Historic Nantucket
Photo by John McCalley From North Liberty Street across the Lily Pond, with the North Church steeple standing, high over the Town.
April 1984 Published Quarterly by Nantucket Historical Association Nantucket, Massachusetts
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NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OFFICERS President: H. Flint Ranney First Vice President: Robert G. Metters
Vice President: Robert D. Congdon
Secretary: Richard Austin
Treasurer: Donald E. Terry
Honorary Vice Presidents Walter Beinecke
Albert F. Egan, |r.
Albert G. Brock
Alcon Chadwick
Mrs. R. Arthur Orleans
Mrs. Bernard Grossman
Presidents Emeritus Edouard A. Stackpole
Leroy H. True
George W. Jones
STAFF John N. Welch, Administrator Victoria Hawkins, Curator Renny A. Stackpole, Director of Museums Elizabeth Tyrer, Executive Secretary Edouard A. Stackpole, Historian; Director, Peter Foulger Museum Historic Nantucket, Editor, E. A. Stackpole Assistant Editor, Mrs. R. Arthur Orleans Librarian, Mrs. Louise Hussey Oldest House: Mrs. Margaret Crowell, Mrs. Abram Niles Hadwen House-Satler Memorial: Mrs. Richard Strong, Mrs. Kathleen D. Barcus Whaling Museum: Rev. Frank J. Pattison, Manager; James A. Watts, Alfred N. Orpin, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Dougan, Gerald Ryder Greater Light: Dr. Selina T. Johnson Peter Foulger Museum: Asst. Director, Peter S. MacGlashan; Mrs. Norman A. Barrett, MissMarjorie Burgess, Miss Helen Levins, Alcon Chadwick, Ms. Angelica Dewey, Everett Finlay 1800 House: Ms. Margaret Beale Macy-Christian House: Miss Dorothy Hiller, Mrs. Helen S. Soverino Old Mill: Millers: John A. Stackpole, Thomas Seager, Terry Ellis Fair Street Museum: Mrs. William Witt Lightship "Nantucket": Michael Jones, James Hilditch Archeology Department: Vice-Chairman, Mrs. John D. C. Little Museum Shop: Director, Mrs. Grace Grossman; Manager, Mrs. Maria Waine; Mrs. Rose Stanshigh, Mrs. Anne K. Diamond, Ms. Hazel Korper
COUNCIL MEMBERS Edward B. Anderson John Austin Mrs. Kenneth Baird Mrs. John A. Baldwin Mrs. Marshall Brenizer Hugh R. Chace Mrs. James F. Chase
Mrs. Marsha Fader
Mrs. Carl M. Mueller"
Mrs. George A. Fowlkes
Philip C. Murray
Mrs. H. Crowell Freeman
F. Philip Nash, Jr.
John Gilbert Reginald Levine John D. Miller
Mrs. Alan Newhouse Francis W. Pease Charles F. Sayle, Sr. Mrs. Bracebridge Young, Jr.
HISTORIC NANTUCKET Published Quarterly and devoted to the preservation Nantucket's antiquity, its famed heritage and its illustrious past as a whaling port.
Volume 31
April 1984
of
No. 4
CONTENTS Nantucket Historical Association Officers and Staff
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Editorial: Nantucket's April Milestones
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Diary of a Nantucket Woman in Wales and Some Other Diaries by Freda James
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The Unusual Career of the Whaleship''Hero" of Nantucket
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Cape and Islands Association of Historical Organizations to Meet on Nantucket
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Alexander Coffin, "Remarks on the Asylum, Quaise", 1841 by Edgar L. McCormick
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Nantucket by Horace A. Carter
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A Modern Trying Out Rendering Pilot Whale Blubber in 1983 by Wesley N. Tiffney, Jr.
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Address Changes/Bequests
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Historic Nantucket (USPS 246460)is published quarterly at Nantucket, Massachusetts by the Nantucket Historical Association. It is sent to Association members and extra copies may be purchased for $3 00 each. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Nantucket Historical Association, Box 1016, Nantucket Ma 02554. 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.
