Sinking of Pilot Boat Edward Cooper, 25 Dec 1892. | |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | Edward Cooper |
Namesake | Edward Cooper, mayor of New York City |
Owner | New York Pilots: Jacob Heath, J. B. Lockman, Thomas F. Murphy, J. J. Russell, George Waldie, James Rowan [1] |
Operator |
|
Builder | Samuel Pine shipyard |
Launched | April 8, 1879 |
Christened | April 8, 1879 |
Out of service | February 27, 1892 |
Fate | Sank (1892) |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | schooner |
Tonnage | 58-tons TM |
Length | 78 ft 8 in (23.98 m) |
Beam | 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m) |
Depth | 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) |
Propulsion | Sail |
The Edward Cooper was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1879 for New York Pilots at Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She was named in honor of the Mayor of New York City. The Edward Cooper helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In 1892, the Cooper sank in a snowstorm and was replaced by the Joseph Pulitzer in 1894.
On April 8, 1879, the Edward Cooper, was launched from the Samuel Pine shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at the foot of Kent Street. A large number of guests attended and a photograph of the boat was taken. During the Ceremonial ship launching, Sadie W. Heath christened the boat by breaking a sacrificial bottle of champagne over the bow. The Edward Cooper, was named in honor of the Mayor of New York City (1879–1880). The boat number "20" was painted as a large number on her mainsail, that identified her as belonging to Sandy Hook pilot No. 20. Captain Jacob E. Lockman was in command. [1] [2]
The Edward Cooper, was registered as a Pilot Schooner with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping, from 1881 to 1893. Her ship master was George Waldie (1881-1883) and Captain Jacob Heath (1884-1893); her owners were N. Y. Pilots; built in 1879 at the Greenpoint, New York; and her hailing port was the Port of New York. Her dimensions were 78.8 ft. in length; 21.6 ft. breadth of beam; 8.2 ft. depth of hold; and 58-tons Tonnage. [3]
In 1885, the Edward Cooper, No. 20, was on a cruise to Sable Island and came across the Thingvalla ocean liner Island off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, that had broken her rudder. The Cooper saved her by attaching steel cables to the liner, which were used as a drag and rudder. [4]
In the Great Blizzard of 1888, Edward Cooper, No. 20, was one was one of 17 vessels out on pilot duty at the time of the storm. She went ashore on the Long Island coast. The pilot and crew took cover at a house near the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Mrs. W. W. Stewart fed the men and allowed them to stay the night. The men from the pilot boats Edward F. Williams, and the Centennial, joined them. [5] [4] : p108 John Taylor was attached to the Edward Cooper, in 1889. [6] [7]
On February 27, 1892, Pilot James Smith fell overboard and drowned off Barnegat Light, New Jersey, while trying to board the steamer Van Dyck from the pilot-boat Edward Cooper, No. 20. [8]
On Christmas Day, December 25, 1892, the Cooper fell victim of a snowstorm when waves crashed into the boat causing her to sink. The crew were rescued by the Wilson Line S. S. Marengo. Thomas Marks and John Hammer were pilots on the Cooper. [9] [10] The Edward Cooper was replaced by the Joseph Pulitzer, No. 20, on February 21, 1894, at Essex, Massachusetts for the New York Captain Jacob M. Heath. [11]
Samuel Havre Pine, was a 19th-century American ship designer and builder located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He built the racing yacht Enchantress as well as many sailing schooners and yachts; steam yachts; and steamships.
The Ellwood Walter, No. 7 was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1853 by Edward F. Williams at Greenpoint, Brooklyn to replace the pilot boat Yankee, which was lost in December 1852. The schooner was used to pilot vessels to and from the Port of New York. She was replaced by the Edmund Driggs, No. 7, in 1864.
William H. Starbuck was a 19th-century New York pilot boat built to take the place of the Mary and Catherine, that sank in 1885. She was launched from the J. S. Ellis & Son shipyard, at Tottenville, Staten Island in 1886. The Starbuck was one of the few pilot-boats to take the offensive in the Great Blizzard of 1888, when she ran into the steamship Japanese and survived one of the most severe recorded blizzards in American history. She was one of the last pilot boats that were sold in an age of steam and electricity.
The Columbia was a 19th-century pilot boat built C. & R. Poillon shipyard in 1879 for Sandy Hook and New York pilots that owned the Isaac Webb, which was lost off Quonochontaug Beach, Long Island in July 1879. She was run down by the Guion Line steamer SS Alaska in 1883. A second pilot-boat, also named Columbia, was built by Ambrose A. Martin at East Boston in 1894 that had a unique sppon bow and was extremely fast. She was thrown ashore in the great Portland Gale, and remained on the Sand Hills beach in Scituate, Massachusetts for over thirty years as a marine curiosity. The Louise No. 2 replaced the ill-fated Columbia.
