One day in the Golden Age of Steamboats at the Port of Pittsburgh.  Think glass chandeliers in the parlor, oil paintings in every stateroom, thick carpets, steaming foods piled high.  Life was at its best on the river.

This specific Wednesday,14 Nov 1855, was documented in the Pittsburgh Daily Post on page 3.  First, the column ”News for River Men” described the weather – clear and pleasant.  The river level mark was 5ft 11in, and falling.  The disposition of seven steamboats was described.  Three of the packets hailed from Georgetown.  The destinations of the other four packets were Wheeling, St Louis, and two for Cincinnati. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Georgetown Packets.

Steamer	Master	Destination	Date of Depart
Washington City	Capt George W Ebert	New Orleans	Today
Clifton	Capt Jacob Poe	Nashville	Today
JC Fremont	Cat Jackman T Stockdale	St Louis	Today

 

 

 

In the same column of print was a series of information , or advertisements, for regular packet service to various river ports.  In addition to the three packets cited above, the str Silver Wave in its advertisement was listed for departure at 10:00AM on Wed, 14 Nov 1855.  The str Silver Wave was commanded by Capt John S McMillin Georgetown who later earned fame for his service during the Civil War.  

 

From the ”News for River Men” and the advertisement the complete view of Georgetown’s contribution to Ohio River transportation on that Wed.  The clerks names are included in the ads.  All are well known Georgetown men, excluding M’Cance. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Georgetown Packets on Wed, 14Nov1855.

Steamer	Master	Clerks	Destination	Date of Depart
Washington City	Capt George W Ebert	S Peppard	New Orleans	Today
Clifton	Capt Jacob Poe	M’Cance	Nashville	Today
JC Fremont	Capt Jackman T Stockdale	A Stockdale	St Louis	Today
Silver Wave	Capt John S McMillin	Wilkins	St Louis	Today

 

 

That day other Georgetown captains, such as Jacob Poe’s brothers (Adam and Thomas), Jackman Stockdale’s nephew (Thomas S Calhoon), and the Calhoon brothers (John and Richard) were no doubt plying the watery highways to faraway ports with the hope of being home from the Christmas holiday.

 

 

 

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2019 at 9:27 am and is filed under History of Georgetown PA, River history, Steamer Captains. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.