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Editor's note: The following is from an August 23, 1911 publication by C. Meech Woolsey, Thank you to Contributing Scholar George A. Thompson for finding, cataloging and transcribing this article. The language, spelling and grammar of the article reflects the time period when it was written. ANCIENT MILTON FERRY. (By C. Meech Woolsey.) Scraps of History and Tradition About an Early Enterprise. The early history of this ferry is all tradition. About 1740, there was a ferry established across the Hudson river from a point on the west side a half mile south of what is the present steamboat landing at Milton, to some point at, or near, what is now the Gill place, or at what was Barnegat. What kind of vessel was then used can not now be determined, but was supposed to have been a row or sail boat of some kind. It was adequate to carry wagons, teams, cattle, etc. The country that now comprises the towns of Marlborough and Plattekill and some lands on the south, was early settled by English people who had previously settled in what is now Westchester county and Long Island, and children of such settlers. After 1720 and up to revolutionary times, large numbers of settlers poured into this part of the country. They brought their families, teams, cattle, and all their worldly goods with them. They crossed from the east side to the west side of the river by means of this ferry. They also kept up intercourse for many years with those they had left behind. This, I think, is the reason the ferry was established so early. A means of crossing was needed, so they provided some rude vessel that would answer the purpose. After this early means of crossing was in operation, people naturally came here to use the ferry for miles up and down the river on either side. My great, great grandfather, Richard Woolsey, was among these early settlers. He was born at Bedford, Westchester county in 1697, came here when a young man and purchased an original patent of land, granted by Queen Anne, of several hundred acres lying adjoining this ferry on the south, parts of which lands are now owned by me. He and his descendants left numerous traditions about this boat. It was in use and used by Richard Woolsey up to the time of his death in 1777, and at that time was burned at Barnegat and brought over by this ferry. Nicholas Hallock, the oldest man in the town, says he well remembers when a child, hearing his great uncle Edward Hallock, and his grandfather, Hull tell about using this ferry and how it was built, the way it was entered, etc. I cannot find any charter for it, or who was the first owner. In our ancient town records of road districts for the year 1779, I find as follows: "Nathanial Marker's District, No.1. Beginning at Major DuBois's north line, runs to Zadock Lewis's house at the crossroad leading to the ferry." and also, "William Woolsey's District. No. 5. Beginning at Lattemores ferry at the river, running south of Jeremiah Beagles in Latting Town." Benoni Lattemore owned the ferry at this time and had been the owner for some years previously. Afterward and some time prior to 1789 Elijah Lewis owned it. He had a dock and also carried on business there. It was claimed at one time that T---lis Anthony [paper damaged] owned it, and before him by one Van Keuren. These last two owners resided on the east side of the river. It is referred to in a map of the post road south of Poughkeepsie made in 1798 as Lewis's ferry. On an ancient map dated 1797, made from the surveys and field book of Dr. Benjamin Eley, by Henry Livingstone, of Poughkeepsie, for Stephen Nottingham, supervisor of the town of Marlborough, it is set down as Powell's dock and ferry. Jacob and Thomas Powell, who had a store and tavern, ran this ferry and also a line of sloops to New York city that carried the wood, produce, etc., for the farmers for a wide extent of country, and brought back their supplies. The Powells were here several years. Thomas Powell afterwards and about 1800 moved to Newburgh, became very successful and acquired a large fortune. The steamers, Thomas Powell and Mary Powell were named after him and his wife. It has been claimed that his first money was made here by the ferry and his other enterprises. At a later date Benjamin Townsend ran this ferry and carried on business. I can find no mention of it after about 1810, and presume it was then discontinued, as none of the oldest inhabitants of this neighborhood can remember this ferry, though they have heard about it from their parents and grandparents. A ferry had been established at Poughkeepsie about 1798, as appears by an advertisement of a ferry (1798) in the Poughkeepsie Journal. "N. B. The Ferryes is now established upon a regular plan, and travelers to the westward will find it much to their convenience to cross, the river at the above place as it shortens their journey, and they may be sure they will meet with no detention." By 1810 the Barnegat lime business had commenced to decline and emigration from Westchester county and Long Island has ceased, so a great part of the usefulness of the ferry had gone by 1810. People journeyed by means of this ferry from Massachusetts and Connecticut to New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the west. During the revolution, continental soldiers crossed here to and from the eastern states; specie, currency and provisions for the army were also carried. Washington with his body guard or attendants is supposed to have crossed on this ferry on one occasion. All the description of the boat or vessel used as the ferry, that we have, is that it was a rude scow or barge of some kind with sails and oars which ran most of the time on signals. It could carry teams, cattle and passengers; and it was said that at times horses were tied behind and swam over. It was said to have been the same kind of a boat as the boat then running at Troy. It must have been a strong boat, for it made trips in stormy weather, but not during the season when ice was on the river. The sides would be let down, and it was entered in this way. There is no tradition that there ever was an accident or loss of life by means of the ferry. To be sure there must have been different boats at different times as the old ones wore out, but the description of all was about the same. Very little, if any, shelter was provided and it was only temporary when it was. In heavy storms the vessel lay at its dock. The landing on the east side of the river must have been in the vicinity of Barnegat or at least it landed there a part of the time, for the ferry carried quantities of lime and lime rock to this side. This was one of the supports of the ferry. The lime business at Barnegat was commenced soon after the close of the revolution, and it is claimed lime was burned there during the war or even before as people used lime from somewhere before that time all about here and the surrounding country. At least soon after the war we had lime kilns on the west side and they must have been started soon after those at Barnegat, as there has never been lime rocks about here, and the rock was brought over and burned here. I find in our ancient records in the laying out of a road. "A return of an open public road as follows: We, the commissioners for the town of Marlborough, in the year 1790, in the month of June. By a petition from the freeholders and inhabitants of said town for a public road or highway from Latting Town to Hudson river, have laid it out as follows: *** [sic] Said road is to extend four rods down the hill from the upper side of the road as it now runs down to Lewis lime kiln: the said road to go either side of said Elijah Lewis's dwelling house wherever it shall be thought most convenient for the good of the publick, down to low water mark to extend four rods up and four rods down the river from the lime kiln. ***" [sic] The Powells also had lime kilns. Quimby, Anning Smith and others. The stones for these kilns came from Barnegat. By the map of Dr. Benjamin Eley and Henry Livingston, above referred to, there are designated on the map 20 limekilns at Barnegat. I cannot find that a company owned them. Barnegat had a store, a schoolhouse and a Church or else preaching was held in the schoolhouse. A Methodist exhorter from here held services there. ln an ancient Gazetteer of the state, I find as follows: "Marlborough, a small township in southeast corner of Ulster county. on the west shore of the Hudson, opposite Barnegat." There was maintained at one time an efficient company of militia. It was said that during navigation there was hardly a time that one or more sloops were not there loading lime: and at one time a line of sloops carried the lime rock from there to New Brunswick, New Jersey, to burn there. Tom Gill and his father burned lime there. One kiln was near their house. There is a tradition here about the Gills. It is that when Vaughn went up the river, a corporal and two of the men were sent ashore in a rowboat to burn the mill on the site of the present mill. The then owner begged them to spare the mill, and said to the corporal whose name turned out to be Gill, that if he would not burn the mill, he could come back and marry his daughter after the war, at the same time pointing out an attractive young girl. It appears that the corporal, to deceive the soldiers on the vessel, burned some old buildings about there, and many years afterward the old mill was torn down, and the present mill erected. The old mill, in the account given by General Clinton, is called Buren's mills. But this is wrong as I cannot find that Van Buren ever owned it, but it was owned by one Van Keueren. The old mill was spared, and the corporal afterward returned, married the girl and became the owner of the property. It is claimed to this day that he was the father of Tom Gill who died fifty or sixty years ago. There were two roads leading to Barnegat, one from a southerly direction and one from an easterly or northeasterly direction which were used as such years before any roads about there were regularly laid out. When a child I had heard old men about here telling of having worked at these kilns and crossing with the ferry when they were young. They received $1 a day which at that time was considered princely pay, and such work was then sought for; farm laborers then receiving 50 cents or less a day. Lime carried by this ferry was drawn and used not only in the towns of Marlborough and Plattekill. but in the towns of Paltz, Shawangunk and what is now Gardiner. Numerous houses all over these towns are still standing that were built with Barnegat lime. The tradition is that the lime was considered a very superior quality, but the rock was either worked out or a better article found elsewhere, as for many years no lime has been produced there. The roads on both sides of the river were used as highways at least fifty years before they were laid out and recorded by the highway commissioners. There is a tradition about another ferry which I can not reconcile. It is that in 1777 when Gen. Vaughn's expedition went up the river, Samuel Hallock, the old Quaker minister went out in a row boat to meet the fleet, and when taken on the flagship said to Vaughn that he was a non-combatant, a Quaker, and was opposed to the war, and at the same time pointed out to the General his ferry boat along the shore. Vaughn gave orders not to disturb the Quaker or his boat, and the vessel was saved. But Hallock may have had this ferry as this was in 1777, and we have seen that Lattimer had the ferry in 1779. It is possible that it may have been a boat used for some other purpose, but was always spoken of as a ferry boat in the traditions. Hallock at this time owned Brushes Landing, afterwards Sands Dock, and he most likely carried on business from there. At the dock from which the ferry ran there was an ancient stone house, almost a fort, as the walls were so thick and strong. It was made for a store, tavern, freight house, etc. It was torn down when the West Shore railroad took the land. There was quite a history and many traditions about this old house. There had previously been a house on the same site and other buildings about there, In March 1849, the Milton ferry was established by Captain Sears. It ran from just at the dock at Milton to the Gill dock. Sears ran the ferry for three years and then sold to Jacob Handley who conducted it until about 1862. The boat used had for its motive power four mules, who turned a tread wheel for the power. It run regularly and was a great convenience to the entire neighborhood, and for miles back in the country on this side. It was the regular route to Poughkeepsie, and to the Milton ferry, the station on the Hudson river road. It also carried the mails. At one time the Gills through whose lands the road leading from the ferry and the railroad station to the post road led, attempted to close it claiming it was a private road, but it was afterward arranged by them or the town authorities so that it was continued as a public road. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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As a boy I grew up in Port Ewen, a village south of Kingston. I remember the "Skillypot" as an almost square, rectangular-shaped, steam-driven chain ferry that ran on the Rondout Creek between Rondout (part of Kingston) and the hamlet of Sleightsburg. The ferry pulled herself back and forth across the creek on a chain which rolled up on a drum in her hold. Her formal name was "Riverside" but no one ever called her that. She was universally called the "Skillypot" (a Dutch derivative meaning "turtle") and a lot of other names as well, the kindest of which was "Otherside" by those who had just missed connections. The Skillypot was a relic of the foot passenger and horse and wagon era. She was placed in service in 1870 and ran without interruption, except for periodic maintenance and repairs, until 1922 when the present suspension bridge carrying Route 9-W over the Rondout Creek was opened to traffic. From the time automobiles came into general use until the Skillypot stopped running in Oct., 1922, she was a source of anger and frustration to those vacationing motorists who travelled northward on Route 9-W on holiday weekends and came to a halt somewhere south of the Rondout Creek in a growing line of autos waiting to cross on the ferry. Because the Skillypot could only carry about four cars, the backup was usually considerable and meant a long wait for most of those in line. There was a small iron bridge across the Rondout, upstream from Kingston, at a place called Eddyville. But few, if any, of the waiting drivers knew of this crossing. The situation was made to order for any enterprising boys of the area who worked the waiting line of autos offering to show their drivers a detour across the creek for a fee, usually a quarter or half-dollar. The procedure, when hired, was to ride the running board of the car and direct the drive "around the mountain" to Eddyville, over the bridge and back to the ferry slip in Rondout. The trip back to the ferry took the unsuspecting motorist a bit out of the way but it got the boy guide back to the ferry – which he then boarded, crossed to Sleightsburg for the two-cent passenger fare and started the procedure all over again. The Skillypot was unique and served a real purpose for a long time. But she didn't fit into the 20th century and when she finally stopped running I doubt if there were any who mourned her passing. AuthorWilliam E. Tinney's article was published in the Albany (NY) Times-Union on July 20, 1975 as part of the "I remember .." series. "Times-Union Editor's Note: Ten dollars will be paid for each I Remember published of the 1920s through 1950s." If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Editor's note: The following is from the Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman, July 31, 1905, Thank you to Contributing Scholar George A. Thompson for finding, cataloging and transcribing this article. The language, spelling and grammar of the article reflects the time period when it was written. The Nautical Gazette says: One of the oldest pilots actively engaged in steamboating today is Captain James P. Ackley, who daily steers the Hudson River ferryboat "Brinkerhoff" on her trips between Poughkeepsie and Highland. Captain Ackley is 77 years of age, and has been in the boating business for sixty-five years. His first experience was on the sloop "Judge Swift", owned by the late Captain William Roberts. Following this he was pilot on some of the famous early-time Hudson river sloops, such as the "Westchester," "Deep River", "Alfred Richards" and others. Captain Ackley was first mate on the "Matthew Vassar" when that vessel made trips to Virginia for wood which was burned on the Hudson River rail-road instead of coal. The "Matthew Vassar" also made one trip to Bermuda during the Mexican war with a cargo of merchandise. This was Captain Ackley's last trip on her. Upon her return the gold excitement was at its height in California and the sloop was sold to a stock company of Poughkeepsians, who loaded her with a cargo of merchandise for the gold mines. This enterprise proved a failure financially. Captain Ackley was mate on the well known schooner "Oliver H. Booth". He was on her in Hampton Roads when Virginia seceded. When the crew heard the news all hands the crew heard the news all hands hastened to get out of their dangerous predicament. They took French leave, setting sail at midnight and finally got back to Poughkeepsie after several exciting adventures. The last interesting sloop of which Captain Ackley was master was the old "Surprise", owned by M, Vassar & Company. Her last cargo was in part the old cannon and cannon balls that now adorn the grounds around the soldiers' fountain, Poughkeepsie. The first steamboat Captain Ackley piloted was the "Fairfield", one of the original excursion boats to Coney Island, which made two trips a day from New York. It was the only boat running on this route at that time and had ample accommodations for all traffic. Just after the breaking out of the civil war Captain Ackley was pilot on the steamboat "H. S. Allison", which carried soldiers from Hart's Island to New York. From this boat Captain Ackley went with the Hudson river towing lines. They paid better wages than were offered on passenger boats. For nineteen years he was pilot on the largest towboats in the world, including the "Vanderbilt" and "Connecticut". He made a record in 1887 which has never been surpassed, that of towing 117 loaded boats in one tow from Albany to New York. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Editor’s Note: The following text is a verbatim transcription of an article featuring stories by Captain William O. Benson (1911-1986). Beginning in 1971, Benson, a retired tugboat captain, reminisced about his 40 years on the Hudson River in a regular column for the Kingston (NY) Freeman’s Sunday Tempo magazine. Captain Benson's articles were compiled and transcribed by HRMM Contributing Scholar Carl Mayer. This article was originally published July 17, 1977. In the long ago days of Hudson River steamboating, almost every city and larger village along the river had its own steamboat line to New York. Each line would have at least two boats to maintain daily service —each boat going down one day and back the next. The steamers of the lines north of Newburgh were known as night boats, since they usually departed in the late afternoon or early evening and arrived at their destination in the early morning. All would carry freight on their main decks, and on the deck above were staterooms which offered sleeping accommodations for passengers. Generally, travelling on the night boats was an extremely pleasant way to make a journey to or from New York. The river was always attractive in the evening and almost always one could count on a good night's sleep. The exceptions were when the steamer ran into fog and the pilot had to blow the boat's whistle, or if one had a stateroom right next to the paddle wheels. Saugerties was one of those towns that had its own steamboat service. The company's name was the Saugerties and New York Steamboat Company and it was operated by mostly hometown men. During its last 20 years or so of service it was promoted (and known) to the travelling public as the Saugerties Evening Line. Shortly after World War I, the outfit had two small, smart sidewheelers named Ulster and Ida. On one particular trip the Ulster left Pier 43, North river, in New York at her regular time. She had freight for all her landings, which in those days were at Hyde Park, Rhinecliff, Barrytown, Ulster Landing and Tivoli. She ended her journey at Saugerties. Most of her staterooms were also occupied. She made very good time until she reached Crum Elbow, just south of Hyde Park, when it started to get foggy. At the time, she was overtaking the Catskill Line freighter Storm King. Of course, the fog signals had to be sounded on both steamers. A Cornell tow was also on its way down the river, blowing the one-long-and-two-short whistle signal indicating they had a tow underway. The helper tug back on the tow, as a matter of courtesy, was also blowing its whistle, since it was back a good 500 feet from the towing tug. What a racket of steam whistles that must have been in those early morning hours off Hyde Park! I suppose Franklin D. Roosevelt, if he was at home, the Vanderbilts and the great naturalist John Burroughs were awakened by all those steamboat whistles. Then, on top of all that, the big night boats out of Albany and Troy came along, sounding their whistles in the fog. The passengers on the Ulster sure had a tough time trying to sleep. Some were up complaining about all the whistling. Others just stayed in their staterooms and put up with it. Then, a short while later after things got reasonably quiet again, came the landing at Rhinecliff with the organized confusion of unloading freight. There would be the sound of the hand freight trucks going on and off the gangplank, and the mate sounding off to the freight handlers to get the freight off so they could get out on time. After leaving Rhinecliff, all was serene for a few moments except for the periodic blowing of the fog signal. However, off Astor's tunnel they met a canal tow which was crossways in the channel and this caused more whistle blowing. After the tow was cleared came the landing at Barrytown with the noise of the freight trucks and an argument between two freight handlers, which was brought to a stop by the authoritarian voice of the mate. The Ulster then headed across the river to Ulster Landing. As was the custom on the night boats, a hallman would knock on the door of the stateroom of a passenger getting off at a particular landing about 10 minutes before docking, and announce the landing. Sometimes, a passenger would have to listen pretty closely, for some of the hallmen were like some of the conductors on the old West Shore Railroad — they had an odd way of pronouncing the names of the stations or landings. In any event, the hallman knocked on the door of the stateroom of an Ulster Landing passenger and called out, "Ulster Landing, Ulster Landing." A lady passenger bound for Saugerties, in a stateroom or two away, also heard the knocking and the announcement "Ulster Landing." After all the whistle blowing since Hyde Park and the noise at Rhinecliff and Barrytown, she in all probability had been sleeping fitfully and in her half-awake state thought the knock was at her door. When the lady heard the announcement "Ulster Landing," she may have reasoned that she was on the Ulster, and if the steamer was landing it was time to get off. In any event, she got up, got dressed and when the steamer ghosted through the fog. into the dock at Ulster Landing, she was at the gangway. As soon as the gangplank was put out, she walked ashore. There was very little freight for Ulster Landing, so the gangplank was taken in and the Ulster was on her way for Tivoli in but a few moments. As the steamer disappeared into the fog, it must have come as a rude shock to the lady to find herself virtually alone on a river dock before dawn. It sure wasn't Saugerties! After the Ulster left the dock, there was only one kerosene lantern for light and everything was so dark and still. The only other person around was the dockmaster who was an elderly man and very hard of hearing. He got all shook up with this well dressed lady alone in the freight shed. Finally, she got him to understand the mistake she had made. The dockmaster then got a chair for her to sit in until daylight, when he got a friend of his with a horse and wagon to take her on to Saugerties. I often wondered if she ever made the trip to Saugerties again by steamboat. AuthorCaptain William Odell Benson was a life-long resident of Sleightsburgh, N.Y., where he was born on March 17, 1911, the son of the late Albert and Ida Olson Benson. He served as captain of Callanan Company tugs including Peter Callanan, and Callanan No. 1 and was an early member of the Hudson River Maritime Museum. He retained, and shared, lifelong memories of incidents and anecdotes along the Hudson River. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Editor's note: The following article was originally published in Harper's Weekly, June 13, 1885. Thanks to Contributing Scholar George A. Thompson for finding, cataloging and transcribing this article. The language, spelling and grammar of the article reflects the time period when it was written. CANOEISTS ON THE HUDSON. A chronic case of the canoeing fever sends its victim early into camp, which explains the long line of tents by day and fires by night that last week greeted the eyes of early Hudson River tourists along the beach at Plum Point. This promontory is midway between Newburgh and Cornwall—a curving reach of shingle, well lined with the flood-wood essential to al fresco comfort, well shaded by the trees that grow on the forgotten ramparts of Fort Mackin—a Revolutionary relic, and commanding an altogether charming outlook down the northern gateway of the Highlands. Hither, on invitation of the “Dock Rats,” as the Newburgh Canoe Club styles itself, came the Hudson River clubs for their spring “meet.” There were the New York, Knickerbocker, and Brooklyn clubs from salt-water, the Shattemucs from Sing Sing, the “Dock Rats” aforesaid, the Mohicans from Albany, the Rondout clubs, and numerous unattached canoeists from everywhere alongshore. This year interest centered upon a new model, the “Sunbeam,” by Everson, of Brooklyn, which, it is believed, combines the best features of all the famous models that have gone before. She differs from her favorite predecessor, the “Shadow,” in having greater depth, no “tumble-home” of sides, less rake to stern-post, a straighter stem, a somewhat fuller, but still very fine, entrance, and greater breadth aft. The length is fifteen feet and breadth thirty inches. The mainmast is stepped twenty inches from the bow, a folding centre board is provided, and the usual water-tight compartments and fittings are constructed with an eye to the best results. The favorite rig is generally known as the “Mohican,” though, as is often the case in great inventions, many of its features had been simultaneously devised and used by another experimenter. It is in effect a happy combination of the well-known lug and lateen rigs. The leading canoes, as shown in the illustration, carry this rig. Mr. Vaux has this spring father improved upon it in the rig of his Sea Bee, a canoe of the new Everson model. In this the spars are all of the same length, facilitating stowage, and securing at once the advantage of a moderately high peak, with a wide spread of canvas well aloft. Mr. Vaux has also improved the set of his sails by having them cut so that the whole after “leach” is selvedge, the seams running parallel to it throughout. Two sets of sails have been made in this way for canoes of the “Sunbeam” type, and both have already shown first-rate qualities on all points of the wind. In the sailing races at Plum Point the wind was extremely baffling. The first race started with a fine breeze, the boats getting away well together, as our artist has shown, affording a sight dear to the canoeist's heart as they stood over toward the eastern shore. The second stake-boat was well up the river, and the wind fell away to a calm, varied by fitful cat's-paws, so that the last half of the affair called for a combination of luck and seamanship that left it any one's race till the finish, when everybody not personally interested was glad to see Mr. Gibson with Snake come in a winner. In the second race the programme was reversed. The start was hardly a start at all, owing to lack of wind, but midway of the race the river craft were seen booming up through the Highlands wing-and-wing. They brought the wind with them, and the racers were presently staggering under all they could carry. Mr. Whitlock's Guerm, with her enormous lug mainsail, was half a mile to the fore at the finish, and the rest of the fleet was all over the river, having drifted in all directions during the calm. A picturesque feature of the modern canoe is the barbaric fashion adopted by the original Indian canoeist of painting a “totem” or device of some sort on the sail. Thus the Mohicans carry a turtle, and General Oliver's Marion has in addition a little one in bronze posted on the bow of his boat. A dock-rat “rampant,” a muscalonge, a sea-horse, and so on, are among the devices adopted by the various clubs, and these, with the registration number of the canoe in large figures, as required by the rules of the American Canoe Association, lend a kaleidoscopic effect to a fleet under sail. The increasing interest in canoeing was evinced by the attendance of many spectators, including a number of ladies, who, in spite of rain, actual and threatened, inspected the camp, and curiously watched the proceedings; and one—a pretty girl she was—sat unconsciously for her portrait, gracefully wielding a double-bladed paddle while she watched the racers dash off before the short-lived breeze. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Editor's note: The following excerpts are from "A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from American Slavery" published 1838. Thank you to Contributing Scholar George A. Thompson for finding, cataloging and transcribing these excerpts. The language, spelling and grammar of the article reflects the time period when it was written. Learn more about Moses Roper here ![]() Moses Roper (c. 1815 – April 15, 1891) was an African American abolitionist, author and orator. He wrote an influential narrative of his enslavement in the United States in his Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper from American Slavery and gave thousands of lectures in Great Britain and Ireland to inform the European public about the brutality of American slavery. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Roper At that time, I had scarcely any money, and lived upon fruit, so I returned to Albany, where I could get no work, as I could not show the recommendations I possessed, which were only from slave states, and I did not wish any one to know I came from them. After a time, I went up the western canal as steward in one of the boats. When I had gone about 350 miles up the canal, I found I was going too much towards the slave states, in consequence of which, I returned to Albany, and went up the northern canal, into one of the New England states-Vermont. The distance I had travelled, including the 350 miles I had to return from the west, and the 100 to Vermont, was 2,300 miles. When I reached Vermont, I found the people very hospitable and kind; they seemed opposed to slavery, so I told them, I was a run-away slave. I hired myself to a firm in Sudbury. After I had been in Sudbury some time, the neighboring farmers told me that I had hired myself for much less money than I ought. I mentioned it to my employers, who were very angry about it; I was advised to leave by some of the people round, who thought the gentlemen I was with would write to my former master, informing him where I was, and obtain the reward fixed upon me. Fearing I should be taken, I immediately left and went into the town of Ludlow, where I met with a kind friend, Mr. _______who sent me to school for several weeks. At this time, I was advertised in the papers and was obliged to leave; I went a little way out of Ludlow to a retired place, and lived two weeks with a Mr. ________ deacon of a church at Ludlow; at this place, I could have obtained education, had it been safe to have remained. [Author's note: It would not be proper to mention any names, as a person in any of the States in America found harboring a slave, would have to pay a very heavy fine. ] From there I went to New Hampshire, where I was not safe, so went to Boston, Massachusetts, with the hope of returning to Ludlow, to which place I was much attached. At Boston, I met with a friend who kept a shop, and took me to assist him for several weeks. Here I did not consider myself safe, as persons from all parts of the country were continually coming to the shop, and I feared some might come who knew me. I now had my head shaved and bought a wig, and engaged myself to a Mr. Perkins of Brookline, three miles from Boston, where I remained about a month. Some of the family discovered that I wore a wig, and said that I was a run-away slave, but the neighbors all round thought I was a white, to prove which, I have a document in my possession to call me to military duty. The law is, that no slave or colored person performs this, but every other person in America of the age of twenty-one is called upon to perform military duty, once or twice in the year, or pay a fine. COPY OF THE DOCUMENT. "Mr. Moses Roper, You being duly enrolled as a soldier in the company, under the command of Captain Benjamin Bradley, are hereby notified and ordered to appear at the Town House in Brookline, on Friday, 28th instant, at 3 o'clock P. M., for the purpose of filling the vacancy in said Company, occasioned by the promotion of Lieut. Nathaniel M. Weeks, and of filling any other vacancy which may then and there occur in said Company, and there wait further orders. By order of the Captain, E. P. WENTWORTH, Clerk." Brookline, Aug. 14th, 1835."* I then returned to the city of Boston, to the shop were I was before. Several weeks after I had returned to my situation two colored men informed me that a gentleman had been inquiring for a person whom, from the description, I knew to be myself, and offered them a considerable sum if they would disclose my place of abode; but they being much opposed to slavery, came and told me, upon which information I secreted myself till I could get off. I went into the Green mountains for several weeks, from thence to the city of New York, and remained in secret several days, till I heard of a ship, the "Napoleon", sailing to England, and on the 11th of November, 1835, I sailed, taking with me letters of recommendation to the Rev. Drs. Morison and Raffles, and the Rev. Alex. Fletcher. The time I first started from slavery was in July, 1834, so that I was nearly sixteen months in making my escape. On the 29th of November, 1835, I reached Liverpool, and my feelings when I first touched the shores of Britain were indescribable, and can only be properly understood by those who have escaped from the cruel bondage of slavery. When I reached Liverpool, I proceeded to Dr. Raffles, and handed my letters of recommendation to him. He received me very kindly, and introduced me to a member of his church, with whom I stayed the night. Here I met with the greatest attention and kindness. The next day, I went on to Manchester, where I met with many kind friends, among others Mr. Adshead, a hosier of that town, to whom I desire, through this medium, to return my most sincere thanks for the many great services which he rendered me, adding both to my spiritual and temporal comfort. I would not, however, forget to remember here, Mr. Leese, Mr. Childs, Mr. Crewdson, and Mr. Clare, the latter of whom gave me a letter to Mr. Scoble, the Secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society. I remained here several days, and then proceeded to London, December 12th, 1835, and immediately called on Mr. Scoble, to whom I delivered my letter; this gentleman procured me a lodging. I then lost no time in delivering my letters to Dr. Morison and the Rev. Alexander Fletcher, who received me with the greatest kindness, and shortly after this Dr. Morison sent my letter from New York, with another from himself, to the Patriot newspaper, in which he kindly implored the sympathy of the public in my behalf. The appeal was read by Mr. Christopherson, a member of Dr. Morison's church, of which gentleman I express but little of my feelings and gratitude, when I say that throughout he has been towards me a parent, and for whose tenderness and sympathy I desire ever to feel that attachment which I do not know how to express. I stayed at his house several weeks, being treated as one of the family. The appeal in the Patriot, referred to getting a suitable academy for me, which the Rev. Dr. Cox recommended at Hackney, where I remained half a year, going through the rudiments of an English education. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Editor's note: The following excerpts are from "A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from American Slavery" published 1838. Thank you to Contributing Scholar George A. Thompson for finding, cataloging and transcribing these excerpts. The language, spelling and grammar of the article reflects the time period when it was written. Learn more about Moses Roper here ![]() Moses Roper (c. 1815 – April 15, 1891) was an African American abolitionist, author and orator. He wrote an influential narrative of his enslavement in the United States in his Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper from American Slavery and gave thousands of lectures in Great Britain and Ireland to inform the European public about the brutality of American slavery. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Roper Fearing the "Fox" would not sail before I should be seized, I deserted her, and went on board a brig sailing to Providence, that was towed out by a steamboat, and got thirty miles from Savannah. During this time I endeavored to persuade the steward to take me as an assistant, and hoped to have accomplished my purpose; but the captain had observed me attentively, and thought I was a slave, he therefore ordered me, when the steamboat was sent back, to go on board her to Savannah, as the fine for taking a slave from that city to any of the free states is five hundred dollars. I reluctantly went back to Savannah, among slaveholders and slaves. My mind was in a sad state; and I was under strong temptation to throw myself into the river. I had deserted the schooner "Fox", and knew that the captain might put me into prison till the vessel was ready to sail; if this had happened, and my master had come to the jail in search of me, I must have gone back to slavery. But when I reached the docks at Savannah, the first person I met was the captain of the "Fox", looking for another steward in my place. He was a very kind man, belonging to the free states, and inquired if I would go back to his vessel. This usage was very different to what I expected, and I gladly accepted his offer. This captain did not know that I was a slave. In about two days we sailed from Savannah for New York. I am (August, 1834) unable to express the joy I now felt. I never was at sea before, and, after I had been out about an hour, was taken with sea-sickness, which continued five days. I was scarcely able to stand up, and one of the sailors was obliged to take my place. The captain was very kind to me all this time; but even after I recovered, I was not sufficiently well to do my duty properly, and could not give satisfaction to the sailors, who swore at me, and asked me why I shipped, as I was not used to the sea. We had a very quick passage; and in six days, after leaving Savannah, we were in the harbor at Staten Island, where the vessel was quarantined for two days, six miles from New York. The captain went to the city, but left me aboard with the sailors, who had most of them been brought up in the slaveholding states, and were very cruel One of the sailors was particularly angry with me because he had to perform the duties of my place; and while the captain was in the city, the sailors called me to the fore-hatch, where they said they would treat me. I went, and while I was talking, they threw a rope round my neck and nearly choked me. The blood streamed from my nose profusely. They also took up ropes with large knots, and knocked me over the head. They said I was a negro; they despised me; and I expected they would have thrown me into the water. When we arrived at the city these men, who had so ill treated me, ran away that they might escape the punishment which would otherwise have been inflicted on them. When I arrived in the city of New York, I thought I was free; but learned I was not, and could be taken there. I went out into the country several miles, and tried to get employment, but failed, as I had no recommendation. I then returned to New York; but finding the same difficulty there to get work, as in the country, I went back to the vessel, which was to sail eighty miles up the Hudson River, to Poughkeepsie. When I arrived, I obtained employment at an inn, and after I had been there about two days, was seized with the cholera, which was at that place. The complaint was, without doubt, brought on by my having subsisted on fruit only, for several days, while I was in the slave states. The landlord of the inn came to me when I was in bed, suffering violently from cholera, and told me he knew I had that complaint, and as it had never been in his house, I could not stop there any longer. No one would enter my room, except a young lady, who appeared very pious and amiable, and had visited persons with the cholera. She immediately procured me some medicine at her own expense and administered it herself; and, whilst I was groaning with agony, the landlord came up and ordered me out of the house directly. Most of the persons in Poughkeepsie had retired for the night, and I lay under a shed on some cotton bales. The medicine relieved me, having been given so promptly, and next morning I went from the shed and laid on the banks of the river below the city. Towards evening, I felt much better, and went on in a steamboat to the city of Albany, about eighty miles. When I reached there, I went into the country, and tried for three or four days to procure employment, but failed.. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Editor's note: The following excerpts are from the Rockland County Messenger, January 4, 1894. Thank you to Contributing Scholar George A. Thompson for finding, cataloging and transcribing this article. The language, spelling and grammar of the article reflects the time period when it was written. THE MODEL OF A SHIP BUILT FROM BLOCKS OF WOOD AFTER DRAWINGS ON PAPER. Some of the Details of a Very Interesting Operation as Told by a Famous Constructor - England Behind the Other Leading Nations Until Recently. Who would ever have imagined that a great ship — a modern wonder of the sea like the Paris or the Camperdown — is built as a woman makes a dress or a tailor cuts out a suit of clothes? That is the fact. Ships nowadays are built from patterns, and those patterns do not greatly differ in appearance or in fact from those which enable American women to copy the fashion in dress. To be sure, a tailor's and dressmaker’s patterns are made of paper and are laid upon cloth or dress goods, while a shipbuilder's patterns are of wood, and steel and iron are made to follow them. That is perhaps the greatest difference between the methods of high grade tailoring and high grade shipbuilding, so far as their first steps go. The English have only lately begun to value the model as the basis of shipbuilding. A famous American shipbuilder says that the model of the yacht America was the first model he ever saw in England. That accounts for the absence of beauty in English ships, which even to this day possess varying degrees of ugliness, but no beauty. For, though they make models today, the mere making of them does not suffice. The art and appreciation of model making must be instinctive. The French and Spanish from the earliest times made beautiful ships and models, and when one of these ships fell into the hands of the English they adopted and used her if possible, or if she was too much damaged they took her apart, piece by piece, and built a new ship like her by copying the exact shape of each part of her in new material. Curiously enough, we Americans have always made beautiful ships — well proportioned, artistic in every line, while satisfactory in an equal degree for all practical purposes. A model is made in a way that seems queer to the average layman, who doubtless suspected that it was whittled into shape out of a block of wood, as we boys used to whittle our blocks at the age when all of us were shipbuilders. It is not done so. After an order has been received for a certain kind of ship the plans of it are drawn upon paper. Mr. Lewis Nixon, the famous constructor for the Cramps, tells me that very early in the process he makes a picture of the ship as he wants it to look, but though he does so others may not consider it essential. At all events, apart from any drawing, the needed dimensions and lines are developed upon paper, and then the model is made, and the president of the company begins to take very active interest in the work. The model is made in the shape of a block, formed of a number of pieces of wood glued together. These pieces represent the different curves of one side of the ship, from the keel to the gunwale — the different water lines is how the builders express it. To understand this the-reader most imagine a ship made of solid wood. Imagine that cut in half lengthwise, and then imagine one half laid on its side and cut into slices. ![]() The pen and ink calculations and plans produce the shape of the ship, and from these it is possible to obtain the outline and dimensions of every slice or plane between the bottom and the top. Each plane is measured and drawn in outline on a board, and the outline is word unclear] or cut in the board with a [word unclear] tool. All the boards or pieces of wood are then glued together, and a simple looking block is made — a block that shows nothing of its true nature except that the top of it bears the graven outline of the top deck or gunwale line of a ship. Out of that simple square block will come the egg which is to hatch the splendid ship that is to be. That block, made up of slices, each with its dented outline of a different plane of the ship, is now cut away, much as we boys used to cut our block, but with this difference: Each board is cut exactly to the dented or graven line upon its surface. The shape the block will have when all the superfluous wood is cut away will be the model of the ship that was designed by the engineer on paper to fill the requirements of the customer’s order, but will that model stand? Will the master builder be satisfied with its lines? Will it do to be enlarged in steel and sent around the world as an example of what the Cramps consider the most beautiful and artistic and useful shape such a ship should have? No. Such a first model next to never suits the modeler, who in this case is Mr. Charles H. Cramp. He hacks into it with fervor. He tapers the bow. He digs away the stern. He shaves the whole model with the nice and dainty touches of a sculptor at work upon a statue on which is to rest his boast that he is a true artist. The fate of the wooden block alters the figures of the engineer’s plans. Perhaps the alteration is such that new drawings and a new model follow. Thus, by borrowing and lending, the two soon agree, and upon the two — the model and the plans — the ship will be built. Sometimes a model is on the scale of a quarter of an inch to each foot of the ship, but the scale differs with different builders. ![]() The pen and ink calculations and plans produce the shape of the ship, and from these it is possible to obtain the outline and dimensions of every slice or plane between the bottom and the top. Each plane is measured and drawn in outline on a board, and the outline is word unclear] or cut in the board with a [word unclear] tool. All the boards or pieces of wood are then glued together, and a simple looking block is made — a block that shows nothing of its true nature except that the top of it bears the graven outline of the top deck or gunwale line of a ship. Out of that simple square block will come the egg which is to hatch the splendid ship that is to be. That block, made up of slices, each with its dented outline of a different plane of the ship, is now cut away, much as we boys used to cut our block, but with this difference: Each board is cut exactly to the dented or graven line upon its surface. The shape the block will have when all the superfluous wood is cut away will be the model of the ship that was designed by the engineer on paper to fill the requirements of the customer’s order, but will that model stand? Will the master builder be satisfied with its lines? Will it do to be enlarged in steel and sent around the world as an example of what the Cramps consider the most beautiful and artistic and useful shape such a ship should have? No. Such a first model next to never suits the modeler, who in this case is Mr. Charles H. Cramp. He hacks into it with fervor. He tapers the bow. He digs away the stern. He shaves the whole model with the nice and dainty touches of a sculptor at work upon a statue on which is to rest his boast that he is a true artist. The fate of the wooden block alters the figures of the engineer’s plans. Perhaps the alteration is such that new drawings and a new model follow. Thus, by borrowing and lending, the two soon agree, and upon the two — the model and the plans — the ship will be built. Sometimes a model is on the scale of a quarter of an inch to each foot of the ship, but the scale differs with different builders. Editor's Note: Lofting is one of the many courses taught at the HRMM Wooden Boat School. Register here to take Introduction to Lofting!
Description accompanying print: The original painting, by noted artist, John Gould, might well be called an inspired masterpiece. It was developed with help for accuracy from the well known expert, retired captain William O. Benson of Sleightsburgh, N.Y. He is an authority on the Hudson River History, its boats and shipping. Learn more about John Gould (1906-1996) here: https://johngouldart.com/about/ The maiden voyage of the "Alexander Hamilton" was placed by the artist for this painting, passing Rondout Creek, Kingston, N.Y. The area with the two Kingston Lighthouses makes an important historical background for this great documentary painting. The maiden voyage suggests a wedding procession with the gleaming white boat, the accompanying flotilla and the sparkling reflection of the sun on the water, resembling wedding confetti. The ALEXANDER HAMILTON'S First Trip The following is a brief description of the event by Captain William O. Benson: On the 29th of May, 1924, the Hudson River Day Line steamer ALEXANDER HAMILTON made her first voyage on the great Hudson River from New York City to the State Capital at Albany. I was a student in the old District No. 13 School at Port Ewen, and we had been told the HAMILTON was making her first trip up river. I was wishing she would be late, so I could rush out at 3:30 p.m. and run to the sand bank at Sleightsburgh and watch her come up. I will admit all day in school my mind was on the new HAMILTON and sure enough when school was dismissed I guess I was the first out and on my way to the sand bank. I could see the new flyer coming up off Schleede's brick yard south of Port Ewen. She was about an hour late due to some problem with her new engine, I guess due to the fact she was new. As she was passing the Rondout Lighthouse, the steamer JACOB H. TREMPER was just coming out of Rondout Creek. When the HAMILTON blew her landing whistle for Kingston Point of one long, one short and one long, how the sea gulls and egrets rose high in the air. The Lighthouse keeper rang the fog bell three times and the ferry TRANSPORT, just inside of the Lighthouse, blew three whistles in salute which the HAMILTON answered. Also on the starboard side of the HAMILTON, out in the river, was Cornell Steamboat Company tug HARRY blowing her chime whistle. It sure was great to stand and watch a new sidewheeler being greeted by other much older steamboats from another age. She was all decorated out with American flags and signal colors for her first trip up the river. She was faithful to the old Hudson for 47 long years, carrying many happy people up and down and to the pleasure parks along the beautiful Hudson River. [Editor's note: To get out on the Hudson River and Rondout Creek in the 2024 season lighthouse tours and Solaris solar powered boat rides are offered by HRMM here: Limited edition souvenir commemorative cover produced by Jerry Mastropaolo. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
“The maintenance of a merchant marine is of the utmost importance for national defense and the service of our commerce.” President Calvin Coolidge “In peacetime, the U.S. Merchant Marine includes all of the privately owned and operated vessels flying the American flag – passenger ships, freighters, tankers, tugs, and a wide miscellany of other craft. Merchant Marine vessels ply the high seas, the Great Lakes, and the inland waters, such as the Chesapeake Bay and navigable rivers.” Heroes in Dungarees by John Bunker During the colonial period, businessmen and legislators realized that prosperity was connected to trade. The more shipment of imports and exports through colonial ports the more money there was to be made. Carrying American produced goods to market in American made and managed ships kept the money in American pockets. Formation of the United States Merchant Marine is dated to 1775 when citizens at Machias, Massachusetts (now Maine) seized the British schooner HMS Margaretta in response to receiving word of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. After the Revolutionary War American ships were no longer under the protection of the British empire. The new nation offered incentives for goods to be moved on American ships. Wars on the European continent turned attention away from American activity as U.S. ships opened up new trade routes in the early Federal period. The Empress of China reached China in 1784, the first U.S. registered ship to do so. American shipping and shipbuilding flourished in the early 1800s. The years between the War of 1812 and the Civil War saw the development of canal systems connect the western interior with seaport markets. “Those years saw the merchant marine rise to its zenith in terms of the percentage of American trade carried. Only in the aftermaths of World Wars I and II would its percentage of world tonnage stand as high.” America's Maritime Legacy by Robert A. Kilmarx Sail powered packet ships, carrying passengers, pushed their crews hard. There was money to be made in quick passages across to Europe and back. Clipper ships also relied on speed as they carried high value cargoes of silk, spices and tea across the Pacific and the slave trade across the Atlantic. The hybrid sailing ship/sidewheeler steamer Savannah’s 1819 Atlantic crossing, the first with a steam powered engine, signaled the start of the transition from sail to steam. The May 22 date for National Maritime Day commemorates the day Savannah set sail from Savannah, Georgia to England. The Savannah transported both passengers and cargo. More information about the SS Savannah is here: Restoration of the merchant marine after the disruption of the Civil War was a national political issue in 1872. The Republican party advocated adopting measures to restore American commerce and shipbuilding. Mail packets, carrying mail around the world were active in this period. Financial scandals were associated with mail packet contracts. Training sailors in an academic setting began in the last quarter of the 1800s, predecessors of the present day Maritime Academies. The period between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the European outbreak of World War I was a dynamic time for shipping. American raw materials and agricultural products were shipped to world markets and products from those markets received and used by American industries. John Bunker writes: “When we entered the war, the Merchant Marine, although still privately owned, came under government control. The men who sailed the ships were civilians, but they also were under government control and subject to disciplinary action by the U.S. Coast Guard and, when overseas, by local U.S. military authorities. Compared with soldiers and sailors, merchant seaman had much more freedom of movement. After completing a voyage, they could usually leave a ship but had to join another vessel within a reasonable period of time or be drafted into the U.S. Armed Forces. There was no uniform required for merchant seamen. Some officers wore uniforms; many did not. During the war, merchant ships were operated by some forty steamship companies, and the War Shipping Administration assigned new ships to them as they were completed. A total of 733 U.S.-flag merchant ships were lost during World War II. More than 6,000 merchant seamen died as the result of enemy action.”p12 U.S. Maritime Service personnel operated the 2,700 Liberty ships during World War II. The U.S. Maritime Service was the only service at the time with African American crew members serving in every capacity aboard ship. Seventeen Liberty Ships were named for African-Americans. Approximately 10%, 24,000, African Americans served in the Merchant Marine during World War II. During World War II the U.S. Merchant Marines moved war personnel and material under conditions shown above. The American Merchant Mariner’s memorial in Battery Park, New York City reads: "This memorial serves as a marker for America’s merchant mariners resting in the unmarked ocean depths." Poignantly the sailor in the water is covered twice a day at high tide. Installed in 1991 by sculptor Marisol Escobar designed based on a photo of the sinking of the SS Muskogee by German U-boat 123 on March 22nd, 1942. The photo was taken by the U-boat captain. The American crew all died at sea. Merchant mariners who served in World War II were denied veterans recognition and benefits including the GI Bill. This despite having suffered a per capita casualty rate greater then those of the U.S. Armed Forces. In 1988 a federal court order granted veteran status to merchant mariners who participated in World War II. On May 31, 1993, the Hudson River Maritime Museum received a brass plaque reading: “The United States Merchant Marine. This plaque is dedicated in memory of those who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during W.W. II and in particular to those who did not survive “The Battle of the Atlantic”. Their dedication, deeds and sacrifices while transporting war material to the war shared their sacrifices and final victory, we, their surviving shipmates dedicate this memorial with the promise that they shall not be forgotten. Died 6,834. Wounded 11,000. Ship Sunk 833. P.O.W. 604. Died in Prisoner of War Camps 61. American Merchant Marine Veterans – May 31, 1993.” Today, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) is the Department of Transportation agency responsible for the U.S. waterborne transportation system. Founded in 1950 the mission of MARAD is to foster, promote and develop the maritime industry of the United States to meet the nation’s economic and security needs. MARAD maintains the Ready Reserve Fleet, a fleet of cargo ships in reserve to provide surge sea-lift during war and national emergencies. A predecessor of the RRF, the Hudson River Reserve Fleet of World War II ships, popularly referred to as the Ghost Fleet, was in the Jones Point area from 1946 to 1971. More about the Maritime Administration including a Vessel History Database can be found here: https://www.maritime.dot.gov/ United States Merchant Marine TrainingModern day training of merchant marines is held at seven academies, two of which U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and SUNY Maritime College, are in New York State. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY (USMMA) is one of the five United States service academies. When the academy was dedicated on 30 September 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, noted "the Academy serves the Merchant Marine as West Point serves the Army and Annapolis the Navy." USMMA graduates earn:
USMMA graduates fulfill their service obligations on their own, providing annual proof of employment in a wide variety of MARAD approved occupations. Either as active duty officers in any branch of the military or uniformed services, including the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration or entering the civilian work force in the maritime industry. State-supported maritime colleges: There are six state-supported maritime colleges. These graduates earn appropriate licenses from the U.S. Coast Guard and/or U.S. Merchant Marine. They have the opportunity to participate in a commissioning program, but do not receive an immediate commission as an Officer within a service.
More information about the U.S. Merchant Marines can be found here:
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