Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Meeting of the Nantucket Historical Association

PROCEEDINGS

...TENTH ANNUAL MEETING...

-OF THE-

JVantucket Historical Association, JULY 21, 1904. �HE annual meeting of the Nantucket Historical Association was held Thursday morning in the vestry of the Congregational Church with an excellent atteJ1dance. The meeting was called to 'order by President Starbuck at 10. 1 5. The records of the previous meeting were read and approved. The annual reports of the Secretary, Treasurer and Curator, showing excellent and ene<)llraging progress made in the affair of the As­ sociation were read and ordered printed in the proceedings. The Presi­ dent read his annual address giving somewhat in detail the report on the duties assigned to him during the year and suggesting topics for future con­ sideration.

The election of officers being next in order, the list as reported by the nominating committee was elected witn practical unanimity, Me rs. W. F. Cacy and John B. Folger being appointed tellers.

In accordance with the suggestion of the Council, a committee com­ prising Mr. Henry S. Wyer, Mrs. Sarah C. Raymond and Miss Anna B. Folger, was appointed to prepare a suitable memorial to our late fellow councillor, Mr. Thurston C. Swain.

Mrs. Henry S. \Vyer, Mrs. Irving Elting, Mrs. Maria T. Swain, Mrs. B. F. Janes and Mr. AlbertG. Brock were nominated and elected a Com­ mittee on Nominations for 1904-5.

The Association voted unanimously to authorize the President and Treasurer to sign notes in behalf of the Association to an amount not ex­ ceeding S3,ooo in payment of bills ipcurred by the erection of the new building,

2 A very interesting relic was presented to the Association, devised by the late Mr. \Villiam P. Hiller anti accompanied by a note of presentation written by him before his death. ll was the sword owned and carried by Mr. Hiller's grandfather, who was a Revolutionary soldier in Washington's command. participating in the memorable campaign in Pennsylvania and J'T ew Jersey.

The following is the full text of Mr. Hiller's letter: This sword was worn by Sergt, Thomas Hiller, my grandfather. He was in the Continental Army from 1778 to 1783, served under General Washington on Long Island, . Y., crossed the Delaware and fought at Princeton anti Trenton, 1 • J.; wounded at Trenton.

I give and dedicate this sword to the Historical Society of antucket, Mass., at my decease.

WI LLIJ\11[ P. HILLER. Henry B. \Vorth, Esq., then read an exceedingly interesting and valu­ able paper on" Early Houses al antucket," following along the various types of architecture and their periods, and naming with much needed de­ tail the representatives of the :lifferen 1. styles now standing.

This\\ as followed by a delightful talk from Mr. \Villiam F. Macy on the" Humor of antucket," which he dil'ided into auticalisms, Quaker­ isms and Personalisms, giving amusing illustrations of each"hich kept the audience in so excellent humor that no one dared to leave for fear of mi s· ing some unusually choice bit.

The President then read a brief historical sketch of the Pacific Bank, prepared by Cashier Alben G. Brock, with the names and dates of service of its presidents aod cashiers from 180.1 lo the present time. Af�er atten­ tion was called to the laying of the cornt.:r·�tone in the aftern on and the meeting and addre. s by Lt. Gov. Guild in the evening, the meeting was ad­ journed.

It w::s thought by the Special Committee on Fire Proof Building ad­ visable to have a somewhat formal, but brief ceremony attending the offi­ cial be"inning of the new structure, and at -1 o'clock in the afternoon a con­ siderable numbe:r were gathered at the corner of Fair Street and Ray's Court to witness the formal inauguration of the work. The day was all that could be desired. A cooling breeze tempered the heat of the sun ar.cl gently stirred the lea,·es of the trees"ithin who ·e shadows were grouped many of those ,, ho had gathered to \I itness the ceremony. The scene was an impressive oni:: and one long to he remembered. Architect \Vatson and the Committee had done all in their power for the convenience and comfort of those present and to enable them to see and hear all that was clone and said. The exercises were under the general supervision of the President, who requested Rev. Edward Day of the Unitarian Church to ask the blessing of God upon the work about to be begun. This was earnestly and impre sively done by Mr. Day. President Starbuck then said:'·Ten years ago this month the antucket Historical Association was incorporated. One of the objects of its corporate existence ,,as stated to be the erection of a fire-proof building in which could securely be kept the 0

j jnvaluable treasur.:s that link the living present to the glorious and cher­ i bed past. l use the term securely kept instead of stored as it signifies to my mind a come-at-able repository always accessible instead of a \'ault for­ mally opened only on special occasions ancl carefully guarded from the eyes of the profane. It seems to me particularly fitting that our tenth an­ niversary as an As ·ociation should be m II keel by an occasion like this which denotes an important step in our corporate life.

Those of us whose memories run back three score years remember that this month marks also the Anni\·ersary of the most lt:rrible and devas­ tating conflagration, antucket has ever known, which in 1:? hours complete­ ly destroyed all property bounded approximate!) by l\tain and Ash Streets on the north and south and Center Street to the \\ harves on the west and east, and involved a financial loss c,f over s, ,000,000.

From that day to the present the cry of "Fire" has been a peculiarly ominous and dreaded sound in antucket. To insure a collection like ours is like attempting to repair the irreparable: once destroyed no mone;· can replace it.

And so has arisen the absolute necessity for a fire-proof structure to make impos­ sible the loss of our invaluable collection. Up tJ a year ago the consum­ mation of this desire seemed as vague and illusive as the dream of Utopia, but the Council at its meeting at that time decided upon :1 plan for raising money by voluntary subscriptions.

The plan prodded for raising by this means ·2,000. early one-half that sum already has been raised and that joined to the sum which has been accumulating during the ten years of our history has so encouraged us that we ha, e entered with confidence upon our pre. ent project.

We desire to raise at least r ,ooo more in this way and we believe that the natives of antucket and its friends will rally to the cause and assure us this amount. \Ve are glad to receive any sum however small.

But I am not expected at this time to make the principal address to you.

The day will be sufficiently strenuous to me, with presiding over the meet­ ings of this morning and this afternoon, presenting the excellent and elo­ quent speaker who will adclrc:ss us this evening, and whom I hope all of) ou and all of your friends will be able to hear, and with presiding 0\'er the re­ ception that follows the evening address, to excuse me from extended re­ marks.

It now becomes my duty as !'resident of the Association formally to lay the corner stone of the new building of which we hope and expect so much."

He then proceeded to the formal laying of the corner stone, which was placed at the south ea t corner of the intended vestibule. A copper box, carefully sealed and containing the following n,1mcd do uments was put in­ to position on a bed of carefully tamped cement: l'rocccdings ol the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th annual meetings: Quakerism on antucket since 1800, Vol. r, Bulletin r; Timothy White Papers, Vol. r, Bulletin 2; Nan­ tucket Lands and Land Owners, Vol.:?, Bulletins ,, 2, 3, 4; A Century of Free Masonry on antucket, Vol 3, Bulletin ,; Constitution and By Laws,

4 1894; Constitution and By-Laws, 1901; Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror, July 16th 1904·1 Photograph of exterior of Friends' Meeting House; Half-tone eng:aving of interior of Friends' Meeting House, used for Collections of N. H. A.; Historic Sites.

Over the box was placed a layer of cement, and the President closed with expressing the hope that the corne� -stone thus laid might mark an era of even increased prosperity to the Association.

Mr. Starbuck then said that no occasion of this nature seemed to be complete without a kindly God-speed from the resident clergy and re-­ quested the Rev. F. W. Manning, of the Congregational Church to give to the ceremony that needed word.

Mr. Manning responded eloquently, drawing a useful and instructive lesson from the service then being performed in its fulfilment of a duty to the future by assurino- the p1·eservation uf the memories of the pa t.

He dwelt earnestly on the auspiciou culmination of the hopes of the Society in this particular direction, and bespoke renewed effort and interest.

The President then said that his own profession seemed indispensable when anything was going on and that his craft wa supposed to be equal to any occasion to which they were called.

He then presented an old ac. quaintance and fellow new;.paper man, Col. Robert Mitchell Floyd of Boston.

Col. Floyd referred to the fact that his grandmother was a Quaker and believed she looked down now approvingly on this work of preserving the records and traditions of a people among whom Quakerism was so long the dominant religion. In closing he urged those present when the building was completed to bring freely of their wealth of mementoes to enlarge the collection of the Association. The ceremony wa closed with the bene­ diction pronounced by R•cv. Mr. Day. The evening's exerci. es at the Congregational Church were particular­ ly interesting.

The President yery briefly presented Lt. Gov. Guild, who spoke for an hour on" Cuba as Spain left it," so eloquently that the auditors were sorry when he had finished. His addre s was replete with anecdote and told in some little detail the. horrible condition of things in the Gem of the An­ tilles, resulting from centuries of Spanish misrule, corruption and laziness, and how the sanitary and civil conditions had been changed under Ameri­ can rule. Gen. Guild was freqm:ntly interrupted by earnest applause.

After the address the members and guests repaired to the Ocean House where a brief, informal reception was held, during which many of our citizens and visiting friends were presented to the di tinguished speaker.

