Tisbury Town (part 1 of 5)

Tisbury Town

The town of Tisbury, incorporated July 8, 167 1, included the present town of West Tisbury, the region originally settled by the early proprietors, - and the limits of the town remained intact, territorially, until May i, 1892, when as a result of a long continued agitation, the old town was divided. The portion formerly known as Homes Hole Neck retained the corporate name and ancient records of Tisbury, and the settlement at West Tisbury, where the town had its first beginnings, took the latter name.

The present town of Tisbury, in consequence of this division, represents but a moiety of the original limits of the old town. Its boundaries are as follows: -

The boundaries on all other parts are water; included within these limits is the village of Vineyard Haven, which contains the greatest portion of the population of Tisbury.

This was the ancient name bestowed by the natives on all the territory covered by the village of Vineyard Haven, in the present town of Tisbury. The Sachem Ponit, in 1682, calls himself "of Nobnocket alias holmes his hole," and his jurisdiction extended north of a line drawn from the stepping stones to the head of Tashmoo, to include the entire neck. Eliot uses an adjectival prefix in various forms to indicate *'dry," one of which forms is Nunnob, which he abbreviates to Nob (Isaiah, XI, 15; XLIV, 3). In the Narragansett dialect the nasal sound of N is heard before the vowel, which accounts for the intrusion of the N in Nobnocket, giving us an etymology of Nob(n)ocket, meaning at the dry land or place. This may indicate that the original Nobnocket was a place where the Indians settled on the shore, an enclosed place, a designation which afterwards was extended to include the whole region above described as Ponit's Sachemship.^

Homes Hole

This is the oldest place name on the Vineyard, dating from 1646, when "the eastermost chop of homses hole" is first mentioned, only a quarter of a century after the settlement of Plymouth. The word "hole," as given to a small inlet of water affording shelter to boats, is of common occurrence in this region. Familiar instances are Woods' Hole, Robinson's Hole, and Quick's Hole, and the prefix in each instance is probably derived from personal names. In our case, however, it has another origin, which is doubtless aboriginal, as it is probably derived from "Homes," meaning an old man (Roger Williams, Key.), and the entire name signifies "old man's hole." A similar place name, with identical variations in orthography, is found on Long Island at North Sea - Holmes Hill, which in early records was called "Homses" and "Homses Hill."' The word "homes" indicates decrepitude as applied to an aged person, and probably was applied to an old chief who made this place his abode when the first settlers, in 1642, came to the island. This name was retained for nearly two hundred years, when it came to be changed to Holmes Hole, after the spelling of the family of Holmes who had settled here in the previous century.^

^Southampton, L. I. Records, II, 310. In a note to an Indian deed of 1663 there is found this: "and there lived an old Homes and his sonne, &c." (Smithtown p. i)

^Dukes Deeds, VIII, 53. The Holmes family of Vineyard Haven are descended from John Holmes, first of the name, who in 1760 became a land owner on the Vineyard.

The name of Holmes Hole became officially eclipsed in 1 87 1, as a result of persistent agitation on the part of a number of residents. The original name had in it but a faint suggestion of dignity or character, and to hail from a "Hole" was a source of chagrin to many of its inhabitants when traveling abroad. A number of substitutes were suggested, including Tisbury Harbor and Vineyard Haven, and the latter finding the most favor with the majority, it received its confirmation on Feb. 21, 1871, by the general government, when the Post Office Department officially adopted the name for the office. This new title is a more euphonious and appropriate name than -its predecessor, as the harbor has been the great haven of the Vineyard from time immemorial, and doubtless this last christening will survive for many generations.

Population

There being no separate enumerations of the residents of the present town of Tisbury prior to the division in 1892, only fragmentary evidences are available to enable us to form an estimate of the population at long intervals, before that date. In 1700 the families of Thomas West, Isaac Chase, and Edward Cottle comprised all the known residents in the present town limits, and the three households numbered 27 persons of all ages and sexes. In 1750, by a computation of the families known to have lived here at that date, West, Chase, Wheldon, Daggett and Norton, a total of about 100 souls can be placed, of which the Chases furnish 40, Wests 30 and the rest is divided between the others. It makes no account of transient residents, of which there were doubtless a goodly number, as happens in every seaport.

In 1775 a map of Homes Hole and the present town limits, including the eastern part of Chickemmoo, shows forty-one houses, which can be estimated as containing forty-five families of five each, comprising a total of 225 persons. An examination of the national census of 1790 enables the author to locate about 350 persons in the town limits on that date. In 1807 a writer who investigated conditions in the county stated "there were about 70 houses in Homes Hole."^ Adding fifteen for Chickemmo, and estimating that they housed one

In 1838 another writer stated that there were about 100 dwelling houses in Homes Hole, and from a similar calculation, allowing for an increase in Chickemmo, we can estimate about 700 persons residing here/ In 1850 the number of inhabitants in Homes Hole, "extending to the head of Pond and Sylvanus Luces" was 1074,^ showing for the first time an increase over the western half of the original town. Nothing further is available in subsequent enumerations until the census of 1890, when this town had, in round numbers, about 1050 persons. The census of 1900 showed 1149 inhabitants residing in our present town limits, and the state census of 1905 showed a population of 11 20.

Ancient Landmarks Algonquian Place Names

Ashappaquonsett, (1671). - The modern form is Chappaquonsett. It is probably from the Algonquian words, Ashappaqu'un-es-et, meaning "where the nets are spread," that is, to dry. The name seems to belong to the creek which forms the outlet of Tashmoo Lake, and the definition applies perfectly to the low sandy formation of that region, where the Indians had one of their chief fishing stations.

Kuttashimmoo, (1671). - All the early deeds refer to a spring called Kuttashimmoo, the etymology of which is represented by the Algonquian Keht-ashim-ut, meaning "at the great spring." It is variously spelled, Ketesshumue, Catashmoo, and is now shortened to Tashmoo. The name belongs to the spring, but it was early (1682) applied to the pond into which it flows.

Komoquisset. - This name, with a variation of Cumaqueast, occurs in 1691 in a deed to Thomas West, and relates to a place included in his purchases in this region. From analogy it is probable that it means the "place of the house," perhaps that of the Sachem of the locality.

Maneh-chahhank-kanah. - This name was applied to the deep valley, now called "Chunk's Swamp," a corruption of the middle portion of the Algonquian word, a result that usually happened in similar cases. The meaning of it is "the fenced planting field," a place probably set off by the Indians for their cultivation.

Machequeset. - This was a swamp on the east side of Tashmoo, so called in 1729 (Deeds, IV, 342, 347). It is probable that the same word appears in another form, Chaqusitel, a corruption of (Ma)chaqu(e)sitel, as "caled by the Indian Sachem and Indians" (ibid., IV, 26). It means the "poor or miry place."

Qussuck-quea-qiieatess (1684). - This was a spring in the Kuttashimmoo region, and may be another designation for the "great" spring itself.

Uquiessah. - This was the name given to Little Neck. It occurs in other places on the Vineyard, and has the significance of a boundary term, "as far as" or the "ending," or terminations of some land or property.

Weaquatickquayage (1673). - This name, denoting the land at the head of Lagoon pond, is spelled in a variety of ways, owing to its complicated formation. The more modern form is an abbreviated one, Weahtaqua, and it is sometimes spelled Webbataqua, which is fanciful as well as incorrect. It occurs frequently through New England, and an early instance of it is on the neighbouring island of Nantucket. It is a compound of We-a-qua-tukq-auke, which is a word meaning "land at the head of the tidal cove." In the Court records of 1685 the bounds of "homses hole neck" were adjudged by Samuel Tilton and Thomas Mayhew as arbitrators "to have bin set by towonticut by a fut path which gose from weakuttockquayah unto cuttashimmoo on the other side of the neck." Matthew Mayhew wrote it Waquittuckquoiake (Deeds, I, 69). "at holms his hole or the Springs at the head of that Cove called Weahtaqua" (Mass. Arch., CXII, 422; dated June, 1692) shows the gradual elision.

English Place Names

Bass Creek. - A salt-water creek which emptied the Lagoon. Its original course may have been midway of the beach which separates the harbor, but before 1781 it had cut a channel along the line of Water street, and was six or seven feet deep a century ago. Small draft vessels entered this creek and discharged cargoes on the shore adjoining the "Great House" and other inns in that vicinity. It derived its name, probably, from an incident occurring in the winter of 1778 following Grey's Raid, when a large number of bass were frozen in the creek and furnished food to the impoverished inhabitants.

Ferry Boat Island. - The larger of two grassy islands in front of the Marine Hospital is called Ferry Boat, because it was the landing stage of Isaac Chase's ferry in colonial days.

Lagoon. - This body of salt water was originally called the harbor of Homes Hole, and later, until about 1740, Waketaquay pond or some form of that Algonquian place name. It is first of record as the ''lagoon of salt water" about 1743, as far as known, being then so called in a deed.^ From that time forward, this name was applied to it with increasing frequency, until it had supplanted all other names. It is an English derivative from the Spanish and Italian words laguna (Latin lacuna), meaning a lake in general terms. In the restricted sense it is applied to a lake or body of water on a coast, formed by a belt or reef of sand thrown up by sea action. This is the actual topography of our Lagoon, but by whom it was so called at first is not known. The word may have been applied by a Spanish or Italian salior who happened in the harbor, or by a resident who had sailed the Spanish Main and learned the significance of the word.

Mantefs Hill. - The high land on Main street which has its summit near the present Sanitarium. It derived its name from Jonathan Manter (62) who married Sarah Chase (102) in 1755, and began a series of purchases of land in Homes Hole neck two years later, through which he became one of the largest land owners of his day. His property extended from the harbor to Tashmoo, and in the house which he built on this estate, probably about 1755-6, was born, in 1757, his daughter Parnell, one of the "Liberty Pole" heroines.

