1. Zenas Dillingham was born on 5 December 1774 at Sandwich, Barnstable Co., MA. I am told that Zenas Dillingham has been identified as the son of Edward Dillingham (1743-1828) and Mercy ___ (? - 1820) of Sandwich. (For more information about Zenas' ancestors and siblings see the bottom of this page.)
No Dillinghams appear in the 1771, 1790, or 1800 censuses of Tisbury. The first record I have found of Zenas is the 4 Sep 1801 deed in which Zenas Dillingham of Tisbury "cordwainer alias yeoman" purchased a lot of land at Holmes Hole (Tisbury) for $50 from James and Elizabeth Winslow of Tisbury. It was four rods wide, and lay north of a lot owned by Michael Daggett, stretching from Holmes Hole harbor on the east to what is now Hatch Road on the west. This area was known as "Frog Alley," and was located roughly half way between the village of Holmes Hole (now Vineyard Haven) and West Chop, encompassing the modern streets of Hatch Road, Owen Little Way, and Grove Ave. - an area also referred to as "Down the Neck." Hatch Road, then called the "Proprietor's Road," was first laid out at the time of Zenas' purchase - late 1801. Frog Alley was then a booming development!
Zenas married (1st) Jane Dunham, daughter of David Dunham and Deborah Luce, on 14 April 1803 at Tisbury. His 1803 marriage record calls Zenas "of Sandwich" even though he had been a landowner for over a year and a half.
On 27 April 1810 he witnessed the will of his neighbor Capt. Jeruel West, and was called a resident of East Parish, Tisbury in the 10 June 1811 death record of his first wife.
He married (2nd) Mrs. Elizabeth (Luce) Slocum on 19 March 1815 at Tisbury.
The land of Zenas Dillingham is mentioned in a 11 Aug 1825 deed as adjacent to the lands of James & Isaac Winslow (children of the late James Winslow), Jethro Hillman, and Thomas Smith, near the harbor, "at a place called Frog Alley." Zenas appears in the Tisbury tax valuation (adjacent to Stephen Skiff and Oliver Grinnell in Frog Alley) as the owner of a "House + Lot + Shop" in 1828 and again in 1831. He appeared on the 1830 Tisbury census with his large family at Frog Alley, and again in 1840, and in the Tisbury tax valuations as the owner of a house and lot in 1839.
He appeared on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 75, mariner) with his wife and children. Comparing this census with later censuses and maps, it seems likely that he was still living on the same lot he purchased in 1801. (By 1855, his son Edward took residence at the same location, where he continued to live until at least 1880.) This lot (which I believe is at the location of Map 5, Lot H18 on modern assessors' maps) has been "known as the Dillingham Property" on deeds ever since.
Zenas died on 5 February 1853 at Holmes Hole, aged 78, of old age and
apoplexy. His death record calls him both a shoemaker and a cordwainer (in
a duplicate record.) He is buried at Vineyard Haven Village Cemetery.
Jane Dunham was born on 30 January 1783 at Tisbury. She died on
10 June 1811 at Tisbury at age 28. Her death record calls her a "housewife."
She is buried at Vineyard Haven Village Cemetery.
The four children of Zenas Dillingham and Jane Dunham were as follows:
2. i. Sophronia Dillingham was born on 19 October 1803. She died
on 3 September 1805 at East Parish, Tisbury, aged 1, and is buried at Vineyard
Haven Village Cemetery.
+ 3. ii. Sophronia Jane Dillingham, born 8 November 1806 at Tisbury;
married John Linton.
+ 4. iii. Capt. Zenas Dillingham, born 7 February 1809 at Tisbury;
married Emily Bradley.
5. iv. Peter Dillingham was born on 8 March 1810 at Tisbury. He died in 1854 at sea. His death notice called him a resident of Holmes Hole. I have no proof that Peter was the son of Zenas, but they are listed in the same family in the 1850 Tisbury census, and the age seems right. He appeared on this census as a 40-year-old mariner. *See the 3 Feb 1854 issue of the Gazette for details about his death!
Elizabeth "Betsey" Luce was born on 28 February 1783 at Tisbury. She married (1st) _____ Slocum sometime before 1815, and was called a widow at the time of her marriage to Zenas on 19 Mar 1815. I have not been able to determine the first name of Mr. Slocum. I have also not positively identified Betsey's parents, but I believe she might be the daughter of Josiah Luce and Lucy Norton of Tisbury. (I base this on the fact that she is the only Elizabeth Luce listed in Banks born around 1783, and that Josiah Luce also had a daughter named "Miranda" - similar to Zenas and Betsey's daughter "Merinda" - an unusual name for the island.)
Betsey appeared on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 67, with her husband
and children). She died "suddenly" about 22 August 1854 at Holmes
Hole, aged 71, (cause "unknown".) She is buried at Vineyard Haven
Village Cemetery.
