Governor Thomas Mayhew, the Elder (March 31, 1593 – March 25, 1682) established the first European settlement on Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and adjacent islands in 1642. He is one of the editors of the

Bay Psalm Book ''The Whole Booke of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Metre'', commonly called the Bay Psalm Book, is a metrical psalter first printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was the first book printed in British North America. The ...

, the first book published in the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...

. His assistant

Peter Foulger Peter Folger or Foulger (died 1690) was a poet and an interpreter of the American Indian language for the first settlers of Nantucket. He was instrumental in the colonization of Nantucket Island in the Massachusetts colony. He was the maternal ...

was the grandfather of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

Biography

Thomas Mayhew memorial - Watertown, Mass - DSC03862

Thomas Mayhew was born in Tisbury, in the county of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

in England. He married Anna (also called Hanna and Abigail) Parkhurst, born about 1600, in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, England, daughter of Matthew Parkhurst. In 1621 they had a son, Thomas, the Younger, baptised in Hanna's home town of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. Two years later they had another child, Robert Mayhew, baptized in Tisbury. The family left England in 1631/2 during the Great Migration of Puritans that brought 20,000 settlers to

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

in thirteen years. Through the agency of Matthew Cradock of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Mayhew had been appointed to manage properties in Medford, Massachusetts, and to engage in trade and shipbuilding. In or about 1633, Mayhew's wife Anna died, and about 1634 he 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. Their daughter Hannah was born in 1635, and three more daughters, Mary (1639), Martha (1642), and Bethiah, followed. Martha is the 7th great grandmother to the world-famous singer and songwriter

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

. In 1641, Thomas secured Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, the

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 ...

, and other islands as a

proprietary colony A proprietary colony was a type of English colony mostly in North America and in the Caribbean in the 17th century. In the British Empire, all land belonged to the monarch, and it was his/her prerogative to divide. Therefore, all colonial proper ...

from

Sir Ferdinando Gorges Sir Ferdinando Gorges ( – 24 May 1647) was a naval and military commander and governor of the important port of Plymouth in England. He was involved in Essex's Rebellion against the Queen, but escaped punishment by testifying against the ma ...

and the

Earl of Stirling Earl of Stirling was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created on 14 June 1633 for William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling, William Alexander, 1st Viscount of Stirling. He had already been created a Baronet, of Menstrie, Clackmannanshi ...

. This enabled him to transfer his business operations there. With the help of his son Thomas, a settlement was established and farming and whaling enterprises were begun. 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 Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

. In 1646, the General Court of Massachusetts directed the religious leaders of the colony to select two among them to serve as missionaries to the natives. So great was the interest aroused by this venture that a society was formed in England also to support the missionaries. Unfortunately a massive conflict broke out, called King Philip's War (1675–76), which resulted in many deaths of both the settlers and the natives. However, three prominent names appear. They are: John Eliot (known as the Apostle to the Indians); Thomas Mayhew (who was already ministering to the natives); and, three generations later,

Eleazar Wheelock Eleazar Wheelock (April 22, 1711 – April 24, 1779) was an American Congregational minister, orator, and educator in Lebanon, Connecticut, for 35 years before founding Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He had tutored Samson Occom, a Mohe ...

, who established "Doctor Wheelock's Academy for the promotion of Christianity and civility among the savage Indians of this continent" (now known as

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

). In 1657, the younger Thomas Mayhew was drowned when a ship he was travelling in was lost at sea on a voyage to England. Mayhew's three grandsons Matthew Mayhew (born 1648), Thomas (born 1650), John (born 1652), and other members of his family assisted him in running his business and government. Transcription of Watertown marker: "HERE BY THE ANCIENT FORD THE LANDING AND THE WEIR WAS THE HOMESTALL OF THOMAS MAYHEW: A LEADER IN WATERTOWN AFFAIRS FROM 1635 TO 1645. AFTERWARDS WITH HIS SON, THE REV. THOMAS MAYHEW, HE LABORED AMONG THE INDIANS AT MARTHA'S VINEYARD."

