USA > Massachusetts > Dukes County > Marthas Vineyard > The history of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts, Volume II > Part 48
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The jury find for the plaintiffe the full title graunted to him by Mr. Thomas Mayhew Senr.3
EARLY TRANSIENT RESIDENTS
JOHN BOULT
With that paradoxical tendency in the perpetuation of names of persons whose stay here was the briefest, the subject of this sketch will always be associated with a farm he bought over two centuries ago, and doubtless a century hence, as at this day, the name of "Boult's Farm" will be a local place name. He came here from Boston, where he had been received into the Old South church, March 14, 1686,4 but as he had
1Edgartown Records, I, 145.
2Plymouth Colony Records, VII, 104.
3Ibid. The Mayhews never became reconciled to this defeat. When John Daggett's will was offered for probate in 1673 it was accepted, "with this proviso only: that the farm is to contain 500 akers of upland and 20 akers of meadoe and no more." It was Mayhew's last thrust at Daggett.
4Sewall's diary, I, 127. "Mr. Bolt mentioned profane courses he had been entangled in after Conviction." In a later entry Sewall records the following notes of a con- versation with Boult: "I mentioned the problem whether should be white after the Resurrection: Mr. Bolt took it up as absurd, because the body should be void of all Colour (ibid, II, 305).
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History of Martha's Vineyard
taken the oath of allegiance in November, 1678, he must have been a resident in that place for some years before that date. He was, probably, a Cheshire man, as he had relatives in that county. His first purchase of land was Sept. 20, 1686, when he bought a hundred acres at Sanchacantacket, in the region now covered by the farm of Henry Constant Norton, of which it is a part. His occupation of it is somewhat uncertain, as he appears to have retained a residence in Boston, and while he was constructively here in 1688 (witness) and 1691 (ensign of the Edgartown militia), yet in 1693 he is called "merchant of Boston,"1 and in 1694 was chosen constable of that town.2 In 1696 he appears here as a witness to a will, in 1698 as a juror, and in 1702 as plaintiff in an action of trespass, but further doubt would seem to be removed on Oct. 29, 1703, when he sold his farm to Israel Daggett and all his rights in commons.3 He was a plaintiff, however, in 1706, in an action for debt and is called "of Edgartown."4 On March 10, 1706-7, he was elected overseer of the poor in Boston, and reelected the three following years, which definitely places him there.5 His will was made June 9, 1710, and he died Jan. 29, 1711, in Boston. He was either a widower without issue, or a bachelor, as all the bequests are made to other kinsmen and friends. He mentions his sister, Rebecca, wife of John Bruen of Chester, England, chirurgeon, and their three sons; his nephew, Andrew Boult, merchant of London; and his niece, Elizabeth Sharp, widow, daughter of his deceased brother, Joshua Boult, druggist of London. To the pastors and teachers of the South and North churches, Boston, and the poor com- municants of both he leaves various sums, and to his friend, Jonathan Mountfort of Boston he bequeaths his gun, silver hilted sword and silver tobacco box. The money bequests amounted in all to £160, and no real estate was mentioned.6 He called himself a "merchant." The local tradition here is that he was a tanner of moleskins, and returned to England after he left the Vineyard, but both of these tales may be safely ignored in view of the facts shown by the records.
1Supreme Judicial Court Mss., No. 2751.
2Boston Town Records, II, 209. He was present to decline the choice.
3Dukes Deeds, II, 3.
4Dukes Court Records.
5Boston Town Records, II, 285, 289, 302, 312.
6Suffolk Probate Record.
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Annals of Oak Bluffs
JOHN TRUMBLE
This person was one of those early residents or lot owners whose coming and going left only a trace on the town records. Whether he lived here or was simply a transient proprietor is not known. The occurrence of his name in a deposition of John Daggett, in 1659, just discloses the fact that at some time before February 15th of that year he had a lot in this town. Daggett testifies that "Mr. Mayhew did Reserve the Land Between his Lott at the ffarm and that which was John Trumbles" and this is the first as well as the last we hear of him.1 Who he was is not certain as there were two of his name in New England, both of whom on May 13, 1640, became freemen of Massachusetts. One lived at Roxbury, 1639, and later removed to Rowley, almost in the immediate neighbor- hood of Salisbury, where Robert Codman and Richard Arey resided, and it is of record that Trumble and Arey were in court together at Salem in 1646 and personal acquaintance may be presumed.2 The other John Trumble lived at Cam- bridge, 1636, and later at Charlestown, where he was engaged in coastwise trading. For this reason the author feels inclined to place the identification on him, as one whose seafaring occupation would bring him to the island for a harbor, and probably in one of his trading trips he became interested in the new island colony.3
DIVISION OF SANCHACANTACKET NECK
Up to 1664 the most northern section which had been divided for the use of the settlers in this region was at Weeno- meset, or Felix neck, but ten years later another move north- ward was made. The following votes of the town show what action was then taken to develop the new tract:
February 15, 1673-4.
Voted the Day and Year above writen that the freeholders have made choice of Joseph Norton, Capt. (Thomas) Daggett, Isaac Norton, Mr Benjamin Smith and Thomas Pease according to their best Judgment. for to divide the Neck called Sanchacantackett Neck.
1Edgartown Records, I, II0.
2Savage Gen. Dict., IV, 336. Essex Antiquarian, V., 169. This John Trumble is the ancestor of the famous Connecticut family of Trumbulls. The name is often spelled Thromble.
3Conn. Col. Rec., I, 162; comp. 3 Mass. Hist., Coll., X, 7. In 1650 John Trumble, of Charlestown, called himself "seaman in the good ship called the Wm. & George" (Aspinwall, Notarial Record, 363).
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History of Martha's Vineyard
Granted unto Joseph Daggett, of Tisbury, By the Proprietors of the town of Edgartown that when the neck of Sanchacantackett Comes to be Divided that Joseph Daggett shall have his Part in the place he formerly purchased, so far as his part Comes to in the Place as he shall Chose, he allowing for the goodness of it.1
Granted the Day and Year above writen unto John Daggett that when the New Purchase is lay'd out that John Daggett shall have his half share Joyning to his land there, that is to say att Waketequa.2
The limits of this sub-division were afterwards described as "bounded by the road that now goes from the head of Wakequataqua (Lagoon Pond) to John Bolte's, including all the land to the Northeast of said road,"3 which is practically the line now dividing Oak Bluffs from Edgartown. Some years later there was a "misapprehension" of the exact bounds of Sanchacantackett neck as "bounded by a certain path which was then lately made and used, when indeed the said path was new and not the true boundaries which was an ancient foot-path by which the Sachem bounded Sanchacan- tacket by his gift to the Indians," and a committee was sent to settle the matter. Joseph Norton, who lived on the south- ermost lot next this path, may have had the original "misapprehension," for he entertained the committee, according to neighborhood tradition, fed them well, gave them plentifully of good old New England rum, and when they had viewed paths, devious and other- wise, they came to the following conclusion : "that the said words - as the road now goes - shall intend the old path, not then wholly disused, and partly still known, especially at both ends, and not the new one."4 This was a little mixed and might mean anything, but it went the way Norton intended. Thus this territory finally came into the hands of the settlers, the freeholders of Edgartown agreeing, in 1673, to divide all of Ogkeshkuppe neck, except the "Farm," which they had endeavored to keep from Daggett.5 This was the beginning of the development of this town as a separate settlement.
1This probably refers to some unrecorded purchase from the Indians.
2Edgartown Records, I, 99. This vote recognized the Daggett "Farm" as excluded.
3Ibid., I, 88. Feb. 2, 1703-4.
4Ibid. June 24, 1707.
5It is difficult, at this distance, to know the motives of Mayhew in resisting this grant to his old neighbor, and until some musty document of the past turns up with the necessary evidence, we can only surmise the cause of his obstinacy when such a clear title rested in Daggett.
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Annals of Oak Bluffs
In 1707 the subject of a division of this neck received further attention, and the following action was taken:
Voted that Benjamin Smith, Samuel Athearn and Samuel Smith are chosen to divide Sanchacantackett Neck, purchased and unpurchased, . esteeming the land as if lying vacant and unpurchased; and where no grant of the proprietors hath been made shall come into a common division, the whole being twenty-six shares, saving always to such as have purchased so far as their rights are to the lands in general on said Neck.1
These were known as the "Sanchacantackett Shares," and comprised the land west of the Middle line the entire length of the neck from the Gore to the county road leading to Eastville. They were about forty rods wide and extended east and west from the "farm" to the Lagoon.
THE FIRST SETTLER
It is doubted whether the owner ever resided on his "farm." He had a home lot, as previously stated, in the village, and his son Thomas also resided near by, but the son's relations with Mayhew did not permit him to be independent. It is the author's belief that the youngest son, Joseph, was placed upon the farm as soon as he became old enough to attend to business affairs, probably about 1667, when he was twenty years of age, and that he made it his home, and here married his Indian wife. The litigation had driven the father away from the island, and in that year he had taken a second wife at Plymouth, and ever after that resided there, and died in that town. In so far as a guess is of value, Joseph Daggett was the first white man to reside in the present limits of Oak Bluffs, and here, in all probability, his half breed children were born, Alice, Hester and Joseph. He remained here until about 1673, when he removed to the new settlement at Takemmy (West Tisbury).
