Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-09-26

Ieiehty-fve and Mr.. Brown eighty-six
Our combined ages are 342 years.
This would carry us back to 1880
some lightweight years after Co.
lumbus discovered America.
Captain Bloomsbury and a Mr.,
| Wilson are the two men who found
ed the Wilson line of which l Will
speak later.
Harry Brown served six ear in
the steamboat shop at Bordentown,
then went into the United States
Navy and passed for third assistant
engineer. In coming on shore he
drifted down to Nantucket, and wert
into the hardware business. To
prove his worth they elected hin
president of a savings bank, and
president of the water works. Al
though eighty-six years old he is
still active and has W grandsons in
Harvard and q granddaughter in
Smith College.
Robert Walker is in his eighty
sixth year. His father was a steam
boat engineer and ran the New
Philadelphia in the Delaware river
from Philadelphia to B~ordentown.
After Mr.. Walker finished his APP
premiership he followed the foot
steps of his father and took charge
of the steamboat Richard Stockton.
On reaching seventy years, the age
limit of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
he was retired and is now living with
his son, who is an engineer on the
Pennsylvania Railroad.
Now l want to take up the VIII
son line again. MI. Wilson and Cap
tain Bloomsbury conceived the idea
OF a steamboat line between Phila-
de.phia and Wilmington. MI. Will
son was to plan the hull and frame
work of the boats, tand Captain
Bloomsbury the engine and boilers.
They agreed to have Lever & Nep-
ley of Philadelphia, construct it.
This first boat when launched was
called the Brandywine and they put
her on the route between Chestnut
Street Pier, Philadelphia, and Will
mington, making a landing at Ches-
ter.
About this time the Pennsylva-
MIA Railroad leased the Philadelphia.
Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad,
but found that the Wilson line car
ried the bulk of travel between Phil
adelphia. Mr.. Thompson, president
of the Pennsylvania Railroad, wrote
to the Wilson line to pull off their
boat, but by this time travel had so
lIi1A liiol IL was hSSVSool ~
put on another boat. The president
of the Pennsylvania wrote again and
then the railroad put on an opposi-
tiof boat running from the same pier
arranging their time to make the
pier SO that the Wilson Line boat
would have to land on the outside
of the railroad boat, and all passen-
gers would have to cross over the
first boat to board the Wilson YES
sci.
Regular travellers wisely con-
cluded that If the Pennsylvania
road should run the Wilson liner off
the route they would then have to
pay railroad fare, so they continued
to cross over and take the Brandy
wine. When a new boat was put in
the line Captain Bloomsbury PLAN
ned a speedy boat so that they
could leave the Chestnut street pier
after the opposition boat, and, pass
ing her on the route, pick up the
travel from Chester for Whining
ton.
Then the railroad put the fare
down first to forty cents, then thir-
ty cents, and finally to twenty cents.
The Wilson line made the same re-
auctions and then went one better
and put the fare down to twelve
and one-half cents. The railroad
then chartered a speedier boat from
New York, but the Wilson line still
got the travel between Chester and
Wilmington. Finally Mr.. Thomp-
son wrote the Wilson line that if
they put the fare back to fifty cents
he would pull off the railroad boat.
This ended the strife. Since then
the Wilson line has increased I'M
til they have now nine boats in
operation.
THE elder Mr.. Wilson is dead,
but his son who has taken his place
metal as the father. They have
the head of Delaware Bay and on
passengers. An idea of the traffic
that they cleared over all expenses
in one season.
Captain Bloomspurg's father
was the engineer of the steamboat
Trenton plying between Philadel-
phia and Bordentown. He went
WlIu "a. "a. cltNCIIS dbool ~ AIM
my father did. His son Harry
climbed to the position of superin-
tendent of the Newport News Shir
Building Company. The captains
grandson is a construction engineer
with an insurance firm in New
York"
Capt. Peter Bloomsburg's father
was identified with the earliest days
of steamboating in this country. He
went into the employ of Tom Hol-
loway in 1912, when this was the
only marine shop in Philadelphia.
In 1920 the steamboat Trenton was
built by E. A. Stevens of Hoboken,
and Mr. B~loobsburg, Sr. AS licensed
engineer ran between Philadelphia
and Bordentown. This was the first
passenger steamboat on the Della
ware river. In 1852 the Richard
Stockton was built and Mr.. Blooms
burg was transferred to the Stock
ton as chief engineer, his son ROB-
ert acting as assistant engineer. In
1860 Peter Bloomsbury, Jr., finished
his trade in the machine shops OF
the Camden and Amboy railroad,
now under lease by the Pennsylva-
mia railroad and received his license
as an engineer. He then Went on
the Stockton as assistant engineer
to his father, and at his
death was appointed chief engineer
OF the Stockton.
Mr.. Lingle himself, has had a
prominent part in a great many IN
as dyripy nis life time,