Historic Nantucket
At the corners — 'Sconset
January,1984 Published Quarterly by Nantucket Historical Association Nantucket, Massachusetts
NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OFFICERS President: H. Flint Ranney First Vice President: Robert G. Metters Secretary: Richard Austin
Vice President: Robert D. Congdon Treasurer: Donald E. Terry
Honorary Vice Presidents Walter Beinecke
Albert G. Brock
Alcon Chadwick
Albert F. Egan, Jr. Mrs. R. Arthur Orleans
Mrs. Bernard Grossman
Presidents Emeritus Edouard A. Stackpole
Leroy Fl. True
George W. J ones
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, Miss Marjorie 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
January, 1984
of
No. 3
CONTENTS I Nantucket Historical Association Officers and Staff Editorial: Peering into the Future About Our President A Little Model with a Long History by Wesley N. Tiffney, Jr. Peter Foulger — What We Have Discovered About a Most Remarkable Man by Kim Downs-Watson Address Changes An Interesting Find by Anita Coffin Dammin A New Curator Established by John Welch Dr. Samuel Gelston — Medical Pioneer by Edouard A. Stackpole A''Nantucket House" in Nova Scotia Bequests Noah's Legacy by Marian Gleason "Pea Soup" Humors of Election Day in Old Nantucket by Henry S. Wyer
2 5 7 8 14 21 22 25 26 29 29 30 30 31
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.
Photo by Larry Cronin On December 7, 1983, the Nantucket Historical Association Council honored Edouard A. Stackpole, Honorary President, Historian, Direc tor of the Peter Foulger Museum and Editor of Historic Nantucket, at a reception held at the Peter Foulger Museum. The occasion? It was his eightieth birthday.
Peering into the Future
5
WHILE WE ARE supposed to be living in the "space age", with com puters clicking in our ears, and the technological processes continuing to both amaze and befuddle us, we now suddenly realize that, despite such advances, we cannot see into time as we see into space. The mystery of time keeps us at bay; more so the scientist than the layman. The challenge of the future calls upon all the knowledge of mankind to find a solution to the nuclear threats. While this is the great question of our times, there are other problems which must be met, and these have a bearing on our lives, as well. While the problem of growth in our Island world is the important one in our future, and an immediate one, the solution is not any easier because of its closeness. We can see this growth all about us, and we know that time is running out — the san dglass stands sharply in front of our eyes. Is the Land Bank to become law? All the elements that have con trived to bring about the present situation still play a role in the process of seeking a solution. The stretches of heath, the ancient common land are mute reminders of the ill-advised efforts to develop those sections of our island which should have been preserved. How to make the best of the situation should be considered; how to make sure this important part of Nantucket's future be protected against human greed and avarice. It is similar to problems which have occurred before — and will happen again unless the remedy be forthcoming. How would these important people of the past regard the present situation? This question brings to mind the painting by Eastman Johnson called "The Nantucket School of Philosophy", which the famous artist created in 1887, nearly a century ago. Stopping in at Cap tain Hagerty's cobbler shop one morning, Johnson found a group of old shipmasters gathered there, discussing the affairs of the day and reminiscing. In recreating the scene he gave Nantucket one of his finest canvases. The figures were gauging the present against their ex periences of the past. The scene is timeless. What would these old mariners have declared as a solution? One fact is important to consider. They had retired from years in a hazar dous career at sea around the world. Many of them bought farms because they treasured the earth. Their Island home meant more to them because of their years at sea. They could look into the future with a frank appraisal of what their experience had taught them. The Nan tucket School of Philosophy has not been abandoned over these years. It is still a part of Island life. Edouard A. Stackpole
H. Flint Ranney
About Our President
7
ELECTED AS PRESIDENT of the Nantucket Historical Association in July 1983, H. Flint Ranney has a long background connecting him with Nantucket and with history. Born in 1935 and raised in New Jersey, Ranney is a life-long sum mer resident of the Island, and his grandfather, Fredrik FischerMeyer, first came here in 1914. His mother, Edith Meyer Ranney, still summers in her Cliff Road home, "Innishail". Flint attended Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1956 with a history major. His senior thesis, on the subject of Whaling and Nan tucket, with special attention to Peter Ewer's marine camels, was published in part in Historic Nantucket in 1959. Having moved to Nantucket as year-round residents in 1977, Flint and his wife Corky live in Monomoy with their five children. They are active in the community, where Flint is a real estate broker, an elected member of the School Committee, and secretary of the Rotary Club, while Corky has organized a parent group called Friends of Nantucket Public Schools. Accepting past-President Leroy True's challenge of matching the growth of the Historical Association during his own very successful 14-year term as President and Administrator, President Ranney hopes to double the Association's membership, endowment, and influence on Nantucket in the next five years. He and Administrator John Welch are already working hard to bring other community members into active leadership in the Council, to involve the Nantucket school curriculum in the Island's history, and in studying our buildings and philosophy and expecting to adjust our presentation of the Island's history to meet the interests of our visitors and students of history. Establishing of priorities is itself a priority item for the new Presi dent and his executive committee, and working out a budget, deciding on administrative details, and coordinating staff and volunteers to meet changing needs are all areas needing attention. President Ran ney looks forward to moving the NHA along with history, keeping the Association current with social and economic changes, yet satisfying members, visitors, and the community that we are a viable and dynamic force on today's Island.
8
A Little Model with a Long History by Wesley N. Tiffney, Jr.
IN 1974,1 was a newcomer to the Peter Foulger Historical Museum on Nantucket Island. I was teaching a biology course in the Museum that year, and one day noticed a small ship model. It was rather crude, clearly not produced by a professional model-maker, and bore the legend, "H.M.S. Foudroyant, captured from the French". The model was of a small ship, carrying only guns. This aroused my curiosity, as the only Foudroyant I knew of was an 80-gun ship-of-theline and Nelson's flagship in the Mediterranean Sea during the Napoleonic Wars. Certainly the model could not be of the Foudroyant; there must be some mistake. I asked Mr. Edouard Stackpole, Curator of the Foulger Museum, if an error could have been made in labelling the model. "No", he said, "We found that label inside the hull when the model was acquired by the Museum, and it is of the Foudroyant as I had lunch aboard the vessel a few years ago in Portsmouth Harbor, England." Obviously my naval history was deficient, not the historical skills of Mr. Stackpole and the Foulger Museum staff. This motivated me to do a bit of reading on the subject and I here present the story of several Foudroyants and an interesting interloper named Trincomalee. In 1758, the French 88 gun warship Foudroyant (the name may be translated as "thundering") was captured by H.M.S. Monmouth (64) during a naval action of the Seven Years' War (pp. 322,323). i This was a fine effort by the British ship, as Foudroyant not only outgunned Mon mouth by 24 guns, but mounted 42 and 24 pound weapons against Mon mouth's 24 and 12 pounders (p. 42) 2- The captured Foudroyant was taken into the British fleet. Her name was retained (as was common practice at the time) and she served as a well-regarded unit of the fleet in the West Indies, the English Channel, and on other stations. In 1782, she captured the French 74 gun ship, Pegase, earning her Captain, John Jervis, a knighthood (p. 42) 2. Not one of Jervis's men was killed in the engagement, although he personally suffered two black eyes. Jervis went on to become the great victor of the battle of Cape St. Vin cent in 1797 and ended his life as the First Earl St. Vincent. The Foudroyant was declared unfit for further service and broken up at Portsmouth, England in 1787.2 The second Foudroyant was British-built, launched at Plymouth in 1798. She was a second-rate of 80 guns and 2062 tons, builder's measure-
A Little Model with a Long History
9
ment (p. 3)3. In 1797, Horatio Nelson (who had served under St. Vin cent) saw her being built and wanted her for his flagship, but she was not completed in time, and Vanguard served as Nelson's flagship at the Battle of the Nile in 1799.1 Later in that year, Nelson did take Foudroyant as his flagship at Palermo. The Navy regarded Foudroyant as "... the finest two-decker afloat.. .(p. 94)"4 and Nelson said of her, "I love her as a fond father a darling child and glory in her deeds" (p. 141).4 He used her for business and pleasure around the Mediterranean until his return to England in 1800. j Nelson's paramour, Lady Emma Hamilton, and her complacent husband were frequent visitors to the ship during this period, sometimes to the detriment of Nelson's professional activities (p. 82).5 Perhaps Nelson's daughter by Emma Hamilton, Horatia, was conceived aboard Foudroyant (p. 147).4 After Nelson's departure, Foudroyant became the flagship of Lord Keith (George Elphinstone) and was present at the surrender of Napoleon's abandoned army at Alexandria in 1801. The surrender was made inevitable by Nelson's decisive victory over the French fleet at the battle of the Nile (Aboukir Bay) in 1798. After the war Foudroyant was laid up in Devonport. j In 1872, she was removed from storage and established as part of the Naval gunnery school H.M.S. Cambridge (p. 106).6 Cambridge was a land-based training school, but British Naval establishments on shore were named as if they were ships. By 1891, the Admiralty considered Foudroyant too outmoded for even this service and placed her on the sale list. Military reforms of about this period, particularly those dealing with training conditions of enlisted men, m/iy have influenced her retirement. She was initially purchased by a German firm, but quickly re-purchased by a patriotic gentleman, Mr. Wheatley Cobb, for use as a training school for Naval cadets. The second Foudroyant served in this capacity until she was stranded on Blackpool Beach during a storm in June, 1897 and was finally destroyed by fire., A photograph, taken in 1898, while the ship was beached and before she burned shows a sad sight (p. 106).6.5 Mr. Cobb wished to continue his training school and to perpetuate the famous name Foudroyant. He went searching for a new ship. In 1897 he found and purchased the ex-navy frigate Trincomalee, saving her, just in time, from the breaker's yard where her rigging and part of her upperworks had already been removed. The ravages of the breaker's yard were repaired (but with inferior wood), the Trin comalee renamed Foudroyant, and Mr. Cobb's training school con tinued. 6 Although she served a rather quiet life in the Royal Navy, being present at no major battles, the history of the Trincomalee is long and honorable. I wish to consider it, briefly. Fast but well-armed frigates were always in short supply. Nelson frequently complained of their
10
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
