Captain Thomas Rea Greene (February 3, 1904 - July 11, 1950) was president of the Greene Line of steamboats. [1]
He was born on February 3, 1904, in Ohio to Mary Catherine Becker and Gordon Christopher Greene aboard his father's steamboat on the Ohio River. His brother was Christopher Becker Greene. [1] He married Letha Opal Cavendish and they had four children including, Jane Greene. In 1928 his brother, Christopher Becker Greene won the Ohio-Mississippi inland waterway championship speed race by defeating Captain Frederick Way, Jr. and his ship the Betsy Ann. [2] A rematch was held on July 16, 1929, between the Betsy Ann and the Thomas Greene (steamboat) with Thomas piloting. [3] [4]
In 1946 the Delta Queen was put up for auction by the owners. Greene became the new owner with a bid of $46,250. He had the boat refurbished. [5]
He died on July 11, 1950, in Evansville, Indiana. [6]
A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S or PS ; however, these designations are most often used for steamships.
The Julia Belle Swain is a steam-powered sternwheeler currently under restoration in La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States.
Belle of Louisville is a steamboat owned and operated by the city of Louisville, Kentucky, and moored at its downtown wharf next to the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere during its annual operational period. The steamboat claims itself the "most widely traveled river steamboat in American history." Belle of Louisville's offices are aboard Mayor Andrew Broaddus, and also appears on the list of National Historic Landmarks.
The Delta Queen is an American sternwheel steamboat. She is known for cruising the major rivers that constitute the tributaries of the Mississippi River, particularly in the American South, although she began service in California on the Sacramento River delta for which she gets her name. She was docked in Chattanooga, Tennessee and served as a floating hotel until purchased by the newly formed Delta Queen Steamboat Company. She was towed to Houma, Louisiana, in March 2015 for refurbishing to her original condition.
American Queen is a Louisiana-built river steamship said to be the largest river steamboat ever built. Although the American Queen's stern paddlewheel is indeed powered by a steam engine, her secondary propulsion, in case of an emergency and for maneuverability around tight areas where the paddle wheel can not navigate, comes from a set of diesel-electric propellers known as Z-drives on either side of the sternwheel. She has 222 state rooms for a capacity of 436 guests and a crew of 160. She is 418 feet (127 m) long and 89 feet (27 m) wide.
Jeffboat was a shipyard in Jeffersonville, Indiana founded by James Howard in 1834, a builder of steamboats. The company was owned by the Howard family until it was sold leading up to World War II. Following the war, it became known as the Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Company and later changed its name to Jeffboat, the more commonly used short form of its name. The company was the largest inland shipbuilder in the United States and the second-largest builder of barges before it closed in 2018.
Blanche Douglass Leathers was the first woman master and a steamboat captain on the Mississippi River in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her nicknames include "little captain," the "angel of the Mississippi" and the "lady skipper."
The Julia Dean was the name of two river steamboats on the Mississippi River.
Fredrick Way Jr. was the youngest steamboat captain on the Ohio River and Mississippi River. He was the author of books on the boats that ply the inland waterways. He supervised the flat-bottom, stern paddlewheeler, the Delta Queen, from San Francisco, down the Pacific coast, through the Panama Canal, across the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Pittsburgh in 1946.
The H. K Bedford was a passenger and trade ship of the Greene Line.
Captain Gordon Christopher Greene, was the owner of the Greene Line of river steamboats.
Gordon C. Greene was a paddle steamer, launched in 1923, that operated under several names before sinking in St. Louis in 1967.
Captain Christopher Becker Greene was the head of the Greene Line of steamboats after the death of his father.
The Greene Line was a line of river steamships along the Ohio River. The name was changed in 1973 to Delta Queen Steamboat Company.
Captain Mary Becker Greene, was steamboat captain of the Greene Line of river steamboats. She was the only female steamboat captain in Ohio.
Grant Prince Marsh was a riverboat pilot and captain who was noted for his many piloting exploits on the upper Missouri River and the Yellowstone River in the Western United States from 1862 until 1882. He began working as a cabin boy in 1856, eventually becoming a captain, pilot, and owner in a career lasting over sixty years. During that time, he achieved an outstanding record and reputation as a steamboat captain, serving on more than 22 vessels. His piloting exploits became legendary and modern historians have referred to him as "possibly the greatest steamboat man ever", "possibly the greatest [steamboat pilot] ever", "possibly the finest riverboat pilot who ever lived", and "the greatest steamboat master and pilot on both the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers".
Streckfus Steamers was a company started in 1910 by John Streckfus Sr. (1856–1925) born in Edgington, Illinois. He started a steam packet business in the 1880s, but transitioned his fleet to the river excursion business around the turn of the century. In 1907, he incorporated Streckfus Steamers to raise capital and expand his riverboat excursion business. A few years later, the firm acquired the Diamond Jo Line, a steamboat packet company.
Callie M. Leach French was an American steamboat captain and pilot. For much of her career as a captain, she worked with her husband, towing showboats along the Ohio, Monogahela and Mississippi Rivers. She played the calliope, cooked, sewed, and wrote jokes for the showboat theater. She never had an accident in her career and was the first woman to hold a masters and pilot's license for a steamboat.
I. C. Woodward was a side-wheel packet boat launched in July 1898 by Andrew Axton & Son Co. of West Brownsville, Pennsylvania, for the Pittsburgh, Brownsville and Geneva Packet Company. She was named for ship captain Isaac C. Woodward. I. C. Woodward was 164 ft (50 m) long by 42 ft (13 m) wide with a 5 ft (1.5 m) draft. She had 50 staterooms with additional passenger room in her texas.
The Betsy Ann was a sternwheel packet, next a towboat and finally an excursion boat. She was built by Iowa Iron Works in 1899. She is best remembered for participating in three steamboat races. She lasted 41 years, until 1940, when she was dismantled at the St. Louis Wharf. The Betsy Ann was the subject of the book The Log of the Betsy Ann, by Fred Way, former captain of the boat. She ran on the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to Portsmouth, Ohio.
... Mary Becker Greene (1867-1949) married Gordon C. Greene in 1890 and raised three sons - Captain Chris, Captain Tom, and Henry Wilkins. She learned navigation and earned a pilot and masters license, becoming one of the most noted figures on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers for more than a half century. The "Greene Line" fleet continued to expand with additions of the "Gordon C. Greene" and the "Delta Queen." Captain Mary Greene served as hostess on these steamboats. She died at the age of 81 on the renowned "Delta Queen," a National Historic Landmark.
The occasion was a race between the Betsy Ann and the Chris Greene, two packets plying the Ohio between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Captain Chris Greene of the Chris Greene had boasted that his vessel, a steel craft built in 1925, could beat the Betsy Ann 'any time.' ...
Another steamboat race on the Ohio river will be held July 16. ... Capt. Way is the youngest steamboat captain on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. A pair of antelope horns, the championship trophy, is at stake.
Commander Tom R. Greene, pilot of the winner, received from Commander Frederick Way, 28, of the Betsy Ann, a set of historic antlers as a symbol of victory ...
The steamer Delta Queen, being renovated by the Dravo Corp, here for Greene Line Steamers, Inc., of Cincinnati, has left the marine ways on Neville ...
Tom R. Greene, last of a family of river pilots, died yesterday in Evansville, Ind., at the age of 46. Captain Greene, president of the Greene Line Steamers, ...