An excellent collation was sen•ed in the dining room by the corps of prompt and obliging young women connected with the house, and the exer­ cises of the day were delightfully and successfully closed with singing two stanzas of" Auld Lang Syne," Miss Susan E. Brock presiding at the piano.

5 SECRETARY'S REPORT. Mr. President, Members and Friends o( the Historical Association:The time in the existence of an individual or a society when self con­ gratulation is in order, perhaps, cannot be determined; but there is some­ thing curious in a society-not to say the Nantucket Historical Association for that I have in mind-in that the best form of congratulation on the part of an out icier is the desire to become a member. ot a hard wish to ful­ fil in our Association :-therefore who is left to congratulate us but our­ selves? And surely on our tenth anni\·ersary we might be permitted to contemplate with satisfaction what we are. \Ve have grown in member­ ship, in our collections, in interest and in usefulness.

These walls would certainly make it imperative for us to mention the Fire Proof Building.

Habit and association are hard to break. The echo of these words "Fire­ Proof Building," which have been our war-cry for the past ten years, mu!>t be caught somewhere in this Old 'onh Vestry, and the Officers' reports from year to year have done their best to offer a mouth-piece to that mys­ tic echo. This afternoon the corner stone of that building is to he laid, an impo.;ing mile stone in our progress. A good tangible record for this year.

May next year see the COlllpletion of that record. Tn the strong box in that corner- stone should be placed some unmistakable tokens of our labors and their fruition, that when we have become very ancient history indeed, some far distant generation may have reason to respect the past. Perhaps a nobler wish is that our society may develop on such broad lines and with such clear ,·ision, that the good which it shall do may live, recognized or unrecognized, and be stamped into the very texture of that future gen­ eration's life; for whatever the merit!< of Nantucket history may be ir, years to come, the very fact of our standing for accuracy and high purpose in historical re earch must be of tremendou import.

Our feeling of self congratulation is brought to a focus, so to speak, by the extraordinary character of this year, an anniversary year in which so much has been accomplished; but we could always felicitate ourselyes. It is comforting to believe that we always can in increasing degree. So my report for 1904 differs not widely from those of pre,·ious yea1s excepting in increased zeal which is a difference of degree not of kind.

The Council meetings have been well attended. It has bt:en the oun­ cil's care to perform their duties in a ,,·a} to meet the appro,·al of •he As­ sociation. The Committees for the past year appointed l>y the President, were:FINAI\CE. A.H. Lamberton, T. C. Swain, II. S. \Vyer.

MILi,. C C. Crosby, Dr. Benjamin Sharp, R. B. Hussey. }'!('TURES A, D FHAMING. H. S. \Vyer, Mrs. E.G. l\T. Harne), Miss S. E. Brock.

PunLICATIO, . Miss Brock, Dr. Sharp, l\Trs. Sarah C. l{aymond.

Bull.DING. Dr. Sharp, Miss Brock, C. C. Crosby.

Ar-;NUAL M1mTING. Dr. Sharp, H. S. \Vyer, Miss Mary E. Starbuck.

6 Of our Reception Committee, Mrs. Fish, Miss Bodfish and assistants who have ser·ved so often I need not speak. You have judged them in the pa5t; you wil!'have an opportunity to do so tonight.

In April our Association was left $�,ooo or more by the will of Miss Susan \Vilson Folger. Owing to litigation over the will it may be some little while before we come into possession. At a Council meeting held on May , 2, 1904, it was voted to join other beneficiary organizations to defend the will. On September 11, 1903, a \Vays and Means Committee consist­ ing of A. B. Lamberton, Dr. Benjamin Sharp, Harold C. Kimball, H. S. Wyer, l\liss S. E. Brock, Miss lladeleine C. Mixter was chosen with power to acid to their number. They were a Lost in themseh·es as the following re­ sults proved;-for on March 22d, 1904, as an outcome to their labors and the appeal sent out h; the President, it was YOlPd that a Fire-Proof Building be erectea on tho:: Association's lot according to a plan to be determined upon by the Building Committee to be elected. The Jollowing names were pre­ sented and elected; Alexander Starbuck, Di-. Benjamin Sharp, C. C. Cro by, Moses Joy, R. B. Hu ·sey, Miss S. E. Brock, H. S. Wyer. In speaking of the great success of the \Vays and llteans Committee, and the appeals sent out by l\fr. Starbuck, we have given the erroneous impression that we have all the wealth which we might require in building; but the Build­ ing Committee will furnish the sad fact that we still require funds .

As the Treasurer will tell you we have 232 Annual Members, 61 Life Members, 5 Life Councillon,-298. \Ve haYe lost by death many of our valued men,bcrs:-l\Irs. Lydia Hussey, !\!rs. Luc, ell a Gardner, Mr. George B. Upton, Mr. Thurston C. Swain, Miss Susan \Vilson Folger, Mrs. Arthur Macy, Mrs. William G. Hopper, Mrs. Cornelia J. Hammond, Mrs. Phrebe M. Coggeshall, Miss Mary C. Whippey, Mr. \Villiam M. Bates, who had Nantucket's interests deeply at heart, and \\ere warmly devoted to our As­ sociation. It is a comfort to have had such as they with us.

So another year has come to an encl. We feel-that we have gained by its experiences and are ready to take up any new work in that enthusiastic spirit which has always characterized our Association.

Respectfully submitted, ELIZABETH C. BE NETT, Secretary.

CURATOR'S REPORT. Mr. President and Members of the Nantucket Historical Association:­ The tenth year of our Association's existence promises to be the most eventful thus far in its history.

Our cherished ambition, that we have talked, written, thought and dreamed of, is about to be realized and our castle in the air is to become a fine commodious building absolutely fireproof without and practically so within, well fitted to display to the best advantage our large and varied collections.

7 The great importance of the erection of this building has dwarfed all lesser interests, and it is difficult for us to adjust our minds to the small de­ tails of our daily work. :,till a short review of what has been accomp­ lished in the past year and our plans for the future, should be of interest here.

The attendance at the rooms last summer, fell a little short of the usu­ al average of 1000 visitors, 935 names being recorded on our Register.

But, considering the acknowledged dulness of t he season of 1903, this was doing very well.

About 100 donations, exclusive of our exchange publications, have come in during the year. Among. t these are numerous additions lo our al­ ready large collection of photograph· of our best known whaling captains, a half dozen log books, making 55 ir. our possession, three years more files of the Nantucket Inquirer, five antique Nantucket chairs of different de­ signs, a number of iron and bone implements evidently of great age, found in various parts of the Island, and two portraits, one an oil painting of Capt John Hussey, the other a fine enlarged photograph of Mrs. Elizabeth Star­ buck, lo whom belongs the credit of the first conception of our Society.

We ha\'e succeeded in completing the catalogue of our pamphlets, and now our Library Cabinet contains four card catalogues, viz:-Books, Pam­ phlets, Names of Members, and Insc1iptlons from two of our oldest ceme­ teries. In connection with the latter 1 wi h to urge upon our members the importance of this work, begun eight years ago. The most difficult of our cemeteries, the "Old North" and the " Newtown," were then completed and it was the intention to take the remaining ones the following year, but other interests came up and this was never done, and it still remains one of the duties which our Association should assume. The ew England His­ toric-Genealogical Society has been working on this subject for some time and has asked the co-operation of all II istorical Societies in the State. In order to bring the importance of this before you in its proper light, I can­ not do better than to quote a few sentences from the la ·t Report of the President of this Society.

He says:" The subject is not an attractive one, indeed most of us would prefer lo dwell upon something more exhilarating.

It has been remarked, however, with much truth, that "He who remembers The fact that on his progenitors will be remembered by his posterity." the gravestones is found the :mly record of a large proportion of deaths of "hich no other record exists, is shown by the volumes of vital records now being published.

In one ancient sea port, the town officials recorded but 125 deaths between 1649 and 1806, hence the genealogist must examine the thousand gravestones for the missing data. Similar instance", illustrating the value of inscriptions, are constantly becoming known. Through neglect and abuse the ancient stones are disappearing at a rapid rate. A compari­ son of a manuscript made a few years ago, with the stones now standing, always reveals that a number of the ancient memorials have gone. This is especially true of burial grounds near large towns. The card catalogue in

8 charge of the Committee, in which are noted all copies of inscriptions in print or in manuscript now contains entries for over half the towns in this State."

If any of you feel as l do in this, that we should keep abreast of the times, and do our share of this work for our State, and will report at the Historical Room your willingness to assist, the work can be arranged in a s\·stematic manner to accomplish the best results. · Our publication of Mr. Starbuck's "A Century of Free Masonry on Nantucket" followed closely on the Annual Meeting of last year, and since that time we ha\·e had nothing ready for publication until the present month when the �th Part of Mr. \Vorth's "Nantucket Lands and Laud Owners" This Part contains two Chap­ has been issued anti is now ready tor sale. ters: Chapter 9, entitled " Sheep Commons and the l'roprieta1-y ," illustra­ ted with map showing the original layouts on the harbor, and Chapter 10, '' Nanluckct Land Speculations," and brings this important historical work down to its last division, the preparation for which is already begun.

