Dukes County, Massachusetts - The whole text, 1911 (part 7 of 15)

Joseph Merry

This prominent pioneer of Tisbury is first found as a resident of Haverhill, Mass., in 1640, v^here he lived with a wife named Mary until about 1654, when he removed to Hampton, N. H. There his wife died April 4, 1657, having given birth to one child of record, Joseph, b. Dec. 19, 1654. The father, Joseph, was a carpenter by trade and plied his craft in Hampton as he had done before in Haverhill. Shortly after his wife's death he bought a house and ten acres of upland in Hampton, of Thomas Coleman, Sept. 29, 1657, and at the age of 47 years found himself a widower, with possibly a child to care for in his new home. But this was not long to remain so. Emanuel Hilliard of that town was drowned shortly after this in October, 1657, leaving a widow Elizabeth, daughter of John and Phebe Parkhurst of Ipswich, England, and sister of George Parkhurst of Watertown, Mass. The young widow was then about 29 years old, and before two years had passed she entered into a marriage covenant with Joseph Merry, who was then 21 years her senior. In this agreement he gave her the house and ten acres he had recently acquired, and sometime about Dec. 13, 1659, when the covenant was dated, they set up housekeeping, and four children were born to them in rapid succession, who later spent their days on the Vineyard. This explains the curious epitaph on the gravestone of Joseph in the West Tisbury cemetery - "That being verified in him Psalms 92 14 They shall bring forth fruit in old age," a reference to his second marriage after middle life and the raising of a family.

Joseph Merry and his young family, consisting of Hannah, Abigail, Bathsheba and Samuel, born between 1660 and 1669 in Hampton, continued residence there till 1670, when in some way he became attracted to the Vineyard. If we are to credit the tradition that Governor Mayhew's first wife was a Parkhurst, possibly the sister of George of Watertown, it will be seen that Elizabeth Merry was related by marriage to the proprietor of Martha's Vineyard and thus the family connection is responsible for Merry's migration. However that be, almost as soon as the new township of Tisbury had been bought by Pabodie and his partners, Merry bought of Benjamin Church, on Nov. 19, 1669, the grist mill and its privileges "uppon the westermost Brook of Takemmy" with one eighth part of the propriety, or two shares, in the new settlement. The purchase price was ;^9o and Merry paid for it in whole or in part with his Hampton property, the homestead, an island of salt marsh and two shares in cow and ox commons in that town. The deeds finally passed Dec. 2, 1670, (Mrs. Merry and Nathaniel Batchelor acting as his attorneys by previous appointment), and from this it is presumed that Merry was already at the Vineyard attending to his new purchase and preparing the new home for his little family. The property purchased consisted, as laid out, of the mill on the New Mill river so long operated by the Looks, with land adjoining on the west side of the road, and about eighteen acres on the east side of the road, bounded by the river. This last lot is still known as "Merry's Field" after a lapse of two and a half centuries, though the property did not remain in the family beyond 1705. After operating the mill for five years, Joseph Merry sold that part of his estate to Tristram Coffin of Nantucket, and being then about three-score-and-ten years of age it is presumed that he devoted the rest of his life to his trade and tilling the soil. There is no record as to the location of his house, but in all probability it was in his "Field." His public services were few. He was constable in 1675, road surveyor in 1678 and 1687, and was chosen to divide common lands in 1689 and 1690. On March 2, 1677-8, the grand jury presented him "for contempt of authoritie in not obeying the summons in his Majesties Name to give in testimony" and for this he was mulcted in the sum of five shillings. In 1681 he sued Simon Athearn in the sum of ;^2o "for non payment of a frame of an house," but the two compromised on £7 and divided the costs. On July 12, 1689, being then about 82 years of age, he gave his homestead by deed of gift to his only son Samuel, then just entering his 21st year, and from that date on until 1701 his name appears but once in the records, when he gave some "information" about the ancient bounds of a town lot, being then in his 94th year. He passed the century mark in 1707 and died April 5, 1710, at the remarkable age of 103, undoubtedly the oldest person who has ever lived in the town. It is not known whether he survived his wife Elizabeth, as there is no record of her death nor a stone at her grave. If she survived she was 82 when her husband died. Of his children further evidences of longevity are noticeable. His daughter Abigail Pease died in her 80th year and Hannah Skiff e at 97 years.

Edward Milton

It is probable that this settler was a resident of Sandwich and prior to that may have lived in Boston, but no definite statement can be made without further evidences of identification.* He was one of the later settlers receiving a grant of land Oct. 2, 1701, next the minister's lot on the east side of Old Mill brook. In the spring of that year he had married Sarah Manter (17) of this town, and these dates probably indicate the time of his settlement. His name appears but few times in the records, as surveyor of highways in 1703, constable in 1715, and grand juror in 1722. In his will, dated July 30, 1731, he calls himself yeoman, "advanced in years." It was probated Sept. 11, 1733, and this last year may be taken as the date of his decease.^ As he left no sons the name became extinct at his death, and if any descendants now live here they may trace descent through his daughter Elizabeth, who married Joseph Foster.

Isaac Robinson

'An Edward Milton took the oath of allegiance in Boston in 1679 and was taxed in 1 681 in that town. Judge Sewall in his Letter Book refers, in four letters, dated 1687-1691, to Edward Milton as a carpenter at Sandwich, building a church there for the Indians, the first built in the English manner (Chamberlain, Historical Discourse). Experience Mayhew in "Indian Converts," refers to him and his "religious family" (p. 257).

'Rev. John Robinson was a native of Lincolnshire, born about 1575. He matriculated at Emanuel College, Cambridge, in 1592, becoming a Fellow of Corpus Christ! six years later. He resigned in 1604 and became identified with the Puritans or Dissenters, and fled to Amsterdam about 1608 and thence removed in 1609 to Leyden. His record as spiritual leader of the English exiles, who later became the "Mayflower" Pilgrims, is well known. He died March i, 1625. His wife, whom he had married in Northampton, England, Feb. 15, 1603, survived, and perhaps came to New England in the fleet with Winthrop (Letter, Shirley to Bradford, March 8, 1629-30).

England after the settlement of Boston."^ This was in 1631, and Isaac immediately settled at Plymouth, later removing to Duxbury (1634), Scituate (1636), Barnstable (1639) and Falmouth (1660). In Scituate he married for his first wife Margaret, daughter of Theophilus and Eglin (Mortimer) Hanford, June 27, 1636, sister of Rev. Thomas Hanford of Norwalk, Conn., and niece of Mr. Timothy Hatherly. By her he had five children and after her death (June 14, 1649), he married second, Mary Faunce, 1650, and four more children, all sons, were the fruit of this union.

By reason of his parentage he was a prominent man in Plymouth Colony, but later in 1669, for displaying liberality toward the doctrines of the Quakers, was disfranchised by Governor Thomas Prince. It appears that he had attended their meetings for the purpose of showing them the error of their ways, but instead of accomplishing this, became selfconvicted and embraced some of their beliefs. He was restored to citizenship in 1673 by Governor Winslow.^

It appears that Isaac Robinson with others, in 1660, decided to leave Barnstable presumably for the Vineyard, and took letters of dismissal to the church at Great Harbor, but finally decided to settle at Falmouth.^ How long he remained an actual resident of that town is not known, but in May, 167 1, he was admitted a proprietor of the new settlement at Takemmy, and probably soon after this became identified with Tisbury. At this time he was about 60 years of age, having been born in 1610, and he was perhaps, with the exception of Joseph Merry, the oldest resident of the new settlement. In 1673 he became associated with the "Dutch Rebellion," but suffered no punishment therefor, unless the records are silent regarding him. His four sons by the second marriage, Israel, Jacob, Peter and Thomas, became residents of the Vineyard, though none of them left descendants here to perpetuate the name. Those who resided here in the next century were his descendants through his first marriage. His son Israel, baptized Oct. 5, 1651, assumed the name of Isaac in memory of an older half brother of that name who was

^The old record of disfranchisement is interlined with the words: - "there being some mistake in this the said Isaac at his request is re-established." (Hist, of Falmouth, 13.)

^Records, Church, West Barnstable, comp. History of Falmouth. He built his house in 1661 on the neck between Fresh and Salt Ponds, Falmouth Heights (Ibid., 14).

drowned in 1668, and was ever after known by the adopted name/ This change made two Isaac Robinsons in the town and creates difficulties in identification of the one whose name appears on the records, but it is probable that he is the ''goodman" Robinson chosen townsman in 1678, 1680, 1683, rather than the younger of the name. He had his home lot on the east side of Old Mill river, bounded on the south by the Mill path. This he sold in November, 1701, to his son Isaac, together with all his dividend lots in various parts of the town.^ He was then over ninety years of age, but continued to reside here, presumably with one of his sons. Sewall saw him here when on a visit in 1702 and thus refers to the incident: -

"He saith he is 92 years old is the son of Mr. Robinson pastor of the ch. of Leyden, part of wch came to Plimo. * * * * j told him I was very desirous to see him for his fathers sake and his own. Gave him an Arabian piece of gold to buy a book for some of his grandchildren."^

According to tradition this scion of a distinguished family died about 1704 in Barnstable at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Fear Baker. ''A venerable man," writes Prince in his Annals, "whom I have often seen."

His sons Isaac and Jacob remained in Tisbury, dying within eighteen days of each other, in 1728, while the other two brothers, Peter and Thomas, removed to Connecticut early in the i8th century.

