USA > Massachusetts > Nantucket County > The history of Nantucket County, island, and town : including genealogies of first settlers > Part 42
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
of spiritious Liquors and Taverners for the publick good and when the number is so ascertained, for the privileges of the licenses to be sold at public auction to the highest bidder Either at the time of the same meeting or some other which shall then be determined by the vote of the Town and to such persons only as are of good Moral Character and otherwise qualified as the Law Directs, the privileges of the licenses to continue in force for one year at the Expiration of which it shall be the duty of the Town to make a new Choice in the same manner as is above stated. the profits arising on said sales of the Licenses to be paid to the Town Treasurer to be appropriated towards the support of the poor of the Town, and it shall be the duty of the Selectmen for the Time being to superin- tend the sales in behalf of the Town. Your petitioners having duly considered the foregoing propositions are of the opinion that if they are adopted the Effects would prove salatory. that Each Town in its corporate Capacity would be Enabled to Judge of the number Acquired for the Publick good, that it would prevent a Large num- ber from spending their hard Earnings in an unnecessary man- ner, that it would Contribute to the necesaries and Comforts of Life to many Destitute famalys, that it would have a beneficial Effect in Checking the Increase of pauperism: that it would yield a Revinue to Each Town which would be appreciated for the Publick benefits. We believe that many other Minor Advantages would manifest themselves on a full Investigation of the subject which we think unnesessary to Ennumbrate from a full conviction from the propriety of our petition we feel Confident that the Legislature will give that attention to the subject which its Importance demands. Signed in behalfe and by direction of the Town Nantucket February the 19th 1820
JAMES COFFIN
Town Clerk
ISAAC COFFIN, Moderator .*
Business continued to gain and the people to prosper and in 1830, Nantucket was recognized as the third commercial town in size, wealth and importance in the Commonwealth. Between 1820 and 1830, it is estimated that about 600 people removed from the Island to seek a livelihood elsewhere, f but the general progress of business in the latter part of the decade was such as to encourage the people to consider projects that would add to the Town's fa- cilities as a port.
*A Town Meeting was held March 4, 1820, at which it was "Voted -That the Selectmen be a Committee to act and Transact all the bus- iness Relative to the Destressed sufferers by Fire in Savanner."
¿In his private diary Obed Macy records the following removals, in 1823-24 and 25; In 1823-Josiah Macy and family, Gorham Macy (subsequently returned), John Shaw (subsequently returned), Obed Hussey and family, David Thain (subsequently returned), Jonathan D. Pope and family, Richard G. Howland, Josiah H. Riddell, all to New York, and Porter P. Neder to Tennessee; 1824-Jethro Mitchell and family, Samuel M. Macy and family, Obed B. Hussey, William W. Macy and family, Frederick Cartwright and family all to New York; 1825-Isaiah Brayton, to South Kingston; John Fitch to Kennebeck; John F. Coffin to New York; Edward Coffin, Plainfield, Conn .; Obadiah Coffin; Benjamin Folger, Reuben Swain, Milton; Obed Folger 2d, Au- burn, N. Y .; Elisha Folger Jr., Laban Cottle, Eunice Macy (widow), Daniel Coffin, son of John, Scotto Wing, Kennebeck; Calvin Bunker, New York; Henry Bunker, son of Nathaniel, Connecticut; David Giles, Perth Amboy; Obed Wood, Providence; Alexander Coleman, Halifax; John Clasby, Jr., Portsmouth; Benjamin Barnard, son of Cromwell, Portland; Francis Macy and John B. Macy, New York.
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
The bar had always been a serious obstacle to commerce from the time when larger vessels, drawing eight or nine feet of water had replaced the sloops and small schooners that were originally used in the whale-fishery and in the carrying trade. When the whaleships had reached the size and draft that they had to have their supplies lightered to them as they laid off back of the bar at anchor, or took refuge at Old Town,* and their returning cargoes conveyed into the home port of Nantucket by the same process, the expense of outfitting and infitting was perceptibly increased. One project for remedying the difficulty was to dredge a channel through the bar of sufficient depth and width to accommodate the traffic. After considerable discussion a committee was appointed in May, 1828, to contract for a dredger to excavate for the chan- nel. The machine arrived in November, and was set to work, and eventually excavated a channel which, if it had been permanent, would have been of inestimable value. When a similar project was considered twenty years before, it was pointed out that jetties would be needed to scour the channel and prevent the sand again blocking it up, but the expense was so heavy that the project was abandoned. The natural laws regarding tidal currents do not mater- ially change, and jetties were just as necessary in 1828 as in 1805, so, while the project seemed for a time to promise success, the chan- nel soon filled in again for lack of a scouring current, and the sit- uation was not improved.