In last rear's report the advisability of binding our files of Nantucket papers was ur14cd, and that thb has not been done was not owing to lack of re ·ponse from our members, as many came forward and offered substantial assistance in the expense of the same, uut we were encouraged to believe by waitin14 a little, we might receive more complete file,;, and in better con­ dition than those we 110w possess, so this work is not given up but merely deferred, and is part of our plan for the next year.

Of the many !Subjects that present themselve · as fitting- work for our Association I must mention just one more. This will entail practically no expense and therefore is especially aclaptccl for us lo work upon this ) ear, when all our income must be devoted to the new building.

It has been many times _;ug;g-estecl that we ought lo make a collection of hi:..torical items written and furnished by any or all of our members who may know little incidents, handed down from generation to generation but never printed or preserved in any clura ble form. Now we propm,e to start suer a collection immediately, and ask you all to aid us. Each person is request­ ed to write on leaves of paper which will be furnished on request at the Historical Room or by the Curator, any iuteresting fact of · antucket His­ tory, any description of l,uildings, tree:, or landmarks of the Island, leg­ ends concerning the Indians, anecdotes of the whaling times, the colloquial use of nautical terms. stories o[ the quaint wit and humor of the Quakers and mention of noted citizens or \'1s1tors.

These are to be sent to the Curator and when a sufficient number of items is received, the leaves will be bound as a book, properly indexed, and placed in our library. This will form an interesting volume for reference, for private perusal or from which to read extracts at our meetings. \Ve feel that the Association is only at the beginning of its career, its work is spreading out and increasing from year to year and the fact of its educational value is continually impressed upon us in way<; that are some­ times amusing-and amazing; for instance, only a few days ago, a visitor

9 inspecting the wax figure of the Dauphin asked the attendant in all serious­ ness," Did he live here ? " The possibilities that are in sight, opening out before us, inviting us to extend our aims and broaden our influence, are almost unlimited and rather overwhelm us with the responsibilities and labor involved, but, remember­ ing the generosity of those who have thus far encouraged and aided us, I have no fears for the future of this institution, that interest or zeal will be lacking in its fulfilling its destiny, which is to preserve for-those" ho come after us authentic annals of our beloved Island.

Respectfully submitted, SUSA E. BROCK, Curator.

TREASURER'S REPORT. ACCOUNT NO. I. NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION DI ACCOUNT WITH CHAS. C. CROSBY, TREASURElt. GE. ERAL FUND. CREDITS. 1903·

June 16.

By Balance,

By Dues, 1903,

" "

" " " " " "

18.32 5.00

"

1904,

153.00

"

1905,

96.00

Miss C. L. W. French Account, Sundries, .10. Rebate on Insurance, . 3 0.

Masonic Lodge-Sale of Pamphlets, Gate Money, Old Mill, Life Memberships, 11 Rent of Land-Old Mill, " Dues 1906 $2. 1907, 2. 1908, 2. 1909,

10.00 .40 25.00 155.00 76.25 45.oo

8.oo 8.oo

2.

Total,

599.97

DEBITS. 1903·

June 23. To Paid Robert B. King, 11 June 30. " Chas C. Crosby, services , " 11 July 3.

Wannacomet Water, 11 H.S. Wyer, July 16. " July 23. " " Elizabeth C. Bennett, sundry expenses, July 29. " " H. S. Wyer, July 29. " " Mrs. Carrie A. Smith, July 29. " " George W. Hooper & Co.,

6.oo 50.00

6.oo

23.00 10.00 11.75 7.00 14. 40

10

Aug. 22. To Paid F. W. Marvin, Sept. 3. " " A. G. Brock-Insurance, " David Folger-Insurance, Sept. 4. " " R. B. Hussey, Sept. 4. " Oct. 14. " ·• David Bennett-Bell, Oct. 16. " •· Waltham Publishing Co., " Waltham Publishing Co., Dec. 5. " 1904• Jan. 4. " " H. S. Wyer, Apr. 16. " " G. M. Winslow, " H. S. Wyer, Apr. 20. " " Geo. M. Winslow, May 3. " May 3. " " Waltham Publishing Co., " Postage, June z. " June 6. " " Elizabeth C. Bennett-Services, June 6. " " Susan E. Brock,-Services, June 6. " " Charles C. Crosby,-Services, June 7. " " Postage, " Charles M. Crocker, June 8. " " Sundry Bills as per Statement, " " Balance to Credit new account,

5.43 12.50 7.5o 16.79 11.50 39.25 70.00 10.00 12.15 14.00 7.00 10.95 5.00 25.00 25.00 50.00 5.00 24.30 . 38.31 82.14

599.97

Approved,

H. S. WYER, A. B. LAMBERTON. ACCOUNT NO. 2.

IN ACCOUNT WITH CHAS. C, CROSB\' 1 TREASURER, Deposited in Nantucket Institution for Savings, New Bedford Savings Institution, and Pacific National Bank.

FIRE PROOF BUILDING FUND. CREDITS.

1903.

June 16.

July 1 7.

1904.

Feb. 13.

June 15.

By Balance,

By Interest to July 6th, 1Qo3, By By By By

20.10 go6.50 40.22

Interest to Jan. 4th, 1904, Sundry Gifts to date, Sales, 20 tons 220 lbs. Stone, Life Membership, DEBITS.

May 9. To David W. Gibbs, 13. To B. S. Adams-Work, 31. To H. G. Gardner, To George W. Watson-Architect,

,, 65.00 130.00 5.65 100.00

tt To B. S. Adams in full, June. Weighing Stone, 7. To E.W. Francis, 18, 'I'o Balance to Credit new account,

17.51 .96 132•55 T 535.40

Approved, H. S.WYER, A. B. LAMBERTON. Nantucket, June 15th. 1904.

CHAS. C. CROSBY, Treasurer.

On Deposit as follows: Nantucket Savings Bank, New Bedford Savings Bank, Pacific National Bank,

1025.35 420.00 90.05

ACCOUNT NO. 3.

NANTUCKET HI TOIUl';AL AS OCIATION IN ACCOUNT WITH CHAS. C. CROSBY, TREASURER. MISS C. L. W. FRENCH FUND.

Deposited in Nantucket Institution for Savings.

1903.

June 16. By Balance, 1903.

July 17. By Interest to July, 1903, 190,1.

Feb 13. By Interest to Jan., 190�,

$500.00 10.00 10.00

DERITS.

1903.

July 17. To Susan E. Brock, Curator, 1904.

Feb. 13. To Susan E. Brock, Curator, June 15. To Balance to Credit. New account,

10.00 10.00 500.00 $520.00

$520.00

June 15. By Balance down, 520.00 Approved, H. S.WYER, A. B. LAMBERTO Nantucket, June 15th, 1904.

CHAS. C. CROSBY, Treasurer.

ACCOUNT N0.4.

NANTUCKET HISTORICA•L ASSOCIATION IN ACCOUNT WITH CHAS. C. CROSBY, TREASURER. JCSIAH FOLGER FUND. CREDITS.

1903, June 16. By Balance,

By Interest to October,

500.00 10.00

510.00 Approved, H. S. WYER, A. B. LAMBERTON. Nantucket, June 15th, 1904.

CHAS. C. CROSBY, Treasurer.

ACCOUKT NO. 5· SUMMARY.

82.14 I 535.40 500.00 510.00 1000.00

General Account, Fire Proof Building Fund, Miss C. L. W. French Fund, Josiah Folger Fund, Old Mill Insured for Expires September 1st, 1904.

Building, Fair Street, Insured for Expires September 5th, 1904.

Collections Insured for Expires December 4th, 1904.

1000.00 7.00 23.00 132.00

Uncollected Dues, 1903,

" "

800.00

" "

162.00

Approved, H. S. WYER, A. B. LAMBERTON. Nantucket, June 15th, 1904.

CHAS. C. CROSBY, Treasurer.

Annual, 1903.

Life, Life Councillors,

ACCOUNT NO. 6. l\lEMBERSHIP.

230 5S 5

298 293 Nantucket, June 15th, 1904.

CHAS. C. CROSBY, Treasurer.

13 PRESIDE T'S ADDRESS. Members of the antucket Hi torical Association:A year ago you honored me by electing me your President, an honor which I assure you was most heartily appreciated by me.

I trust that in rendering to you this account of my steward hip, the Association will show no retrograde movement, but rather a continued advance.

I recall with pleasure and regret my immediate predece sor , now gone to cc the undis­ covered country." Dr. Mitchell was an esteemed friend and school-mate­ Mr. Barnard a more intimate friend and class-mate.

They were true an­ tucketers, both of them, and our Association has suffered a grie\·ous lo � in their passing away.

My pleasure comes from the fact that they were my friends; my regret is the regret common to us all, that lives of such useful­ ness as theirs were not longer spared. They cc have crossed the bar" and have met their" Pilot face to face." l mm'!diately after the Annual Meeting of last year, the Council was called together, in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution.