DIVISION OF THE "FARM"
In this year the father died, and bequeathed the "Farm" in equal shares, to his sons John (of Rehoboth), Thomas and Joseph of the Vineyard. Nothing was done by them, as far as known, to improve this property until 1677, when the three brothers agreed to divide it, on September 6th of that year. The instrument of division is as follows:
1Edgartown Records I, 89. April 14, 1707. The town had confirmed, March 3Ist, previously, "several tracts" of land purchased by Joseph Norton, Thomas Daggett, Matthew Mayhew, Thomas Harlock, Benjamin Smith, and James Pease of "divers Indians."
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History of Martha's Vineyard
Squash Meadow Pond
Methodist
OCEAN PARK
O Tabernacle
innar
Pond
Farm
LOCATION OF THE DAGGETT FARM, OAK BLUFFS, MARTHA'S VINEYARD.
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Annals of Oak Bluffs
Know all men whom it may concern that we, whose names are under- written, have jointly agreed to divide the farm that our father gave to us, lying upon the eastermost Chap of Homes Hole, which farm we, that is John Dogget, Thomas Daggett and Joseph Dogget, have divided, both upland and meadow. The first lott came to John Daggett of upland and meadoe, uppon the northeast, or north northeast: the second division fell to Thomas Daggett, bounded by a marked tree, standing near the head of a meadoe, commonly called the fresh meadoe: and from that tree bounded by marked trees running nearest a north west and by west course, from the aforesaid marked tree the meadoe is bounded by marked trees between the meadow and the foresaid John Daggett's upland, and so to a stake near the pond uppon the meadow, which line runs towards the northeast; and on the southwest bounded by Joseph Daggett's land and meadow, which bound runs from the westermost side of the cove commonly called the Muddy Cove, where the fence stands at the day of this writing, which fence is the southermost bounds of Thomas Daggett's meadoe: and from the aforesaid fence runs upon the upland, with a straight line towards the southwest, by marked trees, about fifty or sixty poles to a stake or post that is there set down: and from that post upon a northwest and by west line to the uttermost bounds of the farm: which northwest and by west line is the bounds between Thomas and Joseph Daggett: and from the foresaid fence upon the meadoe southerly, with the lands and meadoe upon and about the hummocks, southerly, belongs to Joseph Daggett, with all the upland southerly from the line that runs northwest and by west, as aforesaid, so far as the bounds of the farm southerly.1
SUBSEQUENT OWNERS OF THE FARM BEFORE 1800
This tract of land which was thus divided was situated, roughly speaking, between the head of Squash meadow and the lower part of Farm pond, extending a mile in a north and south line, and a mile into the middle of the neck, forming a square, as near as it could be surveyed and measured in those days. The accompanying map will show the location ac- curately, and it will be seen that it covers half of the present site of the village of Oak Bluffs. Thomas Daggett, a month later, sold his part to his brother John, of Rehoboth, Oct. 9, 1677,2 and on July 20, 1686, the two joint owners procured from Wampamag the sachem, a confirmation of the original sale.3 He describes the tract as "by the sea, in length, one English mile," and extending three hundred rods from the beach "into the island." This is a reduction, probably by agreement, of twenty rods in width from the first grant, prob- ably to comprise five hundred acres, as the mile square would
1Dukes Deeds, I, 115. 2Ibid., I, 323. 3Ibid., I, 289.
