In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold, captain of the vessel the Concord, discovered Martha’s Vineyard. It was however already inhabited by the Native American’s know as the Wampanoag’s who called the island Noepe. I guess they were undiscovered until he arrived.
Gosnold was taken by the beauty of the island and of the abundance of grapes. He decided to name the island after his infant daughter.. Martha.
A popular story is that Gosnold had three daughters so he named the Elizabeth Islands just west of MV for Elizabeth.. Martha’s Vineyard for Martha.. and the remaining island.. well ‘Nan took it’ (Nantucket). I don’t know if he even had three daughters or if he did in fact name Nantucket but it makes for a cute tale.
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October 27, 2007 at 9:36 pm
--Deb
Um, well, no . . . not remotely true. The Elizabeth Islands were named for the British Queen, and Martha’s Vineyard for Gosnold’s mother-in-law, and Nantucket’s name comes from its Indian name. The other is just a cute story that’s a play on the name Nantucket but has NO basis in fact. Just sayin’!
October 27, 2007 at 11:54 pm
Patty
I like your new header!