The
defining moments of Irish history
are studded with arrivals (St.
Patrick, Oliver Cromwell) and
departures (St. Columbanus, James
Joyce). In the 1840s the great
arrival was the Potato Blight, and
the even greater departure was the
multitude of ships carrying the
nearly one million emigrants
escaping the Irish famine to
America. In this work, Laxton, a
former newspaper editor, narrates
the stories of these emigrants as
they sailed for the the New World.
The work is a fascinating
compilation derived from family
histories handed down through the
generations; it describes both the
horrible conditions aboard the ships
and the emigrants' boundless
optimism concerning the freedom of
America. This well-written
supplement to the various works on
the Irish famine exodus finally
draws attention to the people and
the ships that defined a moment in
Irish and American history. John J.
Doherty, Montana State Univ.,
Bozeman
Black
Ball Line, consisting of the
Columbia,
New York,
Fidelia,
Montezuma,
Yorkshire,
Manhattan,
Isaac Webb,
Harvest
Queen,
Neptune,
Great
Western, and
James
Foster Jr.,
The busiest of all the
shipyards along the East River was that
of William Webb. He had inherited the
yard from his father, Isaac Webb, known
throughout the maritime world as "the
father of shipbuilders," who had died at
the age of forty-six. William was just
twenty-four years old at the time.
William was six years younger than
Donald McKay was and the two had
apprenticed under his father, Isaac
Webb, and both had learned their lessons
well. Isaac Webb had built the Natchez that Waterman had sailed to
fame over the China run.
Soon William Webb
established a reputation for himself
building swift packet ships for the
North Atlantic trade. From 1840 to 1850
William Webb built the packets Montezuma, Yorkshire, Havre,
Fidelia,
Columbia, Sir Robert Peel, Splendid,
Bavaria, Albert Galatin, Isaac Webb, and
Vanguard. One of them, the Yorkshire, was known as "the fastest
packet of her time." William Webb also
built the China packets Helena,
Montauk and Panama. Webb was
a meticulous craftsman who possessed a
good intuitive sense as to the proper
dimensions of a ship and tried to live
up to his father's legacy and devoted
much attention drafting out his
carefully constructed models of the
hulls of his ships.
Clipper Ship - Fidelia
WORLD-WIDE MARITIME
POSTAL HISTORY
102
BLACK BALL LINE;
1818-53 Selection of EL/E, similar
to previous Lot but carried by
"Europe"(9), "Fidelia"(4),
"Florida", "Hibernia"(2), "Isaac
Wright"(2), "Manchester"(4), "James
Monroe"(2), "Montezuma", "Neptune",
"Nestor"(3) and "New York"(7).
Variety of hand stamps. (36 covers).
£120
Two Packet Ship
Paintings.
Hart Nautical Collections
Curator Kurt Hasselbalch examines the rich
stories embedded in two exceptional
paintings by the famous Liverpool school
artists, Miles Walters and his son Samuel.
The paintings depict the Black Ball packet
Fidelia homeward bound in 1845 and the
Massachusetts-built Robert Pulsford arriving
at Liverpool 1832. Hasselbalch
highlights the artists lives, explains the
Liverpool School, discusses packet ships in
general, and touchs on the interesting
circumstances that brought these magnificent
paintings to the MIT Museum. Free.
Refreshments provided. Room: MIT Museum.
Taylor & Merrill the
Ivanhoe,
Guy
Mannering, and Marmion
1847
Sp.
Samuel Hicks
780
T. G. Bunker
On March 1st Samuel
Thompson & Nephew
"
Empire
1049
J. G. Russell
advertised as agents for the
Black Star line of
"
Panthea
642
W. B. Lane
packets from Liverpool to New
York. Vessels
"
Indiana
607
James D. Bennett
sailed every six days throughout
year. Line
"
Huguenot
935
S. Goodhue
included
Sea, Liberty, Cornelia, and
Ohio, and
" Marmion
903
William Edwards
the 14 ships listed for 1847.
The correct
"
Elizabeth Denison
645
F. W. Spencer
official tonnage given here is
in general sub-
"
Devonshire
778
W. T. Thompson
stantially lower than the
advertised tonnage.
"
Niagara
730
Hy. Russell
The firm continued to use Britis
ships, in
"
Atlas
790
H. Coffin
addition to those listed here.
"
Chaos
771
J. L. Wilson
"
Sardinia
734
C. R. Crocker
"
America
1137
S. Weare
"
Peter Hattrick
554
J. D. Post
MARMION - 1852
1)
Master:
Captain G. Dale
Rigging:
Brig; sheathed in yellow metal in
1844; partly fastened with iron bolts
Tonnage: 198 tons using old
measurements and 218 tons using new
measurements
Construction: 1844 in
Maryport
Owners: R. Grice
Port of registry: Port
Philip
Port of survey: London
Voyage: sailed for Port
Philip
2)
Master:
Captain Peat
Rigging:
Barque; sheathed in yellow metal in
1850
Tonnage: 360 tons using old
measurements and 388 tons using new
measurements
Construction: 1838 in
Dartmouth; partial new keelson & some
repairs in 1851
Owners: Stringer & Co.