Mount Aldworth. - A name recently applied to the high land on the Edgartown road, overlooking the harbor. It was erroneously bestowed under the supposition that Martin Pring landed here in 1603, but reference to Vol. I, p. 78, disposes of that theory.

Rand's Hill. - The first high land .on the State highway to West Tisbury, after leaving Vineyard Haven village, was called Rand's hill a century ago. It derived this name from

Red Coat Hill. - A name sometimes appHed to the first high land on the State highway after passing Tashmoo, on the way to West Tisbury. It is said some accoutrements of a British soldier were found there, probably the relics of Grey's Raid.

Slough. - A small marshy pond near the Arnoux estate on the West Chop road. It was in existence in 1725, but has recently been obliterated by improvements to the property in that vicinity.

Sale Of West Chop By Indians, About 1 663-4

It is probable that for many years subsequent to the settlement at Edgartown, West Chop, like its opposite neighbor, East Chop, remained uninhabited by whites. The first intimation which we find of the settlement of English on this territory, which was uniformly called Homes Hole neck, is undoubtedly found in the following letter from Thomas Mayhew, Sr., to Gov. John Winthrop, Jr., of Connecticut, regarding a purchase made of the Indian sachems, Poketapace and Pesoonquan, by Thomas Layton and Peter Tallman, two land owners, and possibly residents of Edgartown.

I desire youe to resolve me if any man can possesse that he doth purchase of the heathen, without the leave of the pattentees. Under correction I thinke not: because the land is absolutely conferred on the pattentees & successours as firm as possible can be, by the state of England & all the pattentees graunt to such ass in freinshipp with them are assured to holld it: so it is in this pattent & in your pattent, as I take it, a coppy whereof I have seene. I suppose your sellfe can tell if any such liberty to be taken or not, in a word or two by any leave from his Majestie: to me it annyhilates pattents. Tis my case: I hope to receive a word about it. Thus with my service to your kind and deservedly honored sellfe I rest

What reply Winthrop made to this communication is not known, but the position stated by Mayhew was unquestionably the proper and legal one. The exigency caused

Mayhew to act for the protection of his vested interests on the Vineyard, and he called together the principal Indians of Taakemmy for a council about the sale of lands within their territory, and on Aug. 24, 1664, Papamek and twenty-nine other "gentlemen and common Indians" agreed with Mayhew that there "shall be noe land sold within the bounds of Takemme without the consent of the two sachims .... that is Wanamanhut (and) Keteanum." And they further declared "that John Poketapace (and) Mr. Pesoonquam weer never owners of the land sold to Peter Tallman: and we all agree as one man to withstand and reject that bargain."^

It appears that when Thomas Layton and Peter Tallman, who had been residents of Rhode Island, living in Portsmouth and Newport respectively, made a purchase of Homes Hole neck of those two Indians, they did so without the consent, and possibly without the knowledge, of the patentee. When this purchase occurred is not known, as no record of it appears, but it was prior to 1664, when the above letter was written and the council of Indians held. Whether Layton and Tailman purchased it for occupancy or as a speculation is also equally indeterminate, but it appears that about 1667 the two purchasers authorized Francis Usselton, also a resident of Edgartown, to take possession of the Neck in their name and behalf, and that acting upon this authority he did so, remaining for some months in occupancy as their agent.

Usselton is therefore to be reckoned as the first white man to establish a residence in the present limits of Vineyard Haven. Where his house was cannot be determined, but he has left his name upon the fine headland down the neck, known as Husselton's Head, a corruption of the settler's surname. In the division of the Chase property in 1726, the sixth lot was bounded by a "stake standing on the south side of a hollow called Usingtols hollow," which is the ravine just south of the Head, represented by the lane leading to Edward C. Lord's store. It may be surmised that here was the temporary abiding place of Francis Usselton, which gave it the name. This man first appears in New England at Wenham, Mass., where he married Sarah Barnes, Nov. 25, 1655, our first record of him, and there two children of this marriage are entered, viz: Mary, born Aug. 17, 1656, and John, born Sept. 20, 1657.^ The Essex County Court files furnish considerable evidence that Francis was a litigious man, as he is either plaintiff or defendant in civil and criminal suits in 1659 and 1660, a number of times; in the latter year he is called of Topsfield, the town adjoining Wenham. When he came to the Vineyard can not be accurately determined, but the first recorded date is Dec. 2, 1659, which overlaps that of record in Topsfield.

He must have come here about 1661, as the last date of his appearance in Essex County is Oct. 8, 1660, and we can rely on the correctness of those, as they are original records, while Edgartown has only an abstract of her first books. His first appearance here is in the Courts, in which he sued Thomas Jones for defamation, and James Pease sued Usselton for "Belying his wife." Both these cases, which are entered at one session of the court, may be related to one matter. It appears that Usselton bought at one time forty acres at the Elizabeth Islands of Thomas Mayhew, Sr., but the exact date is not known, and his earliest change of abode might have been to that region. Whatever the facts, he soon disappears from view after his eviction from the squatter rights he assumed in behalf of Layton and Tallman. As our first resident, however, his name should be perpetuated where it has had a standing for over two centuries.

Eviction Of Usselton

Mayhew brought suit against Layton and Tallman for trespass on the part of their agent and recovered judgment. Armed with this authority he delegated Richard Sarson, John Eddy, John Gee, and James and John Pease of Edgartown to go to the Neck and dispossess, forcibly or otherwise, Tallman's and Layton's representative. Whether this was accomplished forcibly or peaceably does not appear, but that it was effectual is of record. On the i8th of June, 1667, as a reward for their services, Mayhew deeded Homes Hole neck to these five persons, Sarson, Eddy, Gee, and John and James Pease, which he divided into six parts, reserving one-sixth for himself "in consideration of their reall indeavour to dispossess and keep out intruders from the same land presumptuously without

After leaving the Vineyard, Usselton went to Newport, R. I., where he got into difficulties of a similar character. He was banished from that Colony about 1670 or 1671, but undertook to defy the authorities, as appears iDy the following record relating to the affair: -

Whereas, ffrancis Uselton was by the last Generall Court of Tryalls sentenced to depart this Island, and not to return without leave of two Magistrates; and he the said Uselton; contrary to the said Court of Tryall's sentence, comeinge into the towne of Newport and publickly walkeinge the streetes in the time of the Assemblys sittinge, which being taken notice off, and he sent for into the court, to answer for his contempt, instead of giveing the Assembly satisfaction; he the said Uselton, upon orders to the court to depart, as he was goeinge out of the Court turned back and did pubHckly in the Court Jeere the authority in a scornfull manner, saying to the Governor, * ' Your honorable wife, ' ' and "I thanke your justice," with many other scornefuU contemptuous carriages; for which misdemeanure and contempt, the Court doe sentence the said Uselton to be forthwith whipt, with fifteene stripes.

And alsoe it is ordered that the said ffrancis Uselton shall forthwith depart the CoUoney; and if he shall come to abide in any towne of this Colloney hereafter it shall be in the power of any two magistrates to cause the said Uselton to be sevearly whipt and sent away.^ (Dated June 6, 1671.)

Subsequent Sales By The Six Shareholders

As previously stated, none of the six shareholders remained here for settlement. All of them disposed of their rights in the following manner: First, Richard Sarson sold his sixth to Thomas Trapp, Feb. 12, 1669. Second, John Eddy exchanged his sixth with the proprietors of Tisbury for a proprietor's share in the town of Tisbury. Third, the share of John Gee became a source of subsequent litigation because of his death in 1669, and the removal of his heirs to the mainland. Fourth, James Pease sold his share to Thomas Trapp Jan. 31, 1669. Fifth, John Pease conveyed his sixth Aug. 26, 1669, to Thomas Lawton. Sixth, the sixth remaining vested in Thomas Mayhew passed by inheritance to Matthew Mayhew.

'Dukes Deeds I, 239. He sold "so much right in all that land that is claymed by Thomas Layton and peeter Talman of Road Island, ner holm's his hole uppon the Vineyard."

The sixth belonging to John Gee, as before stated, remained in abeyance for many years and requires particular examination. It appears that his widow, Hazalelponah (a name^ the like of which has never before come to the author's knowledge), removed to Boston with her three daughters, Mary, Martha, and Anne. The widow married Obadiah Woods of Ipswich, as his second wife; and according to contemporary testimony, when he brought his new wife to Ipswich from Boston it was "the talk of the times," whether because of her name or his second venture does not appear. Of the daughters, Mary married Thomas Pickering of Greenland, N. H., Anne married Samuel Hodgkins of Gloucester, and Martha married Thomas Cotes.

Mary Pickering, in 1730, laid the foundations for her claim to the property rights of her father in Homes Hole neck by a deposition showing her parentage, and further depositions are on record establishing the marriage of the widow Gee and her daughters. Mary (Gee) Pickering sold her rights to her kinsman, Amos Merrell of Boston, in 1730, who in turn disposed of the share to Joseph Callender of Boston. The rights possessed by the other heirs do not seem to have been asserted.

The ownership was now vested in Thomas Trapp, twosixths; Thomas Lawton, one-sixth; Proprietors of Tisbury, one-sixth;^ John Gee's heirs, one-sixth, and the Mayhew estate, one-sixth. Isaac Chase began to buy these shares in 1676, and by subsequent purchases in 1682, 1683 and 1699 had acquired all but the share belonging to John Gee, and a fractional portion held by William Rogers.

