Tisbury Town (part 3 of 5)

Att the Court John Doged of the Hand called Martins Vineyard complained against the towne of the said Vineyard in an action of the case for the title of a certaine prcell of land graunted unto the said John by Mr. Thomas Mayhew &c, which the said inhabitants doe unjustly and illegally disturbe him in his quiett injoyment of the same, which said case is by joynt consent of both prtyes refered to the determination of this Court.^

It is not known whether John Daggett had any legal counsel to assist him, but his cause was so clear that it did not require any, and the verdict was as follows:

John Boult

With that paradoxical tendency in the perpetuation of names of persons whose stay here was the briefest, the subject of this sketch will always be associated with a farm he bought over two centuries ago, and doubtless a century hence, as at this day, the name of "Boult's Farm" will be a local place name. He came here from Boston, where he had been received into the Old South church, March 14, 1686,^ but as he had

^Ibid. The Mayhews never became reconciled to this defeat. When John Daggett's will was offered for probate in 1673 it was accepted, "with this proviso only: that the farm is to contain 500 akers of upland and 20 akers of meadoe and no more." It was Mayhew's last thrust at Daggett.

^Sewall's diary, I, 127. "Mr. Bolt mentioned profane courses he had been entangled in after Conviction." In a later entry Sewall records the following notes of a conversation with Boult: "I mentioned the problem whether should be white after the Resurrection: Mr. Bolt took it up as absurd, because the body should be void of all Colour (ibid, II, 305), taken the oath of allegiance in November, 1678, he must have been a resident in that place for some years before that date. He was, probably, a Cheshire man, as he had relatives in that county. His first purchase of land was Sept. 20, 1686, when he bought a hundred acres at Sanchacantacket, in the region now covered by the farm of Henry Constant Norton, of which it is a part. His occupation of it is somewhat uncertain, as he appears to have retained a residence in Boston, and while he was constructively here in 1688 (witness) and 1 69 1 (ensign of the Edgartown militia), yet in 1693 he is called ''merchant of Boston,"^ and in 1694 was chosen constable of that town.^ In 1696 he appears here as a witness to a will, in 1698 as a juror, and in 1702 as plaintiff in an action of trespass, but further doubt would seem to be removed on Oct. 29, 1703, when he sold his farm to Israel Daggett and all his rights in commons.^ He was a plaintiff, however, in 1706, in an action for debt and is called "of Edgartown."^ On March 10, 1706-7, he was elected overseer of the poor in Boston, and reelected the three following years, which definitely places him there. ^ His will was made June 9, 1710, and he died Jan. 29, 1711, in Boston. He was either a widower without issue, or a bachelor, as all the bequests are made to other kinsmen and friends. He mentions his sister, Rebecca, wife of John Bruen of Chester, England, chirurgeon, and their three sons; his nephew, Andrew Boult, merchant of London; and his niece, Elizabeth Sharp, widow, daughter of his deceased brother, Joshua Boult, druggist of London. To the pastors and teachers of the South and North churches, Boston, and the poor communicants of both he leaves various sums, and to his friend, Jonathan Mountfort of Boston he bequeaths his gun, silver hilted sword and silver tobacco box. The money bequests amounted in all to £160, and no real estate was mentioned.*^ He called himself a "merchant." The local tradition here is that he was a tanner of moleskins, and returned to England after he left the Vineyard, but both of these tales may be safely ignored in view of the facts shown by the records.

John Trumble

This person was one of those early residents or lot owners whose coming and going left only a trace on the town records. Whether he lived here or was simply a transient proprietor is not known. The occurrence of his name in a deposition of John Daggett, in 1659, just discloses the fact that at some time before February 15th of that year he had a lot in this town. Daggett testifies that "Mr. Mayhew did Reserve the Land Between his Lott at the ffarm and that which was John Trumbles" and this is the first as well as the last we hear of him.^ Who he was is not certain as there were two of his name in New England, both of whom on May 13, 1640, became freemen of Massachusetts. One lived at Roxbury, 1639, and later removed to Rowley, almost in the immediate neighborhood of Salisbury, where Robert Codman and Richard Arey resided, and it is of record that Trumble and Arey were in court together at Salem in 1646 and personal acquaintance may be presumed.^ The other John Trumble lived at Cambridge, 1636, and later at Charlestown, where he was engaged in coastwise trading. For this reason the author feels inclined to place the identification on him, as one whose seafaring occupation would bring him to the island for a harbor, and probably in one of his trading trips he became interested in the new island colony.^

Division Of Sanchacantacket Neck

Up to 1664 the most northern section which had been divided for the use of the settlers in this region was at Weenomeset, or Felix neck, but ten years later another move northward was made. The following votes of the town show what action was then taken to develop the new tract:

February 15, 1673-4. Voted the Day and Year above writen that the freeholders have made choice of Joseph Norton, Capt. (Thomas) Daggett, Isaac Norton, Mr Benjamin Smith and Thomas Pease according to their best Judgment, for to divide the Neck called Sanchacantackett Neck.

^Savage Gen. Diet., IV, 336. Essex Antiquarian, V., 169. This John Trumble is the ancestor of the famous Connecticut family of Trumbulls. The name is often spelled Thromble.

^Conn. Col. Rec, I, 162; comp. 3 Mass. Hist., Coll., X, 7. In 1650 John Trumble, of Charlestown, called himself "seaman in the good ship called the Wm. & George" (Aspinwall, Notarial Record, 363).

Granted unto Joseph Daggett, of Tisbury, By the Proprietors of the town of Edgartown that when the neck of Sanchacantackett Comes to be Divided that Joseph Daggett shall have his Part in the place he formerly purchased, so far as his part Comes to in the Place as he shall Chose, he allowing for the goodness of it/

Granted the Day and Year above writen unto John Daggett that when the New Purchase is lay'd out that John Daggett shall have his half share Joyning to his land there, that is to say att Waketequa.^

The limits of this sub-division were afterwards described as "bounded by the road that now goes from the head of Wakequataqua (Lagoon Pond) to John Bolte's, including all the land to the Northeast of said road,"^ which is practically the line now dividing Oak Bluffs from Edgartown. Some years later there was a "misapprehension" of the exact bounds of Sanchacantackett neck as "bounded by a certain path which was then lately made and used, when indeed the said path was new and not the true boundaries which was an ancient foot-path by which the Sachem bounded Sanchacantacket by his gift to the Indians," and a committee was sent to settle the matter. Joseph Norton, who lived on the southermost lot next this path, may have had the original "misapprehension," for he entertained the committee, according to neighborhood tradition, fed them well, gave them plentifully of good old New England rum, and when they had viewed paths, devious and otherwise, they came to the following conclusion: "that the said words - as the road now goes - shall intend the old path, not then wholly disused, and partly still known, especially at both ends, and not the new one."^ This was a little mixed and might mean anything, but it went the way Norton intended. Thus this territory finally came into the hands of the settlers, the freeholders of Edgartown agreeing, in 1673, to divide all of Ogkeshkuppe neck, except the "Farm," which they had endeavored to keep from Daggett.^ This was the beginning of the development of this town as a separate settlement.

^It is difficult, at this distance, to know the motives of Mayhew in resisting this grant to his old neighbor, and until some musty document of the past turns up with the necessary evidence, we can only surmise the cause of his obstinacy when such a clear title rested in Daggett.

Voted that Benjamin Smith, Samuel Athearn and Samuel Smith are chosen to divide Sanchacantackett Neck, purchased and unpurchased, esteeming the land as if lying vacant and unpurchased; and where no grant of the proprietors hath been made shall come int6 a common division, the whole being twenty-six shares, saving always to such as have purchased so far as their rights are to the lands in general on said Neck.^

These were known as the ''Sanchacantackett Shares," and comprised the land west of the Middle line the entire length of the neck from the Gore to the county road leading to Eastville. They were about forty rods wide and extended east and west from the "farm" to the Lagoon.

The First Settler

It is doubted whether the owner ever resided on his "farm." He had a home lot, as previously stated, in the village, and his son Thomas also resided near by, but the son's relations with Mayhew did not permit him to be independent. It is the author's belief that the youngest son, Joseph, was placed upon the farm as soon as he became old enough to attend to business affairs, probably about 1667, when he was twenty years of age, and that he made it his home, and here married his Indian wife. The litigation had driven the father away from the island, and in that year he had taken a second wife at Plymouth, and ever after that resided there, and died in that town. In so far as a guess is of value, Joseph Daggett was the first white man to reside in the present limits of Oak Bluffs, and here, in all probability, his half breed children were born, Alice, Hester and Joseph. He remained here until about 1673, when he removed to the new settlement at Takemmy (West Tisbury).

In this year the father died, and bequeathed the "Farm" in equal shares, to his sons John (of Rehoboth), Thomas and Joseph of the Vineyard. Nothing was done by them, as far as known, to improve this property until 1677, when the three brothers agreed to divide it, on September 6th of that year. The instrument of division is as follows:

^Edgartown Records I, 89. April 14, 1707. The town had confirmed, March 31st, previously, "several tracts" of land purchased by Joseph Norton, Thomas Daggett, Matthew Mayhew, Thomas Harlock, Benjamin Smith, and James Pease of "divers Indians."

