Historic Nantucket
The Elihu Coleman House
January, 1988 Published Quarterly by Nantucket Historical Association
NANTUCKET HISTORIC ASSOCIATION OFFICERS President: H. Flint Ranney Vice President: Reginald Levine Vice President: Mrs. Bracebridge Young Secretary: Mrs. Walker Groetzinger Treasurer: Donald E. Terry Honorary Chairman: Robert Congdon Honorary Vice Presidents Walter Beinecke, Jr. Albert Brock Albert F. Egan, Jr Alcon Chadwick Mrs. Bernard Grossman Mrs. R. Arthur Orleans Presidents Emeritus George W. Jones Leroy H. True Edouard A. Stackpole
COUNCIL MEMBERS Mrs. Kenneth Baird Mrs. Dwight Beman Max N. Berry Mrs. James F. Chase John W. Eckman Mrs. H. Crowell Freeman
John Gilbert Mrs. Hamilton Heard, Jr. Mrs. John G.W. Husted Mrs. Arthur Jacobsen Charles A. Kilvert Nancy A. Martin Robert F. Mooney
Mrs. Carl M. Mueller Mrs. Judith Powers Charles F. Sayle, Sr. Susan K. Spring Mrs Jane D. Woodruff Robert A. Young
ADVISORY BOARD Patricia A. Butler Charles Carpenter Mrs. Charles Carpenter Stuart P. Feld
Ronald W. Haase William A. Hance Mrs. Robert Hellman Andrew J. Leddy Mrs. Thomas Loring
Mrs. Earle MacAusland William B. Macomber Paul Madden F. Blair Reeves
STAFF John N. Welch, Administrator Victoria Taylor Hawkins Bruce A. Courson Curator of Collections Curator of Museums & Interpretation Jacqueline Kolle Haring Edouard A. Stackpole Curator of Research Materials Historian Louise R. Hussey Leroy H. True Librarian Manager, Whaling Museum Elizabeth Tyrer Wilson B. Fantom and Mark W. Fortenberry Executive Secretary Plant Managers Katherine Ayotte Peter S. MacGlashan Bookkeeper Registrar Elizabeth Little Katherine Walker Curator of Prehistoric Artifacts Asst. Curator of Collections Gayle Michael Thomas W. Dickson Asst. Curator of Research Merchandise Manager Materials Georgiann L. Phipps Richard P. Swain Director of Development Miller Docents: Suzanne Beaupre, Alcon Chadwick, Tamar Chizewer, Marjorie Corey, Roscoe Corey, Margaret Crowell, Anita Dougan, Edward Dougan, Barbara Johnston, Jane Jones, Elsie Niles, Alfred Orpin, Frederick Richmond, Gerald Ryder, Dorothy Strong, Mary Witt. * * * Historic Nantucket * * * Edouard A. Stackpole, Editor Merle T. Orleans, Assistant Editor
Historic Nantucket Published Q u a r t e r l y and d e v o t e d t o t h e p r e s e r v a t i o n of N a n t u c k e t ' s a n t i q u i t y , its f a m e d h e r i t a g e and i t s illustrious p a s t a s a whaling port.
Volume 35
January, 1988
No. 3
CONTENTS Nantucket Historical Association Officers and Staff
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Editorial: Nantucket's Modern Crisis
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Edward F. Underhill by John Lacouture
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The Old Home Port by Helen Cartwright McCleary
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Bequests / Address Changes
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Old-Time Nantucket - The Present Town by Edouard A. Stackpole
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My Sea-Faring Family by Nancy Grant Adams
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Historic Nantucket (UPS 246-160) 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 Histocial Association, P.O. Box 1016, Nantucket, MA 02554. c. N.H.A. 1986 (USSN 0439-2248). Members dues are: Individual$15., Family $25., Supporting $50., Contributing $100., Sponsor$250., Patron $500., Life Benefactor $2,500. 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 Modern Crisis. NANTUCKET HAS GONE THROUGH a number of economic crises during thepast 300 years of its existence, but it has remained for modern times to bring out one of the most unusual of all its problems. The period of its present difficulties has nothing to do with business depression or a sudden loss of revenue. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Our modern crisis is triggered by the juggernaut of progress, too much of the real estate market's workings, on the heels of over-development, and new building in all parts of the island. The broad expanse of Nantucket Sound, over the years, has long pro tected Nantucket against the modern trends, but no longer may this stretch of water, like an ancient moat, protect us like a castle of old against the vagaries of the times. The encroachments of modern life, in a strong economic and social complex, have reached across the in tervening water to touch us. The present situation lies in the unrelen ting search for the land, the greed of the developers, and the real estate exploiters who seek their advantage through advertising. The over building of the environs of the town have overcome the landscape. Now into the picture come the public rights; the rights of the landowner to do what he wishes with his property; water supply, pollution, ecology, traffic, and the natural resources of the land. The town owes a debt to the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, the Land Bank and the Historical Association for rescuing certain tracts of land, and the Town of Nantucket has recently acquired the Wannacomet Water Company's land to prevent its exploitation. There is still much to be done to preserve the outlying land from development. What has made possible Nantucket's preservation of the outlying lands to date no longer applies to the future. The rolling heath, the sweep of bayberry and beachplum, the pine thickets, the curving beachland, with the white sands binding the greens of the commons — all are now en dangered. These are a legacy of the past, and in a physical sense are necessary guarantees for the future. In preserving these aspects we are preserving as well an economy which has sustained us over the centuries. Nantucket has a role in the unique modern world. The United States needs places like Nantucket, where the past serves as a symbol of the vitality which helped us build our nation. In establishing their insular kingdom in the sea, Nantucket created an American legend, in which its example established a freedom of enterprise. We must emulate our ancestors by preserving the visable evidences of their island world.. -Edouard A. Stackpole
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EDWARD F. UNDERHILL By
John Lacoutoure SINCE I HAVE LIVED NOW for thirty years in "China Closet," Ed ward Underbill's summer home in Sconset and the first of the "Underhill Cottages," I thought it only fitting that I write a short article on this remarkable man who contributed so much to the early development of Sconset as a popular summer resort. Underhill was born in 1830 in the small village of Walcott located in Wayne County, New York State. Of Quaker stock, he was a descendant of Captain John Underhill, a famous colonial Indian fighter. At the age of eleven, Underbill's family moved to Utica, where he at tended school for two years. He then worked at various jobs which in cluded one year working on a farm. At age sixteen, he went to work in a large woolen mill with the idea of learning the business. However, during the first week of working in the woolen mill, he caught his hand in one of the machines and lost his fingers. In later years, he would oc casionally comment that cutting off his fingers opened the way for his becoming a "short hand" reporter. In 1847, Underhill first took up stenography and became a pupil of T.C. Leland's, one of the early disciples of phonography (i.e., the shorthand system) in America. After becoming fairly proficient as a short hand reporter, Underhill went to St. Louis, where he was employed first by The Republican and subsequently on The Reveille and The Intelligencer. It was here that he began some of his humorous sketches for which he is famous. Here also he was married to Mary Post of St. Louis. In 1850, Underhill was one of the American members of the Phonetic Council, whose recommended changes in phonography were published by Isaac Pitman in his textbook in 1851. In 1853, Mr. Underhill moved to New York, where he first worked for the New York Times as a reporter and then as a reporter for several years for the New York Herald Tribune. Here he became a close friend of Horace Greeley until the famous journalist died. In 1861, Mr. Underhill again became a reporter for The Times, initially as a war correspondent and soon afterwards as one of their Washington correspondents. Here while out on a war reporting mission, he was cap tured by Confederates and taken to Harper's Ferry, where he was tried as a spy before a court martial presided over by then colonel "Stonewall" Jackson. Although acquitted of being a spy, he was kept in the Charleston jail for a period of months.
