Why ? 1876, Joseph Sto ry Fay observed that there were sev­ eral places named hole about the Cape and islands. T hey were "Holme's Hole, Woods Hole, Q ui ck's by james Watt MavOI; jr Hole, Robinso n's Hole, Powder Hole and Burler's Hole."} Woods Hole today is a village in Falmouth. It is tucked into the southwest corner of on a neck of land that separates Buzza rd s from Vin e­ Four of these names can be traced back to the 17th yard So und. It has good harbors that once berth ed centu ry. They present fascinat in g puzzles. What is a whal in g and clipper ships and are now used by hol e? Who were Wood, Q ui ck, Robinson an d But­ term in als. a Guard base and several renowned ler? Was Ho mes a real person o r a riri e? Was Powder scientific insr irurion s. Woods Hole is also th e name Hole named because of an ex pl osion' How d id the of th e tidal between the mainland and the nea r­ beliefs and behavior of the people in the ea rly Ameri ­ es t of the Eli zabeth Islands. can colonial period affect th ese mancrs?

Man y with roots in Woods Hole have been curiolls As I thought about these qu es tj ons, I tri ed to di s­ abo ut rh e ori gin aries name. Richard Backus. writ­ cern the thoughts of people on Cape Cod 350 or ing in Woods Hole Reflections in 1983, discussed more years ago when Woods Hole and other curi ­ ma ri tim e meanings of rh e word hole.l Elon Jessup, OliS names entered the histori cal record. I ex plored my uncle and futher of Ann Marrin of Woods Hole, maritim e terminology, native Ameri can legends and wrote an article entitled "What's In a Name" pub­ history, coloni al reco rds, and eve n glacial geology. lished in the New York Times on June 15, 1952.' In The chances of discoveri ng definite answers are slim , bllr maybe what is more important is the process of

PhOiograph or\'(Ioods Hole Passage and the El i7.abeth Islands raken by Salley H. Mavor in 1972. 20

tryin g to bring di fferent perspecti ves to bear on the rips or currents at each end. rather [han th e sides." many puzzles that arise when we try to answer [he Nashanow, then, was the ancient Wampanoag nam e questio n, Why Woods Hole? that descri bed the islands and the holes together.'" I was struck by the grace and power of this wo rd : The Holes of Cape Cod and the Islands I found that not all names were Wampanoag. T he T he names of the holes appear to be made up of Puritans associated Maushop wi th the Devil; they English wo rds, but I did not know whether or not named Devi l's Bridge which is the rocky bottom of that was ac tually the case. Therefore, si nce most of Vineya rd and the shoals off Aquinnah and the 17th century names of places we re Indian, I Cutryhunk, the remains of Maushop's attempt to started with those that appear in Wampanoag leg­ G build a bridge. •7 The Indians saw their world being ends. shaped by the forces of nature, whereas the 17th ce n­ tury colonists' faith lay in conflict between good and In the days before the fi rst white people came ac ross evil. Pl ace names refl ected these values. They we re the sea, the Wampanoag cul ture hero Maushop li ved ass igned by Puritans to replace Wampanoag names on Cape Cod. Maushop attempted to build a bridge of sacred places as part of the Puritan campaign to fro m Aquinnah (Gay Head) to Cutryhunk by plac­ C hristi anize the Wa mpanoag. O n Cape Cod, there in g huge boulders in the sea, but before he had fin­ is not onl y a Dev i!,s Bridge, but a Devil 's Ditch , a ished, a crab caught him by the heel and he was Devi!'s Dumping Ground, a Devi!'s Den, a Dev il 's obliged to stop. Maushop then threw the crab to­ As h Hea p, a Dev i!,s Heel, and a Squaw Holl ow, wa rd Shoals, broke off a portion of where the Devil broke his apro n string' Typically, Aqu.innah, and cast it in to the sea, form ing No Man's such places have unusuaJ o r spectacul ar natural fea­ La nd. tures. Therefore. in interpreting th e names and th eir ori gins, we should be alert to their reli gious signifi­ Pukwudgees, little people who used powerful magic, ca nce . caused the yo ung so ns of Maushop to die. Maushop carried th em [Q th e waters near Saconesser (Woods I thought that by examining the phys ical landscape Hole in this context), where he heaped sa nd over on which the holes lie, I mi ght discover shared fea­ their bodies, creating small islands. He planted trees tures that would lead to an erymological source for and grasses on the graves of his so ns. T he islands the names. Woods, Q uicks and Robinso ns Holes are became Nanomesset, Kataymuck and Uckatimes t natural, rocky. water passages o r . They were Neck, Peschameeset, Nashawena, Cutryhunk and crea ted during the past few th ousand years by wave Penikese. There are today seven major islands whereas erosion which cut through the glac ial moraine that Maushop had but fi ve so ns. T his probabl y refl ects forms the geological structu re of Cape Cod and the 17th century or earlier conditions when Naushon islands. The straits separate the Eli zabeth Islands, and Uncatena we re o ne and C uttyhunk and which stretch in a chain fo r 15 miles southwest fro m Nashawena we re joined. The group of islands, call ed Woods Hole at the so uthwes tern tip of Cape Cod. Eli za beth by the Engli sh , was known by the Woods H ole passage se parates Unca tena and Wampanoags as Nashanow. T his wo rd was deri ved Nonamessett Islands fro m the mainland. It has the fro m Nash C hawan which mea ns "between the ti de stro ngest cidal currents in the area. Robinsons H ole 21

