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Originally published in the Historic Nantucket, Vol. 44, no. 2 (Summer 1994), p. 28 -30

Vanished Treasures
by Harry B. Turner

Peter Paddack's harpoon iron. 85.137.1

With only a few important exceptions, most of the items described in Mr. Turner's 1916 contribution to the Association's twenty-second annual meeting remain among the missing. Wouldn't it be wonderful if a reader recognized one or more of them and contributed them to our collections?


Had the Nantucket Historical Association been born forty years earlier than it was, probably many valuable Nantucket relics, which cannot now be located, would have been in its collection. Without a doubt more relics of real historic value have been lost beyond recall than have been preserved, simply through thoughtless destruction or sale by parties who did not appreciate their real value, or because, in the change of time, they looked upon them as old-fashioned and fit only for the dump or for the collector. Each year the Historical Association learns of some relic which has been lost, which ought to have become a part of its collection, even as a tiny link in the great chain which makes the history of Nantucket. And in this direction — with the hope that some of the missing articles may yet appear — I will mention a few interesting relics which were known to be in existence not a great many years ago, but which cannot now be found.

Perhaps among the most valuable reminders of the past which have been lost are some of the real interesting log books. One of these missing ones is that of the ship Henry Astor, which sailed from Nantucket in 1840. The Henry Astor had a voyage which was replete with excitement from start to finish. Two boats were smashed by whales, there was a mutiny on board followed by a court martial and the placing of men in irons. Shortly after, the ship was boarded by cannibals and the crew fought the invaders off. Then came a severe storm during which the ship sprang a leak. The captain, Seth Pinkham, died at Pernambuco; the mate, Henry Smith, was killed by a whale; and the vessel was finally brought home by Henry Colesworthy. The ship was gone four years, yet in spite of her eventful voyage, so carefully had she been navigated that when she made Block Island on the homeward passage she was only twelve miles off her course by dead reckoning. The log book recorded speaking a ship only two days out from New York, which was off her course and desired to be set aright by the Nantucket ship that had been gone four years and was just nearing home. The book was available in the early nineties, but one day was loaned to Charles Henry Webb who wanted to put the facts of this exciting voyage into story form. Mr. Webb died a few months later and the log book of the Henry Astor simply disappeared.

Doubtless every Nantucket family has discarded or destroyed articles of historic value, which in after years has brought genuine regret. I clearly recall a huge chopping block belonging to my grandfather which was a big tree stump he had dug up out of one of the peat swamps to the west of the town. For years it stood at the rear of the house on West Chester Street, and I recall that it was a very tough piece of wood, which I was told was white oak. It stood about three feet high and was eighteen or twenty inches in diameter at the top. Undoubtedly it was a piece of one of the big trees which tradition tells us once grew on this island. Had that tree stump, or one of the many others which are said to have been found in the peat swamp, been preserved to this day, it would probably have convinced the skeptics that Nantucket actually was heavily wooded at one time.

At the first fair held by the Nantucket Agricultural Society in 1856 a monument of spermaceti, in imitation of the Bunker Hill Monument, was exhibited. It was as white as snow and was made in the candle factory of Hadwen and Barney. It was not preserved. Neither was the statue of Hercules, which had been carved from a hickory log by a Nantucket man, and was said to be a truly remarkable piece of workmanship. Hercules and Bunker Hill, both in miniature, were exhibited in 1856 in the same room with the "Dauphin," but of the trio the "Dauphin" alone remains. The spermaceti monument disappeared in 1859, but Hercules lived six years longer, the last mention of the hickory log carving being in 1865.

