Historic Nantucket
The Old South School and Town Hall was erected in 1831, and for a full century served the needs of the Town in this dual capacity. The old bell, which summoned scholars to school and citizens to town meetings and elections is now at the Peter Foulger Museum of the Nantucket Historical Association.
Summer 1977 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-President, Henry B. Coleman Secretary, Richard C. Austin Treasurer, John N. Welch Councillors, Leroy H. True, Chairman Mrs. R. A. Orleans, Robert Tonkin, terms expire 1978; Robert D. Congdon, Harold W. Lindley, terms expire 1979; Mrs. James F. Merriman, Miss Barbara Melendy, terms expire 1980; Donald Terry, Mrs. H. Crowell Freeman, terms expire 1981. 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 Levins, Miss Barbara Nathan 1800 House: Curator, Mrs. Clare Macgregor Receptionists: Mrs. Richard Strong, Mrs. Edouard A. Stackpole Old Gaol: Curator, Albert G. Brock Receptionists: Miss Danica Buckley, Miss Nanette Caton, Ned Horton Whaling Museum: Curator, Hugh R. Chace Receptionists: Clarence H. Swift, Frank Pattison, James A. Watts, Patricia Searle, Rose Stanshigh, Alice Collins, Avery Trumbull Taylor, A. W. Craig Peter Foulger Museum: Curator and Director, Edouard A. Stackpole Receptionists: Mrs. Clara Block, Everett Finlay, E. Louise Sweet, Mary Barrett 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 Old Town Office: Curator, Hugh R. Chace Old Mill: Curator, Richard F. Swain Miller: 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; Buel Wrenne, David Branscombe Greater Light - Receptionist: Dr. Selina T. Johnson
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 25,
Summer 1977
No. 1
CONTENTS Nantucket Historical Association Officers and Staff
2
Editorial
5
Some Recently Recorded Accessions
6
President-Administrator's Report
9
Balance Sheet, May 31, 197
12
"Catching Whales"
13
Absalom Boston, His Family by Lorin Lee and Francine C. Cary
15
The United Methodist Church
24
Bequests - Address Changes
25
The Old 'Sconset Pump in 1882
26
An Old Lady of Nantucket
28
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.
<V "O
•So
c "o DH OJ •X *~*
a
o en X CTJ E T3 C Ol en 3 O _U3 '5*
2 Xu o w X "T3 c ai x Vt-I X u. cfl £ X •uu £ CJ3 Xu. 'a. O aj £ X -T3 M—i oo »-H u, «-o u £CJ T3 u 3 u •*•"'
3 *t: o JH C/3 bp <D "* X .2 x c ^ DL r- ^ O 8 bX) en C .•£ 2 *£ '3 'g
<U O c<u c tT "2 >
*
1
E- £ c
5
Nantucket's Past is Nantucket's Future
HOW OFTEN HAVE we heard the old expression: "Time will tell." But have we ever carefully examined the true meaning of the phrase? Time to the ancients meant something inexorable, a grinding out process, about which man was powerless to do anything. In our own day it is an electronic impulse around which we gauge our progress or our loss. We have even passed laws to "save" time, but for what reason is yet to be determined. But we all recognize that time past, time present and time future involves above all else a philosophy of history. Nantucket, as a community, was created by several generations of an industrious people. They gave us an Island and a Town as an American inheritance; they made possible an incalculable gift of history — a heritage as remarkable as it is priceless. Today, we are dependent on an economy made possible by our historical past. True, the lure of summer is our great season, but the growth of the off-season business is a clear proof that visitors come to Nantucket in October and April, as well — not to swim or sail but because of the attraction of the place to which the older day still lingers and where the charm of the past is clearly apparent. To insure the economy of the future it has become more and more necessary to preserve Nantucket as a place of history. In order to ac complish this our energies should be directed toward two objectives — the protection of the Town from the modern touches that deface, and the preservation of the out-lying lands as a natural setting for the Town. We must acquire as much of those areas once called the "commons" as possible; it is mandatory that stretches of beaches be set aside for public use; in some cases the land of "owners unknown" should be taken over by the county. In the Town there should be a program of re-claiming some of the old cobbled streets; the local power company should resume the process of gradually placing lines underground which they once initiated but has been permitted to lapse; the original concept of the Historic Districts Bill should be encouraged and the Commission given more legal assistance. Time is a real and not a superficial asset. While we may still utilize it we, in a community sense, should organize our efforts toward these goals. The extraordinary accomplishments of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation is an example of what may be done by private enterprise. What can be done through public undertaking must be an attempt to meet the challenge. The future depends on how much we may use the past as a viable part of the present. Edouard A. Stackpole
Some of the More Recently Recorded Interesting and Valuable Accessions by Edouard A. Stackpole IT WOULD REQUIRE a considerable space to do full justice to the listing of the interesting and valuable accessions which our Nantucket Historical Association has recorded in recent months. However, a summary of several outstanding items will be of interest to members, and serve as a reminder that visits to the several exhibit buildings and museums will show the various gifts in their new homes. An excellent oil portrait of William Starbuck (1732-1812) is the gift of Dr. Mark D. Altschule, of the Harvard Medical School. It is a well executed painting, thought to have been done by an English artist, and shows William Starbuck in his later years. Here was a Nantucket whaling merchant who served as a Selectman of the town of Sherborn during the difficult days of the American Revolution. He may be seen at the Peter Foulger Museum. Leon M. Royal has presented a model of the first successful steam engine to be used in generating electricity on Nantucket. This model was made by Mr. Royal's father, Leon Royal, who served as the chief engineer of the plant for nearly half a century. Close by in the same case with this model is the bluefish drail and line used for many years by Walter Royal, brother of the donor. The record book of the Commercial Insurance Company of Nan tucket for the period Oct. 1850 to Sept. 1871 was presented by the Pacific National Bank. This is an important acquisition as it contains manuscript documents concerning the important Nantucket whaleships of that period, including the Montano, Baltic, Edward Cary, Lydia and Clarkson. A watercolor painting of the whaleship Mount Vernon has been given by Mrs. John J. Gardner, and is now a part of our exhibit relating to the farms of Nantucket. This is not so strange as it may seem as Mount Vernon Farm was named for this ship when it was purchased by Capt. Henry Coleman. John J. Gardner worked on the farm as a young man when his father owned it. The painting is by the Nantucket artist William H. Coffin. Miss Eunice B. Haden, of Washington, D.C., a descendant of Captain Zophar Haden, of Nantucket, has presented a "Pounce Set."
