Dukes County, Massachusetts - The whole text, 1911 (part 4 of 15)

A person of this name is entered on the early records of Edgartown, as one of the proprietors of land in 1664, and is credited in the division of shares with two drawings of lots during that year.* This is not the first mention of her name, however, as in the previous year, when a "general fence" was to be built, the "engagers" {i. e., subscribers), who were charged with the expense, are given in a list, and she appears in the following entry : ' ' Thomas Mayhew for himself, Thomas

^Bliss. "History of Rehoboth," 55. In July, 1664, "Rebeckah Sale, the late wife of Edward Sale .... hanged herself in her own hiered house," according to a coroner's inquest. (Plymo. Col. Rec, IV. 83.)

'Boston Record Com'rs Report, IX, 86; comp., Suffolk Probate, VI, 64. In his will proved in 1674 Christopher Gibson names Hannah Seale, Alice Sealle, Ephraim Sealle, and "sister Ingrham & her husband my friend Willyam Ingrham." and Jarrat (Jared) Inghram and his wife Rebecka Sealle. There is no Edward Sale, Seale or Searle in the Suffolk Deeds.

^Suffolk Probate, XIII, 156, 403. We are further confronted with another Edward Searle who lived in Rhode Island, at Warwick, about 1670, and married, probably as second wife, Joan White, a widow, sister of Edmund Calverly of Warwick. This Edward had a son Edward, who in 1671 married Ann, widow of John Lippit, Jr., and removed to Cranston in that colony. This Edward senior died in 1679. (Savage, Gen. Diet., IV, 45-)

Harlock, Thomas Paine 3, younger Mayhews one, Mrs. Scott one, Widow Foulger one, all in eight Lott(s)."' In this connection a previous entry may be of significance, a list of lot owners as defendants in a suit, 1661, which reads: " Thomas Mayhew for Alyself and all Relations in the town that is eight lotts." These two entries taken together may be interpreted as a list of the relatives by marriage or blood of Governor Mayhew, then living, or owning property in Edgartown, for the first contains the name of Thomas Harlock, son-in-law; Thomas Paine, step-son; "younger Mayhews," grandchildren, and ''Mrs." Scott and "Widow" Foulger (Merible, wife of John), by implication as "relatives." It is believed that the identity of "Mrs." Scott can be established, and the following facts are marshalled to indicate that she was Elizabeth, wife of Robert Scott of Boston : -

Malachi Browning and an Elizabeth Scott had legal business connected with their respective relatives in London on the same day in Boston, 27 (8), 1649, though no relationship between them is stated.^ This conjunction would not necessarily be conclusive of anything more than accident, but for the further fact that Malachi Browning died four years later "at the house of Robert Scott," in Boston, as appears by the town records. He was probably on a visit to "Mrs." Scott when his death occurred, Nov. 27, 1653, and this association of these two incidents seems to enable us to extend the name of this lady in full to Mrs. Elizabeth Scott, the wife of Robert, a haberdasher of Boston.

Just how Mrs. Scott came into possession of a lot in Edgartown before 1664 cannot be determined, as the records give no clue. It is possible that in consideration of care during his last illness in Boston Malachi Browning bequeathed this proprietary share to her, but there remains no record of his will by which this surmise can be re-enforced. There is no record to show how Mrs. Scott's share passed into other hands.

Elizabeth Scott received a bequest of money from her grandmother, Mrs. Mary Hussey of London, some time before May 21, 1648, when Robert Scott, her husband, gave a power of attorney for collecting the legacy.^ This might indicate that she was born a Hussey. After the death of Robert Scott, in February, 1654, she became the wife of John Sweete. Dorothy, wife of Nicholas Upsall, made a bequest in 1675 to her "sister, Ehzabeth Sweete," who may or may not be our Ehzabeth. In a deposition, 1663, Ehzabeth Scott, aged forty-seven (born 1 61 6), testified to matters in London about twenty-six years ago (1637)/

Richard Smith

A person of this name, born about 161 7, resided here before 1652, and was the owner of a half lot, one of the Five and Twenty, the fifth from Pease's Point. He drew a lot on May 8, 1653, in the division of the Planting Field, which he sold to John Folger.^ On June 6, 1654, he was chosen with six others "to end all controversies," and to hold Quarter Courts.^' Previous to this, however, he had been prospecting for another settlement in Connecticut, and had received a grant in 1652 in the town of New London.^ He had relatives also in other portions of that colony, as he speaks of "my brother Matthias Treate," who took him on a trip up the Sturgeon River, in the present town of Glastonbury. "I will show our country here," said Matthias, "it may be you will come and live here."^ This was "30 or 40 years ago," as Richard Smith deposed in 1684, making the date of his visit 1 644-1 654, of which the latter is the more probable. Smith remained in the new town, or at least sold out here about that time, and ended his connection with the Vineyard.^ Diligent effort has been made by the author and others to indentify this person in his new home and to learn more of him and his family there, as nothing is of record here to help the solution." The number of Richards, Senior and Junior, in that town has proven an almost hopeless barrier to a satisfactory conclusion, and as he belongs to Wethersfield, his record after leaving the Vineyard is left to the historian of that town.*^

'Particular mention must be made of the help given by Mrs. D. E. Penfield, of Vineyard descent, who has spent much time and labor in the attempt to clear up the doubts about this Richard.

'Stiles, History of Wethersfield, I, 299, is equally befogged with the rest who have undertaken to identify the various Richard Smiths in that town.

John Stanbridge

This man was a tailor by occupation, who is first heard of in Boston, 1674, on the tax list, and in 1678 he took the oath of allegiance in that town. He is found there in 1681, 1687 and 1688, but before this, probably about 1673, he had married Sarah, daughter of Nicholas Norton, which explains his connection with our island.' How soon he came here to live is not definitely known, possibly before 1692, when he was a witness to a deed.^ After this he seems to have removed as in 1 703 he bought property here (part of the Mayhew home lot), and is then called "late of Newport."^ Evidently he was a roamer. He remained here for some ten years, and is mentioned in the records until 1714, when it appears that he again removed to Newport. The next record of him is in 1719, when "John Stanbridge, Taylor and wife, wich came from R. Island" were warned to depart from Boston by the authorities. This however was not followed out by Stanbridge, as he was an unsuccessful petitioner in that town for a license to retail liquor in 1723, the last we hear from him.* In 1731, his wife, or widow probably, entered suit in our courts against ten of her nephews by blood and marriage, alleging that they had invited her to come from Boston to Edgartown, promising maintenance, which they had failed to perform, and asking damage. The court awarded her £100 and the defendants appealed.^

Samuel Streeter

This man was a tailor originally, settling at Gloucester and later at Nantucket. He was granted a ten acre lot on the "line" Jan. 12, 1663, is mentioned in a deed, 1665, and a short

*Dukes County Records, Vol. H. She called herself a seamstress. It is possible that the plaintiff may be a daughter of Sarah (Norton) Stanbridge, who sues her cousins. There being no court files in the county archives of that date, the pleadings are not available.

Peter Tabor

This person was among the earliest settlers, almost contemporaneous with Mayhew himself. He had first seated himself at Watertown, where he was made a freeman May 14, 1634, and about four years later he removed to Yarmouth, Cape Cod." He remained there for an undetermined period and moved thence to Great Harbor. As he had been a townsman of Thomas Mayhew in Watertown his migration to the Vineyard after the latter had purchased the island in 1641, may be attributed to personal acquaintance with Mayhew. Taber was in Edgartown before 1647, at which time he sold to John Bland "all his Right that he then Possessed," but it is evident that Taber acquired further holdings, not recorded, as he continued to reside on the Vineyard and participated as a proprietor in all the divisions of land until 1655.^ In this year, on May 15, "it was agreed" by the magistrates that he had been guilty of immoralities, and on Aug. 2, 1655, "Philip Taber now being at Portsmouth in Rhode Island" sold his estate on the Vineyard and thenceforth lived elsewhere.* He had lived here for at least nine years, but the New London records show a house lot granted to him in 165 1, on which a house was built, presumably by him. This was sold in 1652 or 1653 by Cary Latham, in behalf of "my brother Philip Tabor now dwelling at Martin's Vineyard.""

In the "History of New London," he is mentioned as coming to that town from "Martha's Vineyard" with a body of Eastern emigrants, and was among those who "wrought at the mill dam" that year in July.'' It is possible that he removed to New London from the Vineyard in 1651, remained a year or two, and returned to the latter place in 1653, when a land grant to him is recorded. But he had drawn lots in

'Edgartown Records, I, 130. Dukes Deeds, I, 354; Savage, Genealogical Dictionary, IV, 223. The late Abner Mayhew owned a book, printed in 1632, which was once the property of Samuel Streeter and containing his autograph, 1664. Its subsequent owners were Matthew Mayhew, Experience Mayhew, Joseph Mayhew, Jane Bassett and Benjamin Bassett, all of whom left their autographs inside the covers.^

'He had a son baptized at Barnstable, Nov. 8, 1640, John, "son of Phillipp Tabor, dwelling at Yarmouth, a member of the Chh att Watertown." He was propoundsd as freeman, Jan. 3, 1638-9 at Yarmouth.

In 1656 he appears as a freeman of Portsmouth, R. I., and not long after at Providence, of which place he was a Representative in 1661. Later he was of Dartmouth (1667-8), and probably ended his days there after all these wanderings.^ Descendants continued to reside in this latter named town during all of the next century, and probably all of the name in that vicinity can trace their lineage to him.

