A rare photograph of the str Amelia Poe. A fun story. Follow the link.
Posts Tagged ‘ft benton’
A Rare Photograph
Sunday, February 27th, 2011Missouri River Steamboats
Friday, February 25th, 2011At a local library, I found a copy of “The Material Culture of Steamboat Passengers” by Annalies Corbin. The book published in 2000 was an archaeological study of the artifacts from the steamers Bertrand and Arabia. More work like this report should be conducted on other steamers lost on the Missouri.
In Appendix H, Ms Corbin listed the steamers on the Missouri River. Steamers owned and operated from Georgetown, PA named on the list included:
(1) Amelia Poe
(2) Ida Stockdale
(3) Yorktown
(4) Mollie Ebert
(5) Nick Wall
(6) Georgetown
Several Georgetown steamboats were omitted from the list. Most notably, the str Sallie was omitted, or confused with other boats with the same name. The Sallie docked at the levee in Ft Benton in 1868, 1869, and 1870.
Two other Georgetown owned steamers were also omitted. Poe family records indicate that the Financier No 2 and Ella worked on the Kansas River in 1854 -55 with the Georgetown. The Poe brothers had three boats operating on the Missouri and Kansas Rivers before the outbreak of the Civil War.
My final contributions to Appendix H are three boats named by Capt Adam Poe who travelled to Missouri in 1837. During his trip he steamed from St Louis to Glasgow on a boat named Izora. His original fare was with Capt Kyser who had a boat named Shawnee, but the water was too low so he booked passage on the Izora. After surveying his land, he returned to St Louis aboard the str Zora.
If ever Appendix H is updated, these boats should be added.
More Golden Highway 1869
Saturday, May 8th, 2010Although the Montana Gold Rush was near its end, Missouri River commerce continued to be a profitable business venture. I have loaded a page entitled TS Calhoon’s Diary 1869. It includes his journal entries for the str Sallie which he commanded that season to Ft Benton.
More Golden Highway 1866
Thursday, May 6th, 2010Thomas S Calhoon, as first clerk of the str Amelia Poe, sighted 16 steamboats on his trip up river and 30 boats down river. From St Louis, the trip to Ft Benton was 72 ½ days; down 57 days with three days to discharge freight and passengers.
Thomas S Calhoon left Georgetown, Pa on 12 Mar 1866 and returned to his home on 19 Aug 1866. That was 160 days on the river = almosst half the year. He took approximately three weeks in Georgetown before he shipped out on 5 Oct 1866.
I have added his journal entries for the down river trip to the page TS Calhoon’s Book 1866.
The Golden Highway
Monday, April 26th, 2010In 1866, the str Amelia Poe commanded by Capt Thomas W Poe was the first boat from Georgetown to venture to Ft Benton in the Montana Territory. Thomas S Calhoon was the 1st clerk. The log of his trip up the Missouri River to Ft Benton in the Montana Territory has been loaded on the page TS Calhoon’s Book 1866.
This Missouri River adventure was transcribed from a copy of a copy of “Thomas S Calhoon’s Book 1866” [1] The original journal I have not seen, nor know where it is. The Heinz History Center research library has a typed copy which I assume was transcribed from the original by Harriet (Calhoon) Ewing. I have attempted to stay true to the copy. It presents some challenges: There is no punctuation; spelling is phonetic such as Schiann for Cheyenne, kild for killed, etc. Still it is full of swash and buckle.
Of the 51 boats that departed St Louis that season, 32 docked at Ft Benton. Millions of dollars of gold from the mines flowed down the “Golden Highway”. It was impossible to estimate the amount of gold because it flowed down the Missouri in pockets, in chests, in a buck wagon, and as payment for freight delivered. Freight that year was bringing 10-12 cents per pound; steamboat passage from St Louis was $150-200. While a barrel of salt was $1.25 in St Louis, it brought $45 in Helena. The total freight up was 6,644 tons and passengers up was 502. [2]
Arriving on 11 Jun 1866, the Amelia Poe delivered 200 tons of freight and 40 passengers. Downward gold and passengers was not recorded.
[1] The Ewing Family Papers, Thomas S Calhoon’s Book 1866, Box 5, Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA.
[2] Joel Overholser, Fort Benton World’s Innermost Port, (River & Plains Society, 1987), p 54.
Monthly Wages
Thursday, February 18th, 2010In 1869, the monthly wage rate on all boats out of St Louis except those bound for the Missouri River:
1869 $s 2006 $s
Captain $175 $2,800
Pilots $250 $4,000
1st Clerk $140 $2,240
2nd Clerk or Mud clerk $60 $ 960
1st engineers $110 $1,760
2nd Engineer $70 $1,120
Mates $110 $1,760
Steward $70 $1,120
Deck hands $30-60 $ 480-960
Pilots on the Missouri earned $500-2,000 ($8,000 – $32,000 in 2006 dollars) if they steamed above Sioux City to Ft Benton. The average length of a trip from St Louis to Ft Benton was 100 days making a pilot a wealthy man.
Comparison of Two Journals
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010I am developing a page comparing, day by day, the two steamer journals of the 1869 Missouri River season:
(1) Str Henry M Shreve by Nelson Green Edwards
(2) Str Mollie Ebert by Nancy Poe Ebert
The following table compares their trips by date and position according to entries in their respective journals. The Nancy Poe Ebert journal resolved conclusively the question of whether the Mollie Ebert docked at Ft Benton. The Mollie Ebert did reach Cow Island, but could not navigate the Dauphin Rapids due to low water. The Mollie Ebert spent eight days at Cow Island while the clerk and captain arranged the transfer of their freight to two boats that had successfully negotiated the rapids when the water level was higher. Emotionally and financially, the failure to dock at the Ft Benton levee was deeply disappointing.
|
Position |
Miles |
Henry M Shreve |
Mollie Ebert |
| Depart | |||
| St Louis |
0 |
Apr 6 |
Apr 16 |
| Kansas City |
456 |
Apr 10 |
|
| Omaha |
807 |
Apr 17 |
|
| Sioux City |
1010 |
Apr 20 |
|
| Yankton |
1181 |
Apr 24 |
May 6 |
| Bijou Hills |
|
Apr 30 |
May 13-14 |
| Ft Thompson |
1441 |
May 2 |
May 16 |
| St John’s Woodyard |
|
May 5 |
May 18 |
| Ft Sully |
1520 |
May 8 |
May 20 |
| Swan Lake |
|
May 12 |
|
| Cannon Ball River |
|
May 15 |
May 23 |
| Ft Rice |
|
May 16 |
|
| Ft Berthold |
1985 |
May 19 |
May 27 |
| Little Missouri River |
2015 |
May 19 |
May 27 |
| Ft Buford |
2240 |
May 22 |
May 25? |
| Spread Eagle Camp |
|
May 24 |
|
| Milk River |
2482 |
May 26 |
|
| Ft Peck |
|
May 26 |
|
| Mussel Shell River |
2678 |
May 29 |
|
| Cow Island |
2793 |
Jun 2 |
Jun12 |
| Ft Benton |
2965 |
Jun12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Return |
|
|
|
| Ft Benton |
2965 |
Jun 15 |
|
| Cow Island |
2793 |
|
Jun 20 |
| Spread Eagle Bend |
|
|
Jun 24 |
| Ft Buford |
2240 |
|
Jun 26 |
| Yellowstone River |
2235 |
|
Jun 27 |
| Little Missouri River |
2015 |
|
Jun 27 |
| Ft Stevenson |
|
|
Jun 28 |
| Cannon Ball River |
|
|
Jun 29 |
| Swan Lake Woodyard |
|
|
Jun 30 |
| Ft Sully |
1520 |
|
Jul 2 |
| St Louis |
0 |
Jul 1 |
Jul 13 |
Fort Benton
Monday, September 28th, 2009
“Fort Benton on the Upper Missouri is a small town with a big history.” That is the beginning of the introduction of a delightful book by Ken Robison on the history of Ft Benton. The book, Fort Benton, includes photographs and postcards from Mr Robison’s collection. One image, special to me, was a steamboat passenger boarding pass for the Montana and Idaho Transportation Line. The St Louis based line was owned by John G Copelin and his father-in-law John J Roe. According to Mr Robison, the line dominated the Missouri River commerce from 1864-68.
Montanna and Idaho Transportation Line Boarding Pass (The Ken Robison Collection)
Look carefully at the names of the pool of boats used by the line. Thomas W Poe was the captain of the Amelia Poe and George W Ebert was the captain of the Yorktown. In 1867, one other Georgetown packet docked at Ft Benton: the Ida Stockdale in the first of five seasons. Captains Thomas S Calhoon and Jackman T Stockdale were partners and Capt Grant Marsh was the master in 1867.
The Amelia Poe docked at the Ft Benton levee on 9 Jun with 183 tons of freight and 50 passengers. Eighty-five days from St Louis. The Yorktown arived at Ft Benton on 14 Jun (84 days from St Louis) with 210 tons of freight and 15 passengers. The Nymph No 2 arrived on 20 Jul (118 days from St Louis); the GA Thompson 30 Jun; the Deer Lodge 5 Jun. The arrival of the Bertha is not recorded in “Fort Benton The World’s Innermost Port” by Joel Overholser.
History in Homes
Saturday, August 29th, 2009I 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.
Str Mollie Ebert
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009My biographical data on the Mollie Ebert has been posted. I had intentionally delayed posting this data till now hoping that I would find photos of the Mollie Ebert. And Capt George Washington Ebert. Failed in both endeavors!
The Mollie Ebert was built in 1869 under the eye of Jacob Poe. She was the masterpiece of his life spent on the water according to family lore. I have read of only one photo which was taken by Capt Way of a painting owned by Theodore C Poe (son of Jacob). I know not what became of the painting.
The Poe family shared the ownership of many of their boats so I suspect the Mollie Ebert was no different. They were wealthy by the standards of the day and “generous to a fault” according to Harriet (Calhoon) Ewing, a neighbor for fifty years.