1855 Ships, Hardware, and the Cost of Moving Cotton ~ Where the River Meets the Ledger

Ships, Hardware, and the Cost of Moving Cotton

The schooner Florence, used in Charles Stillman’s Rio Grande trade, relied on an entire maritime ecosystem in New York Harbor—shipwrights, chandlers, towing steamers, pilots, and commission merchants. These advertisements and letterheads from the mid-1850s illustrate the services required to outfit and dispatch a coastal trading vessel.

Archival Document Review

These 1855 documents differ from earlier years. Instead of long business letters, the file contains:

• freight settlements

• ship repair invoices

• marine hardware bills

• port charges

• small supply accounts

• voyage settlements

This reflects a key shift: Stillman’s enterprise had matured into a shipping-based export system.

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I. Passenger Passage Inquiry (Jan 4, 1855)

Archival transcription

Wampsville, New York — Jan 4, 1855

Messrs Post & Ryerson
Gentlemen

I am desirous of procuring a passage to Havre about the first of February.
If you have a ship bound to the above port about that time please drop me a line by mail stating what time she will be ready for sea and what will be the price of first class cabin passage exclusive of wines & liquors.

And much oblige
Your obedient servant
C. M. DeFerriero
Wampsville P.O.
Madison County NY

Interpretation

This document shows Stillman’s New York agents Post & Ryerson acting as shipping brokers not only for cargo but also passenger passages to Europe.

This reflects the broader Atlantic merchant shipping network that Stillman relied upon.

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II. Antwerp Financial Settlement (Jan 6, 1855)

Archival transcription (summary)

Account statement:

• Remittance on Strecker & Co. Antwerp

• Gross amount: ƒ3583.84

• Bank charges deducted

• Remaining balance credited

Signed:

Aug. Nottebohm
Antwerp — Jan 6, 1855

Interpretation

This is evidence of European financial settlement of cotton shipments.

Cotton exported from the Gulf frequently ended in:

• Liverpool

• Antwerp

• Le Havre

Stillman’s accounts were therefore reconciled through European banking houses.

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III. Apalachicola Cotton Market Letter (Jan 8, 1855)

Archival transcription (key passages)

Apalachicola, Florida — Jan 8, 1855

We only received your favor of the 30th ultimo.
Had hoped for all — but wish for ships.
Cotton freights are easier when the river runs down.
Still an unmanageable river and much of the shipping idle.

Interpretation

This is a cotton market intelligence letter.

Important observations:

• shipping demand fluctuated with river conditions

• cotton freight rates were unstable

• many ships sat idle waiting for cargo

Apalachicola was a major competing cotton port to New Orleans.

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IV. New Orleans Commission Merchant Letter

Firm:

C.C. Bogert, Williams & Co.
Shipping and Commission Merchants
New Orleans — Jan 18, 1855

Archival transcription (summary)

We are in receipt of your favors and one to Mr. John Gale.

We noticed the announcement of the firm of Post & Ryerson.

The world is large enough and there is no other than friendly feeling between the two firms.

There never was a fairer opening in New York than now for establishing the shipping business on a permanent basis.

Interpretation

This letter is very revealing.

It confirms that:

• Stillman’s New York partners were expanding shipping operations

• the firm Post & Ryerson had recently reorganized

• New York was becoming the central logistics hub for Gulf trade

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V. Mobile Freight Correspondence (Jan 15–27, 1855)

Several letters from:

W. S. Charlock & Co.
Mobile, Alabama

Key statements

Freight settlements and balances due:

• cargo charges

• freight adjustments

• captain’s settlements

• freight markets weak

One letter notes:

Freight continues the same with little offering to any port.
The large receipts of produce in Louisiana have caused more firmness.

Interpretation

Mobile served as a transshipment port for Texas trade.

