Historic Nantucket
Main Street—North from the Pacific Bank corner-
July 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. 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, Robert E. Tonkin, terms expire 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. Harold Arnold, Miss Helen Levens. 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, Jesse Dunham, James A. Watts, Miss Lucia Arno, Adam Craig, Mrs. William Searle Peter Foulger Museum: Chairman and Director, Edouard A. Stackpole Receptionists: Mrs. Elizabeth B. Worth, Mrs. Clara Block, Joseph Sylvia, Lalie Keesham. Librarian: Mrs. Louise Hussey Nathaniel Macy House: Chairman, Mrs. John A. Baldwin Receptionists: Miss Dorothy Hiller, Mrs. Henry C. Petzel Archaeology Department: Chairman, Mrs. Roger Young Field Supervisor, Miss Barbara Kranichfeld Old Town Office: Chairman, Hugh R. Chace Old Mill: Chairman, Richard F. Swain, Miller: William Searle Folger-Franklin Seat & Memorial Boulder: Chairman, Francis Sylvia Friends Meeting House-Fair Street Museum: Chairman, Mrs. Harding U. Greene 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 24
July, 1976
No. 1
CONTENTS Nantucket Historical Association Officers and Staff
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Editorial — The Role of Tradition
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The Long Voyage of Captain Bunker and Fate of Mate Coffin
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A Tribute from an Island Descendant
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Mrs. Marie M. Coffin, an Appreciation by Merle Turner Orleans
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Elisabeth Gayer's Letter by Walter Weston Folger
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When Grover Cleveland Visited Nantucket
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Sachem Nickanoose of Nantucket and the Grass Contest (continued from April, 1976) by Elizabeth A. Little
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Legacies and Bequests
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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 $7.50; 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.
Andrew Jackson Swain — Nantucket Blacksmith This photograph of one of the best known Nantucket blacksmiths of the early 20th century was presented by his grandson and namesake, Andrew J. Swain, now a resident of Savannah, Georgia.
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The Role of Tradition An Editorial
THIS IS A difficult time for tradition, when the celebration of the nation's successful Revolution has brought to light many aspects of that crucial period that involve reflection and re-examination. But one factor emerges. The Nantucketers of 1776 established a tradition of loyalty to their Island home that sustained them and preserved the old home port. Theirs was a combination of pride and determination — their fathers had established the foremost whaling port in Colonial America and they were bound by tradition to maintain it. Other traditions developed, notably the ascendancy of the Quakers, the establishment of educational institutions, the leadership of women in the life of the town, the architectural features, the volunteer life saving crews, the whaling eras, the war years. These were but a few of the doctrines, the practices and customs which continue to influence us in our daily lives. But tradition as such is not functional until it is made to become a part of the present as well as the past. We may respect it and even revere it but we must utilize it as a force today as it was originally an important part of community life. There are those who feel that modern times are too complex; that we could not function along traditional lines. However, the Islanders of 1776 carried on the affairs of the Town without attempting to emulate the practices of 1676 in managing their municipal government. But they did follow tradition — they did utilize the accepted practices of democratic action with a strong adherence to what had been learned from the ex perience of their fathers. Today, our economic life is solidly involved with that factor which we may call the "Nantucket Appeal." We attract visitors now more and more because, as a community, we are different from other parts of New England. That atmosphere of the past is the chief attraction that brings visitors in January as well as in July, and tradition is an integral part. Restoration of the old streets and dwellings goes hand-in-hand with the preservation of the ancient commons and opening of our beaches. It must be recognized that the maintenance of traditional values is the very life blood of the Nantucket of the future and that the preservation of these offers the best guaranty of our continuing appeal. —Edouard A. Stackpole
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The Long Voyage of Captain Bunker and Fate of Mate Coffin AMONG FAMILY PAPERS in the possession of Mrs. Lewis S. (Coffin) Edgarton, of 56 Centre Street, is an unusual letter written by Captain Charles G. Bunker, master of the ship Volant, a merchant vessel, sailing from Wilmington, Delaware, to Brazil. The letter not only recounts the experience of a hard-luck ship on a long, protracted voyage, but gives in grim detail the sufferings of the young Nantucket officer, Mate Peter Fosdick Coffin, who was the half-brother of John Bridger Coffin, Mrs. Edgarton's father. Both men were sons of Captain Henry F. and Hepsibeth Coffin, of Nantucket. Captain Bunker's letter was to his wife, Mary M. (Cary) Bunker. It is dated October 14, 1866, "At Sea, Lat. 3 Degrees 30 Minutes N. Log. 41 Degrees W.," and reads as follows: "My Dear Wife: As it has always been my custom to commence a letter to you at sea, I will continue to do so now, feeling assured that you will be more than anxious to hear from me because of the great length of time I am from home. I am happy to inform you that, through the special graces of God, I am in my usual good health, with perhaps a little more rheumatism in my arms than common, which is hardly worthy of note under the peculiar trying circumstances I have been placed in since leaving Wilmington, a faint outline of which I will endeavor to portray. I feel myself incompetent for the task as I know words can not be found sufficiently strong to give you the faintest idea of my suffering, both mental and physical "A few days after leaving Wilmington I discovered that fever symptoms were beginning to appear among my crew. . .what appeared to be billious, intermittent fever, until all were down except myself and one man. The weather being fine at the time, he and I got the vessel under short sail, and went to work upon the sick. The vessel in the meantime went as she pleased, but mostly on course, until we met a gale of wind which came near destroying us, blowing away the sails we did leave up and causing the vessel to leak badly.
