Peter Folger (Nantucket settler)


Peter Folger or Foulger was a poet and an interpreter of the American Indian language for the first settlers of Nantucket. He was instrumental in the colonization of Nantucket Island in the Massachusetts colony. He was the maternal grandfather of Benjamin Franklin.
A Baptist missionary, teacher, and surveyor, his dealings with the native population promoted harmony between the Native Americans and European settlers.

Life

Peter Folger was born in England, the son of John Folger Jr. and Meribah Gibbs. He left Norwich, Norfolk, England for America in 1635, settling initially in Watertown, Massachusetts, and later moving to Martha's Vineyard, where he worked as a teacher and surveyor. His father, John, a widower, came to the colonies in 1636 and ultimately settled in Martha's Vineyard.
In 1644, he married Mary Morrell, whom he met on the voyage from England. Morrell was an indentured servant and Folger bought her freedom from Hugh Peters for ₤20. They had nine children by 1669, the last of whom, Abiah Folger, married Josiah Franklin, and was the mother of Benjamin Franklin.
At the Vineyard, Folger supported himself by teaching school and surveying land. He was hired by Governor Thomas Mayhew and his son Thomas Mayhew Jr. to convert the Native American population to Christianity, during which time he learned to speak the native language. He was a Baptist in faith, and as such was told not to visit with the Puritans on the mainland. Rev. Experience Mayhew, in a letter to John Gardner, Esquire, dated 1694, states that when Thomas Mayhew, Jr. left for England in 1657, he left the care of his church and mission to Peter Folger.
From time to time between 1659 and 1662, Folger journeyed to Nantucket in order to survey it for the proprietors. He was an interpreter for Tristram Coffin. In 1663 Folger moved to Nantucket full-time, having been granted a half a share of land by the proprietors, where he was a surveyor, an Indian interpreter, and clerk in the courts. Shortly thereafter, Folger's daughter, Abiah, was born, later to become the mother of Benjamin Franklin, who referred to him fondly in his autobiography.
Folger died at Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 1690 and is buried in the Founders Burial Ground. His wife Mary Morrill Folger lived until 1704.

Works