Extracted From
Early Settlers Of Nantucket
their associates and descendants.
Lydia Swain Mitchell Hinchman
Philadelphia.
Printed by J.B. Lippincott Co.
1896.
[Transcribed by Coralynn Brown]
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OTHER EARLY PROPRIETORS. Recorded details of the remaining proprietors are very brief; concerning some there appears to be little record excepting of their proprietorship. ROBERT PIKE was one of the original settlers of Salisbury, Massachusetts, and shared the interest of Christopher Hussey as a proprietor of Nantucket. He continued his relations with the settlers of the island until his death, which occurred about forty years after the purchase. As has already been stated, he was the warm friend of Thomas Macy. In 1637, on the 17th of May, in order to prevent the re-election of Sir Harry Vane as governor, and to strengthen the friends of Winthrop, ten men, among them Robert Pike and Thomas Coleman, went from Newbury to Cambridge on foot (forty miles) and qualified themselves to vote by taking the freeman's oath. Winthrop was chosen governor. (N. E. Hist. and Gen. Reg.) Robert Pike was representative to the General Court in 1648-49 and 1658-59 ; captain and major in 1670 ; an assistant in 1682 ; and a member of the Council of Safety in 1689. THOMAS COLEMAN must have removed to Nantucket prior to 1673, as on October 20 of that year he is recorded as "drawn on the jury" there. He is also named with Christopher Hussey and others in a list of those who settled Hampton, New Hampshire. Note.—Davis's History of Bucks County says the Pike family of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is said to descend from Robert Pike of Massachusetts. THOMAS and ROBERT BARNARD settled in America about 1650. Thomas was one of the purchasers of Nantucket, in 1659 ; he transferred one-half of his interest to his brother Robert Barnard. Thomas died abroad. Robert Barnard, of Salisbury, Massachusetts, removed to Nantucket in 1663, and died there in 1682; he married Joanna Harvey, who died in 1705 ; he had a son, John Barnard, born in 1642, who married Bethiah Folger, daughter of Peter Folger, and a daughter, Mary Barnard, who married her cousin Nathaniel Barnard, son of Thomas and Eleanor Barnard. Among prominent men who have had a claim on Nantucket ancestry was Hon. Ezra Cornell, the founder of Cornell University, who descended from one, possibly from both, of the brothers above named. Ezra Cornell was grandson of Reuben Barnard, of Nantucket, and, during a visit to the island some years ago, spent some time in looking through Friends' records there. RICHARD SWAIN came to the island with his second wife (the widow of George Bunker) and his family. While living at Hampton he was "select-man and commissionor for small causes, in 1639 he had liberty to settle small claims." John, the son of his first wife, married Mary, daughter of Nathaniel Wier. Richard, the son of his second wife, moved to New Jersey ; Richard Swain, Sr., died in 1682, his son John in 1717. This family were members of the Society of Friends. JOHN SWAIN, the proprietor (son of Richard Swain, Sr.), has left a record in his house, known as the oldest house on the island, which is still standing, although much out of repair.