From his home in the neighboring island of Nantucket came William Rogers, bringing with him his wife Martha and children, Ebenezer and Experience. He had been here possibly continuously since June 29, 1669, when he signed as witness to a deed,^ but the first positive indication of his settlement here is found ten years later in the following extract from the town records: -

It is vootted by the inhabbitants in a towne mitting that will. Rogges shall purchchis therty eakers of land of sias Sogimer for for an heritance the toune is to chuse two men to Hit out and the saide rogers is to buld upon it and to live upon it fouer yeare and what the saide rogers cann purchis more it is to reteune to the toune againe ^

'He signed as Israel in 1670 and 1671. Tisbury Records, 3, 4. ^Dukes Deeds, II, 35. This establishes the identity of Isaac Senior as the resident here, as his son Isaac was childless. 'Sewall, Diary. 'Tisbury Records, p. i. "Ibid., p. 13.

This was dated Oct. 8, 1679, and on Jan. 29, 1679-80, he bought of Josias the Sachem twenty acres within the hmits of the Indian town at a place called Animtissewoksett, or Animtesawohqussuk, by the Indians.^ There he built a house and lived an uneventful life for thirty years, troubled only by that strenuous townsman Simon Athearn, with whom he had the misfortune to run amuck. On May 26, 1685, he charged Athearn with appropriating some of his cattle, but the Court divided the number disputed and awarded half to each. He then sued Athearn for slander, but was non-suited. The next year on June 2, 1686, he returned again to the fray and charged Athearn with stealing a cow, and by the record it appears that Athearn in the presence of the court plucked Rogers "by the eres and cauelled him thefe with other Skurvie words." The jury took Athearn's view of it.

On Oct. 31, 1687, he mortgaged all his real estate to James Skiffe, an incumbrance that was later satisfied. On Oct. 13, 1699, be bought of Samuel Tilton all the latter 's rights to Homes Hole Neck, which was one third, and held it during his lifetime. He occupied none of the town offices during his residence of perhaps two score years here, and as he lived almost in obscurity so he died at a date unknown to us, but somewhere prior to Feb. 9, 1714.^

His wife, named Martha, was daughter of Robert and Jane Barnard of Nantucket, testified in a land suit in 1696, being at that time 49 years of age, which would place her birth about the year 1647, ^^^ from this we may estimate the probable age of her husband.^ It is supposed that she returned to Nantucket after his death, as some of her children lived on that island, and that she is the Martha Rogers whose death on Jan. 23, 1 71 7-18 appears in the Nantucket records.

Jeremiah Whitten

According to Savage (Genealogical Dictionary, IV, 532), there came in the ''Elizabeth and Ann," in 1635, one Thomas Whitten, aged 36 years, bringing Audrey aged 45, who may have been his second wife, and Jeremy aged 8 years, but he

'Dukes Deeds, III, 288; comp. Court Rec, 1716-17. Case, Praying Indians vs. Ebenezer Rogers. His house was near the "Red Ground" so called in 1701 (Tisbury Records, 41).

does not know what became of them/ It can now be stated that he settled at Plymouth, where in 1643 Thomas and Jeremiah Whiton or Whitney were ''able to bear arms." Before 1657 Jeremiah had removed to Sandwich as he appears that date to take the oath of fidelity. In 1660 the father gave certain property rights to his son Jeremiah^

The four original proprietors of Takemmy admitted, among others, in May, 1671, Jeremiah Whiten to joint proprietory rights, and if this be the Jeremy of 1635, as it undoubtedly is, our Jeremiah was forty-four years old when he took up his residence and cast his lot in the new township of Tisbury. His homestead is thus described in the records: -

June the 27 1673 the Record of the lands And Accomadations of Jeremiah Whitin in Takymmy or tisbury on the vineyard. One house Lot which containeth fourty Acres [lying on the west side of the brook where his dwelling house] is this present year or 1673 bounded by the hey [way] And James Aliens lot on the south being fourty [rods by the brook] more or less And the brook on the east And runing eight score rods in length westward being fourty Acres more or less. And the sixth part of the neck by John Eddys of [which half] the sixth and furdermost lot next the poynt is Jeremiah whitins Leying Across the neck as the neck is devided to every mans [lot], contained in the neck as before mentioned in the order of the devision of the three necks bareing dates the first of february [167 1]. And the sixteenth part of all undevided lands whether purchased or to purchesse or that may be purchased

At the time of his coming here he was married to Elizabeth, daughter of John Daggett, of Watertown and the Vineyard. She was born about 1638 and two children were born to them, Thomas and a daughter IVIary, b. May i, 1666, recorded in the town book of Tisbury, though it is probable she owned some other place as her native town. Thomas died young.

Jeremiah Whitten remained in Tisbury the rest of his days, until death terminated his earthly career late in 1711. There is no record of his decease, nor of his wife's, and no

'With him came three Morecock children, probably belonging to his second wife by a previous marriage. They were certified by the Vicar of Benenden, Co. Kent, as to "conformity" in religion, but their names cannot now be found in the records of that parish. The name Whitten was commonly written Whitney in the Plymouth records.

'Thomas Whitton (Whitney) is frequently mentioned in the Plymouth records and was a juryman every year 1643-1667. He married twice after the death of the wife Audrey (before 1639), and in his will he mentions son Jeremiah and grandson Thomas.

gravestones mark their last resting place. His will shows that the ''aged Mother Elizabeth my wife" was living in November of that year. The daughter Mary married Benjamin Manter and the son-in-law with his wife were the beneficiaries of his estate, subject to support of the widow during her lifetime. Whitten Manter received a gun ''which formerly belonged unto my son Thomas Whitten deceased" (Probate, I, 33). His estate inventoried at 7s.

In his lifetime he made but little impress, if we may judge from the infrequency of appearance of his name in the town records. He was selectman in 1679, and on the committee to rearrange the town books in 1689, and this constitutes all that is known of him. The name became extinct here at his death, but that of Whitten Manter was familiar to past generations, and all the descendants of Benjamin Manter may look to him as a common ancestor.

Rev. Benjamin Allen

The first college graduate from Tisbury was the youngest son of James Allen, Esq. He was born in 1689 and as the last of a large family of boys was given the benefit of a college education to fit him for the ministry. He studied theology, it is said with the Rev. Jonathan Russell, father of his classmate Jonathan, with whom he went to Yale and entered the class which was graduated in 1708, and whose daughter Rebecca Russell became the wife of his brother Ebenezer Allen of Chilmark. When Benjamin got his degree of Bachelor of Arts he was about 19 years of age, and it is supposed that he returned to his home for a while before entering upon his calling. In 1710 he was preaching for a short while at Chatham, but not as a settled minister. He appears to have been in Barnstable, though not in a clerical capacity, for he found a wife there, whom he married April 5, 171 2, Elizabeth, daughter of Deacon Job and Hannah (Taylor) Crocker, born May 15, 1688, and with her he next appears at the re-settlement of Worcester, in 1715, when he remained about two years. He removed to Bridgewater where, on Aug. 17, 171 7, he preached for the first time in the newly incorporated South Parish in that town, and on July 9, 1 718, was ordained as its pastor, "but being an unsuccessful manager of his private secular concerns, he fell into debt, and his parish, after often reliev- ing him, became at last weary of it, and he was dismissed by an ecclesiastical council." He preached his last sermon there on Oct. II, 1730, and for several years he seems to have had no settled work. His next field of labor was in Falmouth, Province of Maine, a new (Second) Parish being formed in that part of the settlement known as Cape Elizabeth in 1733, and he was installed as its pastor Nov. 10, 1734, and this charge he held until his death. The installation sermon was preached by the Rev. Samuel Willard (Harv. Coll., 1723). He preached at this frontier town for twenty years, when on May 6, 1754, his death terminated a ministry that was eminently successful. The following account of him appeared in the Boston Gazette of June 25, 1754: -

Falmouth June 13, 1754. No more Account having been given of the late worthy Pastor of the Second Church in this Town, the Rev. Mr. Benjamin Allen, I think it proper to inform the Publick, that the said Rev. gentleman died here on Monday the 6th of May last, in the 65th year of his age; and on Thursday following was honourably interr'd at the Expense of his Flock. God sent him to us in the height of his Powers and Usefulness and continued him a blessing for upwards of 20 years. He was justly accounted a Person of superior intellectual Powers, and withal a good Christian and Minister of Jesus Christ, well accomplished for the sacred office and faithful in discharge of the Trust committed to him, as well in pastoral Visits as Publick Administrations, thereby making full Proof of his Ministry, and being an Example to the Flock: His Discourses were nervous and solid, his Method clear and natural, his Delivery grave, serious and pathetick, more adapted to reach the Hearer's Hearts and Consciences, than with Words and Phrases to gratify the Fancies of the curious. He was of a healthy, strong Constitution, his Eye never dim while he lived; and tho' he used a strong Voice, yet it was easy, and without straining, and seemed not to spend for most of his Days. He was in some of his last years much impaired by Lethargick and repeated Shocks of paralytick Disorders, yet continued in his Lord's Works, till they with a Fever returning with greater Force, Nature could no longer bear up. After being last seiz'd, he continued to the tenth Day, but scarce speaking a word, much disordered in his Senses, and taking Httle Notice of any Thing. He was exemplary in every Relation, a kind Husband, a tender Father, a wise Counsellor and affectionate, faithful Friend. His Conversation very agreeable and entertaining; and tho' so well accomplished a Person, he was withal affable/condescending, humble and modest, never that I could observe or hear elated with Pride upon any Occasion. His disconsolate Yokefellow continues still struggling with her Infirmities, waiting for her change. He had Nine children, six of which survive him, a son and five Daughters.