Another project which had commended itself from time to time to the Islanders as well as to the National authorities was the es- tablishment of a "harbor of refuge," in what is called the "Chord of the Bay," the deep water lying inside of Great Point, between the Point and the Bar. Under certain conditions of stormy weather sailing vessels were unable to make Edgartown or Holmes' Hole (Vineyard Haven) and the run down Nantucket sound was peril- ous. Such a harbor would be og great value to the coasting trade, and save many a vessel from wreck. As otherwheres narrated an attempt was made to get the National Government to construct this harbor but it was unsuccessful. In the late winter of 1827-8, a memorial was sent to Congress renewing the effort to have this pro- ject consummated, and in December, 1828, a bill providing for a breakwater was introduced into Congress .¡ This followed having
*The colloquial name for Edgartown.
tOn the 29th of the previous May (1828) Daniel Webster, then a Senator from Massachusetts, in a debate on the tariff, used local im- provements as an inducement to enact a tariff bill. The section under consideration referred to a tax on molasses, which, he said would "benefit the Treasury, though it will benefit nobody else. Our finances will at least be improved by it. I assure the gentlemen we will en- deavor to use the funds thus raised properly and wisely, and to the public advantage. We have already passed a bill for the Delaware Breakwater; another is before us for the improvement of our harbors; the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Bill has been brought into the Senate while I have been speaking; and next session we hope to bring for- ward the Breakwater at Nantucket." But the breakwater never ma- terialized. It was recommended by the Massachusetts General Court in Feb'y 1828, and in Dec. 1828, it passed a second reading in the United States Senate. It got no farther.
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
a careful survey made to consider the desirability, feasibility, and expense of the proposed undertaking. The survey and estimates had been made under the direction of Brevet Lieut. Colonel, John Anderson, and the scheme was pronounced feasible and advisable Again Congress was memorialized but the influence for Nantucket and the merchant marine was not strong enough to carry a bill through and the port of refuge has never existed save on paper.
Still another scheme was devised to overcome the handicap of the sand bar. Early in January, 1828, the subject of Dutch "Camels" was agitated in an editorial in the "Inquirer," as provid- ing a safe method of transporting ships or other deep draft vessels in or out over the bar. It was not for some years after that the scheme materialized but in 1842, under the direction of Peter Ewer, they were built and operated .* They formed really a species of dry dock in two sections. The mode of operation was to separate the sections, submerge them as much as required by pumping in water, sail the vessel between the sections, inclose the vessel, draw the sections together again and after securing and blocking up the ves- sel, pump the water out again, and transport the craft out over the bar or elsewhere as desired, reversing the former operations and setting the vessel free again. The Camels were operated un- der their own steam. The first ship to enter them was the Phebe, but the ship Constitution was the first to put them to practical use. The first ship brought in over the bar with her cargo was the Peru. For some years the Camels were run with a reasonable degree of success, but Ichabod was soon to be inscribed on the record of Nantucket whaling industry, and after some seven or eight years of service they were pulled up ashore and in 1854, they were broken. up.}
At a very early period, attempts were made to have a regular steamboat service between Nantucket and the main land. The first steamboat to make a trip to Nantucket was the Eagle, rather a crude little craft of about eighty tons, built at New London, Conn., early in the year 1818. She arrived in Nantucket on her first trip May 5, 1818, with about sixty passengers, some of them Friends, on the way to the Island to attend Quarterly Meeting.$ Two weeks later another trip was made, and on the 25th of June, of the same year, she began making regular scheduled trips between New Bed- ford and Nantucket. As may be easily inferred she was not a fast boat, her record time having been been made, Mr. Turner says July 30, 1818, "when she covered the distance in eight hours and seven minutes without making any stops." On July 24, 1818, she towed the whale-ship George, then just returned from a voyage with 2,016 barrels of sperm oil on board, over the bar and into the
*Mr. Ewer seemed to be quite the progressive spirit of his' day. He caused the milestones on the Siasconset road to be placed (in 1824). ¿Mr. Turner in his "Story of the Island Steamers" tells also the, story of the Camels (pp. 102-113).
įMr. Turner gives much very interesting details relating to the steam-boats in the "Story of the Island Steamers."
