THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION Mrs. William Slover President Mr. David H. Wood First Vice President
Mr. Peter W. Nash Second Vice President
Mr. Alan F. Atwood Treasurer
Mrs. Hamilton Heard, Jr. Clerk Jean M. Weber Executive Director
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Mrs. Edmund A. Hajim Prof. William A. Hance Mr. Arie L. Kopelman Mrs.Jane T. Lamb Mr. John Manning Mr. Bruce Miller
Mrs. George F. Baker
Mrs. Robert Champion Mrs. William Crozier,Jr. Mr. John H. Davis Ms. Alice Emerson Mrs. Thomas H. Gosnell Mrs. William E. Grieder
Mrs. Scott Newquist Mr. Steven M. Rales Mr. Arthur I. Reade,Jr. Mr. Al&ed F. Sanford ill Mr. Richard F. Tucker Mrs.Joseph F. Welch Mr. Robert A. Young
Mr. Walter Beinecke,Jr. Mrs. Richard L. Brecker Ms. Patricia A. Butler Mrs. James F. Chase Mr. Michael deLeo Mrs. Norman E. Dupuis ill Ms. Martha Groetzinger Mrs. Herbert L. Gutterson
ADVISORY BOARD Mrs. Robert E. Hellman Mrs. John G. W. Husted, Jr. Mrs. Arthur Jacobsen Mr. Francis D. Lethbridge Mr. Reginald Levine Mrs.John A. Lodge Mrs. Francisco Lorenzo Mrs.ThomasB.Loring
Mr. William B. Macomber Mr. Paul Madden Mr. Robert F. Mooney Mrs. Frederick A. Richmond Mrs. William A. Sevrens Mr. Scott Stearns, Jr. Mr. John S. Winter Mrs. Bracebridge Young
Dr. Elizabeth Little
RESEARCH FELLOWS Nathaniel Philbrick
Renny A. Stackpole
Mary H. Beman Susan F. Beegel Richard L. Brecker
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Robert F. Mooney Elizabeth Oldham
Nathaniel Philbrick Sally Seidman David H. Wood
PROPERTIES OF THE NHA Oldest House Hadwen House Macy-Christian House Robert Wyer House Thomas Macy House 1800House Greater Light Old Mill Old Gaol
Old Town Building Thomas Macy Warehouse Fire Hose-Cart House Quaker Meeting House Nantucket Whaling Museum Fair Street Museum Peter Foulger Museum Museum Shop
Cecil Barron Jensen
Bartholomew Gosnold Center Folger-Franklin Memorial Fountain, Boulder, and Bench Settlers Burial Ground Tristram Coffin Homestead Monument Little Gallery Eleanor Ham Pony Field Mill Hill
Elizabeth Oldham
EDITOR
COPY EDITOR
Helen Winslow Chase
Claire O'Keeffe
HISTORIAN
ART DIRECTOR
Historic Nantucket welcomes articles on any aspect of Nantucket history. Original research, first-hand accounts, reminiscences of island experiences, historic logs, letters, and photographs are examples of materials of interest to our readers. © 1997 by Nantucket Historical Association Historic Nantucket (ISSN 0439-2248) is published quarterly by the Nantucket Historical Association, 2 Whaler's Lane, Nantucket, MA 02554. Second-class postage paid at Nantucket, MA and additional entry offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Historic Nantucket Box 1016 • Nantucket, MA 02554-1016 • (508) 228-1894; FAX:(508) 228-5618 • infonha@capecod.net
VOLUME 46, NO. 4
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From the President
4
And Greasy Luck to You!
by Dorothy Slover
Nantucket Language That Has Prevailed by Cecil Barron Jensen
6 "Journey to Nantucket"
An excerpt from an unidentified diary c. 1821-32
8 "A Description of Nantucket"
An excerpt from the Port Folio, Published by Bradford & Inskeep, Philadelphia, 1811. by Joseph Sansom
9
Nantucket Indian Place Names by Elizabeth A. Little
17 1Mary Coffin Starbuck's "Account Book with the Indians" 18 1Book Section by Helen Stehling
The Perfect Storm, by SebastianJunger Review by Nathaniel Philbrick
Quaker Nantucket: The Religious Community Behind the Whaling Empire, by Robert J. Leach and Peter Gow Review by Rose Gonnella
20
NHANews
23
NHA Volunteers
On the cover: William Barrett (left) and George Spencer, c. 1900. Edouard /1. Stackpole Collection
HISTORIC
NANTUCKET
FROM by Dorothy Slover
Departing board member and former NHA president Kzin Corkran. Photograph by Jeffeey 5. Allen
4
HISTORIC
W
T H E
PRESIDENT
ITH THIS ISSUE WE GIVE VOICE TO TI-IE
history and language of the Native Americans who once lived on Nantucket. Dr. Elizabeth Little shares with us an extraordinary list of Indian place names on the island. Through her study of deeds, probate records, court records, and proprietors records, she has been able to trace Indian locations dating back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We have also highlighted an account book from our collection that was kept by Mary Coffin Starbuck of Indian transactions at her general store. This, too, is a treasure chest of information about Nantucket's Indian community. History of the Indians is an aspect of our island's heritage that is often overlooked and an example of how we, as an institution, strive to tell the whole story of Nantucket. We are inclusive. The same is true for our board of trustees. In the makeup of our board we work for a broad representation of interests, skills, and on- and off-island locations. At this year's annual meeting we elected five new board members: Alice Emerson, Barbara Hajim, Jane Lamb, Steven Rales, and Robert Young. Each brings a special talent. Trustees are elected for a four-year term, and, by our bylaws, are limited to two consecutive terms, totaling eight years. This year we sadly said farewell to three of our most valued board members who have served for eight years: Nancy A. Chase, Erwin L. Greenberg, and Kimberly Corkran. Each has been a quintessential director, helping guide the NHA through rocky shoals to calmer waters and great accomplishments. In 1992 and 1993 Erwin Greenberg and the committee he chaired directed, developed, and produced a detailed strategic plan for the NHA that has been a blueprint for financial decisions. He then chaired the Personnel Committee, which gave us a comprehensive personnel policy
NANTUCKET
and the first retirement/pension plan the NHA has had. Erwin has been an involved and dedicated member of the board, and promises to remain involved. Nancy Chase, with her deep roots in the Nantucket community, has brought a special perspective and a great wealth of experience and sensitivity to the board. Nancy chaired the Nominating Committee for many years. She was a vital member of the Bylaws Committee, which gave us the rules we now operate under. She served actively and loyally on the Collections Committee. Nancy has served as vice president for the past year. She has been a most valued member of the board and we do not intend to let her get far away. And Kim Corkran. There are not adequate words to recognize Kim for all that she accomplished in her term. It would be staggering for sixteen years, much less eight. Kim served on the Nominating Committee and several other committees before becoming president in 1992. Under Kim the NHA became financially stable, wrote new bylaws, expanded its committee structure and responsibilities, and reached out into the community for involvement. Kim led our successful search for an executive director. Our centennial was celebrated under Kim's presidency, and who can forget it - the energy, the style, the exuberance, embracing the entire community in the celebration of one hundred years of preservation and presentation of Nantucket's glorious past and the impact that the NHA has on the present. After her term as president Kim moved on to chair the Membership Committee with great accomplishment. Kim has always been a "yes" person in the best sense. To anything she is asked, or more often proposes, from the most menial to the most visionary, Kim has said "yes" - and done it. Thank you, Kim. So whether it be the retelling of the past or the efforts of the present to help shape the future, the Nantucket Historical Association is committed to putting forth its best efforts to encompass all that was Nantucket, all that is Nantucket, and all that Nantucket should be for our children and their children.
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And Greasy Luck to You! Nantucket Language That Prevails
A
NANTUCKET NATIVE (BORN HERE) SHOULD I
never be confused with a local (went to school here) or even a washashore (the newest, and begrudgingly accepted, term for those who moved here). Not a day goes by when you don't hear someone talk about off-island - referring to any location beyond Nantucket's shores. And it is not unusual to hear someone say 'Tm going to America." But are the summer visitors still called strangers? And when was the last time you took a lunar (a night-time walk under the moon) or doused the glim (turned out the lights)? As do many small communities, Nantucket has its own expressions. Many terms are derived from the days when sailing ships dominated the horizons, while others refer to the weather or fishing, but some are unique to Nantucket. Take up a conversation with a native (or even a local) and you may hear a few of the old expressions. In 1916 William F. Macy and Roland B. Hussey wrote The Nantucket Scrap Basket, a delightful collection of stories and sayings including a chapter entitled "Expressions and Idioms." In their list they have "undertaken to set down alphabetically some of the more common words, nautical expressions and idiomatic sayings which are characteristic of the Nantucket speech." Many years have passed since then but according to some of our native friends the expressions live on. What follows is a list of some of the expressions that sparked the memories of Helen Winslow Chase, David Wood, and Renny Stackpole.
