Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Nantucket Historical Association

PROCEEDINGS OF THE

Sixth Annual Meeting OF

THE

NANTUCKET HlSTORICAL ASSOCIATION At Nantucket., Moss., July 19, 1900.

On the morning of July 19, 1900, once more the old rorth Ve try wel­ comed the members and friends of the Kantucket Historical As ociation.

After a short time spent in greetings and cOJwersation, the President, Mr. William F. Barnard. called the meet­ ing to order. The Secretary read the minutes of the last Annual 11eeting and also of the Special :Meeting of July 14. 1900, which was called to consider and amend the Constitution of the As­ sociation. The most important amend­ ment adopted was the one relating to the election of officers.

After the.e were approved, President Barnard, in a short address. congratulated the As­ sociation that it seemed to have a germ of life in it, a vitality which authorized the hope that its existence would be co-existent with the town itself. One of the most a. suring proofs of life was his statement that the Society is now free from debt.

The Secretary ancl Cnrator' s reports for the year, were ne.·t pre,ented. These were encourag­ ing. e\·cn if the fireproof building is still far away, and even if one hears all through the report of the Curator the crv of Oliver Twist: "l\Iore, more!" ':l\fr. Charles Barnard. of New York, wa introduced by President Barnard, who was sure the former gentleman mu:t regret that his ancestors settled in \Ve tern Massachusetts, instead of on this barren .pit of sand. l\Ir. Bar­ nard urged his hearers to take photo­ graphs of every place on the island, which is of the least historical value; and also of the interior of the older houses. He aid that on beams and floors would be found traces of the adze, that wood man' tool which our grandfathers used with wonderful

skill.

Mr. Barnard also hoped that when next he vi ited Nantucket he should find on the table of the His­ torical Room a "fat" book, bearing the title. "Humor of Nantucket."

This suggested to others that there is no talk so racy and humorou , as that of seafaring folk and those living along shore, and numerous illustra­ tions were cited by Mr. M:o es Joy, Miss Elizabeth R. Coffin, Dr. Be,1jamin Sharp. l\fr. Allen Coffin, anJ the President.

The A,;sociation next proceeded to elect the officers for the coming year, and true to the spirit of "rotation in office," there were some chanires. Miss Mary E. Starbuck, whose faithful work has had so much to do with mak­ ing the Historical Association known abroad and appreciated at home, de­ clined to be a candidate again for the office of Secretary, but was elected a member of the Council. The Society was glad to show its appreciation of her service by a vote of thanks.

A most interesting paper was read

by Mr. Dudley on "Recollections as a Source of Hi tory," in which he proved that what one has heard becomes hope­ lessly mixed with what one has seen.

Thi paper will be found in full later in these proceedings.

Mrs. W. D. Ballenger of Chicago read the "Vision of Capt. Franci:; Bar­ nard." This vision appeared to the worthy Captain, TO\'. 21, 1772, on a voyage between America and England.

During his trance, the sailors, believing him dead. wanted to throw him over­ board, so he refrained from visions in the future. Capt. Barnard. who was an ance tor of Mrs. Ballenger, went from Nantucket to North Carolina,

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thence to Ohio and on to Indiana and lllinoi . Mr . Ballenger was born in a little town in Indiana, formerly called 'antucket. fr. loses Joy offered the As ocia­ tion copie. of the record of Zaccheus facy, the great-grandfather of Secre­ tary Edwin M. Stanton.

It wa probably a ·urprise and pleas­ ure to many when Mr. Auen Coffin told that En ign Bagley, who ha the sad distinction of being the first per­ son killed in Cuba, was a de cendant of Governor Jonathan Worth of orth Carolina. who wa a de cendant of Nantucket.

All the intere ting doing and ay­ ings of the morning cannot be put into thi report. but Mr. Dudley' appeal for the collection and pre ervation of every bit of printed matter which re­ flects the life of the town, and in any way is connected with Nantucket, should be heeded by all.

The Nominating Committee for next year were chosen "viva voce" as fol­ lows: fr. A. B. Lamberton, Mr. E. B. Fox, Miss S. A. Starbuck, Miss M. L. 1yrick, Mrs. J. S. Barney.

Mi ses Mary C. Wyer and Mary L. Myrick and fr. Charles Barnard were made life members of the As ociation.

An article of amendment to the con­ stitution was presented by Rev. Mr. Dudley, introducing the Australian ballot sy tern for the election of offi­ cers, which lies over one year under the rules.

An annual salary of $25 was voted to the treasurer.

The meeting then adjourned, and as we left the old room with its associa­ tions of the past and came out into the perfect summer day, the breezy hill, the sunlight on the blue water and the bu y boats, we wondered if Nantucket may not be the "land where it is al­ ways afternoon."

The annual lecture before the Asso­ ciation wa given at 8 o'clock in the evening, in the Unitarian Church, by Mr. Charles Barnard of New York, on "Nature Study 'Long Shore," illus­ trated by stereopticon views of the Atlantic coast, including not a fe,.- of the island of Nantucket. The lecturer was familiar with his theme and en­ tertained his large audience for over an hour with the formation of the At­ lantic coast and the islands along its shores. The formation of Nantuckc:t by the glacier and its subsequent changes by the abra ion of the ocean, were interestingly portrayed.

After the lecture, the members of the Association, with invited guests, ten­ dered Mr. Barnard a reception at the

Ocean House parlors. The dining­ room table were invitingly spread with choice edible and ice , of which the company were invited to partake.

A mo t agreeable feature of the even­ ing wa the ·inging, by Mr. William Conner of Bo ·ton, of an old ballad called "Maggie of antucket." The same gentleman contributed everal other songs, and before separating the whole company joined heartily in sing­ ing "Auld Lang Sync."

(The Publication Committee desirc:s kindly to thank Miss Annie W. Bod­ fi h and Mr. Allen Coffin for furni h­ ing above notes of the proceedings of this meeting.) !'resident's Address.

In gathering for the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Historical Association.

I am sure I am justified in congratulat­ ing the members on the continued pro perity of the Society.

The evanescent character of so many organization. which have had their birth on the I land, ha been such that the prediction of many of our fellow­ town men at the out.et of the care•!r of this As ociation, that it would go the way of all the rest, is not to be wondered at.

But our active existence has demon­ strated the fact, that the Nantucket Hi torical As ociation has the germ of life in its composition; and we have every reason to believe that it will be co-existent with the town it elf.

Very naturally, the first thought in gathering is of the vanished faces of those who e active interest was as great as our own in these meetings.

One cannot but note the rapidity of the pas ing away of the older mem­ bers of thi community and be im­ pre. sed with the fact that the names of the original ettlers, which were for so many years the prominent names of the I. land, are o fast becomino- names of the past. We, who remember the days when the town was at its height in population and prosperity, are moved with adness at the sign ificant dwindling of the old families of the place.

This passing away should be an emphatic incentive to us to gather be­ fore it is too late what may yet be in possession of some families, viz.: valu­ able documents and other articles which illustrate the manners and cus­ toms of our people, and so save to pos­ terity the evidence of the sturdy char­ acter of our forefathers.

I seldom drive over the Commons of our beloved Island without being

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impre sed with the thought of the re­ markable fortitude which mu t have been a part of the make-up of our an­ cestor who, leaving the advantages of • home on the mainland, where they could with comparative ea e go from settlement to settlement, braved the dangers of the ea, and the loneline·s of i olation, and drove the stake of their future on this I le of the Sea. They were no ordinary individuals, and their content wa a most striking proof of the peculiar characteri tics which have made ew England what she has been and i . In tho e early day. when communication was infre­ quent and the inhabitants were thrown upon their own resource for whatever social and intellectual life they were to enjoy, it i most interesting to think of them a overcoming the disadvan­ tages of their situation bv such in­ domitable purpose, and eventually suc­ ceeding in laying the foundation of a populous town whose inhabitants finally had a world-wide renutation for skill and daring which, in spite of great odd , conquered success.

We have right to be proud of such a race of ex­ plorers and persistent men and women.

It is to be regretted that so much of value in the history of that early period cannot now be known, and that for so many years the sentiment of a large proportion of the people was against showing any special interest in mat­ ters, which, if chronicled, would to-day be of the keenest interest.

The intermarriage of the early settler has, doubtless, been the cause for the strong attachment to their native place which has alwavs charac­ terized antucketers, an attachment which has a most pathetic side to .t in many in tances.

One of the sons of Nantucket in New York said to me, "I had rather have a shovelful of Nantucket sand than the whole of New York,'' an ex­ travagant statement, of course, but still a touching evidence of the un­ quenchable love for the Island home.

It is because of that love that this Association had its being.

In common with you all I rejoice in what has been done in the way of col­ lecting that which is to be seen in our Fair Street building. and hope, as you, that the store will be largely increased from year to year.

Perhaps enough has alreadv been said of our desire to erect a fireproof building, which shall be a secure de­ pository for that priceless collection, but I cannot forbear reiterating the appeal for the necessary funds.

The Treasurer's report will indicate that a substantial addition was made to the fund la t year by the gift of Mi s C. L. W. French of Bo ton, and we can but hope that some loyal son or daughter of our dear homeland will emulate the example of Mis French, and aid u in this most important matter.

A permanent and almost indestruct­ ible building could, doubtless, be erected for from nine to ten thousand dollar., and it would be a matter for sincere rejoicing if there could be a beginning of a persi tent effort at this meeting, for the completion of the fund.

• on-residents as well as fellow­ townsmen could undoubtedly be in­ terested. I am confident that recent amendments to the Constitution will increa e the intere t in the Association, and that there will be added to our membership from time to time names which have not yet been on the roll, and that articles of value will con­ tinue to come to u . \Ve want to ex­ tend the intere t until every Nan­ tucketer, native and adopted, has pride in the success of the Association.

Let each member be a committee of one to bring about such a result.

I wish it were possible to preserve the sea phrases, which were so com­ mon in ordinary conversation on the I land, as long as whaling was the principal business of the town.

Many of the words and phrases ex­ pres ed so much in such a small com­ pass that it is a pity they should drop from use and be lo t.

The survivors of the whaling regime will soon be gone and with them will depart most of the quaint and capti­ vating methods of speech.

It is gratifying to note by the Treas­ urer's report that we are free from debt and have a small balance in the Treasury.

The Secretary and Curator will re­ port the work of the year in detail.

I desire to acknowledge my indebt­ edness to my associates for courtesies and assistance rendered me, and feel sure I may express to the Council vour thanks as well as mine for their voluntary and patient services the past year.

In closing, please allow me to repeat with renewed emphasis my hope that our devotion to the interests of this Association will increase as the years roll by, and that our love for and pride in our Island home may never grow less, but, as loyal sons and dauP-hters, we may to the last of our lives cling

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fondlv to the belief that in all the wide world there can neYer be found a place of which we can so truthfully say, "It is the dearest spot on earth to me."

Secretary's Report.

Mr.

President and Members of the Historical Association: Time flie5 when nothing happens; and so, thinking onlv of the As ocia­ tion, it seems but ye. terday that we met to congratulate each other upon the continuance in health and prosoer­ itv of our beloYed Society. The ·ame felicitations are in order to-dav upon the completion of another vear of nor­ mal progres ..

Steadily the collection gro\\'S in ex­ tent and ,·alue; constantly are we en­ pected quarter of interest in our work; pected quarter of interest in our work. and in spite of change:. our member­ ship li�t suffers no diminution. \Ve ha,·e to regret the loss by death of ten ,·alued members. Four of them were re ident members. and all but two of • T antucket ancestry: l\1rs.

Lydia !>.lacy Austin. , fr. Oliver C. Chad\\ icl·, • fi s Mary Cartwright Coffin. l\Iiss Ella Gardner. Re,·. D. F. Round. l\Irs. Anne Mitchell 11acy, Mrs. l\lartha Sprague Elkins, Rev. Edward G. Porter. �Ir. Henry Coffin and • Ir . Anne Swain.

There have been three or four resig­ nations, a few temporary withdrawals, and there are several names upon the membershin list whose intentions are doubtful, but with the adoption of the amendment to Article IV of the Con­ stitution, it may be pos ible hereafter to keep a more nearly accurate list.

Howe,·er. again t our lo ·ses we can place double the number of new mem­ bers. Of the whole number, 288, g8 are re idents, and of the non-residents more than half usually spend the um­ mers at T antucket. D 1ring- the year the Council has held nine meetings for the transaction of busines and for the consideration of many questions con­ nected with the growth and work of the Association. These meetings have been well attended. for the members ot the Council, all bu y men and women. yet haYe the welfare of the Association very much at heart. There has been but one general meetinr;r. already noted.

The Council ,·oted to join the local chapter of the D. A. R's in meeting the Old Colony Commi sion and in expres ing the preference for a me­ morial to mark the Abiah Folger home tead.

At the request of the Council, Mr.

Henr y \Vorth ha undertaken to pre­ pare a work upon the Land Tenure of , T antucket.

The fir t three chapters have alreadv been received.

A Committee wa appointed to pre­ pare an appeal for historical material, and this paper was read at the fall meeting in Bo·ton of the Sons and Daughters of Nantucket.

In July a congratulatory me age wa sent by the Council to the Metho­ dist Church on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of it establish­ ment on the I land. This me sage wa presented by President Barnard at the first anni,·ersary meeting.

Later on congratulations were sent to the South Dartmouth Friends' l\feeting on the occasion of its cen­ tennial anniversarv.

Sub. criptions ha\'e been renewed for the Esse.· Antiquarian and the Engli h Historical imd Genealogical Magazine.

Through the courtesy of the editor, Mr. R. B. Hussey, the A sociation continues to recei\'C weekly a copy of the Inquirer and • Iirror.

The Historical l\femoranda, pub­ lished weekly in the Do,·er Inquirer, subscribed for by the Association for two years, have come to an end. so the paper is of no further interest to us. \Ve ha,·e bought the bound and in­ dexed Yolume oi the Memoranda. and l1ave al ·o two scrapbooks containin� the papers in the order in which they were published. Thc:e Do,·er records contain much interesting information concerning some of the early settlers of Nantucket, who. e first stopping place in America was for a short time the town of Dover. .\mong the pleasant incidents of the year , ·as the solution of the my tery regarding the unknown benefactor whose help in 1895 enabled the Asso­ ciation to pay off the mortgage on the ::'.Iecting House, and later, under the conditions imposed by the ·ame per­ . on. to buy the Old Mill. It gives us great satisfaction to announce that Mi. s Caroline L. W. French of Bos­ ton i the good friend who showed such generous confidence in the young Society.

In Augu. t :'.Ii.. French further . up­ plemented her many kindnesses by turning over to the A ociation the sum of fiye hundred dollars. with in­ terest for four years, during which time it had been held in trust for that purpose. In accordance with her wish the five hundred dollars, under the name of the French Fund, was to be The added to the Building Fund. accumulated interest, to which should

.I

5 be added that which might accrue until the time when the principal should be needed for the prescribed purpo e, was to be depo ited a a distinct fund to be u ed for the purchase of articles for the museum.

During the winter our heart were gladdened by receiving a bequest of two hundred dollars from the estate of Miss Lucia Cleveland of Perry, . Y., a relative of ex-President Cleveland. and a former ummer visitor at Nan­ tucket.

Thi mark of interest was apparently !he outcome of a genuine friendly feel­ mg for the lslana, ince there seems to have been no family connection with antucket; and if not more gratefully accepted on this account, .,t l�ast the gift wa received with a spe­ cial and tender appreciation for the thoughtful intere t on the part of one \\ horn. according to our in ular cus­ t(,m, we should have called "a st.anger."

Thi is our first bequest, and it also was added to the Building Fund which now amounts to over $goo. Not quite enough yet, however, to warrant our beginning operations at once. On this matter the attitude of the Associa­ tion is still receptive.

More money is needed each year for running expenses, for buying articles of historic value, easily lipping out o� our reach forever. and for pur uing h1 toncal research in various direc­ tions: and toward this end it would help greatly if each member of the As­ sociation should send in during the year the name of at least one new �ember. Membership as is well known, 1s not confined to the Island-born or even to the ancestrally connected but the As.ociation welcomes tho e' also who only regret that these privileges can not be theirs.

Membership fees, however manv. do not, of course, preclude the desire nor necessity for donations small or large.

One glory of a Historical Society is to have a great deal of money, and one of its greatest virtues is to spend it­ wisely, of course. but with a body of servant. chosen by yourselves, that goe without saying.

May the Trea urer's Report at the next Annual Meetin� show the results of individual effort on the part of every member of the Association.

Re pectfully submitted.

MARYE. STARBUCK, Secretary.

Curator's Report.

Mr. President and Members of the Nantucket Historical Association : Our collection of historical relics has been increased by the addition of more than two hundred articles, duril'fg the la t year. Some of the e are of great value. and some, perhap the larger portion, seem like trifles, but we pre­ serve the latter with the same care that we give to the most important feeling that nothing that may thro·,� even a little light upon the history of our i land, is too mall to be of inter­ est. . Perhaps the most noteworthy dona­ tions of all, this year, are two portraits; one a study of the head of Abram Quary, from life, painted by Mrs Da sel, the artist whose work i well known in the large Atheneum portrait of th� same subject. The other, a portrait of Arthur Cooper, painted by a r antucket woman, Sarah Gardner­ w3:s beq!-'eathed to u_s by his daughter, Ehza Kmg. The thrilling story of this colored man's life, seems to be known to but few. now, but is worthy to be related with pride by those who feel an interest in the part Nantucket has taken in the most eventful epoch of ?ur country's history. In 1822, our island proved a refuge for manv fugi­ tive slaves, among whom were Arthur Cooper, his wife and children.

An agent. sent from Virginia, came in search of these people, but our free­ dom-l�vin� citizens wei:e not disposed to assist m slave-hunting, and pro­ tected the fugitive , with much diffi­ culty by arguing with the officer at the front door, while, di guised in bor­ rowed coat and Quaker hat, Cooper escaped from the back door to another house of refuge. They lived in hiding for weeks, . but finauy the agent left, baffled of his prey, and the latter lived here in peace, all the rest of his life.

The man who ga,•e them a refuP-e was Oliver C. <;,ardner. and a graphic ac­ count of this ep1�ode, may be found in "Harve t Gleanings," a collection of the writings of his daughter, Miss Anna Gardner. who was an eye wit­ ne. s of the whole affair. \Ve ha\·e purchased more article� than usual, thi year. and as our ex­ penses are neces·arily summarized in t�e Treas�trer's report, I am goin� to give you Just a few details as to the pending of our money and it use in my department, for I think this must be of interest to you all.

We have expended about $75.00 for the following articles, which seemed to us of ufficient value to warrant

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their prices: Five pieces of "scrim­ shont" work, made on board ship "Spartan" in 1840; the ·e are beauti­ fully fini hed and are fine samples of the best work done by our seamen, in the leisure hours of their long whal­ ing voyages. A large package of pa­ pers, containing many letters, bills, ac­ counts, etc., connected with important bu iness interests of our town in its palmy days. A few pieces of good china . Several log-books, which, with some new ones donated, increase our collection of these, to more than forty volumes. A "Corner Chair." de­ scended for many years in the Pink­ ham family, and a fine set of eight "Lightship" baskets, graduated in size.

In our library, we have made a still greater outlay, spending perhaps $170.00 for this department, which is rapidly growing to be the mo t import­ ant and satisfactory nortion of our work.

Our ambition ha long been to po ess a complete collection of every­ thing which has ever been printed in �antucket, about Nantucket, or written by a Nantucket person, and so we feel that a most desirable acquisi­ tion is the collection of books ana pamphlets, purchased at the auction sale of Mr. George H. Macke·· s Nan­ tucket Collection. \Ve succeeded in buying twenty books and thirty pam­ phlets, at an expense of about $75.00, and the e, added to tho e we already posses ed, have given us what we may perhaps be pardoned for boasting of, as the finest collection of antucket printed matter in existence. \Ve hall not cea e our exertion in this line, however. for the collection, though fine. i. not by any means com­ plete. And right here, I want to im­ pre upon yon all. that we hope no one will destroy any old package of antucket newspapers, but collect and end to us all that can be gathered. to­ gether with all old reports, of chools. town expenses, Atheneum, Agricul­ tural Society, etc., for complete files of all these will be of great intere t and value.

In this connection, I must quote a few word , written by Dr. Henry A. Homes, who, for forty years was librarian of the general library of New York.

This eminent librarian singles out from among the most im­ portant of all the subjects of collection, the local newspaper. He ay "Much might be said regarding the value of the different cla es of book , a value which grows with ucce sive year .

We, however, single out from among them. for particular notice, the class of newspapers. For many towns and

counties, they are the onlv orinted rec­ ords of the earliest facts of local hi tory." In another pa sage, he refers lo this class of library materials as being "the fountain-head of modern history."

The e words we shall do well, I think, to remember.

A large part of the outlay for the library, was the price of a new type­ writing machine, which seemed to be a good investment, as without it, we must every year pay out con iderable sums for our catalogues, besides the necessity of making lists, and copies of documents too valuable to be exposed to view, and continual handling.

You will ee that with heavy outlay in other departments, our expendi­ tures have been larger than u ual, so our treasury is quite depleted at pres­ ent, and, unfortunately, there were never so many de irable articles of­ fered us as just now, when we are not able to purcha e. But we must try to be contented to progress slowly. and though we can not help an occasional lament over lost opportunitie , we real­ ize, when we look back over our six years of existence as an association, that we have been generously aided in our endeavors, and that the special mission of our society is coming to lJe better understood and appreciated.

Respectfully submitted.

SUSA E. BROCK, Curator and Librarian.

Treasurer's Rt-port.

NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. GENERAL FUND.

In Account with CHAS. C. CROSBY, Treasurer.

Credits.

1899, June I.

By Balance . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . .

1899, Dec. r6.

By Rent of Mill Land. B. F. Williams .. . . . . . . .. . . . . .

1900, Mar. 12.

By Amount from C. L. W. French Fund . . . . . . . . . . .

1900, May 21.

By Amount from Rev. M. S. DudleyBy Account Sales of Books.

By Amount Received from Dues, 1899 . . . . . . . . . .. . .

By Amount Received from Dues. 1900 . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By Amount Received from Dues, 1901 . . . . . . .. . . . . .

By Amount Received from Dues, 1904 . . . . . . . . . . . . .

By Sales of Timothy White's Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$79 .71 8 . oo 100.00

10.30 5.oo 145. oo 2.00 10.00 4 .00

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By Gate Ioney, 1899.......

