ON Wednesday, the ceremony took place of opening the Hudson River Railroad, in its entire length from New York to Albany. Hitherto the portion of the road between Poughkeepsie and Tivoli (twenty-six miles ) was not in operation, and the passengers were conveyed in a steamboat between those two points. Last week the road was completed, and the cars ran over it privately. Last week it was publicly opened, by running two excursion trains each way and returning. The first train from New York started from Chambers street at six o'clock, being drawn by horses to Thirty-first street, whence it proceeded at half-past 6 o'clock, and, stopping at Manhattan, 152nd street, Yonkers, Hastings, Dobbs' Ferry, Tarry-town, Sing Sing, Peekskill, Cold Spring, Fishkill, New Hamburg, Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park, Rhinebeck, Oakhill, Hudson, Stuyvant, Castleton, ought to have arrived at East Albany at 11.15 A.M., but did not arrive till 11.35., A. M. This was the way train. The through train started at 7 o'clock A.M., from Chambers-street, leaving Thirty-first street at half-past 7 A.M., and stopping at Peekskill at 8h. 30m.; Poughkeepsie 9h. 30m.; Rhinebeck, 9h. 55m.; Hudson, 10h. 40m., arriving at East Albany at twenty-five minutes past 11 o'clock, being four hours and twenty-five minutes from Chambers-street, or five minutes less than four hours from Thirty-first street. Two similar trains started from the Albany terminus at the same hours, making the same stoppages and making nearly equal time. When the new portion of the road -- especially as much of it as runs over the river on piles and embankments -- settles down and becomes firm, the distance will be accomplished in still less time than it was on Wednesday last. The oscillation of the cars was considerable over the new portions of the road; but this was to be expected. On all other parts of the road, riding is as smooth as upon any railroad in the United States. One portion of the line extends for four miles over water, in a single stretch.
           
The entire length of the road, from Chambers-street to Albany, is 143 miles. As a general feature, it may be observed that the work is constructed along the eastern bank of the river, five feet above high tides. The grades are excellent, there being, of the entire distance, 114 miles upon a dead level; five miles, from one to five feet per mile; thirteen miles, of ten feet per mile, and five miles, of thirteen feet per mile inclination, which is the worst grade upon the road. The total rise and fall is 213 feet only. The whole number of curves is 279, there being 56 miles of curved line. The shortest curve is at Peekskill, which is of 1000 feet radius, while more than half the whole number are from 4000 to 10,000 feet radius. The rock excavation is immense, a very large proportion of the road being hewn out of the solid rock, along the water's edge, besides the following eight tunnels: --
Oscawana or Peg's Island.                    225 feet
Abbott's Point (bridge tunnel)   100"
Flat Rock                                                70"
Anthony's Nose                                     400"
Garrison's at Phillips' Hill                     900"
Breakneck Hill                                     400"
New Hamburg                                    1400"
Milton Ferry                                        100"
Total length                                         3595"
           
The total amount of rock-cutting is nearly two millions of cubic feet. On the Highland division, above Fishkill to Peekskill, a distance of sixteen miles, over 425,000 cubic yards of rock were excavated. The whole cost of this railroad will be about nine millions of dollars. The original stock subscribed amounted to 3,016,600 dollars, in 30,165 shares. The road was opened on the 29th September, 1849, between New York and Peekskill, a distance of forty miles; on the 6th December to Hamburg, and on the 31st to Poughkeepsie. On Wednesday the whole line was not only opened to Albany, but a feat of speed was accomplished that our ancestors would have laughed at as the wildest absurdity, and Fulton himself among the number. Nay, ten years ago a railroad to Albany was considered one of the most impracticable of ideas, and the wise men of Wall-street scouted it as perfectly visionary. But the progress of science is not to be calculated by the men of dollars and cents. Some fifty years ago it took two or three days, and sometimes four days, to accomplish the distance. Now it can be done in as many hours. It is mentioned in the papers of 1797, as an instance of remarkable despatch, that Colonel William Colbreath, Sheriff of Herkimer, left Albany on Sunday morning, May 7, on board a vessel for New York, and returned on Thursday afternoon, 11th, having in a little more than four days, including a day and a half he was in New York, performed a journey of 330 miles. The mail stages in winter, till steamboats were established, took from thirty-six to forty-eight hours in winter, and the fare was 10 dollars. Fulton ran his boat, which the whole world ridiculed, on the 1st of October, 1807, just forty-four years ago, when he accomplished the distance in thirty-three hours, or as some say in twenty-eight hours. This was considered a wonderful feat at that time. But the "Isaac Newton" and the "Reindeer" have long since eclipsed it, and the performance of the iron horse on Wednesday, three hours and forty minutes from Albany, has distanced them still further. What next?
           
