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NANTUCKET , a See also:county and township (coextensive) of See also:Massachusetts, U.S.A. Its See also:principal See also:part is an See also:island of the same name, 28 m. S. of Cape See also:Cod See also:peninsula; it also includes the island of Tuckernuck, which has an See also:area of 1.97 sq. m., and is used for See also:sheep grazing; Muskeget Island, which has excellent See also:hunting, and of which about one-See also:half is a public See also:park; and the See also:Gravel Islands and other islets. Pop. of the county (1905 See also:state See also:census), 2930; (1910) 2962.
The island, with a minimum length of 15 m., an See also:average width of 21 m., and an area of about 47 sq. m., has a See also:coast-See also:line of 88 m.; it lies within the 10-See also:fathom line, but is separated from the mainland by Nantucket See also:Sound, which is 25 to 30 M. across and has a maximum See also:depth of 50 ft. The See also:surface of Nantucket Island is open, nearly treeless, with a few hills, the highest being 91 ft. above See also:sea-level. The See also:soil is sandy but affords See also:good pasture in some places, and has been farmed with some success; the See also:flora is See also:rich, and includes some rare See also:species. There are a See also:score of fresh-See also:water ponds, the largest being See also:Hummock (320 acres). Copaum (21 acres) was, at the See also:- TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
- TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
- TIME, STANDARD
time of the first See also:settlement, a See also:bay and the commonly used See also:harbour, but the See also:present harbour (6 m. See also:long) is that formed by Coatue See also:Beach, a long narrow See also:tongue of See also:land on the N. See also:side of the island. The See also:northern part of Coatue Beach is known as Coskata Beach, and curves to the N.W.; near its tip is See also:Great Point, where a lighthouse was first built in 1784. There have been many terrible wrecks on the coast, and there are See also:life-saving stations on Muskeget Island, near Maddaket, at Surfside and on Coskata Beach. At the W. end of the island is Tuckernuck See also:Bank, a broad submarine See also:platform, on whose edge are the island of Tuckernuck, on which is a See also:village of the same name, and Muskeget Island. In the S.E. extremity of Nantucket Island is Siasconset (locally 'Sconset), a summer resort of some See also:vogue; it has a Marconi wireless See also:telegraph station, connecting with incoming steamers, the Nantucket shoals lightship and the mainland. On a See also:bluff on the S. is the small village of Surfside. Other hamlets are Maddaket, at the W. end of the island; and Polpis, Quidnet and Wauwinet (at the See also:head of Nantucket harbour) in its E. part.
The principal settlement and ;summer resort is the See also:town of Nantucket (on the S.W. end of the harbour), which is served by steamers from New See also:Bedford, Martha's Vineyard and See also:Wood's Hole, and is connected with Siasconset by a See also:primitive narrow-See also:gauge railway. Here there are large summer hotels, old residences built in the prosperous days of whaling, old lean-to houses, old graveyards and an octagonal towered See also:windmill built in 1746. There are two See also:libraries; one founded in 1836, and now a public library in the Atheneum See also:building; and the other in what is now the School of See also:Industrial and See also:Manual Training (1904), founded in 1827 as a Lancasterian school by See also:Admiral See also:Sir See also:Isaac See also:Coffin (1759-1839), whose ancestors were Nantucket See also:people. The See also:Jethro Coffin See also:House was built in 1686, according to tradition; the Old See also:North See also:Vestry, the first Congregational See also:- MEETING (from " to meet," to come together, assemble, 0. Eng. metals ; cf. Du. moeten, Swed. mota, Goth. gamotjan, &c., derivatives of the Teut. word for a meeting, seen in O. Eng. Wit, moot, an assembly of the people; cf. witanagemot)
meeting-house, built in 1711, was moved in 1767, and again in 1834 to its present site on See also:Beacon See also:- HILL
- HILL (0. Eng. hyll; cf. Low Ger. hull, Mid. Dutch hul, allied to Lat. celsus, high, collis, hill, &c.)
