Edward F. Williams

The Edward F. Williams, No. 14, was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1863 for a group of New York Pilots. She survived the great blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Williams along with other pilot boats, were replaced with steamboats.

New York pilot boat Edward F. Williams, No. 14. by Conrad Freitag.
History
US
Name: Edward F. Williams
Namesake: Edward F. Williams, shipbuilder
Owner: New York Pilots' Association
Operator: Geo. H. Berry
Builder: Edward F. Williams shipyard
Launched: April 28, 1863
Out of service: 1 February 1896
Fate: Sold
General characteristics
Class and type: schooner
Tonnage: 50-tons TM
Length: 76 ft 0 in (23.16 m)
Beam: 21 ft 0 in (6.40 m)
Depth: 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Propulsion: Sail

Construction and service

New York pilot-boat Edward F. Williams No. 14 was built 1863 at the Edward F. Williams shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The boat number "14" was painted as a large number on her mainsail, that identified the boat as belonging to the Sandy Hook Pilots. She was launched on April 28, 1863 from the Edward F. Williams yard for the Sandy Hook pilots. She was built for company of pilots that owned the Forrest, No. 14, which was wrecked on Long Island in 1862.[1]

The Edward F. Williams, was registered with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping, from 1877 to 1900, as a Pilot Schooner, with the New York Pilots as owners and Geo. H. Berry as the Master. She was 76 in length, 21 in breadth of beam, 7 in depth of hold, 50-tons and built in 1863.[2]

In the March Great Blizzard of 1888, Pilot Boat Edward F. Williams No. 14, was one of 17 vessels out on pilot duty at the time of the storm. She went ashore in the Sandy Hook horseshoe. Pilot Marshal P. White was in command at the time of the storm and was able to seek shelter inside Sandy Hook. The anchors did not hold and she was dragged towards the shore where she hit sand, that caused her keel to break off. She then started to leak and sank. Eleven men aboard had to escape in two small boats. The Williams was raised, repaired and served 12 more years as a pilot schooner. In 1901 she went to the West Indies as a trading vessel. On December 3, 1913, after 52 years, she was wrecked at Galveston harbor.[3][4][5]:p199

In the summer of 1888, author and New York newspaper editor Charles Edward Russell talked about being on the pilot boat Edward F. Williams and racing with the pilot boat Jesse Carll, No, 10. When they saw a streamliner that needed a pilot, they raced to see which pilot boat could reacher her first. The pilots from both boats took yawls and rowed them to the steamer to reach the ladder. As both yawls came to the ladder, pilot Moller from the Williams went up the side of the steamer to salute the captain.[4]:p251

End of service

In the age of steam, the E. F. Williams and four other pilot-boats were retained temporarily. On 1 February 1896, the New York Pilots discarded sixteen sailboats and moved them to the Erie Basin in Brooklyn. They were replaced with steam pilot boats. The Edward F. Williams, was sold for $4,000.[6][5]:p83

Edward F. Williams shipyard

Edward F. Williams's father was Jabez Williams (1788-1870), a pioneer and prominent shipbuilder in New York. In 1845, Jabez Williams moved his shipyard across the East River to Williamsburg at the foot of Clinton Street. It was called the Jabez Williams shipyard and sometimes referred to as the Jabez Williams & Son because he worked with his son, James T. Williams (1819-1879). He moved again in 1848 to Greenpoint, Brooklyn where he purchased land to build a shipyard. Edward F. Williams apprenticed under his father and soon started his own shipyard.[7] James T. Williams remained a partner with his father until 1854, when became one of the oldest members of the New York Stock Exchange.[8]

The Edward F. Williams shipyard was in Greenpoint at the foot of Quay Street. In June 1852, his first work was on the 269-ton schooner Eclipse. That same year, he launched the 319-ton schooner S. J. Moye for Dollner, Ptter & Company. In 1853, he built the 348-ton schooner Plow Boy (registered Tennessee) for the Richmond and New York line. On June 14, 1853, he launched the 91-ton pilot-boat Ellwood Walter, No. 7. In March 1855, Edward F. Williams launched the 328-ton bark Ricot. On August 25, 1855, he launched the 390-ton clipper-bark Clara Haxall built for trade between Richmond and Rio de Janeiro. On November 13, 1855, he launched the 347-ton schooner William H. Gilliland, built for the Palmetto Line.[9] On November 29, 1859, Williams launched the clipper schooner Nettle Merrill, that was built for the Hawaiian government mail service.[10]

Between 1850 and 1865, Edward Williams built eleven Sandy Hook pilot-boats. They were the Jabez Williams (1850), Ellwood Walter (1853), Edmund Blunt (1858), Fannie (1860), Mary A. Williams (1861), Mary E. Fish (1861), Edward F. Williams (1863), Willaim Bell (1863), Edmund Driggs (1864), William Bell II (1865), and the A. T. Stewart (1865). The Julia and Independence were also built by Williams.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Launch". New York Tribune. New York, New York. 1 May 1863. p. 7. Retrieved 3 Jan 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Index to Ship Registers". research.mysticseaport.org. Mystic seaport. Retrieved 3 Jan 2021.
  3. "New York Harbor Pilot Schooners Of Yesteryear Had Bright History". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. 20 Feb 1949. p. 7. Retrieved 3 Jan 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Russell, Charles Edward (1929). From Sandy Hook to 62°. New York: Century Co. OCLC 3804485.
  5. Allen, Edward L. (1922). Pilot Lore From sail to Steam. New York: The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations.
  6. "Not Up To Date. Why New York Pilots Are Discarding Sailboats". The Standard Union. Brooklyn, New York. 1 February 1896. p. 7. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  7. Knoblock, Glenn A. (2014). The American Clipper Ship, 1845-1920. A Comprehensive History, with a Listing of Builders and Their Ships. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 342. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  8. "Obituary. James T. Williams". The Brooklyn Union. Brooklyn, New York. 25 Jan 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-01-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Silka, Henry (2014). Shipbuilding and the Nascent Community of Greenpoint, New York, 1850-1855 (PDF). p. 1. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  10. "Miscellaneous". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 29 Nov 1859. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-01-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Shipbuilding. An Account of the Principal Naval Architects of the county". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. 28 Jul 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-01-03 – via Newspapers.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.