The history of Nantucket County, island, and town : including genealogies of first settlers, Part 76

Author: Starbuck, Alexander, 1841-1925
Publication date: 1924
Publisher: Boston [Mass.] : C.E. Goodspeed & Co.
Number of Pages: 900

USA > Massachusetts > Nantucket County > The history of Nantucket County, island, and town : including genealogies of first settlers > Part 76

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His wife doubtless died in Dover; at what time is not re- corded. He died on the 4th of the 12th month 1690. Their children were-Nathaniel, who married Mary Coffin, daughter of Tristram and from whom all American Starbucks descend; Jethro, who was killed at the age of twelve years by being run over by a cart; Sarah, who married first, William Story, second Joseph Austin, third Humphrey Varney (as his second wife); Dorcas, who married William Gayer; Abigail, who married Peter Coffin, son of Tristram; and Esther, who was the first wife of Humphrey Varney.

RICHARD SWAIN

according to Savaget embarked in London on the Truelove September 17, 1635, for America. Savage says that in April, per- haps, he had sent his wife Elizabeth; in the Planter, his sons Will- iam and Francis in the Rebecca and daughter Elizabeth in the Sus- an & Ellen, under the care of various friends. He was then 34 years old. He was settled in Rowley in 1639; was made a freeman March 13, 1639; had liberty, with others, to plant in Hampton in 1638; and in the following year was authorized to settle small causes in Hampton. The date of the death of his first wife does not appear to be given, but in 1658 or 1659 he married Jane, widow of George Bunker. Soon after he and his wife removed to Nantucket, bring- ing the Bunker children with them. These were Elizabeth, the · wife of Thomas Look; William, who married Mary Macy, daugh- ter of Thomas Sen'r; Mary, who married Stephen Coffin, son of Tristram Sen'r; Ann, who married Joseph Coleman, son of Thomas Sen'r; Martha, who married Stephen Hussey, son of Christopher. He had by his first wife a son John, who married Mary, the daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah Wyer. He probably came to Nantucket at or about the same time that his father did.

*Unpublished M. S. There is a tradition that at one time an up- rising among the Indians seemed imminent. They appeared to be gath- ering in hostile groups and as they greatly outnumbered the whites it was a serious affair. In this juncture Edward Starbuck went un- hestatingly among them and soon succeeded in quieting them. The deed of Coatue to him by the Sachems as a "free and voluntary" gift shows their esteem for him.

tGenealogical Dictionary. Mr. Barney says "the name of his first wife is not known" (unpublished M. S.). This, according to Patronym- ica Brittannica is a Scandinavian personal name of great antiquity, in- troduced into England under Danish rule and originally applied to a pastoral servant.

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Richard Swain's second wife (Jane) died October 31. 1662; he died in 1682.

WILLIAM BUNKER

the son of George and Jane (Godfrey) Bunker was of Huguenot* origin and was born in 1649. He came to Nantucket with his step- father Richard Swain. He settled at the east end of the Island. There is an interesting tradition concerning him. His residence was quite isolated from his fellow islanders. Early one night, after the family had gone to bed, the house was surrounded by Frenchmen in search of plunder. A vessel had been sighted in the afternoon a short distance from the shore, but as that was not an uncommon circumstance so especial attention had been paid to it. In the even- ing the large oven was heated with a blazing fire and the light from it served as a beacon to the marauders. England and France at that period were at war with each other. Late in the evening the toothsome rye and indian bread, pumpkin pies and other culinary nicities were taken from the oven and were left smoking and odor- ously hot when the family retired. Suddenly a door was lifted from its hinges and in walked the undesired and unwelcome visitors.