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Nantucket's April Milestones
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EVERY MONTH HAS its share of historic events concerning Nan tucket and April has some special ones. Two of these have a particular bearing on the present, and both occurred in 1918—some sixty-six years ago. The first has a significance which was not truly considered at the time, and this was the arrival of the first airplane to reach Nantucket. On April 13,1918, a hydroplane landed in the inner harbor and made its way slowly to the beach close to the old Petrel wharf on Commercial Wharf. A small crowd was on hand when the plane grounded. "Twenty minutes from Chatham!" was the announcement. Every one there looked duly surprised; the small boys gazed with wonderment. It was the beginning of a new era on Nantucket and there was a sense of history there. A few days later, word came that more planes from the Chatham base were to fly to the island, and on April 17 four hydroplanes swooped down, to slip past Brant Point and land close to the channel, heading northwest. Schools were dismissed to allow the young Nantucketers the opportunity of witnessing the scene. One plane struck a shoal spot near the eastern jetty, and nosed over, but the occupants were not injured. Such was the inauguration of airplanes in war-time for the people of Nantucket. Another April incident which was to have an effect on our future was the passage of a bill by the State Legislature to submit the question to the Island voters: "Shall the operation of automobiles be allowed on Nantucket?" It was a question that had plagued the citizens of this Island for nearly two decades. A month later at a town election the voters decided by the narrow margin of 40 votes to let the auto in — legally. The "Repeal Bill" was duly signed by Governor McCall. On May 16, the day after the election, the first auto admitted under the new law — a Max well — arrived on the boat and was driven up Broad Street from the Steamboat Wharf. There will always be questions about these developments. Voices still echo from the past, and those who remember these events may well recall the prophecies and the statements of friends and neighbors. The excitement was on every hand, and for the moment that was all that mattered. Nantucket was to begin a new way of life, and that had the impetus of the times. Edouard A. Stackpole
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Diary of a Nantucket Woman in Wales and Some Other Diaries. by Freda James
HOW MANY PEOPLE receive a diary as a Christmas gift, and how many make New Year resolutions to write in them every day, but after a few months or even weeks their good intentions are forgotten? Do you keep a diary? If you do it might become famous in 100 years' time, or if not famous it might find its way into a museum. Perhaps you think, as I do about mine, that it is too humdrum ever to find fame, but one never knows, as I have learned recently, about the every day diary of Abial Folger which was started 177 years ago, copies of which have already found their way into three museums.. Who, however, was Abial Folger, and why has her diary been preserved? To find out we must return to the War of Independence in America and to the little island of Nantucket, off the coast of Massachusetts. Here, whaling families led happy and contented lives until their ships were being commandeered, and some men were forc ed to fight which was against their principles as they were Quakers. Many of these families accepted the invitation of the Hon. Charles Greville (2nd son of the Earl of Warwick), to settle on the shores of Milford Haven, in Wales. It was intended that they should carry on their whaling and also help in the building of a new town. Charles Greville was the favorite nephew of his uncle, Sir William Hamilton, who had inherited land bordering on Milford Haven, from his first wife Catherine Barlow. He had appointed Greville as his agent and gave him a free hand to build the town of Milford with large houses, a Church, an observatory, quays, etc. No one is quite certain how many families arrived at Milford Haven. The families had first left Nan tucket in 1785, upon invitation from Gov. Parr of Nova Scotia, to settle at Dartmouth, across the harbor from Halifax. Here they established a successful whaling port, until 1792, when an attractive proposal arrived from Charles Greville, inviting them as a colony to come to Milford Haven, in Wales. Thus it was that these migrant whaling families from Nantucket went aboard fifteen whaling ships, with complete outfits, household goods, and crossed the Atlantic, to arrive at Milford on September 22, 1792. The leaders of the group were Samuel Starbuck and Timothy Folger.
Diary of a Nantucket Woman in Wales
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Although Abial Coleman Folger, wife of Timothy Folger, was among the first to disembark at Milford, the first entry in this par ticular diary does not appear until December 24,1806. This entry (not an unusual one)reads: "I have bin all day giting ready to make mince pyes." And the diary ends as suddenly a little over five years later, on March 11,1811, with an identical phrase: "Sat and stood all day making mince pyes for Fred." "Fred" was a nephew. Abial's diary was really written to her three married daughters in America, so that they could know what she did each day. She was cer tainly a very busy person and all through her diary she seems oc cupied, especially with cooking and sewing. She entertained a great deal and there were streams of visitors to dinners, teas and even breakfasts. Besides cooking a 20 lb turkey, she made sheering buns, samp porrige, wine, pyes, roasted a pig, made sausages and butter (they farmed some land nearby), and always wished she could send some to her daughters. Abial was also an accomplished seamstress. She applied herself to making aprons, skirts, gowns, stuffed pillows for her sofa, knitted stockings and made two shirts for Fred (her nephew). She states:"I think this is very good for a woman in her 75th year". Timothy, her husband, to whom she always refers as "H" was a ship's surveyor and American consul, so Abial records disasters in the harbour and on the nearby coast. The settlers in Milford had abandon ed whaling at an early stage and taken up other trades. Abial often criticises "H" because his favourite pastime was a visit to the Reading Room. "He would go there if he was half dead," and again, "he has gone there although his back was bad after a fall on the stairs." Although Abial was such a busy person and entertained so many of her friends, ships' captains and her relations, she was often lonely and missed her beloved Nantucket and her family. She expresses her loneliness several times such as: Sept. 22nd 1808 This day 16 years ago I stept my feet on Welch land and a grevous day it was for me. Dec. 7th 1809 A lonely maloncoly day.
Diary of a Nantucket Woman in Wales
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Dec. 24th 1809 This has been a lonely day for me as many are. I have ben alone and reading my old letters over. Although Timothy loved to visit the Reading Room, and even miss ed Meetings of the Society of Friends to go there, his thoughts were with Abial as well, especially when he bought her a donkey to ride and later made her a little jaunting car with harness. Sept. 17th 1807 A very fine day. I took a ride in my new jaunting carr. Sept. 18th 1807 Fine morn. After dinner I rode in my carr and donky up to see the new Church and think it a handsom one. This Church of St. Katharine was one of Greville's dreams and is of particular interest today because the new Archbishop of Wales, the Rt Rev. Derrick Childs, started his ministry there as a deacon during the 2nd World War. Greville also gave the land for the site for a Friends Meeting House but unfortunately he did not live to see this completed. Abial records his death as April 22nd 1809. Of the Meeting House she says. March 1st 1811 Daffys beginning to blow in the garden. New Meeting House, snug neat thing. We are to meet on first day. Some interesting items recorded: August 12th 1807 This is Harberson Fair and I have plenty maids offering. Harberson Fair was a hiring fair for servants held every year in the little village which is about 4 miles from Milford. The date was altered in later times to October 10th. Abial uses the old spelling which is found on very old maps and older generations still pronounce it that way although today it is known as "Herbrandston." Abial was always glad when she did not have to change her maid, because "it is hard work bending them and teaching them my ways."