scarcity (as did other commanders) and the T r i n c o m a l e e was built in response to a request from Nelson received by the Admiralty just before the battle of Trafalgar and Nelson's death. 6 T r i n c o m a l e e was of the L e d a class, being a fifth-rate of 1066 tons builder's measure, and established for 46 guns (p. 44).3 She was teakbuilt at Bombay, India, between 1813 and 1817 and of remarkably strong construction. The ship is described as follows:
"Her scantlings were massive. The frames at the waterline varied from 14" to 18" moulding and about 16" siding. Frame spacing was minimal, perhaps 4" to 8". Inside the hull there was a 6" layer of fore and aft planking with spaces where salt could be inserted. The outside planking was about 8" to 10" thick, and the deck beams were heavy 14" x 14" teak with hanging and lodging knees for bracing. The whole ship was held together with iron throughbolts and wooden treenails."g
H. M. S. Foudroyant III
A Little Model with a Long History
11
After her launching in October, 1817, the Trincomalee was sailed to Britain and promptly laid up as the French wars were over. In 1852, she was recommissioned after renovation — few repairs were needed as her teak proved more resistant to decay than the oak used in most British-built ships. 6 She was placed on active service in response to a request from Governor Douglas of British Columbia. He was concern ed about possible American annexation of the Queen Charlotte Islands as there were some 500 armed Americans searching for gold in the area. The Trincomalee was probably based at the British naval port of Esquimalt. In March, 1853, she participated in one of several fruitless searches for Sir John Franklin and his Northwest Passage exploratory expedition. 6 Franklin's fate has not been learned to this day. Trincomalee returned to Esquimalt and carried out routine patrols of the northern Pacific coast. The Crimean War was in progress and the British feared a Russian invasion of the Pacific Northwest. When peace was signed in 1856, she visited San Francisco, Honolulu, Mexico, Pitcairn, and Tahiti, then sailed home, presumably via the Cape of Good Hope on her last voyage.g In 1858, Trincomalee became a Royal Naval Reserve training ship and served in this capacity until 1894 when she was sold for breaking up, finally to be rescued by Mr. Cobb . g
When Mr. Cobb died, his widow gave the ship to the Society for Naval Research and they continued to use her as a training ship, j As of 1978, she remained afloat and under the supervision of a maritime training authority. A near sister ship of the Trincomalee is H.M.S. Unicorn, launched in 1824. She is also a fifth rate, 18 tons larger than Trincomalee, and is also pierced for 46 guns (p. 44).3. Interestingly enough, she is also still afloat and was being converted into a maritime museum in Dundee Harbor, Scotland, when I visited her in 1977. Of the few old sail-powered warships left in the world, it is extraordinary that two should be so similar. The names Foudroyant and Trincomalee have been used for other ships in the French and British navies. The French ironclad Courbet (launched 1882, struck from the list in 1910) was to have been named Foudroyant (p. 290).s A French destroyer named Foudroyant was laun ched in 1929, refitted later, then sunk by bombing off Dunkerque in 1940. Her name was perpetuated by re-naming another French destroyer, originally Fleuret, launched in 1938 and scuttled in 1944 (p. 270) 7 A British destroyer was built and named Trincomalee, but was scrapped shortly after her launch in 1946 as she was not needed due to the end of World War II (p. 44).7 Although the original Trincomalee remains afloat as Foudroyant, it is unfortunate that neither name is carried by a serving warship today, g
12
HISTORIC NANTUCKET
It is quite probable that the crude little model now in the Foulger Museum is of the Trincomalee renamed Foudroyant. Small and crude she may be, but she portrays an illustrious past. Acknowledgements My thanks to Mr. Andrew McKay of Toronto for his research assistance and to Mr. Charles Schedel, Director of INFOSER of the In ternational Naval Research Organization. Particular thanks are due to Mr. Edouard Stackpole, Curator of the Peter Foulger Museum, for all his help over the years. Literature Cited 1. Kemp, Peter. 1976. The Oxford companion to ships and the sea. Ox ford Univ. Press, Lond. 972 p. (pp.322-323) 2. Archibald, E. H. H. 1968. The wooden fighting ship in the Royal Navy AD 879-1860. Arco Pub. Co., Inc., N.Y. 174 p. (p. 43-44) 3. Gardner, Robert (Ed.) 1979. Conway's ah the world's fighting ships 1860-1905. Mayflower Books, N.Y. 440 p. 4. Russell, Jack. 1969. Nelson and the Hamiltons. Simon and Schuster, N.Y. 448 p. 5. Pocock, Tom. 1968. Nelson and his world. Viking Press, N.Y. 143 p. 6. Marshall, Roger. 1978. The most notable of all distinctions. Wooden Boat, 22: 42-45. 6.5 Watts, A. J. 1971. Pictoral history of the Royal Navy, Vol. 2, 1880-1914. Ian Allen, London. 144 p. 7. Gardner, Robert (Ed.). 1980. Conway's all the world's fighting ships 1922-1946. 456 p. 8. Moore, John (Ed.) 1981. Jane's fighting ships. Jane's Pub. Co., Ltd., London.794 p. Wesley N. Tiffney Jr. University of Massachusetts Nantucket Field Station Box 756, Polpis Rd. Nantucket, Mass. 02554 Copyright 1983
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14
Peter Foulger What We Have Discovered About A Most Remarkable Man Part II by Kim Downs-Watson, Coordinator Peter Foulger Project for the Nantucket Historical Association THE PETER FOULGER PROJECT is lovingly dedicated to the memory of "Sally" (Dr. Isabelle Virginia Kendig) in the name of her husband, Howard B. Gill. She was a Foulger descendant through Ben jamin Franklin.