The son referred to in this obituary notice was Joseph, born February 14, 1720, who is said to have matriculated at Harvard College, but was not graduated.

His eldest daughter, Hannah, married Oct. 8, 1742, Rev. Stephen Emery, Harvard College, 1730, who was born Aug. 3, 1707, and died May 24, 1782, and she died June 7, 1799. He was settled at Nottingham, N. H., 1 741-8, and at Chatham, Cape Cod, from 1749 till his death. His daughter Elizabeth, born in 1716, married Clement Jordan, Esq., April 29, 1744, a prominent resident of Falmouth, and she died May 23, 1752, before her father. Another daughter, probably named Dorcas, married Tristram Jordan, Esq. in December, 1778, a prominent citizen of Saco, Maine, for his second wife, and died Dec. 19, 1781, without issue. Another daughter married Rev. Joseph Crocker, Harvard College, 1734, of the South Parish in Eastham, now Orleans. The fifth daughter married Rev. Caleb Upham, Harvard College, 1744, of Truro, Cape Cod.

Arthur Sevan

The name of this early transient was variously written Biven, Beven, Buiven, Bivens, and it probably is a Welsh patronymic. He was married when he came here but, of his antecedents prior to removal to the Vineyard nothing has been learned. He is first mentioned in 1677 in the court records, when he was fined for a breach of the peace. He was plaintiff in a suit for recovery of money due in 1680, and in the next year entered complaint against Simon Athearn for trespass and obtained judgment. What his status in the town was before 1682 is not clear, as he did not acquire property till that year. He then bought several tracts of land on the west side of Old Mill brook on the road leading to North Tisbury, including the house and home lot of Thomas West, and resided there until his removal. He was chosen town commissioner in 1688, a title which probably had the significance of selectman, but beyond this he held no public office. He sold his holdings in 1692-4, and before 1695 had removed to Glastonbury, Conn. He died there Dec. 15, 1697, leaving a widow and twelve children.

Samuel Bickford

Before his residence in this town Samuel Bickford had lived in Salisbury and Nantucket.* He had married Mary, daughter of our Edward Cottle, and followed his father-in- law in his several removals hitherward as already detailed. The last record of him in Nantucket is in 1679, and in 1680 he was a witness to a document recorded here.^ In 1681 he was called ''of Tisbury" as defendant in a suit. How long he remained on the Vineyard is not known, and nothing further has been found to throw light on his residence here.

Charles Crossthwaite

The stay of this individual on the Vineyard was of short duration, probably not extending over two or three years, but it is not possible to determine just when he came or the time of his departure, for his name does not appear on the land records. Whence he came is unknown. He received a grant of a half lot in the town, on the east side of Old Mill brook, bounded northerly b)i»the Scotchman's Bridge road, containing twenty-two acres, and presumably built a house thereon.

He was one of the anti-Mayhew party and in 1673 joined the ranks of the insurgents, being one of the signers of the petition to the Massachusetts authorities against the Governor. With the rest he suffered the consequences and chose to seek better social and political conditions elsewhere. On Oct. 28, 1675, he appeared before the town in meeting assembled "and acknowledged that he had made legall sale of his house landes and all Rightes and priveledges which he had in the Town of Tysburie unto Thomas Berrick" and the town at once confirmed the transfer and placed it on record.

He went thence to Boston, where by wife Judith, four children are recorded to him, George, b. 1671, probably died young; George, 1676; Charles, 1678; and John, 1680, and that is the last we hear of him. Whether he married here, or left any descendant through a daughter is not known, but the presumption is all against it.

William Parslow

This transient was another contribution to our early population from the Cape. He was born in 1660 and came here as a young man about 1685, probably from Harwich.

*Dukes Deeds, I, 266. In 1678 Tobias and Thomas Coleman of Nantucket sell to Bickiord " an accomodation [of land] by us received of the said Samuel Bickford in a parsell of land at Mathews Vinniard as appears by our deed from him.' In 1679 Bickford conveys the same property back to the Colemans (Nantucket Deeds I, 75; II, 27). There is no record of what this property was in any of our town or county books and doubtless it has disappeared with other of the early Tisbury records.

He bought the west half of the Standish home lot in 1686 and remained about ten years, perhaps following his occupation as weaver. During this period he served as constable in 1688, his only public appearance. He removed to Harwich before July, 1696, and was living there in 171 7, when his wife Susanna, daughter of Joseph Wing of Sandwich, died. She was sister of the Nathaniel Wing who was a land owner here, and of the Joseph Wing, who married Jerusha Mayhew {^^) of Edgartown.

James Redfield

He was the son of William Redfin (Redfyne, probably same as Redfern), whose name was afterwards written in the form used by our settler. William Redfin with his wife Rebecca was first at Cambridge, Mass, in 1639, and sometime before 1653 removed to New London, Conn., where he remained until 1662, the date of his death. ^ The son James was born about 1646, probably after his parents had moved to Connecticut, and on the decease of his father was bound out till his majority to Hugh Roberts of New London.^ In 1666 Redfield was "rated" in that town, his master having removed, and in May, 1669, he married Elizabeth How at New Haven, where he also removed about this time, as would appear by the birth of a child the next year at that place. ^ About 1671 he is found in Tisbury, where he took up a lot on the east side of Old Mill brook, near where the late Dr. D. A. Cleaveland resided. His possessions are thus described in the town records: -

The Lands And Accomadations of James Redfield which Leyeth in the Township of Takymmy or Tisbury on the vineyard as folloeth one half house Lot which containeth twenty five Acres Leying on the East side of the brook where his dwelling house is this present year one thousand six hundred seventy & three bounded with the brook on the west And Joseph doggats half Lot on the north & Isack Robinsons Lot on the South being twenty-five rods in bredth And runing in length eight score rods easterly from the brook being twenty five Acres more or Lesse And halfe the Sixth part of the neck by John Eddys of which halfe the fifth lot is James Redfields Leying on the south side of Joseph doggats halfe lot Leying Acrosse the neck as the neck is devided to every mans share Contained in the neck As before spoken in the order of devision of the three necks baring date february the first 1761

And the two And thirtyth part of all undevided Lands whether purchesed or that may be purchesed This is the Lands And Accomadations of James Redfield but to be remembred the purches not yet paid*

Redfield became identified with the opposition to the Mayhew regime in 1673, and was arrested and fined Hke the rest after the "Dutch Rebelhon" had collapsed, but upon public acknowledgment of his "error," and "in consideration of his poverty," the fine was remitted/ It is probable that he was unable to remain under these circumstances, and his lot was forfeited, being regranted to John Tucker a few years later.^ He returned to New Haven, where on May 8, 1674, he is called "now resident" of that town, and acted as representative of the "rebels" on the Vineyard in their further attempts to secure their rights.^ In 1676 he was recommended as a fit man to have charge of the fort at Saybrook, Conn., and presumably he went there, as in 1683 and 1686 he had grants of land in that town/ His wife is believed to have died there and he is next found at Fairfield, Conn., where in 1693 he married a second time, Deborah Sturgess. By these two wives he had the following children: Elizabeth, 1670; Sarah, 1673; Theophilus, 1682; Margaret, 1694; James, 1696, none of whom remained on the Vineyard, or married here. It is supposed he died about 1723 in Fairfield.

Samuel Russell

This early resident was the son of George Russell of Scituate, and was connected by marriage with William Pabodie. The latter sold his home lot to George Russell, Jr., from whom it passed to Samuel his brother in a short time. It is not known whether George ever resided here, but it is certain that when Samuel came into possession of the lot he entered on it as a settler and became identified with the Vineyard. This is shown by his participation in the "Dutch Rebellion" in 1673, and as in the case of many of his associates in that affair, it resulted in his withdrawal from the island altogether. He probably returned to Scituate, and in the early part of King Philip's War fell a victim in the assault of the Indians on Rehoboth March 28, 1676, leaving two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, as heirs to his Tisbury estate. His widow, Mary, married Cornelius Briggs, and Russell's interest in the estate, in 1683, passed to Simon Athearn by purchase.

This lot became the object of a troublesome suit in 1716, when Joseph Briggs, son of Cornelius, entered claim for the Pabodie lot, and being defeated in the local courts appealed to the Superior Court at Plymouth.

James Skiffe, Senior

The father of James, Nathaniel, Benjamin and Nathan Skiffe who became settlers on the Vineyard, was himself a nonresident proprietor and his connection with the town was very brief and unimportant. However, as the progenitor of a numerous and influential family he deserves special mention aside from his original ownership of one of the first home lots. James Skiffe first appeared in New England at Lynn, Mass., about 1635 and is said to have come from London.^ He had some association with Isaac Allerton of Plymouth, who came from London and was a passenger in the Mayflower, 1620, and "for his service Donn to Me Isaack Ollerton" he was granted land in Sandwich Jan. 14, 1636-7, which place became his permanent residence.^ He was representative to the General Court, beginning in 1645, ^^r thirteen years, and in 1656 was appointed to train the militia, and in various ways was a leader in the public life of Sandwich.

His interest in this town undoubtedly was of a speculative character, brought about through his son James and his acquaintance with James Allen, and was subsequent to the formation of the partnership of James, junior, with Peabody, Allen and Standish. He was admitted as a proprietor on May 20, 1671^ and granted a full share of land. His lot was on the west side of Old Mill river, and his holdings in the town are thus enumerated: -

Thes are the Lands of J earns Skiffe senier [in the] the township of tisbery: one lot containing forty ackers Bounded on the est By the reiver on the north By thomas wests Lot on the south By the heyway that leieth on the north sid of henery Luessis Lot and so runeth from the reiver westward fore poles in length and one Lot In the gret neck Bounded on the est by Jeans alhns Lot on the west by Samuel russeles Lot with a

'No proof of connection with any English family has yet been discovered. A John Skiff and wife Joan lived in Modingham, Kent, England, in 1609, when the husband died.

