Historic Nantucket
April 1983
Published Quarterly by Nantucket Historical Association Nantucket, Massachusetts
NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OFFICERS COUNCIL 1982 - 1983 Leroy H. True, President - Chief Executive Officer Albert F. Egan, Jr., Vice Pres. Mrs. R. Arthur Orleans, Vice Pres. Albert G. Brock, Vice Pres. Richard C. Austin, Secretary
Alcon Chadwick, Vice Pres. George W. Jones, Vice Pres. Mrs. Bernard D. Grossman, Vice Pres. Walter Beinecke, Jr., Honorary Vice Pres.
John N. Welch, Treasurer Donald E. Terry Mrs. James F. Chase Robert D. Congdon Mrs. H. Crowell Freeman
H. Flint Ranney Harold W. Lindley Robert G. Metters Mrs. Alan Newhouse STAFF John N. Welch, Administrator
Renny A. Stackpole, Director of Museums Edouard A. Stackpole, "Historic Nantucket" Editor; Historian Mrs. R. Arthur Orleans, Assistant Editor Mrs. Elizabeth Tyrer, Executive Secretary Oldest House Curator: 'Mrs. Kenneth S. Baird Mrs. Margaret Crowell, Mrs. Abram Niles Hadwen House-Satler Memorial Mrs. Richard A. Strong, Mrs. Lillian B. Merrithew, Mrs. Kathleen D. Barcus Whaling Museum Curator: *Renny A. Stackpole Rev. Frank J. Pattison, Manager; James A. Watts, Mrs. Robert E. Campbell, Alfred N. Orpin Mrs. Rose Stanshigh, Mrs. Edward Dougan Greater Light: Dr. Selina T. Johnson Peter Foulger Museum Director: 'Edouard A. Stackpole Asst. Director: Peter S. MacGlashan Mrs. Reginald F. Hussey, Librarian; Mrs. Norman A. Barrett, Miss Marjorie Burgess, Miss Helen Levins, Alcon Chadwick, Mrs. Ann Warren Macy-Christian House Curator: 'Mrs. John A. Baldwin Miss Dorothy Hiller, Mrs. Helen S. Soverino Old Goal Curator: Albert G. Brock Old Mill Curator: "John Gilbert Millers: John A. Stackpole, Edward Dougan, Thomas and Mary Seager Fair Street Museum Curator: Albert F. Egan, Jr. Mrs. William Witt Lightship "Nantucket" Curator: 'John Austin Michael Jones Hose Cart House Curator: 'Francis W. Pease Archeology Department Chairman: 'Rev. Edward Anderson Vice-Chairman: Mrs. John D.C. Little Old Town Office Curator: 'Hugh R. Chace *Ex-officio members of Council
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 30
April, 1983
No. 4
CONTENTS
Nantucket Historical Association, Officers and Staff
2
Editorial: The Freedom of the Land
5
"Art on Nantucket" A Review by Raymond B. Agler
6
TheTaleofa Whale's Tail
8
The Autobiography of William Mitchell Conclusion. Continued from January issue.
9
A Discerning Advertisement
17 *
The Memory of Two Brothers Lost in the Wreck of the "Eliza", including poem "My Brothers"
18
Annual Meeting
20
Peter Foulger — an Ongoing Project by Kim Downs-Watson
22
Bequests/Address Changes
31
Historic Nantucket is published quarterly at Nantucket, Massachusetts, by the Nantucket Historical Association. It is sent to Association Members. Extra copies $1.00 each. Membership dues are — Annual-Active $7.50; Sustaining $25.00; Life — one payment $100.00; Husband and Wife $150.00 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.
5
The Freedom of the Land CONTRARY TO POPULAR belief, the first settlers of Nantucket came to this Island not for freedom of religion but for freedom to build homes on land that was free from political control. The Puritan theocracy was the power in the province of Massachusetts Bay; and this power was both religious and political. The Nantucket settlers were determined to escape this control and obtained by purchase the western end of Nan tucket, which was then under the jurisdiction of the Colony of New York. With the settlement they established land control through the crea tion of a corporation — the Proprietors of the Common and Undivided Land of Nantucket. This guaranteed the ownership of their homestead land or farms to the individual proprietor; the remainder of the land was designated as sheep common land, and each proprietor had a share or shares in this common land. The story of how this common land was managed for a century and a half, how it was eventually dismembered by a group of selfish men, how the Proprietorship was legally maneuvered into the hands of an in dividual, and how the State's agency which was supposed to protect the use of land in the Commonwealth failed to carry out its functions — all these facts make a remarkable story of how an original idea was con trived so as to create the present situation. The inhabitants of Nantucket are now faced with the inescapable fact that drastic steps are necessary to preserve the character of the land. We have an historic island. To keep the open stretches of the heathland — the old sheep common land, the beaches, the swamp thickets, the surroundings of the ponds — is to protect pur heritage. The visitor of the future comes to Nantucket because of the physical aspects of the past which should be preserved and which will serve as a vitally important segment of our American story. The responsibility is ours. Those who seek to avoid the issue are turning their backs on the obvious results of the present trend of using the old land for private rather than public gain. — Edouard A. Stackpole
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"Art on Nantucket" THE OCTOBER, 1982, issue of Antiques Magazine printed the following article by Raymond B. Agler, of the Boston Public Library, concerning this new addition to the literature of Nantucket. ART ON NANTUCKET, The History of Painting on Nan tucket Island, by Robert A. diCurcio, intro. by Stuart P. Feld. xvi + 269 pp., color pis., bibliography, appendixes, in dexes. (Nantucket Historical Association in cooperation with the Nantucket Historical Trust, 2 Union St., Nantucket, MA 02554; $250 plus $5 for postage and handling)
The POLLARD limner's strong, disquieting portrait of Mary Gard ner Coffin of 1717 introduces this history of Nantucket art. In its harsh angularities are caught the sitter's high seriousness and flinty character, typical of the first generation of settlers who chose to eke out a living on those lonely moors. This place and its people have animated the imagination and creativity of numerous artists in the en suing two and a half centuries, though, curiously, with the exception of the Nantucket works of Eastman Johnson, the sumptuous legacy of paintings from Nantucket's past has been accorded slight mention in the literature of American art. It is a large and diverse body of work, long known and loved by the islanders and the summer visitors to Nan tucket's museums and galleries. One of those summer people decided that the artistic heritage of Nantucket deserved a full and careful study. This book is his considerable accomplishment. Financial support for this ambitious project was generously pro vided by the Nantucket Historical Trust. It was decided that profits from the sale of the book would be reserved for a special curatorial fund for cleaning, restoring, and maintaining the rich collections of the Nantucket Historical Association. In the autumn of 1979 Robert diCur cio was provided with a studio, the best photographic equipment, and the good will and encouragement of Nantucketers everywhere. Now, three years of intensive work has produced a result deserving of high praise indeed. This is a lavishly illustrated book which succeeds admirably as a photographic tour through the history of Nantucket painting from the beginning of the eighteenth to the middle of the twentieth century. The criterion for inclusion as a Nantucket artist was simply to have "painted a picture of an identifiable Nantucket subject." The work of some one hundred artists (none living) is illustrated, with an accompa nying succinct, gracefully written narrative. The opening chapter,
"ART ON NANTUCKET"
7