MY DESK OVERFLOWS with letters, notes and copies of documents recorded in England during the 17th century. Parish records from England, counting Foulgers one by one, know their place in the metal box that sits on the floor. Maps of Norfolk and surrounding areas of England sit by the window on the spare bed. Along with those maps, reference books and note books cover the top of the bed. Old wills, and other reference materials, books and a typewriter, permanently on strike, share the remaining space in the room my family calls the guest room, and I call my office. The subject of this material is a man that has been a part of my life for almost three years, Nantucket's own Peter Foulger (1617-1690). Allow me to explain. In the fall of 1981,1 was commissioned by the husband of a Foulger descendant to study the life and ancestry of Peter Foulger in loving memory of his wife. In order for the work to benefit both the individual and the community, the research was arranged through the auspices of the Nantucket Historical Association. With this duly accomplished, the program began to take shape. During the initial coordination of the program, I found it necessary to develop a research networking (link-up) system of off island con tacts to augment my ability to trace and link missing data with that which was already known as fact: a system which would serve to con nect me with outside resources and which would give me access to various research and reference material otherwise unavailable to isolated island research. This networking system extends from New England, to North Carolina, California, trickles through the midwest and back to New England. It crosses over several times, to various
Peter Foulger
15
townships in England and, when necessary, reaches into Canada. In the past year or two, this networking system has developed a strong professionalism and intensity of purpose. In outlook and function, this system has provided me with insight, as well as most of the material that I refer to. For the past few years the people involved (historians, genealogists and laymen) and I have been digging through the past — looking for the missing pieces that belong to the "puzzle" that has become Peter Foulger's life. We have gained much knowledge and I have made some happy and rare friendships.
By mid-winter of 1982, after many months of research, I realized that the general public was not aware of just who Peter Foulger had been... That, outside the fact that it was "somewhat recalled" that he was the grandfather of Benjamin Franklin, and some sort of "relation" of Maria Mitchell, it was not the general consensus that Peter, himself, was particularly remarkable or worth remembering to any great degree. Yes, it was known that he had been written about as one of Nan tucket's half-sharemen, and as Benjamin Franklin's grandfather. But Peter Foulger's importance in our country's history was still an elusive memory, a memory lying untapped in the recesses of our collective minds. With this in mind, I went to work on my first article regarding the Peter Foulger Project, "Peter Foulger — What We Have Discovered About a Most Remarkable Man", printed in the April, 1983, issue of Historic Nantucket. I had hopes that such an article might spark an in terest in Peter Foulger. That it might awaken a few memories. As peo ple read the article, my hopes were answered. People became aware that Peter Foulger was an interesting historic figure in his own right. And that his background was indeed shaded from full view by tradi tional conjecture, rather than enlightened by substantiated facts. In that article, I lightly touched on Peter's genealogical background and the problems in gathering verifiable facts. I referred to his accomplishments as surveyor, teacher/interpreter (and peace keeper) to the Indians on Nantucket. We conjectured, dear reader, that part of this man's inner strength came from his strongly religious, highly individualistic temperament. I did not dwell on what was already known and proven as fact: his marriage and nine children, etc. Nor did I sort through the lineage of the exceptional human legacy that Peter left behind for us to marvel at.^ All of this has been done before, many times and with great care regarding detail. I preferred to examine what we assume we know about Peter Foulger, but cannot substantiate. To sort out and chronicle the various conflicting statements that have been written — to show what evidence there is — or is not available regarding these statements. The response to the article was terrific!! Letters, phone calls, even
MNDOW ON •LT-Z.
'Surprise letters from Two itcoH lor you in * Doer Anyone Hir* ny Information... 7 epartment, th« firm iq u<* comma an the way ocn Nantockrt. Maaa.
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16 Knjrvtt Groan., .VahunUthorpe., Harwich., Korfolk :nu6 i;u.
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int"rested tc rood Clea nt Court •« --rticle I urt'-v'a 3*.*t*rn D-ily Press *s «y n-idon •ul^-r, but I do not think I c-n b* much i project.
On, trail i of Peter Foulger
The writer ia Wilfred Horace Foulgar, 68 years. My Frther wae^edV" Martin Foulgar, 87 years old whan ha died 1970/1. —. uKtioneWa Hie fath-r was Hsrece Foulgar and diad aged 94 years. mu?i iSitW^Hwa^riir; -id* Horaao Foulgar fanned in the Dies Ar-a, he then aoved to «ala <* U»« particular tuuicm >u 5al thouee and again on to another Fare a few Miles away and then "S^oSiuid1*- * to Waaaanhaa where he retired and sold th« Fare to Sir Henry' Dettardirw.na After about two years he bought or hired_Langford HallTnow deeolkehed),wi and after about two eore years was Bankrupt., I think' this was about 1922. will Ha than case tn lire with us at Lias Kiln Fare, JBanhaa, Korfolk and later he went to Anarioa to stay with hia oldest Son, Donald, Donald auat«- » twni have eaigrated to Aearioa at an early age L-cause I do not rewaber who hia although I reeeaber well hia two sisters, ay Aun Grace and Aunt tfcggie- i«* also the youngest Son ny Onole Russell now deceased. (1 think there was another Son who dies at the early age of 21 years). mi*r*,ud m horwt u , boy. Mr My ather, Martin, wan the black Sheep of the family and 'ny »,"J«i^0'a« "Tombiand Grandfather Horace, a Quaker and also used to Preach at the heating HouZaa ""cuu'r™' ££ dial iked Father going out dealing in Horses etc., so he bought hia a ,*Sj' "* wUI one-way Ticket to Aaeriea. After he caae back froe America ha married » Fair renins Mother (Ethel Lilian Hardy) and had nine children, during this tlae w *"* when I was probably about 10- 12 years of aga Donald's Wifa (ay Aunt Lll •* c.5«Ei thTt I think) cans to stay with us at StDhaP and I saaa to reaaabar aha talked?"!£LK about bar three (I think) daughters but I cannot raasaber if there wars «how that"
Peter Foulger
17