He was born about 1605, and married, as is stated, three times. His first wife was Lydia Masters of Cambridge. The others are not known to the author. By her, perhaps she was the mother of all his children, he had John, 1640, Philip, Lydia, Thomas, 1646, and Joseph.

During his life on the Vineyard, about nine years, his name appears frequently on the records, as grantee of sundry lots. He owned No. 2 in the "Five and Twenty" homestalls, and in 1653 acquired by grant of the town a considerable tract at Mashacket. He was one of the magistrates chosen in 1653, but was not re-elected the next year, and in 1655 was convicted as above stated and left the Vineyard.

Peter Tallman

It is probable that this man came to New England in 1648, bringing "three negros" in the ship Golden Dolphin, and settled in Rhode Island." He became a freeman in 1655, and in 1661 was Solicitor General of that colony. Whether he ever lived here is problematical, but it is certain that he was a land owner in 1663 and 1664, taking shares in the land divisions of those years. ^ He acquired the William Case lot, but in what manner is not known, possibly by marrying his widow. The lot is spoken of as "William Cases which is Tallmans."'* With his son-in-law, Thomas Lawton, also a proprietor here, he bought Homes Hole Neck of the Indians about 1664 or 1667, as will be related in the annals of that place, and lost it through the opposition of Mayhew. This is his last connection with the Vineyard.

'Plymouth Colony Records, V, 254. No record of the settlement of his estate is to be found in the Bristol County registry. Savage states that he wa» also of Tiverton, but the author finds no evidence to substantiate the claim.

Robert Wade

He was a juror here in 1681, which probably indicates residence of some duration prior to that date. He is, it may be assumed, the person of that name who was of Dorchester, 1635, Hartford, 1640, then Say brook, and in 1669 of Norwich, showing that he was a roamer.

John Wakefield

There were in New England before 1653 ^ number of Wakefields bearing the baptismal name of John, and the meager data respecting the John Wakefield who owned a lot here prior to 1652 does not afford any definite clue to the particular one who came to the island early and left it equally so. He was witness to a document signed here Oct. 14, 1647, in relation to a guardianship for Thomas Paine. ^ Whether he was the John of Salem and Marblehead, 1637, 1638, or the John of Plymouth, 1639, or John of Watertown, 1646, who may all have been one person having these residences in succession, cannot be satisfactorily determined.^ Under date of Nov. II, 1652, "the Lott that is next that which was first given to John Wakefield" is mentioned, and this tells us of his disappearance from the island before that date, and his possessions had passed either by purchase or regrant to Thomas Paine.' A John Wakefield appeared in Boston subsequent to this and died there about 1667, and administration of his estate was given to his widow Anne on July 18, that year.*

This settler was a late arrival in the town, coming hither from an unknown direction, about 1670, but soon attaining prominence. He became town clerk in 167 1, which office he held for an undetermined period, but as late as 1686 he was still in office as such.^ He was selectman in 1676, juror in 1 68 1, and during the twenty years of his life here maintained the usual activities of a citizen in and out of court. It has been hinted in the sketch of John Bland that Watson may have been some ''kith or kin" of Mrs. Joanna Bland, as he and his son had dealings with parts of the Bland property. Beyond this supposition there is no clue to his origin prior to settlement at the Vineyard. No person of his name is to be found in any of the Watson family histories, nor in any of the New England settlements/ He may have been a recent immigrant from England ^

He died April 28, 1690, and an inventory of his estate showed property to the value of ;^56-7-i, and a son Elias was recorded as "heir of Philip Watson late of Edgartown, late deceased."^ No wife is mentioned, or known to the author. Elias remained in Edgartown as late as 1704, when he was a witness to a deed, but nothing further is known of him, whether married or having descendants.

Augustine Williams

This transient resident was another son-in-law of Nicholas Norton, and he is first found here in 1679, as a witness, and again in 1684 and 1687 in the same connection.* The town records have an entry relating to him in 1681, and it may be inferred that he was a constant resident here between the earlier and later dates. Of his antecedents nothing is definitely known, but he was probably a resident of Stonington, Conn., (1663), and possibly a mariner. He married Hannah Norton (13), and had Thomas [1678], Hannah, 1680, Daniel, 1683, Bethiah, 1686, and Matthew, 1688, all recorded at Killingworth, Conn., whither he removed about the last named date. He died shortly after this, as in 1692 his widow Hannah was empowered by the General Court to sell certain property, according to a verbal bargain made by her deceased husband.^ She was here on Aug. 17, 1692, as witness to a deed, probably on a visit.** She married a second time, before 1699, elder John Brown of Killingworth.'^

^There was a Philip Challis in Salisbury, who was sometimes called Philip Watson Challis and had a son born in that town in 1657. (Hoyt, ''Old Families of Salisbury," 89.) He was fifty-two years old in 1669, and died about i68r in Amesbury.

'Killingworth Town Records. Thomas Williams, natural son and heir to Augustine Williams, deceased, deeds to his natural mother, Hannah Brown, administratrix of estate of his father, March 12, 1699. Elder Brown died in 1708, but whether she survived is not known to the author.

Incorporation Of The Town

Although the conditions of government for the settlements on the island, made at the time of its purchase, were presented to be "such as is now established in the Massachusetts," yet we have seen that this course was not pursued by the patentees in the general administration of its affairs as a whole, nor was it in the town of Great Harbor. In Massachusetts the towns were governed by boards of selectmen, chosen annually by the freemen, but this practice would not be countenanced by Mayhew, and there is no evidence to show that any town officers having the powers of selectmen were chosen for managing its business. John Burchard had been "chosen town Clarke" in 1656 and John Butler "chosen Constable" in 1658, and these officers were filled annually from those dates, but beyond these two necessary officials, without initiative authority, we have no town government like that "established in the Massachusetts."

When the Duke of York extended his jurisdiction over the island, this requirement, already a dead letter, became by the process null and void. As a part of New York it partook of the customs and laws of that province, and it has been seen that the ducal government did not encourage popular elections nor town meetings. The principal fruit of this political change was the incorporation of Great Harbor on July 8, 1 67 1, under the name of Edgartown. The charter under which this town now exists is as follows : -

FRANCIS LOVELACE Esqr: one of the Gentlemen of his Maties Hon'ble Privy Chambr and Governor Genii under his Royall Highness JAMES Duke of Yorke and Albany &c of all his Territories in America: To all to whom these Presents shall come sendeth Greeting: WHEREAS there is a certaine Island within these His Royall Highness his Territoryes lyeing & being to the North West of the Island Nantuckett which said Island was heretofore Graunted unto Thomas Mayhew Senr & Thomas Mayhew Junr his Sonn by James Forrett Agent to William Earle of Sterling in whom the Government then was and by them a Proportion at the East end thereof Graunted to Severall Inhabitants Freeholders there for a Towneshipp who have made Purchase of the Indian Right, the said Towne being formerly knowne by the Name of the Great Harbour the Precincts whereof are Bounded on the East by the Eastermost End of a Small Island called Chappo-quiddick; on the South by Teque-Nomens Neck; on the North by the Eastermost Chap of Holmes Neck and on the West by a Line to bee runn between the South and North Bounds: NOW for a Confirmacon unto the prsent Inhabitants Freeholders there and their Associates in their Possession and Enjoyment of the Premises KNOW YE that by vertue of the Commission and Authority unto mee given by his Royall Highness upon whom (as well by the resignation & Assignment of the Heyres of the said William Earle of Sterling as also by Grant & Patent from his Royall Matie CHARLES the second) the Propriety & Government of Long Island, Martins Vineyard Nantuckett & all the Islands adjacent amongst other things is settled I have Given & Graunted & by these Presents doe Give Ratify Confirme and Grant unto the present Inhabitants Freeholders and their Associates their Heyres Successors & Assignes the Land whereon the said Towne is settled Together with all the Lands Soyles Woods Meadowes Pastures Marshes Lakes Waters Fishing Hawking Hunting & Fowling within the Bounds & Lymitts afore described & all other Profitts Commodityes Emolumts & Hereditaments to the said Towne & Land belonging or in any wise appertaining: the Tenure whereof is to bee according to the Custome of the Mannor of East Greenwich in the County of Kent in England in free & Common Soccage & bv Fealtv onlv. And the said Towne (which for the future shall bee called by the Name of EDGAR TOWNE and by that Name & Style shall bee distinguisht and knowne in all Bargaines and Sales Deeds Records and Writeings) shall bee held, deemed, reputed, taken & bee an Entire Enfranchized Towneship of it selfe & shall alwayes from time to time have hold & enjoy like & equall Priviledges with other Townes within the Governmt & shall in noe manner or any wise bee under the Rule, Order or Direction of any other Place but in all mattere of Governmt shall be Ruled Ordered & Directed according to the Instructione I have alreadv given or hereafter shall give for the Good and Welfare of the Inhabitants by the Advice of my Councell : TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said Towne with the Lands thereunto belonging with all and Singular the Appertenances and Premisses unto the said Inhabitants, Freeholders and their Associates their Heyres Successors & Assignes forever. THEY the said Inhabitants & their Associates their Heyres Successors & Assignes Yielding rendring & Paying yearly & every yeare unto his Royall Highness the Duke of Yorke his Heyres & Assignes or to such Governor or Governors as from time to time shall bee by him Constituted & Appointed as an Acknowledgment two Barrells of Merchantable Cod Fish to bee delivered at the Bridg in this Citty. GIVEN under my Hand and Sealed with the Seale of the Province at Fort James in New Yorke on the Island of Manhattans this eighth day of July in the three and twentyeth yeare of the Reigne of our Sovereigne Lord CHARLES the Second by the Grace of God of England Scotland France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith &c & in the yeare of our Lord God One Thousand six hundred seaventy & one.*

It will be noted that the new town was to hold its charter "in free & common soccage,"^ according to the "custome of the Mannor of East Greenwich," county of Kent, England, which was a phrase employed in similar circumstances to describe the tenure as honorable in character, and determined

^Free and common soccage is to be distinguished from villein soccage. The former was definite in conditions, as by fealty and the payment of a certain nominal sum as annual rent. Villein soccage was of a base or menial quality, such as rendering labor for the proprietor, and was equivalent to what is now called copyhold tenure.

solely by fealty to the cro^\Tl without service or other subordination. It was also specially prescribed that it was to be "Ruled, Ordered & Directed according to the Instructions" of the Governor and Council of New York, having at the same time "Equall Priviledges with other Townes within the Governm't" of that province.

