USA > Massachusetts > Dukes County > Early History of Naushon Island > Part 30
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34
A few years since the mansion was struck by lightning, which ran upon the bell wires, and on these it passed over the whole house, melting the wire and blacking the wall in a fanciful manner in its course. It also caught the curtain of one of the beds, which were consumed, and the fire went out of itself without having been dis- covered at the time, but afterwards was visible by its effects.
A large thermometer and clock, which takes no note of time, are to be seen, together with all the paraphanalia of domestic comfort.
At the opposite end of the Island, there is a large and con- venient hotel, situated at the head of Tarpaulin Cove, for the acco- madation of the shipping, which resort thither in their passages through the Sound, near which towers that watch light for mari- ners, a light house.
Taking the whole Island collectively, there could be no better situation for one who wished to turn his back upon the world, and to devote his time to study, contemplation and uninterrupted ease. The poet would find subject for the Muse, the student ample room for the pursuit of learning, and the lover of romance a fine range for dreamy reverie. A cottage with "maiden fair" to grace it in the undisturbed recesses of its forests, a library to beguile a winter's evening, and a heart unwrung by the ravages of disappointed hope, for a constant companion, could make the spot an Eden. One might draw his mantle around him here, and fit himself for earth or heaven, there is a witching about the whole, which entices one to linger around it, and to indulge in melancholy feelings when he deserts it.
One of our company, a votary of fun, was grave when here, another desirous of protracting our stay to the last possible mo- ment and a third clothed his sentiments in poetry.
The traveler who wishes to pass an idle hour, cannot do better * Paragraph referred to in note on following page.
418
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
than to spend a day in this excursion, which we have enjoyed so much to our satisfaction. Every step presents new and beautiful prospects, and our thoughts as they follow each other in their un- marshaled sway carry us beyond the petty interests of a world spent day, and the beholder realizes all the certainty of quiet and repose, as evidenced by fact, with all the foreign luxuries available from the assistance of fancy. The mind ranges with the same free- dom enjoyed by the unpersecuted deer of this Isle, and past pleas- ant remenicences, and future bright anticipations are unalloyed by a remembrance of present painful circumstances.
Naushawn will soon become a place of great resort for those in pursuit of novelty.
(NOTE: We must consider this paragraph as a mere "flourish of the pen." The owner of the Mansion House alluded to was the Honorable James Bowdoin of this city, and son of one of the Gov- ernors of this Commonwealth.
A gentleman of education, a scholar, a traveler and a Chris- tian philosopher, and one whose public discourses, writings and conversation afforded ample proof that he was one of the last men in the world who could be supposed to entertain the absurd belief which he was understood to have held by the writer of this article.
We might add that Mr. Bowdoin was frequently elected to distinguished offices by his fellow colleagues, and had represented the United States at one of the European Courts. We also well know the gentleman who now has the superintendence of the island (General Salem Towne) and can readily exonerate him from any participation in the circulation of the absurdity.)
The actual period of Bowdoin control and interest, apart from a purely financial interest, ended in 1811.
The status of Naushon after the death of the Honorable James Bowdoin was to some extent in suspense. For years the property was in the custody of the Court. His executors, Thomas L. Win-
419
BOWDOIN OWNERSHIP
throp and Richard Sullivan, were made trustees in behalf of the heir, James Temple Bowdoin, resident abroad.
From 1811 to 1843 the affairs of the island were administered by Messrs. Winthrop and Sullivan and it was under their direc- tion that the wholesale woodcutting operations were carried on by General Salem Towne.
About 1833 they appointed William W. Swain to be agent in charge of Naushon. At once a change took place upon the island. The Mansion House, for twenty years vacant, was now occu- pied for some weeks each summer. Governor Swain and his family felt an increasing interest in the island.
In 1842 the English heir, James Temple Bowdoin, died. The Trustees of Bowdoin College claimed the property and brought suit against the heirs.
At this time John M. Forbes and William W. Swain, his uncle by marriage, arranged to buy the Naushon property. Gov- ernor Swain had become greatly attached to the island, and his niece's husband frequently stayed with him and enjoyed the hos- pitality of the Mansion House. With their joint ownership dawned a new era on Naushon.
00
e
Comerce
le
DECORATION IN ACCOUNT BOOK OF JAMES BOWDOIN. PROBABLY DRAWN BY HIM
Chapter IX MISCELLANEOUS FACTS
T HE loose threads gathered into this final chapter consist of data concerning houses and people, miscellaneous notes, genealogies and statistics; in fact, all the scattered bits of information which seem to fit nowhere else.