One of the principal topics that engaged its attention at that time wa the construction of a Fire-Proof building in which safely to preserve the valu­ able collection belonging to the Association.

This for years had been a dream-to some merely irridescent, to others hopeful. ln the reports of the officers for the year 189 it was alluded to, and each year since it has formed an important topic in the published proceedings.

At the meeting of the Council a year ago the discu sion took on a more cheering character.

It was believed that the time had come when an appeal could successfully be made to our friends to help us in this important work, and it was voted to is ue such an appeal.

The vote was carried out.

The first respon e­ was from our late associate, Ge0rge B. Upton, Esq. , who promptly for­ warded his cheque for 100. From that time up to within two months, the returns were very satisfactory. Miss Madeleine C. Mixter a member of the Council by personal endeavor and contribution, secured about. 250.

Mr. William F. Macy follvwed up the good work by obtaining nearly 200 more.

The Association is much indebted to them for their enthusiastic cooperation.

So encouragingly did the subscriptions come in that the Council decided to proceed with the work of construction.

A sub-committee was appointed with authority to carry out the details.

Plans were drawn by Mr. George W. Watson and the contract was awarded to the Aberthaw Construction Co. of Boston, the builder of the Harvard Stadium and other notable structures. A study of recent serious fire , particularly that in Baltimore, as well as consultation with eminent eno-ineers, convinced us that the best materials to be used in construction were steel and cement, and those are the chief factors in the new building. vVork has been begun, the old building moved a few feet to its present location, and the new structure The new will be advanced as rapidly as is consistent with good work. building will be larger than originally contemplated, and is so planned that another story can be readily added with comparatiHly little additic-nal ex­ pense. The contract price is approximately 5600.

In order to meet the

14

expenditures over and above the amount of our Building Fund it will be necessary to hire money and it will be nece sary for the Association at this meeting to take the preliminary tep required by Article JI of the Constitution. I desire to express the hope that our friends will continue the good work already begun, however, and that their subscriptions to our Building Fund will enable us speedily to cancel our indebtedness. We trust that our members and friends will avail themselves of the first oppor­ tunity to see what is being done in this direction, examine our plans and then will feel inclined to help us financially. We have raised but about one half the sum originally contemplated by our circular, but we ha,·e faith to believe that, as antucket's sons and daughters always have been prompt

LA YING THE CORNER-STONE OF THE NEW BUILDING. to aid a worthy cause, our appeal for assistance will not be allowed lo pass unheeded. Any amount, however mall, help the work along, and will be thankfully received. It must be clear to all who carefully con ider the ub­ ject that such sums as are bequeathed to the A sociation, unle s given for some specific purpo e are needed to establish a fund, the income from which will enable us to take advantage of opportunities that are constantly being presented to add to our hi torical collection. We have lost much that we ought to have had through lack of ready money to purchase when the articles were seeking a purchaser. For this reason, therefore, it i!> de­ sirable to erect this building without encroaching upon any general endow· ment we may ha,·e now or in the future.

15 At the Annual Meeting of the Council in 1903 it was also decided to join the Bay State Historical League, an association of historical societies organized for the purpose of mutual helpfulness in systemizing work, com­ paring results, improving methods of research and avoiding duplication of effort. The Council did me the honor to appoint me to represent the an­ tucket Association at the meeting of the League. There have been three such meetings all of which I have attended. At present the League com­ pri es the following historical a sociations: Somerville, Malden, Arlington, Wakefield, Peabody, Shepard (of Cambridge), Ipswich, Concord Anti­ quarian, Lexington, Danvers, \Vatertown, Medford, Lynn, Swampscott, Billerica, 1 antucket, Littleton and Methuen.

Becoming more familiar with the objects and purposes of the League, I can see many ways in which the Associations so joined can be mutually helpful.

At a meeting of the League held April 30, it was rnted to have a J:i'ield Day in June.

At the same meeting a committee was appointed to examine and report upon the 26 replies received to a printed series of interrogatories previously sent out. The Executive Committee was also directed to conside.- and report some plan of united action. The reports of both committees were printed and circulated at the Field Day meeting, which was held irt Lexington on June 4th. The Executive Committee's report was as follows: "The League exi ts because there is a need for an organization that shall bring together representatives of the local historical societies, ac­ quaint them with each other and with the results of methods adopted, and generally strengthen and broaden the study of local history.

It does not seek or desire to have power over, or authority to bind, local societies, or to do anything to lessen the local feeling on the strength of which their suc­ cess depends.

Its functions are ad\isory only, and its methods may be changed from time to time as circumstances require.

Its present opportunities for action are: FmsT. To maintain an organization, the need of which is evident to all who acquaint themselves with the local historical movement.

SECO:S-D. To supply an existing want, by collecting in some convenient form for distribution, or in some accessible place for examination, lists of titles of papers read and names of speakers at the meetings of the various societies. At the meeting April 30th this request was made by many. The details will be announced later.

TmRD. To arrange for a general meeting of the League in the autumn at which the general subject of tI-.e work of the local hi. torical Society will be discussed, and opportunity given for a comparison of notes at the out. set of the winter's work.

Foi;RTH. To arrange from time to time a general investigation of some subject where the combined efforts of all the societies can be most effective, such, for example, as the Correspondence of the Committees of Safety in the Revolution.

16 The expense of maintaining such an organization ought to be small and the benefits great, and they will be, if the societies generally become inter­ ested."

The Special Committee on replies to interrogatories reported, saying that in examining the documents they have found three statement" that are pertinent and well expressed, and which ar<! submitted for con,ideration.

The first one, and it seems to me the most vital and progressive one, is from the report of our esteemed Curator, Miss Brock, printed in the Proceedings for 1903, in which she says: 11 It ha, been well said that a hi torical society should be something more than a' strong box' to hold collections. It mu ·t be a living institu­ tion and must show something accomplished e\·ery year to prove its life and growth."

The Field Day was eminently successful. After the Annual feeting and election of officers in the vestry of the Unitarian church in Lexington a well attended meeting was held in the main audience room of the church with appropriate exercises, the principal of which was an exceedingly in­ teresting addre s by Albert Bushnell Hart, Ph. D., Professor of American History in Harvard University, upon Historical Societies and Historical Research." ·After the exercises, a considerable number of those present made a tour of inspection of the historic localities in Lexington, under the direction of Rev. Carlton A. Staples, Pastor of the Unitarian church. The entire event was a very enjoyable one.

Before passing from the subject I desire to refer again to the ·meeting of April 30, which, in a great mea ·ure, was what our Methodist friends would call an "experience" meeting. l\1 r. Abraham English Brown, Presi­ 'dent of the Billerica Society, gave a valuable talk on his experiences in searching garrets and in looking over material that the devotees of "clean­ ing up" processes were about to burn. He came across ome valuable old deeds in one place which he was enabled to return to the owner. In another place he found an origin:il copy of the "Stamp" Act. In another he found a set of the very valuable Collections of the Mas achu etts Historical So­ ciety · in still another he found a set of Thanksgiving Proclamations from 1798 on.

I had received a short time before from Miss Caroline E. Swift a little printed slip such a is sent out by the Medford Hi torical Society, with a specially ruled sheet of paper, asking for the recipient to write som.:thing interesting relating to Medford, historical, de criptive, narrative, genea· logical, etc., the object being eventually to bind the leaves together and file them for use. I was desirous to learn how the scheme worked. I found it originated in the Sharon Society, and that both in Sharon and Medford it proved exceedingly successful. I think it would be well for our Association I desire also strongly to emphasize the desira• to try a similar method. bility of getting a chance to search attics and to examine old papers, docu. ments and books that the ultra tidy, but not always wise, housekeeper con· templates destroying or selling to the junkman.

II

17 We must not be unmindful at this time of our necrology for the year just passed.

The list of the "gone before" oontains the names of highly valued members - Mr. George Bruce Upton, the first to respond to the Council's appeal for funds; Mr. Thurston C. Swain, at the time c,f his death an enthusiastic member of our Council ; Mr. Arthur Macy, distinguished in the world of letters; Mr Willi<1m l\1. Bates, once a prominent ,merchant of antucket; Miss Susan \\'ilson Folger, whose generous benefactions to Nantucket's institutions attest mo ·t eloquent! } her love for her old home; Mrs. Phcebe . Coggshall, a veritable Mother in Israel, and Miss Mary C .

Whippey, whose chosen field of labor was the instruction ol youth. As \\e think of them, we are reminded of a stanza of Mr. l\1acy's bohemian pc,em, "Sit closer friends."

"Again a parting sail we see ; Another boat has left the shore.

A kinder soul on board has she Than e\·er left the land before.

And as her outward course she bends, Sit closer friends!"