The five children of Zenas Dillingham and Elizabeth Luce all born at Tisbury were as follows:
+ 6. i. Betsey L. Dillingham, born 2 October 1815; married Capt.
Charles West "2nd."
+ 7. ii. John Dillingham, born 23 August 1817; married Hepsibah
B. Norton.
+ 8. iii. Charles Dillingham, born 25 February 1821; married
Rebecca W. Downs.
+ 9. iv. Merinda L. Dillingham, born 19 September 1822; married
Capt. Gustavus D. Smith.
+ 10. v. Capt. Edward Dillingham, born 17 August 1824; married Caroline P. Hatch; married Abbie N. (--?--).
3. Sophronia Jane Dillingham (Zenas 1 ) was born on 8 November 1806 at Tisbury. She married John Linton, son of Joseph Linton and Sarah Daggett, on 6 April 1829 at Tisbury. She died in 1874 at Edgartown. (See 17 Apr 1874 Vineyard Gazette for details.)
She appeared on the census of 1850 at Edgartown (aged 43, with her husband and children), and again on the census of 1860 at Edgartown (aged 54, with her husband and children).
John Linton was born on 28 June 1805 at Edgartown, and was called
an Edgartown resident at the time of his marriage. He appeared on the 1850
Edgartown census (aged 44, laborer, with his wife and family), and on the
1860 Edgartown census (aged 55, with his wife and family, in the home of
Henry and Harriet Colt). See Banks Vol. III, p. 236 for more information
on the Linton family.
The two children of Sophronia Jane Dillingham and John Linton both born at Tisbury were as follows:
11. i. Sarah Ellen Linton was born on 19 August 1833. She appeared
on the 1850 Edgartown census (aged 16, with her parents) and on the 1860
Edgartown census (aged 26, with her parents.) She died in 1866 in Boston,
but was called a resident of Edgartown at the time of her death. See the
Gazette for details of her death.
12. ii. Zenas D. Linton was born on 27 August 1835. He appeared on the 1850 Edgartown census (aged 14), and on the 1860 Edgartown census (aged 24, mariner) with his parents. He is listed in the 1907 Oak Bluffs directory as "Linton Zenas, h. 132 Circuit ave." He died in 1920, evidently at Edgartown. (See the 4 Mar 1920 Gazette for details.)
4. Capt. Zenas Dillingham (Zenas1 ) was born on 7 February 1809 at Tisbury. I have no proof that he is the son of the elder Zenas, but the name and age seem right (and there was only one known Dillingham family on the island at this time!) He married Emily Bradley, daughter of the Hon. Thomas Bradley and Hannah Beetle, on 2 June 1838 at Tisbury. He appeared on the 1850 Tisbury census as a 41-year-old mariner with his wife and son, in the home of his wife's parents. He died on 22 November 1852 at Holmes Hole, at age 43, of "chronic diarrhea," and is buried at Vineyard Haven Village Cemetery.
Emily (Bradley) Dillingham was born on 30 May 1819 at Tisbury. She
appeared on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 31, with her husband and children
in the home of her parents.) After Zenas death, Emily married (2nd) William
Cleveland of Holmes Hole, son of Warren Cleveland and Lucretia Luce, on
24 September 1857 at Holmes Hole. She appeared on the census of 1860 at
Holmes Hole (aged 41, with husband William Cleveland, and children Lydia
G. Cleveland, Clarissa Cleveland, and Zenas Dillingham.) She died on 22
July 1868 at Holmes Hole, at age 49, of "hypertrophy of heart."
The five children of Capt. Zenas Dillingham and Emily Bradley were as follows:
13. i. Thomas B. Dillingham was born on 5 February 1839 at Tisbury. He appeared on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 11, with his parents.) He died on 22 December 1859, aged 20, of Yellow Fever, while a passenger on board the schr. Trade Wind on the passage from St. Thomas to Turks Island. His death record calls him a mariner. He was interred at St. Thomas (according to his town death record) or "buried at sea" (according to his gravestone at the Vineyard Haven Village Cemetery.)
14. ii. Zenas Dillingham was born on 20 January 1841 at Tisbury.
He appeared on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 9, with his parents and brother),
and again on the census of 1860 at Holmes Hole (aged 19, "Clerk in
Store," with his mother and step-father.) He died on 18 April 1869
at Edgartown at age 28, of Phthisis Pulmanolis, and is buried at the Vineyard
Haven Village Cemetery. His death record calls him an Edgartown merchant.
15. iii. (Daughter) Dillingham was born on 19 May 1844 at Holmes
Hole (although records vary slightly on the exact date.) She does not appear
in the 1850 census and probably died in infancy. She is buried at Vineyard
Haven Village Cemetery (and her grave inscription should yield the exact
date of her death.)