A more delightful season, or a more beautiful day, could not have been selected for this celebration. It was one of those days peculiar to Indian summer -- calm, soft, and genial, and the air like balm. The glorious Hudson was like a mirror -- not a breath of wind rippled its burnished surface, in which was reflected the trees of many hues that clothe its picturesque banks, and the numerous craft, with their snow-white sails spread in vain to catch the unwilling breeze, and all seeming as motionless as "painted ships upon a painted ocean."  Perhaps there is not at this season of the year any scenery in the world to compare with that of the Hudson, from New York to Albany. In summer it has its charms, but what are these compared with the gorgeous glories of the autumnal tints that now burst upon the delighted vision on either hand?  Wednesday, the trees of the Hudson presented the appearance of a gigantic flower garden, extending nearly 150 miles, and exhibiting in all their rich variety and mellowness, those hues which the brightest parterre cannot equal, and which cast completely into the shade the boasted scenery of the Rhine, and all the forest scenery of the old world put together. Such is its grandeur and beauty, that Europeans have no conception of it, even from what they read, and they are lost in mute astonishment and wonder when they beheld for the first time, those matchless pictures, painted by nature's pencil. The most glowing description is cold and feeble when compared with the reality of the autumnal scenery on the banks of the Hudson, which is now in all its glory. Nor ought the magnificent Palisades, or the smiling beautiful villages, basking in an unclouded sun be omitted from a description of the landscapes of that noble river which derives its name from Hendrick Hudson, who discovered it nearly two centuries and a half ago.
           
At all the stopping places along the line there were crowds of people assembled, who loudly cheered, and discharged fire-arms, great and small. The demonstrations at Peekskill, Poughkeepsie, and Hudson, were greater than at the other villages. At Hudson, the orphans turned out in procession, and sung a ditty in honour of the occasion. They bore a flag, with the following inscription: "Boorman the friend of the orphan."  The number of well dressed ladies here was very large. The second train overtook the first at Hudson, and went out before it.
           
Near New Hamburg as the trains passed, the "Isaac Newton" and the "Oregon" were observed to be aground, and the directors of the railroad hailed the incident as showing the superiority of steam on terra firma above steam on water.
           
All the officers of the company were on the train, including W C. Young, Esq , who was this week elected president, E. Jones, Esq., Vice President, J. M. Hopkins, Esq., Treasurer, C. H. Lee, Esq., Secretary and Acting Superintendent. Of the Directors, we noticed E. D. Morgan, Esq., and H. M'Cullagh. There were several officers and directors of other railroad companies.
           
On the arrival of the train at Greenbush, there was an immense concourse of persons there from Albany and other parts of the State. There was a band in attendance, which welcomed the excursionists with its merry music and volley after volley of artillery boomed across the river. The engine house was set apart as the place of entertainment for the guests, and was tastefully decorated with flags and evergreens. It was filled with tables, which were elegantly laid out, the head table being on the turn table of the building, which is of a circular form. Seats and plates were laid for 1002 persons, and a number were still standing, who could not be accommodated. A magnificent dinner was served, and champagne flowed in abundance, while a band discoursed excellent music. The entertainment was given by the directors and officers of the Board of the Common Council and heads of departments of the City of New York, the authorities of Albany and Troy, the shareholders of the road, and a large number of other invited guests.

May 16, 1797 Diary and Mercantile Advertiser.
We mention as an instance of remarkable dispatch -- that Col. William Colbreath, the Sheriff of Herkimer, left this city on Sunday morning last, on board a vessel for New York; and that yesterday afternoon he returned to this city -- Having in little more than 4 days, including a day and a half he was in New York, performed a journey of 330 miles.