The Long Voyage of Captain Bunker "After the gale abated my only remaining well man was taken down with chills and fever, so that I was now left alone, except that God was near me to give me superhuman strength to perform wonders in pumping the ship and attending the sick. . . . "Mr. Coffin was very low, indeed, but has since somewhat recovered, so that he is able to help himself a little. One of the men died and I buried him the best way I could with the help of one of the sick ones. "For days, and weeks, I was going to say, we drifted about the ocean, a prey to the elements, trying to stay on course. . .as often as I could get a little help to keep her on course, always hoping for the time the sick folks would get better. I never saw such a sickness in my life, for even after the fever left them they could not regain their strength — being up and trying to do what they could one day and the next day down again. I was never sure of having any help, and many a time when I got a little sail on the vessel, and we were getting along a little, I was left all alone at the wheel, without a man able to show himself on deck. "I have been compelled to lash the wheel, and let the vessel go where she pleased, while I went into the galley to cook something for the sick or make poultices. In short, as I told you in the beginning, the scenes on deck could never be described. And, worst of all, we had the worst weather I have ever had in any of my voyages. Now that we have four of us able to be on our feet we find ourselves down near the Equator, and so far to the westward that I don't know as we can ever fetch Maranham because we have lost so many of our sails. But I thank God I have learned to put my trust in him, and so I live from day to day, suffering cheerfully because it is my Father's will. "Mr. Coffin was the sickest man to live that I ever saw, and, of course, he and one other are the slowest to recover. But my arms ache and I must close. "October 20th. 1 Degree South — 41 Degrees West. We have just spoken the schooner Isabella, bound to New York, and, Oh!, how it made our hearts thrill at the very sight, and
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Historic Nantucket
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especially the name — New York. It is the second vessel we have seen since leaving Wilmington, 56 days ago. I asked them to report us, and I hope they will, as I know your anxiety must be great, especially if Mr. Folger should let you know that they have heard from us being all sick. "When we were first attacked by the sickness I spoke an English ship who provided us with medicine, and by whom I sent a few lines to Lewis and Folger, telling them not to worry about us, and I hope they used discretion. "Mr. Coffin is a little better today. There are still four of us able to work, although neither of us can do half a man's duty. But God is our support and he sustains us. I never felt the need of God's help so much as now; nor did I ever feel my dependence more sensibly or my gratitude more fully than during these trying months. I do feel that whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and I hope I will be able to bear the rod without a murmur. . . .1 do feel that I have been an in strument in his hands of causing those around me to look to Him for aid in all their trials. "Maranham, Brazil, Sunday, October 28, 1866. "My heart is full to overflowing but I felt as though I must write to.you. . . .We have just anchored at this place for which God be praised. The doctor has been on board and put us in quarentine, as he thinks we have a contagious disease on board. Mr. Coffin is very ill and all the others except one man and myself areto betaken on shore to the Hospital. I cannot go on shore, consequently I can not tell what I shall do, but help I must have if I can get it. I can not write more for my heart aches too much, so goodbye 'til I feel better. "Monday morning. "Thank God I have passed through as anxious a night as I ever did and feel none the worse for it. At 5 p.m. yesterday an order came from the Board of Health to remove all the sick from the vessel, but Mr. Coffin was so delirious that I would not let him go. Just at that moment the Board of Health Officer came on board and demanded that he should go on shore, and I am happy to say I have just taken him there and just left him very comfortable, with a strong hope of his recovery.
The Long Voyage of Captain Bunker "I am now left with one man, and tonight I mean to go on shore and watch with Mr. Coffin again, as I firmly believe that had I not done so last night he would not now be alive. If God had not been with me I could not have performed what I have done in getting the vessel in here. In all my seafaring life I have never been placed under such trying circumstances, but my trust has been in God, assured that he will never forsake me, if even at times I forget my obligations to him. "I cannot communicate with the City, so that I don't know what chance there is for sending this. Therefore, I hope soon to announce to you that all my crew are well and able to go to work, that I may get a little relief from mv herculean task. Just think, for a moment, to be at sea, with every man on board sick and unable to work, except the Captain. Why, such a case is scarcely on record, but as I said before, my trust in God is a host in itself. I must now close and get my own dinner or go without. "Tuesday morning. "As I anticipated, I am now compelled to hurry and get this finished as the mail leaves in a few hours, and I have letters to write to my owners. I have just come on board, having watched with Mr. Coffin during the past night. The best doctors in the country are attending to him and the others, and everything is being done that can be. I trust through God he may be spared to those who love him. . .long attendance on him has endeared him to me. You must write to his dear friends with hope and assurance as I have not the heart to do. "Please don't fail to write Captain Coffin giving all the hope you can, knowing as you must that Peter F. was a great sufferer, but is far from out of danger now. . . .he is only waiting God's will. . . ." Copy of a letter forwarded on board ship Guiding Star. "I wrote you a few days ago that I had a sad heart because of my situation. . . .that letter contained a few details of my voyage here and I sent the same by way of England. As I have since learned there is a prospect of getting this letter to you sooner I have this in readiness.
