~ The Old Sachem ~ Paul Cuffe of Cuttyhunk

By Bill Stewart

Paul Cuffe was an African-American and Wampanoag businessman in the 1700s in Massachusetts. His father was taken from Africa and sold into slavery in Newport, and his mother was a Wampanoag from Cape Cod.

At 13, he and his older brother John lived on Cuttyhunk with his mother and three sisters after their father died. At 14, Paul signed on for his first whaling voyage to the West Indies. In 1776 after the start of the Revolutionary War, his ship was captured by the British and the crew were held as prisoners of war in New York City. Eventually, the brothers were released and returned to their family.

He and his brother borrowed a small sailboat and delivered cargo to Nantucket. He was often waylaid by pirates but eventually made a profit. He continued these trips throughout the war.

He was 21 in 1780 and refused to pay taxes, in that free blacks were not allowed to vote in Massachusetts. Cuffe petitioned the council of Bristol County to end the taxation, which was turned down, but his suit was brought to the Massachusetts Legislature and a decision followed in 1783 that granted voting rights to all free male Massachusetts residents.

After the war he teamed up with his brother-in-law, Michael Wainer, to build ships and establish a shipping business. As they accrued capital they expanded to a fleet of open ships. After use of the open boats, he commissioned a 15-ton closed-deck ship, “Box Iron,” followed by a 40-ton schooner, “Mary.” In 1789 he and Wainer set up their own shipyard on the Acoaxet River in the new town of Westport. He continued ship building for the next 25 years. They sold their prior ships and constructed a 69-ton schooner launched in 1796 from their shipyard in Westport.

He accumulated enough wealth by 1800 to hold in partnership a 162-ton barque, “Hero.” He built a 268-ton named “Alpha” in 1806 and the following year the brig “Traveller,” which he sailed to Liverpool, and in London, England, the Times reported that the ship was probably the first to reach Europe and to be owned and navigated by negroes.

In 1799 he bought the Eddy family homestead of 100 acres, which was just south of his boatyard. He next purchased a 40-acre lot north of the boatyard. He bought property in 1813 – a four-acre plot next to the boatyard.

He took interest in several colonial settlements in Africa with a close Quaker friend and partner, William Rotch Sr., who had traveled to London. On returning he informed Cuffe that blacks had settled in Sierra Leone. Cuffe’s interest, along with abolitionist friends from Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York City, was to improve the situation of the people of Sierra Leone. The leaders of the islands urged Cuffe to join them in forming the Friendly Society of Sierra Leone as a mutual-aid merchant group dedicated to furthering the prosperity and industry for the free peoples of the colony.

The War of 1812 limited Cuffe’s ability to continue international shipping. After the war he brought 38 free Black colonists to Sierra Leone to further their abilities. Many Americans at this time felt that negroes were not worthy of citizenship, so Cuffe and friends continued to provide transport to Sierra Leone, where they could establish prosperity.

In early 1817, Cuffe’s health deteriorated and he died on September 7. His last words were “Let me pass quietly away” and he left a legacy of about $20,000 that today would be over $500,000. In addition, Cuffe bequeathed money to family members of all ages and to the Friends Meeting House in Westport, where he and his wife are buried.

Henry Nobel Sherwood wrote a biography of Paul Cuffe where he stated, “Overwhelming his industry, his religion and education stands his optimism.” “Cuffe believed in the amelioration of his race, therefore he consecrated himself to it.”

(Editor’s Note: Bill Stewart, who is better known to Saugus Advocate readers as “The Old Sachem,” writes a weekly column – sometimes about sports. He also opines on current or historical events or famous people.)