------,

Nomans Land

Map of somhelStern Massachuscns showing (h e ex rcnr of Wampanoag M:mo rnc( in 1654. Bbck area is Manomet. DOffed line shows boundary bcrween J>lymouth Colony and Mayhew's isla nd co lony. also cla imed by the Duke of York and rhe Netherlands. 22

is between Naushon and Pasque Islands; Quicks Hole Blider's Hole still exists. It is a dee p wa ter se parates Pasque from Nashawena. wirh among ridal currem rhrough rh e shining sa nds off Monomoy Po inr. It gives rhe princi pal eas tern These rhree maits are all noted for m ong tidal cur­ access for shipping (0 from the rems which move rhe sea between open ocean. and , and rh ey have long been known as holes. The mos t southwesterly passage, Canapitset Southern Cape Cod and rhe islands are known for channel, separates Nashawena from C uttyhunk Is­ their m ong currem s, but all of rhe six places called land, but is very narrow and barely nav igable. Per­ hole have in common mat th ere th e water runs fas t haps ir did not exist in rhe J h h century when rh e in a deep place adjacent (0 land or shall ows. orh er passages were being named. T here is another mari time meaning of hole whi ch is Homes Hole on Marrha's Vineyard is rhe oldes t very much a parr of rhe topography of Cape Cod named hole in rh e region. The name was changed and rhe islands, the glacial ke trle. These depressions co Holmes Hole in the J 840s, and rhen co Vineyard formed by rhe weight of great blocks of ice left by Haven in 187 1 when res idents resem ed rhe indig­ the receding glaciers are noticed principally on rhe nity of hailing fro m a "hole" and considered Vine­ land as rh e counrerpoim of rhe knobs or hills. But yard Haven a morc "euphoni ous and appropriate" rhey are also found on the shores and under the water, nam e.') creating small bays such as Ketde and Ta rpau­ lin Cove on . W hy we re rhese places In rhe J h h cemury, Homes Hole referred co a large called , not holes? And why were rhe nearby area including rhe harbor, Lagoon Pond, rh e bluffs tidal passages called holes, not s(Cairs? of East C hop and Wes t Chop, and rhe neck ofland between rhe harbor and Lake Tashmoo. 10 Homes A survey of coasral guides, maps and nautical chans Hole could be desc ribed as a small bay, cove or inlet, reveals no holes . in th e sense of tidal straits, on rhe but it metches this dicti onary definirion. The s(Con­ Arlantic coast except on Cape Cod and rh e Eliza­ gest currem ourside of Woods Hole passage runs beth Islands. The Dictiondry of Americdn Regiondl around Wesr C hop; Homes Hole com ains the fea­ English implies rhat rh e Eliza berh Islands region is ture of strong tidal currents that is common to rh e the only place in the U.S. where rh e term is used in other five holes on the Cape and islands. II thi s way. IS

From about 1800 (0 1890, Powder Hole was rhe Creative Spelling and Meaning of Words name of a harbor and adjacenr fi shing village at ~ the next step in my effo rt [Q trace o ri gins of names, Monomoy Poinr on Cape Cod. It was nex t co the I soughr out the names of the places call ed hole in channel wirh a strong tidal currem that parriall y sur­ . original documents of the J 7rh cenrury in order (0 rounds rhe tip of Monomoy Point. J2 Fay suggests find Out how rhey were spelled and pro nounced, and there may have been a hill there during the times of what they meant. The sources were mostly town ancient Norse voyagin g to Ameri ca,lJ During rhe lasr cemury, shifting sands des (Coyed the place and proprietors' records and deeds. O nl y records of Holm es Hole and Woods Hole were numerous. " it is now a salt marsh and open sea. 14 23

Few people could read and write in 17th century times with one "0," In the compilation, there are America and spelling a word the same wayan dif­ eight appearances of Woods. twO Woodses. one ferent occasions was nO[ co nsidered important. The Woodes, one Woodse, six Wodes, an d six Wodses. (ask of tracin g names and words is made even more Wood. Wad and Wade would all have been pro­ difficult because Cape Cod was visited very earl y by nounced the sa me way. Similarly. of the 17 refer­ many explorers speaking va rious dialects of English. ences to Homes Hole I found there were 13 Homes. French. Portuguese. Dutch. Icelandic. Norwegian olle Homeses and one Holm s. The possessive term and who knows what others. And on top of that. "his hole" is used rwice with Homes and once wi th there was a wrirren native language called Massa­ Woods. as in "Woods his hole."" chusen in ve nted by John Eli ot in the 1650s in order to conve rt rh e Ind ian s ro rhe Puritan sect. The variery of word endings of Woods and Homes struck me as odd. Daniel Robb of Woods Hole sug­ The 17th century spell ing history of Woods Hole gested that perhaps the apostrophe was not used in and Homes Hole indicate that hole was spelled con­ 17th century America. 1 found that he was righ t: sistently and usually "h" was lower case. Of 44 en­ "The apostrophe was introduced into English from tries. there are o nl y two entries of hall and twO of the French in the 16th century and there was much holle. T herefore. hole was most li kely intended to unce rtainry about its use until the middle of the 19th be the common English word and nOt to be con­ ce ntury." By the 18th century. it was being used to fu sed with its O ld Norse cognate "ha ir" for holl ow represent rh e om ission of rhe lctter "e" in th e ending or the unrelated O ld Norse "hall" for hilL" "es."" It seems clear that the use of the third word "hi s" in rhe names identifies th e genitive case in an I co mpiled a li st of 24 insrances in whi ch Woods unambiguous way for legal documents. Hereafter. I Hole appea red in 17th century documents. T he omit the apostrophe in 17th century place names. name Woods appears with fWO "o"s 12 times and 12