^Plymouth Colony Court Orders, I, 98. It is probable that Skiffe was in the service of Mr. Allerton as the context of the grant indicates this as the reason for the grant.

sixtenth part of all undevided landes and meddo the devided Landes Being more or les as thay are Laied out thes are the Landes purchased by the above named Jeams Skiff

This lot he gave to his son Nathan on June 15, 1675, and his quitclaim of it, when Nathan sold to Arthur Bevan, June 9, 1687, is the last record of him in connection with the town and Vineyard.

His first wife is said to have been Margaret Reaves, and he had a second wife named Mary, by one or both of whom he had the following named children: - ^

It will thus be seen that through his children James Skiffe, senior, transmitted a powerful influence upon the affairs of the new settlement. His wife Mary died Sept. 21, 1673, but it is not known how long after 1687 he survived.

James Skiffe, Junior

Although one of the four proprietors of Tisbury, yet his relation to the town was of a transient character. His home lot was on the west side of Old Mill brook just south of the Whiting property but how long he resided on it is not known. It passed into the possession of Nathaniel V^ing some time before 1677, and it may be inferred that the participation of the Junior Skiffe in the "Dutch Rebellion" of 1673 may have been the cause of his departure. He does not appear to have been punished for it directly, but the ruling family found opportunity to reach him in other ways. Thomas Daggett entered complaint against him in 1674 for slander, in calling him "a theif,a Iyer and knave and other opprobrious words," as previously related (vide Vol. I., pp. 166-7), ^^^ thenceforth his usefulness and personal safety were ended. He remained several years, the last record of his residence here being in 1677, and then removed to Nantucket. He had contracted a second marriage with Sarah, daughter of Robert Barnard of that island, in March, 1676-7, and thenceforth became a townsman there.^ The fruit of this union was five daughters and a son, but as the latter was killed in 1723, supposedly unmarried, this line of Skiffes became extinct. The daughters married and died in Nantucket. He became a deacon of the church, and was living in 17 19, when he visited Chilmark with one of his married daughters.^ He was then eighty-one years of age, having been born Sept. 12, 1638, and his death occurred not long after. His widow Sarah survived and died in 1732.

John Tucker

This transient came to Tisbury from the Province of Maine, where he had been a pioneer in the eastern portion of that province, at Cape Anna waggon, Sheepscot Bay.^ He was in Dartmouth, England, in 1659,^ which was probably the region of his birthplace, and in 1662 he purchased land at Sheepscot.^ There he resided with his family until driven off by the Indians in 1675, when he migrated to the Vineyard. His home lot was on the east side of the Old Mill river, next north of Isaac Robinson. He at once became an active citizen in the new settlement, being chosen surveyor and constable in 1675 and town clerk in 1679 and 1680.^ But he did not long survive, as in July, 1681, Susanna, the widow of John Tucker, "late of Martha's Vineyard," is mentioned in the Plymouth Colony.^ His son John was living in Harwich, Cape Cod, in 1716 and at that date disposed of his father's interests in Tisbury to Samuel Cobb.^

The beginnings of the religious history of this town can probably be dated coincidentally with the coming of the first settlers, although there is nothing of record in the town books touching this subject until ten years after the "first purchase." As was the case at Great Harbor, there was but a handful of settlers in the early years of the town's existence, and the easiest available means of securing ministerial services and a place in which to hold them were adopted by the planters. In the division of the Takemmy purchase, made May 20, 1 67 1, by the original proprietors, Pabodie, Allen, Skiff e and Standish, when they "devided the whole into twelve partes or shares" they provided "one for a minister."*

One house Lot with an Adishon of low land unto the house lot the house Lot Leying on the East sid of the brook next northward unto the halfe lot once grannted unto Mr John [Bishop] upon condishon but to be remembrd, there is to be A heye way betwen this Lot And halfe Lot or there A bout most conveniant over the brooke up into the woods East And west so - this lot is to run fourty rods in bredth northward And in length Eastward eightfoor rods and the addishon of low land is all the low land betwen the lot And Simon Athearns fenc but the upland which leyeth betwen Simon Athearns lot and the lot for the minisstrie is left Common

And the seventh part of the great neack as before spoken in the order of the devision of the three necks for an Inhearitanc for ever bareing date the first of february 167 1 as also a sixteenth Part of all the undividedd lands and meadows lying within the bounds of said Town ship of Tisbury whether Purchased or to be purchased of the Indians^

The Rev. Thomas Prince, the New England chronologist, is our authority for the statement that the Rev. John Mayhew, the youngest son of the ill-fated missionary, was called to preach in Tisbury as soon as he had reached his majority. This was in 1673, when this young man, who more than any of his kindred resembled his gifted father, is described as "of great worth and usefulness and fell not short either of the eminent genius or piety of his excellent progenitors." He had these inherited scholarly inclinations, which were early developed by the aid of his grandfather's teaching and the benefit of his father's library. As his older brothers, Matthew and Thomas, applied themselves to executive and judicial duties, the way was cleared for him as one of the co-heirs of the proprietary, to devote himself to the work of his choice.^ He began his ministry coincident with the establishment of marital relations. He was married in 1672 to Elizabeth Hilyard, orphan daughter of Emmanuel Hilyard of Hampton, N. H., who at the time of her marriage was a little more than seventeen years of age. She was brought to Tisbury by her mother, who had become, after the death of her husband, the second wife of Joseph Merry. With his young bride, he set up a home for himself at Quansoo, where he ever after lived, raised a large family of eight children, the eldest of whom was the celebrated Experience, and there ended his days. It appears that he was "minister of the Gospel to the inhabitants of Tisbury and Chilmark united," as testified by the epitaph on his gravestone, and it can be readily understood that such an arrangement for a joint pastorate would have been the natural plan for the two small communities iying contiguous.

The First Meeting House

Where the services were held first, whether in Chilmark or Tisbury, is not known, but it can be surmised that the school house, frequently mentioned about that period, may have served for a time as a meeting-house. Situated as it was on the South road, near the boundary line of the two towns, it would admirably serve this purpose That a meeting-house was built before 1700 in this town seems to be a clear inference from the vote of the freeholders: "at a Leagall Town meeting [29 November, 1699] by the maiger part of the town that this meeting house shall be put in Convenient Repair." This action, however, does not seem to have been entirely satisfactory to "the maiger part" after subsequent consideration, for the next year the town expressed a determination to build a new "meeting-house."^

-"Tisbury Records, 32, 40. The first meeting house was probably built before 1604 as there was at that date a "publique place for religious services. (Ibid, 25) continued until his death on Feb. 22, 1668-9, ^ period of sixteen years, is to be found in scattered contemporary documents, from which this slender thread of facts enables us to weave an equally slender narrative of a long pastorate.

On June 17, 1679, the townsmen of Tisbury took action for the first time, so far as the records indicate, to make provisions for the support of the ministry, as expressed in the following vote : -

It is agread and ordred by the touns men of tisbury that from this day and forward that theare shall be two men chosen by this toun to rayse fiveten pounds yearly from year to year for the worck of the ministry by way of a rate apon all that shall attend the publique meteing in this place and the men to be chosen from year to year and that thay shall make the said rate according to theare best descration and shall see the said sum truely paid '

This provision for the support of the ministry appears to have been (in the absence of any other record) the stipend paid by the town to its minister at this date, and this small amount would equal about three hundred dollars, on the basis of comparative values at the present time. Nevertheless, this worthy and zealous man accepted this as a sufficient reward for his modestly appraised labors. It is related by a writer touching this point that although "what was allowed him was very inconsiderable indeed yet he went steadily on in this pious work and would not suffer any affairs of his own to divert him from it." In 1687 the Commissioners of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel increased his salary by thirty pounds per annum, in consideration of his additional work among the Indians.

Pastoral Vacancy, 1689-170I

The death of this worthy man left a vacancy which was not filled for a number of years, and it is not known that any person regularly held services for a decade following. The oldest son of the deceased pastor. Experience, was but sixteen years old when his father died and therefore not yet ready to walk in his footsteps. As soon, however, as he became of age in 1694, the town passed the following vote: - publique place upon the Lords daye to teach us according to the measure and gift that god hath given you the which we hope and are perswaded will tend to the glory of god and our comfort by Jesus Christ our Lord'

It is supposed that the desired arrangement was effected, although there is no further reference to the subject in the records, either by payment of salary annually or in other ways. The young man was not an educated or ordained clergyman and had only been invited to "teach," which term was used to distinguish this form of ministerial supply from that of a settled pastorate. The community was not, however, entirely without opportunities of attending religious services of a regular character for coincidental with the above request to young Mayhew, the neighboring town of Chilmark had called a minister, the Rev. Ralph Thacher, to be their pastor, and it is not improbable that the people of Tisbury drove over on Sundays to his services, when no one was present to conduct them in this town. But this sort of ecclesiastical poaching on their neighbors' preserves did not satisfy the people of Tisbury and they set about the task of securing a minister who should be regularly settled.^ It appears that they applied to the Rev. Jonathan Russell of Barnstable for advice and help in this matter, and as an expression of the gratitude of the town for his efforts in their behalf the townsmen wrote a letter to him. In it they say: -

We render you hearty Thanks for all the Christian fatherlike Care and pains you have taken for our Better Settlement: and now againe for your Care of and Advice to us'

At a town meeting held on May 28, 1700, the freeholders voted the sum of ;^2o per annum "towards the support of an orthidox Learned and pious person to be settled our ministerr who is also to Inherit for ever a valluable posesion of Lands saved for him in tisbury: being the first settled ministe: therein in tisbury." Recognizing that this amount was not a temptation to many they expressed the hope that "all such persons of honour as are concerned in power to add unto sd 20 lb. sum other way that such a minister may be able to live upon : for our poverty & other necessary charges is such that we cannot procure above 20 lb. per year."^

'Three Athearn children were taken to Barnstable for baptism about this time. In November, 1699, the town voted that the meeting-house shall be put in "Convenient Repair."

