Minerva (pilot boat)

Minerva was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat built in 1896 by Ambrose A. Martin. She was owned by Franklin B. Wellock who was a Boston pilot for more than 55 years. The pilot-boat was named for his daughter, Minerva Hill. She was sold to Plymouth parties in 1901 to be used as a fishing vessel.

Boston Pilot Boat Minerva Pilot Boat, by Nathaniel Stebbins, c. 1896
History
US
Name: Minerva
Owner: Franklin B. Wellock
Builder: Ambrose A. Martin
Launched: February 4, 1896
Out of service: 1901
Fate: Sold
General characteristics
Class and type: schooner
Tonnage: 50-tons TM[1]
Length: 79 ft 0 in (24.08 m)
Beam: 20 ft 0 in (6.10 m)
Draft: 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
Depth: 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)
Propulsion: Sail
Notes: White oak and yellow pine; Richardson steering gear, Edson giber and diaphragm pump.

Construction and service

Minerva No. 7, was built in East Boston, Massachusetts in 1896 for Franklin B. Wellock. She was designed and built by Ambrose A. Martin, who built the Columbia, Eben D. Jordan, and Friend. She was launched on February 4, 1896 from the Ambrose Martin shipyard at Jeffries Point.[1]

Minerva took her trial trip on March 14, 1896 from the National dock at East Boston. Captain Franklin B. Wellock was in command. On her way out of Boston Harbor she sailed past Fort Warren, Fort Winthrop and then the Brewsters. The crew of the new boat consisted of Captain Franklin B. Wellock, pilots McField, W. S. Dolliver, and Bruce McLean, boatkeeper Samuel Wellock, three sailors, and the steward.[2]

On March 29, 1899, the pilot-boat Minerva, No. 7, helped rescue passengers on the Warren Line steam Norseman, that went ashore off Marblehead, Massachusetts when it was headed for Boston.[3]

In November 1899, many transatlantic liners were used as supply ships during the South African wars, which caused some of the Boston pilot-boats to be placed out of commission. Captain Colby of the pilot-boat Sylph, and the pilot-boat Minerva were moved to East Boston.[4]

Franklin B. Wellock
Captain Franklin B. Wellock, c. 1896

Captain Franklin B. Wellock, (August 11, 1839 – June 29, 1902) was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He was a Boston pilot for more than 55 years. In 1855, he began his career as a pilot on the pilot-boat Friend. On July 6, 1859, Wellock received his full commission as a pilot, being attached to the pilot-boats Friend, Phantom I, William Starkey, Phantom II, Gracie, Pet, Fleur de Lis, and Eben D. Jordan. He owned and ran the Fleurde-Lis, for two years, which he sold and was converted into a pleasure yacht. He built the Moses B. Grinnell and the Minerva, which was named for this daughter.

Wellock was married and had one son, Captain Samuel B. Wellock, and one daughter, Minerva Cecelia Hill. His son, Samuel Franklin Wellock, is connected with the pilot-boat America No. 1.

On June 29, 1902, Captain Franklin B. Wellock died in East Boston. He was 63 years old. He was buried at the family lot in the Woodlawn cemetery in Everett, Massachusetts.[5]

End of service

In 1901, pilot-boat Minerva was sold to Plymouth, Massachusetts parties to be used as a fishing vessel. On October 12, 1901, on her first trip as a fishing boat, Captain Al Watson landed 20,000 pounds of haddock, cod, and hake.[6]

See also

References
  1. "New Pilot Boat Minerva, No 7. Will be Launched Today and Go Into Commission About The First of March". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 4 Feb 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-10-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "New Pilot Boat Minerva. First Time Under Sail". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 15 Mar 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-10-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Waren Line Seamer Strikes On A Ledge". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. 29 Mar 1899. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Pilot Boats Affected by Withdrawal of Vessels for Transports". Boston, Massachusetts. 13 Nov 1899. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-11-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Capt Franklin B. Wellock Dead at His Home". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 29 Jun 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-10-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Harbor Front Items". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 12 Oct 1901. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-11-02 – via Newspapers.com.
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