John D. Jones (pilot boat)

The John D. Jones was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1859 for a company of New York Sandy Hook pilots. She was one of the finest vessels of her class. She was replaced by the pilot-boat Widgeon, when the Jones sank in a collision with the steamer City of Washington.

Pilot Boat John D. Jones, No. 15., painted by J. Hansen.
History
US
Name: John D. Jones
Namesake: John Divine Jones, the President of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company
Owner: New York Pilots
Operator: Peter R. Baillie
Builder: Van Deusen shipyard
Launched: 28 Dec 1859
Christened: 28 Dec 1859
Out of service: 18 March 1871
Fate: Sank
General characteristics
Class and type: schooner
Tonnage: 50-tons TM[1]
Draft: 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m)
Propulsion: Sail

Construction and service

New York pilot-boat John D. Jones, No. 15, was launched on 28 December 1859 from the Van Deusen shipyard at the foot of Sixteenth Street, East River. The boat was built for a company of Sandy Hook pilots, which owned the A. B. Neilson, No. 21, which was sold in the spring of 1859 to a group of New Orleans pilots. The Jones was christened in honor of the John Divine Jones, the President of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company.[2]

In 1860, she was one of only twenty-one pilot boats that were in the New York and New Jersey fleet.[3] On 10 October 1860, New York Sandy Hook Pilot Frederick Baudier, of the pilot boat J. D. Jones, No. 15, signed a statement along with other pilots, that they were satisfied with the representation they have received from the New York Board of Commissioners of Pilots.[4]

The John D. Jones was registered with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping, in 1871. Her owners were the New York Pilots and Peter R. Baillie was the ship Master. Her dimensions were 9 ft. draught; and 50-tons burthen.[1]

End of service

On 18 March 1871, on a stormy dark night, the pilot boat John D. Jones, was struck when attempting to board the Inman Line steamship City of Washington, traveling from Liverpool for New York, 270 miles east from Sandy Hook. She filled with water and sank in 15 minutes. The pilots and crew were all saved and taken on board the Washington.[5][6]:p21 At the time of the disaster she was valued at $6,000. She was one of the finest boat of her class.[7]

The John D. Jones, was then replaced by the yacht schooner Widgeon, on April 30, 1871. The Widgeon had been a yacht and the New York pilots converted her into a pilot-boat.[8]

Anthony B. Neilson
Pilot boat A. B. Neilson, No. 21., with a Clipper ship.

The boat that came before the John D. Jones, was the Anthony B. Neilson, which was a pilot-boat built in 1854 by George Steers for a company of five New York and Sandy Hook pilots. She was built by the Steers and Hawthorne shipyard, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Captain John F. Clark was the commander of the boat. The boat was named after Anthony Bleecker Neilson, who was president of the Sun Mutual Insurance Company.[9]

The Neilson was George Steers' last effort in the pilot boat line. She was an exact model of the pilot-boat George Steers (1852), except that she was ten feet longer. She was considered to be the fastest boat in the piloting business.[10] The boat number "21" was painted as a large number on her mainsail, that identified the her as belonging to the New York and Sandy Hook Pilots Association.

In the summer of 1854, the pilot boat A. B. Neilson, No. 21, averaged over twenty knots for four successive hours.[11][12] She was often referred to as the pilot-boat Anthony B. Neilson or just A. B. Neilson.[13]

A half hull model of the Anthony B. Neilson was made by George Steers. The model is varnished and inscribed in black-outlined letters is “ANTHONY B. NEILSON.”[9]

The Pilot-boat Neilson, took pilots off outbound Clipper ships, that safely left the New York Bay and into the Atlantic Ocean.[6]:p1 On October 27, 1856, the A. B. Neilson, ran into the pilot boat Julia, No. 15, of New York, off the Sandy Hook Light. She broke into two and sank with hands being saved.[14]

In August, 1859, the A. B. Neilson was sold to a group of New Orleans pilots, to be used as a pilot boat at La Balize, Louisiana. She sailed for New Orleans on August 24, 1859 with Captain George Benson as the new owner.[10] The New York pilots then replaced the Neilson, with the John D. Jones.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Index to Ship Registers". research.mysticseaport.org. Mystic seaport. Retrieved 11 Jan 2021.
  2. "Launch". The New York Times. New York, New York. 28 Dec 1859. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-01-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Russell, Charles Edward (1929). From Sandy Hook to 62°. New York: Century Co. OCLC 3804485.
  4. "The New York Pilots. To The Editor Of The Herald". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 10 Oct 1860. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  5. "Disaster At Sea, A New York Pilot Boat Cut Down by an Ocean Steamer". New York Evening Express. 30 March 1871.
  6. Allen, Edward L. (1922). Pilot Lore From sail to Steam. New York: The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations.
  7. "The Pilot Boat John D. Jones run Down at Sea by the Steamship City of Washington-Narrow Escape of the Crew". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 31 Mar 1871. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Yachting Notes". New York Herald. New York, New York. 30 Apr 1871. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  9. "Anthony B. Neilson, No. 21, New York Pilot Schooner". The Mariners' Museum and Park. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  10. "George Steer's Last Pilot Boat Sold". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, Louisiana. 10 Sep 1859. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-01-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "To The Editor Of The Herald". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 23 Apr 1870. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-01-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "U.S. nautical magazine and naval journal". New York : Griffiths, Bates. 1858. p. 244. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  13. "Resue". Bangor Daily Whig and Courier. Bangor, Maine. 25 Jan 1855. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-01-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Loss of a Pilot Boat". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, Louisiana. 27 Oct 1856. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-01-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Launch". The New York Times. New York, New York. 28 Dec 1859. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-01-10 – via Newspapers.com.
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