Who is marthas vineyard named for

Then he preached to them, taking his text from the first and twenty-third psalms: "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

He gave his Indians unto the care of Peter Folger; another short prayer and then the farewell. At the close, Hiacoomes came forward and shook the hand of his beloved teacher, and, bursting into tears, placed a white stone at his feet, saying: "I put this stone here in your name and whenever I pass, here I shall place a stone in your memory until you return.

The next morning Mayhew sailed, taking with him his wife's brother, and the first Indian graduate of Harvard college, who was a preacher among the aborigines. The Indians stood on the beach with bowed heads as the ship sailed and the Indian runners followed as far as they could.

Alas, the mysterious ways of Providence; neither the ship nor its passengers were ever heard from again. Young Mayhew's name was never mentioned without tears and as one who expected no reward but from Him who said: "Go teach all nations, Lo I am with you.

She was planning to go home, for a short visit and he was to take her as far as West Tisbury where she could get the stage for Gay Head. Just before starting she asked him if he would go by the Indian trail along the South Side. She picked up a white stone, put it in the wagon and they then started on their trip. At that time the writer knew nothing about "The Place on the Wayside" but as they neared it she told him how, when she was a little girl walking with her grandmother from Gay Head to visit her people on Chappaquiddick, they had stopped and placed a stone in the memory of the Saviour, and the first white man who had taught them to know Him.

When they came to the place she got out of the wagon and placed the stone on the pile which must have been between three and four feet high. She said a short prayer and returned to the wagon. Farm Neck, Oak Bluffs. As the writer looks back and sees that old Indian woman, the granddaughter of the last Sachem of Gay Head, and the great grand-daughter of the last Sachem of Chappaquiddick, placing her tribute on that pile of stones, the place becomes Holy Ground.

What grander monument could one wish than to have a stone placed to his memory two hundred and forty years after by the Indians because of his work among them!

Mayhew Monument at "The Place on the Wayside". He also attended the dedication of the Mayhew monument at "The Place on the Wayside," in This monument was a boulder given by the Indians of Gay Head. The Martha's Vineyard Chapter, D. Since the dedication in the greater part of the original pile of stones has been removed by souvenir hunters.

Beyond two centuries and more, I look, As in a picture, scene, historic view, And plainly see, as in an open book, The younger Mayhew and his foll'wers true; Long lines of dusky Indians come to clasp The friendly hand of him whose teachings pure Had turned their minds from war's revengeful grasp To thoughts of Christ, and peace that should endure.

They sadly stood in oaken grove divest, A little while ago bedecked in gayest green, And wooing sweet the birds from winter nest, To cradle soft, its leafy boughs between. The lonely hills inclined to cloudy sky, And drear and brown the heath-clad plains; November's chill and portent gloom are nigh; And homeless birds are singing sad refrains. O mem'ried stones, with saddest word "Farewell," Impressed, in fancy, by such tearful grief, Not pean grand, nor solemn dirge can tell, The love, the trust, the simple heart's belief Conveyed to them through him who kindly taught To native souls the message Christ imbued, As one by one the stolid Indians brought A stone unpolished, but with tears bedewed.

As sped the years, the spot was holy ground, To all that band of Indian converts bold, And not a man among them could he found, So freed from credulous belief of old, Who dared when passing mystic spot enshrined, In tedious march or chase for forest game, Forget the symbol with its love entwined, But placed thereon a stone in Jesus' name. Since that event whose story we recall, The Indian darts at white men swiftly hurled; The wars that freed our land from England's thrall, And saw the minute man amaze the world; The strife in which a Worth, to victory led, The war for Slave in which our fathers fell, And the world's conflict bringing sadness, dread, Have made and kept our nation's freedom well.

The patriotic fires that ever glowed, In sires of Revolutionary fame, Have lately gained a fav'ring sure abode, In hearts of daughters, hundred race and name; Who backward glance to dreary primal days, To time when feet of white men rarely trod The wave-lulled, sandy beach, or sylvan ways Where wordless music raised the soul to God.

As poet, we will loudly cry, O save! And let no touch of blasting hand consume These stones, with which rare memories pave This place of parting and of deepest gloom, O forest dark o'ercapped by cloudlets white Whose tranquil beauty slow unfolding rose, Attested ye, on Martha's Vineyard's site, How simply savage hearts in Christ repose. Place on the Wayside! In seclusion sweet, Thy name in mellowed light of years is known; The tablet's lasting bronze will now repeat The honor claimed for Mayhew quite alone And clinging vines, in wildness Nature owns, Shall intertwine as years fast glide away, To hallow all the sacred mem'ried stones, That lie in silence by the woodland way.

After the death of his only son, Governor Mayhew, although in his sixty-fifth year, took up the work among the Indians, preaching to them one day every week as long as he lived. Sparing no pains or fatigue, sometimes walking twenty miles through the woods to Gay Head, to carry on the noble work commenced by his son. Though the loss of his only son was a great sorrow to him, Governor Mayhew lived to see a son of that son associated with him in the Indian service.

This man was Rev. After the death of Zachariah Mayhew the work was taken up by Rev. Frederick Baylies. August 22, , the first Indian church was organized. The famous Mr. John Eliot was prcscut, for in a letter published at London in he writes: "Passing over the Vineyard many were added to the church, both men and women.

The church was desirous to have chosen Governor Mayhew, but he waived it. John Cotton of Boston was hired to carry on the work. Governor Mayhew died at the age of ninety-two.

His death was greatly lamented by both the English and the Indian. The Indian had always found a father and protector in him, for he made it evident to them that he did not rule by self-will or humor, but by wisdom, justice and reason. It was for this reason that during the Indian Wars this island was guarded by the Christian Indians.

Governor Mayhew requested that his grave should not be marked, so at this time the question has come up as to the place where the Governor rests.

Without doubt he was buried in what is now Collins's back yard near a large black stone. Governor Mayhew's home was only a short distance and his favorite grandson Mathew Mayhew and family are buried near this spot. Before leaving the story of Governor Mayhew, perhaps it might be of interest to mention an old deed which was found in the Edgartown records, reading as follows: "I do sell the island of Nantucket for thirty pounds Stirling and two beaver hats, one for my wife, and one for myself.

To-day the race has become extinct in all the portions of the fair island where young Mayhew dwelt and worked; a few scant remnants alone survive about the painted cliffs at Gay Hcad.

Old deacon Simon Johnson, the last full-blooded Indian, is remembered only by our oldest inhabitants. The last wigwam fell into decay on the slopes of Sampson's Hill long ago. They sleep in unknown graves; their names are for gotten. No chronicle of their lives can ever be written, but they have left us a stainless memory. A pleasant heritage they have bequeathed us, of sweet sounding names for our hills, ponds and many quiet nooks.

Sampson's Hill Meeting House, Chappaquiddick. Chappaquiddick becomes holy ground, made forever sacred by the loving toil of Hiacoomes. Its air is resoundant with the prayer and praises of the God-fearing people who have built their wigwams and their meeting house in its quiet retreat.

Nashmois, Tashmoo, Ahquapasha, Pohoganot, Mattakessett, Sanchakantackett, Quansue, Scribnocket, and all the rest of these pleasant places are invested with an intensely human interest by the remembrance of the good and true lives lived here by the Christian Indians. Reach back over the centuries to give a clasp to the Indian as our friend and brother. We are constrained to say, had there been Mayhews to deal with the fierce Indians of the mainland, had the Pequot and the King Philip people experienced the happy lot of the Vineyard Indians in their contact with the white men, there would have been no Swamp Fight, no Bloody Brook, and the burning of Deerfield, and all the unspeakable horrors of King Philip's War, and French and Indian Wars would have been unknown.

The Indian would have proved himself everywhere a kindly, well-disposed person, susceptible to the fine influences and capable of sustaining an honored place amid the great families of the world. HE early colonists that came to the Vineyard found the island well adapted to grazing and agriculture. The climate was mild in comparison with the other New England settlements.

The island was well-wooded, chiefly with oak and pine, sufficient for all building purposes. Sawmills were soon established and homes built. It stood near the half-way watering place on the highway that leads from Edgartown to Vineyard Haven. A description of this house will apply to nearly all the houses built at that time. With two or three exceptions they were of one story; large on the base and low in the post.

They were always located near springs of fresh water, or where water could be had by digging shallow wells at which old-fashioned sweeps could be used. Another interesting fact is that near the site of these ancient dwellings can be seen old pear and cherry trees, which tradition says were planted soon after these houses were built The frames of these houses were of oak and pine which grew near.

There was a saw pit he the neighborhood, to which these great trees, many of which were three feet in diameter, were hauled by oxen and sawed into convenient dimensions by hand, one man in the pit and another above. Foundation and cellar walls were of old field stone; one hardly, if ever, finds a stone that has been split by drill or wedge.

The chimneys were very large, many eight feet square at the base, made of crude bricks burnt in the neighborhood The lime used to make the mortar was as of the very best quality, made by burning oyster, clam, and other shells found along the shores. At one time, Martha's Vineyard played an important role in the whaling industry, but it is now primarily a vacation destination. Before the arrival of Europeans, the island was occupied by the Wampanoag tribe of Indians.

Wampanoags are still numerous in Aquinnah, which was Gay Head until the spring of An Englishman, Bartholomew Gosnold, arrived in Thomas Mayhew Sr. In , his son Thomas Jr. The elder Mayhew established himself as governor of the island while the younger became a teacher and missionary to the Indians.

When the settlers arrived, there were about 3, Indians living in four main tribes on the Island, but they had no resistance to diseases brought by the English, and soon only the Aquinnahs remained, living at the western end of the Island. The described house was located about five miles from the farm of her enslaver, Colonel Cornelius Bassett, in Chilmark, where she co-resided until she regained freedom upon his death in This colonial period was marked by prosperity as well as peace.

The sea provided fish for both export and Island use, and the Wampanoags taught the settlers to capture whales and tow them ashore to boil out the oil. Farms were productive as well; in butter and cheese were being exported by the shipload. The American Revolution, however, brought hardships to the Vineyard. With their long heritage of following the sea, Vineyarders served effectively in various maritime operations. On September 10, , a British fleet of 40 ships sailed into Vineyard Haven harbor.

Within a few days, the British raiders had burned many Island vessels and removed more than 10, sheep and cattle from the Vineyard.

The raid was an economic blow that affected Island life for more than a generation. The whaling industry did not make a real recovery until the early s when many of the mariners built their beautiful homes in Edgartown.

Gosnold was only on Cuttyhunk about six weeks because of a small skirmish with the Wampanoags. Their uncomfortable situation was intensified by worries that a supply ship would not arrive in time for that first winter, so the British wisely withdrew from the Islands before winter. The infant daughter version of the naming of the island has been recounted often enough to be considered fact by most; but little evidence substantiates it. Evidently, there are no written records to prove he had a daughter named Martha.