Much has been written about Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, who in 1665 became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard, and his classmate Joel Hiacoomes, who was murdered before he could graduate. Both accomplished young Wampanoag scholars were from Martha’s Vineyard, where Thomas Mayhew, Jr. had opened a school for Wampanoag boys and girls in 1652. But in 1657, Mayhew had set sail for London with his most promising student to try to raise money for his school. Who was this student, and why has he been forgotten? History books always end the story by lamenting the loss of Mayhew when the ship was lost at sea. Sadly, the brilliant young Wampanoag man drowned with him.
Or did he?
What if the ship, the Hopewell, didn’t sink? For many years, Mayhew’s father held on to the hope that his son’s ship had been captured by “Algerines.” In truth, nobody knows what happened to it. The Hopewell, its captain (Master James Garret), its crew, its 50 passengers, and its cargo simply disappeared.
What really happened? Several possibilities exist. Perhaps the ship foundered in a storm. Even so, survivors could have found refuge on some island in the sea, like Robinson Crusoe. Or perhaps the crew mutinied and sailed to distant lands. Maybe Captain Garret turned renegade and took the valuable furs with him to start a new life? Or was old Mr. Mayhew right? Could they have been captured by Algerines? Even Crusoe was captured by pirates at the beginning of Devoe’s book.
My research led me on an exciting journey through time where I learned about Barbary corsairs, Puritan alchemists, Wampanoag warriors, and Moroccan sultans. It became the inspiration for my new time travel/historical fiction book, The Alchemy Thief.
For those of you who enjoy a good adventure, watch here for more news on when my book will be released. But for those of you who want nothing but facts, read below and decide for yourself. What do you think happened?
Here are the facts:
On November 6, 1657, Master Garret sailed the Hopewell out of Boston with a sister ship, The Royal Exchange (aka The Exchange), captained by Master John Peirce. At some point the boats became separated. The Royal Exchange arrived safely in London in early February, 1658. But the Hopewell never arrived.
The Hopewell was a 400 ton merchant ship, carrying all the previous year’s returns to London. These returns included valuable furs. On March 28, 1658, Colonial merchant John Hull wrote in his diary that he lost a 120 lb. estate in Master Garret’s ship, the Hopewell (worth a fortune today). A ketch, The Adventurer, that sailed from Boston several weeks after the Hopewell was captured by pirates from Ostend (now Belgium). Could the Hopewell have met the same fate?
In addition to valuable merchandise, the Hopewell also carried some interesting documents. Roger Williams, usually known for tolerance, had accused prominent settler William Harris of High Treason against England for defending pacifists. All the evidence against Harris was sent to England onboard the Hopewell for a decision. If found guilty Harris could have been disembowelled. Nobody knows what became of those documents, so Harris went free. Perhaps Harris arranged for them to disappear? As a side note, years later, Harris was captured by Barbary Corsairs and sold as a slave in Algiers. He was ransomed, but died 3 days after reaching England.
Abraham Pierson’s translation of a Christian catechism into Quiripi (an Algonquin language) was also lost when the Hopewell disappeared. But who would want to destroy a catechism?
The Hopewell was owned by John Hull, a merchant who created the first mint in New England. During English civil war, 1642-1651, the New England colonies traded in the West Indies. Spanish silver was brought to New England in bullion, melted down, and minted into Pine Tree Shillings by Hull. The minted coins encouraged pirates to come to New England since the coins were all stamped with the same date (1652) and could not be traced. Was the Hopewell a target for pirates because of its owner?
In 1652, Hull invested in his younger brother, Edward’s ship, the Swallow. Edward Hull captured a Dutch ship and pillaged Block Island. The Hull family was charged with piracy. John was acquitted but required to pay reparations. Edward was convicted and fled, presumably to England. Could the Dutch have captured the ship as revenge?
Hull’s diary is full of entries describing his losses when his ships were captured by pirates. In 1653, two of his ships full of furs bound for London were taken by the Dutch. Hull’s ships were in constant danger from Dutch, French, and Barbary Coast pirates. Later in life, Hull was active in raising ransom to free captives who had been sold into slavery on the Barbary Coast.
What about Garrett, the Captain of the Hopewell? Garrett came from Wapping in Stepney, England, an area known for its mariners, and settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts Bay Colony before 1638. In 1649 he moved back to England, but kept his property in Charlestown.
Garrett was master (captain) of at least three ships: The Hopewell, The New England Merchant, and Trade’s Increase. As such, he was no stranger to piracy. In 1653, while master of The New England Merchant, on a voyage to London, his ship was attacked by two Dutch men-of-war off the coast of England. In the battle, at least one soldier was so badly wounded that he died four days later. In 1654 the Dutch attacked Garrett’s ship, again. He surrendered and ended up in a Dutch prison.
On August 3, 1656, Garret was asked to transport 17 soldiers back to England after they had taken St. John’s Fort. Garret was assured that the soldiers would assist him if he should fall in with “the enemy.” In the 17th century, on the open seas, enemies were everywhere.
