Naming Martha's Vineyard

Almost everyone knows that Martha's Vineyard was named by Bartholomew Gosnold.  But did you know that for awhile it was Martin's Vineyard and belonged to New York?

Martha!  Martin!  New York!  Massachusetts!  How many aliases and states have claimed this 100 sq mile island?  The Wampanoags named it Noepe and that stuck until  Gosnold came along in 1602.

No one seems to know who the Martin was whose name was once attached to the Vineyard . . .  so let’s move ahead to Martha whose identity is still shrouded in myth.  Was she one of Gosnold’s daughters, or his mother, or the name of an English royal? Whoever she was, her name stuck and in my opinion has a nicer ring to it than Martin’s Vineyard.

According to the book “The History of Martha’s Vineyard” by Arthur R. Railton, in 1664 Charles II gave New York, New Jersey and the islands to the east to his brother, the Duke of York.  In 1670 Thomas Mayhew Jr. and his grandson Matthew of Massachusetts traveled to New York to ask Gov. Lovelace which colony his Island was under, New York or Massachusetts. Lovelace made Thomas Mayhew “Governor for Life” of Martha’s Vineyard,  and gave him the authority to collect rents from all who lived within its bounds.  Voila, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

But wait, there's more to Martha's Vineyard's name.  Her apostrophe.

According to the US Board on Geographic Names established in 1890, only a handful of places have an apostrophe in their names. The board has a strict policy of discouraging the apostrophe in place names, although it doesn't seem to have a firm reason for the policy. By 1894 the board had wiped out over 1600 apostrophes, regardless of their history or local customs. 

Martha's Vineyard's apostrophe is protected by federal decree, along with only four other places in the United States that have also been granted a legal apostrophe.

Check out the rest of the Martha's Vineyard Obsession blog at www.mvobsession.com.