Sunday, July 29, 2012

1911 Candid Photograph of Valentine Jenkins Pease of Edgartown, Massachusetts


Candid 1911 photograph of Valentine Jenkins Pease of Edgartown, Massachusetts.  The photograph itself is approximately 4" x 3", with a thin border all around.


Edgartown, Oct-9-1911
To my friend Geo. B. Jackson, Waterville, Me.  
Taken in my back yard in Sept. by a little girl cousin.
V. J. Pease

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome]

Valentine Jenkins Pease was born 23 July 1839 in Massachusetts, the son of Captain Henry and Susan S. (Huxford) Pease, born at Nantucket and Edgartown, Massachusetts, respectively.

V. J.'s paternal grandparents were Valentine and Love (Daggett) Pease.  His maternal grandparents were Samuel and Susan (Sprague, I think) Huxford.

On 20 June 1869 at New Bedford, Massachusetts, V. J. married Ellen Cunningham, daughter of William and Mary (Hurley) Cunningham, both Irish immigrants to Massachusetts.  Ellen was born 26 August 1842 at Needham, Massachusetts.

I don't know if the couple had any children or not.  I didn't find any in the Censuses.

Update of 30 July 2012: I've heard a tragic story from a reader related to Ellen (Cunningham) Pease that Valentine and Ellen did have a child, a daughter Inez Hattie Pease, born in 9 September 1867 at Edgartown.  

Tragically, on 20 March 1877 at Boston, Massachusetts, Inez jumped aboard an elevator that had already started, fell a bit short and was crushed by the ceiling above.  This was in the days before elevators had safety gates; her death led to their requirement. 

One source online mentioned that V. J. Pease traveled many times to Maine and New Hampshire in his capacity as salesman for a woolen concern.  This is likely the source of his friendship with George B. Jackson, a tailor at Waterville.  At the time, V. J. was living at Roxbury, Massachusetts.  When he retired, he returned to Edgartown to live.

The Pease family is an interesting one.  Herman Melville's brief career at sea included a voyage as a member of the crew of whaler Acushnet, captained by Valentine Pease [grandfather of Valentine Jenkins Pease].  Melville jumped ship in Hawaii, as did half of the crew before the four year voyage was concluded.  Some feel that Valentine was the model for the tyrannical Captain Ahab in Melville's classic Moby Dick, though Valentine's reputation at Edgartown was a positive one.

George Benton Jackson, the recipient of the photograph of Valentine Jenkins Pease, was born about 1864 at Montville, Maine, son of William P. and Mary Ploome (Jackson) Jackson.  

George's paternal grandparents were George Waterhouse Jackson and wife Hannah (Rowell) Jackson.  His maternal grandparents were Timothy and Elmira B. (French) Jackson.

On 10 April 1898 at Waterville, Maine, George married Mary A. "May" Morse, daughter of Comfort T. and Rhoda Ann (Ballentine) Morse.  

One of May's brothers, Robert I. Morse, went to Washington state and founded a hardware store, which I think is still in business today.  Papers from the R. I. Morse family are kept at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies.  Among the papers are letters from Robert I. Morse's second wife Ada to May (Morse) Jackson, wife of George Benton Jackson.

If you have any corrections or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Edgartown, Massachusetts


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3 comments:

  1. I am a descendant of Valentine Pease with proof, My family would like to buy the photo if your interested in selling it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, the photograph is for sale; total price depends on whether shipment will be to US, Canada or other. Email address in right column near top under "Inquiries".

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm the descendant of John Pease and Mary Browning through another son, but the photograph and story are the kinds of things that people should know about.Thank you, and I hope a family member does get the photograph!

    ReplyDelete