Historic Nantucket
Elizabeth R. Coffin
1851-1930 Portrait by Thomas Eakins at the Peter Foulger Museum on loan from the Coffin School of Nantucket.
October, 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 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; Mrs. James F. Merriman, Miss Barbara Melendy, terms expire 1980. Registrar, Miss Dorothy Gardner Historian, Edouard A. Stackpole Editor, "Historic Nantucket", Edouard A. Stackpole; Assistant Editor, Mrs. Merle Turner Orleans. STAFF Oldest House: Curator, Mrs. Kenneth S. Baird Receptionists: Mrs. Margaret Crowell, Miss Adeline Cravott Hadwen House-Satler Memorial: Curator, Mrs. Phoebe P. Swain Receptionists: Mrs. Irving A. Soverino, Mrs. Alfred A. Hall, Mrs. Harold Arnold, Miss Helen Levens 1800 House: Curator, Mrs. Clare McGregor Old Gaol: Curator, Albert G. Brock Whaling Museum: Curator, Hugh R. Chace Receptionists: Clarence H. Swift, Mrs. Herbert Sandsbury, Frank Pattison, James A. Watts, Miss Lucia Arno, Abram Niles Peter Foulger Museum: Curator, and Director, Edouard A. Stackpole Receptionists: Mrs. Clara Block, Joseph Sylvia, Miss Lalie Keesham Librarian: Mrs. Louise Hussey Nathaniel Macy House: Curator, Mrs. John A. Baldwin Receptionists: Miss Dorothy Hiller, Mrs.Henry C. Petzel Archaeology Department: Curator, Mrs. Roger Young Field Supervisor, Miss Barbara Kranichfeld Old Town Office: Curator, Hugh R. Chace Old Mill: Curator, Richard F. Swain Millers: William Searles, John Stackpole Folger-Franklin Seat & Memorial Boulder: Curator, Francis Sylvia Friends Meeting House-Fair Street Museum: Curator, Albert F. Egan, Jr. Lightship "Nantucket": Curator, 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
October, 1976
No. 2
I Nantucket Historical Association Officers and Staff
2
Editorial — History Without Textbooks
5
Bequests and Address Changes
6
President's and Administrator's Report
7
Report of Annual Meeting
9
Association Balance Sheet
14
An American Quaker Colony in France, 1787-1812 by Kenneth L. Carroll
16
Books
30
Historic Nantucket is published quarterly at Nantucket, Massachusetts, by the Nantucket Historical Association. It is sent to Association Members. Extra copies S.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.
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History Without Text Books SINCE THE END of World War II Nantucket has experienced a land revolution. Values have increased so drastically that any prophet predicting the trend would have been considered a visionary. The prices on real estate today have reached an all-time high, and the inflationary period keeps them on the pinnacle. All of which brings up the history of Nantucket land transactions; the tracing of changes over the past century; the acquisition of land by the first settlers and the Indian deeds; the guarantee for title by the Colony of New York's Royal Governors; the transfer of these guarantees when the Island was turned over to the Massachusetts Bay Colony; the "sheep war", as a result of which certain wealthy Islanders were granted set-offs from the Proprietors' holdings; the emergence of Nantucket as a summer resort; the efforts of local developers to create building sites near the Town and along the shore; the acquiring of control of the Proprietors of the Common and Undivided Land during the early years of this century by an ambitious Boston attorney; the surge of interest in the out-lying land during the past 25 years, and the unfortunate decisions of certain town officials who had decided to sell land of "owners' unknown" to individuals on "John Doe" claims rather than turn the land back to the corporate body of the Town. One may find much material in the records of the Town—tracing the story over the past three hundred years. However, there has been a great deal of information that has been lost-material which would add in valuable details to the bare bones of legal accounts. This means that while we have factual evidence that would provide the skeleton we have lost the muscle and sinew and the heart of the full, the vital story, that brings it alive. The history of Nantucket land during the past 100 years can be told but it is a better story if we interpret the legal ramifications-if we in troduce the narrative that provides the details which makes the whole story fuller and richer. And in our own times the record of developments along the Island's shores brings out a facet of Island history that may well serve as a lesson of how much we have lost to-economics. There is a recognizable dividing line
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
between rural environment and urban sprawl; a vital difference between housing developments and the ultimate destruction of our outlying land. How can we save this priceless heritage? Will the answer be contained in a page of a cold text book or become a challenging and enduring chapter in the annals of Nantucket's land? Edouard A. Stackpole
Bequests or gifts to the Nantucket Historical Association are tax deductible. They are greatly needed and appreciated.
PLEASE — your change of address to save postage and receive your copy. We are charged for all returned because of incorrect address.
7
President's — Administrator's Report OLD BUILDINGS NEED constant repair, old portraits need periodic restoration, old records need special protection. That is the story of our greatest responsibility and our constant problem. We have been able to continue, even accelerate our preservation program with major repairs to the buildings, restoration of a number of oils, and prints, and do some furniture repairs, but whenever one sees the word "old" before anything, be assured it will need care tomorrow. Besides great improvements in our property we have made strides in our educational program. A hundred or more students did research in the Peter Foulger Library. This was especially appreciated by classes from the University of Mass. who used it most of the winter. We provided articles for the paper, lectures, taught 40 mini-course classes in the High School, programs for Channel 3, and acquired some excellent tape in terviews with older citizens. We continued to publish the quarterly "Historic Nantucket", provided no end of information in answer to inquiries from all over the country, several people are using prints from our pictorial collection for their publications, and we published "Nan tucket During the American Revolution" by Edouard A. Stackpole. The archaeology program again conducted digs at the Oldest House and at Quidnet and we have reason to believe that the latter may have made an important discovery. We arranged for the Garden Club to beautify the Hadwen House-Satler Memorial grounds and we cleaned up the Abiah Folger Franklin and Forefather's Burial Ground sites. We assisted in the Bicentennial celebrations in town and in Siasconset. After long negotiations and problems we have the famous Lightship Nantucket in its permanent berth at Straight Wharf and nearly ready to open as a museum. Plans are progressing to have seamanship classes for young people aboard this ship. We are very proud of the exhibit "18th Century Nantucket" put on at the Fair Street Museum this summer, acclaimed by lay and experts as an outstanding presentation. A catalog of the exhibit was printed by the Association and in connection with it, the excellent research book "The Mystery of John Jackson" (18th century silversmith) by Mrs. Jean Merriman was published and given to us.