persona] visits from distant shores ensued. But nothing could compare with the wonderful visit I had in early spring, 1982, from Mrs. John A. Foulger, from Wymondham, England — ah, another story altogether.. . People came from all over the states and England to visit Nantucket and the Peter Foulger Museum. They wrote, called and came to talk about Peter. They began to ask questions. Questions they had not thought of in relation to Peter Foulger before now. Who was this man? How had he been overlooked for so many years? And, what was his im portance in relation to the development of this fair country? These, and many other questions were asked. Once the questions surfaced, the answers became apparent. Peter Foulger was a man of many talents, relied on by his elders and peers. He was the beginning link in a genealogical chain that would produce men and women that were to forever change the way our ancestors, as well as our children, would perceive the world around them. More ap parent still was the realization that Peter Foulger lived during, perhaps, this country's most important "moment" in its history — the moment required before a "birth" can follow — Peter lived, worked and played during this country's conception. Interest in our Peter mounted. People wanted to know all that could be known about him. Therein lay the problem. Peter Foulger kept what would be known today as a low profile. He quietly went about his daily business and the care and management of his family with lit tle or no fanfare. . . It was hard for anyone to put the pieces together because of the lack of family records. Now, with closer examination, it can be seen that much can still be learned from what we know and have known for a time. For example, Peter Foulger's work on Nantucket was particularly important to the establishment of the first settlers. Peter was, upon request (2), surveyor, teacher, interpreter, clerk of court and more for the first settlers. Who can doubt the importance of such work in the developing stages of a new community in the 17th cen tury? Moreover, had Peter not migrated to this country, married and raised 9 children here, the man history labeled as "America's greatest statesman", might have been born an Englishman! Instead, he was Abiah Foulger Franklin's son, Peter's grandson. Would anyone want to guess at the outcome of our country's struggle to become a free and in dependent nation had Benjamin Franklin worked for the other side. The Foulger connection became apparent. People read with more in terest and more understanding the accounts of Peter on Martha's Vineyard. They became interested in the part he played in the insurrec tion of the half-sharemen. And because of this interest, there has been considerable progress since the program began. The networking system which has provided me with so much now extends to Martha's Vineyard. To the Dukes County Historical; the Francis Foster Museum Research Library, to be precise. A wonderful-
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
ly organized and friendly place, the Museum, through the efforts of Dr. Thomas Norton, director, and Shirley Erikson, librarian, has brought more light to the grey areas surrounding Peter Foulger's life. Nothing substantially new has availed itself, yet. But, without a doubt, there is material available there that is historically important to Nantucket. Material regarding the early settlement of both Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, material on which Nantucket has little documenta tion. Martha's Vineyard then, is almost the last link in the chain. A chain that takes us to all the parts of the world that Peter Foulger knew. Still to come are visits to Watertown, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. Either by letter or visit, there is much information still to be found, "traditions" to examine and clarify. None of the ques tions posed in the April issue of Historic Nantucket have been fully answered. But we are closer to the truth than we have ever been before. We know now what to look for, what we need better documentation on. Because, as with any research, genealogical, or otherwise, it is vital that all sources be tapped, examined and re-examined before any final conclusions are drawn. My commission for this work has all but run out. And, as we all must, I must now move on, in order to make my living. But I leave this work behind me, knowing that much information is still buried in the past. We now have much more to work with, much more to share with the next person that "catches the Foulger bug" and begins the hunt all over again. We may never know what Peter and his father did for a living the first few years they were in this country, or anything about his wife, Mary Morrel, other than that she and Peter had a large family. But we have been made aware of one, perhaps startling, fact: Peter Foulger lived in the most crucial time in our history, a time that brought forth a new nation on the face of this earth. We may never be sure of the thoughts of the young Peter Foulger, as he crossed the ocean with his family, fully understand the emotional impact on that boy, between the ages of 16-18, as he spent almost 3 months aboard a ship crowded with disguised and determined clergy headed for the new world. No more than we can hope to completely comprehend or appreciate what it must have been like to grow into manhood in a strange country, a wilderness with Indians whose customs, language, and understanding of the mean ing of life were so far removed from his own, a country, new, fresh, and fast becoming the answer to everyone's dreams, dreams of freedom from religious and political oppression. But we do know that Peter could not have come away unchanged or untouched by that experience. As he began to realize, as he must have, that the men and women he crossed over with were shaping a new destiny for themselves and their heirs.
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And, once on this country's shores, the lives and accomplishments of many an "historic figure to be" must have given Peter food for thought. John Winthrop, William Bradford, Rev. Hugh Peter, Rev. John Eliot, Rev. Thomas Shepard, they all were in New England in Peter's time, as were Roger Williams and Ann Hutchinson, whose an tics must have had an impact on Peter. One does not live through history and feel no effect. These then were the men and women, who, with others like them, were our forefathers' parents and grandparents. They were the people who would first try the wings of freedom in this country, wings still wet, new, and inexperienced. People whose first efforts, triumphs, and defeats would set the stage for what followed. These were the people that Peter knew, people by whose lives he would have measured his own. One can but wonder by what criteria Peter Foulger must have judged himself. (As we all judge ourselves, like it or not.) We should not forget the other people that Peter knew: the Mayhews, for example, father and son. Both of whom, judged from notes left behind, had a distinct effect on Peter's life. The Indians with whom he worked learned to trust him, to depend on his judgement, as did his own people, his elders and peers. People for whom he would stand up for, even stand in jail for as "an old man". For Peter Foulger was one amongst many who would quietly lay the ground work for freedom and independence. I have enjoyed my time with Peter Foulger and wish there was more I could do. But instead, I will leave with this thought behind: Our own Peter Foulger may have been one of the most remarkable historical figures we have, simply because he gave us so much so anonymously.
