In the hand-made book by Mrs Lillian May (Poe) Wagner, I found a fun newspaper clipping of the Golden Anniversary of Jacob Poe and Mary Ann Ebert “held at their comfortable residence” on 27 Dec 1888 in Georgetown, PA. I do not know the newspaper that published the information. The author of the article was John A Trimble, my great grandfather.
Mary and Jacob Poe Golden Wedding Anniversary 1888 (Anna L and John F Nash Collection)
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
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Last Thursday (6 Sep 2012), I spent another afternoon and early evening at the National Archives in DC. I reviewed the Certificates of Enrollment records (Record Group 41) from 3 Jan 1859 through 23 Dec 1862 (Volumes 6641-6644). Sadly, volumes 6643 and 6644 were water damaged. Their condition was disastrous. For many entries the ink was completely washed out and incomprehensible. I know not whether a conservator could recover the data. In addition to the ruined volumes, there was no volume for the year 1862. This catastrophe is a dreadful loss because the time frame extends through the period of the Civil War when approximately fifty percent of the civilian steamboats impressed or chartered for service on the western rivers by the US Army Quartermaster were built in the Pittsburgh region.
Enrollment Record in Volume 6643 (F Nash 6 Sep 2012)
Enrollment Record from Volume 6644 (Fnash 6 Sep 2012)
On a more positive note, I found two (2) new keel boats built by Georgetown rivermen. The last of these unexpected discoveries was built by HW Laughlin in Industry, PA and registered on 1 May 1861. This discovery should dispel some illusions that keel boats were quickly displaced by the technological superior steamboats. Low water was the spur of necessity that favored the keel boat to this late date.
Only twenty-eight volumes of the Certificates of Enrollment for Pittsburgh to review before my National Archives research will be complete. That said, since I last viewed the Vessel File (Record Group 92), I have discovered that I have doubled the number of steamboats from Georgetown. In addition to the Vessel File, I was pointed to the Index of Claims for the Army Quartermaster. There was an index entry for Thomas S Calhoon (str Horizon), but none for Thomas Poe or Jacob Poe (str Clara Poe). If time permits, I will also review the Preliminary Inventory of the Textual Records of the office of the Quartermaster general – Part 1 Vessel records.
The National Archives is a fascinating place to explore rare and monumental artifacts.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
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 have updated the page Georgetown Keel Boats including Certificate of Enrollment info from my trip to the National Archives on 2 Aug 2012. An impressive number of the boats build between 1846-1850 were built in Georgetown, PA along Nash Run. Registration was required for all vessels with a capacity rating of more than twenty tons. The capacity of these vessels ranged from 20 50/95 to 43 65/95 tons.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
It has been far too long since my last post. Trust me – it is not due to lack information.
Today ( Thu 2 Aug 2012), I spent the afternoon and early evening at the National Archives in DC. I am always amazed with the info I collect. Today I reviewed the Certificates of Enrollment records (Record Group 41) from 16 Mar 1846 through 24 Dec 1849 (Volumes 6629-6632). Some details about three steamboats in which my Georgetown guys were either principal owners or partners came into my knowledge. And fourteen (14) keel boats built by Georgetown rivermen.
Only thirty-two volumes to go to complete my research on certificates of enrollment. Sixteen books have been reviewed even though I have that uneasy feeling the I have missed important data, and so should redo them. By the way, since I last viewed the Vessel File (Record Group 92), I have discovered, I have doubled the number of known steamboats from Georgetown. One more day, or two, for the vessel file ?!?
One example of a terrific new find is the str New England. Until today, I had never seen any info in my inherited boxes to relate the str New England to Georgetown steamboat men. And, as you well know, I do stretch the thinest threads without shame.
According to Capt Way, the original principle owner and master of the str New England was Capt Samuel B Page. Capt Way also described the vessel as a sidewheeler, yet the Cert of Enrollment declared her wheel position at the stern. The str New England was a flagship departing Pittsburgh with soldiers bound for the Mexican War.
In Mar 1847, the str New England was purchased by Capt George W Ebert who operated the sidewheeler between Pittsburgh and Wheeling till 1849.
Str New England
| Owners and Partners | Share | Vol: | 6629 |
| Geo W Ebert | Enroll No : | 26 | |
| Jacob Poe | Cert Date: | 3 Mar 1847 | |
| Andrew Poe | Cert Type:: | Enrollment 180 | |
| Thomas Poe | Build Locn: | Pittsburgh, PA | |
| Wm J Kountz | Build Date: | 1844 | |
| David Wilkins | Master | GW Ebert |
Check out the owners of the str New England in 1847. Geo W Ebert was my great great grandfather; Jacob, Andrew and Thomas Poe were brothers and my great great granduncles. During the Civil War, William J Kountz declared that Gen US Grant was a “glorious drunk” who should be court marshalled. Grant arrested William J Kountz who was in charge of procuring river transportation for the war effort in the western theater. I do not know the relationship of David Wilkins to my Georgetown steamboat men.
