The Jacob Poe bio has been updated with new material obtained over the past two years. Similarly, History in Homes has been modified with additional material and images. As I have indicted before, it may be worth your time to stop by occasionally to see if a subject important to you has changed.
I am working on Thomas W Poe.
Copyright © 2013 Francis W Nash
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On this Veterans Day, I am reminded of sacrifices made. I have scanned and loaded two newspaper articles dated Oct 1942 about a cannon that had been standing in the town square Georgetown since shortly after the Civil War. One article identified as a “Special to the Review” stated that the cannon had been installed as a monument 78 year earlier. In Oct 1942 the Georgetown town council, like many other small towns, had voted to donate the relic to help relieve the national shortage of scrap metal.
Civil War Cannon Memorial (Newspaper Clips dated Oct1942)
The historic cannon, forged in Pittsburgh, was transported from the Pittsburgh Arsenal by packet to Line Island where is was to be used to defend Pittsburgh from Gen John Hunt Morgan and his cavalry. When word reached Georgetown that Morgan’s Raiders were in eastern Ohio on Sunday 26 Jul 1863, the ferry boat was scuttled, women were told to secret their valuables and take their children to a safe place, and the roads were filled with men on horseback riding to defend Georgetown, PA . It was reported that you could hear gun fire all over the county.
After many anxious hours, the Georgetown heroes learned that Morgan had been captured a mere 25 miles away near Lisbon, OH.
The Georgetown people sacrificed the cannon and its bit of history to help their sons and daughters serving in WW II. That was fitting and proper.
Today, I want to thank all veterans of all wars for your service and sacrafice.
Copyright © 2013 Francis W Nash
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I found a fascinating historical quarterly on eBay. The Annals of Iowa (Third Series Vol IV No 5) dated April 1900. My copy came via a private collector through the New Jersey Historical Society. The book itself is quite interesting. The binding is not sewn, yet the book is composed of quarto pages which is unusual. It has not been read completely because most of the pages had not been cut. Cutting the pages in order to read the book was a delicate process, and probably value destructive.
The article in the quarterly that caught my eye was the History of Steamboating on the Des Moines River, From 1837 to 1862 by Tacitus Hussey. It is a collection of arrival and departure logs from two ports and personal diaries. Combined the logs and diaries confirm that several of my Georgetown guys were working on the Des Moines River as early as 1851.
Copyright © 2013 Francis W Nash
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Saturday last I traveled to Georgetown, PA to attend the 2013 Georgetown Homecoming. The event was held in hot, humid, and t-storm threatening weather in the yard of Georgetown home built in 1848. The home is adjacent to the Georgetown United Methodist Church which was erected in 1877. A fun time ― meeting old friends and relatives; sharing stories and past histories. A good story brings out the best in good food and good friends. Although the town has a population of only 182 according to the 2010 census, the reunion attracted well over 200 people from as far as California.
Georgetown Homecoming 2013 (F Nash Collection)
By the way, the rain predicted passed by the town. Maybe Capt Thomas W Poe’s spirit was watching over us.
Copyright © 2013 Francis W Nash
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On this day 150 years ago, the str Horizon ran the Vicksburg and Grand Gulf batteries with supplies. Her civilian crew, except for her pilots, was temporarily replaced by Army officers and soldiers. Badly damaged by shell fire, she ran the gauntlet successfully. [1] According to the regimental history of the 11th Illinois Infantry, Second Lieutenant James D. Vernay of Company B received the Medal of Honor. He had been detached as a volunteer to the steamer Horizon during the Vicksburg campaign. The medal was issued for “Served gallantly as a volunteer with the crew of the steamer Horizon that, under a heavy fire, passed the Confederate batteries.”. [2]
The str Horizon was one of six transport steamers repaired to run the Vicksburg batteries after the failures of the “bayou” expeditions. On 22 Apr 1863, Capt GW Kennard 20th IL Regiment commanded the str Horizon. His boat left Millikin’s Bend at 9:00 PM. She steamed slowly to the bend then put on a “full head of steam”. At the second battery two artillery shots crashed through the bulkhead. At the next battery two shots hit the hurricane deck. In total fifteen or sixteen shots hit their target. All were forward and above the boiler room.