America. "It is interesting to note that islanders have always considered themselves an entity set apart, almost not a part of the continent," said David. "Island history tells of the plight of Nantucketers during the Revolution when we tried to be friendly with both sides, fearing the wrath of both. Chinese merchants, trading with Nantucket ships in the China trade, came to believe that Nantucket was a separate nation: the ship owners were so plentiful, so autonomous and free that they treated the traders apart from the others."
HISTORIC
NANTUCKET
by Cecil Barron Jensen
Astem the lighter -Late. Renny heard it used all the time as a child. "You're astern the lighter a'ready with all your garden chores."
Cannikin tub - A wooden pail, with straight sides, hooped and with a close-fitting wooden cover. David, however, said he never heard it used in any other way than "cannikin" without the word tub. "It was a wooden container with a cover, made by the early coopers, of whom there were many on this whaling island."
I
Chicken Hiller, Upper Main Streeter, North Shorer, Under the Banker - All descriptions of where people
I
lived in town. David tells of a few others such as, "down there in Guinea," referring to south of town, also called Newtown. "Remember that there was, for years, a gate at the end of Pleasant Street that marked the separation between north and south ." North Liberty Street was sometimes referred to as Egypt. "North Liberty Street was sparsely settled in the early part of this century, had no street lights, and was dark. So Nantucketers used to say it was as "dark as Egypt." David also added that "as an idiom, islanders used to say 'she lives up Egypt,' omitting any preposition."
All squared away - To square the yards with another person is to repay a debt. Renny said this is an expression pertaining to the yards of a square-rigged ship. "Bringing them at right angles to the keel and let the ship run before the wind. All squared away is being shipshape."
America - As in the rest of the United States of I
Coasting down Orange Street -
I
"Although Orange Street was often closed to traffic after a snowstorm for island kids to slide from Orange Street clear down to the Pacific Club, the term 'coasting' refers to 'strolling' FALL
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down the street, from 'coasting' schooner," explained Renny.
"Joumeyto Nantucket" c.1821-1832 Excerpt from an unidentified diary
In the evening I attended a party where I spent a delightfull visit in company with about a Dozen Nantucket beauties a part of whom were bewitching young Quarkeresses. I was much amused with their conversation which dwelt almost continually upon Whales and Whaling, how the wind was, of the arrivals and clearances from port that day, of the hardships, miraculous escapes, fortunes + misfortunes, and every thing else that appertains to a sailor's life which their fathers, brothers, friends, - lovers + husbands, had experienced in their several voyages to the Brazill Banks or round Cape Horn, by which means I learnt that they all had lo\'ers round the cape or the Lord only knew where, in persuit of whales - expect one, one modest, beautifull, blushing, plainly attired Quakeress, whose languishing blue eyes made sad havoc with - a - a - a - but no matter with who. I returned to my lodging, highly satisfied with my days adventures.
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HISTORIC
Come aboard - A greeting or welcoming for a visitor at your house. According to Helen, she had a friend whose father said "Come aboard" every time you knocked on his door. CooÂŁ - An off-islander, perhaps originally applied only to Cape Codders. How this old Scottish expression ended up in Nantucket is a mystery. Cubbyhole - Attic. "We don't have an attic in our house but a cubbyhole," said David. "It is a place for storage above the second floor. Seafarers were familiar with 'cubby,' which to them meant a secluded nook or snug area." Down along down along."
As in where are you going? "Just
Garn - A social visit. According to Macy and Hussey "originally this term was applied to a school of whales, and its use by the whalemen is doubtless derived from that source. Whaleships meeting at sea often hove to, and the captains would visit back and forth during the time the ships were in company. Under certain conditions the crews were allowed the privilege also. The word was used both as a noun and as a verb, and it is still very frequently heard among Nantucketers."
Headwind - Difficulties to be overcome. This is a nautical expression that was incorporated into everyday speech and is still used regularly. Knock it galley west - To strike or smash something so that it gets knocked over. Helen explained that this was an old sailor's expression that found its way into common usage, but even she has no idea why it's galley west! Lay - A share or percentage. On whaling ships everyone on board knew his lay of the profits. In Helen's house a lay was a "share of a total following a formula announced by Dad and Mother." Mad/Queer as huckleberry chowder - "Nothing is more improbable than a chowder made from huckleberries, hence it was equated with madness or craziness," explained David. Helen's father also enjoyed using this expression. Old Town turkey- Nantucketers' name for any resident of Martha's Vineyard. The name no doubt comes from the town of Edgartown, which was formerly known as Old Town. On deck - Edouard Stackpole, when asked how he was, often replied 'Tm on deck!" meaning up and around. The pass -People walking on the street. From a
Getting one's gauge of the weather or "weather gauge" Gauging the weather to windward or otherwise. Renny explained that this expression derives from whale oil being measured for content and quality with an "oil thief" or gauge. Greasy luck - To wish a whaleman greasy luck was to wish him a good voyage with lots of whale oil. On the island , it was used to wish friends well in any venture. NANTUCKET
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Grace Brown Gardner (far left) shows hats she may have found "up attic" to her friends Mary Ditmars, unidentified (does anybody know?), and Christel Mitchell. 1959
quiet bench or window, Nantucketers enjoy "watching the pass. " Nantucketers watching the pass always sit "under the window" and not by it or in it, according to David. "A writing teacher I had in college scoffed at this expression, taking it too literally."
or one Nantucketer speaks another on the street. It was quite common for Nantucketers to drop prepositions, according to David. "One day, talking with Grace Brown Gardner, I heard her say, 'Well, I went up attic to find a basket ... "'
Polpisy - Countrified, outlandish. Polpisy is a very old local term dating back to "when the people of that suburb were, perhaps, less in touch witl1 the civilizing influence of the island's metropolis than at present," wrote Macy and Hussey in 1916. As a child , Helen was reminded by her father "not to act polpisy" - in other words to behave herself. For David the word has meant "bun1pkinish or boorish" and was certainly not a compliment.
Rantum scoot -A day's expedition, cruise, or journey with no particular destination. A rantum scoot could be in a boat, in a car, or on foot. David explains that this expression comes from "random" (unplanned) and "scoot" to move quickly or freely.
Sculch - A mishmash of stuff or clutter of any sort. David uses this expression regularly and explains that "people in America look askance at the word." So he looked it up and found that the dictionary gives the definition as "rubbish" and as a variation of "culch or cultch." Speak - A nautical expression meaning to communicate with and was used without the preposition "to". For instance one ship speaks another on the high seas, HISTORI C
NANTUCKET
Skimming the slicks - "Securing the full limit of return from any effort," wrote Macy and Hussey. Here is a fishing expression that refers to the smooth, oily patches often seen on the sea over a school of bluefish, mackerel, or other surface-feeding fish. Snivver - Immediately after. "I'll be over to your house sniwer I have had my dinner." Macy and Hussey guessed that this was from "as soon as ever." \ Opposite page: Whar/Rats Too bad you didn't gaff it after you hove -Expressing enjoying a frustration at a lost opportunity. According to Renny good laugh this is a local fishermen's expression. He explains "fish and a gam. are gaffed over the rail and a ship pauses or holds its c. 1965 station when hove to." Stackpole Collection FALL
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Kar/Sharp
Wild as a Tuckemuck steer - Wild. "Many beef
learns the ropes
cattle were formerly raised on Tuckemuck, and their antics, when brought into the gay metropolis of Nantucket town, probably gave rise to this expression," wrote Macy and Hussey.
from Captain
Barzillai R. Burdett in 1899.
1
Wind, weather, or whales permitting -
Helen read this expression in a whaling log and adopted I it as her own. She often uses it on friends who live off-island, because "it sounds so Nantuckety."
Weather breeder -According to The Nantucket
Scrap Basket, "a fair, calm day, with a cloudless sky, or at most a few fleecy white wisps far up in the blue, when distant objects stand out clearly, when Pocomo Head and Great Point hang suspended, 'twixt sea and sky and even Cape Cod may be visible in mirage" is a weather breeder. Even today this word is used as a warning that things are too still, too good, too calm, and trouble is ahead.