16. iv. (Stillborn) Dillingham was born and died on 19 May 1844 at Holmes Hole, and is buried at Vineyard Haven Village Cemetery. (Is this the same child as above?)
17. v. Infant Son Dillingham was born in April 1852 at Tisbury,
and died the same month. He is buried at Vineyard Haven Village Cemetery.
6. Betsey L. Dillingham (Zenas1 ) was born on 2 October 1815 at Tisbury. She married Capt. Charles West "2nd", son of William West and Mary Poole, on 10 July 1837 at Tisbury, a month after he returned from his voyage on the Ship Leonidas.
She appeared on the census of 1840 at Tisbury (in the household of her husband Charles West); on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 34); on the 1855 Tisbury census (aged 39); and on the 1860 Holmes Hole census (aged 44) with her husband.
In 1863, after the typhoid deaths of her brother Charles and his wife, Betsey and her husband took in her orphaned niece Adelaide. Betsey appeared in the 1865 census of East Parish, Tisbury (aged 49, housewife, with her husband and children); on the 1870 Tisbury census (aged 54, "keeping house," with her husband and children); and on the 1880 Tisbury census (aged 64, "keeping house," with her husband.)
She died on 20 January 1896 at her home on Main Street, Vineyard Haven, aged 80, of "Exhaustion" and "Senile dementia," and is buried at 41 Cyprus, Oak Grove Cemetery, Tisbury.
Capt. Charles West "2nd" was born in January 1815 at Tisbury.
He appeared in the Tisbury censuses of 1820 and 1830 in the home of his
father William West.
He is described in various crew lists as being 5' 5" tall at the age of 21 (having grown from 5' 1 1/4" tall at age 16), with "light" complexion and hair. Although there were many men by the name of "Charles West" who signed onto whaling ships in the area, this Charles West can definitely be identified (by his age and birthplace) as the one who sailed on the Ship Gen. Pike of New Bedford from 10 Mar 1831 to 5 Mar 1832 and again from 15 Jun 1832 to 14 Mar 1834, as well as on the Ship Leonidas of Fairhaven from 16 Jul 1836 to 6 Jun 1837.
He is probably the "Charles West Jr." who was taxed for one poll in 1838 and 1842 at Tisbury. He appeared on the census of 1840 at Tisbury (aged 20-29, with his wife; engaged in "Navigation of the Ocean," adjacent to entry of his father-in-law Zenas Dillingham.)
He was called a Tisbury "Master Mariner" on the 2 May 1848 birth record of his daughter, and a 35-year-old "mariner" in the 1850 Tisbury census. He appeared on the 1855 Tisbury census (aged 40, mariner, living with wife and children), and was probably the owner of the house marked "C. West" on the 1858 Walling Map (Holmes Hole inset) on the west side of Main street, almost directly across from what is now Owen Park. He appeared on the 1860 Holmes Hole census (Master Mariner, aged 44); on the 1865 census of East Parish, Tisbury (aged 50, seaman, with his wife and children); on the 1870 Tisbury census (mariner, aged 55, with his wife and children. $1600 RE, $7500 PE); on the 1880 Tisbury census (aged 65, "Retail Grocer," with his wife.)
Capt. Charles West died on 6 February 1888 at Vineyard Haven, aged 73.
He is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery (41 Cypress). His obituary called him
"a highly respected citizen and member of the M. E. Church."
The two children of Betsey L. Dillingham and Capt. Charles West "2nd" both born at Tisbury were as follows:
18. i. Mary Jane West was born on 23 February 1842. She appeared on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 8); on the 1855 Tisbury census (aged 13) with her parents; and again on the 1860 Holmes Hole census (aged 18, with her parents.)
She married Capt. Otis Foss, son of Silas Foss and Lois Kelley, on 13 December 1863 at Holmes Hole.
She appeared on the 1865 census of East Parish, Tisbury (aged 23, "boarder", with her husband, in the home of her parents); and on the 1870 Tisbury census (aged 28, no occupation, with her husband and parents). She was noted as a resident of Cottage City in 29 May 1888. She was a founding member of the Vineyard Haven branch of the D.A.R. She appeared on the 1900 Cottage City census (aged 58, with her husband.)
Immediately after the death of her husband in 1905, the Gazette reported that "Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo Luce will occupy Mrs. Otis Foss's house during the winter months, and Mrs. Foss will make her home with them." She is listed in both the 1907 and 1910 Vineyard Haven directories at Main Street, Tisbury ("widow of Otis"). On 17 October 1907 the Gazette reported that "Mrs. Mary J. Foss has returned from her visit to West Dennis and is occupying her house, having so far recovered the use of her limb as to care for herself." She appears in the 1910 Vineyard Haven census on Main Street, age 68, living on her "own income," widow, living alone. She is mentioned as a Vineyard Haven resident in August 1913, and again in January 1919 when on "Saturday evening, about nine-thirty, a blaze started at the home of Mrs. Mary J. Foss, on Main St. which did considerable damage to house and furniture." She appeared on the 1920 Tisbury census at Main Street (aged 77, living alone.)