Oak Bluffs, Martha'S Vineyard

Know all men whom it may concern that we, whose names are underwritten, have jointly agreed to divide the farm that our father gave to us, lying upon the eastermost Chap of Homes Hole, which farm we, that is John Dogget, Thomas Daggett and Joseph Dogget, have divided, both upland and meadow. The first lott came to John Daggett of upland and meadoe, uppon the northeast, or north northeast: the second division fell to Thomas Daggett, bounded by a marked tree, standing near the head of a meadoe, commonly called the fresh meadoe : and from that tree bounded by marked trees running nearest a north west and by west course, from the aforesaid marked tree the meadoe is bounded by marked trees between the meadow and the foresaid John Daggett's upland, and so to a stake near the pond uppon the meadow, which hne runs towards the northeast; and on the southwest bounded by Joseph Daggett's land and meadow, which bound runs from the westermost side of the cove commonly called the Muddy Cove, where the fence stands at the day of this writing, which fence is the southermost bounds of Thomas Daggett's meadoe: and from the aforesaid fence runs upon the upland, with a straight line towards the southwest, by marked trees, about fifty or sixty poles to a stake or post that is there set down: and from that post upon a northwest and by west line to the uttermost bounds of the farm: which northwest and by west line is the bounds between Thomas and Joseph Daggett: and from the foresaid fence upon the meadoe southerly, with the lands and meadoe upon and about the hummocks, southerly, belongs to Joseph Daggett, with all the upland southerly from the hne that runs northwest and by west, as aforesaid, so far as the bounds of the farm southerly.^

Subsequent Owners Of The Farm Before 1800

This tract of land which was thus divided was situated, roughly speaking, between the head of Squash meadow and the lower part of Farm pond, extending a mile in a north and south line, and a mile into the middle of the neck, forming a square, as near as it could be surveyed and measured in those days. The accompanying map will show the location accurately, and it will be seen that it covers half of the present site of the village of Oak Bluffs. Thomas Daggett, a month later, sold his part to his brother John, of Rehoboth, Oct. 9, 1677,^ and on July 20, 1686, the two joint owners procured from Wampamag the sachem, a confirmation of the original sale.^ He describes the tract as "by the sea, in length, one English mile," and extending three hundred rods from the beach ''into the island." This is a reduction, probably by agreement, of twenty rods in width from the first grant, probably to comprise five hundred acres, as the mile square would make 640 acres. Meanwhile Joseph Daggett was adding to his portion by successive purchases of the Indians, by permission of the town/ but whether the land was occupied by any resident at this period is not known. It would not seem that the land was allowed to go to waste, and it is possible that there were Indian tenants who cultivated it for the owners. On Aug. 5, 1692, John ofi Rehoboth sold his two-thirds to James Allen of Chilmark, estimated at three hundred and thirty acres, ^ and Allen in turn, on March 31, 1703, sold this portion to his son Ebenezer Allen. ^ Neither of the two last named were occupants, as they were land speculators. On Dec. 5, 1707, Ebenezer Allen sold one-third of his tract, or one hundred and ten acres, being the western part, to Joseph and Isaac Norton, who had already become identified with Sanchacantacket property about the Major's cove, and were living there.* Isaac Norton sold the south half of this purchase to his son Isaac, Junior, July 8, 1713,^ and Joseph sold the north half to his son Ebenezer, Feb. 28, 1734, with reversion to his grandsons, Eliakim and Peter, sons of Ebenezer.^ On Nov. 16, 1727, Ebenezer Allen disposed of the eastern part of the two-thirds which he once owned, to John Butler, Jr.,"^ and this last owner, on Nov. 26, 1733, sold this to Simeon Butler, his brother.^ Here Simeon Butler carried on a tannery for a number of years, until 1750, when he disposed of it all to his two sons Ebenezer and Thomas Butler, the former acquiring the northern moiety.^ The northwestern section, which fell by reversion to Eliakim and Peter Norton, was sold by them to Matthew Norton on Dec. 11, 1747,^° and a year later, on Dec. 3, 1748, the last named owner sold this part to Malatiah Davis (one-half), Thomas Claghorn (onequarter), and Benjamin Claghorn (one-quarter).^^ By successive purchases of the first two, Benjamin Claghorn became full owner of this parcel, estimated to contain sixty-five acres, in 1750 and 1758.^ Isaac Norton at that time still held the southwest section, which had been in his possession since 1713. Thomas Butler by his will of 1780 bequeathed his share in equal parts to his sons, William and Levi,^ and the latter, in 1795, sold his share to William.^

Meanwhile, by the will of Joseph Daggett, who retained his original southern third till his death, this division fell to his son, John Daggett, of Edgartown, in 1718/ This portion of the farm remained undivided until after the death of John, when his heirs sold at various times (i 767-1 782) their shares (in sevenths) to Malatiah Davis, and it later descended to his son Benjamin and became known as the "Ben Davis Place. "^

The oldest known name for the region which became the site of the camp meeting, and later the settlement of Cottage City, was of record, in 1660, as Quasquannes. This is probably an Indian's personal name, because the place was so ''called by the English," for it is well understood that the native never bestowed personal names on places. It covered the region comprised in the "farm" of John Daggett, while just north of it was the body of water which was designated by the whites, as early as 1684, the "Squash Meadow" pond and swamp. On the fertile ground surrounding this pond the Indians doubtless had fields of squash growing here when the whites came. The word squash is derived from the Algonquian noun askutasquash, which was the name for this vegetable cultivated by them. The English adopted the plural asquash as a singular noun and formed a new plural, squashes. The portion covered by "the farm" was in the dominion of Wampamog, the sachem, in 1660, who sold it to Daggett, and in 1682 the "Squash Meadow" was the individual property of that Indian from Ipswich, son of the Sagamore Masconomet, known here by his English name of Tom Tyler. Liberty to purchase this from him about that date (April, 1682) was granted to Andrew Newcomb g»nd John Coffin, one-half, and James Covel, James Pease, Isaac Norton, William Vinson and Joseph Norton, the other half. The

The successive chain of ownership of the "farm" down to 1800 has been shown. The possession of the northern part devolved upon William Butler, and he also inherited the Squash meadow tract through purchases by his father and grandfather. He was therefore at the beginning of the nineteenth century the sole owner, and almost the sole occupant, of the territory now covered by the village settlement of Oak Bluffs. His next neighbor to the south was Benjamin Butler (282), who lived at the lower end of Farm pond, and still farther south near the head of Sanchacantacket pond, Benjamin Davis (34) shared with them the solitude of these vast acres of uncleared land. To the northward of him lived Ebenezer Smith on the highland of East chop, while westward on the shores of the Lagoon were the dingy wigwams of the remnants of the Indian race. Over all this section great groves of tall pine and spreading oaks furnished welcome shade to the herds of cattle that browsed in the "Great Pasture" on the borders of Squash meadow, and the only sounds that echoed through these woods were the calls of lowing kine, the bleating of a stray sheep, and the occasional crack of a woodman's axe. This condition lasted for a generation in the first third of the nineteenth century, before its primeval stillness was invaded by a throng of people who were destined to turn it into a "city" of paved streets and electric lights.

The First Camp Meeting

The origin of the town of Oak Bluffs dates from the establishment of the annual "camp meetings" held in an oak grove on the shores of Squash Meadow pond. This location was discovered and recommended to those who had been previously attending similar meetings at Falmouth, Sandwich and Monument, by Jeremiah Pease (776), an enthusiastic Methodist "brother" and local exhorter, and by him it was surveyed and laid out. This grove was on the south side of the pond, and open fields bordered it on all other

'William Vinson sold one-tenth of Squash meadow in 1684, a division consistent with the number of grantees, Newcomb and Coffin owning five-tenths.

sides. It was a part of the Butler estate, heretofore described, and at this period in the possession of William Butler, from whom it was leased for this temporary occupancy.

The first camp meeting held in this beautiful grove was in 1835, and began on Monday, Aug. 24th. The area cleared for this purpose was quite limited in extent, about half an acre. A small rough board structure had been erected with an elevated seat and stand in front to serve as a pulpit. This was called the "Preacher's Tent." In front of this was a temporary altar, consisting of a railing, enclosing a space about twelve by twenty-five feet, with seats to be used mainly by the singers in time of public worship, and as a place for penitent "sinners" to come into from the congregation for prayers, following the afternoon and evening meetings. Beyond the altar were some plain board benches for the seating of the congregation. Nine tents were pitched in a semi-circle around this amphitheatre, together with some canvas shelters for cooking and dining purposes. This was the physical aspect of the first camp meeting at Oak Bluffs.

The Rev. Thomas C. Pierce, a Methodist clergyman was elected superintendent of the meeting, in the absence of the presiding elder of the district, and with a secretary to record its doings the session was opened by Mr. Pierce on Monday evening with an address. Meetings were held daily, morning, afternoon and evening, at which preachers of the Methodist denomination held forth, and the contemporary accounts in Zion^s Herald, the organ of that sect, testify to the success of the encampment from the standpoint of public "conversions" and reclamation of "backsliders." The report of the meeting concludes with a survey of the event in the following words:

We think the number converted during the meeting is very safely computed at sixty-five. The work is spreading on the island. Among those converted during the encampment were men of high respectability. On the morning of the close, when assembled near the stand, some two or three hundred brethren and sisters in the Lord arose from their seats and stood awhile in testimony that God had deepened the work of grace in their hearts during the meeting. Six souls were reclaimed.

The meeting lasted through that week, closing Saturday morning. By a unanimous vote it was decided to purchase the lumber which had been used in the construction of the camp, in order that it might remain on the ground for per- manent use. Collections for this object secured the necessary funds and the owner freely gave his consent to the continuance of the meetings in this grove.