EDWARD F. UNDERHILL
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In 1862 after this experience, Mr. Underhill resolved to devote himself exclusively to law reporting. About this time, also, with no formal col lege education, he was admitted to practice at the bar. Shortly after wards, he was instrumental, through David Dudley Field, in securing the enactment of the first statute in America giving the stenographer official status in court. Under that statute, stenographers were appointed to each of the courts of record in New York City. In 1863, a law was approved providing an annual salary of $1,500 and defining the duties of the court stenographer. Two years later, Mr. Underhill secured the passage of a bill increasing court stenographers' salaries in New York City to $2,500 per year and extending the system to the surrogate court of New York. For many years, Mr. Underhill was the official stenographer of the Supreme Court of New York and subse quently was the official stenographer of the New York Legislature. He was also the official stenographer of the New York Constitutional Con vention in 1867-68 and was employed in large numbers of conventions, meetings, and trials. He was official reporter of three impeachment trials, including that of Governor Holden of North Carolina in 1871. His only strictly political office was clerk of the New York State Assembly in 1869. His last office was that of official stenographer of the New York Ci ty's Surrogates Office. Here he served under successive surrogates with equal acceptablity and enjoyed the respect and friendship of the lawyers. He frequently acted as referee in important cases. Mr. Underhill was noted for his wit throughout his life. As an exam ple, while serving as stenographer to the New York Surrogate Court, he requested $1,500 a year for an assistant which he contended he was paying out of his own salary. In his request he said that, since he was paying his assistant himself - "This has made it imperative that I should live on short rations and that my large wife and small daughter should forego the ecstasy of spring and fall bonnets and kid gloves, opera and champagne and oysters and content themselves for amusement by patronizing the dime museums in the Bowery." Some time during this period, Mr. Underbill's first wife died. They had one surviving child, Lily. After a suitable interval, he married Evelyn Stoddard, a pretty, intelligent lady who was well liked by all who knew her. It seemed throughout his life Mr. Underhill had a fondness for taking on big enterprises, usually carrying them out successfully. About 1873, he planted a vineyard near Brocton in Chautauqua County and very en thusiastically began growing grapes for wine making. Then, in 1878, Ed ward Underhill came to Sconset and was well intrigued with Sconset s old fisherman's houses, and the new small cottages that now surround ed the Summer House, which had just been put up by Charles Robinson
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HISTORIC NANTUCKET
and Franklin Ellis in a section then called "Sunset Heights." At the time, the old fisherman's cottages were selling for $150 to $200 fully furnished, and even at those prices, there was little demand for them. These same cottages rented for the summer for $30 to $75. Underhill was captivated by the whole set-up and soon decided to under take a project of building replicas of the fisherman's huts, complete with the same type of "warts" and roof lines, for rental to summer visitors. With that in mind, he sold his grape industry and bought a plot of land on the South Bank and built a cottage for himself-"China Closet." Then, with increased enthusiasm for his dream village, he bought the rest of the land either side of Pochick St. and started building his fisherman's village replica cottages. All lots on Pochick Street were 52' wide by 60' deep, except for the two front lots. This project was an immediate suc cess, so Underhill bought another plot of land off Morey's Lane, put through Evelyn Street, named after his wife, and Lily Street, named after his daughter, and began building additional cottages until he had a total of thirty-six cottages. In one of his sales brochures, he includes pictures of the cottages and describes the cottages in dramatic and colorful fashion, after first ex tolling Siasconset's delightful location and climate and history. In describing the old village cottages, he says, "the old village is made up of quaint little cottages, shingled on the sides as well as the roofs, many of them built over a hundred and some begun near two hundred years ago for the habitation of seafaring men engaged in fishing during the spring and fall, and whose ideas of house building seemed to have been gained from their experience on shipboard. The snug parlors re mind one of ship cabins; the small bedrooms are little more than state rooms, while the closets are cabin lockers but slightly enlarged." He than describes the Sconset location in glowing terms and the types of recreation available, concluding with "the resident visitors at Siasconset are of an intelligent, cultivated, and refined class, who come for rest, recreation, and retirement. As there are no large hotels, there is an absence of fashionable display, and with it real ease and comfort." In describing his cottages, he states, "Most of them conform in ap pearance to the ancient fisherman's cottages" . . . "The simplicity of Sconset architecture is preserved, but the apartments are more com modious and a few accessories have been added to improve the outward appearance of the dwellings, without giving to them the ornate look of modern-built cottages at fashionable seaside resorts." . . . "Each has a cellar and a cistern abundantly supplied with rain water and is com pletely furnished for housekeeping, even to the extent of providing crockery, cutlery, and bed and table linen, and also works of art and ornament to give to the interiors a home-like appearance. The bedsteads
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are furnished with springs and with mattresses of the best curled hair. Driven wells situated on the property furnished pure soft water for kit chen and table use" . . . "The houses are in readiness for occupancy on the 1st of June or earlier if desired and tenants may continue in possession until October." . . . "The rent (which is payable in advance unless otherwise agreed) is $90 to $175 for the season." If an extra room was needed, Mr. Underbill could oblige. He had built several extra rooms on wheels which he could have hauled by a mule and attached to whichever house required it. By the mid 1880's, Underhill was probably Sconset's leading figure. An article in the New York Journal of 9 August 1888 states, "Edward Underhill of the Surrogate Court owns a dozen cottages on the island of Nantucket. He may be seen there daily visiting tenants, arrayed in all the glory of white flannels and monarch of all he surveys." Indeed, as the years went by, Underhill became more and more en thusiastic about the delights of Sconset. He distributed over 2,000 sales brochures each year, entitled "Sonset by the Sea", extolling the good life at Sconset, and wrote articles, on Sconset for many publications. Additionally, Underhill researched and wrote several books on Sconset, including the "The Story of the Sconset Pump", "The Credible Chronicles of the Patchwork Village-Sconset by the Sea," and "The Old Houses on Sconset Bank". Henry Chandlee Forman, in the preface of this latter book, states that his grandmother visited Underbill's shop in "China Closet" on 21 August 1895 and wrote afterwards: "There we encountered Mr. Underhill, who showed us his beautiful collection of old china with which his house is literally lined. We saw many rare and curious pieces." T h e i n q u i r e r a n d M i r r o r of 15 September 1888 had an article on "The Three Men to Whom Nantucket Owes Most." These men were Rev. Daniel Round, E.F.Underhill, and A.T. Mowry. The part of the article praising Underhill read as follows: "E.F. Underhill is official stenographer of New York Surrogate Court, through him Sconset has become famous. He has built twenty cottages, bought a dozen more, and thus invested over $20,000 in real estate along the 'Bank'. He is a man of unusual energy and a favorite everywhere.
