USA > Massachusetts > Dukes County > Gosnold > The story of Cuttyhunk > Part 3
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The members of the government life saving crew who helped in the rescue were : Captain David P. Bosworth, Alpheus P. Tilton Sr., Walter H. Allen, Willard W. Charles, John H. Jones, Thomas H. Jones, Humphrey Jamieson and Russell W. Rotch.
Three of the five men drowned were comparatively young men who left families of children who were de- pendent upon them for support. Captain Akin left seven children; Hiram Jackson left three sons; and Isaiah H. Tilton left two children. Captain Akin's children were in the worst plight for their mother had died two years before and so they were orphans.
As is usual in America a fund was started to aid the families of these brave men and $30,000 was col- lected, to which was added $1,000 from the Canadian government. Trustees were appointed to administer the fund and it was used wisely to keep these families from poverty.
WRECK OF THE HART - SURFBOAT CAPSIZED
Another rescue which shows the bravery and sea- manship of the Cuttyhunk men was that of the bark-
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entine Hart in February 1910. The account which fol- lows was from the New Bedford paper.
"Nine members of the crew of the stranded barken- tine Stephen G. Hart, together with the members of the Cuttyhunk life saving crew and two of the island- ers who live on Cuttyhunk, eighteen men in all had a miraculous escape from death early Saturday morning when the surf boat capsized in the heavy swell and turbulent sea. Two men were pinned underneath the boat when she capsized and the heroism of Louis Ramos of the life saving crew, who managed to right the surf boat, saved the lives of the two men.
It was in a battle against a hard sea and a rolling surf that the boat upset and the men in the boat, weather worn and exhausted from their long fight in the water, came in closer contact with death than they have ever been before.
When the Hart struck Friday night she bumped three times and then brought up all standing. It was a dense fog and no land could be seen, but the fog horn of Vineyard Sound Lightship, two miles to the windward was plainly heard, and at 1 A. M. Saturday morning Captain Watts took his crew and abandoning the stranded barkentine, rowed to the lightship. Cap- tain Watts deemed this advisable, not knowing at what moment the gale might increase and possibly cut off their chances of escape.
Early Saturday morning Keeper Keyser of the Cut- tyhunk Light, saw the stranded barkentine and put off to her in a dory. He found her abandoned and remained on board until Captain Weeks came up with his life saving crew, when Keyser gave the abandoned vessel over to his care. Captain Weeks was in his big life saving motor boat, having his surfboat in tow. Anchoring the motor boat to the leeward of the wreck the crew went on board their surf boat to the wreck.
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In the meantime Pilot Frank Veeder and his sons, Chester and Carlton, went in their power boat, "The Frolic," to the lightship and picked up the crew of the Hart. It was fairly good weather in the early morning and the crew of the Hart were desirous of being put on the wreck to get their personal effects. This was done and the men were a considerable time in getting their things together.
A sudden gale of wind came out of the northwest, and this was directly on shore, the beginning of the blow that all this section of the coast experienced Sat- urday. The catboats and the life savers remained around to give the crew all the chance possible to save what they could. The catboats were finally pull- ed away from the side of the wreck with the increasing seas, and all the sailors dunnage was piled into the life boat. It was the intention to take the surf boat down to where the motor life boat was anchored and either tow the surf boat to the beach or transfer part of the crew to the larger boat. But the gale increased so fast that a tremendous sea was kicked up in an in- credibly short time, and finally Captain Weeks gave orders that all on board must be gotten into the surf boat and a start made for the land.
About this time a line of rollers struck the big motor boat, which was anchored in shore of the wreck, and off she went on the top of the seas towards shore, her cable parting. This made it imperative that all haste be made to get the surfboat ashore. The men tumbled in and besides the crew of life savers and the crew of the barkentine, there were two others on board, John B. Cornell and Eddie Cornell, who had rowed out to the wreck in a skiff. Their skiff, as well as the bar- kentine's boat, had broken away in the squalls and drifted ashore. In all there were just eighteen men in the surf boat.
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Captain Darius Weeks, James Rich, Louis Ramos, John Perry, Benjamin Davis, Ed Cahoon, Roland Snow and Isaac Gregory, of the U. S. Life Saving Station ; John B. and Eddie Cornell, Cuttyhunkers : and Captain Watts and nine men besides from the S. G. Hart.
The wind began to blow with almost hurricane force and the life savers made all haste to pull for the land. The boat was loaded nearly to the gunwales, and she had not gone two hundred yards before a sea struck her and a considerable quantity of water was shipped. Another taking in of water and Cap- tain Weeks ordered all dunnage thrown overboard. He saw that serious times were ahead for the surf boat with the ugly sea already running.
