USA > Massachusetts > Dukes County > Early History of Naushon Island > Part 25
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345
MARITIME NOTES
1840
SHIP "MARINER," GEORGE E. FOLGER
Sat. 3rd Oct.
First part fresh breeze from S.W. fair weather. Set up main topmast back stays & rigging. At 3 P.M. wind and tide being both against us, Gay Head bearing about S. by E., we put back and came to in Tarpolin Cove with the larbard anchor. At daylight got under way with wind about S.W. Commenced beating up the Sound.
1841
AUGUST 21 ON BOARD SHIP "NAVIGATOR"
Aug. 22
Commences with light breezes and pleasant employed in beat- ing out in the Sound, at 4 P.M. came to anchor in Tarpolin Cove in 8 fathoms muddy bottom and furled the sails, 3rd. mate and boat steerers standing the watch.
Middle part light breezes, thick. At daylight commenced wash- ing.
Aug. 23
Commenced light breezes and pleasant got under way 2 P.M.
SHIP "OCEAN"
Oct. 18 came to anchor in Tarpolin Cove, got under way 22nd.
1842 WHALING LOG, SHIP "ROMAN,"* CAPTAIN ALEX BARKER From Pacific Ocean
Tues. 15th. Commences with brisk winds from W.N.W. steer- ing E.B.N. with all sail set to the breeze at 1 passed a New * Edward C. Jones, grandfather of author, part owner.
346
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
London pilot boat at 3 P.M. abreast Block Island and took a Pilot and kept off our course. At 4 bent the cables. at 5 heavy squalls from N.N.W. to N. at 6 furled the mainsail and put 2 reefs in topsail steering N.N.W. at 9 P.M. came to anchor in Tarpolin Cove with larboard anchor and 50 fathoms of cable. That not holding, let go the other anchor to snub her. Heading W.S.W. a strong current setting to eastward. At 10 had furled the sails and spliced the main brace and set the watch standing two & two. Latter part blowing gale from N.W. Wed. 16th.
Commences rather more moderate. At 1 P.M. Capt. Barker and the Pilot Coffin went on shore. 15 sail lying here, waiting for wether to go to sea. At 4 P.M. fine wether hove the starboard anchor [ ] for the tide to turn to go get under way at 4; 6 or 7 vessels went out bound to the westward.
At 4 A.M. called all hands and hove short at 6 took the anchor & steered up the Sound at 7} went through Quicks Hole at 9 came to above the Island at 10 took our anchor again and run along side wharf make ship fast & furled sails and went on shore about 12. Having bin absent about 18 months & brought a cargo of 3000 blls whale oil, 400 sperm, 30,000 lb. Bone.
"SO ENDS" this successful voyage, and so ends the Tar- paulin Log which can only faintly picture the scenes of a day that is gone.
In Eldredge's "Coast Pilot," published each year, there is a chart of the western approach to Vineyard Sound. On this the south shore of Nashawena and Pasque is marked as "The Grave- yard." The text explains that owing to the strong northerly set of the tide entering the Sound many vessels have been lost here.
Especial watch has been kept for records of disasters in this spot, and surprisingly enough scarcely one instance of a wreck upon "The Graveyard" has been found. The Sow and Pig's
347
MARITIME NOTES
Reef off Cuttyhunk has, on the other hand, the blackest of records in these early years.
It is pleasant to stop this history at the time when shipping was at its height. No one can read these pages without realizing the contrast between Tarpaulin in its bustling days one hundred years ago, and the Cove as it is now, in its present serene solitude.
Chapter VIII BOWDOIN OWNERSHIP
A BOWDOIN family biography would fill many volumes and would not add a great deal to knowledge of Naushon, but as this family owned the island for one hundred and thirteen years a brief sketch seems appropriate.
Perhaps the clearest idea of the several generations of Bow- doins comes from a study of their portraits. These, painted by the best artists of the day, are an impressive collection.
