14 minute read
by Kim Downs-Watson
Part II
by Kim Downs-Watson, Coordinator Peter Foulger Project for the Nantucket Historical Association
T H E P E T E R F O U L G E R P R O J E C T i s l o v i n g l y d e d i c a t e d t o t h e m e m o r y o f " S a l l y " ( D r . I s a b e l l e V i r g i n i a K e n d i g ) i n t h e n a m e o f h e r h u s b a n d , H o w a r d B . G i l l . S h e w a s a F o u l g e r d e s c e n d a n t t h r o u g h B e n j a m i n F r a n k l i n .
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 contacts to augment my ability to trace and link missing data with that which was already known as fact: a system which would serve to connect 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 Nantucket'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 interest in Peter Foulger. That it might awaken a few memories. As people 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 traditional 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 peacekeeper) 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.
Two itcoH lor you in * Doer Anyone Hir* ny Information... 7 epartment, th« firm iq u<* comma an the way ocn Nantockrt. Maaa. ~ Tr°*« tf» "It 16 Knjrvtt Groan., .VahunUthorpe., Harwich., Korfolk :nu6 i;u.
18. 1. 82.
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 importance 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 apparent 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 little 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 century? 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 independent nation had Benjamin Franklin worked for the other side. The Foulger connection became apparent. People read with more interest and more understanding the accounts of Peter on Martha's Vineyard. They became interested in the part he played in the insurrection 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 documentation.
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 questions 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 meaning 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 antics 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.