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
The day before the new maid arrived that was always "a grate day for cleaning as tomorrow all the maids leave and wish the new ones to think they were tidy ones." She liked the look of one new maid named Molly because she was clean and neat, and a good help at 4V2gns (per year). However, another she sent packing because she had had a soldier in the house after they had gone to bed. Nov. 2nd 1807 "Got in ouer balls for twelve months firing." This is an interesting entry because older Pembrokeshire folk will of course remember that the balled fire was found in every country house, especially in farm kit chens and cottages, right up until the end of World War II, when elec tricity reached remote homes. These balls were made from fine anthracite coal (known as culm) and clay which had been mixed well with water beforehand. When a year's supply was needed a large quantity was usually mixed by the hooves of a horse, being ridden round and round, until it was thoroughly blended. Smaller quantities were sometimes mixed by a man walking on it in his clogs, but often it was sold ready mixed especially to town houses. Each morning damp balls were shaped by hand and the fire built up to the top. As the day progressed this fire would become red and very hot. Every night a layer of the mixture would be put upon the top of the fire. This was known as "strumming the fire," so that when the morning came there was a red fire ready for cooking breakfast, and for other jobs, until it was time for the balling to take place again. There was usually an oven on one side of the fire and a boiler on the other so constant hot water. These fires were never allowed to go out, some hav ing been known to have kept in for 100 years or more. Strangely enough there do not seem to be any descendents of the whaling families in Milford today. Most of the younger folk must have settled elsewhere or returned to their original island home. One local name of a visitor to the Folgers was that of Capt. Anthony Stokes, who belonged to a land-owning family living near Milford in their manor house named St. Botolph's. Generations of that family resided there until well after the 2nd World War, when Col. A. Stokes died. The estate was sold but there is still one member of that family living in Milford. Abial's diary was found in 1954 by Mrs. George Jones (nee Rozelle Coleman) in the attic of her home in Nantucket. It probably came to her from her father Dr. Coleman, as he was interested in the history of Nantucket and was able to glean knowledge from the aged folk he at-
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
tended on the island. Abial Coleman Folger was his great-great aunt. Abial and Timothy never returned to their beloved island but found a rest, with others of that whaling community, in the peaceful little burial place of that "snug" Friends Meeting House. Their simple stones just give their initials and dates of death. T.F. A.F. 1816 1814 Diaries make fascinating reading. One becomes so involved that one practically lives with the writers. In Abial Folger's words the past of Milford becomes also a part of the home life, and can lead us to hum ble and true ways of life. But one also must remember that diaries are private affairs, and the writers probably never dreamt that they would become famous. Samuel Pepys, our most eminent diarist, hardly thought in the 1600's that his diary would be sought after more than 300 years later. It was an accident that it was found at all and this because, when John Evelyn's diary was published, a search was made among Pepys' books to see if he, too, had left work of a similar kind. These two great diarists give us an intimate insight into life in the 17th Century. How thankful we must be to Pepys for his vivid discriptions of the Plague of London, the Great Fire there, and of King Charles II's return to England after his exile on the Continent, and his Coronation. The Rev. Kilvert on the other hand, gives us quieter moods of his life as a country person in Clyro (Radnorshire) and Chippenham (Glos.) Here we walk with him through country lanes, enjoy the birds and flowers and visit his parishioners. Again, we travel with Capt. Robert Falcon Scott and his companions on their perilous journey to the South Pole, share the hazards which they endured and grieve at the sad ending of their efforts. A book written by Julia Tremayne in diary form called "War on Sark," shows us what it was like on that little island during the occupa tion of the Germans in World War II. Her diary was written to her daughter in England as letters, but of course were never posted. They reveal some of the privations the islanders suffered during those war years. One of the longest diaries written is that of the Rev. James Wood ford (1740-1803) which is a record of 45 years as a country parson. Although uneventful in parts it gives modern readers a good idea of what it was like to live in the 18th Century. Of course one can't expect to have adventurous things happening every day, especially to one living in the country where life as a rule runs on an even keel. The Imperial War Museum in London houses a great number of
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diaries of invaluable interest. These were written by prisoners of war during hostilities, buried and retrieved when a war ended because the penalties of keeping records of their prisoner-of-war-lives were ex treme. A most interesting diary was found in recent years buried in the grave of one of the soldiers. It was hidden in a bottle and was written in very tiny writing on 21 pages. Sir Roderick Suddaby, Keeper of the Documents, had to become a detective to find out the writer of these records, which were written in diary form by an officer to an unknown fiancee, describing his life as a Japanese prisoner working on the Burma-Thailand railway. Fortunately there was just one clue in this diary, the mention of a fellow officer's name, and it was through that name that Sir Roderick Suddaby was able to locate the writer, and hap pily, too, to find he was still alive. If you do receive the present of a diary try to persevere with it because, even if it does not become famous, some of your descendents will surely find it of great interest. Indeed, it is a record for yourself, to look back upon, and to pinpoint something which you wish to know, as an entry is more authentic than memory. One cannot argue with a diary.
Mrs. Freda James, the author of this article, still lives in Milford Haven, and has been a valued correspondent over the years. She had identified the home of Timothy and Abial Folger as being on Charles Street in Milford, then known as Middle Street. "That would have been very close to fields that they farmed," she writes,"and now known as the Poll area. You will remember they sold milk to Castle Hall, which was just across the creek, now called the Pill. At one time one could on ly cross here at low tide; then a bridge was built by Colonel Greville." Mrs. James is in her 82nd year, and still a keen student of Milford Haven's history. She has written many articles for Country Quest and other magazines, and has contributed to the historical studies of the area where she has spent her entire life. Several years ago, the late Rozelle Coleman Jones wrote for Historic Nantucket a charming account of the Abial Coleman Folger Diary, which she had found among her father's collections. It was a for tunate discovery, and provides a clear look into that period, and became even more understandable when Mr. and Mrs. Jones visited Milford Haven. The three daughters of Timothy and Abial Folger, for whom Abial wrote her Diary were: Abial Folger Swain, wife of Barnabas, Sarah Folger Macy, wife of Peter Macy, and Margaret Folger Greves.
