BEACHCOMBER BEACHCOMBER 6 • FALL/HOLIDAY 2018

Coleman Bryce A hunting guide along with hisfather, hunting guide alongwith and Bay fishing asaBarnegat served Healso and tobaccoplantation. aswell asawool boatyards Dorsett helmofthe atthe was Dorsett hislife, Captain and more.During 1910) roles embodiedallofthese (1830- JohnLott Dorsett Captain sea… peopleandofthe of the andastoryteller. Aman Apoet ries. collector ofmemorabiliaandmemo The Captain’s Cabinet Lifelong Point Pleasantresident of ships and carver ofdecoys. A ofshipsandcarver andabayman. Abuilder mariner -

he meticulously crafted byhand. crafted he meticulously most unusual relic—asmallcabinet time industry, however, bya left was century. turn-of-the- the Bay during Barnegat hesailedon shipthat three-masted The Rosemond, in Point Pleasant. alongBeaver DamCreek Sanctuary SladeDale is known today asthe nearwhat was boatyard Dorsett andsons.Thesiteofthe brothers, The Captain’s mari legacyinthe In 1883, building finished Dorsett

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d vary widely,vary butitisagoodassump Shore Jersey shipwrecks alongthe off theJerseyShore. twenty-six 19th century vesselsthatwrecked Point Pleasant,ismadefrom thepiecesof in the1880sbyCaptainJohnLottDorsettof This one-of-a-kind,historicalartifact,crafted Captain JohnLott Dorsett(1830-1910). said Lieb. coast,” wrecksupanddown the the a lot ofpeopleandhadaccess to knew JohnLott Dorsett “Captain from SandyHooktoCapeMay. onabeach apersonstands wherever a mile of most likely awreckwithin Museum inWall Township, there’s Shipwreck Jersey New Director ofthe Divers Associationand Historical Jersey New Dan Lieb,Presidentofthe According to thousand. two andthree between itfallssomewhere tion that o w Estimates of the total numberof total Estimates ofthe n

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f i - n d … courtesy of the Point Pleasant Historical Society Museum ”

jersey shore • FALL/HOLIDAY 2018 7

- - (A by Robert

continued on page 10 courtesy of the Point Pleasant Historical Society Museum Society Historical Pleasant Point the of courtesy “Down : A “Down Barnegat The Manasquan Sea Side. Captain rare many Dorsett kept Jahn.) A fifteenth century plate from Dutch Bible bound Holland, a 1741 with boards (the property of Dorsett’s grandfather), other and two Bibles among were and 1748 dated 1746 the the in items kept cabinet. Other curios a pair of stockings worn were grandfatherby the Captain’s at his buttons, brooches, and wedding, 1782 lightly engrained numbers using a blacklight, which led him to research the history and its vessel of each “He (Dorsett) constructedstory. the and cabinet need, out of frugality, for Lieb said. out of ingenuity,” artifacts and curios inside the cabi edi net as documented in an 1888 tion of reprint of this article can be found in the book Midnight Reader” Nor’easter - - - “Dorsett wasn’t alive during alive “Dorsett wasn’t As Dorsett built the cabinet, he Yet it’s what the it’s cabinet is con Yet numbered each piece of wood to numbered each piece of wood identify the it came from. vessel Although the numbers faded over time, Lieb was able to illuminate the Captain Dorsett used pieces of wood shipwrecks along thefrom twenty-six to Jersey Shore, dating from 1808 to build the cabinet. 1875, the entire timeline of the wrecks. because he knew so many However, surprising not people, it’s he was able from to amass a collection of wood estimated said Lieb, “It’s the wrecks,” that Dorsett built the cabinet some time during the 1880s.” metrically placed on its side walls, it might appear to be just another vin tage antique. structed from that is so remarkable: theexcept for three back panels, - - - was a two-masted schooner built by built by Captain John Lott Dorsett around 1883. She sailed duck hunting 1883. She sailed duck hunting Captain John Lott Dorsett around was a two-masted schooner built by built by The cabinet is small and unas It is from these events that the In 1871, in response to the in response to high In 1871,

ornately carved rails adorning its top, seven-piece rosettesand four sym thansuming—slightly larger the size two for of a small bookshelf. Except of-a-kind, historical artifact crafted by Captain Dorsett. appointment. Shipwreck Cabinet was born, a one- had assisted in many rescue and had assisted in many recovery efforts stranded involving his before well vessels and wrecked lished by the government. federal While Captain Dorsett was one of its first members and captains, he number wrecks and staggering loss of the States after United year life year, Service,Life-Saving the precursor to the Coast Guard, was estab U.S. and rotted away in the marshes shortly after World War II. War shortly after World away in the marshes and rotted The Rosemond on the Beaver Dam Creek abandoned the Barnegatparties down Bay for nearly fifty years. For many years, she remained