After passing the batteries, the str Horizon attempted to go to the assistance of the disabled str Moderator without success. The str Horizon then went to the aid of the str Anglo-Saxon. Later that day, the str Horizon was ordered to pass the Warrenton battery a second time and report at New Carthage. The str Horizon ”steamed up and reported” at New Carthage.[3]
Think for a moment about the power of the Medal of Honor. To single out for honor one person aboard one steamer would be a fascinating subject to explore.
How different the Civil War would have been without the Ohio River effectively separating much of the nation, North and South! And how different would have been the outcome without the steamboat , Union men, who knew the chutes, channels, and shoals of the Ohio and its tributaries.
References.
[1] Charles Dana Gibson and E Kay Gibson, Dictionary of Transports and Combatant Vessels Steam and Sail Employed by the Union Army 1861 – 1868, (Ensign Press, Cambridge, MA 1995), p 152.
[2] Regimental History of the 11th Illinois Infantry.
[3] JK Folmar I, California, PA 1849-1881: The History of a Boat Building Town, (Yohogania Press, California, PA 2009), p 58.
Copyright © 2013 Francis W Nash
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If there is a “night shade” hovering over any stone in the Georgetown Cemetery, it would be the spirit of Capt Thomas Washington Poe for good reason. Capt Thomas Poe was arguably the most far-famed and ill-fated steamboat captain from Georgetown, PA. Thomas Washington Poe was born in 1819 in New Lisbon, Columbiana Co, OH. He died on 31 Dec 1881 aboard the str Fearless on his way to Pittsburgh.
Capt Thomas W Poe with wives, Phebe and Martha Jane (F Nash Collection)
Misfortune paid its respects to Capt Thomas Poe many times and often far from home. On 11 May 1855 the str Georgetown was fatally snagged at Bellefontaine Bluffs on the Missouri in route to a military post. The str Georgetown was owned by Thomas W Poe and other partners from Georgetown, PA. He was the principal owner of the str Clara Poe which went up in flames during the Civil War - burned 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
Thomas Poe Illustration in Life on the Mississippi
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”. The boat struck a snag and sunk rapidly. Though injured himself by the falling roof, Capt Thomas W Poe attempted 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.
Although Thomas W died on 31 Dec 1881 aboard the str Fearless on his way to Pittsburgh, his spirit lived on ― in the courts. The steamer sank eight months later on 26 Aug 1882 on the Missouri. The legal case regarding the property loss was finally decided by the Supreme Court of Missouri in Oct 1887― not in favor of the Poe heirs. This verdict feels perfectly consistent with the trend of Thomas Washington Poe’s lfe.
Copyright © 2013 Francis W Nash
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Thursday afternoon and Friday were fun days at The National Archives. I reviewed eight volumes of the Certificates of Enrollment from the Customhouse Records for the Port of Pittsburgh. The records covered the time from 1 Jan 1863 to11 Jan 1867. Due to a gap in the records, data for the str JT Stockdale, and perhaps other boats, was not reviewed. Although the index of volume 6645 indicated that there were certificates registered between 17 Oct 1863 and 26 Jan 1864, there is no book containing the information. Sad. Those records are gone forever.
I did find eight new steamboats and one ferry which connections to Georgetown steamboat men. These newly indentified vessels are not listed in Capt Way’s directory. Most of the steamers are listed in The little-Holdcamper List. Of course, all of the boats , except str JS Cosgrave, are listed by Benjamin Mackall Laughlin in his hand written list of all steamboats built in Pittsburgh between 1811-1904. The following table lists the boats and whether they are listed by Capt Way and Little and Holdcamper.
| SteamerOwner/Master | Build Year | Built Location | Way’s Directory | Little-Holdcamper |
| Hawk Eye
George D Laughlin |
1854 | Pittsburgh | No | No |
| Grey Eagle
BM Laughlin |
1857 | West Newton | No | Yes |
| JS Cosgrave
George Calhoon |
1858 | Elizabeth | No | Yes |
| Webster
HW Laughlin |
1860 | Pittsburgh | No | No |
| Coal Bluff
GD Laughlin |
1862 | Bellevernon | No | Yes |
| Gypsey
HW Laughlin |
1864 | Cincinnati | No | No |
| JS Neil
BM Laughlin |
1865 | Pittsburgh | No | Yes |
| Wild Duck
George D Laughlin |
1865 | Brownsville | No | Yes |
| Driver (steam ferry)
Jesse Smith |
1865 | Pittsburgh | No | No |
The current count of steamboats owned and operated by Georgetown men stands at 102. I have 24 more volumes of Certificates of Enrollment to complete my review from 5 Jan 1831 to 28 Jun 1901. Seventy years of Georgetown steamboating.