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
harbor, the first instance of its kind in Nantucket history .* The steamboat was not a financial success, and in September of the same year she was sold and put upon the Boston-Hingham service.
In May, 1824, Capt. R. S. Bunker, a native of Nantucket, com- manded a steamboat called tlie Connecticut, with which he tried to demonstrate to the Islanders the superiority of steam over can- vas as a dependable means of uniting Nantucket and the main land, but his fellow Nantucketers refused to enthuse.t The Hamilton, a fifty-ton boat, was next in the field but she was one of those boats that had to stop every time she blew her whistle, or as a prominent Nantucket man of the day said-she"had not power enough to get out of her own way."# Slie lasted in the service about six months, -quitting in the fall of 1828.
The Marco-Bozarris was the next venture. She was built and financed by Jacob Barker, and made her first trips in 1829 .** She continued until the summer of 1832; when Br. Barker withdrew her, at the same time volunteering to aid, by personal service and financially, a project for acquiring a larger steamboat for the 'Island traffic.tt
The efforts of the Island business men resulted in the build- ing of the steamboat Telegraph, constructed especially for the duty. She was 171 tons burthen, 120 feet in length on deck, 19 feet 6 inches breadth, with 71/2 feet depth of hold and with paddle wheel 17 feet in diameter. She had a copper boiler and burned wood for fuel and was commanded by Capt. Edward H. Barker, who had commanded the Marco Bozarris. Her first trip to Nantucket was made October 4, 1832. She did not begin her regular service until the following March, and then entered on a tri-weekly sched- ule. In 1842, business had reached the stage of prosperity when a larger and better boat was essential and the "Massachusetts" was built. She was about double the tonnage of the "Telegraph," and better equipped in every way. She made her first trip July 4, 1842.11
In 1854, the Hyannis route was opened, the Old Colony road having continued its line as far as that town, and it being thought the shorter sea route would prove preferable, the boats were taken from the Vineyard-New Bedford line and diverted to Hyannis. This was not pleasing to the Vineyard people, who temporarily put on the steamboat "George Law," supplanting her in October, 1854, by the new steamboat "Eagle's Wing" which was 439 tons
*"Story of the Island's Steamers" p. 2. tIbid p. 3.
¿"Story of the Island's' Steamers" p. 5.
** Ibid p. 17-18.
ttIbid p. 19.
##It is a singular co-incidence that she wound up her service on the National holiday and left Nantucket for the last time in company with the "Telegraph" at midnight of July 4, 1858. She was 308 tons bur- then,, 161 ft. 2 in. long, 23 ft. 11 in. beam, 8 ft. 4 in. depth of hold. Much of this matter regarding the steamers is condensed from Mr. Turner's booklet.
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
burthen, 173 feet long, 27 feet beam, and was of the "walking beam" type, instead of the "gallows frame" as the "Telegraph" and "Massachusetts" were.
The "Island Home," built for the service, took the place of the "Massachusetts" on the Hyannis route in September 1855. She was a very superior boat and the Islanders became much attached to her. She was 184 feet long, 29 feet 8 in. beam and of 536 tons burthen. There may have been something in the name as well as
THE ISLAND HOME
in the excellence of the craft for there seemed to be a sense of per- sonal loss among the people when she sailed her last trip from Nantucket in 1895.
In 1856-7, the propeller "Jersey Blue" run for awhile direct between Nantucket and New York, and the propeller "Osceola," in 1848, was used in a vain attempt to establish a business line between Nantucket and Hartford, but both vessels were withdrawn for want of patronage. The "Martha's Vineyard" was added in 1871; the "River Queen in 1873; the "Nantucket" in 1886; the Gay Head in 1891; and the Uncatena 1902, and the Sankoty .in 1911. The last named was burned at her dock in August, 1924. The most
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
recent addition is the Islander, built especially for the service, and put into commission in August, 1923.
The isolated situation of Nantucket and the compact nature of its settlement, no less than the inflammable material used in the construction of its buildings, has always made the Islanders espec- ially alert at any alarm of fire and on their guard to reduce the danger to a minimum, so far as local by-laws and local precautions would permit.