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Historic Nantucket "Now I can only communicate to you what I have little heart to do in writing to Captain Coffin and family, feeling assured that you can break the sad intelligence to them better than I can. Their beloved son has taken his departure from this world and gone to Heaven. . . . "He died in my arms, and the little seeming suffering that he had was borne with Christian resignation. He had long before told me the secrets of his heart, and I do believe God used me as an instrument in. . . .regard to the simplicity of his soul's salvation, and I feel assured that all is well with him. He was delirious for several hours before he died, but his last sane words were thanks to me for my attention and begging me to write to his father — whom he always took me to be in his moments of delirium. Everything was done that could be done, but he was so weakened by disease that his poor emaciated frame could not stand it, and so he died. . . .Do not give yourself any uneasiness about me for God will take care of me, and if it is his good will and pleasure I shall see you all again."
Writing to Captain Henry F. Coffin, the father of Peter F. Coffin, under date of December 9, 1866, Captain Bunker expressed his sorrow at the fate of his son, stating: "I trust that you will believe me when I say that, after attending your son for over 50 days, I became more attached to him than ever before. . .and I know he loved me in return for what I tried to do for him. . . .He was decently buried in a secluded grave yard of the city, the Consul officiating. . . .Let the assurance of one who loves you all console you in your bereavement, believing, as I trust you will, that all was done that could be done by one devoted friend to another." Captain Charles G. Bunker reported that yellow fever was given by the health authorities of Maranham as the cause of the sickness that swept his ship and caused the deaths of Mate Coffin and one crew member. He was forced to sell the ship and her cargo in Brazil. Mate Coffin's trunk was sent home to Nantucket via New York and a certain Captain Swain, having been brought back to the United States by the schooner Eddie Waters, Captain Folsom, on which vessel it was shipped by Captain Bunker. Despite his sad voyage Captain Bunker continued to go to sea. He was forty-eight years old at the time of his long voyage in the Volant, and was not again to experience this misfortune. After a long career as a shipmaster he retired to live in Brooklyn, New York, and he died at the age of 90 on April 12, 1908, his last days being spent in company with other veteran mariners at Sailors' Snug Harbor on Staten Island.
ERECTED A.D.IS8I BY * DESCENDANT OF THE FIRST SETTLERS OF NANYUCKCT IN ICMORT OF TNOSC WHOSE REMAINS ARI BURIED ON THIS MAllOWEO SPOT. • HERE STOOD THE FIRST CHURCH GATHERED HERE IN'lTll. SINCE REMOVEO >0 WHERE IT NO* STAN08 AS THE VESTRY OF THE riRST JONCRtCATlOHAl SOCIETY. IGD3-.TRISTRAM COfflN-ltSI IS98-THOMAS MACY-I692. I904-EDWARD StARBUC*-t690 IGI7.-PETER F0LC8R-CG90. (624-JOHN CARDNER- I70G IGG4-J0HN SWAIN JA.-I738. I644-J0HN C0LEMAN-I7I5. • S28-RICHARD CARDNER-I886 I598-CHRISTOPHER' H0SStY-IB«8. 1640-WILLIAM BUNKER-1712. WANT OF TNC DESCENDANTS OF 7HESE WORTHY SIRES. HAVE BttN OISTTNC WISHED FOR THEIR COURACC MO ENERGY. AIM) LEFT A RECORD FOR OTHER* TO eHULATE.
High on the eastern slope of the hill which overlooks Maxcy's fond is the area which has come to be called "Forefathers' Burial Ground". The Memorial was placed here in 1881 by Frederick Coleman Sanford, and nearby is a smaller stone marking the grave of John Gardner, the only known burial site of the founding fathers.
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A Tribute from an Island Descendant IN APRIL A family from Monterey, Mexico, arrived for a visit. Mr. and Mrs. Pedro F. Quintanilla Coffin, and their two grown sons were spending their first Nantucket experience at the Jared Coffin House, and soon became acquainted with another Nantucket Coffin descendant, Mrs. Isabel Worth Duffy. During a visit to the Library of the Peter Foulger Museum, the Coffins from Mexico were able to trace their family line back to Captain Timothy Coffin, whose son was Rufus Coffin, and grandson was Frederick Coffin. It was Frederick Coffin, son of Rufus, who had gone to California, who eventually went to Mexico, where he engaged in mining. He married Miss Louisa Castillon in Monterey. Pedro F. Quintanilla was their only child, Frederick having died only a few years after his marriage. After their Nantucket stay, the Coffins returned to Providence, R.I., where they were the guests of a family friend. But upon his arrival home in Mexico, Mr. Coffin penned this tribute: ONLY ONE HUNDRED YEARS One hundred years. I only left you for one hundred years. I returned and found you unchanged. As a dream, I remembered vou where the characters and all things move amongst clouds and foam. I could see myself running through your paths, jumping over fences and bushes, going down to sea to sit on the beaches, awaiting the whaling ships that brought the good news of happv hunting or the bitter news of those who never returned. Once again, I listened to the bells of your church, dropping the hours slowly as a lullaby and a herald of hope, reminding your children to lift up their eyes, as was always done by our people, comforting their spirit and hardening their hands, ready for tomorrow's work and content with having accomplished yesterday's. In the dark of the night, I returned to walk in silence through your streets and squares. I found them at peace and heartwarming. Through the lights of windows in your houses, we saw ourselves reunited at the table by the hearth.
A Tribute from an Island Descendant Without haste nor fear, you made me tell the motives of my absence, the causes of my having left you for so long a time and the promise of not doing so again. Peacefully I slept once again in my home, as if I had never been away, covered by those old and aged trees. They know of your secrets and are witnesses of your anxieties, your faith and your happiness. Once again I clasped friendly hands, and saw faces of my own people after an absence of one hundred years. Thus, while I return once again, I leave you my spirit, Nantucket, for always imprisoned as a reflection of my mother's eyes in your blue and brave waters of New England. Pedro F. Quintanilla Coffin Monterey, N.L., Mexico 10 April 1976
Mrs. Marie M. Coffin April 24, 1900 - April 24, 1976
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Mrs. Marie M. Coffin An Appreciation It is with a deep sense of loss that the Council of the Nantucket Historical Association records in this issue of Historic Nantucket the death of Mrs. Marie M. Coffin, wife of C. Clark Coffin, on April 24, 1976. Mrs. Coffin was a Vice President of the Association and a valuable member of several committees. Most recently she had been working with other members of the Bi centennial Committee in securing information and making the necessary plans preliminary to the installation of the plaques assigned to houses on the Island built prior to 1812. Her knowledge of the history of Nantucket houses was unsurpassed by any present-day Nantucketer. Her wealth of information and her willingness to share this information has been of the greatest help to many organizations preparing for "open house tQurs" and in preparation of pamphlets and articles pertaining to our historic buildings. Marie Coffin was a loyal friend to everyone on the Council, and many of them, only two weeks before her passing, had joined with her and her husband Clark on the occasion of his retirement as Town Clerk for a period of 35 years. She gave of her talents in many ways, willingly and unselfishly, oftentimes under stress in realizing she was pushing herself beyond her strength. Her devotion to the Nantucket Historical Association was only one of several, and the Council wishes to herewith acknowledge its appreciation. Marie Coffin passed away on her birthday, suddenly and peacefully, and was buried on what would have been the fiftieth anniversary of her marriage. With this brief tribute the Council and the officers of the Nantucket Historical Association expresses its gratitude for the many ways in which her help has benefitted, its sorrow in her passing, and its sympathy to those left behind. Her ideals and achievements will remain as an example for those who will endeavor to follow in her footsteps. Merle Turner Orleans.
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Elisabeth Gayer's Letter An interested member of the Association, Mr. Walter Weston Folger, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in continuing his research on the Gayer Family has found a letter in Flora Thomas' book "The Builders of Milford", (pages 8 and 9), which he has sent on for the enjoyment of our readers. Written by Elisabeth Gayer, it has a brief introduction by Miss Thomas, and reads as follows: Of the families some are a good deal more prominent than others, and even in that Swiss Family Robinson kind of life, had a higher social status. The Gayers, for instance, are put down as English gentlemen, William Gayer being brother to a Sir John Gayer of Bombay. William Gayer married Dorcas Starbuck, and their daughter Dorcas Gayer married Jethro Starbuck. It is an in and out connection that goes through all the twenty families and is somewhat difficult to follow. One of the most interesting letters of the Starbuck collection is one from a junior, William Gayer's widow, Elisabeth, dated London, January 5th, 1712-13. The writing is beautiful, and decorated with scroll work of the most elaborate kind. It is to Jethro Starbuck: Loving Brother and Sister, Having of this opportunity was not willing to slip it to acquaint you of the death of my dear Husband who departed this life the eleventh of November and likewise I have wrote to Sister Coffin by same conveyance and have likewise sent her ye Copy of my Husband's Will which if you please to go to her she will let you see itt and yt will satisfy you what my Dear Spouse has left you which shall be performed as I have mentioned to Sister Coffin in her letter. Ye Estate being out of my hands but in my Lady Gayer's, as soon as I receive any part from her will write you a line or two as to ye payment of your legacy and should be glad of a line or two from you how you and all our relations do doe in those parts. Pray. Brother and Sister, though my dear Husband is gone which has been no small loss to me, I hope you will not be a stranger to me, who shall be very desirous at all times and by all conveyances to hear from you and if in any thing I can serve you here pray Brother and Sister freely command me who
Elisabeth Gayer's Letter
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would be very willing to serve you in what lies in my Power for the sake of my dear Spouse who had an Intire Affection for his relations and if it had pleased God to spare his life he did desighen to have come and seen you about March. But Man may Appoint but God can disappoint, which is all but my Ant Mathews and Children's hearty loves to yourself and to all relations and pray accept ye same from your ever loving sister to Command. ELISABETH GAYER Pray if you favour me with a line or two direct for me at Mr. Francis Holes a grocer In Aldergate Street In London. And likewise ye legacy which is left to Mrs. Abigail Fitch I shall not be unmindfull of. Pray write me in your next if she lives in your Parts. N.B .: Elisabeth was the daughter of Thomas Gayer, brother of William Gayer, Sr., and Sir John Gayer of Bombay. See Historic Nantucket, April 1971, page 18. —Walter Weston Folger
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When Grover Cleveland Visited Nantucket ON THE AFTERNOON of June 10, 1897, Nantucket had a distinguished visitor in the person of Ex-President Grover Cleveland. Although his visit barely extended beyond two hours, the appearance of the well-known gentleman attracted some attention in those citizens who were aware of his presence. The following account appeared in the columns of The Inquirer and Mirror: He came unheralded, remained incognito, and departed just in time to escape the obsequious demonstration sure to follow recognition. Even the ubiquitous Clark was in blissful ignorance of the presence of so distinguished a visitor until he was well on his way back to'the Oneida which lay anchored just outside the bar. Steam yacht Oneida with ex-President Cleveland on board, the guest of Com. E.C. Benedict, arrived at Gray Gables from New London Saturday night, and left Sunday afternoon for Greenwich, Conn. The object of the cruise was to visit new places along shore and drop a line here and there, if the weather was favorable. Shortly after 1 o'clock Monday afternoon, Mr. Lawrence Ayers, foreman of Mr. W.H.H. Smith's livery establishment, saw a steam launch round Brant Point and head up for Steamboat pier. With an eye to business Mr. Ayers strolled down the wharf and as the small boat made fast, hailed the couple of gentlemen passengers on board with the proffer of a team with which to "do" the town. Yes, they wanted a team and a driver—any kind of a rig would answer their purpose, so long as the springs and axles were stout—a point which Mr. Ayers mentally agreed was well taken as he surveyed his patrons from out the corner of his left eye. Meantime while the team was being hitched up the two gentlemen amused themselves examining and commenting upon the various kinds of vehicles stored in the carriage repository. A box wagon in particular, belonging to Mr. H.W. Riddell, attracted the special notice of the larger gentleman to whom it was a novelty and he asked numerous questions regarding it and the method of getting in. "Have to climb in at the back end," replied Mr. Ayers, at which the big
When Grover Cleveland Visited Nantucket man laughed and remarked tha; he didn't believe he was quite equal to boarding that craft. At length the carriage was ready and as the larger gen tleman clambered in on the rear seat, which he very nearly filled, he remarked that he settled her pretty well by the stern. His companion took his seat in front with the driver, a boy whom Mr. Ayers, in blissful ignorance of the identity of his distinguished patrons, dispatched with the one-horse team, as he was "too busy" to go himself, and they proceeded on the usual route through the town. Among the places of interest visited was the old mill and the genial curator, Mr. Hoy, entertained them with anecdotes sparkling with Irish wit at which they both laughed heartily. As the visitors were leaving Mr. Hoy remarked confidentially, "There's lots of big folks come here in the run of a year and sometimes they 'tips' me handsome," but the hint was lost upon his visitors who paid the stipulated 10 cents per capita admission fee and bade him good bye. Before returning to their boat the party drove to the telegraph office and sent a despatch to Mrs. Cleveland an nouncing their arrival at Nantucket and future movements. Then it was that their identity first became known. Meantime Collector Clapp from his office overhead, heard the rumble of wheels on the cobblestones as the carriage drew up in front of the common entrance, but being deeply engrossed with some abstruce mathematical calculation oi theological dogma, merely glanced from the portrait of Grover in uniform as Commander-in-Chief which confronted him, to the portraits of Grover as President and Grover as condidate which flanked him on either hand, and resumed his occupation in blissful oblivion of the fact that the admired original was within easy reach of a ten-foot pole. Postmaster Winslow, whose com mission, like that of Mr. Clapp, dates back to President Cleveland's first administration, only learned of his visit after his departure. In fact, of all the democratic admirers of the ex-President, Dr. E.B. Coleman appears to have been the only one favored with an opportunity to pay his respects to him. Somebody having put a flea in the doctor's ear, he drove rapidly down to the landing, intercepted the great man, accused him of being "Grover", to which he pleaded guilty, and then revealed his own identity, which lead to an exchange of civilities and a pleasant little tete-a-tete.
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Sachem Nickanoose of Nantucket and the Grass Contest by Elizabeth A. Little I (Continued from the April issue) Part 2. The Grass Contest
IN PART 1 we introduced Sachem Nickanoose and other Indians of Nantucket, their lands and way of life. Not until 1659 did Nickanoose sell some land on Nantucket to a group of English settlers from the Massachusetts Bay. All of the deeds of Nickanoose and other Indians for the first 25 years in which the Indians and English shared Nantucket are listed in Tables 2 and 3 together with an interpretive map, Figure 6. A study of the deeds and other documents reveals that the major conflict between the two cultures concerned grass. The English and Their Land Use The English brought to North America cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, and goats, all of which were a novelty to the Indians, who had no domestic grazing animals. Since the winters were more severe here than in England, the early colonists soon found that they needed extra hay to carry their animals through the cold weather. Unfortunately, American grasses, with two exceptions, turned out to make very poor hay. See Bidwell and Falconer (6). The exceptions were salt marsh grass and fresh marsh grass. Once you become sensitive to the word marsh or meadow, which then meant only wetland, you will find in reading old records that the settlement of New England was much influenced by the distribution of meadow. Incidentally, the colonists didn't bring hay seed from England to plant here because grass was not successfully cultivated until Timothy and Red Top were developed in the mid-18th century. First Deeds Keeping in mind the potential value of fresh meadow and marsh, let us look at the two deeds Thomas Mayhew obtained from the sachems on Nantucket for the new English settlement. He bought first a small amount of land, about twenty acres per settler seemed a good guideline, to provide for about thirty-four families.
