Mary Morrill

Who was Mary Morrill?

Mary Morrill was the grandmother of Benjamin Franklin, American printer, journalist, publisher, author, philanthropist, abolitionist, public servant, scientist, librarian, diplomat, statesman and inventor.

Mary immigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony as an indentured servant probably belonging to Hugh Peters. Mary married Peter Foulger in 1644. He had been one of the few white men in Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts, and who was a teacher and translator for the Wampanoag Indians. Peter Folger paid Hugh Peters the sum of 20 shillings to pay off Mary's servitude, which he declared was the best appropriation of money he had ever made. Their daughter, Abiah Folger, was born on August 15, 1667 in Nantucket.

Mary was mentioned by name as a historical figure in Herman Melville's fictional Moby-Dick in chapter 24 which is entitled The Advocate. This chapter is a defense of Nantucket's whaling industry. In it, Melville sets up a series of objections to that industry, one of which is "No good blood in their veins?" His response to this objection is:

"They have something better than royal blood there.