W.J. Mathews

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Uncurated Search Results

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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): "W.J. Mathews"; "WJ Mathews". Results returned: 7. Results displayed in this table: 7.

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Fetch?Row IDCatalog #Object NameTitleArtist/MakerDate MadePlace MadeDescriptionFull ImageCBMM Cat. Page
18888.0044.0000documentsOystering Ephemera CollectionAn artificial manuscript collection of materials relating to the oyster industry in the Chesapeake Bay there are 2 series in this collection from different sources.<br /><br />The Series 1 collection consists mostly of letterheads, billheads, price lists, trade cards, labels, and related items, including correspondence for a large number of oyster and seafood packing houses, some of which also dealt with fruit packing. Many of these companies were based in Baltimore, Maryland, but packers in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut are also represented. Other items in the collection include envelopes, checks, mailing tags, receipts, advertisements, recipe booklets, and ledgers.<br /><br />The Series 2 collection includes photographs and stereoviews, oyster advertising material, restaurant menus, trade cards, comics, sheet music, post cards, business receipts, and books/booklets. The collection is organized by category, Chesapeake related, and general oyster material and was collected by Michele and Clifford Krainik.CBMM catalog imageView
28888.0087.0000.00documentsH. M. Rowe & Co., Oyster Packers:BackgroundIRange, Cir 03/01/1882 - 07/31/1887H. M. Rowe & Co., Oyster Packers:BackgroundIn 2001 the museum purchased four large, leatherbound books consisting of volumes labeled "Ledger", "Journal", "Cash", and "H. M. Rowe & Co." The latter contained no readable entries. The Journal contained entries from 1 March 1882 through 31 August 1885; Cash had entries from 1 September 1885 through 16 July 1887; and the Ledger covered the period from 1884 through July 1887.Wood's Baltimore City Directory, 1874 (Baltimore: John W. Woods), at p. 492, lists "Rowe, H. M. & Co (H. M. & W. H. Rowe) oyster packers, 68 Boston". Also, H. M. Rowe is listed at "393 e Pratt", and Wm. H. Rowe is listed at "395 e Pratt". Finally, James B. Rowe, bookkeeper, is listed at "393 e Pratt". From this it is evident that the Rowe company was in the oyster packing business as early as 1874. Information contained in the three volumes suggests that the company ended its business in July 1887. Polk's Baltimore City Directory, 1902, has no listing for the company.In 1882 Joseph W. Brooks (1832-1915) built a schooner named H. M Rowe at his yard in Dorchester County, MD. (See Pete Lesher, "The Industrious Shipbuilder: Joseph W. Brooks" (The Weather Gauge, v. 36, No. 1, Spring 2001, pp. 3-11 and 33). A photo at p. 7 shows the Rowe with her homeport as Deals Island. The vessel's first owner was Caleb J. Moore whose connection with the Rowes is not known. As shown below, however, the Rowe company purchased oysters from the vessel over several years.Scope and ContentThe Journal and Cash volumes reflect receipts and disbursements over a five-year period. Many of the disbursements were small amounts to the three Rowes; many others were to named recipients or for such expenses as stamps, labels, etc.The Journal (pp. 1-239) is of interest because it shows on a day-by-day basis all receipts and disbursements from 1 March 1882 through 31 August 1885. Disbursements cover everything from postage stamps, newspaper purchases (New York Herald, Baltimore American), payments to the Rowes and their employees, to payments for oysters delivered by ships. Among many vessels to which payments were made were the sloop Morning Light, and schooners Sea Belle, Sharps Island, Nautilus, Exchange, H. P. Barnes, Maid of Erin, Ann Virginia, Two Brothers, and Lewis Taulane. Of special are payments to the schooner H. M Rowe. These began on 6 October 1882 with the entry (p. 45) showing a payment of $50.00, and the entry "name & colors". Subsequent entries show payments to the vessel throughout the years 1882 until 19 January 1885. Most payments were for relatively large amounts apparently for cargos of oysters: examples are payments of $315.00 on 8 December 1882 (p. 61), $511.56 on 27 December 1882, and $455.05 on 11 January 1883.However, the key portion of the collection is contained in the Ledger. Between pages 70 and 261 the entries show shipments of oysters to numerous buyers in a variety of states and Ontario, Canada. Each entry shows the date of shipment, the quantity shipped (barrels, half-barrels, kegs, tubs), the grade of the shipment(standards, selects), the price of the shipment, and the payment dates and amounts, almost always in cash. The Ledger also shows that each of the Rowes owned one-third of the value of the assets of the company (pp. 4-5), but that H.M. Rowe held the most capital (pp. 30-43). Although the Rowes were all partners in the firm, we do not know what their relationship was to each other.A second important part of the Ledger reflects payments for merchandise to numerous individuals and companies (pp. 301-329).In short, although this company was only one of many oyster packers and shippers in Baltimore during the period covered by these volumes, clearly its business was widespread and apparently lucrative: when the company apparently wound up its business on 16 July 1887, the total capital split among the Rowes was about $21,665, a fair amount for the time.No image URL.View
30000.1295.3187.00photographic printsSchooner W. J. Mathews docked in BaltimoreExact 08/02/1935 - 08/02/1935Long Dock - Baltimore - Baltimore Harbor - Western Shore - MDSchooner W. J. Mathews docked in Baltimore, at Long Dock; seen from port bow; sail furled; several men on deck and on dock may be unloading cargo, but image too soft to be sure; two anchors stowed. For source, see 1295.0001.No image URL.View