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Historic Nantucket
Deed No. 1. June 12, 1659 "Nickanoose of Nantucket, Sachem, and Nanahuma of Nantucket, Sachem,. . .to Thomas Mayhew of the Vineyard, the plain at the west end of Nantucket. . .(for) Twelve pounds answerable to peage (wampumpeage) at Eight a penny, also. . .the use of the meadow and to take wood for the use of him the sd Mayhew. . (See Figure 5. Deed No. 1 was not recorded for 72 years.) On the basis of Deed No. 1, and his patent from Lord Sterling and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Mayhew formed a company of ten proprietors to settle on Nantucket. These ten men, in the first recorded Indian deed, next obtained from the sachems the whole west end, and most significant, all the mowing grass on the whole island, both fresh marsh and salt marsh, and all the pasture grass on the whole island between October and May. This deed is sometimes described as the purchase of the island, which it was not, the Indians for some years owned most of the island, and was later alleged to be fraudulent. We excerpt the relevant parts. Deed No. 2. May 10, 1660. ". . .Wanackmamack and Niconoose to. . .Thomas Mayhew, Tristram Coffin, etc., . . .(The West End of the island, see Figure 6). . .none of the Indians Inhabitant. . .shall be removed without full satisfaction. . .and we the aforesaid sachems do give, grant, bargain and sell the one half of the Remainder of the Meadows and Marshes upon all other parts of the Island and also that the English People shall have what grass they shall need for to mowe out of the Remainder of the Meadows and Marshes on the Island so Long as the English Remain upon the Island. . .and also. . .free liberty for the feeding of all sorts of cattle on any part of the Island after Indian Harvest is ended until Planting time or until the first day of May from year to year. . .12 pounds already paid (Deed No. 1) and 14 pounds to be paid within 3 months. . ." (Emphasis added.) a. The hand. To consider first the sale of the land at the west end of Nantucket, we find that Nickanoose and Wanackmamack were acting in the roles of chief sachems of the whole island. However, a letter from John Gardner to Governor Lovelace of New York in 1676 presents Obadiah's claim that "his Land is wrongfully sold from him by other Indian sachems that had nothing to do with it" (Starbuck (11), p. 136). Many such complaints and additional deeds (see Table 3) suggest that not only were there minor
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sachems of the west end such as Peteson, George Nanahuma, Obadiah (Jafet?) (6-112)5, Mr. Larry Ahkeramo, Harry the son of Wapscowet, etc., but even off-islanders involved in the sale. Francis, the Nosset (Nauset) Sachem, and Tequamomamy, a pawwaw or medicine man according to Mayhew (10), sold the site of today's town. Pakepenessa, whom Mayhew identifies as a Chappaquiddick sachem, sold his rights to what we call Ram Pasture. There was then a question of control over the west end for Wanackmamack and Nickanoose. However, by 1678, the west end had been paid for several times, and the Indians dwelling there had been resettled in the east end of Nantucket. b. Grass. Having bought some land and all the grass, the English settlers came here with their cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and pigs. And Nantucket proved to be a good environment for livestock; but, alas, in only seven years (1667) they began to feel the island was overstocked! A classic tragedy of the commons was about to take place. First the settlers required that the Vineyard people remove their horses from Nantucket, and then "finding by experience that horses are like to be the ruine of the neat cattle" (PR-20)jJ, they limited each Englishman to one horse, and put a fine on the sale of horses to Indians. By 1669 the commons were stinted (PR-19). This old-fashioned phrase means that rules were established whereby each English share owner, and there were 20 whole shares men and 14 half-shares men, could keep on the common 40 cattle and 40 sheep. He could substitute 1 horse for 2 cows and count 6 sheep as equal to 1 cow in order to vary the proportions. Since the commons were all that they owned, excluding land set off to individuals for house lots, it follows that the commons included all the grass, and in particular, pasture on the entire island between Indian harvest and the first of May. Here we see how the grass rights of the Indian deed have been transformed into rights to own animals, or what came to be called "sheep commons", and ultimately represented land. For the first 50 years, sheep commons represented only grass! The Indians still owned most of the land. And now the problem shows clearly: because the Indians sold the use of their grass to the English, they found themselves not allowed to keep grazing animals on their own lands. 5 Nantucket Deed (3) number. ^Nantucket Proprietors' Records (4) page.
Sachem Nickanoose of Nantucket
25
It was horses the Indians wanted. Apparently, they obtained horses despite fines on the English who sold them. The town then enacted rules setting fines for animals found on the commons beyond the number allowed a person. Furthermore, a pound was built to hold illegal.animals until the fine was collected. The Indian response to such unusual con straints as fines and pounds may be imagined. Another problem in pasturing cattle, sheep, and horses on Indian lands was damage done to Indian crops when animals strayed into planting grounds. In this case, the English took responsibility for hiring herders, building fences both around pastures and around Indian planting fields, and paying for any damages. However, this issue never caused the outrage that fines and impounding did. Nickanoose vs. the English.
