Steamboat Arabia: A Historian’s Blog

Above: Levee in St. Louis 1857 Ballou Pictorial Drawing Companion

Today I am continuing my blog, "What if Arabia didn't hit the snag in 1856?" by posting from the Rail and River Transportation Report.



In order to read these- Click on the Chart and it will be largest enough to read.


This is only the first six pages with the rest (God Willing) on the next blog. Many thanks go to my dear husband who helped to photograph and resize the charts (he'll get a good dinner tonight!).


The List of boats destroyed on the Mississippi River and its tributaries: From May 1, 1861, to the surrender of General Kirby Smith's army, and the cessation of hostilities, June 2, 1865.

Above Civil War Hospital Steamboat on the Mississippi

Hello and Welcome to my blog. Since so many Civil War Reinactors visit the Arabia Steamboat Museum, I questioned: What if the Steamboat Arabia didn't hit the snag in 1856; what would have her life have been? 

It's a game or scholarly curiosity Civil Round Tables play. They ask questions....what if this & what if that...So, this blog goes out to the Civil War Round table of the District of Columbia who will be visiting Vicksburg in April 2013.  

So, let me expand the question today asking;

"If Steamboat Arabia was docked in St. Louis during the Union occupation, what might happen?" 

I'd love to be a fly on the wall to hear that conversation.

When the steamer sank she was last owned by two forwarding and receiving commission merchants who remained in St. Louis, and, like all merchants, their shipping business catered to the U.S. military (sending similar goods found in the Arabia Steamboat Museum).

Just look what I found- (click on the image to see the full image)





 This chart says it all and is a newly acquired pamphlet in my collection titled: REPORTS to the WAR DEPARTMENT by BREV. MAJ GEN. LEWIS B. PARSONS, CHIEF of RAIL AND RIVER TRANSPORTATION. St. Louis, Mo. George Knapp & Co., Printers and Binders 1867.



And read; "The amount of transportation furnished at St. Louis, Mo. during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1863, as per Report of Capt. Charles Parsons, A. Q. M. in charge of transportation at that post." The chart shows a comparison between trains and steamboats and steamboats transported more provisions and a third less troops than trains.

My own Great-grand father John Westly Duncan rode the side wheeler Sam Gaty north after the Battle of Shiloh. (April 6-7 1862). On his Iowa's unit trip back down the river, he had seen enough and was listed as AWOL in St. Louis. Thank heavens he did because many in his unit died from smallpox shortly after and I wouldn't be here. (This reports listed the Sam Gaty was lost to a snag in September 1863 at Island No. 62 near Vicksburg).

What would Steamboat Arabia's role had been (if she hasn't sunk) during the Civil War?

Which side would she be on- Union or Confederate?
Would she be transporting government troops, be a hospital or still in private hands?
Would she be burned to avoid being captured, sunk by enemy fire, commandeered by officers or would have survived the war?

I'd approach this, "What if," by finding a good source and I found one.



Above- In Memoriam- General Lewis Baldwin Parsons (he oversaw the western transportation in St. Louis during the Civil War.) His memoriam gives many details about St. Louis during the Civil War. Google Books has a copy on line (click on the cited book above & scroll up to page 1). Parsons had an interesting life, he lived near St. Louis where he was a lawyer and married there.

It is such a good pamphlet and when I read down the List of Boats Destroyed on the Mississippi River and its' Tributaries, I saw many steamboats that plyed the inland waterways with the Steamboat Arabia.

Here's some examples on the list-

Grey Eagle- May 9, 1861- Where: Rock Island Illinois- Collision with a bridge- Value $35,000- owned Galena, Ill.
New Era- June 22, 1861- Where: St. Louis- Burned accidentally- Value $6,500- owned St. Louis
Messenger- Dec 7, 1861- Where: 8 Miles below Rochester Ohio- Striking snag- Value $25,000- Cincinnati Ohio
Imperial, Hiawatha, Post Boy, Jesse K Bell- September 14, 1863- Where: St. Louis Levee- These boats were burned by Frazier and his accomplices, acting under instructions from rebel government.

In conclusion, I think Steamboat Arabia would have burned by the rebels. With that in mind, isn't it nice she hit the sang and sank so the merchandise ended up being artifacts in the Arabia Steamboat Museum.


My next blog will post the List of Boats Destroyed on the Mississippi River and its' Tributaries from  Capt. Charles Parsons, A. Q. M. Report. I had to be extra gentle with this because I didn't want to break the spine.