Annually for ten years, in the last week of each recurring August, these meetings w^re held in this grove (1835-1844), of which it will not be necessary to relate the details of each encampment. The general schedule of services was the same every year, in which there were two particular ceremonies, known as the "love feast" and the "parting." At the former all the campers assembled at the preacher's tent and "testimonies" of personal experiences in the religious life were spoken by as many as could be heard in time. The "parting" ceremony w^as thus described: "It consists of walking in procession, two and two, around the area within the circle of tents, singing at the same time some appropriate hymn, and finally all halting, and then each passing by every other one, taking them by the hand and bidding them 'farewell'." This ceremony was most impressive and one which was always attended by a crowd of spectators, who looked on with the deepest interest and emotion.^

Indeed the whole series of meetings was calculated to play upon the sentiment and excite the sympathy of the participants, and often the entire assembly w^ould sit out the night, singing and praying. On one occasion in the early morning during one of these nocturnal "revivals" it is recorded that "several of the companies left the ground in marshalled procession, and moved to the shore singing the songs of Zion." These spiritual exaltations were productive of strange exhibits of religious manifestations. A veteran "brother" solemnly announced that he had seen Wesley in a vision and conversed with him, and in the official report of one meeting we read: "Numbers who are not easily excited were shorn of their strength, and lay for hours without the power either to speak or move. Some who had doubted the reality of such exercises looked on in amazement and exclaimed with the psalmist, 'This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes'."

These meetings grew in attendance both of the campers and spectators in this period. The greatest number of tents was forty, accommodating 1,189 persons, and the greatest attendance of visitors at one service was estimated at three thousand. The management of these immense crowds called for a firm executive hand and an organization to carry out the orders. Rules for the camp were rigorously enforced, and to aid in the protection of the worshippers a state law, approved April 17, 1838, making it a misdemeanor to carry on peddling, gaming or horse racing within a mile limit, punishable by fine or imprisonment, was secured by its friends. In 1838 a lease for five years, beginning Nov. i6th, was signed which secured additional ground embracing the "Great Pasture" on the Butler estate. A name for the camp ground was also selected in 1840, when the campers voted "that the grove be called Wesleyan Grove" and the secretary was authorized to procure and keep a record book for the permanent minutes of this camp meeting. The presiding elder of the district was the superintendent of each meeting each year.

Succeeding Annals, 1848-1858

The meeting for 1845 was held near Westport, Mass., because many thought this island grove had become "an old story" and that amid new scenes the interest and enthusiasm might be increased among the campers. It was felt that the experiment of a change would test this idea and that if it proved a false notion the return could easily be made the following summer. This change of location was also consequent upon the expiration of the lease of the ground in this year. In 1846 the meeting was to be held in East Greenwich, R. I., by vote passed, but enough were wedded to the original location at Wesleyan grove to determine upon a return hither, despite the decision of those assembled at Westport. A new lease was obtained from Stephen H. and Harriet Bradley, the successors of William Butler as proprietors of the land, and the annual pilgrimage hither was resumed.

The annals of this decade are a repetition of the preceding years, with some additional developments and changes. The times of meeting varied from between Sabbaths to a period including that day, and during such times the steamboats would bring large parties for a Sunday "excursion" from New Bedford and the surrounding towns. At first this was objected to by the promoters of the meetings (1847) and the transportation company was requested not to run their boats to the island during the time of the encampment, but this came to be ignored as time went on, and the Sunday services grew to be a feature of the affair. The crowds of spectators increased yearly from about three to twelve thousand on that day, and as a rule excellent order and respectful attention was observed.^ In this period the number of tents in the encampment gradually increased from fifty in 1848 to 320 in 1858,^ the number of occupants correspondingly multiplied and an increase from fifty to a hundred ministers of the gospel. Distinguished visitors also came to see this unique spectacle. In 1858 Governor Banks of this state and Governor Harris of Rhode Island honored the meeting with their presence at different times accompanied by many prominent officials of both states. This same year the famous negro Henson, said to be the original "Uncle Tom" of Harriet Beecher Stowe's well known romance, visited the meeting and "exhorted." It was estimated that there had been up to 1859 over eleven hundred "conversions."^

This settlement of white canvas, laid out in regular form and policed, came to be spoken of as the White City, Canvas City, and similar appellations, and the communicating streets to have fancy or biblical names, much to the disapproval of the elders who saw in these signs the growth of a social and "picnic" spirit that was to be deplored.* This spirit increased despite the frowns of the elders, and in the crowds which came here yearly many converts were made not to the religious features of the meeting but to the beauty of the grounds, and the general attractiveness of the island as a resort for rest and recreation. The temporary tents began to be replaced by small board structures, a combination of wood and cloth on the sides or top, and permanent locations were asked for in the camp ground each recurring year, until the campers finally felt a degree of proprietorship in the spot which they had occupied continuously for a number of seasons.^

^This great increase was due principally to the segregation of families in smaller tents. These "family" tents gave rise to some trouble for the management, and none was allowed to be set up without a letter from the pastor of the church whence the family came.

^Pardon M. Stone of Providence, R. I., spent sixty consecutive summers at the camp meetings, beginning in 1846, a record which is probably without parallel.

by other parties for $6 per annum. This long lease prompted the idea of permanent improvements, and a committee was appointed to arrange a new plan for the encampment, new seating for the worshippers and other necessary fixtures.^ The management varied somewhat, but an ''agent" chosen yearly was the executive head, and as the crowds grew, committees on finance, order and similar apportionment of duty were formed to aid him. In 1856 the ownership of the grounds changed hands and the new proprietor began the demand for a higher rental.^ In 1857 this situation became more acute and a committee was appointed to secure another site for the following year, and purchase it for permanent occupancy. This had the effect of bringing about a compromise. The property was reconveyed to the original owners, Stephen H. Bradley and wife, and a new lease for a term of ten years, beginning at the termination of the current lease (1861), with privilege of renewal or purchase at market value, was secured by the committee of campers. Thus protected the meeting in 1858 authorized the borrowing of a thousand dollars for use in permanent improvements on the grounds, and incorporation was agitated by a considerable number. This was the inception of the settlement which afterwards became Oak Bluffs.

The succeeding decade, 1 859-1 869, is merely a continued story of the marvellous growth and enduring features of this famous camp ground. The attraction of this beautiful oak grove had left its impress on the memory of all who had ever visited it, and as their number yearly increased the loveliness of the location and the possibilities of the island as a summer home became more generally known to thousands of people from all parts of New England. The original religious purpose of the meeting gradually found a strong competitor in the desire and custom of many of the campers to make a prolonged stay before and after the meeting for social and personal enjoyment. The grove, which seemed a hallowed fane to many, soon began

'This committee consisted of Preston Bennett of Providence, Henry Tobey of Falmouth, Isaiah D. Pease of Edgartown and five clergymen, including the Presiding Elder of the district. This meeting still remained distinctively a Methodist affair.

^In 1855 the officers had begun negotiations looking to the purchase of the camp ground, but "such were the terms named by the proprietors that the committee recommended not to purchase." As aptly said in another place, it was "an institution," the like of which was not in all New England.

to ring with the laughter of happy children and resound to the shouts of exuberant youth spending their vacation days here. Permanent cottages began to be built about 1859, the first one of which was erected by Perez Mason of Fall River in that year. From that time on these buildings increased with each recurring meeting, and the grove began to take on the semblance of a settlement in the wilderness. About 1865 the noble oaks which had afforded shade for the campers began to succumb to the effect of this kind of occupancy of the soil from whence they derived nourishment, and one by one they slowly died. The crowds became enormous as the years passed, reaching twenty thousand on Sundays, and much injury was inflicted on the trees under those conditions. A number were cut down in a decayed condition at the amphitheatre, and the seats beneath were shaded by an awning of sail cloth containing over three thousand yards of canvas. In the outskirts of the camp ground boarding houses and restaurants sprang up like weeds, while now and then peddlers, hawkers and street fakirs would attempt to ply their trade from tents or booths erected outside the lines of the sacred territory. As time went on the original character of the meeting was lost in the hurly burly of such thronging thousands, most of whom came for a "day off" and were prepared to have it in one way or another. The days of prayer and meditation had passed away and the season of elaboration and bustle had superseded. Nor was this the only change in the character of the "institution." Heretofore it had been exclusively a Methodistic concern, but one by one preachers of other orthodox denominations would be heard frorii the pulpit. The first of these "jvas a Presbyterian clergyman in 1858, but the principal faith of these outsiders was Baptist, of whom we shall hear more in later years.

This situation had its logical sequence. The demand for land for building purposes followed, and the organization of promoters of real estate interests came as a necessity. The - first of these companies was composed of the leaders of these meetings, the "Martha's Vineyard Methodist Camp Meeting Association," so called, which received its charter from the Massachusetts legislature in i860. The incorporators were twenty-four in number: Jeremiah Pease, Henry Bradley,

Willet, James D. Butler, H. S. White, and William B. Lawton. The property which they controlled was that known as the "Camp Ground" south of Squash Meadow pond, bounded easterly by Circuit avenue and westerly by a line drawn southerly through Sunset lake.

In 1866 a number of gentlemen, with the intent of making a summer home for their families and developing the place as a resort, purchased the territory lying between the land of the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association and the sea. These persons became incorporated in 1868 under the name of the "Oak Bluffs Land and Wharf Co." Their grounds were laid out in lots and avenues, reserving many acres for public parks. Restrictions as to the sale and use of these lots protected the residents from disreputable surroundings. This property began at the present harbor jetty, thence along the beach to a point opposite the head of Farm pond; thence crossing the head of Farm pond to Sea View avenue, and along this thoroughfare to the first named point.

In 1868 the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, finding itself precluded from the extension of its grounds in an easterly direction, and feeling the necessity of securing room for future growth before it should be surrounded by private corporations, over which it could exercise no control, purchased a tract across the pond. There was considerable opposition to this as a financial speculation and a prospective burden for the association, and after consideration this tract w^as transferred to private parties who had consented to assume the purchase. These gentlemen having been joined by several laymen and clergymen of the Methodist church, perfected an organization called "The Vineyard Grove Company" and in 1870 it was incorporated. Capt. William H. Phillips of Ta^unton w^as its first president, and Rev. J. D. King the agent. Additional land was purchased until more than two hundred acres were held by it from the pond to the lighthouse on East Chop, and all east of Kedron avenue. Roads, parks, circles, drives and plank walks were laid out and a wharf constructed for the convenience of landing by large steamboats or smaller craft. It was adopted by the Camp fleeting Association as its official landing. A hotel was soon erected and this section of the town began to grow rapidly. The board walk skirting the pond, 3,500 feet in length, fifteen feet wide, containing nearly 200,000 feet of plank, was lined each summer with booths and ''bazaars" and became for a while the central promenade for the throngs of visitors every afternoon and evening.

Various other tracts to the northwest of this property were exploited in the following years: Belle view Heights and Sunset Heights and bordering on the Lagoon came Bay View and Lagoon Heights. Other sections felt the stimulating effect of this feverish growth, and plots of land called by the fanciful names of Green Meadow, Forest Hill, Oak Grove, Harbor Heights, Prospect Heights, Sea View Hill, Grove Dale and Ocean View found ready purchasers at equally fancy prices. Up to 1872 the "boom" was continuous and genuine, and upwards of a million dollars must have been expended in improvements made by the various companies and promoters. The panic of 1872-3, however, put a stop to this excitement, and property values fell and real estate languished. In time this condition righted itself and since then the growth has been steady and normal.

Almost on identical dates with the formation of the Methodist Society here the local Baptists organized the Oak Bluffs' Baptist Church, April 13, 1877, at a meeting held in the Worth Building (so called) on Circuit avenue. Irregular meetings had been held in this place for a number of months previous to this date under the spiritual guidance of Rev. George F. Lewis of the Vineyard Haven society. Fourteen members presented letters of recommendation from various churches and became the founders of this society, viz: Zebina E. Berry and wife, Worcester, Mass.; Samuel N. Davis and wife, Rhoda N. Linton and Electa Wadsworth, Vineyard Haven; Job H. Gorham, North Tisbury; Tristram Cleveland and wife, Lucy P. Smith and Thomas H. Norton, Edgartown; and Mrs. Henry T. Luce from a defunct church. Zebina Berry was chosen deacon, and Job H. Gorham, clerk of the new society. Ten additional persons were baptized on the first Sunday following, and the society has been in a prosperous condition ever since, a period of thirty-three years. Services were held in various places during the early days, houses, halls, etc., until July of the following year (1878), when the present house of worship, situated on the corner of Pequot avenue and Grove street, was completed at a cost of about $3,000, exclusive of labor donated by the members. It was dedicated the following month during the sessions of the Baptist camp meeting that year, and through the efforts of the Camp Meeting Association and the summer residents the balance of the debt on the structure was cancelled and the church was made free of incumbrance prior to its consecration. This support has been continued annually in the same generous way to meet the current expenses. Mr. C. B. Erwin, of New Britain, donated the bell, and later, by will, left a legacy to the society to enable it to maintain services. Six deacons have served since the establishment of the organization: Tristram Cleveland, Samuel N. Davis, Shubael L. Norton, Alonzo Pike, William H. Davis and Job H. Gorham.

Since the formation of the society 151 persons have been enrolled, of whom 41 have died, 29 transferred, and 13 dropped, leaving 68 as the present membership. In 1905 the church building was enlarged and improved at a cost of over $1,000. The present deacon, and clerk (Lucy P. Smith) are the only survivors of the constituent membership gathered in 1877 under the ministrations of Rev. Mr. Lewis. The succession in the pastorate has been as follows: Geo. F, Reid, of Edgartown, supply, 1879-80; Jesse Coker, of Vineyard Haven, supply, 1880-1; Thomas W. Crudgintor, 1882-4; O. W. Kimball, 1884-9; Alfred Fairbrother, 1889-91; J. E. Dinsmore, 1892; E. D. Mason, 1892-4; George W. Fuller, 1895-7; Ernest W. Dow, 1897-9; F. F. Thayer, 1899-1900; George W. Fuller, 1900-02; S. A. Dyke, 1902-07; George F.Newhall, 1908 (present incumbent).

The Methodist Church

The local society of this denomination is the outgrowth of the general camp-meeting spirit in which the Methodists have been such a prominent factor. On April 15, 1877, the Rev. J. D. King organized a "class" with about forty members at a meeting held at the residence of Capt. Joseph Dias. This w^as the beginning of the present society, but as there was no meeting-house available for them, Sunday and other weekly services were held in a small public hall over the offices of the

Cottage City Star. On June 3, 1877, the members entered into a formal organization, and the Rev. G. M. Hamlen was appointed first pastor and held the office for three years. It was a period of activity and enthusiasm, and during his pastorate Trinity M. E. church was erected at a cost of about $10,000, located on Trinity circle. Since that date Grace chapel, adjoining the church, and a parsonage have been added to the facilities for denominational work. The society numbers 73 members at the present time. The succession in the pastorate has been as follows

The Rojian Catholic Church

Between the years 1872 and 1880 a large number of the Catholic denomination were found in this vicinity during the summer months without any chance of attending service. A few of these persons, seeing the need, and desiring to keep in touch with their church, took steps which led to services being held from time to time at a private residence. Among this number was a Mr. Henry Magetts, a poor man, who lived as a butler in the family of a lady who spent her summers here. Mr. Magetts, seeing the need of a suitable place of worship, decided to purchase a lot of land and give it for the benefit of the Catholics of Martha's Vineyard, and the lot now occupied by the little Church of the Sacred Heart was purchased.

At that time the Rev. Fr. McMahon was the parish priest of St. Lawrence Church, New Bedford. It was to him, it is understood, that Henry Magetts gave the deed of land, as well as a sum of money to begin the building of the church. When Fr. McMahon was made bishop of Hartford he was succeeded by the Rev. H. J. Smith, the present pastor of that church, in whose parish this Vineyard mission belongs.

1896 mass was said here only during the two months, July and August. During the time of Fr. Smith's charge, the interior was plastered, the building was clapboarded, a new gallery erected and a new platform- for the altar, as well as carpets and dressing table, were supplied. In 1896 the church came under the direction of the Rev. Fr. Neares of St. John the Baptist parish, and his assistants.

Fr. Martins, one of the assistants, did much to beautify the church. During his administration a tower was erected and a fine bell placed there. Mr. John Murphy of Roxbury at this time presented the church with the stations of the cross, a set of white vestments and an altar lamp, Miss Dolan of New York giving the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fr. Neares had built a new altar and put in new pews and a furnace.

It has been customary in the winter to have mass on the third Sunday of each month, and the children have attended a Sunday school under the superintendency of Miss Maria J. Golding and her assistants. Mass is now said each Sunday, which is attended by the church members from all parts of the island. The resident pastor now (1906) is the Rev. Patrick E. INIcGee, a native of New Bedford and a graduate of Holy Cross, Worcester, and of the American College at Rome. He assumed charge of this parish mission in February, 1903.

In 1882 the leading spirits in the Summer Colony, desirous of maintaining religious services under the ritual of the Protestant Episcopal church, organized a society for this purpose and adopted the name of Trinity Episcopal Church. While it was nominally of this sect, yet it had no official relations with the Massachusetts diocese, to which it should belong, and it is, to all intents and purposes, an independent society using the name of Episcopal because the services conform to the ritual of that denomination and its pastoral supply is always taken from the ministry of that church. The Rev. Dr. J. W. Shackleford of New York City and attached to the diocese of New York was its first pastoral supply, and for many years returned to guide its summer services. It has never been anything beyond a vacation church for the summer visitors, and is open only about three months of each year. The liberahty of summer tourists and the non-resident members enables the management to provide attractive musical artists drafted from metropolitan choirs to render the vocal parts of the church ritual, and the singing has always been one of the features of this anomalous church, v^hich survives without any affiliation in the denomination to which it nominally belongs. At a meeting held Aug. 25, 1883, the building committee reported that it had completed its duty, and the church building was free from debt. The following named persons were then elected as trustees of the society to attend to its secular affairs: J. J. Crane, M. D., J. C. Carey, John M. Crane, all of New York; H. A. Tucker, M. D., Brooklyn, N. Y.; Col. Nicholas Van Slyck, Providence; Holder M. Brownell, New Bedford, and A. J. Burgess of Cottage City. The value of the church building and lot when ready for occupancy was about $5,000, and it has had considerable interior improvements since then. The last report of its communicants gave the number as twenty.

Union Chapel

Certain of the summer residents, not identified with either of the preceding denominations, organized the Oak Bluffs Christian Union Association, in 1880, for the purpose of providing religious services which should be undenominational in character. This body erected a meeting-house which they called Union Chapel, at a cost of about $6,000, and it was opened for service by the late Rev. S. F. Upham, D. D., who for many years after preached the first sermon annually at the beginning of the summer. The musical portion of the services has always been a distinguishing feature, the talent being drawn from the many celebrated singers who make this town their mecca during the vacation period.

The earliest reference to educational matters in this section is to be found in 1755, when Peter Norton, Henry Luce and Malatiah Davis were chosen a committee ''to determine where the school shall be keept in the farm neck."^ This was then a part of the school system of Edgartown, and these arrangements were made to accommodate the pupils of the

Sanchacantacket and Eastville districts. It is not known where the school-house was located, if one existed at that time, as it is doubtful if any were built so early. Owing to the scattered settlements of Farm neck it is probable that a "moving" school was kept in this section and held in private houses. In 1775 it was voted to hire two schoolmasters, and the town was divided into two districts, and school-houses for each were decided upon. Ichabod Wiswall (1704-82) was probably the first teacher in this district, called the North West and later Homes Hole district, and the usual "tradition" verifies this.^ The earliest school-house known was situated about thirty rods southeasterly from a dwelling house on the site where the residence of Isaac W. Norton now stands. In 1 771 such a school building existed in the "North West division" and provision was made for its repair and the hiring of a master.^ In 1776 the school committee for this division was Ebenezer Smith, Samuel Smith and Ebenezer Norton. At this date no settled policy in regard to the maintenance of schools in this section seems to have been adopted, and the records give but little information as to the actual conditions of its educational facilities. The money raised for schools varying from year to year was divided proportionately, and the

^The town voted, in 1782, to sell this school-house to the highest bidder, the proceeds to be applied "for the use of a school" (Edg. Rec, II, 8). district committees were empowered to spend it in buUding or hiring school-houses or teachers as each saw fit.^ In 1795 Shubael Davis, Ichabod Norton and Samuel Smith, 3rd, were the committeemen for the Homes Hole division. Small appropriations only were available prior to 1810, probably less than $100 annually for this section, and it need not be estimated how much could be done with this amount of money.

The rapid growth of the town, following the Camp Meeting period, necessitated the construction of school houses to accommodate the increasing population, A new building was provided for Eastville at a cost of $850, and another for the Highland section at a cost of $2,300. In 1880 these two schools housed seventy-five scholars, and at that time $700 was allotted for the expenses of maintaining same, two teachers being employed. The appropriations for schools for this district of Edgartown was one of the subjects for the annual wrangle of the taxpayers prior to division of the town - each side claiming that injustice was done in the allotments. The amounts expended in 1810, which we have seen to be about $100 per annum, are an example in contrast to the conditions existing now.

Settlement At Major'S Cove The Line Of Norton Magnates

The acquisition of land about this inlet of Sanchacantackett pond began with a purchase of some meadow by Nicholas Norton, at an unknown date, of Thomas Sissetom, one of the petty chiefs of that region.^ The transaction is not of record, and the deed is not now known to be in existence.* It was about the "Wading Place," probably in the vicinity

'In 1800 the entire appropriation for schools was but $300, to be divided among four districts. In 1802 it was but $200, and in 1S04 it was increased to $350. In 1816 only $150 was appropriated. In 1825 the money was divided by the number of scholars in each division. In 1832 the sum of $450 was appropriated for schools.

^Inhis will Norton bequeaths to son Joseph "a tract of land lying at Sanjacantacket joyning to the mill Creke which I bought of Mr. Sam," but the town records give Sissetom. Perhaps there were two purchases.

^Information of Medical Director, B. H. Kidder, U. S. N., who states that he had seen the deed, and that it was taken to Boone, Iowa, by this deceased brother, I. N. Kidder, and lost after his death, in 1878.

of Miober's bridge, and was held by him in the same way that many tracts of land were found to be in the posession of the whites, by a private purchase of the natives' "rights." This meadow was thus described in the records:

The abovesaid land v.-as Layd out at the head of the swamp near Mr Boults farm taking Beginning at a Oak marked by a fut path at the head of the swamp which Joyns to the wading place and runneth in its Southern Line By the said Path towards Wil Lays Plain about 73 Poles; and from said Tree westerly to an old stump on a hill near the old Path that goes to homes hole: which stump is distant from the said tree about 50 poles: and from said stump southwesterly seventy three Poles to a tree marked on the side of an hill; from thence crossing over at the fore said path to a marked tree about seventy poles. ^

On Jan. 28, 1684, he had "liberty granted to him to purchase a piece of land that lieth against his meadow at Sanchacantackett."^ This was the beginning of the long and extensive ownership of territory by this family in that section. On Sept. 20, 1686, Matthew Mayhew, as patentee sold one hundred acres at the "Wading Place," which took its first bound mark on the southeast, at Miober's bridge, and for over two centuries "Bolt's Farm" has been a local landmark in that vicinity. Boult sold it in 1 703 to Israel Daggett, and it finally came into the possession of Joseph Norton, and has ever since been a part of that ancient inheritance.^ It is probable that Nicholas Norton utilized the small brook which runs from a marsh into Sanchacantacket pond for a mill site, as the remains of a dam are still visible, and there are references to it in the early deeds of that region.* There is no evidence that he resided here, and it is probable that he never did. By his will, 1690, he gave "all my meadow at Sanjacantick" to his son Benjamin, upon certain conditions, which it is quite certain he fulfilled, as in 1726, this property was sold to James* Pease, who in turn disposed of it to Matthew Norton in 1731, and on the same day Matthew sold it to Ebenezer Norton.^

*This brook separates the farms of Henry Constant Norton and B. H. Kidder. There was a mill here, according to tradition, for grinding oak bark for tanning purposes; and as it is surmised that Nicholas Norton was a tanner, the tradition probably has some foundation.

1652, and it is supposed that he built his house here about 1700, perhaps when his son Joseph, Junior, on his marriage, succeeded to the father's house on the Mill path. The new house built by Joseph at Major's cove was about ninety rods northwest of Miober's bridge, and about eight rods northeast of the road, and a part of it was standing one hundred and fifty years later. He was the first of a long line of local magnates who ruled in this domain for two centuries. He was easily one of the most distinguished citizens of Edgartown during his lifetime. Although politically opposed to the ruling family, yet he surmounted these difficult conditions, and held the highest offices in the gift of the government. He was connected with the "Dutch Rebellion" in 1673, but in 1675 had been forgiven, and was made marshall, constable and water bailiff, of the General Court. He was chosen overseer (selectmen), 1682; county commissioner, 1684, 1686, 1695; proprietors' agent, 1687; and when the island came under the Massachusetts jurisdiction, he was recommended to Sir William Phipps, by Simon Athearn, as "being a man of Curag(e) & a good Estate," and the Governor appointed him marshall in 1692, on this recommendation. He was appointed justice of the King's Bench, 1695, ^^d was generally known thereafter as Justice Norton, in the records, although he held the place but a few years. He was again high sheriff in 1699, a position with which he is more particularly identified, one as dignified in those times as that of judge. A number of stories are told of his commanding influence over the Indians, who held him in great awe, on account of his majestic figure and his fearlessness. He lived to the ripe old age of 89 years and ten months, dying Jan. 30, 1742, leaving a large estate. Among the personal effects he bequeathed to his son Ebenezer was a "silver tankard," from which may have been sipped that seductive potion of choice rum which was served to the committee on the bounds of Sanchacantackett. This son succeeded him in the possession of the ancestral acres at Major's Cove.^

Ebenezer Norton, born about 1691, was the second to occupy this property, and built himself a house about half way between Miober's bridge and the homestead of his father, probably about 171 5, when he married, and during his oc-

*Dukes Probate, III, 139. This tankard descended to Peter, son of Ebenezer, who bequeathed it to his son Ebenezer (1741-1805), who went to Maine and it is probably an heirloom among his descendants (ibid., VII, 203).

cupancy of the place until his death, April ii, 1769, he added a part of Felix neck and some outlying land to the original estate. His life seemed to run in less public channels, and but little is found about him on the records. He was selectman, 1738; school committee, 1738, 1739, 1742, 1745, and was prominently identified with the affairs of the church during his lifetime. It is stated by descendants that he was a lieutenant of the militia. It is related that when on his dying bed he saw the winding sheet, which had been prepared for him in advance, bleaching on the lawn in view of his bedchamber. The family hogs were noticed by him rooting around this piece of fine linen, and he called out to the astonished family, "Drive those hogs away from my winding sheet! It will not be fit to bury the Devil in!" He had two sons, Eliakim, the elder, and Peter; and the legendary lore, which is thick about this family and its paternal acres, gives us the further tale of a disagreement which these two brothers had about a cosset lamb, and that Eliakim gathered up his personal belongings, and went to a "far country" settling at the North shore. The younger brother remained at home.^

Peter Norton, third of the line, was born Sept. 9, 1718, and renewed in his person the martial spirit of his grandfather, Joseph. His house, probably erected about 1740 when he married, was situated a few rods west of that built by his grandfather, and from it could be seen, in his day, the curling smoke rising from thirty wigwams of the Sanchacantacketts. His property by gradual increase bordered the entire western cove of the great pond, and for him it received the name of Major's Cove, which it has ever since borne. Peter Norton was of a military turn of thought, and in 1756 was captain of the Edgartown company, and on Aug. 8, 1761, was commissioned as Major of the Dukes County regiment, raised during the French and Indian wars.^ Like his father he was interested in the schools, and served on the school committee many years. When the Revolution broke out he was too old to enter that war, but acted upon committees to prepare for the defence of the town. He was commissioned high sheriff, Oct. 24, 1776, by the Provincial authorities, and held the

'The slight value of "tradition" is illustrated by this legend, for it is of record that Eliakim and Peter Norton together bought several pieces of property in Chickemmoo in 1747 and 1748, which would seem to dispose of the reason alleged for Eliakim's departure from the paternal roof at the age of thirty because of a quarrel over a pet lamb (Dukes Deeds, VIII, 12, 13).

position for many years/ When the Baptist sect came to the island after the Revolution, Major Peter became identified with it, and was, by reason of his commanding influence, a leading light in that church. He died Feb. 3, 1792.^ Five of his sons removed to Maine, and the family homestead fell in 1792 to Ichabod, his youngest son but one.

Ichabod Norton, born Dec. 17, 1762, inherited the northern half of his father's estate, the southern portion having been alienated during the lifetime of his father. He remained a bachelor inheritance gradually growing in value by judicious investments, through many years, aided by few personal wants, he became the wealthiest man of his time upon the island. His property was largely in real estate, both here and in Maine, in vessels, and in mortgages, and these conditions of thrift and simple personal habits gave rise to the most conflicting stories, both of his wealth and of his miserly habits. The truth probably lies between the two extremes, for while it was true that he lived in a house that had all the signs of dilapidation about it and the surrounding premises; did not keep a carriage,

'This appointment was made upon the recommendation of Chief Justice Joseph Mayhew, who said that Norton preferred to be a Colonel of the militia (Mass. Archives, CXCIV, 20S).

because, as he said, he had to keep a dozen for others, referring to those used by his debtors; exacted the last dollar on notes and mortgages, and all the added attributes of a "close" man, yet it is conceded on the other hand, that he gave much privately to charity, in his own way; was just to the deserving poor; always had a kind word for children and was merciful to all the animal kind. His habits were formed in youth, as he said, from a need for economical living, and being a bachelor, his life at best was a narrow one, which turned for its companionship to a ''fool nigger" named Harry, or as the absurd individual explained his full name, John Harry Monus John Peter Tobirus Peter Toskirus Peter Tubal Cain. Whence he came no one knew, but for fifty years he presided in the kitchen of "Uncle" Ichabod, and became one of the characters of the neighborhood. He was a confirmed monomaniac on the subject of wars and martial matters, though perfectly harmless, and his conversation was largely a confabulation of historical gibberish, which led those who knew him to believe he had been in the service of England, probably in the naval forces. He pretended to be in communication with individuals below the surface of the earth, and if halted by a question he would mysteriously repeat it, in a solemn manner, and turn his ear to the earth for the answer. Prompt news servite was always to be had, for Harry would answer in a few seconds, "Admiral Hawke fought 'em sir, and has taken forty ships," or some such trivial mummery. There is an excavation on the Ichabod Norton place as large as a good sized cellar, made by him, still known as "Harry's Hole." When he planted melons he would put an old iron pot in the middle of the patch, "for a model for the melons," he would explain.

No refining influence of wife or children came into the life of this lonely man, Ichabod Norton, yet he was very human, and could find it to his taste to cause a legend to be put over his fireplace: "Deal justly, love mercy, walk humbly," and doubtless he tried in his contracted homeless life to do all these three things, and probably succeeded in each of the requirements.^ His will, dated Sept. 28, 1843, and proven Oct. 18, 1847, is probably the longest on record in the County registry, containing bequests to about all of his relatives, many friends

^"Reformation" John Adams gives this picture of Ichabod Norton: - "He has but few of the comforts of this life and lives on coarse food. We ate, prayed and wept over him. He gave us two dollars tribute money." (Autobiography, p. 451.)

and a charitable legacy. At this time there were fiftytwo of the grandchildren of his father living, and all were remembered, presumably. After his death, the farm was further sub-divided, and the long line of local magnates was broken.^

Isaac Norton, elder brother of Joseph, and probably the eldest son of Nicholas Norton, also became one of the early landed proprietors and residents of the Sanchacantacket region, finally settling on the north side of Major's Cove. His first investment was about Squash meadow, with several others, in 1683, and on Jan. 28, 1684, he was granted a lot on the south side of Tacloiash's field. ^ About 1688 or 1689 he bought the Indian "rights" to the fertile little neck, since called Pecoy, of Ezekiel Pauknessimmun,^ and this he added to a lot previously bought of Maquaine, in 1685, "in consideration of an iron pot and other goods."^

House Of The Five Isaacs

He built his house on the north side of the W'Quahti-pog pond, a commanding position, perhaps soon after the purchase, and thus becomes, next to Joseph Daggett, the earliest settler in this region, on Ogkeshkuppe neck. This house was given to his son Isaac (37) in 1713, and he in turn deeded it, in 1 72 1, to the third Isaac (113). Isaac, Jr. had sons Isaac, Stephen, Henry, and Shubael, of whom the first two were bachelors, and lived according to tradition in the east half of the house, and Shubael, the married brother, in the other with his family. By will the shares of the unmarried brothers went to the fourth Isaac, son of Shubael, and he was in turn succeeded by the fifth and last of the name to live in this house of notable family history.^

'Many of the facts about him have been obtained from a biographical sketch of Ichabod Norton prepared for the press by James Athearn Jones, of West Tisbury, and published in pamphlet form for private distribution, in 1S48, by the executor. It was intended as a vindication of Mr. Norton. The historical portion, purporting to give a sketch of his ancestors, is painful in its errors. It does not seem possible to crowd more mis-statements into a few pages devoted to the early generations of Norton s than there appears.

*Ibid., Ill, 25. When the neck was divided these purchases were confirmed to him, but he was obliged to make restitution to the other owners of the six-and-twenty shares.

Settlement At Onkaw And Quinniaaimuk

The extreme northern end of the eastermost chop became a settlement apart and distinctive before the i8th century. The nearest settlers were at Major's cove and Farm pond, and a stretch of several miles separated them from their neighbors. This locality, next to Chappaquiddick, was the last stand of the Indians of the town, and during the following century and a half the smoke from their wigwams rising skyward could be seen from any house in this region.

The sachem Wampamog, in 1669, gave the first tract of land here in severalty to the sisters, Alice and Keziah Sessetom. In the quaint language of the native the sachem deeded to them a tract "at the place called Quannaamuk":

It is the will of me Wampamog that the eldest called Ales Setum should have the breadth of twenty-five rods and that she that is called Keziah Setum should have the breadth of fifteen rods: both these to have same wedth now said at the pond and so upward as far as Daggetts bounds: I, Wompamog say this is firmly and of right theirs because I have divided this quantity of land to them, even to Ales and Keziah Setum, the daughters of Thomas Setum: it is theirs I say and all their oft'spring for ever: or if they fale, to go to their kindred: may they in peace enjoy this land for ever for I will never alter this nor shall any that defend my Sachemship do this; but let these peacefully enjoy the said land even Ales and Keziah.^

It will be recalled that this Alice Sissetom (or Setum) was the Vineyard Pocahontas, the Indian wife of Joseph Daggett. Part of this land subsequently descended to Daggett's daughters, Esther and Alice, the half breeds.^

The First Settlement

There were various early purchases by the whites in this region, Richard Sarson in 1686, Thomas West in 1692, and Isaac and Thomas Norton and Robert Cathcart in 1698, but it is not believed they had houses there.

Edward Cottle, Jr. was the first person who lived at Onkaw, the ancient inheritance of his wife's Indian grandmother, Alice Sissetom. He was there as early as 1695, ''where he had a dwelling house," and he may be reckoned as the

^See Court Records, 1690; Joseph Daggett vs. Jacob Norton and James Pease, Jr., suit for trespass with verdict for plaintiff. In 1698 a tract forty rods wide, same quantity as given by Wampamog was sold at public vendue to Jacob Norton. This may be the identical land.

first settler of the region subsequently known as Eastville.^ Here he was surrounded by Indians of the Sanchacantacket tribe, of which tribe his children were quadroons. It is probable that he was the sole resident of the English race in this place for the ensuing twenty-five years.

Benjamin Smith of Edgartown had been granted, in 1704, a tract of thirty acres, and although he did not settle here he bequeathed it with other property here to his two sons, Thomas and Ebenezer, and the latter settled on the land (now The Highlands) about 1725 and it became an inheritance to succeeding Ebenezers of this family for several generations.^ A new settler, in the person of John Cunningham, came to Eastville in 1725 and bought land of Cottle at various times^ for the ensuing ten years until his death, and he was followed by another stranger, John Cousins, about 1730, who acquired land in the same vicinity. Theophilus Pease and Thomas Claghorn moved up here from Edgartown at the same time and settled in Eastville. A third stranger, Malatiah Davis, made the first of his many purchases here in 1744, and his descendents for several generations were identified with the httle settlement. He was followed by David Davis in 1759, another stranger to the Vineyard, and not known to be related to the earlier Davis residents. These two families resided here for the next century, intermarried and became specially identified with this settlement.

This was a neighborhood full of the romance of the sea, and these new settlers brought to it the additional mystery of family "skeletons" from other regions, as will become detailed in the sketches of their lives. The men of this little hamlet got their living from the deep in all lines of endeavor, and not the least of their sources of supply was that seemingly ghoulish business of wrecking, of profiting by the unfortunate deodants of the storms and tides of the Vineyard sound. Whether justly or in humor this place was known in local parlance as the "Barbary Coast," in token of the avocation of most of its people, and many weird tales are told of the hard bargains driven with luckless skippers who had drifted on the treacherous shoals of these waters.