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HENDRICK HUDSON TO MAKE INAUGURAL TRIP MONDAY. FLOATING PALACE WITH ROOM FOR 5,000 PERSONS. SHE IS THE FINEST RIVER BOAT IN THE WORLD.
On August 20 the new steamer Hendrick Hudson will make her inaugural run up the Hudson river to Albany.
           
It was on August 17, 1807, that Robert Fulton began the memorable trip to Albany in his little steamboat Clermont, and now, ninety nine years later, almost to a day. the most wondrous of river steamers built since that time will begin trips over the same route. The Clermont went up the river on the l7th and returned on the 21st of August.  The Hendrick Hudson will not make her maiden run to Albany until August 20, but she will return on the ninety-ninth anniversary of the completion of the Clermont's voyage.
           
The Hendrick Hudson is the property of the Hudson River Day Line, and has been built to ply on the route between New York and Albany.  The designer of the new boat was Frank E. Kirby, the most celebrated naval architect in America to-day, assisted by J. W. Millard, designer of the new Staten Island ferryboats and other successful modern craft.  The interior plans such as grand stairways, decorations of the various rooms, etc. , are the work of Louis O. Kiel of Detroit.  The general contractors for the building of the vessel were the W. & A. Fletcher company, Hoboken. N. J., and the builders of the machinery stand at the head of their profession in America, having been identified with all the more important passenger steamers built in this port during the past half century.  This firm entrusted the construction of the hull to the T. S. Marvel Ship Building company of Newburgh. N. Y., and the boilers were built by the New York Ship Building company of Camden, N. J., warship builders, etc.  The joinery and fine cabinet work was done by John Englis & Son, Greenpoint; the carpets throughout the vessel especially made by John Wanamaker, and the electric light fixtures, entirely original, as well as the great stained glass dome on the hurricane deck, executed by the Tiffany studios, New York city.  In round numbers, the Hendrick Hudson represents an outlay of nearly $1,000,000.
            
There is ample room aboard this modern pleasure craft for 5.000 persons, and all may be sheltered from sun or rain without crowding or discomfort.
           
The Hendrick Hudson is 400 feet long, 82 feet broad over the widest part, and 14 feet 4 inches depth of hold.  The draft of water is 7 minutes 6 second feet. [sic]  There are no less than six decks, beginning at the lower deck, and every part is stiffened and held together by a rigid framework of steel, making her the staunchest craft of her character ever built With a wonderful system of hydrants and fire hose, she comes as near being fireproof as a vessel well could be.
           
The main deck, usually given ever to freight on other passenger steamers, is white and smooth like that of a yacht, with runners of the softest carpets laid in all directions, and the walls from end to end of beautifully polished hardwoods.  The ponderous machinery — its like never before seen on a Hudson river steamboat — is open to view, a row of plate glass windows giving the spectator a clear and comprehensive idea of its working.
           
The hold of the Hendrick Hudson is lighted throughout by many large port holes, an original feature being the placing of port holes of extra width — of a size which will enable a person to climb through in case of an emergency — at frequent intervals from bow to stem. One of the unique apartments of the vessel is the lunch room, located in the hold forward, reached by wide stairs from the main deck, the stairs being placed directly under the band stand. This room, which extends the width of the ship, is thoroughly modern in style and finish.
           
The barber shop is located on the lower deck, and attached to it is a public bath, a new feature for steamboats operating on day routes.
           
A photographer's dark room is a novel idea to be found only on this boat.
           
The emergency hospital, with doctor in attendance, is located on the main deck.
           
Aft, across the bulkhead that faces the entrance to the main dining room, is a beautiful mural painting, showing the great capitol building at Albany.  The paddlewheel shafts are placed below the deck, so there is no occasion to stoop when passing this particular point, a disagreeable feature of most paddle steamers. The wheels arc of the feathering type, and send the mammoth craft along at the highest rate of speed with the minimum amount of vibration.
           
The dining room is one of the pleasantest and most inviting apartments on the boat, as it well should be.  The deck is nine feet high, and the room is surrounded almost entirely by plate glass, the narrow pilasters between each window, merely as a dividing line, making the room appear like a glass enclosed veranda.
           
​The great kitchen is a unique establishment and would be the wonder and admiration of a New England house wife.  The steel ranges extend from one side of the craft to the other.  Two enormous refrigerators hold the perishable stuff, such as meats, dairy products, fruit, etc., and a special box is provided for fish and one for lobsters. ​

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Hudson River Maritime Museum's 2018 issue of the Pilot Log.

A remarkable family of African American river men participated in the transition from working sail to steam during America’s Industrial Revolution. Sometimes referred to as the Black Schuylers, the family began with one or more sloops early in the nineteenth century and seized the opportunity to acquire steamboats early in the 1840s. The Schuyler Steam Tow Boat Line figured prominently in the operation of steam tows on the Hudson River and by 1888 reportedly employed eighteen boats in Albany in the towing of canal boats on the river. The family acquired real estate in Albany’s south end between Pearl Street and the river, traded grain and coal, issued stock, and invested in railroading. Their wealth placed them in Albany’s elite business and charitable circles and their esteemed status led to their burial in Albany’s prestigious Albany Rural Cemetery alongside Albany’s other business and political leaders. That so little is known of this family and its accomplishments may be more a reflection of their race than of their accomplishments. The family’s identity as Black, while not a barrier to their early success in business, may have played a discriminatory role in their lack of prominence in the historical record. Ironically, the lighter skin of later generations may also have played a role in their lack of visibility in more recent Black History scholarship. While incomplete, it is hoped that this account may spur further research into the life and contributions of this Hudson River family.  
 
​Until the second half of the nineteenth century, Albany’s commerce and financial opportunities were almost entirely dependent upon the city’s position at the head of ship navigation on the Hudson River. The river served as New York’s “Main Street” well into the nineteenth century and Albany was strategically situated near the confluence of the upper Hudson River and the Mohawk River. Although Albany received larger ships, much of the freight and passengers coming in or out of Albany before the 1807 advent of steamboats was carried by single and double-masted sloops and schooners of 100 tons capacity or less. These sailing vessels continued to carry freight into the fourth quarter of the nineteenth century, even as steamboats soon attracted much of the passenger business. Captain Samuel Schuyler, the progenitor of the Black Schuylers, began and sustained his career with these boats and raised his sons Thomas and Samuel on them.
 
Albany grew rapidly in the 1820s and 1830s as a direct result of the surge in freight handling brought about by the much heralded completion of the Champlain and Erie canals in 1823 and 1825 respectively. Both canals terminated in Albany. Freight moving east and south from Canada, Vermont, the Great Lakes region and the interior of New York was shipped on narrow, animal-towed canalboats with limited capacity. 15,000 such boats were unloaded at Albany in 1831. These cargoes needed to be stockpiled and transferred to larger sloops and schooners for trip to New York City and other Hudson River towns. Over time, steamboats became more efficient and reliable, especially after Livingston-Fulton monopoly on steamboats in New York was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1824. 

One innovation with implications for canal freight was steam towing which presented an economical alternative to “breaking-bulk,” the laborious process of unloading and transferring cargoes at canal terminals. Steam-powered sidewheel towboats appear to have been introduced on the Hudson River in the 1840s and could tow long strings of loaded canalboats directly to their destinations without unloading. Captain Schuyler’s sons capitalized on this concept and transitioned from carrying freight on sloops to towing rafts of canalboats and other craft behind powerful steamboats. They were at the right place at the right time and had the experience and extensive business connections to make the most of this innovation. 

Captain Samuel Schuyler (1781-1841 or 1842) was one of Albany’s first African American businessmen.  His origins in Albany are obscure but his surname suggests that he was enslaved by the Dutch-American Schuylers who were among Albany’s wealthiest and politically most prominent families. Philip Schuyler (1733-1804), known for his role in the American Revolution and early advocacy for canals, held slaves in Albany and at his other properties. Slavery was practiced extensively in Albany County until gradually abandoned in the early nineteenth century.

Albany County manumission records report that a slave named Sam purchased his freedom in 1804 for $200 from Derek Schuyler. It is possible, but by no means certain, that Sam is the same man later referred to as Captain Samuel Schuyler.  The fact that Samuel married in 1805 so soon after this date lends further credence to this possibility.  
          
Samuel Schuyler is described as a “Blackman” in the Albany tax roll of 1809 and a “skipper” and free person of color in the Albany directory of 1813. He was involved in the Hudson River sloop trade and owned property in the area of the waterfront which appears to have included docks and warehouses at the river and a home on South Pearl Street. He married “a mulatto woman” named Mary Martin or Morton (1780-1847 or 1848) and had eight or more children with her including Richard (1806-1835), Thomas (1811-1866) and Samuel (1813-1894). Richard was baptized in Albany’s Dutch church on North Pearl Street. Captain Schuyler came to own a flour and feed store as well as a coal yard at or near the waterfront. His sons joined the business which was known as Samuel Schuyler & Company in the 1830s.
 
The elder Captain Schuyler died in 1841 or 1842. After his burial, or perhaps after their mother’s burial in 1848, the younger Schuylers erected an imposing monument in the new Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, established in 1844. The monument is a tapered, four-sided column resting on a plinth. It is significant that the column is engraved with a realistic bas relief anchor commemorating his sailing career and the three chain links denoting the fraternal organization Odd Fellows to which he apparently belonged. An inscription notes that the monument is dedicated to “OUR PARENTS.” That Schuyler and his family were accepted in a prominent location in the cemetery in spite of their African-American heritage is noteworthy because at the time the Albany Rural Cemetery had a separate section designated for African-American burials. ​

The younger Samuel Schuyler (1813-1894) and his brother Thomas (1811-1866) both began their careers in the sloop trade. Thomas began his career as a cabin boy in his father’s sloop and progressed in skill and responsibility. Samuel attended the old Beverwyck School in Albany and began his apprenticeship aboard the sloop Sarah Jane at age 12. He became the master of the sloop Favorite and later the Rip Van Winkle. He then purchased the Rip Van Winkle and together with his brother Thomas bought the sloops Anna Marie and Favorite. Samuel Schuyler married Margaret M. Bradford (1816-1881) and Thomas Schuyler married Ellen Bradford (1820-1900). The brothers appear to have bought their first steamboats, including the Belle, in 1845. The towboat enterprise was operating in the 1840s as the Schuyler Towboat Line and may have been incorporated in 1852. In that year the Schuylers financed and built the America, the powerful and iconic flagship of their fleet. Samuel became the company’s president and Thomas became the firm’s treasurer. Both men were active in Albany business and charitable circles serving as officers of bank, stock and insurance companies, trade organizations and charitable endeavors. Their business interests extended beyond towing as evidenced by a $10,000 investment in the West Shore Railroad built along the Hudson’s west shore through Newburgh, Kingston, Catskill and Albany. ​

​Schuyler’s towboat business clearly prospered. In 1848, Samuel bought a relatively new but modest brick house at the corner of Trinity Place and Ashgrove Place in Albany’s South End and greatly enlarged it. Among other changes, he added an imposing round and bracketed cupola at the roof, making the house one of the largest and most stylish in the neighborhood. The house still stands. Thomas appears to have been a driving force in financing and building a new Methodist-Episcopal church nearby at Trinity Place and Westerlo St. in 1863. The Albany Hospital and the Groesbeckville Mission also benefitted from his philanthropy. Thomas died in 1866 and was buried alongside his father beneath a Gothic-style tombstone. His brother Samuel published a tribute to his brother which memorialized his many contributions to the Albany community.

​Sources:
- Stefan Bielinski, The Colonial Albany Social History Project; The People of Colonial Albany, website hosted by the New York State Museum, exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov
- Howell & Tenney, History of the County of Albany, W.W. Munsell & Co., New York 1886.
- Abbott, Reverend W. Penn, Life and Character of Capt. Thomas Schuyler, Charles Van Benthuysen & Sons, Albany, 1867.
- Albany County Hall of Records, Manumission Register.

Scow Sloop LITTLE MARTHA
 
African Americans played a vital role both before and after slavery as skilled captains and boatmen on the Hudson River. Built circa 1870 to carry lumber, Little Martha was captained by African American Clint Williams and his two brothers. They were described by sloop historians Collyer and Verplank as “capital boatmen.”  The sloop was owned by William Bull Millard of the Millard Lumber Co. and operated principally between Chelsea, Dutchess Junction, Marlboro, Milton, Barnegat and Poughkeepsie. She was named for the builder’s daughter, Martha Hyer Millard.
 
Scow sloops and schooners were more easily and inexpensively built than their fully-molded counterparts. The shallow draft boats were surprisingly good sailers and appeared on the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, the Great Lakes and San Francisco Bay where they remained in use well into the 20th century.