INTERESTING AND VALUABLE ACCESSIONS
7
This is a small wooden box containing a powder used to blot ink on writing paper, and it dates back to 1805. An exquisite white, Chinese silk, embroidered shawl, with a deep fringe, was presented by Mrs. Mary (Brock) Lewis. It is contained in the original lacquered outer box, with the brightly colored inner box in which the shawl is wrapped in the original rice paper, and was brought home to Nantucket by Captain William Cartwright, Mrs. Brock's grandfather, on the clipper ship Houqua, and was first used by his wife, Lucretia (Coleman) Cartwright. It is on display with the exhibits on the "China Trade" at the Peter Foulger Museum. A complete set of the Project Papers prepared by the students of the Preservation Institute of Nantucket during the past three years has been donated by Professor F. Blair Reeves, Supervisor of the Institute. These represent studies of Nantucket houses and neighborhoods and are in valuable to all interested in Nantucket's architectural heritage. An unusual and valued gift came to the Association early this year when Mrs. Joseph W. Cochran and Mrs. David D. Gray presented a collection of Nantucket books and pamphlets, which is to be known as the "Lucille Ralston Collection," for our Association's Library. The donors are the daughters of Mrs. Ralston, and knowing of their mother's devotion to Nantucket felt this would serve as a fitting memorial. Placed on a special shelf in the Foulger Museum Library these books may be enjoyed by many interested in the literary history of our Island. A seaman's trunk bearing the name A. W. Starbuck is the gift of Mrs. Allen E. Norcross. Its approximate date is 1840, as Albert W. Starbuck, the owner, was a seafaring man at this time. He married Mary Joy in 1832, and he was the son of Simeon and Tamar Starbuck. The inside lid of the trunk has a large watercolor painting of a full-rigged ship. In the trunk has been placed a sail-cloth bag — a ditty bag used by a caulker or cooper, and which is a part of a collection of items which came from the Turner estate, given by Messrs. Tiffney and Boynton, who purchased the house at 27 Pine Street and were permitted to present a collection of articles that were owned by the Turner family who had lived there. Among the items were framed photographs of the Old Mill, opening Hummock Pond, and the Snow Storm of 1930, all taken by the distinguished Nantucket Editor Harry B. Turner. As the gift of Robert D. Congdon, of Nantucket, we have received an unusual account book, dated 1872, as kept by Captain Robert McCleave, one of our outstanding whaling masters. Much of the pages contain copies made by Capt. McCleave and his wife, Eliza Ann McCleave, of
8
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Nantucket genealogical records from 1830 to 1890, with some interesting written comments in the last few pages of the volume. From Robert Tristram Coffin, of Stanfordville, N.Y., comes a family heirloom intimately connected with the Coffin family and Nantucket. This is a Powder Horn, which once belonged to the original Tristram Coffin, one of the leaders in the original settlement of Nantucket. When Abishai Coffin moved from the Island to Dutchess County, New York, in 1773, he took the Horn with him, and his son, Robert Coffin, inherited it. Charles Coffin, grandson of Abishai, acquired it and placed the date of 1840 on it — just two hundred years after the original Tristram Coffin brought it to his home in Salisbury, Mass. Robert J. Leach, who has been with the International School at Geneva, Switzerland, for over two decades, and who is well known as a writer and student of Nantucket's Quaker history, has presented two of his valuable manuscripts, together with his verbal statements of the same in cassettes. These are: "Why Nantucket Quakers?" an annotated bibliography, listing, developed from an earlier work entitled "Nantucket Monthly Meeting;" and Vol. Ill, "Nantucket Monthly Meeting — 17631773." Mr. Leach has compiled an impressive series on Nantucket and the Society of Friends, and his work is deeply appreciated. One of the most significant gifts in recent years is the Logbook of the Nantucket whaling sloop Diamond, on a voyage from Nantucket to the Grand Banks and the Straits of Belle Isle, from July 4, 1765 to October 18, 1765, under Captain John Aken. The Logbook was kept by Thomas Kempton, of Dartmouth, Mass. It is historically important as it not only represents one of the earliest logbooks extant but provides an excellent study of the period, with its listing of other whaling sloops from this Island on the whaling grounds. Mrs. Marjorie McMaster, of Columbia, South Carolina, is the donor to whom the Association is indebted for a thoughtful and valuable gift. E. A. S.
President — Administrator's Report
9
to the
Annual Meeting July 19,1977 A CAREFUL ANALYSIS of the Treasurer's report will show that jve had a good year in spite of the deficit. We welcome your questions. We made great strides this year in upgrading our exhibits in the Whaling Museum under Mr. Chace; the Peter Foulger under Mr. Stackpole; the Hadwen House, Mrs. Swain; the Oldest House, Mrs. Baird; and the Macy House under Mrs. Baldwin. I am not going into details but rather beg you to see for yourselves. All have devoted a great amount of time and thought to their particular exhibit. We are very fortunate to have such dedicated people. Eighteenth Century Nantucket under Mrs. Greene was not the financial success we had hoped for but, in every other way, a great ac complishment which received considerable professional recognism. Mr. Richmond devoted hours and hours of work preparing the Lightship to become a museum and arranging for students to live and work aboard. It is living up to expectations and will increase in im portance as the programs develop. The Maria Mitchell aquarium in stalled aboard the ship and maintained by them is a very valuable educational and interesting factor. I dislike to mention renovation or restoration in relation to our buildings but must face the fact that the 1800 House was in need of both. After a winter of research and hard work Mrs. Macgregor has made it a beautiful exhibit we are proud to show. By all means, see for yourselves. You will be pleased and appreciative of the skill and hard work she has put into this project. We thought all of our buildings were finally in reasonably good shape but alas! rot was found in the main shaft at the Mill and this is now being replaced. A piece of white oak 18" square and some 20 ft. long had to be found, turned, scarfed, morticed, and fitted. It was even necessary to build a lathe to handle the job. Mr. Swain, the Curator, with the help of John Gilbert, has done a commendable job and we will be grinding corn again soon.
