Archive for March, 2010
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
Poe receipt dated 1852 (Frances and John Finley Collection)
My translation of this receipt follows:
George Poe |
3 Apr |
Financier |
100.00
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3 May |
Columbian |
500.96
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6 May |
Financier |
150.00
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750.96
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Jacob Poe |
25 May |
New Boat |
400.00
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5 May |
Caton Botting |
20.00
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6 May |
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200.00
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5 Jun |
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2.00
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622.00
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Joseph Calhoon |
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New Boat |
500.38
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Samuel Todd |
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To cash by Jacob Poe |
600.00
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S Hiat |
200.00
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Caton Boting |
20.00
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622.00
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This document, undated and unsigned, I assume was written after 5 Jun 1852 and its author would have been Andrew Martin Poe, the eldest son of Thomas and Elizabeth Hephner Poe. Andrew Martin managed the family affairs while his father and brothers worked on the river away from home. Never a packet captain, Andrew Martin did work as a mate on several of his brothers’ boats.
The document also suggests that the Poes had an interest in the str Columbian. The str Columbian was built in Brownsville in 1848, for Capt William Dean who sold it to Capt Thomas Greenlee in 1850. Listed in Way’s Packet Directory numbered 1252, Capt Way made no mention of the Poes or any other Georgetown owners in his packet biography. The boat was off the lists in 1855. From this thin thread of evidence, one word on this document, I claim one of the Poe brothers owned the Columbian in 1852.
I have not yet been able to interpret the words “Caton Bot(t)ing” and “S Hiat”.
Tags: george poe, georgetown, jacob poe, joseph calhoon, steamboat
Posted in River history | 4 Comments »
Saturday, March 27th, 2010
Four generations of Poe ancestors.
1 Elizabeth Hephner 1786 – 1864
2 Nancy Ann Poe 1818 – 1907
3 Mary Ann (Mollie) Ebert 1840 – 1925
4 Mary Magdelene McClellan (Delena) Trimble 1873 – 1933
Elizabeth Hephner Poe (F Nash Collection)
Nancy Ann (Poe) Ebert ca 1890 (Anna L and John F Nash Collection)
Mollie Ebert Trimble and John A Trimble ca 1910 (Anna L and John F Nash Collection)
Delena Mollie and Nancy with Clyne Kinsey 1900
Tags: delena trimble, elizabeth hephner, georgetown, mollie ebert, nancy ann poe, steamboat
Posted in History of Georgetown PA | Comments Off
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Five luxurious packets were expressly designed and built for the Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Packet Line:
(1) Katie Stockdale
(2) Keystone State
(3) Iron Queen
(4) Virginia
(5) Queen City
The names of the officers of the packets have been gleaned from various sources. By no means is the list deemed complete or ordered by date of service. Names to fill in the gaps of information will be greatly appreciated.
Str Katie Stockdale (From the Collection of the UW La Crosse Murphy Library Special Collections)
Katie Stockdale
Built 1877.
Dismantled 1888-9. Engines, whistle, and roof bell installed on the Keystone State.
Captain |
Clerk |
Pilot |
Mate |
Engineer |
Thomas S Calhoon
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AJ McConnell
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Thomas S Sandford
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Nat Eathart
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J Harry Ollum
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Mart F Noll
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Chas M Buchanan
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Clark Barringer
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Chas W Knox
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Keystone State
Built 1890.
Sold 1926.
Captain |
Clerk |
Pilot |
Mate |
Engineer |
Thomas S Calhoon
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Charles W Knox
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Thomas S Sandford
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Ben Baker
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George Knox
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Charles W Knox
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William Kimble
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J Harry Ollum
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Richard Pharris
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Charles McDaniel
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Augustus Martindill
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William Anderson
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Thos Martin
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Grant Paige
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Karl Crawford
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Dayton Randolph
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Eugene Morris
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J Presley Ellison
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Chas Prall
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AL Voeghtley
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Ed McLaughlin
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Daniel Lacey
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Henry Best
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Logan Noll
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George Donally
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William Barringer
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Iron Queen
Built 1892.
Burned 1895.
Captain |
Clerk |
Pilot |
Mate |
Engineer |
John M Philips
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Robert H Kerr
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Dayton Randolph
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Ort Shriver
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William Bell
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Thomas S Calhoon
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George McCollough
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James Rowley
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Hod Knowles
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James Ellison
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Clayton Agnew
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Ed McLaughlin
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AL Voeghtley
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Virginia
Built 1895-6.
Sold 1926.
Captain |
Clerk |
Pilot |
Mate |
Engineer |
Thomas S Calhoon
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Robert H Kerr
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Thomas S Sandford
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John Sweeney
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George Johnston
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Thomas S Sandford
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William Kimble
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J Harry Ollum
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Hod Knowles
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Alfred Pennywit
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Daniel Lacey
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James Martin
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George McCollough
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William Anderson
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Clayton Agnew
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Dwight Hollister
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Wm C Lepper
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Clyde Packard
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Queen City
Built 1897.
Sold before 1929.