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History of Martha's Vineyard
make 640 acres. Meanwhile Joseph Daggett was adding to his portion by successive purchases of the Indians, by per- mission of the town,1 but whether the land was occupied by any resident at this period is not known. It would not seem that the land was allowed to go to waste, and it is possible that there were Indian tenants who cultivated it for the owners. On Aug. 5, 1692, John of; Rehoboth sold his two-thirds to James Allen of Chilmark, estimated at three hundred and thirty acres,2 and Allen in turn, on March 31, 1703, sold this portion to his son Ebenezer Allen.3 Neither of the two last named were occupants, as they were land speculators. On Dec. 5, 1707, Ebenezer Allen sold one-third of his tract, or one hundred and ten acres, being the western part, to Joseph and Isaac Norton, who had already become identified with Sanchacantacket property about the Major's cove, and were living there.4 Isaac Norton sold the south half of this purchase to his son Isaac, Junior, July 8, 1713,5 and Joseph sold the north half to his son Ebenezer, Feb. 28, 1734, with reversion to his grandsons, Eliakim and Peter, sons of Ebenezer.6 On Nov. 16, 1727, Ebenezer Allen disposed of the eastern part of the two-thirds which he once owned, to John Butler, Jr.,7 and this last owner, on Nov. 26, 1733, sold this to Simeon Butler, his brother.8 Here Simeon Butler carried on a tannery for a number of years, until 1750, when he disposed of it all to his two sons Ebenezer and Thomas Butler, the former acquiring the northern moiety.9 The northwestern section, which fell by reversion to Eliakim and Peter Norton, was sold by them to Matthew Norton on Dec. II, 1747,10 and a year later, on Dec. 3, 1748, the last named owner sold this part to Malatiah Davis (one-half), Thomas Claghorn (one- quarter), and Benjamin Claghorn (one-quarter).11 By suc- cessive purchases of the first two, Benjamin Claghorn became full owner of this parcel, estimated to contain sixty-five acres,
1Edgartown Records, I, 29.
2Dukes Deeds, I, 151.
3Ibid., II, 40.
4Ibid., II, 200.
5Ibid., III, 197.
6Ibid., V, 381.
7Ibid., IV, 330.
8Ibid., V, 351.
9Ibid., VIII, 167, 263.
10 Ibid., VII, 469. .
11Ibid., VIII, 58
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Annals of Oak Bluffs
in 1750 and 1758.1 Isaac Norton at that time still held the southwest section, which had been in his possession since 1713. Thomas Butler by his will of 1780 bequeathed his share in equal parts to his sons, William and Levi,2 and the latter, in 1795, sold his share to William.3
Meanwhile, by the will of Joseph Daggett, who retained his original southern third till his death, this division fell to his son, John Daggett, of Edgartown, in 1718.4 This portion of the farm remained undivided until after the death of John, when his heirs sold at various times (1767-1782) their shares (in sevenths) to Malatiah Davis, and it later descended to his son Benjamin and became known as the "Ben Davis Place."5
QUASQUANNES - SQUASH MEADOW
The oldest known name for the region which became the site of the camp meeting, and later the settlement of Cottage City, was of record, in 1660, as Quasquannes. This is prob- ably an Indian's personal name, because the place was so "called by the English," for it is well understood that the native never bestowed personal names on places. It covered the region comprised in the "farm" of John Daggett, while just north of it was the body of water which was designated by the whites, as early as 1684, the "Squash Meadow" pond and swamp. On the fertile ground surrounding this pond the Indians doubtless had fields of squash growing here when the whites came. The word squash is derived from the Algonquian noun askutasquash, which was the name for this vegetable cultivated by them. The English adopted the plural asquash as a singular noun and formed a new plural, squashes. The portion covered by "the farm" was in the dominion of Wampamog, the sachem, in 1660, who sold it to Daggett, and in 1682 the "Squash Meadow" was the individual property of that Indian from Ipswich, son of the Sagamore Masconomet, known here by his English name of Tom Tyler. Liberty to purchase this from him about that date (April, 1682) was granted to Andrew Newcomb and John Coffin, one-half, and James Covel, James Pease, Isaac Norton, William Vinson and Joseph Norton, the other half. The
1Dukes Deeds, VIII, 254, 568.
2Dukes Probate, VI, 244. 3Dukes Deeds, XIII, 449.
4Dukes Probate, I, 24.
5Ibid., IX, 252, 590, 591, 667; X, 107; XI, 252
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History of Martha's Vineyard
records indicate that this purchase was made, but documentary evidence is lacking to determine the descent of title from these grantees.1
The successive chain of ownership of the "farm" down to 1800 has been shown. The possession of the northern part devolved upon William Butler, and he also inherited the Squash meadow tract through purchases by his father and grandfather. He was therefore at the beginning of the nine- teenth century the sole owner, and almost the sole occupant, of the territory now covered by the village settlement of Oak Bluffs. His next neighbor to the south was Benjamin Butler (282), who lived at the lower end of Farm pond, and still farther south near the head of Sanchacantacket pond, Benjamin Davis (34) shared with them the solitude of these vast acres of uncleared land. To the northward of him lived Ebenezer Smith on the highland of East chop, while westward on the shores of the Lagoon were the dingy wigwams of the remnants of the Indian race. Over all this section great groves of tall pine and spreading oaks furnished welcome shade to the herds of cattle that browsed in the "Great Pasture" on the borders of Squash meadow, and the only sounds that echoed through these woods were the calls of lowing kine, the bleating of a stray sheep, and the occasional crack of a woodman's axe. This condition lasted for a generation in the first third of the nineteenth century, before its primeval stillness was invaded by a throng of people who were destined to turn it into a "city" of paved streets and electric lights.
ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
THE FIRST CAMP MEETING
The origin of the town of Oak Bluffs dates from the establishment of the annual "camp meetings" held in an oak grove on the shores of Squash Meadow pond. This location was discovered and recommended to those who had been previously attending similar meetings at Falmouth, Sandwich and Monument, by Jeremiah Pease (776), an en- thusiastic Methodist "brother" and local exhorter, and by him it was surveyed and laid out. This grove was on the south side of the pond, and open fields bordered it on all other
1William Vinson sold one-tenth of Squash meadow in 1684, a division consistent with the number of grantees, Newcomb and Coffin owning five-tenths.
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Annals of Oak Bluffs
sides. It was a part of the Butler estate, heretofore described, and at this period in the possession of William Butler, from whom it was leased for this temporary occupancy.
The first camp meeting held in this beautiful grove was in 1835, and began on Monday, Aug. 24th. The area cleared for this purpose was quite limited in extent, about half an acre. A small rough board structure had been erected with an elevated seat and stand in front to serve as a pulpit. This was called the "Preacher's Tent." In front of this was a temporary altar, consisting of a railing, enclosing a space about twelve by twenty-five feet, with seats to be used mainly by the singers in time of public worship, and as a place for penitent "sinners" to come into from the congregation for prayers, following the afternoon and evening meetings. Beyond the altar were some plain board benches for the seating of the congregation. Nine tents were pitched in a semi-circle around this amphitheatre, together with some canvas shelters for cooking and dining purposes. This was the physical aspect of the first camp meeting at Oak Bluffs.
The Rev. Thomas C. Pierce, a Methodist clergyman was elected superintendent of the meeting, in the absence of the presiding elder of the district, and with a secretary to record its doings the session was opened by Mr. Pierce on Mon- day evening with an address. Meetings were held daily, morning, afternoon and evening, at which preachers of the Methodist denomination held forth, and the contemporary accounts in Zion's Herald, the organ of that sect, testify to the success of the encampment from the standpoint of public "conversions" and reclamation of "backsliders." The report of the meeting concludes with a survey of the event in the following words:
We think the number converted during the meeting is very safely computed at sixty-five. The work is spreading on the island. Among those con- verted during the encampment were men of high respectability. On the morning of the close, when assembled near the stand, some two or three hundred brethren and sisters in the Lord arose from their seats and stood awhile in testimony that God had deepened the work of grace in their hearts during the meeting. Six souls were reclaimed.
The meeting lasted through that week, closing Saturday morning. By a unanimous vote it was decided to purchase the lumber which had been used in the construction of the camp, in order that it might remain on the ground for per-
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History of Martha's Vineyard
manent use. Collections for this object secured the necessary funds and the owner freely gave his consent to the continuance of the meetings in this grove.
SUBSEQUENT CAMP MEETINGS AT WESLEYAN GROVE
Annually for ten years, in the last week of each recurring August, these meetings were held in this grove (1835-1844), of which it will not be necessary to relate the details of each encampment. The general schedule of services was the same every year, in which there were two particular ceremonies, known as the "love feast" and the "parting." At the former all the campers assembled at the preacher's tent and "testi- monies" of personal experiences in the religious life were spoken by as many as could be heard in time. The "parting" ceremony was thus described: "It consists of walking in procession, two and two, around the area within the circle of tents, singing at the same time some appropriate hymn, and finally all halting, and then each passing by every other one, taking them by the hand and bidding them 'farewell'." This ceremony was most impressive and one which was always attended by a crowd of spectators, who looked on with the deepest interest and emotion.1
Indeed the whole series of meetings was calculated to play upon the sentiment and excite the sympathy of the par- ticipants, and often the entire assembly would sit out the night, singing and praying. On one occasion in the early morning during one of these nocturnal "revivals" it is recorded that "several of the companies left the ground in marshalled procession, and moved to the shore singing the songs of Zion." These spiritual exaltations were productive of strange exhibits of religious manifestations. A veteran "brother" solemnly announced that he had seen Wesley in a vision and conversed with him, and in the official report of one meeting we read: "Numbers who are not easily excited were shorn of their strength, and lay for hours without the power either to speak or move. Some who had doubted the reality of such exercises looked on in amazement and exclaimed with the psalmist, "This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes'."
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