"All the sports and amusements so evident at Sconset during the past summer have been organized by Underhill. He is the leader of all business and social enterprise. Being a journalist of high order, he has so skillfully advertised Sconset that it has eclipsed the other localities. But for him, the Rail Road company would never have extended its track to Sconset." (Underhill denied he should be credited for the track extension.) The article continued: In 1878, on the south side of Sconset, Underhill had begun his operations which have since proved so successful, but land
EDWARD F. UNDERHILL
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about his 'patchwork' village was considered of little value, and between Sconset and Sankaty there was no demand for real estate. In one decade this all changed. At Sconset the 'Patchwork' Village has ceased to be a suburb. All the land about it is covered with cottages. On the north side, the village has rapidly extended towards Sankaty, and at the end of another decade it certainly seems likely there will be a continuous line of residences to the lighthouse. During the summer of 1888, Underhill, Gustave Kobbe, and Roland Bunker Hussey published a weekly sheet in Sconset called "The Sconset Pump," copies of which are now collectors' items. One particularly amusing article written by Underhill in one of the "Sconset Pump" issues describes one of the hotly contested baseball games between Sconset and Nantucket in nautical terms calling the bases "buoys," and baselines "courses," the outfield "cruising grounds," and so on. Underhill died suddenly in his home in New York City at 200 East 27th Street on 18 June 1898. His property at Sconset was left to his wife and daughter. Mrs. Underhill continued to manage the cottages until 1926. It was during this period, about the turn of the century, when "the Underhill Hamlet" became "The Actors Colony" with many of the foremost actors and actresses of that era becoming Underhill tenants. In 1926, Mrs. Underhill decided to sell the cottages, since because of her "advanced age the burden of opening and closing the cottages became too much for her unaided efforts. Additionally, the tenants were deman ding electric lights and baths, an expense Mrs. Underhill could not af ford. To her great credit, rather than sell the entire property to speculators who were clamoring to buy it, she offered each tenant the first opportunity to buy the houses they occupied. Most tenants had been returning for years to the same cottage and gladly accepted her offer. The Underhills contributed much to making Sconset the delightful summer colony it remains today. It is now up to us to keep it that way. Let us combat the greedy developers who are planning crowded developments around Sconset that will completely destroy the restful atmosphere of Sconset Underhill so continuously extolled.
THE OLD HOME PORT By Helen Cartwright McCleary SCENE I 1659
A tiny shallop, tossing on the Sound, Beaten and buffeted by wind and tide. A sturdy figure, bending at the helm, Breast-forward, as the seas dash o'er the bows. A woman at his feet, with terror-stricken face, Beseeching hands clasped tightly in despair, — "Good husband, spare thy children, spare thy wife! We fear the storm-wind and the cruel waves; Have mercy! put thy boat about, and speed, 0 speed us, safely home again." But Goodman Macy, with unflinching gaze Fixed steady on the horizon's mystic line, Speaks sternly: "Woman, go below and seek thy God; For I fear naught on earth, nor yet in Hell. See'st thou yon curving shore, low-lying to the south? Yonder I steer my course; yonder my haven lies; Naught shall deter me, naught shall turn me back, Till on Nantucket's desert sands, Free from oppression's iron rule, 1 make, for me and mine, a new home-port. SCENE II 1853
A clipper-ship, full rigged, her owner's pride! See how she balances upon the main, Light as a fairy, graceful as a girl! From jib to tops'l, all sail set, white-winged she flies, Like to a sea-gull, floating free, Its buoyant body borne before the breeze. How daintily she dips her slender prow Beneath the sparkling waves, the while She beckons to the winds that blow, — Fair winds that fling her billowy canvas wide And send her scudding on her homeward way, A thing of beauty, for all men to see! Her master, lost in thought, paces the quarter-deck; In fancy, sees his Nancy on the house-top walk, Waiting and watching for the distant sail, Straining her eager gaze to sight the ship That brings teas and silks and spices from Cathay. What now? - the look-out from aloft sings out, "Sail Ho-o-o!"
THE OLD HOME PORT
The captain sweeps the ocean with his glass. . . . "Where away?" "Two p'ints, Sir, off the weather-bow, All sail set, an' makin' for us.". . . . Ah! who knows? A sister-ship, perhaps, bound home from India. Now, for a race to port, in goodly company! The stranger-craft looms near. Oho! - no merchantman Only a whaler - by her rig. Oh well, here in mid-ocean, She must be hailed, at least. "Ahoy there! Ship ahoy! Who are you? Where y' from?"
Across the intervening waters comes the cry, "From the Pacific - Ship Venture - Captain Coffin." "Where's y' port?" "Nantucket Island." "How long out?" "Three years, four months." "What's y' cargo? " "Oil - sparm-oil - two thousand barrels." "Where y' bound?" "Home-port - Nantucket. Say! Who are you? Don't pass us, mess-mate - WE WANT NEWS - heave
to, can't ye? Come alongside - drop anchor - have a gam!...God! she's gone!"
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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.