.. • ~k'~~,~~"",~",-rP

Penekese ~-_.-/ Nanom2~ Nobska Poml (}>. Woods Hole """"""'" Passage

o Aobmsoos Hole I

Cuttyhunk l

Nashcnow (Eliz.,bc(h Islands), from Woods Hole (0 Curryhunk . 24

Historical Events at the Places and Times iario n of eastern Massachuscns rose fr om several When the Holes Were Named hundred to more than two thousa nd.'o Four of the passengers are important to the Sto ry. John Winthrop My historical search foll owed the pattern s of Euro­ was th e first resid ent governor of (he Massachu scn s pean scrd emenr and th e rel ati ons berween the Eu­ Bay Company and continued in this offi ce until ropea ns and the native Americans. This srory begins 1649. T homas Mayhew. Sr. (1593- 1682) and his with the voyage of what has become known as the son. Thomas Mayhew. Jr. (1621-1657) se tri ed in Winthro p fl eet of 1629/30 when the English popu- Wa rcrrown at first, bur later became th e fi rst En­ gli sh se tri ers of Martha's Vineyard. The fourth pas­ senger was a cerra in William Woods who settled in fhe South part of N~vv- England, as it is Saugus (Lynn). Massachuserts. Histori ans consi der that he is the author of New Englands Prospect. an Planted til is yeare, 163+ important book about earl y coloni al New England. publi shed in 1634." W illiam Woods. wri ting under the name W illiam Wood. became known as an au­ thor and careful obse rver.

In 1638. CaptainJohn Underhill reported that "Mar­ tins Vineya rd and Elizabeths Il ands" were un in hab­ ited." Presumably he meant thar only Wa mpanoags li ved there. In 164 1. the Thomas Mayhews acquired one patent from James Forrett. age nt of Lord Ster­ lin g, and just to make sure, another patent from th e age nt of Ferdinand Gorges. acting for the King of England. T he May hew. patents gave them exclu­ sive rights to plant and inhabi t Marthas Vineyard. Nantucket. . and Muskege t IslandB The patents we re confirmed in 1672 by Francis Lovelace. Governor of New York. who had claimed all the islands in 167 1 for the Duke of York. T hey had bee n claimed by New Nether­ lands un til 1664; in 1670 there was a very brief wa r between England and the Netherl ands after which th e Dutch were evicted from their Norrh Ameri can colony. H Thro ugh all this. the Mayhews interp re ted their patents as a right to buy the land fro m the Wi lliam \X'ood's map orNew Engla nd. from Nl'llIl:.i lgllllllli PrOJ­ Wa mpanoags. whi ch they did either for themselves peel, \634. The disrorted geogra phy and absence of villages im ­ or by auth o ri zing oth ers to do so. plies ,hal Wood did nor visirCape Cod before 1634. Thc dcan h of India n villages may have rcncrted rhe depopularion Ihal had ra kcll place even before [he smallpox epidemic of 1633. 25

Thomas Mayhew. Jr. setded on Marthas Vineyard Homes Hole in 1642 and became the first and most successful Homes Hole appears in the phrase. "the Eastermost Ch ristian missionary to the Indians. His father settied chop of Homses Hole" in 1646 as a boundary on a there in 1645 and became known as Patriarch to the grant of part of Marthas Vineyard to the inhabit­ Indians." H e also became Governor of Marthas ants of that island. The grant dates the use of the Vineyard and the other islands for life. and the lord name Homes Hole before any English setders of of the only Engl ish manor in New England with record had settled in that part of Marthas Vineyard absolute power over all its in habitants. responsible or in Woods Hole or Saconesser. 28 to the Governor of the English province of New York. Banks suggests that the Mayhews founded what was in effect a separate colony because it was outside the Homes is an Anglo-Saxon word. but it is JUSt as surely lawful bounds of the Bay Colony." an Indian word. According to Roger Will ianlS. homes Woods Hole was at this contested intercolonial and was an Algonquian word meaning "a n old man." international boundary in 1654 when its name first On Lo ng Island there is an early place name. Homses appeared in the records. Hill. Banks suggests that Homes Hole meant the home of an unnamed chief who lived there when the Mayhews granted the adjacent land in 1646" This brings up the question of what was meant by the name. Did Woods Hole refer only to the strait. or did it include the harbors' Did it include the neck While Wampanoags would not have named land ofland now known as Penzance Point? Where pre­ after a dead person. a sachem could have been asso­ cisely was the New York/Plymouth Colony bound­ ciated with a place. Sachem Ponit in 1682 called ary line' himself. "of Nobnocket ali as homes his hole. " Nobnocket being the ancient Indian name for Vine­ This was a time when there was brisk trade by sea yard Haven. Mayhew and others could well have known of the Indian tradition of an old Wampanoag between Manhattan Island in the Province of New being the sachem of Homes Hole and used his sta­ York and the Plymouth Colony. The route was along the Connecticut shore. through Buzzards Bay. pass­ tus on the 1646 grant." ing the Elizabeth Islands. up to Aptucxet in Manomet, now Bourne, and ro other trading POSts. Woods Hole Sandwich was the big town on the Cape. but there T he first known appearance of the name Woods Hole was not yet any Engli sh settlement in Saconesser is in a deed to Kataymuck (Naushon) Island dated (now Falmouth)." The perspectives of Dutch coastal 1654. reAecting the grant of tenancy of this island traders from New Amsterdam. English setders in by Thomas Mayhew. Sr. of Marthas Vineyard from Sandwich. and Engli sh and Wa mpanoag land trad­ Sachem Seayk of Manomet." This deed. written be­ ers in Manomet must be considered. The hi storical fore Saconesset (Falmouth) was settied by Europe­ reco rds of Marthas Vineyard. New York and New ans. shows that Thomas Mayhew already knew the Amsterdam are likely to be as helpful and rel eva nt name Woods Hole. It is the only ex tant 17th cen­ to the inquiry as those of the and tury record of Saconesset or Woods Hole that men- Plymouth Coloni es. 26

ti ons a person named Wood or Woods. A photograph of the ori gin al deed is repro­ duced here. It reads:

"Be it knowne unto all men by these pre­ se nts that I Seayk Sachim of Monument doe hereby freely gyve unro Thomas Mayhew of Martins vy neya rd . one lIand neare Woods his hole Call ed by the Indi­ ans Cataymuck for him his heires and Ass ighn es to Injiye fo r ever witn es my hand this twentye th day of Aprill 1654

