USA > Ohio > Lucas County > Toledo > History of the city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio > Part 85
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[438]
439
THE MAUMEE RIVER MARINE.
1843-At Maumee; Steamboat James Wolcott, 100 tons.
1844-At Perrysburg; Steamboat St. Louis, 600
tons ; Capt. G. W. Floyd, for Hollister and others.
1845-At Perrysburg; Prop. Princeton, 300 tons ; Capt. Amos Pratt, for John Hollister and others.
1845-At Perrysburg; Schr. Scotland, 200 tons ; for Bronson and Crocker, Oswego, N. Y.
1845-At Maumee ; Schr. Ireland.
John Marshal
1837
Perrysburg
Perrysburg
Gen. Vance __
1838
Perrysburg
50 Perrysburg
Chesapeake _ .
1838
Maumee
412 Manmee
lien. Harrison
1840
Manmec
326 Maumee
Indiana.
1.840
Toledo
550
Toledo
St. Louis.
1844
Perrysburg
618 Perrysburg
Superior
1845
Perrysburg
567 Perrysburg
Troy_
1845
Maumee
547
Manmee
J. Wolcott
1843
Maumee
80
Maunice
PROPELLERS.
Name.
Built.
Where Built.
Tous.
Where Owned.
Sampson
1843
Perrysburg
250
Perrysburg
Princeton
1845
Perrysburg
400
Perrysburg
1854-At Perrysburg ; Sehr. Maize, 200 tons.
In April, 1846, the Perrysburg Miami of the Lake gave what was supposed to be a nearly complete list of vessels built on the Manmee River up to that date. The facilities of the editor were presumed to have been good for arriving at the facts. He stated that the first Vessel built in that locality was the Sloop Miami, in 1810, at Perrysburg, by Captain Anderson Martin, who built the Schooner Chip- pewa, at Chippewa, the Spring previous. Both these Vessels were captured by the British during the War of 1812-15, and both subse- quently, at the battle of Lake Erie, recaptured by Perry, and piloted by Captain Martin, with cargoes of American soldiers, to the mouth of the River Thames, Canada.
Following is the list of Vessels given by the Perrysburg paper. It will be seen to contain some crafts not already mentioned :
SCHOONERS.
Namc.
When Built.
Where Built.
Tons.
Where Owned.
Miami
1810
Perrysburg
25
Detroit
Guerriere
1827
Swan Creek
75 Perrysburg
Eagle _.
1827
Perrysburg
130 Perrysburg
Antelope
1828
Perrysburg
75 Perrysburg
Michigan
1832
Perrysburg
130 Perrysburg
Merchant
1834
Maumee
75 Maumee
Walter Joy
1835
Perrysburg
130 Buffalo
Caroline
1835
Perrysburg
50 Perrysburg
Gazelle
1835
Perrysburg
75 Perrysburg
John Hollister
1835
Perrysburg
130 Perrysburg
Maria.
1836
Maumee
100
Maumee
Favorite.
1837
Perrysburg
150
Perrysburg
Maj. Oliver
1837
Toledo
150
Toledo
Ottawa.
1837
Oregon
130
Maumee
Chippewa
1837
Maumee
25
Manmee
Tom Corwin
1840
Maumee
25
Maumee
1844
Maumee
120 |Maumee
Scotland.
1845
Perrysburg
100
Oswego
Ireland
1846
Maumee
100
Oswego
W'hơn Built.
Where Built.
Tons.
Where Owned.
Detroit
1.833
Toledo
200
Cleveland
Com. Perry __
1835
Perrysburg
350 Perrysburg
Gen. Wayne
1.837
Perrysburg
390 Perrysburg
1845-At Perrysburg; Steamboat Superior, 600 tons ; Capt. D. Wilkison, for Perrysburg Steamboat Company.
1846-At Perrysburg; Sehr. Robert Hollister, 200 tons; Capt. C. G. Keeler, for John Hollister and others.
1846-At Maumee; Prop. Globe, 300 tons ; Capt. Chas. Ludlow, for Geo. Spencer and John A. Moore. 1847-At Perrysburg; Schr. St. Marys, 180 tons ; Capt. C. G. Keeler, for John Hollister and others.
