DISTINGUISHED NANTUCKETERS . 10$ 



poets, and with questionable taste makes Nantucket 

 the birthplace of this distinguished gentleman. Al- 

 though the gallant admiral was not a native of the isl- 

 and, yet so closely allied was he by ties of blood to 

 many of the inhabitants, and he so endeared himself to 

 the whole people by his noble benefaction, that a list 

 of the island's eminent personages would be incom- 

 plete were Sir Isaac Coffin's name omitted. 



We learn from " The Life of Tristram Coffin," that 

 Isaac Coffin was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth 

 Coffin, and was born in Boston, Mass., May 16, 1759. 

 He entered the English navy in 1773; was commis- 

 sioned lieutenant in 1778; captain, 1781; rear-admiral 

 of the White, 1804; baronet, and also granted a coat of 

 arms, the same year; vice-admiral in 1808; and admiral 

 in 1817. He died at Cheltenham, England, in 1839, aged 

 eighty years, without issue. 



One of the most philanthropic and generous acts of 

 Admiral Coffin, and one that will make his name hon- 

 ored and revered for ages to come, was the founding 

 and endowing of the school at Nantucket which bears 

 his name. (See pages 85, 86.) 



We learn also from the " Life of Tristram Coffin," 

 that the admiral was granted an estate by the English 

 government at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, 

 known as the Magdalen Islands, being at the same 

 time created a baronet. He was a personal friend of 

 the Duke of Clarence, who, when he became William 

 IV. , continued to show him favor. When it became 

 necessary, in 1832, to " swamp the House of Lords by 

 creating new peers, in order to pass the Reform Bill, 

 the name of Sir Isaac was upon the king's list. He 