By Old Mill, 1899 ........... antucket

By Hired from Saving Bank . .. .......

Debits.

1899, Sept. 9.

To Amount Trans­ ferred to Fire­ proof Building Fund . .... ... .. . 100.00 To Sundry Bills paid .... .... ... . 619.44 To Balance to Credit . .... ... ..

51.07

197.90 1o8.6o 100.00

$770.51 $770.51 Ry Balance Down .. $51 .07 Nantucket, June 1st, 1900.

CHAS. C. CROSBY, Treasurer.

Approved.

H. s. WYER, ALBERT G. BROCK. NANTUCK:tn' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, FCREPROOF BUCLDIN'G �UND.

In Account with CHARLES C. CROSBY, Treasurer.

18Qg, June I.

By Balance . ... .. . .. ....... $22 9.01 Bv Mr . Theodore Lyman's 10.00 Gift .... ... .. ..... . .. . .

1899, July 22.

4.48

By Intere t on Deposit......

189<), July 25.

5.00

By Mrs. B. F. Janes's Gift..

189(). Aug. 21.

Bv Mrs. Julia Macy Holbrook's Gift ........... .

5.00 1899. Sept. 8. ro.oo

By Harold Kimball's Gift ...

189<), Sept. 9.

By From General Fund..... 100.00 1900, Jan. I 1.

By Bequest from Lucia A. Cleveland .... .. . ... ... . 200.00

By Interest on the above to Jan. 8, 1900 ........... .

6.o6 1900, May 22.

Les Amount Hired on thi

100.00

Nantucket, June 1st, 1900.

CHAS. C. CROSBY, Treasurer.

Approved, H. s. WYER, ALBERT G. BROCK.

NANTUCKRT HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. MISS C. L. W, FRENCH FIREPROOF BUILDING FUND.

In Account with CHARLES C. CROSBY, Treasurer.

1899, Oct. 4.

By Gift Received from Wi11iam F. B a r n a r d, from Mi.s French . ... $6oo.oo 1900, Mar. 12.

To Amount With­ drawn and carried to General Fund. 100.oo $500.00 antucket, June I t, 1900.

CHAS. C. CROSBY, ..

Treasurer.

Approved, H. s. WYFJt, ALBFJtT G. BROCK. Summary.

General Account... $51.07 Fireproof Building Fund . .. . .... ... 469.55 Mrs. C. L. W. French's Fund... 500.00 Old Mill Insured for, Expires Sept.

I t, 1900 . .. .. .. . 1000.00 Building Fair St., Insured and Expires Sept. 5. 1900 8 oo.oo Collections In ured, Expires Dec. 4th, 1901 ... . ... . .. .. I000.00 3820.62 Uncollected Due�.

4 .00 1899 .. .. . .... .... l:ncollected Due , 19()0 .... ... . ....

19.00 Uncollected Dues, 1901 . .. .. ... .... 236.00

Membership.

Annual ..................... 237 Life . . .. ... ... . ... ...... .. . . 4 6 Life Councillor ............. 4 Total Member hip ............ 287 antucket, June 1st, 1900.

CHARLES C. CROSBY, Treasurer.

8 Recollections as a Source of History.

CONTRIBUTED BY MYRON S. DUDLEY.

Among the \'h·i� memor1 oi�tures of the writer of th1 paper 1s this one of a boy a dozen year of al!"e, mor� or Jes�. running homeward from a ne1g_h­ bor's house about a third of a mile away. It is an e�rly wint�r's mornin�, the sun not yet n ·en. His pathway 1 o\·er an icy crust that holds dow� a snowy co,·ering of the ground, lymg so deep that it caps the stone wall di\"iding the field . He runs with haste both to keep himself warm, and to keep ali,·e a fire-brand that he carefully nurses, for thi is to re-kindle the fire on the hearth ·tone that has gone out during a cold, windy. winter night.

Until recently. for year pa t, the writer has thought him elf that boy.

But reference to hi torical facts has corrected this childhood recollection.

Brim tone matches were invented in 1827, and phosphorous was applied to this match so that, by 1840, the percu It ion match was in common use. was my father's story of hi early morning trip between two neighbors' hou es after fire-brand that made so deep an impres ion upon a child's imagination that, in the passage of time, it ha been tran muted into one's own experiences. This is by no means an uncommon trick of our mental ma­ chinery: this confounding of what is merely a memory with what i an ex­ perience, what one ha been told with what one has seen or been a part of.

The late Edward L. Pierce. in a paper read before the Massachusett Hi torical Society, March, 1896, tells an anecdote of the late Henry \V. Paine to illu trate how what one ha heard becomes hopele sly mixed with what one thinks he has een. While still hold­ ing a foremo t place at the bar in Bo ton. Mr. Paine used to describe a cene witnes. ed by him when Daniel \Veb­ ster presented to Charles Sumner then a �outh. a pri e for an essay. ' Mr. 7: �ame, on readmg Sumner's Memoir discovered that he had fallen into an anachroni. m, a the pre entation took place before he and Sumner met as students at the Harvard Law School.

Happening to see his old comrade at the chool. Wendell Phillip . enter the Court room, he communicated his error, saying, "What a wretched thinP-.

The ex­ \Vendell. the memory is." plan�tion, is, doubtle "that Mr. Paine had_ m _early life heard the story, and, t«:llmg 1t often, had come to believe he him. elf wa. pre:ent."

Mr. Pierce. in his most admirable

paper, with the same topic a thi pa­ per. which indeed furni he� the ma­ terial, lariely, for w�at is here pre­ sented, give many interesting inci­ dents illu trating the fallibility .:i f recollections.

Mr. Pierce ays, with truth. in his ?Pe_ning re�ark . that "Th«: memory 1s m a . tnct sen e the ba.1s of hi . torical narrative. The hi torian draw his m�te�ials from record , new pa­ pers. d1anes, letters, and other written and oral account ; and these at fin and econd hand come from the me­ The diari t, who writes at mory. e\'ening the tran actions of the day puts in permanent form what he re: members to ha\'e seen and heard since morning. The general, who report a battle a day or a week after it took place, relies on his own recollections and tho e of others. But the memory, without which there could be little knowledge of the past, i , e\"en when only a short distance of time i cov­ ered, a most uncertain and treacherous faculty; for, the hi torian m u t keep it. limitations con tantly in mind.

"He must not, indeed, OYerlook other thing. -the honesty and fidelity of the narrator who claims to have been on the pot, the accuracy of his percen­ tions, and the advantage or disadYan­ tage of his standpoint, but a urning these conditions to be sati'factory, he mu t still be critical. e\"en ceptical, in the treatment of te timony; and hi cepticism should be the more exact­ ing the longer the period inten·ening between the transaction and the re­ port."

Mr. Pierce confines his illustrative example to e\'ents which occurred at a period of from ten to fiity year be­ fore the time when the recollection of them were noted or put on record.

Among his incidents i one of John Adams. Mr. Adams's mood wa· re­ miniscent to the last, but in reading a Revolutionary Pamphlet de criptive of e\'ent in which he bore a part. he was forcibly reminded of the inaccur­ acy of hi recollections. Writing to a friend. at the age of e,·enty-nine. he says of thi book, it "has convinced me of the decay of my memory, more than anything that ha yet occurred." and later in the same letter, he breaks out pathetically, "Help, Oh, help my _ me­ mory.'' Scarcely any one need wait to the age of this statesman to be co�­ vinced of hi own untrustworthines m this respect. Another incident i· cited in reference to John Adams. Thi5 wa in connection with the famous Boston Tea Party. Mr. Adam , doubtle.s, had some knowledg e beforehand oi the

9

coming event, though he did not know the exact date of the raid upon the tea ships, nor who were to be the partici­ pant . He ays, in a letter written in 1819, that he was in Plymouth at the time of the event, but his journal, and a letter to James \,Yarren, written De­ cember 17, 1773, show him to have been at that time in Boston. But there is a great difference in the power of the mind to hold details of the past regarding what one ha read or see .

