Thomas Mayhew
Encyclopedia
Thomas Mayhew, Sr. established the first English settlement of Martha's Vineyard
in 1642.
, in the county of Wiltshire
in England. He married Anna (also called Hanna and Abigail) Parkhurst, born about 1600, in Hampshire
, England, daughter of Matthew Parkhurst. In 1621 they had a son, Thomas, Jr., in Hanna's home town of Southampton
. Two years later they had another child, Robert Parkhurst Mayhew, in Tisbury, County Wilts, England.
The family left England in 1631 during the Great Migration
that brought 20,000 persons to Massachusetts
in thirteen years. Thomas had been accepted with the agency of Matthew Cradock
of London to manage properties in Medford, Massachusetts
, and to engage in trade and shipbuilding. In or around 1633, Anna Parkhurst died. In about 1634, Thomas returned to England for a business meeting with Cradock. While in England, he married Jane Gallion (1602–1666), and brought her back to New England with him. Hannah Mayhew was born in 1635. Three more children - Mary Mayhew(1639), Martha Mayhew (1642), and Bethiah Mayhew - followed.
In 1641, Thomas secured Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, the Elizabeth Islands, and other islands as a proprietorship from Sir Ferdinando Gorges
and Lord Sterling. This enabled him to transfer his business operations there. With the help of son Thomas, a settlement was established. Farming and whaling enterprises began. In 1657, Thomas Jr. was drowned when a ship he was riding was lost at sea on a voyage to England. His grandsons Matthew, John, and other relatives assisted him in running his business and government.
The Mayhews had great success in regard to Indian policy. Because of the fair treatment of the Indians there, the colony was protected from the bloodshed that occurred elsewhere, in King Phillip's War.
When the venerable Governor Mayhew became ill one Sunday evening in 1682, he calmly informed his friends and relatives that "his Sickness would now be to Death, and he was well contented therewith, being full of Days, and satisfied with Life". His great-grandson, Experience Mayhew
, son of John was only eight at the time, but he clearly remembered being led to the bedside to receive from the dying man a blessing "in the Name of the Lord." Family leadership then passed to the three grandsons, two of whom deserted the mission, leaving John, the youngest grandson and grandfather of Jonathan, to care for Indian souls.
, Thomas, Sr. happened to acquire the rights to the islands that now constitute Dukes County: (Martha's Vineyard
, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands
). He bought the County for 40 pounds and two beaverskin hats from William Alexander, the 2nd Earl of Sterling. To resolve a conflicting ownership claim, he also paid off Sir Ferdinando Gorges
, thereby acquiring a clear title.
Thomas established himself as governor of Martha's Vineyard in 1642 and sent his son, Thomas Jr., with about 40 English families to settle there. He followed four years later. Together he and Thomas Jr. established Martha’s Vineyard’s first settlement and called it Great Harbor, now Edgartown.
s (chiefs). Relations between the first settlers and their Wampanoag neighbors were peaceful and courteous. Under the leadership of his son, a minister, they instituted a policy of respect and fair dealing with the Wampanoag natives that was unequaled anywhere. One of the first Mayhew rulings was that no land be taken from the native island people, the Wampanoags, without consent and fair payment. From this time forward, the colonial settlers and Indians lived without the bloodshed that marked American history elsewhere.
From the beginning the elder Mayhew had worked to preserve the original political institutions of the Indians. Religion and government are distinct matters, he told the Indian chiefs. When one of your subjects becomes a Christian, he is still under your jurisdiction. Indian land was guarded against further encroachment by white settlers. So successful were these policies that during the bloody battles of King Philip's War
, in 1675-1676, the Vineyard Indians never stirred, although they outnumbered the English on the island twenty to one.
. Hiacoomes, in return, taught Mayhew the native language. As soon as Mayhew could converse with the natives, he would some days "walk 20 miles through uncut forests to preach the Gospel...in wigwam or open field".
Change was in the air though, for the world outside this small island was unsettled. There were more visitors from off island and some stayed, challenging the Mayhew government, while Baptists and Methodists arrived to make converts from the established Congregational Church
.
. After much delay a settlement, worked out in 1671, confirmed the Mayhew patent and named Thomas Mayhew "Governour and Chiefe Magistrate" for life. At the same time a patent was issued erecting the Manor of Tisbury in the southwestern part of the island. The Governour and his grandson were made "joint Lords of the Manor of Tisbury," and the inhabitants became manorial tenants
subject to the feudal political jurisdiction of the Mayhews. This full-fledged feudal manor appears to have been the only such institution actually established in New England.
