Away Off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890

Having breathed my way through seven complete decades on this spinning mud ball we call Earth, I have been fortunate to have visited many places in North America, Europe, and Asia. There are, however, still a couple of destinations remaining on my bucket list, and as the length of my ride on the planet necessarily nears an end, the call to experience those places becomes ever more urgent.Before my ride is over I would like to trek across the equator and sample life in the Southern Hemisphere. I would like to gaze up in wonder at the Southern Cross from some exotic location in South America, Africa, Australia, or New Zealand - or maybe one grand tour and touch down in all of those places. And, my remaining objective north of the equator is to visit Nantucket.Nantucket is do-able, perhaps as early as next year, and in preparation for that adventure, I have begun to do what I always do before such jaunts - I start to read about the proposed destination. Being a descendant of several of that small island's "First Purchasers," I had already studied genealogies of the Macy and Coffin families and also read Clarence King's "The Half-Share Man," the story of Peter Folger, Nantucket's first school master and town record's clerk - and the maternal grandfather of Benjamin Franklin - as well as another of my direct ancestors. But all of that was fairly ancient history that focused on the island as it was at the time of earliest arrivals of European descent. I wanted to experience the changes that blown across that small sandbar thirty miles off of the New England shore in the intervening centuries,For that perspective I turned to the inaugural work of famed biographer, Nathaniel Philbrick, and his "Away Off Shore: Nantucket and Its People, 1602-1890."Nantucket was once a connected part of the continent that became known as North America, but as the oceans began to rise after the receding of the last Ice Age, it was severed from the shore. Some native Americans were on the land as it became an island, and others came and went over the intervening millennia. The first recorded sighting of the small island was in 1602 when Bartholomew Gosnold and his crew first explored the Cape and surrounding islands.During the next half-century the European presence began to be felt on Nantucket through the work of missionaries and agreements with the Native Americans to graze sheep on their land. Governor Thomas Mayhew of the Massachusetts Bay Colony purchased a significant portion of the island from its historical occupants, and he, in turn sold most of his Nantucket holdings to a group of other new arrivals to America headed by Tristram Coffin, Thomas Macy (Mayhew's cousin), and Edward Starbuck. This collection of "First Purchasers" acquired their portion of Nantucket for thirty pounds and two beaver hats.The plan had been to move to the island in the spring of 1660, but Thomas Macy, a Baptist, ran afoul of the Puritans when he gave shelter to a group a Quakers during a storm, and felt compelled to leave early for his new home. In the late fall of 1659 the 51-year-old Macy and his wife Sarah (Hopcott) and four children left for Nantucket. Accompanying them were fellow purchaser Edward Starbuck, also in his fifties, James Coffin, a son of a fellow purchaser by the name of Tristram Coffin, and twelve-year-old Isaac Coleman who was possibly an apprentice to Macy - a weaver.Other purchasers began arriving the following spring bearing surnames that were to remain prominent on the tiny island for centuries: Barnard, Hussey, Swain, Greenleaf, Gardner, and several others. The necessary intermarrying among the first families was so common that soon everyone was more-or-less related to everyone else, and the compilation of complex written genealogies became necessary to keep everyone sorted.(The founder of Macy's Department Store, Roland Hussey Macy, literally bore the names of two of Nantucket's first European families.)Philbrick charts his history of Nantucket by anchoring it to several individuals who held great influence on the island during its history, moving the island's story along through time by studying each of these unique characters. The first individual that he focused on, after introducing Thomas Macy and Edward Starbuck as the island's original European settlers, was Tristram Coffin - whom he characterized as a "Country Squire." The elder Mr. Coffin considered himself to be some remnant of British aristocracy, and he proceeded to act accordingly. He controlled (with three sons and a son-in-law) five of the original twenty shares of the island, and much of the early politics on Nantucket were focused either on appeasing or challenging the wishes of the old man.(As Charlemagne is often sited as the "grandfather" of Europe, Tristram Coffin is literally the forebear of tens of thousands of living Americans, making him a"grandfather" to much of the current United States. Thanks to the knotted nature of Nantucket family relationships, he holds down two spots on my family tree, and I am currently working on another branch that also appears to be headed his way!)A big part of Philbrick's book is related to the history of Nantucket as a whaling port and the across-the-board economic activity that whaling brought to the once-isolated island community. The island discovered whaling almost by accident, and in the following century it was sending whaling ships and young men literally around the globe. (Perhaps that explains my almost-primal urge to see the Southern Hemisphere!) And as those adventurous and hard-working young men experienced the world on voyages that sometimes lasted years, the women who remained on Nantucket raising the children, keeping house, and operating businesses, became some of beacons of a new age of independence for women. As whaling faded in the late 19th century, Nantucket began shoring-up and formalizing its history and turning toward a future that many recognized would revolve around tourism.Today Nantucket is still a world unto itself - a world that is part tourist shops, summer rentals, maritime and family history, and a good dose of screaming seagulls and sea breezes. It remains largely on its own - away off shore - and I want to experience it.