1847-At Perrysburg; Schr. Defiance, 170 tons ; Capt. Wm. Wilkison, for Roby and Thompson.
1848-At Perrysburg ; Steamboat John Hollister, 200 tons ; Capt. Selah Dustin, for B. F. Hollister.
1853-At Perrysburg; Prop. Bucephalus, 400 tons ; for Hollister and others.
1853-At Perrysburg ; Sehr. Buckingham.
1845
Manmee
300
Perrysburg
The Custom House at Maumee City (District of Miami) was opened in 1818. The record of the earlier Vessels taking out papers is given as follows :
The first was the Schooner Black Snake, 23 tons, Capt. Jacob Wilkison ; and the next the Schooner Sally, 7 tons, Capt. Wm. Pratt. In 1819, the Saucy Jane, 15 tons. Capt. Jacob Wilkison ; the Walter, 10 tons, Capt. Amos S. Reed ; and the Leopard, 18 tons. Capt. John Baldwin. In 1823 was entered the Happy Return, Capt. John Baldwin, 12 tons, and the Wapoghkonnetta. Capt. Isaac Richardson, samo ton- nage. In 1824, the Vermillion, 34 tous, Capt. John Baldwin, and the Packet of Miami, Capt. Almon Reed, 15 tons. In 1825, the Lady Washington, Capt. A. Reed, 40 tons, and the Guerriere, Capt. David Wilkison, 4I tons. In 1820, the Fire Fly, Capt. Luther Harvey, 23 tons. In 1828, the Eagle, Capt. David Wilkison, 49 tons. In 1830, the Essex, Capt. Henry Brooks, 30 tons. In 1831, the Independence, Capt. James Foster, 26 tons. In 1332, the Michigan, Capt. Amos Pratt, 108 tons. In 1834, the Merchant, Capt. A. Pratt, 74 tons. May, 1835, the Steamboat Com. Perry, owned by the Perrysburg Steamboat Company, and commanded by Capt. D. Wilkison, 350 tons ; and the Schr. Caroline, Capt. William O. Marsh, 42 tons. In 1836, the Schr. Gazelle, Capt. Anson Reed ; the Walter Joy, Capt. D. P. Dickinson, 124 tons; the John Hollister, Capt. Justice Bailey, S6 tons; and the Steamboats Oliver Newbery and An- drew Jackson-both built at Detroit and purchased for the Maumee River trade.
While the records furnished from these different sources are not in all respects con- sistent with each other, it is believed that with them the material facts may easily be reached. They are all given here, as better than to un- dertake to decide which is or is not correct in the few instances in which they may fail to agree.
Before the opening of the Wabash and Eric Canal, combined facilities of water and stages were employed in communication with Fort
Tippecanoe.
1836
Manmee
50 60 60 50
50 Maumee
STEAMBOATS.
Name.
440
HISTORY OF TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY.
Wayne, Indiana, and other points up the Mau- mee. In June, 1837, appeared the annonnce- ment, that the Steamboat Gen. Wayne, Capt. H. C. Williams, would " leave the head of the Rapids every day at 1 r. M. for the foot of Flat Rock, where there would be coaches and teams to convey passengers and freight to Defianee." Passengers leaving Maumee City and Perrys- burg in the morning, arrived at Defiance same day. Returning, left Defiance at 6 A. M., and reached the head of the Rapids at 12 M., where coaches were ready for Maumee and Perrys- burg. Also, " a Barge fitted up for passengers or freight," left Defiance every Friday for Fort Wayne, running through in three days. Dur- ing high water, the Steamboat ran between the head of the Rapids and Fort Wayne. The agents of the line were O. H. Harris, Provi- dence ; G. C. Mudgett & Co., Brunersburg; and White & Kirtland and S. A. & J. H. Sargent, Maumee City. Beside this Steamboat route, was a daily through Stage line between Mau- mee City and Defiance. The mail passed twice a week.