J
_ _ _ _"_A_D_es_c_riP-tion of Nantucket" by Joseph Sansom This is an excerpt from the Port Folio, published by Bradford & Inskeep, Philadelphia, 1811. Every other house in this sea-faring place has a look out upon the roof, or a vane at the gable end; to see what ships have arrived from sea or whether the wind is fair for the packets. Sea phrases accordingly prevail in familiar conversation. Every child can tell which way the wind blows, and any old woman in the street, will talk ofcruising about, hailing an old messmate, or making one bring to, as familiarly as the captain of a whale ship, just arrived from the north-west coast, will describe dimension to a landlubber by the span of his gibboom, or the length of his mainstay. If you have a spare dinner it is short allowance; if you are going to ride, the horse must be tackled up; or if the chaise is rigged out, and you are got under way, should you stop short of your destination, you are said to tack about, or to make a harbour. This technical phraseology, however, is attended with the concomitant frankness and honesty of sea-faring life. You meet a hearty welcome wherever you go; shop windows are without windowshutters for security; and winter's wood is piled up in the street.
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HISTORIC
NANTUCKET
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Nantucket Indian Place Names Introduction
Methodology
GODDARD (1977:157) HAS WRITTEN THAT "careful docwnentation of the earliest spellings of the names [is] an indispensable prerequisite to place name analysis." In the list of Nantucket Indian place names presented here, I have corrected a nwnber of mistakes, misspellings, and typographical errors found in previously published transcriptions of the original manuscripts. In addition, I have docwnented chronological variations of place names, some of which can be related to linguistic, cultural, or geographic phenomena. Nantucket Indian place names, recorded from 1659 on, are found in bound manuscript volwnes of town and county records at the Nantucket Town Building in the handwriting of the various registrars. Not only are the ancient docwnents faded, blotched, and worn, but the handwriting is archaic, and the sounds being recorded were not the san1e sounds that were foW1d in the English of the time (Trwnbull 1974:vi). Nor were the sounds of English in the seventeenth century the same as those spoken today. It is quite likely that the original recording process itself introduced copying errors, such as repetition, omission, and misspelling. As far as I know, there are no living speakers of the language called Massachusett who are faD1i.liar with our places and could translate Nantucket place names. Using Trumbull's Natick Dictionary (1903), Roger Williams's Key into the Language of America (1936), and Josiah Cotton's Vocabulary of the Massachusetts (or Natick) Indian Language (1830), one can try to match Massachusett words with place names. Although this activity has been called "Sunday-supplement linguistics" (Goddard 1977: 157), it does generate alternative hypotheses. For the definitive modern work on the Massachusett language, see Goddard and Bragdon (1988).
Deeds, probate records, court records, and proprietors records have been searched for Indian place names and variations. The bilingual Englishmen - Peter Folger, his son Eleazer and grandson Eleazer; Thomas Mayhew, Jr., his son Matthew and grandson Experience; and William Worth, who recorded early deeds and court records for Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard islands - translated documents written in Massachusett and sometimes gave place-name meanings in English. In addition to names from those sources, which are recorded in Table 1, I include the place-name meanings given by Zaccheus Macy (1792), because he was born on Nantucket in 1713 and could be expected to have had some knowledge of the Indian place names. Worth (1910) and Ewer (1869) have ten place names which I have not documented (Bogue, Canopache, Cotackta, Herrecater Swamp, Nashawomank, Peedee, Pochick, Pocoy, Quanata, and Tawnatpeinse), and I have seventeen names that Worth did not include. Altogether we have eighty-six Indian place names. I have omitted English place names, such as Long Pond; names that include Indian or pidgin-English words, such as Sachem Spring and Wigwam Ponds; and the personal place names: Abrams Point, Pimneys Point, Tom Nevers Head, Gibbs Pond, Hummock Pond, Nanahuma's Neck, Pattaconet's Island, Myoakeses Pond, Spotso CoW1try, Tashme's Island, and Towpausher's Swamp.
I
VES
HISTORIC
NANTUCKET
by Elizabeth A. Little
Analysis Although showing their three hundred years, the early documents at the Registry of Deeds are legible and constitute a treasure chest of data on place names and geography. Eighty-six recorded Indian place names on an island of one hundred and thirty square kilometers
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North Head of Hummock Pond. Henry S. Wyer Collection
is a density of 0.7 names per square kilometer. By comparison, the whole of Connecticut has a density of 0.04 recorded Indian place names per square kilometer (Trumbull 1974). The presence of more English recorders and/or more Indians on the coast than inland I could account for the higher density of recorded Indian place names on the coast than inland.
place names has been in length. Some names lost their
final consonants early. An example is Coweightuet to
Linguistic Variations Early observers such as Roger Willian1s in 1643 (1936) and William Wood in 1635 (1865), noted that certain geographically distributed dialects used r, y, l, or n, preferentially for the same Proto-Algonquian sound. In some regions of southern New England, the distribution of these sounds has been conlirmed, with evidence of mixing and of change with time (Goddard 1977, 1978, 1981). From place names, Nantucket's dialect of Massachusett is an n dialect, with no l and only four examples of r, some of which may have been English introductions, as in the change from Tuckanuck to Tuckemuck. I For locative endings of place names (at the place of), Bragdon (1981:22) has pointed out that -ut, -it, or -et were more common on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket than the form -uk or -zk. The Nantucket place names listed here show a 3:1 ratio oft to k endings. The t endings supersede the k endings (see Goddard 1981:64), with the exception ofTuckernuck.
Changes Since 1659, an obvious change in Nantucket Indian
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HISTORIC
NANTUCKET
I
Cowatu, by 1663. Also, dropping of prefixes and suffixes, primarily by the English, appears to have been routine; for example, Wonnashquoom in 1668 became Squan1 by 1691. Indeed, the process continues. Today, Sesachacha and Siasconset, are written forms only. One says, Sacacha and Sconset. These changes not only save effort but help to distinguish visitors from residents. Changes in place names can reflect differences between the Indian view of the landscape and the English view. The place names Monomoy, Shin1mo, Shawkemo, Masquetuck (Quaise) in colonial times referred to necks or small peninsulas, but originally Shimmo named a spring, and Monomoy, Shouahkemmuck, and Masquetuck were names for creeks. The English settlers, with grazing animals at pasture, borrowed place names from the adjacent bodies of water. Place names also change because of geographical changes. Esther Island, Whale Island, and Sturgeon Island were (and are) names of transitory islands off the west end of Nantucket (Southack, 1720-1734 ).
Meanings In 1910, Henry Barnard Worth of Nantucket, using original documents, his knowledge of Nantucket places, and ilie works of Dr. W. W. Tooker and Dr. Trumbull, produced a list of Nantucket Indian place names with possible meanings (Worth 1910:285-98). He admitted that his translations ranged from reasonFALL
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able to impossible. As subsequent Nantucket Indian word lists generally have included Worth's meanings for names, there are few proven meanings for Nantucket place names. However generated, hypothetical translations must be tested locally before they can be considered possible. For example, the hypothetical translation Rattlesnake Hill for Sesachacha (Worth 1910:295) and Rattelsnack Banek or the Snake Place for Shouahkemmuck, have long been suspect because we have no independent evidence that there ever were rattlesnakes on Nantucket (Worth 1910:295). However, in places on the east half of the island Lazell (1976:207) found a density of about 6000 per square mile for large, patterned, king or milk snakes, which can make a rattling noise by shaking their tails. Dated archaeological finds of identified species of snake vertebrae could further test this interesting biological and linguistic issue. I have also found two exan1ples for which alternative meanings have produced testable results. Consider the Poot Ponds, heretofore translated as Whale Ponds (Starbuck, 1924:611,651). These are two glacial kettle ponds some distance from the sea. Pootop means whale in a 1696 Nantucket Indian deed (Little 1981:67), and Trwnbull (1903:227) gives the root pootau, be blows. A translation for Poot Ponds could, therefore, be Whale Ponds, Blower Ponds, or Blow Hole Ponds. As a test of the last hypothesis, a comparison of the ponds with a right whale's blow boles shows a startling resemblance to a baleen (right) whale's blow holes (a sperm whale HISTORIC
NANTUCKET
has only one blow hole). This coincidence is no proof of the derivation of the name, but it does suggest an interesting process for name formation. A sin1ilar procedure can be applied to Coatue, for which the standard translation is At the (White) Pine Woods (Worth 1910:291). The problem with this meaning is that pines, especially white pines, because of the deleterious effect of salt spray, do not find Nantucket, and especially Coatue, a congenial habitat (Reagan 1973). Now cowaw, the root for the pine tree name, means "it is sharp pointed" (Trumbull 1903:13,41). Is it possible, as Elizabeth Gosnell speculated in 1983, that tl1e six sharp cuspate points of land at Coatue suggested this name? An alternative sharp point is that found on the native prickly pear cactus (Opuntia humz/usa), which grows there. These hypotheses could be tested by comparing the geographical distribution of the dozens of place names in New England containing cowa, with the distribution of evergreens, cactus, and sharp points of land. This project will take some tin1e, but I already have found that Cotuit on Cape Cod; Koessek, now Vernon, Vermont; and Cohasset, Massachusetts center about bold and dramatic points of land.
Sesachacha Pond. John McCalley Collecton
Summary To summarize, I have assembled a list of Nantucket Indian place names and their variations over time. Examples show how geographically testable alternative meanings may be generated by the process of looking FALL
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I at the meaning of the roots. Familiarity with the
I
land is a first step. Indian place names have always been important to the people of Nantucket, and thirty-one names from this list are well known and still used to locate areas today. They are also popular on automobile license plates.
Acknowledgments: I am grateful for the help and encouragement of Ives Goddard, Margaret Pignato, Wesley N. Tiffney, and the late Louise I Hussey, ]. Clinton Andrews, Edouard A. Stackpole, and Gordon Day. This is a slightly revised version of a paper published in 1984 in The Papers of the 15th Algonquian Conference, edited by Wtlliam I Cowan, pp. 345-362, Carleton University, Ottawa, reprinted with permission of David H. Pentland, current editor.
LIST OF NANTUCKET INDIAN PLACE NAMES, WITH SOURCES AND DATES: ACAMY (NCD [1659] 4:93). "The Pond Acamy" Today's Hummock Pond. A boundary between the Indians and English in the seventeenth century. AHAPAHCONSET (NCD [1690] 2:53). Near I SquamPond. APAQUNUMINNOHKIT (DCD [1668] 7:44). I Unidentified locality, northeast of Quaise. AQUIDNESE (NCD [1687] 3:110) "a neck of land"; and the harbor. Worth (1910:291) suggests an Indian AQUITNEESO (NCD [1711] 3:57); AQUITNET origin for the name , and Obed Macy (Starbuck I (NCD [1726] 4:45) "between Monomoy and 1924:650) states that the name came from a Dutch ship Shin1mo. " Probably today's Pimneys Point. A point or cast away on Nantucket. It appears Spanish, and may peninsula at Nantucket in the seventeenth century was I derive from Boca Ciega, blind mouth, a Spanish nan1e a neck. See Aquzdnet Point. for a body of water with a hidden entrance. AQUIDNET POINT (NCD [1722] 4:13). Today's CAPPATTUDACONA (NCD [1711] 3:47). Near Quidnet, which has been subject to shoreline changes Sankaty Head. and erosion, see Aquidnese. Both are candidates for CATCHCASSOK (NCD [1667] 1:14); KACHKESWAMMASQUID, one of the three Christian Indian SET (NCD [1687] 6:4). A place near the Swain housemeeting places in 1674 (Gookin 1970:104). See also lots on the southwest side of Hummock Pond Wahquotnoy. (Starbuck 1924:56). AQUNAONAGQUESSIT (DCD [1668] 7:44). "the hole where a Stone stands'; translated by Experience Mayhew before 1745. Unknown location northeast of Quaise. BOCOCHEGO (NCD [1765] 7:76). A tract laid out in 1744 (Worth 1910:291), once containing the mouths of several streams, between Broad, Main, Federal streets,
12
H I ST O R I C
CHAPANACOY (NCD [1669] 1:21). Salt marsh, unknown location near Shawkemo or Shin1illo.
CHAPPAPEMESET (NCD [1691] 3:53); CHAPPAPONISS (NCD [1762] 6:335). CHAPAPAMISS I VALLEY (NPR [1762] 1:104). An Indian-English boundary, at the west edge of "a great valley at Chappapemeset called Pasocha" (NCD 3:53). Between
N A;-;:-;-;;T;--;U ;-;--;::: C--;K;--;::E -;;; T~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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1997
'
both the present Coatue and to Great Point, which was also "the Long Point, or Nauma" (NCD [1660] 6:1; NCD 3:73). Coatue today has no white pine (J.C. Andrews, 1979 personal communication). Its unique attributes are six regular, sharp-pointed, cuspate spits.
Poot Pond. HenryS. Wyer
Collection
CUPPAMMET HARBOUR (NCD [1667] 1:11); CUPPAME HARBOUR (NCD [1672] 16:21). Capaum Pond was a harbor until a storm about 1717 deposited a sand beach across its entrance (Worth 1910:80). J.C. Andrews in 1983 suggested that it may have been dosed at times prehistorically. HASHKINNITCHAOHKET (DCD [1668] 7:44). Unknown location near Quaise.
KESTOKAS FIELD (NCD [1715] 3:91). Unknown location in Polpis area. MACHUPUNES (NCD(1742)5:23). Unknown location on the South Shore.
MANA "wells on Mana" (NCD [1691] 3:50); MONAH (NCD [1695] 3:49); MANNA
T oupche and Tom Nevers Pond. COBOAHCOMMOH (NCD [1692] 2:69). At the southeast of Hummock Pond (probably), which, like many of the ponds near the shores, has been periodically opened to the sea for fishing purposes for an unknown time in the past. Alongshore currents soon dose it up again (see kuppi in Trumbull 1903 ). COCYEAMA (NCD [1687] 3:110). A valley near Shimmo Spring and Aquidnese. CODSPANNETT FIELD (NCD [1659] 4:93). North of Hummock Pond. COSCATY (NPR [1778] 1:148). Woods and meadow at "Causkata" (Macy 1792), which is a broad place with woods, pond, and meadow on Coatue. Today called Coskata. COWEIGHTUET (NCD [1660] 1:7); COWATU (NCD [1663] 16:3); COATUE (NCD [1674] 4:90); COATUET, "a neck" (NCD [1684] 3:73); COETUIT (NCD [1687] 3:110). Macy (1792) applied this name to IIISTORIC
NANTUCKET
(NCD [1678] 2:1, 2). Twenty acres near the present airport. An early Indian document refers to a "great hunting meeting at Manna" (NCD 2:1, 2). MANOIS (NCD [1702] 3:42). Unknown location just south of Coatue. MARDADPOQUEHY "The swampy slow or run near the highway at Mascotuck" (NCD [1691] 3:53). See Maskatuk Creek.
MASHAAM (NCD [1670] 3:39). 100 acres at the "going on to Coattue on the south side of the meadows or creek." Coskata, probably. MASHQUAPOMTIT (DCD [1668] 7:44). Unknown location northeast of Quaise. MASQUAPOCK (NCD [1687] 3:110). The run or creek, with a pond and fresh marsh, that was crossed by a cart path going from Pocomo to Coatue. The water running out of this creek can have a red color, probably due to bog iron deposits common to this area.
MASQUETUCK (NCD [1667] 16:7); MASHQUTTOOHK (DCD [1668] 7:44); MASCOTUCK, "Mr. Thomas Mayhew's Neck" (NCD [1674] 3:65); MASQUATUCK NECK (NCD [1702] 3:61). "The I read land" (Macy 1792); Quaise, today (see Quaus). FALL
1997
13
Reed or red are both applicable (seeMasquapock). MASKATUK CREEK (NCD [1669] 1:21); STONY BROOK (NCD [1678] 2:35); READ RIVER (DCD [1668] 7:44), translated from Mashquttoohk by Experience Mayhew. At the east boundary of Masquatuck (Quaise); today, West Polpis Harbor and Stony Brook. See Masquetuck, Quaus. I MATTAQUITCHAME POND (NCD [1692] 3:50); MATTAQUATCHAM (NCD [1691] 3:53). A pond and valley, today called Madequecham, on the south shore of the island. MAWTUKKIT (NCD [1667] 1:17); MATTAKETT (NCD [1687] 6:4). Today's Madaket. MEKINNOOWAKE (NCD [1690] 1:30); MEKANUAHQUE (NCD [1711] 3:47). Unknown location near Sesachacha Pond. I MONNUMENT HARBOR (NCD [1660] 2:7). I Wheeler's Creek; MANNAMOY (NCD [1664] 6:1); MONOMOY (NCD [1683] 3:54). Mr. Macy's meadow, or Wherfore Creek (NCD [1684] 3:73). Today this region is called the Creeks and Monomoy is the name of the land northeast of the Creeks alongshore. In the eighteenth century, Monomoy was also west of the Creeks (Worth 1910). MOOSKEIAKIT (NCD [1693] 2:74). "westernmost of the Sturgeon Islands"; MUSKEGIT (NCD [1710] 3:30); MISKEGETT (NCD [1710] 3:31). Kotget (1630) (Worth 1910:293). Today's Muskeget Island. MYACOMET POND (NCD ), [1695] 1:66); MOYACOMET POND (NCD Poot (Pout) Ponds, I [1711] 3:23). Today's Miacomet Pond at the South north of Shore, site of the Christian Indian village of Miacomet Milestone Road, Nantucket ca. 1732-63. Macy (1792) gives "Moyaucownet" as "a ([]SGS Siasconset I meeting place." Topographic NANNUHTUKQUESUT (NCD [1690] 2:9). "The Quadrant 1977) River." Near Squam Pond. NANTUCKET (NCD [1659] 4:93 ); NANTUCKETT (NCD [1684] 3:73). Other versions, such as Natocke or Nautican, date to before the island was purchased in 1659 (Worth 1910:288-90).