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“ BEACHCOMBER THE CAPTAIN’S CABINET, continued from page 7 The Twenty-six Wrecks Represented in Captain John Lott Dorsett´s Shipwreck Cabinet

Editor’s Note: As noted below, most of the wrecks represented in the cabinet occurred on TOP & FRONT what was known as “.” As early as 1685, this was the name given to the region from Manasquan to . This includes 1. Donaldson, 1808 today’s towns of Manasquan, Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head, Mantoloking, Lavallette, Ortley 2. Alabama, 1846 Beach, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park, as well as Island Beach State Park. Unless a location was specifically noted, a wreck reported on “Squan 3. Argyle, 1854 Beach” could have been anywhere in this region.

TOP AND FRONT OF CABINET: 4. John Farnum, 1855 Piece 1: Walnut from the ship Donaldson, 1808 • Top board of cabinet 5. Clara Brookman, 1857 • Wrecked on Squan Beach in 1808 Piece 2: Cherry from the schooner Alabama, 1846 6. Axel, 1847 • Second piece from top • Wrecked on Squan Beach (south of in Point Pleasant Beach near today’s Risden’s 7. Sovereign, 1836 Beach), February 15, 1846 • The Alabama was built as a wood-hulled, schooner-rigged sailing vessel and was carrying a 18. Samuel Willets, 1857 cargo of hides, spices, and iron. It was sailing from Philadelphia to Boston, got caught in the breakers, and broke up into pieces in the pounding surf. • The Alabama was one of at least sixteen vessels that wrecked or sank that day during what would later become known as the Minturn Storm. • Seven lives were lost. Piece 3: Mahogany from the bark Argyle, 1854 • Third piece from top • Wrecked on Squan Beach, January 28, 1854 • The Argyle was built as a wood-hulled, barked- rigged sailing vessel and was commanded by Captain James Burton. It sailed from Glasgow, LEFT SIDE RIGHT SIDE Scotland for New York on Christmas Day, 1853 with eleven people on board and 408 tons of cargo, including pig iron and possibly lead. It went 9. Titan, 1855 19. Cora A. Lindsay, 1854 aground three hundred yards offshore and broke into pieces. • Ten lives were lost: two were swept overboard 11. Minerva, 1857 21. Tremlet, 1852 while eight lashed themselves to masts; only one crewman survived by swimming ashore after 13. Creole, 1868 20. New Era, 1854 hanging on for approximately fourteen hours. Piece 4: Mahogany from the bark John Farnum, 1855 8. Mediator, 1875 22. Governor Bull, 1861 • Fourth piece from top • Wrecked on Squan Beach, February 7, 1855

Piece 5: Walnut from the ship Clara Brookman, 1857 12. Ayrshire, 1850 • The rectangular door (made from rails) and 23. New York, 1856 white, porcelain doorknob 10. John Minturn, 1846 • Wrecked on Squan Beach, August 28, 1857 Piece 6: Baywood from the brig Axel, 1847 • Two small, thin pieces running from top to 14. Powhattan, 1854 bottom on the sides of the door 24. Brazil, 1860 • Wrecked during the winter of 1847 • One life was lost. 15. William Enges, 1848 25. Fortunato, 1860 Piece 7: Stair rails from the ship Sovereign, 1836 • The two front corner pieces, running from top to 16. Fauvette, 1847 bottom, with curled finials on top 26. Black Warrior, 1855 • Wrecked on Squan Beach, 1836 • One life was lost. 17. Arion, 1852 Piece 18: Oak from the ship Samuel Willets, 1857 • Bottom board of cabinet

Jersey shore • FALL/HOLIDAY 2018 FALL/HOLIDAY • Jersey shore • Wrecked on Squan Beach, July 2, 1857 photos by Coleman Bryce 8 The Twenty-six Wrecks Represented in Captain John Lott Dorsett´s Shipwreck Cabinet