Footnotes and References NOTE: For a list of the bibliography used in preparing the two articles on the Peter Foulger Project, see "Historic Nantucket", April issue, 1983.
1. Even an incomplete list can show us a few legendary figures: Benjamin Franklin, Capt. Mayhew Folger, Rear Admiral Mayhew Folger, Walter Folger Jr., Lucretia Mott, Maria Mitchell, Timothy Folger, James Athearn Folger, Henry Clay Folger and Thomas Mott Osborne.
Peter Foulger
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2. Alexander Starbuck's T H E H I S T O R Y O F N A N T U C K E T , Tuttle ed. 1969 gives the clearest account of the invitation issued to Peter Foulger and his family, by the freeholders of Nantucket. Page 24. Acknowledgements First and foremost, to Prof. Howard B. Gill, I send my warmest thanks. Only with your faith and support was this project made possi ble for all of us. As always, I am grateful to the Nantucket Historical Association, to Edouard A. Stackpole, director of the Peter Foulger Museum, and to Mrs. Louise Hussey, librarian, whose memory is a library resource all by itself. Also, to the Dukes County Historical, Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, Dr. Thomas Norton, director, and Shirley Erikson, librarian, I send special thanks, for making me feel at home by allow ing me to "poke around" and look for material. Most of all, I am indebted to my networking crew of fellow resear chers. They have given so much of their time and energy to the Peter Foulger Project. I could not have done any of it without them. They are: Walter Weston Folger, "genealogist supreme", North Carolina; Bruce Robinson, newspaperman, historian, England; Virginia Folger Snow, collector of Folger genealogy and dear friend, California. Also, to those good people who took the time to send me copies of documents that I could not get: maps, pictures and letters of en couragement I send my thanks. Please keep writing. They are: Mr. and Mrs. John A. Foulger, Wymondham, England; Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Thrower, Carrow Hill, Norwich, England; Mr. Eustace A. Partridge, Attleborough, Norfolk, England; Marjorie Hocks, Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts and countless other good people who sent material from England and Canada. And — a special thank you note to the Nantucket Learning and Resource Center, without whose equipment I never would have had this article finished on time.
PLEASE — Send us your change of address if you are planning to move. You will receive your copy sooner and we are charged extra for all copies returned because of an incorrect address.
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An Interesting Find by Anita Coffin Dammin
SOME FIFTEEN YEARS ago, when the ceiling of the Coffin School on Winter Street, collapsed, the heavy plaster miraculously did no damage to the paintings along the walls, but it did destroy two old busts which were displayed on individual shelf-like supports on the east wall. One of these was of Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, founder of the school, and it had been presented by a member of the Mathews family of South Carolina, who were kin to the Admiral through the marriage of Sir Isaac's brother, General John Coffin, to Miss Anne Mathews, of Charleston. Anne Mathews Coffin's uncle was the Royal Governor of South Carolina. There was considerable dismay with the loss of the Admiral's bust, and it was found impossible to restore it due to the fact that the plasterof-paris composition was broken up and crushed. A few months ago I discovered that a long unrecognized marble bust of Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin was on display at the Boston Atheneum on Beacon Street. It is in superb condition, and I was further excited to learn that the plaster bust had been cast from it. While reviewing the inventory of the Atheneum's collection of sculpture and paintings last spring, Mr. Jonathan P. Harding, of the Curatorial Staff of the Atheneum, made a startling discovery. In a let ter to my son, Tristram Coffin Dammin, he wrote: "I was irked to find that, although the bust was iden tified as that of Colonel Thomas Handsyd Perkins, it had no provenance. While in itself this was not unusual, it was odd in this case in that Col. Perkins was so important to the history of our Library." Col. Thomas H. Perkins and Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin had been the best of friends, and Col. Perkins was a president of the Atheneum. In checking further, Mr. Harding wrote that he found no such bust had been exhibited in the Atheneum's Gallery during the 19th century — but a bust of Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin had been on exhibit. Mr. Harding's letter continued: "I then checked our archives, and found that on January 29, 1827, Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin had presented the Atheneum with a bust of himself." It is a beautiful piece of marble sculpture — the work of William Behnes, of London in the year 1826. Mr. Harding stated that the latter half of the notation matched the inscription on the bust, thus further identifying the gift.
The marble bust of Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, displayed at the Boston Atheneum and presented by him to that institution in 1827.
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Mr. Harding further mentioned that both Col. Perkins and Admiral Coffin had very similar notations, but that the latter had subsequently lost his identity — "for not only a day, but almost a century". The inscription in the marble above the Doric columns of the Coffin School reads: "Founded in 1827 by Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, Bart". This marks the same year in which he presented his bust to the Atheneum in Boston. "The Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin's Lancasterian School is established for the purpose of promoting decency, good order, and morality, and of giving English educa tion to the youth who are descendants of the late Tristram Coffin." Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin was of the fifth generation from Tristram Coffin, one of the first settlers and founders of the Nantucket settle ment in 1659-1660. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 16, 1759, and entered the British Navy as a Midshipman in 1773. Rising rapidly in the naval service he became an Admiral of the White in 1817. Besides making valuable gifts to Trinity Church in Boston, and to the Boston Public Library, Sir Isaac founded the Coffin School in Nan tucket. The School's Charter, when placed in the hands of the first board of trustees, reads: The Admiral's intentions are plainly expressed in his letters of in struction. They further state that "the institution is to be maintained in perpetuity, and the trustees are to curtail their work rather than ex ceed their income; the education to be practical, and the poor and needy of his kin should never be excluded". In 1835, the Admiral gave an additional sum of Lb, 383 sterling, the income from which was, for a certain number of years, to be devoted to the purchase of books for the School library. This library was excellent, with many books presented, by the Masonic Lodge and other in dividuals, with an especially good selection given in memory of Frances Mitchell Macy. Besides the good library the School acquired a number of excellent paintings, including the portrait of the Admiral by Sir Thomas Beechey, portraits of William Coffin, first President of the Board of Trustees, and Charles G. Coffin, both by William Swain, and a collec tion from the brush of Elizabeth Rebecca Coffin, whose remarkable ef forts were instrumental in re-opening the School in 1905, after being closed for seven years due to dwindling funds and a decline in students. The splendid sculpture of Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin at the Boston Atheneum, and the story of its identification, should serve as a strong reminder of the interest and dedication of the man who founded our present Coffin School on Nantucket.
