, brother of Richard. John and Rachel were married in Salem. This marriage and the close association of Browns and Gardners in Salem brought the Browns to Nantucket in 1680. John Brown was the grandson of John Brown 1st and Sarah (Walker) who came in the first Puritan arrivals to Salem from England. Arthur H. Gardner and Mary Macy (Brown) Gardner were highly respected and admired. Both were prominent in the civil and educational affairs of the island. Many enjoyed and profited by their kindness, service, counsel and help. For their portraits and memorials the reader is referred to Nantucket Historical Association Annual Report 30, 1924 and Annual Report 33, 1927. The fine qualities of both parents were exemplified in the person and life of Grace Brown Gard ner. It seems only fair to state that we may never again have a Nan tucket daughter of the like of Grace Brown Gardner as it was written likewise and earlier of her beloved parents.
33
The Other Nantucket by Theodore C. Wyman THERE HAVE BEEN many islands in my life, Nantucket, Little John, Monhegan, Grand Manan and the West Indies. Then there were Cocos Island, the Galapagos Islands and many others, including one of the Hebrides. Some of them I have known more than well and with some there has just been the pleasure of a few short visits. And now we come to a little island whose name is known, but no one seems to know how it happened to receive that name. It is the island of Nantucket off the coast of Grand Manan Island. As so often happens when you begin to wonder about something, there begins what I think of as armchair detective work, and there are times when information can be found. Then there are other times when, although some information can be found, it is hard to find a definite answer about what is of interest to you. It all started on my first visit to Grand Manan in 1967 when I received the impression that, if there could be fog at only one place in the world at any given time, the chances are that it would be in the Bay of Fundy. And that is what I ran into as I waited on the pier at Black's Harbor, a fog so heavy that the little ship to the island could not be seen until it was a few feet from the dock. It was a private world of swirling grey mist all the way to Grand Manan, but a bright and cheerful world within the ship. And there on a chart against a forward bulkhead I saw that one of the little islands just off the coast of Grand Manan was named Nantucket Island. I had lived on Nantucket off Cape Cod for many years before the war, so the name of the little island caught my attention and started the wonder as to how it had received that name. I did have a chance to go ashore there for a few hours while on a sail around Grand Manan in a lobster boat and tried at that time as well as during another visit to Grand Manan in 1970 to find out how the island had been named Nan tucket. I tried, but had no success at the time and I suppose that what I wondered about was of no great importance, yet it was of interest to me. Time passed as it always does and the search was continued in 1972 after I received the January issue of Historic Nantucket. In it was a story about the Nantucket Colony at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia who had settled in an area that included Grand Manan and the little islands around it. So I wrote to Edouard Stackpole as I assumed that someone who had come from Nantucket, probably before the Revolution, may
34
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
have settled on the little island. And I hoped that records of the set tlement would give me the answer to what I wondered about. In his reply Mr. Stackpole mentioned an even earlier migration of a group from Nantucket that settled in the area around Barrington and Shelburn, Nova Scotia in 1761-62. And he thought it was probably during a part of this period that the little island in the Bay of Fundy became named Nantucket, but he had not yet cleared the documentation on it. So now I wrote to The Gerrish House Society on Grand Manan to see what records they had and received a most interesting reply from Mr. Elmer N. Wilcox, Secretary of the Society, with what information he could find. A part of his letter is: "The first occurence of the name in our records is in a provincial report of 1806 and on a map of the same date accompanying it. The island has no name on Des Barres' chart published just before the Revolution, although others of the small islands of the Grand Manan group are given their names on the same chart, these facts suggesting that our Nantucket had not yet received a name, so that it was still unnamed apparently until the Loyalists came. Now in the report of 1806 (pertaining to the year 1805) it is stated that Nantucket was then oc cupied by a William Gatcomb who said that he had given fifty boxes of herring for it to a former occupant, whose name, unfortunately is not given " Letters to the Nantucket Historical Society under date of March 11, 1937" ... A Capt. Folger of Nantucket made a whaling voyage into our vicinity in the late 1700's, having his headquarters at Head Harbor, Campobello Island. Incidentally he killed one whale between Moose and Dudley Islands which made seventy barrels of oil. ... We are par ticularly interested in this matter as has been suggested that the small Nantucket Island in our archipelago received its name in connection with Captain Folger's voyage. "The Grand Manan Islands were not settled before 1784, though there were temporary residents at times but none from the Nantucket migration that you mention in 1761-62. Letters from Dr. Charles E. Congdon, President of Nantucket Historical Association pursue the question but was not able to settle the question re Capt. Folger possibly naming the island. ..." (Special Request from T.C.W. — "Come back, Mr. Gatcomb, from wherever you are — we need your help.") At least we know now that the island did have its name in 1805, that it had no name just prior to the Revolution and, as the Grand Manan
THE OTHER NANTUCKET
35
Islands were not settled before 1784, the chances are that the island did not have a name at that time. I sent a copy of the letter from Mr. Wilcox to Mr. Stackpole and his reply added a little more information about the men from Nantucket who had gone to Novia Scotia. A part of his reply is: "Obviously the name must have been attached to the Island be tween the time Des Barres published the Admiralty chart in 1774 and the first record of the name 'Nantucket' in the Provincial Report of 1806. It would seem likely that the man from whom William Gatcomb pur chased the island in 1805 had a Nantucket connection. "There were several 'Captain Folgers' in the whaling industry out of Nantucket, and the particular one referred to in the March, 1937, letter could have been from Nantucket or from the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, colony of Nantucketers who settled in this town, across the harbor from Halifax, in 1785. This colony was led by two prominent Nantucket Loyalists—Samuel Starbuck and Capt. Timothy Folger. The group prospered, and had a fleet of whaling vessels which brought considerable fame to Dartmouth." So there is what could be found while working as an armchair detective. Not a complete answer to what I wondered about, but some information about the migrations from Nantucket that could be of in terest. The fog lifted for a few moments to give me some information, and now it has closed in again. But there is always the chance that it will lift again with the answer to what I wondered about, how the other Nantucket received its name.
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