T he mark Seayk wirrncss Cachakonosscn his mark Jonas his mark T ho. Leader his mark

Tho: paine

[on rhe ve rso:] Enrered uppon rhe records at Marthas Vi neyard May 2nd: 1682

Man: Mayhew Secrer. Alyce hi r Covenant James daughter 24 June 1661"

Why was Woods Hole not referred to as Seayks Hole in the 1654 Mayhew deed? At the signing of this deed in 1654. both Thomas Mayhew and Sachem Seayk musr have known who Woods was and perhaps knew hi m personally. Was there a Manhas Vineya rd Wampanoag name li ke Woodis or W iddiss that might have been rh at of Original 1654 DCl-d [0 Naushon. photographed by James \'(t. Mavor. Jr.. cour· the sachem whose terri tory included resy orPilgrim Hall Museum , Plymouth, Massachuscrts. Thi s is the earlics t Woods Hole before 1654' Did di fferent known wri llcn n'cord orthe name \'(Ioods Hole. There is a contemporary Wampanoag sachems "own" rh e sa me copy or this deed. Wilh some differences. in [he County Records Office. Edgartown. Massachusetts. land? Addi ti onal deeds in 1657 and 1658 for the sa me land signed by diffe rent sa- chems and purring different conditions on rh e land glish setders. AJ so, afrer four years and three ve r­ transfer indica tes that may have been rhe case, at sions of the Naushon deed. the principals evidently least when it came ro tra nsferring land to rh e En- did nOt ye t understand each oth er.J;! 27

Who Was the Wood of Woods Hole? Was Woods an Englishman? There seems [0 be no mention of Woods Hole in the Engli sh colonial If Woods was a Wampanoag. then Woods Hole was records on the mainland before 1662. The Woods probably named by the colonists. Speaking the names Hole deeds fro m Job Notantico (or Antiko) were of peopl e w ho had died was fo rbid den by dated 1662 and 1679. eight and twenty-five years Wampanoag tradition; their place names were not res pecti vely after the fi rst appearance of the name li kel y [0 include any personal names." But English on rhe deed to Naushon Island from Sachem Seayk colonists might have named Woods Hole after a in 1654." If Woods Hole was named for its owner Wam panoag. especially if he had conve rted [0 Chris­ and n Ot some passing marin er, th en eith er that owner tiani ty. was a Wampanoag or rhe land had bee n transferred illegall y. An y Englishman who acquired land from In a search for possible Wa mpanoags named Woods. the Wampanoags should have had the transacti on I turned [0 Russell Gardner. Wa mpanoag Tribal approved and recorded by Pl ymourh Colony; no Historian, whose ancestors are from Gay H ead. He such record has bee n found for Woods Hole before su ppli ed me with the names of several his[O rical na­ 1654. tive Ameri cans named Wood in Sandwich. He sug­ gested tracing the ge neal ogy of Robert and Nathan O n the mainland part of Manomet. Pl ymouth Whood of Taunton. as well . He mentioned Samuel Colony had permitted English se ttlement only on and Love Woods of old Manomet who we re the side of Cape Cod. By 1637.60 Wa mpanoags H Bournedale was a part o f old Engli sh fa milies had moved lock. srock and barrel Manomet and I fo und the names of Samuel (born fro m Saugus [0 form the [Own of Sandwich. In a 1802) and Love (born 1832) and six other native few years the [Owns of Barn stable and Yarmouth were America ns of the Herring Pond Tribe named Woods founded as part of the Plymouth Colony. In those who made up 12% of the populati on of the vill age fi rst years. no indivi dual purchases ofland were al­ in 186 1. Wood or Woods was the most numerous lowed." family." This is promising. but if the Wood of Woods Hole was a Wampanoag. he or she wo uld have lived W hile Barnstable ex tended all rh e way fro m Cape befo re 1654. and rherefore known in oral but prob­ Cod Bay [0 Nantucket Sound. Sandwich did not. ably nor wrinen tradition. Pl ymouth Colony left the so uth shore from Woods

Hole [0 C hath am for the use of the South Sea Indi­ Might Woods mean simply woodl and' Probably not. ans. later call ed Mas hpee. Saconesset. the land that The wo rd Wodland appea rs seven rimes. each time is now Falmouth and incl udes Woods Hole. re­ cl early in the se nse of woodland. in the same docu­ mained untouched although surrounded by lands ments as the name Woods Hole. T he variants Wood that had been acquired by Engli sh colonists. It is and Wod had rhe sa me mea ning and pro nunciation largely thanks to Richard Bourne that this poli cy in the 17th century. It is much more likely that Wood was enforced. Bourne was one of the founders of and its variati ons all refer to the name of an indi­ Sandwich. W hen he first arrived in Sandwich. he. vidual or a Woods famil y. and did not refer [0 wood­ like his companions, was interested primari ly in ag­ land'· gressive real estate accumulation. But his objectives changed. He became a well known missionary ro 28