Welcome back to my blog. January seems to be the month I am renewing my energy to get cracking on my book. My blog today reminds us to be good stewards and pay off your credit cards- The depression is not (completely) over.

If you've been following my blog, I promised to write an article about my daguerreotype of Mary Ella Jenks with her Izannah Walker doll and came across some interesting information that can be, somewhat, indirectly related to the Steamboat Arabia. It's a ledger for the Providence Saving Bank in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Arabia sank prior to the depression (Panic of 1857) when many banks failed. A majority of her cargo was purchased on credit. Like many, storekeepers and wholesalers some could not pay off their bills and had a difficult time getting new stock.

Providence, Rhode Island was an industrial area manufacturing tools and textiles (and The Arabia Steamboat Museum has a great deal of tools and textiles). In fact, the earliest mills in Providence are still standing. The Jencks History Center and the Slater Mill has been restored. If you've ever been in a operating mill, the noise is deafening (must see/hear LOL).  Per the Slater Museum's web site:

 Today, Slater Mill is a museum complex that includes the Old Slater Mill, built in 1793 and restored to its c. 1835 appearance; the Wilkinson Mill, built in 1810; the Sylvanus Brown House, built in 1758; archival materials, collections of hand-operated and powered machinery, a 120 seat theatre, 2 gift shops, a gallery and a recreational park. Highlights of the site include a short film bringing to life the industrial history of the Blackstone River Valley, demonstrations of flax processing, cotton spinning, and weaving in an 18th century artisan's home, exhibitions of 19th and 20th century machinery, and an operating 16,000 pound water wheel. Interpretive programs examine the transition from home manufacture to factory production and the role of water and steam power in the industrial revolution.

If you recall, last year the Arabia Steamboat Museum's Facebook posted the bolt of fabric and the paper label for a fabric Mill in New York from their collection.


PANIC OF 1857 (thank you Wikipedia)
The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. 




I purchased a bank ledger for the Providence Country Saving Bank in North Providence. Pardon Jencks was a relative to Mary Ella Jenks and Vice President of the new bank that incorporated in May 1853 (the Jenks name was also spelt Jencks). This ledger listed the customers and their account numbers, the annual meeting required by law, loans, and cash deposited, dividends paid and cost of operating the bank from 1853-1864.




The ledger revealed Mary's father Stephen A Jenks opened a saving account for his daughter about the time of her 3rd birthday in 1857. About the time this dag most likely was taken.




Paging through the ledger I found a statement showed the bank's deposits between July 1856- Jan 1857 dropped by $80,000 less than prior six months. The spread sheet continues to show a low deposits until 1859.


This would have been the time when the storekeepers debts were due for 1856. The ledger reveals, if manufacturers and wholesalers could hold out, they would be able to recover. 


I read debts that were discounted, shares from other banks purchased, and loans extended. 


This bank was very sound since it was had a balance of $186,500 in the roughly times.


Three years later, the real impact hit this bank and they depleted their dividend reserves to $2.41 in order to not scare their investors. That's $1,724.32 to keep a public face they weren't affected. 


The following six months, they gained reserves of $991.50. So, that tells me the manufacturers were recovering.




Wikipedia continues 
 In December of 1857, President Buchanan revealed his new strategy of “reform not relief,” which focused on the idea that “the government sympathized but could do nothing to alleviate the suffering individuals.”^[12] To avoid further financial panics, President Buchanan encouraged the United States Congress to pass a law to provide an immediate forfeit of a bank charter in the event that the bank suspended specie payments. He also asked state banks to keep one dollar in specie for every three issued as paper and discouraged federal or state bonds to be used as security on a bank note to avoid future inflation.^[12] Additionally, the Tariff of 1857 was enacted. It was enacted as a revision of the Tariff of 1846, which had, been “slowly destroying…thousand[s] of industrial enterprises.”^[13] The Tariff of 1857 lowered the tax on the items from the Tariff of 1846, yet the tax was still in “favor [of] the American industry” to help improve the economy.^[5]

Here's the complete page- Click the image to enlarge
Deposits


Interest, Expenses, Dividends, Money held in Reserve

Above: Council Bluffs, Iowa stereoview, street scene shows an arch, two welcome signs and a hanging boot sign (on left blocking the welcome sign).

Welcome to 2012. This year will marks:

the 156th year the Steamboat Arabia Sank,
the 20th year the Arabia Steamboat Museum opened (November 2011) and
the 20th year my first visit to the Steamboat Arabia Museum.