It seemed to make but little difference with the affairs of this community whether the freemen lived under Mayhew's personal rule or under a charter. Not much remains to show that they exercised many or few "priviledges" afterward. In 1676 occurs the first indication of participation in town business. On that date, Thomas Bayes, John Pease, and Philip Watson were "put in by the town to see all orders put in execution,"^ and this may be interpreted as three chosen or select men to administer its affairs, though they were not so designated. The title of selectmen was then a peculiar one in New England, and was not adopted by New York. In 1682, Joseph Norton and Thomas Butler were chosen "overseers," the first use of that title, and under various phraseology certain men were chosen to "act" for the town each year. We may suppose that they were equivalent to our selectmen. This title was not used until March, 1692, immediately following the consolidation of the island government with Massachusetts, under the charter of William and Mary. In 1693 they were called "townsmen", and in 1694 "overseers," but in 1696 the name "selectmen" was applied and has been borne ever since by those chosen to manage our town affairs.

Ecclesiastical Affairs

In considering the inception of ecclesiastical matters in the town it seems necessary to eliminate Thomas Mayhew, Jr., as originally migrating hither in a ministerial capacity. That he served the handful of people who came with him as a spiritual leader, conducting the usual weekly services and performing such other functions of a kindred character is quite within the probabilities. The necessities of the situation imposed this duty on him, which was undoubtedly agreeable to his inclinations as well as befitting his temporal leadership. But that this relation of pastor and proprietor was not regarded by the settlers as more than one of temporary expediency seems clear from the statement of Governor Winthrop in 1643, when recording the migration of '^ divers families" from Watertown to the Vineyard. He says: ''they procured a young man, one Mr. (Henry) Green/ a scholar to be their minister, in hopes soon to gather a church there. He went not."^ It is probable that this was an effort to secure a regularly educated clergyman for the little congregation of settlers, and it is scarcely probable that it did not have the sanction of both the elder and younger Mayhew, whose interests were paramount in all that pertained to the welfare of the infant colony. In consequence of the failure to secure the services of Mr. Henry Green, a continuation of the lay ministrations of young Thomas Mayhew became not only the most expedient but a mutually satisfactory arrangement. Daniel Gookin, writing in 1674, says of the young Thomas: "being a scholar and pious man ajter some time was called to be minister unto the English upon that island."^ Rev. Thomas Prince, the New England chronologist, writing in 1723, says of Thomas Mayhew, Jr., that "soon after their settlement on the Island the new Plantation called him to the ministry among them."* It may, therefore, be fairly concluded that this pastoral relation borne by the younger Mayhew was determined by accident rather than by design, and was the natural outcome of the isolated situation in which the dozen families here found themselves, unable to induce an educated young clergyman with prospects, to a far-off isle, or to offer sufficient pecuniary profit to tempt one to this seclusion. Although Johnson^ and Gookin state that he was "called" to the "Church of Christ gathered at the Vineyard," yet for reasons above given the author doubts if he was ever ordained in the usual way by a council of ministers or regarded as more than a "teacher."

'Green, Rev. Henry, scholar, minister, Ipswich, freeman, May 13, 1642; was paid in 1643 for service against the Indians. Was invited to be minister at INlartin's Vineyard in 1643, but "went not." He was ordained pastor at Reading May 9, 1645, and died in May, 1648. (Pope, Pioneers of Mass.)

^The Rev. Experience Mayhew in his preface to the ordination sermon preached by him at the settlement of the Rev. John Newman, in 1746, places the establishment of the Church in the year 1642, and adds: "in the same year that the first Inhabitants came to this Island your Church was gathered and a Reverend and worthy Person, (Mr. Thomas Mayhew) was ordained Pastor of it." While this distinguished grandson should be a competent witness on this point, yet writing as he did a century after the events he narrates, he is not entitled to the same credence as one writing contemporaneously like Gookin, who got his information direct from the younger Mayhew, "being well acquainted with him," as he states.

First Meeting-House

It is not known when or where the first meeting-house was erected. There could not have been much demand for one of great size to accommodate the few people, and it is more than likely that services were held in dwelling houses, or perhaps the scohol- house, until such tim.e as the settlement increased in numbers, and this temporary shelter ceased to be adequate. The ''English Meeting" is referred to in 1643.^ The first notice in the town records is under date of Feb. 6, 1653, and is as follows : -

"Ordered By the town that upon the first day of March the town is to come together at the Pastors house to Begin to build a meeting house. The Leader is to order the Company and Set every man to his worke.'"

Probably this first house was then built, and we may accept 1653 as the date of its erection. Thus far no clue to the proximate spot selected by the settlers for this primitive house of worship has been found. The records are absolutely silent on the subject, and it has even escaped the uncertain aid of tradition to help us fix the site. In this predicament a surmise is allowable and may pass for what is it worth. The author regards it as highly probable that this first building was placed in the acre on Burying hill, set aside for the dead in the little town. This was the usual custom in other New England towns, to set the meeting-house next the cemetery, and it mav be concluded that our ancestors followed this arrangement.

Death Of The Younger Mayhew

When the young missionary left the Vineyard in the late fall of 1657 to go to England, never to return as it unfortunately proved, he left the care of the church to Peter Folger, the schoolmaster.^ This young man had been an assistant to Mayhew in his religious work among the Indians, and was familiar with the duties devolving upon him. When the prolonged absence of the young pastor made it certain that he had been lost at sea, Folger undoubtedly served in the capacity of "teacher" or "elder" for a number of years, until about 1663, when he removed to Nantucket. He had become a

Baptist, and it is more than probable that his departure from the settled doctrine of the Puritan sect was the cause of his leaving the Vineyard. Meanwhile the bereaved governor was searching about for a settled successor to his lost son. He sought the assistance of Governor John Winthrop, Jr., of Connecticut, in the selection, and among others endeavored to induce the Rev. Abraham Pierson of Branford to take up the fallen thread. Mr. Pierson was an A.B. of Trinity College, Cambridge, England, 1632, and had been the minister of Branford, Conn., since 1647.^ This expectation proved futile.

Ministry Of John Cotton

The opportunity to secure a suitable candidate presented itself later, doubtless through the agency of Governor Winthrop. John Cotton, Jr., son of the celebrated Boston preacher of that name, was living in Wethersfield, Conn., and preaching occasionally in that town and also at Haddam and Killingworth. He was born in Boston in 1640 and was graduated at Harvard College when but seventeen years of age. Going to Connecticut soon after graduation, he pursued theological studies under Rev. Samuel Stone of Hartford. He married Joanna, daughter of Dr. Bryan Rossiter of Killingworth. His son Josiah writes as follows of the young clergyman and his bride: " He could hardly have made a more suitable Choice on account of age & other Qualifications. She was born July, 1642. And by consent of all Parties they were Married November 7, 1660. My Father remained unsettled Several years after & I suppose might preach at those Places above mentioned & elsewhere occasionally till Providence opened a Door at Edgartown or old Town on Marthas Vineyard."'

The young clergyman came here with his equally youthful wife about 1664-5, he twenty-four and she twenty- two years of age, bringing with them their first born child, also named John. Shortly after their arrival a daughter, named Sarah, born Jan. 17, 1665, was added to their household. Probably this was during his probationary term of preaching, customary in those times, and he proved satisfactory, as a scion of the famous Cotton family could not help proving. On Feb. i, 1664-5, the town voted: -

"May 24, 1665. I do accept of the Call of the town so far as to continue Preaching of the gospel amongst them whilst god in his orderly Providence continues me hear.'"

Second Meeting-House Erected

As a regularly educated clergyman was now settled amongst them, the townsmen made immediate arrangements to build a new meeting-house to accommodate the growing population and on the same day of the acceptance of the call the following vote was passed : -

"There shall be a meeting house Built with all convenient speed: the place where the Meeting House is to be sett is at the West end of Mrs. Searles Lott upon the Common Land: the Dimentions of the house is thirty three foot long; nineteen foot in Breadth and eight foot Stud."*

No plan of this house remains, nor is any view of it extant. The subjoined sketch of the floor plan and elevation is presented for the purpose of indicating approximately the interior and exterior of this modest meetinghouse, whose "dimentions" did not exceed that of the ordinary dwelling of the present day. The location of this new structure can be more accurately fixed. The "Searles Lott" passed into the possession of Richard Sarson, and for over two centuries has been known as the "Sarson Lott."^ On the east side of this lot was the "Ministerial Lot," so called, but never used as such, probably owing to the lack of settled clergymen after the death of the younger Mayhew. Near by it lived the Rev. Jonathan Dunham, when he came to assume pastoral charge here, and in the early days, when the first owner, Edward Searles, occupied it, the schoolhouse stood on adjoining land. It was therefore the intellectual centre of the town. Burial

^Its present owner (1907) is Clement Norton, who derived title through the heirs of Edmund Lewis and Christopher Beetle. It is just north of "Cleveland Town."