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
A new Building Survey program was originated and we have researched and issued 176 plaques to Nantucket houses built before 1812. A few more will soon be added. Our Association has been greatly improved and expanded through the efforts of a devoted staff and many dedicated volunteers contributing both time and money. We are most grateful to them all for their constant efforts to make this Association a potent influence in the community. There is a great need for more help to give care to beautiful old furniture, to assist as guides and to do research. Skill and training are helpful but anyone can do any of these with persistence and care. Most people enjoy it. Plus the need for volunteers we often need replacements in our paid staff and welcome applications. Membership is our life blood. Fortunately, it has increased each year but we must not be complacent. Please urge your friends to join. Working together we can make a good Association even better. Leroy H. True.
9
Nantucket Historical Association's Annual Meeting THE EIGHTY-SECOND annual meeting of the Nantucket Historical Association was held at the Peter Foulger Museum on Tuesday af ternoon, July 20, with some seventy members of the Association in at tendance. Leroy H. True, President and Administrator, presided, opening the meeting shortly after the famous Walter Folger Clock struck the hour of four o'clock. It had been decided that the meeting this year would be devoted to a presentation of reports by the chairmen of the various departments and committees, so that the general membership would receive information as to the activities of the Association as they relate to the exhibit buildings and committee activities. The chairmen were also asked to present their concept of how future plans for changes at the exhibits could help them become more effective. The program which followed the opening remarks of President True proved both interesting and informative. Hugh Chace, Chairman of the Whaling Museum, reported on the record season which this important structure had enjoyed in 1975, and of the several changes in the exhibits which he has instituted during the winter. This has included cleaning and redisplaying the material in the South Seas Room, with a rail barrier to protect the New Zealand canoe model. A number of effective changes have also been accomplished in the Scrimshaw Room. Several ship paintings and prints have been restored. The newest exhibit, a handsome diorama, created by Raymond Delucia, of the Museum of Natural History, New York, and displayed in the room housing the whale skeleton, depicts an authentic waterfront scene at Straight Wharf on the 13th of October, 1842, with the whaleships Napoleon and James Loper at the wharves, and the ship Peru, just released from the "Camels," in the harbor around Brant Point. The activities at the Peter Foulger Museum were described by the Chairman of that building, Edouard A. Stackpole. He reported the busiest year to date — especially during the once-called "off season," over 850 school children having been visitors, including nearly 250 from the Nauset Regional High School on Cape Cod. Nine preparatory schools have had groups of students, on the island during spring and fall months under the Environmental Studies Program, sponsored by the schools, the
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Nantucket Conservation Foundation and the Coffin School. Their program includes visits to the Old Mill, the Peter Foulger Museum and the Whaling Museum. Special walking tours are arranged through the town, with the Association's Historian as the guide. Facilities are also made available to various groups of Girl and Boy Scout troops. Several of the classes from the Nantucket schools have also been in attendance. Mr. Stackpole declared the most exciting feature of the year has been the inauguration of a study of the History of Nantucket by the University of Massachusetts-Boston in co-operation with the Nantucket Historical Association and the Coffin School. A selected group of fifteen students come to the island from Boston to reside here for five months, and study the history and ecology of Nantucket. Lectures are held at the Coffin School during the morning hours, presented by Historian Stackpole, followed by an hour of instruction by Director Tiffney and Clinton Andrews of the University's Field Station at Quaise. A number of Nantucket residents have participated in taking the Course for credits, while several other residents audit the lectures. Field trips to historic sites and for study of Island terrain help increase the scope of this unusual course. Students are required to prepare and write a thesis on a topic selected by them, and the Library and research facilities of the Peter Foulger Museum become important after the first six weeks of the lectures and field trips. This unusual academic experience has been termed by Carlo Golino, the University's Chancellor, as providing "the most rewarding educational opportunity available to our students." Dr. Barry Philips, the Director for the University, states: "History has been touched and understood — in this loveliest and most unusual and most interesting of microcosms." In their work at the Peter Foulger Library, Mrs. Louise Hussey, our Librarian, has been an important factor in working with the students. A number of special exhibits has helped to enliven our second floor displays. A special edition of Moby Dick, published by a private press in New York, illustrated by LeRoy Neiman., was on display together with the original paintings. The photographs by Louis Davidson, of Nantucket people and scenes, had many viewers. The "Bi-Centennial Quilt," made by members of the ladies of the Nantucket Center for Elderly Affairs, attracted many visitors when on display. A selection of the photographs of Nantucket public buildings and dwellings, compiled by the Historical American Buildings Suryey, is now on exhibit.
ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING
11
The Library continues to be an active part of the Museum's daily activities. Our collection of logbooks has been microfilmed in the medium of rolls, and two new readers have been purchased. E. A. Stackpole has presented his extensive collection of microfilms relating to the whaling industry. Besides the student use of the Library facilities, many professional writers and researchers have worked here. Letters of inquiry concerning genealogy and other Nantucket matters have been received and answered. The services of Mrs. Elizabeth Worth, Mrs. Clara Block, Mrs. Louise Hussey, Joseph Sylvia, and Miss Lalie Keesham,our staff, should be recognized as providing that necessary courteous relationship with the general public. Miss Dorothy Gardner, Curator, in her report gave evidence of the wide range of gifts which have come to us during the year. Mrs. Elizabeth Baird reported as Chairman of the Oldest House that this ancient landmark has had a record attendance and continues to impress its character on visitors. Mr. Hugh Chace also reported on the exhibit room at the Old Town Building, where the original tax collector's office has been fitted out and opened to the public — a little-known exhibit but very well worth a visit. Mrs. Laura Baldwin gave a short account of the activities at the charming Nathaniel Macy House, where she serves as Chairman. This has proven a worthy addition to the holdings of historic houses by the Association. Mrs. Phebe Swain's report on the Hadwen House revealed a satisfactory attendance, including a wide range of visitor origin. Albert G. Brock reported on the status of the Old Gaol, and the report on the Old Mill was submitted by Richard Swain. An account of the work of the special committee on House Plaques was presented by the Chairman of that Committee, Robert G. Metters. This program has been most successful, with metal plaques being issued by the Association to owners of houses of an age pre-dated 1812, at a cost of $25 each. In relief on the oval plaque is depicted the Nantucket brig Beaver, of Tea Party fame. Houses of the 17th century have plaques of German silver; 18th century, prior to 1776, are awarded those made of red bronze, and those of the 1776-1812 vintage receive yellow brass plaques. Although 125 plaques have been issued there are still other old dwellings eligible. Of especial interest was the report on the lightship Nantucket. Chairman Benjamin S. Richmond explained in detail some of the dif-
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
ficulties the committee has experienced during the past few months, while the lightship has been at her temporary berth at Steamboat Wharf. Much work has been accomplished in preparing the vessel for exhibit, such as cleaning the engine room, staterooms, etc., and painting. Mr. Richmond described how arrangements are being arranged for traffic patterns for visitors. The lightship is to be transferred to its permanent berth on the Straight Wharf near the Still Dock area within a few weeks. (This has now been completed.) The expenses involved have been much more than anticipated, but President True expressed his confidence in the ultimate worth of the program to make Lightship Nantucket an important part of the waterfront. Officers re-elected for the coming year included: President - Leroy H. True. Vice Presidents — Walter Beinecke, Jr., Albert G. Brock, Alcon Chadwick, Albert F. Egan, Jr., George W. Jones. Honorary Vice Presidents - Henry B. Coleman, W. Ripley Nelson. Secretary - Richard C. Austin Treasurer - John Welch. Councillors - Mrs. James F. Merriman, Miss Barbara Melendy. Robert E. Tonkin (to fill unexpired term of Henry Mitchell Havemeyer).
Nantucket Historical Association Balance Sheet as of May 31, 1976 Assets Cash on hand & demand deposits Savings accounts Pledges receivable Investments (held by agent) Physical plant
$11,768 22,958 500 294,831 1,202.969 $1,533,026
Liabilities & Fund Balance Taxes payable Restricted fund Reserve for future payment Unrestricted fund balance
278 26,397 3,608 1,502,743 $1,533,026
INCOME STATEMENT Admissions Dues Donations Others, including plaques Sales Investments Specific purpose fund Reimbursement grant
62,738 26,424 14,003 6,074 25,316 41,248 5,408 3,000
$184
BALANCE SHEET
Costs Salaries & wages Utilities Repairs and Maintenance Purchases for resale Archeology Restoration of paintings Lightship expenses Equipment purchases Insurance Advertising Printing Office supplies and expenses Professional fees Bicentennial expense Miscellaneous Net
65,624 12,293 28,585 15,169 408 3,605 28,551 9,424 8,750 37 6,054 1,799 1,300 938 955
$183,490 $
721
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An American Quaker Colony in France, 1787 - 1812 by Kenneth L. Carroll EVEN BEFORE THE American Revolution Nantucket began to send its Quaker sons and daughters out to the American mainland. As early as 1771 Friends began to move to the Piedmont section of North Carolina, especially into the area of New Garden Monthly Meetings. (1) Even earlier, in 1762, a group of Quakers from Nantucket had made their way to Nova Scotia. (2) By the end of the American Revolution certain factors built up to send forth even more — to the American mainland, to Nova Scotia, to Milford Haven in Wales, and to Dunkirk in France. Nantucket, heavily Quaker in the eighteenth century, had tried to remain neutral during the American Revolution. (3) The island's inhabitants therefore suffered great hardships at the hands of both sides, and the whaling industry almost completely collapsed. After the War there was continuing distress, as a result of the heavy duty which was placed on American sperm oil in England (the major market for this product which was used for lighting the streets of London). (4) Quite naturally there arose the idea of transferring the whale fishery to England in order to retain the market and to escape the ruinous duty. William Rotch and his son Benjamin left Nantucket for England on July 4, 1785, and arrived in London twenty-three days later. After examining the English coast from Southampton to Falmouth they decided (1) Stephen B. Weeks, Southern Quakers and Slavery (Baltimore 1896), pp. 107-108. (2) Arthur Garratt Dorland, A History of the Society of Friends [Quakers] in Canada (Toronto, 1927), pp. 30-32. (3) Lydia S. Hinchman, "William Rotch and the Neutrality of Nantucket during the Revolutionary War," Bulletin of the Friends Historical Society of Philadelphia, (1904-1907), 49-55, and Early Settlers of Nantucket (Philadelphia, 1901), pp. 111-119. (4) William Rotch, Memorandum Written by William Rotch in the Eightieth Tear of his Age (Boston, 1916), pp. 111-119.
