Posts Tagged ‘katie stockdale’

Ironton-Lawrenceburg-Vevay

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

Proceeding on.

Ironton.  My interest in Ironton is the role Capt Thomas S Calhoon and his steamer, Katie Stockdale, played in the delivery of Ohio River relief between Pittsburgh and Ironton after the Flood of 1884.  Details of the relief effort are found in The Mercy Mission.   

 

Ironton was founded in 1849 by John Campbell, a noted pig iron manufacturer.  Until the nearby iron reserves played out and the demand for steel replaced iron, immense wealth was generated.  Many fine residences were built.  Unfortunately the floods of 1917 and 1937 plus the Great Depression devastated the city.

 

Today, I was pleasantly surprised by the buzz in Ironton.  It by far is the most vibrant river town I have passed through.  Its community leaders are obviously  implementing good policies.  It was pouring so I did not get out of my car nor did I talk to anyone.  Like Pt Pleasant, Ironton has a wall between the river and town.  It also has a railroad track and station along the river.  

 

Lawrenceburg.  In 1865 a cub pilot aged nineteen on the sidewheeler CT Dumont made two important trips to Lawrenceburg, IN from Parkersburg, WV.  The occasion the return of Union Soldiers from the Civil War battlefields.  The cub pilot was George WE Poe, the son of Jacob Poe

 

Like many of the other river towns, Lawrenceburg is 200 years old with an appealing main street missed by most highway travelers because of the by-pass.  Early in its history, Lawrenceburg was notorious from Pittsburgh to New Orleans for its sin and vice.  After the advent of steamboat commerce, its “Gamblers Row” grew quickly. 

 

Today Lawrenceburg was surprisingly busy.  Nice main street leading to the “Watch Walk” which is a stone levee and park.  Nice when the weather and  river stage permit.

 

Vevay.  The “Life on the Ohio River” Historical Museum in Vevay, IN was a fun stop.  Its primary connections to Georgetown, PA is the Billy Bryant Showboat and the str CT Dumont.  The Bryants were always guests of Charley Poe when they landed in Georgetown.  In fact the friendship was so strong Billy Bryant dedicated a chapter in his book to Charley Poe who he described as “one of the most fascinating River characters we have ever met”.  At age nineteen while learning the river between Pittsburgh and Louisville, George WE Poe was a cub pilot on the CT Dumont which ferried two crammed loads of returning Civil War soldiers to Lawrenceburg in April 1865. Charley Poe and George WE Poe were brothers.

 

Vevay is a now stilled community of simple businesses and beautiful homes.  It has a wonderful park along its waterfront.  Founded in 1802 by Swiss immigrants, Vevay claims to be the home of the first commercial winery in the US.  Today there is no significant industry to the best of my knowledge.

Luxury Packets

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

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)

Str Katie Stockdale (From the Collection of the UW La Crosse Murphy Library Special Collections)

 

Katie Stockdale          

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
 
 
 
Nat Eathart
J Harry Ollum
 
 
 
Mart F  Noll
 
 
 
 
Chas M Buchanan
 
 
 
 
Clark Barringer
 
 
 
 
Chas W Knox
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

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
 
Augustus Martindill
William Anderson
Thos Martin
Grant Paige
 
Karl Crawford
Dayton Randolph
Eugene Morris
 
 
J Presley Ellison
Chas Prall
 
 
 
AL Voeghtley
Ed McLaughlin
 
 
 
Daniel Lacey
 
 
 
 
Henry Best
 
 
 
 
Logan Noll
 
 
 
 
George Donally
 
 
 
 
William Barringer
 
 
 

 

 

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
 
Clayton Agnew
Ed McLaughlin
 
 
 
AL Voeghtley
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Virginia          

 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
 
Alfred Pennywit
Daniel Lacey
James Martin
 
 
 
George McCollough
William Anderson
 
 
 
Clayton Agnew
Dwight Hollister
 
 
 
Wm C Lepper
 
 
 
 
Clyde Packard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Queen City     

 Built 1897.
Sold before 1929.

Captain Clerk Pilot Mate Engineer
Thomas S Sandford
James Gardener
J Harry Ollum
 
George Knox
Robert R Agnew
Daniel Lacey
Philip Anshutz
 
Charles Paige
Arthur B Brown
Unk Chapman
Anthony Meldahl
 
CA Watson
J Presley Ellison
C Boyd Taylor
 
 
William Watson
John Sweeney
William R Barringer
 
 
 
 
AB Browne
 
 
 
 
Charles Howard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Flood of 1884

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

The Flood of 1884 brought vast devastation to the Ohio River Valley from Wheeling to Cairo.  The Katie Stockdale commanded by Capt Thomas S Calhoon participated in the relief effort between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.  His story is told on the page The Mercy Mission.

Capt Jackman T Stockdale

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

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:

http://www.themuseumofceramics.org/index.html

Capt Thomas S Calhoon

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Thomas Stevenson Calhoon was arguably the most famous Georgetown packet owner and captain.  His career was the longest.  He had probably as much experience on the Missouri as Capt Marsh Grant with whom he worked on the Ida Stockdale.  My biographical data for Thomas S Calhoon has just been added a page under Biographical Data and Tales.

 

Christmas Eve Dinner Invitation (Anna L Nash And John F Nash Collection)

Christmas Eve Dinner Invitation (Anna L Nash And John F Nash Collection)

This dinner invitation from the officers of the Katie Stockdale to the Jacob Poe family is an interesting piece of steamboat memorabilia.  The Katie Stockdale was built in 1877. Thomas S Calhoon celebrated his fiftieth birthday inn 1884.   Jacob died in 1891.  So the Christmas Eve surprise oyster dinner for Thomas S Calhoon took place between 1877 and 1890.  I am also surprised the Katie Stockdale was docked at Georgetown Landing so late in the year.

Oysters were an expensive delicacy, and …. they were eaten the year round. An ‘oyster express/ a light wagon loaded with live oysters imbedded in straw and kept moistened with salt water, made through trips from Baltimore to Pittsburgh. The horses were changed frequently, but the driver drove all night without stopping.  At Pittsburgh,  the oysters were transferred to swift boats and shipped to Cincinnati, where they were placed in tanks of salt water and corn meal and kept alive for months.” [1]

 

 

 

References.


[1]  Stanton C Crawford and Mary C Brown, Pittsburgh as Viewed from Down River, (Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, Vol 47, No 4, Oct 1964), p 306.