Author Archives: JohnBowman
MOUNTAIN MAMA by Glinda Bowman 1983
I’m a Mean Mountain Mama with a huge Buda-Bama I take a bath, the Bedbugs crawl; I can laugh, while I Bawl I sing, the dogs all squall, I make biscuits bounce off the wall I’m a Mean Mountain Mama. I’m a Mean Mountain Mama with a huge Buda-Bama I’ll make you so mad, you’ll […]
Read MoreTHE CIVIL WAR STEAMER SULTANA by John Bowman
The 1863 660-ton side-wheel steamer Sultana (the fifth of that name)[1] was built for Capt. Pres Lodwick at the Cincinnati, Ohio John Litherbury yard, and launched January 3rd, 1863. Moore and Richardson of Cincinnati built her machinery, boilers and engines. Sultana was 260 feet in length, and 42 feet in width, her hull was 7 […]
Read MoreExcerpt from “ANTECEDENT AND OCCASIONS TO THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR”
Excerpt from “ANTECEDENT AND OCCASIONS TO THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR”[i] Readers, to make the following relevant to today, just substitute another contemporary word in a few places. “The upper class slaveholders considered themselves as benevolent providers, insisting that slavery was humane and uplifting for the blacks and some held the belief that if the African […]
Read MoreTHE WHEELING, PARKERSBURG AND CINCINNATI STEAMBOAT TRANSPORTATION COMPANY by John Bowman
Ohio River Steamboat Transportation Companies Headquartered in Wheeling / Wheeling Packet Lines. The Wheeling, Parkersburg and Cincinnati Transportation Company in business from early 1867 owned and ran these steamboats, the 1864 Rebecca from 1867 to 1869, the 1862 Express from 1869 to 1871, the 1870 Courier from 1870 to 1884, and the 1870 Express No. […]
Read MoreSTEAMBOAT PASSAGE AND FARE MID – 1800s by John Bowman
When you booked passage on a 1800s steamboat, and depending on what you could afford, you found quite a difference between the conditions enjoyed by steamboat cabin passengers and deck passengers. Those who could afford the best traveled in near splendor. We are talking of ‘For that time’. Boarding the boat at the bow, Forecastle, […]
Read MoreBILL OF LADING – FREIGHT ON BOARD Regarding FLATBOATS, KEELBOATS, and STEAMBOATS by John Bowman
What is a steamboat “Bill of Lading”?[i] A steamboat Bill of Lading was a two-piece receipt torn from a bound book, usually kept at the Wharfboat office that listed the goods received by a steamboat agent one copy of which was given to the carrier of the goods and one copy was given to the […]
Read MoreThe WHEELING – LOUISVILLE ‘UNION LINE’ WHEELING’S 1853 STEAMBOAT PACKET LINE by John Bowman
The WHEELING – LOUISVILLE ‘UNION LINE’ Daily served the cities of Wheeling, Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis. Ohio River Steamboat Transportation Companies Headquartered in Wheeling, Virginia (West Virginia) The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer March 11, 1853 UNION LINE! Daily Steam Packet Service to the cities of Wheeling, Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis. S.C. Baker & Co. […]
Read MoreOHIO RIVER TOWBOAT COMPANIES HEADQUARTERED AT WHEELING by John Bowman
WHEELING’S OHIO RIVER TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES Armstrong brothers, John A. and Robert P. of Wheeling, West Virginia in 1871, went into the towboat business hauling crossties for the B&O Railroad and coal from the mines at Wegee Creek, Ohio. In 1875, three other Armstrong brothers joined the business, William H., Walter M., and Charles L. These […]
Read MoreSTEAMBOAT UNIFORMS and CAPS CATALOG No. 701
STEAMBOAT UNIFORMS and CAPS 1921 Catalog No. 701 from the John Bowman collection THE CINCINNATI REGALIA CO. Textile Building Fourth and Elm Streets CINCINNATI, OHIO A 12 page Catalog of Popular Uniform Designs for Discerning Rivermen This CINCINNATI REGALIA CO. catalog states they offer: INDIVIDUAL SERVICE “We will furnish special designs to meet individual requirements, […]
Read MoreWHEELING RETAIL GROCERS 1820 – 1920 by John Bowman
Today, Wheeling has Kroger and a Riesbeck’s Food Market, Sav-A-Lot, and a few convenient Convenience Stores where one buys groceries. Maybe today, that is enough stores to fill the need, but it wasn’t always so. A timely trend may be that you make your order from one of these stores and it will be delivered […]
Read More