AN AMERICAN QUAKER COLONY IN FRANCE
17
that Falmouth was probably the best place to set up their whale fishery. The next step was to obtain government approval and support. Robert Barclay introduced William Rotch to Harry Beaufoy, a member of Parliament, who then introduced him to William Pitt (then about 27 years old and the Chancellor of the Exchequer). (5) Rotch then told a somewhat sympathetic Pitt that conditions on Nantucket had become so bad that most people would have to leave the island, with some going "into the country" while others who still wanted to continue whaling would have to go wherever this might be done profitably. It was Rotch's hope to settle one hundred families in England and bring in thirty ships. For this he would need government approval and some government financing. (6) The matter was referred to the Privy Council, where the Secretary to the Council gave Rotch the runaround for some months. The greatest opposition to the project came from Lord Hawksbury, about whom Rotch later wrote, "A greater Enemy to America, I believe, could not be found in that Body, nor hardly in the Nation." (7) Having heard a rumor that France was negotiating for a quantity of Nantucket whale oil, Rotch quickly went to Dunkirk where he drew up his proposals to send on to Paris, where he hoped the French Court would respond favorably. (8) He was immediately sent for and very soon met with five ministers of state and accomplished in five hours, as he later informed the British, "what I had waited to be called by your Privy Council more than four months."(9) Those British officials who had let Rotch cool his heels for so long without giving him any encouragement or satisfaction now became quite agitated at the possibility of losing this great opportunity to France. They sent for Rotch to come back to England, even offering him more than he had originally asked for.(10) Believing that England had had its chance and refused to take it, Rotch (5) Ibid., pp. 36-39. (6) Ibid., pp. 40-42. (7) Ibid., p. 42. Cf. pp. 41-45 for a more detailed account of the frustration and runaround he experienced. (8) Ibid., p. 45. (9) Ibid., p. 46. (10) They offered to allow forty ships to be brought in free, rather than the thirty Rotch had originally asked for.
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
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declined the offer and decided to take up the French one instead.(11) He then arrived back in Nantucket on January 1, 1787, after having been away eighteen months.(12) It appears possible that this Quaker whaling settlement in Dunkirk may have gotten underway before 1781, for it was at this time that Benjamin Rotch went to Dunkirk where there were plans to "increase our Fishery" and where he was to superintend the business.(13) Many other Quakers were expected to go there also, for the French had granted their request to have "A full and free enjoyment of our Religion, according to the principles of the people called Quakers" and had also granted them an "entire exemption from military requisitions of everykind."(14) A number of other Friends went over in 1787, including Benjamin Hussey and his family, Judith Gardner and her daughter, and Mary Coffin. The June 23, 1787, certificate for the Hussey family was directed to Ratcliff Monthly Meeting in London, while the August 27 certificates for the others were sent to Canterbury Monthly Meeting in England (since there were no monthly meetings in France).(15) In May 1788 London Yearly Meeting received a minute from Kent Quarterly Meeting (to which Canterbury Monthly Meeting belonged) inquiring about the certificates for Mary Coffin and Judith and Lydia Gardner. The yearly meeting referred the case to the 1789 yearly meeting and requested Meeting for Sufferings "to extend the necessary care towards the said Friends in the meantime." It was decided in 1789 to leave them for the time being under the care of Meeting for Sufferings, with Meeting for Sufferings also appointed to receive any further certificates for Friends removing to Dunkirk. This body was also authorized to ask any (11) I b i d . , pp. 50-51. (12) I b i d . , p. 51. (13) I b i d . , pp. 51-52. Benjamin had just become a partner with William Rotch and Samuel Rodman (William's son-in-law). (14) I b i d . , p. 46. The "Master of Requests" had added to this last grant "as they are a peaceable people, and meddle not with the quarrels of Princes, neither internal nor external, this proposition may be granted." (15) These certificates are found in Friends House Library (London), Manuscript Portfolio 17, items 122,123,124. There is also a 1788 one for Lydia Hussey (see item 126).
AN AMERICAN QUAKER COLONY IN FRANCE
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monthly meeting to "act toward those Friends as if they were its own members."(16) Not long after these Friends settled in Dunkirk they received their first religious visit from American and English Quakers. George Dilwyn (1738-1820) of Philadelphia, who was a merchant interested in trade with North Carolina, the West Indies, and England, had arrived in England in 1784 and remained in Europe until 1791.(17) On August 22, 1788, he communicated to Meeting for Sufferings (London) that he felt a concern to visit Dunkirk Friends.(18) Richard Baker (1734/5-1805) of Dover and John Townsend (1725-1801) of London were appointed to accompany Dilwyn in this religious labor.(19) Multiple copies of six Quaker publications were sent to Dunkirk Friends by these three visitors.(20) Dilwyn, Townsend, and Baker arrived in Dunkirk on September 12, 1788, and were there nearly a week — during which time they had several meetings with those who had been recommended (by Nantucket Monthly Meeting certificates) and with others They called upon this small body of
(16) Minutes of London Yearly Meeting, XVIII( 1786-1790), 371,378-379, 534, 577; XIX (1791-1800), 25. This 1788 decision to leave them under the care of Meeting for Sufferings was renewed in 1789, 1790, and 1791. (17) He also returned to England for a second visit that lasted from 1793 to 1801. (18) Minutes of Meeting for Sufferings (London) XXXVIII (17881791), 45. These are found in Friends House Library, London. (19) Ibid., XXXVIII, 49-50. Richard Baker, who sold household furnishings, was recorded as a minister in 1780. He traveled in the west of England and twice visited Wales. John Townsend, a pewterer, visited Ireland in 1765, Scotland in 1767, and America in 1785 — as well as traveling widely in England. (20) Ibid., XXXVIII, 50. They were to receive 24 copies of Mary Brooks, On Silent Worship-, 12 Anthony Benezet, Rise & Principles', 6 Robert Barclay, Apology, 12 Benjamin Holms, Serious Call; 12 William Penn, Rise and Progress of Friends; and 6 Claud Gay, Piety Promoted.