Mary Jane Foss died on 12 February 1925 at Tisbury at age 83, of a "cerebral
hemorrhage." The Gazette reported "...her suffering of
the last year or more must be felt to give her a blessed release after
torturing pain. Devoted care was hers but at last she sleeps, after her
life work faithfully performed is over." She was buried at Oak Grove
Cemetery (41 Cypress).
Capt. Otis Foss was born on 4 Oct 1838 in West Gouldsboro, ME. I have no records of his early life, and does not appear in the 1850 or 1860 censuses of Tisbury, nor in the Sep 1862 enrollment list. Banks notes that he served in the Navy during the Civil War on the ship Fearnought, as a seaman, and his obituary notes that "In the Civil war he was in the United States navy, and was present at the capture of the New Orleans." Records show that on 5 Aug 1861 he enlisted for one year as Ord. Seaman (credit Boston) and served on Receiving Ship Ohio and U.S.S. Fear Not. He was dicharged from ship Ohio as Ord. Seaman on 10 Nov 1862. He married Mary Jane West 13 months later.
His obituary states "From 1863 to 1868 he was a master mariner, and since that time until retirement a short time ago has been in trade." He appeared in the 1865 census of East Parish, Tisbury (aged 26, "seaman," with his wife, in the home of her parents); and in the 1870 census of Tisbury (aged 31, "peddler," with his wife and her parents. $1000 PE). In the 6 May 1881 issue of the Vineyard Gazette it was reported that "Sch. Almeda, removed from Muskeget by Capt. Otis Foss and others, has been sold at private sale." He appears in the 1897 directory of Vineyard Haven, and in the 1900 census of Cottage City (aged 61, with his wife). The 15 May 1902 issue of the Gazette reported that "Capt. and Mrs. Otis Foss are moving to Cottage City for the summer season").
Otis Foss died on 21 Sep 1905 of "apoplexy" "after an illness of several months" at his home on Main Street, Vineyard Haven, and was buried on 24 Sep 1905 at 41 Cypress, Oak Grove Cemetery ("The funeral...was in charge of the Grand Army of the Republic.") His obituary calls him "a prominent citizen of Martha's Vineyard... Captain Foss has been one of the most prominent figures in Vineyard politics. Always a staunch Republican, he had seen long service in the government of his home town, Cottage City, and was thrice elected a member of the house of representatives."
Otis and Mary Foss had no children.
19. ii. Alice Ann West was born on 2 May 1848. She appeared on the
1850 Tisbury census (aged 2); on the 1855 Tisbury census (aged 7); on the
1860 Holmes Hole census (aged 12); and on the 1865 census of East Parish,
Tisbury (aged 17, pupil) with her parents. She married Capt. Josiah Taber
Daggett, son of Henry Daggett and Mary Ann Taber, on 9 July 1869 at Holmes
Hole. She appeared on the 1870 Tisbury census (aged 28, no occupation,
with her husband and parents.) She died on 23 October 1877 at Vineyard
Haven, aged 29, of breast cancer, and is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery (41
Cypress.)
Capt. Josiah Taber Daggett was born 16 Dec 1844 in Tisbury, and
appeared in the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 7) and the 1855 Tisbury census
(aged 10), with his parents. After his 1869 marriage to Alice, he appeared
in the 1870 Tisbury census (aged 25, mariner, with his wife, in the home
of his wife's parents.)
Following Alice's 1877 death, Josiah evidently left the island, as he doesn't appear in the 1880 census of Tisbury, Cottage City, or Chilmark, nor in the 1897 or 1907 directories of Martha's Vineyard. He married (2nd) Grace L. Lambert (1857-?) of Brooklyn, and they reportedly had two daughters and one son.
Josiah Taber died on 6 Sep 1909 in Montclair, NJ, of Bright's Disease. His obituary calls him a master mariner, and notes that "For the last 15 years he commanded ships of the Savannah line [Ocean Steamship Co.] For 30 years before entering the Savannah service he was in command of ships of Thomas Dunham's Nephews & Co. of New York. While in command of the steamship Caravan of that firm's line he saved the lives of the crew of the German ship Lohengrin and received from Emporer Wilhelm a marine glass."