14
HISTORIC
ANTUCKET
NAPANEAH (NCD [1668] 16:7,8); NOBBANEAH (NCD [1758] 6:403); NOPEDEAR (NCD [1762] 6:399); NOBEDEAR (NCD [1768] 7:263). Nobadeer today, a valley on the south shore. NARETOQUESO (NCD [1692] 2:70). The creek mouth near the northwest end of Squam Pond. NASHAYTE (NCD [1659] 6:1). "The neck but one northerly of Masquetuck;" "Wots Neck" (NCD [1674] 3:65). Today's Swain's Neck, Polpis. NOAPE "the Vinyard" (Macy 1792). NOPQUE "a landing place" (Macy 1792), Smith Point (Worth 1910:294). The southwest point of antucket, nearest Martha's Vineyard. OGGAWAME "where the church meets" [1674] (Gookin (1970):104); OCKAWAW (NCD [1778] 9:362). A historic Indian settlement, "the headquarters of old Waunuchmamuck's territory" (Macy 1792), somewhere east of Gibbs Pond. ONGQUAHQAM (NCD [1669] 1:21). "a flaggy marsh." Unlocated place west of Masquatuck. Flags (probably cattail or wild iris leaves) were used for mats. PAKPANNOGKAHKUNNUT (NCD [1676] 3:41). Near Squam Pond. PAKUMMOHQUOH (NCD [1662] 4:89); PAQUOMOQUAT NECK (NCD [1667] 16:6); POCOMOCK (NCD [1688] 3:55); POHCOMO (NCD [1729] 4:67) . Today's Pocomo, was bounded by "the river" on the north, by Masquapock, Squam Swamp, and "the creek at Poatpes" (NCD 3:73). PASOCHA (NCD [1691] 3:53). "a great valley." See Chappapemeset. PENETAHPAH (NCD [1669] 1:21). "next great crek above Ashimmo." Creek east of Abram's Point. POATPES (NCD [1684] 3:73); "Podpis" (Macy 1792). Today's Polpis.
I POOT PONDS (NPR [1767]
1:114). Whale Ponds, after whale (pootop). Starbuck (1924: 611) gives a legend in which a whale appeared in each Poot Pond before escaping to the sea (Starbuck 1924:611). Called Pout Ponds, after a species of fish, on 1977 USGS map of Siasconset. PQUAOPUACHUS (NCD [1686] 3:112). Islands surrounded by Gibbs swamp near Gibbs Pond.
PUKQUOTANUSSUT or POOKQUOTTANUSSUH (NCD [1696] 4:62). Land gift to Matakekin and George Hwna from Nickanoose near Squam Pond. FALL
1997
QUAQUAKUNNUTTUMMUKUTAUT (NCD [1690] 2:9). Unlocated region near Squam Pond. QUAQUAT (NPR [1773] 1:128). Region north of Siasconset Pasture. QUADS (NCD [1702] 3:61); QUAISE (NCD [1708] 3:8); QUAIS (NCD [1708] 3:12). See Masquetuck . Today's Quaise. QUONSUE (NCD [1721] 3:136). "Qunsue Meador" (Macy 1792). Near the present Consue Spring. SANCKATANCK (NCD [1691] 3:52). Near "the place called the blew cleft." "Naphchecoy," or "round the (Sankata) head" (Macy 1792) . Today's Sankaty Head, where blue clay can be found. SEANAKONKONIT (NCD [1668] 16:7,8). "the pond." Probably Tom Nevers Pond. SHIMMO (NCD [1668] 16:7,8). "The Spring at"; SHEMO (NCD [1687] 3:ll0); ASHIMMO "A Spring called" (NCD [1683] 3:54). A creek and region west of the creek are today known as Shimmo. Ditching obscures the original location of the spring (J.C. Andrews, personal communication, 1980). SHUAKIMMO CREEK (NCD [1674] 3:67); SHOUAHKEMMUCK (NCD [1678] 2:1,2); SHOWAKEMMOE "The Snake Place" (NCD [1684] 3:73). At the head of Shuakimmo Creek was "Read Spring" (NCD 3:67), under "Rattelsnack Banek" (NCD 2:35) (see Stewakininkers). "Showaucamor" meant "the Midel field of Land," according to Macy (1792). Today Shawkemo Creek is called Folger's Creek, and Shawkemo is the name of a region west of the creek. SISACKOCHAT (NCD [1682] 2:10); SASAGACHA (NCD [1745] 5:84). "Sasachacor" and "Sussachacor" (Macy 1792) are misspellings. Originally the name referred to an area with cod-fishing stages south of the pond, but today it is the name of the pond, Sesachacha Pond or 'Sachacha Pond (the first 'ch' is hard). At a guess it means 'rattlesnake hill'; see Wonnashquoom. SISIASCONSET (NCD [1691] 3:52). Today's Siasconset. The first Si- may have been a copying error. This village of ancient fish or whale houses is commonly known today as Sconset. SQUATESIT one of three places where Indians met to worship in 1674 (Gookin 1970:104). Possibly near Maskatuk Creek, where Spotso had a "meeting house" in 1686 (Mass. Sup. Ct.Jud. #2466). HISTORIC
NANTUCKET
STEWAKININKERS (NCD [1678] 2:28); RATTELSNAKE HILL OR BANK (NCD [1677 ,1678] 2: 28,35). At junction of several Indian-English boundary lines at the head of Shuahkimmo Creek. TAWTEMEO, "the hummuck pond" (Macy 1792), a boundary. See Acamy. TOOCHAHY(?) POND (NPR [1775] 1:135); TOUPHCHUE POND , at the South Shore (Macy 1792). The original is neither early nor legible.
TUCKANUCK "ALIAS" TUCKANUCKETT (N.Y. DEEDS [1661] 3:53). Early maps show it called Petockenock [1630,1650] (Worth 1910:297; Fite and Freeman 1967:146). Today an er replaces the a, and it's called Tuckernuck, which Macy (1792) said meant "a louf of brad." TUPPOCKOMMACK (NCD [1678] 2:1,2). Unknown location south of Shimmo. WAHQUATNOY (NCD [1690] 1:30); WAHQUOTNOY (NCD [1711] 3:47) . Unknown location near Sesachacha Pond. Obed Macy (in Starbuck 1924:650) called it a neck. It was along the beach, between today's Quidnet and the Sankary
Map of Nantucket with place names (spelling by author's choice). See author's comments on the sharp points of Coatue and the Poot Ponds.
Beach Club, and probably has succumbed to erosion.
WAMMASQUID One of three places where the Indians met to worship in 1674 (Gookin 1792:207). See Aquidnet Point. WANNACOMET (NCD [1664] 1:5); WANNACONSET (NCD [1667] 1:11). Land just west of Wesco, along the north shore. WAQUITTAQUAUG (NCD [1660] 2:8, [1664] 1:5); WAQUTUQUAB (NCD [1660] 6:1). The Head of
I FALL
1 9 9 7
15
Hummock Pond, which was a bound mark for the purchase of the west end of the island. WASSOMUHKATTOG (NCD [1676] 3:41); WASSOMMUKKUTTUK (NCD [1690] 2:9). "That little swamp and river," near Squam Pond. WATAQUETE (NCD [1687] 3:110). From the mouth of the creek on the north of Pocomo (Masquapock), about 16 acres of "swamp," "run," "spring," "slow," "marsh," and "meadow." WESACHIMNUSSUD (NCD [1710] 3:24). Unknown location at Squam or Polpis. WESQUO (NCD [1664] 1:5); WESQUO POND (NCD [1667] 1:19); THE WHITE ROCK (NCD [1711] 3:34). Part of town near Lily Pond. Macy (1792) translated "Wesko" as, "atthewhiteston." WEWEDA POND (NCD [1695] 3:49). Today's Weweeder Ponds, at the South Shore. Macy (1792) translated "Wewedor" as "a pare of horns."
WONNASHQUOOM (DCD [1668] 7:44); WUNNASQUAM (NCD [1686] lb:55) ; WUNISQUAM POND (NCD [1690] 2:70); SQUAM POND (NCD [1691] 2:59); SQUAM (NCD [1704] 3:2). Today's Squam Pond was larger in the past (J.C. Andrews, 1983 personal communication). Wunnasquam was Sachem Nickanoose's territory, possibly encompassing today's Squam, Quidnet, and Sesachacha Pond (which may have been Squam Pond originally). WONNAHKTIH (NCD [1690] 1:30). Unknown location near Sesachacha. EltZJJbeth Little has long been associated with the Nantucket Historical Association, including positions as A rchaeological Field Director, Research Director, and Curator of Prehistoric Artz/acts. She is currently a Research Fellow in Archaeology. She is also a Research Assoczate at the R. S. Peabody Museum ofArchaeology and Phillips Academy, A ndover. She and her husband live in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
REFERENCES Bragdon, Kathleen Joan. 1981. "Another Tongue Brought In: An Ethnohistorical Study of Native Writings in Massachusett." Dissertation, Anthropology Department, Brown University. Cotton,Josiah. 1830. Vocabulary of the Massachusetts (or Natick) Indian Language. Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Series 3, 2:147-257. DCD/Dukes County Deeds, Registry of Deeds, Edgartown, MA. Ewer, F. C. 1869 Historical Map of Nantucket. Copy at Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket. Goddard, Ives. 1977. Book review of Indian Names in Connecticut by James Hammond Trwnbull. International Journal ofAmerican Linguistics 43(2):157-59. 1978 Eastern Algonquian Languages. In Handbook of North American Indians, Northeast, Vol. 15, pp. 70--77. Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
16
HISTORI C
1981 "Massachusett Phonology: A Preliminary Look," in Papers of the 12th Algonquian Conference, edited by William Cowan, pp. 57-105. Carleton University, Ottawa.
Center, Nantucket Historical Association. Transcribed by Marie Sussek in Nantucket Algonquian Studies #7 (1981). Nantucket Historical Association, Nanrucket.
Goddard, Ives, and Bragdon, Kathleen}. 1988. Native Writings in Massachusett. Memoir, Vol. 185. The American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia. Gookin, Danid. 1970. Historical Collections ofthe Indians in New England [1674]. J.H. Fiske, annotator. Towtaid, Worcester. Lazdl,James D.,Jr.1976. This Broken Archipelago. New York Times Book Co., New York. Little, Elizabeth A 1981. "Nantucket Indian Writings." Nantucket Algonquian Studies #3. Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket. Macy, Zaccheus. 1792. "Account of the Indians of Nantucket." Manuscript at the Edouard A. Stackpole Library and Research
NCD Nantucket County Deeds, Registry of Deeds, Nantucket.
NANTUCKET
NPR Nantucket Proprietors Records, Registry of Deeds, Nantucket.
Reagan, Ronald. 1973. "Salt Spray: a factor influencing competition between white pine (Pinus strobus) and pitch pine (Pinus rigida)." Student Research Report, Field Station, University of Massachusetts, Nantucket. Southack, Cyprian. 1720--1734. Sailing Chart. Copy at Stackpole Library, Nantucket. Original at Map Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Starbuck,Alexander. 1924. The History of Nantucket. Goodspeed, Boston.
1
Trumbull,J. Hammond. 1903 . Natick Dictionary. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin #25. Washington, D. C. 1974. Indian Names of Pwces etc., in and 0 11 the Borders of Connecticut: with interpretations ofsome of them [1881]. Archon Books, Harnden, Connecticut. Williams, Roger. 1936. A Key into the Language ofAmerica [1643]. Howard M. Chapin, editor. Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Tercentenary Committee, Inc. Providence. Wood, William.1865. New Engwnd's Prospect [1635]. Charles Dean, editor, The Prince Society, Boston. Worth, Henry Barnard. 1910. "Nanrucket Lands and Land Owners." Bulletin 2 (6) of the Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket, MA.
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Mary Coffin Starbuck's "Account Book with the Indians"
M
ARY COFFIN STARBUCK'S "ACCOUNT BOOK
with the Indians" is a sheepskin-covered ledger tracking the credits and debits of the two hundred Indians who patronized her store. She began keeping the account book in 1683 and the book was completed after her death in 1717 by her son, Nathaniel Starbuck,Jr., in 1766. Tristram Coffin's daughter "Great Mary," or the "Great Woman," as she is frequently referred to, was an exceptional woman. Born off-island in 1645, she and her husband Nathaniel were the first English couple married on Nantucket and parents of the first white child (a daughter, Mary) born on the island, in 1663. Mary (the mother) was the island's first storekeeper and Nathaniel invested in whaling. In later life she had a deep commitment to Quaker ideals and was instrumental in the growth and development of Nantucket's Religious Society of Friends. The population in 1700 was approximately 300 whites and 800 Indians. Short of specie and wanting loyal suppliers, traders advanced up to ten pounds of cloth, fish hooks, shoes, shot, kettles, and more in exchange for feathers and fish - and Mary's company store was born. The use of the credit system depended on the courts allowing the Indians to be sued for debt, and they were. Mary's book shows accounts for as many as 200 Indians, who were primarily engaged in codfishing and fowling but were also performing routine manual labor, and later whaling. In return for their efforts they received necessary tools, cloth, and supplies as well as a lesson in the English economic system. An example of one account in the book is for Tom Poney [Pone, Pony] who in 1734 and 1735 bought from the general store such items as blankets, cornmeal, meat, thread, tobacco, a great coat, women's shoes, candles, molasses, and seed corn among other things. For the same years he was credited for "fish caught at Siasconset," a "share of a whale got with John HISTORIC
NANTUCKET
Russel," "share of a whale got with Shubael Folger at Cansco," fish caught at Shawkemo, and a "share of a whale caught with Jethro Folger." He was also credited for his labor, "washing sheep" and "plowing two acreas." In 1737 he was even given credit for labor performed by his sister: "carding wool." A study of the account book, held in the Edouard A. Stackpole Library and Research Center, introduces readers to Indian names, their businesses, and the economy of the island. According to Elizabeth Little, "it is a treasure trove of data about Indian life on Nantucket covering the years 1683, when the cod-fishing industry of Nantucket got under way, to 1764, when most of the Indians died of a tragic illness." It is an invaluable research tool and a lasting document meticulously kept by a great woman of Nantucket.
by
Helen Stehling has been summering on the island for twenty-five years. She is a valued volunteer for the NHA, indexing logs for our library and research center for close to ten years. When she is not in Nantucket, she lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
A page from
Helen Stehling
Mary Coffin Starbuck's account book.
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1997 17
Historic Nantucket Book Section Review by Nathaniel
Philbrick
The Perfect Storm, by SebastianJunger. Published by W. W. Norton & Company; hardcover, $23 .95.
T
HE
No -NAME,
OR HALLOWEEN, STORM OF
1991- a "perfect storm" in a meteorological sense and the subject of Sebastian Junger's new book- packed a wallop that had not been seen on Nantucket since the Blizzard of 1978. Seventy-eight-mile-an-hour winds from the northeast carved out more than forty feet from the bottom of Sankary Bluff and made temporary islands out of Smith Point and Great Point. Waves swept across Coatue, piling up scallops on the south shore of the harbor and scattering more than sixty boats across Monomoy and the Creeks, some within a stone's throw of the Milestone Rotary. Four cottages were completely destroyed on Old North Wharf. A fireman in a rescue boat on Easy Street reported hitting the roof of a submerged car with his prop. Two sand sharks were washed into the Brant Point Rotary. For my part, the dinghy we kept at Children's Beach was eventually found tied to a tree in front of the Gordon Folger Hotel (now the Point Breeze). Living on an eroding sandbank that is more than twenty-four miles out to sea, Nantucketers can sympathize, perhaps more than their mainland counterparts, with those unfortunate enough to find themselves on the Atlantic in a big blow. Just about every northeaster crowds the end of the town pier with fishing vessels in safe harbor, many of them not unlike the Andrea Gail, the doomed swordfishing boat from Gloucester whose story is the centerpiece of The Perfect Storm - a book that should be required reading for all who call Nantucket home. As Junger makes chillingly clear, experiencing a gale from a beach is a very different thing from being out there, well to the east of the Grand Banks, trying to make your way home through waves approaching a hundred feet high. A hundred feet! Since the Andrea Gail never made it back, much of Junger's book is speculative, but his ability to make us care about the
18
H I ST O RI C
N A N T U_ C_K _ ' _E_T_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
boat's crewmembers turns this into a harrowing, pageturning, and always instructive read as we learn about oceanography, meteorology, the port of G loucester, fishing, and, finally, what it is like to drown. In 1771, the day after a "most terrible gale of wind" wrecked a ship on the east end of the island (killing the captain and his mate), a retired Nantucket whaleman by the name of Peleg Folger took pen to paper and expressed his sympathy for all those "between here and New York ... [who] endured a world of misery and distress" at sea. As readers of Junger's book will tell you, despite the technological advances of the last two hundred years, the sea can still be "a world of misery and distress" for all who find themselves in a storm.