Pi,An And View Of Second Meeting-House, Edgartown

hill was out of the way as a convienent location. The population of the town was then mostly housed between Cleveland Town and Meshacket, and this new location was intended to accommodate the majority of the settlers. It is of course hazardous to attempt locating the exact spot on the "Common Land" where they erected this second house of worship, but we can guess that it was on the old path that bounded the north side of the Sarson lot and near the great swamp.

The young clergyman immediately began to apply himself to his duties as pastor to the town and teacher of the Indian mission. Cotton Mather, his uncle, says of him: "He hired an Indian after the rate of Twelve pence per day for Fifty Days to teach him the Indian Tongue; but his Knavish Tutor having received his Whole Pay too soon, ran away before Twenty Days were out; however in this time he had profited so far that he could quickly preach unto the Natives.'" In this dual capacity Cotton labored for over two years, when he fell under the displeasure of the old Governor. The cause of it is not known. Cotton was then twenty-five and Mayhew seventy-five years of age, and doubtless the young man refused to submit to the dictations of the elder in the performance of his duties, and a rupture resulted. The governor reported the matter to the Commissioners of the United Colonies, by whom Cotton was paid as a missionary to the Indians, and in September, 1667,

" Mr. John Cotton appeared before the Comissioners and was seriously spoken too To Compose those allianations between him and Mr. Mayhew: otherwise it was signified to him that the Comissioners could not expect good by theire laboure wheras by their mutuall Contensions and Invictives one against the other they undid what they taught the Natives, and sundry calles (as he said) being made him by the English to other

The young man considering his usefulness at an end promptly decided to leave the Vineyard, and on Nov. 30, 1667, removed to Plymouth, one of the places which desired his services, and there under happier conditions he served a useful pastorate for twenty years, finally removing to Charleston, S. C., in 1697, where he died two years later. ^

Interregnum, 1667-1680

Great Harbor was again left without a pastor, and the town records do not afford any information relative to the means employed to fill the vacancy for many years. At the departure of Cotton in 1667, the young sons of Rev. Thomas May hew, Jr., Matthew and John, were only nineteen and fifteen years of age respectively, and of course not old enough then to fill the breach. As the Indians WTre then conducting two or three meetings of their own at the time and had "teachers" of their race presiding, the English would avail themselves of the services of the native preachers. Experience Mayhew says: "when there was no English Pastor upon the Island some of our godly English People very cheerfully received the Lords supper administered by him," referring to John Tackanash.^ This was only a return for "bread cast upon the waters." It is probable also that the Governor acted in the capacity of lay pastor during such times as occasion required." In this instance it was a long period. John Mayhew, who later preached at Tisbury, may have begun his ministerial work in Edgartown during this time, probably as soon as he was of age in 1673, as it is only thus that we can account for the long period between 1667 and 1680, when the next reference to religious matters occurs in the records.

Third Meeting-House Begun. Pastorate Of

It would seem that the interregnum of thirteen years had not been fruitful for the state of religion, as on July 3, 1680, the town voted to build another meeting-house with dimensions smaller than the first. The following is the record: -

"Voted that there should be a meeting house built of twenty foot square with four cross Galleries with ten feet stud; this house is to be finished by the last day of March next Insewing."^

The occasion of this vote is not clear; perhaps the second building of 1665 had deteriorated from disuse or was considered beyond repair. It is suspected however that a new candidate in the person of Mr. Deodate Lawson was preaching a probationary spell, and this action was taken to encourage his settlement. Deodate Lawson, the son of Rev. Thomas Lawson of Denton, County of Norfolk, England, was a late comer to New England. He took the oath of allegiance in

Voted that "Mr. Lawson hath a Call to this town and that this town will Bye him half Commodation Providing that he Lives and preaches for the Term of seven years.'"

It is not known whether Mr. Lawson accepted or how long he preached, but it is certain that he did not stay "seven years" nor half that time. It is probable that he may have remained for a year. As a child born to him is recorded in Boston in 1682, it is probable that he had by that time severed his short connection with this town. He afterwards lived at Danvers and Scituate in a ministerial capacity, but it seems that he left the latter church in an unaccountable way.^ The brief residence of Mr. Lawson here probably resulted in dampening the enthusiasm for a new meeting-house, and doubtless the plan to build began to languish when the new minister failed to show indications of settling down. Indeed, it would appear from the following vote passed under date of Aug. 5, 1685, that the meeting-house was begun in 1680, in accordance with the former vote, and that operations were suspended when he took his departure.

"Voted that Thomas Daggett, James Pease Sr. & Isaac Norton are Impowered in behalf of the town to Treat with Richard Ellingham about finishing the Meeting house and to conclude with him or any others according to their Discression for finishing said House, finding Timber and all the Necessarys about the same and what they shall do In the Towns Behalf shall sattisfie and Be obliged to Perform."^

Whether this was "finished" on the plan laid out in 1680, of twenty feet square, is not known, but it is presumed that a larger building was found to be necessary as a new clergyman had been engaged the previous year.

Ministry Of Jonathan Dunham

Negotiations had been in progress during 1684 between Matthew Mayhew, as agent for the town, and Mr. Jonathan Dunham of Falmouth (Cape Cod), relative to his settlement

'Edgartown Records, I, 27. The earliest publication relating to Salem Witchcraft, was a little pamphlet by Deodate Lawson, issued in the summer of 1692. ^Deane, History of Scitusfte, 196. ^Edgartown Records, I, 35.

V^oted, "that if Mr. Mayhew cannot Prevail with Mr. Dunham the Town desire him to Treat with some other man whom he shall think fitt and is ordered to give thirty-five pounds a year."'

"I, Matthew Mayhew being employed by Edgar town in the year of our Lord 1684 to procure Mr. Dunham or some other Minister for them did agree with Mr. Dunham as minister of the gospell in said Town viz: to allow Thirty Pounds per annum was excepted by them which I now for there Better satisfaction do declare to said Town to have been my return to them."'

Jonathan Dunham, a native of Plymouth, was at this date 52 years of age, past middle life, and came to Edgartown ripe with the experiences of half a century in temporal affairs, and now chosen to be a guide in spiritual concerns. He was not an educated minister, nor a college graduate. "With toil and Pains at first he tilled the ground," his epitaph states. He had been for some time "employed in Preaching the Good word of God amongst us for our Edification," according to the statement of a committee representing the settlement at Succonnessitt [Falmouth] in 1679, but he was only a lay preacher in reality.^ The choice however proved to be a happy one, and for a generation of years, laboring with ever increasing satisfaction to the church until he had reached the ripe age of eighty-five, this pastoral relation in our town was continued.* Infirmities incident to his years however, in 1711, made it necessary that he receive some assistance in his work, and on May 15th of that year, at a special town meeting, it was voted to obtain "some able minister of the Gospel to be helpful to Mr. Dunham in the ministrie." Early in 1713, the church had unanimously selected Rev. Samuel Wiswall as coadjutor, and on March loth of that year the town unanimously voted to endorse that action in behalf of the proprietors.^ The town

*Mr. Dunham was not ordained until Oct, 11, 1694, when he was installed as ^'teacher" of the church at Edgartown, ten years after his call. The pastor of the Plymouth church and Mr. Fuller came by invitation to assist at the ceremonies.

voted him a salary of £7,0 per annum for the first year and raised this to ;^40 the next year, at the same time paying Mr. Dunham his regular salary, although he had "through age and other infirmity desisted preaching for the two years last past."* Mr. Dunham died Dec. 18, 1717, and on his tombstone the following metrical elegy is to be seen : -

With Toil & Pains at first He Tell'd the Ground Caird to Dress GOD'S Vine Yard & ws faithful Found Full Thirty Years the Gospel He Did Despence His Work Being Done CHRIST JESUS Cal'd Him Hence.

He was succeeded by his assistant, Mr. Wiswall, then in his 38th year.^ This pastor was the first liberally educated clergyman settled in the town, having heen graduated at Harvard as B. A. in 1701 and taken his degree of Master of Arts three years later. After this latter event he prepared himself for the duties of the ministry. He had no settled charge at first, and preached transiently as opportunities offered. Later he went on a voyage as chaplain of a large ship which was captured by the Spaniards and taken to Martinico, "where he underwent a dangerous Fit of Sickness, but God sparing his Life he returned to his Country again. "^ He preached at Nantucket for about six months before accepting the call to this town. While here he acquired the Indian tongue "with a design to do what service he can amongst that people,"^ and labored both among the English and natives with highly satisfactory results. His ministry was uneventful, and like that of his predecessor the pastoral relations continued for over thirty years until terminated by death. He was "often infirm with respect to his bodily state," and never married, so that he might attend the work of his ministry "without Distraction." After much added labor in a season of sickness and mortality, he succumbed suddenly on the 23d of December, 1746, in the 68th year of his age.

^He was the son of "pious and worthy Parents in the Town of Dorchester," Mr. Enoch and Elizabeth (Oliver) Wiswall, and was born Sept. 2, 1679, in that town.

^Mather, "India Christiana" (1721). Mr. Wiswall evidently was of a roving disposition, and when he first came showed symptoms of restlessness. In 1714, when Judge Sewall visited Edgartown, he was asked by Capt. Thomas Daggett to "endeavour to persuade him to stay among them." (Diary, II, 432.)