So far as is known, the first individuals here professing to be Methodists, were two colored persons, John Saunders and his wife. They had been slaves in the state of Virginia. By extraordinary efforts and rigid economy they had been enabled to purchase their freedom. They set out in a vessel bound to some port in Massachusetts, which stopping for some cause in Homes Hole harbor, these persons concluded to land at Eastville. They arrived in 1787 and remained in this vicinity several years. John, being an exhorter (having as is understood held this position among his fellow slaves) preached occasionally to the people of color, at "Farm Neck." It is represented that he was highly esteemed by them, but it does not appear that any society was formed as a result of his labors. In 1792, Saunders removed to the adjacent island of Chappaquiddick, where there was also a settlement of colored people, where his wife having died, he remarried, and where he also died in 1795.^ In the early part of the same year of Saunders' decease, 1795, the justly celebrated Jesse Lee, the pioneer of Methodism in New England, visited Martha's Vineyard. This settlement was the second place he visited and the following entry appears in his journal relating to the event:

It may be presumed that the host of Lee was a convert to the new doctrine, as in those days of religious intolerance itinerant preachers would not be entertained by those of other denominations. There is, however, nothing of record to show any establishment of regular services here following the visit of this pioneer. The ministers assigned to the Vineyard circuit

^For some of the facts in this sketch of early Methodism the author is indebted to the kindness of Mrs. Fanny A. Deane, of Edgartown, who loaned the manuscript of a "Centennial address" prepared by her father, Rev. Hebron S. Vincent, and delivered, in 1884, before one of the annual gatherings of that denomination at Cottage City.

^There was an impression, although not a very prevalent one that at sometime late in the eighteenth century, Dr. Thomas Coke, afterwards Bishop, stopped in a partially wrecked vessel at Homes Hole, when passing along the coast. But of the correctness of this tradition there is no substantial evidence. Following him in all his nine voyages to America, there is nothing to indicate that he ever came to our island under any circumstances.

probably held meetings here, and one of the earliest, if not the first, to embrace the faith and teachings of this sect was Joseph Linton, whose house was used for the public services. In 1 82 1 a "class" was in existence, and the itinerant for that year makes numerous references to meetings which he conducted on ''the east side of the harbor."^ Private houses continued to be used until about 1840, when a small structure was built on the old road leading to Cottage City.^ The leading spirit in this local mission at this time was "Uncle" Jeremiah Pease who drove up from Edgartown every Sunday for years and preached in this rude structure," without money and without price." His only reward was a bountiful dinner at "Brother" Linton's, after service. In 1842 the Rev. John Adams notes in his journal a visit to Eastville after an absence of twenty years and adds: "I preached in the httle Methodist house to twenty-four hearers." This may be an indication of the numerical strength of the society at that date.

The development of the annual camp meeting services about this time and the growth of the settlement about Squash Meadow pond, which subsequently became known as Oak Bluffs, resulted in the abandonment of the building and the discontinuance of services here. After a fitful career this little meeting house passed into the hands of the Ladies Aid Society of the M. E. Church of Cottage City. In 1888 the disused building was purchased by Mr. T. W. Chapman, who moved it to the Vineyard Highlands, where it forms the main part of the house now occupied by his daughter. It still shows the remains of hand hewn shingles and hand-wrought nails on its roof.

From all the information obtainable it is not understood that there was any organized church of this denomination in this settlement. The persons holding that belief, resident here, were members of the societies already formed in Tisbury or Edgartown, and merely joined in a temporary manner for convenience of worship.^ Services were held in private

'One of the earliest members of this church was "Daddy" Richardson. His views were characteristically expressed when he said that "Nobody could be baptized in a pint porringer."

houses before 1840, usually conducted by a lay member. About 1845 ^ small edifice was erected by Mr. Obed l^uce from the contributions of the worshippers and their friends, aided by volunteer labor. It was built on the old road leading from Eastville to Cottage City, on land owned by Mr. Shaw Norris, who gave the use of it, free of rent. Itinerant preachers of this denomination held services here from time to time to supplement the regular supply of the laity. Jesse Pease was an early preacher, followed by Tristram Cleveland, Solomon Athearn, and John Mayhew. This chapel was a small unpainted structure without ornamentation. The passing away of these laborers and the improved church privileges at the Wesleyan Grove camp ground caused the abandonment of this primitive structure and the services of these earnest lay exhorters.

The abandoned edifice was sold by the surviving members to Benjamin A. Norton, who dismantled it and hauled it to North Tisbury, where it forms the main portion of his house.

The only public houses in this town, prior to the growth of Oak Bluffs, in the last half century were situated at Eastville. This place was a hamlet made up mostly of taverns and ship chandlers' shops, where the seafaring man was accustomed to tarry voluntarily, or by force of circumstances. East Indiamen, with their rich cargoes, anchored off this compact village awaiting orders from Boston or Salem, or to recruit their stores with fresh supplies of food and raiment. Beef, mutton, poultry, vegetables, corn, rye and other island produce found a ready sale, for cash, or in exchange for rum, sugar, coffee and other "foreign" luxuries. It was the custom in those early days for the captains and crews of these ships from foreign ports to remain on shore while in the harbor, and these homely taverns gave ample entertainment, with their hyge fireplaces, bountiful kitchens and general good cheer. An itinerant tailoress or a cobbler was usually within call to make or repair a depleted outfit, and the housewife, aided by an Indian woman and some of her older daughters, managed this motley household without friction or loss of dignity.

Thomas Claghorn 1730-83; who was succeeded by his widSw, Susannah Claghorn, 1784-6; John Cunningham, 1 731-2; John Cousins, 1731-65; Thomas Pease, Jr., 1751-87; David Davis, 1759-67; who v/as succeeded by his widow, Sarah Davis, 1768-87; Ebenezer Smith, 1786-1806;^ Malatiah Davis, 1 798-1 806. Most of these taverns were in one neighborhood, convenient for the shipping interests, which furnished the most of their patronage. That they were the scenes of jolHty at night when ''Jack" came ashore is evident from what we know of their character. John Cousins was indicted in 1733 "for sufering Disorders in suffering fidhng, singing

Now The Oliver Linton House

& Dancing" in his tavern, but the jury acquitted him. The subsequent owners of these houses continued the business of tavern keeping till about the middle of the last century. One still survives, the Eastville Inn (1907), as a last relic of this

'It was at the tavern of Ebenezer Smith, during the War of 1812, that Captain James Lawrence, U.S.N., was a frequent guest. During one of these visits, in 1814, a son was born, who was given the name of James Lawrence in honor of this distinguished officer. It is stated that the gallant sailor made a present to his namesake, besides cutting off a gold button from his coat as a token of the event. This boy was the late Capt. James Lawrence Smith of Vineyard Haven.

the New England shores. Then, as now, the sick or disabled sailor was put ashore here for care and treatment, and at the period which we are considering he was ''boarded out" at one house or another under the supervision of the local physician. It was often impossible to obtain shelter for them when they were suffering from contagious diseases, for it must be remembered that small pox was then a prevalent scourge, as the practice of vaccination had not become established in this country. The Vineyard had suffered from it in 1738, in consequence of an epidemic introduced by a sick sailor who was put ashore at Homes' Hole in December of that year. No shelter could be obtained for him, and he was sent back again to the vessel, which was bound for Boston, where the man was detained at quarantine until he recovered [Records, Selectmen of Boston, 1738, vol. xv., p. S8]. Several persons died in this epidemic, including the local physician, Dr. Matthews, and many families had two and three of these cases at one time in their houses. Doubtless this incident was repeated often during the last century, and the danger of promiscuous "boarding out" of sick sailors, the inhumanity of turning them away when sick with contagious diseases, stimulated the leading citizens to meet the necessity of establishing a marine hospital at Homes' Hole. The following memorial was presented to the General Court in January, 1798:

The memorial of the Subscribers Justices of the Court of Common Pleas and General Sess. of the Peace in Duke's County shows that they from a sence of their Duty and out of Humanity to their fellow men think it Highly Necessary that a Hospitle should be built on the Island of Martha's Vineyard for the Reception of Such Sick Seafaring men as frequently arrive at the harbour of Holms hole with the Small Pox and other Contagious Distempers who cannot always git received on Shore by reason of the great Difficulty in gitting houses theefor. We should further Suggest that the West side of Holmes-hole Harbour would be much the most Convenient place for such a Building.

In less than a month favorable action was taken by the General Court upon this memorial, and on February 17, the following order was passed:

Resolved. For the reason set forth in said memorial, that an hospital shall be built on the Island of Martha's Vineyard at or near the harbour of Holmes Hole, for the reception of such sick persons as may arrive there from sea, that the same shall be erected at the discretion and under the direction of his Excellency the Governor of this Commonwealth, and that his Excellency be requested to appoint some suitable agent or agents for the purpose of carrying this resolve into effect, and that there be allowed and paid out of the public Treasury, a sum not exceeding seven hundred dollars, to defray the expense thereof/

In accordance with the authority vested in him by this resolve, the Governor, Increase Sumner, appointed two agents for superintending the construction of the hospital, viz:

Council Chamber, Boston, Feby. 17, 1798. In pursuance to the above Resolve, I do hereby appoint James Athearn, Esq., of Tisbury, and Beriah Norton, Esq., of Edgartown, agents for the purpose of carrying this Resolve into effect and the said agents are hereby directed to make a return of their doings to me as soon as they can conveniently. (Council Files, 1798).

Notwithstanding the petition asked the General Court to locate the hospital on the west side of the harbor (now Vineyard Haven), the agents purchased one half acre of land bordering on the Lagoon (then a part of Edgartown) of Malatiah Davis, Esq., of Edgartown.^ From the widow Jane Smith and her son Ebenezer they bought a "low double" house then standing on the Highlands of East Chop for the sum of $210, and from the testimony of an aged man, the grandson of Malatiah Davis, we learn that this house was moved across the fields and set in place upon the site selected.