The attempt of the Mayhews to create a hereditary aristocracy on the Vineyard met with increasing opposition as more and more colonists arrived. When the Dutch
temporarily recaptured New York
in 1673, open rebellion broke out and lasted until the English re-won New York and restored the authority of the Mayhews on the island. The old patriarch died in 1682 at eight-nine. Nine years later the political rule of the family ended when Martha's Vineyard was annexed by Massachusetts after the Glorious Revolution
in England, but the problem of manorial tenancy remained. Although some of the Mayhews clung to the "pleasant fiction" of their manorial rights almost until the American Revolution
and received token quit rents as late as 1732, feudalism
on Martha's Vineyard died the same slow, lingering but certain death it did elsewhere in the colonies.
has concluded that the Missionary Mayhews of Martha's Vineyard represent what is likely the longest and most persistent missionary endeavor in the annals of all Christendom. Thomas Mayhew, known for his missionary work, was not concerned for Indian souls when he settled on his island; he sought only to improve his social and economic position. The son rather than the father receives credit for launching the Indian mission. Thomas Mayhew, Jr., had emigrated from England with the elder Mayhew. Somewhere he received a liberal education, apparently from private tutors. After moving to the Vineyard to begin the white settlement there, he became pastor
of the small English church as well as the acting governor in his father's absence. He soon discovered that he could not refuse the challenge he found among the three thousand Pokanaukets, a branch of the mainland Narragansetts
, who far outnumbered the whites, so an effective settlement required friendly relations with the Indians. But Thomas Mayhew, Jr., appears to have been motivated largely by spiritual concern, while his father and other members of the family enjoyed the practical results of the Indian mission. The younger man gradually abandoned most of his secular tasks and spent the remainder of his life among the natives. Progress was slow at first, but by the end of 1652 there were 283 converts, a school for Indian children, and two Indian meetings each Sabbath. The Praying Indians of Martha's Vineyard who said grace before meals became a topic of conversation on both sides of the Atlantic. Thomas Mayhew, Jr., carried on his missionary work with little heed to his personal fortunes. As the elder Mayhew put it, his son had followed this work "when 'twas bare with him for food and rayment, and when indeede there was nothing in sight any waies but Gods promises." The situation was improved somewhat by the formation in 1649 of a London missionary society, usually called the New England Company, which in a few years began to provide substantial aid for the Mayhews and other missionaries.
In the fall of 1657, Thomas Mayhew, Jr., sailed for England on a trip combining an appeal for missionary funds with personal business. After leaving Boston Harbor
, the ship was never seen again. The death of his only son at thirty-six was a heavy blow to the father and greatly increased the burdens he carried in old age. He made repeated efforts to find a replacement to continue his son's ministry to the Indians, but no minister who knew the language or was willing to learn could be induced to settle permanently on the island. So Thomas Mayhew, who had started as a merchant, then turned landed proprietor, became at age sixty a missionary in his son's place. For the next twenty-five years he traveled on foot as far as twenty miles to preach once a week at the Indian assembly or to visit the native camps.
His descendant Jonathan Mayhew
was a prominent 18th-century Boston clergyman.
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
in 1642.
Biography
He was born in TisburyTisbury, Wiltshire
The large village of Tisbury lies approximately west of Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire.With a population at the 2001 census of 2,056 it is an important local centre for communities around the upper River Nadder and Vale of Wardour...
, in the county of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
in England. He married Anna (also called Hanna and Abigail) Parkhurst, born about 1600, in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England, daughter of Matthew Parkhurst. In 1621 they had a son, Thomas, Jr., in Hanna's home town of Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. Two years later they had another child, Robert Parkhurst Mayhew, in Tisbury, County Wilts, England.
The family left England in 1631 during the Great Migration
Great Migration (Puritan)
The Puritan migration to New England was marked in its effects in the two decades from 1620 to 1640, after which it declined sharply for a while. The term Great Migration usually refers to the migration in this period of English settlers, primarily Puritans to Massachusetts and the warm islands of...
that brought 20,000 persons to Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in thirteen years. Thomas had been accepted with the agency of Matthew Cradock
Matthew Cradock
Matthew Cradock was a London merchant, politician, and the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company. Founded in 1628, it was an organization of Puritan businessmen that organized and established the Massachusetts Bay Colony...
of London to manage properties in Medford, Massachusetts
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
, and to engage in trade and shipbuilding. In or around 1633, Anna Parkhurst died. In about 1634, Thomas returned to England for a business meeting with Cradock. While in England, he married Jane Gallion (1602–1666), and brought her back to New England with him. Hannah Mayhew was born in 1635. Three more children - Mary Mayhew(1639), Martha Mayhew (1642), and Bethiah Mayhew - followed.
