Historic Nantucket
The Lower Square, Main Street in 1876 Photograph taken byjosiah Freeman a century ago.
January, 1976
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 Mrs. H. Crowell Freeman, Miss Mary Gardner, terms expire 1976, Benjamin Richmond, Francis W. Pease, terms expire 1977; Mrs. R. A. Orleans, term expires 1978; Robert D. Congdon, Harold W. Lindley, terms expire 1979 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, Mrs. Alfred A. Hall, Mrs. Henry G. Kehlenbeck 1800 House: Receptionist: Mrs. John Kittila, Sr. Old Gaol: Chairman, Albert G. Brock Whaling Museum: Chairman, Hugh R. Chace Receptionists: Clarence H. Swift, Mrs. Herbert Sandsbury, Frank Pattison, Abram Niles, James A. Watts, Miss Lucia Arno. Peter Foulger Museum: Chairman and Director, Edouard A. Stackpole Receptionists: Mrs. Elizabeth B. Worth, Mrs. Clara Block, Joseph Sylvia 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 Folger-Franklin Seat & Memorial Boulder: Chairman, Francis Sylvia Friends Meeting House-Fair Street Museum: Chairman, Mrs. Harding U. Greene Co-chairman, Mrs. Alfred M. P. Amey Lightship "Nantucket": Chairman, Benjamin S. Richmond, ship keeper, Richard Swain
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 23
January, 1976
No. 3
CONTENTS Nantucket Historical Association Officers and Staff Editorial — The Lightship "Nantucket" Another Challenge A Visit to Nantucket in 1769 by a Quaker from England Some Uses of History: The Nantucket Humanities Program by Barry Phillips To a Departing Kinsman by Sheriff Josiah F. Barrett The Nantucket Lightship Will Be a Floating Exhibit Francis Rotch's Account of The Boston Tea Party by Edouard A. Stackpole Steamboat Wharf — July, 1886 Report of the Archaeology Council by Paul C. Morris The Store With the Bell Above the Door by Roland Bunker Hussey The "Barba Negra" Took Nantucket Group for a Sail Legacies and Bequests
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 Communications pertaining to the Publication should be addressed to the Editor, Historic Nantucket, Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554.
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The Lightship "Nantucket" Another Challenge An Editorial In its decision to take over the responsibility of the lightship Nantucket as a museum vessel on Nantucket's waterfront, the Nantucket Historical Association has accepted another challenge. When the energetic William F. Macy finally obtained for the Association a headquarters for the Nantucket Whaling Museum he still faced a series of problems before finally opening the structure in 1930. His farsightedness and determination gave Nantucket a Museum which not only has become an outstanding asset but a place of world renown. With the coming of the lightship another potential Island asset has been introduced. In an historical sense the Nantucket represents one of the finest of maritime traditions — the protection and saving of life at sea. In a symbolic sense this red-hulled vessel, with the name Nantucket so proudly displayed on either side, becomes the visual representation of an historical age. It is not a vessel retired from active service, moored in quiet waters to rust gradually into limbo. It is a proud relic of a marine service, of an era when its presence on the edge of the dangerous South Shoals was that of a guardian and a protection for ships of all nations approaching the American coast. On its station the Nantucket was on the most exposed of lightship locations. It was the successor of a list of vessels that had served in the general area since 1854, and thus an inheritor of the proud record of them all. From Captain Samuel Bunker, of Nantucket, who commanded the very first light vessel on Old South Shoals, to the veteran masters and crews of World War I and World War II, who witnessed the activities of the submarines, to the men of today whose lives aboard the modern lightships have their own stories of endurance, the saga of Nantucket South Shoals contains the full range of experience. The stories of these vessels, rolling and pitching in the open sea, became chapters in marine history; the adventures of the early lightships; the charting of the expanse of shoals south and east of the Island; the pioneer use of wireless from Nantucket South Shoals; the German U-Boats sinking merchantmen during World War I; the White Star Olympic's cutting down Captain Studley's lightship in 1934; the dramatic Andrea Doria-Stockholm collision of our own times — a veritable volume of ad venture to bring information and inspiration. The trans-Atlantic liner, freighter or tanker knows that the Nantucket lightship was the first bit of America to be seen on a west-bound voyage, as well as the point of departure when bound east. Best of all it was a symbol of stability; it was to be depended on — a beacon of faithfulness. Herein is the challenge which the Nantucket Historical Association has accepted.