LEFT SIDE OF CABINET: Piece 8: Oak from the steamship Mediator, 1875 captain faced a mutiny on board and was severely • Bottom piece (6:00 position) beaten; numerous passengers, stranded on the Piece 9: Maple from the tug Titan, 1855 • Wrecked at N. Point of Barnegat Shoals, January beach without shelter and suffering from exposure • Top piece on left side (looks like a railing) 22, 1875 and hunger, began to trek north along the beach • Wrecked on Squan Beach, September 8, 1855 • The 207’ steamer was stranded at 6:00 AM in to distant Point Pleasant; and a drunken mutineer • According to Robert Jahn, the Titan was enroute heavy seas and fog on the North Point of Barnegat froze to death on the beach and was buried there to assist another stranded vessel along the coast, Shoals at Island Beach. It sank at noon in ten feet of in the sand. but the captain and crew imbibed too much rum water. The twenty-two officers and crew were saved. as a storm formed, which crippled the steam RIGHT SIDE OF CABINET, tug. Captain Dorsett waded into the surf and Piece 12: Walnut from the ship Ayrshire, 1850 TOP ROSETTE: rescued the tug’s captain, who was suffering from (Also referred to in the historical records as Ayreshire exhaustion, and saved his life. or Ayershire.) Piece 21: Walnut from the schooner Tremlet, 1852 • Left piece (8:00 position) • Right piece (2:00 position) Piece 10: White Pine from the ship John Minturn, • Wrecked on Squan Beach on January 12, 1850 • Wrecked on Squan Beach, April 1852 1846 opposite the Chadwick Lifesaving Station. • Four lives were lost. • The two boards that comprise both the left and • The Ayrshire was built as a wood-hulled, ship- right sides of the cabinet rigged sailing vessel and was commanded by Captain Piece 20: Mahogany from the ship New Era, 1854 • Wrecked on Squan Beach on February 15, 1846 J. P. McGlew. It sailed from Newry, Ireland for New • Left piece (10:00 position) about one mile south of Mantoloking during what York on December 26, 1849 with 201 onboard, • Wrecked at Deal Beach (today’s Asbury Park), is known today as the Minturn Storm, which including 166 Irish and English immigrants. November 13, 1854 caused at least sixteen vessels to sink. • The Ayrshire is historically significant because it • The New Era is considered one of the worst • The John Minturn, commanded by Captain Stark, marks the first successful use of the Francis Lifecar, maritime disasters along the eastern seaboard. was built in Westerly, Rhode Island in 1841 as which was invented by Joseph Francis and used by The ship was built in Maine as a three-masted, a wood-hulled, ship-rigged sailing vessel. It was the U.S. Life-Saving Service in direct response to the ship-rigged sailer and was commanded by Captain carrying a cargo of cotton, sugar, molasses, and devastating loss of life during the Minturn Storm. Henry. The ship’s maiden voyage was difficult various other items along with fifty-one passengers The lifecar was a link between ship and shore and and included the loss of over forty passengers to a and crew when it left New Orleans on January 27, a maximum of eight people could lay, stacked like cholera outbreak while at sea. Sailing conditions 1847 heading for New York. The ship picked up cord wood, inside its very small compartment. were deplorable, and fog, wind, and a rogue wave twenty additional seamen from the wreck of the • The only loss of life was that of one German man compounded the voyage. When the ship struck a Cherokee near Galveston, Texas. Although estimates who jumped on top of the lifecar as it departed the sand bar, its position further complicated rescue vary, the official loss of life was recorded at fifty-one. boat; he fell off, was swept out to sea, and never because it was too far out at sea for a beaches buoy seen again. rescue, but too close for a boat rescue. Out of 450 Piece 14: Mahogany from the ship Powhattan, 1854 souls on board, mostly German immigrants, at • Raised center piece on left side between the • It is believed that remains of the Ayrshire were unearthed in the fall of 2014 when workers were least 284 lives were lost. The SS Morro Castle most rosettes likely drifted over the New Era during its disaster • Wrecked at Long Beach Island on the Absecon repairing a sea wall damaged by Superstorm Sandy in Normandy Beach. eighty years later. The New Era’s massive anchor Bar, April 15, 1854 was discovered in 1999 and now sits at the corner • The Powhattan was one of at least fifteen wrecked LEFT SIDE OF CABINET, of Elberon and Norwood Avenues in Allenhurst, or hampered vessels during the severe gale of April memorializing the victims. 15, 1854 and was the worst of the day’s casualties. BOTTOM ROSETTE: All 311 people aboard were lost. Piece 15: Beech from the bark William Enges, 1848 Piece 22: Rosewood from the brig Governor Bull, 1861 • The Powhattan was built as a three-masted, • Left piece (10:00 position) • Bottom piece (6:00 position) ship-rigger sailer in Bath, Maine in 1835 and was • Wrecked about one mile south of Squan Inlet • Wrecked on Squan Beach, about three miles commanded by Captain John Meyers. There was (today’s Manasquan Inlet) in 1848. Jahn dates the south of Squan Inlet, May 4, 1861 no knowledge of the loss of the Powhattan until wreck to spring of that year, while Lieb’s research bodies began to wash ashore north of the site where dates it as July 7, 1848. RIGHT SIDE OF CABINET, the vessel went down; a subsequent investigation BOTTOM ROSETTE: Piece 16: Beech from the bark Fauvette, 1847 resulted in the discovery of the sunken vessel. shorejersey • FALL/HOLIDAY 2018 • Right piece (2:00 position) Piece 24: Ash from the schooner Brazil, 1860 LEFT SIDE OF CABINET, TOP ROSETTE: • Wrecked on Squan Beach about 5.5 miles south of • Left piece (10:00 position) Squan Inlet in 1847 • Wrecked on Squan Beach, about 6.5 miles south Piece 11: White Pine from the ship Minerva, 1857 of Squan Inlet, May 16, 1860 • Top piece (12:00 position) Piece 17: Spruce from the bark Arion, 1852 • Wrecked at (opposite Toms River • Bottom piece (6:00 position) Piece 25: Ash from the brig Fortunato, 1860 today) on April 20, 1857. All onboard, including • Wrecked at Cranberry Inlet, February 1852 • Right piece (2:00 position) fifteen crew and four passengers, survived. • Wrecked at Lavallette City, August 21, 1860 RIGHT SIDE OF CABINET: Piece 13: Walnut from the steamship Creole, 1868 Piece 26: Piece of the mizzenmast of the steamship • Right piece (4:00 position) Piece 19: Maple from the schooner Cora A. Lindsay, Black Warrior, 1855 • Wrecked on Squan Beach, March 17, 1868 (The 1854 • Bottom piece (6:00 position) Creole wrecked off Bay Head at the southern most • Top piece on right side (looks like a railing) • Wrecked off Rockaway, Long Island in 1855 jetty near the former site of The Bluff’s Hotel. • Wrecked on Squan Beach, February of 1854 A wreck known locally by divers as “The Bluff’s Wreck” is believed by many to be the Creole.) Piece 23: Mahogany from the ship New York, 1856 • The Creole was a brig-rigged, wooden-hulled • Raised center piece on right side between the rosettes Information courtesy of Dan Lieb, President of steamship that was built in Mystic, Connecticut in the Historical Diver’s Association and 1862 and served the Union during the Civil War. It • Wrecked on Island Beach three miles north of Barnegat Inlet, December 20, 1856 Director of the New Jersey Shipwreck Museum, sailed from Havana, Cuba for New York on March and from an article appearing in an 1888 edition 11, 1868 with a cargo of sugar. According to Lieb, • The New York, bound from Liverpool, England, was carrying 250 immigrants and 27 crew; some of The Manasquan Sea Side. (A reprint of this at “The Bluff’s Wreck” site, remnants of a boiler, article can be found in the book “Down Barnegat engine, cylinders, propeller, and prop shaft, believed accounts reported 307 in total. Most of the passengers and crew were trapped on the ship all Bay: A Nor’easter Midnight Reader” by Robert to be the Creole’s, are still visible on the bottom of Jahn.) the ocean. day and through the night in freezing weather and a pounding surf. Before the rescue was over, the continued on page 10 9 10 Jersey shore • FALL/HOLIDAY 2018 BEACHCOMBER man’s need. diresthours ofhisfellow again inthe calltimeand who answered the Shore, Jersey him, upanddown the courageous localmenlikealso tothe lostatseabut tothose a memorial not onlyas serves Shipwreck Cabinet JohnLott Dorsett’s ago. Captain justacentury norm ney, the was that jour impeding the barriers and other illness, storms, ship for weeks, with traveling onatightly-packed wooden Lavallette, whonow residesinMaine. of formerly ColemanBrice, grandson, session ofDorsett’s great-great-great- pos inthe iscurrently The cabinet MuseuminBeachHaven. Maritime Jersey New system,andatthe Library OceanCounty ious branchesofthe Museum,invar Pleasant Historical Point inthe played andexhibited Shore.Ithasbeendis Jersey the producedat folk art of American andmostincrediblepiece greatest acy hasrendereditasperhaps the ShipwreckCabinet’s leg the that make it.” wood usedto are representedbythe of669soulslost “because atotal ofDeath,’” saidLieb, ‘Cabinet the Era the including the lossesoflife, had overwhelming disastersthat well-known maritime includeswood cabinet fromseveral the resultedinfatalities, cabinet the wrecksrepresentedin not allofthe tional and/orhumanerror. While were wreckedothers dueto naviga vessels were while wrecked instorms, andpacket ships.Some barks, brigs, listincludesships,schooners, and the sailedfromnumerousnations, inet byAdmiral Marston. Dorsett Captain Ironsides, USS Constitution, oldfrigate display apieceofthe was ofthe Acenterpiece effort. war the War Revolutionary tofund the during Congress Continental issued bythe currency, Continental papermoney While itmightbehardtoimagine Over time,ithasbecomeclear toas “It’s referred sometimes cab The vessels representedinthe (1854). Powhattan which was presented to presentedto which was John Minturn (1854), andthe alsoknown as THE CAPTAIN’S CABINET, —Jill Ocone (1851), - New New - Old Old - - - - - continuedfrompage7