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Quaker Nantucket: The Religious Community Behind the Whaling Empire, by Robert]. Leach and Peter Gow. Published by Mill Hill Press; hardcover; $29.95.
S
CH OLAR, EDU CA TOR AND ELDER I
THE
Religious Society of Friends, Robert Leach's tenacious personal quest to understand the spiritual impact of the society's legacy on Nantucket has led - after fifty-six years of research and reading - to an amazing compilation of historical information previously unavailable to the public. Leach and editor-historian Peter Gow have worked closely together to write Quaker Nantucket and have accomplished a thorough and engaging history of the religious community. The story of producing this unique book is almost as interesting as its contents. During a recent interview, Leach stated that throughout his life there have been incidents of what he called "divine synchronicity" - where an all too perfectly coincidental connection with people leads down quite extraordinary paths.
HISTORIC
NANTUCKET
Back in 1940, one such mystically synchronized Review by moment became the spark for Quaker Nantucket. Rose Gonnella Leach, who spent his youth on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, traveled New England during his college days. During those travels and education he embraced the Quaker faith and became interested in its history, especially that of Nantucket. As a newly practicing member of the Society of Friends he attended a meeting in Rhode Island (meetings on Nantucket had long been suspended). To his surprise, an agenda item for the Nantucket Meeting was submitted. This led to the discovery that although the Nantucket Quakers had left the island in the early 1890s, their descendants were still practicing under the antucket name in Rhode Island. Curious, he asked questions that eventually led to the discovery of a large cache of documents that were the records of the Quaker Meetings on Nantucket dating back to 1708. Leach explained that the records were found in an old farm building in a safe, and when it was opened he made the thrilling discovery that "it held a great collection of stuff." The Quakers kept extensive business records. Thousands of papers listing hundreds of names, dates, and events were recovered that were once believed lost in Nantucket's Great Fire of 1846. Over the decades since, Leach has read every page and taken over 500 pages of notes. Leach, 82, currently lives in the Swiss Alps, so he "can ski - of course." But his travels have taken him to Southeast Asia, Africa, India, the Pacific, and countless other places. Wherever possible he attends a Religious Society of Friends meeting and seeks out descendants of Nantucket Quakers. Because of his extensive research, reading, and meticulous recording of data, Leach is able to recall the historic Quaker people in intimate detail. He talks vividly about individuals and families, the importance of certain marriages, and other events concerning the Quakers and Nantucket history. His discussions offer a great amount of insight into island economics, their depth of faith, and the resulting society. Each chapter in Quaker Nantucket starts with a "vignette" on a specific event or important moment in the history. The vignettes were Gow's idea, and were written by him. But these little stories certainly must have been inspired by Leach's ability to discuss the people of history as though they were still walking the streets of Nantucket. FALL
199719
NH A
Above: Carolyn MacKenzie, Mellie Cooper, and Dorothy Slover at the preview party /or the Antiques Show. Middle: Antiques Show chair Carolyn MacKenzie with honorary chairs Max and Heidi Berry. Far right: Oneo/the raffle items /or the show was a painting, "Hooked Rug: Ship's Portrait,"
by Mellie Cooper. Photographs by Jeffrey S Allen
20
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NEWS
ANTIQUES SHOW The twentieth annual Antiques Show held August 8-10, the primary fundraising benefit for the NHA, was once again a huge success. The event broke records and raised over $200,000. From the impressive lineup of events surrounding the weekend to the show's creative decorative touches, chair Carolyn MacKenzie and her talented committee did outstanding work for the NHA. The theme of this year's show was the NHA's collection of journals and logs kept during the voyages of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century whaleships. Not only did the illustrations from the logs and journals serve as dramatic and beautiful backdrops to the show, they connected the event to Nantucket's past and to the richness of the NHA's collection. "The logs and journals were a special part of the show, adding an educational depth and a visual focus," said Carolyn MacKenzie. The show, managed by the Antiques Council, presented among thirty-nine dealers some of the country's most notable. The range of antiques included fine silver, rare books, oriental rugs, maps, folk art, paintings and marine collectibles, and furniture of English, American, and European origins from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. "We were very pleased with the number of people who attended the show and participated in the related activities, including a lecture by Dr. Malcolm Rogers, the Ann and Graham Gund Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; an exciting raffle; and other special evening events," said MacKenzie. Many thanks to the wonderful committee of volunteers, especially the committee chairs. "Everyone worked well together and we all had a great deal of fun. I would like to add a heartfelt thank you to Mellie Cooper for her magic in transforming the high school for the preview party," added MacKenzie. Special thanks also go to honorary chairs Max and Heidi Berry for their enthusiastic support. The contribution of the N A N T U C K E T
show's lead sponsor, the Chase Manhattan Private Bank, is greatly appreciated. And, finally, thanks to the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, J & H Marsh & McLennan, Yankee Candle Company, and Michael Kittredge for their sponsorship.
STACKPOLE KEYNOTES 1997 ANNUAL MEETING The Nantucket Historical Association held its 103rd Annual Meeting in the Whaling Museum's Sanderson Hall on July 11 to a full house of members who voted on a variety of issues including the election of several new trustees. Renny A. Stackpole was named Nantucket Historical Association Research Fellow and delivered the keynote address. Elected to the board of trustees were Dr. Alice
Emerson, Mrs. Hamilton Heard, Jr. , Mrs. Edmund A. Hajim, Mrs. Jane T. Lamb, Mr. Steven Rales, and Mr. Robert A. Young. Board president Dorothy Slover also recognized three valued trustees who are leaving theboard - Ms. Nancy A. Chase, Ms. Kimberly C.
Corkran, and Mr. Erwin L. Greenberg. There was much interest in the recognition of Renny A. Stackpole as Research Fellow. His citation read "for significant research and a lifelong commitment to the history of Nantucket, for services to the Nantucket Historical Association as curator, advisor, and consultant historian, and for an outstanding career as an educator whose generosity as a speaker, writer, and museum administrator has carried the history and values of the Nantucket community well beyond its own shores." He joins Dr. Elizabeth Little and Nathaniel Philbrick, who were named Research Fellows last year. In his keynote address, "The Whaling Museum: New Perspectives," Stackpole remembered visiting the museum as a child and the pleasure of caring for the exhibits as NHA curator. Then he reported on what the museum can be in the future: a place to examine the mechanics of whaling as well as to illustrate the "human side" of whaling. He imagines a museum that gives faces to the people who whaled, and to those who were left behind. FALL
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MASONIC RECORDS REPORT Mary Woodruff, NHA docent for several years and now pursuing her M.L.S. at Simmons College, has been processing a collection of papers and artifacts from the Union Lodge this summer. The items, including papers, books, photographs, medals, a sound recording, posters, certificates, newspaper clippings, silk aprons, and jewels, are being arranged chronologically and placed in acid-free folders and boxes. A descriptive list of the contents of each folder or box is being created for easy access to information and artifacts. Records span the creation of the lodge to the present day and include the names of prominent Nantucketers from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. The Nantucket Union Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, founded in 1771, is one of the oldest chapters in the nation. Its members use the Masonic ideals of brotherhood and public service to improve their community. Filed in the correspondence of the lodge was a copy of a letter dating from 1778 requesting a fellow Mason to act on behalf of the crew of the privateer brig General Gadsden. Captain John Horn and his crew, which included several Union Lodge members, were held on the prison ship Prince of Wales. A representative of the Union Lodge wrote to Brother Barber and asked if he could use some means "for them to git their freedom. " Most of the records, however, are much less exciting, but more typical, such as one letter from a researcher in 1942 who wrote to the Union Lodge asking for information about his great-great grandfather, a past member. The work done this summer will ensure that these records will be accessible for future similar requests.
GRANTFROM BANKBOSTONPRIVATEBANK For the second year, BankBoston Private Bank has given the NHA a grant to support our Away Off Shore exhibition at the Peter Foulger Museum. Because of its generosity we are able to open the museum year-round and to provide educational programs for island students. We are grateful for its generous support.
RH.MACY The production crew of A & E's "Biography" paid a visit to Nantucket in July. Planning a segment on RH. Macy, the founder of Macy's department store, they accessed the resources of the library, visited several NHA properties, and toured the downtown area. R H. Macy was born on Nantucket in 1822 and left the HISTORIC
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island at the age of 15 on a whaler; for more information, tune in. The segment will air Thanksgiving Day (check your TV listings for the exact time). Look for images from the library's photograph and manuscript collections and a special appearance by Nat Philbrick, director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies and NHA Research Fellow.
