History Blog
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Happy Labor Day! For today's Media Monday, we thought we'd highlight this recent lecture by Bill Merchant, historian and curator for the D&H Canal Historical Society in High Falls, NY. "Child Labor on the D&H Canal" highlights the role of children on one of the biggest economic drivers of the Hudson Valley in the 19th century. Child labor was a huge issue in 19th and early 20th century America (learn more) throughout nearly every industry, including the maritime and canal industries. Although many canal barges were operated by families, many were also operated by single men who exploited orphans and poor children, often with fatal results. Children were most generally used as "drivers," also known as hoggees, who walked with or rode the mule or horse who pulled the barge through the canal. Work was long, often sunup to sundown or even longer, as the faster barges could get through the canal, the faster they could return and pick up a new cargo, thus making more money. The Kingston Daily Freeman reported a Coroner's Inquests on July 18, 1846, which recorded several deaths related to Rondout Creek and the D&H Canal, including a young boy. It is transcribed in full below: Coroner's Inquests. On the 11th, Coroner Suydam [sp?] held an inquest at Rondout on the body of Joseph Marival, a colored hand on board the sloop Hudson of Norwich, Ct. He went in the creek to bathe, and was accidentally drowned. The same officer held an inquest at [?] Creek Locks on the body of Henry Eighmey, on the 15ht, drowned in the canal by a fall from a boat about noon. We have record of a third by Mr. Suydam, held at Rosendale on the 12th, on the body of Andrew J. Garney, a lad of ten years old, a rider, who it was supposed fell from his horse into the canal about day break of that morning, a verdict conformable being rendered. In connection with the last case, we would remark, that the crew consisted of one man with the driver who was drowned. That the boat had been running all night [emphasis original]; that about three o'clock in the morning the man spoke to the land and was answered, and that some time afterwards he missed him, and concluded he must have fallen into the canal. Is there any thing strange in the fact that a lad of ten years, worn down with the fatigues of a long day and a whole night in the bargain, should drop into another world? Now we do not mean to mark this as a singular case, by any means. It is but one of the like occurring almost daily on the canal. Lads are hired at a mere pittance, and men are determined to get as much work out of them as possible, without the least regard to health, comfort, or safety. The poor children are toiling from daylight to dark, and if in addition they are forced to nod all or part of the night, the consequent sleep and death is nothing to be wondered at. We would call attention to this subject on the part of those who may able to devise a mode of reaching such cases. Nor would it be out of place in the Coroner's jury in the next instance should state the whole [emphasis original] truth in the verdict. Most laborers on the canal were paid at the end of the season, but it was not uncommon for unscrupulous barge operators to cheat the boys of their wages and abandon them in random canal towns. Even when working with their families, children who lived aboard barges sometimes had hard lives. Although the Delaware & Hudson Canal closed in 1898, children and families continued to work on the newly revamped New York State Barge Canal system and canals in Ohio and elsewhere into the mid-20th century. In 1923, Monthly Labor Review published an article entitled "Canal-boat Children," which looked at the labor, education, and living conditions of children on canal boats. Of particular interest was safety, as the threat of drowning or being crushed in locks was near-constant. Still, many families were able to make decent livings aboard canal barges, until tugboats took over canal barge towing in the mid-20th century. To learn more about New York Canals, visit the Hudson River Maritime Museum's exhibit "The Hudson and Its Canals: Building the Empire State," or visit the newly revamped D&H Canal Museum in nearby High Falls, NY. 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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Editor's Note: The following text is a verbatim transcription of an article written by George W. Murdock, for the Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman newspaper in the 1930s. Murdock, a veteran marine engineer, wrote a regular column. Articles transcribed by HRMM volunteer Adam Kaplan. For more of Murdock's articles, see the "Steamboat Biographies" category Most of the steamboats built during the period before the Civil War were originally passenger vessels, and it was only in the later years of their service that they were rebuilt for towing purposes. Not so with the steamboat “Pittston”- she was one of the few sidewheel vessels built purposely for towing on the Hudson river, and she was in use for 57 years, hauling heavily laden barges on the river. The wooden hull of the “Pittston” was built at New York in 1852. She was 108 feet long, breadth of beam 20 feet, depth of hold six feet, and her gross tonnage was rated at 74 with net tonnage at 58. The Allaire Iron Works of New York built her vertical beam engine which had a cylinder diameter of 32 inches with an eight foot stroke. The “Pittston” was constructed for the Pennsylvania Coal Company and was considered one of the finest vessels of her type to appear on the Hudson river. During this period the offices and yards of the Pennsylvania Coal Company were located at Port Ewen and the towboat “Pittston” was placed in service towing canal boats off the Delaware and Hudson Canal from Eddyville to Port Ewen. She was under the command of Captain Thomas Murry with James Mollin as chief engineer, and she continued on this route for a period of 13 years. In 1865 the Pennsylvania Coal Company moved its headquarters to Newburgh and the towboat “Pittston” was purchased by Thomas Cornell of Rondout. For the following five years the “Pittston” towed out of Rondout along the river to various ports, and in 1871 she was placed in regular service between Rondout and the city of Hudson. A year later, 1872, found the “Pittston” in service on the route between Rondout and Newburgh, towing in line with the towboats “Frank Carter,” “Ceres” and later the “Isaac M. North” of the Cornell Line. The crew of the “Pittston” during the years of the Newburgh run are listed as captain, William Roberts; pilots, Wash Saulpaugh and Joel Rightmyer; chief engineer, James Purdy. In the year 1875 the “Pittston” was withdrawn from the Newburgh route and placed in service between Rondout and Eddyville on the Rondout creek, taking the place of the steamboat “Maurice Wurtz” which had been towing on this route since 1857. The “Pittston” was used for towing the canal barges of the Delaware and Hudson Coal Company from tidewater at Eddyville to Rondout and she was under the command of Captain George E. Dubois, with Alonzo Woolsey as chief engineer. The “grand old days of the Delaware and Hudson Canal” came to a close in 1898 when the canal was abandoned, and the towboat Pittston” was then used around the Rondout harbor and as a helper for tows on the river. In September 1909 the “Pittston” was found to be in an advanced state of wear, and she was sold and broken up after 57 years of continuous service as a towboat. AuthorGeorge W. Murdock, (b. 1853-d. 1940) was a veteran marine engineer who served on the steamboats "Utica", "Sunnyside", "City of Troy", and "Mary Powell". He also helped dismantle engines in scrapped steamboats in the winter months and later in his career worked as an engineer at the brickyards in Port Ewen. In 1883 he moved to Brooklyn, NY and operated several private yachts. He ended his career working in power houses in the outer boroughs of New York City. His mother Catherine Murdock was the keeper of the Rondout Lighthouse for 50 years. The Pittston is one of many wrecked and abandoned boats in and around the Rondout Creek. To learn more about shipwrecks and other vessels, take one of our new Shipwreck Tours aboard our 100% solar-powered tour boat Solaris! 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!