The late Dr. Roswell D. Hitchcock. of New York. Professor of Union Theo­ logical Seminary, was, in his day, confessedly an inspiring teacher, in hi department of hi tory.

He quickened all who were in any way open to the touch of his knowledge and enthusiasm. But any student who came to him for a date or for a detailed sequence of occurrences, was almost inrnriably sent to books of reference. He confessed to a wretched memory for historical dates and de­ tails. He only attempted to put events of the past in groups. Mr. Pierce rec­ ords that Mr. Longfellow, in the seYenties, when he was asked about things occurring in the thirties or fortie , would say, "You had better a k Hillard." The latter was remark­ able for the freshness and accurac" ')f his recollections.

Reference is also made to the abor­ tiYe attempts to gather, after a consid­ erable time had elapsed, facts about such historical eYent as the Boston Tea Party, and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Not a single member of the famous Tea Party i known by sati factory proof. In order to identify them there should be contemporaneou records of some sort, journals, letters. testi­ monies of responsible person made in­ dependently, and within at least ten or fifteen years of the date. For obYious reasons, these were not forthcoming.

At the first, there was necessity for secrecy, then the stirring revolutionary on-goings put everything else into the background.

According to different statements the number who engaged in the Tea Brewing varies from twenty­ three to three hundred. You are re­ fered to 1Ir. Pierce's interesting paper for the resume of the little information that is extant upon this matter.

His conclusion is that no person has been identified with certainty as a mem­ ber of the historic Tea Party. At least not upon evidence with which parties in court could expect a verdict, or even could hope for a conclu ion of reason­ able probability. Another illu tration is accorded in the nractical failure of

the attempts to secure additional de­ tails of value in regard to the Battle of Bunker Hill from the survivors of that battle in 1825, on the occasion of laying the corner- tone of the Battle Monu­ ment. There were present on that oc­ casion, fifty year after the battle, one hundred and ninety survivors of the Revolutionary army, forty of whom had been, or claimed to have been, par­ ticipants in that battle, June 17, 1775.

One of the director of the Monument Association, vVilliam Sullivan, assisted by other interested partie , caused de­ positions of the survivors to be taken.

These documents, or copies of them, in three volumes, were sent to the Massa­ chusetts Historical Society in 1842; and a committee consisting of Ticknor, Bancroft, and Ellis was appointed to report on the historical character and value of the manuscripts. This com­ mittee recommended that they should be ealed up and deposited in the cabi­ net as curiosities. What became 0f them is not known. It was thought by _ome that they were returned to the Sullivan family at their request, and that they were burned by them; but it is known that some of the original documents have been, since the date of their rejection by the Historical So­ ciety, offered for sale at an auction­ room in New York City. Dr. Ellis, one of the committee, in a letter, to be found in the Proceedings of the So­ ciety for April, 1842, says. "I took the books to mv hou e in Charlestown and deliberately examined them. Their contents were most extraordinary; many of the testimonies extravagant, boastful, inconsistent, and utterl" un­ true; mixtures of old men's broken memories and fond imaginings with the love of the marvellous. Some of those who gave the affidavits about the battle could not have been in it, nor even in its neighborhood. Thev had got so used to telling the story for the wonderment of village listeners as grandfathers' tales, and as petted rep­ resentatives of the spirit of '76,' that they did not distinguish between what they had seen and done and what they had read. heard, or dreamed. The de­ cision of the committee was that much of the contents of the volumes was wholly worthies for history, and some if it discreditable, as misleading and false."

If we come down to later time , we find the same difficulty in determining anything as worthy of being called his­ torically accurate that rests only upon recollections of a few year's duration.

Gen. Grant wrote his "Personal Me­ . moirs" about twenty years after the

10

close of the war. He wrote of what he took part in, and of what he was him elf an important factor, and a leading per onage. He wrote of what he did, or what he saw close at hand.

Yet he was more than once at fault.

No sooner was his book published, than volumes, and articles in newspa­ pers and magazines came forth, abounding with prote ts, denials and corrections. Contemporary records conclu ively showed that Gen. Grant's recollections in more than one instance were wrong. He was the last man, in­ tentionally, to fa! ify.

His memory had simply lost its grip on the real past, and he wrote, in his race with death, in too great a hurry to verify and correct what he had put down by reference to the records in the Wash­ ington departments. He repre ents that President Lincoln, on his Rich­ mond trip, after Gen. Lee's surrender, gave Gen. Weitzel orders to permit the as.embling of the Virginia legislature, and that Secretary Stanton revoked this permi sion of his superior officer.

Grant regarded this as an illustration of what he calls Stanton's "character­ i tic," that he was "a man who never questioned his own authority, and whc, always did. in war time, what ht. wanted to do." Gen. Grant did not like Secretary Stanton, and in thi case he was unju t to the o-reat war secre­ tary.

For it was President Lincoln who re\'oked this permis ion, on his own re,iew of the situation, immedi­ ately ,.fter he returned to \Vashington.

It wa · among his last official acts.

Another illustration is pointed out in the magazine articles gi,·en to the pub­ lic some years ago, by the officers of the Civil \,Var. They were interesting, doubtless, graphic and exciting, but as a rule they were not hi tory. I mu t confe that the pictures accompany­ ing the e articles were so unlike any­ thing that happened south of Ma. on and Dixon's line that I was frightened away from the text. Col. Robert N. Scott, who had charge of the Compila­ tion of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate armies, took considerable ati faction in calling the attention of these magazine contribu­ tors to the disagreements between their official reports and what thev wrote after an interval of years. They did not trouble themselves to verify what they prepared for popular reading by referring to what they had written at the time on official respon ibility.

It may well be que tioned whether the two year old recollections of the la t war, "copiously illustrated." glori­ fying mushroom heroes, and familiar-

1zmg the youth of our great and hitherto peace-loving country with the physical contortions and un peakable horrors of the battle-field will stand the test of the Official Records when those shall be given to the world.

The le son of this paper is obvious. \Vhat we gather as records of past e\'ents in our local hi tory, ba ed upon the recollections of participant in that past, and put down after a considera­ able interval of time, must not be rated too high. For historical purposes such material is about worthless, unless verified by contemporary records, or unless it i supported by independent witnesses bearing testimony to the same event.

The Vision of Capt. Charles Barnard, A Whale Fisher of Nantucket.

November ::al, 1772.

CONTRIBUTED BY W. D. BALLENGER, M. D., OF CHICAGO.

In the night season as I was in my bed, whether sleeping or awake, in the body, or out of the body, at the time, I could not tell; but I thought I saw a proper man clothed in white, his gar• ment very plain, hi face a alabaster, and had the moon under hi feet and crowned with the un; and he said: "Young man, come unto Me, and I will show thee wonderful things, which shall come to pass, some in thy time." I drew near to him and he aid: "I ha,·e many things to say;" and bid me write what he said. Then he told me "God had raised up a people out of the sea of Rome, and the midst of Babylon, many of whom had sealed His testimony with their blood in the midst of the fiery flame., being chained to the . take. After thi God vi ited a people being their offspring whom He cho e a His peculiar people. All had for many years too frequently forgot God, for which a small number mourned and were bowed down. Yet the sword would visit the Protestant Churches and Nations, both in the old countries and orth America. He will a He hath shaken the Earth, so also shake it again. Wars and commotions shall cover the earth. Many shall be slain; then, 0, rew England, will He chasten thee with His Rod of Wars.