It is possible, even with the fragmentary records that we have, to reconstruct the course that Nickanoose followed after he learned that he would not be allowed to keep cattle or horses on his own lands. When Governor Lovelace of New York in 1671 required proof of the Indian deeds of purchase, Wanackmamack signed a deed like No. 2, but not Nickanoose. In an interesting concession, the town voted in 1672 to allow the sachem's sons, Wauwinet and Jeptha, each to have a horse, and then gave liberty to the Indian sachems to keep two or three more horses on condition that they bind themselves to promise to keep no more, forever (PR-31). Nickanoose now grasped the English concept of deeding "land use" separately from "land". Here is a recorded deed of his of this period, in which he contracts the right to keep cattle on his land for tribute: "I Nickanoose this Jutte and all his children they have power and Right to keep cattle six on my land. He shall not have trouble on my land for this cause or Reason that he doth greatly give me penys all the year in victuals and cloths, dated August 1st day 1675 Nickanoose X his mark". However, the fines and impounding were too much for the Indians to accept. According to John Gardner in 1677, "one of the Indians sachems tould me, they could not forbear but must fight if these Laws wear prosicuted on them..." (Starbuck, p. 61). Furthermore, Gardner wrote to Governor Andros of New York, . .the deade ov Indian purchas which Mr. Mayhew brougt to yourk when he reciueued the patent for the town of Governor Lauelas: and now
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stands on Record at yourk is A false thing as will apear it being nether signed nor sealed. I supose it was of mr mayhews one making being much moar in it then was ever brought as will Aboundandly Apeare but mr Mayhew sayth it is the Copy of A deed that was procured of the Indians to preuent others from purchasing; but now it is Aserted to be An onest thing...it might be the Ocation of Envolving vs in blod..." (Starbuck, p. 137). Gardner apparently believed Deed No. 2 to be false. The undated Deed No. 2 to be found in Albany today, signed only by Wanackmamack, may well have been challenged by Nickanoose, but Nickanoose had signed the original Deed No. 2 of May 10, 1660. Did Gardner know that? At the time of his letter to New York, his friend, Clerk of the Court Peter Folger, was in jail for refusing to produce the Court Book which presumably contained all the Indian deeds. In this complex affair, Folger and Gardner were clearly supporting Nickanoose, who, faced with the full implications of Deed No. 2, was refusing to accept its conditions. Thus, in 1677 at a general court Nickanoose issued a land use deed which spelled out what he believed he owned, including specifically grass. "Then This Keattohquen and Wohwaninwat These Two have full Commission To Use of all Niconoossoo his Land and With all ye fruits of The Land at Nantuckett Every Roots or trees or Grass and all That is There in aye and the Stones Shall Be theirs and If ye Whale Shall happen to come Shore That Shall be theirs also and all that Is Belongs There in Shall Belong to his heirs & Assigns for Ever: after him. This Deed was Given Before me Tho's Mayhew, Witness Pakapanossoo and Wanauteohquontum and Kestumun This is a True Coppie of a Deed of Niconoossoo Gave to my own BrothersKeatohquen and Wohwaninwat They Shall Inherit it for Ever as Well as I and Niconossoo and all our Children for Ever In witness whereof I Do to this before Generall Cort Sett To my hand This fifth of June 1677 Nicanoose X his mark". Seven days after this affirmation of his land rights, Nickanoose acknowledged his signature on Deed No. 2 of May 10, 1660 as his act and deed. However, the whole shares men, with 1500 Indians and the half shares men arrayed against them, temporarily abandoned their attempt to enforce the conditions of Deed No. 2, that is, to control the use of all the grass on Nantucket. Support for the position of Gardner, Folger and the Indians was later voiced by Governor Bellamont of Massachusetts when in 1700 he called the terms of Deed No. 2 a "circumvention and fraud" (Starbuck, p. 140).
Sachem Nickanoose of Nantucket
27
Winter Feed Deeds and Horse Commons.
The settlers, however, did not abandon their conviction that land use controls were essential to commonly used land. And remember that there was never an Indian reservation on Nantucket. Rather than resort to apartheid, they would try to include the Indians in the land management plan. First, they settled their internal conflict, the rebellion of the half shares men led by Gardner and Folger, by giving the half shares men proportional rights in all land divisions, in return for which everyone gave up to the town their privately acquired Indian deeds (6-3). The town, now unified, formed a committee of William Worth, John Swain, and James Coffin to negotiate with the sachems about grass rights. Although Spotso and Wanackmamack had already sold their grass rights, Spotso and Jeptha, the son of Wanackmamack, were again asked to sign deeds giving their grass, herbage, and rights to pasture in the winter on all their land to the town. In return for what are called "winter feed" deeds, the committee covenanted in 1682, (PR-128 to 135) to allow Spotso liberty to keep 15 cattle or horses, and Jeptha liberty to keep 22 cattle and 1 horse on the commons. If they ever wanted to sell the liberties, they had to offer them first to the town to buy. The sachems gave them to their men, and most of the so-called "horse commons" were sooner or later converted into cash. They litter the deed records for the next 60 years.
And what of the sachem up at Squam? Nickanoose's is the third and last winter feed deed in 1682. The fourth sachem, Musaquat, did not sell his grass, for 15 horse commons, until 1689. Since the records say there was a covenant with three sachems in 1682, there must have been a deed of horse commons to Nickanoose. Although this deed has not been found, the heirs of Nickanoose sold so many horse commons to the town that I am satisfied that Nickanoose obtained at least 15 in return for his grass. Evaluation.