- HILL, A
- HILL, AARON (1685-175o)
- HILL, AMBROSE POWELL
- HILL, DANIEL HARVEY (1821-1889)
- HILL, DAVID BENNETT (1843–1910)
- HILL, GEORGE BIRKBECK NORMAN (1835-1903)
- HILL, JAMES J
- HILL, JOHN (c. 1716-1775)
- HILL, MATTHEW DAVENPORT (1792-1872)
- HILL, OCTAVIA (1838– )
- HILL, ROWLAND (1744–1833)
- HILL, SIR ROWLAND (1795-1879)
Hill. The old See also:South See also:- CHURCH
- CHURCH (according to most authorities derived from the Gr. Kvpcaxov [&wµa], " the Lord's [house]," and common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages under various forms—Scottish kirk, Ger. Kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Buig. cerk
- CHURCH, FREDERICK EDWIN (1826-1900)
- CHURCH, GEORGE EARL (1835–1910)
- CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815–189o)
- CHURCH, SIR RICHARD (1784–1873)
Church See also:Tower, a See also:steeple and See also:clock tower, 144 ft. above sea-level, has a See also:fine Portuguese See also:- BELL
- BELL, ALEXANDER MELVILLE (1819—1905)
- BELL, ANDREW (1753—1832)
- BELL, GEORGE JOSEPH (1770-1843)
- BELL, HENRY (1767-1830)
- BELL, HENRY GLASSFORD (1803-1874)
- BELL, JACOB (1810-1859)
- BELL, JOHN (1691-178o)
- BELL, JOHN (1763-1820)
- BELL, JOHN (1797-1869)
- BELL, ROBERT (1800-1867)
- BELL, SIR CHARLES (1774—1842)
bell, made in 1810. Another old house, built in 1725, was the See also:home of Elihu Coleman, an See also:anti-See also:slavery See also:minister of the Society of See also:Friends, who were very strong here until the See also:close of the first See also:quarter of the 19th See also:century. Near the old Friends' School is the building of the Nantucket See also:Historical Society, which has acollection of See also:relics. Nantucket was the home of See also:Benjamin See also:Franklin's See also:mother, Abiah, whose See also:father, See also:- PETER
- PETER (Lat. Petrus from Gr. irfpos, a rock, Ital. Pietro, Piero, Pier, Fr. Pierre, Span. Pedro, Ger. Peter, Russ. Petr)
- PETER (PEDRO)
- PETER, EPISTLES OF
- PETER, ST
Peter Folger, was one of the earliest settlers (1663); of Maria See also:Mitchell, and of See also:Lucretia See also:Mott. Adjoining the Maria Mitchell See also:homestead is a memorial astronomical See also:observatory and library, containing the collections of See also:Miss Mitchell and of her See also:brother, See also:Professor See also:- HENRY
- HENRY (1129-1195)
- HENRY (c. 1108-1139)
- HENRY (c. 1174–1216)
- HENRY (Fr. Henri; Span. Enrique; Ger. Heinrich; Mid. H. Ger. Heinrich and Heimrich; O.H.G. Haimi- or Heimirih, i.e. " prince, or chief of the house," from O.H.G. heim, the Eng. home, and rih, Goth. reiks; compare Lat. rex " king "—" rich," therefore " mig
- HENRY, EDWARD LAMSON (1841– )
- HENRY, JAMES (1798-1876)
- HENRY, JOSEPH (1797-1878)
- HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714)
- HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799)
- HENRY, PRINCE OF BATTENBERG (1858-1896)
- HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790)
- HENRY, VICTOR (1850– )
