![]() Boston Pilot Boat Minerva Pilot Boat, by Nathaniel Stebbins, c. 1896 | |
History | |
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Name | Minerva |
Owner | Franklin B. Wellock |
Operator | Bruce B. McLean, Watson Shields Dolliver |
Builder | Ambrose A. Martin |
Launched | February 4, 1896 |
Out of service | 1901 |
Fate | Sold |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | schooner |
Tonnage | 50-tons TM [1] |
Length | 79 ft 0 in (24.08 m) |
Beam | 20 ft 0 in (6.10 m) |
Draft | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) |
Depth | 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) |
Propulsion | Sail |
Notes | White oak and yellow pine; Richardson steering gear, Edson giber and diaphragm pump. |
Minerva was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1896 by Ambrose A. Martin of East Boston, Massachusetts. She was owned by Franklin B. Wellock who was a Boston pilot for more than 55 years. The pilot-boat was named for his daughter, Minerva Hill. She was sold to Plymouth parties in 1901 to be used as a fishing vessel.
Minerva No. 7, was built in East Boston, Massachusetts in 1896 for Franklin B. Wellock. The Minerva,' was named for his daughter. She was designed and built by Ambrose A. Martin, who built the Columbia, Eben D. Jordan, and Friend. She was launched on February 4, 1896 from the Ambrose Martin shipyard at Jeffries Point. [1]
Minerva took her trial trip on March 14, 1896 from the National dock at East Boston. Captain Franklin B. Wellock was in command. On her way out of Boston Harbor she sailed past Fort Warren, Fort Winthrop and then the Brewsters. The crew of the new boat consisted of Captain Franklin B. Wellock, pilots McField, Watson Shields Dolliver, and Bruce B. McLean, boatkeeper Samuel Wellock, three sailors, and the steward. [2]
On March 29, 1899, the pilot-boat Minerva, No. 7, helped rescue passengers on the Warren Line steamship Norseman, that went ashore off Marblehead, Massachusetts when it was headed for Boston. [3]
In November 1899, many transatlantic liners were used as supply ships during the South African wars, which caused some of the Boston pilot-boats to be placed out of commission. Captain Colby of the pilot-boat Sylph, and the pilot-boat Minerva were moved to East Boston. [4]
In 1900, Boston had seven pilots boats in commission. The Minerva was Boston's pilot schooner number seven. The other Boston boats included, the America, No. 1; Liberty, No. 3; Adams, No. 4; Hesper, No. 5; Varuna, No. 6; and Sylph, No 8. [5]
In 1901, pilot-boat Minerva was sold to Plymouth, Massachusetts parties to be used as a fishing vessel. On October 12, 1901, on her first trip as a fishing boat, Captain Al Watson landed 20,000 pounds of haddock, cod, and hake. [6]
USS Liberty III (SP-1229), sometimes written Liberty # 3, and also referred to during her naval career as Liberty and as Pilot Boat Liberty, No. 3, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. The Liberty was a pilot boat from 1896-1917. She was a replacement for the pilot boat D. J. Lawlor. After World War I, the Liberty returned to pilot service until 1934 when she was purchased as a yacht.
USS Louise No. 2 (SP-1230), sometimes written Louise # 2 and also referred to during her naval career as Louise and as Pilot Boat No. 2, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. The Louise, was a pilot boat from 1900 to 1917. She was a replacement for the pilot boat Columbia, that was washed ashore in 1898. After the World War I the Louise returned to pilot service until 1924 when she was purchased as a yacht. In 1924, the Boston pilot boat Pilot, took the place of the Louise.
The Richard K. Fox, first named Lillie, was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1876 for Boston Pilots. She was designed by model by Dennison J. Lawlor. She was one of the most graceful and attractive of the Boston pilot-boats and represented a trend toward deep-bodied boats. She was later sold to the New York pilots and renamed Richard K. Fox in honor of the famous sportsman and publisher of the Police Gazette. In the age of steam, she was sold in 1896 to the Marine Hospital Service.
The Sylph was a 19th-century pilot boat first built in 1834, by Whitmore & Holbrook for John Perkins Cushing as a Boston yacht and pilot-boat for merchant and ship owner Robert Bennet Forbes. She won the first recorded American yacht race in 1835. She was a pilot boat in the Boston Harbor in 1836 and 1837 and sold to the New York and Sandy Hook Pilots in October 1837. She was lost in winter of 1857 with all hands during a blizzard off Barnegat, New Jersey. The second Sylph was built in 1865 from a half-model by Dennison J. Lawlor. The third Sylph was built in 1878 at North Weymouth, Massachusetts for Boston Pilots. She was sold out of service in 1901, after 23 years of Boston pilot service.
The D. J. Lawlor was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1881 at North Weymouth, Massachusetts. The schooner was considered the largest for her type, noted for her seaworthiness and heavy weather performance. She was named after the prominent Boston shipbuilder Dennison J. Lawlor. She was struck by a fishing schooner Horace B. Parker, in 1895, and was replaced by the pilot-boat Liberty in 1896.
The Hesper was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1884, designed from a model by Dennison J. Lawlor as a Boston yacht and pilot-boat for merchant and ship owner George W. Lawler. She was known to be the largest pilot boat under the American flag at 104 feet long and the fastest of the Boston fleet. She competed in several first-class sailing races, and in 1886, the Hesper won the silver cup in what was known as the first Fishermen's Race. She was withdrawn from the pilot service and sold in 1901. The Hesper became a wreck on the point off Cape Henlopen in 1919.
Florence was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1867 from a model by Dennison J. Lawlor for William C. Fowler. The vessel had a reputation for being fast under sail. She had a long career in the Boston service, skippered by many famous pilots. She was the oldest pilot-boat in the service. In 1897, she was sold to a Portland, Maine group for fishing and yachting excursions. The pilot boat America, No. 1, was launched on April 19, 1897, to replace the Florence.
The Eben D. Jordan was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1883 by Ambrose A. Martin in East Boston for Captain Thomas Cooper. Her namesake was Eben Dyer Jordan, the founder of the Jordan Marsh department stores. In 1892, she was sold to the New York Sandy Hook pilots. She was one of the last of the pilot-boats that were discarded in an age of steam and electricity in 1896.
The Adams was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat, built in 1888 by Moses Adams at Essex, Massachusetts for Captain John H. Jeffries. She was named for Melvin O. Adams, an American attorney and railroad executive. Her design was by yacht designer Edward Burgess, known for his America's Cup defenders. In 1901, she was one of only five pilot-boats left in the Boston fleet. In 1912, she was sold to haul gravel to Boston, then sold again where she landed in the Portuguese immigrant trade. She was sunk by enemy action during World War I.
The Varuna was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat, built by Montgomery & Howard at Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1890, for a group of Boston pilots. She was designed by yacht designer Edward Burgess, known for his America's Cup defenders. She was the first centerboard pilot-boat in operation in the Massachusetts Bay. The Varuna went out of service in 1912 because of the introduction of steam power into pilot-boats. She was later sold to Stephen Simmons to be used as a trading vessel between ports in the Spanish Main in 1913.
Franklin Fowler, was a 19th-century American Boston maritime pilot. He went with his father to California to become a pilot. He returned to Boston and became one of the oldest and best known pilots in the Boston service, serving for twenty-five years. He was captain of the pilot boat Florence. In 1888, he received an award from the Massachusetts Humane Society for rescuing the crew from the barque Hattie L. Curtis.
The Hermann Oelrichs was a 19th-century Sandy Hook Pilot boat, built in 1894 by Moses Adams at Essex, Massachusetts for a group of New York Pilots. She helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. The Herman Oelrichs was said to be the fastest of the New York pilot fleet. She was built to replace the pilot boat Hope, that was wrecked in 1890.
The Friend was a 19th-century pilot boat built by Daniel D. Kelley & Holmes East Boston shipyard in 1848 for Boston pilots. She helped transport Boston maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the Boston Harbor. The Friend was one of the last of the low sided, straight sheared schooners built in the 1840s for Boston pilots. The second Boston pilot boat Friend was built in 1887. Her name came from the older Friend that was in the service in the late 1840s. Captain Thomas Cooper sold the Friend to New York pilots in 1893. Cooper replaced the Friend with the pilot-boat Columbia in 1894.
Captain Thomas Cooper was a 19th-century Boston maritime pilot. He was a well-known Boston pilot who took more battleships on their trial voyages than any pilot on the coast. He was a leader among the branch pilots of Boston for 50 years. He had ownership in the Boston pilot boats Friend,Varuna, and Columbia.
Captain Bruce Boutlier McLean was a 19th-century Boston maritime pilot, best known for being a pilot on the pilot boat America. He was a leader among the branch pilots of Boston for 35 years. McLean was a pilot and owner of the pilot boat Liberty. He died in Everett, Massachusetts, in 1930.
The Fleur de Lis was a 19th-century yacht and pilot boat built in 1865 by J. B. Van Deusen for Captain John S. Dickerson of the New York Yacht Club. She was bought by pilot Franklin B. Wellock and became the Boston pilot boat No. 7. She was known as one of the best pilot boats in the Boston harbor. By 1904, the pilot boat Fleur de Lis was lying in a graveyard for old boats in East Boston.
Watson Shields Dolliver was a 19th-century American Boston maritime pilot. He served for over 25 years as a Boston pilot. Dolliver was owner of the pilot boat Louise and was pilot on the Liberty. He died on June 25, 1921, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The America, No. 1 was a 19th-century American pilot boat built in 1897 for Captain James H. Reid Sr. of Boston and designed by Boston designer Thomas F. McManus. The Boston America did not resemble her famous namesake, yacht America, rather she was designed with a fishing schooner "Indian header" bow. After serving 21 years in the Boston Pilots' Association, the America was sold to David W. Simpson of Boston in 1918.
Moses Adams, was a 19th-century prominent Essex shipbuilder. He had his own shipyard and built eighty-five schooners and pilot boats. Adams died in Essex, Massachusetts in 1894.
Ambrose A. Martin, was a 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts yacht and boat shipbuilder. He built the Ambrose A. Martin shipyard in 1882 at Jeffries Point, East Boston, where he built many notable Boston yachts and schooners. Martin died in Boston in 1934.