Joseph Callender, who had acquired the Gee interest by purchase, as above stated, entered suit against Abraha;m Chase, one of the heirs of Isaac, in an action of ejectment, at the November term of court, 1733, claiming one-sixth of Homes Hole neck. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Callender, and Chase appealed. The claim of Callender was finally sustained, and Chase quieted this obstacle to his complete ownership of the Neck by purchasing from Callender for £185, July 19, 1734 (Deeds, VI, 44). Mary Pickering, the surviving daughter of Gee, living at Greenland, N. H., gave a quitclaim to Chase also, and his title was finally satis-

'The proprietors of Tisbury sold the Eddy sixth to Samuel Tilton, Isaac Chase and Jacob Perkins. Jacob Perkins and Isaac Chase sold to Samuel Tilton H of Homes Hole Neck, Oct. ii, 1676 (Dukes Deeds I, 283). Samuel Tilton sold his § of J^ to William Rogers in October, 1609 (Nantucket Records III, 17).

The Neck Joined To Tisbury

In order to place this outlying territory under a settled jurisdiction, Governor Mayhew decided to join it to the town of Tisbury, recently incorporated, and in 1673 he made the following assignment of his rights in the soil to the new township : - ffor as much as I Thomas Mayhew have received some instructions from the governor generall Lovelace of the Province and for the peaceable goverment and wele ordering of this Island called Marthas Vineyeard and a certain necke of Land on the west sid of holmes harbour being purchased and like to be Inhabited by English men where for be it known unto all men by these presents that I do for myself heires and assignes grant & assigne the s'd necke of Land to belong unto the s'd town Tisbury on the Vineyeard that the said necke and Inhabitants and estats theire being to be lyable owe and to pay all pubUke charge with the town of Tisbury as they may be justly rated upon their Lands persons or estats and they to remain and continue untill the sd necke of Land be a particuUare township of itselfe or with other lands adjacant

In the following year Isaac Chase, probably in company with Samuel Tilton and Jacob Perkins, all of Hampton, N. H., and related by marriage, came to the new town of (West) Tisbury with a view to a permanent settlement. All were young men, Chase recently a widower of 24, Perkins 34 and Tilton 37 years, and they decided upon Homes Hole neck as the place where they would build their new homes. Chase was refused permission to settle, but later the town allowed him the privilege.

They first acquired the two sixths interest in the Neck belonging to the town (the Mayhew and Eddy shares), but the partners of Chase decided shortly after to leave for other places. Tilton had been granted a home lot in West Tisbury, and later he removed to Chilmark.

supposed he brought his wife and family with him to the Vineyard. His residence here was of short duration,'^ as he incurred the enmity of the Mayhews by testifying against Thomas Daggett in the suit against James Skiffe, 1673, and from that time on his lot was not a happy one. Little persecutions followed on each other, until he sold out his interests here in 1676, and settled at Succanesset (Falmouth).

In 1682, Thomas West, who had been a resident of Tisbury, living on the west side of Mill river, sold his property at that place to Arthur Biven and chose his new home at Nobnocket, adding himself and family to the Chases, already at Homes Hole. He bought of Ponit, the Sachem, son and heir of Cheesechamuk, the old Sagamore of that region, thirty acres of land Feb. 8, 168 1-2, "with liberty to build a house." This tract was on the site of the U. S. Marine Hospital, and was the first of many purchases made by Doctor West of land adjoining this homestead, until he had acquired several hundred acres on the west side of the Lagoon, as far south as the head of that inlet and towards Kuttashimmoo beyond the state highway.

Another resident of West Tisbury followed Dr. West to this new territory, in the person of Edward Cottle, who in 1695 made his first purchase of land bordering on the Lagoon, and extending half way towards Kuttashimmoo. It is not known when he came here to reside, but as he sold his home lot in West Tisbury in 1700, the presumption is that he had before that latter date built his new house at Manehchah-hankkanah, the name given by the Indians to the locality where his purchase was made.

For thirty years these three families were the only known residents of this region, and in this time the children of the Wests, Chases and Cottles had grov;n to manhood, married, and most of the girls removed to homes of their own.

Divisions Of Land

There were no proprietor's divisions of lots in Homes Hole that are of record, but the six shareholders must have made some allotments in severalty, as appears by scattering references to such a division. In 1674 Matthew Mayhew sold to Perkins four acres of upland "containing the bredth iof the Southermost lott layed out at sayd Homes Hole."^ William Weeks, in 1683, sold one-sixth part of the "two Southernmost lots of land: 42 poles by the harbor extending to the fresh pond."^ Again in 1685 Weeks sold "one compleat half of one third part of the two southmost lots of land upon the Neck."^ It is not recorded how Weeks came into possession of these lots, as the six shares granted by Governor Mayhew are all accounted for by continuous transfer of titles. It may be that some additional land was acquired by them of the Indians and subdivided, of which Weeks acquired a part. This would seem probable, as in 1681 "the English lyne" is first referred to, and again in 1685 it is spoken of as "the line which parts the English land from the Indian land."^ This line probably ran from Bass creek to the head of Tashmoo pond, and marked proximately the southern boundary of the grant of 1668 to the six shareholders.

As all of this land passed into the possession and occupation of Isaac Chase before 1685, and was held by him throughout his life as the sole proprietor, but one allotment or division was made by him as successor to the shareholders, until 1725 and 1726, when the entire neck was surveyed and allotted in nine parts by metes and bounds to his heirs.* The results of this division into lots are shown in the accompanying map of Homes Hole neck.

Settlers Before The Revolution

In the southern extremity of the town, at the head of the Lagoon, the two daughters of Edward Cottle, Esther and Abigail, married, the first a Harding about 1721, and the second John Presbury about 1725, and these two new comers resided on the Cottle property for a few years, for both died early. The widow, Esther Harding, remarried as also did the widow Presbury, but neither marriage resulted in a material increase of the settlement. In the outskirts of the town, owning property here and in Edgartown, but having his house in the latter, lived Henry Luce, who may be reckoned as part of the community within our limits. About 1 734 John Crosby

*In 1 7 12 on the same day, Isaac gave to his sons, Abraham and James, one sixth each of his land on the Neck. (Ill, 17, 81) and in 17 14 the latter sold his share to Abraham (III, 82) and thus one third of the neck became vested in the older brother.

Division Of Chase Property, Homes Hole Neck, 1725

from the Cape, married a daughter of Henry Luce and became a settler in the Lagoon region on lands given by her father, and from him descended a family which resided here until the second quarter of the last century.

The marriages of the two brothers, Samuel and Seth Daggett of Edgartown, in 1733 and 1734, to Sarah Chase and Elizabeth West, respectively, brought into the town at that time the first members of that family, and added their names to its annals for the succeeding century. About the same time John Whelden, from the Cape, married a daughter of Abraham Chase and became identified with the small settlement, and in 1745 John Ferguson from Kittery, Me., married another daughter and made his home here. Ebenezer Allen of Chickemmoo, about 1743, married the widow of Samuel Daggett and settled here on the property owned by his wife, and set up housekeeping and innkeeping. In 1748 Bayes Newcomb of Edgartown brought his large family and became a resident. Jonathan Manter of Tisbury married Sarah Chase, one of the co-heirs of Thomas, in 1755, and came here to live on her large landed estate, known since as Manter's hilL At the same time Caleb Rand from Charlestown, a mason by trade, and Shubael Butler of Edgartown, a weaver, were added to the town's population. In 1757 James Winslow, a pilot, came here and married a daughter of Isaac Chase, and in 1759 John Baxter came from the Cape to keep a tavern. Thomas Winston became a resident about this time, and in after years married the widow, Mercy Chase, and succeeded to the business of innkeeping. He left no descendants. In 1 761 Shubael Dunham of Edgartown settled in theTashmoo region of Chickemmoo with a large family of children, the first of the name in this town. John Holmes, a blacksmith, who had been living in Eastville for a few years, made his first purchase of land here in 1765, and became a permanent settler. In 1767 Thomas Manchester of Rhode Island, and in the next year Jabez Downs, from the Cape, were added to the growing town. Some time after, the exact date being unknown, the earliest of our Portuguese settlers, Joseph Dias, came to this place and his descendants remain here at the present time. These names represent the new element which became identified with Tisbury in the first century of its annals, no account being made of the multiplication of the pioneer families, who had by the opening of the Revolution increased and multiplied rapidly.

Sketches Of The Early Settlers

Hampton, N. H., April i, 1650, the third son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Philbrick) Chase. The family genealogies state that Thomas came from County Cornwall, England, to New England, and was the son of Aquila Chase of the Chesham, County Bucks family, whose pedigree extends back several generations. In what w^ay Isaac Chase came to be interested in this distant island is not known, but the neighboring town of Salisbury, Mass., had already furnished many settlers for Nantucket, men of Quaker faith, and through this source it is probable that his knowledge of the Vineyard was acquired. At the age of 24 he came to Tisbury to settle (1674), but the townsmen refused the privilege to him for some reason at that time. Possibly it was because x)f his religious beliefs, which were of the Quaker doctrinal variety. "The townsmen of Tysbury," so reads the record, "do not give unto Isack Chace of Hampton liberty to settle in the town."^ However he hiust have overcome this refusal before long, as we find him in less than two years making purchases of land in the town limits.

He must have been possessed of more than the average wealth at that time as he became, before 1700, one of the largest landholders on the Vineyard. He began his purchases of Homes Hole neck in 1676, as elsewhere related, and finally became its sole proprietor. His property in the Chickemmoo region was second in extent of acreage. His initial purchase in 1682 became a subject of dispute with the Sachem and the town, and was relinquished; but in 1692 he bought the entire eastern half of Chickemoo of Thomas Tupper, consisting of 1200 acres, and was continually adding to his domain in that region.^ He rarely sold any portion of these acquisitions and all of it, practically, became the heritage of his heirs.

'Tisbury Records, 8. We may surmise that they finally gave him permission to inhabit at Homes Hole, in the uttermost part of the town, many miles from the dwellings of any settlers. He was of Hampton in October 1673 (Norfolk. Co. Deeds).

His occupation, as elsewhere detailed, was that of blacksmith, inn-holder, and ferryman, and these he followed until his death. Although by religion a Quaker, yet he does not seem to have been ultra orthodox in the faith, for he took military office as Lieutenant in the Company of Foot in Tisbury before 1692, and thus broke one of the principal tenets of that sect. In the political upheavals of that time Simon Athearn thus refers to him: '^Mr. Isaac Chase the Leueten't without oath he pleading for the quakers."* During the remainder of his life he was generally called Lieutenant in the records of that period.

He died May 19, 1727, and his will, dated Feb. 12, 1721-2, was proven in July, 1727. By it he bequeathed what lands he had not given away in his lifetime to his widow and surviving children and grandchildren. The Chickemmoo property was mostly deeded to his several sons, 1706-17 18, and the Homes Hole neck was to a large extent, 1 705-1 71 7, similarly disposed of to Thomas, Isaac and Abraham. In 1725 this remained undivided and Lieut. Isaac and his son Abraham entered suit against the heirs of Thomas and Ebenezer Rogers for a partition. This was done, and the division then made by the jury is the basis of all land titles in Vineyard Haven north of the creek in front of the hospital.

Isaac Chase was twice married ; first to Mary, daughter of Isaac Perkins of Hampton, Feb. 20, 1673, by whom he had no issue; second to Mary Tilton, probably sister of Samuel of Hampton and Chilmark, Oct. 5, 1675, by Rev. John Mayhew. By his second marriage he had six sons and six daughters, who left a large progeny here and in Nantucket. He was a man of sterling worth and scrupulous honesty, and his life was singularly free from contentions and litigations with his neighbors.

Edward Cottle, Jr

The eldest son of Edward Cottle of Salisbury, named for his father, was born in that town Sept. 28, 1666, and followed his father in his various wanderings until he came to the Vineyard. He bought land in this town on the west side of the Lagoon, in 1695, of Ponit the Sachem of Homes Hole, and thereafter added to this until he owned a considerable

'Mass. Arch., CXII, 424. This is the only reference to the Quaker proclivities of Chase to be found in the record. The allusion to the oath relates to their objection to swearing, although willing to affirm to an act or statement.

tract adjoining the Presbury and West lands/ There he lived with his half-breed wife, Esther Daggett (22) of the "Bow and Arrow" family, daughter of Joseph and Alice (Sissetom) Daggett. He had wedded her between 1690 and 1698, and one child was born to them, a daughter named Esther, about 1700, who married first a Harding (after 17 18), and second (about 1725) Manasseh Kempton. This halfbreed wife died before 1 702 certainly, and probably sometime earlier.^ He remained a widower until about 1701, when he took as a second wife Abigail, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Holley) Allen of Dartmouth, Mass.^ By this union another daughter was born, June 6, 1702, and she was called Abigail. This girl married three times, (i) John Presbury, (2) Benjamin Luce, and (3) Samuel Lambert. Besides these matrimonial ventures his career was an uneventful one. He appears in court but once as a plaintiff (1736) and in 1733 he was a juror, and this constitutes his sole record.^ He made his will Nov. 2, 1748, "being grown old & stricken in years," and it was probated Nov. 2, 1751, the proximate time of his decease, when he was about eighty-five years old.^ He bequeaths all his property to his daughter Abigail and her second husband. His wife, who was born April i, 1663, had predeceased him Dec. 25, 1733, aged seventy years. ^

John Crosby

This settler was probably the son of Simon and Mary (Nickerson) Crosby of Harwich, Cape Cod, baptized April 13, 1 701, in that town, He came here about 1732 and married, before 1734, Sarah Luce (53), probably through the family relations between the two families established in 1704 by the marriage of his aunt Ann to William Luce (9). His fatherin-law gave his wife a farm of twenty acres near Tashmoo in Chickemmoo, and they resided there for the remainder of the time covered by our present knowledge of his life. It would seem that his wife died at some time unknown, and

^For proof of this see Bristol Deeds, XIII, 41 and Sup. Jud. Court Mss. No. 29518. Nathaniel Pease testified that he was present at the wedding.

It is beheved that he was the first immigrant of the Portuguese nationahty to come to the Vineyard, and one of the Western Islands was probably the place of his birth.

He was a young man when he arrived in this country, and soon had attracted the attention and won the heart of Sarah Manter (no) of this 'town. They were married, Jan. 4, 1780, and he soon joined the cause of his adopted country in the struggle against England. He was captured and sent a prisoner to that country, but secured a release after "a distressing captivity." Upon his return home he became a convert to the newly-expounded Baptist teachings, in December, 1780, and the incident is thus related by an eye witness: -

By seeing and hearing of these wonders of divine grace his vows in trouble were brought with authority upon his mind; and though the temper set in violently with his suggestions, that there was no mercy for him, and that he had better go and drown himself, in the evening after the communion (December 21st) yet sovereign grace prevented it, and set his soul at liberty so that he was soon after baptized and joined to that church.^

The rest of his brief experience in a land of strangers was tragic, and the whole borders on the romantic. He went forth once again to do battle for his adopted country, and for the second time fell into the hands of the British as a prisoner of war, and was consigned to a living death on the hulk "Jersey," of infamous memory. There he died in 1781 as a patriot and martyr, leaving a widow and an infant son, born the year of his decease.

John Ferguson

He was a master mariner engaged in the West India trade, and frequently made this haven on voyages from his home in Kittery, Maine, to southern waters. As a guest at Abraham Chase's Inn he met Hannah (55), the young daughter of "mine host." Captain Ferguson was the son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Frost) Ferguson, born Aug. 8, 1710, and she was fifteen years his junior. Difference in ages made no difference in their sentiments however, as their banns were pubhshed Nov. 2, 1 745, and they were married soon after. Nothing further is known of him, except that a family of seven children were born to them and baptized here. He was probably occupied in coastwise traffic, and had died before 1769, but the date and place of his death is unknown, probably in the West Indies of some tropical fever, which took the lives of so many of our people in those days. The toll from this cause was a constant drain on the male population.

John Holmes

The family tradition that this settler came from Plymouth seems the probable truth, though extended search among the records of that county fails to find confirmation.^ The age given on his gravestone practically tallies with the birth record of John, son of John and Mercy (Ford) Holmes, born June 22, 1730, in Plymouth. If this be the solution of the problem his father was later of Kingston, died there in 1746, and in his will mentions his minor son John.^ Our John first appears in the Vineyard ten years after this, and is enrolled in 1757 as a private in the militia company of Edgartown. He was a blacksmith by trade, and made his first purchase of land Jan. 8, 1760, in the village of Eastville, at Quaise neck.^ He resided there about five years, and on Oct. 30, 1765, bought half an acre of land in Holmes Hole neck, where the Thomas Dunham tavern formerly stood.* Thenceforth he was identified with this town, and his descendants continued to reside here until the present day. He was chosen constable in 1776 and 1 79 1, the only town offices held by him. Here he became a sound pilot, an occupation which he followed to the end of his active life, and*for which he was commissioned in 1783 by Governor Hancock. He died Oct. 29, 181 2, in the 84th year of his age, leaving a widow and two married daughters. His son John, also a pilot, had predeceased in 1795, and through him the present family descends.

^The author has examined all the wills and administrations of Holmes decedents in Plymouth County, and abstracts of each are in his possession.

Thomas Manchester

This settler came here from Rhode Island, and probably was a relative, if not a son, of the Nathaniel Manchester of Portsmouth, R. L, who married Elizabeth Norton (56) of Edgartown in 1716, or of William Manchester, who married Bethiah Norton (55) the year previous.

Stephen Presbury

He was probably the son of John Presbury, a shoemaker, sometime of Salisbury and later of Saco, Maine, where in 1670 he had bought a tract of land.^ This John died in that Province before Nov. 3, 1684, leaving three sons, of whom one was Stephen, and the name is so unusual and without recurrence at that period, that we can assume the relationship fairly established.^ This Stephen was a witness to a deed in Kittery, Maine, in 1686, and the next we learn of him is in 1704 when he was called "of Chilmark, " meaning that part of it known as Chickemmoo.'* It is not known where he had resided in the eighteen years intervening, but it can be surmised that he may have gone to Sandwich, Cape Cod, where he married, about 1693, Deborah, daughter of Stephen and Lydia (Snow) Skiff e of that town. His homestead was at the head of the Lagoon within the boundary line of Edgartown, but his closer proximity to the settlement at Homes Hole, where he lies buried, makes his classification as an early settler of this region the natural one.^ His residence here was absolutely without incident of any kind, as he held no offices, appeared in court once as a plaintiff (1729) and in all the twenty-five years of his life on the Vineyard he did not so much as witness a deed or document of any kind, an unusual fact, His will, dated April 6, 1730, was proved June 30, 1730, and disposes of his property to "my seven daughters" and the children of his only son John, deceased.^ He had died May 17, 1730 in his 58th

'York Deeds, III, 42. John of Saco was probably the son of that John of Sandwich, Cape Cod, whose death in May, 1648, is recorded. 3Ibid, V(I), 35.

Dr. Thomas West

The first of the name of West to come to the Vineyard was Thomas, a son of Francis West of Duxbury, and from him have descended many of his name who became noted in succeeding generations in the ministry and learned professions, and distinguished in colonial military affairs. Francis West, his father, was born about 1606 and lived in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. He was a carpenter by trade, and is said to have come to Duxbury as a single man, upon the invitation of Nathaniel Thomas of Marshfield, and after his arrival in his new home, married Margaret Reeves, Feb. 27, 1639, by whom he had five children, Mary (1640), Samuel (1643), Thomas (1646), Peter (1648), and Ruth (1651). He died Jan. 2, 1692, aged 86 years. The descendants of Samuel are mostly found in Connecticut, and those of Peter in Plymouth Colony.^ Few traces of Thomas are found in the Massachusetts records prior to his emigration to the Vineyard. He witnessed a deed in 1667,^ and is mentioned in the county Treasurer's accounts of June, 1671.* Between that date and Sept. 30, 1673, he came to this island, probably through his association with the Skiffes, as his sister Ruth became the wife of Nathaniel in later years. It is possible that West resided in Newport, R. I.^ prior to his removal hither. On Sept. 30, 1673, he entered suit against the townsmen of Tisbury respecting his property rights, and his lot, mentioned the following year, was situated on the west side of Old Mill river to the north of the old cemetery, next that of James Skiffe, Sr.^ Thomas West was evidently a man of education and superior ability, and the first known practitioner of medicine and surgery on the Vineyard. In addition to this qualification

'These are the gravestone records, but both seem to be incorrect. The birth of Deborah Skiffe is recorded in Sandwich on July 14, 1668, and thus she was in her 74th year. The age given on his stone would make his birth year 1672-3, but in 1686 he was a witness in Maine. He was probably older than his wife.

^See N. E. Gen. Reg., LX, 142. The claims made in print and private that Thomas West was the son of Admiral Francis West of the well known English family have no bases in fact.

he must have been learned in the law, for he was the "Kings Attorney" in June, 1681, and is mentioned in 1687 and the three following years as the King's Solicitor and "Their Majesties Attorney." It is probable he held this office continuously from the first recorded date. He prosecuted the first trials for murder held on the island in the years mentioned.^ Thomas West also has some further distinction in his religious affiliations. With his wife he became a member of the Third Sabbatarian (Seventh Day) Baptist Church of Newport, R. I., at some time prior to 1692, and various West descendants were attached to that communion for many years after. ^ His daughter and their children in other names are to be found among the members of this church. In 1702, however, he was excommunicated for disobeying the tenets of the communion, but his wife and othef members of his family continued in good standing.'

In the spring of 1682 he sold his lot in West Tisbury and made the first of a series of land purchases at Homes Hole, which from that time to his death became his residence.* This property, by continued acquisition extended from the Lagoon on the north to the Cottle property (head of Lagoon) on the south, and his house was situated near the site of the U. S. Marine Hospital. After his death it descended to his sons in shares and "set offs," but in time his eldest son, Abner, acquired the most of it by purchase from the other heirs.

During his life he had the usual experiences observed among his neighbors as respects his business and social relations. He was indicted and fined in 1678 for "unsavourie speeches" and sued for defamation in 1687 by Simon Athearn.^ He was elected "townsman" of Tisbury in 1678, and in 1679 was on a committee to "make rates."*^ Beyond these references other mention of him in the records is incidental. He

^Records Sabbatarian Baptist Church. At the same time Peter and Ruth West are found in the list of members 1692, and it is probable they were his brother and sister of these names.

^The order is as follows: "At a General meeting of the Church at Westerly Sept. 19, 1702, at Thomas Burdicks house, upon debate of the case of Thomas West of Martha's Vineyard, who having been several times admonished for his breach of the Sabbath, the church did proceed to a rejection of said West and appointed Bro. Wm. Gibson to draw up sentence of the congregation relating thereunto in writing to be sent to said West."

made his will on Jan. 15, 1698, and died Sept. 6, 1706, in the sixtieth year of his age. In this document he bequeaths to his "eldest son" Abner the estate as far south as ''Chunckes" swamp. To son Thomas certain land next southerly, and to son Peter a tract adjoining the previous bequest; to son William ''all that creek stuff or meadow land which I bought of Mr Sam" (Indian). "Nextly" it continues, "I will and bequeath all my books and surgery instruments unto my son Thomas, a gun to my son Sackfield and a sword to my son Judah." His movable estate was left to the widow Elizabeth, ''for bringing up the children," and he mentions his "four" daughters in this connection. "My will is," he directs in conclusion, "that none of my children be disposed of without the advice of Brother Nathaniel Skiffe and my son Abner, whom I do make overseers to this my will."^

The name of one of his younger sons, Sackfield, is of curious coincidence, as Sackville is one of the family names of the noble West family. Lords De la Warr of the peerage of England.^ It is not to be supposed, however, that the Duxbury carpenter had any connection whatever with this armigerous family. Diligents earch has failed to disclose the maiden name of his wife, Elizabeth, who was born in 1653 or '4, and survived her husband many years. She died Feb. 16, 1728, "in the 75th year of her age," and the gravestones of both the Doctor and his wife are in good preservation at West Tisbury. At least six of their descendants were graduates of Harvard College before 1800, and were men distinguished in the annals of the New England pulpit.

John Wheldon

Marriage with one of Abraham Chase's daughters, Abigail, brought John Wheldon to Homes Hole. He was probably the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Marchant) Wheldon of Yarmouth, Cape Cod, born July 21, 1707, in that town. He was a seafaring man and followed the particular occupation of a Sound pilot in these waters. He came here about 1730-40,

^Dukes Co. Probate, I, 8. The property was not finally divided until April 3, 1722, when the children who did not receive landed bequests by will were given their shares (ibid. I, 125).

^No emigrant to New England of the name of Sackfield or Sackville in the 17th century has come to the notice of the author, and it does not seem, therefore, to be the name of the wife of Thomas West whose name was thus perpetuated. It should be said that the Sackville connection with the Wests is of comparatively recent date, and no importance can be attached to it as relates to our Sackfield West.

and he and his wife received from her father, May 29, 1741, a large tract of land extending from the harbor to Tashmoo/ His death occurred about 1755, as administration of his estate was granted to the widow December 18 that year. Three sons, John, Joseph, and Timothy were lost at sea in 1769 in one vessel.

James Winslow

He was born about 1732-3, and came to Homes Hole some time before Oct. 30, 1765, the date of his first purchase of land in the town.^ He was married here to Rhoda Chase (131), Nov. 3, 1757, which may be taken as the probable time of his settlement. His occupation was that of a Sound pilot as early as 1769, and he followed this throughout his active life.^ He was twice married, his second wife being Elizabeth, daughter of John Holmes, and two sets of children were born to him. His death occurred Aug. 26, 1805, in the 73d year of his age. Nothing certain is known of his former residence or parentage. There were Winslows in Rochester and Freetown who had business dealings with the Vineyard before 1750, and it is probable that he came from that section.

Early Transient Residents John Baxter

In 1759 this person was licensed as a tavern keeper. He was probably an uncle or near relative of the Malachi Baxter of Yarmouth, Cape Cod, who settled here after the Revolution.* He does not appear as a grantor or grantee of property, and doubtless was a tenant only during his stay here. His inn was destroyed by fire in 1762, and after that no more is heard of him in town.

Manasseh Kempton

The identity of this transient is not satisfactorily established. He appears here in 1725 as the husband of widow Esther (Cottle) Harding, whom he had married in that year

*There were Baxters here before that date. In the muster roll of a New York company of troops, French and Indian war, 1762, appears the name of Simon Baxter, carpenter, aged 46, whose birthplace is given as Martha's Vineyard. (Rep't N. Y. State Historian, Colonial Series, II, 726-7.)

probably (Court Records). He remained here perhaps four or five years, as traces of him are found in 1726, 1728 and 1729, his wife having died before the latter date, but whence he came or whither he went resolves itself into guessing, after much search/ It is probable that he is Manasseh Kemp ton of Plymouth, who had married Mehitable Holmes of that town about 1715 and bought land same year. Two children were born to him, and he sold his property in 1721 and apparently removed elsewhere.^ The dates permit migration to the Vineyard, where he married a second time and, after a short stay, again changed residence to Southampton, L. I. In 1733, in a deed, he calls himself a "gunsmith" of the last named place, "formerly of Plymouth" and refers to his uncle Manasseh Kempton of Dartmouth, and his cousin Ephraim of Plymouth.^ As no wife signs with him these conditions fit the conclusion that he was the above described Manasseh, son of Ephraim of Plymouth. Our court records indicate that a child was born to him here, but its sex or survival is not known. He was neither grantor nor grantee while resident in town.

Jacob Perkins

He was the son of Isaac and Susanna Perkins of Hampton, N. H., baptized May 24, 1640, in that town and his younger sister, Mary, was the wife of our Isaac Chase. He came to the Vineyard about 1674, with his brother-in-law probably, and perhaps also in company with Samuel Tilton, bringing a wife and one child. While here a second child was born to them.* By occupation he was a tailor, though it would seem that little of this class of work would occupy his time here with so few settlers. His stay here was brief and troublesome, because of the enmity of the official ruling family, arising from hisUestimony against one of its members in the slander suit off Daggett vs. Skiffe, as related elsewhere.^ Like a considerable number, who at this time were leaving the Vineyard on account of the petty persecutions following the "Dutch Rebel-

*He was sued in 1726 (Dukes Co. Court Records) ; gave evidence in 1728 (Sup. Jud. Court Mss. 21403), and was sued in March, 1729, in our local court.

*His first purchase here was February 10, 1674. (Dukes Deeds, I, 336). He was called "Jacob Perkins (late of Hampton) now of Holmeshole on the Hand of Martyr's Vineyard." 24-12 mo. 1674 (Norfolk Co. Deeds, III, 20).

lion," he concluded to remove to a more congenial location, and removed across the Sound to Falmouth, where on Oct. 31, 1677, he bought a homestead of Vv^illiam Weeks, Senior.* His stay in Succanessit was also brief, for on Feb. 8, 1678, he sold this property, and on May 8, 1679, he repurchased an estate in Hampton, and ever after resided there. He was living in 1693 with his wife in that town.^

Caleb Rand

This transient came here in 1755 from Nantucket, and lived on the West Tisbury road, just outside the present village of Vineyard Haven. He was the son of John and Mehitable (Call) Rand of Charlestown, born Dec. 6, 1703, and had married, Aug. 4, 1726, in that place, Katherine Kettell, by whom he had eleven children. The five eldest were of age and unmarried when he came here, and they all married here. He remained until about 1761, and returned to Nantucket, where he died in 1768, aged 65 years. The sons and daughters removed to Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, about 1760, and their descendants still reside in that province.

