Outfitting the Schooner Florence for the Rio Grande Trade
Receipts preserved in the Stillman papers reveal the three-week process of repairing, provisioning, and loading the vessel before her departure for Brazos Santiago.
South Street, New York — May 1856
By early May 1856 the schooner Florence lay tied up along the busy East River waterfront of New York, preparing once again for the long voyage to the Rio Grande frontier. The papers preserved among the Stillman business records reveal the quiet but complex work required to ready a trading vessel for sea. What survives is not a captain’s log or a newspaper account, but a series of receipts—each one a small fragment of the maritime economy that operated along South Street.
Together they reconstruct the final weeks before the Florence sailed south toward Brazos Santiago.
Repairing the Ship
Before cargo could be loaded, the vessel required attention from the many tradesmen who served the New York waterfront.
Shipwright James Philpitt, working from Gouverneur Slip, performed several days of labor on the vessel on May 19, 1856. His invoice lists the materials typical of hull repair: pitch, tar, cotton, oakum, iron nails, and spikes. These were used to seal seams in the hull and reinforce fittings that had loosened during previous voyages.
The rigging also received attention. On the same day A. Denike & Co., spar makers of Water Street, repaired a spar or boom for the vessel and charged additional cartage for moving the timber through the crowded waterfront streets. Such repairs were common for schooners returning from Gulf waters, where heavy weather and long passages strained masts and rigging.
Other craftsmen supplied smaller but essential components. Stephen F. Ward, a shipsmith on Front Street, provided bolts, rings, braces, rivets, and spikes used throughout the vessel’s rigging and deck fittings. These iron parts formed the unseen skeleton that held the spars, sails, and rigging together.
The South Street Supply Network
1856 New York - sketched and drawn on stone by C. Parsons
Most of the Florence’s supplies came from a few blocks along South Street, the heart of New York’s maritime supply district.
Ship chandler N. Harvey Bayles, whose shop stood at 196 South Street, provided rope, copper tacks, oil, and lamp black used for maintenance and lighting aboard ship. Nearby grocers and ship-store merchants supplied the vessel’s provisions.
One of the largest purchases came from Bayles & Titus, dealers in groceries and cabin stores. Their invoice of May 21, 1856 lists a remarkable array of food intended for the crew:
sugar
molasses
onions
dried apples
prunes
potatoes
tea
spices such as cinnamon and ginger
pickles and mustard
matches and candles
These purchases supplemented earlier provisions that included barrels of beef, flour, codfish, pilot bread, and mackerel. Taken together, the supplies represent the standard diet of nineteenth-century merchant sailors—durable foods capable of surviving a long sea voyage.
The quantity of provisions suggests a crew likely numbering six to eight men, typical for a trading schooner of this size.
Final Preparations
By the third week of May the vessel was nearly ready to sail.
On May 21, the schooner required the services of the steam tug Peter Crary, which helped maneuver vessels along the crowded East River docks. Tug assistance was often needed to shift a sailing vessel from the pier into open water where she could take advantage of wind and tide.
Additional charges show laborers working several days loading cargo at the wharf. Oak wood, iron fittings, and other supplies were brought aboard as the final preparations were completed.
The Business of the Voyage
A final document dated May 22, 1856 connects the vessel’s preparations directly to its commercial purpose. Merchants Shiers & Oliver recorded their commission for securing freight aboard the Florence, including shipments destined for the Rio Grande trade. The account also references cargo previously carried from Brazos Santiago to New York, including shipments of lead.
The papers describe the vessel as engaged in her “third voyage” in connection with the firm—evidence that the schooner had already made multiple runs between New York and the Texas frontier.
Sailing for the Rio Grande
By late May the work was finished.
The rigging repaired, hull sealed, provisions stored, and cargo arranged, the schooner Florence was once again ready to depart the busy piers of South Street. From New York she would sail south along the Atlantic coast and into the Gulf of Mexico, eventually anchoring at Brazos Santiago Pass.