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A Visit to Nantucket In 1769 By a Quaker From England Extract From T h e Journal of Rachel Wilson T h e Wife of Isaac Wilson of Kendal. (England)
Elizabeth Island — 6th Month 19th 1769 ON THIRD DAY early intending to go on board for Nantucket, we got here but it being thick and heavy and no wind we did not heave anchor till about 8. At 2, the tide running strong against us, we durst not venture through Woods Hole, so cast anchor just by Elizabeth Isle, (Naushon). Several of our Company went ashore and picked us strawberries. When the tide turned we got safe through with a small breeze. 20th The wind increasing it was thought that we might reach Nantucket by ten at night. Our Captain, John Hussey was cautious of acting, without knowing my mind, in passing by Martha's Vineyard, in which only one Friend's family lived, and weighing the matter carefully, I found it my place to let them know I had more freedom to stop there than to go forward in the night. As we were upwards of twenty passengers, if we were confined to the sloop it would be very inconvenient, and I believed it would be best for us to go on shore. The wind being fair the Captain's son-in-law seemed desirous to go forward and made some of the passengers a little uneasy alledging the wind might be against us in the morning and we might lay there for sometime. I had no fear of this sort upon my mind as my trust was in Him at whose command the wind and seas obeyed and mine eye, single to His bidding, which I always found answered in every respect, tho' reasoning is sometimes likely to get in; as at this time it was suggested. Now if they all stay through thee and anything but well should happen what a reflection that would be to the great cause thou art engaged in but
A VISIT TO NANTUCKET IN 1769
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keeping still, my mind, was supported, I said thou knowst O Lord I have but one view thy glory and the good of souls and fear fled from one. Our Captain, as soon as we got near land ordered two of the hands to set him ashore in a boat before the sloop could get to a proper place to anchor, it being near sundown and no time to spare in collecting the inhabitants together, as I found an inclination to sit with them which proved useful, he had given pretty general notice before we landed and several came to the friend's house, his name is David Coffin, where we had full oportunity to declare the way of life and salvation and the people behaved well and all turned out to satisfaction, having pretty good ac commodation. 6th month 21st In the morning wt got early on board, having a good wind in our favour, we reached safe to Nantucket about 11 o'clock in the morning. The friend and his wife came along with us, that our calling had its service in many respects, for which I bless the great name that hath this far preserved both by sea and land to his own praise and my unspeakable comfort. At Nantucket we were kindly received by our friends, we lodged with William Roach and his wife, her sister Sarah Barney being mostly with us, a valuable friend, who accompanied to six family's, in four of which one or more had been under confinment for sometime, to whom our visit was truly acceptable the Lord's good presence, being with us to our great refresh ment. 6th month. 23rd. On the 6th came to our early meeting for worship at eleven which was pretty large. The first that appeared was a woman from Swansea in a few words, then John Penn upon spiritual worship. My mind being deeply engaged under the sense of the state of that meeting told them if I had judged by the sight of the eye I would have thought what I had to deliver scarely proper for the auditory. But such as I had I gave freely which was the exhortation of our Dear Lord's: if thy brother hath anything against thee do first reconcile thyself to thy brother before thou offerest thy gift at the altar." Showing that our offerings could not be acceptable whilst hardness
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
remained one against another which I was enabled to get through clear and the meeting ended in prayer and praise.
We dined with Jonathan Macy, drank tea with Sarah Barney, visited a sick woman that had been seized with blindness and scarely got the mind reconciled to her condition. I hope our visit had its service.
On 7th the meeting for the minister and elders at 8 o'clock, tho' few in number yet satisfactory, at II a public meeting at which first my companion appeared and then J. P. (John Penn). After their appearance I stood up with the near union there was between Christ and his church which was set forth in the language of the spouse "My beloved is mine and I am his." upon which I was enlarged beyond my expectations that our minds were filled with humble thanksgiving of which I made use of as a mouth to the people. J. P. (John Penn) gave a caution afterwards in regard to dulness, which was very pertinent. The weather warm and the meeting crowded. We dined with Samuel Starbuck, afterwards visited three family's to satisfaction.
6th month 25th On first day two large meetings; on second day at 8 the adjourned meeting for ministers. At II o'clock the public came on and after business, in all which we were greatly favoured with the overshadowing of divine good to our mutual comfort. We visited three sick friends that evening being in hopes that we might be at liberty to have left the Island early next morning, but my mind was weighed down under opression not knowing the cause but earnestly desiring I might stay till the end of my coming was full answered. In the evening the thing was cleared up, a difference had existed for many years, that a committee was appointed from the Quarterly Meeting in order to get the parties concerned to submit to reference which efforts had hitherto been in vain. Finding my mind engaged to join them with my companion and J. Pemberton, truth favouring us, our labours proved effectual and they all agreed, and arbitration Bonds were drawn and signed to our admiration and thankfulness for which the great name was praised.
A VISIT TO NANTUCKET IN 1769
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6th month 27th We were expecting we might have been at liberty to leave the Island, but when we got up the wind was against us and other business fell to our lot. 6th month 28th A disagreeable affair had caused great warmth amongst them and had also become the Quarterly Meeting's business, tho' imprudently in troduced, and had occasioned great disputes. A friend, who had visited them, had requested a certificate if they could do it with freedom, but rather to omit it than to occasion disputations amongst themselves which, if it had been regarded, would have prevented a great deal of trouble. For some had taken great offence at what he had delivered and others jealous for a certificate, that an open breach was made the enemy, being never wanting to improve every opportunity to the detriment of his Kingdom and laying waste the work of God. We found it our places to inquire into the matter and endeavour to stop any further progress in it, as it would neither tend to the honour of the Society nor the peace of the individuals to go much further. As a certificate for the friend seemed rather out of date then, they could be brought to acknowledge that both parties had missed it and beg of the Quarterly Meeting to pass it by. This was in a great measure affected and they hoped it would be teaching them a lesson for the future. Having settled these troublesome matters by the assistance of the Divine wisdom, which was sensibly experienced upon the occasion, we came away on 5th day morning on board John Hussey's vessel, who had waited for us, and landed us at Wood's Hole about 5 that evening.
