I am working on several biographies of Georgetown steamboat captains, ie Andrew H Parr and William J Parr, in addition to the biographies of several prominent Georgetown celebrities, ie Charles E Poe and his daughter Lillian May (Poe) Wagner.
To date, I have identified 73 steamers either owned and/or operated by ten Georgetown captains. In her letters, Mrs Lillian (Poe) Wagner said her grandfather, Jacob Poe, held interest in 40 boats. In an interview in 1925, Theodore (Dory) Poe said his father, Jacob Poe, had an interest in 50 boats. I have listed only 15 on the Jacob Poe page. In any case, the list of steamer pages on this site will increase gradually as the biographies are developed.
I am also collecting data on the packet line companies established by the Georgetown captains. These companies with a pool of boats would provide freight and passenger service for a specific trade route, ie Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Packet Line. Their routes and stops were scheduled. After the Civil War, these packet companies multiplied greatly. Before that time, most captains were independent operators stopping at every landing or signal along the river negotiating fares and cargo rates at each stop. After the Civil War, independent operators, running the tramp routes, were rare.
Tags: georgetown, steamboat