Reverend Mr. Russell was asked to obtain ''Mr. [Nathaniel] Stone or some other orthodox Lerned and pious person" but Rev. Mr. Stone had just been settled in Harwich and was not available. He recommended another in the person of John Robinson.

The town entered at once into negotiations with him to supply the vacant pulpit and the matter proceeded so far that at a town meeting held on July 23, 1700, it was voted "that Roberbert Cathcart shall go to barnstablea mesenger for this Town to accompany mr John Robinson over in order for setlement in the work of the ministry in Tisbury."

It is supposed that this candidate was the Rev. John Robinson, who settled in Duxbury two years later,^ and not connected with the Robinson family of Cape Cod, nor with the early settlers of the name in Tisbury. There is nothing to indicate whether this minister came or preached here. If he did, he remained a very short time. On June 21st the next year a committee consisting of Ebenezer Allen and Robert Cathcart, was appointed "to prossicute the obtaining of an orthodox minister for this Town in way and manner as hath been heretofore prossicuted by this Town."^

Second Meeting House

While this committee was engaged in this search, and before a candidate was finally selected, the town took practical steps towards building another and undoubtedly larger meetinghouse to accomodate the gradually increasing population. On the same day the following vote was passed: -

It is voted and agreed upon by the maiger part of the freeholders and other Inhabitants then met at a Leagall Town meeting that there shall be built in Tisbury a new meeting-house after the manner and dementions of the meeting-house in Chilmark and it is also voted that Simon Athern and Robert Cathcart shall agree with a Carpinter in behalf of This Town of Tisbury to build the said meeting-house as Cheap as they Can^

^Winsor, History of Duxbury, 185. He was called to Duxbury on Sept. 2, 1700 but did not accept for two years. His salary in Duxbury was ;£6o annually. 'Tisbury Records, p. 40. *Ibid.

Concurrent with this the town petitioned the General Court for financial assistance in the furtherance of this object. The petition was favorably considered and on June 26th of the same year the following resolve was passed: -

RESOLVED that the sum of fifteen Pounds be Allowed out of the Publick Treasury to the town of Tisbury for their Assistance in Building a Meeting House.'

At the town meeting held on October 2d following, much important business was transacted relating to the new meetinghouse, its location and the settlement of a minister. In the first place it was voted to raise the sum of sixty pounds "for the building a new meeting-house," by assessment on the polls and estates. The location was determined by the generosity of James Allen, who on that day made a gift of land for this particular object. The brief record of this first public gift to the town is as follows: -

Know all men by these preasents that I James Allen of Chillmark do give and grant unto the Town of Tisbury an acker of Land Lying within abigall peses fence for Ever for a burying place and to set a meeting house on free from me my heires or assignes for Ever a buring place." This lot is the "God's Acre" on the west bank of the Old Mill river, which for two hundred years has been a cemetery for the town and here for one hundred and sixty-five years the townspeople assembled weekly for worship. The "dementions" of this building as first constructed are not now known, except that it was to be the same as the structure then existing in Chilmark. As no records of that town are extant prior to 1 704 we are left without means of determining this interesting point.

Ministry Of Josiah Torrey

Mr Josias Toary shall be the minister of Tisbury according to their former proceedings for the call and setlement of a minister in Tisbury.'

But this action was not unanimous. The call was passed "by the maiger part of the Inhabitants" as it appears of record, yet four of the freeholders, Thomas Look, Joseph Daggett, Edward Cottle and Zachariah Hossuet (an Indian), separately "enters his decent against the above writen vott," but the reasons therefor are not stated. Their objection may have been to his youth, for he was then scarcely entering his twentyfirst year. The young clergyman was the son of Josiah Torrey, by his wife, Sarah Wilson, and was born Feb. 9, 1680, in Boston. It is believed that this was his first pastoral charge. He had graduated from Harvard College as Bachelor of Arts in 1698 and thus had received the highest education obtainable at that period. In fact all of his successors in the pastorate during the century which followed were Harvard graduates.

The Selectmen of Tisbury refused to act on the matter of raising the sixty pounds, and at a town meeting held Dec. 2 following, Simon Athearn, Robert Cathcart and Experience Luce were impowered to "assess the Town of Tisbury & precincts the said sum of Sixty Pound. "^ During the period while the new house was under construction, services were probably continued in the existing building used for the purpose. The new meeting-house was probably completed in the early part of the summer of 1702, for in July of that year the old building was sold at public auction.^

These are the formal records of the building of the church and beginnings of the pastorate which continued twenty-two years. Mr. Torrey, following the example of the other ministers to the English, devoted a portion of his time to missionary work among the Indians. Increase Mather, in a letter to the governor of the New England Company, under date of March 2, 1705, speaks of him as "a hopeful young man who had

^Tisbury Records, 43. "At the same time Peter Robinson and Experience Luce were authorized to "Receive in of the people of the Town and preacincts what they are willing to allow to Mr Tory."

'"July 17, 1702. At a Town meeting held in Tisbury it was voted by the major part then preasant that the ould meeting house should be sould at an outcry: also it was voted that he that bid most at three times going Round should have it and at the last time of biding which was the third Time of asking on the third going Round Robert Cathcart was the bider who bid five pounds six shillings"

The records covering the period of his ministry do not disclose anything to indicate other than harmonious relations between pastor and people. He was paid twenty pounds per annum with occasional arrearages until 171 7, when it was voted to pay twenty-four pounds "to Gratifie & reward the Reverend Mr. Josiah Torrey for his Labour in the ministrye for the year 17 16." The next year, finding themselves unable to meet this charge, they voted at a town meeting "to send a petition to the General Court for their assistance in allowing them sum Relieff in helping them to maintain their minister out of the publique Treasury."^ Whether this was granted does not appear, but at a town meeting on August 1 1 following, it was voted: -

That Mr Torrayes Salary be raised to thirty pounds per annum provided that he the said mr Josiah Torrey do accept of the same and will be obliedged to tarry with them and preach for Ever in the work of the ministrie in Tsibury ^

Annually thereafter this amount was voted for his salary throughout the remainder of his pastorate. It is evident that he filled his office to the satisfaction of the people, although in recording his death the Rev. William Homes of Chilmark writes in his diary: "it was said that of late he had drunk too freely and too frequently of spirits."^

After an illness of some months, during which he had been "under a bad habit of body," he died on Saturday, Oct. 7, 1723, "in the 43d year of his age," and was buried the next evening. He married Sarah, daughter of Simon and Mary (Butler) Athearn of Tisbury, by whom he had four daughters, Sarah, Susanna, Mary and Margaret, the eldest daughter becoming the wife of Rev. Nathaniel Hancock, his

'In his "India Christiana," published in 1721, Cotton Mather thus speaks of Parson Torrey's labors: "The Rev. Mr. Josiah Torrey, Pastor of the English Church in Tisbury on the Vineyard, has also for many Years Past Preached as a Lecturer unto the Indians on that Island, having for that End learned their Language. He Preacheth in some or other of their Assemblies once a Fort-night, and goes frequently to their Church-Meetings, to advise & assist them."

*That he at one time shared a barrel of rum with Paine Mayhew appears in the latter's "Commonplace Book," now in the possession of a resident of the Vineyard, according to a memorandum of a division entered therein, viz.: "in ye small cask 15 g. to be taken out for tory," successor in the pastorate. His personal estate was inventoried at £295-19-10 and his real estate, including the ministerial share, was equally divided in 1730 between his daughters/ This ministerial share was granted to Mr. Torrey in perpetuity with certain conditions Aug. 16, 1704, as shown by the following vote: -

That all the ministers lands in Tisbury with all the priviledges there to belonging to Mr. Josiah Torry who is now minister, for an inheritance for ever: he Taking office in the work of ministrie in Tisbury & in consideration that if at any time the said ministers Lands be sould that the Selectmen of Tisbury have the Refusall in Proffer to buy said lands for the use of the Town and ministrie, for Ever.''

The town at the annual meeting in March, 1724, voted to raise fifty pounds for the support of a minister, and on May 20, following. Experience Luce was chosen "to go of to the main and to use all proper means to supply the town with a minister that the publick worship of God may be upheld with us."^ It appears that a Mr. Benjamin Ruggles was a candidate in August of that year and he "proposed his willingness to abide and take office in the ministry" in the town if "encurraged with a present settlement of two hundred pounds and seventy pounds pr. annum sallery for sum time and then eighty pound per anum for the futer," but while the freeholders agreed to give the settlement named they would not agree to more than fifty pounds as a salary. Jabez Athearn and Experience Luce were chosen as a committee to treat with Mr. Ruggles and to petition the General Court and the Society for Propagating the Gospel "for sum assistance."*

That the town needed help would appear from the fact that it was already indebted for unpaid salary to their late pastor, and on August loth of that year it was voted to raise ;!^i 5-16-3, "to clear our Rears that was due to the Rev. Mr. Josias Torey now desesed for his Labours in the ministry." That the committee failed to come to terms with the Rev. Mr. Ruggles, probably for financial reasons, may be concluded from a vote passed Nov. 23, 1724, by which Jabez Athearn was chosen "to go over to the main" in quest of another candidate.