Captain |
Clerk |
Pilot |
Mate |
Engineer |
Thomas S Sandford
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James Gardener
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J Harry Ollum
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George Knox
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Robert R Agnew
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Daniel Lacey
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Philip Anshutz
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Charles Paige
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Arthur B Brown
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Unk Chapman
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Anthony Meldahl
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CA Watson
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J Presley Ellison
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C Boyd Taylor
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William Watson
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John Sweeney
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William R Barringer
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AB Browne
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Charles Howard
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Tags: capt thomas s calhoon, catp jackman t stockdale, georgetown, iron queen, james rowley, katie stockdale, keystone state, queen city, steamboat, virginia
Posted in River history | Comments Off
Friday, March 19th, 2010
Ohio River Museum Donation ca 1965
This copy of an old newspaper clipping provides the details of a donation to the Wellsville River Museum in Wellsville, OH. The gifts were presented by people from Georgetown, PA: Capt Albert C Gilmore, Mrs Louis H (Lillian May Poe) Wagner, Mrs Edwin W (Clara Laughlin) Coopper. and Edna E Dawson . The contributors were all associated with river commerce and river history. I do not know which local paper carried the article. Nor do I know the date it was published except that the date was before 1971.
The second paragraph indicates the last pilot’s license of Capt Jacob Poe was donated by Lillian May Poe. This framed license actually had thirteen licenses stacked. The Wellsville museum trustees graciously gave me the one dated 11 Dec 1882. Lilian May also an old Poe family plate.
Jacob Poe’s Master License dated 11 Dec 1882 (F Nash Colleciton)
Copyright © 2016 Francis W Nash All Rights Reserved
No part of this website may be reproduced without permission in writing from the author.
Tags: georgetown, jacob poe, lillian may poe, steamboat, wellsvile river museum
Posted in History of Georgetown PA, River history, River Museums | Comments Off
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
A wharfboat was a floating warehouse moored at the river shore, usually at the larger towns or freight distribution points. Steamers docked at the wharfboat to transfer cargo and passengers. In the balmy days of steamboating, these wharfboats were found at nearly every town of consequence along the Ohio River. Usually privately owned and operated, a wharfboat often served a single customer, such as a packet line or local business. Wharfboats were the shells of out of service, older packets partially dismantled. The engines and boilers and cabin fixtures were removed leaving secure space for offices and cargo storage.
Theodore Poe with two ladies ca 1900 GPN
Theodore (Dory) Cochran Poe managed a wharfboat in Pittsburgh. The wharfboat is unknown at this time, but quite possibly he managed the wharfboat serving the Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Packet Line.
Tags: georgetown, steamboat
Posted in River history | Comments Off
Monday, March 15th, 2010
A book recently ordered arrived on Saturday. It is a history of California, PA from 1849-1881. As you no doubt know, California is a major historic steamboat building town in a historic steamboat building region along the Monongahela River. The years covered align well with the Golden Age of Steamboats and with my ancestors who owned and operated boats from Georgetown, PA. To date, I know of nine steamboats built in California in which captains from Georgetown, PA had interests.
The book by JK Folmar I is “California, PA 1849-1881 The History of a Boat Building Town.” Not only is it fact filled, it is a good read. I highly recommend it.
Tags: georgetown, steamboat
Posted in River history | Comments Off
Sunday, March 7th, 2010
While training as a cub pilot, Mark Twain convinced his brother Henry to pursue a career on the river. Henry was fatally scalded when the boilers of the packet he was working on exploded. Henry died on 21 Jun 1858. The packet was the str Pennsylvania. Twain held himself responsible for his younger brother’s death for the rest of his life.
The str Pennsylvania, which originally ran from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, was involved in the Wheeling Bridge Case. After that infamous gesture and response from the Wheeling landing, the str Pennsylvania went into the St Louis and New Orleans trade. Her boilers exploded near Helena, AK on Sunday morning 13 Jun 1858. Henry Clemens suffered for more than a week before succumbing to the pain of his burns.
Tags: georgetown, henry clemens, mark twain, steamboat, str pennsylvavnia, wheeling bridge case
Posted in River history | Comments Off
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Samuel L Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the Civil War. For two years, Twain served as a cub pilot under Capt Horace E Bixby while he learned the 2,000 miles of the ever-changing Mississippi.
Twain’s connection to Georgetown, PA was Horace E Bixby. Bixby worked on the steamer Sallie as one of her pilots at least one season on the upper Missouri River. The Sallie, a sternwheel packet owned by Capt Thomas S Calhoon and Capt Jackman T Stockdale of Georgetown, PA, docked at the levee at Ft Benton three years running: 1868, 1869, and 1870. I do not know which year, or years, Capt Bixby worked.
During the Civil War Capt Bixby was the personal pilot for Flag-Officers of the Mississippi Flotilla, Foote and Davis.
Copyright © 2010 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
No part of this website may be reproduced without permission in writing from the author.
Tags: capt thomas s calhoon, georgetown, horace e bixby, jackman t stockdale, mark twain, samuel l clemens, steamboat, str sallie
Posted in History of Georgetown PA, River Tales | Comments Off