The Isaac Webb was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1860 by Webb & Bell for the New York and Sandy Hook pilots. She received a reward by the Board of Pilot Commissioners of New York for saving three sailors from the wreck of the bark Sarah, that was caught up in a hurricane. The Webb was shipwrecked in a dense fog at Quonochontaug Beach, Long Island in 1879. She was replaced by pilot boat Columbia.
The Caldwell H. Colt was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1887, at the Samuel H. Pine's shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for a group of New York Pilots. She was one of the pilot-boats that was in the Great Blizzard of 1888, that was one of the most severe blizzards in American history. In 1903, she was sold to a group of Pensacola, Florida pilots.
The Joseph Pulitzer was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built by Moses Adams in 1894 at Essex, Massachusetts for New York Pilots. She was a replacement for the Pilot Boat Edward Cooper, that sank off Sandy Hook in 1892. The Joseph Pulitzer was one of the finest and best equipped boats in the service. She was named in honor of Joseph Pulitzer, a New York newspaper publisher. In 1896, when New York pilot boats were moving to steamboats, she was sold to the Oregon Pilots Association.
The Edward F. Williams was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1863 at the Edward F. Williams shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn for a group of New York Pilots. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Williams was sold in 1896.
The Mary A. Williams was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1861 by the shipbuilder Edward F. Williams in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for a group of New York pilots. She was named Mary Ann Williams after the wife of the builder. The boat was considered one of the finest connected with the pilot service. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Mary A. Williams was sold in 1896.
The Ezra Nye was a 19th-century pilot boat, built in 1859 by the Wells & Webb shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn for a group of New Jersey and Sandy Hook Pilots. She was one of the pilot-boats that was in the Great Blizzard of 1888, that was one of the most severe blizzards in American history. In 1896, in the age of steam, the Ezra Nye along with other pilot boats, were replaced with steamboats.
The Centennial was a 19th-century wood pilot boat built in 1876 by Robert Crosbie and designed by Boston designer Dennison J. Lawlor for New York and New Jersey pilots. She was one of the pilot-boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. By 1898, in the age of steam, she was the last pilot boat left in the fleet; then sold in 1898 to a group in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
The Edward E. Barrett, or Edward E. Bartlett, was a 19th-century two-masted Sandy Hook pilot boat, built by C. & R. Poillon in 1883 and designed by William Townsend. She helped transport New Jersey maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Barrett ended her pilot commission and was sold in 1904.
The David Carll was a 19th-century pilot boat, built in 1885 at the David Carll shipyard in City Island, New York. She was named in honor of David Carll, a well-known City Island shipbuilder. The David Carll was considered to be among the fastest schooners in the fleet. She was built to replace the Mary E. Fish that was run down and sank by the schooner Frank Harrington in 1885. She was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. The David Carll was lost at sea in 1893.
Edmund Blunt was a 19th-century New York pilot boat built in 1858 by Edward F. Williams for the New York Pilots. She helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Blunt along with other pilot boats, were replaced with steamboats. She was built to replace the Jacob L. Westervelt, which sank in 1857.
Charlotte Webb was a 19th-century New York City pilot boat built in 1865 at the Webb & Bell shipyard to take the place of the James Funk, that was destroyed by the rebel Tallahassee during the Civil War. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888, but was run down by the French steamship La Normandie in 1889. She was replaced by the pilot boat George H. Warren.
The Edmund Driggs was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1864 at the Edward F. Williams shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She was built to replace the pilot boat Elwood Walter. The schooner was used to pilot vessels to and from the Port of New York. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, she was sold in 1896.
Edward Francis Williams, was a 19th-century shipbuilder. He apprenticed under his father Jabez Williams. Edward F. Williams built his own shipyard, building clipper ships and eleven Sandy Hook pilot boats, some of the finest boats in the fleet. He was the first president of the Greenpoint Savings Bank. Williams died in New Providence, New Jersey, in 1902.
Thomas D. Harrison was a 19th-century New York pilot boat built for New Jersey pilots. She was launched from the Jacob S. Ellis & Son shipyard, at Tottenville, Staten Island in 1875. The Harrison went ashore in the Great Blizzard of 1888 with no lives lost. She continued as a pilot boat with Pilot Stephen Cooper in command. She was purchased in 1897 by Allerton D. Hitch and used for coastal trade in the Cape Verde islands off the west African coast.
Elbridge T. Gerry was a 19th-century New York Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1888 at the Robinson & Waterhouse shipyard in City Island, Bronx. She was named in honor of Elbridge Thomas Gerry, a commodore of the New York Yacht Club. She served as a pilot boat from 1888 to 1896, when she was sold for offshore yachting cruises. Her name was changed to Kwasind, after the strongman in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha.
W. W. Story was a 19th-century New Jersey pilot boat built in 1874 at the Samuel H. Pine shipyard in Greenpoint, New York. She sank off Sandy Hook horseshoe during the Blizzard of 1888. She was raised and turned into a fishing smack. On November 13, 1896, she was reported missing along with her crew after being last seen along Absecon, New Jersey when she was caught up in a hurricane.