The Association Acquires the Portrait of a Whaling Master's Wife

T h e A s so c i a t io n A c q uire s t h e P o rt r a i t o f a W h a lin g M ast e r' s W i f e

ONE OF THE MOST unusual portraits of a Nantucket woman has been recently acquired by the Nantucket Historical Association. It is the only one of its kind in the Association's collections, being painted in reverse on glass, and in a Chinese frame, and in excellent condition. It is the portrait of Mary Coffin Nichols, the wife of Captain James Nichols, of Nantucket, and for more than a century it was in the family homes in Odell and Pontiac, Illinois. Captain Nichols, upon retiring from the sea in 1854, moved with his family to Odell, where he died on March 29, 1884. Mary Coffin Nichols survived her husband for another decade and a half, her death coming on February 5, 1899.

The story of Mary Coffin Nichols begins another chapter in the full story of those intrepid women who went to sea on whaleships with their husbands. She was the daughter of Paul and Priscilla (Gardner) Coffin, who were married in Nantucket on May 29, 1806, both members of the Nantucket Society of Friends. At the age of twenty-one Mary Coffin became the bride of James Nichols, also of Nantucket, who was the son of Charles and Sally (Folger) Nichols. The wedding took place on July 16, 1837.

James Nichols had served his apprenticeship on Island whaleships, and in ships from Sag Harbor. In 1845 he was given command of the ship Neptune, owned by S. & B. Huntting & Co., of Sag Harbor. This was a sturdy vessel, making thirteen voyages from 1827 to 1849. Captain Nichols sailed on July 23, 1845, and returned four years later with a full ship. But this was in the beginnings of the California Gold Rush period, and the owners sold the ship for that trade.

During his first voyage as mate of the Neptune the first child was born to Mrs. Nichols, named James, on March 31, 1838. He enlisted in the first year of the Civil War and was killed at the battle of Salem Heights, Virginia, May 3, 1863. A second child, Josephine, was born to Captain and Mrs. Nichols on January 3, 1842. It was on his voyage in command of the Neptune that a third child, Sarah F., was born on August 10, 1846.

Upon his return from his long voyage in 1949, Captain Nichols accepted the command of the ship Lion, of Providence, R.I., sailing September 15, 1849, for the Indian Ocean. It was at this time that Mary Coffin Nichols decided to join her husband for the voyage, rather than spend another long period of separation. The Lion sailed from Providence on September 15, 1849, less than two months after he had arrived home on the Neptune.The Lion was owned by Lloyd Bowers of Providence, and returned three and one half years later with 1500 bbls. of sperm oil. She was soon after sold.

In September, 1850, a year after the Lion sailed for the Pacific, and while the ship was on cruising ground off the coast of Chili, South America, Mrs.

Portrait of Mrs. Mary Coffin Nichols, of Nantucket. Recently acquired by the Nantucket Historical Association.

8 HISTORIC NANTUCKET Nichols gave birth to twin boys, named Charles Arthur and William Holly Nichols. On March 31, 1852 — two years after she had given birth to her twin sons — Mrs. Nichols went ashore at Auckland, New Zealand, where a daughter was born, named Mary Helen. But the little girl was not destined to survive, being buried at sea while the ship was homeward bound. One of the twins, William, also died at a young age. On this voyage Captain Nichols made a circumnavigation of the world, bringing the Lion back to Providence by way of the Cape of Good Hope, having entered the Pacific by way of Cape Horn.

While in Providence the Nichols family welcomed their last member, a girl named Mary Coffin Nichols, born on July 4th, 1854. Shortly after this event, Captain and Mrs. Nichols moved to Illinois, where they settled in the town of Sunbury. Captain Nichols' brother, Captain Charles Nichols — also born on Nantucket — came to Illinois a few years later to live in Odell. In 1878, an exhibition of curios was held at a county fair which included loans of shells and South Sea artifacts by the Nichols brothers. One of the local newspapers wrote of the loans as follows:

"These gentlemen are brothers and were born on Nantucket Island and followed the sea from boyhood and have sailed many times around the world. Capt. James is sixty-two years old and his brother is fifty-eight. Being gentlemen of culture and of much more than ordinary intelligence they have collected in their various voyages many rare and valuable specimens from remote corners of the earth and a portion of this collection they have kindly consented to place on exhibition. Among the rare and beautiful shells will be seen a perfect nautilus shell, also one of the same sawed open to exhibit its internal structure, and other rare shells which have a market value of more than their weight in gold. In this collection will also be found the war implements of a Feejee Islander and a war club presented to Capt. James Nichols by the Feejee King, Retova.

Mrs. Mary Nichols, wife of Capt. James, accompanied her husband on many of his voyages and during the time she made a most valuable collection of ferns and mosses that must be seen to be appreciated. We venture the assertion that there is not another herbarium in the State that can boast of one-half of the variety of ferns collected by Mrs. Nichols. It was the good fortune of the writer to spend an evening last week at the residence of Capt. James Nichols and it was worth something to hear him in his modest, unassuming manner describe the locality from which his specimens were obtained and mention some of the characteristics of the inhabitants of those distant lands."

Captain James Nichols died on March 29, 1884, and Mary Coffin Nichols became an honored member of the family of her eldest daughter, Mrs. A. K. Brower, in St. Paul, Nebraska. It was in the Brower home that she died on a Sunday morning, February 5, 1899, at the age of eighty-four. Three of her