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The Unusual Career of the Whaleship "Hero" of Nantucket AMONG THE MANY Nantucket whaleships which experienced unusual adventures in the Pacific Ocean was the ship Hero, which began her long career in 1816, the year she was launched at Rochester, Mass. Her first voyage (1816-1819), under Captain James Russell, was most successful, returning with 2025 bbls. of sperm oil after two and a half years from home. It was on her next voyage, (1819-1822) that the most exciting incident in her career took place. While lying at the island of St. Mary's, a favorite rendezvous for whaleships off the coast of Chile, the Hero was captured by a bandit named Benevedes, who took Captain Russell and the ship's boy on shore after sailing the ship to Concepcion on the mainland. The ship's crew was driven below in the forecastle and locked up, and the Mate, Obed Starbuck, was imprisoned in his stateroom, in the main cabin. A brig sailed into the area and Benevedes was concerned that this was a government vessel, and he slipped the Hero's cables, thinking the ship would go ashore, and then left the whalemen locked up while he rowed to the shore. Mate Starbuck, aware that the ship was abandoned, broke down the door of his stateroom and immediately went forward to free the crew. Taking command, he got sail on the ship and took her to Valparaiso, managing to escape a boat's crew of the bandits who were returning to recapture the ship. When the authorities at Valparaiso learned of the situation, they sent a vessel to take Benevedes and his men. In the interim, Captain Russell and the boy were killed by the pirates, who were angered at the escape of the ship and her crew. When the Hero, stripped of her provisions and most of her oil by the bandits, sailed for home, the news of the near disaster preceded her arrival. Mate Obed Starbuck was duly rewarded by the ship's owners and given the command of the Hero on her next voyage. It was on this 1822-1824 voyage that Captain Obed Starbuck discovered a sandy island close to the equator, southwest of the Sand wich (Hawaiian) Islands, which he called New Nantucket. It was many years later renamed Baker Island by a whaling master of that name who believed it was a new discovery. Captain Starbuck on this same voyage discovered another island, which he also placed on his chart after determining her position, and called it Starbuck Island. He came home with a full ship - 2,173 barrels of sperm oil. On her next voyage, (1824-1827), the H e r o was under the command
The Whaleship "Hero'
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of Captain Nathaniel Fitzgerald and again had a full cargo. The success of the ship continued during her 1827-1830 voyage, when, under Captain George Alley, she brought home 2,353 barrels of sperm, one of the best records of any Nantucket whaleship. Captain Alley continued this good fortune on her 1830-1833 voyage, bringing back 2,240 barrels of sperm under her hatches. The Hero's career as a lucky ship continued under both Captain Peter Smith (1833-1836) and Captain Reuben Joy, Jr., (1837-1841). From 1841 to 1844, the H e r o ' s reputation suffered when Captain William S. Chase had the misfortune to frequent those parts of the Pacific where the whales had become scarce, and she returned to Nan tucket with only 830 barrels. In 1846, on her very next venture, she sail ed out under Captain Sylvanus Swain but returned in a leaking condi tion, and was laid up for repairs. After having her hull re-planked and coppered she sailed in April, 1847, again under Captain Swain, and returned on July 6,1851. The voyage was one of the poorest experienc ed, and Captain Swain described the old South Pacific whaling grounds as being virtually "fished out." Captain Joseph McCleave, one of the famous whaling family members, took the Hero out on her next voyage, this time to the North Pacific and the Northwest Grounds. Along with 838 bbls. of oil the ship brought home 8,300 bbls. of whale bone. Leaving on Nov. 1, 1851, the Hero returned on May 31, 1855 — a long voyage. Captain William Holway was the next commander of the Hero, sailing on October 11, 1856, and arriving back to Nantucket on July 11,1860 — nearly a fouryear voyage. It was a lucrative voyage due to the increasing oil prices of that time. The last voyage of the H e r o began on Sept. 30,1860, when she sailed from the old home port for the Indian Ocean, under the command of Capt. Edward B. Hussey, Jr. A year later she was lost in Algoa Bay, east of Capetown, and although there was no loss of life, the ship and her outfits were totally destroyed. For nearly half a century this sturdy Nantucket whaleship had created a rare chapter in the maritime history of both this Island and our country. Captain Obed Starbuck who had rescued the ship, and later com manded her, became almost a legend in his own right.
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Cape and Islands Association of Historical Organizations to Meet on Nantucket
THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL Association will be the host for the Cape and Islands Association of Historical Organizations which comes to the Island on May 10 and 11 for its spring meeting. Mrs. Helen Winslow Chase, the co-ordinator for the meeting, has arranged an in teresting schedule for the visitors. Members and friends of the Nan tucket Historical Association are urged to take part. At 2 o'clock on the afternoon of Thursday, May 10, there will be a bus tour starting from the Peter Foulger Museum. At 3 o'clock the group will attend a showing of the film, N a n t u c k e t - L i t t l e G r e y L a d y , at the Gaslight Theatre. Guided tours of the Whaling Museum and the Peter Foulger Museum will be conducted starting at 4 o'clock. A reception will be held at the Jared Coffin House at 6 o'clock that evening, and at 7 o'clock a dinner meeting at the Jared Coffin dining room, with the speaker for the occasion being Robert diCurcio, author of A r t o n N a n tucket.
