Sepia Saturday 92: Shield's Steamboats and Locomotives

Boats and trains - what an intriguing combination!  The steamboat illustration above is from James Bard [public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.  The steamboat, America, was built in Cincinnati at Shield's Foundry.  As land-locked as Cincinnati is, it is hard to imagine the major boat-building industry that thrived here in mid-twentieth century.  Cincinnati was a bustling inland port with a diverse, international population.

I've always been intrigued by city directories - especially the older ones that give a little personal information in a time when little survives.  Richard Manchester, uncle of Richard Manchester in Sepia Saturday 89, was listed in the 1840 Cincinnati City Directory as being employed by Shield's Foundry.  Thus began my journey....

Shield's, operating under a variety of names and partnerships, was a steam-engine manufacturer.  Francis Shield was employed at William Green & Company by 1819.  At this time, he was a whitesmith (tinsmith), bell-hanger, cutler and printing press maker.  It was probably about this time when he made one of the first printing presses in Ohio.

In 1825, Francis Shield co-owned Shields & Benton Steam Engine Company with Erasmus Benton.   By 1840, Shield’s Foundry was on the Southwest corner of 5th and Broadway.  The foundry was the 2nd largest in Cincinnati, employing a diverse group of over 60 people from 9 different countries and 7 different states in the United States.  Shield's was one of several foundries who built steam engines for riverboats.

Steamboats in Cincinnati ca 1850 from the Smithsonian Institute (Flickr)
For further information, see Cincinnati Panorama of 1848

Francis Shield also invented and built 2 demonstration railroad steam locomotives.  About 1829, Francis and his son, Edward, built a locomotive engine called Western Star. In 1830, his locomotive, the Cincinnati, was on display locally.

Richard Manchester and my 3rd great grandfather, John, were copper smiths who immigrated to the United States in the early-mid 1800's. Richard Manchester was an engine finisher working on steamboats.   An engine finisher polished the engine to a lustrous sheen as seen in this Flickr photograph.  Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered Shield’s foundry also made one of the first steam railroad locomotives built in the United States! While it is doubtful that Uncle Richard worked on that locomotive, others employed by Shield may have.

The people listed below all worked at Shield’s in 1840. An asterisk marks those individuals who were in Cincinnati in 1829 when Francis Shield was working on his steam-driven railroad locomotive.  It isn’t known if any of these individuals worked for Shield in 1829 or if they worked on the  railroad locomotive.  They all certainly played a part in the great steam boat era.

Name, position, place of origin
Charles C. Anderson, finisher, Pennsylvania
Wm Beach, Bookkeeper, Ohio
John Bierbaum, laborer, Germany
Peter Bierbaum, laborer, Germany
Joseph Bortonne, laborer, France
John Boyle, engineer, Scotland
Michael Campbell, moulder, New York
William G. Campbell, machinist, Kentucky
Wm Alex Campbell, Engine Finisher, Scotland
Francis S. Carpenter, engine finisher, New York
James Conkling, blacksmith, New Jersey
Dennis Cronin, laborer, Ireland
Patrick Cronin, laborer, Ireland
Ebenezer Davis, engine finisher, North Wales
Alexander Donaldson, engine finisher, Scotland
Cornelius Donnelly, laborer, Ireland
Charles Dudley, engine finisher, New York
John Frelling, laborer, Germany
Lawrence Gardner, blacksmith, Germany
Joseph Griffith, moulder, Pennsylvania*
William Griffith, engineer, New York
John Groves, engine finisher, England
John Henderson, patternmaker, Scotland*
James Hudson, finisher, England
James Johns, blacksmith, South Wales
Valentine Keister, blacksmith, Germany
Frederick Keutham, laborer, Germany
Henry Klaseng, blacksmith, Germany
Ferdinand Kramer, laborer, Germany
John Kuhn, core maker, Germany
John Leonard, blacksmith, Pennsylvania
David Longher, laborer, South Wales
Michael Lor, laborer, Germany
John W. Mackelfresh, moulder, Pennsylvania
Richard Manchester, engine finisher, England
John McNicoll, finisher, Delaware
Francis Moleux, finisher, France
Michael Murphy, machinist, Ireland
Chas Pund, Labr, Germany
Fredk Rehorn, Machinist, Germany
Ernest Reimann, engineer, Germany
Philip Rice, finisher, Germany*
Benjamin Riggles, blacksmith, Ohio
David Roberts, North Wales
Jabez Roberts, blacksmith, South Wales
Frederick Ruff, finisher, England
Michael Schutz, Labr, Germany
John Scott, Engineer, Ireland
Thos Scully, Finisher, Ireland
Joseph Shaddinger, Blacksmith, Ohio
Francis Shield, England*
Geo Shield, Machinist, Ireland
Edward Shield, Machinist, Del
Jacob Strabb, Engine finisher, Germany
Andrew J. Streeter, Moulder, Ia
Philip Urick, Labr, Germany
John Weaver, Screw-Cutter, Bav
Charles H. Weidner, Pattern-maker, Maryland*
Nelson Weythe, Blacksmith, Ohio
Anthony White, Blacksmith, Pennsylvania
J. Williams, Finisher, New York**
John Wilson, England
Frank Wis, Labr, France

This Sepia Saturday post is but one of many explorations on the theme of suitcases, travel, ships, railways, holidays, shops, Ireland, hand-carts or some other interesting journey.  You'll find them all at Sepia Saturday 92.