"Nothing could be more grateful to the wretches than the contents of that oven spread in profusion around them, and, 'nothing loth,' they purloined the whole batch. Nor did they stop here; they took beds and bedding, clothing, and, indeed, everyhing which their rapacity demanded, and then added to their insolence, by demanding that the good farmer himself should go on board their craft which they had left near the shore, and pilot her into the Vineyard Sound. He had no alternative but to go, and after an absence of a few days, he returned to his distressed family. His wife was a woman of indomitable perseverance, and she sustained herself through- out the loneliness of that memorable night, and after surveying their rifled tenement, cast around her that she might repair the ravages as best she could. Her friends did not forget her necessity, and she had cause to remember their kindness, even though she was heard to say, that the 'loss of her twenty pair of sheets was never wholly repaired.' "¡

The children of William and Mary Bunker were; Daniel; George who married Deborah Coffin, daughter of James Sen'r; John; Jonathan, who married Elizabeth Coffin, daughter of James Senr; Peleg, who married Susanna Coffin, daughter of Stephen Sen'r; Jabez, who married Hannah Gardner, daughter of Nathaniel Sen'r; Thomas, who married Priscilla Arthur, granddaughter of John Gardner; Benjamin, who married Deborah Paddack, at Yar-

* The name originally was Bon Coeur synonymous with Good heart or Great heart. Patronymica Britannica.

¿Unpublished M. S. of Nathaniel Barney

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mouth; Mary, who married Tristram Coffin (of the Vineyard) ; Abigail, who married Nathaniel Paddack; Jane, who married Shubael Pinkham, son of Richard; Christian, who married (1) Rob- ert Wilson, (2) Isaac Coleman.

JOHN SWAIN

the son of Richard, seems to have been the only child by the first wife who came to Nantucket, and it is quite likely that he accom- panied his father to the Island. At first his residence was at the west end of the Island. The record shows under date of February 15, 1667 that "John Swain had his house lot layed out by the Lot layers aforesaid being sixty Rod square bounded on the South with the first Lot of Richard Swain and on the North with

the highway that leads into the Longwoods, on the East and West by the common, more or Less, as it is laid out." The section laid out at that time to the First Purchasers seems to have been west of the Wesco lots. Subsequently he removed to the east side of the Is- land. It was his dwelling house that Thomas Story refers to as being raised on the occasion of his visit to Swain on the 17th of the 5 mo. 1704 and that date probably indicates very nearly the time when John Swain settled at Polpis.

The children of John and Mary Swain were; Mary, who mar- ried Joseph Nason; John, who married Experience Folger; Stephen; Sarah, who married Joseph Norton; Joseph, who married Mary Sib- ley, of Salem; Elizabeth, who married Joseph Sevolle; Benjamin, who married Mary Taylor; Hannah, who married Joseph Tallman; Patience, who married Samuel Gardner. He died in 1715. His son John, born September 1, 1664, was the first male English child born on Nantucket.

THOMAS BARNARD

never removed to Nantucket although one of the original ten pur- chasers. He was one of the early settlers of Amesbury. He was one of the signatories to articles of agreement between the inhabitants of the "Old Town" and the "New Town" in May 1654* in company with Thomas Macy, John Severance and others .; He transferred

*Hoyt's "Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury," p. 13.

"A careful study of the lives of the First Purchasers, their busi- ness relations and intermarriages will explain matters connected with the original purchase and with subsequent civil complications.

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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET

one-half of his share to his brother Robert, and his son Nathaniel represented him on the Island in the other half share. Nathaniel, who married Mary Barnard, daughter of his uncle Robert .* He was highly esteemed among the early inhabitants, and died in Nantucket in 1718. His children were-Mary, who married John Folger; Han- nah; John, who married Sarah Macy; Nathaniel, who married (1) Elizabeth, widow of Peter Coffin 2d and daughter of Nathaniel Starbuck, Sen'r, (2) Dorcas Manning, (3) Judith Folger; Stephen, who married -Hopcott; Sarah, who married Carrier; * Eleanor, who married Ebenezer Coffin, son of James Sen'r; Benja- min, who married Judith Gardner, daughter of Nathaniel Sen'r; Ebenezer, who married Mary Worth, widow of John Worth and daughter of Stephen Hussey; Abigail, who married Abraham Chase of Martha's Vineyard.