In his History of Nantucket Obed Macy gives the following list of fires: *
Buildings Destroyed By Fire
In 1736-Friends Meeting-house, estimated loss $ 400
1762 Peter Barnard's house 400
1765 Mill 500
1769 Several buildings on South Wharf 11,000
Several buildings at Brant Point 1,000
1774 Enoch Gardner's barn
100
1782 Light-house at Brant Point 1,000
1786 Light-house at Great Point 1,000
Nicholas Meader's house at Sesacacha
100
1797 Two barnst 300
1799 Isaac Folger's shop 1,500
1802 Nathan Bebe's bake-house 2,000
1810 George Russell's shop 350
1811 Matthew Myrick's rope walk 3,000
1812 Samuel Swain's house at Phillips Run 200
Several buildings at South Wharf; 6,000
1814 George Myrick's farm house
300
1816 Light-house at Great Point 500
1820 Jethro Dunham's house at Tuckernuck 400
1823 T. & H. Starbuck's shop 100
1822 Isaac Coffin's barn 900
Buildings Injured
Thomas Smith's shop 1,000
John R. Macy's shop
600
Elizabeth Chase's shop
1,000
Adding to these losses $3,000 for slight injuries
at different times 3,000
$36,000
*Page 284-5. Mr. Macy's list foots up $36,600.
¡Jan. 1 two barns were struck by lightning and destroyed.
¿The New Bedford Mercury says-Fire at Nantucket Friday morn- ing Nov. 20 in a blockmaker's shop, burned 9 buildings, stores and shops; loss $10,000 to $12,000. Among the sufferers were Daniel Bar- ney & Son, Simon Borden, John W. Macy, Samuel Burnell, Samuel Dow, Wm. Folger, Ebenezer Drew 2d, Benj. Coleman, Paul Mitchell & Co., Aaron Mitchell, Joseph Winslow, and Samuel Barker.
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
It is believed that the total value of property de- stroyed by fire since the settlement of the Island has not exceeded $36,000
Shortly after the publication of Mr. Macy's History there was a different story to tell. In May, 1836, a fire, quite disastrous as compared with previous records, destroyed the Washington House and several stores on lower Main street inflicting a loss of $35,000 of $40,000 .*
A far more destructive conflagration occurred on June 2, 1838. According to the Nantucket Inquirer it broke out soon after 2 o'clock in the morning of that day, and raged for nearly four hours before being brought under control. It originated in a ropewalk, owned by Joseph James, in the rear of Union street. A wind blow- ing from the south threatened dire results to a large portion of the Town. It was found necessary to resort to the use of gun- powder and blow buildings in the path of the fire to pieces in order to check it. The Inquirer of that morning which held up its edi- tion to give a report of the catastrophe, reported that between 20 and 30 buildings were demolished and a vast amount of property destroyed. Dwellings, stores, candle and oil factories with their contents were burned. It was only by incredible exertions, says the Inquirer, that no more damage was done. It was necessary to resort to the use of gunpowder to check the spread of the flames and four dwelling houses, one store and a workshop were blown up to effect the result. The Inquirer, in an Extra published June 6, made the following interesting comments: "There were several remarkable circumstances connected with this conflagration, which peculiarly distinguish it from all others of which we have ever heard or read. On examining the site of the fire, there is scarcely a particle of ashes to be discovered from one extremity to the other; nor were there remaining, of some of the largest buildings, enough charred wood, brands or charcoal, to fill a common cart. The greatest part of the ground is swept entirely clean, as though by some agency far more nice in its operations than that of fire; and the few brick and stone ruins of chimnies, try works, &c, which still retain their positions, look like naked monuments on a desert plain. The absence of ashes and cinders may possibly be ac- counted for, by the furious strength of the flames, which carried off in whirlwinds, to immense distances, all combustible matters that was not utterly consumed on the spot. On places occupied for the storage of oil, the hoops of the casks were left standing in rows without a vestige about or beneath them, of the staves which they had so recently and so firmly embraced. We have already
*This fire occurred on May 11, starting about 11.30 p. m. in the rear of the Washington House, on Main street, Elisha Starbuck pro- prietor, apparently near the kitchen chimney. From the hotel it spread to Francis F. Husseys house and store then to the hardware store of William C. Swain at the corner of Union street thence to a tailor shop kept by a ma'n' named Cowan. The Inquirer in its report of the fire says that the ladies were of much assistance in fighting the fire.
A few days later (May 16) the dwelling house attached to Great Point Light was destroyed by fire, occasioning a loss of from $700 to $800.