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Quakers to hold regular meetings for worship, both on First and Fifth Days at 10 A.M.(21) How large was this Dunkirk Quaker colony? William Rotch had originally spoken in terms of one hundred families. A 1786 report had claimed that one hundred Quaker and Baptist families were expected to settle in Dunkirk.(22) It seems doubtful that the number of Friends there ever approached one hundred individuals. Certainly the number there in 1788 was much smaller - for Dilwyn and his companions found fourteen Friends (including eight children) who had been recommended by Nantucket Monthly Meeting and thirteen other Quakers there (or at sea) who had not been recommended but who had Dunkirk as their residence.(23) Thus the total in September 1788 was only twenty-seven, a number of which were often at sea on the whaling ships. There was some further growth in the years which followed. William Rotch (accompanied by his wife, daughters Lydia and Mary, and the wife and son of his son Benjamin) sailed from New Bedford for Dunkirk on July 24, 1790, and arrived there thirty-eight days later.(24) It was probably in the period 1790-1793 that this Quaker settlement reached its peak, for there were a number of factors that ruled against further growth in 1793 and even caused a slow but steady decline.
(21) Ibid., XXXVIII, 55. Another copy of this report is found in Portfolio 17, item 127. (22) CfJournal of Friends Historical Society, IX(1912), 112. (23) Portfolio 17, item 127, lists the following: Benjamin Rotch, here (family at Nantucket); Benjamin Hussey, at sea; Phebe (his wife), here; Isaiah (their son), at sea; Judith (their daughter), here; Barzillai (their son), at sea; Uriah (their son), at sea; Benjamin (their son), here; Edward (their son), here; Phebe (their daughter), here; Shubal Gardner, Judith (his wife), and Lydia (their daughter), here; Mary Coffin (wife of Richard), here; Laban Coffin (their son), at sea; Thaddeus Swain (family in Nantucket), at sea; Seth Hussey (son of William), at sea; Zenes Coffin (family at Nantucket), at sea; George Gorhan Hussey, at sea; Lydia (his wife), here; Job Coggessall (single), at sea; Job Thurston (widower), at sea; Abraham Hussey (single), at sea; Obed Titch (single), at sea; Paul Ray (single), at sea; Eliab Hussey (single), now here; Paul Coffin (family at Nantucket), now here; Jonathan Barney (single), at sea. (24) Rotch, op. cit.., p. 52.
AN AMERICAN QUAKER COLONY IN FRANCE
21
Early in 1791, as the political situation in France changed rapidly, William Rotch, his son Benjamin, and John Marsillac(25) presented a petition to the National Assembly at Paris — seeking certain privileges and exemptions for the American Quakers at Dunkirk and the French Quakers at Languedoc. This petition had been drawn up by John Marsillac and looked over by Brissot De Warville,(26) and others. It was read by Marsillac, with Brissot De Warville at his elbow. The Rotches were invited to stay for the sitting of the Assembly.(27) William and Benjamin Rotch and Marsillac also met with most of the influential Assembly members at their hotels and gained a polite reception from all but two (including Tallyrand) who were marked by a "careless in difference."(28) The Rotches also had a number of evening gatherings at their hotel, with many notables coming to discuss religion in general and Quakerism in particular.(29) A crisis arose for the Dunkirk Quaker community in 1792. Following the French victory over Austria, there was issued a proclamation calling for the illumination of houses. William Rotch went to the mayor and magistrates of Dunkirk to explain that just as Quakers could not par ticipate in war, so they could not rejoice in victory. They, therefore, could not illuminate their houses. The mayor responded that the Quakers (25) Jean De Marsillac, well-to-do and trained as a lawyer, un derwent a religious pilgrimage which led him to Quakerism, so that he joined a group of about one hundred French families who claimed to be "Quakers." He visited London and Philadelphia Yearly Meetings. Cf. Margaret Hirst, The Quakers in Peace and War (London, 1923), pp. 467-469; Rufus M. Jones, The Later Periods of Quakerism (London, 1923), I, 241; II, 761; "Brief Account of Friends in France," Friends Miscellany: Being a Collection of Essays and Fragments, (etc.), (Philadelphia, 1834-1839), VI, 103-124; Journal of Friends Historical Society, XV, XVI. (26) Brissot de Warville, who traveled widely in America was the author of New Travels in America, 1783-9. He spoke a great deal about the philanthropic work of the Quakers and of their virtue. Cf. Hirst, op. cit., pp. 465-467; Jones, op. cit., II, 761. (27) Rotch, op. cit., pp. 53-56. (28) Ibid., pp. 56-57. (29) Ibid., pp. 58-59.
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
owned their houses, but the French owned the streets in front of them. The mayor had frames built in front of Rotch's house and before several other Quaker homes (as well as before his own) and had lights placed on the frames. The mayor and magistrates walked by Rotch's house that night to see if everything was all right. They also placed someone there to explain the purpose of the frames if anyone asked questions. The Quakers experienced no troubles, and they also escaped damage on later illuminations.(30) Dunkirk Quakers received a number of religious visits in 1790, 1791, 1792, and 1793. The first was by Sarah and Robert Grubb of Clonmel, Ireland, Robert Beal of Cork, George and Sarah Dilwyn (of New Jersey, but residing in London for several years), who went over immediately after London Yearly Meeting in May 1790. This group spent a week in Dunkirk, holding four public meetings (at which a number of nonQuakers were present) as well as several private ones. It was Sarah Grubb's view that "they are at present worth visiting, and their number is likely soon to be increased from Nantucket."(31) Sometime later that same year, it would seem, Martha Routh, Christiana Hustler, and William Bleckly visited this group which Routh described as being "about seven families: which had lately arrived from Nantucket. They visited the various families and also "sat several of their meetings."(32) ' In 1791 there was a renewed concern for the Dunkirk Friends on the part of the British Quakers. Kent Quarterly Meeting appointed four of its members to visit there,(33) in company with some appointed by Meeting for Sufferings. Meeting for Sufferings chose Morris Birkbeck, Adam
(30) Ibid., pp. 61-65. Concerning Friends and "illuminations" see Hirst, op. cit., pp. 186, 196, 199, 203, 409. (31) "Some Account of the Life and Religious Labours of Sarah Grubb," in The Friends Library (Philadelphia, 1837-1850), XII, 349. (32) "Memoir of the Life, Travels, and Religious Experience of Martha Routh," Friends Library, XII, 423. This volume suggests a 1790 date, while Friends Library, XVI, 310 , suggests a 1792 date for this visit (unless a second visit was paid by Routh and Hustler in that year). (33) Those from Kent Quarterly Meeting were Richard Low (17211797) of Dover, Joseph Elgar (1731-1804) of Folkstone, John Chalk (1737P-1794) of Canterbury, and Thomas Beck (1738P-1795) of Dover.