ROBERT BARNARD,

who purchased a half share of his brother Thomas, came to the Island at an early period. The Town Records show that on the 5th 12 mo. 1663, "John Bishop, Mr. Coffin, Robert Barnard and Peter Folger are appointed to view and consider of Land in order to the Laying out thereof for cornfields or other use." He married Joanna Harvey. His only son John married Bethiah, daughter of Peter Fol- ger, February 26, 1668. On the 6th of June, 1669, they were re- turning from the Vineyard where they had been in pursuit of furni- ture, in company with Eleazer Folger Sen'r, Isaac Coleman, son of Thomas, and an Indian, when the canoe upset and all perished ex- cept Eleazer Folger. He clung to the boat till in crossing a shoal where he could touch bottom he succeeded in uprighting it. With a plough-share which was fastened to it, he managed to free it from water. His sufferings and fatigue had been such that sleep now overcame him, and on waking he found the canoe had drifted on to Norris Island. It was then that he realized how great had been his preservation, and that he alone was left to tell the story of the sufferings through which he and his unfortunate companions had passed.±

Robert Barnard died on Nantucket in 1682. His wife Joanna died March 31, 1705.

CHRISTOPHER HUSSEY,

probably came from Dorking, County Surrey, England, in the Will- iam & Francis, June 5, 1632. He came with the family of Stephen

*Unpublished M. S. of Nathaniel Barney ..

¡Mr. Barney says he was "an Eastern man."

#Unpublished M. S. There is a tradition that at one time an up-

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Batchelder, whose daughter, Theodate, he married in Lynn, where he originally settled and where their son Stephen was born, the second child to be born in that town* In 1639 he removed with his family to Hampton. He also is said to have participated in the set- tlement of Haverhill. His daughter Huldah married John Smith. Christopher Hussey was a sea-faring man and was cast away and died on the coast of Florida, March 6, 1686. He never came to Nantucket. He also incurred the displeasure of the General Court by petitioning, with others, for a mitigation of the sentence of Capt. Robert Pike for seeming to uphold speaking in public without a license. He was a deputy for Hampton in 1658.

THOMAS MAYHEW

never was a resident of Nantucket and no detailed biography of him seems needed. Briefly he came to America in the Griffin in 1633, settling at Watertown where he was an active and honored citizen until his removal to Martha's Vineyard in 1647. Both he and his son Thomas were preachers to the Indians there. He died in 1681.

PETER COFFIN

was the son of Tristram and married Abigail daughter of Edward Starbuck. He was born in England in 1631. He was made a freeman at Dover in 1666. He was a very prominent citizen of New Hamp- shire, attaining the rank of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. His sojourn in Nantucket was brief and met with considerable oppo- sition from the John Gardner faction during the so-called "Insur- rection."

STEPHEN GREENLEAF

never removed to Nantucket. He married, November 13, 1651, Elizabeth Coffin, daughter of Tristram Sen'r. He married subse- quently Esther Swett, daughter of Nathaniel Weare or Wyer and widow of Capt Benjamin Swett. He sold his share to his brother- in-law, Nathaniel Starbuck.

*Savage's Genealogical Dictionary; also unpublished M. S. of Nath'l Barney.

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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET

WILLIAM PILE

did not come to Nantucket. He sold his share to Reuben Swain and William Bunker and his sisters .*

ROBERT PIKE

If any one of the twenty original purchasers had reason to re- move outside the Massachusetts Bay Colony that man was Robert Pike; and yet he never removed to Nantucket nor without the Massachusetts jurisdiction. He was one of the original settlers of Salisbury and was on terms of intimate friendship with Thomas Macy. The New England Historic Genealogical Register represents him as opposed to the election of Sir Harry Vane as Governor and as going on foot from Newbury with Thomas Coleman and eight others to qualify themselves to vote by taking the freeman's oath, so as to vote for Winthrop. He was a very prominent man in his community. He seems to have been a trial justice, was Deputy from Salisbury for several terms an Assistant six terms, a Captain and Major of militia and held other positions of trust and responsibili- ty. He made trouble for himself by declaring that the General Court exceeded its authority in forbidding public speaking by any not duly licensed and was disfranchised. He was also prohibited "settling small causes," pleading in Court any cause but his own, and put under bonds for his good behavior.

May 10, 1661, at a meeting of the First Purchasers at Salis- bury he was appointed to keep the Records at Salisbury and Thom- as Macy to keep them at Nantucket.

TRISTRAM COFFIN JR.

was a resident of Newbury and married Judith Somerby, widow of Henry and daughter of Edmund and Sarah Greenleaf. He never was a resident of Nantucket.

JAMES COFFIN

son of Tristram Sen'r. was one of the Associate Proprietors, and was the partner selected by his brother Peter. He became promi-

*Savage says he removed to Nantucket but by July 1663 he had removed again to Dover. There is no mention of him in the Town Records.

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nent in the Islands' affairs and is said to have been the first one on Nantucket appointed to a Probate judgeship. He was appointed in 1680. He died July 28, 1720 .* Allen Coffin Esq says he came to the Island with the earliest settlers, but -removed to Dover, was a member of the church there and there made a freeman May 31, 1671, soon after which he returned to Nantucket where he resided up to the time of his death .; From him descended the Coffins who were loyalists during the Revolution among whom were General John Coffin and Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin.#

Lucretia Mott also descended from this branch. He had fourteen children; i. Mary, born in Nantucket, April 18, 1665, married (1) Richard Pinkham, of Portsmouth, N. H., (2) James, son of Richard and Sarah Gardner, and died in Nantucket February 1, 1741; ii. James Jun'r, born probably in Dover, N. H., married (1) Love, daughter of Richard and Sarah Gardner, (2) Ruth, daughter of John and Priscilla Gardner-died in Nantucket October 2, 1741; iii. Nathaniel, born in Dover, 1671, married (August 17,1692) Da- maris, daughter of William Gayer-died August 29, 1721; iv John born in Nantucket, married Hope, daughter of Richard Gardner --- died July 1, 1747; v. Dinah, born in Nantucket, married (Novem- ber 20, 1690); vi. Nathaniel Starbuck, Jr. - died August 1, 1750; vii. Deborah, born in Nantucket, married (October 10, 1695) George, son of William Bunker-died October 8, 1767; viii Ebenez- er, born in Nantucket March 30, 1678, married (December 12, 1700) Eleanor, daughter of Nathaniel Barnard-died October 17, 1730; ix. Joseph, born in Nantucket, February 4, 1680, married Bethia, daughter of John Macy-died July 14, 1719; x. Elizabeth, born in Nantucket, married (1) Jonathan, son of William and Mary Bunker, (2) Thomas Clark-died March 30, 1769; xi Benjamin, born in Nantucket August 28, 1683-lost overboard between Nan- tucket and Martha's Vineyard; xii. Ruth,, born in Nantucket, mar- ried Joseph son of Richard and Mary Gardner-died May 28, 1748; xiii. Abigail, born in Nantucket, married Nathaniel, son of Richard and Sarah Gardner-died March 15, 1709; xiv. Experience, born in Nantucket-died young; xv. Jonathan, born in Nantucket, August 28, 1692, married Hephzibah, daughter of Ebenezer Hark- er,-died February 5, 1773.

THOMAS COLEMAN

Mr Barney in his unpublished M. S. says it is not known at what time Thomas Coleman came to Nantucket. It is said that he arrived in Boston from England June 3, 1635. According to Coffin's

*"Early Settlers of Nantucket"-Hinchman, p. 28.

""The Coffin Family," p. 55.

¿Ib. p. 55.

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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET

History of Newbury he was three times married-(1) Susanna- who died November 17, 1650; (2) Mary, widow of Edmund John- son July 11, 1651, who died in Hampton, January 30, 1663; (3) Margery- -*. He seems to have resided in Newbury and Hampton until late in life. The Town Records under date of March 4, 1663, say "it was agreed that John Coleman shall have land Layd out on the North side of the Lot of Robert Barnard for the use of the said John Coleman his father Thomas Coleman having given half of his accommodation on the Island half the house lot to be Layd out in the place before mentioned for John Coleman, the aforesaid Thomas Coleman doth Lay down one half of his Lot already layd out." In February 1667 the Record says a house lot was laid out to him "abutting on the long woods." The first time his name ap- pears in the Records in such a way as to show his residence on the Island is on the 23d 3 mo 1672, when it was "Voted by the Town that Thomas Coleman is to keep the cattle upon the playns from comming unto the Nack at Richard Swains for fourteen days for which he is to have eighteen pence a day." He died in 1685, aged 83 years. His children by his first wife, were i. Joseph, born Decem- ber 2, 1642, married Ann, daughter of George Bunker, Sen'r; Isaac, born February 20, 1647, who was drowned in going from Marthas Vineyard to Nantucket in 1669; ii. John, who married Joanna Folger, daughter of Peter. By the second wife there seems to have been no children. By the third wife there was a son iii. Tobias, who removed with his family from the Island. Joseph had but one son who was drowned in his boyhood.t

NATHANIEL STARBUCK

son of Edward, married Mary, daughter of Tristram Coffin, pre- viously to removing to Nantucket and was the chosen partner of his father-in-law as one of the First Purchasers. Mary, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary was the first English child born on Nantucket. He was a man of marked ability and his wife was a woman of such excellent judgment that as Thomas Story noted in his Journal she was " a wise and discreet woman, well read in Scripture and not attached to any sect, but in great reputation throughout the Island for her knowledge in matters of religion, and an Oracle among them on that account, insomuch that they would not do anything without her advice and consent therein." Their children were-i. Mary who married James, son of Richard Gardner Sen'r;

*Mrs. Hinchman says some authorities give her family name as Ashbourne.

¿Mrs. Hinchman in "The Early Settlers of Nantucket" p. 61, records a son Benjamin, born May 1, 1640, and a daughter Joanna, evidently by the third wife.

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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET

ii. Elizabeth, who married (1) Peter Coffin Jr. (2) Nathaniel Barn- ard Jr .; iii. Nathaniel who married Dinah daughter of James Coffin; iv. Jethro, who married Dorcas, daughter of William Gayer; v. Eunice, who married George, son of John Gardner Sen'r; vi. Pris- cilla, who married John Coleman Jun'r; vii Hepzibeth, who married Thomas Hathaway, of Dartmouth; viii Barnabas, who did not mar- jy; and ix. Anna and x. Paul who died young. He died on the 6th 6 mo 1719.

THOMAS LOOK

was the partner of Richard Swain. He married Elizabeth, daughter of George Bunker. It is not clear at what time he took up his residence in Nantucket. Nathaniel Barney says that "after residing at Nantucket a number of years, he removed to Martha's Vine- yard." His children were mostly daughters and four of them were born on Nantucket between 1672 and 1680. His daughter, Experi- ence married her cousin, Stephen Coffin Jun'r, grandson of Tris- tram.

JOHN SMITH

It does not appear clearly whether John Smith ever resided on Nantucket. He was partner of Thomas Mayhew Sen'r and had land laid out to him on the Island. There are several items in the records of the General Court referring to John Smith but it is difficult to determine whether they refer to this particular John or not.

The foregoing biographical sketches will give an idea of the kind of men the First Purchasers were. They were a sturdy. God- fearing race, everyone of them prominent in the community in which he lived. Many of them had experienced the severity of the Puritan laws, laws made to preserve, as the' makers believed, the rights they fled from England to enjoy, and not the presumed rights of peoples in general, for the Puritans were not and did not assume to be religious emancipationists,* and yet of the First Purchasers

*John Fiske in "Beginnings of New England." Mr. Fiske attrib- utes much of the severity against the Quakers to the determination not to allow any interference with the theories and methods they came to America to maintain for themselves and not for humanity at large only so far as new comers coincided with their views.

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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET

those who were the severest penalized remained under the jurisdic- tion of the Massachusett Bay Colony and, so far as we know, did not even visit Nantucket. As before noted, knowing how many in- terests they had in common, the many intermarriages and the in- timacies which must have existed among them about the time the purchase was made, and soon after, we can more readily account for their partnership and for subsequent alliances in the civil gov- ernment of the Island.

The First Purchasers were not unacquainted with each other. They did not live far apart and several of them had been members of the General Court. Tristram Coffin, Thomas Macy, Christopher Hussey, Peter Coffin, Stephen Greenleaf, Thomas Barnard and William Pile were, or had been, residents of Salisbury or Newbury. Peter Coffin was a son of Tristram. Stephen Greenleaf married

Elizabeth Coffin, daughter of Tristram. Peter Coffin married Abigail Starbuck, daughter of Edward. Hampton was not far off and the Swains evidently were interested in the projected settle- ment. Thomas Mayhew owned Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket and had been a resident of the former island at the time he sold Nantucket for about 15 or 16 years. The partners who the origi- nal purchases took were similarly neighbors and interested through marriage or acquaintance. Tristram Coffin took as his partner Nathaniel Starbuck, his son-in-law; Thomas Macy took Edward Starbuck whose son Nathaniel married Mary Coffin and daughter Abigail married Peter Coffin, both children of Tristram and Dionis; Richard Swain took Thomas Look, whose daughter. Experience, married her cousin Stephen Coffin, Jr. grandson of Tristram; John Swain took Thomas Coleman who had resided near him in Hamp- ton; Thomas Barnard took his brother Robert; Peter Coffin took his brother James; Christopher Hussey* took Robert Pike, a resi- dent of Salisbury; Thomas Mayhew took John Smith, who had been otherwise associated with him. It was no chance acquaintance then which brought them together.

The principal intricacies met in the genealogy of the descend- ants of the First Purchasers arise from the persistency of the inter- marriages and the duplication of given names. Of course that be- comes increasingly troublesome with each succeeding generation. The situation becomes relieved somewhat after 1750 when the use of middle names began and other means were adopted to particu- larly designate individuals, but progress in that direction was very

*Christopher Hussey and John Bishop had been punished for taking sides with Robert Pike who had espoused the cause of Macy and Peasley.

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slow. The Friends Records are a God-send to the worker in that field because they give the details in marriage of the parents of the contracting parties.

What may be, perhaps not inaptly, termed the clannishness of the descendants of the First Purchasers, is illustrated by a little doggerel written by some one who had no fear of tribal dis- pleasure nor any respect for the family pride of those he lampoons .* It appeared in two stanzas, published about 1834 and the irreverent writer thus characterized his victims:

"The Rays and Russels, coopers are, The knowing Folgers lazy, A lying Coleman very rare, And scarce a learned Hussey.

The Coffins noisy, fractious, loud, The silent Gardners plodding, The Mitchells good, the Barkers proud, The Macys eat the pudding." .

As though that was not enough, some super-reckless individ- ual added the following for good measure:

"The Swains are swinish, clownish called, The Barnards very civil, The Starbucks they are loud to bawl, And Pinkhams beat the devil."i

In a large part of the early history of the Island the rule has been to follow the dates as shown by the Records. Those, after so large a number of the residents had become Friends, followed the custom of the Friends in using numerals to express the months.

*Presumably it was written, or at least the first two stanzas were written by Hart the author of Miriam Coffin. It has also been attrib- uted to Phineas Fanning who married Kezia Coffin, daughter of John and Kezia.

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The history of Nantucket County, island, and town : including genealogies of first settlers, Part 76

Author: Starbuck, Alexander, 1841-1925 Publication date: 1924 Publisher: Boston [Mass.] : C.E. Goodspeed & Co. Number of Pages: 900

Author: Starbuck, Alexander, 1841-1925
Publication date: 1924
Publisher: Boston [Mass.] : C.E. Goodspeed & Co.
Number of Pages: 900