History of the Delaware & Hudson Canal - Supplying coal to the 19th century industrial era. From its opening in 1828 till its closing in 1899, the barges of the D&H canal carried anthracite coal from the mines of Northeastern Pennsylvania to the Hudson River at Kingston where it was transshipped to market in New York City. William Wurts was the first to explore the anthracite coal fields of North East Pennsylvania. He believed anthracite, sometimes known as “hard coal” could be burnt for heating and fueling of steam boilers. He brought samples back to Philadelphia for successful testing. When restrictions were placed on the import of British coal and inspired by the success of the newly opened Erie Canal , Wurts wanted to build a canal of his own from Pennsylvania to New York, through the narrow valley between the Shawangunk Ridge and the Catskill Mountains ending at the Hudson River near Kingston. William convinced his brothers Charles and Maurice to join him in creating the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. In 1823 they successfully obtained charters from the States of New York and Pennsylvania to establish the canal company. Unlike the Champlain and Erie Canals the D&H company was to be privately financed. To attract investment, the brothers arranged for a demonstration of burning of anthracite in New York City in January of 1825. The reaction was enthusiastic, and the stock oversubscribed within hours raising 1.3 million dollars. D&H canal construction started in May 1825 and was completed October 1828 with the labor of 2500 men. The engineering challenges were significant as the canal had to climb 600 feet from the Hudson River at Rondout to reach the Delaware River and then proceed to Honesdale Pennsylvania. Overall 108 locks were required to travel the 108 miles. Fifteen miles of gravity railroad brought the coal over mountains, which were too steep for a canal, from the mines near Carbondale to be loaded on barges at Honesdale. The canal had to cross the Delaware River and did so using a slack water dam allowing barges to float across relatively still water of the Delaware. In 1847 a suspension bridge aqueduct designed by the now famous engineer John A. Roebling, increased traffic capacity and reduced conflict with log rafters bringing timber down river. The canal was quite successful and by 1832 carried 90,000 tons of coal and three million board-feet of lumber. Also shipped down the canal was Rosendale cement, bluestone, and agricultural products. With the canal’s success the communities along the canal grew into vibrant villages and towns. High Falls, Ellenville, Wurtsboro, and Port Jervis are present day reminders of the canal’s economic impact. During the later part of the 19th century, the canal faced increasing competition from railroads which ultimately benefited from a more direct route across New Jersey and the ability to operate for much of the winter, while the canal boats were wintering over, iced in at Rondout and New York. The canal ceased operation in 1899.Unlike many other canals of the 19th century the D&H canal remained a profitable private operation for most of its existence. Roy Justice is a singing historian known as a Time Travelling Minstrel. He presents programs on different aspects and topics of American History, combining music of the time period with the historical landscape within which the music was a part. https://royhjustice.com/home THE D & H CANAL - LYRICS Around and round the Wurtsboro Bend The big boat chased the squeezer Ed Lax’s boat had passed them both Slicker than the weasel In eighteen hundred and seventy-eight the canal was hit by a freshet The embankment broke and flooded the vly The damage was terrific. A load of cement went through the break Houses and barns were uprooted To try and save whatever they could To the river the big boat scooted There was a girl named Sarah Jane And a youth named Samuel They courted long and happily On the D&H Canal They loved each other tenderly And the Rosendale folks all said That before the boating season was o’er These lovers would be wed. These lovers would be wed. But they never did, for he succumbed to hard times. And his lifeless body was buried six feet beneath the sod Along the Twelve Mile level. And e’re her lover was dead one week She started keeping company With a junk dealer that did live up back in Rondout. Up back in Rondout. From “Of Canals and Coal”. Roy Justice Time Travelling Minstrel. 2007. Thanks to HRMM volunteer Mark Heller for sharing his knowledge of Hudson River music history for this series. 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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AuthorThis blog is written by Hudson River Maritime Museum staff, volunteers and guest contributors. Archives
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