John Swain, of Nantucket, probably son of Richard Swain the first, married Mary, daughter of Nathaniel Wyer. (Savage, vol. iv. p. 234.) This must have been a daughter of the first Nathaniel, alluded to below, and a sister of Nathaniel who married Elizabeth Swain, or, if a daughter of the second Nathaniel, the child of a wife previous to Elizabeth. N. E. Hist. and Gen. Reg., vol. xxv. p. 246, says, " The family of Wier is one of good standing in Scotland whose name is said to be the same as Vere." " In early years in this country were persons spelling their name Weare, Weir, Weyer, Wier, Wire, Wyer, all probably intending the same name, and many, if not all, possibly belonging to one family." " First was Robert Wyer of Boston, next Peter Weare who died in Newbury." " There was a Nathaniel Weare or Wire early in Newbury, afterwards of Nantucket, where he died March 1st, 1681, who had a daughter Hester, wife of Benjamin Swett and Stephen Greenleaf and a son Nathaniel who married in Newbury 3 December 1656 Elizabeth Swain, moved to Hampton, was a Councillor and Chief Justice of New Hampshire, and died 13 May 1718 leaving sons Nathaniel and Peter" and, Savage says, " six others." BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, in his genealogical notes, infers that the Folger family was of Flemish origin, and went to England in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Peter Folger, son of John Folger, was born in 1617, and came from Norwich, England, in 1635. He went with his father to Martha's Vineyard, where he taught a school and surveyed land ; he also assisted Thomas Mayhew, Jr., in his labors as a missionary among the Indians. He was a Baptist, but it is believed that when an old man he embraced the views of Friends. Although he was not one of the first proprietors of Nantucket, he may be regarded as a very early settler, having removed to the island in 1663. " Nantucket, 4th July, 1663. " These presents witnesseth that we whose names are underwritten do give and grant unto peter foulger, half a share of accomodations on the land above sayd, that is to say half so much as one of the twenty purchasers, both in respect of upland, meadow, wood, timber and other appurtenances belonging to him and his hiers forever on condition that he corn to inhabit on Ifland aforesayd with his family within one year after the sale hereof. Likewise that the sayd peter shall atend the English in the way of an Interpreter between the Indians and them upon al necessary ocasions, his house lot to be layd at the place commonly called by the name of Rogers field so as may be most convenient. " Witness our hands.
THOS MACY EDWARD STARBUCK JOHN SWAYNE RICHARD SWAYNE JOHN ROLFE THOS MAYHEW TRISTRAM COFFIN SR., for myself and others being empowered by them. PETER COFFIN. STEVEN GREENLEAF. TRISTRAM COFFIN, JR. WILLIAM PILE for two shares. NATHANIEL STARBUCK. THOMAS COFFIN." At Nantucket he was chosen clerk of the court and recorder July 21, 1673 ; he also surveyed lands for the settlers, and was regarded as the scholar of the community. The varied employments of Peter Folger prove him to have been as versatile as industrious ; to him, at least, " the knowing Folgers lazy" could not have been applied ; and if there was ever any foundation in fact for the character which the little Nantucket rhyme has fastened upon this family, it must have been earned by a later representative of the name.
"His son Eleazer and Eleazer, Jr., were intelligent literary and mathematical." Peter Folger died in 1690 Mary, his widow, in 1704. Abiah Folger, the youngest child of Peter Folger, and the only one born on Nantucket, married Josiah Franklin, of Boston. Benjamin Franklin, son of Josiah and Abiah (Folger) Franklin, married Deborah Read, of Philadelphia. Richard Bache, born in England, in 1737, immigrated to the United States, where he married, in 1767, Sarah, only daughter of Benjamin and Deborah (Read) Franklin. Richard Bache was Postmaster-General of the United States in 1776. Richard Bache's marriage with Sarah, daughter of Benjamin Franklin, continues the Folger family line in Philadelphia, Mrs. E. a Gillespie, of Philadelphia, being a grand-daughter of Richard Bache. This branch of Peter Folger's family has made its mark in many lines of work there have been among the generations which have succeeded the great philosopher men who have reached distinction in the army and navy, as men of letters, at the bar, and in the service of, the church, and women who in patriotic and educational work have proved the ability transmitted to them from their venerable ancestor. WALTER FOLGER, another descendant of Peter Folger, was son of Walter and Elizabeth (Starbuck) Folger. Elizabeth was daughter of Thomas Starbuck.