Samuel Tilton

He was a transient resident here before 1676, and removed to West Tisbury and later to Chilmark, where he ended his days. A sketch of him appears in the annals of the latter town.

The Constablewick Of Homes Hole

Although a part of old Tisbury for purposes of taxation, yet the people of Homes Hole and the place itself occupied very little time and space in the consideration of the freemen of West Tisbury. The name of Homes Hole is not mentioned in the town records from 1673 to 1737, nor is there any reference to it indirectly. From the latter date it occurs irregularly every few years to 1780, when it begins to be recognized in the bestowal of some of the minor offices, such as tithingman, surveyor of highways or warden. In 1783 it is spoken of in the records of Tisbury as "that tract of Land Called Homeshole." Not until 1788 was a selectman chosen from this section

[Samuel Look] but from that date it had a representative annually. In 1 804-5-6 two residents of Homes Hole were on the board of selectmen. The first town meeting was held in Holmes Hole in March, 1807, at the Proprietors' meeting-house, and thenceforth the annual meetings were holden in West Tisbury and Homes Hole alternately.^

For the first time in the records, in 1763, it was called the Constablewick of Homes Hole, a title signifying a district within the jurisdiction of a constable, similar to a parish in ecclesiastical law.^ It was treated as a separate community and place by the rest of the inhabitants of Tisbury, and beyond according it certain school privileges required by law, it was left to shift for itself in all other things. This reached a formal culmination in 1782, when the townsmen voted that all persons and estates to the Eastward of a Line Drawn from the Stepping Stone (A Place known by that Name at the head of the Lagoon or Cove of Water Dividing Said Homseshole from the Town of Edgartown) To Cuteshmoo Spring [be exempt] from paying any Taxes in the Town of Tisbuary for the future Except Common Wealth Taxes, As also that Said Inhabitants Recieve no benefit or Assistance from the Town of Tisbuary for any charges that may Arise on Said Inhabitants for the future, Said Vote Passed in the Affirmative without one Dissenting Vote.3

This practically left Homes Hole without obligation to pay any rates except state levies. The interests of the two places were antipodal, not only in ecclesiastical affairs, which we shall learn, but in secular matters as well. The "Hole" was given over to maritime business, the outfitting of ships, the haven of weather-bound craft, and the home of Sound pilots. The west parish was occupied solely in agricultural pursuits.

Ecclesiastical Affairs

The church affiliations of the first settlers were so diversified that it might be said each one had a different religion from his neighbor, Isaac Chase was a Quaker, Thomas West

'In 1838-9 and 1841 the town meetings were held at the taverns kept by Thomas Dunham. In 1843 and 1845, at the Union Wharf store, 1847 to 1852 at the school house, South District, 1852 to 1864 at Capawoc hall. The office of selectmen was removed to Homes Hole before 1852, and in 1857 an effort was made to bring the office of town clerk from West Tisbury, but it failed at that time.

^Tisbury Records, 183. The "Liberty of Tisbury" occurs in a document of 1730, signifying a place having special privileges. (Athearn Mss. Cong. Library).

a Sabbatarian Baptist, Edward Cottle a Congregationalist probably, Samuel Tilton an Antipedobaptist and so on. It is evident that there could not be any important events relating to ecclesiastical affairs under such conditions, and it is probable that in the absence of a minister and meeting-house, each one acted as priest in his own household for the first half century after the settlement. Thomas West, who was a member of a congregation of his faith in Newport, may have acted as a lay preacher or missionary in this vicinity during his life. A Quaker traveler on a visit to Nantucket in 1704 had a dispute with one Thomas West on religious subjects and he records in his journal a "paper" written by VVest in their controversy.^

This faith was held by some of the "Wests for two or three generations and was adopted by persons intermarrying with them. His grandson, Thomas West (20), a graduate of Harvard, 1730, was "statedly employed to preach the Gospel to the Indians" here before 1745, and in contemporaneous documents is called a "Preacher of the Gospel."^ It is not to be supposed that he exercised ministerial functions here solely for the Indians, and left a large body of English people without the "benefit of clergy." There is no violation of probabilities in assuming that a small meeting-house was built here by the contributions of the settlers of Homes Hole at this early date, or that services were held in a school-house. Nothing definite is known, however, on this subject, and we can only infer that traveling missionaries of various denominations came here from time to time, by chance or design, and supplied an irregular form of religious "exercise" to them.^

Payment Of Ministerial Tax Refused

Under the laws and customs of the times they were taxed for the support of the "orthodox" ministry, and the meetinghouse at West Tisbury, which they could not attend because of the great distance and difficulties of traveling. This was borne by them for many years without protest, though the

'In 1779 Mr. Damon, the pastor at West Tisbury, was granted liberty to preach one-fourth part of the year at some part of the Northward & Eastward part of this Town" (Tisbury Records, 231).

burden was growing more obnoxious to them at every assessment. Accordingly, after much consideration, they agreed, in 1780, to resist further collection of such taxes, and the townsmen of West Tisbury assembled in special session to deal with the crisis, on June 6, 1780, passed the following vote: -

Tisbuary ss: At A Town meeting Legally warn'd & held at the Townhouse in Tisbuary on Tuesday the 6th of June A D 1780 Deacon Stephen Luce being Moderator, and then it was put to Vote to See whether Said Town of Tisb 'r would Chuse a Committee to Treat with the People of Homseshole to know what the Cause is that they Refuse Paying Taxes to the Ministree, and what would be Satisfactory to them and the Vote passed in the Affirmative and then it was put to Vote to See whether Mr Benjamin Burges & Ezra Athearn Should be Sd Committee and the Vote passed in the Afirmative, and Also it was Voted they Should Make report of their doeings at the next Town-meeting'

Whatever came of this found no record in the town books, and it evidently was an unsuccessful effort at a compromise. The reason for this situation is to be found in the establishment that year of a new sect here, the Calvinistic Baptist, and its adoption by a large proportion of the residents of Homes Hole. The question at issue was not a theological one, but related to the more important one of church and state, the settlement of which involved the whole policy of public support for the clergy.

Tisbury Agrees To Release Homes Hole

In the fall of 1782 they presented a verbal request to the town as follows: '' Requesting that they may be Exempted from Paying any Tax for the Support of the Presbeterian Ministers for the future in the Town of Tisbuary by Reason they are of the Baptist Perswasion."^ and at Said Meeting James Athearn Esqr was chosen Moderator And then A Vote was Call'd to See Wheather Shobal Cottle Esqr Deacon Stephen Luce & Mr Ransfoid Smith Should be a committee to hold A Conferance with the Inhabitants of Homseshole and Some Persons Adjacant Relative to the Above Request or Pettion and to make Report of their doeings at the Adjornment of this Meeting, and the Vote passed in the Affirmative and then Sd Town Meeting was Adjorn'd.'

As a result of this conference the town at the adjourned meeting directed the Moderator to "aquaint the Said Inhabitants of Homseshole that they Pettition this Town for their being Dismissed from Paying Ministeral Taxes (if they see cause)." The following petition was then prepared : -

To the Inhabitants of the Town of Tisbuary in the County of Dukes County in Legal Town-meeting to be assemble'd on Tuesday the 19th Day of October 1782.

The Memorial of us whose Names are under writen being Inhabitants of that Part of Said Town Commonly Call'd Homseshole beg Leave to Represent that Notwithstanding our great Desire to Promote Religion and attend the Publick Worship of God at all Times must needs say that Considering our remote Scituation from the Meetinghouse or Place of Worship in Said Town and being Attended with Such Conspiscious Inconveniencies that need not be Enumerated, Desire that wee may be Released from paying any Part towards the support of the Gospel in Said Town Except among our Selves in Such a A Manner as will be most for our Religious profit Or otherwise releas us Agreeable to Justice & Equity as to you may Seem fit all which is Humbly Subitted*

Homes Hole Set Off As A Parish

On Nov. 25, 1782, the town voted unanimously to release them in accordance with this petition, but it is evident that such an action was beyond the power of the town, and the good intentions were frustrated.^ The collection of this tax went on for several more years. In July, 1790, the people of this settlement again started a movement to be made independent of Tisbury. They made the following request to accomphsh this: -

That the Said Homseshole Should be Sett off as a Precinct, and after Due Consideration it was Movd and Seconded and put to Vote and passed in the Affirmative that it Should be Sett off for a Precinct as far to the Westward as the Line Called Savages Line and So continu'd the Same Course from the Sound to the Line of Edgartown to be Sett off from Said Tisbuary as a Seperate District, Provided they Support their own School and the Poor within the Same District and all other charges arising within the Same District, Except the Taxes due to the Commonwealth*

'At a town meeting held November 25, 1792, this was reconsidered and it was voted "that the former Vote be nul and Void and of no effect any more" (ibid. 288). ^Tisbury Records, 276-7.

