USA > Massachusetts > Dukes County > Marthas Vineyard > The history of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 45
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 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50
·
Traveller! If ever dram to thee was dear, Drop on John Doggetts grave a Tear, Who when alive so well did Tend The Rich, the Poor, the Foe, the Friend: To every knock, and every call He said "I'm coming," unto all. At length Death knocks! poor Doggett cry'd And said, "I'm coming, Sir!" and Dyed.
Further references to the taverns of ancient days in the several towns will be found in the histories of each, and if the reader at this time wishes to pursue this subject to its local surroundings, he may turn thereto and go with the author as he makes the rounds of the old taverns in each of the Vine-
464
Travel and Taverns
yard towns, where both shall be their guest for a sufficient space to know their names and find brief entertainment as well as rest, for Combe says: -
How oft doth man by care oppressed Find in an inn a place of rest.
TELEGRAPHS, CABLES, AND TELEPHONES.
Allied to the subject of travel is that of communication between the island and the mainland in the early days, and its later development. Over a century ago there was a system of telegraphy in operation from the Vineyard to Boston, by means of signal stations on the hills along the coast, by way of Falmouth, Sandwich, Plymouth, Marshfield, and thence to Scituate and Hull.1 The following advertisement appeared in the Salem Gazette of Sept. 14, 1802: -
TELEGRAPHE.
Merchants and others concerned in Navigation are respectfully in- formed, That the subscriber will recommence the operation of his Tele- graphe by the first of October next. All persons who may wish to obtain by the Telegraphe, or by the Telegraphe and by the Mail, first intelli- gence of arrivals at the Vineyard - or of arrivals at foreign ports - or who may wish to pass orders directing a vessel at the Vineyard to sail from thence to any particular port - or to wait there for further orders - or who may wish to learn the contents of a cargo - or whether a friend is on board of a particular vessel here, &c &c. may be accommodated.
The terms are lodged (for the convenience of all concerned) at the Post Offices in Boston, Salem, Newburyport, Portsmouth and Portland, and will be lodged at the Post Office of any other port, if desired. Agents are appointed in all the ports named above, to accommodate such as may wish for immediate intelligence from the Vineyard.
The terms contain different rates of fees .- If a man applies for first intelligence of an arrival at the Vineyard, by the 20th of September inst. or three weeks before the day of such arrival, HE shall have such intelli- gence at the lowest rate. An applicant has nothing to pay until the Pro- prietor or his Agents shall announce first intelligence of an arrival or other first intelligence desired.
Masters of Vessels will enter their arrivals at the Vineyard free of any expense, that the Proprietor (and owners, if they please) may have immediate knowledge of such arrivals.
JONATHAN GROUT, Patentee
BOSTON, September 14, 1802.
It is not known how early this "telegraphe" system had been in operation before 1802, as it appears by the notice that
1Sandwich has a "Telegraph Hill" in its limits.
465
History of Martha's Vineyard
it was a re-establishment of one in previous use. The char- acter of it may be surmised as a combination of the semaphore and flag system, with a signal code devised by the "patentee." It is an indication of the importance of the Vineyard at that period in mercantile and maritime circles.
For a number of years a semaphore staff signal service was in operation between this island and Nantucket (about 1845), the staff being erected on Sampson's Hill, Chappa- quiddick, and later on the Highlands of East Chop. The introduction of the magnetic telegraph and the development of the same for ocean service by cables brought this primitive method into disuse. In 1857 a submarine cable was laid by Mr. S. C. Bishop, between Nantucket and the Vineyard, via Maddaket and Tuckernuck. It was not successful, though irregular service was rendered by it, when it was in repair. After four years of interrupted operation, through repeated breaks, it was, in 1861, abandoned as a means of communi- cation. The U. S. Signal Service of the government, to perfect its work of forecasting the weather, laid a cable from Nan- tucket to the Vineyard, and thence by Cedar Tree Neck across the Sound to the Elizabeth Islands, and on to Wood's Hole. This was completed in November, 1885, and offices for the local officials were opened in Oak Bluffs in May, 1886, in Edgartown in June, 1886, and in Vineyard Haven in November, 1886, and the public were accorded the privilege of using the wires for the transmission of private despatches, when not in use for government work. The cable was so frequently broken by the anchors of vessels riding in the Sound that deeper water was found necessary, and in June, 1888, a new cable was laid across from Gay Head to Naushon. At this same time the Edgartown office was abandoned and re- established at Gay Head. The Oak Bluffs office was only kept open for one year (1886), and with the abandonment of Gay Head, likewise, Vineyard Haven became the sole station on the island. This office was successively in charge of H. H. Curley, Max Wagner (later First Lieutenant, U. S. V., killed in the Philippines, 1900), and William W. Neifert, all of the general service. The office at Vineyard Haven was discontinued June 1, 1900, and the lines bought by the Martha's Vineyard Telegraph Company.
In 1887 the Bell Telephone system was installed on the Vineyard, and several years later an independent line was established by Dr. C. F. Lane; both are now in operation.
466
Travel and Taverns
Long distance service was perfected in 1902 by the first-named company, and communication with all points reached by them may be held.
Navis ex arboris trunco que excavata
OUR EARLIEST FERRY.
REPRESENTATION OF INDIANS CROSSING VINEYARD SOUND IN A CANOE MADE BY BURNING OUT A TRUNK OF A TREE.
(From an early map.)
467
History of Martha's Vineyard
CHAPTER XXX.
LIFE IN THE VINEYARD TOWNS DURING COLONIAL TIMES.
FROM THE CRADLE TO THE GRAVE.
The history of the making of a nation or a land does not consist entirely of a recital of its political relations, a story of its wars, or a description of its material wealth and the develop- ment of its natural resources. The story of the English race is not alone a tale of its civil and foreign wars, the heroic deeds of its kings and nobles, nor the prowess of its arms on sea or land. These considerations, of course, have their place in the story of a nation's growth; but above all the simple tale of the people themselves, of the ways in which they lived, the houses they occupied, the things that clothed them, the articles that fed them, the implements employed in their daily existence,- in brief, the domestic life of the people is of even greater interest than the political or the military. Politics and wars occupy but a small part of the life of the people, while the social side is of ever present interest and importance in the development of the characteristics of a race. The subject which can be touched upon only in a fragmentary way, owing to the infinite details which enter into a discussion of this sort, relates to the life of our ancestors during the first century or more of their existence on this island, and it is based largely upon studies of the early records of the Vineyard. If not an exciting tale, it will at least have the merit of resting on a good foundation.
The conditions of life which obtained on this island were not in any sense at great variance from that lived by colonists in other sections of New England, but certain local conditions obtained which had a particular significance and effect not found elsewhere. We shall briefly see in the cursory view which we can take in the limited space at disposal how the people here in colonial times lived and died, and may be able, after a review of their surrounding circumstances, to gain a clearer insight into the daily life that obtained in that period.
The people who settled this island were of pure English stock, almost without exception, and the life which they led
468
Life in Vineyard Towns During Colonial Times
here was that of the yeomanry of England at the same period, modified only by local circumstances and that absence of class distinction which formed the basis of the social fabric in the mother country. It was a democracy of the simplest type, at first, strongly tinged with a theocratic character, which affected a return to the Mosaic forms of law and morals, but there was little display on the Vineyard of that extreme kind of intolerance which was peculiar to the Puritan of Massachusetts. These early islanders brought with them their English customs, lore, and ideals, and in their own way applied them to their changed surroundings.
THE FAMILY. .
The institution of marriage as a part of the social system was separated as far as possible from any relation with the Church. It was held to be a purely civil institution, which could be completed by civil magistrates as well as by an or- dained minister. This had been the policy adopted by the colonists of Massachusetts Bay, as a part of their plan of freedom from religious customs and rites, and it was fol- lowed by the people of the Vineyard with consistent adhesion to extreme Protestant views. Hence we see that the solemn act of matrimony, the keystone of our social system, was performed by a Justice of the Peace or an esquire, with as much frequency as the village parson.