7. John Dillingham (Zenas 1 ) was born on 23 August 1817 at Tisbury. He was called a Tisbury mariner at the time of his marriage to Hepsibah B. Norton, daughter of John W. Norton and Hepsey B. (--?--), on 1 July 1847 at Edgartown. He was called an Edgartown "seman" in the 1848 birth record of his first child. He appeared on the 1850 Edgartown census (aged 32, mariner, with his wife and daughters); on the 1860 Edgartown census (aged 42, merchant, with his wife and family); on the 1870 Edgartown census (aged 52, Retail Grocer, with his wife and daughter); and on the 1880 Edgartown census (aged 62, retail grocer, with his wife). I have not yet located his death record.
Hepsibah B. (Norton) "Hepsey" Dillingham was born on 28
October 1821 at Edgartown. She registered her intent to marry (1st) Samuel
Pent Jr. on 12 December 1840 at Edgartown, and they likely had at least
one child, Samuel Pent. She appeared on the 1850 Edgartown census (aged
28, with her second husband and daughters); on the 1860 Edgartown census
(aged 39, with her husband and family); on the 1870 Edgartown census (aged
48, with her husband and children); and on the 1880 Edgartown census (aged
58, "Keeping House," with her husband.) I have not found any further
records of this family.
The four children of John Dillingham and Hepsibah B. Norton were as follows:
20. i. Elizabeth Jane Dillingham was born on 17 March 1848 at Edgartown. She appeared on the 1850 Edgartown census (aged 2, with her parents); on the 1860 Edgartown census (aged 12, with her parents); and on the 1870 Edgartown census (aged 21, no occupation, with her parents). I have no further records of her.
21. ii. Merinda L. Dillingham was born on 3 February 1850 at Edgartown.
She appeared on the 1850 Edgartown census (aged 3 mos., with her parents);
and on the 1860 Edgartown census (aged 10, with her parents.) I have no
further records of her.
22. iii. Hepsey B. Dillingham was born about 1852-3 and died
in 1855 at Edgartown. (I have not seen the birth record to confirm that
she was their daughter, however.)
23. iv. John Leavitt Dillingham was born about 1856-7 and died in 1858 at Edgartown. (I have not seen the birth record to confirm that he was their son, however.)
8. Charles Dillingham (Zenas 1 ) was born on 25 February 1821 at Tisbury. He married Rebecca W. Downs of Holmes Hole, daughter of Capt. William C. Downs 2d and Sophronia Manter, on 6 January 1850 at Holmes Hole.
He appeared on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 29, mariner, with his wife and parents). On 17 July 1857 Charles Dillingham of Tisbury, mariner, bought a lot from Samuel W. Kelley for $240 "at a village known by the name of Frog Alley" adjacent to the lot formerly owned by Edward West, Sarah Clark, and the county road (Main St.?) at Frog Alley. On 10 October 1857, Charles Dillingham of Tisbury, mariner, and his wife Rebecca, took out a $300 mortgage on the land and buildings in Holmes Hole that his father "Zenas Dillingham died seized of" on Holmes Hole Harbor (near lots formerly owned by Oliver Grinnell and Timothy Pease), and then sold it in 1862 to Charlotte Legg.
He appeared on the 1860 Holmes Hole census (aged 38, mariner, with wife and daughter), and is listed in the September 1862 Tisbury enrollment list.
He died on 19 October 1863 at Holmes Hole, at age 42, of Typhoid Fever. His death record listed his occupation as "painter." He is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery.
Rebecca W. (Downs) Dillingham was born on 20 May 1829 at Tisbury.
She was enumerated with her parents in the 1830 Tisbury census; appeared
on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 21, with husband, in home of his parents);
and again on the 1860 Holmes Hole census (aged 30, with her husband and
daughter). She died on 2 November 1863 at Holmes Hole, at age 34, of "depentira
Typhoidas." Her husband died two weeks earlier of "Typhoid Fever,"
leaving their only daughter orphaned at age twelve.
The only child of Charles Dillingham and Rebecca W. Downs was:
24. i. Adelaide M. Dillingham was born on 4 March 1851 at Tisbury.
She appeared on the 1860 Holmes Hole census (aged 9, with her parents)
and was orphaned in 1863 when both of her parents died of typhoid. She
appeared on the 1865 Tisbury census (aged 14, pupil, with Charles West
and aunt Betsey (Dillingham) West and their family). A probate notice appears
in the Vineyard Gazette for Adelaide M. Dillingham on 2 Nov 1866 - probably
in reference to her guardianship. Charles West is named in the notice -
he probably became her legal guardian at that time. She next appeared on
the 1870 Tisbury census ("Adie M.", aged 19, no occupation, with
Charles and Betsey West). She married Charles A. Mosher, son of Alvin Mosher
and Nancy (--?--), on 22 January 1872 at Tisbury. I have no further record
of this family, and they probably left the island.
Charles A. Mosher was born about 1849-50 in New Bedford. I have no other records of him.
9. Merinda L. Dillingham (Zenas 1 ) was born on 19 September 1822 at Tisbury. She married Capt. Gustavus D. Smith, the son of David Smith Jr. and Charlotte Dunham, on 29 June 1842 at Tisbury. She appeared on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 27, with her husband and children).
On 1 August 1851, the Gazette reported "On Sunday last, the lightning struck the cooper shop in Holmes Hole, owned by Thomas Bradley, Esq. Mrs. Gustavus D. Smith, who was sitting at an open window, near by, singing, received a charge of electricity in the mouth, which paralyzed her tongue, and rendered her speechless. She fortunately, soon recovered."
She appeared on the 1860 Tisbury census (aged 37, with her husband and children). She died on 16 April 1864 at Holmes Hole, aged 41, of "carcinoma utteri / cauliflower excrisen," and is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery.
Capt. Gustavus D. Smith was born on 25 May 1814 at Tisbury. He appeared
on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 36, mariner, with his wife and children)
and on the 1860 Tisbury census (aged 46, master mariner, with his wife and
family). In 1863 he was charged with the axe murder of merchant William
Luce of Holmes Hole, but was later acquitted of this charge. He died "suddenly"
on 10 Jun 1869 in Eastport, Maine of unknown causes while on board schooner
Plandome, and is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery. His death records
call him a mariner, "formerly of Holmes Hole."
The two children of Merinda L. Dillingham and Capt. Gustavus D. Smith both born at Tisbury were as follows:
25. i. Gustavus D. Smith Jr. was born on 9 July 1843. He appeared
on the 1850 Tisbury census, on the 1860 Holmes Hole census (aged 16) with
his parents, and on the Sept. 1862 Tisbury enrollment list. I have found
no further records of him.
26. ii. Henrietta E. Smith was born on 14 January 1846. She appeared on the 1850 Tisbury census, and on the 1860 Holmes Hole census (aged 14), with her parents. She married Edwin F. Sturgis, son of Moses Sturgis and Sarah (--?--), on 19 January 1868 at Tisbury.
No Sturgis families appear in Tisbury in the 1870 census, nor in Tisbury, Edgartown, or Chilmark in 1880, nor in Tisbury in 1910, but her death was recorded by the town of Tisbury on 15 November 1911, aged 65. I do not know if they had any children.
Edwin Sturgis was born about 1841-2 in Barnstable. I have no further
records of him, although a grave marked "Edwin Sturgis" is at
the Oak Grove Cemetery near Merinda and Gustavus Smith's, and may mark
is resting place.
10. Capt. Edward Dillingham (Zenas 1 ) was born on 17 August 1824 at Tisbury. He married Caroline P. Hatch, daughter of James Ward Hatch and Laura Ann West, on 5 November 1848. He was voted as one of Tisbury's "Hog Reaves" in 1849, but was not sworn in.
He appeared on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 25, mariner, living with his wife and her parents, next door to his own parents.). The 1852 birth record of his eldest child calls him a Tisbury mariner, as does the 1855 birth record of his second child. He appeared on the 1855 Tisbury census (aged 31, mariner, with his wife and children, adjacent to Benjamin and Charles Cleveland, and Moses Morrison.)
After the death of his parents, Edward appears to have taken residence in the Frog Alley home he grew up in. "E. Dillingham" appears on the 1858 Walling map on the east side of Hatch Road in Frog Alley, near the families of Cleveland, Kennedy, Morrison, and Hatch. Comparing this map with the 1850-80 censuses, it is clear that Edward lived in this neighborhood probably until his death. He may also be the E.(?) Dillingham shown on the 1858 Holmes Hole inset on the Walling Map, east of Main Street and south of Union Street, somewhere near the old location of the Great House (near the present police station.) Did he have a shop in town?
He appeared on the 1860 Holmes Hole census (mariner, with his wife, daughter, and sister-in law's family. $600 RE). He is listed in the Tisbury Enrollment List in September 1862, and appeared on the 1865 census of East Parish, Tisbury (aged 40, seaman, with his wife and daughter), and on the 1870 Tisbury census (mariner, aged 45, with his wife and daughter. $1000 RE). He was called a mariner residing at Tisbury 'Neck' on the 5 July 1871 record of his wife's death in childbirth.
On 27 December 1871, shortly after the death of his wife, he sold a lot of land (along with his inlaws Laura A. Hatch, James W. Hatch, and Hattie A. Hatch) bounded on the east by the harbor, on the south by Timothy Pease, on the northwest by the "Frog Pond" and on the north by Seth Morse for $1 to George W. Hatch of Tisbury. This was land inherited by his late wife, and was originally settled by her ancestor, Jeruel West.
He married (2nd) Abbie N. (--?--). Although I have not found a marriage record, they appear together on the 1880 Tisbury census (aged 55, "Sailor.")