Barzillai was son of Nathan, who was son of Eleazer and Sarah (Gardner) Folger, and Eleazer was son of Peter Folger. It was put in motion July 4, 1790, and in 1895, though brown with age, it is a good time-keeper; the glass only which covered its face bas been renewed. William C. Folger says, " He made not only the works but the case also, I am told." " It is made of brass and steel. It keeps the date of the year and the day of the month ; the sun and moon rise and set in accordance with those in the heavens ; it also shows the earth's place on the ecliptic ; it keeps the moon's nodes around. the ecliptic ; the wheel that keeps the date of the year revolves once in one hundred years, remaining still ten years, and at the expiration of each ten years it starts regularly one notch ; the diurnal motion of the sun is represented by a circular metallic plate so adjusted that it is seen through a slit in the dial-plate at a greater or less meridian altitude, as the declination changes, rising and setting as in nature, and changing the time in conformity to the latitude, . . . giving also through the entire day the time of his rising and setting and place of the earth on the ecliptic ; the moon is represented by a spherule exhibited to the eye in the same manner, but by having one hemisphere colored, and, by a process much more complicated, shows not only the rising, setting, and southing of the moon with the time of full sea at Nantucket, but also the chief phenomena dependent on the obliquity of the moon's path to the ecliptic, such as the hunter's and harvest moons. " Some of these involve a motion of the works through a period of eighteen years and two hundred and twenty-five days, and the wheel by which the date of the year is advertised is so constructed that its revolution is only completed in one hundred years." Walter Folger never learned a trade, never studied law with a lawyer, nor went to any institution of learning where anything above the alphabet, spelling, reading in the Bible, arithmetic, and surveying were taught. MARIA MITCHELL, late Professor of Astronomy at Vassar College, whose mathematical ability needs no comment to the present generation, was a lineal descendant of Peter Folger. Maria Mitchell was daughter of William and Lydia (Coleman) Mitchell. Lydia Coleman was daughter of Andrew Coleman, who was son of Enoch, who was son of Jeremiah, who was son of John, who married Joanna Folger, daughter of Peter Folger. On the paternal side as well she was descended from Peter Folger, and from many of the early settlers on the Island. The connection of the Barker family with Nantucket and with the family of Peter Folger furnishes a link between Nantucket and Plymouth. JACOB BARKER, financier and merchant, was son of Robert Barker and Sarah Gardner.
Samuel Barker was son of Isaac Barker and Judith Prence. Bethiah Folger was daughter of John, and grand-daughter of PETER FOLGER. JUDITH PRENCE was daughter of GOVERNOR THOMAS PRENCE and Mary Collier, and grand-daughter of WILLIAM COLLIER. William Collier was assistant governor twenty-eight years, member of Council of War four years,- member of Provincial Congress in 1643, and one of the committee of two appointed by Congress to sign the Articles of Confederation. He died in Duxbury in 1671. THOMAS PRENCE was born at Lechdale, Gloucestershire, England, in 1600 ; he died in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1673. He was governor of the Plymouth Colony eighteen years, assistant thirteen years, treasurer one year, member of the Council of War five years, commissioner twelve years, alternate commissioner several years. The N. E. Hist. and Gen. Reg., vol. vi. p. 234, thus speaks of him : " He was a worthy gentleman and very able for his office, and faithful in the discharge thereof, studious of peace, a well willer to all that feared God and a terror to the wicked." Doubtless from various records Thomas Prence was a zealot in his own belief and intolerant of all whose views did not accord with his ; it must be remembered that in that day intolerance was the rule and charity the exception. Governor Prence and his associates believed they were engaged in their Master's service in any persecutions they were party to, and the author of " The Pilgrim Republic" says, " A severe execution of thee laws was exceptional with them and they often exercised leniency on slight pretexts." He further says, " Thomas Prence had ever swayed the courts in religious matters. Let it stand as a redeeming trait to his character that he used this influence to emancipate his people from the bonds of a world-wide superstition.(Witchcraft/) Prence also honored himself by zealously promoting public education. The stern Calvanism which he cherished had long been losing its hold on the public mind and the signs of the times were ominous to those conservative principles which he considered essential to a good government .. . it is probable that the weary Governor was quite ready to go when death summoned him from the Government-house April 8,1673 at the age of seventythree. " Ten days later with all the ceremony due to his office he was laid on Burial Hill in a grave now unknown." [For dates and authority concerning the services of Thomas Prence, see Justin Winsor's History of Duxbury ; Plymouth Colony Records ; Savage;- N. E. Hist. and Gen. Reg. ; and The Pilgrim Republic, by John A. Goodwin.] WILLIAM ALLEN BUTLER belongs to this branch of the family, his great-grandmother having been a half-sister of Jacob Barker and daughter of the aforesaid Robert Barker. Another descendant of Peter Folger was the late CHARLES JAMES FOLGER, who was born at Nantucket in 1818; when he was thirteen years of age the family removed to Geneva, New York. He graduated at Hobart College in 1836, read law with Mark H. Sibley, and was admitted to the bar in 1839. He was judge, State senator, chief justice, sub-treasurer of the United States, in New York, and finally Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. THOMAS GARDINER AND HIS SONS RICHARD AND JOHN GARDNER. THOMAS GARDINER, or Gardner, the first of the Salem stock, came to America from England, in 1624, where the family had flourished for more than three centuries. He was chief ruler or governor of the Cape Ann Colony, under the auspices of the Dorchester Company. Not realizing here the success intended, he removed to Salem and was elected the same year representative to the General Court; he was member of the Town Council of Salem for a number of years. From Historical Collections of Essex Institute of Salem, we learn that the name of Gardner has been known and respected throughout the entire history of the city. Thomas Gardiner had several sons, among whom, as early settlers of Nantucket, although not original proprietors, were Richard and John, who took an active part in affairs civil and military. Austin says that Richard Gardner lived at Salem from 1643 to 1666; he and his wife (Sarah Shattuck) were persecuted for attending Quaker Meeting, and went to Nantucket, where they spent the remainder'of their lives. In 1673, Governor Lovelace commissioned Richard as chief magistrate of Nantucket, " he to hold his commission until the next election and return and approbation of a new one by Francis Lovelace." [Authority for this commission may be found on pp. 87, 88, in a manuscript volume entitled Deeds, Vol. 3, in the office of the Secretary of State in Albany.] Copy of "A Letter from the Secretary to ye Inhabes of Nantuckett. [Deeds III. 89, Secretary's Office.] " New Yorke, Apr. ye 24th, 1673. " Gent :—By the Governors Ordr I am to acquaint you, That hee Received your Letter (bearing Date the 3d Day of Aprill) about three weeks fince, by the Hands of Mr. Richard Gardner, together with eight Barrels of ffifh for two Yeares, Acknowledgement, and a Token of fifty weight of ffeathers, for which your Care of the Former and Kindnefs in the Latter hee Returns you Thanks. There came to the Governor in the Winter a Letter from Mr Tristram Coffin about your Election, but no other from you; in anfwer to which you had heard from him fooner, but the Difficulty of Conveyance hindered. You will now underftand the Governors Choice, by the Bearers hereof Mr. Richard and Captain John Gardner; " That is, Mr. Richard Gardner for Chiefe Magiftrate this Yeare, and Capt. John Gardner for Chiefe Military Officer, for which they have Commiffions. They have alfo with them fome Additional Inftructions and Directions to Communicate to you ; moft of which were Propofed by thofe two friends you sent who have prudently Managed the Truft you Repofed in them. They have alfo with them a Booke of the Lawes of the Government, and three Conftables Staves ; " As to your Non-performance of the Acknowledgement according to the Strictnefs of the Time, his Honor being fenfible that Opportunityes doe not very frequently prefent between these Places, hee is very well Satisfyed with your Civil Excufe. If at any Time you have other Propofalls to make, for the Good of yor Inhabitants, you may reft allured of his Honors ready Complyance therein. This is all I have in Charge to Deliver unto you from the Governour, foe take Leave and Subscribe " Gent : Yor very humble Servant MATTHIAS NICOLLS." JOHN GARDNER was magistrate at Nantucket in 1680, and judge of probate from 1699 until his death, which occurred in 1706, at the age of eighty-two. He is referred to by Cotton Mather as being " well acquainted with the Indians, having divers years assisted them in their government, by instructing them in the laws of England and deciding difficult cases among them. In 1673, John Gardner was appointed " Captain and Chief Military Officer of the Ffoot Company." [From no records do we read of serious difficulties on Nantucket between the Indians and the white men, they followed the example of the settlers in fishing for whales, which were plentiful on that shoal-bound coast, and "became the most expert of the original whalers of Nantucket." This industry was first carried on in small open boats at short distances from shore. Copy of "Commiffion for Capt John Gardner of the Ifland of Nantucket, to bee Capt. of the Foot Company there. [Deeds III. 88, Secretary's Office.] " Francis Lovelace, Esqr., &c : Governor Genall under his Royall Hs James Duke of Yorke and Albany, &c; of all his Territoryes in America ; To Capt. John Gardner of ye Island Nantuekett. Whereas, You are one of the two Persons returned unto mee by the Inhabte of your Ifland, to bee the Chiefe Military Officer there, having conceived a good opinion of your ffittnefs and Capacity; By Vertue of the Commiffion and Authority unto mee given by his Royall Highneffe, James Duke of Yorke and Albany, I have Constituted and Appointed, and by these Presents doe hereby Constitute and Appoint you John Gardner to be Captaine and Chiefe Military Officer of the ffoot Company rifsen or to bee rifen within the If lands of Nantuckett and Tuckanuckett ; you are to take the said Company into your Charge and Care as Captaine thereof, and them duly to Exercise in Armes; and all Officers and Souldyers belonging to the said Company are to Obey you as their Captaine. " And you are to follow fuch Orders and Inftructions, as you shall from Time to Time Receive from mee or other your Superiour Officers according to the discipline of Warr ; for the doeing whereof this shall be your Comiffion. [Note.—John Gardner's daughter Rachel married John Brown, of Salem, son of Elder John Brown and Hannah (Hobart). Hannah Hobart was daughter of Rev. Peter Hobart, who was born in Hingham, County of Norfolk, England, in 1604, and died in Hingham, Massachusetts, January 20, 1679. (Hobart Family Memorial, Part I., pp. 103, 104, No. 23., III. A.) He was the first minister of the Gospel in Hingham, Massachusetts, was educated at Cambridge, England, and came to New England June 8, 1635; was admitted freeman same year, and settled at Hingham in September, 1635. Savage, vol. ii. p. 435, says he took his A.B. in 1625, his A.M. in 1629, that he wrote his name Hubberd, was of the Magdalen College, and had preached at divers places, last at Haverhill, in Suffolk, before coming here. " Given under my Hand and. Seale at Fort James in New Yorke this 15th Day of April in the 25th Yeare of his Maties Reigne, Annoqe Domini, 1673. " FRAN. LOVELACE" Savage further says,—
" Joshua Hobart. " Jeremiah Hobart. " Josiah Hobart. "Elizabeth Hobart, m. John Ripley. "And after coming here thirteen were added to the number,—viz. : Icabod Hobart. " Hannah Hobart, died soon. "Hannah Hobart, m. John Brown, of Salem. " Bathsheba Hobart, m. Joseph Turner, of Scituate, 1640. " Israel Hobart, m. Sarah Wetherill, dau. of Rev. William Wetherill, 1668. " Jael Hobart, m. Joseph Bradford, son of Governor Bradford. " Gershom Hobart, m. Sarah ____. " Japhet Hobart, m. ____. " Nehemiah Hobart, m. Sarah Jackson, 1678. "David Hobart, m. 1st, Joanna Quincy, dau. Edmund Quincy second ; 2d, Sarah Joyce. " Rebecca Hobart, m. Daniel Mason, of Stonington (as second wife). " Abigail Hobart, unm. " Lydia Hobart, m. Captain Thomas Lincoln, 1690 (as second wife), and [Savage adds] the patriarch died 1679.' " In Rev. Peter