On Friday, May 11, starting at 9:00 o'clock, a business session will convene at the Whaling Museum's Sanderson Hall. At 9:30 a panel discussion begins in the same room, during which Edouard A. Stackpole, Historian, will speak on historical and genealogical links between Nantucket and Cape Cod. Renny Stackpole will talk about the educational program of the Nantucket Historical Association, involv ing the local schools, visiting classes, college courses, the Lightship learning seminars and the University of Massachusetts credit courses. Dr. Elizabeth A. Little will speak on Indian research through the use of early deeds, account books, etc., as well as archaeological "digs". Copies of her recent Algonquin studies based on Nantucket data, will be available for examination.
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Alexander Coffin, "Remarks at the Asylum, Quaise," 1841 by Edgar L. McCormick IN 1839, CAPTAIN Alexander Coffin (1790-1870) became resident superintendent of the Nantucket County Farm at Quaise. The journal he kept at the farm, along with some miscellaneous papers from his three years there, eventually came into the possession of the late Cyrus T. Plough, Curator of the Portage County, Ohio, Historical Society. Mr. Plough shared these documents with me. They are the basis for this ac count of Quaise Farm and Captain Coffin's role there. After thirty years in the whale fishery, Alexander Coffin was "desirous of relinquishing his seaman's life for that of a farmer," as his obituary in the Portage County, Ohio, Democrat for December 14,1870, noted. He had shipped before the mast in 1810 on the Lydia, just after he had turned twenty. It was a tragic voyage, for according to the tables in Alexander Starbuck's H i s t o r y o f t h e A m e r i c a n W h a l e F i s h e r y . . . . t o t h e y e a r 1 8 7 6 (Washington, D.C., 1878), David Swain 2nd, the L y d i a ' s Master, was killed by a whale. Subsequently, as is recorded in his ob ituary and in the tables in Starbuck. Coffin signed on in 1812 as steersman on the Diana under Calvin Bunker, but the brig had taken only 170 barrels of oil when news of the war prompted its return to Nan tucket. Next Coffin served as 2nd Mate under Captain Benjamin Whippey on the 1815-1817 voyage of The Brothers. He went to sea again im mediately in 1817 as Mate on the Phebe Ann, Charles Covill, Master. In 1820, Coffin sailed from New Bedford as Master of the luckless which was cast on the reefs on an island off Peru. Captain and crew were captured by "treacherous natives and Indians," but after a month's captivity and the threat of torture and possible death, "release was effected". Captain Coffin returned to Nantucket on a merchant ship. He had lost everything, yet, as his obituary said decades later, "he rejoiced at being able to return, destitute, to his native land." Lorenzo
Five more sailings followed, three on the B a r c l a y (1822,1824, and 1825) under Captain Peter Coffin, and then two more as Master himself of the Constitution (1827-1830) and the Edward (1835-1836) out of Hud son, N.Y. The last voyage yielded only 840 barrels of oil. Alexander Cof fin, after ten voyages, was ready to leave the ocean.
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Captain Coffin apparently accepted the appointment at Quaise a few months before Captain Isaac Brayton went to Ohio in search of a place for Nantucket people to settle. Coffin, his wife, Lydia Myrick, and their family did not join the resulting migration to Portage County until 1842. So for three years, aided by a board of overseers, he was responsi ble for the welfare, and often for the behavior, of Nantucket's poor and wayward. At Quaise farm he surely encountered more day-to-day pathos and tragedy than he ever did at sea. Yet his Quaker "equanimi ty of spirit" that later impressed the citizens of Ravenna, Ohio, must have seen him through the gray times at Quaise. "He was a man of the most inflexible firmness of characters", his obituary said, " and this spirit possessed him to the end." And he met the demands of the asylum with that same strength. Alexander Coffin's "Remarks at the Asylum, Quaise" are reminis cent of the entries in a whaling log. Thus in the existing manuscript the first entry sets a familiar pattern for all that follow through 1841 and on into February, 1842: Feby 3 Wednesday - Moderate breeze at SW and cloudy - two teams employd in carting sand one ploughing - Latter part the day wind veerd to WNW the air colder Capt Chase came up & made a visit so ends From such brief entries in the "log" emerge the dimensions of the spartan and often pathetic life at Quaise. It was hardly the career of farming that Coffin had wanted to follow when he retired from whaling. Yet farming was the main occupation at Quaise, and the "Remarks" record the activities on the land throughout the changing seasons. In winter, men able to work outside hauled manure to the fields and repaired fences; even the ploughing got underway in late February. As spring planting began, John Swain came on March 9 to oversee the farming, and, as other Coffin papers indicate, additional help was hired when the work was heaviest. Thus James Starbuck, John Hatch, Peter Norton, and George Thomas were engaged for a few days or even weeks at various times during the year. With oxen, cattle, horses, sheep and swine to care for, the round of farm work was constant, and it became especially demanding once the planting began in the fields and gardens. During a streak of cold weather in mid-April, sheep buried in snow had to be dug free. Potato planting, which began in late March, continued until May 18 after the first corn was in. Peat digging began on May 19.The "peat gang" work ed on into June when not needed to sow grain or beets. And there was other husbandry: after the June 21 washing, the entire flock of 262 sheep was sheared in three days.
