As I mentioned in my "H is for Hammett" post, my great-great grandfather Franklin Hammett worked on a whaling ship and sailed around the world when he was a teenager. After he returned to Martha's Vineyard, he and his wife Nancy lived on a farm on a street called Tea Lane in the town of Chilmark.
The Hammetts had a horse named Grover, who is front and center along with Franklin in the above photo taken in the 1890s. My grandfather spent many summers on Tea Lane as a child and his grandchildren all loved his stories about Grover and the other goings-on on the farm. By all accounts, Grover was a fine horse and it seems clear from this picture that Franklin thought very highly of him.
Stella, the main character in my novel The Ghosts of Aquinnah, whose maiden name is Hammett, lives on a farm in the same area where Franklin and Nancy lived so many years ago. While writing the novel, I couldn't resist naming her horse Grover.
My A-Z of Martha's Vineyard theme is inspired by my book, The Ghosts of Aquinnah, which is set on the island. Click here for all the info on the book.
