[Abernath.ged]
INDIVIDUAL_NOTE
The first white man on the Island of Nantucket. One of the original
settlers of Salisbury. Made a freeman in 1639. Because he gave
shelter to two Quakers on a rainy morning he was fined 30 shillings.
(John Greenlief Whittier wrote a ballad founded on this incident, It
begins-"The Goodman sat beside the door.") He paid the fine but said
he would not live in such a country, so in the fall of 1659, he with
his wife and small children, Isaac Coleman (a lad of 12) and Edward
Starbuck, and such household furnishings. as they could carry, set sail in a
small boat for Nantucket. They crossed Boston Bay, rounded Cape Cod
and sailed direct for the Island. Crossing was very stormy. Wife
became frightened and begged to go back but Thomas said "Woman, go
below and seek thy God, I fear neither the witches on earth or the
devils in hell." They found upon the island about 3000 Indians who
received them kindly and helped in preparing for winter quarters.
Thomas was a Baptist.
Freeman September 6, 1639
On of the founders of Nantucket.
Thomas was a farmer and a whaler, and held many offices on the island of Nantucket. They were baptists by faith. Thomas was listed as one of 68 first settlers in Salisbury Mass. in 1639. No sooner had this group of Pilgrims found their religious freedom in the new land, they then turned and branded another group, the Friends, or Quakers, as witches and heritics. They were subjected to every possible indignity. Laws were passed that banished all Quakers from Massachuschetts under penalty of death. It was against the law to aid or harbor the people of this religion. Although Thomas Macy was a puritan, he did not believe in this. He let four fleeing Quakers into his home for three quarters of an hour to shelter them from a storm. A complaint was made against him and he was summoned to appear and answer all charges. Instead, he wrote a letter explaining how the situation had occurred. He was fined 30 shillings and reprimanded by the Governor. He decided he could not tolerate the injustices around him, so he took his family, and with nine other men, purchased the Island of Nantucket. Not too much later, a man wrote a poem about Thomas Macy and his convictions.
This poem & information from Macy Genealogy by Sylvanius Macy.)
Thomas Macy and his family were the first white settlers on the island of Nantucket. With him was his wife, and five little children, the oldest was 13 and the youngest was 4. He died on the island at the age of 74.
A letter written by the Nantucket Historical Assoc. in 1974 states......Not only was Thomas Macy our first white settler but many of his descendants did a great deal to spread its name and fame. We have a famous Macy House flag which flew on Macy ships all over the world in our Whaling Museum and this year will have the Nathaniel Macy House...built in 1720 as one of our permanent exhibits, plus considerable Macy memorabilia principally acquired by William Macy, our first President of the Association in 1894.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~parisho/m/macy.html
He was one of the original settlers of Salisbury, MA.
He was one of nine persons who purchased the Island of Nantucket in 1659. He must have returned to Salisbury, MA around 1664 but again removed to Nantucket where he was commissioned chief magistrate on October 1, 1675. He was the first recorder appointed on the island and at least a part of the first Book of Records was written by him.