The Captain Robert McCleave House on Main Street
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Old-Time Nantucket - The Present Town by Edouard A. Stackpole ON THIS OCCASION, I believe I may be pardoned by slipping im mediately into the past. When Melville made his first, and only, visit to Nantucket in July, 1852, the Island had but just recently recovered from its worst physical disaster-the Great Fire of 1846-which had destroyed its business section and wiped out its entire waterfront. This, coupled with migration to California in the 1849-1852 period, had taken many of its enterprising younger people from the island, and the fall ing off of the whaling industry had brought about a definite pause in the maritime fortunes of this old town in the sea. As a matter of fact, the whaling fleet had dwindled to eighteen vessels in 1851, and in the following year three vessels were sold and two were condemned and a third burned at her stocks on Brant Point. Of the four vessels which sailed in 1857, three were sold and one lost at Madagascar. While New Bedford, Stonington and New London flourished, Nantucket steadily declined, and in 1869 the last whaleship from this port sailed and never returned. But the reputation of this venerable old port lingered, and the history of its past accomplishments remains to this day as a factor in the deter mination of its future. You may well say: "Why is this true?" All I can say is that its story has been so well told by the various writers, who left a mark on the world of literature that it is well documented. Melvihe was among these literary figures, all of whom found the Nantucket story filled with romance as well as factual statement. It was a combination of Quakers and mariners who lived here and gave a strength of character to the tales. What has remained to this day is the old town, a municipality which has remained virtually intact since the last whaleships sailed away. It is this old place where we may still find the tracery of old Nantucket, woven together with the ancient dwellings and their counterparts of to day. Protected, at least for the present, by a State law, known as the "Historic Districts Act", it withstands the nibblings of the commercial present which seeks to invade the past, and the old dwellings hold up well against the exigencies of the times. What constitutes the character of Nantucket is the history of its past. When the first whaleboats engaged in taking whales off the south shore of the Island in the 1670's they were not the first to take part in this New England practice. But they were the first to launch a new branch of the whale-fishery, and this was the custom of fitting out small sloops to go
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after the whale. It was called "whaling in the deep," and it launched a new industry in the Colonies. Slowly, the Islanders built up their industry. Their vessels sailed to the north, to Newfoundland and Labrador; thence to the Davis Straits. Experience taught them the course: to Bermuda, on to the West Indies; across the South Atlantic to the coast of Africa, in still the 18th century. Soon, they were at the Cape of Good Hope, and then around Cape Horn and into the Great South Seas. Their voyages soon became measured in years, which meant they voyaged into the remote corners of the watery world, learning the vagaries of the unknown oceans, discover ing new continents as they sailed. With the Revolution, the Nantuckers found themselves caught up in the new realm of war. Once through this turmoil they were embraced with a new element - the invitation to embark in the British whalers out of London, then out of France. They migrated to the upper reaches of the Hudson, then to Nova Scotia, seeking help from the old mother country. With the firm establishment of the United States, they took new hope, but during the War of 1812 they sought and won a pact of neutrali ty with the Royal Navy of Great Britain to ensure the safety of their whaleships. From 1815 to 1835, the Nantucket whale fleet grew to reach a peak of seventy-five vessels. At this time competition with the other whaling ports-notably New Bedford-had become a factor, and the merchants of Nantucket were finding it strong. Still, with the courage inherent within them, they continued to battle against the heavy odds, until a manmade disaster struck. It was the Great Fire of 1846, a factor culminating in a business disaster, which ultimately destroyed the whaling industry for Nantucket. This great fire destroyed the entire business district of the old town and wiped out the waterfront areas, destroying the cooper shops, sail lofts, ship chandleries, and other businesses. Within a span of 24 hours the conflagration had stricken the old town a blow from which she never recovered. Then, to cap the climax of economic disaster, came the Gold Rush to California. From 1849 to 1852, over one thousand of the enterprising men of Nantucket embarked on this venture, sailing their own ships, embarking on other craft from nearby ports, many in the later months getting their families to join them. The whaleship owners, discouraged by the prospects of the Island's recovery, began to sell their vessels and the 1855-1865 years marked a decade in which one half of the former fleet of Nantucket whaleships were sold to other ports. In 1869, the bark Oak, representing the last whaleship out of Nantucket, sailed. She never returned, joining three other craft which sailed on whaling voyages from this island port which were sold in foreign ports. The old town in the sea became a deserted village. The Civil War had
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given Nantucket the honor of being called the "Banner Town of the Com monwealth of Massachusetts", with more enlistments into the Army and Navy than any other town of its size in the State. After the war's end, the small fishing fleet which had sprung up in the years of depression fell away. Houses were being sold and taken down for removal to the mainland. It was a time of considerable soul-searching. It was a time when the older people contemplated the darkness of the disaster which had befallen the island. Then came a new industry-a way of life which was predicted by the arrival of visitors, people who were seeking summer diversions by journeying to out-of-the-way places. It actually developed in the years following the Great Fire, when the newly developed business section of Main Street became part of the scene. The Nantucket Steamboat Com pany, allied with New Bedford and Hyannis, embarked on new schedules in the early 1870's and the slogan "two boats a day" became a summer watchword. Seme of the larger houses in town were opened as rooming houses, and the old wharves became alive with small boats catering to the "tourists" seeking some excitement in fishing parties and sailing the Sound. This new industry became known as the "summer business," and it grew steadily over the first decade. Then came the "elegant eighties," as the 1880's were called, when new hotels were built to accommodate the growing crowds. A railroad was constructed from town to Surfside, and later on to Siasconset, or 'Sconset, as the growing little village on the Island's east end was called. Houses began to spring up along the edge of the Cliff and on Brant point. By 1900, the old town had spruced up, with the "summer business" providing the livelihood for a popula tion of over 3000 people who lived year-'round on the island. In the one hundred years which have intervened since the coming of the "elegant eighties" of the last century, Nantucket is undergoing another period of crisis. In the last twenty years, a period of over building has taken place, with stretches along the out-of-town roads, and in the once pristine areas of the "commons," now scenes of houses of various sizes, taking away the old views of a few decades ago. But the old town still remains, despite these encroachments, despite the inevitable changes that have crept up in its "historic districts." It continues to remain an unspoiled relic of a storied past, due in part to the legal protection of "Historic Districts", and in a large measure to the people who occupy the old houses of today. Its ancient streets still echo to the trend of footsteps, mostly in the months of the year when the busy feet of the summer-time are no longer here, and its welcome has an authentic ring of old age. When Herman Melville visited the island in 1852 he stood on the steps of the Jared Coffin House, and in the dusk of the evening saw a solitary
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figure emerging from a house across the small square. The man held a small lantern in his hand and, as he raised it, to light his way down the steps, it illumined his face. He continued to make his way, and in his other hand he carried a shepherd's crook-the symbol of the night watchman. "Who is that man?" asked Melville, pausing. "I think I know him." "You undoubtedly do," was his companion's reply, "and you will pro bably meet him tomorrow. That is Captain George Pollard, the old master of the whaleship Essex, sunk by a whale." Melville did meet him before he left Nantucket, "a most melancholy man," he reported. And thus, the fate of one man was merged in the climax of the great book which Melville had completed several months before - Moby-Dick. The Essex story had been first written by Owen Chase, the mate of the vessel many years before, an account which Melville had read in the open sea while only a few miles from the scene of the disaster, having borrowed the slender volume from Owen Chase's son. The story made "a great impression on me," he wrote in the margin of the narrative which he obtained while in Nantucket. The Essex story was also written by another survivor, Thomas Nickerson, when an old man, and was printed only recently by the Nantucket Historical Association. The old town of Nantucket has influenced many writers, before and after Melville. It continues to serve as a theme for all who enjoy the dramatic story of America's maritime past. Its protective element is in the feeling for history which it conveys to all who live within the con fines of the streets and lanes, along which are clustered the homes and dwellings which whale oil built. It deserves the understanding and devo tion of all who appreciate the old-time glory of Nantucket's whaling past.
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"My Sea-Faring Family" by
Nancy Grant Adams We continue in this issue of Historic Nantucket Mrs. Nancy Grant Adams' story of her "Sea-faring Family", which takes us through Charles Grant's last voyage on the MOUNT VERNON and the first of the whaling voyages on which his wife, Nancy, accompanied him.
Chapter 6 First Mate on the MOUNT VERNON "Ask any question in this town, Of anyone, by night or morn, The answer will be always found, 'Round Cape Horn'. I ask the ladies where I call, 'Your husbands, are they here or gone?' And get this answer from them all, 'Round Cape Horn'. I ask a sister whom I saw, Quite finely dressed in silks and lawn, 'Where's your brother?' She answered, 'La, 'Round Cape Horn'. I asked a maiden by my side, Who sighed and looked at me forlorn, 'Where is your heart?' She quick replied, 'Round Cape Horn'.
In the Nantucket "Inquirer" of 1839 appeared this item: Ship Mt. Ver non, Capt. Imbert, to sail October 25. Letter bag at the store of J. Lawrence and Co. Charles was twenty-five years old when he sailed as First Mate and it was to be his fifth voyage whaling. A Nantucket friend, Henry Coleman, was also on board as Second Mate. The ship sailed from Edgartown, Mass., the 31st of October, 1839, for the Pacific Ocean. The first report of her was when the HARBINGER of Boston reported seeing her at Fayal in November with 90 bbls. of oil. She was again reported in February 1840 with 300 bbls. In August 1840 the Ship MASSACHUSETTS came into port with 300 bbls. of oil from the ship MOUNT VERNON. We are fortunate in having a journal kept by an officer on this voyage and much information has been gleaned from this humorous and
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delightful journal. The ship made the Western Islands about the 19th of November. They laid off and on at Flores all night and the next morning sent in the lar board boat. Took a passenger on, who was going to Fayal. After leav ing Flores they took a 90 bbl. whale on the way to Fayal. On the 28th the Customs House boat came off. The passenger was sent ashore and a barge was sent out to take off 10 casks of oil which had to be shipped home. The next we hear, she is cruising off the river Platte the 25th of January 1840. The cook was found to be missing and, as he couldn't be found, it was supposed his remains would be off the river Platte. On the 7th of March they made Staten Land and spoke the HENRY CLAY of Nantucket. A boat from her came off with letters for us. By the 1st of April they had arrived at Talcaihuana (Turkey-warner as call ed by most sailors). The GANGES of Fall River was anchored here, also the GOLCONDA. Later the GANGES was discovered to be on fire. All ships got their sails over the hatchways, trying to smother it, but they were not suc cessful, so her cables were cut and she was run ashore. All hope of sav ing her was given up. Her masts were cut away and sails removed from over the hatchways and she was left with nothing but bowsprit standing. A hole was cut in her side and the fire broke out in great volume. She burnt all night and then sank out of sight. During the remainder of the month they spoke the BALENA of New Bedford, the BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLD and the GEORGE, of Fairhaven, and the MASSACHUSETTS, which was homeward bound after a 42-month voyage. Capt. Imbert put some casks on board of her as freight to be sent home. During the month of May they cruised off Masafuero Island and some of the time were in company with the ship AMERICA. It was while they were off the coast of Peru that Charles had a tough experience with a whale which made him famous as a whaleman, and, as he afterward said, "I was pretty boastful about this fray, but then it was a pretty slick thing to do for a young fellow of 26." It was a large whale they had struck, just at sundown, and the big fellow sounded and took all the line there was and by the time he came up the surface was dark. The ship came alongside the boat and Capt. Imbert said to Charles, "What do you intend to do?" Charles shouted, "I am going to stay by this whale all night." The Captain didn't like the idea at all, but noticing that Charles persisted in his intention, he final ly gave his consent. The understanding was to be, that when the ship set two lights, Charles was to give up, cut the line and go aboard at once. However, in spite
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of the lights being set three times, Charles did not give up. He was deter mined to take that whale. The weather was nasty, but he stuck to the whale. About seven o'clock in the evening the fun began. The whale got tired of keeping still and suddenly started off on a northeast course, towing the boat behind him. They had seventy fathom of line out and went whiz zing through the water faster than Charles had ever been before. The whale sounded once, but kept right to the pace. Charles set a light on the boat so the ship could follow and there they sat all night. It was six o'clock in the morning before he showed signs of becoming tired and slackened speed. Charles could see that he was getting fagged out and an hour later succeeded in getting another iron in him, which killed him. The ship was out of sight at daybreak, but about noon she caught up with them and found them all pretty tuckered out. The whale made 105 bbls. of the nicest oil they had ever seen. The month of June saw them off for the Galipagos. Here the ship stop ped at Chatham Island and sent two boats ashore. They returned later with 21 turpin. After that they made Charles, James and Albemarle Islands in the Galipagos group. More turpin were secured and also two hogs. By the middle of July they had added 7 pigs to their stock. They gamm ed many home ships during all this time. The last of July the keeper of the private journal wrote "a fellow that wouldn't sooner be here than at home I wouldn't give a dam for - on board the fine ship MT. VERNON, L.B.I. Master. I shall be able to look at this after years and think of the agreeable men that I have been with. Those that stays at home are nobody and those that go a 'whalin' are dam fools." On August 11 he writes"last 24 hours nothing no nobody in sight - dull times - no lack of such times round here." On the 13th of September they had spoken many ships, among them the ISAAC HOWLAND. She had lost the run of three of her boats. We parted and finally came across her boats, picked them up; they had been away from their ship 48 hours. At daylight we set colors for the ISAAC HOWLAND and she came along and took her boats and crews. Note - "2000 bbls. is all I ask for; let it come quick, better days are com ing." October found them bound for Easter Island. Here they came to, and got some yams and potatoes. In December they came to, off Juan Fernandes and found two men living there. Got load of wood and set out for Talcahuana, arriving on the 29th of December, 1840 and anchored. Found the ELIZABETH STANTON, METACOM and PLANTER all an-
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chored here. Now it is 1841 and they headed down the east coast and for the next five months cruised around the Galipagos. The 9th of June they were off Gorgona, where they secured bananas, cocoanuts, plantains, oranges and a load of 100 pearl oysters, also a load of 6000 oranges. One of the boatsteerers and a land shark ran away - "success to them". Got one and a half bbl. of limes and then two niggers disappeared. An chor was taken and they departed the 15th of June. "For seven and twenty tedious months We've plowed the ocean through. We've scoured the coast, from north to south, From Chili to Peru. At last the happy day's arrived No longer we'll delay Our ship is full, and homeward bound. To North America." On July 8th, they met the ship ENTERPRISE and gave her two casks of bread. The next four months they were still around the Galipagos. Roast Pig for dinner on Feb. 27, 1842. The last of March they steered for New Nantucket which is a small sandy island, north of the Phoenix group and near the Equator. A clipping from a Nantucket Paper speaks about the MOUNT VER NON while "endeavoring to get into Tahiti harbor, very narrowly escaped shipwreck; indeed so near, at one period, that all hopes of her safety were despaired of, and had it not been for the timely assistance from the shipping and the residents on shore, her loss would have been inevitable. "The reason assigned by the pilot for this accident was that a long series of westerly winds had produced an unusual swiftness in the cur rent, and with the wind falling off almost to a calm, as the ship approach ed the entrance, the accident was unavoidable. "The anchor was immediately dropped which checked the ship from forcing upon the reef, and the chain was slipped as soon as a sufficient number of boats arrived to tow the ship from the shores. The anchor was not recovered when we left (the person reporting the accident) but no difficulty was apprehended in obtaining it. No censure was attached to the pilot (Mr. Mitchell), a native, who is an experienced man." On the following day the ship CAMBRIA got into difficulties in about the same place. By the middle of April they were at Hope Island. Here about 20 canoes came along to trade their chief products which were cocoanuts and mats.
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"The men were naked and the women almost." They took on some passengers, two men and three women, to carry to the Rocks. The French Rocks were in sight and canoes came out and took the passengers ashore. By the middle of May they were at Ascension Island and were board ed by natives, both male and female, mostly the latter. "Getting wood and water here." For the first three months of 1843 they were cruising around the King Mill group and on April 16 they had just left Ascension with the ships, EDWARD CAREY, LEVI STARBUCK, and OMEGA, leaving at the island the POTOMAC, ELIZABETH, FORTUNE, LALLA ROOKH, and JAVA. By Sept. 6th they have been fairly successful in getting whales. Jour nal states: "On this day 2 boats down, as five whales were sighted, apparently asleep. The boats pulled to within four ships' lengths from them, Capt. Imbert and first Mate and second Mate Coleman all trying for them. Charles' line parted and he became fouled in the line and was knocked overboard from the boat, drawn under the water, but was picked up at once. The whales all took off, but they chased them till dusk, then return ed to the ship. The larboard boat had lost most of three lines. On the 8th the boats were again chasing whales, the waist boat struck first, iron drawn and short warp parted, the whale went off. Larboard boat struck, the whale spouting blood, but lost him. "One of the whales got the line round his jaw and broke it. He went off. 390 bbls. of whales been struck and gone off since morning." On the 11th they found a dead whale which proved to be theirs. Com ment from the journalist, "The whale was one Grant struck and got away from him, spouting blood, three days ago. The blasted whale going to make 50 bbls." By the third of Nov. they were off Oahu, where the anchors were put down outside the double reef, at the back of the island. They found here the ships WILLIAM HAMILTON, WILLIAM HENRY, SOPHIA and the MARTHA, also the Sloop of War CZAR (?) On the 9th the natives towed in a brig and two boats were sent to lend a hand. On Dec. 12th they were preparing for sea, and bid adieu to the pleasant part of Honolulu, after tarrying a month and two days. Discharged Mr. Porter, to go on the CHAMPION of Edgartown as 3rd Mate. All through Dec. caught no whales. There appeared to be disquietude on board. All anxious to get started home. Some rather bitter remarks were made by the journalist. By the 8th of Jan., 1844, they were bound
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South, headed for the Navigator group. The 17th Mr. Cornelius Briggs, of Sippican, died, aged 37 years. Mr. Briggs had sailed as first Mate of the bark PEARL of Sippican, which was wrecked on Japan in a hur ricane. Mr. Briggs narrowly escaped death. He was taken to the Sand wich Islands by the CHAMPION and from there sailed as passenger on the MT. VERNON for home. He had been confined about three weeks with a slow nervous fever. He was buried the next day at 4 p.m. The 21st they laid off and on at Upolu, and got 1000 yams, about 20 hogs, bananas, cocoanuts and five boat-loads of wood. They were under the lee of Tutuilla, for about a week. They cruised for several months and met some bad weather. On May 1st heavy rains washed the bow boat off the davits. She was badly stove. Gave her to the cook to burn. Lost everything in her. By June 17th they were looking for Bermuda and now bound home. Journalist comments, "Can't find Bermuda. I guess Victoria has taken it home." On the 23rd hove the caboose overboard and took a pilot on. Gay Head hove in sight and they got down to the bar on the 24th, and so ended the voyage of 55 months and 24 days. She had 2877 bbls. of sperm oil stowed down below decks, and oil was worth 90 cts. a gallon, a very successful voyage. In later years Charles said they caught the smallest whale he ever saw on this voyage. They killed the calf but lost the mother. The calf made 2 bbls. of oil. It was about this time that the coast of New Zealand was again draw ing attention of all whale fishermen on the account of both sperm and right whales being plenty upon the coast and in the bays. There was no commercial United States agent, nor even a Consul there. A petition to the U.S. Government was gotten out, asking for a consulate upon the island. Mr. Van Buren readily acceded to the petition and created a con sulate. The name of James R. Clenden, Esq. was presented, who at the time was a resident there and paid some attention to the many ships that visited the Bay of Islands. Sometimes they numbered one hundred a year, so important had it become as a recruiting place for American commerce. A consul was established in his new office, hoisting the first U.S. ban ner upon the island. Capt. Robert McCleave, a Nantucket captain, was present at the eventful occasion. In the Nantucket paper in Jan. 1849 appeared this advertisement: "The fast sailing ship MOUNT VERNON, with all her whaling gear, chronometer etc. is offered for sale as she came from sea. The spars, tops and caps, together with all her standing and running rigging (ex cept the fore and mizzen shrouds and lower yards) were new in Nov. 1845, she having been dismasted at this time.