If you haven't checked out Arabia Steamboat Museum's facebook page-  More boots have been cleaned and perserved  and only 24,000 more to go! I take my hat off to the staff and their great patience and care they take ensuring these artifacts will be around for the future generations.



Last year, I completed my book proposal, and now, I will begin writing up the draft. Ellen Dunlap, who is President of the American Antiquarian Society, has generously offered to meet to discuss my proposal and it greatly pleases me that so many people have helped me along the way.


Above- CDV,  backstamp W. Mitchell's National Art Gallery, No. 77 Felix Street, St. Joseph. Idenified in pencil as Col. McDonald. Possibly the McDonald who was a partner to Saxton & Donnell. Notice the diamond ring on the pinky and the artist's attempt to reflect McDonald's personality with the devilish details.

Here in 888 words is my proposal in a nutshell. Doesn't this open your eyes to how the Arabia Steamboat Museum represents 1850s America?

The Arabia Steamboat Museum exhibits the best and largest random sample of pre–Civil War Americana in existence, all of it from the Arabia, a commercial side-wheeler, that operated on the inland waterways for three years and sank in the Missouri River in 1856. Since the opening of the museum in 1991, over two million people have visited it. These include tourists, historians, academics, collectors, school children, Civil War reenactors, and archaeologists.

The museum exhibits include:  

• Most of the two hundred tons of 1856 merchandise found in the steamboat’s hull, arranged according to the type of ware, for example, hardware, clothing, dishes, and boots

• Parts of the steamboat, i.e.,for example, hull, boiler, stacks, and a reproduction working paddle wheel

• A video about the personal experiences of those who discovered and excavated the steamboat 

The museum does an excellent job telling the story of the excavation by twentieth century treasure hunters and scratches the surface of the boat’s context and historical importance. This might be enough for casual visitors, but a growing majority wants to know more. They see this collection as a unique gateway into America’s past, and as mysterious as King Tut’s tomb. John Falk’s book The Museum Experience points out, “Visitors go to an aquarium expecting to see live fish in tanks and read information about them”; ergo, visitors go to a nineteenth-century steamboat museum expecting to see the steamboat’s artifacts and gain an understanding about the businessmen who were involved. The proposed book, The Arabia Steamboat Museum: Exploring American Businessmen through Ephemera, will document the stories hidden within this collection and satisfy those who hunger for the deeper history. 

My personal experience with the collection began in 1992, when, on my first visit to the museum, I saw a wooden crate of shoes and after reading the names and towns that were painted on the side of the crate I wanted to know who these merchants were. As I looked at other artifacts, I began to ask a wider scope of questions:
• Who were the businessmen who consigned all these goods?
• What were their experiences selling goods in the towns where they set up their shops?
• Why did they need these items for the winter of 1856?
• What events happened aboard the steamboat Arabia during this hectic time before the Civil War?

The curator at that time was Greg Hawley. We discussed a joint project and agreed that I should begin researching Arabia’s deeper stories, even if finding any paper trail would be difficult. However despite this obstacle, I accepted the challenge to answer my own questions and chose to see Arabia as a stage and focus on the businessmen who owned her, worked aboard her, consigned their goods to her, contracted with her proprietors and agents, and walked her decks, or waved to her from the shore. 

I found that commercial boats, like Arabia, worked on a packet line with a hierarchy consisting of a managing office, captains, clerks. In Arabia’s case, she was part of three lines, the first packet line shipped the U.S. mail, then second, the U.S. military’s troops and their provisions and last for St. Louis steamboat commission firms. This went on for three years until she sank near Parkville, Missouri September 5, 1856, with undelivered freight for sixteen landings extending over six hundred miles along the Missouri River. These lost crates resulted in fifty-one stores in Nebraska Territory, Missouri, and Iowa being deprived of their merchandise for the winter of 1856. It took a week for the St. Louis wholesalers to learn in the Daily Missouri Democrat that the freight they sold lay at the bottom of the Missouri River. 

The majority of the cargo represented the lifeblood for two new towns in Nebraska Territory, that were Florence and St. John’s City, and the rest was for other businessmen who tried to make a living while serving a variety of consumers. It was these businessmen that I wanted to know more about and in that way, I felt they held the key to understanding what this cargo was all about. These men, either aboard the boat or waiting in their towns, were real people, representing all economic levels and business strategies. I would find, some of these men became witnesses to the repercussions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 when the territories of Kansas and Nebraska were in the initial stage of organization, a few cut out a decent living, others became the casualties of the depression known as the Panic of 1857 and several participated in the Civil War. 

