CHINCOTEAGUE CHARACTER OF THE DAY: Decoy-Carving Legend Miles Hancock

The amazing life that Miles Hancock led could never have unfolded the way it did if he had lived anyplace else in the world. Born in Williamsville, Delaware in 1887, he was one of four children in a farming family. When he was seven, his parents moved to Chincoteague.

That’s when things got tough. First, his mother died. Then, his father couldn’t make enough money to support the family. He put all four kids into foster care. Out of this bleak backdrop Hancock built a life-long string of entrepreneurial success stories.

By age 12, he had begun catching and raising terrapin. This salt-water-loving turtle had been a staple in human diets on the Shore since Native American times, but Hancock got into the business at just the right time. In the early years of 20th century, rich folks up and down the East Coast decided that terrapin prepared in sherry and cream sauce ranked among life’s premier delicacies.

Prices skyrocketed. Where the turtles had once sold for $6 a dozen, they were now going for as high as $128 a dozen. (The photo up top here shows Hancock in his terrapin-raising days.)

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