QUAKERS, WHALING, & NANTUCKET
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Among our Shethar ancestors are several of the families which founded Nantucket and who were very involved in the Quaker movement and whaling. These include the Coffin, Starbuck, Gardner, Hussey, and Gorham families. The Gorhams tended to live more frequently on the mainland, particularly around Barnstable, while the other families were closely associated with Nantucket for generations. Some of the families were involved with the Society of Friends from very early on – Stephen Hussey was one of Nantucket’s original Quakers, while Richard Gardner and his wife, Sarah Shattuck Gardner, moved to Nantucket because his wife’s Quaker affiliation was causing problems for them in Puritan Salem – at that time, Nantucket was attached to the New York Colony, rather than Massachusetts, and thus, it was not under the jurisdiction of the Puritans. The Starbucks and Coffins were instrumental in developing whaling in Nantucket. All these families intermarried a great deal, so that we are related in several ways to many of them. For example, we are descended from three of Tristram Coffin’s children! However, the most recent of our Nantucket ancestors from all of these families comes down to one individual, Charles Gorham Coffin (1793-1871), grandfather of Edwin Hall Shethar.
Coffin
Tristram Coffin (1609-1681) – Tristram Coffin was the founder of the Coffin family in America (and Nantucket), and he came from Brixton Parish, Plymouth, Devonshire, England. Tristram arrived in New England in 1642. He went first to Newbury, Massachusetts before moving on to Nantucket. He was one of the original purchasers, along with Edward Starbuck and Christopher Hussey, of the island of Nantucket, from Thomas Mahew in 1659. Several Nantucket families, including the Coffins, Gardners, and the Starbucks, began whaling seriously in the 1690s, and by 1715, the Coffins owned three whalers and a trade vessel.
Mary Coffin Starbuck (1644-1716) – Mary Coffin Starbuck was instrumental in the spread of the Quaker faith in Nantucket. She was known as "Great Mary", and was very influential in Nantucket both in the commercial world and in Quakerism there. The Nantucket Meeting was formed in 1708, with Mary serving as an elder and her son Nathaniel Jr. as clerk. Mary became the first recognized minister among the islanders. Mary is our direct ancestor, my 8th-great-grandmother.
Mary was born on February 20, 1644 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts, and was one of Tristram's children; the family was originally Puritan. She married Nathaniel Starbuck (1634-1719) in 1662, and they had ten children, eight of whom lived to adulthood. Their oldest child Mary, born in 1663, was the first white child born on Nantucket. Mary's oldest son, Nathaniel Starbuck, Jr. (1668-1753), was very involved with his mother in preaching Quakerism. (Nathaniel married his first cousin, Dinah Coffin.)
Mary was a woman of power and influence, and she was consulted on all matters of public importance, The Quakers on Nantucket were strong politically and financially, and many were involved in the whaling industry. They were in the majority for most of the eighteenth century, and their devotion to simplicity and strict adherence to traditional ways influenced Nantucket’s architecture, home furnishings, clothing, and social behavior.
Mary was also Nantucket's first storekeeper, and she arranged credit and commerce among both the white settlers and Indians of the island.
Starbuck
Edward Starbuck (1604-1690) – Edward Starbuck came from Derbyshire, England, and he arrived in America sometime in the late 1630s or early 1640s and settled in Dover, N.H., which was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony at the time. He lived in Dover for about 20 years where he was a large landholder and active in local government. His children were born in Dover and his wife, Katherine, died there before he moved to Nantucket.
Edward Starbuck and Tristram Coffin were the first two men to sail to Nantucket for an inspection trip. In 1659, he was among the first purchasers of the island from Thomas Mayhew. He took up permanent residence on Nantucket in the early 1660s and spent the rest of his life there.
Hussey
Christopher Hussey (1599-1686) – Christopher Hussey came from Dorking in Surrey, England. Christopher, his wife, Theodate, and her parents, Rev. Stephen and Ann Bachelder, came over on the ship William and Francis, landing in Boston in 1632. They had all spent time in Holland before coming to the New World; in fact, that is where Christopher met his wife – so they were probably a part of the Separatist (Pilgrim) religious group. They settled just north of Boston at Lynn, Massachusetts. Shortly afterwards, the whole family moved to Newbury, Massachusetts, and in 1638, they all moved to Hampton, then in Massachusetts, now in New Hampshire, where they settled for the rest of their lives. Christopher was part of the group that bought Nantucket Island, although he did not move there. His son, Stephen Hussey, did move to Nantucket, and his granddaughter, Puella, married Shuabel Gorham, a son of Capt. John Gorham.
Gardner
Thomas Gardner (died 1674) – Thomas Gardner came to the New World from Dorsetshire in 1624 and settled at Gloucester, Cape Ann. The plantation at Cape Ann did not meet with great success and so in 1626, he went to Salem. He apparently was married three times, although no maiden names of the wives survive, nor the first name of his first wife. His son, Richard, and his family, moved from Salem to Nantucket in the 1660s; one of the prime reasons being that his wife, Sarah Shattuck Gardner, was persecuted for being a Quaker (meanwhile, Richard’s brother John was an enthusiastic Puritan). Many members of the Shattuck family were well-known for being Quakers.