Pierre Baudoin emigrated from La Rochelle, France, in 1685 and settled with his family in Casco Bay, now Portland, Maine. James, son of Pierre, was born some ten years before this move. The large interests in Maine acquired by the elder Baudoin re- mained in the family for several generations.
In 1730 James Bowdoin, then living in Boston, became inter- ested in Naushon and partly through foreclosure of a mortgage he bought the island from John Winthrop.
He had ten children, only five of whom lived to maturity. His daughters were Elizabeth, Judith and Mary, and his two sons, William and James. This James, later Governor of Massachu- setts, had a long and distinguished career. He was born in Boston in 1726 and graduated from Harvard College in 1745. From 1757-1774 he was a member of the Massachusetts Council, and its president during the crucial years of the beginning of the Revo- lution, 1775 to 1777. From 1779-1780 he was president of the Constitutional Convention of Massachusetts, also serving as chair- man of the committee by which the draft of the Constitution was prepared.
LATE 18TH CENTURY. ARTIST UNKNOWN HONORABLE JAMES BOWDOIN AND HIS SISTER, LADY TEMPLE
-
.
349
BOWDOIN OWNERSHIP
As a member of the lower house of the general court he was, in the words of Governor Hutchinson, "without a rival," and on the approach of the War of Independence was "the principal supporter of the opposition to the Government." From 1785 to 1787, after the end of the war, he was Governor of Massachusetts, suppressing with much vigor Shays's Rebellion.
He was interested in Natural Philosophy, and presented vari- ous papers before the Academy of Arts and Sciences, of which he was a founder, and the first president.
His vast correspondence includes letters from many of the foremost Englishmen as well as the leading American statesmen of the day. There are letters from Washington, Lafayette, Ro- chambeau and the New England Revolutionary leaders, and his relation with Franklin was intimate and affectionate. These con- temporary letters concerning the beginning of the Revolution, the Boston Tea Party, and later Shays's Rebellion, and telling of the gathering of mobs in the towns and the calling of the militia to quell them, all give an extraordinarily human and graphic pic- ture of these events.
Governor Bowdoin had two children, a son and a daughter. The daughter, Elizabeth, married Sir John Temple and lived in England until her husband's death. She then returned to Boston to be near her brother. Her son, James Bowdoin Temple, was educated in England. He later changed his name to James Temple Bowdoin, this adoption of the name being a stipulation of his uncle in making him his heir. Her daughter, Elizabeth Temple, married Thomas L. Winthrop, grandson of John Winthrop, F.R.S.
Governor Bowdoin's son James, usually termed "The Honor- able," is the member of the family most closely identified with Naushon.
He was born in Boston September 22, 1752, graduated from Harvard in 1771, studied at Oxford, traveled in Europe and re-
350
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
turned to this country in time to enter Boston with Washington on the British Evacuation, March 17, 1776. He married Sarah, only child of his uncle William Bowdoin. In 1804 he was ap- pointed Minister to Spain, and in 1805 Associate Minister to France. In 1808, owing to ill health, he resigned and the follow- ing year returned to the United States.
On October 11th, 1811, he died at Naushon at the age of fifty-nine. He had no children and left his art collection, then considered the finest in the country, to Bowdoin College, so named in honor of his father. The College he made residuary legatee of his estate, but to his nephew James Temple, as above stated, he left his real estate on consideration that he adopt the name Bowdoin.
This nephew, James Temple Bowdoin, lived in England. Upon his death in 1842 the property was claimed by his son, James T. Bowdoin. This claim was contested by Bowdoin Col- lege. In 1843 a compromise was reached, whereby the island property was sold to William W. Swain and John M. Forbes and the proceeds divided, seven-tenths going to James T. Bow- doin and three-tenths to Bowdoin College.