"First Flowering", treats early portraiture, marine painting, and ear ly views, with a brief consideration of mourning pictures, scrimshaw, and China Trade paintings. Chapter Two, "Portraits from the Golden Age of Whaling", was a special delight for me. It explores portraiture from the postRevolutionary War period to the mid-nineteenth century. Here are found Carolus Bruno Donatus Delin's roguish portraits of Nantucket sea captains, the charming primitive likenesses Sally Gardner painted for her neighbors, and a wealth of portraits by the two great masters of Nantucket portraiture, William Swain and James Hathaway. The pic ture captions comprise a Nantucket Who Was Who. Among the promi nent Coffins, Folgers, Gardners, and Starbucks one encounters Swain's startling likeness of Timothy Clapp and Hathaway's enigmatic Mystery Woman, or Lady in Cement (too good an anecdote to give away). DiCurcio's detective work in sorting out dubious attributions to Sally Gardner and his seminal presentation of the work of Hathaway are valuable contributions to the history of nineteenth-century por traiture. "Scenes of Nostalgia for the Past", Chapter Three, surveys Nan tucket's rise as a fashionable summer haven away from the noise and smoke of the industrial revolution, a role it performs today for streetweary refugees from the mainland. In this chapter and throughout the book, the reader is introduced to excellent artists currently little known off-island. Elizabeth Rebecca Coffin is surely one of the most exciting of these. Her study with Thomas Eakins is evident in the kinetic tension of her human figures and her effective use of light to create a mood. Coffin's Nantucket works are about human relationships perceived at a moment frozen in time. Her luminous landscapes and portraits reveal volumes about a place and time gone from us. The author's perceptive essay on Eastman Johnson rounds out this chapter. In all, he illustrates and discusses twenty of Johnson's paintings and studies, many of them never before published. Chapters Four and Five take us from the turn of the century into the 1950's. The impressionists Childe Hassam and Theodore Robinson, both of whom studied in France, were among the increasingly sophisticated artists who painted on Nantucket at the close of the last century, attractedby the island's natural beauty and rustic charm. The best of these artists were inspired to paint landscapes, seascapes, and town views far surpassing the work produced at most resort colonies. Hassam's Old Doorway, Nantucket, painted about 1882, and Tony Sarg's Petticoat Row, Center Street of 1929 are highlights of this in tense artistic activity, which prompts the author to draw a parallel bet ween Nantucket at the turn of the century and the artists' retreat at Barbizon in France.
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
This is a well-balanced, highly readable book and an important contribution to our understanding and appreciation of a major body of regional American art. The book's reference value is enhanced by ex haustive indexing, five interesting and valuable appendixes, notes, and a bibliography. Stuart P. Feld's introduction provides just what an in troduction should, which is to offer focus and perspective. Price, and the fact that this is a limited edition of two thousand copies, will necessarily reduce the book's accessibility. It is hoped that enough libraries will purchase it to assure broader availability. Raymond B. Agler Boston Public Library
The Tale of a Whale's Tail THESE MANY YEARS ago there was a famous old nursery rhyme, and it is doubtful if any of the children who recited or sang it ever had a chance to test its authenticity. Perhaps this was due to its rather monotonous quality; or it may have to do with the threatening character of its words. And then, it may be that the repetitious cadence of the verse finds one caught up with this "beat" and the words are in cidental. In any event, the rhyme reads as follows: " If you ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, If you ever, ever, ever meet a whale; You must never, never, never, never, never You must never, never, never touch his tail. For if you ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, If you ever, ever, ever touch his tail, You will never, never, never, never, never, You will never, never, never meet another whale!" While the origin of this verse is unknown, it is certainly quite old, and some even claim it is of the Shakespearian period. Of course, the ex pectation of the average person to ever see a whale, let along to touch his tail, is remote. But, if such an encounter were possible it is probable that the startled observer will have little opportunity to make the ef fort. It is fairly certain, if the incident did occur, he would not identify the creature as a sperm, humpback, bowhead, sulphur-bottom, killer or finback, let alone make the effort to touch his tail. The chances are that, once the experience is over, (let us suppose he is a swimmer off Surfside beach), he will never, never, never want to see another whale.
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The Autobiography of William Mitchell Written in his 77th Year As one of the outstanding citizens of Nantucket, William Mit chell was a teacher, business man and scientist, who was suc cessful in all three fields. As the father of famous woman astronomer, Maria Mitchell, he was her first teacher, and, upon retirement, he spent his last years in her home. The manuscript was written in his 77th year, and is in the possession of the Maria Mitchell Association. This organization has given permission for its use in the issues of Historic Nantucket. It is the form of a reminiscence addressed to his daughter, Phebe Mitchell. (Continued from our January issue)
The Grammar School consisted of 202 scholars and I taught it with reasonable success for two years. But I was not satisfied with serving a committee; besides, the task of governing and instructing so large a school proved too much for me. I then built a school house in Howard Street* and opened a select school for 50 scholars, half of each sex. I have always looked back on this school with satisfaction. Punishment of any kind was almost unknown. We met together as common friends and for mutual improvement. After about three years, a circumstance occurred entirely beyond my control and with which I had nothing to do except as a sufferer, reduced it to about one third of its original number, at a time too when my family was largest and most expensive. As if designed by a good Providence, the secretariship of the Phenix Insurance company became vacant and I received the appoint ment. The salary of this position was scarcely sufficient for the maintenance of my large family. Indeed, pecuniarily, my whole life has been a struggle, subjecting thy patient mother to such endurance. The office of Treasurer of the Savings Bank, instituted about this time, was without salary in its early days. I continued in the position till the 2nd mo. 1837, when I was chosen cashier of the Pacific Bank, with no increase of salary except the use of the dwelling house. This posi tion, as well as that of the Treasurer-ship of the Savings Bank, I held till the 4th of 10 mo. 1861 — 24 years — when I left the island without an un paid debt outside of my own family. When learning my trade, the troubles of the country in reference to our relations with England and France became serious, and politics was the theme in all gatherings and every man was a politician. The subject being so frequently discussed ir. our shop, I became infected by it and was recognized by my young friends as a thorough Jeffersonian, a political bias which grew with my growth for some years. • Now the Library of the Maria Mitchell Association.
