Obed Macy's Proposal

OBED MACY, whose H i s t o r y o f N a n t u c k e t , published in 1835, was for many years the only comprehensive history of the Island, married Abigail Pinkham in 1786. His written proposal to Abigail, written in 1785, has appeared in various accounts of Nantucket but is not as well known as it deserves to be, so we re-print it as follows:

Obed to Abigail

A long consideration Of the good reputation Thou hast in this nation Gives me an inclination To become thy relation By legal capitulation And if this my declaration May but gain thy approbation It will lay in obligation From generation to generation On thy friend Who without thy consideration May remain in expectation.

Both Obed and Abigail were members of the Society of Friends. Their home at 15 Pleasant Street still stands as sturdily as ever. The house next south, at 17 Pleasant, was built in 1844 for Obed's son Peter Macy, while another son, Dr. Reuben Macy, inherited the family homestead.