Voice Writing

This post was contributed by Linsey Lee and The Martha's Vineyard Museum

"I go back quite a long ways. I was born in 1903. William Allen was my father’s name, and Sarah Allen was my mother’s name. She was a Hammett. My father’s people, they came over on the Mayflower, and they settled in Chilmark. So I have quite a title to my name.
"My father was a farmer.

This post was contributed by Linsey Lee and The Martha's Vineyard Museum

This post was contributed by Linsey Lee and The Martha's Vineyard Museum

This post was contributed by Linsey Lee
and The Martha's Vineyard Museum

"I grew up on the South Road. My father was John Bassett. Oh, we had quite a farm. It was at least a hundred acres. It was on both sides of the road. My father had cows, and the sheep, and oxen and the horse. We had ducks. There were turkeys. He used to sell turkeys, ship them off-Island Thanksgiving and Christmas. I remember him crating them up. I suppose Bart Mayhew picked them up and took them to the steamship wharf.

This post was contributed by Linsey Lee and The Martha's Vineyard Museum