William Mitchell From a painting by Mrs. Herminia Dassel in 1851, now at the Maria Mitchell Birthplace.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM MITCHELL
11
After the war with England, however, the attention of the country was turned to other objects and the old lines of political demarcation became extinct. In 1820 I was elected a member of the Massachusetts Convention for the revision of the Constitution, on the occasion of the separation of Maine. This convention consisted of 500 members and probably embraced much more talent than ever before had been gathered in the State. Besides all the judges of the Supreme Court, and nearly all of the In ferior Courts, who are ineligible to the Legislature, a great number of the distinguished clergymen of the commonwealth were elected. Outside of either of these departments, there were retired members of congress, distinguished barristers from all parts of the state and not a few distinguished merchants. Chief Justice Parker was its President. As my very good friend James Savage, the Antiquarian and myself, of that 500 persons, are the only survivors known to me. As the youngest member but one, thou wilt not marvel if I incline to dwell upon it. It was a great school, not of politics only but of the highest style of American oratory. With this body I met six weeks, and although its pro ceedings were in the highest degree instructive and entertaining, (to say nothing of its being my first trip to Boston), I was not contented for a moment. I loathed every part of it. I thought of nothing but my fami ly. I had left them and my business for three weeks only, a period which every one believed would be ample for the accomplishment of the ob ject. This delay with its discomfort turned me against public life, and the disgust lasted 24 years. The great cause of the delay was the multitude of speech-makers. Among these were Webster, Story, Quincy, Lincoln, Snaw, Austin, Savage, Saltenstall, Blake, Hoar, Dutton, Philips, Dean, Baldwin, Foster, Abbott, and Freeman and great numbers of less eminent debaters. It was an array of talent which no state but Massachusetts could then have summoned together. The greatest evil was the length of the speeches. The first President Adams was a member of this body, and a seat by the side of the President of the Convention was assigned, and a vote of the Convention was taken that he might sit with his hat on or off as best suited his comfort. The legislative etiquette, and a miserable means of ventilation over his head, rendered this vote of the Convention necessary. He wore the marks of a great man in his expression and manner, impaired by age, and he retained that beautiful personal pro portion for which in his vigour he was so much distinguished. He often sat with little or no mark of fatigue through a meeting of five hours, while walking from his seat to his carriage he was sup ported on both sides by his colleagues. When he spoke in the assembly he stood unassisted. His speeches, though short, were always pithy, not unfrequently banishing, by a single remark, the lengthened argument
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
of some less experienced politician. He was the only member who had also been a member of the convention of 1780 that first framed the Con stitution, and he appeared to have a lively recollection of the reasoning of its members. Most of the distinguished speakers of the Convention were about 40 or 45 years of age. The profoundest orator was Webster, just then in his prime, but the best speaker, by far, was Joseph Story, who had been then eight years judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge Story was personally handsome; his complexion was fair and his hair was light sandy. He was slightly below the medium size and his motions were quick. He was full of learning, and started as a poet, and wrote and published the "Power of Solitude" before he had reached his 24th year. His business however was the law and he became an ornament of the bar. He was an accomplished scholar in oratory, and his fluency was unrivalled. His gesticulation was of itself a rare specimen of elo quence. Unlike Webster, Story was persuasive and on one occasion, at least, drew tears from the whole 500 grown men. The effect ceased however, with the speech, and we remembered only the man. Not so with the mighty Daniel. While he made the hall tremble with the thunder of his voice, his hearers imagined that the pillars of the State were crumbling and inevitable ruin would follow instantly adopted, however, absurd. This was memorably the case, when in an evening setting upon a very exciting theme, when every member was in his seat, and every inch of the galleries occupied by an eager and admiring audience, he compelled the convention to vote by a large majority that Quakers should nave a privilege which should be withheld from all other religious denominations. The late venerable Josiah Quincy was an active member. He was a politician, and a statesman but not a pleasing speaker. He was at that period a broad shouldered big fisted man of about 45. A fine rhetorical scholar, but peculiarly liable to blunders. Of these, Story, who was his friend, and whose seat was near, often, in an undertone, twitted him while he was speaking. It was a parliamentory rule of the Convention that no gentleman should be alluded to by his name, but spoken of as "the gentleman" from what ever place he belonged to. Quincy was replying to a speech of Levi Lincoln and in allusion to him called him "Mr. Lincoln" and on perceiving his blunder, called him "the gentleman from Lincoln", and perceiving this was not right recalled and got it right. Seemingly for fear he had not yet got it right, he repeated it twice over amidst a roar of laughter. He was never theless one of the most able members of the Convention. The talent, learning and importance of this assembly would have been of much more value to me if the cares of my family had not so distressed me. Twenty four years afterward I submitted to be nominated as a candidate to the Senate of the State and was elected by a very large majority, and I may say here that I never desired but one political office, and this, my friends, unasked, failed in their attempts
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM MITCHELL
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to obtain for me. I was subsequently without previous knowledge, elected by the Legislature a member of Governor Briggs' Council, and a second time by a much increased majority. This office I enjoyed. I loved the Governor and he loved me. I was elected by the Legislature a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College for 6 years, and at the expiration of the term, re-elected by nearly all the votes of the joint body of the Senate and House of Representatives. In this position which I had the vanity to enjoy, I made many very pleasant acquaintances, among whom were the exgovernors Andrew and Washburn and the present governor Bullock. ExGovernor Everett I had known before, when I was a member of the Senate, and served with him also on the committee for the superintendence of the observatory of Harvard College. This interest and his action, too, in reference to Maria's claim or title to the King of Denmark's medal, was the cause of quite an active correspondence for a while, and I have always esteemed it a favour to have known per sonally so much of that good, talented and patriotic man. These are the principal events of my public life. I was not indif ferent to the honour of these exalted positions, but I never had the taste nor the qualification for the employment, and at no time to my recollec tion, did I ever by word or deed suggest or promote these appoint ments. I have somehow had a sort of scientific reputation, and while I know I never was entitled to it, I cannot honestly deny that I was am bitious of it. There was in me an innate love of astronomical inquiries. My father had some taste of this kind and just enough to light the flame in his son. The Aurora Borealis had fastened itself on his mind, and I listened with rapture to his stories concerning it. But it was during one of those fitful periods of its entire absence, and I looked in vain for a glimpse of it, till I had reached my 23rd year when, for the first time, I witnessed the phenomenon. I had early looked for comets also, and that of 1807 was the first I saw. Not so with the stars. Alone on my father's housetop, I familiarized myself with the configuration of the stars. I recognized the motion of the planets among them before I knew the name of any of them but Saturn, or even the existence of the constellations. It was the seeming vagaries of the moon's motions that roused in me a determination to know something more of these matters. I do not recollect how I came in possession of "Ferguson's Astronomy", but no better book could have fallen into my hands, in spite of the numberless attempts to improve upon it, it is still the best work for one beginning the study. I very soon found the necessity of a sufficient knowledge of mathematics, which the incessant cares of life never permitted me to
