Peter Foulger

Peter Folger or Foulger (1617 –1690) was a poet and an interpreter of the American Indian language for the first settlers of Nantucket. He was instrumental in the colonization of Nantucket Island in the Massachusetts colony. He was the grandfather of Benjamin Franklin.

A Baptist missionary, teacher, and surveyor, his dealings with the native population promoted harmony between the Native Americans and European settlers.

Peter Folger was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England, son of John Folger, in 1617. He came to America in 1635 with his father, settling initially in Watertown, Massachusetts, and later moving to Martha's Vineyard, where he worked as a teacher and surveyor. In 1644, he married Mary Morrell, whom he met on the voyage from England. They had nine children.

1. Joanna Folger Coleman, born 1645 in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts Bay Colony, July 18, 1719 in Nantucket, Province of Massachusetts Bay, married John Coleman in 1666
2. Bethia Folger Barnard, born 1646 in Martha’s Vineyard, married February 26, 1668 to John Barnard, both drowning June 6, 1669, in a boating accident
3. Dorcas Folger Pratt, born 1647 in Martha’s Vineyard, died December 24, 1712 in Charlestown, Province of Massachusetts Bay, married February 12, 1675, Joseph Pratt
4. Eleazer Folger, born 1648 in Edgartown, Massachusetts Bay Colony, died December 19, 1716 Nantucket, married in 1671, Sara Gardner
5. Bathsheba Folger Pope, born 1652 in Martha’s Vineyard, died 1726 in Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay, married in 1676, Joseph Pope
6. Patience Folger Harker Gardner, born 1656 in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts Bay Colony, died January 18, 1717 in Nantucket, married twice, in 1680 to John Harker, then in 1696 to James Gardner
7. John Folger, born 1659 in Martha’s Vineyard, died August 23, 1732 in Nantucket, married in 1688 to Mary Barnard
8. Abiah Folger Franklin, born August 15, 1667 in Nantucket, died May 18, 1752 in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, married November 25, 1689, Josiah Franklin (parents of Benjamin Franklin)
9. Experience Folger Swain, born 1668 in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts Bay Colony, died June 4, 1739 in Nantucket, married in 1687 to John Swain

At the Vineyard, Folger supported himself by teaching school and surveying land. He was hired by Governor Thomas Mayhew and his son Thomas Mayhew Jr. to convert the Native American population to Christianity, during which time he learned to speak the native language. He was a Baptist in faith, and as such was told not to visit with the Puritans on the mainland. Rev. Experience Mayhew, in a letter to John Gardner, Esquire, dated 1694, states that when Thomas Mayhew, Jr. left for England in 1657, he left the care of his church and mission to Peter Folger.

From time to time between 1659 and 1662, Folger journeyed to Nantucket in order to survey it for the proprietors. In 1663 Folger moved to Nantucket full-time, having been granted a half a share of land by the proprietors, where he was a surveyor, an Indian interpreter, and clerk in the courts. Shortly thereafter, Folger's daughter, Abiah, was born, later to become the mother of Benjamin Franklin, who referred to him fondly in his autobiography.

Folger died at Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 1690 and is buried in the Founders Burial Ground. His wife Mary Morrill Folger lived until 1704.

• A Looking Glass for the Times, or the Former Spirit of New England Revived in this Generation (1675)
• A Denunciation of War