- HENRY, WILLIAM (1795-1836)
Henry Mitchell (1830-1902), a distinguished hydrographer. The See also:industries of the island are unimportant; there is considerable cod and scallop fishing. Sheep-raising was once an important See also:industry. Nantucket was long famous as a whaling See also:port. As See also:early as the beginning of the 18th century its fleets vied with those of eastern Long Island. In 1712 a Nantucket whaler, See also:Christopher Hussey, blown out to sea, killed some sperm whales and thus introduced the sperm-oil industry and put an end to the See also:period in which only See also:drift- and See also:shore- or See also:boat-whaling had been carried on—the shore See also:fishery died out about 1760. In 1757 whaling was the only livelihood of the people of Nantucket; and in 1750-1775, although whaling fleets were in repeated danger from See also:French and See also:Spanish privateers, the business, with the allied coopers and other trades, steadily increased. In 1775 the Nantucket See also:fleet numbered 150, and the See also:population was between 5000 and 6000, about 90% being See also:Quakers; but by 1785 the fleet had been shattered, 134 See also:ships being destroyed or captured during the See also:war. See also:Tallow candles as a substitute for See also:whale-oil had been introduced, and the See also:British See also:market was closed by a See also:duty of £18 a ton on oil; a See also:bounty offered, by the Massachusetts legislature (£5 on See also:- WHITE
- WHITE, ANDREW DICKSON (1832– )
- WHITE, GILBERT (1720–1793)
- WHITE, HENRY KIRKE (1785-1806)
- WHITE, HUGH LAWSON (1773-1840)
- WHITE, JOSEPH BLANCO (1775-1841)
- WHITE, RICHARD GRANT (1822-1885)
- WHITE, ROBERT (1645-1704)
- WHITE, SIR GEORGE STUART (1835– )
- WHITE, SIR THOMAS (1492-1567)
- WHITE, SIR WILLIAM ARTHUR (1824--1891)
- WHITE, SIR WILLIAM HENRY (1845– )
- WHITE, THOMAS (1628-1698)
- WHITE, THOMAS (c. 1550-1624)
white and £3 on yellow or See also:- BROWN
- BROWN, CHARLES BROCKDEN (1771-181o)
- BROWN, FORD MADOX (1821-1893)
- BROWN, FRANCIS (1849- )
- BROWN, GEORGE (1818-188o)
- BROWN, HENRY KIRKE (1814-1886)
- BROWN, JACOB (1775–1828)
- BROWN, JOHN (1715–1766)
- BROWN, JOHN (1722-1787)
- BROWN, JOHN (1735–1788)
- BROWN, JOHN (1784–1858)
- BROWN, JOHN (1800-1859)
- BROWN, JOHN (1810—1882)
- BROWN, JOHN GEORGE (1831— )
- BROWN, ROBERT (1773-1858)
- BROWN, SAMUEL MORISON (1817—1856)
- BROWN, SIR GEORGE (1790-1865)
- BROWN, SIR JOHN (1816-1896)
- BROWN, SIR WILLIAM, BART
- BROWN, THOMAS (1663-1704)
- BROWN, THOMAS (1778-1820)
- BROWN, THOMAS EDWARD (1830-1897)
- BROWN, WILLIAM LAURENCE (1755–1830)
brown See also:spermaceti, and £2 on whale-oil per ton) was of slight assistance. During the war of 1812 the Nantucket fleet was the only one active; it suffered severely during the war, and in the See also:decade 1820-1830 Nantucket lost its primacy to New Bedford, whose fleet in 1840 was twice as large. Nantucket's last whaler sailed in 1869. Subsequently the island has been chiefly important as a summer resort.