There is much of truth in the statement of our esteemed Curator which I have already mentioned as being quoted in a report of the Bay State League; ourAssociation must indeed be a livir,g institution and must show each year omething accomplished. There is a vast field yet to be gleaned from. Our church histories lack much of completen�s; in the majority of caies the A sociation has no record of their birth or growth. \\' e should posses , so far as they can be transcribed copies of the records of the So­ ciety of Friends, now in Lynn: at least we should have copies of the records of births, marriages and deaths. There hould be some account of the migrations from antucket to Norn Scotia, ew York, Ohio and North Carolina. \Ve should remember the good traits and good deeds of our Quaker ancestors, and, while not oblivious to the short-coming of the few, short-comings common to e\·ery sect and creed, we should insist on the full measure of justice to those follower of a religion instinct with the purest and most sacred of spiritual motives and radiant with the spirit of the brotherhood of man, remembering that it is only the superficial student who is a scorner. \Ve need investigations and detailed reports c,n Nantucket's place in the educational life of the at ion ; Nantucket's college graduate ; antucket in the professions-the Law, and Medicine and the Ministry; antucket in State and ational politics ; antucket's place in the history of theArmy and Navy; antucket in the worlds of Literature, Science and Art; a chapter on the Humor of Nantucket: and inquiries into many other matters of historical interest.

Many of the e subjects have been alluded to by my predecessors-let me emphasize what they have said. At the Council meeting a year ago the subject of the·' CPntSchools" of 75 years ago incidentally came up-here was an institution, so far as I know pecu­ liar to antucket-who can write them up?

18

The story of antucket's part in the \Var of the Revolution is yet to be fully told. We must remember that the tandpoint from which Obed l\lacy wrote was that of a member of che Society of Friends, rather than that oI the historian.

The people of our island ha\"e been taunted II ith being or striving to be neutral during that struggle, but those 11 ho bring that charge need to be reminded of the extraordinary perils oI the situation; they need to be reminded that an attempt to capture an English ves�el in the harbor of Falmouth met with vigorous denunciation from the Committee of Safety of that town on the grouud that "it has a tendency to bring on us certain ruin," and "we ha'"t: no force to oppose or prevent it;" they need to be re· minded that Dee1 Isle was declared by Gen. \\"ads11 orth in a proclamation, neutral. Such critics forget that onl} the inexplicable refusal of the Eng­ lish to accept the profferc::d ueutrality of the city of Chai leston and the State of South Carolina saved the entire South to the l.:nion.

Such is a part of the story of antucket's passi1·ity yet to be written up, and to go with it is a creditable story of her acti,·itr. Fortr se,·en mem bcrs of the Societ) of Friends II ere diso11 ncd fur the part they took : nearly or quite a hundred served in the army or were t:xchanged as pris oners of war; twenty one sen·ed under Paul Jones: many contributed funds; ti,·e served by appointment of the l'rol"incial Congress as a Com· mittee of Correspondence; sci cral others held civil commissions from the same source; and, according tu Obed Macy the captured must have been numbered by hundreds. \\'here are the letters that must ha,·e been writ­ ten daring those year,? Are any of them still in existence stored in old at­ tics in antuckc!t? This would seem to be a most fruitful field in II hich to labor. Our Town and County records should be printed, and so placed be­ yond any possibility oI accidental destruction. Se\"cral cities and to11 ns in the Commonwealth have already accomplished this result II ith their 011 n records. It should be one aim of our Association to see this is done in the case of antucket. \Vith a permanent and assured income our Societ) may be able, if it should be required, to assist this work financially.

During the past year our Association has been fortunate in having been made a legatee under the will of our late e ttemecl member Miss Susan Wilson Folger. By the terms of her will the Association is bequeathed the sum of • 5,000, her portraits, books and book cases, shells and curios. The Association is also a residuary legatee in one•third interest in the remain• der of her estate, if any there be, after beques\s amounting to some ·55,000 are paid.

The decision of Judge Grant of the Probate Court of Suffolk County, approving the will has been appealed from by certain of the heirs, and the matter now goes to the Supreme Court for adjudication. How long it will be before it finally is settled is entirely problematical, and in the meantime, 110 Administrator having been appointed, no inventory of the es­ tate has been filed.

Charles F. Paine, Esq., the Administrator named in the will, is also a legatee, so that his personal interest and desire is to have the case settled without undue delay or expense. He has retained one of

19 Boston's ablest lawyers, but the pro,erbial "law's delay" may hold us some months from our own. After hearing the testimony given before Judge Grant it is difficult to see why the conte tants desire to continue liti­ gation, but they have the ri�ht to do so if they choose. \Vhen the Association finally comes into possession of whatever sum it m.ty receive under the will, it seems to me desirable that the money be laid aside and im·estcd as a fund to be named after the generous donor, the income alone to be used to meet the repeated calls that come for money to purchase some ,·aluablc hook, portrait, manuscript or other desirable: ob· jecl.

In conclusion le! me express the hope that during the coming year some vigorous and succc:,;sful effort will be made in the direction of increas ­ ing the membership of the Association. \Ve ha,•e not yet one-quarter of the local membership we should have, and among the large number of nonresident 1 antuckelcr s and friends of our island, there is room for much missionary work of this character. It is for our Council to devise and put into successfnl operation some plan looking to this end.

EARLY HOUSES AT

A TUC:KET.

]3\" HE!\R\" B. \VORTII, E Q. ·whenever a new section of country is settled the first inhabitants bring with them the institutions of their former h Jme, and these will be found in full force an:l vigor in the new community modified by local necessity and convenience. Thus can be obsen·ed the passage across continents and seas of systems of religions, laws, and language, together with various manners and customs existing in the nations whence the emigrants came.

Among these customs is the form and style of house building.

The purchasers of Nantucket came from that region in Massachusetts Bay now comprised in Essex County. Amesbury, Hampton, Dover, Haver­ hill, ewbury and Salisbury, each had representati,·es among the early settlers. It would be natural that in their hou e-building they would follow the same style in vogue in tbeir fir. t 1 cw England home along the Merri­ mac, changed only by local necessity and the character and abund;rnce of materials. o description has been preserved which shows the form of their first dwellings.

Edward Starbuck had some kind of a habitation at Madaket which was placed o,·er a cellar later he built near the orth head of Hum mock Pond.

Very early his son, athaniel, erected a house ha, ing one room large enough to accomodate the people for religious, municipal, and court purpose .

A description of this room has been preserved in the journal of an early Q•Jaker missionary, but the style of house was not in­ cluded. The first houses of the settlers which were probably rude tempo­ rary structures, di appeared oon after their arrival.

Only fifteen years

20 later a location near Starbuck's cabin at l\fadaket is described as "by the old cellar." An event occurred in 17 17, or earlier, which caused the remov­ al of the houses to the present location of the town.

The first situation was around Capaum Harbor, but at some time near 17 1 7 the harbor wa closed by ,1 sand beach and has since been a pond.

This induced the in­ habitants to change their homes to \\'escoe, the location of the pre. ent town. If ow I apidly thi� clnnge was accomplished cannot be determined, but by the year ,�oo few, if any, of the houses of the early settlers remained in their original locations. Thcre is no wa1 to identify mo t of the build­ ings which were removed wrth those which now exist. John Folger, a Quaker carpenter accordin!.!; to his statement to his Grandson Dr. Jo eph Austin, built the:: James Austin house on the corner of Pine and School streets which was composed of material from the Parliament House, the home of l\lary and 'athaniel Starbuck, but usually without some contem­ porary record to conol,orate such a tradition it has no historical value. At Poatpcs until within a fl.!11· 1·".1rs, wa - an old Swain house, photograph of which han! been presen·ecl One tradition ,Jllcg-cs that the middle section was erected in 1<>70, and another that it was huilt thirty years later. It was a sin�lc room house with additions at the east and 11est ends, and very likely was similar in I01111 to the temporary structures occupied by the set­ tlers as soon as they arri,·ed. Outside of the town section no ancient h')uses can now be found. The oldest dwelling in exi. Lenee is that on Sun­ set II ill known as the Jethro Coffin house, built in 16 '6, about the time of his marria:.:,e. There is no question that this was the usual and prevailing type on Nantucket befur.: and for hall a century after that date. Accord• ing to the principle heretofore announced this was only an imitation of the style in existence at that date in the :\lerrimac \'alley. Every town in Es­ sex County has now numerous illustration of dwellings of that type built before 1080. The Hracl,,trcet llousc of Andover, the middle portion of the Fairbanks House in Dedham; the Jackson of Portsmouth and the John Poore house ot ewbury are examples qf the style designated by modern architects as the II lean-to" variety. Such hou ·cs face the south, the front side two stories in height, the north roof ·loping down nearly to the ground.

A massive brick chimney in the mictst of the house provided two and some­ times thr�e hu6e firepl.ices. The extra length of the north lope was called II the lean-10.''

This was the popular style in Eastern Massachusetts, and the Coffin house was probably by no means the first on antucket.

Mo t o[ the houses after that for many years followed the same plan. ln 1707 Jethro and Mary Coffin sold thi house and lot to athaniel Paddack by whose descendants it was held over a century. The lean to was partly destroyed by fire, thus making a jog which is apparent from a north view.

South-east from the Coffin hou e i an old dwelling recently owned by the Calloway family which was there not far from 1700, and is of the lean­ to style.

