Nantucket Connections

 "Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. 

Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands." - Linda Hogan

  Scan by NYPL, Public Domain, by Wikimedia Commons

Most of us know Nantucket as the picturesque little island off the coast of Massachusetts – a short ferry ride from Cape Cod or Martha’s Vineyard and a popular vacation destination. But many are not familiar with the island’s rich history of whalers, Native Americans, shipbuilders and Quakers.

Nantucket’s earliest inhabitants were the Wampanoag Nation, which had as many as 40,000 people across 67 villages along the East Coast, about 3,000 of them living on Nantucket, when European colonization reached the island. In 1641 Thomas Mayhew, an English-born merchant, secured Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and the Elizabeth Islands as a colony. He later sold an interest in Nantucket to nine other purchasers but reserved 1/10^th of an interest for himself.  These ten men were Thomas Mayhew Sr., Tristram Coffin Sr., Peter Coffin, Thomas Macy, Richard Swain, John Swain Sr. (son of Richard), Thomas Barnard, Christopher Hussey, Stephen Greenleaf, William Pile.

Each of those 10 owners was allowed to invite one partner; those partners were Tristram Coffin, Jr. and James Coffin (both sons of Tristram Coffin, Sr.), John Smith, Robert Pike, Thomas Look, Robert Barnard (brother of Thomas Barnard), Edward Starbuck, Thomas Coleman, John Bishop, Thomas Mayhew, Jr. (son of Thomas Mayhew, Sr.) Together with the 10 purchasers, they make up the 20 Original Proprietors.

 As a new genealogist, I had no idea that my mother’s family had roots buried deep in that sandy soil, and each new connection was another piece of buried treasure.

My mom’s mother was a Myrick, and as far as my mom knew they were from Louisville, KY. I began my research back in 1995, and by simply looking over census returns, eventually discovered that my 2^nd great-grandfather, Thomas Packham Myrick, was born in Massachusetts and his wife, Margaret Frances “Fanny” Murphy, in Indiana. I found them first in the 1880 census in Louisville, and as their oldest listed children were born in Indiana, turned my search there. Once I broadened my search outside the Louisville area, facts began to pour in and I soon found their marriage records in 1841 in Jefferson County, IN

The 1850 Census from Jefferson County, IN marked Thomas’ birthplace as Nantucket – a lucky break, as every other entry on the page names only the state – and my research veered in an entirely new, unexpected direction.

Thomas descended from a long line of Myricks who began their American chapter in 1636, when four brothers immigrated from Wales to the Colonies. Thomas’ line was from the brother James, who settled in Newbury and whose grandsons Isaac and Andrew moved to Nantucket in the early 1700’s. Each married a Pinkham sister – Andrew to Jedidah Pinkham and Isaac to Deborah Pinkham. With these two marriages, my family's web of Nantucket ties exploded. 

It has been said that if you are related to one of the Original Proprietors, you are related to all of them. My research seems to be proving this to be true. Through my original Nantucket ancestor, Captain Isaac Mirick (there are several spelling variations of the Myrick name), I have thus far established connections to 15 of the 20 Original Proprietors. I am directly descended from Tristram Coffin, Sr. (my 9^th Great-Grandfather), his son James Coffin (my 8^th Great-grandfather) and Thomas Barnard (also a 9^th Great-Grandfather). Through various marriages, I am also related to Peter Coffin, Thomas Macy, Richard and John Swain, Christopher Hussey, Stephen Greenleaf, Thomas Mayhew Sr. and Jr., Tristram Coffin Jr., Robert Barnard, Edward Starbuck and Thomas Coleman.

Many of my Nantucket relatives have fascinating stories and have become some of my favorite ancestors. I will link their stories here as they are completed.