Connection between the sailing bugeye Edna E. Lockwood & the Norfolk & Western Railway?

[NW Mailing List]

My first wife had Lockwood relatives on the eastern shore, but I never heard
(or saw in family records) any mention of seagoing vessels of the N&W.

Robert McKell
Chillicothe, Ohio

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From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org
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Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 5:03 PM
To: 'NW Mailing List'
Subject: RE: Connection between the sailing bugeye Edna E. Lockwood & the
Norfolk & Western Railway?

It does seem farfetched.

Applying Occam's Razor (explanations should not be multiplied upon) here
would be prudent.  You have made many assumptions to come to the possible
conclusion that the N&W put money into this ship.

First of all, if the ship did not carry any coal, why would the N&W wish to
fund such a vessel?  The N&W never operated any sort of coastal shipping
company nor seemed to have any financial interest in a shipping line in
those days.  And if the N&W wanted to aid the shipment of coal by coastal
shipping companies, wouldn't they have invested in the shipping company
rather than a single ship?  

The N&W was busy establishing bituminous coal as a product right then and
had little money to spare on something not directly related to the shipment
and selling of bituminous coal into the energy marketplace via their
railroad.  They were working on the Ohio Extension then, the cost of which
put the company into bankruptcy in the Crash of 1893.

As to a record, only an annual report for that time period would still exist
to show a 'line item' such as spending money on a ship.  I don't recall ever
seeing such an entry in the early annual reports. 

Gary Rolih 
Secretary N&WHS  

 
-----Original Message-----
From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org
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Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 9:32 PM
To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Subject: Connection between the sailing bugeye Edna E. Lockwood & the
Norfolk & Western Railway?

Hi everyone,

This may seem farfetched and roundabout as a query.  There is a very
special boat docked at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum at St.
Michaels, Maryland.  She is called the Edna E. Lockwood; she was
started at around the end of January in 1889 and was completed in
October of that same year.  She is of the type called "bugeye"--built
to oyster, haul produce & lumber, etc.  No one so far has been able to
solve the mystery of the identity of the boat's namesake.  The Edna E.
Lockwood has been restored as a National Historic Landmark and still
sails occasionally.

The passenger agent for the Norfolk and Western Railway in Washington
D. C., with an office in the Bond Building, was a Richmond-born
gentleman named Edward J. Lockwood.  His wife was Leila I. Crutchley,
daughter of George Crutchley of Harper's Ferry, who is listed in the
1870 US Census in the 7th Ward of Washington DC as the driver of the
city railroad.  Edward & Leila's daughter, Edna Elizabeth Lockwood,
was born on 31 January 1889, in Washington D. C.  Karl Blankenship
wrote in a March 2002 Chesapeake Bay Journal article that from "the
cutting of the trees to the final bit of paint, the building of the
Edna E. Lockwood took about 9 months.  When it was launched in October
1889, half of Tilghman Island showed up to cheer." Counting back nine
months from October makes Edna Elizabeth, born at January's end, a
prime candidate for the bugeye's namesake.

My great great grandfather was named John Stuart Redman and he was one
of nineteen children.  One of his brothers was named Nicholas Theodore
Redman, who brought produce from St. Michaels MD on the Eastern Shore
to Washington D. C.—he married Corrine Holloway (known as “Coe”).
Nick and Coe were the parents of James E. Redman of Washington D. C.,
a merchant and War Dept. clerk who was married to Edna Elizabeth
Lockwood in March of 1909 (source:  10 March 1909 Washington Herald
newspaper, p. 5).  I know from the Social Security Death Index that
Edna (Lockwood) Redman died in Washington DC in July of 1974.   She
had a brother named Walter Lockwood.

The conventional wisdom has it that the bugeye Edna E. Lockwood was
built primarily for oystering and secondarily for lumber and produce.
I'm wondering if she wasn't built to do it all right from the start
with the backing of market and railroad men.  Is it possible that the
Norfolk & Western Railway played a role in the financing of the
construction of the Edna E. Lockwood?   Could one find out from the
records?  Do the 1889 expenditure records exist?  Or would this likely
be a silent enterprise?  Any observations concerning these questions
are welcomed.  Thanking in advance.

Matt Redman

--
Chesapeake Soaps
8992 S Bayview Dr
Chestertown MD  21620

410-708-0344
chesapeakesoaps at gmail.com
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