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Some Uses of History The Nantucket Humanities Program The John A. McCarthy Foundation of Palo Alto, California has awarded a grant to the University of Massachusetts at Boston to continue its Nantucket Humanities Program. Operating the past year on funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, this Program allows a select group of upperclassmen to come to the Island for a semester to study its history and culture. Joined by Island residents enrolled either as auditors or for university credit, the students take an intensive course on "The History and Culture of Nantucket" taught by Edouard Stackpole and a course taught by Wes Tiffney and Clint Andrews, of the UMass Field Station at Quaise, on the ways in which Nantucket's natural en vironments influenced its human history. The center of the students' academic experience rests in the extended independent research project they complete in the Peter Foulger Museum. Through the interested support of the Nantucket Historical Association, they are able to spend long hours in the Museum working with the wealth of p r i m a r y m a t e r i a l s h o u s e d t h e r e . L i g h t s h i p s a n d t h e w r e c k of t h e E s s e x , early criminals and The Sons of Temperance, Indians and Irish, Peleg Folger, Anna Gardner, and Elizabeth Coffin, schoolteachers and whaling wives — these are some of the subjects which the UMass-Boston students have chosen to research. Or perhaps it is more precise to say that the subjects chose them: at first, attracting curious attention; then, capturing sustained interest; becoming, finally, part of the way a student understands and measures experience. The completed research papers will become part of the Peter Foulger's collection. The experience made available by the Historical Association represents, in the words of Carlo Golino, Chancellor of UMass-Boston, "the most rewarding educational opportunity available to our students." Most undergraduates never see an original historical document or artifact: History is known only as something written about. Participants in the Nantucket Humanities Program can study the thing itself; they gain a new — and vivid — sense of its reality. Squinting over the handwriting and the grammatical vagaries of another age, smelling the very mustiness of an aging page, they also get a sense of History's historicity, its temporal place, that textbooks and lectures could never suggest. These realizations solidify, of course, when the students leave the Museum each afternoon: in ways few communities can begin to duplicate, Nantucket remains in touch with its past and insists on the continuities of historical experience. The students can feel a small part of the process of bringing the past into the present: uncovering it, clarifying it, preserving it. They have the
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
satisfaction, unusual for an undergraduate, of doing original research. Although the independence of this independent project is qualified by frequent give-and-take with other students in the Program; by the en thusiastic help provided by "Mr. Stackpole" and "Mrs. Hussey," by guidance from a campus-based faculty advisor and by general supervision from the resident director of the Program, the students can know that essentially their own individual efforts represent genuine contributions to scholarship, however modest in scope. Theirs is real work, not make-work. One of the most pervasive frustrations of traditional academic study is its fragmentation; the separate courses of study seem to have little or no relationship to each other. And one of the most exciting things about studying in the Nantucket Humanities Program is that the student can realize how parts comprise a whole. Because Nantucket's historical and cultural development is both contained and sharply defined, academic research refuses disciplinary limits. The study of scrimshaw, for instance, reaches far beyond the traditional questions an art historian would ask: it involves consideration of Quakerism and Quaker views on art, the nature of shipboard life, the relationship of a crewman to his family, the economics of whaling, and a host of other questions. The student researching the Irish immigration to Nantucket can look at court records, land deeds, editorials, letters, church records, journals, logs, diaries; his completed work is distinguished both by inclusiveness and by a sense of cultural coherence. The study is also distinguished by its depth. Normally, an un dergraduate is juggling the demands of four or five courses and is painfully aware of the limits which must be placed on each assignment. Although the students in the Nantucket Humanities Program invariably conclude with the wish for more time in which to continue their work, still they are permitted a depth and concentration of focus which traditional study precludes and which a semester in the Peter Foulger generously supports. The student who concerned himself with the Irish immigration to Nan tucket could discover just about everything that could be known about that phenomenon, and could pursue with rigor its social implications. Moreover, what he learned in studying the Irish immigration to Nantucket enables him to understand the Irish immigration to Boston — or, for that matter, to Cincinnati. For the clear and dramatic specialness of Nantucket's historical experience time and again distills much of the American experience generally. An understanding of its whalemen, for instance, helps us to comprehend the more modest adventuresomeness which opened up the western frontiers and settled this country. An un derstanding of Nantucket Quakerism can throw light on religious currents infusing all New England. Questions of community versus individual needs, of economic development, of land use, of political identity — all assume a particular Island form which very often crystalizes and clarifies general questions which this country faced and which it still faces. So the student returns to Boston after a semester on Nantucket wLth':d richly
THE NANTUCKET HUMANITIES PROGRAM
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enlarged sense of his or her own cultural beginnings and continuities. History has been touched and understood — in this loveliest and most unusual and most interesting of microcosms. Barry Phillips, Director UMass-Boston Nantucket Humanities Program
A Nantucket History Course Conference. Mrs. Louise Hussey, Librarian at the Peter Foulger Museum, and Dr. Barry Phillips, University of Massachusetts, confer with Miss Sarah Slive, one of the students, busy with her research project. Photo by DrurKahn
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To a Departing Kinsman By Sheriff Josiah F. Barrett Josiah F. Barrett was the Sheriff of Nantucket for over three decades and was a familiar figure at Superior Court sessions with his tall silk hat. The poem was written a century ago — 1875. The Her The The A In A In
noble ship is ready, sails are now unfurled; parting hand is given, last farewell is heard.