The Nantucket Indians now had rights to own horses and graze cattle side by side with the English on the common. From a practical agricultural viewpoint, cattle were more valuable than horses. But horses have always meant more than simple utility. As of 1682, the Nantucket Indians had become horsemen. On a purely monetary basis, horse commons, some of which sold for 3 pounds each, plus all the money for the deeds of Tables 2 and 3, increased the total cost to the English of the right to live on Nantucket to many times the traditional 30 pounds and 2 beaver hats. But most important, as a matter of principle, the Indians had gained rights to join the English land use system, the propietary. Contrast this with conditions in the Massachusetts Bay Colony where,
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before the war, selling a horse to an Indian was against the law (to the tune of a 100 pound fine), and the few Indians left after the war were legally confined to Natick and two other places (12). Shortly after 1682 Nickanoose died, leaving his sachemship and his thousands of acres of land in Squam and Polpis to his son, Wawinet, whose term was brief. By 1695 the sachemship had passed to Daniel Spotso, a grandson. In a letter of 1694 to Cotton Mather (9), John Gardner wrote: "although it is true there is a great decay of religion among the first (Indian) Societies, many of their best men, and I may say good men, are dead...." Afterwards.
It would be satisfying to report that after the statesman-like negotiations and covenant of 1682, the grass contest was settled. In actuality, it was reenacted vigorously and periodically for 70 years. Only 10 years after the peaceful settlement of 1682, there was "a great increase of the Indians horses and cattle beyond their proportional liberty or right reserved to the grate damage of the cattle, the land being over stocked" (PR-43). The town ordered fines and impounding for any overstocking, either Indian or English. About 1699 Daniel Spotso and Seikinnou complained to the governor, now of the Massachusetts Bay, that the English "making divers purchases on the said island have claimed such interest in the herbage of the whole...forcing us to pay for using our own lands and pasturing on our own rights" (PR-95). To the English, the Indians now had no case. But from the Indian viewpoint, the sachems, accustomed to tribute, instead found themselves liable for frequent small fines. "The Contest between the Sachims and English on Nantucket about Feed of Cattle", as it is called (Mass. Archives (2) 32, 17), with complaints and hearings and committees to investigate, continued until about 1758. Soon after that a sickness wiped out most of the remaining Indians on Nantucket, effectively ending the dispute.
Conclusions.
Nickanoose deeded the English their first Nantucket land, yet kept intact his homelands for his people, a remarkable achievement. He did not understand the implications of the sale of his grass to the first pur chasers, and when he did, he rebelled at the terms. From a position of strength and with the help of some of the English half shares men, who were themselves contesting the first purchasers for equal land rights, he obtained liberty to keep horses on the common lands, a restricted liberty,
Sachem Nickanoose of Nantucket
29
but still a concession the English had clearly not planned on originally and one that may have been unique to Nantucket. He seems always to have had the respect of his people and of the English and he helped keep the peace. Of the four early sachems, Nickanoose, whose mark was a broken arrow, emerges as the most complex, proud and human, and the most difficult for the English to deal with. In retrospect, these qualities were virtues for the Indian culture on Nantucket. Surely he deserves better than to have his name forgotten in favor of his son Wauwinet, who ruled at most six uneventful years after his father's death. If the land of Nantucket could support 1500 Indians in a hunting, fishing, gathering, and planting culture, then the addition of 100 or so English, if they had adopted the Indian culture, should have had little effect. As it was, the system of land use introduced by the English, which involved holding most of the island as common land, must have seemed reasonable to the Indians at first. If the commons are under-used, the fruits of the land seem endless. But the new cattle and horse culture, although coveted and obtained by the Indians, doomed the traditional Indian ways. A paradox that has meaning for us today is that the quality of Indian life on Nantucket was increased by the much desired horses, but at the same time decreased by a loss of freedom in using the land. The world faces the same problems now with many natural resources that Nantucket had 300 years ago with grass. Can we learn to share and to stint earth's energy, wilderness, and other resources, with a concern for the quality of life for all?
from Deed #1.
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Acknowledgements. I would like to thank the Registrars of Deeds and their Associates at Nantucket and Edgartown, and Pepsy Brenizer of Polpis for con tributions to this study. The investigation of Nickanoose was stimulated by the work of the Archeological Committee of the Nantucket Historical Association, Paul Morris, chairman. The copy of the seal of the Colony was kindly furnished by the Massachusetts State Archives. Sources. 1. Dukes County Records, Registry of Deeds, Martha's Vineyard. 2. Massachusetts Archives, State House, Boston. 3. Nantucket County Records, Registry of Deeds, Nantucket. 4. Nantucket Proprietors' Records, Registry of Deeds, Nantucket. 5. New York Deeds, Secretary of State, Albany, New York. 6. Bidwell, P.W., and Falconer, J.I., The History of Agriculture in the Northern United States 1620-1860, Peter Smith, New York 1941. 7. Guba, E.F., Nantucket Odyssey, Waltham 1965. 8. Hough, F.B., Papers Relating to the Island of Nantucket, 1865. 9. Mather, Cotton, Magnolia Christi Americana, New Haven 1820. 10. Mayhew, Thomas, Jr., Letters, Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., Series 3, 4 (1834). 11. Starbuck, A., The History of Nantucket, Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc., Tokyo 1969. 12. The"Colonial Laws of Massachusetts, Boston 1887. 13. Worth, H.B., Nantucket Lands and Land Owners, Nantucket Historical Association 1906.
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Tending The Light at The Eastern Jetty in 1896. Having just filled the lantern base with kerosene the attendant is ascending the ladder to again place the lantern on its exposed platform.
