The book Elijah Cobb, 1768-1848; a Cape Cod Skipper is now available to read online or download for free at Project Gutenberg. With the efforts of dozens of volunteers who have carefully proofread the text and produced web, Kindle, and e-reader versions.
This text was particularly challenging due to the unconventional grammar, spelling and punctuation (which they have maintained except for changing the 'long ſ ' to a conventional s). But the effort was well worth it. Captain Cobb demonstrated incredible bravery in his adventures. It's great read, and it's great to see his story become easily available again.
They have produced many Cape Cod and Plymouth texts. Here a just a few with links:
Cape Cod by Henry David Thoreau
Cape Cod : its natural and cultural history by Robert Finch
The life savers of Cape Cod by J. W. Dalton
The tragedy of Monomoy Beach : The graveyard of the Atlantic by Clarkson P. Bearse
See also, The Internet Archive, focusing on local texts that are not yet available online. These are readable as images of the original pages, with a realistic page turning display.
“He was tall and straight, of fine figure, his face very pleasant to look upon. He loved children & was loved by them, Distinguished for his sturdy integrity, as well as talent, loved and respected by all who knew him, he died at the age of 80.”