Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1907-05-15
A "REMINISCENCES.
Called to Mind By Seeing the Name
of an Old Shipmaster.

Called to Mind BY Seeing the Name
of an Old Shipmaster.
| [capt. George L. Norton, editor. in Marine
JoxrnaI.1
Capt. George W. Tapley. of West Brooks
vile, writes to THE ELLSWORTH AMERICAN:
To-day, looking across to Castine village,
there is not one vessel to be seen at its docks,
where sixty-fve or seventy years ago it was a
common sight to see two or three full-figged
ships at the docks discharging Liverpool salt.
and forty or fifty small vessels fitting out for
the fishing grounds OF the whole feet of
full-rigged ships, once owned in Castine,
know only the end OF one-the ship Lochin-
var. She went down. back In the eos. while
crossing the Bay Of Biscay on q voyage from
Shields. England, which was her sailing port,
toward Almarcia, Spain. The ship castine
was the last to 60, sold foreign
The foregoing was placed on the desk Of
the editor Of the Marine Journal with
numerous other clippings from various
exchanges for our information and COM
ment.
The words 'sTapiey" and sLochinvarr
revived memories in our early life while
forming the sea-habit, which set US to
thinking. Our first voyage to the West
Indies was made with George w. Tapley
% mate of the brig Beaver, of Bangor,
Me-; his brother, Capt. Thomas Tapley,
was in command. Two ADLER seamen
never trod q deck; the former was the
nerviest first onicer we ever saw, one OF
those men who had acquired the business
of q seafarer to perfection from stunning
in gang Of rigging, fishing . broken
spar, making suit Of sails, or setting the
ships dogs broken leg. He is the only
man we were ever shipmates with that ap-
pesred happier during gale of wind and
shortening sail than when running down
the trade winds for days with little to do
in working ship.
In those days sugar was shipped from
the West Indies to the states in hogs
heads, and Mate Tapley was an expert in
| slowing q cargo of this kind, IS we can
bear witness. As a result man Of his ex-
perience was not long awaiting promo
| ton, and it was only a short time after
| this, about the time Of the breaking out of
the civil war, that Bangor parties built
him q fine bark called the Ironsides, which
| vessel when completed took Q Cargo for
the government to Hilton Head, s. c.,
and after discharging it was chartered by
| the navy department as a store-ship and
lay for many months across the bay. At
| that time the writer was first officer OF the
army transport Saxon, then acting pilot
boat OF Hilton Head, and many pleasant
evening we spent Cumming with Capt.
and Mrs. Tapley, who before her marriage
| was Lizzie WATSON, then a belle OF West
Brooksville.
There were several Tapley brothers
and successful in the extreme, in fact, we
never heard OF their ever losing vessel,
although they had many narrow es capes,
| as do all successful mariners. Those of
| the brothers we knew personally were
Robert, Thomas, George, Abram, Jerome,
| and John, all masters of vessels early in
life. For many years Capt. Robert Tapley
| commanded a ship built and named for
| him. ~.-- ~ :
The ship Lochinvar referred to abovet
was a painted-port ship, and when she
| occasionally sailed into Csstine, salt laden,
she looked to us as large then as the Sewall
| ship Shenandoah, Of 3,1H tons, which
passed in sight of our Office recently, does
| now. Our deep going uncle, Capt.
Galen o. Norton, commanded this ship at
one time, q ship-master who was better
| known afterward, say from 1860 to 1880,
out of this port in command of the ships
Grahams Policy, 1. F. Chapman and the
| Aurora, which vessel he was in when he
.4I 10
Grahams Policy was the smallest full
rugged ship we ever saw. Some of our
veteran Sandy Hook pilots will remember
| her.
| The ships he commanded were all fine
ones in their day, which bore testimony
to his value as a shipmaster. Capt. Nor
ton was in the Lochinvar some time pre-
vious to her loss, and the writer was not
aware of what became of her until he read
Capt. Tapley's statement as printed above.
| We trust that through our Maine con-
temporaries who are on our exchange list,
the foregoing "reminiscences will reach the
eye OF some Of our old shipmates and
friends, who will recall the incidents
mentioned, and especially those with
whom we sailed and received our early
sea training in the following named YES
sells: Brig Beaver, Capts. Thomas and
George Tapley; in the brig Elmer, with
Capt. Abram Tapley; the brig Abner Tay-
lor, with Capt. Jerome Tapley, all belong
| ing to Bangor at the time. The Abner
Taylor was dropped from the list of ves-
sells issued by the U. S. commissioner of
navigation only few years ago She had
| then reached the ripe old age of fifty or
| more if we remember right.
---
At the end of LIES brief day we shall be