Stillman’s cargo often moved:

Rio Grande → Mobile → New York / Europe

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VI. Merchant Supply Ledger

One sheet titled:

“To Chamberlain”

Items include:

• rice

• potatoes

• onions

• flour

• oil

• paint

• candles

• vinegar

• coffee

• sugar

• cheese

• butter

Interpretation

This represents general merchandise supplied to frontier markets.

Stillman was not only exporting cotton; he was also importing goods for:

• Brownsville

• Matamoros

• ranch settlements

This was the classic frontier merchant exchange system:

manufactured goods in → cotton / hides out

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VII. Schooner Florence — Ship Repair Accounts

These are the most important documents in the batch.

Multiple invoices refer to:

Schooner FLORENCE
Captain J. H. Woodhouse

Locations mentioned:

• New York

• Fairhaven

• Brazos Santiago

Marine hardware invoices include:

Rigging items:

• shackles

• hooks

• thimbles

• top sail tack

• stay straps

• boom bands

• mast bands

• sail hooks

• chain hooks

Heavy hardware:

• crow bars

• ice bars

• anchor fittings

• iron plates

Example invoice entry

Shackles
Hooks & Thimbles
Top Sail Tack
Pump Standard
Anchor Plates
Repairs on Crow Bar

Interpretation

This is a ship refitting bill.

Before sailing to the Gulf, a schooner required:

• full rigging inspection

• ironwork replacement

• sail hardware replacement

• deck fittings

Such repairs were usually done in northern shipyards.

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VIII. Florence Port Charges — Brazos Santiago

Receipts from:

Brazos Santiago — Dec 22, 1855

Example:

To P. Moses
For stevedore services
$17.50

Another receipt:

schooner Florence & cargo
to Benjamin Moses
for storage charges

Interpretation

These show port handling costs at the mouth of the Rio Grande.

Key activities:

• unloading cargo

• warehouse storage

• local handling

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IX. Ship Hardware Purchase (Nov 12, 1855)

Receipt:

Schooner Florence
To Geo. W. Baldwin

278 feet of wood
slabs
$17.00

Interpretation

Repairs likely performed at Fairhaven, Massachusetts, a major shipbuilding port.

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X. New York Port Charge

Receipt:

Schooner Florence
Captain J. H. Woodhouse

To landing cargo at Brazos
$60

J. G. Fox

Interpretation

This is a freight handling charge paid after arrival.

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XI. Cargo Receipt (Brownsville)

One slip states:

Brownsville — Dec 1, 1855

Items:

• 1 keg butter

• 1 box potatoes

• 2 lbs tea

Signed:

C. Stillman

Interpretation

This is a small cargo or provisioning receipt.

Even trivial goods were recorded.

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XII. Small Account (Dec 22, 1855)

Slip labeled:

Edmond Bill

Amount:

$14.50

Interpretation

Likely a local labor or supply account.

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XIII. Brazos Santiago Supply Account

Items include:

• bacon

• soap

• tar

• salt

• box axes

Total:

$14.50

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XIV. Wood Purchase (Dec 11, 1855)

Entry:

Schooner Florence
To 278 feet wood
slabs
$17.00

Fuel or ship repair material.

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Major Historical Interpretation

The 1855 documents reveal something extremely important:

Stillman had built a functioning shipping system.

By this year we see:

Ships

• Schooner Florence

Captain

• J. H. Woodhouse

Ports involved

• New York

• Fairhaven

• Mobile

• New Orleans

• Brazos Santiago

• Brownsville

• Antwerp

Business components

• cargo freight

• cotton shipments

• ship chartering

• marine repair

• port storage

• merchant imports

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What 1855 Shows About Stillman

Compared with 1850–1853:

Earlier Years	1855
letters about trade	operational shipping records
frontier supply business	international export system
merchant correspondence	ship logistics & freight accounts

By 1855 Stillman had evolved into something larger than a frontier merchant.

He was operating what we would now call:

A logistics network

linking

Rio Grande frontier → Gulf ports → Atlantic trade