Effie Estelle

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Uncurated Search Results

Type: Schooner

Year: 1876

Builder: Lambdin

Location:

Eastern Shore
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These records are found in the collection of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland. Uncurated search results are presented to give researchers and interested readers an idea of whether CBMM’s archives contain information about this vessel and whether it may be worthwhile to contact CBMM for further investigation. Uncurated results may be inaccurate or incomplete.

For more information about these items, contact the CBMM curator at collections@cbmm.org, or use the selection buttons below to submit a research request.

Search mode: Exact Name. Search phrase(s): "Effie Estelle". Results returned: 3. Results displayed in this table: 3.

Use these buttons to send uncurated search results to your own app or text document for further research. First, check the box for any row, or click "Select All" then uncheck any rows. Then click "Show Selections". You can then copy your selections from the text box and past them into your app.

Fetch?Row IDCatalog #Object NameTitleArtist/MakerDate MadePlace MadeDescriptionFull ImageCBMM Cat. Page
18888.0059.0000.00documentsCaptain Irvin S. Wheatley Ship's Papers<CR><CR>BackgroRange, Cir 01/01/1885 - 12/31/1894This collection begins on CSC 15D1 and continues onto 15D2.Captain Irvin S. Wheatley Ship's PapersBackgroundA large number of documents were donated to the museum by Karen Potter a descendent of the Wheatleys through her paternal grandmother's family. The papers consist of bills, receipts, invoices, and business and personal papers, mostly related to the activities of the two-masted trading schooner Edward L. Martin during the last two decades of the 19'h century.What is known about Captain Irvin Steven Ralph Wheatley (January 19, 1860-March 14, 1941) can be gleaned from the papers in this collection, U.S. Census records, and an internet genealogy. Born January 19, 1860, he was from a large family of Galestown, Dorchester County, Maryland, about twelve miles from Seaford, Delaware. He was captain of the schooner Hattie C. Wheatley for some time before becoming captain of the Martin from about 1885 until 1894. He owned shares in the Martin varying from one-third to one-eighth at different times during those years. Subsequently he was captain of the schooner John Q. Ferguson from January 1895 until at least December 1896. Irvin Wheatley had five brothers, two of whom died as children. The survivors were: Luther Elijah (June 1858-December 1931); George Edward (November 1856-July 1927); and Albert Ellis (September 1873-February 1955), and Frederick Seth (August 1858-August 1874). Of these, Luther figures most prominently in this collection. From personal letters (Box 7), it appears that while Irvin Wheatley was busy as captain of various ships, Luther managed a farm Irvin owned near Galestown. Irvin Wheatley apparently retired from the sea about 1897 and also took up farming. In 1930 both Irvin and his wife, Effie L. (October 1, 1866-August 11, 1935), still resided near Galestown.The schooner Edward L. Martin's official No. was 135629. She was built by Stephen (?) W. Kinsey in Sussex County, Delaware in 1882. She was of 84.95 gross, and 80.70 net tonnage. Her dimensions in feet were 87.2 length, 23.6 breadth, and 6.8 depth. About 1942, after running through numerous owners, she was bought by John B. Conway, converted to power, renamed Honey B, and put into the "dude" boat trade. In 1953 she was bought by Hugh B. Emmons and was destroyed the same year by fire near Oxford, Maryland.Scope and ContentThe core of this collection is an extremely comprehensive set of commercial shipping documents covering the period from 1885 to 1894. These include shipping instructions from the consignee of cargo, charter parties (contracts between shippers and vessel owners, shipping articles (agreements between ship owners and crews), and numerous other papers relating to the shipping business. Of special interest in this collection are the papers related to two trips made by the Edward L. Martin to the Bahamas to pick up loads of pineapples. These papers include instructions, charter parties, articles, as well as the many customs forms, clearances, quarantine receipts, and health certificates required at U. S. ports and from Bahamian authorities. (At the time the Bahamas were part of the British West Indies.)Sub'ectsMembers of Wheatley family: Effie L., wife of IrvinAddie E., and Roxie E., daughters of Irvin Luther E., brotherPhenie, wife of Luther Albert E., brother George E. H., brotherStella (Estelle S.) sister.Owners of schooner Edward L. Martin (during Wheatley's tenure) Josephus CollinsWm. T. MooreWm. EllisGeorge EllisE. J. EllisIrvin S. Wheatley. Subject: Capt. Irvin S. WeatleyNo image URL.View