Third Meeting-House

Immediately following his accession to the place made vacant by the death of Mr. Dunham, the town held a meeting to consider the necessity of repairing the old structure, which had been in use over thirty years. "After some debate," the record states, ''they being sensible, or the greater part, did find the old meeting house to be too scanty for the inhabitants of this town, they passed a unanimous vote for a new meeting house. "^ With that deliberation however, which characterized all such affairs, they did not act upon this vote for a year, and on Jan. ii, 1719-20, they finally agreed with Thomas Daggett to build the new structure, which should "not contain nor cover more ground than forty feet long and thirty wide."^ This was the third meeting-house erected in the town since its foundation. During the ministry of Mr. Wiswall he was paid a yearly salary ranging from ;^5o in 17 18, to ;^ioo in 1745, the latter amount being that received by him at his death."

The town, on Jan. 7, 1746-7, voted to raise ;^i5o for the ministry, and a month later a committee of five was appointed to procure a successor to their lately deceased pastor. This committee acted promptly, and in two months had secured as a candidate, a young clergyman, the Rev. John Newman, then in his twenty-seventh year, brother-in-law of John Sumner of Edgartown, and a graduate in the class of 1740 of Harvard College. He was the son of John and Mary (Marshall) Newman of Gloucester, Mass., where he was born March 14, 171 6. The church had voted, on May 8, 1747, to give him a call to settle, and on May 15th the town voted to concur in the selection, and further "for an incouragement " voted him the sum of ;^3oo, for a settlement and for a yearly salary.

"The sum of two hundred and fifty pounds in the old tenor to be settled at the rate of silver money at forty six shillings old tenor the ounce and so to raise or fall as the same shall rise or fall at all times hereafter as long as he the sd Mr. John Newman shall continue in the office of the ministry among us in this town."*

Ministry Of John Newman

Mr. Newman accepted this offer promptly, and the town "returned thanks for his acceptance." Elaborate preparations were made for the entertainment of the delegates from the churches which were invited to assist at his ordination, which occurred July 29, 1747, and the sum of ;!^5o was raised to defray the expenses of entertaining the council.^ All this seemed to be in marked contrast to the simplicity which had heretofore obtained in the history of this church, but Rev. Mr. Newman was an entirely different character from his predecessors. He was the youngest pastor who had ever occupied this pulpit, and had recently returned from the siege of Louisburg, at which place he had served as chaplain to the garrison. Being possessed of some private fortune and imbued with the commercial spirit, he entered at once into the business of shop keeping on his own account, and in maritime ventures in partnership with Mr. Sumner.^ In addition to this he was of a "worldly" temperament, which soon begat doubts and anxieties among those who could compare him with the grave and saintly Dunham, and the studious, ascetic Wiswall. This situation had in it the elements of probable discord, and the usual factions consequent upon this grew into activity. The older and conservative church members disapproved him, and the younger element in the town became his supporters.^

One of the Deacons of his church, Benjamin Daggett, became a bitter enemy and circulated scandalous stories about his character. He sued the deacon in the local courts for slander in March, 1757, and recovered a small verdict with costs, from which the defendant appealed.^ Thus vindicated,

^Edgartown Records, I, 190. The ordination sermon was preached by Rev. Thomas Balch, pastor of the Second Parish, Dedham, Mass, who had married his sister-in-law, Mary Sumner.

^An account book kept by him in Edgartown, 1747-1758, is now in existence in excellent preservation, and furnishes undoubted evidence that he did a thriving business in retail shop-keeping. He sold chintz and lawn to the women, ship chandlery, pipes and tobacco to the men. Being skilled in "phisick" and "surgery," he purged and vomited the ailing townspeople and drew their aching molars during the week, as a preparation for his spiritual prescriptions on Sundays.

'Letter to Rev. Thomas Foxcroft of Boston. A similar condition existed simultaneously in Tisbury, and under date of Feb. 21, 1755, Experience Mayhew wrote: "There are great Travails & Dissentions arisen in two of our churches here viz at Edgartown and Tisbury. How they will end I know not. They need the help of the prayers of others for them."

he asked dismission from the church. The church finally acceeded to his request for severance of the pastoral relations, but the town, by a vote of 30 to 14, would not concur in July, 1758. In the following October the town reconsidered its objections, and for the "mutual good and comfort of this church and congregation doth concur with the vote of the church, and grant a dismission unto the Rev. Mr. John Newman from his pastoral or ministerial relations."^ If these dissentions drove him from the ministry they did not drive him from the town, and like his associate in Tisbury, the Rev. Nathaniel Hancock, under similar conditions, he decided to remain rather than turn his back on his enemies. He entered into public affairs, became Justice of the Court of Sessions and Common Pleas in 1761, and w^as Colonel of the Militia of the county the same year. He died Dec. i, 1763, in his forty-third year, and lies buried in the cemetery beyond Tower Hill.=^

Ministry Of Joshua Tufts

The church and town, on July 10, 1759, voted to call Mr. Zachariah Mayhew of Chilmark as pastor to fill the vacancy created by the dismission of the Rev. Mr. Newman, but owing to his employment by the Society for Propagating the Gospel and "some obstructions or obstacles that were in the way," he decided not to accept the charge.^ Another attempt was made to secure the services of a clergyman, and the Rev. Joshua Tufts, Harvard College 1736, who had been settled as pastor at Litchfield, N. H., and Narragansett Township, No. 2, was invited to assume the vacant pastorate in December, 1759. The town voted to purchase a parsonage, and made the usual provisions for his maintenance. Mr. Tufts accepted, and further provision was made "for the Removal of his family and things here and for the maintainance of his family until they may arrive."* But he was scarcely warmed in his seat before trouble began, and on July 9, 1760, a committee was appointed "to wait upon the Rev. Mr. Joshua Tufts and discourse with him with respect to his asking and

'In the same cemeterj' is buried the body of Mrs. Mary Newman, his mother, who died September 28, 1755, in her seventy-first year. His widow, Mrs. Hannah Newman, married Aug. 27, 1766, Jonathan Metcalf. She was five years older than Mr. Newman.

taking a dismission from his call to the pastoral and ministerial office in this town." A sum of money was also voted him^ "provided he asks and obtains a dismission."* His predecessor, now John Newman, Esq., was chairman of the committee of the church which reported the advisability of terminating the relations. In this report, in which the church concurred, the following recommendation was given Mr. Tufts :

That notwithstanding some reports have been spread to the prejudice of the Rev. Mr. Joshua Tufts' character since he came to this place by which the affections of some of the people seem to be so far alienated from him that it has been thought convenient by the sd Mr. Tufts and this Church that he be dismissed from his pastoral and ministerial relation thereto: yet we hereby declare we are in full charity with the sd IVIr. Tufts and hope that in some other place he may have an opportunity of improving his ministerial talents and of being more extensively useful in promoting the Kingdom & Interests of our Common Lord.^

The exact nature of the disaffection indicated by his involuntary exit is not known, but it may have been an echo of the troubles of his predecessor.^

Ministry Of Samuel Kingsbury

The usual town and parish committee was forthwith charged with the duty of providing a successor, and a year later Rev. Samuel Kingsbury, a recent graduate of Harvard in the class of 1759, was invited on July 15th by the church, and the town concurred, July 21, 1761, with a money offer for a settlement.* The town further voted him a yearly salary of £66, 13 shillings and 4 pence, and he accepted the call. He was ordained November 25th of that year,^ and entered upon a successful pastorate which lasted for seventeen years, until terminated by his death from small pox, on Dec. 30, 1778, in the forty-third year of his age. He was the last victim of an epidemic of that disease, which had existed in

^The town voted to reconsider the purchase of a parsonage, and devoted a portion of this money "to pay the towns debts." He was later settled at Cumberland, N. S., and died in 1766.

^Samuel Kingsbury was born in Dedham, Dec. 28, 1736, the son of Ebenezer and Abigail Kingsbury of that town, where his ancestors had lived for four generations.

*The ordination sermon was preached by the Rev. Moses Adams of Roxbury^ and other portions of this ceremony were taken by Reverends Andrew Boardman of Chilmark, Jacob Bacon of Plymouth, Thomas Balch of Dedham, and Abraham Williams of Sandwich.

the town for some time. Rev. Mr. Kingsbury, after a residence of two years in the town, had married, Dec. 15, 1763, Jedidah, daughter of John and Jedidah (Smith) Sumner of this town, a niece of Mrs. John Newman, and thus indentified himself with one of the leading families of the town.

During the pastorate of Mr. Kingsbury, the old meetinghouse, built in 1720, and used for nearly fifty years, succumbed to the ravages of time and our climate, after many annual patchings, and on Dec. 29, 1767, the first move was made towards rebuilding, by the appointment of a committee to consider the subject and report conclusions. A change of location was advisable among other things at this time, as the centre of population in the village had moved steadily northward since the early settlement in the Mashacket region. On Feb. 2, 1768, after having voted to build a new meeting house, a committee was appointed "to agree with Deacon Matthew Norton concerning a spot of land to set or build the meeting house on as also with Mr. Matt. Mayhew concerning a way [to the land]." This arrangement was effected satisfactorily, and two weeks later, in consideration of £$ lawful money, an acre of land was purchased of Deacon Norton, and the deed passed to the church.^ This site was described as follows : -

The Meeting house is to be set up on the easterly part of the land that Deacon Matt. Norton purchased of Mr. Matt. Mayhew a few rods to the westward of a tract of land belonging to Thomas Vinson, on the Northwest side of the way that leadeth from Peases Point to the Plain. ^

Fourth Meeting-House

In order that the residents then living in the locality of South Water street might reach this new site readily, Matthew Mayhew simultaneously with Norton, deeded to the town a way one rod wide extending from Water street to the church.' With these preliminaries settled, the committee charged with the construction of the new house of worship, "having met and considered of the same and the bigness of sd house," made the following recommendations as to dim.ensions and other details concerning ways and means : -

Floor Plan

First that the meeting house be built forty-five feet wide and sixty feet long and that there shall be built in sd Meeting house ninety-seven pews sixty-four of sd pews to be set up below and thirty-three pews to be built and set up in the gallery above: .The sd meeting house and pews to be built according to the plan drawn by the sd Committee.'