10
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
With the help of a $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for Humanities we are having a professional study and processing of the material in our research library. The fact that they would allocate this amount of money after a preliminary survey is an indication of the im portance of our collection. Mr. Stackpole is in charge of this project. Only special digs will be undertaken this year by the Archaeology Dept. under Mrs. Young, but a great amount of data gathering and recording is being done in order to correlate the information already obtained by private digs and collections. Anyone especially interested in helping on the Archaeology program should contact her. We published Nantucket in the American Revolution by Mr. Stackpole, and Whales by Dr. Craig. Neither have, as yet, proven very suc cessful financially but both are of great importance educationally. The Garden Club has continued to develop the Hadwen House garden, even installing an underground sprinkler system. This garden is already very attractive but they assure me that they have plans to make it even more beautiful. A total of 191 plaques have been issued for houses before 1812. There are still a few with documentation yet to be checked. We are greatly in debted to Mrs. Merriman for the hours she has spent in verifying the age of these houses. Some very excellent accessions have been received. Two beautiful ship models, an especially valuable log book, the railroad and Nobska collection, and several others. Attention will be called to these gifts in a later report. We continue to cooperate with the University of Mass. special study group at the Peter Foulger during the winter. Students and instructors expressed great satisfaction over this program. Besides this, we have worked with students from the Nantucket schools, Preservation Institute, the American Field Study groups, and several smaller units. We are now mailing nearly 10,000 copies of Historic Nantucket each year and answering close to 500 letters about genealogy, Nantucket history, and various matters. We do some of this at the office but Mr. Stackpole supplies much of the information and writes a sizeable number of replies himself. Neither generates any income but they are an important part of our educational program and we are fortunate to have a man with his knowledge and memory as our Historian.
PRESIDENT'S — ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT
11
Mr. Stackpole has given two lectures, spoken to several civic organizations, and made a number of documentaries of historic sketches for showing on Channel 3, as part of our educational program. Dr. Craig is doing a series of articles for the newspaper. Special plans for the summer have already been described on the colored sheet enclosed with your call to the Annual Meeting. More in formation will be forthcoming. Plans for the future must include continued effort on preservation. Our buildings are in reasonably good shape but they are old and old buildings are constantly in need of repairs. Portraits and prints, which were in really bad condition, have been restored but many others need work done on them, especially some of the frames. Artifacts from someone's attic are often valuable additions to our collection but in variably need repairs to make them of museum quality. We are progressing with plans for a scrimshaw exhibit at the Peter Foulger next summer and a needlework exhibit the following year. They will both be high quality professional exhibits and should attract widespread interest. Other plans for the coming year and the future will depend greatly upon the money available. I plan to appoint an ad hoc committee to study our needs and recommend immediate and long-range plans. In the meantime, may I reemphasize that our door is always open for a con ference or suggestions, even criticism, from members. It is your Association. In conclusion, I express our great appreciation for the competence and devotion of our staff and personnel, both paid and volunteer. These are the people who make the Association what it is and most have par ticipated in our rapid growth during the past few years. Our operation is now eight times what it was when I joined the staff. To them, and to you, its members, I am most grateful for your en thusiastic support and great contributions. Leroy H. True
NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION Balance Sheet as of May 31, 1977 ASSETS Cash on hand & demand deposits Savings Accounts Pledge Receivable Due from restricted funds Investments Physical Plant
$
5,502 28,002 1,500 28,539 604,068 1,202,969 1,870,580
LIABILITIES Taxes Payable Unrestricted fund balance Restricted fund balance
577 1,515,024 354,979 1,870,580
INCOME Admissions Dues Donations Plaques Merchandise sales Interest & dividends
EXPENSES Salaries & Wages Utilities Construction-Repairs-Maintenance Archaeology Insurance Advertising-Printing Office supplies & expenses Professional fees
$73,380 33,140 21,992 550 33,602 36,491
66,868 15,407 68,371 218 10,981 5,837 2,918 1,100
$199,155
BALANCE SHEET; "CATCHING WHALES" Plaques Miscellaneous Purchase for resale
2,104 922 26,882
13
201,608 ($2,453)
Report of Rodriques, Guckin & Tobojka, Auditors, available to members at the Association office. John N. Welch Treasurer
"Catching Whales" — An Island Yarn THE LATE MILDRED Howland Brooks, who as Secretary for the Sons and Daughters of Nantucket did so much to maintain that loyal group which met each year in Boston, had a fund of Nantucket stories. One of her favorites was the following "yarn:" "A Nantucket whaling master often sat by his old fashioned fireplace with his wife beside him. He would reminisce, with the flickering flames lighting up the venerable couple and the background of the old kitchen. Occasionally, he would lean forward and poke the fire, so that the flames blazed merrily. It may have been the pictures the old captain saw in the flames that caused story after story to fall from his lips, each one ending with a more wonderful catch of whales. His patient partner, listening quietly one long winter evening as still another story was recounted, suddenly spoke up: "Reuben, Reuben, Seems to me you've caught more whales before this fireplace than you ever did in the Pacific Ocean!"
Captain Absalom Boston, the first black whaling master, of Nantucket, who commanded the ship Industry, in 1822, a vessel that was manned entirely by black officers and whalemen.
Absalom F. Boston, His Family, and Nantucket's Black Community
15
Lorin Lee Cary Francine C. Cary THE PORTRAIT OF Absalom F. Boston which hangs in the Peter Foulger Museum suggests a strong-willed and ambitious man. Outfitted in formal dress attire, complete with black cross tie, Boston gazes con fidently at the likenesses of other whaling captains which hang nearby. Common ties with the sea bind Boston to those other Nantucketers. Yet there is a difference. Absalom F. Boston was black, as was the entire crew of the ship Industry which he commanded in 1822. This article is an attempt to begin to relate what we have learned so far about Absalom Boston, his family, and the community he helped shape. Reconstructing the Boston's history is not an easy task, for like most working-class people they left no convenient collection of family papers. Their story has to be culled from diverse and scattered materials, among them land, probate, and court records, crew lists, selectmen's journals, Revolutionary War pension files, school reports, minutes of town meetings, and local newspapers. Born in 1785, Absalom F. Boston was a third generation Nantucketer, the son of Seneca and Thankful Micah Boston and the grandson of Boston and Maria Boston. We do not know when Absalom's grand parents came to the Island, but both were slaves owned by yeoman William Swain (1668-1770). Swain freed the two prior to the Revolution, although it is not clear exactly when. On November 23, 1751 he signed a statement that "Boston a Negro Man lately my servant is a free man & not a slave but hath liberty to trade & trafick with anybody & to go where he pleaseth. . ." Nine years later, on July 31, 1760, Swain drew up formal papers of manumission, freeing "my Negro Slaves" Boston and Maria "for and in Consideration of the Many good & faithful Services. . .Done Me. ." Swain stipulated that Boston, Maria, and "their youngest son" were to be freed immediately. Six other children were to remain slaves "untill they arrive to twenty Eight years of age" and Toby, then 21 and the oldest child, was to be freed at age 25 if he served "faithfully" until that time. Because of this stipulation, Swain had to list each child's birth date. Their pames and the dates of their births are as follows, Toby (also Tobias), 9 May 1739; Essex, 8 July 1741; Seneca, 17 March 1744; Patience, 13 March 1747; Prince, 15 March 1750; Silas, 28 June 1752;
16 HISTORIC NANTUCKET and George, 20 June 1755. No birth date is listed for the youngest Boston, later known as Peter, since he became free immediately. 1 Swain's decision to manumit his slaves meshed with a long-standing Quaker aversion to slavery on the Island, but other circumstances determined the actual timetables of their freedom. William Swain freed Toby in 1762, two years earlier than scheduled, for reasons unknown, while Prince gained his freedom three years ahead of schedule as a result of a court case in 1773. In the early 1770s Prince signed on as a crew member of the whaling sloop Friendship, owned by William Rotch, a well-known Quaker. When Captain Elisha Folger paid Prince his share of the proceeds at the end of the voyage, John Swain sued Folger to recover the money. The jury, however, ruled in favor of Folger and the magistrates of the Nantucket Court of Common Pleas, it seems, then freed Prince Boston, the first such case in the Commonwealth. Swain appealed the decision but, "discouraged by the feelings of the people and the circumstances of the country," changed his mind when Rotch let it be known that he might retain Boston attorney John Adams as counsel. 2 One year after the court ruled against him, and perhaps chastened by his experience with Prince Boston, Swain in 1774 freed Silas Boston. Then only 22, Silas agreed in return to make one more whaling voyage for Swain. 3 In the years after they gained their freedom, the children of Boston and Maria began to raise families, build homes, and establish themselves as independent workers. Between 1770 and 1790 Tobias, a whale fisherman, Seneca, a weaver, and Essex, a shoemaker, for example, all 1 Nantucket Court Records, Registry Deeds, V, p. 225, VI, p. 264. (Hereinafter cited as Registry Deeds.) For Peter, see Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, Microcopy No. M-804, Roll No. 292, National Archives. 2 Nantucket Court Records, Court of Common Pleas, I, October 1773, pp. 297-98; Nantucket Inquirer, 14 ]*eb., 14 March 1822; Alexander Starbuck, The History of Nantucket: County, Island, and Town (reprint: Rutland, Vt„ 1969; orig. pbd. 1924); George H. Moore, Notes on the History of Slavery in Massachusetts (reprint: New York 1968; orig. pbd. 1886), p. 117; Edouard A. Stackpole, The Sea Hunters: The New England Whalemen During Two Centuries, 1635-1835 (New York, 1953, p. 287. 3 Registry Deeds, IX, p . 102.
ABSALOM BOSTON
17
bought land in the West Monomoy shares, out Pleasant Street toward the old mill.4 During the next half-century other second and third generation Bostons would buy part or most of the land in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh lots of the West Monomoy shares. Other blacks lived in this area as well. The weaver Africa acquired land there in 1723, Pompey, a sailor, in 1775, and Cato, a ropemaker, in 1774.5 As the number of blacks increased, to 274 or nearly four per cent of the Island's population in 1820, the area became known as New Guiney, While that name pointed to the African roots of its inhabitants, many of the families who lived there were, like the Bostons, native-born Nantucketers. Thus the Bostons passed on, from generation to generation, a sense of familial responsibilities, pride, and love of freedom. The story of Absalom's father, Seneca, suggests the nature of these cross-generational influences and the implications of the passage from slavery to freedom. In early 1770, then 26, Seneca married Thankful Micah, probably an In dian. Four years later and now a free man, Seneca bought from Barnabas Coffin twenty four square rods of land in Newtown, near the house where his mother Maria lived with her new husband Pompey. Here the weaver Seneca built his workshop and home and here he and Thankful raised their children. They named one child Freeborn, eloquent testimony to the joy created by Seneca's own release from bondage. Their other children, all given biblical names, were Reuben, Thomas, Joseph, Mary, Hannah, and Absalom. This naming pattern reflects the strong religious beliefs which sustained the family and which manifested themselves later in the family's efforts to establish a church in Newtown. With the exception of their father, all males in the family were mariners for some or most of their working lives.6 Absalom began his career as a mariner in about 1800. Where his name appears in land and probate records prior to 1820 he is listed as "Black Man Mariner." Although successful enough at this occupation so that he could purchase land while still in his early twenties, by 1820 Absalom is listed as both a "laborer" and a "mariner." In that year, by
4 Registry Deeds, VIII, p. 177; X, p. 319; XII, p. 83. 5 Registry Deeds, IV, p. 18; V, p. 302; IX, p. 40. 6 Nantucket Court Records, Court of Common Pleas, I, pp. 4, 99; Registry Deeds, X, p. 319; XXII, pp. 168-69; Nantucket County Probate Records, 1804-1850, V, p. 378.