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Apply to H.G.O. Dunham Elihu Swain Henry A. Kelly. The ship MOUNT VERNON was lost in the ice in the Ochotsk Sea in June, 1856. She had been out 9 months and had 255 bbls. sperm and 50 bbls. of whale oil on board. They were steering through scattering ice and the ship struck a piece on the port bow which made a hole in her. She started leaking and quickly settled. The crew had just time to clear the boats and save a few things, when she went over her beam ends. The crew were taken on board the BARNSTABLE, Capt. Fisher. He purchased the ship and oil for $500 and was able to save about 175 bbls. sperm and 30 whale oil, the boats, craft and a few sails. She sank on the 23rd. Her last Captain was Ebenezer F. Nye.
Chapter 7 Nancy Awaits the Return of Her Husband While this seemingly unending voyage of fifty-five months was tak ing place, Nancy, hardly realizing she was married, would try and keep busy, to take up her mind. She made patchwork quilts, crocheted lamp-mats and knitted socks. She helped her mother in her home and wrote innumerable letters. Her companions were the friends living near and her relatives. Her sister Ann was married and so was her sister Charlotte. Her brother Ben married Louisa Gibbs and lived on Union Street, and brother William had married Emily Ellis and lived near. She also had cousins whom she liked to visit, Cousin Carolina, wife of George Wyer, and Lois, wife of Cousin James Wyer. Charles' mother and father and sister Eliza were among the members of the family whom she visited. The time went slowly and she almost forgot how Charles looked. She could recall that he had very red hair. She was sixteen when she married him, and now she was twenty. When he left she could walk under his outstretched arms. Now she was old and felt very matronly. One day in June she heard a rap on the front door and, when she opened it, there was a breathless boy gasping, "MT VERNON on the bar." He had run all the way from the dock to be the first one to tell her the news. Nancy gave him the customary dollar for bringing her the good news. She was greatly excited many hours later when Charles walked in. They could hardly believe that he was really home once more. It was a happy reunion for the young couple. We are equally certain that the
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"keeper of the journal", Henry Coleman, was just as happy to see his Elizabeth. Nantucket women in those days just had to make the best of being left alone for years at a time. It was part of the life of "sea-faring people". By this time Charles Grant was acknowledged by whalemen to be a "hustler" and all ship owners had their eyes on him. He was now thirty years old and he had been offered the command of the ship WALTER SCOTT, 339-ton ship owned by Christopher Mitchell & Co. with Barrett & Upton as agents. Charles was home only about two months before he had to sail again and leave Nancy behind. She broke up her home and went to live with her mother until he should return from this voyage. She was proud of him, to be the Master of this fine ship, but she would miss him and eager ly await his return from, she hoped, not so long a voyage as the previous one had been.
Chapter 8 Master of the WALTER SCOTT The WALTER SCOTT embarked on her first voyage 183640 with Capt. Benjamin Coggeshall as Master. The next was 1840-44 under the com mand of Captain Cromwell Bunker. In March 1849 she was sold to the company in Edgartown, who intended to go to California. In the year 1861 she was condemned. When she was ready to sail in 1844, her papers were signed by James Tyler, President of the United States, and A.M. Upshur, Secretary of State, and countersigned by Andrew Morton, Collector. She had 22 men in the crew and Charles had signed on Alexander Ray, 1st. Mate and Dennis Getchell 2nd Mate and for 3rd Mate George H. Swain. Charles was feeling quite top-lofty when he stepped aboard on August 31, 1844, and squared away for the Pacific Ocean. She was a big ship and he made up his mind that he would have a good voyage and somehow felt that he would. He assumed his responsibilities seriously and by the time the ship was ready to "Round the Horn" everything was ship-shape. Charles got along famously with his officers. He had perused the American Nautical Laws and had signed the ship's articles in which he had declared the voyage and the term of time for which the seamen were shipped and they had signed also as to their con duct on board the ship.