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM MITCHELL
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obtain, and for this want, the gratification of my astronomical taste has at all times been a struggle. Nevertheless, in middle life, as I can now see, though then unconscious of it, I held by comparison quite a position among astronomers of that day. Now the number of good astronomers is so great, I am so low on the scale, that I lay no claim to credit, except that of an ardent lover of the valuable and sublime inquiry. The scientific men of the country however have not been wanting in their acknowledgment of my attainments. Having occasionally lec tured on Astronomy in my native town, I unexpectedly received an in vitation to deliver an entire course on that subject before the "Boston Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge" of which Daniel Webster was President and Nathaniel Frothingham secretary. The in vitation was accompanied with a wish that I might prepare a lecture on the subject generally to be given as their Introductory of the season's course. Although I had never lectured out of my native town, I ventured to accept this flattering invitation, more especially as the emolument was large. The lectures were delivered in the Hall of the Masonic Temple. During the delivery of the first, as well as at its close, I considered it a failure, and resolved to relieve the society from its unfortunate engage ment. While in this moody condition, walking on the Common, I met Dr. Storer, an officer of the society. He voluntarily assured me that my lecture had given the highest satisfaction, and three Boston newspapers having spoken in the same flattering manner, I ventured to finish the course. At subsequent periods, I delivered many courses, in Boston, Roxbury, Charlestown, Salem, New Bedford and Hudson, N.Y. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences early elected me, voluntarily, a member of their body. Brown University and Harvard College have both conferred upon me the degree of Master of Arts. As a business man I had no gifts. I had a large family to maintain and educate, and with my appreciation of the latter, my life was rendered a continuous struggle. Never looking beyond that, nor having any desire to be wealthy, I was often much straitened: but no bill failed to be paid on presentation. Yet I doubt whether I ever was solvent in case all my bills had been presented at once. At two periods I was brought to extreme poverty — once during the war with England, and once at a later and much more important period of my life, by the perfidy of a pretended friend. When I have called to mind the number and variety of occupations by which I have earned my bread, I have been amused. A cooper, a soap boiler, an oil and candle manufacturer, a farmer, a schoolmaster, an Insurance Broker, a Surveyer, a Chronometer rater, an astronomical observer for the Coast Survey, Justice of the Peace, Ex ecutor Wills and Administrator of estates. Also a writer of Wills, deeds & other instruments, Cashier of a bank, Treasurer of a Savings Bank. And, without emolument, a member and for some years President of the board of Trustees of the Nantucket Atheneum — a member and for
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
many years Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Admiral Coffin's School. For many years I was the Chairman of the Committee for the Superintendence of the Observatory of Harvard College. At two dif ferent periods, I was the clerk of the Nantucket Monthly Meeting of Friends, once for 10 and once for 5 years. I think it proper to say something of my religious profession and beliefs, though I esteem the latter of little consequence. I was born a member of the Society of Friends, and I do not regret it. Morally it is a wise and, religiously, a good system. I do not mean to say that everything about it is exactly conformable to my own views. I have always made sacrifices to the commonweal as in duty bound. I never was a religionist. Few persons who have been recognized as religious professors have talked less on the subject than I have. The character of Quakerism as well as that of Truth itself has suf fered much by the divisions which in recent times have been manifested in the Society. To the causes of these ruptures, I attach no importance. In two of them I was active, being in each case Clerk of the meeting; but — regret every word and every action, though at the time honestly done. It is a satisfaction to me, that in the education of my children I gave them no sectarian bias. "To fear God and keep his commandments" was all that I desired of them. To attend religious meetings I always considered at least a reasonable duty, and few men probably have been more faithful in the performance of that duty; ana few persons have better enjoyed the silent meetings of Friends. Without disparagement to those humble, sincere and pious men and women who have honestly believed themselves called upon to preach, I better enjoy a silent meeting. Maria had been for years desirous of living near Boston, and Katy being settled in Lynn, she gave this city a preference and purchased a cottage in Essex Street, and thither I went with her. It was only three months after thy mother's death; and although there was much to divert and interest me in my new abode, I spent many periods of inex pressible gloom. After a residence in Lynn of nearly four years, I followed Maria to Vassar College, where now for nearly three years I have enjoyed almost exclusively the society of intelligent young ladies from 15 to 30 years of age with scarcely a circumstance to throw a shade on my declining days. They have, without a known exception, respected my age and honoured my grey hairs. Among the teachers and professors, I have made acquaintances that a prince might covet. I close my narrative, but it would be quite incomplete if I did not acknowledge my gratitude to that Great and Good Being, who through
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM MITCHELL
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a long life has shown me so much favour. Although I have had my days of sorrow and of trial, I know of no man, living or dead, whose whole life has been so exempted from the evils common to mankind. W. M. 4th mo. 6 —1868
A Discerning Advertisement IN THE COLUMNS of T h e I n q u i r e r a n d appeared the following advertisement:
M i r r o r for
May 7,1873, there
"WANTED - A WIFE - I visited Nantucket last summer, and was well pleased with the place, and also with a few of its peo ple I conversed with. But when I found myself in church one Sabbath evening, to find almost the entire place occupied by ladies, the sight of my eyes affected my heart! "I resolved to come again to Nan tucket, but before I do so, I will tell the ladies I am in earnest, and want a wife from your island. "I am a little above middle age, born in Bristol County, Mass., physically and intellectually agreeable, of a good disposition, neat in person, orderly and systematic in details, well educated, temperate in all things, and not using tobacco nor strong spirits, constitutionally moral and practically religious, and have pro perty in real and personal invest ment. "To a lady of like qualities and means of support not under 35 years of age, I will open cor respondence with view of matrimony. References exchang ed. Henry Hudson 17 Court Street Boston, Mass."