It was a part of this system in colonial times for the per- sons intending marriage to give notice of same to the town clerk some time in advance, usually two weeks, and this official was required to post a public notice of such intention, in order that objections might be made if any one held them. Besides this formality, the banns were read in the meeting-house on Sundays on consecutive weeks, and if no one appeared to forbid the banns the last obstacle to the consummation of the hopes of two fond hearts was removed.
It was the custom in the colonial days for the bride's father to give her a "marriage portion" or dower, and this was usually in the form of a lot of land for a homestead. Often this was held to be her share in her father's estate, and wills frequently referred to this as a reason for small bequests to those children who had married. In some instances the son was started in life in the same manner as the daughter, and an example of these arrangements is seen in the indenture
469
History of Martha's Vineyard
made between Benjamin Norton of Edgartown and Joshua Daggett of the same place, on the occasion of the marriage of Nicholas Norton to Martha Daggett. Benjamin Norton agrees to give his son two ten-acre lots and some meadow, and Joshua agrees to give his daughter the value of £25 in estate.1 But this dower was not always forthcoming and the lack of it was the origin of a custom which it is to be hoped was more honored in the breach than in the observance. The dowerless bride was held to be naked of this world's goods, and as a penalty or reminder of her unfortunate state was obliged to be married in a semi-nude condition. These were known as "Shift marriages," sometimes called also "Smock marriages," for the reason that the woman was clad only in a chemise or smock. This kind of a marriage was reserved by law and custom for widows. By it the new husband was relieved of any debts of his predecessor, and began life with his widow- bride free from incumbrances. It was the custom for the woman thus clad to cross the king's highway and then be married. An instance is recorded in the records of Edgar- town in 1757: "Elijah Webster of Lebanon and Elizabeth Trapp of Edgartown were married March 28, 1757. The said Elizabeth appearing naked excepting her shift at the time of marriage."2 It seems scarcely credible that such a proceeding could have taken place in a civilized community as late as 1757, and yet it was not an uncommon event in other parts of New England until the beginning of the 19th century, and one occurred in England in 1860! These sacrifices of modesty to the cupidity of the new husband for the purpose of evading debts were an old English custom. It is believed, and so we hope, that they took place after dark, but we can imagine that there was little of gayety about a wedding for a woman like Elizabeth Trapp who had to parade across the highway on a cold March night, thinly clad in her chemise as a preliminary requirement. Another form of shift marriage was this: The bride was immured in a closet, disrobed during the cere- mony, her hand thrust out of it as the door was held sufficiently ajar to permit this portion of her body to take part in the sacred rite of matrimony.
It was not till well into the 18th century that marriages were solemnized by clergymen almost exclusively. It took our forefathers here and elsewhere over a century to make this
1Agreement dated Aug. 4, 1709, Dukes Deeds, II, 257.
2Edgartown Vital Records, p. 185.
470
Life in Vineyard Towns During Colonial Times
concession to the church and religion. Ministers were never licensed to solemnize marriages in Plymouth Colony, and in Massachusetts, previous to the union in 1692, the magistrates retained this office in their own hands with peculiar jealousy. In 1647 the Rev. Peter Hobart of Hingman was invited by one of his own church, who was about to be married in Boston, to accompany him and preach on the occasion. But the magistrates being informed of the circumstances forbade it. In their veto, one reason assigned was, "We are not willing to bring in the English custom of Ministers performing the solemnity of marriage, which Sermons at such times might induce."1
CHRISTENINGS.
The advent of a child into the family circle was accom- plished through the friendly supervision of the neighborhood midwife, and the kindly assistance of sympathetic matrons, as there was not at call in the early days the skilled physician to preside over such functions. If the event was a safe delivery of the mother and child, the next thing in the order of time was the care of the infant's spiritual welfare. Except in the Anabaptist, or pedo-baptist families, it was the custom to bring the child to baptism, usually within seven days after its birth, but this privilege was only extended to the children of persons actually comprised in its covenanted membership. It sometimes happened that only one of the parents was in "full communion" with the church, and the child was baptized as the daughter, for instance, of Jane, the wife of John Brown, the father not being a member of the flock. The older divines held in the first coming over to New England, that none but children of "visible saints" should receive this rite, but in the course of time those outside the church were so numerous that it was found that this practice was leaving the majority of the children without baptism. When Parson Homes took charge of the Chilmark parish, in 1715, he found but two male members on the books. The large proportion of adults attended public worship, but they were not accounted members, although they had been baptized in childhood. It would seem that the Vineyard churches held quite strictly to the stringent rules of this practice, for the church records of all show the admission of parents to membership, immediately followed by
1Winthrop, Journal, II, 314.