the Wampanoags of Cape Cod and he acquired land with T homas Dex ter and eight other men, were the to preve nt his feUow colonists fro m taki ng it, delay­ ren men of Saugus who had fo unded Sandwich in ing the development of the south shore towns. He 1637. Sandwich aburred Saconesser. He came over managed to get a special dispensa ti on from the Ply­ on [he ship Hopewell fro m England in 1635 wi rh a mouth Colony to prese rve a large area for the In ­ Mrs. Elizaberh Wood and John Wood and serded in dian reservation th at came in to being as Mashpee in Saugus." T his Wi lli am Wood was consra ble and 1665." town clerk of Sandwich and remained [here from 1637 to 1649 afrer whi ch his name is los[ to history. The Three William Woods I am skep[ical of the identifica rio n of William Wood rhe 3udlor who carn e over in the Winth ro p Aeet with A search of [he shipping lim shows rha[ [here we re W ill ia m Wood [he town clerk of Sandwich" few European Woods around rhe Upper Cape in [he 16305. William Wood, author of £nglttllds New Pros­ T he historical reco rd confirms a [i gh[ ne[Work of ar pect, was a journeyman with no extant genealogy. leas[ ren individuals on Cape Cod, who worked dur­ He wro re in hi s book [hac he came to New England ing [he mid-17[h century to cransfe r land from [he in 1629 and sailed back to England in 1633. His Wa mpanoags to [he inhabi[ants of [he townships as book was published in 1634 and was so popular [hac communiries. In 1648, they were all brough[ to­ [wo more edi[ions we re pri nred in 1635 and 1639 gether by common interes ts, family connections and wi[h ve ry li[de rev ision. The Massachuse m Colony th e circumstan ces of a single event, a land agreement Governor's council vo[ed to wrire a Ierrer praising berween inhab i[an[s o f Barnsrabl e and [he his efrons on behalf of [he colony to a weal[hy pa­ Wampanoag inhabi[ants of Mashpee before i[ be­ rro n in England and [hereafrer he was call ed Misrer. came a rese rvati on. These facts may lead to the id en­ However, Wood's 1634 map of New England is so [i cy of Wood of Woods Hole." inaccurare wi[h respec[ to Cape Cod and [he islands rhar i[ is nearly cerrain rha[ he did nor know Cape Fi rst, th ere was Paupmunnock, sachem of Manomet, Cod until afrer ir was published. If the aurhor was and [hen Moash and Wa mpum, who represented [he William Wood of Sandwich, surely he wo uld [he Wampanoag peo ple of Manomer. Nex[, rhere have revised his in accurate map for rhe third edition was W illiam Wood, rown clerk of Sandwich, which of his book." T here is no direc[ ev idence of [he re­ was parr of Manomer. Nex[ ca me Ri chard Bourne rum of rhe au[hor William Wood to Ameri ca af[ er of Sandwich, who had re nancy ofland in Mashpee he lefr in 1633. and was an associare of Wood. The inhabi ra nrs of Barnsrable were represe nred by Capra in Myles A[ leas[ [WOo cher people named William Wood did Srandis.!> , who had bee n sene by [he Pl ymouth appear on rh e hisro rica1 scene, one or both of whom Colony Courr to so rr out irregulari ries in the frenzy could have been [he autho r. They were bo[h referred of land grabbing [hac characrerized [he peri od. ro as Mr. Wood, a tcrm used ro ident ify gen try or S[andish had nor o nly [he all[hori cy of hi s person notable persons. O ne died at Concord , Massachu­ and rh e coloni al administration bur a milirary force sem, in 1671 aged 86 afrer many yea rs of res idence. behind him. As I was about to search [he Sa ndwich records, John Yo rk of Bourne told me about William Wood who, 29

Isaac Robinso n se rved as aid and adviso r to Standish from Sa ndwich is a ve ry likely ca ndidate. whether and was an old friend. He had come over from En­ or not this was also William the author. gland in 163 1. was ex peri enced. had lived in Barnstable for 9 yea rs. later was co-founder of En­ We have seen that the mid- 17th century English and glish Saconesset or Falmouth. and his family name Wampanoags we re able to manage fairly orderly was attached to Robinso n's Hole. His daughter re­ transfe rs ofland in spite of their different languages ce ived a legacy from Myles Standish. when he died and ideas about property. However. throughout the in 1655. Also involved as wimess and helper was period of the naming of the holes. 1620 to 1654. JQnathan Hatch. the other co-founder of Fa lmouth. land as a commodity was a concept fore ign to [h e Finall y. the Thomas Mathews. rulers of Marthas Wampanoags and the Engl ish colonists did not make Vineyard. we re conce rn ed when the deed of land their position clea r before executing deeds. The dev­ transfer included a part of Marthas Vineya rd to astating 1633 drought and smallpox epidemic se­ which they claimed exclusive ri ghts." ve rely weakened the Wampanoags' effort to main­ rain the uadirionai attitude toward rhe l a nd . 4~ All of these people must have known each other we ll enough for us to assume that actions by anyone It is curi ous that Massasoir, Govern ors Will iam affected all. How natural it would have been for Isaac Bradford and Edward Winslow. and Miles Standish Robinso n to arrange for Woods Hole to be named all di ed between 1655 and 1660. Lovell suggests that afrer his associate Willia m Wood. probably between their absence caused a turning point in [he history 1646 and 1654. of the Plymouth Colony. toward aggression on the part of the English colonists against the Indians. Saconesset Becom es Part of M anom et which then led to King Phil ip's War. It ce rtainly was a turn ing point for land transfers in Saconesse r.

Robinson anywhere on Naushon Island. Emerso n Emerson dates the Quick's Hole name at least as early wriles lhal "T he Robinsons take first place among as 1667 by a reco rd that StaleS, "west end of that Naushon inhabitants both as to length of slay and lI and nex t to Quickshole." A mariner named Will ­ numbers. " It is therefore li kely that Robinson's Hole iam Q ui ck who sailed frequen tly through Quick's was named after this Robinson fa mily and that they Hole on voyages between Newport, R.1. and Bos­ lived at Robinson's Hole as early as the mid-1 7th ton from 1638-1644 may have been the source of cenru ry:18 the name.