Its first owner was Eleazur Folger who lived there when the Coffin house was sold to the Paddack family.

21

The Wright house on Ash street was intended as a palatial mansion when it was built, and may ante-dale 1720.

Between 1720 and 1745 several houses now standing in the town were either placed in that location originally, or removed from some earlier situ­ ation.

They were of the lean-to variety, bul instead of the harp acute angle of the roof shown by the Coffin house, these exhibit a right angle.

They are all planned on the same model and may consequently be referred to the same period.

The Josiah Coffin house, built in 1724, i. localed on the corner of Cliff Road, and the North ew Lane. On Chester Street opposite Sunset Hiil at the north edge of the Lily Pond i the hnu se owned by Peter Brock, re. puled to have been built originally in the same year for 1<.ichard Gardner. ear Hummock Pond is the well known Elihu Coleman house built by himself the year following. The John Williams house stands at the corner of 1 orth Liberty and Lily Streets.

These houses have been kept in ex­ cellent repair and indicate their age only by form and position.

On the orth side of Hussey Street, near Liberty, is the Drew house which was occupied in 1734 by Abel Gardner. Its apparent age is due largely to lack of renovation, but it belongs to the same period as the others. These five houses face south without reference to the nearest rvad, which is always a mark of antiquity. Some years ago Prokssor Henry Mitchell by a novel method investigated the age of the Josiah Coffin house.

He assumed that it was placed north and south according to the indication of the needle of a mariner's compass ; but the direction of the needle varies through an arc of the circle backwards and forwards a certain number of degrees accord­ ing to laws well known to scientific engineers. His computation fixed the year 1723 as the date when the east and west sides of that house coincided with the magnetic north.

Then he called on the old lady who owned the property and told her he estimated the age of the house by reference to the mariner's compass, and wished to ascertain how near correct was his con­ clusion. It was found that his computation had reached the year bef.ore the house was built, which was a uccessful estimate.

On each corner of Main ar.d Gardner Streets is a house of the same style and date, the East having been the home of Christopher Starbuck, and the West once occupied by Zaccheus Macy and Reuben Joy. Liberty Street is one of the old roads of the town, naving been opened in 1618. At one time many ancient houses faced north and south along its entire length, Some of these have been removed, others changed beyond recognition, and only three will be describecl.

At the west corner of \Valnut Lane is the Macy House which tradition says was removed from the West part of the Jsland.

There i no doubt that its present was not its original location, because houses of that type never face north. The land was assigned to Thomas Macy in 1723, and the house had been built in 1746.

The Nye house nearly opposite was erected in that place after 1730, the date when the land came into po session of Jethro Starbuck.

22 The house with two front doors, on the orth side of Liberty Street, west of Winter was probably erected about 1740, and may have been built by the Grafton Gardner family by whom the land was pnce owned.

The Stephen Chase house on Pleasant Street below Mill Street recent­ ly the property of l\1rs. Margaret Carey, in 17.15 was owned by Jonathan Folger and called the athaniel Allen house, and that year was deeded by Folger lo Chase who had married his daughter.

The po. ition of this house, facing south, and end to the st,·eet, indicates that it was placed there not later than 1 7z5.

At the end of a court leading west from Fair Street next south from Darling is the dwelling known sixty years ago as the Allen house. lt is the smaller of the lean to styles and was built not Jong after 1730. It is owned

by Benjamin Robinson.

Opposite th<:: S0uth Gramma1· school on the west side of Orange Street is a small house of the lean-to variety, which was probably moved there after 1730. It was owned by Laban Coleman.

If in the year , 750 a student had observed the prevailing styles of ;rn­ tucket houses he would ha\"e noticed that while the humbler families o cu­ pied small single-roomed houses, by far the greater number were of the lean-to style. Those that n·main at the present lime number less than zo.

The gambrel-roof or two sloped-roof house was a general fa,·orile in ew England between 17w and 1760, although occasional examples of an earlier date have been found, notably the wings of the Fairbanks' house in Dedham ; but this model did not become ,·ery popular at antucket, and only tour instances remain.

At the we tward �nd of Farmer Street, near Pine, is the Clark house once owned by Owen Swain. It belongs to the early period of such con­ struction and may have been built between 1717 and 1730.

On Pine Street near School, is an example of this style next to the residence of John Folger; on Hus ·ey Street, near Liberty, is a similar house ·once occupied by Benjamin F. Brown; and one on the South side of Pearl near to and\\' est of Center Street, belonging to the Paddacks, belong to the early part of the gambrel-roof period.

On the orth side of Main Street, east of the homestead of the late George C. Gardner is an old house now occupied by Samuel Lowell. This was probably once owned by a descendant of Richard Gardner and an ex amination may indicate that its erection ante-dated 1730.

The ch;mneys of these old houses present features of interest that were copied from originals located in ewbury.

The peculiar de, ice on the South side of the Jethro Coffin chimney, commonly called a horse-shoe, has never been sati ·factorily explained, but it is identical with the chimney of the John Poore house in ewbury built twenty fi\'e years earlier.

Another peculiarity is the construction of pier., or pilasters on the north and south face of the chimney, abo\·e the roof, projecting three or four inches and occupying one-third of the chimney width. As the e were

23 not intended to enlarrrc any flue or to strengthen the structure the only ex­ planation left is that they were supposed to be ornamental.

The Macy house on the corner of Liberty Street and \Valnut Lane, and the Tobey House, come,· 1ain and Cardner Streets, exhibit this embellishment to good advantage.

The chimney of the Dr. Torton house on the west side of Fair Street, uext to the corner of Main, recently occupied b) Capt. Obed Bunker is very unusual. It does not touch the peak of the roof but pierce· the slope half­ way between the ridge pole and the eaves, and the conspicuous piers high up in the ai1 suggest the possibility tha• the original roof occupied a differ­ ent position from the present, although no change has taken place for sixty year . o attempt has been made to determine the elate or the original owner of any of these houses.

This will be clone in the next chapter of" an­ tucket Land· and Land-Owners., 11 hich will be entitled ' Ancient Land­ marks of • antucket."

There may be houses on the i land as ancient as �ome which have been mentioned, but alterations haye obscured the original form. Lean-to have been taken down, gambrel roofs raised and squared, and the typical chim­ ney replaced by smaller structures. Such changes ha(re transformed many ancient dwellings into a hou·e of modern appearance.

In the south part of the Town, below Eagle Street, in the section named We·t lonomoy, there can be no houses of earlier construction than 1726, becaw,e it was in that year that this section was laid out.

Due largely to the consen·ative tendencies inculcated by the Society of Friends, the people of Nantucket were slow in adopting experiments· \\"hile they were not the first by ,, hem the new was tried they were certain­ ly the last to lay the old one side. The lean-lo houses were repaired, kept in order, and continued in use longer than in any other section of ew Eng­ land. The gambrel roof style which followed was quickly adopted for the hou es of the wealthy people in lloston, Salem and Portsmouth and exist even lo the present day but were in vogue in antucket only to a limited extent.

The ucceeding style which came into use between 1780 and 1820 wa the country ta,·ern ,·ariety, square, two or three storie high, a large ch1mne) in the middle and the roof sloping from the chimney in four direc­ tions, also called the Dutch cap from the skeleton covering used to shelter stacks of hay, and particularly in use through ew England for large houses used for puLlic purposes. It was seen in r antucket in only one in­ stance, the Baxter Hou e on Main Street \Vest of the Monument. ear the opening of the ineteenth century a modification of the lean_ to style came into general use on the island and contained all the advantages of the ancient type and was more convenient.

Reference to the following houses by name of the present or former owner will show the type which exists throughout the town of antucket.

Capt. William H. Tice, Albert G. Brock and E. H. Parker on Liberty Street; T. W. Calder and Robert McCleave. Main Street; Obed Macy,

24

Pleasant Street; James B. Coffin, corner of Milk and ew Mill Streets; one on each corner of Center Street and Step Lane and several on Pearl Street. This style consists of a two-story hou e with center or end chimney and a two-story ell in the rear. From 1795 to 1820 most of the large houses were of this pattern.

These comfortable houses, roomy and convenient, without piazza, portico, or bay window were the basis of the plans of the seven brick mansions, six on Main Street and one on Pleasant, erected when · antucket was at the height of her prosperity, and acknowledged by three generations to be un urpassed for durability and elegance.

THE HUMOR OF A TUCKET. Mr. Chairman and Friends:Those of you who are surpri ed to see me here are not more so than I am to be here.

In response to our President's invitation to contribute something to the programmt, I wrote that I expected to be elsewhere at at this time, but that if I could arrange it, I would be glad to come and do my part. l\ly presence here reminds me of the story of the good old lady who li\'ed in Polpis, and had been asked to join a party who were going to Great Point to spend the day with the light-keeper's family. Something ha\'ing gone wrong on the morning of the" squantum." however, she was in no mood for festivities when they called for her, and declined to accompany them. \Vhat was their surprise therefore when, several hours later, in the midst of the lunch at the light hou e, in walked "Aunt Love," and in re­ sponse to their exclamations, "\Vhy, we thought you we,·en't coming!" calmly replied as she seated herself at the table," Well, l wasn't, but I was up this way and thought I'd stop!"