To begin with is given a description of Naushon as it was in 1815 written, possibly, by Thomas L. Winthrop.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ELIZABETH ISLANDS IN 1815
"The Elizabeth Islands are separated from Martha's Vine- yard by the Sound: from the county of Bristol, by Buzzards Bay; and from Falmouth, by a strait, called Woods' Hole. Ves- sels bound from Nantucket to New-Bedford go through this strait, where the current is rapid, and the navigation difficult. In Buzzards Bay the navigation is also difficult, as it contains many rocks and shoals. The depth of water in this bay is from six to twelve fathoms.
"Beginning north-east, the first island is Nanamesset. It is a mile and a quarter long, and a half a mile broad, and contains three hundred and sixty acres, fifty acres of which are wood land; the soil is as good as that of Nashaun. This Island constitutes one farm, which is sufficient to keep twenty cows and a hundred sheep. There is on it one dwelling-house, containing two families; and about nine hundred feet of salt works built in the year 1805. In the southern and western part of the island there is a high hill,
421
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS
called Mount Sod, the base of which on the shore is stone, inter- sected with veins of clay.
"The next island, Onkatomka, or Unkateme, has no dwelling house on it, is three-quarters of a mile in length, and half a mile in breadth, and contains ninety-one acres. It is separated from the island of Nanamesset on the south-east by a harbour, called the Hadley's, which affords good anchorage for vessels drawing not more than twelve feet of water. On the south-south-east it is sepa- rated from Nanamesset by a gut, which affords twelve feet of water, except at the southward, where there are shoals that extend about fifteen rods from the Ram Islands. On the south-west it is separated from Nashaun by a shoal, which is almost dry at low water, but which at high tide is navigable for boats, through the gut, into Buzzards Bay.
"Between Nanamesset and Nashaun, toward the Sound, there are two small islands, called Ram Islands; they divide the gut into three branches, which, on the south, communicate with the Sound, and are navigable for boats, except at low water.
"South-west from Nanamesset, and divided from it by the gut, is Nashaun. There is a small harbour under it, at its north- east end, communicating with Onkatomka gut, and affording good anchorage for vessels drawing not more than twelve feet of water, which may be brought within twenty feet of a wharf, built in the year 1803. This island is seven and a half miles long, and a mile and a quarter broad, and contains five thousand five hundred and sixty acres. There are on it four farms, four dwelling-houses, at which are milked from forty to fifty cows. The soil in the eastern part is a sandy loam and good; in the western part it is light and not so good. The principal part of the mowing land is at the east end; but bodies of salt marsh lie on the southerly side of the island. Nashaun is well wooded: the other Elizabeth Islands, except Nanamesset, have no wood. About three-fifths of the trees are beach : the remainder of the wood is white and black oak, hickory
422
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
and a little pine. About one-half of the island is in wood and swamps; and in the swamps grows white cedar. Some fire wood is sold, and transported from the island. Very little ship timber remains, not more than three hundred tons ; but it is of a superior quality. Tarpawling Cove, about the middle of the island, and opening to the south-east into Vineyard Sound, affords good anchorage in a clayey bottom. Small vessels can approach the shore at the distance of twenty rods, where there are from two fathoms to two and a quarter: at thirty rods distance there are three fathoms; and the water gradually deepens into the Sound. This Cove is sheltered from all winds, except those which blow from E.S.E. to S. It is expected, that on its southerly side a light house will be erected by the government of the United States. On the other side of the island is a small cove, called Kittle Cove, which opens to the north-west into Buzzards Bay. These islands are the property of James Bowdoin, Esq., whose stock on them consists generally in summer of about a hundred and twenty head of horned cattle, sixteen hundred sheep, seven hundred lambs and twenty horses; and in winter, of a hundred head of horned cattle, seventeen hundred sheep and twenty horses. About a thousand acres at the west end of Nashaun are set off into three farms, on which are generally kept three hundred sheep, forty head of horned cattle and ten horses, exclusive of the above-mentioned stock. The milk obtained from the cows is for the most part converted into cheese, which has a high reputation. On Nashaun there are about three or four hundred deers ; seventy were killed the last autumn.
"The Elizabeth Islands are stony. Stones lie on the upland, and along the beaches, as in the opposite beaches of Chilmark; but the shores are not iron bound, like those of Marblehead. There is here and there a sandy beach, particularly at Tarpawling Cove. Cows are kept on all the islands; but they are most noted for their sheep, which are larger, better fed, more effectually sheltered, and which have finer and more abundant fleeces, than those which are
423
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS
on Martha's Vineyard. One with another, a sheep yields two pounds of wool annually. The wool, except a small quantity which is manufactured by the inhabitants, is sold, and carried principally into Connecticut. The fishes are the same as those of the vicinity ; but the lobsters, which are scarce at Martha's Vineyard, are caught in great abundance at all the Elizabeth Islands. Though these is- lands pay more than one-third of the tax of Chilmark, yet in pro- portion to their extent, they are thinly peopled. They have no grist mill, no school, and no church; but such are their natural advantages, and so easily can the means of subsistence be obtained, that they are capable of supporting a much larger number of inhabitants. At Tarpawling Cove, in particular, if lots of land were sold to industrious and enterprising settlers, a village might without difficulty be raised up; and it would probably soon rival the villages of Holmes' Hole and Edgartown.
"Fish. Tataug, swappog eels are the most common fish near the shores, and alewives in the season in the greatest abundance. The Quohaug and lesser clam are found here without the harbour, also lobsters in abundance. The bay affords a great variety of fish, particularly bass, which are caught in nets of great weight and size, - but not the codfish nearer than Gay Head. Ducks are in abundance in the fall and winter, particularly at the west of Na- shaun. As many as eight or ten fishing smacks for the New-York market have often been seen within the waters of these islands - and there is no doubt an extensive and profitable fishery might be introduced.
"Tarpawling Cove is decidedly the best, indeed it is almost the only harbour accessible in bad weather on this coast; and during the last war the British squadron constantly resorted there.
"Air. Something must be said under this head, because of its humidity in the summer season occasioned by the salt water fogs, arising from the bay with a south and south-west wind mitigating the heats and giving coolness to the summer nights. In the month
424
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
of July, 1811, there were five days of extreme heat from the sec- ond to the sixth; it was at Cambridge on the sixth 103°, at Plym- outh 96°, at Boston 101°, while at Nashaun Island the ther- mometer, as noticed by the late Mr Bowdoin at his seat there, stood at 88°, at 3 o'clock p.m. and but for a few moments so high; per- haps therefore it is the coolest and most grateful situation in the hot months of any part of New England. This remark for obvious reasons would not apply to any place on the mainland. Insular situations are probably most favorable to the health, as well as propagation of sheep."
BRIEF ACCOUNTS OF NAUSHON TENANTS
Anthony Blaney, or Antonio as he was sometimes called, is the first tenant named by Wait Winthrop. In 1684 he was at Tar- paulin Cove. For fifteen years and perhaps many more he lived there. He may have first come to Naushon as a tenant of May- hew, but as he is mentioned as a baker of Boston and spoken of by Winthrop as a "shufeling fellow," it is more likely that he came to the island in Winthrop's employ. It is remarkable that of all the farmers who lived on Naushon for two hundred and fifty years the first, Blaney, is the only one whose name has been per- petuated upon the island, at Blaney's Pond.
William Weeks was one of the shareholders of the first divi- sion of land in Edgartown in 1653, and it was he and his son William who were wrecked on Pasque in 1667 and complained to the New York authorities of the seizure of their sloop by the Indians. William was a mariner and carried on a trading business between the Vineyard and Rhode Island. His two sons, Wil- liam and John, took up land in Falmouth and settled there. John came to Naushon in 1699, and while he is spoken of as a missionary to the Indians he was living at the Farm as the tenant farmer. His religious activities which brought him in a salary of ten pounds a year, paid by the Society for the Propagation of
425
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS
the Gospel, were probably subordinate to his business of farming. He was succeeded by his sons, William, Shubael, and Ebenezer; his daughters married Robinsons and other men of island families and the name of Weeks continued on Naushon until 1815.
All that is known of Caleb Ray has been told in earlier chap- ters. He lived at Tarpaulin from 1699 to 1704 and seems to have been something of a stormy petrel.
The Fuller Family
Joseph Fuller m. Martha Hathaway (1717 in Falmouth) Thomas Fuller
It is known that Joseph and his son Thomas lived at Tarpaulin Cove from 1699 to 1729. Whether Noah Fuller, who served in Nye's company, or Nathan, who served with Captain Grannis and received an honorary badge for long and faithful service in the Revolution, were any connection of Joseph is not known. Nathan is listed as of Barnstable.
The Ere mark of Joseph fuler that he gives his Creturs is a crop of Ech Ere and a slit in Ech Ere and a happeny under sid of Ech Ere.
