Polaris--The North Star

Polaris--the Polar Star--our North Star--was the guiding light of the Pilgrim world. It did not rotate with the other stars but held steady at the core of their universe while the others circled it. Centering on this star in the northern sky opened a sweeping perspective of the heavens.There's no question that astronomy was a fundamental source of knowledge that bolstered their religious beliefs. http://vimeo.com/4330429. The Pilgrims were men of the New Testament taking their script from the Old. They held monotheism as sacred-- the belief in one God reigning supreme. Polaris fit the part perfectly. Adventurers of the enlightenment had their "lonestar."

The Pilgrims knew when they observed a magnetic compass that the needle pointed to a place in the sky slightly west of their alignment with the North Star. Astronomical measurements calculated this "degree of variation" at 13º west longitude in the 1630's. This variation then floated down from 13º west to 6º west by the 1800's but slowly rose again to 17º by the 1970's. The degree of variation on Cape Cod has now crested and is on its way down now ranging near 15º.

Geologists think that the change in variation is related to the shifting in the molten core in the earth. The theory is that a mass of iron near the North Pole is rotating and causing this shift in variation in a cycle of about 400 years. The Pilgrims would have relied on 13º west longitude for their compass readings as evidence by the first land survey of Cape Cod undertaken in the mid-1630's.

Former W.Va. lawyer works to preserve Pilgrim history

July 10--CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A lawyer who once practiced in West Virginia is now working to preserve the early history of the Pilgrims and Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Michael Farber works with people who recently built an exact replica of the Elizabeth Tilley, a shallop used by Pilgrims after they landed on Cape Cod back in 1620. Read more

History buffs recreate slice of Pilgrims' progress

ORLEANS — Of all the beautiful boats lining Rock Harbor on Saturday, none looked better than the richly oiled, wooden Elizabeth Tilley, which arrived under tow from Plymouth to commemorate a voyage made by the Pilgrims 385 years ago. Read more

Pilgrims Land in Orleans

The ship that serves as the rock of much of the country’s identity is the Mayflower, but most of those who made the trip across the Atlantic were in much smaller boats, such as the Sparrow-Hawk, that wrecked off Nauset in 1626.
Many find it easier to base the spirit of America on the stalwart souls who made the trip in 1620, rather than the “bunch of drunken entrepreneurs” who came across later, said Mark Wilkins, executive director of the Chatham Historical Society, but the 45-foot Sparrow-Hawk has an intriguing place in the history books, co-starring Mayflower passengers, which will be brought to life this month.

Read more: Pilgrims to land in Orleans - - Wicked Local - Cape Cod http://www.wickedlocal.com/capecod/archive/x1534029089/Pilgrims-to-land-in-Orleans#ixzz1U5YKPEwd

The Eastham Transcription Project is now up and running

Michael Farber wants Eastham folks to be aware that the Cornerstone Project last fall launched an initiative to transcribe the ancient town records from 1659 to 1710.

Read more: Cornerstone project - - Wicked Local Eastham http://www.wickedlocal.com/eastham/archive/x2022449451/Cornerstone-project#ixzz1U5XrUFs5

Exciting Re-Discovery of Cape Town Boundaries

Three members of the Cape Cod Genealogical Society--Bebe Brock, David Martin, and Robert Ward-- spent the morning of Wednesday, December 8, 2010 traipsing through the woods of Dennis and Yarmouth seeking the ancient surveyors marker stones which were laid out to define the boundaries of the Cape Cod towns of Barnstable, Yarmouth, Dennis, and Brewster. They joined a group led by Michael Farber, a retired lawyer and surveyor, who has made it his interest to find these stones which demarcate the bounds of the towns. Read more.

Group will retrace Pilgrim William Bradford's steps

Close to 400 years ago, Native Americans delivered Governor William Bradford a letter, written in the passengers’ own hand, that said the Sparrow-Hawk, which had sailed from England, was in trouble on the backside of Nauset.


Read more: Group will retrace Pilgrim William Bradford's steps - - Wicked Local - Cape Cod http://www.wickedlocal.com/capecod/archive/x291607657/Group-will-retrace-Pilgrim-William-Bradfords-steps#ixzz1U5amvKds

Exploring ancient mysteries: HCT program focuses on historical cornerstones Read more: Exploring ancient mysteries: HCT program focuses on historical cornerstones

In December 2008, after much research and a little guesswork, volunteer explorers located a large flat granite boulder nestled in the mud behind Anthony’s Cummaquid Inn on the border between Yarmouth and Barnstable. Scraping away vines and old growth, they uncovered old roman lettering; a “Y” and a “B” with a small “x” in between, chiseled clearly on the flat of the rock.

Read more: Exploring ancient mysteries: HCT program focuses on historical cornerstones - - Wicked Local - Cape Cod http://www.wickedlocal.com/capecod/archive/x228083066/Exploring-ancient-mysteries-HCT-program-focuses-on-historical-cornerstones#ixzz1U5c07l2z

Morse Payne Cornerstone Project

At the December 4, 2009 Cape Cod Astronomical Society meeting Guest speaker Mike Farber presented an overview of the Cornerstone Project in which through the auspices of the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School (CCLCS) he is documenting the surveying techniques used by early settlers of Cape Cod to establish town and property boundaries. He highlighted the original work done by Morris Paine tracking the settlers’ creation of a natural compass rose site in Cape Cod Bay with reference points on Race Point in Provincetown and Yarmouth. Mr. Farber is seeking additional team members from the CCAS community to locate boundary historic markers that the settlers established in the 1640 timeframe and thereafter. Read more...

History uncovered at Orleans windmill site

By Susan Milton
smilton@capecodonline.com

ORLEANS - The Jonathan Young Windmill looks at home on Town Cove in Orleans, but the historic landmark has moved around since its construction in the early 1700s.

Yesterday about 15 people walked through the woods to see the windmill's likely first home on a hill in South Orleans. Marking the spot is a circle of large foundation stones rediscovered recently by amateur historian Michael Farber of Chatham.

"Everything fits," said miller and historian James Owens of Eastham, among those who came to see Farber's rare discovery in the town's watershed off Route 28.

Even the stones in the middle of the circle were historically correct, Owens said, describing how four to five-ton millstones "floated" in a support on a central foundation to keep weight off the walls of the mill. Read more ...