Name Tom Nantucket | ||
8 mayhew tom nevers nantucket ma
Tom Never was a Native American born on the island of Nantucket circa 1725. His birth name was originally very long and was shortened to Tom Never by the British settlers who hired him to be in charge of a whale lookout station around 1745. This lookout station was located in the southeast corner of the island which was subsequently known as Tom Never's Head. In later years the apostrophe was dropped and that part of Nantucket is now known as Tom Nevers Head or simply Tom Nevers.
When whale oil began to be sold in great quantity around 1870, the law at the time gave great tax advantages to companies owned by Native Americans. A group of local businessmen added Tom Nevers to their company and named their whale oil after him. Tom Nevers Whale Oil then became the first product given a trademark by the newly formed U.S. Trademark and Patent Office in 1871.