Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-06-05
A VETERAN SKIPPER
Capt. Z. B. ROckwelPs Long
Record on Lake Champlain
At the Age of 80 the Captain of tn,
steamer Vermont IL just Begin
ping His 72nd Senson upon
the Water.


" rom thursday 81. Adams MeSseHBeTJ |
Seventy-one years on Lake Champlain
is the record of Capt Ell b. Rockwell, |
of this city, although until withins a
few years Alburg has been his home). |
who. to-day entered upon his seventy
second year upon the water, as captain
OF the steamer Vermont owned by the
Champlain Transportation ,Dmpany
which boat he has commanded " sew
eral years one might easily tie
book about the career of Captain Rock
we'll but there is so much in it that Is
interesting chat it Is difficult to confine
the story to the limits of newspaper
article.
That the Rockwells take to the water
like the proverbial duck there is not the
slightest doubt. Captain Rockwells faith
er followed the lake for a time; his five
sons have made it their life work; and
their sons, In turn, have many OF them
| followed the water.
Captain Rockwell was born in North
Hero February Is, 1880, one of y children
Of Merritt ..d Nancy (Granp Rockwell.
His patcrr. randfather, Jabez Rock
/ well, was 60 ,JlutOnary soldier under
Washington grandparents on his
fathers side ere of English descent
and his maternal grandmother was OF
Scotch descent. He is a relative OF Cen
eral Stark of Revolutionary fame.
! January - lS56, Captain Rockwell mar
ried Miss Lucy y. McElroy OF Sandy iii,
/ \. y She died November 10, 1901. OF sew
| eli cAiIdren born to them six are now
living. viz, Merritt Rockwell and Mrs.
Josie Lewis of Alburg, Mrs =. a.
| Wheeler Of Columbia, Tenn Mrs George
/ Nye OF Fairfield and Mrs. G. f. Carpen-
ter of this city. A son, Rollin H. Rock
well. uf AIburs died in April, 1856, when
he was Is years old.
/ Captain Rockwell makes his home in
this city, dividing the time with the two
families here. Last winter, in company
! with Mrs. Calvin, he passed five Weeks
with the daughter in Tennessee.
Al present there Is only one Of the
Champaign companys passenger boats
aiioat that does not number at least one
Rockwell among officers or crew, while
on two of the boats there are three
| RockWclls one Of these is the Vermont,
which this morning began her tenth sea-
sons regular trips from Plattsburgh to
Montcalm Landing ami return. AssociAt-
ed with Captain Rockwell ON this steam
er are f.. Mention Rockwell of Alburg a
nephew, as first pilot. and Jesse w. Rock
well of Burlington, a graud-nepnew as
! freight clerk.
Mr.. Rockwell began his Lake Cham
plain career as a cabin boy aboard the
schooner Cynthia at St. Johns. Cue
when he was less than 70 years o.a. The
schooner ran from St. Johns to ~ ulte-
hall, n. i. Ills eldest brother, j. G.
Rockwell, was captain. When Ell Il.
Rockwell was Il years old he was cap
tain of the schooner his brother at that
time being polit of the steamer Rurling-
ton under Capt. Richard sherman
The Burlington. by the way, Dickens
readers will recall is the same as that
which Dickens in his american Notes"
said was the superior, he had no doubt,
of any other in the world. ON Dickens's
famous tour of this country and Canada
in 1872 he made the trip from St. Johns
to Whitehall in June Of that year on The
burlington and he refers in terms of the
highest praise, not only to the boat it
self but to Captain Sherman.
For two years Mr. Rockwell was cap
tain of the cynthia, then being promoted
to the Frances. From the Frances he
went to the Merchants Lake Boat line
Later he was pilot on the steamer Clif-
ton, IN 1853 he at work finishing the
steamer Canada at Whitehall and came
out on her as first mate under Captain
Foster. In 1854 he was captain OF the
sloop Mike; in IS of So of the schooner
General Scott; and in 81 pilot of the
steamer America with his brother, j. q.
Rockwell under Captain William II.
Lac, 1
IL years, changing from the steamer AM
erica to the Canada. Mr.. Rockwell was
captain of the tug Glen Iris belonging to
the Whitehall Towing company; the
freight steamer Ethan Allen and the
freight propeller James H. Hooker The
two latter We're the property of the
Northern Transportation company of
Whitehall From the Hooker Captain
Rockwell went back to the employ OF the
Champlain Transportation company as
pilot on the Adirondack under Captain
Flagg and from that to the United States
under Captain George Rushlow In 1871
he was transferred to the Vermont End
again under Captain Flag, and came out
ON the Vermont on her trial trip.
He remained on the Vermont until 1878
While the Nermont's machinery was
btIlIb repaired ne was pilot on the Cham
plain. This steamer was lost one beautiful
night about IS minutes after leaving
Westport landing northbound. Captain
Rockwell says the cause of the accident
was the lack of morphine He explains
this somewhat astonishing statement
by saying that after accident a detective
was placed on the track of John Ell
dredge, the associate pilot, and it was
found that he was a victim of the NOR
phine habit and during the trip ran out
of the drug. Morphine contracts the optic
nerve and, as Eldredge had become &C
customed to the use of the drug when
he was without 1t the expanding back
Of the optic nerve threw his range of
vision out of focus. The steamer went
on Split rock mountain and was split in
two, No one was seriously injured.
After passing two years at his home
in AlburB Captain Rockwell superintend-
ed the building OF the Reindeer at AL
burg, the boat being launched in 1881
, 1t required a week to launch It, The
model for the steamer which was the
property of the Central Vermont Railway
company, drawn on the ball room
floor OF the old American house at AL
burg. The Reindeer was being launched
the day that President Garfield was shot,
: | the first news of the tragedy reaching