io8 The Story of the New England Whalers 



Rotch had lived eight years in France. He 

 remained only one year in England. He then 

 returned to Nantucket, but found a welcome that 

 did not please him, and a year later he moved to 

 New Bedford, where he died in 1828. It appears, 

 however, that members of this family continued 

 to reside in France, and to maintain a whaling 

 fleet there until 1855. Other vessels belonging 

 to the Rotches were sailed out of England for a 

 long time after William Rotch returned to America. 



The fact that Rotch was not heartily welcomed 

 in Nantucket is interesting. The people of Nan- 

 tucket as a whole loved the Stars and Stripes, as 

 the emblem of a nation ; they had a pride in their 

 skill as something peculiarly American. They 

 regarded the emigrants as deserters, and from the 

 day when William Rotch sailed away in the Maria, 

 they openly denounced the migrants. 



In fact, while Rotch was preparing to sail, 

 Captain Alexander Coffin, a leader of the patriots, 

 wrote (July 8, 1785) to Samuel Adams to invoke 

 legislation against the emigrants. He said (letter 

 quoted by Starbuck) that Captain Rotch "is 

 now taking on board a double stock of materials, 