mother's heart is aching, sorrow for her son, sister, too, is weeping loneliness at home.
And relatives and friends Are waiting to escort One so dear and near to them The last time to the wharf. And now the word is given That all things are prepared, The rope is cut asunder And soon the wharf is cleared. Farewell, my own dear cousin, God bless thee from above; And may he grant that we may meet In happiness and love. But soon we'll be expecting A word from thee to hear, And that, my cousin traveler, You know our hearts will cheer. A pleasant voyage is wished thee, A speedy, safe return, A happy meeting with those friends Towards whom thy heart doth yearn. Now, once again I say farewell, That word it must be spoken, Accept these lines, my cousin dear As true affection's token.
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The Nantucket Lightship will be a Floating Exhibit Greeted by a show of community enthusiasm and welcomed by the Selectmen and officers of the Nantucket Historical Association, the veteran lightship Nantucket came around Brant Point shortly after noonday on December 7, and was moored at a temporary berth on the south side of Steamboat wharf a few days later. The coming of the vessel to the port for which she was named was the result of careful planning by the Town and the Historical Association, and was made possible by the determined ef forts of a group of local men who brought her here from East Boston. The story of the eventual arrival of the lightship in Nantucket began last March, when word came that the older of two lightships that guarded Nantucket shoals was to be decommissioned. Of the once sixty lightships which were stationed along the east and west coasts, Nantucket Shoals is the last manned lightship, all the others having been replaced by huge buoys. On March 21 the Nantucket was officially decommissioned by the U.S. Coast Guard, and her former post on the exposed South Shoals station was taken by a newer craft, formerly guarding the Portland, Maine, area. The older vessel was then turned over to the General Services Ad ministration. A few days after this ceremony it was learned that at an auction sale the Nantucket had been purchased by the New Jersey Labor Department, and was to be taken to Atlantic City. The announcement led to a burst of activity on the part of the Selectmen and the Historical Association. After extensive discussion it was determined that the Nantucket belonged in Nantucket; the New Jersey group was approached and a deal was arranged whereby an exchange was effected — the delivery of the old Boston Lightship to Atlantic City in place of the Nantucket. To accomplish this a company of islanders volunteered to go to Boston and take the other lightship — the Boston — to Atlantic City. Led by Captain Mitchell (Mike) Todd this company succeeded in their enterprise, and included: Thomas "Les" Eldridge, Arthur "Pete" Grant, Kenneth Holdgate, Anthony Docca, Richard Mack, Dr. Roy Stuart, Dennis Dias, Jr., Robert Allen, Jeffrey Marks, Richard Hardy and Daniel Kelliher. It was during this voyage that there was a close brush with disaster when, during a heavy fog off Block Island, the lightship was side-swiped by a Liberian freighter, striking a glancing blow at the stern. Having her steering gear damaged, the lightship put back into Jamestown, R. I., where the Nantucket mechanics restored the apparatus and the voyage continued, arriving at Atlantic City without further incident. In itself, this was an unusual achievement.
