Tangier Island, Va., July 12 - The old saying "Live at home and board at the same place," is certainly practiced by the people of this island, a body of land three miles long and one mile wide. If there is a spot on earth where one is made to feel that he is entirely out of the world, Tangier Island surely must be that place. There is a population of about 1,000 people, old and young, male and female, and many of these people have never been off the island, and know as little about the civilized world as a child. Men and women now on the shady side of life have spent their entire existence on this small piece of land, and to some of them this island embraces the whole world. Yet they are happy and contented in their primitive manner of living, and have no desire to know what is going on in the great throbbing, busy world which lies beyond their water-bound surroundings.

On this island the British invader made headquarters for several days in 1814, and not far distant is Deal's Island, where good old Parson Joshua Thomas was informed by the British General Ross that it was his intention "to eat supper that night in Baltimore or in hell. The man of God prayed that General Ross might not reach Baltimore, and, as the General was killed at North Point before reaching Baltimore, the people were quick to believe that Parson Thomas's prayers had been answered.

How much farther back than this did the people of this region put implicit faith in prayer the writer does not know, but he does know that the inhabitants of Tangier Island are intensely religious, and at the same time the most superstitious people in the world. As illustrative of their religious convictions, it need only be stated that a few years ago they were worshiping in a small, ramshackle cabin, but a preacher from the Virginia conference was assigned to the island and he has succeeded in starting up one of the best charges in the conference district.

Where the small cabin stood is now a handsome $12,000 building and the preacher receives more that $1,000 a year to look after the spiritual affairs of the inhabitants. The islanders are always ready to contribute liberally whenever the parson finds it necessary to have the contribution box passed.

The church is the biggest thing on the island, and more interest is taken in it than anything else. Whatever the parson says is law and gospel, even with the roughest oyster men and crabbers, who will occasionally smuggle whiskey on the island. The very strictest prohibition laws are enforced, not by officers, but by the churchmen. During a recent protracted meeting - and they are of frequent occurrence - some roughs carried a canoe of whiskey and beer to the island for the purpose of selling it, but a crowd of church-people - men and women - captured the boat, threw the whiskey in the bay, and administered sound thrashings to the rum-traders, who were glad enough to escape.

The women nearly all go barefooted. When they attend church they carry their shoes and stockings in their hands until the church is reached, when they sit down and put them on, removing them as soon as service is over. Their dresses are of the plainest calicoes or gingham and are cut without flounces and frills. Bustles or tiebacks are something they never heard of. There is, however, an abundance of gay ribbons in the make-up of the Sunday costume. Equally plain and old-fashioned is the dress of the men. They are satisfied with the copperas or jeans pantaloons, which are always cut on the high-water principle, never reaching below the ankle. If the men wear shoes on any occasion, there is nearly always an absence of socks, and the shoes are the regulation brogans. Their oyster men and crabbers, who will occasionally smuggle whiskey on the island. Their coat or jacket is a cross between a boy's blouse and the old-fashioned "round-about" coat. Seasons come and seasons go, but the regulation clothes for both sexes of Tangier Island never change. For ages they have dressed this way and but few attempts have been made to change. Whenever a young Tangier Islander strays over to Crisfield, Md., and is persuaded by some of the merchants to invest in some garment other than the regulation, he is laughed and jeered at so much that is is soon discarded. There is on article of service and adornment that a male inhabitant of the island is never without - a red handkerchief. It is always with him, around his neck, sticking in his pocket, or in his hand.

The homes on the island are of the rudest kind, mostly log cabins, but the interior is always scrupulously clean. The furniture is often not worth of the name. Many of the bedsteads are of the crudest kind, made by the head of the family with no tools save a saw and an axe. Usually the home is too small for bedsteads, if the family is large, and they sleep on mattresses and quilts spread on the floor. The cooking is done in the fireplace, the utensils consisting of a frying pan, a kettle, and oven, and possibly a few pots. Cooking stoves, sewing-machines, and such modern conveniences are unknown to many of the inhabitants.

A large number of the people, both old and young, cannot read, but the new preacher has succeeded in advancing education to a large extent.

Girls here 16 years old will measure 6 feet and weigh 200 pounds. They are strong and healthy, well mannered, and, above all, are taught from earliest childhood to regard virtue as above everything in the world. For twenty-eight years past there has not been al illegitimate birth on the island. The men are peaceable and quiet, but there are two things for which they will fight quicker that any other. It is death to the man who attempts to or succeeds in despoiling a home, and crabbers and oyster men who poach on the grounds near the island are sure to get into serious trouble. There have been few occasions for trouble from the former cause, but in years ago it was almost a weekly occurrence to have desperate and bloody battle about the latter. In recent years these have become far less numerous, but occasionally blood is made to flow. Only a few days ago Bain Webber, a Deal's Island oysterman, was shot and killed on the Somerset county shore by the mate of a policeboat. The war has been going on for years between the people of the region and many lives have been lost.