The following were among the crafts navi- gating Lake Erie and doing business with the Maumee River in April, 1822, whose interme- diate points, between Buffalo and Detroit, were Erie, Cleveland, Sandusky and Miami (Mau- mee City), to wit :
Schooners-The Wasp, Captains Thos. Goodwin and Harry llaskins; the Sylph, Capt. Horatio G. Ilaskins : the Red Jacket, Capt. Augustus Walker ; the Erie, Capt. Wm. T. Pease ; the Ann, Capt. Augustus Jones ; and the Pontiac, Capt. Seth Reed. Sloop-Happy Return, Capt. John Costello. Brig- l'nion, Capt. Harpin Johnson. Subsequently ap- peared the Schooner Farmer, of Painesville, Capt. Ben. A. Napier ; the Sehr. Dread, launched at Huron, Ohio, April 29, 1822, Capt. Sam. Nichols; the Schr. Michigan, Capt. Walter Norton ; the Schr. Vienna, C'apt. Luther Chapin ; the Schr. Lake Serpent, Capt. John Burtis; the Sehr. Diligence, Capt. Anderson Martin : the Schr. Beaver. Capt. John F. Wight ; and the Sloop Ohio, Capt. Moses MeSwainey. Several of these Vessels were confined in their traffic to the West end of the Lake.
Beside those here named, was the " New Team or Horse-Boat, called the Car of San- dusky, whereof Thomas L. Hawkins was Master," which made its first trip from Lower Sandusky (Fremont), where it was built, to Sandusky City, May 6, 1822, with a cargo of " tobacco, fish and passengers." June 7th, this craft was reported as " the Horse-Boat Pegasus of Lower Sandusky, Capt. Elisha W. Howland, laden with skins and pork." Subsequently, Morris Tyler (afterwards a prominent Lake commander) was Captain of the Pegasus.
The " quickest passage" made by any sail vessel between Buffalo and Sandusky (250 miles) up to October 3, 1822, was that of the Schooner Huron, Capt. Judah W. Ransom, in 34 hours. The Schooner Erie, Capt. Pease, soon thereafter made the same passage in 28 hours.
In 1824, the following additional Vessels were in commission in this region : The Schr. Sir Henry, Capt. Ezra Wells; the Sehr. Mi- nerva, Capt. Belden ; the Tiger, Capt. Jobn Fleeharty ; the Lady Washington, Capt. Mar- tin ; the Gen. Scott, Capt. Lockwood ; the Good Intent, Capt. Talbot ; and the Fox, Capt. Green.
Announcement of the first Steamboat plying exclusively between the Towns on the Maumee River, was made in the Toledo Blade of April 25, 1838, as follows:
THE STEAMBOAT SUN,
C. K. BENNETT, Master.
W ILL make her trips this Season as follows: Will leave
Manhattan every morning at 7 o'clock: Toledo at 8 : Maumee City and Perrysburg at half-past 10; Toledo at 2 P. M., and Maumee and Perrysburg at 5 o'clock, and arrive at Man- hattan at 7 P. M .
April 25, 1838.
As seen, the time for the Sun between Toledo and Maumee was two hours, making the rate of speed about five miles per hour. The Boat was the property of Henry Bennett, its com- mander being Calvin K. Bennett, a brother of the owner, both then of Perrysburg. They subsequently removed to Toledo, where Mr. Henry Benneit died during the present year (1887), Mr. C. K. Bennett still residing there. The enterprise of running a Boat exclusively for local business, was a hazardons one 49 years ago, as the Messrs. Bennett found it io be. It was undertaken when the general business stagnation consequent on the financial collapse of 1837 had fairly taken effect-a state of pros- tration not equaled by anything experienced in this country since that time. The Sun's trade was almost wholly made up of small items, chiefly for passage between the young and struggling Towns touched on the route. Silver change had almost wholly disappeared, leaving little but here and there a " six-pence " (6} cents), "shillings" (123 cents), and "eighteen pence " pieces (182 eents), with a few coins of English money, passing for 25 cents. The consequence was, that Captain Bennett found himself most seriously embar- rassed by a lack of change, and was driven to seek relief. This he did, by having printed due bills of small amounts, which, in common with like currency then in use throughout the West, especially, came to be known as " Shin Plasters." Why they were given such name, is not definitely settled. They were found, when issued by responsible parties, to be a re- lief to trade. So Captain Bennett found them. Redeemable by him in sums of $1.00 or more, they at once entered into general use on the River and were a material benefit to trade. They were all redeemed upon presentation, a fact which could be truthfully stated of but comparatively small portion of the " currency " of that time.