The story of Peter Paddack's whale iron is already familiar to some. Captain Peter Paddack was in command of the ship Lion, which sailed from Nantucket in 1802. Out in the Pacific Ocean he struck a whale, but the whale escaped, taking the iron away with him. One day thirteen years later, however, when Captain Paddack was again out in the Pacific, this time in command of the Lady Adams, he struck and captured a whale, and when the crew were cutting in one of them came across the head of a whale iron. It was the same iron which Captain Paddack had hurled into the whale thirteen years previous, and the captain was certainly overjoyed to meet the whale again. He was positive it was his long lost iron, for there were his initials, "P.P." stamped into it. That he should strike the same whale after a lapse of thirteen years was something more than a coincidence to Captain Paddack, and as long as he lived he preserved the iron as one of his most interesting relics. When he retired from the sea and removed to Kennebeck, Maine, to reside, the iron went with him, but his house caught fire and burned down and the iron was lost in the ruins. Captain Paddack was reluctant to give it up, however, so hired a gang of men to search through the ashes, and the iron was finally located, much to his gratification. A year or so later the captain returned to Nantucket, and the iron was exhibited upon different occasions as late as 1860, when it left Nantucket in the possession of Captain Paddack's grandson.

Peleg Ray, who lived up North Shore in a house which stood just above the top of the hill, was totally blind during the later years of his life. He had been an active man and possessed a remarkable memory, and he also had in his possession many very interesting and valuable relics. Among them was a whale's tooth upon which had been carved the Lord's Prayer. The base of the tooth was mounted on pearl, the whole being fashioned on a Nantucket whaleship. Where this tooth went will probably never be known, but it is fair to presume that his daughter, who lived in the old house a few years after his death, sold it, as she did many other relics when the summer folks came after them.

A rather eccentric individual named Pitman Moore, on seeing numerous models of whaleships made by the men at sea, in 1850 conceived the plan of making a full-rigged ship according to his own ideas. He built it, rigged it, and painted it alone, and when the task was done he took full credit for it, labeling the craft "A Notion of My Own." One of the island newspapers referred to his work as a very ingenious specimen — stating that such an example of naval architecture had never been seen since Noah navigated the ark.

Deacon Gruber, who was an expert cooper, in 1811 made a tiny cask which was only three inches in diameter at the heads and held just a quart. There were 365 staves in it, besides the bung stave, and each head was composed of forty-five pieces. As an example of the skill of the Nantucket coopers of a century ago, it was a gem.

Another oddity was a small cask made at sea by a cooper on ship Peruvian. Each end was in the form of an ellipse. The longest diameter of the two ends would cross each other at right angles, while the bung measurement would form a circle, Peter Paddack's harpoon iron was donated to the Nantucket Historical Association in 1985. Mr. Lawrence D. Stewart of Ossining, New York, a direct descendant of Paddack, gave us this artifact, now on display in the Whaling Museum, and it was impossible for any two staves to be alike. The last time it was on exhibition, A. B. Whipple, then principal of the High School, endeavored to ascertain its capacity by every conceivable rule of mathematics, but he finally gave it up in despair. Both of these casks have disappeared.

There was once a bridal shoe, made in 1737, which was presented by a Nantucket lover to his lady friend, together with a pair of garters, bearing the inscription "Let Love Abide." As a relic of old time Nantucket courtship these articles would certainly be of interest, but they, like hundreds of other things, have been swept away.

As late as 1863 a cradle quilt which had been made in 1729 by Sarah, the first wife of Abisha Folger, who spun the material and wove the cloth of which it was made, was in existence. Sarah was the granddaughter of Thomas Mayhew, and her husband was the grandson of the first Peter Folger.

The first easy chair made on the island existed as late as 1858, then in the possession of Mrs. Peggy Riddell, yet it is very doubtful if any of Peggy's descendants even heard of it.

One other important relic seems to have been lost, the ancient coffee pot which belonged to Abiah Folger, the mother of Benjamin Franklin. It was presented to her by her father, Peter Folger, at the time of her marriage to James Franklin in 1697. Mrs. Samuel B. Swain had this coffee pot in 1866 and that year placed it on exhibition at the county fair.

The same year Mrs. William Worth had in her possession an antique pitcher which bore on one side the picture of a machine supposed to be grinding old women into young girls. The old ladies were pictured going into the hopper at one end and were coming out fresh and new at the other. According to the illustration upon the pitcher, the rush of old ladies for a chance at the machine was tremendous.