STAFF NEWS Dublin Seminar on New England Textiles On June 28 and 29, registrar Aimee Newell attended Boston University's Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife, an annual conference on aspects of New England's history and material culture, at Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts. The topic for this year's seminar was "Textiles in Early New England: Design, Production, and Consumption." Eighteen scholars and museum professionals presented short papers on their current research topics ranging from "American Pieced Silk Quilts" to "Laces of Ipswich, Massachusetts," to "Youths' Clothing." Many wellknown textile historians were in attendance including Betty Ring, Elizabeth Montgomery, and Glee Krueger. "I enjoyed the chance to meet these women, since their research formed the foundation for the study of the NHA's textile collection," said Newell. "Listening to the way other researchers have pursued their topics also gave me new ideas about sources and approaches to the samplers and needlework in our collection." The seminar included a screening of the film version of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's Pulitzer Prize-winning book A Midwife's Tale, a study of Martha Ballard's diary covering her daily life from 1785 until her death in 1812 while she kept house and performed midwifery duti~ in Hallowell, Maine. Plans are under way now for another Dublin Seminar on textiles in 1999. This past July, Michael Jehle, director of museums and curator, was awarded a scholarship from the Getty Foundation to attend the Museum Management Institute held at the University of California at Berkeley. Considered one of the country's leading museumadministration programs, the three-week course offered instruction in strategic planning, staff administration, and nonprofit financial management. Mike will bring those skills to bear as we prepare for the NHA to enter the new century. On July 9, librarian Betsy Lowenstein attended a meeting of the Massachusetts Historical Records Advisory Board at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The FALL
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Below right: Capt. Samuel B. Meader
by James Hathaway, C.
1840.
Improper stretching of this painting
by the artist caused distortion and paint loss in the corners
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board has received a strategic planning grant from the Na tional Historic Pu blications an d Records Commission to work with creators, caretakers, and users of historical records to identify important issues and to develop an action plan to build a stronger, more cooperative records community in Massachusetts. An early phase of this project entails speaking directly with the members of the historical-records community to determine the problems the board needs to address. The meeting, although attended by only a small number of the local records community, proved a useful opportunity for Lowenstein to learn more about the program and to voice her ideas and concerns regarding the future of historical records in Massachusetts.
in New England - James Martin of the Williamstown Art Conservation Center and Lance Mayer and Gay Myers of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum. Thanks are due to the Mary Jane Egan Art Restoration Fund, the Tupancy-Harris Foundation, and the Allegheny Foundation, whose generous financial support made the project possible. The fruits of their efforts will be seen in upcoming exhibitions and publications of the NHA's painting collection.
which the Winterthur Museum Art Conservation interns repaired and inpainted.
Painting Conservation Internship
This summer the NHA was fortunate to host two graduate fellows from the Winterthur Museum/University of Delaware painting conservation program. With nearly five hundred paintings in the NHA's collection including portraits, landscapes, and genre paintings from the eighteenth through the twentieth century ensuring the proper care of that collection is an institutional priority. The Winterthur art-conservation program is widely recognized as the best in the country, and this summer's interns - Joanne Barry and Alexis Miller - used the most recent technology to repair, clean, and conserve over twenty paintings that had suffered at the hands of time. They were assisted in their work by three of the more experienced art conservators
Roger Grove Olson Memorial Fund Roger Olson grew up in the east, attended Amherst College and Harvard University, and spent the summers with his family on Cape Cod. In 1957 he and his future wife planned a day trip to Nantucket. According to his wife, Jennie-Rae Olson, "it was love at first sight. " Over the years they vacationed in Madaket and Quidnet, finally buying a house in Madaket in 1986. For the last five years they have owned a house on Union Street. "We could not be there very much but every minute was precious to him," said Mrs. Olson.
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In June, Mr. Olson died suddenly as a result of a heart attack at home in Moreland Hills, Ohio. The family asked that memorial gifts be sent to the N antucket Historical Association. The NHA set up the Roger Grove O lson Memorial Fund and gratefully acknowledges contributions to date of nearly $7,000 from thirty-one individuals and families and five businesses and associations in Ohio.
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Volunteer News Summer Volunteers at the NHA Volunteers have been part of the HA for many years. Their contributions to the organization have always been valued. Last year, Maia Gaillard, then director of development and public relations, and Jane Fitch actively recruited new volunteers. This summer, librarian Betsy Lowenstein , along with registrar Aimee Newell and audio-visual curator Peter MacGlashan, have followed in their footsteps, encouraging members of the community to contribute their time to the NHA. This effort resulted in both the reappearance of old volunteers and the emergence of new. This energetic group was involved in various projects in both the library and curatorial collections at the Gosnold Support Center. In the library, Jean Boutyette began an index for the library's collection of research papers. Kathrin J. Phelan reorganized the library's collection of oversized manuscript material, which includes ships' passports, marriage documents, and governmental appointments signed by various presidents. Paula K. Williams photocopied newspaper articles for the library's blue (subject) files. Benjamin Adler developed prints in the darkroom. Al and Mary Novissimo began work on reorganizing the library's map collection, identifying maps that were missing or uncatalogued and refoldering and labeling them. J.R. Judson, Jack Stratton, and Helen Stehling indexed ships' logs. Stehling has been a volunteer at the NHA for more than eight years. As she will not be returning to Nantucket next summer, the NHA wishes to thank her especially for her time this summer and many summers in the past. At the Gosnold Support Center, several volunteers inventoried and catalogued sections of the NHA's curatorial collections. Stephanie Johnes and Sharon Lorenzo catalogued the silhouette collection. Hildegard Van Lieu catalogued needlework accessories. Jane Schnitzer immersed herself in drawings. Carolyn Watt worked on the hooked-rug collection, and Nancy O'Connor catalogued ivory and whalebone sewing tools. Finally, Susan Boardman continued to catalog the NHA's samplers and needlework pictures, and to research the sampler makers and their teachers. Cataloguing objects in the collections consists of documenting their physical appearance and their provenance. To give a clearer picture of the kinds of activities volunteers have been involved in over the summer, the projects of three NHA volunteers have been highlighted. Gail Ward, who spent the previous two summers indexing logs, processed the John N. Welch HISTORIC
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Collection, which comprises eighteen boxes of magazines and periodicals, each having an article or reference to Nantucket. Gail read and summarized each article, and entered the information into a computer database. Her finds included articles in House & Garden, House Beautiful, and Architectural Digest that give "beautiful glimpses of antucket's finest homes." A descendant of several of the first settlers of antucket, Barbara Coleman White began filling in her family tree with facts gleaned at the Research Center in 1992. In 1994 she decided to volunteer at the NHA, and in 1995 she embarked on her present project, assisting Peter MacGlashan in indexing and identifying the photographs of the Edouard A. Stackpole Collection. The experience has helped her "a sw11mer resident, to feel more connected with this wonderful place." Workin g with the curatorial collections, Laura Mosher catalogued seventy-five bonnets. She described and measured each bonnet and completed research on its provenance. Volunteering at the NHA has given Laura "a glimpse into Nantucket's history. " As always, our summer volunteers have provided invaluable services to the NHA by assisting staff in organizing the collections and in enhancing the accessibility of collections for researchers. The NHA thanks them for their commitment. Please consider contributing some of your winter hours to the NHA. One morning or afternoon each week on a regular basis is all that is required. If you are interested in volunteering in the library please contact Betsy Lowenstein, at 228 -1894 . For those who would like to work with the curatorial collections at Gosnold Support Center on Bartlett Road, please call Aimee Newell, at 325-7885.
Volunteers: top left, Laura Mosher; top nght, Gail Ward; near left, Barbara Coleman \ÂĽ/bite.
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NHA Titles Available The Captain /ram Nantucket and the Mutiny on the Bounty By Walter Hayes. Hardcover, $100 Special edition boxed and signed by the author, $125 Available at the NHA office only; call (508) 228-1894.
THE
NANTUCKET WFATIIER BC>OK The Coffin Famzly Edited by Louis Coffin, with an introduction by William Gardner. $20.00
The Nantucket Weather Book by David M. Ludlum Paper, $10.00
From Brant Point to the Boca Tigris: Nantucket and the China Trade by Michael A.Jehle, with introduction by Carl L. Crossman. Paper, $10.00
Open April 23 - Christmas. Call (508) 228-5785 to place orders for these books or other merchandise.
MUSEUM SHOP One Broad Street• Nantucket, MA 02554 • (508) 228-5785