Few Bowdoin letters concerning Naushon between the years 1730 and 1801 have been found. The island was divided into a number of stock farms, each leased to a tenant farmer. The divi- sions were as follows: at the eastern end the Dairy Farm, Nona- messet and later Uncatena; at the western end the Cove Farm, Cottage Lot, West End and Hollow Farm. The amount of stock gradually increased and reached a high point just before the Revolution. During the years of the War, repeated raids by the British practically swept off all the cattle, sheep and horses. For some years the deer must have held undisputed sway over pastures as well as woodlands.
The Bowdoins seldom visited Naushon before the Revolu-
351
BOWDOIN OWNERSHIP
tion and for the succeeding ten years. The primitive conditions of life would have suited neither them nor their wives. Gradually as traveling conditions improved, the Honorable James and his wife evidently stayed at the island long enough to realize its possibilities as a summer home. During their residence in Spain and France their thoughts turned towards Naushon. Many let- ters of instructions were written by Bowdoin, then Ambassador to Spain, to his nephew Thomas L. Winthrop concerning the development of the island. Finally in 1809, while he was still abroad, the Mansion House was planned and built according to the wishes of Mrs. Bowdoin. The last two summers of his life were spent here, and here he died. Personal letters of this period are scarce and fragmentary. No description of the daily island life has been discovered.
The reappearance of a Winthrop in the affairs of Naushon came about through an alliance between the two families.
Elizabeth, daughter of Elizabeth Bowdoin Temple, married Thomas Lindall Winthrop, grandson of John Winthrop, F.R.S.
Thus by marriage, Thomas L. Winthrop became the nephew of the Honorable James Bowdoin, and acted as his business agent during his years abroad.
Among Revolutionary papers there is an occasional letter of Governor Bowdoin concerning Naushon, but these and the fol- lowing agreement give practically all the information of the con- nection of his generation with the island.
John Read was a member of the Governor's Council in Bos- ton and in 1760, and for several years thereafter, was in partner- ship with William and James Bowdoin. During the Revolution he seems to have been the active manager of financial affairs on the island, as various supply bills are made out to him.
It will be noticed that from this time on the name Naushon is used frequently, and Tarpaulin is used more for the Cove and less for the island as a whole.
352
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
1767
AGREEMENT BETWEEN WILLIAM AND JAMES BOWDOIN AND JOHN READ, PARTNERS, AND ISAAC ROBINSON OF CHILMARK
To All People to whom these Presents shall Come Know ye that William Bowdoin and James Bowdoin Owners of the Island Naushana and John Read of Boston who hath hyred part of said Island on the one Part & Isaac Robinson of Chilmark Yeoman on the other Part Witnesseth that the said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin and John Read for and in Consideration of the Covenants and Agreements hereinafter reserved and con- tained by and on the Part of the said Isaac Robinson to live in Part of the Dary House, so called at the East End of said Island from the Date of these Presents to the sixteenth Day of Novem- ber one thousand seven hundred [blank] and the said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin & John Read do further Covenant and agree with the said Isaac Robinson for the Consideration afore- said that the said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin & John Read will provide and place on the East End of said Island not less than thirteen cows, and will pay the taxes levied on said cows; the said Isaac hath Liberty to Cutt Wood for Fire for the Use of his own Family in said Dary House, Liberty to raise Poultry, Some Indian Corn and English Grain sufficient for the Use of his own Family and for his Hoggs used in his Family and to make said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin & John Read one Barrell and one Quarter Barrell of good Pork and for any Persons they may have to do Business for them on the Island and for their Use while on the Island free of any Charge to said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin and John Read while on the Island but not to dispose of any to any Persons whomsoever, the Grain to be raised on such part of the Island as the said William Bowdoin & John Read shall direct; to have the keeping of one Cow and her produce which produce is to be killed at three years and Advantage Old,
DAIRY COWS AT MARY'S LAKE
353
BOWDOIN OWNERSHIP