Colonizing Dukes County

In 1641, while engaged in business ventures in the vicinity of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Mayhew succeeded in acquiring the rights to the islands that now constitute

Dukes County Dukes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,600, making it the second-least populous county in Massachusetts. Its county seat is Edgartown. Dukes County comprises the Viney ...

and

Nantucket County Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

: Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the

. He bought the County for 40 pounds and two beaver skin hats from William Alexander, the 2nd Earl of Stirling. To resolve a conflicting ownership claim, he also paid off Sir

Ferdinando Gorges Sir Ferdinando Gorges ( – 24 May 1647) was a naval and military commander and governor of the important port of Plymouth in England. He was involved in Essex's Rebellion against the Queen, but escaped punishment by testifying against the m ...

, thereby acquiring a clear title.Palfrey, John Gorham. ''History of New England''. Little, Brown (1899), Vol. II, pp. 196-97. Mayhew established himself as governor of Martha's Vineyard in 1642 and sent his son, Thomas the Younger, with about forty families to settle there. He himself followed four years later. Together he and the younger Thomas 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

sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...

s (chiefs). Relations between the first settlers and their

Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 1 ...

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 of Mayhew's orders was that no land was to be taken from the native islanders, the Wampanoags, without their consent or without fair payment. From this time forward, the colonial settlers and Wampanoag lived without the bloodshed that marked the history of European colonies elsewhere in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

. From the beginning, Mayhew had worked to preserve the original political institutions of the native population. Religion and government were distinct matters, he told the chiefs. When one of your subjects becomes a Christian, he is still under your jurisdiction. Wampanoag land was guarded against further encroachment by white settlers. So successful were these policies that during the bloody battles of

, in 1675-1676, the Vineyard’s native population never stirred, although they outnumbered the settlers on the island by twenty to one.Wilson, James Grant, and John Fiske, eds. ''Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography''. Appleton & Co. (1900), Vol. IV, pp. 275-76.

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 its 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

s 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

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. 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". There is a stained glass window in the baptismal font in the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. depicting Rev. Thomas Mayhew Jr. baptizing a native. 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

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

s arrived to make converts from the established Congregational Church.

From colony to aristocracy

Through a maze of conflicting land grants, changing political allegiances, and settler unrest, Mayhew, who styled himself "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 king's brother, the Duke of York. After much delay, a settlement, worked out in 1671, confirmed the Mayhew patent and named 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 Governor and his grandson Matthew were made "joint Lords of the Manor of Tisbury," and the inhabitants became manorial tenants subject to the feudal 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 The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient R ...

on the Vineyard met with increasing opposition as more and more colonists arrived. When the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

temporarily recaptured New York in 1673, open rebellion broke out and this lasted until the colonial government regained control over New York and restored the authority of the Mayhews on the island. The old patriarch died in 1682, at the age of eight-nine. Nine years later the political rule of his family ended when Martha's Vineyard was annexed by Massachusetts after the Glorious Revolution in England, but the manorial land tenure remained. Although some of the Mayhews clung to the "pleasant fiction" of their manorial rights almost until the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

and received token

quit rents Quit rent, quit-rent, or quitrent is a tax or land tax imposed on occupants of Fee simple, freehold or leased land in lieu of services to a higher landowning authority, usually a government or its Assignment (law), assigns. Under feudal law, the ...

as late as 1732,

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

on Martha's Vineyard died the same slow, lingering but certain death it did elsewhere in the colonies.

Missionary work

Kenneth Scott Latourette Kenneth Scott Latourette (August 6, 1884 – December 26, 1968) was an American historian of China, Japan, and world Christianity.

has concluded that the Missionary Mayhews of Martha's Vineyard represent what is probably the longest and most persistent missionary endeavor in the annals of all Christendom. The elder 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. His son, Thomas Mayhew the Younger, is credited with the launching an Indian mission. Like his father, he had emigrated from England. Somewhere, he received a liberal education, apparently from private tutors, and after moving to the Vineyard to begin the white settlement there he became

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of the small Anglican church as well as 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 The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983. The tribe was nearly lan ...

, who far outnumbered the whites, so an effective settlement required friendly relations with the Indians. But Thomas the Younger 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 son 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 Praying Indian is a 17th-century term referring to Native Americans of New England, New York, Ontario, and Quebec who converted to Christianity either voluntarily or involuntarily. Many groups are referred to by the term, but it is more commonly ...

of Martha's Vineyard who said grace before meals became a topic of conversation on both sides of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. Thomas Mayhew the Younger carried on his missionary work with little heed for 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 The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England (also known as the New England Company or Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America) is a British charitable organization created to promote ...