These people live by crabbing and dredging for oysters and interfere with no one so long as they are let alone. They are, as stated, very superstitious. They have signs for everything, and almost worship the moon, by which they foretell storms and all kinds of disasters. They have a mortal dread of an owl, and the hooting of one by day or night is an omen of ill-luck. If it is heard at night and answered by the howl of a dog, it is a sign that one of the family will die soon. As soon as the hoot of the owl is heard a chair or stool is overturned, and if the hooting ceases at once it is a sign that the danger has been warded off for a time, but if the hooting continues, there is weeping and wailing in the home of the islander. The howling of a dog at night is the omen of ill-luck also, but it is not a sign of some impending danger unless it is answered by the hoot of an owl. Biliousness is cured by boring three holes in a carefully selected tree and walking three times around it, saying "Go away, bilious." It is a matter of the utmost importance whether the one who performs the spell walks with the sun or against it, but no one know which is the approved direction. A soiled stocking tied around the neck they believe will cure sore throat, as will also seaweed wrapped red flannel and put under the bed. An Irish potato with a hole bored through it is a guarantee against rheumatism on the island. They believe that a shoe turned sole up under the bed will prevent cramps, as will also the tail feathers from a white hen burned over the coals of a slow fire. These people have hundreds of just such superstitious beliefs, and cling to them will all the tenacity born of ignorance. (Washington Star, reprinted in Richmond Dispatch, July 19, 1899)

Tangier, Va. July 26, 1899

To the Editor of the Dispatch:
In your paper of July 19th is an article taken from the Washington Star concerning the people of Tangier Island. In view of the falsehood of the article it is but fair that you should give place in your paper to what is the truth about this matter.

I have lived among the people of Tangier Island as their pastor for more that four years, and have most diligently studied the people and customs, and I claim to have some knowledge of the place and its inhabitants.

I could answer the said article by using one terse sentence. To those who know the truth in the case, no refutation is needed; to those who do not, I would justly answer by saying the article is the work of some one whose profession is evident by seeking t make statements as wide of the truth as it is possible. There is hardly a truth in it. And in evading so carefully the truth, he showed also his lack of knowledge of State lines, and has affairs which took place in Maryland, far from the Virginia line, and by Maryland officials, put down the the credit (?) of the people of this island.

In the first place, the writer of the article under review says that Tangier Island is the spot where one is made to feel that he is entirely out of the world. It may have been thus with his feelings, as I presume that one who can write so far from the truth can also feel with sensibilities very far from the normal; but to those whose feelings are still natural, it cannot be so. Our island is visited by the beautiful steamer of B.C. and A. Railway company, the Pocomoke, four times each week, as she plies between Snow Hill, Md. and Baltimore.The steamer Dixie, carrying the United States mail comes to us at 12:15 P.M. each day in the week, except Sunday, bringing to us the information and misinformation of the world, as it is given in the press. It may be, however, that one who could get truth so awry is not sufficiently informed to read the great dailies, and has to have his knowledge imparted to him as second hand; if so, our people, being a busy people, did not have time to give him a synopsis of the news of the day, and he felt very lonely.

I do not think there can be found twenty people here over the age of 10 years who have not been off the island many times, though said article make it appear otherwise.

The statement that only a few years ago the people were "worshipping in a small, ramshackle cabin" is a barefaced falsehood. In 1835, when there were only a few people here, they built a small famed church, 18 by 18 feet. In 1842 they enlarged the building to 22 by 26. N 1860 the house was again enlarged to accommodate the ever-increasing congregation. IN 1870 a new building was erected, 36 by 50, at a cost of $2,400, and made to cover about 2,000 square feet of ground floor and to seat 600 people. In 1896 it was found that a larger building was needed, and the present structure, modern n its construction and conveniences. Lighted with gas and heated with steam, was erected at a cost of $10,000, about $7,000 of which has been paid in cash, and the rest is all subscribed.

The writer of said article states that a preacher from the Virginia Conference was sent to them and succeeded in "working up" on the the best charges, etc. While it would not have been any stigma to have hailed from the grand old Virginia Conference, yet truth is truth - the preacher in question is a member of the Wilmington (Del.) Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He did not have to "work up" a church, but worked hand in hand with a noble-hearted people who had build without him four churches, and who would have built the present structure if he had not been in the world.