AN AMERICAN QUAKER COLONY IN FRANCE
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Bellamy, and William Tuke (who was unable to make the journey).(34) Thomas Shillitoe, who was not one of the original party named, felt led to join this group. The actual visit took place late in 1791. The joint com mittee, augmented by Shillitoe, arrived in time to have meetings on Sunday morning and afternoon (both of which also drew some of the "townspeople"). They also visited Friends families. After holding a conference with some of the Dunkirk Friends, the joint committee drew up a report to submit to the next Yearly meeing.(35) The committee reported that it had been "led into near sympathy" with Dunkirk Friends because of their "lonely and exposed situation," and the "smallness of their numbers, subject to fluctuations and uncertainty." The committee also recommended that they be united to some English meeting.(36) During 1792 Dunkirk Quakers were also visited by three Friends from Ireland: Mary Dudley, Elizabeth Pirn, and Edward Hatton. They spent approximately a week in Dunkirk, attending several regular meetings, holding one public meeting, and visiting the various families of the meeting — starting with that of their host, William Rotch (whose son Benjamin accompanied them back to Calais).(37) Job Scott, the wellknown American Quaker, was with them early in 1793, as was Robert Grubb of Ireland.(38)
(34) Minutes of Meeting for Sufferings, XXXVIII, 456. Birkbeck (1734-1816), of Guildford, Surrey, was in America in 1773. Bellamy (1739-1810) had formerly lived in Lbndon but was now of Buckinghamshire. (35) "Journal of the Life, Labors and Travels of Thomas Shillitoe," Friends Library, III, 83-84. (36) Minutes of London Yearly Meeting, XIX (1791-1800), 97-99. (37) "The Life of Mary Dudley," Friends Library, XIV, 310-311. Mary Dudley suggests that Martha Routh and Christiana Hustler either made a second journey to Dunkirk in 1792 (or that the visit discussed above for 1790 really belongs to 1792 - -Ibid., XIV, 311). (38) "Extracts from Job Scott's Letters," Friends Library, VI, 385385. Cf. Job Scott, Journal of the Life.Lravels, and Gospel Labours of that Faithful Servant and Minister of Christ, Job Scott (Warrington, 1798), pp. 239-240.
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
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The joint committee's 1792 report had suggested that Dunkirk Friends should be attached to Canterbury Monthly Meeting and Kent Quarterly Meeting. London Yearly Meeting recommended this action to Kent Quarterly Meeting, which discussed this matter at several of its gatherings in 1792 and 1793 and finally reported back that it was unable to take on this responsibility and also believed that the suggestion was impractical.(39) The yearly meeting, therefore, decided to let the matter rest for a time. By 1793 the growth of the Dunkirk Quaker community had been brought to a standstill. The continuing unsettled conditions in France and the approach of war between France and England helped to produce this situation. Also, the founding of Milford Haven in Wales by former Nantucket Quakers (who had for a time lived in Nova Scotia following the close of the American Revolution) gave an alternative to Dunkirk as a whale fishery on the eastern side of the Atlantic.(40) Several of the Dunkirk Quakers eventually moved to Milford Haven. As early as 1791 Mary Coffin (whose husband Richard had lately died) returned to Nantucket.(41) William Rotch and his family moved to London in 1793, as war between England and France approached, and returned to New Bedford in 1794.(42) Rotch later wrote that most of the Americans in Dunkirk left in 1793.(43) Among those who returned to Nantucket in 1793 were Mark Coffin, his wife Judith, and one child, and also Lydia Hussey.(44) In 1795 Benjamin Hussey and his family planned to leave Dunkirk for Nantucket but then changed their minds.(45)
(39) Minutes of London Yearly Meeting, XIX, 98-99, 161-163. (40) T. Mardy Rees, A History of the Quakers in Wales and their Emigration to North America (Carmarthen, 1925), pp. 120-121, 264-267. Cf. Dorland, op. cit., pp. 33-34. (41) Minutes of Meeting for Sufferings, XXXVIII, 467 (42) Rotch, Memorandum, pp. 64-65. (43) Ibid., p. 67. (44) Minutes of Meeting for Sufferings, XXXIX, 324,352. (45) Ibid., XXXIX, 518, 560.