the milk of said Cow to go into the Dary; the milk for his Family to be taken out of the Dary; to have one quarter part And the said Isaac Robinson on his part doth hereby Covenant and Agree with the said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin & John Read for the Considerations of the Covenants & Agreements herein- before made and to be Kept and performed by the said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin & John Read. That he the said Isaac Robinson at his own cost and charge will take Care of the Stock of Cattle Horses Sheep Goats etc. on said Island from the date of these Presents during this Agreement, take care of all the Cows at the Dary House and make the Cheese and Butter at his own Cost and Charge & deliver to the said John Read or to the said William Bowdoin & James Bowdoin their Heirs or Assigns in November Annually Three Quarters of all the Cheese & Butter made of the Milk of the Cows they provide also one Barrell and one Quarter Barrell of good Merchantable Pork; That at his own cost and Charge the said Isaac Robinson will find proper attend- ance for the said William Bowdoin & John Read while on said Island & for the persons that may work for them at Shearing and other Times in Collecting and Shifting the Stock or purchasing the same will find proper Utensils for said Use at his own Cost and Charge will also find what Poultry the said William Bow- doin James Bowdoin & John Read may want for their Use on said Island at the cost of said Isaac Robinson; and the said Isaac Robinson will also keep one Boy not under the age of Eleven years to help take care of the Stock aforesaid at his own cost and charge, said Isaac Robinson is to assist in Getting Hay Driving Creatures, Washing and Shearing Sheep & in any other necessary Work said Bowdoins & Read shall want him to do for which he is to be paid three shillings law full Money a Day exclusive of his Time spent in taking care of the Creatures, the Dary and Attendance aforementioned also excepting the Time spent in making a good substantial Stone Wall of four feet high which Stone Wall the
354
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
said Isaac Robinson hereby obligeth himself to make digg and draw the stones for making said Wall on such part of the Is- land Naushana as they the said William Bowdoin, James Bow- doin & John Read shall Order, at least Fifty Rods Annually, for which he is to be paid Two Shillings lawfull Money a Rod. In Case the said Isaac Robinson by sickness or otherwise should not be able to assist in getting Hay, Driving Creatures, Wash- ing & Shearing Sheep & making the Stone Wall, he shall pro- vide an able-bodied man in his stead for the Purpose aforesaid, said Bowdoins and Read paying said Isaac two Shillings a Rod for digging drawing and making the Stone Wall and for the time spent at Shearing etc. as aforesaid three shillings a day; said Isaac is to find at his own Cost, charge a Cart Utensils of Hus- bandary to Cart the Hay & Stones to plow and fill the land for the Grain aforesaid; said Isaac is not to take any person or Persons to board in said House, nor to suffer any Persons to put any Creatures on said Island to Graize without a writing under the hands of the said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin or John Read nor suffer any Strip or Waist to be made on said Island and will give information if any Wood is Cutt without the Liberty of the said William Bowdoin & James Bowdoin and of all other Trespasses whatever petticularly the killing of any Deer. That the said Isaac Robinson at the End & Expiration of every year viz: on the 16th. day of November 1768 will render a true & just Account and on every 16th day of November during this Agree- ment unto the said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin & John Read of the produce of the Dary for the Year or part of the Year that shall then at the time of rendering such Account be past and ended upon Oath before a Majestrate in the County of Barn- stable if required by the said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin & John Read or either of them; The said Isaac Robinson at the end and Expiration of the said Term or Sooner determination of this Agreement will peaceably and quietly leave said House in
355
BOWDOIN OWNERSHIP
good Order also the Cows to the said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin & John Read and it shall or may be lawfull for either of them during the Agreement to Inspect said Dary; the said Isaac Robinson will not suffer any of his Hoggs to go at large on said Island, but said Hoggs shall be confined to the Cow Pas- ture or near the House; Said Isaac Robinson is not to keep any Dog or Dogs on said Island without the Approbation of said William Bowdoin, James Bowdoin & John Read and in case the said Isaac Robinson shall die during the Term of this Agreement said Agreement shall cease on the 16th day of November follow- ing the death of said Isaac Robinson and the said William Bow- doin, James Bowdoin & John Read or either of them shall take possession of the Premises. For the True Performance of the Articles aforesaid each Party is Bound to the others in the Penal Sum of One Thousand Pounds for witness whereof and for due performance of the several Articles, Covenants & Agreements hereinbefore made the Parties to these Presents have interchange- ably sett their Hands to two Instruments of like Tenor & Date herewith Dated the twenty-eighth day of October one thousand and seven hundred sixty seven.