, which in a few years began to provide substantial aid for the Mayhews and other missionaries. In the fall of 1657, Thomas Mayhew the Younger sailed for England on a trip combining an appeal for missionary funds with personal business. After leaving

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 northeastern United States. History ...

, the ship was never seen again. The death of his only son at the age of thirty-six was a heavy blow to Mayhew 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 at the age of sixty Mayhew, who had started as a merchant, then turned landed proprietor, became 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.

Death

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 (1673–1758) was a New England missionary to the Wampanoag Indians on Martha's Vineyard and adjacent islands. He is the author of Massachusett Psalter (a rare book like the Bay Psalm Book and Eliot Indian Bible). Experience was ...

, a 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". Matthew Mayhew, the eldest grandson, succeeded his military and civil duties. Rev. John Mayhew, the youngest grandson and grandfather of

Jonathan Mayhew Jonathan Mayhew (October 8, 1720 – July 9, 1766) was a noted American Congregational minister at Old West Church, Boston, Massachusetts. Early life Mayhew was born at Martha's Vineyard, being fifth in descent from Thomas Mayhew (1592–168 ...

, continued his missionary work to the Indians. Thomas, another grandson, became a Judge of Massachusetts. His descendant

was a prominent 18th-century Boston clergyman who coined the phrase "

No taxation without representation "No taxation without representation" is a political slogan that originated in the American Revolution, and which expressed one of the primary grievances of the American colonists for Great Britain. In short, many colonists believed that as they ...

Descendants

* Matthew Mayhew (1648–1710), Martha's Vineyard colonist, politician and missionary *

(1673–1758), Martha's Vineyard colonist and missionary * Joseph Mayhew (1709/10–1782), Martha's Vineyard colonist, politician, and missionary *

(1720–1766), Congregationalist minister and

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright I Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright I (February 24, 1792 – September 21, 1854) was a provisional Episcopal bishop in Manhattan, New York City. Early life Wainwright was born in Liverpool, England on February 24, 1792. He was the son of Peter Wainwrig ...

(1792–1854), Episcopal Bishop of New York *

Charles Tupper Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian Father of Confederation who served as the sixth prime minister of Canada from May 1 to July 8, 1896. As the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led ...

(1821–1915), 6th Prime Minister of Canada *

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II (July 27, 1821 – January 1, 1863) was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War, who was killed in action during the Battle of Galveston. Early life Wainwright was born on July 27, 1821, i ...

(1821–1863) U.S. Navy officer during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

* Ella Edes (1832–1916) American writer, newspaper correspondent, and Catholic activist * Jonathan M. Wainwright (1883–1953), U.S. Army general during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Rufus Wilmot Griswold Rufus Wilmot Griswold (February 13, 1815 – August 27, 1857) was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. Born in Vermont, Griswold left home when he was 15 years old. He worked as a journalist, editor, and critic in Philadelphia, New Y ...

(1815-1857), American anthologist, editor, poet and critic *Nathan W. Mayhew (1935-2017) - Newspaper pressman *Stephanie W. Knuth (ne Mayhew) (1963-2020) - U.S. Army Veteran *Jennifer E. Correa (ne Mayhew) (1964) - U.S. Airforce Veteran, Real Estate Title Agent, Small business owner *Josephine L. Doyle (ne Mayhew) (1965) - Public servant (retired) - County Planning Division *Nathan M. Mayhew (1971) - Commercial transportation driver *

(*1989), singer-songwriter, pop star

References

*Charles Edward Banks, ''The History of Martha's Vineyard'' (three-volumes, 1911) *Charles W. Akers, ''Called Unto Liberty, A Life of Jonathan Mayhew'' (1964) *Christopher Burns, ''Island Wilderness; Imagining the Early Years of Martha's Vineyard'' ;Primary sources *Edward Winslow, ''Glorious Progress of the Gospel Amongst the Indians in New England'' (1649)

External links

''Steve's Genealogy Site''

Indian Converts Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayhew, Thomas Mayhew, Thomas (1592-1682) Mayhew, Thomas (1592-1682) Mayhew, Thomas (1592-1682) Mayhew, Thomas (1592-1682) People of colonial Massachusetts Kingdom of England emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony