By Richard Gifford

Capt. Pardon  Cook (1792-1849) Son-in-law of Paul Cuffe, resided on Drift Road, Westport. Whaling captain, commanded the June and Elizabeth. An 1843 profile in The Liberator stated that Cook disproves “the charge of his being indebted for his abilities to any white blood he possesses, for few are darker than he. He has performed three voyages from Westport as a master, and in every instance has succeeded in making good voyages, better than any other vessel from the same place, considering the amount of capital invested.”

Nathaniel A. Borden (ca. 1805-1851). Brother-in-law of Pardon Cook, lived at 26 Wing Street, New Bedford. In 1839 Borden likely became the first African-American candidate for any state elective office. The recently arrived Frederick Douglass paid the $1.50 poll tax to cast his first vote for Borden.

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Transcriptions from the Minutes of the Westport Religious Society of Friends

Monthly Meetings Relating to Paul Cuffe

Requesting and being received into membership in the society:

1808 2^nd month. Inform that Paul Cuffe requests to come under the care of friends, We therefore appoint Jeremiah Austen, Prince Wing, and Abner Potter to visit him and take a solid opertunity with him in order to discover the motive and sincerity of his request and fitness to become a member of our Society and report to next meeting. P. 111.

1808 4^th month. The committee in the case of Paul Cuffe’s request reported that they have had several opportunities with him and he appeared to them to be sincere in what he has requested, therefore after considering thereon we do with the concurrence of the Women’s meeting receive the said Paul Cuffe under our care as a member of the society, of which Prince Wing is to inform him. P. 114

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 150 people gathered on Saturday September 16 2017  to commemorate the 200^th anniversary of the passing of local hero Paul Cuffe. The town of Westport declared September 16 as Paul Cuffe Day and proclamations from Governor Baker and other citations and recognitions were presented to mark this occasion. The symposium covered many new perspectives on Paul Cuffe and his business partner and brother-in-law, Michael Wainer, and their families.

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An overview of images that have been used to represent Paul Cuffe by Carl J. Cruz

This Portrait, oil on canvas was commissioned in 1989 by the Hall of Black Achievement at Bridgewater State University. The Artist is Larry Johnson an African-American illustrator. Mr. Johnson used the 1812 silhouette as his model and brought this realistic image to life.

View slides from this presentation HERE.

View video of this presentation HERE.

Physical Description of Paul Cuffe:

 “he was “both tall and stout” spoke good English, and dressed “in the Quaker style” that is, he adorned “a drab-colored suit” with a large “flapped hat”.  Thomas Clarkson, The History of the Abolition of the Slave Trade 1808

“His person is tall, well formed and athletic; his deportment conciliating, yet dignified and serious.” Liverpool Mercury 1811    “Memoirs of the Life of Paul Cuffee, the Interesting Negro Navigator” 1811

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Presented  presented by R. Andrew Pierce Saturday January 13 2018 at the Westport Free Public Library, 408 Old County Road, Westport

A video of this program can be watched HERE.

R. Andrew Pierce presented research into the Wampanoag families of the Westport.  19th century New England genealogists largely ignored Native Americans, who despite centuries in the area, had been marginalized and forgotten. This missing history inspired Andrew Pierce and co-author Dr. Jerome Segel to compile comprehensive genealogies of Wampanoag families. The resulting massive two volume set “Wampanoag Families of Martha’s Vineyard” is a definitive work presenting over 20 years’ research at dozens of archives using vital statistics, census, land, probate, court missionary, military and maritime records.

Wampanoag Families of Westport by R. Andrew Pierce

By Tony Connors, President of the Westport Historical Society

We see her name on the street sign in the center of Westport: Charlotte White Road. She is mentioned in local history books as a healer, a midwife, a poet.  But what do we really know about Charlotte White?

Let’s start with her name. The typical pronunciation of the name Charlotte is “Shar-lot” but there is a local oral tradition that it was pronounced “Sha-lot-ee.” How did Charlotte herself pronounce her name? The first clue was found a few years ago when the late Bill Wyatt, former president of the Historical Society, was researching the 19^th-century account books of the Westport physicians Eli and James Handy. Bill found an entry for “Charlotty White,” a phonetic spelling of her name that indicates a three-syllable pronunciation. The second clue can be found in the town records regarding early poor relief in Westport. Several town records from 1812-1813 refer to her as “Cholata” White, which drops the “r” (as most locals from Massachusetts and Rhode Island do) and flattens the final “e” to “ah,” but clearly shows the three-syllable form. Based on this evidence, it is most likely she was called “Sha-lot-ah.”

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