So I, finding my elf at the Vineyard yesterday, thought I'd stop here for a clay, and here I am.

In dealing with this subject l am confronted with two very serious dif• ficulties,-first the danger of perpetrating a good many of what must neces­ sarily prove to be " chestnuts" to many of you; and stcond, the constant fear of" treading on somebody's corn ." Most of the stories and sayings I shall ask you to hear have been told before-some of them very often-but I may have a ft:w which are new to all of you, others which are r.ew to some, and those which are familiar to all, may still bear repeating once more.

And since, as Rosaline say , "A jest's prosperity lies in the ear of him that hear it, never in the tongue of him that makes it," the per­ sonnel of my audience gives me confidence to take some chances.

As to the other danger I mentioned, I apologize in advance for any wounds of a pers-inal nature] may inflict. It would be out of the question to mention names without hitting someone's relations here, so I will ask you as we say, not to "spoil a joke for relation· sake," and for once to elimin­ ate the personal equation altogether.

The Compiler of" Sea-Girt antucket" cla sifies the humor of the Is­ land as of two kind , conscious and unconscious. I think I might still fur-

25

ther separate it into three subdivisions, to which I would give the names, coined for the occasion: " auticalisms," "Quakerisms," and '·Personalisms." lt is my purpose to give only a few of each, and one or two of a mis­ cellaneou r.haract'!r not yet classified. autical terms are so interlarded with the common everyday speech of tho e of us who are to the manner born that we do not realize our use nf them half the time until our attention is called to it by outsiders. \Ve do not pull, we always" haul." \Ve do not tie or fasten anything, we"splice" it; we rig and belay, back and fill, get under way (or weigh), heave to, come about and square away, so naturally and spontaneously that it never occurs to any of us there is anything unusual in our mode of expressing ourselves. To the visitor it is all" o interesting," and"quaint," to use a much abused word which I overheard one good antucket lady . ay she was so tired and sick of the ·ound of she wished she might never hear it again.

I have jocted down a few samples of more or less unconscious humor in 1 the use of auticalism .

An old Captain, being invited out to dinner, frankly acknowledged as the company drew round the fe tive board, that he was ready to "fall to" any time, for he'd"come with a swep' hold."

Another, being asked why he retired from the s.!a, replied: "Well. I thought when I got to the -o'thard o' sixty, 'twas time to heave to."

Still another, on a visit to ew York, found fault with the lack of oy!: ters in the stew served him at a restaurant, and calling the waiter, inquired "Say, can't ye give us a few more oysters?

The e here are a day's sail apart. ' One member of the Son and Dau«hters of antucket wrote on his reply postal card accompanying the announcement of the annual reunion: "Sorry I can't fetch it, but I'll try and forelay for it next year."

Nantucket children were told to "splice their patience."

Housewives spoke of" tending kitchen halyards."

A request for assistance in any task often took the form of a king someone to"hold the slack."

An ill-fitting garment was said to lit"like a pu'ser's shirt on a hand­ spike."

A thrifty wife of the old days, noting that the lar<ler was getting low, and seeing no immediate prospect of its being replrnished, is said to have remarked to her lazy husband, who had been sitting in tht! chimne\' corner all winkr:" \Veil, John, one or tother of u has got to go round Cape Hom and I aint agoin'.''

Long absences from home \\ere accepteif as so much a matter of cc urse in the old days that we can almo t believe the story rf the wifE' who saw her husband coming up the street on his return from a four years' YO' �F

26

around the Horn," and taking the11 empty water pail from its place on the dresser, met him at the door with: Hullo, John, got back have ye? Here, go get a bucket o' water."

Poor Jack! He had no more use for that water pail just then "than Meader had for his teeth!"-But that's another story, and does not belong here.

Perhaps the most deliciously "salt" of all the old nautical expressions wa the saying applied to a sailor just home from a voyage, as he strolls down the street on his" sea legs," in a brand new suit from the outfitter's shop, his pockets full of money, which he can't gef rid of fast enough, smoking a"long nine," ogling the maids, and with a general the-world-is.

Then the old timers would tip mine air in his whole attitude and get-up. the wink and say: 11 There's Jack! Rolling down to St. Helena, eighteen cloths in the lower studd'ns'l and 110 change out of a dollar!"

The e anecdotes and expressions smacking of the sea and of ships might be multiplied indefinitely. Everyone here could doubtless furnish as many as I have given, but a few Quakerisms were promised.

You have all heard of the old Quaker Schoolmaster who set the copy on the blackboard for the writing class: 11 Beauty fadeth soon Like a rose in 6th mo."

Also the story of II Robinson Crusoe and his good man 6th Day." Aunt Elizabeth Black, the schoolmarm, used to say when a pupil re• cited well: "Excellent! Excellent! Thee deserves a reward of approbation ! " An elderly friend once interviewed the blacksmith in regard to the price for making him a carving knife. "Well," was the stammering reply, " I can make you a pretty good kuife for seventy-five cents; I can make you a better one for a dollar, but l 'll make you one that would cut the de\'il's head off for a dollar and a quarter ! " It is needless perhaps to repeat the Quaker's remark:"Thee may make me the dollar-and•a•quarter knife."

11 Friend Charles," remarked an old Quaker to a sailor addicted to ,the habit of drawing the loug bow, after the latter had told an unusually stiff yarn. " If thee'd ever been one-half as economical of this world's goods as thee is of the truth, thee'd be the richest man in Nantucket."

How much better that than calling: a man a liar."

Occasionally the Quakers dropped into verse, as witness the well-known proposal of Obed Macy to Abigail Pinkham: 11 From a long consideration Of the good reputation Thou hast in this nation, Gives me an inclination To become thy relation By a legal capitulation.

And if this, my declaration, 11

27 l\Iay but gain thy approbation, It will lay an obligation From generation to generation On thy friend, \\Tho, without thy consideration, May remain in vexation.

It is gratifying to be able to record, in passing, that this effusion had the desired effect\ and that Obed and Abigail were married (in the year 178/i) and had ten children.

A story which indi.:ates that human nature, and especially feminine nature, was much the same among the Quakers of a hundred years ago as we find it now, was told me recently by a lady who is present today, and who, l trust will permit me to tell it.

The lady, who is a grand-daughter of the illustrious Walter Folger of astronomical clock fame, relates that during the periods when that great man was working on his various in. ventions he often became so absorbed that his good wife scarceiy saw him for days at a time.

Indeed it was only with difficulty he could be per· suaded to come to his meals, and then he ate in an absent-minded way and On one oc­ returned immediately to his workshop with scarcely a word. casion a neighbor, calling at the hou�e, had the temerity to offer sympathy to Madam Folger for the loss of her husband's society. "It's too bad, so it is, that Walter neglects thee for his old notion ! " "Yes," replied the loyal wife," It's a great trial, and sometimes I almost wish he didn't know any more than thy husband !"

Which is just one more example of "how these women do love one another!"

Before coming to the personalisms, I cannot refrain from mentioning, as one of the humorous features of Nantucket character, the well known complacency and self-satisfaction of the average antucketer �oncerning his native town and all that pertains to it. \Ve all know the .type of man who cannot understand why any one should want to live anywhere else when he could live on antucket.

We have heard of the man who had never been" off-island.'' " What on earth should I want to go off island for," said he· "this town's good enough for me." We speak with a kindly pity of those who were unfortunate enough to have been born elsewhere, and, during the winter freeze-ups, much sym· pathy is always expressed for the people on the mainland in their enforced isolation from antucket.

A Nantucket school boy located Alaska as" in the Northwest corner of off-island.''

Another began his composition on Napoleon thus: " apoleon was a great man; he was a great soldier and a great statesman-but he was an off-islander.''

Note the" but.'' Poor apoleon !

One of the public carriage drivers, showing a party of excursionists over the town, was asked what those queer platforms were on the top of

many of the hou es. "I told 'em," he said," that they were 'walks/ but I wondered where they'd been all their lives."

The speech of the older antucketers is filled with quaint similes of a personal application, many of which are till heard occasionally_ though often their origin is shrouded in mystery.

I have culled a few of the more notable examples: One" Uncle Jimmy," who kept a grocery store in the old days, from time to time missed pork from the barrel which stood in the open back . shop.

He had his su picions, but he never mentioned them, nor the loss, to any one.

Finally one day, years afterward, a certain respected citizen, lounging in the store, inquired casually: "By the way, Uncle Jimmy, did you ever find out who stole that pork?" " Never until this day!" was the calm reply from Uncle Jimmy, as he fixed his visitor with a stern, unflinch­ ing gaze. It is further stated that the pork was paid for in full, with com. pound interest.

Hence the expres ion so often heard: "keeping still like Uncle Jimmy." \Vhen the honor of entertaining the minister fell to Annie Burrill, the good woman was so flustered that she forgot to put any tea into the tea pot although the water was duly boiled.

The minister accepted the be\·erage without remark, and when the spirit of ho pitality prompted his hostess to ask him repeatedly: "Is your tea satisfactory?" his invariable re ponse was," It ha no bad taste, Madam."

Thus," a weak as Annie Burrill's tea" became a simile for her day and generation.

A man named John Meader, living during the \Var ot 1812, applied to his neighbor for the loan of a hammer.

Being asked what he wanted it tor, he replied, "To knock out my teeth. I have no need of them, for I can get nothing to eat." Hence the saying among old Nantucketers, " I have no more use for it than Meader had for his teeth."

The . remarkable penchant of many Nantucket characters for what someone has called platitudinous ponderosity is often referred to, and many anecdotes are related of the flowery language used in some of the an­ nouncement in the local papers.

In the far-away time lived one Squire Hussey, lawyer, real estate agent justice of the peace and, withal, a past master of the English language, as will appear in the following notices:"For Sale.

A dwelling house situated on the Cliff.

This notable headland commands an extensive view of the Vineyard Sound, where \·es­ sels may be seen passing to and fro in accelerated velocity."

"For Sale. A dwelling house on York Street.

This is one of the mo t popular localities of the town, in the midst of a refined and enlight_ The colored Methodist Society contemplate erecting a ened community. house of worship immediately opposite, which fact will commend itself to all religiously disposed minds. ' A lady relates the following experience of a shopping tour in Nan tucket :

29

I wanted a little piece of trimming, so I went down to Harriet's for it, • but she hadn't it, so I went OYer to Lyddy Ann's.

She said II no,'' but thought l 'd find it at Mary F's. She sent me into Emmie's, but Emmie didn't have it either, and suggested Hannah's, so I crossed over and tried the, e.

Still unsuccessful, I stopped in at Lizy Ann's, and she told me the only place I could get it would be up to Eunice's so 1 went way up there, just for a little piece of trimming,-but I got it.

The old game of 11 Kumchekum," as we always pronounc<.:d 11, (howutr ;t may have been spelled) in which one person gi\·e the:: initial letters of some object he has in his mind, from which the:: others endeavor to gue ·s what it may be, was often played on antucklt "ith name. of per�ons.

On one occasion one of the younger members gave the le::!ters "L. 0.'' AL ter the gues ers had exhau ted the entire population of the t0\\n, one mem­ ber eYen surreptitiously consulting the well-wurn famil ) copy of the I cal census, they were forced Lo give it up, when the youngster coolly announced that the person he had in mind was 11 'Lizabeth Au tin."

[This anecdote suggested a similar incident to a lady who was present in which the initials "G. N." were given, and after the guessers had racked their brain for an hour or more, they learned that the object in mind was jack-knife.]

These are but a few of the hundred of good stories, many doubtless better than these, which ha\•e been told of our people, but I disclaim any attempt to cover the field in even the least exhaustive way. Those I have given are only a suggestion of the possibilitits in thi di,ection. !\[any of them have been three times thrice told; many of them lose much of their savor without the atmosphere and the pe::rsonality of the teller to accom­ pany them; but the suggestion which has been made of collecting these bits of history and sidelights on the by-gone generations, that they may be preserved in some permanent form in the archives of the Association, is a good one, and one which I hope may be carried out. If the few examples I have given shall serve, even in a slight degree, to stimulate interest and encourage our efforts to that end, I shall feel amply repaid for II stopping off" when down this way today.

THE PACIFIC BA Bv MR. ALllERT

G.

K.

BROCK.

The Pacific Bank of Nantucket was chartered as a state bank in 1804.

It opened for bu iness in a building on Federal Street on the site of the Catholic Church.

On July 2, 1804, the first entry occurs in the Cash Book when Fifty Dollars were received from Elisha Macy for fifty per centum on hi sub­ scription for one share of the bank stock. On the sa1ne date Josiah Barker Esqr., made the first deposit, 1234.36. The total re::ceipts the first day were J0,284.36. No payments made.

30 On July 3rd the first payment was made on Josiah Barker·s check to Peter II ussey for 100.

July 4th was not a holiday and 24,507.80 were received for stock sub­ scriptions and deposits. athan Comstock was Tristram Hussey was the President, and Cashier.

In 1812 the charter was renewed a the antucket Pacific Bank.

In 1818 the present bank building was erected.

In 1864 the state charter was surrendered and the bank was incorporat­ ed as the Pacific ational Bank of antucket, under Charter o. 714.

PRESIDEXTS OF THE PACIFIC llJ\ 'K FROJII 1804 TO 1904.

1804 to 1811 Tristram Hussey, 1814 to 1 18 Jethro Mitchell, 1 '18 to 1828 Aaron Mitchell; Fredk. W. Mitchell, 1828 to 1837 James Athern, 1837 to 1843 Fredk. W. Mitchell, 1843 to 1848 John \V. Barrett, 1848 to 1867 1867 to 1868 John M. Bovey, Fredk. C. Sanford, 1868 to 1890 Edward W. Perry.

1 '90 to 18()3 1 93 to the pre ent time.

Henry Paddack, CASHIERS OF THE l'A IFIC llA.'K FRO:\l I '04 TO 1904. , athan Com tock, 1804 to I '10 James Athern, 1810 to 1837 William Mitchell, 1837 to 1861 Jo eph Mitchell, 1861 to I 79 William H. Chadwick, I '79 to 18 '5 Charles H. Coffin, 1885 to 1l->86 Albert G. Brock, 1886 to the pre,-,ent time.

AMES OF CO TRIBUTORS TO

THE FIRE PR Atkins, Mrs Katherine Albertson, Mary A. Bunker, Miss Alice M. Bunker, Alfred Bate . William M. Bunker, Phebe West Brock, Su an E.

OF

BUILDIXG FUND

TO

JULY 31, 190.j.

Loring, Harrison, Jr. Lathrop, Mrs. Sarah Luther, Mrs. Geo. l\Jartin Mixter, Miss tiiadeleine C. Macy, \Villiam F. Myrick, tllary L. Mitchl!ll, Emily 13.

31 Burgess, R. E. Boone, Elizabeth B. Barnard, Mr . l\1arianna S. Babcock, l\[rs. Mary W. Brown, Mrs. Julia D. Chase, Sidney Coffin, John A. Coffin, Miss Elizabeth R. Channing, Mrs. Eva Coffin, Rufus Coggeshall, Phebe Dunn, Kate Hunter Dibble, George \V. Daro, I\Irs. Sewell Delano, Julia Dillingham, F. A, Elkins, Richard G. Elting, Irving Elting, Mrs. Irving Everett, Mrs. Lydia C. Echervena, Pauline Fowle, 1rs. Seth Fuller, Fred V. Farnham, J, E. C. Folger, John B. Folger, George Howland Griffith, Mrs. H. D. Hinchman, Lydia S. House, Charles Vv. Hussey,John E.A. Hunter, 1iss Anna F. Hathaway, Ellen H. Hu sey, John E. Janes, Anna Brown Lyman, Mrs, Theo.

Macy, Wilson Nevins, Mrs. David Powers, Lucy C. Pidgin, Mrs. Charles F. Rodman, Alfred Rodman, dau of Sarni W. Raymond, Sarah C. Rodman, Thos. K. Richardson, Mrs. Henry L. Rotch, Mrs. T. M. Robert , Mrs. Starbuck, Horace Simonds, Mrs.Jennie Small, Reuben C. Smith, Charles F. Stran, Mrs. Mary Swift Severance, T. M. K. Starbuck, Alexander Starbuck, Mary E. Swift, Caroline C. Simpson, Mrs. R. Emily Swain, Miss Helen Sin1pson, Emily F. Swain Edward 0.

Underwood, Jennie C. Upton, George B. Whippey, Mary C. \.Vat ·on, George W. Wales, Lucy Morse \.Vhitney, Rev. John D. Wing, Mitchell Weeks, Mrs, John A. Friend in Boston.

A Friend Cash

,

OFFICERS FOR 190.1·5.

President.

ALEXA DER STARBUCK. Vice Presidents.

HE RY S. WYER, MRS. GEORGE G. FISH, WIL.ON MACY,

MRS. SARAH C RAYMOND, DR. BE1 JAMI SHARP, MOSES JOY.

32 Secretary,

MRS. ELIZABETH C. BENNETT. Treasurer,

.I

CHARLES C. CROSBY. Curator,

M rss s SA

E. BROCK.

Councillor:s.

Tam expir<!S ,90� 1901> 1907 " 1907 19o6 1906 I 905 1905

MR WlLLARD F. FREEBORN. l\llSS LILZlE S. l{ll)lJELL. ,\IJSS M.\RY L. i\IYRICK. \I ISS ANNJE ll. FOLGER. I\IISS !11,\RY E.STARBUCK. 1\1 RS. JANE C. PERRY. 1RS. ELIZABETH G. BAR EY. MR. A. B. LAMBERTO Life Councillors.

REV. M\'RO S. DUDLEY, H 11{.\l\1 PRICE,

MISS C. L. \V. FRE1 CH, A. B. LAl\181::RTu

HE RY B. WORTH, Esq.,

f

I