He will help you with a little help when you hall be in pain on every side; then will your Deliverer deliver you from the hands of merciless men.

Not by the arm of flesh, but by His arm a Mighty Power.

II

"He will then tum your enemies back again without o much as strikin11: you one blow. The nations hall have ome quietne for a short pace. But be­ cau,e of irreligion and the crying sins of pride, and oppre sion and slaves of the ·oul of men will He vi ·it, and .hake terribly the Earth. Many shall be pounded, in ome place with the rubbi:h of the Earth. Palene ·s hall be in their face . Many hall be ur­ pri.ed in their beds.

Then will he bring on wars and rumor of wars.

Then :hall not the . word pro per in vour hand.. Then hall you begin to fear and tremble. Then shall He rai e up a "·ation against you, or nations which before were your friend .

A de,pised Nation, eYen the heathen in • ·orth America, which hall slay, and carry captive your people, young and old. Then .hall the blood of the lain run like ·tream of water on the Earth, and the Earth shall be dunged with the hodie. of men in many place in North America. Then hall your mighty men fall back. 0, orth merica. thy sins are great, thy pun­ i hment is greater. Likewi e, alas! the worrl ,hall be ,hcathed in thy bowels until thou repent. 0, ew England, thy di.tress ,hall be great. Thou art full of oppression, and thy son hall be oppres.ed. and slain in battle. Thou that thinkest thy·elf strong shall be weak. 0, orth America, thy di tres.e hall come a one upon an­ other until the uffering, trying time come and more upon you. Young men and maiden shall be brought low, and bow at God' foot·tool. Fathers and mother· shall mourn apart: son: and daughters shall mourn apart. Many shall go into captivity, and fare hardly; many . hall de:ire death and it is not granted.

Famine hall be in ome place,. others distre sed in the wilder­ ne.s with a savage people, many slam in cold blood. The cries of the poor enter the streets of towns and cities.

One continual trouble hall follow an­ other until the inhabitant bow in reverence; and in true humility of heart and mind with Chri t their helper.

Then .hall your young men be bowed down and . eek their God, and maiden hall cry for help. Then hall your inhabitants that know not God ri e with that old spirit of per ecution in which time . hall your young men and maids :tand for the honor of God. Then hall Hi cho en church and people appear in their primitive beauty and purity. Then shall your young men and maids run to and fro with the

Gospel in their mouths, preaching in the dark comers of the Earth. Even at the seat of the whore of Babylon.

Then hall many suffer great per ecu­ tion; then shall the old whore have one more draught of the blood of the saints. But a short time, then will He raise up the powers of the Earth to help His children and church, and de­ liver His ervant , and then hall tqe Gospel be declared unto the ends of the Earth more fully than it hath been before.

Then God of mercie will make His church shine more and more : then will oppression cease among t His cho en people." So aid He and took me by the hand and bade me adieu. And when I awoke I was itting up in bed .

Thi. vision occurred on a trip to and from England, while Mr. Barnard was in a trance for three days and three nights. The ailors di puted as to whether he wa dead, and it was finally decided to wait and see. Mr. Barnard was con cious of what was going on and determined that he would not risk being buried alive at sea. In con equence, this was hi last voyage.

Sometime thereafter he removed with his family to Iredell County, orth Carolina. His descendant moved to Indiana and the Middle We t.

Letter of Seward Beard, a Friend, and a Descendant of the Macy11, also of other Nantucket Families.

CONTRIBUTED BY R • W. D. BALLENGER, OF CHICAGO.

Economy, Indiana. 9-4-1898. frs. \V. D. Ballenger. Evan ton, Ill.: Re pected Cou. in-I wa very much intere. ted in thy letter which I re­ ceived some days since, and am glad indeed thee "dared" to write to me, for I have been a ha med of my elf more than once, because I was so ignorant about our family hi tory, and the early hi. tory of this community.

It had never appealed to me to . tudy it up and I have alway depended on my mother. so I had given it little thought and I notice that we do not do many thing that we hould until we are pu hed into it.

Ye·, Thomas Macy, one of the original owners of the I land. wa our grandfather. 1a is the eighth generation. But I had never be­ fore known that Horace Mann and Cor­ nell were in the e families. There are no records of these early settlement that

12

we know of. Uriah Barnard was one of the very early settlers. He was the son of Timothy Barnard and Love Swain, and was born in Nantucket Is­ land, 6 mo., 26, 1761.

He married Elizabeth Macy of Centre, North Carolina, 2 mo. 21, 1782. She was the daughter of Joseph Macy and Mary Starbuck, and was born in Nantucket Island, 1 mo. 14, 1763. She was the sixth generation from Thomas Macy.

Uriah moved from North Carolina to Tennessee. Then in 1816 came to this county, living for sort1e time on the Jame Ballenger place, east of Mount Pleasant, and about 1820 moved to the corner of our graveyard, keeping hotel.

The little house now there was a part of the hotel and was built by Uriah's son John. He had a daughter, Anne, who was noted for her ginger bread, and they also brewed beer, so that this place was quite a resort, on the Sab­ bath. for young men from miles around. Uriah was quite a story teller -tales of events that should have hao­ pened on the Island-one that a man on the Island had a scythe so sharp that he could throw a sheepskin on the water, and mow or shave the wool off without moving the skin, and others equally interesting. It was these tales that got the people started to calling the settlement Nantucket. He raised a large family.

His son, William, owned the farm across the road from us, of whom Ma's father bought it, giving four hundred silver dollars as part or incomplete payment. William built the house where John Williams (darkie) lives now, a quarter of a mile northwest of us on the outh side of the road. He was the father of Nel­ son and Oliver Barnard of Westville.

I expect thee knows of Nelson, John Jordan, Jr.'s, wife's father. Eli Bar­ nard and Mary Cook are grandchil­ dren of Uriah's. Robert (father) Can­ ady built the old saw and grist mill in 1819.

This mill was subsequently owned by Robert Canady, Richard Williams (John M. Williams' father), and Jonathan B. Macy (grandfather), in partnership, then by AlYah Macy (Wayne's father), then by Eli Bar­ nard. John Sheppard and John vVil­ liam .. and I guess Elihu Davis owned it also. They also prepared to make flaxseed oil, and Elihu Davis made half-bushel and other bent-wood meas­ ures; he al o made sorghum molasses, and was a great hand to experiment, and made some molas es out of corn stalk . and al o made a wooden clock.

Grandfather was a farmer. but mainly

a wagon maker; was also agent for Fountain City pottery, jugs, jars and the like; he also bought hides for a tannery, did quite a good business and There was lived pretty easily, too. also a little town just across the creek, directly east of us, called Puckertown. founded probably by Jonathan Macy, my great-great uncle, who had a store, and there were a few other families in the town. This was found to be an unhealthy place, and when Charles Osborn (C. W. Osborn's grandfather) laid out Economy. this little place soon ceased to be. John Bailey was a very early settler. He built a log house of sawed logs near where Lindsey's old house used to stand.

Reuben and Lucy Macy, his wife, also kept hotel in Nantucket.

Alvah Macy, Samuel Swain and Levi Bunker lived at dif . krl'l!t times on this lot of ours, our hon1 c lot. The hotel did quite a good business, a this is a state road, and teamsters between Muncil and Cincin­ nati and moYers to the west and north­ west stopped here.