The Robinson Family
The Robinsons take first place among Naushon inhabitants both as to length of stay and numbers. The first mention of a Robinson at the island is of Isaac, who occupied the farm in 1729. Robinson's Hole was named long before this and without doubt Robinsons lived at the West End in the 17th Century. Zephaniah lived at the farm (or Nonamesset) from 1750 until 1800 and Wil- liam occupied the West End or Hollow Farm in 1740 or a little later. When the Nonamesset house was built, Paul moved there from Wawquoit, with his wife and small son and daughter, Samuel and Polly. Here he lived for the rest of his life and became in his old age a somewhat crotchety old man. During the Revolu-
426
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
tion this branch of the Robinson family left no notable record of military service. The only two listed are Samuel who served in Captain Elisha Nye's company at the Cove from September first to November 21, 1776, and Shadrach who entered Captain Gran- nis' company for fourteen days. This may be explained by the fact that Paul and very likely others of the family were Quakers.
Mehitable Robinson married Elisha Nye while he was sta- tioned here in 1776 in command of the company; after the war he returned to the Cove and here some of his children doubtless grew up. A second Isaac married Mary Robinson, sister of Paul, and in 1767 they moved to the Dairy Farm. Here they lived for many years and here six children were born and died. The date of their leaving is uncertain, possibly about 1790. By this time a second or third generation of the family was spreading out upon the island. Zephaniah's big family, among whom may have been Shadrach, Zephaniah, Thomas, Cornelius, Isaac and Stephen and the half brothers Seth and Paul (not the Paul of Nonamesset), were looking for farms. Most of them lived at the West End, but Paul and Zephaniah stuck to Nonamesset and Seth moved into the Uncatena house as soon as it was built, about 1805. Still an- other generation was taking its place in 1810: Samuel, son of Paul, lived at the Farm or Nonamesset; John, son of Shadrach, and later Elisha, son of Isaac, were at the Cove; and Irving and Cornelius, sons of Cornelius, at the West End.
The fortunes of the daughters have not been closely followed. Jedidah (daughter of Shadrach) married David Tilton, one of the large family of Tiltons of Martha's Vineyard, and they started housekeeping about 1806 at one of the West End farms.
The last of the family recorded as living here were Irving, Cornelius and Elisha, who were on Naushon as late as 1840. No actual description or picture of any of this host of Robinsons has been discovered.
William Robinson, who lived at the West End and Tarpaulin
427
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS
about 1900, came from the South and was either no relation or so distant a connection of this family that he cannot be considered a successor of the former dynasty.
A few additional notes have been preserved concerning the Robinson family and its connection with the island:
ACCOUNT BY FRANKLIN L. GIFFORD
"My grandfather's mother's father was Isaac Robinson who married Mary Robinson sister of Paul Robinson who lived on Nonamesset Island about 1740. Isaac Robinson was a farmer and lived for many years in the Dairy House on Naushon Island in charge of the farming operations there. While residing there he lost six young children who were interred in the burying ground selected for that purpose on Naushon. He lived to be about 70 years old and his wife about 80. They both died at Teaticket, Falmouth. Isaac Robinson and Paul his brother were on Naushon before 1769.
"Mr William Bradley later at Nonamesset died in Woods Hole in 1847, he left no family."
The Lumbert Family
Zaccheus Lumbert * m. Hannah Allen 1753 d. Nantucket 31st 1st mo. 1772
Zaccheus Lumbert
Jonathan
Joseph
Benjamin William
Stationed at the Cove in Nyes co. who may be sons of Zaccheus
The records of Falmouth tell briefly of the interference in the matrimonial plans of Zaccheus by one Vibert. It is clear that the tides of love and hate ran strong at Tarpaulin between the families of Hatch and Lumbert on opposite shores of the Cove
* Built light house at Tarpaulin Cove in 1759.
428
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
in the midsummer of '73. All that remains of this romance are these two short notices :
Philip Vibert of Kanada & Phebe Hatch of Falmouth were published for marriage 3d August 1773 & on the 9th inst. the bands were forbid by the said Phebe under writing, it being contrary to her consent or intention.
Zaccheus Lumbert & Phebe Hatch of Falmouth were pub- lished for marriage the 24th day of August 1773 and the Bans were forbid by Philip Wibart.
William Lackey of Boston married Mary Tobey of Sandwich in Falmouth in 1774 and their daughter Meribah was born in 1776. On the Muster Roll of Captain Grannis' company is listed William Larkey who served from June 6, 1775, for six months and six days at Elizabeth Island. Lackey's Bay may have been named for him.