It was about this time that Samuel Jackson with Russell Rotch, Walter Allen, Alpheus Tilton, and Pat- rick Kelley in Captain Jackson's motor boat, who had been out to the wreck, noticed that the men in the life- boat were throwing out the dunnage. Captain Veeder also saw the difficulty that the surf boat was in. Both islanders decided to keep around although they had started their power boats for shelter. In a very short time it was seen that the surf boat was being badly buffeted by the waves and then she ran over the shoal spot between Sow & Pigs Reef and the shore, and finally Captain Weeks was seen to head his heavily laden boat into the wind and let her drift. This showed those in the power boats that he was having a hard time. Shortly after the boat was hove to, a tremendous sea rolled in from the bay and to the horror of the watchers both from shore and the power boats, the surf boat with its human freight was seen to capsize.
Two of the men were caught beneath the heavy boat, Benjamin Davis and one of the boys from the island, John Cornell. The others, suddenly thrown into the water, began to swim and to try to right the
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ยท overturned boat. Louis Ramos, one of the expert swimmers of the life saving crew, managed to divest himself of his oil clothes, rubber boots and pantaloons and with an almost superhuman effort managed to get the boat on an even keel, releasing Davis and Cornell, who were about exhausted. Some one assisted the two men to a hold on the righted life boat. Holding a hurried consultation, Ramos and Gregory decided to swim ashore, not seeing the power boats up to wind- ward, which by this time were making all haste to the assistance of the capsized boat. The Waif, Jack- son's boat was the first to reach the overturned and partly submerged craft, and going down to leeward the Waif was stopped and the disabled boat drifted down on her.
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Only some of the men were clinging to the over- turned boat when the Waif came up. The rest were swimming off to leeward where they had been washed by the heavy seas. All were having a frightfully hard time.
As the life boat drifted into the Waif she was brought up with a bang that ripped a hole in the side of the rescuing boat, but fortunately the stoven planking was above the water line and the Waif took in water only when she dipped into a big sea.
While the exhausted men were being taken from the life boat, The Frolic, Veeder's power boat rounded to under the stern of the Waif. A large dory was on the end of a painter from the Waif and Frank Veeder and his youngest son, Carlton jumped into the dory and cutting the rope went off after the men in the water who were struggling against the big combers that often engulfed them as they swam.
Frank Veeder, who is an expert man in a dory, big and powerful, used to the hard work of an island fisherman's life, soon had the dory spinning off to- wards the fast weakening swimmers.
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Gregory and Ramos happened to see the dory on" top of a wave and they gave up the attempt to swim ashore and began to make up to the windward again. Coming up to the first man, Carlton reached down and grasped the swimmer while the elder Veeder pulled the man into the dory. He proved to be a sailor from the Hart. Then Gregory and Ramos were seized and pulled into the rescuing boat. One more swimmer was seen in the distance, and the loaded dory made for this man.
He was a sailor from the Hart, and he was swimming, or rather making a hard try to keep above the waves as they rolled in heavy surges over him every few seconds. When this man was taken into the boat he could not speak and utterly collapsed, turning black in the face.
Pilot Veeder, seeing no more swimmers, started to row ashore. He had the greatest difficulty in keeping the heavily laden dory on the top of the waves as they combed angrily in towards the shore, but with great skill he finally beached his craft with the six men on the shore near the lighthouse, where the boat was pulled high and dry by a waiting crowd of island- ers.
The sailor from the Hart showed no signs of life by this time and it was feared that he was drowned. Cuttyhunk residents do not waste time in emergencies and so they soon adopted the heroic measure of rolling the sailor on a handy barrel, and had the satisfaction of getting out part of the salt water which the man had taken into his system, and in about an hour the man showed signs of life. He was taken into the lighthouse, and given further treatment, and finally restored to consciousness.
In the meantime, the Jackson boat had picked up the other sixteen men and started for Cuttyhunk Pond. near where the life saving station is located. The
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Cornell boys went home glad to be out of their un- lucky scrape so fortunately, while the life savers and the rescued crew from the Hart were quartered at the station, where a dry shift of clothing made them com- fortable.
THE WRECK OF THE WANDERER
The Last Whaling Ship to Leave New Bedford
On Monday, August 25th, 1924 the bark Wanderer, left New Bedford bound on what was to have been her last voyage as a whaler. Because the crew was in- complete, Captain Antone T. Edwards cleared his ship but anchored her off Mishaum Point buoy while he returned to New Bedford to recruit more men. The next morning, while Captain Edwards was still ashore, a northerly breeze began piping down across the Bay. Heavy clouds and a falling barometer spoke of more wind and the crew aboard the anchored bark dropped another anchor.
By noon the north wind had reached full gale force and was uprooting trees and toppling chimneys in New Bedford. At Cuttyhunk Island the seas were making up and a whistling wind broke into spray the waves which shot high above the thundering Sow & Pigs Reef.
The Wanderer, her bluff bows plunging into the seas and her rigging whistling and moaning dragged her anchors and drifted closer and closer to the surf swept reef. Finally one of her anchor chains snapped under the strain and her crew seeing that the remaining anchor could not hold the vessel, deserted her in two whale boats. The deserted bark dragged on to de- struction. She struck first on Sow & Pigs and ended up among the boulders at the west end of Cuttyhunk about forty yards from shore.
Meantime the men of Cuttyhunk who have respond- ed to the distress calls of stricken ships for years were
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not lacking in the courage to help the Crew of The Wanderer. Louis Ramos of Cuttyhunk owned a little motor boat thirty feet long and four men joined him aboard the craft. They were John B. Cornell, How- ard Cornell, Isaiah Tilton and Humphrey Jamieson. These five men set out in the breaking seas and flying spume to help the men they had seen leave the Wan- derer in the whaleboats. They were not able to locate them as one of the boats had made the Vineyard Sound Light Ship while the other had been able to get to Cuttyhunk. Their attempted rescue was rewarded when all five men were awarded gold Congressional Life Saving Medals for their bravery.
THE GOSNOLD MONUMENT
The first to recommend that a monument be ! erected to the memory of Bartholomew Gosnold was Daniel Ricketson of New Bedford in his History of New Bedford published in 1858. On pages 121 and 122 in referring to Gosnold's Isle whose Indian name was "Quawck", he says:
"It is truly a consecrated spot and should hence- forth be devoted to the fostering of that noble and adventurous spirit as well as the kind and friendly relations between mankind manifested in the inter- course of these hardy adventurers with the natives, they here met. In the name and to the memory of Bartholomew Gosnold, whose bones lie in an unknown grave in Virginia, where he died 22nd August 1607, let it be consecrated."
"A small round and castellated form of tower, built of stone in a rude but substantial manner would be in good keeping with the historical associations of this spot, which might be called Gosnold's tower or fort."
After the establishment of The Cuttyhunk Club some of its members (especially Mr. Charles S. Randall) became interested in the erection of such a memorial
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and had raised a fund for the purpose; but the own- ers of Gosnold's Island objected to deeding the is- land to any society or club incorporated out of the state, and the matter was shelved.
In 1898 Mr. Walter Ricketson, son of Daniel Rick- etson, with a party of friends who were interested in historical subjects in Massachusetts visited the island and discussed the erection of a monument with some of the Cuttyhunk Club members in honor of the tercen- tenary of Gosnold's landing. Nothing was done at that time. In 1902 Mr. Ricketson asked Mr. Charles S. Randall to unite with him in an effort to raise the money to erect some simple memorial to Gosnold on the spot. Mr. George Fox Tucker joined with them, and they consituted themselves a committee of three to make the attempt.
They obtained 112 subscribers and collected $3,- 121.35. They also received the promise of a deed to the islet from the heirs of C. N. Swift, Thomas Nye and Eben Perry. This deed was to be conveyed to The Old Dartmouth Historical Society with the understand- ing that they would keep it as an historical monument.
The committee feeling assured that the project could be completed, came to the island on June 4th, 1902 and laid the cornerstone for the monument with appro- priate exercises. (June 4th, 1902 by the new style calendar corresponds to May 25th, 1602 old style calendar which was the date of Gosnold's landing.) Those journeying to the island for this ceremony were : Francis Ellingwood Abbott L. L. D. of Cambridge, Mass .; Edwin D. Mead Esq. of Boston editor of New England Magazine; George Gregerson Wolkins, Esq. president of the Old South Historical Society of Bos- ton; Ellis Loring Howland; Honorable Charles S. Ran- dall; George Fox Tucker Esq. and Mr. Walton Rick- etson.
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The following dedication was read as the corner stone was laid: "We dedicate this islet to Barthol- omew Gosnold and his companions, who landed here May 25th, 1602, old style, and built a fort and store- house, the first English habitation built on this con- tinent. We propose to erect a tower to commemorate that important event, and now lay its cornerstone. We thus signalize the tercentenary of the first attempt at English settlement on this continent. In this ac- tion we take the lead in the long series of Tercentennial celebrations which are to follow." The Cuttyhunk Club gave stones and sand from the adjacent fields for building and the work was completed before Sep- tember 1st, 1903 when ceremonies of dedication were held.