AN AMERICAN QUAKER COLONY IN FRANCE
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Among those few American Quakers who remained in Dunkirk following the 1793 exodus of the Rotches and others, the two major figures appear to have been Benjamin Hussey and Judith Gardner (whose husband Shubal had died at sea sometime in the 1790s). Both of these are mentioned in the journals of three 1797 Quaker visitors: William Savery, David Sands, and Benjamin Johnson. William Savery of Philadelphia (1750-1804) stayed in the boarding house operated by Judith Gardner. Meeting for worship was held at Benjamin Hussey's house, with an at tendance of about thirty (including several American captains and some residents of Dunkirk). A large meeting, composed of American, English, French, and Scots, was held that evening.(46) After about nine days in Dunkirk the three left to visit those Quakers in the south of France, before returning to Dunkirk a second time late in April. During the several weeks they were here that spring, they had both morning and evening meetings — ranging in size from twenty to fifty.(47) Concerning the situation of Friends there in 1797, Savery writes, The few Friends who remain here are respected by the inhabitants, the magistrates, &c, through whose kindness they have been exempted from bearing arms, and at times of general illuminations they have been signally protected, which must be esteemed a favour from Him who rules and disposes the hearts of man to be kind to such as keep his testimonies. . . .no insult was offered to our friends, which is very different from England and America, to their great reproach. Friends enjoy more freedom in France, than in either of those countries.(48) Savery's two companions, David Sands and Benjamin Johnson, also left accounts of these 1797 visits. Sands (1745-1818), of Cornwall, New York, stayed in Benjamin Hussey's home while in Dunkirk. His account adds little of value to that given by Savery but does emphasize the fact that the mayor and other officials of that city were interested in helping them get to England (with travel having been made so difficult by the
(46) "A Journal of the Life, Travels, and Religious Labours of William Savery," Friends Library, I, 405. This was in February 1797. (47) I b i d . , I, 417-419. (48) I b i d . , I, 405, 418.
26
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
war).(49) Benjamin Johnson, who was not a "public Friend" or minister, also left a journal which has not been published, although the relevant portion dealing with this 1797 visit was published by Henry Cadbury about thirty years ago.(50) Johnson's account is extremely valuable in showing us what this Quaker community in decline was like — its makeup, religious life, and its experience at the hands of the French. It seems well worthwhile to quote Johnson at length, since it is also difficult to obtain this account elsewhere: 2 mo. 8, Dunkirk. Arrived at Dunkirk before dark and drove immediately to Benjamin Hussey's, who with his family received us kindly. It was no small gratification, after six months travelling thro different governments, entirely among strangers and people of various customs & languages all different from our own, thus to find ourselves in a family such as this. We told them of our apprehension of personal danger and especially on acct. of our not wearing the cocade and the various alarming reports we had heard. They said there might have been some difficulty in passing the frontiers and in conquered countries, but now we were in France we would find none. No such thing was ever required of them even in the severest times of the revolution; no people could be better treated than they had been during the whole time; that on occasions of public rejoicing and illuminations, instead of their windows being broken and their houses pillaged as had been the case in some other countries, the municipality of this place have ordered guards before their doors to protect them from insult. They were also exempted from military service and permitted to go before the authorities with their hats on, which to others was not allowed. D. S. continued here and W. S. and myself went to a boarding house kept by a widow Gardner, also a member among Friends. We paid her a guinea a week, each, during our stay, exclusive of wine. Her boarders were generally Americans, captains of vessels; at this time she had Capt. Bolton from New York and Lovett from Cape Cod.
(49) David Sands, Journal of the Life and Gospel Labours of David Sands (London, 1848), pp. 143-144; 153-154. Sands was in Europe 17951805 and again in 1815. (50) Henry J. Cadbury, "The Dunkirk Colony in 1797," Proceedings of the Nantucket Historical Association, 1944-45, pp. 44-47.
AN AMERICAN QUAKER COLONY IN FRANCE
27
There were fifteen American vessels in this port and among the finest in the place. Indeed in every port I have seen they make a conspicuous appearance as strangers. They are mostly Yankees, who are at home wherever they can find freight for their vessels. These two have been employed for several months in bringing salt from the south of France to this place, which French ships could not do without risque of capture. In this manner, coasting round about this quarter of the world a great many Americans are employed. 2 mo, 12. Attended the meeting of the little Society of Friends here, which is held in Benjamin Hussey's house. It was first-day. The actual members are B. H., his wife, daughter and two younger sons, his son Basilla and wife, our landlady, the widow Gardner, Capt. Starbuck, his wife & two little daughters, an old palsied man of the name of Biddle and his wife. They are under care of Ratcliff monthly meeting, London. It is about twelve years since Capt. Gardner, a Friend from Nantucket, encouraged by a bounty which the French government had offered to all ships engaged in the whale fishery, removed here with his family. He was followed soon after by William Roche and family from the same place and in the same business of whale fishing; and after him came several others. So that previous to the present revolution in France there were upwards of sixty Friends, old and young, in this place; nearly all from Nantucket and in the same business. During the present war they found so many im pediments & difficulties in the prosecution of their business that most of them, except those I have named, have returned to their native country. Some of whom, it is said here, contemplate coming again to Dunkirk at the close of the war.(51) John's account of their second visit, in April and May, is less full of detail. He does, however, make two points of interest. First, that the small Quaker community still lived up to its testimony on illuminations (without fear of reprisal). Second, at the very end he notes, with a touch of sadness, that a third of the remaining group had just departed for England:
(51) Ibid., pp. 46-47.
28
HISTORIC NANTUCKET A few days after our arrival here there was a general illumination in consequence of the signing of preliminary ar ticles of peace between France and Austria. The houses of Friends were the only exceptions. On such occasions they have never been molested or even requested to put candles in their windows. At the widow Gardner's where we lodged, I took notice in the evening of the illumination that the front door was open and the servant girl standing by it. I observed to her mistress it would be more prudent for the girl to come in and shut the door, lest some of the mob which was numerous and making a great noise might insult her and perhaps injure the house. She expressed herself perfectly at ease on the occasion and said she felt less alarmed here than she should in her own country in similar circumstances. . . 5 mo. 13. We have a parting meeting with the few Friends at Dunkirk, whose little number has lost near one third of its members in the last six weeks by the removal of one small family and part of another to England.(52)
Johnson's account contains several points which need commenting upon. First, there is his statement that the meeting was under the care of Ratcliff Monthly Meeting. He was mistaken in this view, perhaps misled by Benjamin Hussey, whose original certificate had been directed to Ratcliff Monthly Meeting and who had been investigated by that monthly meeting (at the request of Meeting for Sufferings) when he and his family had briefly planned (in 1795) to leave France. All of those Nantucket Quakers in Dunkirk who produced certificates were under the care of Meeting for Sufferings, as has been discussed above. Second, his statement that Captain Shubal Gardner and his family had come in about a dozen years earlier (i.e., ca. 1785) certainly is not true of the whole family, since his wife and child came in 1787. Captain Gardner himself may have been one of the first to arrive after William Rotch negotiated the settlement in 1785. Rotch himself, it will be remembered, did not come until 1790. Third, his suggestion that the Quaker community in Dunkirk had once reached above sixty, young and old, seems quite possible. The names already mentioned in the text and notes of this article, plus the ones listed by Johnson himself, suggest that this is a reasonable estimate. Johnson noted that between the first and second visit he and his companions made in the first half of 1797 almost a third of the fourteen (52) I b i d . , pp. 45-46.