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Seamen are liable to imprisonment for desertion. But if the Master sails and leaves a seaman in imprisonment abroad, he will be entitled to his wages till his return to the United States, deducting the time of imprisonment. Provisions are made for the prompt recovery of the seamen's wages by admiralty process against the ship, if it is not paid within ten dc ys. It is the duty of the American Consul and commercial agents to relieve American seamen who may be found destitute in foreign ports and to provide for their passage to some port in the United States at the expence of the U. S. American vessels are bound to take them not exceeding two for every hundred tons, at the rate not to exceed ten dollars per man. Charles cruised off the coast of Chili, Peru, and off Japan, New Guinea and New Zealand and the King Mill group on the Pacific. He was sometimes on-shore at Chili and Peru, and then off-shore, which in November might be 5 to 10 south latitude and 120 west longitude and meridian 90. The middle shore is New Zealand and New Holland, the coast of Japan, Bonin Isles, and the northwest coast of North America. The season on Japan was usually made from April to September. The ships really do not go in near vicinity of Japan, but to the eastward in the North Pacific Ocean. All captains knew the proper seasons for successful whaling in particular localities. Charles was to have his first bit of hard luck when off Lord Howes Island in the Pacific, off the coast of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. During the night a hurricane sprang up while he was carry ing just enough sail to keep off shore. All hands were called on deck, but in spite of their quick work her sails were blown away, the decks were swept and four boats were lost. Hard luck, indeed! The ship sprang a leak and Charles found it necessary to put in at Sydney for repairs. At the time he had fourteen men ashore at Lord Howes Island, where they had gone for wood. "Lord Howes Island had never been inhabited, we understand, when in the year 1788 a ship from the first convict fleet in Australia, bound from Sydney to Norfolk Island, found it where no island was supposed to be. During the early nineteenth century Lord Howes became a popular watering place for whalers. "There would be some seven or eight whalers lying off the reef at one time. The captains preferred Lord Howes to Australian ports because the Australians drove pretty hard bargains. "Another reason was because, after the gold rush began, if a ship put into Sydney, the crew all deserted and made for the diggin's. There was always plenty of water there and fresh meat and vegetables and fruit. "The mountains on the island were about 3000 feet blocks of basaly, their cliffs falling sheer to the surf of the Tasman, a coral reef, sheltered
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a remarkable lagoon, lined with miles of white beach. There were plen ty of fish. Tropical fruits abound all the year in the temperate climate there. "The island is about seven miles long and about a mile wide. The nearest neighbor is 400 miles away. It is said that the whole community went fishing and collecting sea-birds' eggs and divided the spoils equally. One day a week the inhabitants went around in a body to inspect everybody else's garden and, if any one crop appeared to be falling behind, they turned to and planted for him, so as to be sure that there would be enough, should a whaler come in and want vegetables. "The inhabitants were part Polynesian, the founder of this strain be ing an American ship's carpenter who married a women from the Line islands before he settled in Lord Howes. Another dark strain was add ed when a family of Norfolk Islanders settled there. These Islanders were descended from the Mutineers of the Bounty who were transfer red from Pitcairn to Norfolk Island. These people lived in an ideal spot, and for many years it was 'Utopia'." From copy of S a t u r d a y E v e n i n g P o s t of August 15, 1936 - by J.V. Turner (Furnas)? When Charles left his men on this island he had later to arrange their transportation to Sydney. While there he discharged 600 bbls. of sperm oil. After forty-five days the ship refitted and sailed. Charles was for tunate enough to carry out of port every one of the twenty-five men that he had brought in. The ship was insured and when she arrived home the underwriters paid $7950 for the damage. A Protest signed and sealed by the U.S. Consul of Sydney and counter signed by Charles Grant, Alexander Ray and Reuben F. Clark on the 2nd day of December, 1847, is in the possession of the writer. Also a report of the Survey of the condition of the ship WALTER SCOTT on October 16th, 1847, signed by: Samuel Ashmore, Surveyor for the Company in Sydney ana James Munn, Shipbuilder, and Job Pierce, Master of the ship GENERAL PIKE. A letter from Tahiti in 1848 had reported the WALTER SCOTT bound to the Line with 1400 bbls. of sperm oil aboard. Now the ship is homeward bound. She sails down into the southeast trades and then begins to dress up for home. Cape Augustine is doubled and left astern, the towers of Pernambuco are seen, then the course trends to westward. After a long voyage she was announced in the newspaper of the day as follows: "Ship WALTER SCOTT at the outer roads (at the bar) from Pacific via Holmes Hole -124 days from Bay of Islands, N.Z. with 1500 sperm consigned to John W. Barrett and Sons." Also in the paper, "Returned
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letters from the WALTER SCOTT are at the store of George R. Pierce & Co." The complete voyage was four and a half years when Charles arriv ed at Nantucket, March 10,1849, he had taken 2100 bbls. of sperm oil which netted over $100,000 and oil was worth $1.07 a gallon at that time. This was indeed a successful voyage and a prouder man never set toot ashore from a whaler, but he vowed he would do even better on the next voyage. Charles Grant was an excellent Master and whaleman; there were none better. Nancy's feelings as a wife are accurately described in the following poem.: OUR SHIPS AT SEA. "How many of us have ships at sea, Freighted with wishes, and hopes, and fears, Tossing about on the waves, while we Linger and wait through the distant dim, And sighing, will ever our ships come in? Long have we watched beside the shore To catch the gleam of a coming sail, But we only hear the breakers roar, Or the sweeping night wind's dismal wail Till our cheeks grow pale, and our eyes grow dim. And we sadly sigh, will they ever come in?" Inquirer and Mirror -1881 The news was promptly brought to Nancy that the WALTER SCOTT was coming, and she went to bed that night with a deep feeling of gratitude and joy that her husband was near home and she hoped safe. She awoke next morning hearing voices beneath her window, in the street. She arose and looked out and there was Charles and his mother having a gam. Charles' mother had arisen early and gone forth hoping to see Charles as soon as he got in port. They had met nearly in front of the house. After a chat with her son, she left the young folks and went to her home. There were two happy women in Nantucket that night. About ten o'clock the next day after Charles arrived home there came a knock on the door and as Charles was on his way to see who was there, Nancy, with arms akimbo, and a bold look in her eyes said, "Charles Grant, if that is Mr. Macy after you again, you ship me too." It was a message from Mr. Macy of the firm Phillip & Isaac Macy. They wanted to talk with Charles about taking one of their ships. A little later in the day, he put on his hat and coat and started for the Macy office. Nancy had been married ten years and nine of these Charles
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had been at sea. She was no longer willing to spend her days waiting for his return from whaling, so she was ready to set sail with him if possible. When Charles came home at noon to dinner, he hardly got into the house when he said, "Well, Nancy? I have signed on again and this time I have signed you on too." Then with a broad smile he added, "Mr. Macy says he will fix you up a cabin that will suit you, he is sure." We are told that Nancy saw the owners and told them just what she wanted, and she got it. For the next four months there was a great deal of excitement in the Grant household as Nncy prepared for the long voyage. She was destin ed to be the first Nantucket woman to go whaling. There were many things that had to be packed in chests and boxes of her belongings and the things that she would need, such as sewing and knitting materials, cotton, needles, pins, thread, wool, cambric and cotton cloth, etc. The ship was to be her home for four long years and she would have to prepare for any emergency. Charles had bought her a small English sewing machine. The Macys had made the cabin very comfortable for her, with a nice sofa, comfortable chairs, carpets, stove, even a small desk, and had pro vided plenty of closet space for her clothing and drawers for her per sonal belongings. Charles was equally busy, seeing that the ship was in order and out fitted properly. Finally all was ready to sail and they bid farewell to family and friends, all thinking that Nancy was a brave woman to be sailing on such a long voyage and "Round the Horn", too. However, Nancy's only worry was that she might have overlooked some necessary thing that might be needed on the voyage. Another Sea-Farer in the Grant family!
Nantucket Historical Society "Proceedings" Requested By The Association. THE COLLECTION of the "Proceedings" at the Peter Foulger Museum needs to have certain additions for its complete file. If you have any copies of the following, Mrs. Jacqueline Haring, at the Peter Foulger Museum, would like to receive them. Those needed are for the follow ing years: 1899, 1900, 1909, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1930, and 1941.