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New Curator Established by John N. Welch THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Victoria T. Hawkins as Curator of Collections. Recognizing the growing demand and responsibility of maintaining its historical buildings and collections, the Association has created the position of curator in order to meet the challenge. Born and raised in Glastonbury, Connecticut, Ms. Hawkins graduated from The Northfield School for Girls (presently The Northfield-Mt. Hermon School), East Northfield, Massachusetts, and from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York. Her varied professional career has ranged from fashion editing in New York City to marketing in the educational audio-visual industry. From a family with strong interests in fine arts, Ms. Hawkins found her avocation in history and antiques. In 1980, the opportunity to manage an antique shop brought Ms. Hawkins to live on Nantucket. She became a member of the Association and this past spring helped ready the 1800 House, after almost two years of silence, for its reopening to the public in June. As Curator of Collections, Ms. Hawkins underscores the conserva tion of the artifacts within the existing collections as top priority in her list of responsibilities. Additionally, with the support of professional ex pertise, she will direct the refurbishing of the five historic house ex hibits. With its tri-centennial in 1986, the Oldest House is at the top of that list. Viewing education as a function necessary to the prosperity of the Association, Ms. Hawkins believes that by determining the purpose of each house and developing that focus through appropriateness of contents, each house becomes a strong educational tool. She also hopes to realize the potential of the Hadwen House and the Greater Light as sites for lecture series, musical evenings, art exhibits, garden parties and other events intended to stimulate interest in Nantucket's strong cultural and historical heritage. In assuming full responsibility for the Association's exhibits, she will oversee the conservation and restora tion, day-to-day housekeeping, and the strengthening of the docent corps. Ms. Hawkins will be involved in planning future museum exhibits, grant applications and fund raising in order to promote the growth and prosperity of the Association. An ever increasing list of exciting and fruitful projects will need the support of many hands. Ms. Hawkins en courages members who have an interest in helping or who have ideas to contribute to contact her at the Old Town Building.
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Dr. Samuel Gelston — Medical Pioneer
OUR HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION recently received as a gift an ex cellent copy of a painting of Dr. Samuel Gelston, a physician who played a prominent role in Nantucket during the exciting times of the American Revolution. Dr. Gelston came to Nantucket from Southamp ton, on Long Island, and introduced the practice of inoculation against smallpox in or about the year 1772. He had attempted to set up places where such a practice could be established, but found the communities on the mainland, where he sought to establish himself, were opposed to it, and eventually came to Nantucket. Here, there had been efforts to establish houses where inoculation could be practiced, the first area being on Coatue Point in October, 1763. But this vote of the Town was rescinded the following month, and a new area designated, this being at Shimmo. This section was "east of George Hussey's lot, between the shore and pond, near where Joseph Marshall's house stood". The name "pest house shore" then came into existence and continued in usage here until only a few years ago. In August, 1764, the town voted the vote of the previous year be recon sidered and that "inoculation for the smallpox not be practiced or car ried on in this town". With Dr. Samuel Gelston's arrival agitation for inoculation was revived. It was a crude method, at best. One attempt at a hospital in Marblehead, Mass., ended when the citizens burned iiu, structure in January, 1774. The terrible smallpox epidemic in Boston in 1764, with all its horror, became too familiar a catastrophe, and had a part in the fluctuating reactions of the citizens. One of the reasons for the British evacuation of Boston in March, 1776, was the fear of another epidemic. The shifting of public support for inoculation was characteristic of the times. Dr. Gelston was able to convince the selectmen of Nantucket that he could place the smallpox "hospital" in a remote place and eliminate the danger of contagion. The site he selected was the barren Gravelly Island, between Muskeget and Tuckernuck. In 1772, the town became alarmed by the fact that a number of those who had been inoculated at the Gravelly Island establishment were leaving the place before they were allowed to go. Because Dr. Gelston had, by this time, established himself in the Town as a reputable physician, the selectmen decided to pay him for the cost of erecting his "hospital", and close the place. At a cost of over $1000 the deal was completed, and Dr. Gelston continued to carry on his regular practice in the Town but agreed to stop the inoculations. The date of the transaction is given by Obed Macy as 1778. During the Revolution, Dr. Gelston made no effort to disguise the fact that he was in complete sympathy with the Crown. This led to im-
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Photographic reproduction of the original portrait presented to the Nantucket Historical Association by Mrs. Henry Fairlie, of Montclair, New Jersey, the owner.