The account printed below gives the complete expenses of the commissioners, and shows that they were a little over a year completing their task. The account is especially remarkable, however, from the fact that the building was constructed within the appropriation.

^Paying therefor $25.00, and the deed conveying the property to Peleg Coffin, Treasurer and Receiver General of the Commonwealth is recorded in the County registry, Vol. XIII, folio 538.

By Cash reed, of Peleg Coffin, Treasurer, by Warrant from the Governor Agreeable to a Resolve of the General Court Past in Febury Last $700 .00

This building was put to immediate use, and adjoining it a little cemetery was early begun by a local physician who had the charge of the institution. A well preserved slate stone records the following epitaph to the memory of probably the first sailor who died in the hospital : ^

Memory Of Samuel Lockwood

Unfortunately no records of the hospital are known to be extant, and nothing remains of a period so far back, excepting some few accounts and letters about the years 1826 to 1830 in the files of the Custom House. By that time, however, the old hospital had been abandoned as such, according to the memory of an old resident (Mr. Ichabod Luce), who thinks that it was occupied as far back as 1824 by an old fisherman (one ''Daddy" Richardson), as a residence. Others confirm this evidence that it was abandoned as a hospital after a number of years, and after the death of Richardson it remained unoccupied and later was razed to the ground.^ An old cellar, which still marks its site, and near by a few grave stones, moss covered and out of plumb, are the only existing memorials of the first hospital for sailors built upon the Vineyard, and the second in the United States, specially designed for the sailor in his days of sickness, the pioneer of the system of Marine Hospitals which, for nearly a century, has ministered to his wants. ^

^There is also a stone in this enclosure to the memory of John Gates, of Portsmouth, N. H., "who died at sea April 30, 1828, aged 44." It bears a masonic emblem.

^George ("Daddy") Richardson was remarkable for his memory of the Scriptures, and many believed he could repeat the whole Bible as he never hesitated to give without error any chapter called for. He knitted seines and presumably acted as nurse in the hospital.

'The honor of its possession belongs to the State of Virginia, which, Dec. 20, 1787 passed a law establishing a marine hospital and authorizing the appointment of a commission by the Governor to select a site in the town of Washington, County of Norfolk, Virginia (Hening's "Statutes at Large," Vol. XII, p. 494). In the "New Hampshire Spy" of Nov. 4, 1788, there will be found a letter from Norfolk, under date of Sept. 24, 1788, which contains a paragraph relating to the laying of the corner-stone of this hospital. It was completed the next year and in 180 1 sold to the United States.

The Strange Story Of John Cousens

Over the early settlement of this hamlet the mysterious advent of John Cousens, and his selection of the Vineyard as his permanent home, casts a romantic shadow. To begin with his antecedents and progenitors we must go far away to the Spanish main for a background, and as far back as 1667, see the beginning of his complex ancestry. Capt. William Sanford, an English master mariner, commanding the Pink ''Susannah," lay at anchor in the River Surinam, Dutch Guiana, and on March 27 of the year mentioned, married Sarah Whartman on board his craft. The next year he came to New Jersey, bought a large tract of land at New Barbadoes and settled down to the life of a gentleman planter. Here was born to him a daughter, Grace, who grew to womanhood, and when this period arrived there came to the Province of New York to rule it as the Royal Governor, Richard Earl of Bellomont, sent over by King William and Queen Mary. In his suite of officials was Barne Cosens of London, who came as secretary to the Earl and served as Clerk of the Provincial Council. He was the second son of John and Mary (Barne) Cosens of the parish of St. Clement Danes, London, born about 1674, and while it is not known that his father's people were specially prominent, it can be said that the Barnes were of high social standing in the English metropolis. Three of them had served as Lord Mayor of London within the century before the birth of Barne Cosens, and a number of them enjoyed the honors of knighthood. On April 28, 1697, this favored member of the Royal Governor's entourage led Grace Sanford to the altar, and we may assume for the present that there was the usual domestic bliss following the union. At all events three children were born to Barne and Grace (Sanford) Cosens, Mary, John (1700), and Sarah, and then trouble ensued between the parents. What it was we cannot say, but Barne Cosens evidently considered it necessary to leave on public record his last words of condemnation of his wife and the mother of his offspring. After the death of Bellomont, in 1 70 1, Barne Cosens remained in office under his successor and served as Escheator General for three years, and then shortly after returned to England, never to revisit these shores. Before he sailed away he drew up his will, Dec. 5, 1706, as "about to take a voyage to England," and after making bequests to his three children added the provision regarding his wife that she

"shall not on any acco't whatsoever have or obtain Letters of Administration of my will or of my estate or have anything to doe with the education of my children or any of them."^ Barne Cosens left this stigma on his family escutcheon and went home to die. He deceased between that date and late in 1709, when the widow Grace, "of the Cittie of New York widow and Rehct of Barney Cousens," made her last will and testament. In it she bequeathed to her daughters ''all that my one Third part of my Late husbands estate which ought of Right to belong unto me;" and to her son John is devised the sum of £50, besides other amounts to relatives.^ She survived until 1 721, when her will was probated, and the only son had arrived at his majority. Shortly after he had left the opportunities and advantages of the American metropolis, and before 1725 we find him hidden from the world in the little hamlet on the west shore of Homes Hole.^ Why did this scion of these gentle families so closely associated with the ofhcial court circles of England come to this distant isle of the sea and make it his home ? Was it to obtain forgetfulness and oblivion for some family skeleton ? We may never know, but the rest of his life is an open book. He married, about 1725, Jemima (102), daughter of Thomas and Hepsibah (Skiff) Norton, and thereafter the couple lived at Eastville, where three daughters were born to them. John Cousens kept a tavern, as was the fashion in those days, for over thirty years, until his death, which occurred Nov. i, 1765, in the 65th year of his age, and his wife survived him scarcely four years. His daughter Mary married Moses Ogden of Elizabeth, New Jersey, and from her descend many distinguished families of New York, including Pierrepont Edwards, Governor and Senator Edwards of Connecticut, the wife of Eli Whitney the inventor, and John Cosens Ogden, the author and divine. The next daughter, Anne Frances, married Colonel Beriah Norton, and Sarah the third daughter, married David Davis of Eastville. John Cousens was not a tavern keeper nor a wrecker by birth or association, and his life of exile on the Vineyard, away from kith and kin, doubtless conceals some strange secret. It is doubtful if anything more definite will ever be knoM-n which can throw further light on the subject. The moss-grown slate over his grave tells us but little, but we can believe that it marks the last resting place of a descendant of the Lords Mayor of London/ Surely a strange story for this sedate island.

The Wendell-Da Vises

Another family of New York origin, possibly related to the Cousens of the same state, became settlers of Eastville about 1750, and for several generations were identified with it. The first of the name in this country is said by family tradition to have been Barne or Barney Davis, a surveyor, who settled in Albany, N. Y., and left a son, Thomas. The further tradition is that this Thomas married Catherine Wendell, but it is evident that the tradition is partially wrong, as the records do not bear out the statement. Catherine, daughter of Evert Jansen and Maritje (Abrahamse) Wendell of Albany, born 1667, married Thomas Millington in 1699, and had among others Mayeke (Mary), baptized April 28, 1700, and she is the one who probably married Thomas Davis. This merely places Catherine Wendell one generation back. Thomas and Mary (Millington) Davis had two sons baptized in Albany, Thomas, Aug. 26, 1722, and David, Sept. 13, 1724, and shortly after the family of seven children removed to North Carolina. They settled at Yeopim on Albemarle Sound in that state, where the two boys, Thomas and David, lived until they were brought North, about 1737, to Plymouth, Mass., to be educated. Thomas remained in Plymouth, married there and became the ancestor of a distinguished family, including Judge John Davis and William T. Davis, the historian of his native town. David later settled on the Vineyard at Eastville, where he engaged in the occupation of pilot until his death in 1768, being lost in Boston bay in a storm. He married Sarah, daughter of John Cousens, Oct. 3, 1750, and two of his children, bearing the names of Wendell and Sanford, and their descendants perpetuate the names of their paternal and maternal ancestors to this day.

Descendants of the sons and daughters who remained in North Carolina are to be found in that State, as well as in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. The name, however, has become almost extinct upon the Vineyard.

*The town clerks, parsons and stonecutters of Edgartown, and all who had to record the unusual name of his grandson, Barne Cosens Norton, struggled hard to make it Barnabas, thinking it was a contraction of the biblical name. It is probable the name was pronounced in two syllables.

Col. Malatiah Davis

'M^&TtdA^^^^'^ name in Eastville, of which Malatiah was the progenitor, is not related, as far as known, to the Wendell-Davises who settled here about the same time. It is said that Malatiah came here before 1740 from Falmouth, but it is possible that Falmouth, England is meant, and that he entered the employ of Thomas Butler in the tannery business of the latter. Davis was then about twenty-three years old (born about 171 7), and soon after this he married Jemima Dunham (131), by whom he had eight children. He was prosperous and thrifty in business and became a man of prominence in the community, a large land holder and a leader in town affairs. He was identified with the militia. Ensign in 1761, Lieutenant 1765, and was known as ''Colonel" in later life, probably through his promotion to that rank. He died Jan. 9, 1795, in the 79th year of his age. His son Malatiah married Mary Cousens Davis of the other family, and thus united the two houses of Davis in Eastville.