Of these pews, the one next the pulpit on the left was reserved for the ministry, and the remaining pew owners were assessed a total of £26. 36s. 8d. towards building the meetinghouse. Further provisions were made for payments and forfeiture of pews, and that the town should be assessed to pay the balance of cost above the amount charged to the pews for construction. With a liberal disregard of all architectural requirements and symmetry of design, the town voted further: - if any persons have a mind to have a v^indow against their pews in any part of sd meeting house, and person so minded may have liberty therefor, provided that they do it upon their own cost and maintain the same, and before the outside is finished.^

As the work progressed, various changes in details were voted by the town, including the raising of the studding eighteen inches, "by splicing the posts," elevating the wall pews six inches above the main floor, and raising the underpinning. At length this large new structure w^as completed, probably about the early part of the spring of 1769, and became the fourth meeting-house erected for the worship of God in Edgartown.^

Ministry Of Joseph Thaxter

After the death of Rev. Mr. Kingsbury the church and town began to cast about for a successor, and on April 6, 1 780, it was voted that the town should "proceed in the most expeditious manner to procure a Gospel minister to preach to the town for the space of three months." The committee who had this matter in charge procured the services of Mr. Joseph Thaxter of Hingham, as a temporary supply, some time in May following, and he began to "preach to the town."* Mr. Thaxter was a son of Deacon Joseph and Mary (Leavitt)

*Ibid., I, 275. It is only fair to say that this vote was reconsidered later, and it was voted that these be proportioned by the carpenter. The windows in second story were to have twenty panes and those below twenty-four panes.

'On March 21, 1769, the selectmen were "impowered to Prime the windows of the meeting House," which wonld indicate its completion about that date.

Thaxter of Hingham, and was born April 23, 1744, in that town. He was graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1768, and was subsequently engaged in teaching school in his native place. He had represented Hingham at the General Court, and at the outbreak of the Revolution joined the patriot forces at Concord and later at Cambridge, and was chaplain of Colonel Prescott's regiment at the Battle of Bunker Hill. At the date of his first coming to Edgartown he was in his 37th year and unmarried. After the usual "trying out" and baiting process with the new candidate, a committee was appointed to "treat" with him upon the basis of a permanent settlement. On August loth the church unanimously gave him a call, and the town, concurring in the same manner, offered him ;^ioo in silver at 6s. 8d. per ounce as a yearly salary. His reply is worth printing in full.

Gentlemen: Whereas the Church of Christ in this place did on the loth of August last past unanimously invite me to settle with you in the work of the Gospel Ministry & whereas the town on the same day did unanimously concur with the Church in their choice and did then for my encouragement and support vote to pay me annually the sum of one hundred pounds in Silver money at six shillings eight pence per ounce so long as I shall continue in the office of the ministry among you. I have taken your invitation and encouragement into consideration and think your unanimity has made the call clear. Sensible of the care and trouble in which I must necessarily be involved in having all the necessaries of life to purchase wherever I can find them I most sincerely wish to avoid such cares as much as possible and therfore would propose that your agreement with me may be to give me ten cord of good oak wood, three tons of good English hay, forty-five bushels of Indian Corn, fifteen bushels of rye, eighty weight of good fleece wool, two hundred weight of large pork, two hundred weight of good beef including the proportion of tallow and two hundred Spanish milled dollars. Your compliance with these proposals will free me from such care and trouble and tend to my comfort & happiness, and I shall consider it as an evidence of your love and affection to me which I sincerely wish ever to enjoy should my proposals be agreeable and be accepted by the town. I then shall be ready to join with your committee in agreeing upon the Council and appointing the day for my solemn Seperation & introduction into work of the Gospel ministtry among you. Asking your prayers for me that I may be made a blessing unto the Church and People of God in this place I am, gentlemen, in love and affection your devoted and obedient servant in our Lord Jesus Christ.

This reply was considered satisfactory, and all its requirements accepted by formal vote of the town, and agents were appointed to carry out its provisions yearly in respect to the produce and fuel. He was ordained Nov. 8, 1780/ and began a distinguished pastorate under circumstances that were favorable for both parties to the contract. One exception, however, is to be noted. As he entered upon what proved to be a long ministerial service here, there arose in the town as elsewhere, those schisms in the church, which resulted in the separation of large numbers who began to follow the new doctrines preached by itinerant Baptist and Methodist preachers.^ As time progressed, these dissenting bodies grew larger numerically, and in local influence, and were a continual thorn in his flesh. This however was but an incident in his long career of usefulness, and only the requirements of space in this volume prevent an extensive review of his life and services. "Parson" Thaxter, as he was generally known, was the last of the old school village pastors, the guide, philosopher and friend of his flock, from the cradle to the grave. He ministered to them in their physical ills as well as leading them in the spiritual paths when in health, and for forty years he was easily the most distinguished personage in Edgartown. He wore to the end of his life the cocked hat, short clothes, knee and shoe buckles, and carried the long cane familiar to the generation that lived during the Revolution. At the laying of the corner stone of Bunker Hill Monument in 1825, he was designated as the official chaplain to offer prayer, in the presence of the distinguished Marquis de Lafayette, and his venerable appearance on that occasion attracted general attention and incited public comment.^ His prayer was reported in all the current papers of the time, and the noted Chaplain Thaxter of Prescott's regiment, then passed four score, was one of the marked figures on that memorable occasion.

The Unitarian sentiment which pervaded New England in the early part of the 19th century and penetrated the hallowed fanes of so many of the old Puritan churches, also found lodgment here under the later ministrations of Parson Thaxter, but he was affectionately regarded as a gentle heretic.

'The ordination sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Hilyard, and Revs. Zachariah Mayhew, George Damon and Isaiah Mann took the other portions of this ceremony.

'As early as 1781, when he had just begun his work, "the religious society commonly called Annabaptists in this town" were in existence, and when Mr. Thaxter was ordained, a committee was appointed to negotiate with them as to attendance on the services.

He died July i8, 1827, and lies buried in the cemetery that adjoined the meeting-house on Pease Point way. In the same enclosure are buried the remains of his two wives, Mary, daughter of Robert and Desire (Norton) Allen and Ann, daughter of Samuel and Anna (Wass) Smith, together with a number of their children.

After the death of Parson Thaxter the regular services at the church were suspended, and for nine years there was only occasional supply of the pulpit by traveling or missionary preachers. In 1836, the Rev. Samuel A. Devens, a Unitarian clergyman, held services for a while, and wrote some interesting descriptive letters containing his observations of this place and the island as a whole.*

The following description of the ancient structure where Parson Thaxter preached, as it appeared in 1836, was written by a traveler who spent some time in the town, and published his observations in a volume of sketches of places visited by him : -

The style of architecture - to frame a new order - is Quaker. It is situated a little out of the village and is the first object, when approaching it, that attracts attention. It is of large dimensions and without a steeple. No part of it is painted but the roof, which is of brick color. Of course with its broad paintless sides, relieved only by its reddish roof, it has a somewhat grave and sombre aspect. This specimen of antiquity rears its venerable form in the centre of an oblong enclosure of considerable extent, all of which with the exception of a path from the gate to the Churchdoor is occupied with graves, headstones, and monuments of various forms, dimensions and appearance. The venerable Pastor of the Town reposes in the rear of the Church just beneath the window of that pulpit in which he served his Maker for such a succession of years. A weeping willow gracefully waves over a marble monument erected by his children.

The interior of the Church accords well with the exterior. All is simple and plain - in the taste of the Puritans. The front of the galleries and pulpit, with the sounding board above, and the deacons' seats below, are painted light blue. There is nought else but what wears its natural color. A neat green curtain and a cushion of the like material adorn the pulpit.

At one extremity of the enclosure is a straw-colored hearse-house - neat and appropriate - recently built by a benevolent widow, daughter of the departed worthy Pastor.^

^Devens, Sketches of Martha's Vineyard, &c., pp. 39-41. The author adds the following reference to the care bestowed by this daughter upon the old building: "This spot is the object of sacred affections - of many sad as well as sweet remembrances to her soul. Not a broken pane of glass nor a loose stone in the foundation of the old Church escapes her eye. It is never suffered to go to decay, and its hallowed precincts are swept by her own hands some three times every twelvemonth and preserved sweet and clean."

Fifth Meeting-House

This relic of departed days survived the storms of about ten winters and was finally torn down, as it was becoming an unsightly object on account of disuse and decay.

The passing of Parson Thaxter also marked the end of the old church, which for nearly sixty years had been the scene of the ministrations of himself and his immediate predecessor. It had been repaired annually for many years, until further expenditures of this kind could not save it from decay, and a new structure was planned shortly before the death of Parson Thaxter. Another lot was procured on the corner of Commercial and Summer streets, and the present structure erected thereon. It was completed the year following his death, and dedicated Dec. 24, 1828, with appropriate ceremonies.

This historic congregation maintains the semblance of its historic past, as the parent religious organization on the island, and the worshipper at its services must have impressed on him the spiritual presence of its founders and pillars, the two Mayhews, Dunham, Wiswall, and Thaxter, as he enters this ancient temple.^

^Mrs. Newman, widow of its early pastor, presented a silver communion service to this congregation and it is still in use. She also left a fund of £33^ for the benefit of derserving widows.

