J.&C. Short Shipbuilding II

by F.E. McConvey

Published 04 May 1988

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Ship (Full Rigged)
Bark/Barque
Brig

Brig: 2 masts. Square rigged.

Bark or Barque: 3 masts. Fore and main masts: Square rigged. After (mizzen) mast: fore and aft rigged. There were some four-masted barques but they were quite uncommon in Canadian shipyards,

Full Rigged Ship: Square rigged on all masts.

Schooners: There were several different types of schooners but the one with which we are most familiar with is the Bluenose, a Grand Bank Fishing Schooner. Fore and aft rigging may also be called schooner rigging. The number of masts varied from two to as many as seven.

The following information on the ships built by the Short Brothers has been gleaned from An International Community on the St. Croix 1604-1930 by Harold A. Davis.

Black Swan: Ship, 896 tons. Built at St. Andrews in 1855. Sold to Liverpool in 1856.

Lady Nelson: Ship. 902 tons. Built at St. Andrews in 1856. Ownes: Edward Wilson of St. Andrews and John Wilson of Liverpool.

Laura: Brigantine. 127 tons. Built at St. Andrews in 1860.

Ethel Bolton: Brigantine. 265 tons. Built at St. Stephen in 1865. Was lost between St. John and Cuba with her cargo of sugar boxes in December 1876.

Florence Chipman: Barque. 850 tons. Built at St. Stephen in 1862 for Chipman and Bolton. Sold to Liverpool in 1862.

Kathleen: Barque. 462 tons. Built at St. Stephen in 1862 by Chipman and Bolton, Sold by decree of the Admiralty Court in 1874.

Sea: Barque. 748 tons. Built in St. Stephen in 1862 by Chipman and Bolton. Sold in Liverpool by DeWolfs, brokers for 6000 on July 1, 1863.

Sea Gem: Barque. 1026 tons. Built at St. Stephen for Chipman and Bolton in 1864. Dimensions 150' x 31' x 18'. Surveyed by Lloyds to class 7A1. Sold by DeWolfes at Liverpool.

(This classification was the highest given to any colonial ship by Lloyds. Very few ships from the St. Croix received this rating. Generally, the only vessels to receive ratings were the larger ones constructed of pitch pine and tamarck. The schooners and brigs built of spruce were not usually surveyed. Lloyds of Britain allowed a four-year classifiication; French Veritas and the French Registry of Maine allowed five and, on occasion, six years.)

Ella DeWolf: Barque. 324 tons. Built for Chipman and Bolton at St. Stephen in 1866. Sold by Dewolfes at Marsailles on August 17, 1867.

Oswingo: Barque. 680 tons. Built at St. Stephen in 1869. Sold by DeWolfes in Liverpool. Thee was also a ship (854.6?988.68? tons) with the smae name bult in 1853/4 at Robbinson, ME but I do not believe it was built by the Shorts.

Windmere: Barque. 695 tons. Built at St.Stephen by Chipman in 1870.

Lynton: Barque. 765 tons. Built at St. Stephen by Chipman in 1874. Dimensions 156.1' x 32.7' x19.5'. Sixteen shares were sold in Liverpool in 1874; two years later twney-eight more were sold. Wrecked in 1886.

Marion King: Barque. 939 tons. Built at St.Stephen for Z. Chipman in 1876. Twelve shares were sold in England in 1876; 16, in 1880. Sold to Norway in 1891 when the name was changed to Safir.

Sea Crest: Ship. 959 tons. Built at St. Stephen for Chipman and Bolton in 1863. Never surveyed by Lloyds but DeWolfes of Liverpool sold for 9000.

Sea Chief: Ship. 956?1055? tons. Built at St. Stephen in 1863 for Chipman and Bolton. Sold by DeWolfes in Liverpool for 9000 in November 1863. Not surveyed by Lloyds. Dimentions 174' x 35' x 22'.

Talisman: Ship. 1025 tons. Built for Chipman and Bolton at St. Stephen in 1854. Surveyed by Lloyds to class 7A1. Sold by DeWolfes at Liverpool in 1865.

Wolfville: Ship. 1126 tons. Built in 1865 for Chipman and Bolton. Shares taken by DeWolfe. Lost between Liverpool and Bombay in 1871.

Cashmere: Ship. 1258 tons. Built at St.Stephen for DeWolfes of Liverpool in 1873. Dimensions 200' x37.2' x 23.1'. Sold to Norway in 1891.

Chipman: Ship. 1083 tons. Built for Z. Chipman in 1877 at St. Stephen. Dimensions 1913.2' x 36.6' x 22.5'. In 1877 sixteen shares were sold in England. Sold to Norway in 1891.

There also appears to be a ship of this name built at Calais in 1853 of 637.44 tons. I do not know if it was constructed by the Shorts.

Rockland: Ship. 1464 ton. Built at St. Stephen for Z. Chipman in 1878. In 1878/9, sixteen shares were sold in England. Dimesions: 214.6' x 38.6' x 23.6'. This was the last of the ship to be built at St. Stephen.

Addie Murchie: Schooner. 153.42 tons. Built at Calais in 1866

Lottie: Schooner. 99.8 tons. Built at Calais in 1873

Almaretta: Schooner. 318.28 tons . Built at Calais in 1873

Joseph E. Eaton. Barque. 373.20 tons. Built in Calais, 1867

F.H. Todd: Brig. 326.40 tons. Built in 1866 at Calais.

Henry S. Fay. Schooner. 183.10 tons. Built by John Short in Calais in 1867.

Nellie: Schooner. 94.40 tons. Built at Calais in 1867 by John Short .

????. Barque. 569.60 tons., Built at Calais in 1872 by Short and Co. Not lauched.

Channel Light: Barque. 553 tons. Built at St. Andrews for Chipman and Bolton of St. Stephen. Sold in Liverpool by DeWolfs.

Annie H. Smith: Ship. 1452 tons. The largest ship after 1865 to be built at Calais. Built for Richardson and Rideout in 1876 at their yard by the Short Brothers. Dimensions: 220' x 40' x 24'. She had a thirteen-year rating from the Shipmasters Association. Her shares were owned by W.H. Smith, Morse and Company, Charles V, Lord and Co., Capt. J.F. Bartlett of Bangor and F.H. Smith and Co. of New York. In 1893 it was discovered she had been sold in her home port, New York and ended her days as a coal barge.

By 1865 the shipbuilding hey-day on the St. Croix was beginning to wane. By the late seventies it was over. Sales were slow for the ships built during this period and at the end, only a few shares were sold at a time.

Even though the day of wooden sailing ships is gone, we are very fortunate to have descendants of these great shipsbuilding families still to be found in the St. Croix Valley.

Although I have not seen it yet, there is a book that describes this bygone era and gives more detail on the Short Brothers. It is entitled Sail and Stream Along the Maine Coast, written by Vincent Short and Edwin Sears probably around 1955.

QUERIES:

36. BOHANON/CAMPBELL/McKENZIE. Seeking ancestors of LUCRETIA McKENSIE. b. 1817. m. 10 Mar 1840 to JOHN CAMPBELL BOHANON. LUCRETIA's mother was HANNAH -?-. Parents of JOHN were ANANIAH BOHANON (b. 12 July 1788) and AMELIA CAMPBELL (b. 11 Apr. 1797). Seeking their parents or any family info.

 

 

 

Note: In-Laws, Outlaws and Kinfolk articles have been published on this site with the permission of the St. Croix Courier. Special thanks goes to the Courier for allowing me to reprint my mother's articles.