At the end of my twenty years of research, I had answered my questions and I learned the essential truth, what these mid-nineteenth century businessmen were striving to accomplish with the merchandise that now makes up the artifacts in the Arabia Steamboat Museum and how much shipping was affected by current events, much like today. Moreover, I was able to generalize their experiences to the general population of 1850s businesses. Last, I learned the foundations of credit reporting history and how these indicators for a good credit report still apply today. They were much like people in the twenty-first century, just trying to make a living during the hectic times, when changing markets, land speculation and borrowing on credit ruined many.

Welcome back to my blog....As you can see by the image above, I am still hypnotized by the little girl above holding her Izannah Walker doll. I bought this image last May at Brimfield Antique Show near Sturbridge Village Massachusetts and posted it several blogs ago. The image needed conservation and if you remember I promised to do just that. It looks great doesn't it? Click the image to see an enlargement.

So, just before I sent it up to Canada to Mike Robinson (centurydarkroom@sympatico.ca), I ordered a couple of doll books and learned a bunch about the back ground about early dolls. You know it's funny how something can stir your curiosity to the point you surf the web, buy a book or email several historical doll makers, just like I did. Dixie from the blog Izannah Walker Chronicles and Gail Wilson were so willing to share information and I certainly appreciate hearing about how passionate they are about their field.

I have high hopes to have a copy of this first generation Izannah Walker doll made to keep with the daguerreotype. There is something better about seeing the object in 3-D rather than seeing a photograph. That's why it is so great to go to the Arabia Museum....but you already know that.

So, again I am side tracked from my Steamboat Arabia project while writing up an article for the Daguerreian Society's Newsletter. It might seem like this scenic path keeps me from my project, but, in reality anything I learn adds to understanding the 1850s better- Yes-- even dolls.

OK, I hear you, what did I learn this time? My list could be very long....but I was reminded that nothing I think is cast in stone and I need to be open to new information. Let me cite one example. I posted in my previous blog,

"Just who this little girl was....we will never know....and since the frame or mat did not have any identification marks, we don't know where this photograph was taken or who took it. It could be anywhere U.S.A."

I really thought I would never find any solid documentation who this little girl was, but I did. I decided to open up the back of the frame and check if anything was written on the back. To my delight I saw a name. Mary Ella Jenks. Ancestory.com helped me find that she was born in 1850 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (aka. Central Falls) in the same town the doll maker, Ms. Izannah Walker lived. Mary died in 1923 and I can only assume the image was kept in the family until recently when the dealer attended an antique show in Providence, Rhode Island.

Books mentioned that Ms. Walker was close friends with the Jenks family who were the original founders to Pawtucket Rhode Island. Also, there is mention that Ms. Walker gave dolls to Martha Wheaton Chase (another doll maker, cousin to Mary and born 1851) and other children in town. Then there is a reference to a a memoir by Mary's father I haven't read yet and I might be able to get a copy from the Providence Historical Society.

Obviously, Mary inserted her name in the frame when she was 49 on the card stock dated 1899. I had this documentation turned facing outward and covered with a piece of glass. Mike found the second name identification for Mrs. N. Howard Easton (aks Mary Ella Jenks). Lastly, I had a tag taped on the frame that says, Collection of Elizabeth B. Isenburg and conservation by Mike Robinson 2011 because we are part of history too.



Here's a close up of the doll's head. I am so glad I had it cleaned because this image should be around another 150 years. Enjoy the image and hopefully you will find something inspiring to investigate too. I promise to get back on track working on my book after the holidays.

Welcome Back to my Blog.....I've been doing some traveling and attended the Photo History symposium at the George Eastman House. 


While driving there the highway crosses the Erie Canal and I always wish I had worked in time to stop and get a closer look. There are many canals, not just the Erie Canal. Whether privately funded or supported by government grants or loans, these helped our country expand at a faster rate. 


These waterways were very important in transporting large quantities of goods and navigate around dangerous waters and elevate boats up hill, such as the one the Steamboat Arabia used which ran from Portland to Cincinnati around the Ohio River's falls. Arabia was a small enough to squeeze into the small locks which many side wheelers could not. The image below is from Erie Canal Wikipedia and shows a man opening a lock.




The above ambrotype in my collection shows a lesser known canal in Upper State New York. As you can see by the photo above, it had a boat supply store for groceries, dry goods and other needed items much like the stores along the St. Louis Levee. The canal boat in the image was pulled by mules and it must have been a sight to see Arabia waiting for its turn to go into the lock surrounded by these boats. You have to wonder if the noise from the stacks made the mules nervous.