Manomet and the Nashanow Documents

Who was the Sachem Seayk ofManomct and whal built to honor sacred places and to observe astro­ were his ideas ofland ownership and transfer? What nomical events. This is particularly evident in was Manomer?SO Manomer. There are many definitions of native American sacred places. They include places which The sachem of Manomet held authoriry over me are ordinary and Out of me ordinary, places of mo­ Wampanoags of southern Plymouth, the whole of mentary or lasting experience, inspiring landscapes, me larer Sandwich, part of Barnstable, and me east­ places of personal and shared rituals, places wi th ern shore of Buzzards Bay down to and including connections to unseen powers. There are shrines the islands off Woods Hole. T he sachem of used for observing astronomical events. One such Manomet administered a community th at ex­ observation site in Manomet, in me part now called tended into twO se parare Engli sh provinces, New Beebe Woods, is directed to rhe north shore of York and MassachusettS, and English colonists Cutryhunk Island, the las t of the chai n, where the from the Massachuserrs towns of Sandwich and last gleam of me winter solstice sun is precisely Barnstable and me New York island of Marthas aligned. In Woods Hole, mere is another shrine Vineyard did business wim him. for observing Nantucket Sound and Marmas Vine­ yard and for pinpointing stellar and solar evenrs Manomet was a Wampanoag communiry defined on the horizon. 51 by natural boundaries, It eXlended 40 miles from Cape Cod Bay to Cutryhunk Island. There is a T he Wampanoags did not understand that when major Wampanoag trail aU the way from Cape Cod they gave a deed to the English newcomers that it Bay to Woods Hole. Manomel is full of glacial was received as a permanent transfer of excl usive hills, many with awe inspiring views, and kettle ownership from one individual to anomer. The En­ holes, many holding fresh water ponds. To the glish based their view on the divine right assumed native Americans, the entire landscape is alive and by the King of England to usurp the land. This sacred. Byron Oix and I studied the sacred land­ resulted in many conAicringand overlapping trans­ scape of New England and found nalural features fers ofland. Fo r example, Thomas Mayhew, Sr. ac­ that signal places where man-made structures were quired deeds to Kataymuck (Naushon) Island fro m

, 3 1

Powder Hole and Buder's Hole were probably named If the use of the word hole followed the traditions so merime afrer rhe other holes. The name Powder is indi ca ted in di cci onari es. it would seem likely th at said to have o rigi nated either fro m an ex pl osion of Woods Hole was named afrer irs deep and prorected powder srored in an anchored ship or underwater in harbors. But in the days of sa il and oar power, rhe a sealed co ntainer during rhe War of 18 12. The story stron g (idaJ current in rhe snait between Nonamesscr of Buder's Hole has been lost. T here is no history of Island and the mainland would have been the most a Buder's vi ll age or harbor. It is simply a strait with noticeable topographic feature of the place. The submerged sand boundaries and a Strong tidal Cllr­ name could have been applied to the strair first and rent.-i? then later to the harbor and vi ll age.

Sachem Seayk of Monument (Manomer) in 1654 Numack were twO leaders who seemed to have and from Sache m QlIaquaquinegat also of been engaged in expediting land transfers, the 17th Manomet in 1657 and aga in from Sachem Seayk century equivalent of real estate agents. They ac­ of Monument in 1658. The 1657 deed specifies quired land themsel ves and endorsed other people's rhar rhe grant of tenancy applies to rhe heirs and tides to land." assigns of the sachem as well as Mayhew. The 1654 deed omirted the heirs and ass igns of rhe sachem In 1988, Goddard and Bragdon published a col­ indicating rhar Sachem Seayk intended rhat lection of native American writings in Mayhew's use or ownership of the island would be Massachusett, the written language into which remporary, ceasing ar Seayk's dearh or if Seayk as­ John Eliot translated the Bible in 1663. Up to the signed use of the property to someone else. Mayhew rime of this book, written reco rds of native Ameri­ intended that rhe transaccion be permanent. T he can affairs were largely those of English scribes. rhird deed, dared 1658, added more islands and a These recent translations of 17th and 18th cen­ 52 receipt for specific payment. tury documenrs provide access [Q the experience of southern New England communities in the Conflicting island ownersh ip perce prion and words of the native Americans th emselves. Docu­ records are furth er demonstrated by rhe testimony ment No. I is th e will of the o ld sachem of an Inclian named O ld Hope or John or Mopes Quateatashshit, dated Apri l 26, 1679. It be­ of Manomer to rhe Plymouth Colony Court in queathed rh e island of Mashshinnah, which may 1679. He stared rh ar the "great island ca ll ed be Naushon, to his four children. It is witnessed Kataymuck (now Naushon) and anorh er island by W illiam N umuk, whom we know from above called Pes kehameesit (Pasque) belo nged to and previous documents was from both Manomet Webacowet. Will Numack, Indian, also testified and Saconesse t. The will also states that Job Antiko rhat he had ofren heard his father say the same or Noranriko, who sold Saconesser to Jonarhan concerning rh e islands commonly called Nashanow Hatch and orher English proprietors in 1679, (th e original name of the Elizaberh Island group)." owned Nonamesser and Uneatena Islands. The will Webacower and Numack were Wampanoags of rhe and several deeds confirm that Manomet included Saconesser part of Manomet. Sias and W illiam rhe Elizabeth Islands" 32