In 1855 Maria Mitchell executed an oil painting of a Nantucket scene for which she was awarded a two dollar prize at the first county fair held on the island. This painting was preserved many years, and if it could be found and identified today would probably be of considerable commercial as well as historical value.

The silver spoon used by the first white woman on the island was preserved and cherished as late as 1870, but whether it is still in existence is not known. There are numerous silver spoons in our collection, but none which can be identified as this particular one, and it is a safe guess that it was sold either as a curio or for the silver it contained.

Reuben G. Folger once carved a very handsome dog out of a tree stump which was found imbedded in a peat swamp near Polpis, gilding it and placing it on exhibition with considerable pride.

Possibly this dog joined the carving of Hercules, for it, too, disappeared years ago.

Mrs. Lucy Mitchell, who lived up at the head of Gay Street, saved the feathers shed by her pet canary and made them into a vase of flowers, which was said to be a thing of great beauty. Capt. Henry Cleveland once fashioned a curious specimen of plaster work, representing an old woman asleep on a street corner while a young scamp was transferring the contents of her basket to his hat. Although not exactly to be classified as historic relics, these articles would nevertheless have been interesting to future generations.

Whatever relics of the whaling and commercial activities of Nantucket may have been lost, however, it is certain that enough have been preserved to bring the Historical Association a collection to be proud of. But there is one branch of the island's history which is obscure as far as relics go, and that is the Nantucket Indians. To be sure hundreds — perhaps thousands — of arrowheads have been found among the sands and on the moors, but, aside from those, mementos of the Indians are very rare, and this collection does not even include a tomahawk. Not that no tomahawk has ever been found on the island, but because the finders of the few specimens which have been unearthed have not had historic appreciation enough to have them preserved in the collection of the Nantucket Historical Association.

One day in the summer of 1887 four boys who were "tending" the north herd just west of Washing Pond came across a depression in the ground that excited their curiosity. Boy fashion, they commenced digging with some pieces of board, and only about a foot below the surface they discovered some dry bones and with them a tomahawk, a spear head and an arrow, all in excellent condition. For my part I feel a bit guilty to this day in having disturbed the rest of that old Indian, and actually robbing his grave, but until last week I really thought I could place my hands on that tomahawk and secure it for this Association. When I asked for it, however, I found that in dividing the spoils the boy whom I thought took the tomahawk took something else and the tomahawk went elsewhere. Several other tomahawks have been found, but, as yet,
their owners do not feel inclined to part with them, even to have them become a part of this Association's collection.

About fifteen years ago Isaac Dunham, while plowing on Tuckernuck one day, turned out a tomahawk which he preserved several years, finally presenting it to the son of a favorite summer resident who still has it.

Lawrence Mooney, Jr., has an excellent specimen which he found near Quaise a few years ago. This tomahawk, unlike the others which have been found, has a peculiar ridge about it, to which the handle was evidently fastened.

An Indian arrow, with the stone head firmly bound to the wooden shaft, in every way intact and perfect, was found in a sand hill just west of the town about a dozen years ago. This arrow is still preserved by the local Order of Red Men.

There is another relic of the Nantucket Indians in existence, and a very interesting one, too. It is an Indian pipe — not the kind that grows on the moors or in the swamps — but a pipe which may have been smoked as the pipe of peace on more than one occasion in the days of our dusky predecessors. This pipe was found about a mile west of the village of 'Sconset by Henry Coffin, who has always cherished it as a valuable relic, refusing large sums of money for it at different times, but always turning them down with the statement that the pipe is not for sale.

These are only a few of the "vanished treasures" which ought to have become part of our collection. Many more, equally interesting and equally valuable historically, could be named if space and time permitted. However, the mention of some of these relics which have disappeared may kindle anew the fires of memory, as it is only within the last half century that they vanished, and it may be that some of them may yet be located, to ultimately find a permanent resting place in the collection of the Nantucket Historical Association.

Harry B. Turner, publisher and editor of the Inquirer and Mirror, 1907-1948.