In May, 1838, the Steamboat Andrew Jack- son, Shibnah Spink, Master, commenced run- ning between Perrysburg and Manhattan,
441
THE MAUMEE RIVER MARINE.
touching at Maumee, Oregon, and Upper and Lower Toledo, making two trips daily. Cap- tain Spink survived the intervening 47 years, and died at Perrysburg in 1885.
Under the head, " Season Arrangements," a " Daily Line of Steamboats from Detroit to Perrysburg and Manmee," was advertised in March, 1839, the line consisting of the Oliver Newberry and Erie, and making stops at Toledo, Manhattan, Monroe, Brest, Malden and Gibraltar. They left Perrysburg at 7:30 A. M.,
and arrived at Detroit at 4 p. M., and making like time on their return. The Agent for the line at Manmee was Denison B. Smith, now of Toledo.
Steamers continued in the local trade of the River without interruption for some 45 years, and until the competition of three Railroads (the Dayton and Michigan, the Wabash and the Narrow Gauge) became too strong for them, and they were compelled to yield the field so long held by them.
29
CHAPTER VII.
MARINE INCIDENTS.
THE unwritten history of all settlements which came to permanent communities, is rife with incidents involving experience of various kinds, which, when set forth in words, are invested with deep interest. Volumes in space have been devoted to such narration. The Maumee Valley is not an exception to this rule. The memories of the pioneers were ever stocked with material of engrossing interest, but a small portion of which was ever made available to following generations. Here and there partial record was made, but the mass has passed away with the store-house of memory, the only receptacle which ever contained them.
Among the incidents of local interest perti- nent here, is one occurring in September, 1822. At that time Major Coleman I. Keeler (one of the most prominent of the earlier settlers in Port Lawrence Township), with his daughter Grace, aged 16, took passage from Sandusky by the Schooner Eclipse, Captain Jones, bound for Detroit. By request, they were put ashore ou Middle Bass Island, to take a small boat for home. Having engaged Captain Anderson Martin and his son, with a small craft, for such purpose, they started for the Maumee River. When some 20 miles out, they were overtaken by one of the most furious storms then known on the Lake; but fortunately they made West Sister Island, where they succeeded in landing. While themselves safe, their little vessel soon went to pieces, leaving them on an uninhabited Island, without food, the means of obtaining such, or the means for getting away. Day after day of fasting brought them to the dire necessity of seeking continued life by eating snails and snakes. Providentially, they had an old axe, with which the men sat to work to dig out the trunk of a bass-wood tree, barely large enough to carry Captain Martin and his son, who set out therein for Middle Bass Island, which they fortunately reached in safety. At once, with a sail-boat, they started for the re- lief of Major Keeler and daughter, who were found still alive, but greatly emaciated from hunger, having for six days subsisted wholly on snakes and snails which they were fortunate enough to gather on the Island. A safe passage was given them to their home, where they soon recovered from the terrible effects of their ex- traordinary experience.
Major Keeler lived many years after the incident here narrated. The daughter, Miss Grace, who shared with him the trials of ship- wreck and impending starvation, was subse-
quently married with William Hollister, who, with his brother John, came to the Maumee Valley in 1816, settling at Perrysburg at the very outset of that Town. Ile was engaged in trade, chiefly with the Indians, which was profitable. Subsequently he went to Buffalo, N. Y., where he was for some years in active business, and died of apoplexy, May 25, 1848. After his death, Mrs. Hollister became the wife of Mr. - - Greene, a lawyer in New York, and died about 1873.
