There are some
events that shape and change people and history. Natural disasters,
especially those of tremendous magnitude have a tendency to change
the area they strike after the fact. Earthquakes, tsunamis,
tornadoes, and more ravage the Earth leaving death and destruction in
their wake. Along coastal areas the hurricane/typhoon is often the
natural disaster that causes the most damage.
There have been
many deadly hurricanes whose names bring back horrible memories to
those who lived through them. Katrina in 2005, Maria in 2017, the
Galveston, Texas Hurricane in 1900, and Florida’s Okeechobee
Hurricane in 1928, are among the costliest storms to ever hit
America. In the New England area the list of famed storms is far
less deadly due to the cooler ocean waters. The most recognizable
names like Bob in 1991, Gloria in 1985, and Carol in 1954 did their
share of damage yet were not as deadly as the southern storms.
However, centuries
ago, during the infancy of European colonization of America, a major
hurricane struck New England. This storm changed the landscape. It
changed the lives of countless colonists and Native Americans. It
decimated a family and gave rise to one of Cape Cod’s original
settlements. The storm was the Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635.
This is the story of the storm and how its effects are still felt
today.
Though the storm
itself occurred in 1635 the story begins in 1589. It was in this
year, in the village of Queen Camel in Somersetshire County, England
that Anthony Thacher was born. After receiving a good education
Thacher became curate at St. Edmunds Church in Salisbury, where his
brother Peter was the minister, in 1624. By that point the first of
the Pilgrims had left England for America due to the perceived
religious persecution. This had not changed in the years after and
eventually would cause Thacher to travel the same route as the
others.
In July 1634
Thacher’s wife Mary died after roughly 15 years of marriage. He
was remarried to Elizabeth Jones in February 1635. Shortly
thereafter on April 6, 1635 he boarded the 220-ton ship James with
Elizabeth, her father,
and four of his five children, along with his brother Peter’s son
Thomas. Anthony Thacher was listed in the registry as a tailor,
likely to disguise his true relationship with the church. The vessel
departed England and arrived in Boston in June.
Thacher
started his time in America in Newbury working alongside his cousin
John Avery. However after
much pleading from its citizens Avery decided to move south to
Marblehead to establish a church there. Thacher and his family
decided to join him in starting the church.
In
late August
1635 the entire entourage, except for Anthony’s nephew Thomas,
boarded a vessel called the Watch and Wait.
Thomas, who had a bad premonition about the ship, decided to travel
to Marblehead by land. In total 23 people left Ipswich on the ship
which would soon collide with an historic storm.
What
would become known later as the ‘Great Colonial Hurricane’ first
formed during the last week of August narrowly avoiding the Jamestown
Settlement in Virginia. As the storm headed northeast it quickly
gained strength until eventually topping out at what today would be a
high Category 3 to low Category 4 hurricane. It is estimated by
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that the storm
took a path similar to Bob in August 1991.
On
August 26, 1635 the storm crossed near Providence, Rhode Island just
after 6am with wind speeds hovering around 130mph. The storm surge
was estimated at 14 feet there with many Natives being swept out to
sea with their homes. It plowed through Boston near 7:30 as it began
to lose some strength. Governor of
Plymouth William Bradford
noted seas as high as 20-feet above normal as the hurricane barreled
through the area. It was as
the storm exited to the Atlantic just north of Boston that it met up
with the Watch and Wait and
Anthony Thacher. With winds still topping 105mph the storm crashed
into the vessel east of Gloucester driving it onto a small, rocky
island.
 |
| The likely path of the Great Colonial Hurricane. (Harvard Forest Archives/Brian R. Hall) |
The wind and waves dashed the vessel to pieces. Before his
very eyes Anthony Thacher watched as his cousin John Avery and his
six children
drowned.
For a time Thacher’s family clung to the rocks, however the
crashing waves eventually pulled all of his children out to sea as
well. Anthony and his wife Elizabeth managed to hold on. They were
the only survivors.
All
told according to NOAA the Great Colonial Hurricane was likely the
most intense storm north of the Carolinas in recorded
history. The storm surge
above 14-feet in Providence was topped by a surge above 20-feet at
the head of Buzzards Bay. Thousands
of trees were downed in its path, and many buildings were destroyed
and people washed away in Providence, Plymouth, Boston, Bourne and
more. It was said that the
damage from the hurricane was still evident decades later.
 |
| Thacher Island in Rockport. |
Anthony
and Elizabeth survived for two days on the rocky island before being
rescued by a passing vessel. The
island was given to them as
consolation with Anthony initially naming it ‘Thacher’s Woe.’
Years late it was named
Thacher Island in commemoration of the couple’s immense loss. The
death of the children diminished their desire to remain on the North
Shore and when an opportunity arose to leave they took it.
On
January 7, 1639 the Plymouth
Court granted a large tract
of land on Cape Cod to Anthony Thacher, Thomas Howes, and John Crow.
Formerly referred to as ‘Mattacheeset’ it was henceforth known as
Yarmouth. Technically the lands given included the future town of
Dennis as well. Thacher settled in the area later that year near the
marshland of present-day Yarmouth Port just north of Rt. 6A.
Not
long after arriving Thacher became Town Clerk and Town Treasurer of
Yarmouth, both positions he held until his death. After the horrific
loss of four children during the Great Colonial Hurricane Thacher had
three children with
Elizabeth. In 1664 Anthony had a home built for his son John upon
his marriage. This home sat at the corner of present-day Thacher
Street and Thacher Shore Road. It was moved in 1680 to its current
location at the corner of Route 6A and Thacher Street across from the
Yarmouth Port Post
Office.
 |
| The home Anthony Thacher had built for his son John now at 240 Rt. 6A Yarmouth Port. |
Anthony
Thacher remained of major importance in Yarmouth and its affairs
throughout his life. His exact date of death is not known, though it
is between June 30-August 22, 1667. Thacher died at the likely age
of 78. He was buried on his land near the marsh in Yarmouth Port.
His grave was never marked
with a stone. His wife Elizabeth died only a few months later.
In
1905 a stone tablet was erected near the site of Anthony Thacher’s
homestead. Three years later in 1908 the Thacher family gave the
Town of Yarmouth Thacher Shore Road which was purported to have been
the old Colonial road built along and over some of Anthony’s
property. Thacher Island in
Rockport became a popular tourist destination with its twin
lighthouses. The current lighthouses were built in 1861 and it is
accessible by boat or kayak from the shore.
Through
immense suffering and sadness Anthony Thacher persevered and helped
to found the town of Yarmouth. He came face to face with the
strongest hurricane these parts has ever seen and did not allow it to
define him. The Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 did tremendous
damage yet also shaped and
changed New England in its aftermath. It led to the formation of a
Cape Cod town and serves as a tale of destruction and redemption not
only for the New England area affected but for Anthony Thacher
himself as well.
For more about the story of the Great Colonial Hurricane check
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My first eBook in 10 years, In Their Footsteps, featuring the interesting stories of Cape Cod's history, is on sale at Amazon.com.
View my previous blog posts: In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - Cape Cod and the Telephone
In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - The Cape's Conservation Story
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