T he name Woods Hole may have been casual in its 5. Emerson. Amelia Forbes. Enrly HiSlorl of Ntlllsholl MilIld. Howland. BoSlOn . 1981. pp. 33. 56. 57.63.75.90.91. 97. to origin, with rhe possessive referring an eve nt rather 165. 197.425. than actual ownership. Perhaps a Wampanoag or 6. Simmons. William S .. Spirit ofrlJl' NrUi EllglRlll1 Trilm. Uni ver· Engli sh person named Wood o r Woodis traveled sity Pre:ss of New England. Hanove r. N H . 1986 pp. 5. 48. 172- through the passage frequen tly, just as W ill iam Q ui ck 234. 7. Re)'n:lrd. Eli1.:tbeth. Thr Nnrrow LII/ul. Houghton Mimin. Bos­ traveled through Q uicks Hole. Perhaps Wood o r mn. MA. 1968. PI" 22-25. Woodis lived at Woods Hole, JUSt as the descendants 8. K('C ne. Iklsy. D .. Hillory ofB ournI'. Swifl . Yarmoutllport. MA of Isaac Robinson lived at Robinsons Hole. But this 1937. pp. 63. 180.181. 9. Banks. History. Vol. 1I ·lisbury. p. 5. IS conj ectu re. 10. Banks. His/Qry. Vol. II Tisbury. p. 18. 11 . Eldridgr Tidt' Rnd Pilot /Jook, White. Boston. 1998. More certain is the observation that the single fea­ 12. Roscoe. u'C Stephallie. Dml1l1illg MOllomoys Pnst. Wood bee. ture common to all six of the holes is an unusuall y Brewsrer. 1993. pp. 13.75- 100. IGI. strong tidal current caused by the land and under­ 13. I~ y. Norscmen. water topography of Cape Cod. T hese names may 14. Roscoe. op.ci l. 15. Cassidy. Frederic G .. cd. Joan HOllston Hall. Assoc. cd .. Dirtio­ well be the o nly exa mples of hole being used to de­ IIIlryofAmt'rioll/ Rrgiollnl English. Harva rd. C'lmbridge. 199 1. scribe tidal straits between islands rather than bays 16. In the 1:111: 19805. the earl iest extant version of the Proprictors' or in lets. R('Cords ofSucallesscn were discovered in a dusty pile of books in the , .... ult of the Falmouth Town C lerk's Office. This ,·olume. covering the period 1661 to 1805. had been asscmbtt:d imo a But whether o r not rhe word hole was intended [Q k'3ther-bound \'olume aOOm 1900. It co nsists ofhand-wrinl'll refer ro [he tidal straits between islan ds. o ne term shct:[s of p;l pt:r bondl'"(llo Ihe silk pagt:s of the ,·olume. Tllt."y do, in p:lrt :lI leasl. appe:lr to be the origi n:11 records. According to that we know of su rely d id and that was Nash an o rd er of the proprietors on March 19. 1700. Ihl' fl.'cords werc Chawan, rhe traditional Wampanoag name, men­ copied il\lo:l new book by Thomas Lewes :lnd Thomas Borman. The existing volume is prob:lbly made up of partS of the old and ti oned in the beginning of thi s article. It mea nt all new books. There arc probably at le:I$1 six different hands rt-pre­ of the Elizabeth Islands and the strai ts between, in­ Sl." llIcd in the script of the record from 1660 to 1700. Will iam cl uding Woods Hole. It descri bed a natural place Dunkle and I copit.od "lis book in 1988 on 35 mm. film . I made a letter by lerter tr.mscription for thl' l>criod from 1661 to 1700. withom reference to persons or ownership. In mod­ using the enlarged photographs and Ihe origi nal. Copies of the ern usage, it has been reduced ro the names of rh e tr:lIlscription were placed on file wit h the FalmOluh Historical Society. Woods Hole HislOriaJ CoI1 ('Cl"1o n. Dukes Courtly His­ twO largest islands, Naushon and Nashawena. torical Society. Woods Hole LibraI"}' :lIld Falmouth Public Li· br.try. (St'C nOl e 18.) The m icrofil m :lnd origin:ll book :I re in Ihe Notes cllslOcl y of the Falmouth Historical Socicty for the usc of re­ searchers. The other e:trly town T(.'Curd book, known as the Fal­ 1. B:lckus. Richard . - let'S Ca ll the '·1011 Thing Off," Woods Ho/~ mouth Town IWok. includes town Tll l'Cling reports from 1700 R~flt'rtio llf. Mary Lou Smith. cd . Woods Hole Histori cal Colk-c· and cerrain vi ral dat:l from 1674. It is stored in Falrnmuh town lion, 1983. p. 212. :Hchives. 2. Jessup. Elon. ~ Wh :\I 's In A N: ll ll e?~ Nrlll l'ork Jill/rs. June 15. 17. C lcasb)'. Vigfusson. :llId C raigie. Irrllllulir-ElIglisb Dirtiollliry. 1952. O xford. 1969. 3. Fay. Joseph Srory. Tmrk ofdlt' NtmmulI/. Roberrs. HoslOn. 1876. ltrrbstrri IlIImlluionnl Dir/jollRry. 2nd Edition Unabridg(od. 1947. 4. Banks. C harb Edward . 'I1J1' Hi!loryofMllrrl}{ls VillfYllrd. Vol. I. 18. Ma,'o r. Jamcs w.. Jr.. A TrllllSrription ofdJl' Proprirtors' Rrcort/s pp. 56. 73. 74. Vol. [I. Town Annals ofli s bury. pp. 4. 5. 17.57. 111111 II Compillllioll of'/;"llIIsrripti(l1lJ of Imli"'l Drt'l/s. Pri,'atc1 y and Annals ofGosnold. pp. 16. Vol III. p. 419. Dukes CO Llnl}, primed. 1989. Hismrie'.tl Socie!}'. Edgartown. MA 196G. 19. Crystal. David. cd. 'I1J1' CLIIlIbridgr Enrydoprdill ofd" /;"lIglish IJlllglltlgr. Cambridge University Press. C'lmbridg,'. U K. 1995. 33