Witnesses William Bowdoin for James Bowdoin & himself Josiah Barker John Read
Zepheniah Robinson
356
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
The following records of Isaac Robinson were preserved by his descendants.
Naushana, October 22, 1771.
Rec'd of Mr Isaac Robinson four pounds four shillings and nine pence lawfull money in full of all accounts.
John Read
Dr, Isaac Robinson, February, 1773
To a Coffin for thy mother
4 10 0
To a Book Case
15
To a Rowler 6
To a Sithe Snead
6
To one Butter Tub
1
2
To setting 25 barel hoops
1 5 0
8 04 6
Credit By son
6 15
By a pigg 1 10
8 05
February, 10 Day ye 1771
David Hatch to Isac Robimson, Dr.
for one late made cheese waid 25 pounds at 12 1/2 pr. pound £5-2-2 Ples to pay the above acompt to Capt. mags and this Acompt shall be your discharge from me.
Isaac Robinson
1774
Dr. - Mr Isaac Robinson's Acc. with John Read 1774
Cr.
May 18 To 1-3 of 3 bbls Salt etc.
£0 4.4 1/2
To 1-3 of 33 Gall. Rum @, 1-8 1 8.4
To 1-3 of bbl. for D. V. Touch 1.5
To 1-8 of Runnet skins bot. of Stowers @ 1-6 3.9
1 7.101/2
357
BOWDOIN OWNERSHIP
(the above lost in weeks)
To 1-8 or 16 1-2 bushl. salt
4.1 1/2 5.10
To 1-8 of 28 Rimmet Skine bot. of Wats @, 1-8 To 10 1/2 Gals. Rum @ 1-10
19.2
To 1-3 of bbl. & Touch 2
1.5
To 1-8 of 16 skins bot. of whiting @ 2
4.
To 1-8 of 8 do of Hall
1.8
June 14 To 20 1/4 lb. sheep's wool @ 9/ 1 4.3 1/2
To cash
14.
To 1/8 of 19 skins from Nantucket @ 1/
2.4 1/2
To 1/3 of freight of Rum & Salt
.8
To 2 hydes 110 @ 1/8
8.2
Carried to Credit side 6.18.1
1774
By 115 1/2 Days work @ 3/ Ending 12th. Nov. 17. 6.6
By cash paid Carpenter work on corn house and barn 1. 8.8.
By board of Carpenters
9.
By making wall
1.
By one tub butter
3.
20. 7.2
Bro't from Dr. side
6.18.1
To cash in full
13. 9.1
Naushon Nov. 12th. 1774
Errors Accepted John Read
In these few rather dampening words addressed to his son Governor Bowdoin shows familiarity with conditions upon Naushon.
GOVERNOR BOWDOIN TO HIS SON JAMES IN LONDON
Jan. 28, 1772
". . . We have got a good breed of horses on the island already
358
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
and therefore I would not have you send any, nor servants, nor any of ye articles you mention, none of which are wanted."
If the Governor wrote letters of instruction to the tenant farmers on Naushon, they have not been kept. It is quite likely that all the details of management were put into the hands of John Read or an agent. Bowdoin was such a busy and im- portant person that he must have given authority to others to look after his far-flung lands and possessions. He died in the year 1790, leaving his half of the island property to his son James. Owing to the marriage of this only son with Sarah, the daughter and only child and heir of his brother William, all of the real estate including Naushon passed into the hands of his son James Bowdoin, usually distinguished by the title "The Honorable."