Gorham
Capt. John Gorham (1621-1676) – John Gorham came from Benefield, Northamptonshire, England. He received a land grant in Plymouth on December 18, 1635. He married Desire Howland, daughter of Mayflower passengers John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley Howland, and they had eight children. He was captain of a company of militia who fought against the Indians and was wounded in December 1675 in the Great Swamp Fight during King Philip’s War, and he died from fever caused by the wound. His family received a grant of land in Barnstable for his service. Within the next several generations, the Gorhams intermarried with the Husseys, Gardners, and Coffins, and lived in either Cape Cod (Barnstable) or Nantucket. Theodate Gorham, the granddaughter of Captain John, married Francis Coffin, and their great-great-granddaughter, Frances Theodosia Coffin, married Samuel Shethar. Their daughter, Maud, also married a Gorham (her 6th cousin once removed). In addition, another Gorham and Shethar had a close business relationship in Connecticut during the early 1800s, in silversmithing.
Coffin
Tristram Coffin (1609-1681) – Tristram Coffin was the founder of the Coffin family in America (and Nantucket), and he came from Brixton Parish, Plymouth, Devonshire, England. Tristram arrived in New England in 1642. He went first to Newbury, Massachusetts before moving on to Nantucket. He was one of the original purchasers, along with Edward Starbuck and Christopher Hussey, of the island of Nantucket, from Thomas Mahew in 1659. Several Nantucket families, including the Coffins, Gardners, and the Starbucks, began whaling seriously in the 1690s, and by 1715, the Coffins owned three whalers and a trade vessel.
Mary Coffin Starbuck (1644-1716) – Mary Coffin Starbuck was instrumental in the spread of the Quaker faith in Nantucket. She was known as "Great Mary", and was very influential in Nantucket both in the commercial world and in Quakerism there. The Nantucket Meeting was formed in 1708, with Mary serving as an elder and her son Nathaniel Jr. as clerk. Mary became the first recognized minister among the islanders. Mary is our direct ancestor, my 8th-great-grandmother.
Mary was born on February 20, 1644 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts, and was one of Tristram's children; the family was originally Puritan. She married Nathaniel Starbuck (1634-1719) in 1662, and they had ten children, eight of whom lived to adulthood. Their oldest child Mary, born in 1663, was the first white child born on Nantucket. Mary's oldest son, Nathaniel Starbuck, Jr. (1668-1753), was very involved with his mother in preaching Quakerism. (Nathaniel married his first cousin, Dinah Coffin.)
Mary was a woman of power and influence, and she was consulted on all matters of public importance, The Quakers on Nantucket were strong politically and financially, and many were involved in the whaling industry. They were in the majority for most of the eighteenth century, and their devotion to simplicity and strict adherence to traditional ways influenced Nantucket’s architecture, home furnishings, clothing, and social behavior.
Mary was also Nantucket's first storekeeper, and she arranged credit and commerce among both the white settlers and Indians of the island.
Starbuck
Edward Starbuck (1604-1690) – Edward Starbuck came from Derbyshire, England, and he arrived in America sometime in the late 1630s or early 1640s and settled in Dover, N.H., which was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony at the time. He lived in Dover for about 20 years where he was a large landholder and active in local government. His children were born in Dover and his wife, Katherine, died there before he moved to Nantucket.
Edward Starbuck and Tristram Coffin were the first two men to sail to Nantucket for an inspection trip. In 1659, he was among the first purchasers of the island from Thomas Mayhew. He took up permanent residence on Nantucket in the early 1660s and spent the rest of his life there.
Hussey
Christopher Hussey (1599-1686) – Christopher Hussey came from Dorking in Surrey, England. Christopher, his wife, Theodate, and her parents, Rev. Stephen and Ann Bachelder, came over on the ship William and Francis, landing in Boston in 1632. They had all spent time in Holland before coming to the New World; in fact, that is where Christopher met his wife – so they were probably a part of the Separatist (Pilgrim) religious group. They settled just north of Boston at Lynn, Massachusetts. Shortly afterwards, the whole family moved to Newbury, Massachusetts, and in 1638, they all moved to Hampton, then in Massachusetts, now in New Hampshire, where they settled for the rest of their lives. Christopher was part of the group that bought Nantucket Island, although he did not move there. His son, Stephen Hussey, did move to Nantucket, and his granddaughter, Puella, married Shuabel Gorham, a son of Capt. John Gorham.
Gardner
Thomas Gardner (died 1674) – Thomas Gardner came to the New World from Dorsetshire in 1624 and settled at Gloucester, Cape Ann. The plantation at Cape Ann did not meet with great success and so in 1626, he went to Salem. He apparently was married three times, although no maiden names of the wives survive, nor the first name of his first wife. His son, Richard, and his family, moved from Salem to Nantucket in the 1660s; one of the prime reasons being that his wife, Sarah Shattuck Gardner, was persecuted for being a Quaker (meanwhile, Richard’s brother John was an enthusiastic Puritan). Many members of the Shattuck family were well-known for being Quakers.
Gorham
Capt. John Gorham (1621-1676) – John Gorham came from Benefield, Northamptonshire, England. He received a land grant in Plymouth on December 18, 1635. He married Desire Howland, daughter of Mayflower passengers John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley Howland, and they had eight children. He was captain of a company of militia who fought against the Indians and was wounded in December 1675 in the Great Swamp Fight during King Philip’s War, and he died from fever caused by the wound. His family received a grant of land in Barnstable for his service. Within the next several generations, the Gorhams intermarried with the Husseys, Gardners, and Coffins, and lived in either Cape Cod (Barnstable) or Nantucket. Theodate Gorham, the granddaughter of Captain John, married Francis Coffin, and their great-great-granddaughter, Frances Theodosia Coffin, married Samuel Shethar. Their daughter, Maud, also married a Gorham (her 6th cousin once removed). In addition, another Gorham and Shethar had a close business relationship in Connecticut during the early 1800s, in silversmithing.