See also:Title to Nantucket and the neighbouring islands was claimed under grants of the See also:Council for New See also:England both by See also:- WILLIAM
- WILLIAM (1143-1214)
- WILLIAM (1227-1256)
- WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
- WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
- WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
- WILLIAM, 13TH
William See also:Alexander, See also:Lord See also:Stirling, and by Sir Ferdinando See also:Gorges. Lord Stirling's See also:agent sold them in 1641 to See also:- THOMAS
- THOMAS (c. 1654-1720)
- THOMAS (d. 110o)
- THOMAS, ARTHUR GORING (1850-1892)
- THOMAS, CHARLES LOUIS AMBROISE (1811-1896)
- THOMAS, GEORGE (c. 1756-1802)
- THOMAS, GEORGE HENRY (1816-187o)
- THOMAS, ISAIAH (1749-1831)
- THOMAS, PIERRE (1634-1698)
- THOMAS, SIDNEY GILCHRIST (1850-1885)
- THOMAS, ST
- THOMAS, THEODORE (1835-1905)
- THOMAS, WILLIAM (d. 1554)
Thomas See also:Mayhew (1592-1682) of See also:Watertown, See also:Mass., and his son Thomas (c. 1616-16J7) for £40, and a little later the See also:elder Mayhew obtained another See also:deed for Martha's Vineyard from Gorges. In 1659 the elder Mayhew sold a See also:joint See also:interest in the greater part of the island of Nantucket for £30 and two See also:beaver hats to nine partners; early in the following See also:year the first ten admitted ten others as equal proprietors, and later, in See also:- ORDER
- ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
- ORDER, HOLY
order to encourage them to See also:settle here, See also:special half-grants were offered to tradesmen. The See also:original twenty proprietors, however, endeavoured to exclude the trades-men from any See also:voice in the See also:government, and this caused strife. Both factions appealed to the See also:governor of New See also:York, that See also:province having claimed See also:jurisdiction over the islands under the See also:- GRANT (from A.-Fr. graunter, O. Fr. greanter for creanter, popular Lat. creantare, for credentare, to entrust, Lat. credere, to believe, trust)
- GRANT, ANNE (1755-1838)
- GRANT, CHARLES (1746-1823)
- GRANT, GEORGE MONRO (1835–1902)
- GRANT, JAMES (1822–1887)
- GRANT, JAMES AUGUSTUS (1827–1892)
- GRANT, ROBERT (1814-1892)
- GRANT, SIR ALEXANDER
- GRANT, SIR FRANCIS (1803-1878)
- GRANT, SIR JAMES HOPE (1808–1895)
- GRANT, SIR PATRICK (1804-1895)
- GRANT, U
- GRANT, ULYSSES SIMPSON (1822-1885)
grant to the See also:duke of York in 1664, and, becoming increasingly dissatisfied with that government, sought a See also:union with Massachusetts until the islands were annexed to that province by its new See also:charter of 1691. The town of Nantucket was settled in 1661 and was incorporated in 1671. By order of Governor See also:Francis See also:Lovelace it was named Sherburne in 1673, but in 1795 the present name was adopted. Its original site was Maddaket on the W. end of the island; in 1672 it was moved to its present site, then called Wescoe. When counties were first organized in New York, in 1683, Nantucket and the neighbouring islands were erected into See also:Dukes county, but in 1695, after See also:annexation to Massachusetts, Nantucket Island, having been set apart from Dukes county, constituted Nantucket county, and in 1713 Tuckernuck Island was annexed to it.
See the bulletins (1896 sqq.) of the Nantucket Historical Society, established in 1894; F. B. Hough, Papers See also:relating to the Island of Nantucket . while under the See also:Colony of New York (See also:Albany, N.Y., 1856); M. S. See also:Dudley, Nantucket Centennial Celebration; Historic Sites and Historic Buildings (Nantucket, 1895); Obed Macy, See also:History of Nantucket (See also:Boston, 1835) ; L. S. Hinchman, Early Settlers of Nantucket (See also:Philadelphia, 1896; 2nd ed., 1901); W. S. See also:Bliss, See also:Quaint Nantucket (Boston, 1896) ; and N. S. Shaler, See also:Geology of Nantucket (See also:Washington, 1889), being U.S. See also:Geological Survey Bulletin, No. 53.
End of Article: NANTUCKET
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