On 27 June 1881 Edward and Abby N. Dillingham of Tisbury sold a lot at the "Neck" for $300 to Calvin Austin of Boston "being the same premises as conveyed to myself by Edwin L. Littlefield." (It was four rods wide, on the shore, abutting Joseph Dias and a lot late of Benjamin West.)
In May 1884 the Gazette reported "Schooner Neponset, Capt. Edward Dillingham, recently discharged a cargo of corn recently from Rotch's grain store."
Edward Dillingham died on 8 June 1885 at Vineyard Haven, aged 60. He is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery. His obituary notes that he "was a man much respected in this community. His ever ready wit made him a pleasant conversationalist."
Caroline P. (Hatch) Dillingham also went by the names "Clara"
and "Carrie." She was born on 7 June 1828 at Tisbury. She was
enumerated in her father's household on the 1840 Tisbury census; appeared
on the 1850 Tisbury census (aged 21, with her husband in the house of her
parents, next door to her husband's parents); on the 1855 Tisbury census
(aged 27, with her husband and children); on the 1860 Holmes Hole census
(aged 31, with her husband and daughter); on the 1865 census of East Parish,
Tisbury (aged 35, "housewife," with her husband and daughter);
and on the 1870 Tisbury census (aged 41, "keeping house," with
her husband and daughter.)
She died on 5 July 1871 at Vineyard Haven, aged 43 of a "Hemmorage
from the Womb" following a stillbirth. Her death record calls her a
resident of the "Neck" at the time of her death. She is buried
at Oak Grove Cemetery.
The three children of Capt. Edward Dillingham and Caroline P. Hatch were as follows:
27. i. Edward P. "Eddy" Dillingham was born on 28 March
1852 at Tisbury. He appeared on the 1855 Tisbury census, but died on 19
April 1856 at Holmes Hole, aged 4, of croup.
28. ii. Louise Harding Dillingham was born on 31 March 1855 at Tisbury. She appeared on the 1855 Tisbury census (aged 5 months); on the 1860 Holmes Hole census (aged 5); on the 1865 census East Parish, Tisbury (aged 10); and on the 1870 Tisbury census (aged 15, attending school), with her parents.
She married Capt. William M. Randall, son of Sylvester Randall and Sarah Ann (--?--), on 24 February 1876 at Tisbury. They do not appear in any of the Vineyard censuses of 1880, but on 2 December 1882 she was willed $5 by her grandmother Laura A. Hatch.
In November 1893 she and her husband were rescued after a storm sank their schooner (the Louise H. Randall) off Long Island. See "The Fate of the Schooner Louise H. Randall: A Story of the Sea" by Louise H. Randall (Boston, 1903) for her account of this experience. This booklet also includes photos of her and her husband.
On 12 December 1895 the Gazette reported in the Vineyard Haven column that "Mrs. Louise Randall has taken rooms at Mr. Edward Smith's on Wharf Street for the winter." She was a 1896 charter member of the Vineyard Haven D.A.R., and served as Regent in 1904 and 1905. She appeared on the 1900 Tisbury census on Union St. (aged 45, with her husband.)
She died on 1 May 1906 at Borough of Brooklyn, New York City, aged 51,
of pneumonia. The 3 May 1906 Gazette reported that "Intelligence
has reached here of the severe illness of Mrs. Wm. M. Randall, Regent of
the Sea Coast Defence Chapter, D.A.R., who was in New York for a short
stay after having attended the Continental Congress in Washington, D.C.
Capt Randall left on Tuesday morning and friends anxiously await further
news. [Since the above was written the sad news of Mrs. Randall's death
has reached us, and the community mourns." The next week's issue reports,
"The funeral service of Mrs. Louise H., wife of Captain William M.
Randall, of this place, held in the Methodist church Sunday afternoon at
3 o'clock, was perhaps the most largely attended funeral ever held in this
town, the public character of Mrs. Randall's services and wide social sphere
contributing to that end." She is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery.
Capt. William M. Randall was born on 25 Nov 1853 at Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY. He does not appear in the 1860 or 1870 Tisbury censuses. His obituary notes that "For half his lifetime one of the best known masters of our seacoast and then a prominent investor in real estate and other kinds of property. Capt. Randall commanded the respect of all who knew him for sound sense and excellent business judgment by which he acquired a competency...." "Capt. Randall was born at Fort Jefferson, L. I., of seafaring stock and became master of a vessel at the early age of 17 years. He married for his first wife Louise Harding Dillingham of this town and she was his constant companion on his voyages until the loss of his beautiful and finely furnished floating home, the four-masted schooner Louise H. Randall, in a terrific gale and blinding snowstorm off Long Island and their narrow escape from death, shocked her nerves so that she persuaded her husband to give up the merchant service. (A very graphic story of this thrilling experience and escape from drowning was penned by Mrs. Randall and printed in a neat pamphlet.)" "The Captain then became owner of the water boat Susie D. and purveyor to the needs of all the craft passing through Vineyard sound and touching here. From this business he retired some years ago certainly 'well-to-do.' Capt. Randall was a Master Mason and Son of the Am. Revolution."