The architect who designed the tower was Nat C. Smith of New Bedford, and to his lasting credit he followed the advice of Daniel Ricketson in his design. The contractor who followed out the design was Frank C. Bennett of New Bedford.
The committee in charge of the dedication ceremon- ies were Charles S. Randall, Walton Ricketson and George Fox Tucker, Captain David P. Bosworth, Oscar Stetson, Josiah W. Tilton, Alonzo V. Veeder and J. H. Tilton.
A large party of eminent citizens journeyed from New Bedford aboard the steam yacht Genevieve on the day of dedication. Among them were Charles S. Ran- dall and Mrs. Randall, Rev. Francis E. Abbot of Cam- bridge, Rev. George L. Chaney of Leominster, Frank B. Sanborn of Concord, Rev. Woolsey Bacon D. D. of Assonet, Charles Francis Adams of Boston, Henry H. Rogers, Rev. William Elliot Griffis of Ithaca, New York and Mrs. Griffis and others.
Two other boats came from New Bedford for the exercises. They were the yacht Quicksand belonging
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to Frederick Grinnell and Charles S. Randall's catboat, Shadow.
The exercises included the report of the committee, letters from William W. Crapo, president of The Old Dartmouth Historical Society, Edward Everett Hale, Samuel A. Greene, Secretary of The Massachusetts His- torical Society, Paul Revere Frothingham, Francis El- lingwood Abbott and George F. Hoar.
Passages from Daniel Ricketson's History of New Bedford were read and speeches were made by the following visitors: Charles Francis Adams, William Elliot Griffis, Henry H. Rogers, Congressman William S. Greene, President George G. Wolkins of the Old South Historical Society and George Fox Tucker.
The formal dedication was given by Walton Ricket- son and the dedication tablet was unveiled of its draped American and English flags by Frederick S. Allen, the oldest inhabitant of Cuttyhunk and Miss Myrtie Bosworth.
The dedication which was revealed and which may still be read by those who journey to the historic island reads as follows :
Tercentenary Memorial to Bartholomew Gosnold And His Companions, Who Landed Here June 4 (O. S. May 25) 1602 And Built On This Islet The First English Habitation On The Coast of New England Corner Stone Laid June 4, 1902 Dedicated Sept. 1 (O. S. Aug. 22) 1903 Anniversary of Gosnold's Death at Jamestown, Va.
Arthur E. Perry, representative of the Perry, Nye and Swift families was introduced by Charles S. Ran-
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dall, Chairman of the Committee. Mr. Perry read the deed which conveyed Gosnold's Island to The Old Dartmouth Historical Society. George Fox Tucker formally presented the monument itself to the same society and Vice President George H. Tripp received the deed and the monument on behalf of the Old Dart- mouth Historical Society. Rev. Leonard W. Bacon of Assonet closed the exercises.
Thus our island contains a monument, which though less well known, yet is as important in the history of our country as Bunker Hill or the Minute Men of Con- cord and Lexington.
CUTTYHUNK'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ARMED SERVICES AND WAR EFFORTS OF OUR COUNTRY
After much searching of records, many conversations with old inhabitants, and other people interested in the history of our island, it has been impossible to es- tablish for fact that Cuttyhunk figured particularly in either the Revolutionary War or The War of 1812. This bothered me until I came upon the following in- formation about the early owners of the island.
"At a man's meeting in the town of Dartmouth the sixth day of the eleventh month, 1698 at the home of John Lapham, we, underwriters, Peleg Slocum, Jacob Mott, Abraham Tucker and John Tucker, undertake to build a meeting house for the people of God in scorn called Quaker, (35 foot long, 30 foot wide and 14 stud) to worship and serve the true and living God in according as they are persuaded in conscience they ought to do, and for no other use, intent or purpose. We herewith subscribe our names with our own hands, and for the use of the said society of people toward the building of said house of our own free will contribute as followeth." Then follows a list of eleven subscrib- ers giving in all 63 pounds. The largest individual contribution, 15 pounds, was given by Peleg Slocum,
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who also gave the land, six acres, for meeting house and burying ground purposes. Peleg Slocum is record- ed as one of the first approved ministers of the society. (The above was taken from the Records of the Friends Monthly Meeting in Dartmouth).