• Schooner • Sloop • Sloop ing vessels: cabinet). represented inthe (both biggest lossoflife incidentswere the Total ofsixty-two lives lost cabinet) • cabinet) the • • • • • • • • Schooner (onlyonesurvivor) • Schooner • Packet Ship • Schooner • Bark • Ship • Schooner VESSELTYPES At least sixteen vessels sank during the tempest, including: At sixteenvessels least the sankduring NOTABLEMID THE STORMSDURING freight, orpassengers Packet Boat/Ship: mainsailandajib afore-and-aft one-masted sailboatwith Sloop: mainmast sail onthe Brig: mizzen atthe rigged masts, andfore-and-aft Bark: lower mainmastandhaving masts gaff-rigged the foremast smallerthan Schooner: masts Ship: Four of these vessels carried 2,360 immigrant passengers combined. 2,360immigrant vessels carried Four ofthese • Ship • Packet Ship cabinet) (representedinthe • Ship • Schooner atsea) (burned • Schooner John Minturn Alabama Lotty Jersey New Arkansas Register Pioneer, Antares, Ellen Mary The February 15,The February 1846 Storm. Minturn hasbecomeknown asthe storm The Severe 15, GaleofApril 1854 hampered follow orwrecked the Thetwo1854 disasters. andmaritime year ofstorms wasanother a two-masted, square-rigged sailing vessel with an additional gaff atwo-masted, anadditionalgaff square-rigged sailingvessel with a sailing vessel with a bowsprit and three ormoresquare-rigged andthree abowsprit asailingvessel with a three-masted sailing vessel, square-rigged at the fore andmain sailingvessel, square-rigged atthe a three-masted A small, square-rigged sailing vessel with two or three masts;a two Asmall,square-rigged orthree sailingvessel with off Manasquan (two lives off lost) William H.Harbeck Powhattan Humboldt Juris Eliza Jane David Vannerman off LongBranch(onelife lost) off off Point representedin lives off Pleasant Beach(allseven lost; off Deal(onelife lost) off a sailing vessel with two or more masts, typically with the the two ormoremasts,typicallywith a sailingvessel with Francis Fashion Octavia Nebraska Minerva Lenity off Spring Lake Spring off north ofHighlands north Manhattan Underwriter off Mantoloking (fifty-one lives lost; represented in the representedinthe lives lost; Mantoloking(fifty-one off

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