He gave his residence as Boston in Nov. 1892, but appears in the 1897 directory of Tisbury on Main Street. He appears in the 1900 Tisbury census on Union Street (Master Mariner (steam), aged 46, with his wife). The 17 Apr 1902 issue of the Gazette reported that "Capt. Wm. Randall's house next the Stevens place, has...been taken for the summer."
Following the death of his wife, he appears in the 1907 and 1910 Tisbury directories on Main Street, and an undated 1908 newspaper clipping titled "Sale of Steamer Susie D." notes "The Susie D. is one of the best known vessels on the coast. Capt. William M. Randall, the master and managing owner, is retiring from active business...." It goes on to note that this vessel ran mail for many years. He appears in the 1910 census Tisbury census on Main St., ("own income," widower, aged 56, living alone.)
On 2 May 1912 he married (2nd) Lou D. McDonnell (1861- ?) in Vineyard Haven. On 2 May 1912 the Gazette reported that "Capt. Randall is one of the best known Master mariners on the American coast, and Mrs. Randall comes from an old and well-known family of Ohio. They both spend their winters in the sunny south, and it was there that they met."
William Randall died on 30 Jan 1914 of "chronic valvular disease of the heart" and the Gazette noted that "His last illness, a painful one, was of months duration so that his death was not unexpected." His death record listed his residence as Main Street. He was buried on 2 Feb 1914 "with full Masonic ritual and honors" at Oak Grove Cemetery. His inventory included $25,226.74 in personal estate, and $23,440 in real estate, comprised of the "Dillingham House," "Legge House," "Tashmoo House," "Beaton Place house," "Crowell Place house," "Vincent Place house," "Hanfsen(?) Place house," a building on Main Street, land at Port Jefferson, NY, and a half interest in the "Roland Luce Farm" in West Tisbury. His kin listed his widow, sister, and neices and nephews, but no children. In her pamphlet on old homes, Mrs. Howes Norris mentioned a house, behind (and perhaps to the north of) the old Martha's Vineyard National Bank building, previously owned by Barzilla Crowell and then purchased by Capt. Randall, finally owned by his widow - this may be their Main Street home of many years.
Neither Louise Dillingham nor William Randall had any recorded children.
29. iii. (Stillborn) Dillingham was born on 5 July 1871 at Tisbury
'Neck', Tisbury (Stillborn). He died on 5 July 1871 at Tisbury 'Neck',
Tisbury.
Abbie N. (--?--) Dillingham was born about 1830-1. She appeared on the 1880 Tisbury census (aged 49, "Keeps House," with her husband Edward). She was the executrix of her husband's will on 8 June 1885. On 27 July 1886 she deeded a lot to William M. Randall of Essex Co. for $1 (on the east side of Hatch Road abutting the harbor, adjacent to lots of D. W. Stevens and Eldridge Sumner). In 1896 she again deeded a lot to Wm. M. Randall of Tisbury for $1 (on the east side of Hatch Road bounded by Wm. Randall, Summer heirs, and Seth Morse.) The latter deed gives her residence as "West Woodstock," suggesting that she left the island between 1886 and 1896.
There were no children of Capt. Edward Dillingham and Abbie N. (--?--).
* Are you looking for more information about the Dillinghams of Sandwich, or Zenas' siblings and ancestry?
* Or would you like to contact somebody about your own branch of the Dillingham family?Contact Dave Wiltshire, Larry Lieneke or Edward Dillingham, who started the Dillingham Project 2000 in 1997. They are endeavouring to join together everyone interested in this fascinating family and have access to both the published genealogies, their database containing over 12,000 Dillingham events and growing. Dillingham Project 2000 involves many Dillingham family researchers who are all working toward a common goal. They are trying to discover and record as many Dillingham descendants as they possibly can prior to the turn of the century. They accumulate as much information as possible on each individual and then make that information available to family researchers like yourself who are looking for someone in their files.
Tim Cole also has an excellent Dillingham website at http://www.niia.net/~timcole that includes Zenas' ancestors.
* Do you have a question regarding the Dillingham family outside of Dukes County?Post it on the Dillingham Genforum page at http://www.genforum.com/dillingham.
* Do you have a question regarding a Dukes County / Martha's Vineyard family?Post it on the Dukes County Queries page at http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Ma/Dukes
* Are YOU descended from Zenas Dillingham?
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