18
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
then 35 years old, he also applied for and obtained from the county commissioners a license to run a "public inn,"7 But Boston made one more voyage before he retired from whaling. In many ways the voyage of the Industry, with Absalom F. Boston as captain, was an outgrowth of the pride and heightened nationalism which characterized the black community of Nantucket as it grew in size and stability beginning in the 1820s. Probably a joint venture involving several Nantucket blacks, the Industry left Nantucket for the Bay of Mexico on May 12, 1822, its all-black crew and officers conscious of both the uniqueness of the venture and its relationship to the "noble colored tars" who helped man the whaling vessels of the era. Although the In dustry returned in six months with only seventy barrels of oil, not much for the time, the crew believed it had been a worthwhile voyage. Boston, certainly, won the esteem of his fellow whalers, friends, and relations. As one member of the admiring crew wrote: Here is health to Captain Boston His officers and crew And if he gets another craft To sea with him I'll go.8 Boston, however, did not get another craft, and since the voyage did not pay for itself, the Industry and its whaling apparatus were auctioned off upon his return. It seems that the thirty-seven-year-old Boston stayed on land for the remainder of his life, using his talents to contribute to the building up of the black community in which his family lived and worked. In the 1830s Absalom opened a store on property he owned in Newtown. There, until his death, he sold assorted "goods, wares and mer chandise."? 7 Registry Deeds, XXII, pp. 69-70; XXV, p. 387; XXVI, p. 155; Nantucket Court Records, Court of Sessions, 1817-1833, County Commissioners, 9 Oct. 1820, n.p.; County Commissioners Records, I, p. 99. 8 N a n t u c k e t I n q u i r e r , 16, 23 and 30 May, 11 June, 6 and 20 Aug., 5 and 19 Nov. 1822; "Schooner Industrys (Expedi)tion on a Whaling Cruise, A Song Composed on Board of Her," manuscript in possession and quoted with permission of Edouard A. Stackpole. Our thanks to Sidney Kaplan of the University of Massachusetts for sharing with us his information on the Industry. 9 N a n t u c k e t I n q u i r e r , 17 and 24 Dec. 1822, 15 April 1823; Nan tucket Court Records, Court of Common Pleas, pp. 218-19, 437-38, 556; Registry Deeds, XXXII, pp. 51-2, 396-97, 574-75; XLIII, pp. 228-29; Nantucket County Probate Records, XIX, pp. 122-23, 123-24, 126-27, 448-49.
ABSALOM BOSTON
19
During his years as a mariner primarily, Absalom married twice, in 1808 to Mary Spywood and in 1814 to Phebe G. Spriggins, a second cousin from the line of Tobias. It is not clear what happened to Mary, but Phebe died in 1826 at the age of thirty-two. Mary and Absalom had one child, Charles Frederick, who became a mariner like his father and made several whaling voyages prior to his death in July 1833 at the age of twenty-four. Absalom and Phebe had two children, Henry (1819-1844), also a mariner, and Caroline (1818-?). Caroline married a James Clough in 1839, had at least one child, Amelia, and remained one of the few Bostons on Nantucket after 1864. Another child, its name and sex unknown, died in 1818 at the age of one. In 1827, a year after Phebe's death, Absalom married Hannah Cook of New Bedford, one indication of the ties between that whaling port and Nantucket. Together they had five children. The first bore a popular name in the Boston family, Phebe Ann; born in 1828, she died in 1849of dysentary. Absalom F. Jr., born in 1832, died in April 1835, and with him his father's name. Two other sons followed, Oliver C. in 1836 and Thomas L. in 1837. Sarah, Absalom and Hannah's last child, was born in 1841 and died in 1846.10 The early death of many of Absalom's children suggests that a great deal of personal tragedy accompanied his efforts to support his family. But the children and grandchildren of Boston and Maria were a large and close-knit family with a strong sense of kinship ties and obligations. In the late 1820s and 1830s, for example, Absalom housed and supported his older brothers Joseph and Reuben, the mariner Reuben, in particular, long-plagued by financial difficulties. As Essex Boston had supported his aging mother Maria and stepfather Pompey, so did Absalom's brother Freeborn care for their aged and "insane" mother Thankful, following the wishes of their father Seneca as stipulated in his will. The Bostons, moreover, loaned each other money, shared land and dwellings, and worked hard to maintain and increase the land-holdings of Seneca, Tobias, Essex, and Peter. 11 10 Vital Records, III, pp. 108-10; V, pp. 67-8; Vital Records of New Bedford, II, p. 66; "List of Persons Composing the Crew of the Ship Ann of Nantucket," 15 Dec. 1827, New Bedford Crew Lists, Record Group 36, National Archives; Nantucket County Probate Records, XIII, pp. 456-57; 1850 Census, microfilm, National Archives. 11 1830 Census, Manuscript, Town Clerk's Office; Registry Deeds, XVII, p. 133; XXII, pp. 69-70, 83-4, 168-69; XXVIII, pp. 99-100, 38889; XXIX, p. 301; XXXII, pp. 25-6; XXXV, pp. 423-25; XXXVII, pp. 404-05; XLVIII, pp. 167-68; LI, p. 461; Nantucket Countv Probate Records, V, pp. 214-15, 378; Selectmen's Journal, 1784-95, pp. 36, 37; General Accounts, Town of Nantucket, 1827-37, 29 March 1827, n.p.
20
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Such an augmented kinship system enabled the Bostons to establish themselves as a cohesive force in Newtown. Sharing with all Nantucketers the ups and downs of the Island's economy, the Bostons, like other blacks, struggled to maintain themselves economically, to hold their family together and care for their welfare across and within generations, and to provide opportunities and services to the broader black community as well. The family's position was further enhanced because of its ties — through marriage, friendship, common concerns and interests — to other members of Nantucket's black community. Through marriage, for in stance, the Bostons were related to such Newtown families as the Pompeys, Barlows, Godfreys, Summonses, and Williamses — all of which stretched back into eighteenth-century Nantucket — as well as to the Harrises, Groves, Berrys, and Douglases. 12 Together these families formed the nucleus of the free black com munity on Nantucket. By 1820 the Newtown or New Guiney area consisted of a cluster of houses, gardens, and pastures geographically limited to the West Monomoy shares in the southwestern outskirts of the town and physically separated from the white community by the sheep barrier at the end of Pleasant Street which became known as Newtown Gate. Yet a strong sense of pride developed in this community, as its inhabitants struggled to make the most of the opportunities available to them at the time. Along with its own inn, and a store or two, there existed a "Meeting House" which served as a dancing hall as well. The com munity also had a cemetery, a collective place to bury its dead and to preserve the kinship ties which linked the past and present. 13 Many of the stones, dating back to the late 18th century and including some of those belonging to the Bostons, still stand, graced by the symbol of a palm or weeping willow tree. During this period Nantucket blacks also established their own churches and a school. In both endeavors the Bostons played important 12 Vital Records, III, pp. 108-10; V, pp. 67-8; Nantucket Court Records, I (4 and 14 Jan. 1770, 9 May 1771, 5 Nov. 1772,28 Aug. 1785), n.p.; II (9 Aug. 1789), n.p. The federal censuses between 1790 and 1880 were also useful in establishing such ties. 13 Clay Lancaster, The Architecture of Historic Nantucket (New York, 1972), pp. 216-17; Stackpole, The Sea Hunters, p. 167; Emil F. Guba, Nantucket Odyssey: A Journey into the History of Nantucket (Waltham, Ma., 1965), pp. 103-04; Registry Deeds, XXXIII, p. 512; Nantucket Inquirer, 9 Aug., 8Nov. 1824, 16 May 1825.
