D. J. Lawlor

The D. J. Lawlor was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1881. The schooner was considered the largest (86 feet) 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.

Pilot-boat D. J. Lawlor. Painting by Nathaniel Livermore Stebbins.
History
US
Name: D. J. Lawlor
Owner: Captains William V. Abbott, Abel F. Hayden, and James H. Reid
Builder: Dennison J. Lawlor
Cost: $13,000
Launched: December 22, 1881
Out of service: January 4, 1895
Fate: Sank
General characteristics
Class and type: schooner
Tonnage: 75-tons TM[1]
Length: 86 ft 0 in (26.21 m)
Beam: 21 ft 10 in (6.65 m)
Depth: 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)
Propulsion: Sail
Notes: Bagnall & Loud blocked

Construction and service

The D. J. Lawlor, was built at North Weymouth, Massachusetts by Porter Keene.[2] The D. J. Lawlor (No 3), was launched at Quincy Point in Quincy, Massachusetts on December 22, 1881 for Captain Abel F. Hayden.[3] She was the largest of her build and rig in the United States and noted for her seaworthiness and heavy weather performance.[4] She was designed by Dennison J. Lawlor, for whom she was named. She took the place of the pilot-boat Gracie, that was sold to the Wilmington, Delaware pilots.[5]

On February 16, 1882, the D. J. Lawlor, took a trial trip at Battery Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. The excursion went to Minot's Ledge Light, one mile offshore of the towns of Cohasset and Scituate, Massachusetts.[5]

She was registered with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping, from 1883-1895, to Abel F. Hayden, James H. Reid, and William V. Abbott as owners and to Hayden as master. Her hailing port was Boston.[1]

End of service
Pilot Boat No. 3, D. J. Lawlor, lost in 1895 collision.

On January 4, 1895, during a heavy mist, the Boston pilot-boat D. J. Lawlor, No. 3, was struck and sank off Minot's Ledge Light by the Gloucester fishing schooner Horace B. Parker. Four of the crew perished. Rudolph Harrison, the steward, was the only one that survived.[6][7] She cost $13,000 and was fully isnured through the agency of Franklin S. Phelps & Company. Captain William V. Abbott, who was one-quarter owner, was not on board the boat when it sank.[8]

The owners of the D. J. Lawlor, filed charges in the U. S. District Court against the fishing schooner Horace B. Parker, for damages for the loss of the pilot-boat, which was valued at $12,000. They claimed the collision was caused by the carelessness of the schooner with no lookout on board.[9]

In 1896, the 'Liberty was built by John Bishop at his shipyard in Gloucester, Massachusetts, to take the place of the ill-fated pilot-boat D. J. Lawlor. The boat was built for pilots Murdock Low, Nelson and John Ward. She was 104 feet long, 118-tons and cost $17,000. She was launched on March 30, 1896.[10]

Dennison J. Lawlor

Dennison J. Lawlor (January 1, 1824 – January 1, 1892) was a prominent shipbuilder and yacht designer. He was born in New Brunswick, Canada and came to Boston when he was fifteen years old. He served his apprenticeship with Whitmore & Holbrook shipbuilders. The Dennis J. Lawler shipyard was in East Boston at the corner of Condor and Meridian Streets. Over 150 merchant vessels were built from his designs. The most notable were the Hesper, Phantom, and The D. J. Lawlor. He was friends with Thomas F. McManus and the McManus family that survived for half a century.[11]:p28

Lawlor was married to Caroline F. Littlefield on February 18, 1847 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They had four children, one being, Captain Josiah Warren Lawlor, who was born on November 8, 1854 in Chelsea.[12]

During 1884-85, Lowlor's Chelsea shipyard shut down due to foreclosure.[11]:p117

Lawlor died on January 1, 1892 at Chelsea, Massachusetts. He was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery.[13]

During his career, Lawlor designed and built pilot boats including:[11]:p59

See also

References
  1. "Record of American and Foreign Shipping 1883". Mystic Seaport Museum. New York. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  2. "Shipbuilding by Robert F. Sullivan" (PDF). www.weymouth.ma.us. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  3. "Marine Notes". Boston Post. Boston, Massachusetts. 23 Dec 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-10-21 – via newspaperarchive.com.
  4. Cunliffe, Tom (2001). Pilots, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar. Brooklin, Maine: WoodenBoat. p. 155. ISBN 9780937822692.
  5. "A Model Craft. Trail Trip of the New Pilot Boat D. J. Lawlor". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 16 Feb 1882. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-10-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Four Pilots Keepers Drowned. The D. J. Lawler, No. 3, Off the Massachusetts Coast, Run Down by a Fishing Schooner". New York Times. New York, N.Y. 7 Jan 1895. p. 8. ProQuest 95290140. Retrieved 2020-10-20 – via ProQuest.
  7. Eastman, Ralph M. (1956). Pilots and pilot boats of Boston Harbor. Boston, Massachusetts: Second Bank-State Street Trust Company. p. 50.
  8. "Asleep Neath Boston Harbor's Water. Pilot Boat D, J. Lawler and Four of Her Men Sent Down by Schooner Horace B. Parker". Boston Post. Boston, Massachusetts. 7 Jan 1895. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-10-21 – via newspaperarchive.com.
  9. "For Loss Of The Lawlor. Fishing Schooner Horace B. Parker Sued for $12,000 for Sinking Pilot Boat Off Minot's Light on Jan 4". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 23 Feb 1895. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-10-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Pilot Boat to Launched Monday". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 28 Mar 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-10-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Dunne, W. M. P.; Patrick, William Matthew (1934). Thomas F. McManus and the American fishing schooners: an Irish-American success story. Mystic, Conn., Mystic Seaport Museum.
  12. "In A Tiny Shell. How Captain Lawlor Proposes to Go to Europe". The Portland daily press. Portland, Me. 14 Jun 1892. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  13. "Noted Shipbuilder Gone. Death of D. J. Lawlor, the Eminent Naval Architect". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 1 Jan 1892. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-10-21 – via Newspapers.com.
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