The first serious Lake disaster in this region was the loss of the Schooner Sylph, Captain Harry Haskin, in May, 1824. She sailed from Sandusky about noon of May 12th for Detroit, with two barrels of whisky, a few wooden dishes, and three passengers, beside the Cap- tain's brother, Charles Haskin. A severe storm from the Northwest arose in the after- noon. Nothing was heard of the vessel until the 14th, when two men reached Sandusky in a skiff, with the intelligence that the Sylph had been wrecked on North Bass Island, and all on board lost. The bodies of four persons had been found and buried, viz .: Harry and Charles Haskin ; a man supposed to be a Mr. Roberts, of Florence, Hnron (now Erie) County, the owner of the wooden ware ; and a small child of a Mrs. Hunter, who went on board at San- dusky. The bodies of the Haskins were taken to Sandusky and buried. Harry was 23, and Charles 17 years old-both promising young men. The wreck was subsequently found by the family of Mr. Martin, a resident of North Bass Island, the morning after the vessel left Sandusky. The body of MIrs. Hunter was not found.
May 1, 1826, the Canadian Schooner Surprise, Captain McCall, found the Schooner Morning Star, of Sandusky (whence she sailed April 22d for the Maumee River), floating near the Cana- dian shore, with nobody on board. The Vessel cleared from Maumee for Sandusky April 28th, having on board Captain John Costello, Thos. Goodwin and John Furnay, of Sandusky, a boy named Webber, and a woman. That night she was wrecked on a reef of rocks near Middle Bass Island, and was abandoned. Captain Cos- tello and Goodwin returned in a boat to the wreck, but it was gone and adrift. They at- tempted to reach it, and were never again heard from. Both left families. Furnay, the woman and the boy were without shelter or food, ex- cept the leeks and roots they dug, for six days, when Captain David Wilkison, with the
[442]
443
MARINE INCIDENTS.
Schooner Guerriere, found and rescued them from death, he having sought shelter under the Island.
The first case of collision of Steamboats on the Lakes occurred between the Niagara, Cap- tain W. T. Pease, and the Pioneer, Captain Geo. Miles, on the night of October 31, 1826, near Grand River, Lake Erie, when they met while under full headway. The Pioneer was somewhat injured.
The Schooner Guerriere, Captain R. Pember, then belonging to John Hollister, Perrysburg, was wrecked near Middle Sister Island, May 29, 1832. A passenger lost his wife and four children.
Among the disastrous calamities occurring on Lake Erie was the burning of the steamer G. P. Griffith, on the night of the 17th of June,
1850, a short distance from Chagrin River, and two or three miles from Fairport, Ohio. She was on her way up the Lake from Buffalo, with 256 deck or steerage and 40 to 45 cabin passen- gers, and a crew of about 30, making a total of about 330 persons on board. Of the passengers only about 40 were saved, with not a woman among them. Included with the lost were Captain C. C. Roby, his wife, his wife's mother and two children, of Perrysburg ; H. Palmer, telegraph operator at Toledo ; Alice Champion, Toledo, and Richard Mann, wheelsman, San- dusky. D. R. Stebbins, engineer and part owner, was among the saved, as was a Mr. Hinckley, of Huron, Ohio. Mr. Stebbins then resided at Maumee City, and subsequently lived for many years at Toledo, where he died several years since.
CHAPTER VIII.
TOLEDO'S CANALS .- THE MIAMI AND ERIE, AND THE WABASII AND ERIE.
IT is difficult to determine to which of the two great agencies of transportation-water and rail-Toledo is most indebted for her ex- ceptional growth in trade, population and other elements of advancement. Without doubt, the first improvement which materially operated in shaping and fixing her future, was the rude and imperfect Railway, which sup- plied the first connection and channel for trade between her and the interior. Small as that beginning really appears in the presence of the wonderful advance since made in like improvements, its potency for Toledo's pros- perity could hardly be overestimated, since through its ageney the trade of the richest and best improved portions of Michigan was at once secured, despite the prejudice engen- dered by the bitter question of boundary and the no less bitter jealousy and competition of the rival City of Monroe. The effectiveness of such support to Toledo is clearly seen in the fact, that to all such adverse feeling, was added the completion of a Railway furnished by the State of Michigan for the avowed pur- pose of diverting to points within its limits the trade which the once despised Erie and Kala- mazoo Road was attracting to Toledo.