No doubt that these Georgetown men were touched by history.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
Another day, another four Certificate of Enrollment books. I reviewed volumes 6637-6640 dating from 1 Jan 1855 to 31 Dec 1857 finding another steamboat with a connection to Georgetown, PA. Buried in the enrollment owners and partners listing were Jacob Poe, Thomas Poe, and George W Ebert. Together they had a 1/6 interest in the str Grand Turk.
Str Grand Turk
| Owners and Partners | Share | Vol: | 6637 |
| AB Gallatin | 1/3 | Enroll No : | 169 |
| (Jacob Poe, Thom Poe & GW Ebert) | 1/6 | Cert Date: | 23 Oct 1855 |
| H Miller | 1/16 | Cert Type:: | Enrollment 135 |
| Jas Matthews | 1/16 | Build Locn: | McKeesport, PA |
| Wm Evans | 2/16 | Build Date: | 1854 |
| Ed E Jones | 1/16 | ||
| James Jones | 2/16 | ||
| Sam Berry | 1/16 | ||
It is unknown whether the principal owner, AB Gallatin, was a relative of the famed politician Albert Gallatin who was a US Representative in western PA at the time of the Whiskey Rebellion and later served as Secretary of the Treasury during the Jefferson administration. During his time as secretary, Albert Gallatin helped plan the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The other names I do not recognize.
Findings like this new boat are the reason that I scan every page of every volume. No doubt I will miss some clues, but I hope to catch more than I miss.
Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
Sometime ago, I reviewed the Georgetown census data for 1860 and 1870 to determine whether the steamboat men of Georgetown prospered from their Civil War contracts. According to the census data, the steamboat captains had accumulated the greatest wealth of any residents of Georgetown. Comparing the value of real and personal property of the 1860 and 1870 data, showed that the relative position of the captains changed little. Thomas Poe amassed more wealth than his older brothers, Jacob and Adam. Their brother-in-law, George W Ebert, was in last place in the 1860 census. However, only George W Ebert’s wealth increased between 1860 and 1870. The wealth of the Poe brothers, Thomas, Jacob, and Adam, decreased by 30-45%.
The census analysis is available on the page Census Data Analysis.
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 |
I spent a couple of fun days in DC. BTW, the cherry blossoms are over. Sherron spent her time visiting museums and art galleries, and of course shopping in Georgetown. Together we did make time to observe the art display, “Suprasentorial”, on the Hirshorn Museum. And I do mean on the museum. The work was projected on the exterior walls of the museum – the entire surface – accompanied by many versions of the song “I only have eyes for you”. It shows dusk to midnight till the May 13. Quite impressive with Jupiter, Venus, and the moon aligned just above the museum from the sculpture garden.
While Sherron was touring, I was playing at the National Archives. I wanted to seriously review the Certificates of Enrollment from the Navigation Customhouse of Pittsburgh, PA (National Archive Records Administration Record Group 41). There are forty-nine (49) volumes covering the period between 5 Jan 1831 and 28 Jun 1901. I reviewed four volumes in two days. Do the math. It will takes a serious commitment of time to review all the records. Who is next the William M Lytle or Forrest R Holdcamper or Frederick Way, Jr character willing to dedicate a lifetime to compile this data from all the Customhouses into a modern data base application? Till that person is discovered I intend to put the Pittsburgh Customhouse data related to my Georgetown guys online so it will be available in at least two places.
At the National Archives, I learned some amazing stuff. For example, Georgetown river men continued to build keel boats through 1854. Jacob Poe built a keel boat named Big Foot in 1850. As you probably know, his brother Adam built the str Big Foot in 1875. The dimensions of the keel boat Big Foot were biblical. On the Certificate of Enrollment the length was 114 ft, breadth 17 feet 3 inches, and depth 1 foot 7 inches. Most of the Georgetown keel boats were rated between 25 and 50 tons. I intend to add keel boat data to my Xcel spreadsheet of steamboats and tugs.
In addition to the newly learned keel boat information, I discovered new Georgetown names associated with the river business. The Certs of Enrollment list the original owners which I intend to add to my steamer biographies. That process too will take some time.
In sum, two days of vacation has introduced an assortment of new information and generated the energy to develop the new topics.
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
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