There, as on earlier voyages, her cargo would be transferred to smaller craft for the difficult journey across the shallow waters of the Laguna Madre and onward to Brownsville on the Rio Grande.
What remains today are the small slips of paper that recorded these preparations—receipts from ship chandlers, grocers, shipwrights, and tug operators. Individually they appear ordinary. Together they reveal the hidden machinery that made the Rio Grande trade possible.
Why This Collection Is So Rare
Most nineteenth-century maritime history survives through ship logs or newspaper reports. The Florence papers show something far more intimate: the daily economics of preparing a merchant schooner for sea.
Within a few blocks of South Street, the captain could obtain everything required for the voyage:
spars and rigging
iron fittings
hull repairs
rope and sail gear
food for the crew
cargo brokerage
tug assistance
The entire maritime infrastructure of New York worked quietly behind the scenes to send vessels like the Florence toward distant ports.
A Continuing Story
These documents represent only one stage in the vessel’s operations. Later records suggest that the schooner would make additional voyages in 1856, continuing the trading route between New York and the Rio Grande.
Each voyage left behind its own trail of receipts, letters, and freight accounts—small fragments of paper that, when assembled, tell the story of a trading network that connected New York merchants with the distant frontier of Texas.
Here is a clean visual timeline that visually shows how the vessel moved from repair → provisioning → cargo → departure.
Timeline — Preparing the Schooner Florence
South Street, New York — May 1–22, 1856
MAY 1
│
├─ Custom House paperwork and port charges recorded
│ Documentation for the schooner’s voyage prepared
│
│
MAY 5
│
├─ Steamer Elm City services
│ Harbor logistics and movement coordination
│
│
MAY 6
│
├─ Steamboat David Cox services
│ Additional harbor transport or assistance
│
│
MAY 7
│
├─ Screw Dock work
│ Vessel lifted or positioned for inspection
│
├─ Wharfinger fees
│ Dockage and waterfront services paid
│
└─ George Smith (South Street supplier)
Ship stores and supplies purchased
│
│
MAY 8
│
└─ Wight & Co.
Additional equipment or maritime hardware
│
│
MAY 9
│
├─ Burr & Co.
│ Ship chandlery goods
│
└─ Pollen
Additional ship supply purchases
│
│
MAY 10
│
└─ John Mulvany
Maritime services or equipment
│
│
MAY 13
│
└─ H. E. Woodhouse
Commercial arrangements connected to voyage
│
│
MAY 14
│
├─ E. L. Smith
│ Ship supply purchases
│
└─ Harry Miller
Dockside labor or materials
│
│
MAY 15
│
└─ Survey conducted
Vessel inspected for seaworthiness
│
│
MAY 19
│
├─ A. Denike & Co.
│ Spar repairs and rigging work
│
└─ James Philpitt (Shipwright)
Hull repairs, pitch, tar, nails, oakum
│
│
MAY 20
│
└─ N. Harvey Bayles
Rope, paint, oil, copper tacks
│
│
MAY 21
│
├─ Bayles & Titus
│ Major provisioning purchase
│ Food for crew loaded aboard
│
├─ Davis & Smith
│ Cargo handling and cartage
│
├─ Stephen F. Ward
│ Iron fittings and ship hardware
│
└─ Tug Peter Crary
Vessel moved from dock toward harbor
│
│
MAY 22
│
├─ Additional provisioning purchases
│
└─ Freight arranged by Shiers & Oliver
Cargo secured for Rio Grande voyage
What the Timeline Shows (Historically)
This sequence is almost textbook preparation for a 19th-century merchant schooner:
Phase 1 — Port Formalities
Custom house documentation
Phase 2 — Repairs
hull sealing
spar repair
rigging hardware
Phase 3 — Provisioning
ship stores
food supplies
rope and equipment
Phase 4 — Cargo
freight brokerage
loading operations
Phase 5 — Departure
tug assistance
sailing preparation
In total the process took about three weeks.
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