28888.0030.0000.00documentsJohn G. Earle Collection 1891-1987Range, Exa 01/01/1891 - 12/31/1987John G. Earle Collection 1891-1987<br />This collection is predominantly comprised of ships plans, including original designs and drafts made from existing ships by John G. Earle and his brother-in-law C. Lowndes Johnson. The collection also includes works by various naval architects and designers working throughout the early and middle twentieth century. In addition, the collection includes three scrapbooks comprised of newspaper clippings and other references to the architectural history of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.Biographical Background:Born in Easton, Maryland on March 14, 1901, John Goldsborough Earle expressed a love for and an interest in the vessels of the Chesapeake Bay early in life. It would be this interest that ultimately shaped his professional life, with Earle able to parlay this curiosity into the receipt of a degree in naval architecture and mechanical engineering from Lehigh University upon his graduation in 1926. After working for the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, from 1943-1946 Earle served as the special assistant to the chief engineer at the U.S. Maritime Commission in Washington D.C. Earle then moved to Moylan, Pennsylvania were he was employed by the New York based Nordberg Manufacturing Company. During this time Earle pursued the application of the diesel engine to the maritime environment, ultimately serving on the Ships' Machinery Committee of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. Earle retired in 1966 and served as a member of the Board of Governors for the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, and returned to Easton in 1979. A thorough and exhaustive researcher, Earle never ceased in his quest to study and document the indigenous water craft of the Chesapeake Bay. Earle's scholarship put him in contact with many of the twentieth century's foremost maritime historians, including Howard I. Chapelle, and Robert H. Burgess, and his work was particularly valuable to Marion V. Brewington in his study of Chesapeake Bay log canoes and bugeyes. Earle also contributed works to Yachting and Chesapeake Bay magazines. Prior to his death on May 21, 1992, Earle was presented with the Historic Preservation Award by the Historic District Commission of Talbot County for his lifelong dedication and devotion to the preservation of the Chesapeake Bay's maritime heritage.Scope and Content:The collection, spanning close to one hundred years of maritime history, is definable by two large and predominant sections and is primarily composed of 245 ships plans. Specifically, the works of C. Lowndes Johnson and those done by Earle himself highlight the collection and are accented by the accumulated works of navalarchitects in contact with both Johnson and Earle throughout the twentieth century. Both Johnson and Earle engaged in taking lines off existing vessels and in the drafting of original designs, however, the majority of Johnson's works are original in nature and include the plans for the Comet Class sailboat. Whereas the works of Earle are largely composed of tracings and sketches of the Chesapeake's indigenous watercraft, both collections present a balance between the working vessels commonly associated with the Chesapeake(bugeyes, pungys. schooners, etc.) and the lesser known sailing yachts and skiffs which also made the Chesapeake's maritime landscape distinct. The accumulated works by other designers serve to broaden the range of the collection beyond the Chesapeake and include the works of naval architects such as William P. Gardner and Owen P. Merrill who worked in New York City. The collection also contains sailmaker's plans, although mostly unidentified and unlabeled, along with scrapbooks detailing the architectural history of the Eastern Shore and a small number of governmental documents concerning Chesapeake Bay vessels which serve to enhance the ships plans portion of the collection in terms of the overall maritime heritage of the region.No image URL.View
30000.1103.0140Photographic printsSchooner EFFIE ESTELLEHollerith, Herman Jr. __PhotographerThe schooner is underway with a person at the stern.CBMM catalog imageView

Created 2026 by Don Barker, CBMM volunteer, for the Chesapeake Shipbuilding Project. shipbuilding@sailingworkboats.es