JAMES BOWDOIN (III)
Graduated at Harvard College before he was 20; sailed for Europe and spent a year at Oxford; he then traveled, and was on the Continent when he heard of the Battle of Lexington ; returned immediately to America; March 17th, 1776, was on the heights of Dorchester with Washington and crossed over with him in the same boat, at the time of the evacuation of Boston; his health gave out and he went to reside with his father and assisted him in his political labors.
Many times member of the Legislature; minister to Madrid under Jefferson; associate minister to France, with General Armstrong; overseer of Harvard College; liberal benefactor to Bowdoin College; owned two country seats, Mount Bowdoin, Dorchester, and Naushon Island; after his mother's death he had two residences in Boston, namely, his father's at the corner of Beacon and Bowdoin Streets, and the William Bowdoin house on Milk Street.
The last male of his race in New England.
359
BOWDOIN OWNERSHIP
1801
A brief picture of the islands seen through the eyes of a traveler in 1801 is given in this extract from the Diary of Josiah Quincy.
JOURNEY OF JOSIAH QUINCY IN 1801
June 9th.
After passing Sconticut Point, Wests Island succeeds the North side of the Bay and the Elizabeth Islands from its Southern boundary.
The names of these are Nonimesit, Nashant, Pesk, Nashiwina, Penniquees and Cuddihunk. We landed at the first which is sepa- rated from the second by a narrow creek navigable for boats only.
These two Islands are the property of James Bowdoin Esq. and the most valuable of the whole. The former as his tennant assured me, netts $350. annually and the latter at least $3000. Nonimasit is fifteen miles from New Bedford. We dined at the home of Paul Robinson, Mr Bowdoins' principal tennant. Its appearance was antique, but neat and comfortable. Everything about it indicated good living and thrift. The soil of this Island is weak and sandy. All of the cluster appeared destitute of wood, although I was assured there was enough in the interior. On Nashant deer run wild and are protected to the proprietor by an act of Legislature. Through these Islands there are three pas- sages into the Vineyard Sound, of which vessels take advantage when wind and tide serve. The most frequented though rocky and narrow navigation lies between the North East point of Nonimisit and the South Westerly points of Falmouth and is called Woods Hole. A second between Nashant and Pesk is called Robinsons Hole. A third between Pesk and Nashawenina, Quicks Hole.
In the afternoon the wind failing, we could only by aid of the tide, which sets at the rate of nine knots an hour through Woods
360
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
Hole, get through this passage, and anchored in a small basin called Woods Hole, great harbor, lying on the Westerly side of the extreme South Westerly point of the Cape.
Now began that detailed correspondence of the Honorable James Bowdoin in which he gave directions as to the management of the island, the sale of wood, the building of salt works, the care of the sheep and many other activities. During Bowdoin's absence in Spain and France the oversight of the island was left to his nephew, Thomas L. Winthrop.
The superintendent of the island was for a while Captain Putnam, and in the spring of 1802 he was succeeded by Baalis Bullard.
1802
Mr Baalis Bullard,
Boston, Apr. 23, 1802 Sir;
As ye are going to ye Island with Capt. Putnam, I am to desire you to take a critical account of all ye stock on ye Island, making a regular list of ye same, as far as it can be ascertained, and know if any creatures have been lost during the winter. Know ye state of ye cord wood which was cut up on the Island, and the land on which it grew and whether it is likely for the wood to be got up again, or if it is necessary to fence the land which has been cut over. Examine every part of the Island, and see if there has been any cord wood cut or any timber, or wood taken with- out liberty, and consult with Capt. Putnam where ye wood for summer use ought to be taken.
Examine ye state of all ye house and barns, & know if any of them want any repair, and what; and order that the dung be cleaned around the barns and ye sills be kept free from earth
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