Ministry Of Nathaniel Hancock

The town adhered to its vote of fifty pounds per annum or a proportionate sum ''to such person as shall come upon tryall: in case there shall not be an agreement made."

Mr. Athearn secured the Rev. Nathaniel Hancock, a young man about twenty-five years of age, the son of Nathaniel Hancock of Cambridge. He was graduated from Harvard in the class of 1721 as Bachelor of Arts, and during the years 1722-3 had taught school in Woburn. He was a second cousin to the celebrated John Hancock of Revolutionary days. This was the person whom Athearn induced to come forward as a candidate. He began preaching early the next year, and on March 29, 1725, "the town having had Tryal of the abilities of the Rev. Mr. Handcock in the Ministry reverend neighbouring Ministers," voted to call him at a salary of fifty pounds per annum with two hundred pounds as a settlement.^ But the young clergyman was not disposed to hasten matters, and while he continued to preach regularly he kept himself free from the responsibility of a settled pastorate. He was at this time unmarried, and it may be that his mind was more or less concerned with the probabilities of a matrimonial settlement with the young Miss Torrey, who was to become his wife. On Oct. 24, 1725, Jabez Athearn and Experience Luce were chosen a committee to petition the committee on Indian affairs of the General Court, "to se whare they will alow aney incuragement to the Rev. Mr. Handcock in case he doth Learn the Indaen Langueg & preach lectures to them." In this they were not successful.^

On May 23, 1726, the question being still undecided the town renewed its offer for a settlement on the same terms as formerly voted. Still Mr. Hancock hesitated to commit himself, and while he continued to occupy the pulpit as a stated supply for many months, yet it was not until January 26, 1726-7, that he finally decided to accept the town's proposal. The following is his agreeing letter to the terms of settlement and salary: -

To the Church of Christ and Other Inhabitants in Tisbury: - Having taken Under Consideration the Call you have given me to Settle in the Work of the Gospell Ministry among you as also the Pro- posalls made to me for the Encouragement Respecting my Outward Subsistence with you, Bearing Date 23 May 1726 I have at Length come to the following Thought and Resolutions, vizt: - That the offers you made to me be very low and so the Encouragement in that Regard be very slender, yet considering the smallness of the Place and how few the Inhabitants are and that what you offer may be near as much as for the Present you are able to Do for me: Having also Considered the Poor as well as others ought to have the Gospell Preached to them: Relying on the Gracious Providence of God, That God whom I Desire to serve & under him on the Justice & Generosity of the People by whom I am called, I do (you still continuing Desirous of it,) accept of your Call, both as to your offers in my Settlement & Sallery: and as I think, the call of God to serve Him in his work among you; and am content that my former answer (being not yet on Record) should become void, and be Committed to the Fire; this only vi/ith your Invitation and Proposals being Preferred and Recorded. And if what is now offered be acceptable and satisfactory to you, I Desire, in the strength of Christ, and under a Deep sense of my own Insufficiency for so Great a work, to devote myself to your Service, Resolving according to the best of my ability, & the measure of the grace of God granted unto me, to endeavor to Promot the good of your souls; Earnestly Desiring and Praying that we may be helped in our Respective Stations, so to Discharge the duties Incumbent on us that we may be Mutual Comforts one to another, here in this World, and Rejoice together in the day of the Lord. So I remain yours in the service of the Gospell.

The townsmen, gratified at last to have him come to a favorable decision, sent him a letter of thanks and caused all the correspondence to be spread on the records.

The ordination of Mr. Hancock took place in the following July, and the ceremonies on that occasion are thus discribed by a contemporary writer: -

July 30 1727. Being Lords day Mr Handcock preached both before and afternoon from James 2. 23 And he was called the friend of God: the discourse was not very animate yet hope it may be useful. Lord follow thy word and ordinances with a blessing. The day was fair clear and hot. On Wednesday last, being the 26th instant, Mr. Handcock was ordained Pastor of the Church in Tisbury. I preached the ordination sermon and Mr Russell and I imposed hands on him, for there was none other minister there. Mr Russell made the first prayer and I gave the Charge and made the second prayer, and Mr Russell gave him the right hand of fellowship'

Again the town tried in the year following, May, 1728, to secure from the General Court "some assistance toward the Suport of the Ministry," and Jabez Athearn went to Boston for the purpose, but it is not known what were the results, if any, of his mission. The young pastor had now attained the object of his affections, and on July 16, 1729, was married to Sarah Torrey, with whom as consort he presided over the church affairs of the town for the twenty-seven following years.

The new pastor stimulated the town to provide a new house of worship, and in January, 1733, "it was voted that a New Meeting house should be built," and a committee of seven was appointed to "Determin the bigness of the meeting house & the manner of the Seats Pews & Alleys, Doors, stairs windows & Pulpit." The committee "considered & agreed upon the following Scheem: - "

The Meeting house is to be 35 foot in length & 30 in breadth 18 foot between Joints a Double Doore on the fore side of four foot wide & a doore at Each End of 3 foot wide with forteen Pews around the walls of five foot Extent from the walls with an Alley of 3 foot wide around within the Pews: Not allowing any alley in the middle of the body of seats but allowing four Pews behind the maine body of seats of five foot forward from the Alley to be equally divided; with a Convenient Pulpit & Deacons seat: and in the Gallery four Pews in the hinder part of the front of five foot Extent from the Walls: with Suitable Stairs & Windows.*

Samuel Cobb was employed to construct this building in accordance with the specifications for the sum of ;^320, of which amount £20 was credited as the value of the old meeting house in part payment. The frame was "raised" probably in June following and the town provided an entertainment of "good wheaten cake, good Beere & Rum & Sugar," for those participating in this curious religious custom adopted by our forefathers.^ Three men of Chilmark were chosen

^Ibid, 97. It faced the south, having an area in front separating it from the fence. Its west side made a part of the cemetery enclosure and its east side was parallel with the road, a board fence finishing the east side of the cemetery, partly to the front and partly to the rear. It must be remembered that the road continued along its east side to the Scotchman's Bridge road, instead of turning an angle to the west as laid out about 1872.

Third Meeting-House, 1733-1833

as a committee to arrange the delicate question of allotments to the pews and the assessments therefor. For thirty-five years this building served its purpose as a meeting-house until the growing population had need of more room.

In 1768 it was voted "to Cut sd house in the middle and Enlarge it 15 feet and to Inlarge it 2 feet on the Back Side and to Finish all the wooden work and to Shingel the Rooff with new Shingles and to Remove the Pulpit back and to Lengthen the Galerys," and the next year it was painted ''with Tarr and Oker to Preserve the Shingles." In 1771 it was plastered. In 1788 six pews were added to the accommodations for the worshippers by a rearrangement of the floor plan. Thus altered, this third house survived exactly a century as a meeting place of the religious people of the town.^

The pastorate of Nathaniel Hancock terminated in an ecclesiastical quarrel, the underlying reasons for which do not appear, because of the loss of the church records covering the services of himself and his predecessors also, from the beginning.^ His salary, originally ;^5o, was raised to £80 in 1744 and in 1747 it was made ;^i5o old tenor, because ''the fall of money & Riseing of Goods made his Sallery of but little value." The fluctuations of currency during his pastorate made continual trouble between him and the town to adjust an equitable settlement. In 1755 " severall agreved brethren of the Church .... obtained a Seperate Councell against their Reverend Pastor" and secured an opinion adverse to him. In February, 1756, the town voted "not to Desire sd Pastor to take a Dismission," but four months later, probably by reason of Mr. Hancock's insistence on a severance of the pastoral relation, the "Majr Part of the voters then present" (June 22) voted "to Concur with the Advice of the Late Venerable Councell." In July the church

'The church records of the Torrey and Hancock pastorates were in the possession of Rev. Mr. Hancock in 1760, four years after his dismissal. The church voted that "Deacon Athearn should go to Mr. Hancock and desire him to give a record of the transactions of the Church during the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Torrey and also during his ministry" (Oct. 30, 1760). The Deacon reported that Mr. Hancock refused to give them up. What became of them is not now known, but it is traditional that they were destroyed because of the minutes they contained regarding offences committed by members of the church and the action of the oflBcers against the offenders. The Rev. Mr. Damon began a new record book in 1760 which he continued for twenty years, but this also has disappeared, although in 1850 it was in existence. In that year, fortunately, the late Richard L. Pease made a copy of all the baptisms, marriages and funerals, and abstracted a portion of the business records. This is the only knowledge we now have of that period of the church annals, and that copy has been used by the author in the preparation of this history.

passed a vote of censure on Mr. Hancock as a result of the quarrel and this ended any further prospect of harmony. The dismissed pastor continued his residence in town, but kept aloof from the services of the church for sixteen years, as a mark of his resentment against the vote of censure. In 1772 he petitioned for a restoration of privileges as a member. He wrote: -

You know the terms on which I stand with respect to this church of which I am a member. I have withdrawn myself from the communion of this church now for a number of years. You have passed an act by which you have suspended me from church privileges. I own the justice of your proceedings and am desirous of being restored to your Charity. I am sensible that I have missed it greatly in withdrawing and have no other excuse to make for my conduct but this, that it has been a time of difficulty and temptation with me, which I hope the church will make due allowance for. I desire the Christian candor and forgiveness of the church.

The church on March 24th of that year, voted to accept his confession and restore him to full communion. Mr. Hancock was then over seventy years old, in poor health, and did not long survive. He became a judge of the King's Bench in 1761, sitting as a member with John Newman, who had been dismissed from the church in Edgartown. He continued to be prominent in civil affairs until his death, which occurred on September 10, 1774, in the 74th year of his age. He lies buried in the old cemetery, near the last resting place of his predecessor.

Ministry Of John Rand

A successor was found the next year in the person of "a Yong Gentlman as a Candidate for the Ministry, viz. Mr John Rand." He was an alumnus of Harvard in the class of 1744 and had been the college librarian (1753-5) before his coming to Tisbury.^ At this time he was thirty years of age. On Jan. 24, 1757, a formal call was given him by the church, with the concurrence of the town, to become their pastor. A settlement of ;^75o and an annual salary of £SS^ ol<i tenor was voted, but the candidate proposed other terms which the town thought "Rather too hard to Comply with at Present." He accepted however on May 20th, but

'He was born in Charlestown Jan. 24, 1726-7, the son of Jonathan and Millicent (Estabrook) Rand of that town, and related to a family of this name already resident here.

his ministry for some reason was exceedingly brief, scarcely three months. On August 12th, that same year, the pastoral relations were formally severed. He removed to Lyndeboro, N. H., and later preached at Derryfield and Bedford in the same state. He died in the latter town on Oct. 12, 1805, where he had lived for over a quarter of a century.

Ministry Of Samuel West

For the two ensuing years Samuel West (55), son of Dr. Sackville West of Yarmouth, Cape Cod, a graduate of Harvard in the class of 1754, supplied the vacant pulpit, and during all this time the town, church and candidate were ''dickering" about terms of settlement. He was then a young man of twenty-six and at first said "that he should Incline as Willingly to Preach at Tisbury as any other place;" but that he was not fully qualified to hold the office of minister and preacher, but ''hoped with submission to accomplish that end in about the space of six weeks." Various offers were subsequently declined by him, as he insisted on the use of a parsonage.^ This the town could not agree to, "relating to our ability" as the record reads, and matters hung thus until March 22, 1759, when he made the following reply to their last formal call: -

I have a Tender Regard for your Spirituall & Everlasting wellfare (and) am therefore WilHng to serve you as far as Godd shall enable me: But Considering the great Averseness my own Parents have Manifested about my settling here, together with my own Bodily Infermities which very much unfitt & Indispose me for studiing: for these and some other Reasons I shall be willing if the Town pleases to be Dismist from the Call you gave Me, yet if Providence should so order that the Discouragements I now labour under be Removed I shall be Ready to settle among you, In case you are not better Provided for.^

Although the town and church voted not to dismiss the call this reply ended his relations as candidate, and nothing further came of the negotiations. This clergyman removed to Dartmouth, Mass., shortly after, and there for nearly a half century achieved widespread fame as the pastor of the church in that place. He was a man of great intellectual ability, of marked individuality bordering often on eccentricity and in the annals of the pulpit at that period he was easily a leading character. He died Sept. 24, 1807, at Tiverton, R. I. After the departure of Mr. West the town sought the services of Rev. Zachariah Mayhew of Chilmark, the missionary, but he decHned the call and Mr. William Whitwell, Jr., "now Resident at Mr Zachariah Mayhews," was asked in September, 1759, to fill the vacancy, but beyond preaching for a few weeks the negotiations were dropped.

Ministry Of George Daman

Early in 1760 the usual committee on candidates reported a success in their search for a new minister, in the person of George Daman of Dedham. He was the son of John and Elizabeth (Metcalf) Daman of Dedham, where he was born July 7, 1736, and had just graduated in the class of 1756 at Harvard College. On June 16, 1760, he was given a unanimous call by town and church to become their pastor. This he accepted on July 30th following, ''not for the sake of Filthy Lucer," as he replied to them, but because he felt the call was "the Mind & Will of Christ the Great Head of the Church."^ Mr. Daman was ordained as pastor Oct. ist of that year. In the terms of settlement the town agreed to pay him a gratuity of ;^iooo and a yearly salary of ;£400, and at once set about providing a parsonage for his use. The town bought for this purpose of Samuel Cobb, a tract of land on the west side of Old Mill brook, with an old house and buildings thereon, now known as the Whiting homestead. The house was repaired, broken windows glazed, rooms plastered, the barn shingled and the premises made ready for the new minister, under an agreement that the settlement of ;^iooo should be relinquished by him in consideration of the use of a parsonage.^

His ministry covered the troublous times of the pre- Revolutionary period, and lasted throughout the war, when the financial situation was so greatly affected, and the people of Tisbury, like all other towns on the Vineyard, suffered from the business depression as a result of the struggle for independence. His salary was often in arrears, and payments were made in the depreciated currency of the times. In 1767 eflorts were made to increase his stipend and enlarge and

'Tisbury Records, 177-8. This property was valued at £2000 in the depreciated currency of the time. It was made ready for occupancy in 1762 and he signed a waiver in that year (ibid., p. 182).

repair the church, but both proposals failed. This created discontent on his part and a committee was chosen "to goe and Treet with the Revend Mr Damon Consarning his uneseness." Ten years later, 1777-8, arrearages had again piled up and a compromise was made upon partial payment, and the town further agreed to 'Xut and Cart Ten Cord of Wood to sd Mr Damans Dore for his fireing the Ensuing Winter."^ This temporary shift was repeated the next year and he offered to relinquish his salary for one year if the town would give him title to the parsonage and guarantee payments for the future. This was not favorably received by the townsmen and various alternative offers were made by them to pay his salary in Spanish m.illed dollars, silver bullion, "or in other specia." He was also to be allowed to preach in Edgartown "one Quarter Part of the year for his Own profitt," and another quarter in the Homes Hole district, until the time when his stipulated salary should be regularly paid.^ The remainder of his pastorate was a repetition of the same financial deficiencies, continually growing larger and at last a committee of Chilmark and Edgartown men were chosen by himself and the town as referees "to Settle what Mr Daman should have Considering him a Sufferer with his People since the war by reason of the fall of monney." The arrangement effected by this arbitration appears to have been satisfactory, and might have resulted in his indefinite retention, but at this juncture the new society of Baptists had been formed at Homes Hole and they refused to pay their share of the ministerial taxes. This was the "last straw" and on the 2nd of March, 1781, he made formal request to the church for his dismission from the pastoral office. In his letter he recited the difficulties of his position for several years past as above related, claiming that "he did not in six years and a half scarcely receive his usual small support for one year and a half." He added that "nearly one half the town always appeared opposite to every thing that was proposed and some of them some of the foremost men for ability."' The church on March 28th voted his dismission, and gave him a handsome "letter of recommendation." He removed to Woodstock, Vt., after his dismission and died there in December, 1 796, aged 60 years. His wife was Dinah Athearn (47), whom

The town concurred with the church in his dismission and then spent several months in a contest with him over his unpaid salary for past services. They voted ''to Hire out the Personage to the Highest bidders" and instructed a committee *'to Treat with the People of Chilmark about Hireing Some Person to Preach by Turns as they shall agree." What arrangement was finally made is not known, but religious interest was evidently at a low ebb in Tisbury at this time. For three years the records are silent on all church subjects.

Ministry Of Asarelah Morse

This clergyman became a candidate for the vacant place in July, 1784, and in the fall of that year he was formally invited to become the pastor. He was born Jan. 27, 1745, a graduate of Harvard in the class of 1767, and had held a pastoral charge in Nova Scotia at Granville and Annapolis, about 1 771; and at the time when invited here he was a resident of Harwich, Cape Cod.^ Mr. Morse was at that time forty years of age with a family, his wife, Hepsibah Hall, being a member of the church in East Yarmouth, Cape Cod, at the time of her marriage. He accepted the call Oct. 26, 1784, and was ordained as pastor December ist following.* His salary was fixed at ;^7o yearly with the use of the parsonage, after it should be repaired for his occupancy. His ministry continued till the close of that century and was characterized by uninterrupted harmonious relations between pastor and people. During his term of service the important subject of the support of the clergyman by taxes levied on the town had become acute, beyond amicable settlement. The Baptists of Homes Hole had continued to refuse payment of their share and in 1793 the town offered as a compromise that Mr. Morse should preach in that precinct "in proportion to the taxes they may pay towards the Minesters Sallery." This ecclesiastical shuffle was not satisfactory to the Baptists, who wished for preachers of their own doctrines, and in 1794 the town agreed to join with the inhabitants of Homes Hole,

'Tisbury Records, 251. In 1790 Mr. Morse petitioned the County Court for naturalization, as he had "moved out of the jurisdiction of the state into Nova Scotia some time before the late war" (Dukes Court Records, Oct., 1790).

in a petition to the General Court, that all residents east of Savage's Line be incorporated as a separate parish for purposes of church taxation.^ This was the beginning of the final settlement of an important and exceedingly delicate religious question which had vexed the people of the two extreme sections of the town and marked the separation of church and state matters in Tisbury. In the la^t year of the century, Mr. Morse asked and obtained his dismission from the pastoral office, after about fifteen years' service.^

Succession Of Pastors, 1800-19Co

After an intermission of two years the Rev. Nymphas Hatch was elected to fill the vacancy, and on Oct. 7, 1801, was ordained. He held the charge for eighteen years, and on June 26, 1 81 9, received his dismission. At the close of this pastorate the flock had become almost decimated through secessions to the new sects, the Baptists and Methodists.^ In asking for his release after years of depression and discord, due to the numerous withdrawals, he wrote: "You have long witnessed and no doubt with much regret, the great diminution of our church by deaths, by emigration and by seceders. You are my witnesses of the opposition and may I not add variegated discouragements which I have had to encounter during my ministry."^ Five male members only remained loyal to the old organization to consider this solemn situation - Joseph Look, Jonathan Smith, Malachi Luce, Timothy Athearn and Ephraim Luce - and they granted his request.