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The making of "English" hay started on July 1 and continued half the month. The salt hay harvest began in the west meadow on September 5, and though the cutting was done by the 27th, the carting in went on well into October. They planted turnips in late July and a month later began the barley harvest. Potato digging began in late August and continued at intervals until late October. Next came corn husking and the storing of turnips and beets in the cellars. By then it was early November. A strong gale on October 4 toppled considerable fence and unroofed a peat house. Anticipating winter, on October 19 the overseers provided five new stoves which they brought out and installed themselves. With the colder weather, butchering began, with some of the beef and pork being sold in town. And on through December there was corn to husk and barley to thresh. The sheep required special attention with 170 be ing moved in late November from shear pen to farm. The flock at Squam was rounded up and 18 sheep moved to Quaise; eight rams were taken off Caskato. On November 13, apparently as production declined, the farm stop ped "running milk" to town. In the spring Edward Pease had made the daily trip with 33 to 38 quarts. In late June James Starbuck had taken over the delivery. Such trade with the town was an important source of income for Quaise farm which clearly produced more vegetables and meat than it needed to augment a diet heavily ballasted with molasses, cod, and flour, all purchased by the barrel or hogshead. Along with pork and beef, surplus crops were marketed in town. Among the Coffin papers is an undated "List of Vegetations Grown - Quaise Farm," which shows that in one season the workers there harvested 1008 Bushels of Turnips 811 Ditto Potatoes 250 Do Sugar Beets 90 Do Corn 16 Do Blood Beets 24 Do String Beans 8V2 Do Onions 5 Do Parsnips 517 Muskmelons 3038 Pumpkins or 16 loads 348 Dozen English Turnips 235 Do Cucumbers 146 Do Radishes 89 Do Squashes 69 Do Heads of Lettuce 81 Do Cabbage 100 Tons of Hay Although Coffin never mentioned the number of inmates accom modated at Quaise, the asylum was not a huge institution. Clearly this abundance of produce must have benefited both farm and town. Alexander Coffin did not find at Quaise the kind of farm life he had wished for when he left the sea. The asylum was not merely a
Alexander Coffin at Quaise
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refuge; it was also intended to be a place of correction, well-organized and systematic. The overseers, whom he never identified in his jour nal, expected him to see that care and supervision were provided destitute, wayward, and often ailing people. These human concerns were far more demanding than the management of the farm itself. Those who were able-bodied (including prisoners sometimes sent out from town) were "sentenced" to "House Industry" when they ar rived at the farm. Except for some respite on Sunday, they worked every day, picking oakum when other tasks were not available. (Oakum they produced in quantity: one shipment to town on September 20 amounted to 1300 lbs.) Those in need of discipline were put in "House Correction." And those who were insubordinate were im prisoned for a few days in the farm's jail. Thus on April 3, Coffin was obliged to lock up A.M. Hayden for "refusing to obey orders and Insolents (sic)." On July 11, Benjamin Lewis, in the cell for disobedience "broke out..& run to town." Coffin sent for him, but noted later, "have not heard anything of him." An undated document in Coffin's hand writing indicates that at ona time 17 persons were in "Housing Industry" and 8 in "House Correc tion." But the number always varied with admissions, dismissals, and the completion of stipulated periods of service. The record of admis sions between February 3,1841 and February 15,1842 can be extracted from the daily entries in the journal: February 4: Alex Hall, pauper 7: Louisa P. Bowen, pauper, sick 18: Robert Holmes, pauper March 4: A.M. Hayden "brought up" 9: Henry Fisher, pauper 11: 5 prisoners (1 to House Industry, 4 to House Correction) April 15: Henry Coleman & wife, to House Industry, 6 mo. 21: Elsey Spencer, to House Industry 29: "3 children named Spencer" May 2: Avis Simpson, "brought up" "run from C. Burgess put in cell" 15: Deborah Marden, to House Industry, 6 mo. 20: John Naboth, pauper; Wm. Allen, to House Industry June 1: Henry Wilson, to House Industry, 60 days July 2: Nancy Green, to House Industry 10: Lucretia Folger, to House Industry 16: Eliza Morrison (and infant), pauper August 6: E.H. Ca/r/ter, pauper 13: a "coloured man in a stupid state" Sept. 3: Abial Davis, pauper October 5: 3 prisoners, to House Industry 12: Thomas Townsend, pauper 16: Rodney Mumford, to House Correction
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Nov. 23: Deborah Perry, pauper 28: F. Calder, pauper Jan., 4. 1842: C. Brockett, to House Industry 16: Henry S. Boston, to House Industry All those entries were official, but on April 24 a man named Foster, who "appeared to be in stupid state", came to the asylum on his own. He wouldn't go to town as Coffin advised, and was given shelter for the night. Children too were cared for at the asylum. On February 19 Coffin sent six boys to town to board, listing them as Samuel, Alex, and Joseph Carpenter, Alex Green, James and Joseph Maxy. On April 29, as has been noted, three Spencer children were brought to Quaise. Those of school age were sent to Polpis, as a note to Captain Coffin, dated December 13, indicates: Sir, the boys named in your note can be admitted in Polpis School at any time you pleas to send them our enterence (sic) days is the first Monday in each month but we dispense with that article in Polpis. Yours respectfully, Alex Macy. Most touching are the references in the journal to those who came to Quaise both penniless and ill. Eliza Morrison, who had come as a pauper in mid-July was so ill with consumption by August 1 that Coffin had to send her child to be nursed in town. Eliza died on September 5 and was buried on the farm. The first burial there, Coffin reported, was that of "Uncle" Benjamin Davis on April 14. As soon as he died on Sun day, the 18th, the cart had been sent to town "with measure for a coffin". Sickness and death were common. On March 5 "A. Blish died after an Illness of 48 hours." The next day "Wm Ca/r/ter died of consump tion & palsy in the throat." Blish was buried at Polpis, Carter at Shimmo. Other deaths recorded by Coffin were those of James Robinson, of consumption, on March 28; Lousia P. Bowens, April 25; Susan Perry (93% years old), April 27; the 11-month old child, "coloured," of Nancy Green on August 15; Eunice Gardner (after being sick 2 months), December 1; Amy Jones, December 4; and Fred Townsend, February 2, 1842. Now and then someone was discharged to live with relatives or friends. On April 25, for example, the acting overseer "took away 'Old Times' alias Frank Johnson to go to New York." On May 7 W.H. Carnes went to Siasconset to live with Susan Elkins. There is only one reference to mental illness. On July 9 "Franklin Joy went to town to go to the Insane Hospital."