In 1641, Thomas secured Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, the Elizabeth Islands, and other islands as a proprietorship from Sir Ferdinando Gorges
Ferdinando Gorges
Sir Ferdinando Gorges , the "Father of English Colonization in North America", was an early English colonial entrepreneur and founder of the Province of Maine in 1622, although Gorges himself never set foot in the New World.-Biography:...
and Lord Sterling. This enabled him to transfer his business operations there. With the help of son Thomas, a settlement was established. Farming and whaling enterprises began. In 1657, Thomas Jr. was drowned when a ship he was riding was lost at sea on a voyage to England. His grandsons Matthew, John, and other relatives assisted him in running his business and government.
The Mayhews had great success in regard to Indian policy. Because of the fair treatment of the Indians there, the colony was protected from the bloodshed that occurred elsewhere, in King Phillip's War.
When the venerable Governor Mayhew became ill one Sunday evening in 1682, he calmly informed his friends and relatives that "his Sickness would now be to Death, and he was well contented therewith, being full of Days, and satisfied with Life". His great-grandson, Experience Mayhew
Experience Mayhew
Experience Mayhew was a New England missionary to the Wampanoag Indians on Martha's Vineyard. He was born on January 27, 1673, in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, the oldest son of Rev. John Mayhew, missionary to the Indians, and great-grandson of Gov. Thomas Mayhew...
, son of John was only eight at the time, but he clearly remembered being led to the bedside to receive from the dying man a blessing "in the Name of the Lord." Family leadership then passed to the three grandsons, two of whom deserted the mission, leaving John, the youngest grandson and grandfather of Jonathan, to care for Indian souls.
Colonizing Dukes County
In 1641, while engaged in business ventures in the vicinity of BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Thomas, Sr. happened to acquire the rights to the islands that now constitute Dukes County: (Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands
Elizabeth Islands
The Elizabeth Islands are a chain of small islands extending southwest from the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the United States. They are located at the outer edge of Buzzards Bay, north of Martha's Vineyard from which they are separated by Vineyard Sound, and constitute the town of...
). He bought the County for 40 pounds and two beaverskin hats from William Alexander, the 2nd Earl of Sterling. To resolve a conflicting ownership claim, he also paid off Sir Ferdinando Gorges
Ferdinando Gorges
Sir Ferdinando Gorges , the "Father of English Colonization in North America", was an early English colonial entrepreneur and founder of the Province of Maine in 1622, although Gorges himself never set foot in the New World.-Biography:...
, thereby acquiring a clear title.
Thomas established himself as governor of Martha's Vineyard in 1642 and sent his son, Thomas Jr., with about 40 English families to settle there. He followed four years later. Together he and Thomas Jr. established Martha’s Vineyard’s first settlement and called it Great Harbor, now Edgartown.
Relations with the natives
Mayhew and his fellow settlers found a large and economically stable native population of about 3,000 living in permanent villages, led by four sachemSachem
A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
s (chiefs). Relations between the first settlers and their Wampanoag neighbors were peaceful and courteous. Under the leadership of his son, a minister, they instituted a policy of respect and fair dealing with the Wampanoag natives that was unequaled anywhere. One of the first Mayhew rulings was that no land be taken from the native island people, the Wampanoags, without consent and fair payment. From this time forward, the colonial settlers and Indians lived without the bloodshed that marked American history elsewhere.
From the beginning the elder Mayhew had worked to preserve the original political institutions of the Indians. Religion and government are distinct matters, he told the Indian chiefs. When one of your subjects becomes a Christian, he is still under your jurisdiction. Indian land was guarded against further encroachment by white settlers. So successful were these policies that during the bloody battles of King Philip's War
King Philip's War
King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...
, in 1675-1676, the Vineyard Indians never stirred, although they outnumbered the English on the island twenty to one.
Spreading religion
By 1660 there were about 85 white people living peaceably among the natives, earning their living by farming and fishing. The Mayhew family, which from that time forth became an integral part of island history, wanted to share their religion with the natives, but the Wampanoags were not too interested, having their own spiritual faith. However, once it was clear that, though Mayhew was the governor, the sachems remained in charge of their people, some became curious about the white man's God. When a native named Hiacoomes expressed an interest, Mayhew invited him into his home and instructed him in English and ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. Hiacoomes, in return, taught Mayhew the native language. As soon as Mayhew could converse with the natives, he would some days "walk 20 miles through uncut forests to preach the Gospel...in wigwam or open field".