He was followed by Josiah Henderson in 1822, who remained four years. His agreement included the "use of the Parsonage, for Feedage and Tillage and $100 for one year, together with all that may be obtained by subscription, contribution or otherwise." The line of succession as given below includes all those ordained or installed, and those who supplied the pulpit for a year or more : -

^Not less than forty persons withdrew during Mr. Hatch's pastorate to join the Baptist society alone; how many became Methodists is not known.

^Church Records. About 181 7, during his ministry, assessments ceased and voluntary' contributions became the method of supporting the ministers.

The old meeting-house, which for a hundred years had resounded to the preaching of Hancock, Daman, Morse, Hatch, Payson and Davis, reached its limit of usefulness in 1833 and was considered beyond repair or remodeling. A new structure was authorized by the church and completed that year. The old building was torn down and the fourth meeting-house erected on the spot hallowed by the associations of the past. There it remained until 1865, when it was reromoved to its present location, next Agricultural Hall, and the site previously occupied by it became a part of the old cemetery enclosure.

The development of this denomination in old Tisbury dates from about 181 5, when the itinerant preachers, assigned to the Vineyard, with station at Edgartown or Homes Hole, visited the western part of the island in search of converts. The earliest follower of this sect was Mrs. Mary (Chase) Lambert, and about 1820 she invited Rev. Eleazer Steele, then at Edgartown, to come to this part of the island and preach the new religion. This he did and succeeded in forming a "class" at the North Shore. Among the first converts was Captain Thomas Luce, who had lost his sight at sea, while using the spy-glass against a bright sun; David Nickerson, then a young man residing in West Tisbury,' and George

'The church records speak of him as "a missionary now here." '"Reformation" John Adams, the Methodist parson of Homes Hole said of Mr. Chase in 1842: "his note preaching I think has been a lullaby" (Autobiography, 495). ^The following story of a "remarkable Providence," which happened to young Nickerson is related by the chronicler of this denomination: He was accustomed to read his bible after retiring to bed; the weather being cold, and he having no accommodations for a fire in his room. One night he dropped asleep without extinguishing his light. What was his astonishment on awakening, to find that his candle had burned down, having somehow caught his bible and burned the cover to a crisp, caught the bed-clothes and burned them and the bed all round his head. The fire had then gone out of itself, without so much as scorching a hair of his head. It was considered a miraculous preservation.

The services were held in the houses of the members of this denomination, for they were few in numbers and unable to support a regular ministerial supply or to build a house of worship. Among the earlier preachers to this "class" at the North Shore before 1850 were, William Barstow, Caleb Lamb, Mark Staple, "Reformation" John Adams andMicah J. Talbot. In 1845 the present existing chapel at Lambert's Cove for the use of this sect was built and dedicated, and has been a regular station in the Vineyard district ever since.

The following list of ministers represents the successive assignments to this society by the Southern Conference since 1857. Prior to that date the ministers of Chilmark or Homes Hole were given oversight of this mission.

Baptist Church

The beginnings of this church here were marked with much ill feeling, caused by the refusal of the adherents of the new sect to pay the legal tax for the support of the standing order. This in addition to the resentments caused by their withdrawal from the old church, engendered much bitterness. Early in 1800 John Davis, a leading man in the new sect, as well as a prominent citizen, was arrested for non-payment of the ministerial tax and being found guilty and refusing still to pay, was sent to jail. This act aroused great excitement in all circles and the Court, recognizing its tactical error, speedily released him. Not so the members of the old church. A parish meeting was called for May 13, 1800, to consider the action of the Court in discharging Davis from prison. Ezekiel Luce, Benjamin Allen and Cornelius Dunham were chosen a committee to inquire into the matter and they reported that Davis should not have been released until he had paid his tax, and the church voted to enter a protest against this action. This occurrence did more than anything else, in all probability, to promote the schism and enlist sympathy for the new denomination/

The annals of this denomination are fragmentary and date from about 1805, when there were probably a dozen residents of this town, who had joined the society previously gathered at Homes Hole, and began holding meetings at the private houses of the members. Many proselytes from the ancient congregation worshipping in the old meeting-house were made, and such was the growth of the new society that in 1820 they arranged with the authorities for the use of that building on alternate Sundays; and the next year they were so flourishing and the old church so feeble and without a pastor, that it was practically given up to Baptist preachers most of the time. The earliest known members were John and Benjamin Davis, Hugh and Jonathan Cathcart, John Hancock, Prince Rogers, William Rotch and Belcher Athearn. The jQrst ''teacher" was the Rev. Abisha Sampson, who led the new flock for about four years. His success was marked and in that period, 1807-1812, the notices of withdrawal from the old church numbered nearly thirty adults. They included Russell Hancock, Patience Allen, Mary Allen, William Athearn, Solomon Athearn, Elijah Athearn, Matthew Manter, Jeremiah Manter, Samuel Crowell, Matthew Manter, Jr., Jeremiah Crowell, Nathan Clifford, Lot Rogers, Jacob Clifford, William Ferguson, Stephen Clifford, Ephraim Dunham, Jr., Robert Rogers, Henry Athearn, James Luce, Ephraim Harding, John Athearn, James Cleveland, Clifford Dunham, Abigail Dunham, George Manter, Athearn Manter, Melatiah Norton, Edmond Cottle, Shubael Merry and Warren Cleveland.^

Four Corners Baptist Meeting House

The first house of worship built by this denomination was located on the road to Middletown near the Scotchman's Bridge road and was completed about 1 820-1 for occupancy. It was a branch of the Homes Hole church and so remained

'October 7, 1801 the old church voted to release from further obligations, all Baptists whose ministerial taxes were unpaid, including that of John Davis for 1799 which caused his arrest.

until May 19, 1832, when by mutual agreement the West Tisbury congregation was recognized as an independent parish. Rev. Mr. Harris of Barnstable preached a dedicatory sermon June 4, 1832 in celebration of this event. The first minister was Jesse Pease (397) of Edgartown! who remained until 1828, when he was succeeded by Seth Ewer, both of whom had had charge of the church at Homes Hole. He remained till 1835 when Jesse Pease returned and preached three years. Cyrus Miner followed, 1841-3; Charles C. Lewis, 1844; Cyrus Miner, 1845-7, whose pastorate was the last in this meeting house. It was sold and is now doing duty as a barn on the Whiting estate.

Middletown Baptist Meeting-House

The second house of worship for this sect was built in the village of Middletown in 1847, and has existed to the present time with a fairly complete record of regular services for over half a century. In 1852 the members in the village of West Tisbury seceded to form a new society. The succession of clergymen who have ministered to this church is as follows: -

Since that time services have been irregularly maintained, though temporary supplies have maintained the organization through these periods, notably by Mrs. George Hunt Luce of West Tisbury. Rev. O. W. Kimball is the present pastor.

West Tisbury Baptist Meeting-House

As a result of a church feud the members of this denomination living in the old village of West Tisbury seceded from the Middletown society in 1852, and aided by popular subscription the meeting-house now standing on the Edgartown road was built. Rev. Jesse Pease was the leading spirit in the enterprise and was its first pastor, remaining five years. The next minister was Bartlett Mayhew and later William

A. Cottle. This society never flourished after the death of Mr. Pease and its existence as a church organization has been a precarious one. The Middletown pastor in later years has supplied both churches at times, but the old church is now practically defunct and the building out of commission.

The town records are singularly lacking in allusions to military affairs and references to such matters can only be found in scattering documents in other depositaries. It seems that this town combined with Chilmark in maintaining a "Foot Company," and the first reference to it occurs in 1692, when it was under command of Benjamin Skiffe as Captain, Isaac Chase as Lieutenant and John Manter as Ensign.^ Skiffe continued as Captain as late as 1709, and in that year Paine Mayhew of Chilmark was commissioned as Lieutenant of the combined company.^ In 1746 Sergeant Jacob Robinson and Ensign Gershom Cathcart are mentioned, showing continuous organization of the local company. In 1749 Cathcart is called Lieutenant.^ In 1757 the following oflficers were in command of the town militia, and by that time the military union with Chilmark had terminated : - Gershom Cathcart, Captain; Thomas Look, Joseph Merry, John Luce and Ransford Smith, Sergeants; Thomas Butler and Joseph Cathcart, Drummers. In 1761 there were two companies in the town, as a probable result of the French and Indian Wars of that period, of which the first was under command of Peter Norton as Captain, Benjamin Allen as ist Lieutenant, Stephen Luce as 2nd Lieutenant, and Josiah Hancock as Ensign. The second company was under command of Thomas Waldron as Lieutenant, and Noah Look as Ensign.* There were in addition two Indian companies in the town, the first under command of Eliakim Norton as Captain, with Thomas Allen, Lieutenant, and Bernard Case,

'Mass. Arch., CXII, 424. Simon Athearn recommended that James Allen be commissioned as Captain in the place of SkifiFe, and Peter Robinson as Lieutenant in the place of Chase, who was the Quaker and "will not take an oath."