That the Select Men of Tisbuary be Impowr'd to give an Order on the Treasurer of Tisbuary to Pay the Several Persons Taxed to the Ministers Tax in Tisbuary Living to the Eastward of Teshmoo Spring So Called that are Inhabitants in Said Districts of homseshole Taxed in the Rate bills David Look Constable of Tisbuary for the year 1790 has to Colect, May the i8th AD 1791'

But this did not meet the desires of the people here, the repayment of taxes, as they wished for separation, and having failed to obtain satisfaction at home, they preferred a petition, in 1793, to the General Court asking for the establishment of Homes Hole as the East Parish of Tisbury.^ James Athearn, Joseph Athearn and William Case were chosen as ''Sutable Persons as a Comitte to Respond to the Pettition of the Inhabatants of Homes hole."^ Nothing came of their request at this time and the residents of Tisbury made them the following offer: future Such part of the preaching by the Settled minester in Tisbury, Carried on in homes hole in proportion to the taxes they may pay towards the minesters Sallery in S'd Town." Samuel Look and Thomas Cottle, who were the leaders of this movement, joined in a petition to the County Court for relief from the ministerial tax. The petition is dated Oct. 28, 1794, and recites that they ''have been Induced to join with the Inhabitants of homses hole to build a meeting house where we can attend with our families," and that they paid more at Homes Hole than they are taxed for in Tisbury for the support of Mr. Asarelah Morse, the minister. Having petitioned the selectmen without result, they now pray the Court for relief.* Ezekiel Luce was appointed to answer this before the Court. Further consultations and efforts at a peaceful conclusion of the controversey were in order, and the following record of a meeting held on Dec. 22, 1794, brings the issue forward: -

Voted by the Voters then present that Ezekiel Luce Benjamin alien Cornelus Dunham on the part of the town of Tisbury westward of Savages hne and Samuel Look Thomas Cottle John Homes on the part of Said town Eastward of Said line be 'a. Committe to meet at Some time and place by them to be agreead upon in order to Settle any disputes

'This petition cannot be found in the Massachusetts archives. ^Town Records, 290. The answer of this committee cannot be found. County Court Files.

Subsisting or that may arise with regard to Minestearil Taxes in Said town and in Case the Said Committe Should not agree they are to Call in the assistance of Mr Matthew Mayhew J'unr of Chillmark the Determination of them or the major part of them to be for the future regulation of minesteril Taxes upon both Sides of the before discribed line as well as any other disputes with regard to back taxes.*

This committee, or a majority of them, for Cornelius Dunham and John Holmes did not sign it, made a report to the town on Jan. 12, 1795, and after reciting a preamble respecting the general character of the dispute, make the followinor recommendations : - haveing a real desier that peace truth & Equity may at this and all times take place. We hereby agree to the following articuals hereafter named Viz that the taxes of all those persons to the East of the aforsaid Saveges line have there taxes remitted in the bills in which they have been taxed to pay to the Rev'd Mr Morses Sallery as far back as the year of our Lord 1787 this intends no more then those persons who are now living between the aforsaid Saveges line and Cuteshmoo Spring and So on the west Side of the pond to the Sound and no more.

And we further agree that the people on the East Side of the aforsaid Saveges line forthwith petition the general Court that they may be Sett off as a precinct or parish and that the town Join with them in this petition.^

Nothing was done about the petition for a year, and on Jan. 6, 1796, Nathan Smith, Benjamin Allen and Elijah Look, Jr., were appointed a committee to "Join a Committe of the to the General Court that said Inhabitants might be incorporated into precinct or parish." This was done, and the law creating the East Parish of Tisbury, from the inhabitants living east of Savage's Line, was passed that year by the General Court.

The need of a house of worship for this settlement became urgent after the organization of the Baptist society in 1780, but there was nearly an equal number of adherents of the ancient Congregational society established in West Tisbury, and it was impracticable to build a meeting-house for the use of any particular denomination by general taxation. Therefore- the expedient was devised of erecting one J3y voluntary contributions from members of all varieties of belief, which should be open to all ministers and sects in an equitable division of time. Those who gave towards its construction became thereby shareholders in its management, and the building came to be known as the "Proprietors' Meeting House." It was probably erected in 1788, as on Jan. 3 of that year, Peter West for the sum of £f) sold a tract of land to John Holmes, Jonathan Manter, Isaac Daggett, Samuel Look, and Abraham Chase, "as a committee for the proprietors of a meeting house to be built at Holmes Hole." This committee represented the Baptists and Congregationalists, and the proportion of proprietors was about two thirds of the first-named sect and the rest of the orthodox church, or those without religious preference. The occupancy of the building was divided in that proportion. The clergyman at West Tisbury held services for his third of the time in consideration of the payment of the ministerial tax, but after its abolition this incentive was lost, and the "orthodox" element gradually dwindled to the vanishing point. Parson Thaxter of Edgartown also held services here after this time, giving regular "lectures."

This Proprietors' meeting-house was located on the highway, on what is now the northwest corner of Main and Spring streets. The architectural features comprised a simple building with four straight walls, unpainted, and a pitched roof, without steeple, belfry or blinds. Three doors opened on Main street and within could be seen a gallery above, high-back box pews below, over which the tithing man would prod his long stick to curb the mischievous pranks of youth or arouse the aged from their slumbers. A sounding board formed a resonant background for the preacher in the tall pulpit.^ A traveler who visited this place in 1807 called it " a small neat church."^

For about half a century this meeting-house served its purpose as a shelter for all kinds of theology and its expounders. In 1832 the Methodists withdrew and built their own meetinghouse and the control of this one fell into the hands of the Baptists by heritage and possession. It lasted until 1837, when it was no longer fit for occupancy and was taken down to make way for another.^

The Baptist Church

The earliest schism from the orthodox body on the Vineyard comprised persons who had adopted the doctrines of the Baptist rehgion, or, as it was then called, the Anabaptist. Peter Folger is supposed to have held this belief, and about 1675 he joined the Baptist church in Newport, though this was after he had become a resident of Nantucket.^ It is stated by a religious historian "that Baptist ministers had preached among the English on the Vineyard at times ever since 1753," but there is no record of these persons, times nor places.^ The beginning of this denomination as an organized religious association, in definite numbers, is thus described by the same writer : -

By afflictive providence and private means of grace four persons near Holmes' Hole were awakened to a sense of their sin and danger, and in the Spring of 1780 they experienced a happy dehverance of soul. And no sooner was light granted to them than they endeavored to hold the same forth to others, which brought them to set up religious meetings and a number were hopefully converted by these means. ^ And about the last of June they sent for Elder Lewis of Freetown, who went over in July, and preached and baptized a number of them. He did the like in August and October, as Elder Hunt also did in November, and by particular request I [Isaac Backus] met them there in December when a careful inquiry was made into their sentiments and views and the order of the gospel, with the solemn nature of the Christian profession was publicly laid open and inculcated. After which on December 21, 1780 we saw fifty persons solemnly sign covenant together, to whom six more were added on the 24th, and all of them sweetly communed together at the Lord's table. The high sheriff of the county* was a leading member of this church which contained some persons of every rank among them.^

'Backus Church History of New England, III, 167. It is said by the same authority that the Indians became converted to this creed by Folger's preaching.

^A document dated June 10, 1780, certifies that the subscribers "are of the minds to have a Baptist minister to preach the Gospel to us, ' ' and it is signed by Jonathan Manter, Zephaniah Chase, Abraham Chase, Levi Young, Timothy Chase, Ephraim Norton, George Hillman, James Winslow, David Merry, Andrew Newcomb, Shubael Butler, Benjamin Benson and Malachi Baxter. These may be reckoned as the earliest Baptists in this town.

'Backus Church History, II, 375. He adds: "The husband of one of them was born am.ong the Portuguese and was now newly returned from a distressing captivity in England. ' ' This probably refers to Joseph Dias, who married Sarah Manter [no].

employed, although an effort was made to hire one.* Elders Hunt and Burroughs and other missionaries continued to make periodical visits. during the first years of the establishment of the sect, and efforts to secure a settled minister were renewed whenever an opportunity seemed to offer. "When we have no preacher" say these zealous adherents of the new creed in 1791, "and the weather permits, we still assemble and worship God by singing reading and praying."^ This situation continued for the ensuing decade, and notwithstanding these discouragements the society grew and flourished. Incorporation was determined upon by those of the Baptist faith from all parts of the Vineyard, to settle the question of taxes for jninisterial support.

r In 1803, John Davis and seventy-five others addressed a petition to the General Court, praying for incorporation as the Baptist Society of Tisbury. The town of Tisbury at its April meeting instructed the selectmen [Ezekiel Luce, William Athearn and Rufus Spalding] and Benjamin Allen "to consult and draw a remonstrance to a petition Sent by a number of the Inhabatants of Tisbury, Chillmark & Edgartown praying to be incorporated into a religious baptiss Society," but a year after (1804) the town reversed itself and instructed its representative to the General Court to "aid and assist to have the Said incorporation established and enacted into a law."^ This was accomplished June 28th that same year.*

^An act to incorporate a number of persons in the towns of Edgartown, Chilmark and Tisbury, into a religious society by the name of the First Baptist Society in Tisbury.

Of these about thirty resided in the present limits of Tisbury, and the entire list shows what an extensive schism had been made in the Congregational society.

On Feb. 20, 1804, Ezra Kendall was called to the pastorate and accepted, and the society at last secured their first settled minister. He was characterized by Parson Thaxter as "a man of small education, warm temperament and great zeal," but he lasted only a short five months. He was succeeded, after an intermission of two years, by Abisha Samson of Providence, who was ordained in June, 1806, and his term of service was very successful. During this term he received permission to engage in business to eke out his scanty income, and in 181 1 resigned because "his preaching was not profitable," according to his letter requesting dismissal. For the next ten years a succession of Elders, Bartlett Pease (398), Samuel Nelson, Simeon Coombs, Samuel Abbott, and Simeon Crowell supplied the pulpit without formal settlement. In 1820 Rev. William Hubbard became pastor and remained five years, serving both the newly organized independent branches at Edgartown and West Tisbury It is probable that the pastors at Edgartown, Henry Marchant (1826-7) and William Bowen (1828-9), with the assistance of Jesse Pease (397) supplied this pulpit until 1830, when Rev. Seth M. Ewer was settled as fourth pastor.^ He remained three years and was followed by Rev. Flavel Shurtleff (1833-4) for five months, and David Pease (1836-7) for ten months.