Change was in the air though, for the world outside this small island was unsettled. There were more visitors from off island and some stayed, challenging the Mayhew government, while Baptists and Methodists arrived to make converts from the established Congregational Church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
.
From colony to aristocracy
Through a maze of conflicting land grants, changing political allegiances, and settler unrest, Thomas Mayhew (self-styled "Governour Mayhew") began to rule his island with an iron hand. The most serious threat to his control came in 1665 when Martha's Vineyard was included in the lands placed under the Duke of YorkDuke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
. After much delay a settlement, worked out in 1671, confirmed the Mayhew patent and named Thomas Mayhew "Governour and Chiefe Magistrate" for life. At the same time a patent was issued erecting the Manor of Tisbury in the southwestern part of the island. The Governour and his grandson were made "joint Lords of the Manor of Tisbury," and the inhabitants became manorial tenants
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
subject to the feudal political jurisdiction of the Mayhews. This full-fledged feudal manor appears to have been the only such institution actually established in New England.
The attempt of the Mayhews to create a hereditary aristocracy on the Vineyard met with increasing opposition as more and more colonists arrived. When the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
temporarily recaptured New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1673, open rebellion broke out and lasted until the English re-won New York and restored the authority of the Mayhews on the island. The old patriarch died in 1682 at eight-nine. Nine years later the political rule of the family ended when Martha's Vineyard was annexed by Massachusetts after the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
in England, but the problem of manorial tenancy remained. Although some of the Mayhews clung to the "pleasant fiction" of their manorial rights almost until the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and received token quit rents as late as 1732, feudalism
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
on Martha's Vineyard died the same slow, lingering but certain death it did elsewhere in the colonies.
Missionary work
Kenneth Scott LatouretteKenneth Scott Latourette
Kenneth Scott Latourette was an American historian of China, Japan, and world Christianity. His formative experiences as Christian missionary and educator in early 20th century China shaped his life's work...
has concluded that the Missionary Mayhews of Martha's Vineyard represent what is likely the longest and most persistent missionary endeavor in the annals of all Christendom. Thomas Mayhew, known for his missionary work, was not concerned for Indian souls when he settled on his island; he sought only to improve his social and economic position. The son rather than the father receives credit for launching the Indian mission. Thomas Mayhew, Jr., had emigrated from England with the elder Mayhew. Somewhere he received a liberal education, apparently from private tutors. After moving to the Vineyard to begin the white settlement there, he became pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of the small English church as well as the acting governor in his father's absence. He soon discovered that he could not refuse the challenge he found among the three thousand Pokanaukets, a branch of the mainland Narragansetts
Narragansett (tribe)
The Narragansett tribe are an Algonquian Native American tribe from Rhode Island. In 1983 they regained federal recognition as the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island. In 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled against their request that the Department of Interior take land into trust...
, who far outnumbered the whites, so an effective settlement required friendly relations with the Indians. But Thomas Mayhew, Jr., appears to have been motivated largely by spiritual concern, while his father and other members of the family enjoyed the practical results of the Indian mission. The younger man gradually abandoned most of his secular tasks and spent the remainder of his life among the natives. Progress was slow at first, but by the end of 1652 there were 283 converts, a school for Indian children, and two Indian meetings each Sabbath. The Praying Indians of Martha's Vineyard who said grace before meals became a topic of conversation on both sides of the Atlantic. Thomas Mayhew, Jr., carried on his missionary work with little heed to his personal fortunes. As the elder Mayhew put it, his son had followed this work "when 'twas bare with him for food and rayment, and when indeede there was nothing in sight any waies but Gods promises." The situation was improved somewhat by the formation in 1649 of a London missionary society, usually called the New England Company, which in a few years began to provide substantial aid for the Mayhews and other missionaries.
In the fall of 1657, Thomas Mayhew, Jr., sailed for England on a trip combining an appeal for missionary funds with personal business. After leaving Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...
, the ship was never seen again. The death of his only son at thirty-six was a heavy blow to the father and greatly increased the burdens he carried in old age. He made repeated efforts to find a replacement to continue his son's ministry to the Indians, but no minister who knew the language or was willing to learn could be induced to settle permanently on the island. So Thomas Mayhew, who had started as a merchant, then turned landed proprietor, became at age sixty a missionary in his son's place. For the next twenty-five years he traveled on foot as far as twenty miles to preach once a week at the Indian assembly or to visit the native camps.
His descendant Jonathan Mayhew
Jonathan Mayhew
Jonathan Mayhew was a noted American minister at Old West Church, Boston, Massachusetts. He is credited with coining the phrase "no taxation without representation." -Early life:...
was a prominent 18th-century Boston clergyman.