47I
History of Martha's Vineyard
the baptism of all their children, in a bunch, some well along in their "teens," who had thus been deprived of the rites in their infancy. This is not the place to discuss the intricacies of the measures adopted by the different church synods to meet this condition, particularly the "Half Way Covenant," designed for the benefit of those who had been baptized, but who had not "owned the covenant." Should their children be baptized? The question split the churches, and there began the cleavage between the liberal and orthodox elements, which kept the ecclesiastical fires burning fiercely for a century. However, having got our child baptized somehow, we will now consider his environment as he progresses through life.
PRIMOGENITURE.
In the family the eldest son was accorded special considera- tion on account of primogeniture, and this had not only a social but a financial advantage. As an indication of this posi- tion held by the first born may be cited the gift by John Butler to his two sons, Gamaliel and Malachi of a pew in the Edgar- town meeting house. He provided that "the said Gamaliel being Eldest to have the highest or upper end of said Pew and said Malachi being younger shall have the lowest end."1 In material value, when the father's estate came to be divided, a double portion became his. For example, if there were five children, the property would be divided into six parts, of which the eldest son would be awarded two. A knowledge of this will help to settle many disputed questions of heirship and children.
SOCIAL DISTINCTIONS.
In colonial times there were well-recognized class dis- tinctions, of which evidences are found in our records similar to those observed in other colonies. These related primarily to the same standards respecting quality and birth as obtained in Old England. The ruling family on the island, the May- hews, were probably descendants of a cadet branch of an armigerous family, as elsewhere related, and the head of it was called Thomas Mayhew, Esquire, and when referred to in his official capacity was called "Worshipful." Official posi- tions also created social distinctions for the holder, if he was
1Dukes Deeds, VI, 85, dated May 3, 1732.
472
Life in Vineyard Towns During Colonial Times
not already distinguished by right of birth. The next in social scale were given the prefix of Mister, or more properly Master, and whenever this appears it can be taken for granted that it was not bestowed by accident or in the manner in vogue at the present time. It meant that the person was of gentle birth, or a scion of a family established in learning or politics. The next lowest in the scale were given the title of "Goodman," while the consort was known as "Goodwife," or in the abbre- viated form of "Goody." This class represented the large body of the people known as the yeomanry or peasantry in England. The lowest in the social grade were without dis- tinction or prefix, and appear in the records as John Smith or William Brown. This, however, cannot be universally applied, as much depended upon the clerk recording minutes of the meetings of the inhabitants, or other official proceedings. An instance of this is found in a curious fall in the social scale of Thomas Burchard of Edgartown, who was "Mr." in 1653, "Goodman" in 1663, and plain Thomas Burchard in 1673, when he was in disfavor with the Mayhew regime, and the clerk making the entry a partisan of that family.
These distinctions were maintained in all walks of life, religious and secular, until the period of the Revolution, when the leveling of all ranks to a common basis was enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, and all men were declared as "born free and equal." Since that time everybody has become an esquire and a "Mister."
At feasts and at funerals, in those days, there was alike a recognition of ranks and orders. Sewall tells us how ministers, magistrates, and distinguished strangers were disposed at the dinner table, and how the viands and beverages of the feast were sorted to suit the company, according to social rank. The wives partook of the status of the husband and were called Mistress, Goodwife, or plain Sarah Brown, and in like manner, sons and daughters of these respective parents held the quality of their fathers and mothers. Clergyman, of whatever pre- vious rank, were accorded special distinction on account of their superior learning and were always classed as of the first grade in the social scale.
DIVORCES.
Dissolution of the marriage tie was extremely rare on the island for the first hundred years of its existence, and for that matter, during the century following. Only two cases have
473
History of Martha's Vineyard
come to the notice of the author within the first named period. The first case in the jurisdiction of the colony of the Massa- chusetts Bay was heard in 1636, but it was not until 1670 that our first case occurred. This was that of James Skiff vs. Elizabeth Skiff, the charge being desertion.1 James Skiff had recently come from Sandwich to settle in the new township of Takemmy, being one of the four original patentees, while his wife had run away with another man "for to be her husband." The following is the record of the decree of divorce: --
August 3 1670 att the Vineyard:
Att a General Court held upon the Vinyard To his Ma'tie our sov'r lord the Kinge:
Whereas James Skiffe, late inhabitant of Sandwich, but now att the Vineyard, hath petitioned and sued for bill of divorce from his wife: where- upon this p'sent Court hath taken it into serious consideration and having received sufficient testimony that the late wife of James Skiffe hath un- lawfully forsaken her lawful husband, James Skiffe, and is gone to Roanoke, in or att Virginia, and there hath taken another man for to be husband and wee having received several testimonies of it:
Therefore know all men by these p'sents that the authoritie of this Court hath granted unto the said James Skiffe a lawfull of divorce from the former woman, namely Elizabeth the daughter of Mr Neighbor Cooper, inhabitant of Boston: that James Skiffe is free from the aforesaid woman, which was his lawfull wife: and that the aforesaid covenant of marriage is now dissolved and of noe affect.
THOMAS DOGED,
clarke to the Court att the Vineyard
HOUSES.
The dwellings were probably log huts at first, built in the manner of construction familiar to all. The cracks and chinks were daubed with clay and the roof covered with salt hay laid in the form of a thatch. In the early divisions of land in Edgartown there were "thatch lots" set apart for each of the proprietor's holdings, and they were held as such and passed from owner to owner under this designation as late as 1680. The inflammable and unclean character of this material rendered it unsafe and unsanitary, and so soon as a carpenter was added to the list of mechanics in the community wooden
1She was daughter of James Neighbor, a cooper of Boston, and she had eloped with William Wills who, in 1672, was living in Carolina. (Savage, Gen. Dict., III, 267.)
In 1750 Capt. Timothy Daggett of Edgartown was granted a legal separation and maintenance from his wife, if she refused to return to his bed and board. (Dukes Co. Court Records.)
474
Life in Vineyard Towns During Colonial Times
shingles were split or hewn out of the logs and superseded the old thatches. These shingles were fastened on with wooden pegs at first, and later as the village smithy appeared on the scene wrought-iron nails were pounded out by hand, and a more permanent covering secured for their habitations.
Of course the houses were single storied - most of them of the "low double" variety - and at first they had mud chimneys, held by straw bonds, baked by the sun or at least roughly made by a crude kiln capable of making but a few bricks at a time. Clay pits were of considerable value, and usually when one was found it was reserved for a general town use. The first mention found of a brick kiln is about 1700 at Chickemmoo, but undoubtedly one must have existed before that. A chimney is mentioned as early as 1659.
For windows it is not probable that glass was at first ob- tainable by the early settlers. It is mentioned as early as 1652, in connection with the construction of a church for the Indians in the items of allowances for expenses. The first means of letting in light was by the use of oiled paper set in frames by which they secured translucency but not transpar- ency. As a substitute bleached linen cloth was sometimes employed for the purpose. Glass had to be imported from England, and was in small panes affixed usually by leads within a wooden sash operated on hinges.
The village smithy furnished the simple hardware trim- mings for the house, such as hinges and bolts or latches - they were crude affairs laboriously pounded out of iron and made to do duty in absence of other better "fixins" imported from England or found in Boston.
Fire places constituted the only means of heating houses. Stoves, air-tight and otherwise, are modern abominations. The general fuel was wood at first, but peat was used as a substitute later in some places. Peat is mentioned as early as 1788, and is still used by some of the inhabitants of Gay Head.
HOUSEHOLD FURNISHINGS.
Chamber furniture. - The bed was always the centre of interest and importance in the chamber, being a tall posted structure reaching to the ceiling, and the bed raised high from the floor. The feather bed held a place of honor from the first years of the settlement to a time in the recollection of some of our oldest inhabitants. These were dressed with
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.