After maintaining property in both England and New England for almost 20 years, Garrett sold his home in Charlestown in 1656. Garrett’s cellar was partially dismantled and filled with soil. Today, this well-preserved cellar is a treasure trove of ceramics from Portugal, Italy, Holland, and England. Numerous pipes with the image of Sir Walter Raleigh, the famous privateer, have been found. Why did Garrett sell his New England property before that final voyage? Was he planning on turning renegade and starting a new life with his crew and expensive cargo?
In 1655, the English invaded Jamaica, which became a base for plundering Spanish ships. This was part of the English Western Design. Puritans believed that conquering Hispanola would bring about the Second Coming. The English settled for Jamaica when they were unable to conquer Hispanola. In 1657, Master Garret was asked by Daniel Gookin to deliver documents to London explaining the reasons why settlers did not want to remove to Jamaica. After an angry dispute about a cabin that Gookin felt Garrett owed him, Gookin made a last minute switch from the Hopewell to The Royal Exchange. Gookin later praised Providence for saving his life. Did Gookin really just want a nicer cabin? Or was it sabotage done in anger? Perhaps he heard the crew plotting a mutiny. After all, the Hopewell was the larger and nicer ship with better cabins. Or was Gookin the target? Gookin should have been on the Hopewell when it went missing. On his return voyage from London he helped two regicides escape to New England. Surely he had enemies who supported the King.
In addition to Gookin, several other prominent men sailed on the sister ship, The Royal Exhange. The famous poet, Anne Bradstreet’s son Samuel was aboard the Royal Exchange. She wrote a poignant poem about his voyage when he left, and another when he returned, thankful that he escaped the fate of the Hopewell. The first New England book dealer, Hezekiah Usher was also onboard the sister ship, along with Fitz-John Winthrop, the son of Connecticut Governor, John Winthrop the Younger.
Gookin later lamented the loss of about 50 passengers who set sail on the Hopewell. These included Thomas Mayhew Jr., two sisters from Hull’s church, and several prominent young men who had graduated from Harvard. These Harvard grads included Nathaniel Pelham, John Davis, and Jonathan Ince.
Nathaniel Pelham (class of 1651) was the son of Harvard’s treasurer. He was about 25 when he set sail on the Hopewell.
John Davis (class of 1651) was preaching and teaching in Hartford in 1655. Gookin said he was “one of the best accomplished persons for learning, as was ever bred at Harvard College.”
Jonathan Ince (Class of 1650) remained at Harvard for three years after he graduated and became the first college butler. He wrote documents for the college, which may have included the first charter of Harvard. In 1652, he was appointed to join an expedition to find the source of the Merrimack River. Referred to as “artists” apparently, Ince and another classmate did all the scientific work on the expedition. On October 8, 1657, the missionary John Eliot, wrote to the treasury of the Missionary Corporation that Ince was “a godly young man, a scholar who hath a singular faculty to learn and pronounce the Indian tongue.” Eliot asked that upon his return from London, Ince assist him in his mission. Ince intended to settle in New Haven, but then he embarked on his fateful trip upon the Hopewell, Ince left behind a wife, Mary Miles Ince and sixteen month old son. Four years later, his wife remarried.
Would anyone want these young scholars dead?
The Harvard class of 1650 included only nine students. In 1651 there were ten. Michael Wigglesworth and Isaac Chauncey (class of 1651) were both known alchemists, as was Leonard Hoar, (class of 1650). Elite alchemical practitioners John Alcocke and George Starkey had graduated from Harvard in 1646. Though alchemy was not part of the curriculum, physics courses introduced students to the concepts. What secret discoveries might these Puritan alchemists have shared with their classmates and proteges?
Little is known of the young Wampanoag who sailed with Mayhew. He was the son of Myoxeo (Miohqsoo), a sachem on Martha’s Vineyard (Noepe), who after Myoxeo’s conversion to Christianity went to live with Reverend Mayhew in his household. He must have been a brilliant young man to be chosen before Joel or Caleb. Joel was murdered on Nantucket just before graduating from Harvard. Did someone want Myoxeo’s son dead as well?
Lastly, what about Thomas Mayhew’s father’s theory? Was it possible that Barbary Coast pirates captured the ship? Or was it just wishful thinking? Mayhew believed that the Hopewell had been captured by pirates because it was a common occurrence! Some scholars estimate that during the 17th and 18th centuries over a million European and American people were captured by Barbary corsairs and sold into slavery on the Northern Coast of Africa. Many were ransomed, some escaped, but most were never heard from again.
Some who survived wrote captivity narratives. One was written by Abraham Browne. In 1655, his ship left London with two other ships for protection. Their final destination was Boston. But the three ships became separated on the high seas. The next thing he knew, his ship was surrounded and attacked by Sale Rovers (Moroccan pirates). Browne was stripped naked, and sold in a slave market in Sale. He was one of the few fortunate ones: he was ransomed. Perhaps the Hopewell was captured by Sale Rovers and its passengers were sold as slaves, never to be heard from again.
So what’s your theory? Did the Hopewell sink in a storm? Or was it something else? I’d love to hear your theories, the more imaginative the better, in the comments below.