Hobart's will, made four days before his death; he names fourteen living children, and wife Rebecca (probably daughter of Richard Ibrook), who was mother of the last six children ; no mention is made in Hingham records of the death of the first wife. " Edmund Hobart, father of Rev. Peter Hobart, was a member of the General Court, 1639-40-42, from Hingham, Massachusetts. He brought a wife and several children with him from England in 1635, and died in 1646, leaving Edmund, Joshua, Rev. Peter, Thomas, and. two daughters, Rebecca and Sarah." The name of SAMUEL SHATTUCK is associated with Nantucket through the marriage of his daughter, Sarah Shattuck, to Richard Gardner; by this marriage Samuel Shattuck became the ancestor of many Nantucket people. [It has been the belief of many descendants of Sarah (Shattuck) Gardner that she was a daughter of Samuel Shattuck, and Savage (vol. ii. p. 229) says, " Richard Gardner married Sarah Shattuck, probably daughter of Samuel ;" other authorities give Samuel with Sarah in a list of the children of Damaris Shattuck (widow who married Thomas Gardiner.] Samuel Shattuck, who is described as " an inhabitant of Salem of good repute," was born in England about 1620 ; on coming to this country he settled in Salem, Massachusetts. A stone still standing over his grave in Salem bears the following inscription : " Here lyeth buried ye body of Samuel Shattuck aged 69 years who departed this life in ye 6th day of June 1689." He was present at a Friend's Meeting when Christopher Holder attempted to speak, and he "endeavored to prevent their thrusting a handkerchief into Holder's mouth lest it should have choked him," for which attempt he was carried to Boston and imprisoned till he had " given bond to answer it at the next Court and not to come to any Quaker meeting." The following extracts are taken from the edition of Besse's "Collection of the Sufferings of the People called Quakers," printed in London in 1753 (vol. ii. pp. 187, 188). A Letter of the Prisoners to the Magistrates at the Court in Salem. " Friends : " Whereas it was your Pleasures to commit us, whose names are underwritten, to the House of Correction in Boston, although the Lord the righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth is our witness, that we had done nothing worthy of Stripes or of Bonds, and. we being committed by your Court to be dealt withal as the Law provides for foreign Quakers, as y° please to term us ; and having some of us suffered your Law and Pleasures, now that which we do expect is, now to be set free by the same Law, as your Manner is with Strangers and not to put us in upon the Account of one Law and execute another Law upon us, of which, according to your own Manner, we were never convicted as the Law expresses. If you had sent us upon the Account of your new Law, we should have expected the Gaoler's Order to have been on that Account, which that it was not, appears by the Warrant which we have, and the Punishment which we bare, as four of us were whipped, among whom was one that had formerly been whipt, so now also, according to your former Law. Friends, let it not be a small Thing in your Eyes, the exposing, as much as in you lies, our families to Ruin. " It's not unknown to you, the Season, and the Time of the Year, for those that live of Husbandry, and what their Cattle and Families may be exposed unto; and also such as live on Trade. " We know if the Spirit of Christ did dwell and. rule in you, these Things would take Impression upon your Spirits. " What our Lives and Conversations have been, in that place is well known, and what we now suffer for, is much for false Reports and ungrounded Jealousies of Heresy and Sedition. These Things lie upon us to lay before you. As for our Parts, we have true Peace and Rest in the Lord in all our Sufferings, and are made willing in the Power and Strength of God, freely to offer up our Lives in this Cause of God, for which we suffer ; Yea, and we do find, through Grace, the Enlargements of God in our imprisoned Estate, to whom alone we commit ourselves and Families, for the disposing of us according to his infinite Wisdom and Pleasure, in whose Love is our Rest and Life. " From the House of Bondage in Boston, wherein we are made captives, by the Wills of Men, although made free by the Son of God, John VIII-36. In which we quietly rest this 16th of the Fifth month 1658.