Let's hope that I manage my time better and work in a extra few hours next time I head up that direction. I do have an open invite at the Strong Museum to see the Izannah Walker doll in their collection so I would like to find the time.


In the meantime, I have to get back to working on my book. Thank you for all the emails and encouragement that the Arabia is an important story and you believe there is a sufficeint audience out there. I do too!


I am never dishearted because it is very common to go thru lots of editors before one is willing to accept a proposal. If this was easy everyone would be doing a book. Since I blogged I received a wonderful letter from Wes Cowan who wrote:

Elizabeth, I would be remiss if I did not also thank YOU for your hospitality and your willingness to share with me your book proposal. The work you have done on the consignors to the Arabia is first rate! I marvel at how you came upon the credit records. What a gold mine of information. I urge you not to abandon your project, but complete the manuscript, find a good editor, and then resubmit it to the XXXXXX Press. It will make an invaluable contribution to the history of commerce on the Middle Missouri River, and provide the real "window" into the degree to which the emerging communities on the Plains were dependant upon merchants from the East.

Also, I received a upbeat email from Ellen Dunlap who is the President of the American Antiquarian Society. I sent her my book proposal with all the images I send the University Press and she wrote:

I have some ideas that I want to pursue and will get back to you just as soon as I can. The story is a fascinating one and I’ve loved every minute I’ve been able to spend with your write-up and the photos.

So, let me work on time management and make some more progress on my manuscript.

Welcome back to my blog..... above you see Wes Cowen having a cup of coffee in my kitchen.
Sorry to have taken so long to update you on what's been happening. First off, I am holding off on discussing the Frozen Charlotte doll because I will be visiting the Strong Museum later this fall and since they have such a good toy collection, I am sure I'll learn much more and then I'll report back to you.


Secondly, as I mentioned last summer we have lots of company coming through and the most recent guest has been Wes Cowen who is on the PBS program called the History Detectives. This program is in its 10th year! Although I have known Wes for many years, I didn't know that he had a PhD in Anthropology.




Per Wikipedia- "Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensivefield studies (including participant observation methods), the social organization of a particular person: customs, economic and political organization, law and conflict resolution, patterns of consumption and exchange, kinship and family structure, gender relations, child rearing and socialization, religion, and so on."


When I first met Greg Hawley, he mistook me for a teacher and others could mistake for a social anthropologist. Either one is a compliment. As some of you know, I have a a masters in social work- specifically social administration and community planning and I worked as a social worker so I always take the stance of the social anthropologist. My first semester in college, I took sociology and learned how much a person can learn when going through someone's trash.




He read my book proposal cover to cover (all 20 plus pages), then he reviewed Greg's book, Treasures in a Cornfield and said he really was impressed at the depth and grasp I have on Steamboat Arabia's history and that of the consignees. He wanted to know where I was with my book and this turned into a long hour conversation. 


I replied that I heard back from my first book publisher which was a university press. It was turned down, for the following reasons (per the editor):

1. Oversized format with full-color illustrations are very expensive to produce and that we almost always had to have some sort of subsidy in order to publish them.
2. Having reviewed your proposal, I regret to say that the project does not appear likely to lead to a book for our list.
3. The tack you take—moving from the artifacts outward to the businesses that never received the cargo—is certainly a distinctive one and has some educational value, but such a book would probably not appeal to a sufficient audience to justify the large expenditure for its production.

I really do appreciate all this advice. All these comments will be addressed and corrected. 


I offered to cover the expense of the copy right for the images and other expenses, but it seems they needed grant money to cover their printing costs, which I was unaware they needed. So, now I do.


I loved the feedback I received from the editor because it gave me a stamp of approval that my idea was ahead of the curve. It was a new idea of looking at the collection and that makes it priceless (if this was a Master Card commercial). I admit that University Presses are looking to sell their books as text books for college courses and he could not see a demand at the university level for a history class. 


So for the last few weeks, I have began to seek out publishers that print books for social anthropology courses and I think it wouldn't hurt to talk to a few college professors.


Then again, maybe Jeanne was right that the book should be published under the Arabia Steamboat Museum's press because they could control reprints of the book when a university or other press may not reprint 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions.


So, life is good and I am moving forward to a better book. I would like to hear from anyone who has any suggestions how I can justify that people want this book published.