AN AMERICAN QUAKER COLONY IN FRANCE
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Friends (adults and children) residing in Dunkirk had left for England. Probably these were the Starbucks (and the Biddies?), for Judith Gardner and the Husseys still remained for some time. The disappearance of the whole Quaker colony, however, was fast approaching. By 1801 Judith Gardner had left Dunkirk and was in England, going on to America in 1802.(53) Edward Hussey had removed to New York by 1801.(54) Barzillai Hussey was still living in Dunkirk in 1802 when his wife Susanna (who was received on a certificate from Nantucket at the end of 1801) died in France.(55) By 1807 he was a resident in Nantucket and was being charged with having married "out of unity."(56) Finally, in 1812, Benjamin Hussey, his wife Phebe (formerly Macy), and daughter Phebe (now West) came out of Dunkirk to London, into the area of Southwark Monthly Meeting.(57) In 1813 Benjamin Hussey returned to Nantucket, which he had left more than a quarter of a century before,(58) thus bringing to an end the Quaker colony in Dunkirk.
(53) Minutes of Meeting for Sufferings, XL (1796-1803), 473, 389; Ratcliff Monthly Meeting Minutes, Book I (1795- 1803), 469. (54) Ratcliff Monthly Meeting Minutes, Book I, 351-352. (55) William Wade Hinshaw (Ed.), E n c y c l o p e d i a o f A m e r i c a n Quaker Genealogy (Ann Arbor, 1940), III, 180.
(56) Ratcliff Monthly Meeting Minutes, Book K (1804-1813), 180. Cf. Book R (1813-1821) for 1816 references to his living in Easton, New York. (57) Southwark Monthly Meeting Minutes, XLI (1803-1815), 462463, 470. (58) The Dictionary Quaker Biography (typescript, at Haverford College and Friends House, London) quotes Obed Macy, History of Nantucket, p. 173, as saying that upon his return to Nantucket Benjamin Hussey offered to vaccinate the whole population of the island for $300. The offer was not accepted by the town meeting but he is reported to have vaccinated about one thousand people who came voluntarily, receiving only small gifts from a few.
30
Books The following are published by us or have been turned over to us for distribution. They may be obtained from your local book dealer, at our museums, or by mail by adding 50 cents for postage and tax. NANTUCKET IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Edouard Stackpole - soft $3.95. The Revolution gave Nantucket its own kind of trial by fire by circumstances arising from a maritime difference separating Sherborn, its seaport, from the mainland by a far greater distance than the width of Nantucket Sound. The story of how the Island survived the grim years from 1775 through 1783 is unlike that of any other part of Colonial America. It contains all the elements of fiction; but it is of far greater interest because it is true. 18th CENTURY NANTUCKET CATALOG $1.50. Our special loan exhibit held at the Fair Street Museum last summer was very well received with much critical acclaim. This attractive catalog is a must for those who were unable to visit, or as a souvenir for those who did. THE MYSTERY OF JOHN JACKSON Jean R. Merriman - soft $7.50. The title of this prodigious work continues: "18th Century Silversmith One Man or Two?" Association member, Mrs. Merriman, has written a definitive work on this Nantucket crafts man. Collectors of antique silver will find this a most worthy ad dition to their libraries. HALF SHARE MAN Clarence King - hard, Peter Folger of Nantucket $3.50. Grandfather of Benjamin Franklin. A delightful story of a remarkable man and early Nantucket history. An ideal gift. THREE BRICKS AND THREE BROTHERS Will Gardner - hard, $5.00; paper $3.50. An authentic Nantucket story of three brick mansions built by daring adventurers in whaling with foreword by Austin Strong, plus collection of beautiful gravure pictures. The hard cover edition is a suitable memento or a more permanent addition to a Nantucket library. TRIUMPHANT CAPTAIN JOHN Will Gardner - hard $3.00. An interesting account of John Gardner who contributed so much to the establishment of Nantucket and John's early family history. Also contains a special chapter about twelve early colonial founders named Gardner or Gardiner.
31
AMERICAN WHALING ON CHATHAMS GROUNDS Richards soft $1.00. A very informative booklet with pictures and drawings covering a most important section of whaling. THE CLOCK THAT TALKS AND WHAT IT TELLS Will Gard ner - hard $2.75. The story of an Island genius, Walter Folger, Congressman, astronomer, mathematician, lawyer, judge, philosopher, and clockmaker, and the famous clock he built. The man who was "as odd as huckleberry chowder." THE COFFIN FAMILY Louis Coffin - hard $10.00. A 575 page light gray with blue coat of arms, cloth bound genealogy of this famous family with introduction by Will Gardner with pictures of the Coffin homes in Nantucket, Newbury, and Devonshire, and of the 18811840 reunions. Buy now for your children, it will not be reprinted. HISTORY OF NANTUCKET ISLAND compiled by Marie M. Coffin - hard $10.00. A bibliography of source material. This catalogs all known sources of information about Nantucket and is a most at tractive book which students or casual readers about Nantucket will find invaluable. Indexed.
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