Many times m1 n,other ha seen at least six large CO\'­ ered wagons together.

I have had a very pleasant time hunting this history up, but it is a sober thought to me that time is passing so swiftly; nearly all the. e old pioneers are gone. John Wil­ liams would have been a splendid hand to ha\·e reviewed this history. I had a splendid time with Thomas Mar­ shall and Mary Cook, but my mother knew almost as much as did they. By the way, my mother's great-grand­ mothers on both sides were Barnards.

If I can be of further service, I shall l,e glad to do what I can. With kind regard to all thy family, I am, thy cou in, SEW ARD BEARD.

Letter of Jonathan Belcher to George Bunker of Nantucket.

MYRON S. DUDLEY.

Since the publication of the "Timo thy \Vhite Papers" by this Association, in 1898. a letter has come to the notice of the Editor of tho e Papers which throws an interesting light upon the work of this faithful toiler in behalf of the educational and religious inter­ ests of this i land. His was a disin­ terested ervice, foll of hardships and privations. And no wonder th-1! ometimes Mr. vVhite was well-nigh di couraged, and was sorely tempted to give up the struggle.

His chief difficulty was the lack of co-operatiorJ

and liberal support on the part of the men of his congregation. This coni?re­ gation at its maximum was e timated at two hundred; of this number the men were about ixty.

This letter shows how hardly he fared at their hands. And it also shows how deeply­ rooted was the sentiment that "hire­ ling priests" should not receive finan­ cial support from those whom they sen·ed, and how congenial was this notion to tho e who did not hold, gen­ erally, to the Friends' tenets.

Thi letter wa- written by Jonathan Belcher. Colonial Governor of Massa­ chusetts and ew Hampshire from 1730 to 1741, to George Bunker if 1 •antucket, who at the time the letter wa,; written was senior Judge of the Court of Common Plea for the County of Nantucket. He died ov.

24, 174<1. His appointment dated from 1729, and as ociated with him were George Gardner, John Coffin and Jo.eph Gardner. In December. 1744, Josiah Coffin was appointed to the position made vacant by the death of Judge Bunker. Governor wa per­ sonally acquainted with Judge Bunker.

The Belcher Papers, published by the lassachusetts Hi torical Society show that there was an occasional correspondence between the Governor and the Judge. For example. Governor Belcher orders of Judge Bunker two harrels of turnips on the uth of Nov­ ember. 1731, and on the 24th of De­ cember he acknowledges the receipt of the. e ucculent Nantucket nroducts.

In No,·ember, 1732, he writes to the Judge that he has received two barrels of turnip. and want two more, and adds. "I am a great admirer of them and eat no other root ."

Governor Belcher doe. not stand high on the Honor Roll of Ma sachusetts' Execu­ tives. He wa a man of pronounced character. po itive opinions to which he gave free expression, consequently he made many enemies. But strangely mingled with this positiveness wa an insincere spirit, a cringing manner toward those above him and an o,·er­ bearing pompousness toward tho e be­ neath him. The Editor of Governor Belcher's Papers writes of him : "Hi· fondne s for display, and his readiness to take offence at imaginary slights; his duplicity; his love of money and hi. har.hness toward those who were indebted to him, or who did not deal fairly with him, as he thought; his low opinion of human nature; and his o.tentatious piety, were characteri tics which contemporaries did not fail to

notice, and the knowledge of which is perpetuated in his letters." But the letter giYen below di plays the better side of the Governor' complex nature.

It indicates hi interest in the welfare of the aborigine of the Colony who are in a measure his wards, and for whom he ha. a fatherly solicitude.

This letter is worthy of a place among Nantucket document , because of the writer and the receiver, and because of the revelation it open about the elf­ denying character of one who devoted the best part of his life to the promo­ tion of the higher educational and reli­ gious interests of the people of thi Island.

On the third of October. 1732. the GO\·ernor writes a letter addressed to George Bunker, Sr., as follows: "As I am one of the Commissioner for the had the opportunity of knowing from Indian Corporation in England, I have time to time the difficulties that several ministers who are preachers to the In­ dians meet with, and among the rest those of worthy Mr. White at your Island, and of whose circum tances I have also been informed once and again by some of the reverend minis­ ters of thi. town.

I understand he has been now about even years in antucket and preached ( twice every Lord's day) to a congregation of be­ tween 200 and 300 ouls. among which you are one of the principal, and I find his chief support hitherto has been from private funds, arising out of col­ lection and subscriptions in and about thi town, and from the aboYe men­ tioned Commissioners, and although there are about sixty men that attend on hi� preaching. yet he has been obliged to support himself for more than two years pa t wholly by his school: and the fonds from which he formerly received considerable being now exhausted. he i at present under great discouragement. not seeing how he shall sub ist himself and family, but thinks he must be obliged to come away. Upon the representation of these things I sent for him, and told him he must by no means think of He bears an extraor­ leaving you. dinary character among the ministers here for a gentleman of good learning and religion. and of great mode ty and humility. I, therefo.te, think that the whole Island. and particularly tho e that attend him at publick wor hip, have a great blessing in him, and I hope you will think so, and show him your respect and affection by being willing to make him able to live and to

c!o hi� work among you. And as it has plea. ed God in His providence to set me in the . tation of a father of my country, and whereas I have conceived o good an opinion of your knowledge, vertue and religion a to make you the principal per. on in the civil govern­ ment of your I land, I shall not doubt your inclination and care to justify my conduct, and thereby to honour your­ self in employing vour power and in­ fluence to countenance and encourage true religion and publick wor hip of God among the people where you dwell. This, I think, will be the best foundation whereon to build the la t­ ing pro perity of yourself and family here, a well as their highe t happiness hereafter. or, indeed, can good order and civil government be Joni!' sup­ ported in humane ocietie without a ju t and proper regard to the honor and glory of God, in upholding his re­ ligion and wor hip. ·would it not be greatly to the advantage of all who at­ tend on Mr. \Vhite to have a church gathered and to have him ordained for your pastor and teacher, that you might have the favour and blessing of the administration of the seal of the covenant for yourselves and for your children? Pray, consider seriously of all I have said, and how ea y and light a thing it is to maintain a Go pel min­ i ter if it pleases God to incline your heart . You will think the charl!"e but a trifle. I have thought it mv duty to say this much, and I pray God it may have the desired effect, and then I am sure neither you nor I shall repent of what I have thu written. I wish you the blessing of this and a better world, and am, Sir, Your as ured friend,

J. B.

Boston, Oct. 3, 1732.

Per Mr. Gardner.

See Massachusetts Historical Col­ lections, Sixth Series, Vol. 6, p. 189, fl.

NOTE. In transcribing this letter there has been no attempt to follow Governor Belcher's abbreviations, as they would be difficult to reproduce without special type. The clause in the letter where the desirabilitv of an organized church is urged raises a question as to the ecclesia tical status of the company of people to whom Mr. \Vhite ministered. At various times, from Sept. 29, 1728, to Nov. 12, 1749, the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper were administered by visiting clergymen from the mainland, this being necessary as Mr. White was never ordained, and at the first service

of thi kind, a covenant was "owned" by tho.e whose children were baptized.

•1ow. the admini. tering of the:e sacred sacrament has alway. been con idered the function of an organized company of Chri tians, e pecially among the Reformed Churche ·. But here, four year after the fir t gathering of cer­ tain parties at a acramental ervice, •ve have the Governor of the Colony writing to one of the attendants of Mr. \Vhite' congregation a follow : "Would it not be greatly to the advan­ tage of all who attend on Mr. \Vhite to have a church gathered and to have him ordained for your pastor and teacher, that you might have the favour and blessing of the administration of the seal of the covenant for yourelve and your children?"