ABSALOM BOSTON
21
roles. Absalom, for example, served as a trustee of the African Baptist Church, erected in 1825 at the corner of Pleasant and York Streets. The church, which also housed the African School, still stands although it is badly in need of restoration. The history of these institutions is a fascinating story, but space limitations preclude fuller treatment here. Suffice it to say that their formation testified to the sense of community among Nantucket blacks. By the 1830s Newtown's inhabitants shared with Absalom Boston the belief that theirs was indeed a "pleasant and healthy" village. 14 After 1830 Absalom remained one of the most prominent blacks on the Island. In addition to running his shop, he periodically received votes for local offices, bought and sold land, played an active role in the Baptist church, and fought for equal educational opportunities for black children. In 1845, for instance, Absalom filed suit on behalf of his daughter to gain admittance to the high school. 15 Although the decline of the whaling industry in the 1840s compelled many blacks to leave Nantucket in search of jobs, Absalom Boston, 65 in 1850, remained on the Island, as did many of his relatives and friends. With the Pompeys, Godfreys, and Harrises, among others, Absalom and his family still formed the basis of the black community, as they had for decades. Though some of these names linger on throughout the Civil War years and into the late nineteenth century, the Boston family's history becomes increasingly obscure after Absalom's death.
14 Nantucket Inquirer, 16 Aug. 1821, 3 and 31 Jan., 11 April 1825, 9 Dec. 1826; Starbuck, History of Nantucket, pp. 566, 572, 573, 574-75, 589-90; Guba, Nantucket Odyssey, pp. 136, 280-91; Registry Deeds, XXVIII, pp. 207-08, 438-39; XXXV, p. 221; Selectmen's Journal, 14 March 1836-10 Jan. 1845, pp. 127, 193, 224. See also School Committee Reports, 1820s through 1840s, Book of Records, Town of Nantucket, Town Clerk's Office. 15 Book.of Records, 1829-34, Town Meeting of 11 Nov. 1833, n.p.; 1838-40, Town Meeting of 11 Feb. 1839, pp. 118, 120-21; Registry Deeds, XXXII, pp. 51-2, 396-97, 574-75; XXXIII, pp. 85-6, 86-7, 87-8; XXXIV, pp. 287-88; XXXV, p. 221; XXXVI, pp. 4-5; XXXVII, pp. 282-83, 309-10; XXXIX, pp. 492-93; XLIII, pp. 228-29; XLVI, pp. 20506; LI, p. 461; Nantucket Court Records, Court of Common Pleas, Docket Book, 1839-49, p. 201.
22
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Absalom died on June 6, 1855, at the age of 69. He died in Nan tucket where he was born, and was buried in the Boston family plot in the Old South or "colored peoples'" cemetery. Perhaps the wealthiest black on Nantucket, Absalom left behind a relatively sizeable estate, his land alone valued at $1,000 in 1850 and somewhat more by the time of his death. In addition to his own home, he owned a store, two other houses, a garden lot on York Street and a mowing lot on Pleasant Street. 16
16 Deaths, Town of Nantucket, 1850-89, p. 20; 1850 Census, microfilm, National Archives; inventory and appraisal of Absalom F. Boston's estate, Nantucket County Probate Records, XIX, pp. 126-27, 448-49.
The Colored People's Cemetery, south of Mill Hill Park, where Captain Boston and other members of the black community are buried.
ABSALOM BOSTON
23
Hannah died not long thereafter. Other family members gradually dispersed, Thomas, a barber, settling in New Bedford where his mother had been born, for example. By the time of the Civil War Nantucket records contain few references to Islanders who still bore the last name Boston. The final listing we have found to date is for Benajah C. Boston, the son of Benajah, grandson of Peter, great grandson of Boston and Maria, and second cousin of Absalom. He appears on an 1864 roster of men eligible for service in the state militia. Next to his name are two words which, like the tombstones of his relatives in close proximity to the old mill, point to the links between the Boston family and the broader Nantucket community. Benajah C. Boston, the list indicates, was "at sea."17
17 Nantucket County Probate Records, XIX, p. 446; Registry Deeds, LV, pp. 184-87; Book of Records, Nantucket Town, 1863-69, pp. 90-91.
The United Methodist Church METHODISM ON NANTUCKET traces its origin to the year George Washington left the presidency, 1796. Jesse Lee, a great pioneering Methodist, came to the island in April, 1797, and preached sixteen sermons in eighteen days. The following year the Reverend Joseph Snelling came from Martha's Vineyard and, for lack of a sufficiently large room, he held open air meetings on Mill Hill. Many were converted. The Reverend Mr. Snelling was followed by the Reverend William Beauchamp who organized the first Methodist Society on July 25, 1799, with nineteen charter members. Several months later, on January first, 1800, he dedicated the first Methodist Episcopal Church on Fair Street, corner of Lyon Street. Increasing membership during the succeeding years made the erection of a new building imperative. Accordingly, the present building was erected in 1823, with the sanctuary seating 1,000 persons. Extensive improvements were made in 1840 when the high pulpit, standing in the front of the church, was translocated to the rear where it now stands, and the pews turned to face it. A new gable roof was built right over the old one, and a portico impressive with six Ionic pillars, was constructed. An interesting episode in connection with the history of this church occurred during the Great Fire on 1846 in which one third of the town was swept away. While the fire was furiously advancing toward the church orders had been given to dynamite the building in order to check the fire. As the kegs of powder were being brought, Maria Mitchell heard of the plan and ascended the steps to the church and, facing the group of men with folded arms, defied them to carry out their plan. At that instant, the wind changed its course and the church with the rest of the town was saved. Maria, of course, became a heroine. The simplicity and strength of the design reflect the sturdy character and masculine reverence of the sea-faring men who built this church. The ceiling is supported by 12 x 12 timbers 60 feet long. The secret of its beauty lies in its sturdy simplicity. That quality is seen in the deep paneling of the balconies, the single wide board that forms the pew back, and the mahogany top-rail that has no intricate carving but ends in graceful design. The paneled door of each pew, so quaintly reminiscent of another era, originally served the practical purpose of holding in the heat of the foot warmers provided by each pew-holder. The owners also had individually designed hymn book racks and arm rests installed in their pews.
THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
25
Of historic interest is the Appleton Pipe Organ, one of the five known organs of Colonial times in continual use today. During the summer of 1940 the church observed its 150th an niversary. For this occasion extensive improvements were made. The entire interior of the sanctuary was redecorated, and a new carpeting was laid. The "Upper Room" was also re-painted. In the new church activities center can be seen the original beams which were hand hewn and brought here on ships. The Society has been in continuous operation since 1799, and the building is one of Methodism's historic churches. (The above article was furnished by Miss Jane E. Crawford, and is re-printed from a Methodist Church folder especially prepared for the Nantucket Church.)
I Bequests or gifts to the Nantucket Historical Association are tax deductible. They are greatly needed and appreciated.
26
The Old 'Sconset Pump in 1882
ONE OF NANTUCKET'S notable citizens of a past generation was Miss Annie Alden Folger, a great-grand-daughter of the Island genius, Walter Folger, Jr., and the long term member of the Nantucket Historical Association who presented the famous Folger Clock to the Nantucket Historical Association. Among Miss Folger's collection of family treasures was a well preserved photograph which showed a group around the old 'Sconset Pump in July, 1882, a staged view posed for the notable photographer Henry S. Wyer. Some years ago, at the request of a neighbor, Miss Folger identified those in the group. She described the arrangement of the several people in the scene as being carefully positioned by Mr. Wyer, who selected a clear morning for the occasion. Miss Folger identified the individuals as follows: "The man seated in the dray was Henry R. Tucker, of Boston, a summer resident who contributed to and led the drive to restore the old pump a few months before. The horse and box wagon belonged to George C. Gardner, and the man in the wagon may be Avery Gardner. At the back of the pump is Joe Norcross, brother of Bert Norcross and Becky Norcross. I am the girl standing proudly at the pump handle. I have forgotten the name of the boy in front, but I think he was a boarder at Oliver Folger's house, close by. In the middle background was the house on Broadway where Mrs. Mitchell lived with her sons Henry Mitchell and Joseph Clapp. Whenever I see this photograph I think of that favorite line: 'Backward, turn backward, O time in your flight; make me a child again just for tonight'." Any photograph taken 95 years ago is of historic interest, especially one of the venerable 'Sconset Pump. The event concerning Henry R. Tucker, to which Miss Folger referred, took place on July 18, 1882, and was a well attended ceremony celebrated by villagers and summer residents. General Henry A. Barnum made some interesting comments in his opening remarks, and introduced Henry R. Tucker as the man whose benevolence, while "not ranking with the great endowments which have immortalized the names of Harvard, an Astor, or a Peabody, largely partook of a better quality of the human heart that moved those men to generous deeds." He introduced Mr. Tucker, who spoke briefly and
modestly;
followed by the Rev. Phebe Ann Hanaford, who read an original poem
THE OLD 'SCONSET PUMP
27
written especially for the occasion. The inimitable Edward F. Underhill, the unofficial "mayor" of 'Sconset, delivered a humorous address, for which he became noted; Dr. Arthur E. Jenks read an ode composed for the event; The Hon. S. M. Cutcheon, of Detroit, entertained with more humorous remarks, at the conclusion of which verses written to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, written by H. G. Brooks and made available to the gathering. The ceremonies came to a close with a rousing three cheers for Mrs. P. M. Almy, who served as chairman of the committee which arranged for the occasion.
During the next two decades a fence and a drinking fountain for horses became an added feature of the Pump. A photograph taken in 1902 shows these additions, also the street lamp (kerosene) erected close at hand. During last year's Bicentennial Year, the 'Sconseters conducted an "open house" day, which was remarkable for the interest it engen dered, and the venerable Pump, which actually began its existence in 1776 through a public subscription, was an important part of the village affair.
28
An Old Lady of Nantucket by Margaret Hosmer
DOWN IN INDEPENDENCE Lane, Nantucket Town, which now has its western end obliterated and blocked by buildings, there once stood a low, unpainted house with a green front door, ornamented with a large brass knocker. This was the home of Aunt Betsey, who, since the death of her-sea-captain husband, rented the lower part of her house and lived alone in the upper rooms, which consisted of two front rooms, a low kitchen at the back, and the tiny room where she slept. A large chimney and entry occupied the center of the house. In the south front chamber stood a 4-poster bedstead with a canopy and valance and counterpane of Aunt Betsey's own handiwork. Her husband, who had been a captain in the merchant service, had brought many curious things from abroad which lent an air of unusual interest to this unused guest chamber. The old lady wore silks brought by her husband from China and France. An embroidered muslin kerchief, folded and tucked into her belt, and a cap tied with "laylock ribbins," completed her attire. When she went out to spend the afternoon she folded over her shoulders a large white muslin shawl with deep embroidered border, and wore a drab shirred silk bonnet, or sometimes a huge green silk calash that could be drawn up close around her face by the proper pulling of adjacent strings. She carried her sewing materials in an oval basket, with a handle over the middle, and covers which could be lifted up at each end. The aunt's winter costume consisted of an enormous pelisse, a fur cape and a black velvet bonnet. On windy days, when she plodded along to the North Church, the cape annoyed her by persistent flapping, to prevent which she affixed a large hook-and-eye in the middle of the back; and on warmer days, when the cape was not needed, the pelisse flaunted the solitary eye with impunity. Aunt Betsey was a pillar of the church and never missed a Sunday service or a Friday evening "lecture". Once, while visiting in New York State, she and her friends attended a revival meeting. After the service, she was startled when the speaker came up to her, "stuck his head into my bunnit, and said:'Do you know the Lord?' I stared right back at him. 'Know the Lord,' I said, 'I knew him before you were born!"' The little grand-nieces of this strong-minded old lady liked to visit her in the house on Independence Lane. The afternoons passed quickly in
AN OLD LADY OF NANTUCKET
29
