JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Chilmark’s history is always fun to research.  So often what seems lost to time turns out to be well recorded. We recently went looking for the history of one of our third great-grandfathers, Francis Cottle of Chilmark. Now this will be of interest because many of you reading may trace your Chilmark connection to one of the descendants of his five daughters who raised their families in Chilmark. Francis was born on December 3, 1787 to Silas Cottle and his first wife, Jerusha Tilton. He is listed in town records as being a whaler. The History of Martha’s Vineyard by Dr. Charles Banks: Volume III tells us Francis was lost while whaling on the brig William and Joseph, of Holmes Hole, on Oct. 21, 1841.

The captain of that whaler was Elisha Dexter of Holmes Hole, who wrote two editions of his account of the disaster. His account is titled The Narrative of the Wreck and Loss of the Whaling Brig William and Joseph of Martha’s Vineyard, published the first time in 1848. The search was on to find a copy of this account and, by wonderful chance, we find that the 60 page journal was reprinted in 1988 by Ye Galleon Press, Fairfield, Wash.  Copies may be found online and from the West Coast publishers who specialize in publishing such early recordings of events.

Francis Cottle shipped on the William and Joseph as a ship keeper. They left Holmes Hole on August 2, 1840. The Captain’s account tells us they were fishing the western ocean and made landfall for food and water at the Azores and at the Cape de Verd Islands. A severe storm hit on Oct. 21 and in the course of it, Francis Cottle and Sylvester Dayley, a steward, were washed overboard when the brig lost a whaleboat from its davits by the force of the storm. The two men were lost; however, another man also swept away was able to reboard the sinking vessel. The brig didn’t sink immediately and the remaining crew built rafts that they eventually survived on for more than five days before being rescued and taken to Warren, R.I. by another whaler. The brig’s second mate, Gershom Dunham of Chilmark, died on the raft before rescue, as did Hosea Goodspeed of New York.

Francis Cottle was married to Sophronia West of Chilmark and they had five daughters. Gershom Dunham was born on July 18, 1790 to Chilmark folk and was married to Jane Cleveland in 1835. He left a son. Both families lived in town.

Current events are of interest also, so we will move to real time and remind you of the upcoming presidential primary at the Community Center on March 6 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Democratic town committee needs candidates.  The process of electing them is for voters to write in the names and addresses of those whom they chose to elect on the ballot they are given on primary voting day, March 6. Please call Zee Gamson, who will give you the list of the five citizens who are willing to stand for election whose names you will write on the ballot. There is room on the ballot for you to add other names — just remember to have addresses at the ready. It is important to the party to have candidates at the local level and it is hoped you will participate.

The Chilmark Community Church will resume Pizza Night on March 13 at 6 p.m.  Games are offered for amusement following the dinner. All are welcome.

The church will welcome the Reverend Seok Hwan Hong as a guest preacher on Sunday, March 4, at 9 a.m.

Conrad and Jane Neumann of Larsen Lane and Durham, N.C. are enjoying their annual midwinter visit to Chilmark and their Chilmark family.

Arne and Helen de Keijzer of Weston visited their Menemsha home last week for a few days.  Arne tells us that the book he wrote last year with Dan Bur- stein has been nominated for the coveted Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. The book is The Tattooed Girl: The Enigma of Stieg Larsson and the Secrets behind the Most Compelling Thrillers of our Time and was published last May.  Both authors are of Weston and Chilmark. We wish them luck!

Sam Feldman of South Road tells us that the organization, the Men’s Bereavement Network, that he worked to create, has extended it’s scope and is now the National Widowers’ Organization, Inc. with a Web site, nationalwidowers.org. The mission of the organization is to expand awareness of the needs of men widowed and to help them through the life changes brought about by being widowed.