And yet, back even of that little Railway, and as the chief incentive to its construction, stood Toledo's water connections-existing and prospective. From the first, the map of the Western country and the position of Toledo thereon, constituted the latter's chief strength - it being conceded that she held the key to the traffic of the Maumee River, which question, for a time stoutly disputed, was ere long clearly settled in her behalf. It was Toledo's advan- tages with reference to an Eastern outlet for trade, that constituted the chief attractions for the trade seeking such outlet. The Erie and Kalamazoo Railway, first, and the Canals next, alike had their source in the great course for trade supplied by Lake Erie and the Erie Canal. At the earliest stage of Western settlement, an intelligent person could not survey Toledo's position at the Western ex- tremity of Lake Erie, consider the vast terri- tory naturally tributary to her, and fait to be impressed with a sense of what nature had done for her. To such view was Toledo in- debted for the great Canalimprovements which so soon followed her pioneer Railway.
Anything like a full history of the construc- tion of the Canals which constitute so impor- tant a part of Toledo's material growth and
prosperity, would be excluded here from lack of space. Hence, only brief statements of facts can be given. This course is in a meas- ure made proper by the fact, that the brief historical sketch of Ohio, in this volume, in- elndes a statement as to the origin and con- struction of the several Canafs in the State.
The question of the first suggestion of Canal connection of Lake Erie and the Wabash River, has been discussed at different times, with different claimants for the distinction. In 1817, the idea of the Canal is said to have been suggested, and steps taken in Indiana toward its construction. A book entitled " A History of the Late War in the Western Country," and published in 1816, in a chapter on Fort Wayne, said :
The Miami is navigable for boats from this place to the Lake, and the portage to the nearest navigable branch of the Wabash is but 7 or 8 miles, through a low marshy prairie, from which the water runs both to the Wabash and the St. Mary's. A Canal, at some future day, will unite these Rivers, and thus render a Town at Fort Wayne, as formerly, the most consider- able place in that country.
In a letter to the Western Emigration Soci- ety, and said to have been written in 1817, and published in the Western Spy (Cincinnati), in 1818, Maj. Benj. F. Stickney, then acting as Indian Agent at Fort Wayne, made this refer- ence to the same subject :
The Miami River of the Lake is formed by a june- tion of St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Rivers at Fort Wayne; pursues a general course Northeast, with its meanderings about 170 miles, discharging into Maumee Bay. This River is navigable for vessels drawing 5 to 6 feet of water to Fort Meigs, 16 miles from its mouth, and for smaller craft to its head. Although it is not large, yet, in connection with the Wabash, the importance of its navigation will not be exceeded by any discharging into the Northern Lakes or the Ohio River. The Wabash pursues a diametrically opposite course to its junction with the Ohio. At the highest waters of those Rivers, their waters are united at the dividing ridge, and you may pass with craft from one river to the other. There is a wet prairie or swamp, covered with grass, that extends from the headwaters of the Wabash to the St. Mary's, and discharges its water into both Rivers about 7 miles from one to the other. At low water this swamp is 6 to 10 feet above the water in the Rivers. It is composed of soft mud that can be penetrated 20 feet with a pole. Of course, it would be a small expense of labor to connect the waters of these two Rivers by a Canal that would be passable at the lowest water. Those Rivers will be the great thoroughfare between the Lakes and the Mississippi ; and, of course. will constitute an uninterrupted navi- gation fron the Bay of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mex- ico, except the short portage at the Falls of Niagara.
[444]
-145
CANALS.
It is claimed fer Captain James Riley, that he was among the very first, though probably not the first, to point out the importance and feasibility of the connection of the navigable waters of the Wabash and Maumee Rivers by means of a Canal. That gentleman will be remembered by many readers as the celebrated traveler among the Arabs of Barbary, Northern Africa, whose " Narratives" of his operations and experiences in that region about 1816, were extensively read upon their publication in 1836. Returning to this country, he came to the West in 1820, in the capacity of United States Surveyor of Lands. He then purchased seven tracts of land at the Rapids of St. Mary's River, called the " Devil's Race Ground," adjoining the Indiana line In a letter of November 24, 1819, Capt. Riley said :
In high stages of water a portage of only 6 miles carries merchandise from the head of the Manmee into navigable waters of the Wabash (and vice versa) from whence, floating with the current, it may go either to supply the wants of the interior country or proceed South to New Orleans, or North to Lake Erie. The Little Wabash rises in a swamp, which might supply water sufficient for purpose of Canal naviga- gation.
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