her parlor, among the many things her husband's ship had brought home. A secretary stood in this room, the front of which could be rolled back and forth before its pigeon-holes. Upon the top lay Aunt Betsey's green baize Bible, with pages reserved for the family record. Over the secretary hung an oil painting of her husband, who looked very imposing in a highshouldered coat with brass buttons, a nankeen-colored vest, ruffled shirt front, and a stock that came out under his chin and reached to his ears. .Close above his eye brows his hair was cut in a bang, and his queue was tied with a black ribbon. The eyes of this portrait had a peculiarlook, as if they were following a person about the room. Eunice, the little grand-niece, who often visited Aunt Betsey, did not like to stay alone with the picture. She would peep up suspiciously at it, and then run into the kitchen where the cheerful rattle of the old lady's pots and pans soon dispelled any idle fears. In the corner of the parlor a buffet was built, which Aunt Betsey called the "bo-fat," and through its glass doors could be seen a complete set of blue Canton china, brought home by her captain-husband. "There isn't a nick or crack in them," she often announced proudly. She called her blue dishes "Indja china," as did other Nantucket housewives with similar sets, as they were brought from the Far East by vessels in the East India Company ships. Although the blue china predominated the buffet it also included a great rectangular soup tureen, large latticed fruit dishes, little cups with covers, sauce boats, a gravy dish with boars' heads for handles, the double hot-water plates which could be filled with hot water through the sides, the soup plates, deep saucers, and the countless pieces with the pattern of the legendary willow. Aunt Betsey loved to tell the story of the pattern — the lovers who were changed into doves, the angry father, the bridge, the casket of jewels. In the lower part of the buffet, behind the wooden doors, were jars of preserved ginger, tamarinds in little engraved glasses of foreign work manship, and other dainties to which the little nieces were sometimes treated. In the afternoon, Aunt Betsey baked her biscuit for supper in the large open fireplace in the parlor. After making up the biscuit in her hands, she packed them closely in a circle in the round, deep baking pan. By turning the crane, screwed against the wall of the fireplace, she selected an iron pot-hook, hanging from it, on which she hung the pan of biscuit over the fire, and when the dough began to rise she raked up the coals and placed them on the cover of the pan to brown the biscuit. On each side of the fireplace was a tiny cupboard. One of these contained her small store of books, among them being "The Shepherd of
30
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
Salisbury Plain," and a volume with queer old wood-cuts, one of which depicted a man with a peaked beard and high ruff which she identified as the discoverer of America but who more closely resembled Sir Walter Raleigh. In the other cupboard was a jar of "molasses sugar," which she used in cooking fruit, and which she often treated her little nieces. Little Niece Eunice enjoyed the quiet afternoons at Aunt Betsey's old parlor. She admired the pair of ornamented vases on the mantle, which held feather flowers with small stuffed birds perched here and there among them, brought from France. The little girl liked the Chinese books made of sparkling white rice paper and with covers of silk, containing brilliantly colored pictures of birds and flowers and Chinese ladies with their brightly colored clothing, slanted eyes and wonderfully long finger nails that were a mark of royalty. She also enjoyed playing with curious Chinese toys — nodding mandarins, lacquered glove boxes, and a paper jackanapes that slid up and down a stick. There were also Nantucket creations, silhouettes representing Aunt Betsey's brothers, with their hair tied at the back with ribbons and ruffled shirt fronts. Sometimes her aunt would take her to a carpenter's shop near by, where the child gathered odd-shaped pieces of white wood, with which she built houses on the floor when they returned to the house. At such times Aunt Betsey would be busy in the kitchen, sweeping the hearth, using a long-handled broom made of coarse beach grass, or perhaps skimming milk with a quahaug shell, its inner side more shining white then the cream. In those long-ago days every parlor had its dozen chairs exactly alike, and in Aunt Betsey's parlor, in a solemn row against the wall stood the rush-bottomed chairs. The little nieces liked to draw them forward, to "play house" behind them with their dolls, while Aunt Betsey dozed in her rocker before the fire. It was all very well when two were playing but a third niece usually stirred up a frolic. On one occasion Aunt Betsey, asleep in her rocker, became the object of a more vigorous rocking and was "capsized." She was unhurt but led them home in disgrace, remarking to their mother: "I can have any one or two of them — but never the three of them again!" But Aunt Betsey's house was doomed to destruction. When the great fire of 1846 burned out the business section of Main Street it soon spread to the north and engulfed Independence Lane. At first the house was considered safe and during the evening people kept coming in and placing silver spoons, knives and forks on the black horse-hair sofa in the parlor. But as the flames spread Aunt Eunice's brothers soon convinced her she
AN OLD LADY OF NANTUCKET
31
must leave quickly. She had lived here all her life and was too shocked to do more than mutter that it "wasn't going to burn now," as they hurried her to safety. She was taken to Niece Eunice's house, where she sat wearing her "best bumbazine," rocking to and fro, muttering: "Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" as she thought of her china, her French flowers, her husband's portrait and her feather beds. After the fire, on the spot where the house stood, there was a heap of what looked like glass, where the large buffet had set against the wall. It was all that remained of her "blue Indja china." Only the memories remained of the French flowers, the curious book with the pictures of the Chinese ladies, the portrait of the merchant captain, and the many quaint, foreign "things" which he had brought home from his voyages. The practical brothers did save some clothing and pots and pans, although one of them afterwards stated: "If I had known of those molasses sugars in the chimney cupboard I would not have spent the time saving those old chairs." Aunt Betsey afterwards made her home in Niece Eunice's family dwelling. Seated in a high-backed rocker beside the fire she continued to relate stories of Nantucket. The children knew by heart how the Indian Quibby was hanged outside Newtown Gate, and could repeat the ad ventures of Aunt Betsey's husband, who had been in the "marchant service." When she made mistakes or omissions they assisted her in the story of Cousin Peleg or Jonathan who had sailed to the Brazils for "sparm whales," or had gathered "terapins" at the "Gallypagos Islands." The children felt a personal interest in all of the tales. Whenever she spoke aoout the ownership of land out of town she referred to them as "owning cow's commons." The little nieces joked secretly among themselves, "cow's tails" being these sections of the "commons." Aunt Betsey would look at them shrewdly from her rocking chair, and remark to their mother: "Dorcas, what's them girls a-laughin' at? Seem's to me they're always giggling these days!"
(Margaret S. Hosmer wrote this account, based on family history, sixty-five years ago, while she was living in Los Angeles, California, her home most of her life. We trust its authentic Nantucket atmosphere will appeal to readers of today as it attracted Islanders, in 1912.)