After reading Philbrick's hit, "In the Heart of the Sea" (before I knew it was being made into a movie, so, you know, I'm a 'true' fan ;) ), I got into a "must read more Philbrick" faze. I started reading Mayflower, only to be weighed down by Philbrick's play-by-play recounting of the warfare he depicts in that book, to the point of having never finished it. I may buy an audio version later for "reading on the road". However, I was intrigued about his book about Nantucket, as I found in "In The Heart of the Sea," some very interesting accounts as Philbrick briefly recounts every-day Nantucket life in the early decades of the 19th century in that book. I was hoping this book would be an expansion on that. Was it? Yes, and no.What Philbrick does in this book, is give us biographical snap shots on the decades / generations between 1602 - 1890 (as said by the subtitle of this book). As I've found to be in Philbrick fashion, he takes detours about certain subjects and nuances throughout the book, when his primary focal character on a given chapter permits. While it is not Philbrick's fault, there are certain stories that are more intriguing then others. I found myself a little less excited to read, for instance, in chapter 14 where he recounts a notorious bank scandal. Obviously this may keep someone else's attention. What kept me reading through chapter 14 is chapter 15, which, since this book on Nantucket was written before Philbrick's award-winning account of the Essex, chapter 15 is a very condensed "In the Heart of the Sea," concerning its captain, Pollard.Ultimately, knowing that Philbrick was writing from history, you can't blame him for the content, and the way he structured it was great. Were there other figures or people who could've picked? Perhaps. For the off-islander, it would have been nice to have updated maps scattered throughout the book, as he does in other books like Mayflower, or In the Heart of the Sea.It was a good book, and like Philbrick has, he kept my attention. I know it was his first big work, but perhaps in a revision, he could update it for the off-islander reader, and include some pictures like he does in his other works.

While the book was used, it was in pristine condition and it arrived very quickly

Readable and holds attention. Told as a fine overview, highlighting important or interesting personalities through the island's history, providing the reader a superb resource for the reasons for Nantucket's fame.

Loved the stories found in Nantucket history! A great read, regardless of familial ties. Learned so much about the rise, fall, and evolution of an important place in American history.

I had previously read Philbrick's book on the Mayflower and was much impressed by the extent of his research. When I saw that he had written a book about the settling of Nantucket Island, I went on-line to see what the reviews were on AWAY OFF SHORE. The reviews convinced me that I HAD to have a copy, as the book tells a story that includes the Macy and Coffin families and that is a part of my genealogical story. I support shopping locally, but was unable to locate a copy and so I turned to Amazon as I've done in the past. I have NEVER been disappointed with the quality of the books that I have purchased from them. Quality of material and great customer service is becoming a rarity that I truly appreciate.Barbara G.

very good