40000.1290.3319.00photographic printsFreight boat W. J. Mathews on the hard at Weems, VHumphrey's Railway - Weems - Lancaster - Carter Creek - Western Shore - VAFreight boat W J. Mathews on the hard at Weems, VA; seen from port quarter, showing rudder, propeller, keel and shape of hull; no date. For source, see 1290.0001.No image URL.View
50000.1100photographsHerman Hollerith, Jr. (1892-1976) Photo Collection1890-1970This is a collection of many photographs, which have not been cataloged individually. Please review the attachments for specific information on the images. <br /><br />Herman Hollerith, Jr. (1892-1976) Photo Collections (1890s--1970s) Biographical Background: Herman Hollerith, Jr. was born in 1892 at 3112 Q St., Georgetown, District of Columbia to Herman Hollerith, Sr. and Lucia Talcott Hollerith. His father invented the punch-card tabulating machine. He sold his company in 1911 to a firm that later became IBM. Other Hollerith children were Nan, Richard, Charles, Virginia and Lucia. The family lived in Georgetown, Garret Park and Montgomery County. In 1908 they bought a summer home in Mathews County, Virginia named Brighton. They spent their summers at Brighton from 1909. The family had a number of boats which were kept at Brighton: a New England dory named LUVINA; a flat bottomed power workboat named BRIGHTON; a 45 foot, gas powered yacht named REGINA, which was later renamed LUVINA and later still renamed MATOAKA, and an 85 foot vacht named LUVINA. The name Luvina was derived from the three daughter's names, Lucia, Virginia and Nan. Herman Hollerith, Jr. attended Worchester Polytechnic College with his borther, Charles, and received an engineering degree in 1917. He worked at the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, and then at the Victor Talking Maching Company, where he was chief engineer and production engineer. During this time he lived in Riverton and Moorestown, New Jersey. He quit the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1928 when it was purchased by RCA. From 1932-1936 Hollerith was president of the Virginia Navigation Company and operated a small passenger steamer under contract to a large corporation. From 1936-39 he did not work during the Depression. In 1939 he moved to Baltimore to work for the Glenn L. Martin Company where he was involved in building airplanes during WWII. Hollerith worked until he was 69 years old. He was married twice. He and Sarah Valentine Fox had four children and were divorced in 1936. In 1938 he married Elisabeth C. Guest. In 1954 he bought a house near Oxford, Maryland and retired there in 1961. Hollerith was active in the early days ofnthe Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and was instrumental in the move of the Hooper Strait Lighthouse to the grounds. Hollerith had a love for boats and owned the ERIC, launched in 1925, until his death. This sailboat was an Atkins design based on a Norwegian ketch. ERIC was the prototype of the Westsai1 32. Hollerith died in 1976. For more information about the Hollerith family researchers should consult: HERMAN HOLLERITH: FORGOTTEN GIANT OF INFORMATION PROCESSING, by Geoffrey D. Austrian; NY: 1982, Columbia University Press. Scope and Content: This collection consists of photos taken or collected by Hollerith. The bulk of photos were taken by Hollerith of scenes from 1915-1940. They feature steamboat and sailboat scenes on the lower Chesapeake. Many of the photos were taken on cruises around Mathews County, Va. Some photos (especially M series negatives) were collected by Hollerith and taken by his father and brothers. The photos depict the agriculture life of the lower western shore and often show the introduction of power. Many of these photos have been published. The water was an important focus for life in Brighton. Mrs. Elisabeth Hollerith supplied a quote from Hollerith about life in Brighton: We did everything by boat, used the daily steamer from Norfolk for transportation to and from Washington and for most supplies including ice. Met the steamer at one of the wharves on the East River each day to pick up mail, visiting friends, etc. The roads were so bad we rarely went inland. Went to church and to visit our friends in a motor boat. In addition to the following subject indices, the researcher should note that Hollerith had his own subject indices. These are available to researchers and especially useful in looking for boat names. They are stored with the negatives. Subjects:Airplanes; Caribbean; C & D Canal; Eastern Shore; Hollerith, Herman, Jr.; Log canoes; Mathews county, Va.; Old Point Comfort, Va.; Sailboats, commercial; Seafood Industry; Steamboats, Chesapeake Bay; Washington, DC; workboats, Chesapeake Bay. Subject: Herman Hollerith JrCBMM catalog imageView
61976.0025.0014.01schedule (time plans)Schedules for Ferry Line. A) Norfolk-Newport NewRange, Cir 01/01/1937 - 12/31/1949Schedules for Ferry Line. A) Norfolk-Newport New Ferry - 1937. B/C) New Castle to Pennsville Ferry - 1938. D) Potomac Beach - Morgantown Ferries - No date. E) Willoughby - Old Point Ferry - No date. F) Potomac Beach-Morgantown - 1938. G) Cape Charles-Little Creek (Norfolk) Ferry 1949. Condition: Fair. Size ranges from: 2.5" X 3.5" to 2.5" X 5". Subject: Norfolk-Newport New Ferry Subject: New Castle to Pennsville Ferry Subject: Potomac Beach-Morgantown Ferries Subject: Potomac Beach-Morgantown Ferries Subject: Willoughby-Old Point Ferry Subject: Cape Charles-Little Creek (Norfolk) FerryCBMM catalog imageView
78888.0157.0000.00serials (publications)Boat Manufactureer CollectionsBoat manufacturer catalogs, flyers, brochures, price sheets, photographs, operating manuals, and related magazine articles, donated by various individuals. <br />Series 1 William Gross<br />Series 2 Misc. <br />Series 3 Chris Craft Sailboat Division<br />Series 4 John C. Horner (in progress)No image URL.View

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