Alexander Coffin at Quaise
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Those who stayed and endured must have spent quiet, ordinary days, varied on Sundays by walks about the farm in good weather. Ear ly in the year on most every Sabbath some of the men went eeling; later in the spring they dug clams, and in the summer they fished on these free Sunday afternoons. The overseers encouraged temperance workers to speak at Quaise, and on October 31 "a company of reformed drunkards" held a temperance meeting there, but one of many such at tempts to educate the wayward. Carriages often came from town br inging concerned visitors, as well as the overseers who frequently met at the asylum, often on Saturdays. The county commissioners also came on July 9 to inspect "House Industry" and "House Correction." But these were hardly diversions. Surely life at Quaise asylum was mostly a time of waiting and acceptance, made as orderly and secure as possible by those in charge. Alexander Coffin saved an undated let ter from his residence there that reveals the quiet endurance which must have been a common attitude at the asylum: My Dear I thought I would not detain you to come to me I had no word in the afternoon and I thought I would trie (sic) and see if I could quilt a Holder as I once did but I found I come (sic) short but my Dear I have quilted many a silk one very handsom (sic) but that day is past I want you to accept this to see what I have done by this hang it up by you to put pins and Needles on when you set by the fier (sic) in the Winter if you live which God grant you may for my sake if it is the will of God to spair (sic) me. Your affectionate H.Johnson As for Coffin himself, the only indication that his patience ever wore thin during three years as superintedent is a letter he wrote after one of the deaths at the asylum. Undated, it is addressed simply to "F. W": Sir you mention your note the other day that you wish me to be exact in measuring the breadth, you say you made them 2 or three inches narrower than the measure I have sent and yet they have been too large, I dont think they have been larger than decency re quires I dont think the coffin ought to be so contracted as to be obliged to pack the body in as you would a Bbl of Beef -1 suppose a mistake of 1/4 Inch by me would be considered a crime, had the same thing occurred last year it would not have been noticed. AC
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For three years Alexander Coffin performed his duties at Quaise without any other sign of discontent though he often must have yearned for his own farm and freedom. In September, 1842, he came to Portage County, Ohio, and purchased land in Randolph township. There he was his own man for nearly 20 years before he retired to the county seat, Ravenna. He died there on December 7,1870.
Nantucket Nantucket, O Nantucket, Not much bigger than a bucket, Just a little patch of sand Lying East of our great land. The prettiest spot to find, More than others of its kind. For its red and varied hues, On the moors, with deep sky blues. For its quaint and quiet ways, For the very happy days, One can spend on this dear spot, To roam o'er nature's sandy plot. For the ships that come and go, For the breezes that do blow, For the records of its past, For the memories that will last. Horace A. Carter Nantucket, Mass.
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A Modern Trying Out Rendering Pilot Whale Blubber in 1983 by Wesley N. Tiffney, Jr. The business of obtaining oil from whale blubber for lighting or lubrication has a long history. Native Americans simply collected oil dripping from stranded whale carcasses lying on the beach. Then, set tlers in the New World began to heat or "try out" the raw whale blub ber to separate oil from the fat and meat containing it. They rendered dead drift whales or whales caught near shore in portable try works set up on the beach. As the practice of whaling became more elaborate, later-day whalers used large ocean-going ships to hunt their prey. The ships featured specially built try-works and rendering of the oil took place on shipboard. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth cen turies, growing use of electricity and petroleum products made whale oil obsolete for almost all domestic and industrial purposes. Finally, recent passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act made the use of whale products illegal in this country and put an end to the American whale fishery. Consequently, it has been some time since whale blubber was tryed out in the United States. On November 17,1982,65 pilot whales (Globicephala melaena - also called blackfish or pothead whales) stranded and died at Wellfleet on Cape Cod. Staff members of the Kendall Whaling Museum in Sharon, Massachusetts, wanted to dissect two of these animals and attempt to try out their blubber. The staff spent a great deal of time obtaining the necessary permits from the National Marine Fisheries Service, which strictly regulates any present use of whale products. When the museum obtained the permits, its staff brought two whales to Sharon and dissected them under the direction of Dr. Bruce Gilley, a professional anatomist from Westerly, Rhode Island. The larger whale proved to be a female, and possibly the smaller was her calf. The staff saved and froze the blubber and the "melon" (an oil-filled sac on the head) until they could organize the trying out process. Nearly a year later, on November 20,1983, they were ready. The Kendall Museum staff had built an "analog" tryworks on the museum grounds, patterned after a type used by Basque whalemen some 400 years ago. While the design was Basque, the construction materials were modern: three feet wide and four high, the furnace was