In would appear from the tone of said article that the people here are simply dupes,to be cajoled or bossed at the pleasure of the parson. That is not so; they are very largely a liberal people,but do require to know for what they are to contribute, and when properly informed, many of them give freely to help and good cause.

His monstrous yarn about the smuggled whiskey and beer is to big a thing to be answered by the one word which had such frequent use in the words of General Eagan some time ago; but it simply not so. Some one had prepared a few dozen bottles of beer and few years ago for the purpose of supplying the wishes of a few guzzlers, and the writer, helped by a few faithful men, destroyed it in open daylight, but no till the man who owned the boat in which it was gave permission. They got themselves at the mercy of the law to take the consequences; but the place being a local option district, the whole affair was found within the purview of the law and conceded to be wise in view of all facts. The parties who owned the beer were not molested and have always been on friendly terms with that writer.

I have never seen a woman inside the church without shoes, nor have I ever seen one carrying her shoes in her hands to or from church.

The ladies here dress as neatly as they do anywhere in the world, and the dresses of the young men and women are as modern as are those of any place on earth.

The statements as to superstition are almost entirely untrue. A few may hold some vague ideas of witchcraft, and among others some old popular signs may be adhered to; but to no greater extent than in communities in any State of the Union. We have a physician, a native of North Carolina, a graduate of the Maryland University of Baltimore, and, if he is to be judged by his success, he is away above the average doctors of today.

The Junior Order of United American Mechanics, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Golden Chain, and the American Fraternal Insurance Union are all represented on this island.

We have fair schools and good morals. A law and order league sees to it that good conduct prevails. We are not out of the world, but it would be a blessing is some newspaper correspondents were.

C.P. Swain
Pastor Methodist Episcopal Church (Richmond Dispatch, July 30, 1899)

ascribed by Dr. Miles Barnes, Eastern Shore Public Library A Selection from Seashore Chronicles:

Three Centuries of the Virginia Barrier Islands, edited by Brooks Miles Barnes and Barry R. Truitt

1896
The Extinction of Cobb's Island
The Baltimore Sun

The hurricane of October 11, 1896, marked the end of a an era on the Virginia coast. In the following account a correspondent of the Baltimore Sun describes the destruction and demoralization on Cobb's Island, site of the oldest and most famous of the barrier island resorts.

Cape Charles, Va., Oct. 19
After quite an adventurous trip The Sun's correspondent succeeded in reaching Cobb's Island yesterday by means of a small sailboat, in company with several other visitors, to ascertain as near as possible the actual damage received by the island in the recent hurricane which prevailed along the entire Atlantic coast with such a destruction to life and property. Our boat was the first one to carry a party to the island since the storm, and as yet the seas in the vicinity of Cobb's Island are running so very high that it is really perilous for a boat of small dimensions to attempt the trip. The reports of the damage done to Cobb's Island have been so conflicting, coming as they did from inauthentic sources, The Sun's correspondent thought a trip to the island would be necessary to render entirely authentic reports. Owing to the blowing down of the telephone connecting with the island and the inability of the islanders to leave their homes, correct reports have not previous to this been rendered.

We found about twenty persons on the island, including the members of the lifesaving station, all of whom were in a very sorrowful mood on account of the almost entire destruction of the island and the property thereon. One of the most prominent citizens of the island took his loss in the most philosophical manner. He believes that this, as well as the previous storms encountered on the island during the past few years, are only Divine warning for them to vacate the island entirely, and he thought it would not be long before Cobb's Island would be many feet under the surface of the broad Atlantic ocean. While only a few of the houses were washed entirely away, all of them suffered more or less damage. The water was fully a foot deep over the entire island, and the seas which rolled were from 40 to 50 feet in height.

The Baltimore Cottage, a very prominent building on the island and which was occupied generally by Marylanders, and which was previous to the storm seventy-five yards from the beach, is now a total wreck, being pounded to pieces by the immense seas which swept the island. Several other cottages were about half buried in the sand. In one of these your correspondent found tacked on the wall a well-preserved copy of The Sun dated June 12, 1895. The room was almost full of sand; barely room enough to admit a person. The hotel is a complete wreck; the floors, porches, wall and windows are all broken up. About three feet of sand stands in the dancing pavilion on the first floor. The bar room, billiard room, bowling alley and several other small buildings were tumbled down in one heap and broken up so they were of no use whatever. There are several wells of fresh water now covered by the ocean that were previously to the storm in the barn-yard of Mr. Cobb, used for watering his stock. The island was reduced fifty acres, leaving only about twenty-five in sight at low water.