20. Winrhrop, Roben C, UftIllU/ Lmm ofJo/111 \\'Iimhrop. Ticknor and Fields, Boston, 1867. pp. 6-22. A Curious Story 21. Woo<1. William, Nrlll ElIg"lIId's Prospt'ct. cd. Alden 'J: Vaughall. University of Massachusetts. Amherst. 1977. About Ancient Manomet 22. Underhill , John. Nrws From Al1lt'rim, London, 1638. p. 20. 23. Minut;,.'S of the ExecUlive Council of the Province of New York. and Woods Hole's Place In It Adrninismnion ofFr:lIlcis Lovelace. 1668- 1673, PI" 345-348. 24. Ihid. Dr. Augustine Shurtieifwrote in 1867 the eni g­ 25. Hare, Lloyd C .. 77JOlflflS /vI(I),ht'll', Hurinrch 10 tilt' /lidiflllJ. AMS matic story of T homas Marlowe and his bride, Pn:ss, New York . NY, 1969. p. 42. 26. Banks, HiSiory. Vol I [, Tlshury. Patience. It could have bee n the earliest histori­ 27. The \V:llllpano:lg name lor dll' place huer n:Ulll-cl F:llrnolllh had cal mention of the name Woods Hole, or it sewra l spell ings, pronunciations :lIld perhaps nl e:mings. I ha\'l..· could have bee n fiction. T he story tell s of the choscn Saconessel, the spelling Ih:II prl'vaikd fmm 1644 m 1673 [fade between the Dutch setriemem on Man­ dererminl-cl frolll cOlllemporary Incli:tn cb::ds. proprietors' n::cords and PI Ylllouth CO llrt records. In later periods, Suck:tl1 l·ssl·t be­ hattan Island and Aptucxet Trading Post at came comlllon. These conclusions arc confir med by Frederick M anomet. T ho m as saw and admired Ffl'C mall in his Hi1loryofG,pt' Cod. 1862. and ItA. Lovell.J r. in his SfIIJ(/lIIicb. 1984. . T he yo ung couple landed 28. Ilanks. History. Vol [I. Tisbury, p. 3-5. op. cit. at Uneatena Island and they settled at Nausho n [n 1646. Th olll:l~ Mayhew, Sr. and Jr. granted land for a town­ Island (not named) in 1630. They li ved there ship which abutted but did not includl' Homes Hole. That natlll' for about 15 years and prod uced many chil­ W:IS memionl-d in the gra nt as "Hornses Hole. K T his gram is published in Ban ks' An nals of Edg:lTt own, in which the fo ll ow­ dren, then the entire family except for T homas ing appears. "L.lIId :15 Em as Ihe E;tst"er-Chop of Homses I-tole, died of smallpox. Possible confi rmation of this and also all the lland calk-d C hapaquegick. " A "!fue coppy" of story may be found in the fact that W illiam this grant made by Thomas Dasse l"! Clerke for ye Towne Great Harbour on yt· Vi neY:lrd" Edg:lftown, r(':Ids. HL.1nd as furr as ye Bradford wrote in his diary that a T homas E.1s(ermOSI Ch:tp of HomSl.'S Hole. & also :111 ye Is1:lIId call ed Marl oe came from England to the Plymouth C hap:tquegick. " The word C hop appl':lrs in its (wo modc.~ of spelling. chap :lIld chop. The plu r:1 1 chaps or chops means the Colony in 1628. erut:mce of a bay or harbor adapted fro m the word " j:I\'.'s" EasI and West C hop are lht· two he:ld lands at the erurance to Vine­ T he story mentions Woods Hole, Sandwich and yard Haven Harbor. Homes Hole :11 this lime included the prcselH \'i ll age ofVineyarcl Haven, the nt:c k of land between il Tarpauli n Cove, all ve ry early names. If true, and L.1kc 1':1shmoo. WeSl C hop and EasI C hop as well as the Shurtl eff's story would suggest that the name L1goon :lIld Vineyard Ha\'ell Harbor. Woods Hole was known in Manomet 24 years 29. Banks, History. Va l li , Tisbury, Pt>. 3-5. W ill i:uns. Roger. A Kry 111110 rhr /lIl1gllflgt' "fA1IIt'rim, London before it first appeared in the Naushon deed of 1643. 1654 and 32 years before the 1662 deed for 30. [bid. part of Woods Hole." 31. Mills, E:lrl Sr. and Alic;a Mann. 5011 of'I'/(Jshprt'. Nrjlt'CIiolls of ChirfF/),illg Grg/r. Word Studio. F:I!mmuh. 1996. p. 8. 32. Transcriplions aoo\'e of thl' 1657 :lnd 1658 dceds :I re published In spite of its unce rtain origins, this story pro­ by the Pi lgrim Hall Museum. Plymouth. Massachusells. vides a personal perspective on the connection 33. Si mmons. Spirit. p. 4S. between Manomet and the Elizabeth Islands 34. Persona! CO lmllunic:uion from Ru s.~ dl H . Gardner. \'(/:lIllpanoag and the Plymouth Colony trade with Dutch Tribal Hisrori:lII . 1997. 35. J:lcobs. Dnnald. /lollrtlrtillir. Thr PorgOltrll Vil/lIgt'. [lourne His­ Manhattan Island, topics that can be veri fied toric I! Commission. 199(1. by ex isting contemporary documents but whi eh 36. Mavor. Tt:Ull>CripIiorls. are otherwise li rrle known. 34

37. Ib;d. 51. Mavor, James W. Jr., "Earth, Siones and S k y.~ Arross &/0" Co­ 38. Lovdl, R.A.Jr. Sandwich, A Cnp~ Cot/TowII, Town of Sandwich. lumbus. cd. Donald G ilmore and Linda McElroy, New England 1984. pp. 1- 10. AOIiquilics Research Association Publications. Edgcomb. , 1998. 39. Ibid. Mavor, James W .. J r. and Byron E. D ix, Mlmitoll. InnerTradi­ 40. Wood, Nl'Iu Eng/mIdi Prosprct. lions. Rochester, Vermont, 1989. pp. 75, 146. Fn.'c man, Frederick. H;J toryofCn~ Cod, Vol II , BasIOn, 1862. 52. Dct.-d from Sachem Q U3 quauqymt.'ygat 1667. pp. 67. 78. 79. 85. 169.427. 53. I:reeman. HiJIOry, Vol II. pp. 67, 78, 79. 85. 41. Banks. Charles E. Thr P/mltt'rJ of tht' Commollwmlr!J. Genea­ logical Publishing Co. Baltimore. 1967. pp. 65-85. From Freeman. Frederick, History ofCnpl' Cod, Vo l II. 130SlO n. 1862.01'. cit. 42. Lovell. Sandwich. p. 31. 1679 is the date of the del'