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
spoken of the streams of blazing oil which ran along the margin of the adjacent beach, and covered large tracts of the waters of the harbor with a sheet of liquid fire .*-- This was one of the most singular of the phenomena presented by this memorable spectacle: its appearance was indeed strangely and fearfully grand. Several platforms, upon which stood oil sheds, &c, extending from the south side of Commercial wharf, were ignited from below, and finally consumed :- the curious examiner may still see the remains of many of the floor beams and joists, under which the tide ebbed and flowed, and which are burnt away only from the nether side, or part next the water. The wharf logs, posts, piles, &c, from the surface of the tide upwards, are also greatly burnt-as are also the upper surfaces of a large body of spars lying in the dock of a neighboring mastyard. A raft loaded with a large quantity of valuable stock, prepared for the construction of whale boats, was launched from the rear of T. G. Barnard's workshop into the har- bor, but was afterwards set on fire by the overspreading coat of
burning oil, and totally destroyed."t An interesting editorial comment, in view of what occurred less than a decade later, was that from the excellent work of the Fire Department it seemed well-assured that "no fire in Nantucket can ever again be so ex- tensive and alarming."
It was about this time that a new industry was projected at Nantucket. The people through whose hardihood and bravery the monsters of the deep had been captured and made to illumine the world were to rear the docile silk-worm and use the products to beautify and adorn their neighbors. Instead of the harpoon and the boat they were to accustom themselves to the shuttle and the loom. It had been suggested that the climatic conditions of Nan- tucket were admirably adapted to the growth of the mulberry tree, the natural habitat of the silk worm and that the spinning and weaving of silk would naturally follow the production of the raw materials.į
*"Large quantities of oil floated through drains beneath the rope- walk, into the low and marsh grounds to the west, much of which was afterwards dipped up in casks; while still greater quantities saturated the earth whereupon it had flowed, filling also a ditch which extended along the whole length of the ropewalk, and presenting a living sheet of flame for hours after the whole area had been swept of its build- ings.
tThe more important losses were James Athearn, oil stock etc $46,000; French & Coffin, do. $32,000; Matthew Crosby & Son, do. $24,- 000; Daniel Jones & Sons, do. $23,000; Joseph James, ropewalk, stock, etc $13,300; Valentine Hussey & Brother, oil manufactory, fixtures, etc. $10,000; Philip H. Folger, do. $8,000; R. R. Bunker, twine factory and stock, $2,000; and the following dwellings -- Harvey Crocker, $4,000 (insured for $1,000); James N. Bassett, $3,200 ($1,000 insured); Walter Folger Jr. $2,200; widow of Jesse Gardner, $1,000; Sam'l H. Ames, $2,- 500; Henry Swift 1 house occupied by T. D. Morris and C. F. Gardner, $2,800 ($1,800 insured); Wm Hodge, $900; Jesse Crosby, $650; Thomas Coffin and William Alley $900; John Elkins, shop, casks and stock $1800; Thos. D. Morris paint shop, etc, $1750; Fisher & Folger, shop, etc, $750; Chas. F. Gardner, furniture, etc, $600; Wm. P. Smith, paint shop, $500; Jabez Cushman, household goods, $400; Alex. E. Gardner, lumber and tools, $450; Grafton Gardner, cooper's shop, $300; Gilbert Coffin, store, etc, $2,000; Thos. Barnard, boatbuilder, $3,000; John G. Thurber, $350; Chas. H. Wyer, $250; Geo. E. Gardner, $250; besides many who lost tools and smaller property.
¿The Inquirer of Feb. 17, 1836, published the following from the Providence Journal :- "Within the last three weeks, one of the new looms, with improvements by Mr. Gay adapted to the manufacture of (See next page)
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
Naturally the evolution of the mullberry tree and the silk worm was into the silk factory and its woven products and March 31,1836, William H. Gardner, Samuel B. Tuck, and William Coffin and their associates and successors were incorporated by the Gen- eral Court as the "Atlantic Silk Company" to produce and manu- facture silk in the County of Nantucket. The Company was au- thorized to hold real estate to the value of $60,000, and to issue stock to the value of $100,000 .*
On March 12, the Inquirer, in commenting on the progress toward a definite form said-"In connexion herewith, we would state also that the building and machinery of the Atlantic Silk Company are in a state of great forwardness-insomuch that the factory will be in active operation in the course of two or three months. The edifice is already erected, though not yet finished- a part of the steam engine has arrived, and the residue is daily expected, together with the looms, spindles, &c., to be set in motion under the personal direction of Mr. Gay the ingenious inventor of most of the apparatus for the manufacture of silken fabrics."
April 27, 1836, the General Court, in order to encourage the new industry, passed an act authorizing the payment of a bounty of $1.00 for every 10 pounds of cocoons raised and $1.00 for every pound of silk that can be reeled. These bounties were to continue for seven years.t
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