Samuel Osborn Jr. of Edgartown writes that “S. S. Daggett, jailer, born Aug. 20, 1799, related to me that the first celebration of the Fourth of July was observed in Edgartown, July 4, 1777.

A few years ago, I was chatting with my mother, who is now 97, at her house on Menemsha Pond in Chilmark. At that point, the egrets on the Pond and her dog Lizzie were her principal interests.

The Edgartown Fourth of July parade may look a lot different than when it started out in 1844, but 180 years later the sentiment remains the same.

The following cases were heard in Edgartown district court.

Noa Meyer and Edward Minoff purchased 0 Old Field Road in Aquinnah from Kathryn R. Ham Trust, Cold Fusion Realty Trust, Susan E. Jenson Trust and Mandrake Realty Trust for $1,800,000 on June 25.

Jacalyn Kane, who has organized and officiated more than 300 elopements on the Vineyard, married her husband Gary Brown in May at their new home in Santa Fe, N.M.

I was headed down Quenames Road in Chilmark, where neon pastures peak through a forest of scraggly oak and pine for a visit to Milkweed Farm, the little sandy fiefdom where Mallory Watts has recently begun to reap a yearly harvest. 

For many years, the famous American flag sail was carried by the catboat Tigress, captained and chartered by Kurt Peterson. This summer, the sail is still blowing across the harbor — this time atop his catboat Dolphin.

Variety is the core theme of the Martha’s Vineyard Author Series this year. The series kicks off on July 11, with Frank Bruni talking about his book, The Age of Grievance.

Victoria Campbell crossed the Dominican-Republic border into Haiti disguised as a nun five days after a devastating earthquake hit in January 2010.