Deacon Simon Johnson (1794 – 1875) was a political and religious leader in Gay Head, Massachusetts throughout the mid-nineteenth century.[1] He also managed the Massachusetts Humane Society Gay Head Lifesaving Station, where he recruited volunteer rescue mission volunteers from a pool of either fishermen or whalers.[2]
Simon Johnson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1794 Gay Head, now Aquinnah, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | 1875 |
| Occupation(s) | Deacon, Politician, Lifesaving Station Manager |
| Known for | community leader, opposition to division of the commons |
| Spouse | Hannah Cooper |
| Children | Simon Johnson Jr. |
Petitions to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
editJohnson signed onto many petitions to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts alongside other Proprietors of Gayhead .[3] He is the known author of one such petition concerning premature and unauthorized cranberry harvesting.[4] The petition, signed by Johnson and 77 others Proprietors, asks the commonwealth to enact Penal Laws that would punish anyone who harvests the cranberry bogs without the tribe's permission.
Social status
editDue to his high social stature, Deacon Simon was mentioned by multiple writers who visited Aquinnah. In Harper's Magazine, David Hunter Strother, writing under his pen name "Porte Crayon," describes Simon Johnson as holding "authority by a mixed tenure- uniting the character of the Indian chief with that of the New England Deacon."[5] Additionally, the Gazetter of Massachusetts mentioned Johnson and Zaccheus Howwoswee, listing them as "highly esteemed citizens."[6]
Lifesaving Station
editJohnson also was the manager of the Gayhead-based "Massachusetts Humane Society" Lifesaving Station.[7]
References
edit- ^ Silverman, David (2007). Faith and boundaries : colonists, Christianity, and community among the Wampanoag Indians of Martha's Vineyard, 1600-1871. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521706957.
- ^ Wood, Allan. "Native Americans of Gay Head Light Saved Lives | New England Lighthouse Stories". www.nelights.com.
- ^ "Native Northeast Portal".
- ^ Johnson, Simon. "Cranberry Petition" (PDF). native northeast portal.
- ^ Strother, David (1860). Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 21. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers.
- ^ Nason, Elias (1889). A gazetteer of the state of Massachusetts : with numerous illustrations. Boston: B.B. Russell.
- ^ "Lighthouse & Lifesaving Stations, featured in Maritime History of Massachusetts--A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary". www.nps.gov. NPS.