The Baptist Church

The religious body holding the Baptist doctrines in this town is an ofifshoot of the first association of Baptists organized in 1780 at Homes Hole. Services were held for many years in the meeting-house at Homes Hole by persons of this denomination residing in the towns of Tisbury, Chilmark and Edgartown. Most of the members from this town resided in the northern part, on the shores or contiguous to the Lagoon, and they continued their attachment to the Tisbury meeting till about 1823, when by reason of increased numbers a separate parish was organized. This was accomplished on April 16, 1823, when Elder William Hubbard and Benjamin Grafton of Boston came here and officially instituted the Baptist Church in Edgartown. Benjamin Davis was appointed first Deacon, and the following named persons constituted its membership at that date: -

Elder Hubbard became the first pastor of this society, serving in that capacity for two years. He was succeeded by Henry Marchant [170], a native son. Services were held at first in houses, then in school buildings, and in 181 1 they joined with the Methodists in the erection of a ''Union" meeting-house on Winter street, nearly opposite the residence of the late Sirson P. Coffin. It was an unfinished shell of a building, provided with a regulation high pulpit, and the audience had to be content with plain board seats, without backs. This served its purpose for ten years till, finally, during the pastorate of Rev. W. W. Hall, funds were obtained for building a separate church structure for the use of Baptists solely.

A lot was procured on Maple street, and the edifice was completed in the fall of 1839. A contemporary account gives the following particulars of the dedication exercises: -

Friday, September 6, 1839, the new and Elegant Baptist Meeting house in Edgartown was dedicated to the worship of God. The Exercises of the Occasion were as follows: - Reading of the Scriptures by Rev. Henry Marchant; Reading Anthem by Rev. Mr. Hall, pastor of the Church; Introductory Prayer by Rev. James C. Boomer of Holmes Hole; Sermon and dedicatory Prayer by Rev. Mr. Neale of Boston.'

The Methodist Episcopal Church

The beginnings of the Methodist Episcopal religious denomination date from the arrival of John Saunderl, a negro slave from Virginia, who had become a convert to that doctrine, and held services from time to time. This was in 1787 and continued till his death eight years later. As in the case of the other schismatics from the established order, the early assemblies of persons professing this faith were combined from the several settlements on the island. Itinerant missionaries were given commission to preach to such as would gather in the towns, and the history of one is a repetition of the others in the early annals of this denomination.* Rev. Joshua Hall preached here in 1797; Joseph Snelling in 1798; Epaphras

^It is confidently claimed that the celebrated Jesse Lee preached here in 1795 on his return from a tour in the District of Mainei It is known that he visited New Bedford and thence came to the Vineyard.

During the year last named - that of 1809 - the Rev, Erastus Otis came to the island from his circuit, Falmouth. He preached his first sermon in Edgartown at a dwelling house provided by Mrs. Naomi Beecher, wife of Erastus Beecher, who was a cousin of the late Dr. Lyman Beecher. IN'Irs. Beecher, who had then recently removed to this place from Nantucket, and Miss Love Stewart, who a few years before had been "converted" in Maine, were then the only Methodists in the town. The preaching of Mr. Otis was of a new style - quite different, indeed, from that to which the majority of the people had been accustomed to listen - yet it found hearers, and the father of Miss Stewart and others consented to open their doors for it. During the long interlude the numbers in society on other parts of the island had been reduced by deaths, removals, and perhaps by other causes, to seven; the two named in Edgartown making the number nine in all.

Mr. Otis was remembered as a man of fine personal appearance, and of a cultivated mind. He was zealous in the Methodist cause, and finding here a field for work, he entered into it with a hearty zest. He taught a school in Edgartown for a while, still preaching there and elsewhere on the island, and his efforts resulting in frequent "revivals." On the fourth day of November of that year he formed the first "class" in Edgartown consisting of six persons. The organization took place at the house of the late Joseph Vincent, about a mile from the village. It had been for a long time one of the homes of the preachers.

The numbers increased gradually so that there was a roomful at the weekly class. Thomas Stewart, Jr., a son of the ocean, then recently "converted," soon joined and became the leader. The work spread, and another "class" was formed on the neighboring island of Chappaquiddick. It reached Eastville, where resided Joseph Linton, who with his wife came many times on foot seven miles to worship with this new sect.

The next year, 1810, Mr. Otis came by assignment, although his name was associated with that of Benjamin F. Lansford at Falmouth. He was still succesful in his work, although in the midst of it there arose a great storm of per- secution in Edgartown village. The new religion, as it was called, was treated with scorn and derision by large portions of the inhabitants, insomuch that many who adhered to the new cause resorted to the outposts - the neighboring island, the Plain, and elsewhere, where they could worship in greater quietness. Instances of physical opposition to the maintenance of these meetings are known, and in common with the Baptist preachers who were then sharing the new field, the pioneer rivals of the established order of things suffered frequent personal indignities. The Rev. Mr. Otis once came to the ferry opposite the town in a heavy rain, having an appointment to attend. Such were the demonstrations of the crowd assembled on this side, laughing at Mr. Otis' condition while waiting, that they so overawed the ferryman that he did not dare to incur their anger. Mr. Otis, after waiting some time in the drenching rain, wended his way back on foot, a mile, to the nearest house. Once at an election of a representative to Congress, two men slurringly cast their votes for the "Immortal Erastus Otis." He was succeeded in 1811 by Rev. William Hinman, and the society was legally organized to comply with the state law respecting taxation for the support of the ministry. The succeeding preachers were Edward Hyde, 181 2; William Frost, 1813; John W. Hardy, 1814; Benjamin Hazelton, 1815; Shipley W. Wilson, 1816; Thomas W. Tucker, 181 7-18; Eleazer Steele, 1819-20^; John Adams, 1821-2; Francis Dane and Frederic Upham, 1823; Edward T. Taylor, 1824; David Culver, 1825 and John Adams, 1826. It is to be understood that these preachers held services at the other towns as well and were in fact assigned to the general work on this circuit. During this period the Methodists had relinquished (1822) their share in the

*Rev. Hebron Vincent relates the following incident: "It was during this year that while preaching on a Sunday evening, Mr. Steele lost the power of speech, through an excess of religious fervor, and stood trembling with clenched hands upon the top of the pulpit. The pulpit being but poorly secured and the side of the building - which was still unfinished within - so shook as to cause a rumbling noise, which gave rise, under a disturbed imagination, to various conjectures. A scene of great excitement ensued, most of the people leaving the house in crowded haste - causing some accidents and giving to those whom they met in their flight various answers to inquiries such as, "Earthquake" - "The power of the Lord shook the meeting house," etc. One of the men strongly prejudiced against the new cause, hearing the noise at his house - the evening being quite still - hurried to the place. On entering the church and looking up to the pulpit, he exclaimed, "Look at your preacher in fits." Putting his hand on the sides of the pulpit and feeling the trembling, he said, "Your preacher has made complete fools of the whole of you! and if you will allow me, I will take him out of the pulpit and demonstrate it to you." This the brethren present refused to consent to. This man used to tell this story a great deal, afterwards - calling the scene, "the home-made earthquake."

Union meeting-house to the Baptists, and built one for themselves on the site of the house of the late Sirson P. Coffin, Winter street. This was occupied till 1827, when it was sold to the Methodist Society of Chilmark, who took it apart and removed it to that town piecemeal.^ Soon after a new church building was erected on ^lain street, which later (1843) became the present Town Hall.

The Protestant Episcopal Church

This is a recent addition to the religious congregations in the town, and the annals of the church do not go back beyond a decade. Services had been held occasionally in houses and

'As an evidence of the continued antagonism of the people to this new religious body it is related that an attempt was made to upset this building by levers while the services were being held inside. The members were still called by opprobrious names.

public halls until about 1^5, when the Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts placed the pastoral charge of the church in Edgartown in the care of Rev. William C. Hicks of Vineyard Haven. A weekly service was started in September of that year, and the growth of the work was such that the building of a mission church was considered necessary by the incumbent. A lot was secured on the corner of Winter and Summer streets and plans for an elaborate building were prepared. These were subsequently modified and the erection of a smaller church was begun in 1899, to be called St. Andrew by the Sea. The corner stone was laid September 7, 1899, by the Rt. Rev. Ethelbert Talbot, Bishop of the church, assisted by Rev. Andrew Gray, D.D., the missionary in charge, who had succeeded Mr. Hicks the previous year. The church was called by the shorter name of St. Andrew's, which is the legal title of the parish. It is still under the supervision of the rector of Grace Church, Vineyard Haven, who holds services alternating with those provided at that place.