'A townsman living contemporaneously thus characterizes this clergyman :-" The Baptist minister employed here is Mr. Seth Ewer, a man of about 50 years of age. Very resolute and determined in whatever he undertakes, but is not generally well received by the people. Should not think him to be a man of very extensive information, or much of a scholar, but has a great degree of confidence and a faculty of showing what he has to the best advantage. His sermons, though usually long, are for the most part meagre and uninstructive and often quite irksome to hear on account of the emphasis put upon almost every word, which is altogether misplaced. He has now been here almost two years, and on the whole should fear that little good had been effected by him, as that society has appeared to be on the wane ever since he came among us, besides some members of the church are so much disaffected toward him that they will not hear or support hini." (Diary Dr. L. M Yale, January 6, 1833)

New Meeting-House Built

The old "Proprietors'" house of worship had passed into the hands of this denomination, and for about fifty-two years altogether, as previously related, had served its purpose, until beyond repair. In 1837, at a cost of about $4,500,^ the first Baptist meeting-house intended for that use was built on the site occupied by the older structure. It was a building somewhat different in style from those heretofore constructed on the Vineyard for religious worship, and a view of it, drawn from contemporary sketches and descriptions, is here shown.

It survived for forty-three years, and was destroyed in the great fire of Aug. 11, 1883, the only denomination in town to suffer in that conflagration.

Succession Of Pastors, 1838-1908 Second Baptist Meeting-House

Following the loss of the old house of worship, the Society occupied Association hall until another church home should be prepared for them. On May 30, 1884, a building com-

'The one hundredth anniversary of this church was celebrated during Rev. Mr. Coker's pastorate, December 15, 1882, and he delivered an historical address which was published as ' ' Historical address delivered on the one hundredeth anniversary of the Baptist Church, Vineyard Haven, Mass., by Rev. J. Coker, pastor" 8vo paper cover, pp. 14, Press of E. H. Manter, Vineyard Haven, Mass., 1882.

mittee consisting of Lorenzo D. Smith, John F. Robinson, Bayes F. Norton, Mrs. Myra W. Wade, and the pastor, was chosen, and funds soHcited and collected for the purpose. A new site was purchased on the corner of William and Spring streets, on which were erected a handsome church building and parsonage. They were completed in 1885 at the cost of $6,500, and dedicated the same year.

The Methodist Church

The story of the foundation of Methodism in this town is a part of the annals of its beginning upon the Vineyard, for the pioneers of this new sect did not confine their labors to any one locality. This town, however, has the distinction of being the place where the doctrines of Wesley were first expounded. Rev. Jesse Lee, the founder of Methodism in New England, preached his first sermon on the Vineyard in 1795 in the Proprietors' meeting-house on Main street. His journal makes this reference to the event : - to Mr. I. Daggett's tavern at the head of the harbor at Holmes' Hole. I was kindly received and gladly entertained. The next day I gave them a sermon in the meeting house. We had a small congregation and not much life. At night I preached again with more freedom and faithj'than in the morning, and the word seemed to make some impression on the minds of the hearers; perhaps I am the first Methodist preacher who has visited this place for the express purpose of preaching, and even now I have visited the place sooner than I intended.'

Two years later, 1797-8, Joshua Hall came as the first stationed missionary.^ He had previously been engaged in this work at Sandwich, Mass., with great success, and at the close of his term here he was able to report as the result of turning over this virgin soil on the Vineyard, hitherto unbroken, thirteen members of his " class. "^ The next was Joseph Snelling, 1798-9, also from Sandwich in turn, and he adopted the nautical style of preaching to the people, which was so successfully followed in later years by "Father" Taylor. One of his hearers said to him: ''If you had been preaching in Vermont perhaps they would not have understood you; but this is the preaching we can understand." He reported twentyfour members at the close of this conference year.' His successor was Epaphras Kibby, who came from New Rochelle, New York, but he did not long remain, as the presiding elder transferred him before the close of the year. He was the last assignment for a decade.

The "converts" were either unconverted or had gradually drifted back to older moorings, and by 1810 the sect was almost extinct. Two women only remained as evidence of the faith at that date. Erastus Otis, stationed at Falmouth, made frequent visits here and kept the dying embers from total extinguishment. William Hinman, 1811-12; Edward Hyde, 1812-13; Wlliam Frost, 1813-14; John W. Hardy, 1814-15, Benjamin Hazelton, 181 5-1 6, followed as general missionaries, but records are wanting to show the nature or results of their labors. Evidently it was all foundation work, as it was not till 1816-17, during the assignment of Shipley W. Wilson, that the first "class" was organized in this town.^ The members of it were Edmund Crowell and wife, Mrs. Sarah Parsons, Mrs. Polly Hillman, Mrs. Annie Claghorn, Hannah Hammett, and two sisters, Betsey and Cynthia Grinnell. The "class leader" was Hiram Chase, a hatter, who had come from Sandwich to follow his trade. Thomas M. Tucker followed, 181 7-18, and Mr. Wilson had a second pastorate immediately after. Eleazer Steele served here with considerable success, 181 9-20-2 1, and then came "Reformation [John] Adams," famous for his revival work. His two years' labor, 182 1-2-3, was a continuous round of personal pleadings week days and collective exhortations on Sundays. The results were a great numerical increase of converts, and a tribute to his zealous methods.^ When he left the Vineyard, a farewell ode composed by him expressing his sentiments of regret at parting, contained this verse: -

At Holmes' Hole theres some grown cold Oh Lord revive them down the Neck; The harbour round with blessings crown With power the devil's kingdom shake!

'This number probably includes all the Methodists in his jurisdiction on the Vineyard. It is not possible to say how many are to be credited to this town.

^During his sfay here Wilson wooed and won Miss Rebecca Mayhew (665) daughter of Deacon William Mayhew, against the strenuous opposition of her parents. Religious sentiment in those days was militant.

^His Autobiography, edited by his son, published in 1847, gives minute details of his life here during this first pastorate, and the second five years later, pp. 92-164 and 202-284. It is a picture of conditions on the Vineyard eighy-five years ago.

Frederick Upham succeeded this flaming sword, 1823-4, and after him came the world-famous Edward T. Taylor, known in the annals of this denomination and in Boston, where he ended his unique career, as "Father" Taylor. His pastorate, 1824-5, l^^t its deep impression upon the people of the town and island, as it did elsewhere in the later stages of his noted career. He was then about thirty years old and the atmosphere of the place well suited his idealism, and he readily adapted his preaching to this environment. The sea and its language, the deck and its manners, the forecastle and its sentiment, gave him constant inspiration, and he became the ''sailors' preacher"^ on this sea girt isle. He held services on vessels in the harbor, and on one of these occasions uttered the oft-quoted aspiration which has been paraphrased in verse, expressive of his love of the ocean : -

I do not want to be buried in the ground when I die. But bury me rather in the deep blue sea where the coral rocks shall be my pillow, and the seaweeds shall be my winding sheet, and where the waves of the ocean shall sing my requiem for ever and ever.

First Vineyard Camp-Meeting

David Culver, 1825-6, and John Adams, 1826-7, followed in succession. In this second pastorate of '^ Reformation Adams" the first known camp-meeting held on the Vineyard occurred in July and August, 1827, in a grove near the West Chop lighthouse. Of this event the preacher speaks as follows : -

To prepare the ground for camp meeting has required labor and fatigue. July 28, 1827 I preached on the camp ground. About 150 were present, and we had the shout of a King in the Camp. August i, 1827 our camp meeting commenced and more than twenty preachers were present, and not far from thirty tents were on the ground. The people came from different islands, and many from the Cape, New Bedford and Boston. All parts of the Vineyard were represented. Good order was generally observed. In the first part of the meeting but few were converted, but the meeting grew more powerful and interesting, and it was hoped that more than forty experienced religion, while many backsliders were reclaimed, old professors quickened young converts strengthened and imperfect beUevers sanctified to God. Our meetings continued a week and we had a solemn parting. We think the meeting will prove a blessing for years to come.^

Following Adams came William Barstow, 1828-9, who was assisted by Caleb Lamb; Hezekiah Thatcher, 1829-30; Thomas G. Brown, 1830-2. During Mr. Brown's pastorate a Sunday school was organized, and the church, in 1830, numbered thirty-five members.

First Methodist Meeting-House

x\s already stated, the services of this denomination had been held hitherto in the Proprietors' meeting-house in rotation with the Baptist and others, but during the succeeding pastorate of Louis Janson (1832-3), a movement for a separate house of worship was consummated.^ It had been talked about for some time, but an incident associated with the joint occupancy of the Union meeting-house precipitated the result. Members of all creeds were accustomed to attend services conducted by the others, if they desired. On one Sunday, at a Baptist service, when the communion was to be celebrated, the invitation to partake of the Lord's Supper was given in such a manner as to leave no doubt that none but Baptists would be welcome. This was the cause, according to tradition, of the efforts immediately begun to build a Methodist meeting-house where they would be independent. In the movement Capt. William Daggett was a leading spirit and liberal contributor, and others lent services, if they were unable to give funds. As a preliminary to perfecting their independency and the right to hold property for religious uses, the members were incorporated March 7, 1833, as the "First Methodist Episcopal Society in Tisbury." The building was completed at a cost of nearly $2,000 in July following, and dedicated July 1 1 , that year. It is still standing on Church street, known for years as Capawock hall, and now occupied as a Masonic Temple, the property of that order.