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The Memory of Two Brothers Lost In Wreck of the "Eliza" ON THE NIGHT of April 18,1899, the fishing schooner E l i z a , Captain Martin Hopkins, out of Beverly, Massachusetts, was caught in a sudden gale and struck on the end of Rose & Crown shoal, some fifteen miles from Nantucket. A heavy swell was running, and the schooner began to pound heavily, and within an hour showed alarming signs of breaking up. Captain Hopkins ordered the only boat on board lowered, but a huge sea swept the craft away with three men in it. In the driving spray and cresting seas, the men in the small boat were unable to stay close by the schooner, and when they were in danger of swamping the falls were cut, and they soon lost sight of the vessel in the darkness. Having but a single pair of oars they were powerless in attempts to regain the schooner's side. For the rest of the night, the three survivors managed to keep the boat afloat, bailing constantly. At daybreak they sighted the eastern shore of Nantucket and began the long pull to gain it. Some of the wrecked vessel now appeared around them, and they searched the floating pieces for any sign of their shipmates, but to no avail. As they were swept along shore on the tide heading south, they were fortunate ly sighted by the fishermen of 'Sconset, who rowed out in dories and towed them to the beach there. The Eliza had fourteen men aboard when she struck the shoal; these three were the only survivors. The crew were all from Nova Scotia. Among the men lost were two brothers named John and James Matheson. When the news arrived at their home in Upper Woods Har bor, Nova Scotia, it was a stunning blow to the family and friends of the lost men. One of the Matheson brothers never forgot that day, and in memory of the sad event he wrote a remarkable poem, conveying the full range of his emotions. We are fortunate that the son of A. L. Matheson, the author of that poem, has sent us the verses, which read as follows:
My Brothers Fair Monday eve, And I possessed dear brothers seven: Foul midnight, and my dream With demons seemed alive. — I dreamed the sea had torn my soul from Heaven, — At Tuesday's dawn my brothers were but five.
'MY BROTHERS"
"The sea, the blue, lone sea" — Thou Death's handmaid, Whose bowels are glutted With the whitening dead — Had reached its dripping arms and fiercely laid Eleven brave hearts in ocean's slimy bed. They say 'twas fair. Nay, no. 'Twas falsely fair, And fairly false As hell's most deep-oathed pledge: A million devils lured that stout keel there. All anti-love held revel round that sunken ledge. There is the crash. And slumbering eyes Spring wide at sudden shout. The rocks peer in, strong faces pale With doubts and fears and hopes. The gore-thirst sea howls searching in and out: Yet all find refuge in the swinging ropes. All save three. To them the God Ordained prolonged sweet life: They clutch the one lone boat, Whose side is wounded sore, And by some miracle are tossed beyond the raging strife, 'Till daylight finds them weary, broken-hearted, safe near shore. These brothers mine, — they clasped The selfsame rope, each other's arm. With common hope that coming dawn Would rescue bring. Alas! Alas! Oak-coppered plank could not withstand that swarm Of rock-based seas. Each felt the icy sweep of Death's cold wing. And I recall, how once, In sinking boat on dreaded Bank, The frailer John was saved By sturdier James, in spite of gale. — But now 'twas mutual strength: e'en while hope sank Each cheered his brother through the nearing Vale. Insatiable Sea. Couldst not That three months' bride,
19
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
That ageing mother, and those loves at home, Bribe thee to spare? Couldst not have slowed thy surging tide, And stilled thy roaring crests, thy choking foam? Again, Alas! Ere light, came death. Hoarse voices prayed, "Oh, God. Send comfort to my wife, my child." A fiercer wave, a smitten mast, then bubbling breath. Their forms sink low — their souls uprise beyond all waters wild. Sleep, loved ones, sleep. — As well beneath The flowerets of the sea. As others where the daisies bloom and nod, Our earthly love shall still go out to thee. And reach thee through the smile and grace of God. A. L. Matheson The E l i z a was out of Beverly, Mass., and was on her second fishing trip of the spring. She was owned by Captain Martin Hopkins and one other resident of Beverly, and had a crew of Nova Scotia fishermen. The three survivors were: Guilford Doane, (a brother-in-law of Captain Hopkins), George Miller and Adelbert Nickerson. Those who perished were: Seth Hopkins, Emerson Hopkins, Herbert Smith, Kinman Smith, Moses Bethel, John Smith, Lin Smith, cook, and John and James Matheson, brothers. The 'Sconset fishermen who helped the survivors were Asa Meiggs, Horace C. Orpin, William Sandsbury, Jesse H. Eldredge, John P. Taber, Nelson Dunham and Arthur C. Manter.
Annual Meeting The A N N U A L M E E T I N G of the Nantucket Historical Association will be held at four o'clock on Tuesday, July 19, 1983, at the Friends Meeting House on Fair Street.
I
On May 4, 1933 — fifty years ago — the lighthouse at Sankaty Head was first lighted by electricity. When the Fresnel lens was installed in 1850, the lighting was by sperm oil, in a large lamp with three wicks. This was succeeded in the early 1890's by a more brilliant flame made possi ble with the introduction of a kerosene vapor lamp. The electricity of 1933 enabled the flash to be seen as much as 45 miles at sea. In 1968 a new lens assembly replaced the fine old Fresnel lens.