Notwithstanding the close proximity of Nantucket, which was essentially a Quaker community almost from its inception, our Island had very few members of this sect. In the year 1657 two itinerant Quakers visited the little settlement at Great Harbor on their return from Nantucket, where they had been on a proselyting mission. The following is their story of the reception they met with on "Martins Vineyard:"

Son) had ended his Divination in their Meeting House, they were both thrust out of the Meeting House Door by the Constable to an Indian (where were many on that Island) in order to be carried in a small Cannoo (or hollowed piece of Timber to the Mayne Land over a Sea nine Miles broad (dangerous enough for any to Pass over) having first took their mony from them to Pay the Indian; who taking the Custody of them, shewed himself more hospitable (as did the rest of the Indians)

Custody saying - That they were strangers, and Jehovah taught him to Love Strangers - (learn of the Heathen ye who pretend your ^ savory selves Christians) and an Opportunity presenting, set them Speech of on shoare on the Main Land.^

From this narrative it appears that there was about as little charity for Quakers on the Vineyard as elsewhere at that period. These two pilgrims who landed on the Vineyard were lucky. On the mainland they would have been whipped "at the cartes taile from towne to towne." From their own story it is clear that they purposely created a disturbance in the meeting-house, but their own story of experiences is not to be allowed to stand alone. A contemporary historian has recorded another version of the incident, and the statement of the attorney for the defendant in the case is here given in order that the reader may reach a satisfactory conclusion :

''And here I may take occasion," writes Gookin, "to mention a short but true story of certain Quakers who landing upon that island, went to some of the Indian wigwams, and discoursed with some of the Indians that understood English, as divers of them do, the Quakers persuaded and urged the Indians to hearken to them and told the Indians that they had light within them that was sufficient to guide them to happiness; and dissuaded the Indians from hearing Mr. Mayhew or reading the scriptures; and said that the ministers that preached from or used the scriptures were as Baal's priests and hireUngs &c. And at last the Quakers offered the Indians some of their pamphlets and books which they always carry with them, exhorting the Indians to read them; As they would be of greater benefit to them than the bible. The Indians heard all this discourse patiently; and then one of the principall of them that could speak English, gravely answered the Quakers in this manner: You are strangers to us, and we like not your discourse. We know Mr. Mayhew that he is a good and holy man; but we know you not. You tell us of a light within us that will guide us to salvation; but our experience tells us that we are darkness and corruption, and all manner of evil within our hearts. You dehort us from using the bible, but offer your books and commend them to us; we cannot receive your counsel contrary to our own experience and the advice and exhortations of our ancient and good teachers. Therefore we pray you, trouble us no further with your new doctrines; for we do not approve it. So the Quakers not long after departed from the island; and never since have they been infested with them."^

In 1704 a wealthy English Quaker, who had been proselyting on Nantucket, made preparations to engage in a mission at Edgartown, but his meetings were so thinly attended that he soon became discouraged and left.^ In 1715 another

"From thence (Nantucket) I went to another Island called Marthas Vineyard where I had some meetings; Being at a Place called Old-Town on a First day I found some Drawings in my Mind to go to the Presbyterian Meeting house in the Afternoon and Nathaniel Starbuck a Friend of Nantucket being with me, he accompanied me to the Meeting: I waited till the Priest, whose name was Samuel Wisell had done speaking, and then I desired Liberty to speak to the People. I directed them to the Teacher, in themselves which was sufficient for them as they took heed imto it. After I had done speaking, the Priest made some Objections concerning the anointing, which I had spoken of, mentioned in the second Chapter of the First Epistle of John, and we agreed to have a Dispute the next Day at the Meeting house, to begin at nine of the clock, to which the Priest and several of the hearers came: The Things we chiefly disputed upon were concerning the Light, and the Sufficiency of the Divine anointing, the Holy scriptures and of his call to the Ministry and Maintenance not when I came to speak of his Maintenance and touch 'd him in that tender Part he was somewhat disturbed. After the Dispute was over I went that night to a Place called Home's hole, and the next Day to the Main Land."^

Doubtless many persons from Nantucket who changed their residence to the Vineyard were of Quaker sentiment, and brought with them their "peculiar" doctrines. The Cofhn family was a notable instance of this kind. Persons holding this belief were not accorded full civil rights and were not allowed to serve as jurors.^ As time went on those who were attached to this belief by inheritance or family association gradually affiliated with the new sects which began to be formed on the island about the latter part of the i8th century.

There is very little evidence of religious intolerance in Colonial times on the island as shown by the number of prosecutions for neglect to attend public worships There were no cases of this kind before 1700, and the first case on record occurs in 17 10, when John Steward was fined five shillings for not attending church. From that date up to 1780 there were not two dozen prosecutions for this offence, the last occurring in 1770. :The fine varied from nine shillings to one pound, with the alternative of sitting in the stocks if it was not paid.

^In 1763, in a civil case, Richard CofBn, Prince Norton and Samuel Coffin, who were drawn as jurors, were objected to as being Quakers. (Mass. Arch., XIV, 480.)

Militia

One of the earliest entries in the town records [165 1], relates to the training of the citizen for his duties as a soldier. Surrounded as they were by an alien race of scarcely civilized natives, who greatly outnumbered them, it became a matter of common prudence for the settlers to be proficient in the use of arms and accustomed to military discipline. On March 29, 165 1, the following vote was passed by the town: -

This was probably the first militia organization in the town, and on the same date John Daggett senior was chosen "corperall" of the company, which we may infer was the title of the ranking officer, as the train band was numerically small. On April i, 1653, it was voted that each man should be "complete in armes," and this was prescribed to include ''a Peece a pound of powder & twenty bullets."" Each member of the train band was also required to provide himiself with a specified number of fathoms of match. The bullets were of home manufacture. By a vote on June 8, 1653, the company was ordered to train five times more that year, and on Feb. 6, 1654, it was provided that ammunition should be kept at Mr. Mayhew's and at the leader's, and that the "leader" should appoint four training days a year. This was the name given to the commander of the town militia, and John Butler was chosen to that office on the date mentioned, for the ensuing year. The town also agreed to reimburse each man of the company for the cost of twenty-five pounds of powder, one hundred pounds of shot and twenty-five fathoms of match. Each of the twenty- five lots was required to furnish one full equipment for a musketeer, and as a penalty for failure to do militia service the following was enacted : -

^Ibid., I, 131. The "Peece" refers to the fire-arm of that period, the matchlock musket, which preceded the flint-lock. This weapon was operated by means of a match, attached to the lock, made of tiax fibre in the form of a wick, which was ignited by a hammer and flint, thus communicating with the priming charge.

Absence of further references to military matters for five years following leaves us without knowledge of the personnel and progress during that period. On Dec. 30, 1661, the townsmen apparently were stimulated to increased activity in martial affairs, and several laws were passed on that date as follows : -

Voted: that there shall be six Trayning Dayes the year, that is all the six dayes between the Last of March and the Last of October to be appointed by my self and the company.

On this same date the following ofhcers of the train band were chosen: Thomas Bayes, Leader; Thomas Jones, Clerk of the Band; and James Covell, "Drumer for this yeare." The company consisted of the following named persons in 1662: - ='

This list represents one man for each of the twenty-five lots, as required by town order, and it was not far from being the effective total of persons capable of bearing arms. In 1675 there were ''not above 40 men" who could do military service on the Vineyard, and at the same time there were ten times that number of Indians.* Thomas Bayes was continued as the Leader in 1662 and 1663, but further allusions are wanting in the records for many years following these dates. Doubtless the organization of the train band was kept up with more or less interest from year to year, but the anxieties occasioned by the uprising of the Indians on the mainland during King Philip's war, 1675-6, were sufficient to stimulate the train band to continued activity.

a military body, and doubtless it was left to the inhabitants to deal with this question as a detail of local concern. That an organization of those "able to bear arms," was continued from year to year is evident from fragmentary allusions, though not regularly entered upon the several records. In 1684, Matthew Mayhew, in addition to his other ofhces, was commissioned by the Governor of New York as "Captain of the Company at Martins Vineyard," possibly a sort of general officer in charge of the combined forces.^

From that time till 1690 there was general peace throughout the colonies, but the symptoms of another outbreak of the Indians were plainly evident. This time they were reinforced by the French settlers in Canada, and these allies began a series of frontier massacres and depredations that continued intermittently for the ensuing half century, and some parts of New England had to be yielded back to these savage hordes. While this terrible situation was not felt on the Vineyard, by reason of its natural barrier, yet in the menaces of French sloops-of-war, on piracy bent, the islanders got some taste of the dangers to life and property which threatened their neighboring colonists on the main. In Edgartown the militia was revived, and on April 13, 1691, the following organization effected : -

At a meeting of all the melisha In general of the town of Edgartown Left. Thomas Daggett Esq. was chosen by them their captain, by unanimous choice of them; at the same meeting Mr. Andrew Newcomb was chosen Left, at the same time, John Butler had the place of the first or eldest sargent; the same time, Moses Cleveland was chosen the second; the same time Jonathan Dunham was chosen corporal; Jonathan Pease the next corporal; the same time Mr. John Boult was chosen their ensign. This was their choice and agreement."^

Nothing further relating to the militia is found on the town records for many years, and we can only assume that an organization of some sort was maintained as a matter of law and custom. Enoch Coffin was Captain of the militia in 1739, and in 1757 the "Foot Company of Melitia" was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Norton, and comprised one hundred and twenty-one privates, with an "alarm list" of fifty-four additional. The officers of the company were Elijah Butler, Daniel Vinson, Benjamin Pease,

H In 1 761 there were two companies of mihtia in Edgartown, the first under John Newman as Captain, Solomon Norton as Captain Lieutenant, Daniel Coffin as Second Lieutenant, and Daniel Vinson as Ensign. The second company was under command of Peter Norton, Captain, Elijah Butler as Lieutenant, and Malatiah Davis as Ensign.^ In 1765 there were two companies of militia in Edgartown; the first under Peter Norton as Captain, Eddy Coffin as First Lieutenant, Matthew Mayhew as Second Lieutenant, and Malatiah Pease as Ensign. The second company had the following officers: Elijah Butler, Captain; Malatiah Davis, Lieutenant; and Ebenezer Smith, Jr., as Ensign.^

The state of the public mind for the next twenty years kept alive the military spirit, and without doubt this "Foot Company" held its organization. Early in 1776, the newly organized government formed a regiment of militia which superceded the town companies,* but the war resulted in other measures of a military character, which have been described in the first volume. The abandonment of the island to neutrality had the effect of destroying all military activities for many years after the Revolution.