The government officials about four weeks ago moved the life saving station two hundred and fifty yards further inland, which undoubtedly saved the building, as the water stood six feet deep at the former site of the building. The Methodist church and the cottages belonging to Mr. Thomas Smith (recently purchased of the Rev. Thomas Dixon, of this city,) and Mr. Ashby Jones, of Richmond, Va., were not seriously damaged on account of their elevation from the ground. The loss is estimated at many thousands of dollars and probably the extinction of Cobb's Island as a summer resort. Quite a number of boats of considerable size are now in the middle of the island, on dry land. Cobb's Island is situated about nine miles from the mainland, out in the Atlantic ocean. It has been inhabited for about fifty years and is unexcelled in its game products, being visited annually in the winter and spring by the sporting men of the Northern and Southern cities. It has also been quite a prominent summer resort. It had for along time been owned by the Cobbs, of Northampton county. About five years ago a Lynchburg syndicate purchased about twenty-five acres, including the hotel and a number of cottages, for the sum of $20,000, and but for this the recent damage would have resulted very disastrously to its former owners, Messrs. Nathan and Warren Cobb. Already several families have moved from the island and others declare their intention of doing likewise.

From the Baltimore Sun, October 20, 1896

 The only contagious diseases that have prevailed in my district during the past year, are the mumps and whooping cough; the latter of which has proved fatal in few instances. My district is situated in an exceedingly level section of country, extremely well-adapted for railroads, which may here be constructed at less expense than perhaps in any other part of the United States.

 It has long sustained the reputation abroad, of being very unhealthy, in so much that strangers regard it as a sort of death spot. But its exceeding healthiness for the last six years has contributed greatly to retrieve its character in that respect. Indeed, I believe it to be as healthy as any part of Virginia, which is not mountains. It is true, that the mortality in this Shore in bye-gone days was very great, but that, I think, was owing more to the luxurious and epicurian style of living which then prevailed than to the climate. Nor now, when terrapin and oyster suppers and bacchanalian carousals have become less frequent, a very decided improvement in the health of the Peninsula has taken place; which is likely to increase as the Sons of Temperance are making very strenuous and successful efforts to do away the use of intoxicating liquors, that well known source of disease and premature death.

The District is free from rocks, and contains but little timber adapted to ship building purposes. However there is enough, that is useful for building small schooners; and also the erection of dwelling houses. The most common tree [is the] common pine, which grows very rapidly, the leaves of which are much [used for] making beds for hogs and cattle. And when decomposed and compounded [with] other substances make a very excellent manure, and is very generally used. There is a sea grass, denominated among us "sea oats," which has also been found to be highly useful as fertilizer of the soil owing to the salt [with] which it is very strongly impregnated, our lands requiring manure of [this] character. This grass is washed in great abundance to our bay and ocean. It is also much used in our ice houses for covering ice, which it has the [?] of preserving. Marl & ore is unknown on the Eastern Shore. Much lime, however, is manufactured from the shells of the oysters which abound in our waters. This when combined with vegetable matter, has proved highly beneficial to our lands, which from long continued cultivation, need renovating. Some foreign manures have been used by our farmers, but those that have acted most beneficially are Chappels Chemical Salts and Peruvian Guano. Our soil is not very well adapted to wheat, it not being stiff enough, and consequently but little is grown among us. But vast quantities of corn, oats and sweet potatoes are produced, the latter which constitutes our most profitable crop.

My district boasts the honor of a battle during the last war, in which our arms gained a decisive victory, and also a naval engagement during the Revolution off Tangiers,against a party of the British fleet, on the side of the "Mother country," and a few small boats on that of the United Colonies, commanded by the brave and patriotic Commodore Whaley, who fell in that engagement mortally wounded. He now sleeps in a private graveyard in Onancock. Formerly a weeping willow marked this last resting of this hero, but now that too, has fallen and decayed.

There are a great many water courses in my District. It also includes some islands distant some twenty miles from the main land, which renders it very inconvenient for one engaged in taking the Census, and protracts his labors.

The county in which my district lies is called Accomac, from a tribe of Indians, that once inhabited it, denominated Accawmacks, which in the Indian language signifies "fish-eaters." In times past many relics of this peculiar race were excavated such as arrow heads, tomahawks, pipes & etc.

John H. Snead, Assistant Marshall of St. George's Parish, Accomac Co., E. shore, Va.

From St. George's Parish, Accomack County, 1850 U.S. Census (7"), Schedule 3, Persons Who Died During the Year Ending June l, 1850.

Transcribed by
Brooks Miles Barnes
October 1998