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mediate problems, as some of the mainland authorities representing the Continentals felt that Gelston was too outspoken in advancing the cause of King George. An armed guard was sent to Nantucket to cap ture him, and the guard brought him to Plymouth, where he was thrust into jail. Bitter at this treatment, Gelston, with the help of sympathetic friends, escaped and returned to Nantucket to rejoin his wife and eight children. But a second armed detachment came to the Island and recaptured him, to again remand him to the mainland jail. Dr. Gelston then sent a petition to General Court of Massachusetts, pleading for release, promising, "in the future, to govern hmself with calmness and moderation in every action that may tend to promote the good of his country". Supported by the declarations of Nantucketers, he was subsequently released and returned home. When the American Tories were making their raids along the coast in privateers, Gelston joined with Stephen Paddack and Capt. Timothy Folger to form a committee, sponsored by the Town, to intercede with these "Refugees", as they were called. The Tory fleet had gathered at Holmes Hole, (Vineyard Haven) on Martha's Vineyard, and the com mittee went there to put the desperate situation of Nantucket before Captain George Leonard, their commander. As both the neutral role of the Town, and the deliberations of the Quakers were well known to both sides, the vigorous presentations of the committee served to dissuade the Refugees from carrying out their plans to raid Nantucket. This was during that sad year of 1779. Dr. Samuel Gelston had married Ann Cotton in Long Island before coming to Nantucket, and the couple were the parents of eight children. One of the sons, Roland Gelston, also became a prominent physician in Nantucket. Dr. Roland Gelston married Love Pinkham in 1782. Another son, Cotton Gelston, married Anna Folger, of Nantucket. Born on March 24,1727, Dr. Samuel Gelston died on July 6,1782, at the age of 58. His busy and interesting life, which was also a part of the life of Nantucket and its people during the most hazardous of times — the days before and during the Revolutionary War. The great Nan tucket historian, Alexander Starbuck, once wrote of the man: "Dr. Gelston was a man who stood in good repute among his fellow townsmen, and acted quite an important part in negotiations for the town. He was not the only prominent man whose character was calum niated or misrepresented, and they came out of the ordeal of arraign ment before the General Court of Massachusetts with uninjured reputations". E.A.S.
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A "Nantucket House" In Dartmouth, Nova Scotia A REMARKABLE TOUCH of Nantucket's historic past still stands in the town of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, across the harbor from Halifax, where one of that town's oldest landmarks still stands. Known as the "Jackson House", the dwelling was erected in 1785 by one of the group of Nantucket whalemen who sailed from Nantucket to establish themselves as a colony in Nova Scotia. It is a plain wooden structure, clapboarded and with a side lean-to attached. A bronze plaque under a front window identifies it, having been placed there by the Dartmouth Museum Society.
Bequests or gifts to the Nantucket Historical Association are tax deductible. They are greatly needed and appreciated.
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Noah's Legacy Ararat in season was the world, they tell us; archives had to stem from there. No east of Eden then, no real escape, no promised land beyond them: only sea and their one mountain. So perhaps it was that islands gained the pure identity that still they represent: to each his own to love this side idolatry, protect against outside incursion, and exult that God from whom all blessings flow has given all islanders an olive branch of heaven. Marian Gleason Courtesy of The Christian Science Monitor which published the poem in March, 1983. Marian and Dr. Edward Gleason own the former Orville Coffin house at 55 Orange Street.
"Pea Soup" THE FOLLOWING LIMERICK was sent in by Miss Doris E. Gusler, of 254 Jewett Street, Elgin, Illinois, who enjoyed some of the old limericks printed in a previous issue of Historic Nantucket. The title,"Pea Soup", suggests more of a similar vein to come in. An old whaler there was, at Nantucket, Where the fog can be poured from a bucket. Said when lost out at sea, from all fear he was free, We don't call this thick fog in Nantucket.
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Humors of Election Day in Old Nantucket by Henry S. Wyer AS A RULE election day is devoid of great excitement, except among the few candidates and their zealous followers. But it happens occa sionally that the day is enlivened by the strenuous efforts of opposing candidates for Representative to the General Court. At such times many vehicles, attached to more or less weary steeds, flit about town in search of aged, decrepit or lazy voters who are supposed to be unequal to the effort of ten minutes' walk to the polling place. In passing, it may be observed that these venerable voters are not always to be depended on to "vote right", once they reach the seclusion of a stall, with the Australian ballot before them. On one election day many years since an estimable lady was sitting by her front window, "seeing the pass", as the vernacular has it, when suddenly a team of raw-boned horses, attached to Lisha Pinkham's an cient hack, whirled around the Ocean House corner at an unwonted pace (funerals being their usual specialty). As this imposing turnout came within the vision of the lady at the window, her attention was drawn to a placard attached to the side of the hack bearing the inscrip tion, "Vote for D. C. for Representative". A second later the "amiable warming pan" face of Uncle Steve Hussey, the veteran cobbler, ap peared at the window of the hack, his mouth drawn in an expansive though tight-lipped smile, indicative of his vast enjoyment of his wild ride. As the hack came opposite the lady's house, a dark object — in fact, two dark objects — were seen to fly out from its windows, as though projected from a mortar. As they landed on the sidewalk, it became evident that they were nothing more or less than a pair of lady's shoes, newly soled and heeled, which the lady at the window at once recognized as her own. The hack sped on its way, bearing Uncle Steve in triumph to his home up North Shore. A newly-wedded couple who, being off-islanders, were unac customed to local usages, saw a pair of shoes land on the sidewalk, but not preceiving whence they came, stood amazed at the strange spec tacle. "0 look, dearie," says the bride. "It rains shoes out of a clear sky in Nantucket!" (From "Spun-Yarn From Old Nantucket)