" CASSANDRA. SOUTHWICK. "JOSIAH SOUTHWICK. " SAMUEL SHATTUCK. " JOSHUA BUFFUM." Copy of the King's Letter or Mandamus. " Trusty and Wellbeloved, we greet you well. Having been informed that several of our Subjects among you, called Quakers, have been and are imprisoned by you, whereof some have been executed, and others (as hath been represented unto us) are in Danger to undergo the Like : We have thought fit to signify our Pleasure, in that Behalf for the future, and do require, that if there be any of those People called Quakers amongst you, now already condemned to suffer Death, or other Corporal Punishment, or that are imprisoned, or obnoxious to the like Condemnation, you are to forbear to proceed any farther, but that you forthwith send the said Persons (whether condemned or imprisoned) over to this our Kingdom of England, together with their respective Crimes or Offences laid to their Charge, to the End such Course may be taken with them here, as shall be agreeable to our Laws and their Demerits. And for so doing, these our Letters shall be your sufficient Warrant and Discharge. Given at our Court at Whitehall the 9th Day of September 1661 in the thirteenth year of our Reign." " Subscribed, To our Trusty and Welbeloved John Endicot Esq. and to all and every other the Governour or Governours of our Plantation of New England, and of the Colonies thereunto belonging, that now are or hereafter shall be ; And to all and every the Minister's and Officers of our said Plantation and Colonies whatever within the Continent of New England.
WIL. MORRIS." (Vol. II., Page 225.) " The King answered, As speedy as you will and ordered the Secretary to be called, and the Mandamus to be forthwith granted. " A few Days after Edward Burroughs went again to the King, desiring Dispatch of the Business. The King said, He had no present Occasion to send a Ship thither, but if they would seed one, they might as soon as they would. " The King also granted his Deputation to Samuel Shattock who had been banished thence, to carry his Mandamus to New England. " Whereupon an Agreement was made with Ralph Goldsmith, one of the said People called Quakers, and Master of a good Ship, for 300 l to sail forthwith. " He immediately prepared for his Voyage and in about six weeks arrived in Boston Harbor, on a First-day of the Week. " The Townsmen seeing a Ship with English Colours soon came on board and asked for the Captain. " Ralph Goldsmith told them he was the Commander. They asked, Whether he had any Letters ? He answered, Yes. But withal told them, He would not deliver them that Day. " So they returned on shore again, and reported, that There were many Quakers come, and that Samuel Shattuck (who they knew had been banished on pain of Death) was among them. " But they knew nothing of his Errand or Authority. " Thus all was kept close, and none of the Ship's Company suffered to go on shore that Day. " Next morning Ralph Goldsmith the Commander, with Samuel Shattuck, the King's Deputy, went on shore, and sending the Boat back to the Ship, they two went directly through the Town to the Governour's House, and knockt at the Door : He sending a Man to know their Business, they sent him Word, that their Message was from the King of England, and that they would deliver it to none but himself. " Then they were admitted to go in, and the Gdvernour came to them and commanded Samuel Shattuck's Hat to be taken off, and having received the Deputation and the Mandamus, he laid off his own Hat, and. ordering Shattuck's Hat to be given him again, perused the Papers, and then went out to the Deputy-Governour's, bidding the King's Deputy and the Master of the Ship to follow him : Being come to the Deputy-Governour's and having consulted him, he returned to the aforesaid two Persons, and said, We shall obey his Majesty's Command. "After this the Master of the Ship gave Liberty to his Passengers to come on shore, which they did and had a religious Meeting with their Friends of theTown, where they returned Praises to God for his Mercy manifested in this wonderful Deliverance. " Not long after the following order at Boston was issued :
" You are required, by Authority and Order of the General-Court forthwith to release and discharge the Quakers who at present are in your Custody : See that you dont neglect this.
