Walter Folger Junior

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • August 14, 2017

I would like to draw your attention to one of Maria Mitchell’s relatives, Walter Folger Jr. A cousin to be exact.  However, as Maria once said to someone when she/he told her they had met her cousin from Nantucket, “Which one? I have thousands.” Yes, pretty much everyone was related to everyone else.


Walter Folger was a scientist, inventor, lawyer, astronomer, statesman . . . pretty much sounds like William Mitchell, his cousin and friend. We have a few books in our collection that Folger gave to Maria. In any case, I was asked to narrate a video for the Nantucket Historical Association’s exhibition that opened in May, “Out of the Box: Unpacking Nantucket Stories” for which they have a telescope on display which Folger created. So, if you would like to learn a little more about Folger, clink this link:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjgJVmnztYsRQUK7FMgHUpL6UkUaEqgWS


And stay tuned. For Maria Mitchell’s 200 th Birthday, I am working on a Maria Mitchell exhibit to be displayed at the Whaling Museum in 2018.


JNLF

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