In connection with thi. matter, see "Timothy \Vhite Papers," pages 21 to 26.

Historical and Oenealoglcal Notes.

CONTRIBUTED BY MYRON S. DUDLEY. ORIGIN OF BUNKER FAMILY OF NAN· TUCKET.

Bunker, George. He lived in Ip wich, Mas . ; wa the on of William Bunker, a French Huguenot; George lived in Topsfield after his marriage with Jane Godfrey, and wa drowned there May 26, 1658. Hi widow mar­ ried Richard Swain of Nantucket, and moved to Nantucket, with her children

by George Bunker; these, at the time of removal, were Elizabeth, aged 12; William, aged ro; Mary, aged 6; Ann, aged 4; and Martha, aged 1 1-2. Have the Nantucket Bunkers descended from William, the Huguenot, of Eng­ land, through George and William 2d?

So it would seem. Upon this single life, William, on of George, of Ips­ wich, grand on of William, the Huguenot, a boy, ten years old when he came to Nantucket to live with his mother in the family of Richard Swain, his step-father, upon this single life hung the question as to whether the name of Bunker should abide in Nantucket. Success crowned his life.

For, on the nth day of April, 1669, he married Mary Macy. And to William and Mary, of Nantucket, in the time of William and Mary, of England, there was born a goodly company of stal­ wart son , as the following list shows: George, born April 22, 1671, who, at a later date, became a Judge in Nan-

15

tucket's County Court, and a corre­ spondent of the Colony's Governor; John, born July 23, 1673; Peleg, born Dec. 1, 1676; Jabez, born Nov. 7, 1678; Thomas, born April ll, 168o; Ben­ jamin, born May 28, 1683; Daniel, born Aug. 16, 1696, two years after the death of Mary of England, and from thence sprang all our Bunkers.

CONCERNING FRANKLIN AND FOLGER MARRIAGE.

A receipt given by Josiah Franklin, father of Benjamin Franklin, to Nathaniel Gardner of Nantucket.

Copy of a paper in the possession of Charles G. S. Austin, M. D. Boston, July 29, 1710.

Then red. of Nathaniel Gardner the full sum of six pounds by the order & for the use of Elezer Foulger, Junr., I say red. by me. o6:oo:oo.

JOSIAH FRANKLIN.

In a paper, sign ed by the above named Foulger, he writes his name as follows: "Eleazer Folger." This sig­ nature wa affixed to a lease in 1750.

Mr. Folger died in 1753.

It is an opinion very frequently ex­ pressed in conversation, by many in this community, when the subject of the Franklin-Folger alliance is dis­ cussed, that the Folger party in the marriage union was considerably stronger in intellectual and moral en­ dowment. It would hardly be worth while to pay attention to this locally prevailing opinion, except that it has recently found an abiding place in the archives of this Association, through a manuscript contributed to our growing collection of documents.

There is no warrant in history for this opinion. On the contrary, the preponderance of reliable testimony is, on the whole, in favor of the Franklin side of the house. There is not time to detail this testimony, nor is this the best occasion. I wish simply to tran­ scribe the brief and interesting sum­ mary of the Franklin family as give::i

by John Fiske in his Sketch of Ben­ jamin Franklin, in Appleton's Cyclo­ paedia of American Biography. (Vol. 1, pages 526 and 527.) The Franklin "family had lived for at least three centuries in the parish of Ecton, Northamptonshire, England, on a freehold of thirty acres. For several generations the head of the family seems to have been the village black­ smith, the eldest son being always

bred to that business. Benjamin's grandfather, Thomas, born in 1598, re­ moved late in life to Banbury, in Ox­ ford hire, while his elde t son, Thomas, remained on the estate at Ecton. This Thomas received a good education and became a scrivener.

He came to be one of the most promi­ nent men in his county, and formed a friendship with the Earl of Halifax. ln :nental characteristics he is said to have home a strong likeness to his im­ r:10rtal nephew. The second son, John \\.iS a dyer of woolens, and lived in Banbury. The third son, Benjamin, for some time a silk dyer in London, em·grated to Boston at an advanceJ ;.ge, and left descendants there. He t ,ok a great intere t in politics, was fond of ..,riting verses, and invented a system of shorthand. The fourth son, Josiah, born in 1655, served an ap­ prenticeship with his brother, John, in Banbury, but removed to ew Eng­ land in 1682. From the beginning of the Reformation the family had been zealous Protestants, and in Mary's reign had incurred considerable danger on that account. Their inclination seems to have been toward Puritanism, but they remained in the Church of England until late in the reign of Charles II., when so many clergymen were disposse sed of their holdings for non-conformity, and proceeded to carry on religious services in conven­ ticles forbidden by law. Among these dispossessed clergymen in Northamp­ tonshire were friends of Benjamin and Josiah, who became their warm adherents and attended their conven­ ticle . The persecution of these non­ conformists led to a small Puritan migration to New England, in which Josiah took part. He settled in Bos­ ton, where he followed the business of soap boiler and tallow-chandler. He was twice married, the seco nd time to the daughter of Peter Folger, one of the earliest settlers of New England, a man of some learning, a writer of political verses, and a zealous oppon­ ent of the persecution of Quakers. By his first wife, Josiah Franklin had seven children; by his second, ten, of whom the illustrious Benjamin was the youngest son. For five generations his direct ancestors had been the youngest sons of the youngest son."

Here we find the Franklin family in the middle class of English social life, the status almost or quite universally true of the early settlers of New Eng­ land. In the English meaning of the word, in the seventeenth century, there

1/ 16

was no aristocracy in Tew England.

What little there was of this condition centered in, and gravitated toward, the Colonial Governor and his petty court government. Thi was English and increased in disfavor a the colonists grew in individuality and became con­ scious of themselves. The Folgl:!r family wa in the ame statu as that of Franklin's forebears, blacksmiths, millers, dyers, clerks, men and women engrossed with the serious affairs of their own time , earning their own living at their various occu­ pations in their English homes, and entering hopefully into the larger op­ portunities of their new world.

An Ancient School Bill.

Copy of a school bill, in the posses­ sion of Charles G. S. Austin, M. D. Dr. L. s. d Thomas Bunker to Benj. Coffin, 1776, 23, 9 mo. To schooling Elizabeth, 4s. 6d ......o 4 6 1777, 4, I mo. To schooling Elizabeth, 1s. 8d ......o I 8 5, 4 mo. To schooling Thomas, 3s.; fire, 8d...o 3 8 19, 7 mo. To chooling Elizabeth. 3s. 3d ..... .

Thomas, 6s.; fire, 6d ...o 9 9

15, IO mo. To schooling Elizabeth, 4s. 6d ......o 4 6 It ought to be in hard, lawful money ...................I 4 r 1779, 15, 1 mo.

Errors excepted, P. BENJ. COFFIN.

Officers and Council for 1 900-1901.

PRESIDENT.

"William F. Barnard.

VICE-PRESIDENTS.

Myron S. Dudley, Henry S. \Vyer, Mrs. Sarah C. Raymond, Dr Benjamin Sharp, Wilson Macy, Sidney Chase.

TREASURER.

Charle. C. Crosby.

SECRETARY.

Mrs. Elizabeth C. Bennett.

CURATOR.

Susan E. Brock.

COUNCILLORS.

George H. Mackey, Mary E. Starbuck, Mary E. Macy, Annie B. Folger, Albert G. Brock, Annie W. Bodfish, Helen B. W. ·worth, �Irs. Geo. G. Fish.

Arthur C. Wyer, Printer, Providence, R. I-