Note: Bellevernon is the spelling of the clerk who registered the Cert of Enrollment for the str Coal Bluff. Not mine!
Copyright © 2013 Francis W Nash
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I found a rare and fascinating book
“The Adventures of T. C. Collins ― Boatman
Twenty-four Years on the Western Waters
1849-1873″.
The book, edited by Herbert L Roush, Sr, was published in 1985. Like a limited edition print, I have signed copy number 10 of 750 copies. The book is the compilation of four journals written by TC Collins before his death in 1907. Those journals were given a place in the attic of the Collins family home for almost eighty years before the work was introduced to Rev Roush. The book is the transcription and editing of 2,800 pages of hand-written work.
The reason I find the book fascination is the career of TC Collins paralleled the time of my steamboat men from Georgetown, PA. He writes about the hardships of the life of a roustabout. From his writing, I learned details about flatboating, floods, ice jams, and steamer wrecks on the Ohio River. Born in Little Hocking, OH, TC Collins worked on the rivers that my ancestors worked. He named some of the boats that my ancestors owned. He did not name many of the captains of the boats, but he did identify people he worked with ― deckhands, pilots, and friends.
This TC Collins autobiography presents a first hand account of the expansion of the young American frontier. A wonderful read.
Copyright © 2013 Francis W Nash
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In writing about his river experiences telling about himself, he was also telling the story about the frontier and expansion to the West. Capt Adam Poe was contributing to the growing body of literature about the West. At that time Americans were avid readers of “Westerns”. These novels, and epic tales of the Indian Wars, were the core of the motion picture industry through the twentieth century – the struggle between good and evil and survival in a lawless society.
Make time to read The True History of… by Capt Adam Poe. The pages have been scanned and loaded for your entertainment. It is a wonderful story.
Copyright © 2013 Francis W Nash
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This morn I was reading a newspaper article about “fracking” in PA. The article reminded me of a story attributed to Charley Poe. Charles Edgar Poe, the son of Capt Jacob Poe, was a gentleman and a great storyteller. His oil drilling tale was well told and well liked. From 1860-1885, oil and gas wells were drilled in every direction centered around Georgetown, PA.
Smith’s Ferry Oil Field ca 1865 (Anna L and John F Nash Collection)
This photo from the Western Advertiser dated 25 Jan 1972 illustrates the ferocity of the drilling efforts in Smith’s Ferry opposite Georgetown. There must be fifty derricks pictured on this spit of land. The wells of that time had little or no casing, and few if any were capped. To the best of my knowledge, there is no count or map of the wells drilled. Those holes are the problem.
There is also no public water system in Georgetown, PA. Drinking water is pumped from a private well on each property. The water from some wells nearby old drilling sites has an unpleasant “oily” taste after 150 years. Filters, softeners, and other water purification devices can not remove the taint.
I am curiously interested in the process of “fracking”. In Charley Poe’s day, oil drilling operators would “doctor” ailing wells. A charge of nitroglycerin was lowered into the well casing and discharged. If the results were good, a listless well would begin to produce oil or gas. This process was essentially “nitroglycerin fracturing” – the shale containing the oil or gas was fractured by the explosion releasing trapped petroleum.
Today the “fracking” boom is changing the landscape of southwestern PA, and Georgetown. The extraction technology has changed from nitroglycerin to a high pressure cocktail of chemicals too “top secret” to be disclosed by the drilling operators. And disclosure is not required by current PA DEP regulations. To date according to the following NPR website page, the total number of wells drilled in PA was 8,982 by 74 operators. There have been 3,025 citations issued for violating PA environmental regulations, primarily water contamination.
http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/drilling/
Climate change is a theory that has been acknowledged and accepted by 97% of our environemental planet scientists. According to these scientists, carbon emissions from coal and oil fuels are a major cause of climate change. Why is more oil and gas production extracted by dubious means and long term side effects the solution to our economic problems. Fracking is the problem. And the solution?
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
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