NANTUCKET LIGHTSHIP A FLOATING EXHIBIT
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Before the Nantucket could be brought to the Island, it was necessary to haul her and paint her hull. This considerable expense was borne by the Historical Association. On December 3, the volunteer crew flew up from Nantucket and began getting the lightship ready for her voyage to the Island. Under the supervision of Mike Todd this difficult assignment was accomplished, and the vessel prepared, including pumping bilges, getting the heating system to function, over-hauling the gear, electrical system, etc., and starting the 8-cylinder diesel engine for testing it, etc. With Mike Todd as the general manager of the expedition, the Island group was made up of the original twelve and an additional eleven — bringing the company to twenty-three. As the licensed Master Mariner, Robert S. Grant was selected, with his father Captain Arthur "Pete" Grant and Captain "Les" Eldridge as his able assistants. The licensed Chief Engineer was Arthur Hardy, with Kenneth Holdgate, Robert Allen, and Dennis Dias as assistants. Richard Mack and Richard Hardy were the electrician mates. Roy Stuart was named Ship's Doctor, and "Andy" Docca was the Ship's Cook. Daniel Kelliher, and Jeffrey Marks were Able Seamen, with Frederick Clow the official photographer. Also making the trip were Russell Merriman and Wayne Saker, associated with the New England Regional Commission; Charles J. Gardner, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen; Benjamin S. Richmond, Chairman of the Nantucket Historical Association's special Lightship Committee; Ralph Packer, of Martha's Vineyard; William Rezendes and "Mike" Bachman, who helped in the galley, and John Dooley of Channel 3, the Nantucket Cable Television representative. At approximately 1:30 Saturday afternoon, the mooring lines were cast off and the lightship got slowly under weigh. Boston Lightship was passed at 3:05 and the Nantucket headed well out into Massachusetts Bay for Cape Cod's tip end, and Peaked Hill Bar buoy. From Tom Giffin's excellent account of the voyage in The Inquirer and Mirror we excerpt the following: "She rounded Peaked Hill at 6:30, steaming at the unexpectedly high speed of nine knots, and began progressively altering course to the south as she followed buoys marking the contour of the outer Cape, staying inshore of the main shipping lanes. "At 10:05 that night they came up to the seabuoy off the east end of Pollock Rip Channel and altered course slightly offshore for the buoy marking the seaward end of Great Round Shoal Channel. This buoy they made at 11:45 p.m. and turned west to enter Nantucket Sound, passing Great Point at about 1:30 Sunday morning. They proceeded southwestward down pastTuckernuck Shoal Buoy and anchored approximately two miles southwest of the buoy at 2:27 a.m., one of the ship's 7,000-lb. mushroom anchors and two shots of chain giving her a very secure an chorage for the remainder of the night notwithstanding the 30-knot nor therly breeze that had arisen.
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
"The arrival in Nantucket Harbor was purposely delayed so that the 12-foot-draft ship could be brought in and berthed on a high and rising tide, and also so that the townspeople could see the arrival. At 11:17 Sunday morning (high water being at 2:55 p.m.) the anchor was weighed and the "Nantucket" got under way. She passed the Bar bellbuoy at 11:50 and rounded Brant Point at 12:02 noon, tieing up across the end of Steamboat Wharf a few minutes later. At 12:15 Capt. Grant rang 'Finished with engines' on the telegraph, and the Nantucket Lightship was home." When the lightship first came into sight a large number of residents in automobiles at the Jetties Beach were gathered to watch her enter the jetties mouth and proceed down the channel. At Brant Point another group — on hand with cameras for the most part — greeted the Nantucket as she rounded the point. There was a considerable gathering on Steamboat Wharf as, with a strong breeze behind her, she came swiftly up, nudging vigorously the spiles at the southeastern end of the wharf before slipping alongside the east end and getting her lines ashore. A brief but interesting ceremony then took place. Russell F. Merriman, Chairman of the New England Regional Commission, and Wayne Saker, also a member of the Commission, presented a scroll which officially deeded the lightship to the Town of Nantucket. Selectman Charles J. Gardner, Chairman of the Board, accepted the scroll, then read a letter from Senator Edward M. Kennedy complimenting Nantucket for its efforts in obtaining the lightship. Arnold Small, Secretary for the Board of Selectmen, was introduced as one who had worked diligently in the process involving necessary "red tape;" and Leroy H. True, Administrator of the Nantucket Historical Association, was next to be introduced for a few words of welcome. Mitchell Todd, the general supervisor for the "voyage home," received warm applause when he was called upon for a comment — which was brief and emphatic, as one might expect from this hard-working citizen. The lightship Nantucket will eventually be moved over to the north side of Straight Wharf, where a berth has been prepared for her by the Sherburne Associates. The Town has leased the vessel to the Nantucket Historical Association, and she will become an exhibit vessel, open to the general public during the coming year. As some dredging will be necessary to accommodate the lightship, permits have been requested from U. S. Corps of Engineers for this work. One of the largest lightships ever constructed by the government, the Nantucket was built in 1935, and placed on station the following year. She is 149 feet long and, when fully loaded, draws 16 feet, and has a maximum displacement of 1,100 tons. On her bow are two 3-ton anchors, of mushroom design, and on her stern is an emergency naval style anchor. Thick, 1 5-8 inch iron, chain secure her anchors, with 1,080 foot lengths. She is powered by a 900-h.p. Cooper Bessemer diesel engine, turbo
NANTUCKET LIGHTSHIP A FLOATING EXHIBIT
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charged, with 8 cylinders. Her two tall masts carry the customary lights, with the radar equipment on the foremast, which also holds the main light. The story of bringing the lightship to Nantucket is a tribute to the supporters of the entire enterprise, and a matter of pride to the men who volunteered to serve as officers, crew and galley stewards. The successful completion of the voyage is in itself a story involving the confidence and determination of a company of men serving in the best traditions of Nantucket.
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Francis Rotch's Account of The Boston Tea Party That two of the three ships which participated in the famous Boston Tea Party—the Beaver and the Dartmouth—hud taken cargoes of whale oil to London preliminary to being chartered by the British India Company to carry the tea to Boston, is generally well known. However, the activities of Francis Rotch, agent and part owner of the Dartmouth, have been nearly lost, and the monograph titled "The Forgotten Man of The Boston Tea Party" has helped to bring this phase of the historical event to light. As a sequel to this study, it will be of interest to read the testimony which Francis Rotch gave to the Lords of the Privy Council in London on February 19, 1774. Preserved in the collection of documents at the Public Record Office in London, the official testimony was copied by a Nantucket historian in 1973—just 199 years after it was recorded—and reads as follows: "The Information of Francis Rotch, Merchant, lately arrived from Boston, taken before Lords of the Privy Council, 19th of February, 1774; Rotch being of the people called Quakers, affirmeth and saith: "That he is part owner of the ship Dartmouth, Captain Hall; that he was at Boston in North America, when the said ship arrived there on 28th of November last. That upon her arrival Mr. Mollineaux, Captain Bradford and another Person, whose name he does not recollect, and who stated themselves to be deputed for that purpose by certain persons, calling themselves a Committee of Correspondence, came to him and desired he would not enter his ship 'till the Tuesday following, namely, the 30th. "That on the 29th a meeting of the Body of the People was held at which he was present. That the object of that Meeting was to concert measures to prevent the landing of the Teas from London. That Jonathan Williams was Moderator at that Meeting, acted as Clerk, and that several of the Selectmen of the Town of Boston, (he believed all of them) were present. "That he has a general recollection of all that passed at that Meeting, and a printed Paper containing an Account of the Resolution and Proceedings of the said Meeting, transmitted to the Earl of Dartmouth by Governor Hutchinson, having been put into his hands, and he having perused the same, he stated that the said Paper contained an exact Account of what passed, as well on the 29th of November as on the succeeding day, when he was also present. "That the principal persons who were most active in the Business of those Meetings were Mr. Samuel Adams, Mr. John Hancock, Dr. Young, Mr. Mollineaux and Dr. Warren. That Mr. Jonathan Williams was Moderator at the said Meeting, and that he well remembered that most of the Questions proposed in the said Meeting, as stated in the Paper above mentioned, were put by him the said Williams.
FRANCIS ROTCH AND THE BOSTON TEA PARTY
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"That on or about the 13th of December, Mr. Mollineaux and one or two more whose names he cannot now recollect, came to him and required him to attend a Meeting composed of Persons who were styled a Committee of Correspondence established at Boston, and also of like committees established for other Towns. That he accordingly attended the same Meeting, in which Mr. Samuel Adams appeared to act as Chairman. That he does not recollect the names of all the Persons present at that Meeting, but very well remembers the following: Mr. John Hancock, Mr. Oliver Wendell, Captain John Bradford, Nathaniel Appleton, Capt. Foster and Mr. Nathaniel Barker and Dr. Foster. "That he was asked by the said Committee why his ship was not in readiness to depart, according to the orders he had received at the Meeting of the Body of the People. When he told them it was not of his power to send her away, as measures were taken by the men-of-war to prevent her going out of the Harbour; in reply to which he was told that the ship must go, for that the People of Boston and the neighboring Towns absolutely required and expected it. "That on or about the 14th of December he received a message to attend another meeting of the Body of People at the South Meeting House. That Mr. Samuel Philip Savage was the Moderator of that Meeting. That he was required at that Meeting to send his ship to sea by Wednesday morn. That upon his urging the improbability of it, it was ordered that he should immediately apply to the Collector for a Clearance, and a Committee of ten persons, among whom were Dr. Benjamin Kent, Mr. Adams, Mr. Ap pleton, Mr. Foster, Dr. Church, Dr. Young and Mr. Cheevers were appointed to go along with him to said Collector, in order to be witnesses of what passed. "He accordingly applied to the Collector at his Lodgings, who said he could do nothing out of his office. That the next day he again applied to the said Collector at his office, who refused to give him a Clearance, and he was ordered to attend the Meeting the next day. "That upon the refusal of the Collector to clear his ship, and it appearing evident that the People were determined at all Risks to oppose the landing of his cargo, he had no Remedy but to protest against the Proceedings of the People, which he did, and regularly entered such Protest with a Public Notary. That upon his attending the Meeting of the Body of People on the next day, a vote was passed requiring him to apply to the Governor for a Let Pass, with which such requisition he dared not refuse to comply and made application to the Governor accordingly, who refused to give him such a Let Pass but told him that if he wanted Protection he would en deavor to give it to him. But he dared not accept said offer, apprehending that if he had his life would have been in danger. "That upon his going back to the Meeting, and reporting the Governor's Refusal, Mr. Adams said that he did not see what more they could do to save their country.
FRANCIS ROTCH AND THE BOSTON TEA PARTY
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"That from the 29th of November to the time of the Destruction of the Tea on the 16th of December, an armed Guard, as he was informed and believes, was put aboard his ship every night in order, as he conceives, to prevent the Landing of the Teas. That Mr. Edward Proctor was Captain of the first Guard that was appointed, but that he does not recollect the names of those who were captains at other times, nor does he know the names of any of the Persons who composed the Guard; that he had heard a proposal had been made to Mr. Hancock to burn his ship and Cargo two nights before the Tea was destroyed, but that Mr. Hancock opposed any such Proceedings." Captain James Hall, master of the D a r t m o u t h , also made a deposition before the Lords of the Privy Council at Whitehall, corroborating the testimony of Francis Rotch. Hall stated that he had brought the vessel up to Griffin's Wharf at orders of the armed company of guards which the Boston committee had placed aboard, and that he had done so as he believed "violence would have been used against him if he had refused to obey." The fact that, despite the strenuous activity aboard the D a r t m o u t h during the actual "Tea Party," no damage was inflicted on the brig itself is a definite indication that Francis Rotch had won a measure of respect from the Patriot leaders and especially the "Indians." - Edouard A. Stackpole -
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Steamboat Wharf - J u l y , 1886 When two competing steamship companies operating vessels to the two islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard consolidated in 1886 they had the new steamboat Nantucket built. In July of that year the steamboat made her maiden trip to Nantucket, and although the photographer, Henry S. Wyer, may have captured the event that picture has not yet been uncovered. However, one of Mr. Wyer's photographs does show the Nantucket leaving Steamboat Wharf during that summer. It is an interesting and valuable view, showing the station of the Nan tucket Railroad in the foreground, the roof of the Adams Boathouse overlooking the boat basin, the freight house in the center end of the wharf, and the little restaurant at the left. The carriages heading back up the wharf, and the boardwalk with its strollers add a lively touch to the scene. A glimpse of the new Nantucket Hotel on Brant Point may be obtained at the extreme left. The Nantucket is flying the national colors on her stern flag pole, while at the bow her large "excursion flag" may be seen. Also, her ornate paddle boxes are in evidence, as well as her walking beam just aft the tall smokestack. This sidewheel steamboat was 190 feet long, with a beam of 33 feet, and was sheathed in copper. Another feature was her comparatively shallow draft of Wi feet as compared with the six feet of the other island steamers. This leisurely wharf scene of ninety years ago reminds us of the days when the hurry and bustle of life today was in direct contrast. Nantucket was, at this time, 1886, emerging as an attractive summer resort, and the success of the next decade was a steady indication of the growth of the "summer business." Steamboat Wharf has had many changes since this old view revealed this interesting waterfront scene. Fortunately, there are in existence a number of excellent photographs which show graphically these changes, each reflecting not only the successive developments at the wharf itself but the various alterations in this section of Nantucket's waterfront as well.
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Report of the Archaeology Committee It is with pleasure that I am able to submit this report to you relative to the progress to date of the Archaeological Division of the Nantucket Historical Association. After a somewhat shaky start three years ago, the Archaeological Division wound up the 1975 summer season with much in the way of ac complishment to its credit. Our "dig" at Quidnet, which was started in the spring of 1974, almost doubled its number of volunteer participants during the summer of 1975. More than eighty five enthusiastic diggers worked for periods of from one week to throughout the entire summer and a great deal was accomplished by them in the three months operation. Thanks to the volunteer survey work of Mr. George Jones, the area was laid out in squares of two meters which ran along magnetic lines bearing north and south. Miss Barbara Kranichfeld was hired to assume the duties of Dig Director and while only six squares were thoroughly excavated in 1974, twelve were similarly opened and examined in 1975. The group of amateur archaeologists found themselves uncovering an area that had been the habitation site of some Nantucket Indians who had lived here around two thousand to twenty five hundred years ago. This was a time when a change from the Late Archaic to the Woodland or Ceramic culture was taking place. Approximately thirty pertinent artifacts were uncovered leading to the conclusions drawn with reference to the cultural significance of the site. Miss Kranichfeld's report details these finds individually. For those interested in viewing some of the artifacts, they may be seen on display in the windows of the Old Town Building, facing on Union Street. Special thanks should be given to Mrs. Cynthia Young and to Mrs. Elizabeth Little, who took over the duties of Dig Director during the absence of Miss Kranichfeld while the latter was off-island. Both Mrs. Young and Mrs. Little were extremely capable and added much to the success of the undertaking. It is my hope that shortly there will emerge from this group a cadre of volunteer Nantucket residents who, through the Archaeological Division of the Nantucket Historical Association, will be available at any given time to do meaningful archaeological work on the island. Nantucket is in fact literally loaded with prehistoric Indian sites in addition to the many colonial sites which followed. The location of these areas is often ac cidentally found by hunters, contractors or people just out for a hike and many times in the past have either been lost or destroyed from an ar chaeological standpoint, through improper excavation. If the Ar-
REPORT OF THE ARCHEOLOGY COUNCIL
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chaeological Division were notified of these locations by the finders, I'm sure much more could be done to preserve and properly record information relative to the island's past that might otherwise be lost. May I extend my thanks to you and the Board of Directors for your help and encouragement and a very special thanks to all of those wonderful volunteers who worked so hard at the dig. Sincerely, Paul C. Morris, Chairman Arch. Div.
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The Store With the Bell Above the Door By Roland Bunker Hussey I sauntered 'round the dear old town, in the sunset's afterglow — About the "Square," Federal street, and peaceful "Petticoat Row;" I looked in all the windows, dressed to catch the eye, Saw the plate glass fronts, with electric lights up high. Then this thought flashed o'er me: Would there ever, as of yore, Be a shop, like dear Aunt Nye's, with a bell above the door? Can't you hear it ting-a-ling? And didn't it sound right good As you entered with your penny In the town of young childhood? That shop was once the "fore room" in that old-fashioned dwelling. Reverses came; daily bread must be had; so the room they took for selling. Back of it, through a narrow pass, in a fireplace, kettles swung, But o'er the door of the little store, a jingle-bell was hung On a flat, steel spring it swayed and swayed Jangling the time for which 'twas made. Can't you hear it ringing, Rocking to and fro, As you opened the door of the little store In the days of Long Ago? And at Christmas the store windows were a world of pretty things — Noah's Arks, toy Sloops and Barks, and gifts that Santa brings. There were Dollies, Candies, Beads and Gums, Masks and Sleds and Skates and Drums. Recall the Sugar Barleys, and Peppermints (white and pink)? Do you remember how you longed for them? Can you really, truly think? Today's town shops are very fine With plate glass, electric light; But my love clings still to the little shop With its candles and sperm oil light. How you pinched your great big copper cent, carefully made your way, And eagerly stood thinking what the one who came would say. Would it be the dear old lady, in foretop and black lace cap, Or that snippy little clerk, (for whom you didn't care a rap)
THE STORE WITH THE BELL ABOVE THE DOOR
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Who'd come flitting through the passway behind the counter in the store In answer to the ting-a-ling of the bell above the door? And the bell goes jingling merrily As you walk across the floor Of that little shop of years agone — The bell above the door. How your young eyes glistened, and heart beat faster, too, When you saw the dear old lady looking kindly down on you You knew she'd take down everything — yes, even the spring pop-gun — And let you touch or handle them — every blessed one. Can't you in mind picture her — just a little bent — Talking and explaining how best to spend your cent? Wasn't she a dearie — dear old Auntie Nye? And oh! How much we missed her when she was called on high! But still the bell goes jingling on, May it do so evermore As I stand in that store of childhood's days, With its Bell above the door!
Miss Nye's Store — Petticoat Row
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Old Whaling Barkentine Took Nantucket Group For A Sail On Thursday, October 16, the Barba Negra, an old Norwegian whaling barkentine, came to Nantucket for a short stay, and tied up at the end of Straight Wharf. The following day the 80-year-old vessel took aboard a group of Nantucket residents and went for a sail in the waters just outside the jetties. Arranged by a committee from the Nantucket Historical Association, the few hours spent proved most enjoyable. Of Canadian registry, the Barba Negra is owned by Albert Seidl and her sailing master is Captain Gerry Schwisow. Leaving the South Street Seaport in New York City on September 26, she sailed up Long Island Sound, where she visited Sag Harbor, another whaling port of long ago. Thence she crossed the Sound to New London, Conn.; from there went to Mystic, and on to Newport, where she arrived on the weekend of October 4th. Her next port of call was New Bedford, where she spent the period of October 14 through 16. During her week at Newport she was used by a NBC-TV company for filming a Bicentennial special program for television. In each of the ports visited Mr. Seidl has held rallies and also invited groups on board for a "Whale Hunt." In this respect, he has stated: "Of course, we have no intention of harpooning or capturing or otherwise antagonizing any whales, porpoises or dolphins we might see. This voyage, in fact, is to call attention to the fact that these marvelous creatures are a seriously endangered species. If we see any we will simply enjoy watching them swimming free and wish them Godspeed." Over a century ago, the bark Oak sailed from Nantucket—the last of the Nantucket whalers to leave this port. She never returned, finally being sold in Panama in 1872. Both the schooner Abby Bradford and the brig Eunice H. Adams, the two Nantucket whalers which had sailed from this port before the Oak, were sold to New Bedford. Thus, from November 16, 1869, to October 16, 1975, no other square-rigged whaler has sailed around Brant Point. The Barba Negra was built in Norway in 1896, and made her whaling voyages into the Greenland and Spitsbergen seas. Following her career as a whaler she became a trading vessel, in both trans-Atlantic and coasting business. Her new name, translated, means "Black Beard." During the evening an interesting film was shown at the Band stand in Harbor Square which graphically revealed the characteristics of the varied members of the whale family, and in which these remarkable and in telligent mammals were presented as victims of modern whaling practices now leading to their extinction.
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Three mariners enjoying a cruise aboard the barkentine Barba Negra, October, 1975. Left to right: Charles Sayle, Mitchell Todd, Capt. Arthur Grant Photo by John Welch
