The biography of Capt Jacob Poe has been updated. Data acquired from the Certificates of Enrollment for the port of Pittsburgh at the National Archives has been included for some of the early Poe family steamboats. By “early” I mean before 1848 when Capt Way’s Packet Directory starts its history of steamboats.
Capt Jacob Poe was also in command of several keel boats. I intend to add data on these Georgetown keel boats in the near future.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
I intend to refocus my attention on the core purpose of this website. It exists to make public the journal of Nancy Ann (Poe) Ebert. Her personal journal of the trip with her husband, Capt George W Ebert, on the upper Missouri River in 1869 was a bit of American History that I believe should be shared with river scholars. I also want to share the stories of the steamboat men from Georgetown, PA. The most remarkable and unique source information that I have been able to share has been the hand written book by Capt Benjamin Mackall Laughlin. That book identified 42 steamboats built between 1832-1838 in the Pittsburgh region that were not listed by Lytle and Holdcamper.
To begin my renewed concentration on steamboats, a page named Str Yorktown b1853 has been loaded. It was the second boat named Yorktown owned and operated by the Poe family. To differentiate the two vessels, I added the build date specified on the initial Certificate of Enrollment in the title of the page. Capt Way’s Packet Directory number was considered, as another distinguishing feature, but I preferred the build date because the Poes ran boats with duplicate names before 1848, the year Way’s Packet Directory began its list.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
Ms Barbara Macleish has introduced me to the reference “Chronicling America”.
About Chronicling America
Chronicling America is a Website providing access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages, and is produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). NDNP, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC), is a long-term effort to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages. Supported by NEH, this rich digital resource will be developed and permanently maintained at the Library of Congress. An NEH award program will fund the contribution of content from, eventually, all U.S. states and territories.
So far 737 newspapers from 1836 to 1922 have been digitized. Unfortunately, western PA is not well represented. Fortunately OH, MO, and MT along the inland rivers are well represented during the steamboat era. No doubt I will be spending much time searching these references.
A good example of the findings from “Chronicling America” is the little known str Glaucus. The str Glaucus information provided by the original Certificate of Enrollment appears below followed by Capt Way’s entry in his Packet Directory. :
Str Glaucus
| Owners and Partners | Share | Vol: | 6633 |
| T Harvey Miller | Enroll No : | 89 | |
| Thom S Clarke | Cert Date: | 6 Jul 1849 | |
| Wm Thaw | Cert Type:: | Enrollment | |
| Geo Black | Build Locn: | W Elizabeth, PA | |
| Robert S Hays | Build Date: | 1849 | |
| Wm Bingham | Master | GW Ebbert | |
| Wilson Miller | |||
| GW Ebbert |
Glaucus. The sidewheel wooden hull packet named the Glaucus was built in West Elizabeth, PA in 1849 for the St Louis to Keokuk Packet Line. Its capacity was 154 tons. George Washington Ebert was partner and its master. The Glaucus met a fiery end on 30 Mar 1852 in Montrose, IA. [1]
In addition to this original source info and Capt Way’s history, Ms Macleish has directed me to newspaper articles found in Chronicling America, as well as other more direct routes.
Gallipolis Journal 7 Aug 1851
By the tremendous hail storm
Saturday night, the steamer Glaucus
had her chimneys blown over, and
cabins badly shattered.
Hannibal Journal 25 Mar 1852 (Fri)
You may have heard of the loss of
the steamer Glaucus – if not, I will
tell you that she was burned at
Montrose on Friday last, while lying
there ice-bound. She belonged to the
Keokuk Packet Company, and was
insured for $5,000.
BURNING OF THE GLAUCUS.—On Saturday last, the Steamer Glaucus, on her upward trip from Keokuk, while lying ice-bound at Montrose, was entirely destroyed by fire. The fire originated in the steerage, and spread so rapidly as to prevent the recovery of anything, excepting the books and papers of the boat—even the passengers’ baggage was all destroyed. The Glaucus, we understand, was not intended to be run as one of the regular mail boats, between this point and Keokuk, but was to have been kept as a reserve, to run in case of need.
Day in history for March 28, 2002 – Quad-Cities Online
150 years ago: Passengers from the Lamartine, just arrived, informed us that the packet Glaucus burned about 11 a.m. yesterday while it was lying ice- bound at Montrose, Iowa. Not even the baggage of the passengers was saved
Notice the differences in the date the str Glaucus burned. The Hannibal Journal indicated 18 Mar, the Democratic Banner – 20 Mar, the Quad Cities Online – 27 Mar, and Capt Way – 30 Mar. Capt Way is my go to guy. If he writes something, then it is true, even if it was not.
This confusion of time, and sometimes identity in other cases, makes an accurate presentation of history difficult. Early American history is a story. How much is fact and how much is legend does not really matter, for it did certainly happen.
References.
[1] Frederick Way, Jr.,Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994, (Ohio University Press, Athens 1994), p. 188.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
“The Ghost Map” by Steven Johnson tells the story of the most severe outbreak of cholera in London’s history and one determined man’s efforts to analyze the outbreak. That man was Dr John Snow. The date was 1854. In the study Dr Snow mapped the location of each victim and interviewed family survivors, if any. At the time, health officials believed that cholera was spread by “ill humours”. London was notoriously known for its bad air and odors due to its dense population and lack of sewage management. Bacteria were unknown. Yet Dr Snow identified the one common factor of the victims – the Broad Street public pump. He effectively stopped the cholera outbreak in Soho by removing the pump handle on the contaminated well. Although his hypothesis was not well accepted for another twenty years, Dr Snow determined indirectly that cholera was spread by contaminated water and is credited with the development of the epidemiological method.
On Saturday evening 21 Apr 1855 at about nine o’clock, Capt Joseph MC Calhoon died. The cause of death was described as “attacked with Cholera or Cholera Morbus” in a letter from WH Turner, Esq to Mrs Joseph MC Calhoon. Capt Calhoon took ill near the mouth of the Missouri River. He tried to return to his family in Georgetown, PA but only made it as far as Alton, IL. His body was taken to St Louis by local Free Masons and later transported to Georgetown, PA by relatives. More details of Capt Joseph MC Calhoon’s death are found in the page – The Body.
In a letter written by Dr Isaac H Harriott II dated 15 Jul 1855, another incident with cholera took place. On 5 Jul in Keokuk, Dr Harriott booked passage on the str Ella bound for St Paul. Before the str Ella reached Montrose, IA two deck passengers had died of cholera. Permission to bury the two victims was denied by local health authorities on 6 Jul 1855. According to Dr Harriott, the two men were put into one box and buried about two or three miles from Montrose, IA on 7 Jul.
The same incident of cholera in Montrose, IA was described in Capt Adam Poe’s River Experiences. Cholera was so feared that Capt Adam Poe could not hire local laborers to load freight onto the str Ella. The disease was terrifying. A victim would lose up to five gallons of water a day, leading to a rapid painful death from dehydration. Capt Adam Poe’s opinion of Montrose on a scale of criminal to fair-minded was made clear. According to Capt Poe’s recollections, the steamboat carpenter made two rough boxes. The men were buried on a low island in the Mississippi River.
There was no Dr John Snow like person on the Mississippi in 1855. But it is not unlikely that these two incidents on the Mississippi, separated by four months and a hundred miles of water, had a common factor like the town well in Keokuk or another river town. Today contaminated water is still a serious worldwide problem. One estimate indicates that more than 100,000 deaths a year are caused by cholera infections.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
As I was reviewing the Certificates of Enrollments for vessels more than twenty tons from the Customhouse in Pittsburgh, I was surprised by the number of keelboats registered. My surprise was in part due to the build dates of the keelboats. I thought that the steamboat marked the end of the keelboat’s useful life years earlier. I was also impressed by the size, length and breadth, of the vessels. With little scientific or technological control of the vessel descending the Ohio River, I can only imagine the physical struggle to maneuver heavy cargo downstream in a keelboat.
I have only reviewed the volumes 6633-6636 of the National Archives Record Type 41. Those volumes contain the enrollment data from 4 Jan 1850 to 30 Dec 1854. Within that timeframe I found eleven keel boats built by Georgetown men. The old family names, Poe, Laughlin, Dawson, and Calhoon, are all represented. Like steamboats, keelboats were family owned with three or four partners – family members and friends.
The size of this sample of keel boats, from smallest to largest, follows:
Length: 100ft 114 ft
Breadth: 17ft 17ft10in
Depth: 1ft 5in 2ft1in
Capacity: 27 39/95 tons 40 25/95 tons
Georgetown Keel Boats
Date: 31 Mar 2012
| Name | Original Primary Owner | Locn Build | Date Build |
| Big Foot | Jacob Poe | Glasgow, PA | 1850 |
| Cinderella 2 | James Haslett | Philis’s Island, PA | 1850 |
| Commerce | Thomas Laughlin | Georgetown, PA | 1850 |
| Hero | G Dawson | Glasgow, PA | 1850 |
| JS Porter | Samuel Calhoon | Industry, PA | 1848 |
| Key Stone | B Dawson | Christlow’s Landing, PA | 1850 |
| Martha Anderson | George Laughlin | Industry, PA | 1854 |
| Ocean Wave | George Laughlin | Georgetown, PA | 1850 |
| Osceola | HW Laughlin | Christlow’s Landing, PA | 1853 |
| Swan | A Reed | Glasgow, PA | 1850 |
| Wm Rodgers | Benjamin Laughlin | Industry, PA | 1854 |
The Army Corp of Engineers Kansas City District published map of the Missouri River in Dec 2000 that shows the changing of the river channel over the last century. This map is a composite of a map used by Capt HM Chittenden in 1897 and a more recent river channel map. For historians, the map is interesting because it identified the approximate locations of steamboats wrecks. Capt HM Chittenden located the sites in 1897. From his historical research prior to 1962, Dr EB Trail also identified the sites of the same steamboat wrecks. Their findings differ.
Kansas City District Corp of Engineers dated Dec 2000
For me the map is interesting because the site of the wreck of the str Fearless was identified. The str Fearless was operated by Capt Thomas W Poe for a short time before his death. Although he died in 31 Dec 1881 aboard the str Fearless on his way to Pittsburgh and the steamer sank eight months later on 26 Aug 1882, his spirit lived on in the courts. The legal case regarding the property loss was finally decided by the Supreme Court of Missouri in Oct 1887.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
Dory (Theodore Cochran) Poe was the chief clerk for The Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Packet Line and an expert at predicting freshets. He was the youngest son of Capt Jacob Poe. His date of birth was 5 Dec 1861 and he died on 11 Jul 1950. His older brothers were George WE Poe and Charley Poe. All three boys were touched by river history. All three sons maintained rooms in “The Poe House” in Georgetown.
Theodore Poe Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph 18 Jun 1942 (Anna L and John F Nash Collection)
May Poe, Dory Poe, Grace Thayer 1899 (Anna L and John F Nash Collection)
I have two bedroom suites from The Poe House which were purported to belong to river boat captains. That claim may be a stretch. However, the furniture did belong to the Poe steamboat men whether a pilot, chief clerk, or gentleman I know not.
The Poe House with Charles E Poe on right ca 1910 (France and John Finley Collection).
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Packet Line Boarding Pass 1900 (F Nash Collection)
Pittsburgh and Cincinati Packet Line Boarding Pass 1900 back (F Nash Collection)
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
I have scanned the book written by Capt Adam W Poe. The book, “A True History of the Three Brave Indian Spies, John Cherry, Andrew and Adam Poe“, includes a partial genealogy of the Poe family in America and a version of the famous frontier Indian battle between the Poe brothers, Andrew and Adam (the author’s grandfather), and the Wyandot Indian war party led by Big Foot son of Half King. The final segment is a memoir written in 1887 that includes stories of Capt Adam Poe’s river experiences. There is a kind of mythology that stories like this tend to drift toward. A wonderful read.
The book was made available by the University of Pittsburgh Libraries. I printed their eBook and scanned and loaded the pages.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
I happened upon a Ghost Box video on YouTube entitled A Midnight Visit to the Georgetown Cemetery. The video was uploaded on uploaded on 30 May 2010. The link follows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_wf3PMHmdk
The narrator of the video told a story about a witch that I had never heard. She also filmed Capt Thomas Poe’s marker. Whether filming that stone was planned or accidental or guided by forces outside the usual, it added the salt and pepper required to balance the fantasy and history of the hallowed place.
Capt Thomas Washington Poe was arguably the most ill-fated steamboat captain from Georgetown. If there is a “night shade” hovering over any stone, it would be the spirit of Capt Thomas Poe. Owned by Thomas W Poe and other partners from Georgetown, PA ,the str Georgetown was snagged on the Missouri on 12 Oct 1853, raised, and returned to service. On 11 May 1855 the str Georgetown was fatally snagged at Bellefontaine Bluffs on the Missouri in route to a military post. He was the principal owner of the str Clara Poe which was burned during the Civil War by rebel forces on 17 Apr 1865 at Eddyville on the Cumberland River; he also owned the str Amelia Poe which was a complete loss when snagged on the upper Missouri river on 24 May 1868 and salvaged by 1,500 riotous Indians; and he was the owner of the str Nick Wall which met a tragic end on the Mississippi River near Napoleon, AK on 18 Dec 1870. Here a grisly incident occurred that Mark Twain retold in “Life on the Mississippi”. Though injured himself by the falling roof, Capt Thomas W Poe attemped to save his wife trapped in a stateroom. He chopped a hole in the roof with an ax striking the unfortunate Martha Jane (Troxell) Poe in the head. Martha Jane Poe, fatally wounded, was returned to Georgetown for burial.
What could make a better Ghost Box story?
Copyright © 2011 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
Proceeding on.
I feel like an explorer even though I am “motoring” in my Mini. Unlike a real boatman, I do not experience the water nor view towns from the river; unlike a normal motorist, I have not taken the by-pass. Preferring a more natural experience, I have avoided the Interstates favoring blue roads along the river passing directly through the small river towns mentioned by Georgetown steamboat men in their letters and interviews. One of my greatest pleasures was simply walking along the riverfront where Georgetown steamboat captains also once walked past past the squares, parks and buildings that existed in their time. Strange moments occur when the past seems to reach out to reassure me that I am on the right path. I hope to meet people who have good river stories and so far I have not been disappointed.
The Pt Pleasant Riview Museum is a must-do destination. I had hoped to find information about my Georgetown steamboat men because they worked on the Kanawha River. I was not disappointed. Great library of steamboat books including the Bupp Collection.
Before the steamboat era, Pt Pleasant was the site of a frontier fort – Fort Randolph. Officers from Ft Randolph were summoned to Georgetown for strategic meetings. See The Lost Frontier Fort for more detail.
For quarters, I search out B&Bs or river hotels. For hearty fare, I try to find local delectables in a family owned river café or bar within foot distance. The hunt for dinner is harder than you might imagine in these once vibrant river towns. As you have no doubt guessed, I travel on my stomach. No doubt my waistline will suffer from this philosophy.