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built from cement blocks and sported a stainless steel damper. The try pot and other tools came from a Chinese restaurant supply firm in Boston. The pot itself, about two feet across and 18 inches deep, was a commercial-scale wok. Tools included a skimmer fitted with a long handle, a dipper improvised from the inner part of a double boiler, a blubber fork fashioned from what appeared to be a three-tined garden pitchfork, and appropriate devices for sampling the oil. The museum provided large knives and cleavers for cutting the blubber into the pro per sized pieces. Staff members and volunteers wore a colorful but ran dom array of aprons and old clothing. A final bit of equipment, cigars labelled "factory select" (reject?), were on hand to counteract the odor of boiling oil and burning whale flesh. The trying out crew lit a hardwood fire under their rather in congruous try works, then added fresh water to the try pot so the first pieces of blubber would not scorch against the hot metal and discolor the oil. Mr. Bob Webb, supervisor of the demonstration and Research Associate of the Kendall Museum, told assembled observers that salt water was probably used for this purpose on whaleships as fresh would be in short supply. He mentioned that few, if any whaleships were lost from try works fires. I rather wonder about this last point. A hot fire on a wooden ship with lots of oil aboard must have created a considerable fire hazard. Meanwhile, Mr. John Sheldon, Senior Manager of the Museum, prepared the "bibles": these were chunks of blubber, cut to about six by eight inches, and crosscut at about one to two inch intervals. The pilot whale skin was so thin it made a poor binder for the blubber, but tradition dictated that the bibles be cut and crosshatched with the skin side down. On this point, as with others in the demonstration, the crew followed traditional procedures. When the water boiled, the crew added several bibles to the try pot. The blubber fork (cum pitchfork) proved troublesome, as the slippery blubber fell off the straight prongs. However, Mr. Clint Wright, chief shipfitter of the Mystic Seaport Museum, saved the day when he pro duced a reproduction blubber fork he had made in his forge. This had two curved prongs and they held the bibles nicely. The blubber began to simmer. Mr. Douglas Allen, a chemist with the Pfizer Laboratories of Groton, Connecticut, monitored temperature and sampled the oil throughout the process to determine the chemical composition of the oil at each stage in the trying out. Temperatures ran from just above the boiling point of water (212) up to 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil pro duced from the body blubber was a dark brown color and appeared to be of rather low quality. Experts present suggested that a year in the freezer had probably allowed the blubber to deteriorate somewhat, as
A Modern Trying Out
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the flesh froze but the oil did not. Others noted that this oil was a crude product and, in the old days, would likely be refined before marketing. The water initially added to the try pot boiled away, leaving pure oil. Crew members added more bibles and removed those previously tryed out (the "cracklings"). Up to this point, the stench of boiling oil had been powerful, but not quite as bad as I had expected (although I took pains to keep myself and my down jacket up wind). Now, the crew added the cracklings to the fire, as this was traditionally done on ship board to conserve the limited firewood supply. The cracklings burned very well (two pieces filled the furnace chamber with flames) and lasted for quite a while. The museum staff had provided a large pile of firewood, but with the exception of a few sticks to try out the first few pieces of blubber, little was needed. However, the stench of the burning cracklings was truly awful. The smoke emitted by the try works was gray and greasy and the odor was the sickly-sweet stink of burning rot ten flesh. Even non-smokers lit factory reject cigars. At this point, I decided to go home, try out a couple of hamburgers for lunch and cauterize my olfactory nerve with a stiff shot of con verted molasses. Then, providing myself with a non-reject Antony y Cleopatra, I returned to the demonstration. That afternoon, Mr. Gare Reid, Manager of the Kendall Museum, recreated an old whaling custom: cooking doughnuts in the hot whale oil. He produced a bowl of dough concocted from an original Penn sylvania Dutch recipe, shaped the batter into spheres, placed them in the skimmer, and had another crew member lower them into the hot oil for a few moments. The doughnuts looked quite palatable, but no one was allowed to sample them as some of the stranded whales had been euthanized with drugs and the staff were not quite certain if the whales being tryed out had been so treated. They assured us the dough nuts would go on exhibit. The crew finished trying out all the body blubber, carefully cleaned the try pot, and then tryed out the melon or case oil. The result was an oil much lighter in color than that produced from the blubber. It ap peared to be of quite high quality. I have read that up until the 1950's, fishermen on Cape Cod still drove pods of pilot whales ashore with their boats and killed them on the beach, saving only the melons or cases. These were shipped to New Bedford, where one small firm, the Nye Oil Company, still produced high-quality case oil for lubricating watches and other fine machinery. I assume the company went out of business with the advent of silicone lubricants. During the Kendall Museum trying out, the crew bailed hot oil into a large container (appropriately, an empty oil drum) for cooling. Later they put the cooled oil into plastic fuel jugs for distribution to other
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maritime museums for use in exhibits and teaching programs. The two pilot whales (adults average about 1800 pounds) rendered in the demonstration yielded about eight gallons of oil. Approximately 100 people attended the demonstration and enjoyed it for its own sake, as well as for the information and humor it generated. Albert Cook Church, in his book "Whale Ships and Whaling", describes the traditional trying out process as follows (p. 36): Trying out proceeds without cessation day and night, half the crew working while the other watch is below. At night the ship presents a highly picturesque scene, the flames darting high above the tryworks, revealing spars and rigging in an uncanny glare. The crew, slipping and sliding about the deck, appear like demons capering about an incantation fire. However, with this picture the romance departs, for everything is drenched with oil that washes about, ankle deep, and the odor of burning scraps is beyond description. Smoke from the tryworks fires is choking in density, rigging and spars blackened, and reek with greasy soot from which there is not refuge. The Kendall Museum trying out was much more civilized. The pro cess took about five hours, flames were not allowed to mount above the tryworks, any spill oil was promptly covered with dirt, and all oil was carefully saved. The trying out crew were neatly (although somewhat oddly) dressed, but I think they needed showers and washing machines that night before their families welcomed them home. The smoke was more grey than black, and a fine cooperative wind blew it away from crew and spectators toward a unpopulated area. The stench, however, was entirely traditional.
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