The Nye Family
Nyes known to have lived on Naushon were John and his wife Tamar (Weeks) whose daughter Louisa was born at the Cove; Elisha and his wife Lucy lost a child who was buried here in 1773. In 1776 he married Mehitable Robinson and a son was born who died at sea in 1799, and a third child, John, grew up here. Elisha kept the tavern from 1773 to 1775 when, as has been told, he was driven from the island by the British. He returned in command of the company stationed here, and stayed until 1778. After the War he again returned to Tarpaulin and was succeeded by his son John, who in 1797 married Mary Price and remained at Tar- paulin until 1809.
(iah) Nye d. 1773, 1 yr. 9 mo. 12 d.
1777 d. at sea 1799
Son John Nye m. Mary Price (1797)
429
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS
Among the Revolutionary soldiers stationed at the Cove were the following members of the Nye family, but their relationship to the island family, if any, has not been discovered; Elnathan, Jonathan, Seth, Francis, and Stephen, lieutenant in Elisha Nye's company.
The Hatch Family
Robert Hatch m. Joanna Weeks (1736)
It is probably the son of the above Robert Hatch who was the licensed tavern keeper at Tarpaulin Cove in the thirteen years between 1755 and 1768. He must have been at the Cove at the time of Lindsey's raid, joined Captain Grannis' company in June, 1775, and was mustered out in December. He enlisted under Nye in June, 1776, and was stationed here until September. His family tree has not been explored, and I do not know how many of the following Hatches were relatives or whether any of them lived at Naushon after the companies were withdrawn. Silas (ser- geant), Shubael (sergeant), Simeon, Timothy, Reuben, Prince, Elihu, Micah, Andrew, Ichabod, Sumner, and Urieh. Martha Hatch married Simeon Hamblin in 1765, and it may have been their son Simeon who was on Naushon in 1830.
The Rowley Family
From the Falmouth Records it appears;
Aron Rowley had a son borne the 23d day of April in the year 1699 and his name is Elnathan. It may have been a son of the same name who enlisted during 1776 in Captain Grannis' com- pany.
Aron was perhaps a brother of Mary Rowley Weeks who was mother of the large Naushon Weeks family. At all events an Elnathan Rowley was stationed here with both companies in 1776, and for a time, about 1800, lived in the house west of the French Watering Place.
430
EARLY HISTORY OF NAUSHON ISLAND
The Eare mark that Elnathan Rowley gives his cretures is a slit in the top of the Left Eare and a happeny the upper side of the Right Eare and a nich under the same.
There was also a Benjamin Rowley, Corporal in Captain Nye's company, for many months, at Naushon.
Baalis Bullard was head farmer at Naushon for eight years. His family history has not been unearthed. All that is known of him is that from 1802 to 1810 he managed the island. In the last year or so he made his home in Falmouth, and finally his absentee direction became unsatisfactory to the owner, James Bowdoin.
The year after he left, property recorded at Falmouth is: 1 barn, 2 buildings, 2 acres tillage, 12 bu. oats, 1 corn, 1 acre English mowing, 1 timothy hay, 3 acres pasture, 1 cow, 1 horse.
The Barnabas Chadwick Family
Barnabas Chadwick m. Elizabeth Hatch (1790)
Anner Charles by 2nd wife Fear Thatcher Micajah John
Came to Naushon as shepherd in 1809 and succeeded Bul- lard as manager in 1810. Stayed until 1815.
His property as recorded in Falmouth, 1811:
1 barn, 8 acres, 16 rye, Barley, Indian Corn, 2 English mowing, 1 Timothy hay, 2 acres salt marsh, 2 timothy hay, 18 acres pasture, 3 cows, 50 acres woodland, 2 oxen, 1 horse, 2 swine.
Rebecca Hall, daughter of Thomas Atkins, is recorded as liv- ing at Tarpaulin Cove in 1716.
431
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS
Louis Calot is the French boy brought over by Bowdoin in 1810 who is mentioned as admitted to the Falmouth Church in 1811 and was still on the island in 1815.
Among superintendents and farmers whose names appear but whose connection with the island has not been looked up in detail are those who were there in the last years of this history, from 1820 to 1843.
General Salem Towne of Charlton has been mentioned as agent for the Trustees during the lumbering operations beginning in 1824. The following anecdote is told of him: "One of the Presidents, Martin Van Buren or John Quincy Adams, engaged in a controversy with him, in which Towne proved adamant in his own opinion. After trying persuasion which proved vain, the President remarked, 'I thought that he was Salem Towne, but I find that he is Marblehead.'"
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.