" EDWARD RAWSON, Secretary. " BOSTON the 9th of December 1661." With this mandate from the king, Samuel Shattuck was safe to live thereafter a peaceable life in Salem. The usual character accorded to the early settlers of New England for extraordinary Christian names is exemplified by a son Retire and a daughter Return, mentioned in records of Samuel Shattuck. These were supposed to be-commemorative of his banishment and return. These two children probably died young, as in the division of the property they are not mentioned; at all events the names have not descended. Note.—In Besse's History is an account of the death of William Robinson, Marmaduke Stephenson, William Leddra, and Mary Dyer, who suffered martyrdom by hanging in Boston in 1660 for their firm adherence to the principles of truth as professed by Friends. Wenlock Christisen was under sentence of death when Samuel Shattuck returned from England bearing the mandamus from King Charles Second requiring the release of all Friends from prison. THOMAS MAYHEW AND THOMAS MAYHEW, JR. That THOMAS MAYHEW was a proprietor of Nantucket has been previously shown. He selected " his sonne" Thomas Mayhew, Jr., as his associate. It is probable that Thomas Mayhew, Sr., never had more than a business connection with Nantucket, but one of his descendants married a descendant of Peter Folger. Thomas Mayhew was born early in 1592, and was a merchant of Southampton, England, but emigrated to America in 1633 or 1634, was admitted a freeman May 14, 1634, and early in 1635 settled at Watertown, Massachusetts, where he owned mills purchased of Mr. Cradock, and a farm; he was at one time proprietor of the Oldham farm. He was a selectman from 1637 to 1643, and a representative to the General Court from 1636 to 1644. In 1641 he obtained a grant of Martha's Vineyard, and sent there his son Thomas and several other persons who settled at Edgartown. (History of Watertown.) He himself did not move to Martha's Vineyard until 1644 or 1645. Whether he brought any other children from England has not been ascertained. Cotton Mather says of him,—
Note.—William C. Folger's MS. says, " The first Mayhew known in England was Simon, who went there in 1000 A.D. from Normandy, settled in County of Wiltshire, and from Wiltshire came Thomas Mayhew to America." " In 1647 he intended a short voyage for England, but alas, the ship wherein he took passage was never heard of." Of Thomas Mayhew, the governor, he says,-
"Mr Thomas Mayhew therefore finding that the Princes on these Islands, who although they maintained their Absolute Power and Jurisdiction as Kings, were yet bound to do certain Homage to a Potent Prince on the Continent ; and although they were no great People, yet had been wasted in Indian Wars, wherein the Great Princes on the Continent (not unlike European Princes for like Reasons of State) were not unassisting, whereby they were necessitated to make these Princes the Balance to decide their Controversies, and several Jurisdictions, by Presents annually sent, whereby obliging the Princes to give their several Assistance as Occasion requir'd. " And seeing his son, as aforesaid, in a Zealous Endeavor for their Conversion he judged it meet that Moses and Aaron joyn Hands. " He therefore prudently lets them know, that by Order from his Master the King of England, he was to govern the English which should inhabit these Islands ; " That his Master was in Power far above any of the Indian Monarchs ; but that as he was Powerful so was he a great Lover of Justice :
" That Religion and Government were distinct Things. " Thus in no long time they conceiv'd no ill Opinion of the Christian Religion." (B VI., Magnalia Section III.)
" In one of their towns last winter viz : 1693, thirty Children were at school, twenty more of the same place, accidentally, being not supplied with books could not attend to it. " Such who are too far distant from any school are often taught by some of their neighbors ; in divers places there are lesser schools." Thomas Mayhew, Jr., left three sons (who subsequently assumed a leading part in the affairs of these islands.) These sons were named Thomas, John, and Matthew. To his grandchildren Thomas Mayhew alludes in a postscript of a letter to Governor Edmond Andros : [ N. Y. Col. MSS., xxiv., Secretary's Office.]
Graund Sonnes . . . . 15 My sonnes sonnes sonnes . . . . 3 Daughters . . . . 3 Graund Daughters . . . . 11 32 Total. Thomas, the grandson, died in 1715, and John in 1689, aged thirty-seven years. Experience Mayhew, a minister, author of " Indian Converts or Some Account of the Lives and Dyeing Speeches of Christianized Indians of Martha's Vineyard in New England," published in London 1727, was a son of John Mayhew. Jonathan Mayhew, who was born in Martha's Vineyard, October 8, 1720, and died in Boston, July 9, 1766, was a clergyman and an advocate of liberalism ; he was a son of Experience Mayhew. |