It is important to acknowledge that the Georgetown steamboat owners and their crews were in the river freight and passenger business at the sharp and dangerous, and always moving, frontier edge of our nation. Without them and men like them, the development of the interior of our nation would have been delayed many years.
I have added a page to tell their story: Lower Missouri River.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
Pittsburgh, PA,
Feb 19th, 1862
I desire that the captains of the following
steamers be placed on record for the patriotic
and liberal (volunteering) of their services and
boats, without renumeration, to proceed
immediately to the Cumberland River to
relieve the sick and wounded soldiers:
Rocket, Capt Wolf; Clara Poe, Capt Poe,
Horizon, Capt Stockdale; Emma, Capt
Maratta; Westmorland, Capt Evans;
Sir William Wallace, Capt Hugh
Campbell.
B. C. Sawyer, Jr., Mayor
One hundred-fifty years ago, the mayor of Pittsburgh acknowledged the patriotic service of six steamboat captains. These captains with their boats, without pay, steamed to Tennessee to transport wounded and sick soldiers to Louisville and St Louis. Captains Thomas W Poe and Jackman T Stockdale were Georgetown steamboat men. Three of these six boats including the two from Georgetown were destroyed during the war: str Clara Poe, str Horizon, and str Emma.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
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)
Built 1877.
Dismantled 1888-9. Engines, whistle, and roof bell installed on the Keystone State.
| Captain | Clerk | Pilot | Mate | Engineer |
Thomas S Calhoon |
AJ McConnell |
Thomas S Sandford |
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Nat Eathart |
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 |
Charles W Knox |
Thomas S Sandford |
Ben Baker |
George Knox |
Charles W Knox |
William Kimble |
J Harry Ollum |
Richard Pharris |
Charles McDaniel |
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Augustus Martindill |
William Anderson |
Thos Martin |
Grant Paige |
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Karl Crawford |
Dayton Randolph |
Eugene Morris |
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J Presley Ellison |
Chas Prall |
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AL Voeghtley |
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 |
Robert H Kerr |
Dayton Randolph |
Ort Shriver |
William Bell |
Thomas S Calhoon |
George McCollough |
James Rowley |
Hod Knowles |
James Ellison |
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Clayton Agnew |
Ed McLaughlin |
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AL Voeghtley |
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Built 1895-6.
Sold 1926.
| Captain | Clerk | Pilot | Mate | Engineer |
Thomas S Calhoon |
Robert H Kerr |
Thomas S Sandford |
John Sweeney |
George Johnston |
Thomas S Sandford |
William Kimble |
J Harry Ollum |
Hod Knowles |
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Alfred Pennywit |
Daniel Lacey |
James Martin |
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George McCollough |
William Anderson |
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Clayton Agnew |
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 |
James Gardener |
J Harry Ollum |
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George Knox |
Robert R Agnew |
Daniel Lacey |
Philip Anshutz |
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Charles Paige |
Arthur B Brown |
Unk Chapman |
Anthony Meldahl |
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CA Watson |
J Presley Ellison |
C Boyd Taylor |
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William Watson |
John Sweeney |
William R Barringer |
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AB Browne |
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Charles Howard |
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I have been experiencing a problem with large pages. For an unknown reason I could not add photos or links to one large page. To solve my problem, I split the page entitled ”It Used to be a River Town” into a history of Georgetown and a history of the steamboat captains homes. The data about the homes has been placed in another page named “History in Homes.” I have added more photos and as times permits, I will include copies of some of the deeds for the properties.
There is one fun event description added. The story about the preparations for the 35th wedding anniversary of Mollie Ebert and John A Trimble is notable. The redecoration of their parlors by a “force of artists” from Pittsburgh, their elegant supper at 10:00 PM, gifts exchanged… The details of the story were taken from a newspaper clipping from an unidentified local paper. I will try to determine the name of the newspaper.
Capt Jackman Taylor Stockdale’s biographical data has been loaded.
Jackman T Stockdale had a first cousin named Stockdale Jackman. Unfortunately, I do not know whether Stockdale Jackman’s middle name was Taylor or whether his middle initial was “T”. Joseph H Stockdale was Capt Jackman T Stockdale’s father. Before moving to Fredericktown, OH from Washington, PA, Joseph H Stockdale and John Jackman had become great friends. John Jackman married Joseph Stockdale’s sister, Deborah. Each couple had a son named to honor that friendship resulting in first cousins named Jackman Stockdale and Stockdale Jackman. Eventually, both families achieved wealth and fame. Capt Jackman T Stockdale worked in river commerce while the Stockdale Jackman family by marriage became the founders of several of the early pottery companies in East Liverpool, OH.
I have no photos of Capt Jackman T Stockdale and few images of his vessels. You can find more information about the potteries and Lotus Ware at The Museum of Ceramics in East Liverpool Ohio. The URL for the museum is: