Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-01-25
AN OLD RESIDENTS TALK.


| Oh Eleventh ana King streets, thursday,
when many interesting "reminiscences
were told. Don't you know, said the old
resident, that the old house is built upon
tho first old potters' field. There are
several potters' fields around Whining
ton, but this is the first and Oldest of
all. Years and years ago when was
boy, so long ago that | am half ashamed
to tell, it used to be the burying ground
for all the old sailors and tramps that
came here from all parts of the world.
| You know at one time Wilmington
was seaport of real importance. 1t
was known in the West Indies and in
Europe. There was a big trade done
here then.
40 SQUARE RUGGED VESSELS IN PORT.
Yes, when l was u boy / remember
seeing as many as 40 square-rigged
vessels strung along the Christiana, all
along the wharves from Market street
bridge down. Most of them were
whalers. This was big whaling port
in those times.
Tho Wilmington Whaling Company l
remember we'll. 1t had five ships. They
were the Lucy Ann, the jefferson,
Cereus, North American, and the bark
Superior. Some OF them went for the
sperm whale and others for the common
whale oil. The sperm whalers went
around Cape Horn to the Pacific and
that was three years voyage always.
Those that went for what was known
as common black whale oil were gone
only Is months. They generally sailed
to the Arctic.
The president of the Wilmington
Whaling Company was Stephen Bon.
sail, and the vice-president Samuel
| Wheeler.
~ FEET OF WATER AT HIGH TIDE.
In those days there were ~ feet of
water at King street wharf, at high tide,
that is 81 feet at low tide. That is so
for | know it myself. | was born at
the river side. My memory runs from
when | was about IL years of age. l
speak of things as they were from 1890
to 1886 and SO ON.
FIRING OF A CANNON.
The homeward bound whaleships,
when they arrived at the Cbristiana's
mouth, used to fire off cannon to let
us know that they were hero. They
would come up the Christiana on high
tide. The old side-wheelor Huckle-
berry, with Captain Bilderback in COM
mand, used to tug them up along the
reaches OF tho river to the wharves.
100 sIx-HoRsE TEAMS IN LINE.
Yes sir, have seen others of the old
glories of Wilmington too when she did
big inland trade also. have seen
more than hundred farmers teams
along Front street, it was then Lancaster
avenue, all the way from French street
wharf up to past Maryland avenue, in
fact as far as you could see. There
would be four to six horses In each
team, mostly six horses, with big bows,
adorned with bells over their heads.
The wagons were laden with grain and
whisky. They came all the way from
Lancaster county, Pa, with the products
of the farms there. II was Il great grain
and distilling region in that time.
THE TONNAGE OF THE wHALERs.
The whalers l was speaking OF aver
aged from 500 to 800 tons, which was
pretty big for those days. The Lucy
Ann was 800 tons and the Cereus came
next in size. sl
THE WEST INDIA TRADE.
The ships belonging to this port that
traded to the West Indies at that time
were briggs and topsail schooners. They
averaged from 150 to 200 tons. They
carried whisky and -four out there and
brought back rum, molasses and sugar.
The Wheelers, who came from Maine,
one of whom was vice president of the
Wilmington Whaling Company, had a
line of vessels sailing to Eastport, Me-,
and other New England points. They
brought back mackerel, herring and
rock plaster. The Lancaster farmers
wanted the fish for winter food and the
plaster for grinding into fertilizers. II
was largely used in the adjoining coun-
ties of Pennsylvania for that purpose.
NEWPORT WAS A BIGGER PORT.
But long before Wilmington had any
commerce OF Importance Newport was
a seaport of considerable standing.
, Then the farmers wagons passed by
Brandywine Springs en- route to New
) port. Briggs and schooners loaded there
for eastern points and for the West
: indies Imagine nowadays the Will.
!, mington public reading in EVERY EVEN.
ING to-day that the brigs George Wash
ington and Anthony Wayne were
cleared by Collector Townsend with
cargoes of -four and tallow for Jamaica
w. |. Yet that was the commones
of occurrences in days long gone by
The Christiana was nearly as wide
7 again as it is row. And il was goot
good depth all the way to Newport. II
was deep enough to easily float heavily
laden brig.
BATHING AT THE p, W. & B. STATION.
Talking about the depth of the rive
; have often bathed on the very spo
! where the p, w. & B. station nov
stands. About 20 feet or so from i
was Thomas Young's ship yard, where
they launched big schooners. Thatchers
shipyard was farther down still.
/ BRANDYwINE sHIPYARDs.
. Many is the brig that has been bull
on the Rrandywine below Lea's mills
a Below that point again was Harris
/. ship-y yards, where barks 400 and 50(
tons were launched.
' Probably at that time there were 90 Il
& 30 big square-rigged ships owned in th
4 town, where now there are actual,
/. none. have seen the Hucklebefry TOW
0 the big whalers, heavily laden with OF
4 and whalebone, right close up to tn,
wharf.
i ALSO A BUSY EMTG RANT PORT.
4 This was an emigrant port, too
h have seen plenty of emigrant vessel
: coming in here. They have had as man,
n as 800 to 400 emigrants aboard. The
S were mostly Germans and Irish.
SOLD TO PAY FREIGHT.
,. The passengers were sometimes SOLE
n to pay their freight. OF course l d.
| nat fnaon thew xUara aetna