In the Dartmouth Monthly Meeting Records we find the following: "In 1724 John Tucker and Peleg Slo- cum, members of the Dartmouth Monthly Meeting of Friends, refused to pay a tax for building a Presbyter- ian Church at Chilmark. Their property on Elizabeth Islands was seized and a horse and heifer belonging to the former, and 80 sheep belonging to the latter, were sold to pay the rates."
With such a background of Quaker faith it is not surprising that the Slocum family, owners of the Eliz- abeth Islands, were not recorded as offering any war- like assistance during the Revolution or the War of 1812.
However, on April 3, 1779 a British fleet attacked Falmouth. The Town was warned of the attack by the Quaker John Slocomb who lived on Pasque Island and like many of the Qnakers of the period was labeled a Tory. It is said that several of the British officers spent the evening of April 2nd at Slocombs house and talked freely of their plan for attacking Falmouth. Mr. Slocomb secretly dispatched his son down Naushon to cross over to Woods Hole and warn the Falmouth people.
In the list of Massachusetts Volunteer Militia In The War of 1812 on page 63 are recorded the names of Lieutenant B. Howland's Company of Lieutenant B. Lincoln's Regiment, which was raised at Dartmouth and saw service there, are the following names, which may be and probably are Cuttyhunk ancestors: Frederick Slocum, Giles Slocum, Benjamin Allen and Charles Allen.
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Judging from the records the waters of Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay must have teemed with Brit- ish ships and American privateers during both wars. Naushon and Pasque Islands were raided several times by British ships and cattle, sheep and supplies taken away. Tarpaulin Cove was a harbor of refuge for ships of all contestants, as well as for pirates. The tavern at the Cove was a rendevous for coastwise sea- men.
A company of thirty men were stationed at Tarpau- lin Cove in 1775 and in 1776 this company was in- creased to seventy-five. They had four cannon at first but this number was reduced to two because of its need elsewhere.
Cuttyhunk is mentioned in Admiralty Records only once during the Revolution. "H. M. S. Unicorn, John Ford, Commander: Monday May 4, 1778 Still in Buz- zards Bay 2 leagues from Katty Hunk on the S. W. Tuesday May 5th, Moderate fair weather, sent the Boats man'd and armed in chace of a Schooner which they drave on shore and set her on fire, at Noon ye boats returned. Joined company with the Sphinx and Harlem Sloop and 2 transports with troops from Rhode Island." During the War of 1812 the following notice appeared under date of March 23rd, 1813 in The Bos- ton Daily Advertiser :
"The U. S. Sloop of War Hornet was at anchor Mon- day morning off Tarpaulin Cove. A sloop was chased ashore at Cuddy Hunk on Saturday by a British pri- vateer."
From the files of the Admiralty in London the fol- lowing: "H. M. S. Nimrod, Captain Vincent Newton, 7th July 1814. At 2 Cuttyhunk E. N. E. 2 leagues. Boarded a sloop with flag of Truce and allowed her to proceed. 7 filled and made sail."
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The record of the part played by Cuttyhunk in World War I and II is quite different. The list of those who saw service in these wars is as follows:
WORLD WAR I
Alvah H. Akin, William R. V. Bosworth, John B. Cornell, Edward K. Cornell, John A. Olsen, Russell W. Rotch, Roland S. Snow, Charles W. Tilton, Robert R. Tilton, Isaiah C. Tilton, Harold S. Veeder (died in Service).
WORLD WAR II
United States Coast Guard
Norman W. Ricketson
United States Army Alpheus P. Tilton Ira Young
Donald K. MacKay Wilfred R. Tilton Emery W. Ackerman
Walton H. Jenkins
I. Winslow Hall
United States Marine Corps
Carlton O. Veeder
Howard A. Cornell Bruce Newton
Robert P. Bosworth
Army Transportation
David N. Bosworth, Jr.
Herbert A. Stetson, Jr. Jans Olsen (Died in Service)
As would be expected from a seafaring village most of those who served in both World Wars were con- nected with the sea in some way. During the Second World War Cuttyhunk was the scene of much mili- tary activity. There were barracks on Copicut Neck with guns and a company of soldiers. There were radar installations at the West End and secret instal- lations on The Lookout. Part of the island was out of bounds for civilians. Our Coast Guard was reinforced by citizens who were members of The Coast Guard Auxiliary and patrolled along with the regulars.
Cuttyhunk civilians did their share, too. Most of the women took the Red Cross First Aid Course and men and women alike were enrolled in Civilian De- fense and took part in Air Raid preparation.
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