The Capt Thomas Washington Poe biography was updated yet it still is incomplete. Information from the Certificates of Enrollment for his later steamboats will not be added until I have made time to review the appropriate volumes at The National Archives.
Copyright © 2014 Francis W Nash
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The str Senator Cordill has quite a history. According to Way’s packet directory, on 27 Jan 1903 the str Senator Cordill participated in the anniversary when the Yazoo River put Vicksburg back on the river. In 1920, str Senator Cordill was sold and put in the Pittsburgh Charleston trade. In 1929 str Senator Cordill was purchased by the Ohio River Transportation Co and put in the Pittsburgh Cincinnati trade. The following travel brochure indicates that the steamer had been “catering to tourists for six years” which means that the river tour document was issued between the years 1926-1929.
Str Senator Codill ca 1920 (Anna L and John F Nash Colleciton)
One of the points of historical interest was “the scene of the famous fight between Adam Poe and the Indian Big Foot”.
Capt Frederick Way Jr and Judy Nash in Georgetown, PA in 1971 (Anna L and John F Nash Collection)
Another reason this particular packet is important is that Frederick Way, Jr was its master-pilot in 1931 and pilot in 1932, 1933, and 1934. The str Senator Cordill sank in Dam 14 on 5 Feb 1934. The pilots at the time were Wilsie Miller and Fred Way, Jr. It was unclear who was at the wheel at the time of the incident.
Copyright © 2014 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
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
All Rights Reserved
In Jan 2012, Kevin Mahoney contacted me through GeorgetownSteamboats. His interest was the Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Packet Line. Specifically, he was interested in William (Capt Billy) Anderson, his great great grandfather. Thanks to Capt Benjamin M Laughlin, I have some unique information on the Pitt-Cin Packet Line. My information, however, pales in comparison to the Mahoney treasure-trove.
Str Virginia in cornfield in 1910 (courtesy of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County)
Capt Billy Anderson was the pilot of the str Virginia on 6 Mar 1910 - the night of the cornfield episode. One passenger wanted to debark at Willows Grove, WV. The passenger’s ticket represented a transaction of fifty cents. Pilot Billy Anderson argued that the stop was too dangerous with the high water; Capt Charles Knox convinced him to try. That night the str Virginia parked securely between cornstalks six hundred feet from the river channel. For six long months the str Virginia was aground – sitting high and dry on fertile soil. Robins built nests in the pilothouse; mudwasps constructed hives in the shelter of the decks. An archaeologist from the Ohio State Historical Society said the str Virginia was stuck on an Indian mound when artifacts were dug under the hull. A sad state for the proud str Virginia.
Mr Mahoney has family and steamboat photos and stories written by Capt Billy’s daughter. It is a bit of American history that should be made public.
Copyright © 2013 Francis W Nash
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Georgetown steamboat captains and owners littered the inland waterways with their steamboat wrecks. The boats lost on various inland rivers when owned by a Georgetown captain follow:
Missouri:
Georgetown (1855 snagged)
Amelia Poe (1868 snagged)
Ida Stockdale (1871 crushed by ice)
Feerless (1882 sunk)
Mississippi:
Glaucus (1852 fire)
Horizon (1862 CivWar collision)
Nick Wall (1870 snagged)
Glencoe (1877 snagged)
Ohio/Monongahela:
Belmont (1859 fire)
Mollie Ebert (1875 fire)
Cumberland:
Clara Poe (1865 CivWar arson)
Arkansas:
John B Gordon (1851 snagged)
Other boats once owned and operated by Georgetown men were lost, snagged or burned after they had been sold have not been added to the list.
Copyright © 2013 Francis W Nash
All Rights Reserved
Reading historical accounts of events that took place 150 years ago provides enjoyment. But not in a normal fun sense. These sesquicentennial histories are serious because they observe a celebration that commemorates the most turbulent era in our nation’s history. Somewhere in all this the contributions of steamboat men and their steamboats has been sadly overlooked.
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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George Washington Ebert was my great great grandfather. He was born 13 Aug 1810 and died in Georgetown, PA on 24 Apr 1879. Those were the years of great experiences and many great men. During his lifetime, GW Ebert established quite a record as a wide-ranging steamboat captain and owner. According to the Certificates of Enrollment for vessels more than 20 tons registered at the Port of Pittsburgh, GW Ebert was the principle owner of fifteen (15) packets and was a partner in eight (8) other boats owned by Georgetown men. My definition of “principle owner” is the person first named on the Certificate of Enrollment record for registration of the vessel. And I have not yet concluded my review of the Certificates of Enrollment for the Port of Pittsburgh. No doubt some data is missing due to water damage of early volumes and even worse because of lost or misplaced volumes. Even with incomplete data, the fragments pieced together paint an impressive picture.
Ebert Steamers
Date: 24 Mar 2013
| Packet Name | Build Date Way’s Directory | Original Primary Owner (Signed Cert of Enrollment) |
| Belfast | 1843 | George W Ebert |
| Bridgewater | 1843 | George W Ebert |
| New England | 1844 | George W Ebert |
| Hudson | 1846 | George W Ebert |
| Hibernia* | 1847 | George W Ebert |
| Glaucus | 1849 | George W Ebert |
| Washington City | 1852 | George W Ebert |
| Yorktown | 1853 | George W Ebert |
| Clifton | 1855 | George W Ebert |
| Belmont | 1856 | George W Ebert |
| Melnotte | 1856 | George W Ebert |
| Argyle | 1859 | George W Ebert |
| Kenton | 1860 | George W Ebert |
| Yorktown * | 1864 | George W Ebert |
| Mollie Ebert | 1869 | George W Ebert |
| Fairmont | 1837 | Jacob Poe |
| Financier | 1845 | Adam Poe |
| Pioneer | 1846 | Adam Poe |
| Euphrates | 1847 | Joseph MC Calhoon |
| Tuscarora | 1848 | Jacob Poe |
| Golden Gate | 1852 | Joseph MC Calhoon |
| Caledonia * | 1854 | Richard Calhoon |
| Grand Turk | 1854 | AB Galatin |
Note: The asterisk indicates the second boat with that name.
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
All Rights Reserved