Port of registry: Liverpool
Port of survey: London
Voyage: sailed for Hobart
Town
other Marmion bio:
Marmion
This American ship, 823 tons,
coal laden, from Departure Bay,
B. C., for San Francisco,
foundered off Cape Flattery,
November 8, 1879. In command of
Captain F. W. Jordan, the vessel
encountered a strong southeaster
and in a cross sea began to leak
badly. Pumps became useless as
water gained in the hold. The
vessel was abandoned and the
crew picked up by the Tam
O'Shanter. The Marmion Iater
foundered under her 1,300-ton
cargo of coal. Jim Gibbs,
Shipwrecks off Juan de Fuca,
Portland: Binfords and Mort,
1968.
Citation: Tacoma Public Library
Marmion
The ship Marmion, Capt. F. W.
Jordan, coal-laden from
Departure Bay for San Francisco,
foundered off Cape Flattery,
November 8th. [1879]. She sailed
from the coal port, November
7th, with 1,300 tons of cargo,
and after passing Flattery
encountered a strong southeaster
with a heavy cross sea, which
strained the ship so that she
began to leak badly, and the
pumps were unable to keep her
free. The water continued to
gain on the crew, and on the
morning of the eighth the
barometer stood at 29.30.
Serious consequences were
anticipated if they remained
longer with the doomed vessel.
She was accordingly abandoned,
and the crew boarded the Tam
O'Shanter, which had been
standing by, and were taken to
San Francisco. The position of
the vessel was 48 degrees 6'
north and 125 degrees 40' west.
E. W. Wright, Modern Propeller
Steamships Appear, Oregon
Railway & Navigation Company
Incorporated, Lewis & Dryden's
Marine History of the Pacific
Northwest. New York: Antiquarian
Press, Ltd., 1961., p.273.
Many
of these old ships were exceptionally
fast sailers, keeping up their
reputation for speed after their
usefulness had ended in the packet
service and they had been transferred to
some other trade. On this list should be
placed the names of the
Roscius,Henry
Clay,
John R. Skiddy,
Devonshire,
Constitution, Marmion,Enterprise,
St. Denis,
New-York, and
Admiral.
The U.S. ship
GUY MANNERING was
built at New York by William H. Webb,
New York (hull #43), for Robert L.
Taylor and Nathaniel W. Merrill's line
(called in Liverpool the Black Star
Line) of sailing packets between New
York and Liverpool, and launched in
March 1849. 1,418 tons; 190 ft x 42 ft 6
in x 29 ft 8 in (length x beam x depth
of hold); 3 decks (the first
three-decked merchant vessel built in
the United States); draft load 24 ft.
The name GUY MANNERING
was derived from a romance published by
Sir Walter Scott in 1815; Taylor &
Merrill had already given names derived
from Scott's works to two earlier ships
built for them by William H. Webb, the
MARMION (1846),
and the IVANHOE (1847). The GUY MANNERING continued in the New
York-Liverpool service through the Civil
War, although her voyages may have been
irregular as the war progressed. On 30
November 1865, under the command of
Charles Brown, the GUY MANNERING
cleared New York (sailing on 2 December)
for Liverpool, with 6 passengers, a
crew, including the captain, of 32, and
a cargo of 1611 bales of cotton, 5326
bushels of wheat, 33,986 bushels of
corn, and 4 cases of cotton goods. On
the afternoon of 31 December 1866, the
GUY MANNERING was wrecked on the
west coast of the island of Iona, with
the loss of 17 lives. The following are
the two most complete accounts of the
wreck I have at hand:
Black
Ball Line, consisting of the
Columbia,
New York,
Fidelia,
Montezuma,
Yorkshire,
Manhattan,
Isaac Webb,
Harvest
Queen,
Neptune,
Great
Western, and
James
Foster Jr.
I,
Enoch W. Peabody
(view of article requires free
registration for the NYTimes), do
solemnly, sincerely and truly swear that
the following List or Manifest of
Passengers, subscribed with my name, and
now delivered by me to the Collector of
the Customs for the District of New
York, contains, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, a just and true
account of all the Passengers received
on board the Ship Fidelia whereof I am
Master from Liverpool. So help me God.
Sworn on this 8 January 1851 Before me (Unable to read name of
Collector of Customs).
List or Manifest of ALL THE PASSENGERS
taken on board the Ship Fidelia whereof
Peabody is Master, from Lpool burthen
895 tons.
Immigrant passengers
onboard that were transported from
Liverpool, England to New York. This
list represented numbers, names, ages,
sex, occupation, the country which they
severally belong, the country to which
they intend to become habitants, died on
the voyage, and part of the vessel
occupied by each passenger during the
voyage. Also, National Archives
and Records Administration, film M237,
Reel 335, List 971.
The
Line continued until about
1881 but sailed irregularly towards
the last. The larger of the
Black
ball packets had a capacity
of 800 to 900 passengers. Enoch was
Master of 5
Packet/Clipper ships within
the fleet including; the Neptune,
Columbia, Isaac Webb, Yorkshire, and
Fidelia. These 5 ships became
the end of the Peabody
Packet/Clipper Ship legends.
But, the 3 rd maritime generation of the
Peabody family became another
National and State of Washington legend.
Enoch W. Peabody’s son, Charles
Enoch Peabody, born Dec. 4, 1857, in
Brooklyn, N.Y. ultimately created the
next family maritime generation legend.
