2238 Circular letter, Nantucket Selectmen to "Friends," January 22, 1847

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FRIEND—The arulersigued, Selectmen of the town of Aiantucket, having finished their labors in the distribution of the bounty eat- trusted to them from ::broad, for the relief of the sufferers by the calamitous fire of the Mh and 14th of July last,feel called upo to give an account of their stewardship. Our first care was to send our appeals ind circulars abroad,asking aid for the distressed pzrt of our community; and from Mors thoin ,one hundred cities and tom.,ns we have received substantial evidence of their goal feeling towaril them. Your bounty has been large and well-timed;--about sixty-four hundred Daliar3 worth of Provisions,Clothing, Furniture-and Dry Goods, have been received, and - fifty-six thousand four hundred ninety-eight 53-100 Dollars in money. In distributing Whitt has been intrusted to our care, we have kept constantly in view the wish of the donors—"RELIEF TO THE DISTRESSED." We have not been able to adopt any fixed rate of per tentage, but have variel it with circumstances,as but few cases were alike,and ,>ur aim was rather to relieve the distressed, than to give to those who had much left, however severe their loss might have bean. To the aged and infirm, to widows attl other destitute females, and to orphans, we have handed out freely of your gifts,and in some. few extreme eases, have nearly or quite made good their loss, when it has not exceeded five hundred dollars; than which a greater amount has in no individual case been awarded. The recipients are more than four hundred and sixty persons, of whom three hundred and fifty are heads of families;so that the Ntholc number actually assisted is upward of thirteen hundred and fifty persons. Of the first nu.nbar, three hundred and fifty-six were very destitute,and it large proportion of there entirely so; these received in money, forty-nine thousand, eight hundred and thirty-four dollars. Those to whom the remainder was given, had little or no available means, Amon; the first named class, were eighty-six per- sons over sixty years old, and one hundred and fifty-six ferrutles, a large proportion of whom are widows. The recipients have generally been well satisfied, and very grateful for your bounty bestowed upon them. Some few of the recipients, uv the have since found, were not entitled to assistance; but while they have received it through false statements, they have also received, .uur just rebuke. In the distribution of your munificence, we have acted independently of the few in our community who attempted to control us. All liam been done under our direction. If we have not done right,we alone are to blame. All is accounted for, and we believe we have+ dispensed it faithfully,and according to the best of our ability, judiciously; and so conscious are we of integrity of purpose, that it will give us pleasure, at any time, to open our books to any of the donors, or to give them any other information they may desire. Friends,—your generosity and sympathy for the distressed, entitle you to our sincere thanks, and we here, for the inhabitants of '.Nantucket,for the recipients of our bounty, and for ourselves personally,publicly and heartily tender you the same. When hundreds Of f,•ttnilies were without a roof to cover them or a bed to lie upon,and very many of them without a change of raiment,—when widows and.old men had been stripped of their all, and nad no hopes for the future, except such as were founded on the humanity of others,—it was,then you so liberally and so promptly responded to the call of the distressed, bound up their broken hearts,and sent them on their way rejoicing;—and surely Heaven's choicest blessings will be your reward. For our services we have charged nothinti—we have received nothing; but having the approval of our own consciences,and believing the course which we have pursued in dispensing what i ou have so liberally furnished,will not fail to secure your approval,and that of the re- cipients generally., and having been the instruments in your hands, of making many destitute and desponding families comfortable and happy., by whorn many a tear of gratitude has been shed, and from whorn ma,iy it prayer of thankfulness has gone up to high Heaven;-- ` these more than compensate for :ill the care which has devolved upon us,in being the almoners of your bounty. The whole number of buildings burned is upward of three hundred and sixty, and tho whole amount of property destroyed about one million of dollars. There was insured about three hundred and twenty thousand dollars, and there has been received from abroad abou t seventy thousand dollars,—leaving an actual loss of about six hundred thousand dollars. .N:ttitucket,January 22.1, 1817. JOB COLE?41AN, NATRANIEL RAND, OBED SWAIN, EBEN W. ALLEN, IVILLIAM BARNEY, C RARLES G. COFFIN, _%I,FRED FOi,(;ER,