22
Peter Foulger What We Have Discovered About A Most Remarkable Man by Kim Downs-Watson, Coordinator, Peter Foulger Project for the Nantucket Historical Association (This is a report on an ongoing project)
" . . . t h e d u t y of t h e h i s t o r i a n i s n o t o n l y t o p r o c l a i m c e r t a i n t e e s a s c e r tain and falsehoods as false, but uncertaintees as dubious . .." Salutary Caution of Mabillion PETER FOULGER (1617 (?)-1690) WAS a quiet man. A man of many talents, respected by both his social betters and his peers alike. (DA man who at close to the age of seventy went to jail in order to remain true to his beliefs of social justice. (2) A man who through his children's children, passed on the genetic genius and the true strength of in dividualism and independence to his adopted country's founding fathers. Yet, the origins and complete life story of Peter Foulger re main surrounded in mystery and much conjecture. Zaccheus Macy once wrote of Peter: ". . . he was the most in dispensable settler among the first Nantucketers... " (3), and records bear this out. Peter was indeed the man most called upon for practial and steadfast aid regarding many important matters by his peers. He was invaluable as an Indian interpreter/teacher and considered the one man capable of properly surveying Nantucket's vast acreages. (4) Research over the years has also shown us that not only was Peter respected and relied upon, but that he also stood for many of the ideals of freedom and independence that became the backbone of this coun try. And that, through his actions, he instilled his children and their children with these grand ideals. (5) Among his ancestors, descendants and other assorted relatives, historians can count such remarkable people as: Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Maria Mitchell, Walter Folger, Jr. and Lucretia Coffin Mott. Several social reformers, men of the clergy and a president of Harvard College can also be numbered among the historical figures of Peter Foulger's extended family. (6) A family that still to this day contributes much to improving our way of life. In his youth, fresh off the English shore, Peter was "hobnobbing" with, and undoubtedly influenced by, such persons as the Reverend
PETER FOULGER
23
John Eliot, Governor Henry Vane, Governor John Winthrop, Roger Williams, Thomas Mayhew and other makers of this nation's early history, an influence that colored his whole outlook on life as well as that of his family and friends. The spirit of which, by example, was passed along to his descendants and through them into the very bone marrow that was to form our nation's need for independence from England. Yet, even now, the life story and origins of this man remain elusive, full of conjecture only haphazardly documented. (7) For the past nineteen months I have been researching Peter Foulger's pre-Nantucket background. I had originally intended to take only two years to research Peter's life completely, but found that an impossibility. The chief reason for this is that during the preliminary gathering of research materials (i.e. published and unpublished data concerning Peter Foulger, located in the museum that bears his name) (8), I discovered that much of the data had very little, if any, documented evidence behind it. Moreover, I found that much of what was stated as fact varied from book to book. Upon further research, it was realized that some of this confusion was due in part to the misinter preting of past records. (9) For example, I found that several stories had circulated over the years concerning Peter's arrival to New England in or around the year 1635. The two most prominent ones are: A. That he arrived here with his widowed father, or, B. That he arrived in the company of both parents and one sister, who later "married a Payne from Long Island". From material documented in Benjamin Franklin's genealogical notes, (10) there is a letter written by Mrs. "M." Foulger of Illington, dated February 5th, 1759. In this letter it is written that Peter "... went when a lad in the company of a neighboring gentleman, name unknown to us, as a servant to New England..." Yet, that same letter, in a later paragraph states that Peter came over with his parents and a sister who married a Payne from Salem! The confusion is compounded again, when one realizes the person assumed the author of this letter, Mrs. John Foulger, Peter's daughter-in-law, could not have written it. Simply because the time frame is wrong. And further, because Ill ington (the origin of the letter) is in England, not New England, as had been previously supposed. A Mrs. Thomas Foulger ("Mary Skippe?) of Illington Hall, England. Thomas being a cousin to Ben Franklin. (11) Owing to the fact that even the preliminary data conflicted and confused the issues, I hunted down state and local records and found the following: (12) 1. No ships' logs, yet available, list Peter and/orFoulger family among their passengers, 2. John Foulger's (Peter's father) will was "proved" in Martha's Vineyard. Moreover, this will mentions his wife, daughter Mary, and son Peter among others. Also found is the "widow Foulger;" alive and selling family fishing rights in
24
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
1664. (13) Leading one to assume that Pe.Tr had after all arrived with his family. Or, at least they had all left England alive and well. As these and other points displayed the same lack of consistency and documen tation, it was clear that the research must begin from scratch. Therefore, setting a time limit was out of the question. Each point must be questioned, reexamined and thoroughly documented. That is not to say that early historians and authors did not research their subject well or with the same zeal. (14) They did indeed. But m a n y f a c t o r s c a n a n d often do limit s u c h r e s e a r c h . Historical/genealogical research requires unlimited time, unlimited finances and many open-ended contacts in different cities and coun tries. My research for example, has so far required contacts in England, Canada, California, Martha's Vineyard and several other towns and cities. Still, my list of resources remains incomplete. The fragmented material and limited resources with which those good peo ple worked are the culprits here. Not lack of skill or enthusiasm to know the truth. As I began my gathering and categorizing of material to be used in the research, I realized that with the limited funding I had and the natural restrictions of island living (limiting my access to larger research libraries), I would require outside help in piecing together Peter Foulger's life. I enlisted the help of many historians, family genealogists, interested Foulger relatives and other interested persons of experience. All of whom live off-island. (15) Which meant that all in formation exchanged and received is subject to the goodwill of the Postal Service and our New England weather. As mentioned before, this correspondence is conducted between Nantucket, Norwich (England), Canada, South Carolina, Boston and many points on the map. Therefore, progress has been slow. But documented evidence regarding our mysterious Peter surfaces almost weekly. And what we have discovered about Peter Foulger is quite interesting. Some of the points that have demanded our attention in past months are: 1. That Peter Foulger was probably of Norman (French) des cent, rather than Flemish, as supposed by his grandson, Benjamin Franklin (16). Linking him to families knighted by William the Con queror in the eleventh century (17). 2. That through his mother, Peter is related to an Italian monk, named Larentius, buried in Kent in 916. "... A learned and pious monk ..and to Sir Robert Lawrence, therefore to a past president of Har vard College and our own George Washington (18). 3. That while traditional conjecture has it that Peter Foulger ar rived on the Abigail, there is no evidence to support this. Further, tradi tion asserts that Peter arrived on the same ship that Reverend Hugh
PETER FOULGER
25
Peter (often mistakenly written, Peters). It is believed now that Reverend Hugh Peter arrived on the ship Defence. So, Peter Foulger may have as well. (19) Or he may have arrived on another ship altogether. 4. That the story that Peter Foulger "bought" Mary Morill/Moril's indenture from Reverend Hugh Peter in order to marry her, is most likely just a story. Documentation to date cannot be located mentioning Reverend Hugh Peter as having ar Indentured ser vant named Mary Moril. Only two Indian girls can be found in his ser vice (20). 5. Mary Moril's origins, which are unclear but also important, are most elusive. She may have been an orphan from England, as many suppose. On the other hand, she may have been of Huguenot extraction, the name given to French Protestants in the fifteenth century (21). She may have arrived in New England several years after Peter Foulger. Remember they were not married until 1644. There are many other issues and important areas of Peter's life that must be examined before one can truly develop the complete pic ture concerning Peter Foulger: 1. His beginning here in New England. 2. The missing years between 1635-1642, when nobody can document where he or his family lived. 3. The upset with town fathers regarding the voting rights, etc. of the half-shareman; which led to Peter's refusal, as clerk of courts, to turn over court records to those he considered illegally in charge (an act which landed him in the town jail. "Which had never before held a white man.") 4. The whereabouts of those same court records (they never surfaced, even after Peter's release from jail). 5. The petition Peter wrote to Governor Andros regarding all of the above, also holds interest. One wonders of its true impact on the resulting changes in Nantucket's town government. 6. What was the role Peter played in that; the beginning of Nantucket's efforts of civil reform? These and other questions must be examined. In time, we hope to have the answers to these and other important questions. But the one
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
thing that surfaces all throughout the research is that Peter Foulger was the first of a long line of most remarkable people. He indeed may have been the most remarkable of all of them. Research has yet to tell.
FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES 1. Alexander Starbuck's H i s t o r y o f N a n t u c k e t , Page 746, states "that Nathaniel Barney says that Cotton Mather wrote of Peter Foulger . .as a pious and learned Englishman . . Also, Page 24 shows the freeholders of Nantucket issued an invitation to Peter and his family to come make Nantucket their home; as they needed a good surveyor and interpreter and for his son, a shoemaker. In exchange, Peter would become a half-shareman and be given a house lot. F. B. Anderson's A Grandfather for Benjamin Franklin also mentions same on Page 135. Copies of this document are located in the files at the Peter Foulger Museum. 2. References to this matter can be found in the Inquirer and Mir ror, July 19, 1873 — "Doings of the Nantucket Historic Genealogical Society" on microfilm at the Nantucket Atheneum. Anderson's A Grandfather for Benjamin Franklin. Several files at the Peter Foulger Museum (see bibliography). The best yet is Starbuck's H i s t o r y o f N a n tucket, Page 51. 3. Folger family files — miscellaneous notes — Peter Foulger Museum. 4. See Reference #1. Also, Foulger files, Memorial to Peter Foulger, on microfilm at Nantucket Atheneum. Pages 130, 185, Chapters 8 & 20 of Anderson's A G r a n d f a t h e r f o r B e n j a m i n F r a n k l i n . 5. At the time of the insurrection of the half-sharemen, in which Peter played an important role (Reference #2), his youngest child Abiah (Benjamin Franklin's mother), was about 10 or 11 years old. Also note the poem Peter wrote "A Looking Glass for the Times". Copy page 300-319, Anderson's A Grandfather for Benjamin Franklin. Or, Babette May Levy's " T h e L i f e a n d W o r k o f P e t e r F o u l g e r : A n A b l e Godly Englishman" — Peter Foulger Museum. Also, note Peter's let ter to son-in-law Joseph Pratt, March 6, 1677/1678 — Peter Foulger Museum. 6. Thru the marriage of his mother's sister, Peter Foulger is related to Sir Robert Lawrence, Reverend John Fiske - several others — J . Lawrence's G e n e a l o g y o f J o h n L a w r e n c e , 1896. H a r l e i a n S o c i e t y P u b l i c a t i o n s — Gibbs family — East Anglian Pedigree. Also, T h e C o m pendium of American Genealogy — Vol. VI. Norfolk Record Society Publications, Vol. XIII — East Anglian Pedigrees, 1940.
PETER FOULGER
27
7. Peter Foulger arrived here from England between the years 1635-1637, Banks, in History of Martha's Vineyard. Notes Peter arrived on the ship Abigail, but further research disqualifies this statement. See notes on file, Peter Foulger. Banks, W. W. Folger, Winthrops Jour nal. Abigail arrived same day as ship Defence, October 8,1635, same port. A b i g a i l infected with small pox. "On board the D e f e n c e , Reverend John Wilson, Reverend Hugh Peter, John Norton, etc. . . " John Winthrop's Journal I, Page 160 — Peter Foulger Project/Foulger Museum. Peter Foulger is said to have traveled in the company of the Reverend Hugh Peter. But neither log lists Foulger family. 8. See Bibliography I and II. 9. As noted in Reference 7. Also, depending on year of publication, these books and other references will tell you that Peter arrived with family, or with father alone. 10. Jordan's
Franklin as Genealogist,
Page 19.
11. Illington was assumed by many to be somewhere in New England. Our research has shown that Illington is in England near Attleborough, Diss and Wymondham. Benjamin Franklin is documented as having a cousin, Thomas Foulger, of Illington Hall. Ben visited Ill ington in 1759 in honor of cousin Thomas Illington's memory. Thomas married Mary of the knighted Rant family. See Foulger Project Records. 12. See Reference 7. Also various notes, genealogy, Walter Weston Foulger, Peter Foulger Project/Foulger Museum. 13. This was recalled for me by Edouard Stackpole. I have not been able to go over to Vineyard as yet to check records there. Documents of same are however forthcoming. 14. See Bibliography II — these files were my starting point. 15. Among the many are noted Folger genealogist Walter Weston Foulger, who has sent me much documented data on Peter. From Library of Congress and English Pedigrees (see Bibliography). Also, newspaper columnist/historian, Bruce Robinson, of the Eastern Daily Press, Norfolk, England. Through his newspaper, he has provided the project with ample coverage and many helpful part-time historical/genealogical researchers living in Norwich, Suffolk and Wymondham, England. See Peter Foulger Project records — Peter Foulger Museum. 16. Jordan's F r a n k l i n
as Genealogist.
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
17. N o r m a n P e o p l e , Library of Congress. Also, Douglas,W i l l i a m the Conqueror (for Norman background information and influence on England) — the developed Norfolk — where Peter was from. 18. See J. Lawrence's G e n e a l o g y o f J o h n L a w r e n c e . 19. See Winthrop's Journal I, Page 160. Also, Banks' notes on file at Peter Foulger Museum. 20. Salem court records - Nantucket Atheneum, records that the Reverend Hugh Peter has only two "starving" Indian girls as servants. Also, several recorded cases of "whipping" when the Reverend Peter's servants ran away. No mention of the buying of Mary Moril's inden tures in these records. Although, it does list other indentures as being "bought". 21. Helen Gardner's D e b t s t o t h e H u g u e n o t s , 1910.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY I The list which follows is in no sense to be regarded as a full bibliography for the Peter Foulger Project research to date. Its pur pose is simply to provide the reader with a list of general material used to develop this article and to give further background to the references supplied. Kim Downs-Watson
T h e C o m p e n d i u m o f A m e r i c a n G e n e a l o g y (first families of America), Vol. VI. Immigrant ancestors — miscellaneous notes.
F. B. Anderson's A G r a n d f a t h e r f o r B e n j a m i n F r a n k l i n , Meador Publishing Company, Boston, 1940. Peter Foulger Museum, Peter Foulger Project Notes. Banks, Charles Edward. T h e H i s t o r y o f M a r t h a ' s V i n e y a r d , Volumes I, II and III, 1911-1925. Douglas, David C. W i l l i a m t h e C o n q u e r o r , the Norman, impact upon England. University of California Press 1964. Cavey.,T h e G e n t l e R a d i c a l ( R o g e r W i l l i a m s ) , Easton 1930. Ellis, G. E. T h e P u r i t a n A g e a n d R u l e i n t h e C o l o n y o f M a s s a c h u s e t t s Bay, 1629-1685. Houghton and Mifflin Company, 1888.
PETER FOULGER
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Essex County "Quarterly Court Records 1636-1656", Volume I. Gardner, Helen A. "Debts to the Huguenots", Nantucket Historical Association Quarterly Magazine, July 20th, 1910. Harleian Society Publications, East Anglian Pedigrees 1939, Volume IX, notes from copy, Peter Foulger Museum (Gibbs family). Hinchman, Lydia S., Early Settlers of Nantucket, Revised Edition, Philadelphia 1926. The Inquirer and Mirror, July 19,1873, museum readings from Doings of the Nantucket Historic-Genealogical Society". On microfilm, Nan
tucket Atheneum.
Jordan, John W., Franklin as Genealogist, Copyright 1899. Booklet in files at the Peter Foulger Museum. Lawrence, J., Genealogy of John Lawrence, Nichols & Noyes Press, 1896. Massachusetts Bay Company — records of the Court of Assistance, 1630-1692, Volume I. Massachusetts, History of Commonwealth,
Publication, 1927. Memorial to Peter Foulger,
Atheneum.
Volume I, 1605-1689 —
no date given — on microfilm, Nantucket
New England Historical & Genealogical Register, Volume
1855, Page 308 — Lawrence genealogy.
IV, October,
Norfolk (England) Poll List — notes from 1702. Norfolk Record Society Publications (England), Volume XIII — notes from East Anglian Pedigrees, 1940. Peter Foulger Project Notes/Peter Foulger Museum. The Norman People — Library of Congress — notes transcribed by W. W. Folger - March 8th, 1936. Copy — Peter Foulger Museum, see Peter Foulger Project.
Nantucket, Papers Relating to — Pages 89-98, Town Records, under "S". Norwich (Norfolk, England) Index of wills proved 1370-1550, also 1600's. Peter Foulger Project/Peter Foulger Museum.
30
Paige, Lucius —
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
H i s t o r y o f C a m b r i d g e , 1630-1877, Cambridge
1877.
P l y m o u t h C o l o n y R e c o r d s , 1636-1692, Volume VIII. Records Book of Salem, MA, Atheneum — December 1635.
Starbuck, Alexander — T h e tle Edition, 1969.
H i s t o r y o f N a n t u c k e t , Vermont,
Van Doren, Carl — T h e A u t o b i o g r a p h y ranged by) Pocket Books Edition, 1940.
First Tut-
of Benjamin Franklin,
(as ar
Winthrop, John — J o u r n a l s , notes taken from work by Banks, Folger, and Green. On File Peter Foulger Museum.
BIBLIOGRAPHY II Miscellaneous files and loose notes collected in files locked in the Peter Foulger Museum Library under the following headings: Folger Families, miscellaneous notes. Folger, Walter Jr. Foulger, John Foulger, Peter Foulgers from England These files are a combination of notes compiled by such historians as Charles Edward Banks, Lyman Greenman, Walter Weston Folger, Clarence King and numerous bits and pieces from Helen Gardner, Will Gardner, Zaccheus Macy and Obed Macy.
MANUSCRIPTS Folger, Peter — A L o o k i n g G l a s s f o r t h e T i m e s , autographed manuscript dated April 23,1676. Unpublished manuscript at the Peter Foulger Museum. Foulger, Peter — Letter to son-in-law Joseph Pratt. March 6th 1677/78. Three unpublished manuscript copies, Peter Foulger Museum. Levy, Babette May — T h e L i f e a n d W o r k o f P e t e r F o u l g e r , A n A b l e a n d Subtitle for the degree of Master of the Arts Col umbia Univeristy, February 1939 - (Chief study of Peter's rhymed Tract) — Peter Foulger Museum. Godly Englishman.
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NOTES: On Peter Foulger Project Files: Documented evidence compiled during project research are in tem porary possession of Kim Downs-Watson, Project Coordinator. To be donated to Peter Foulger Museum Archives at conclusion of research.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the opportunity to use the Peter Foulger Museum's resources, as well as those of the Nantucket Historical Association, I thank Mr. Leroy True, President. For her patience with my many questions, and other general harrassment, I thank Mrs. Louise Hussey, Librarian at the Peter Foulger Museum. I am also grateful to: Mr. Edouard Stackpole, Director of the Peter Foulger Museum for his everlasting enthusiastic support. And to the many historians past and present, in England and on Nantucket, for contributing so much. But most of all, to Dr. Howard B. Gill, president of the I. V. Kundig, for his faith in my work.
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