|
|
|
|
Pensacola Fishing & Maritime Heritage
Andrew Fuller Warren
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
Andrew Fuller Warren was born in 1842 in Massachusetts, schooled in Boston and graduated from Brown University in 1863. He served in the 10th Rhode Island Volunteers during the Civil War. Later, he was employed in the shipping business in Boston. In 1871 Andrew Warren came to Pensacola to work for the Pensacola Fish Company, an offshoot enterprise of the city’s first ice factory. He saw the great potential of the fishing industry made possible by a more plentiful source of ice. For years, ice harvested from the rivers and lakes of New England had been shipped to Pensacola and other gulf ports. Soon he became a partner in the Pensacola Fish Company.
In 1873 Warren returned to New England to marry Fannie Clark Stearns of Bath, Maine. His brother-in-law, Silas Stearns, joined them in Pensacola and, in 1880, they established Warren and Company; later, the name was changed to Warren Fish Company. The company flourished and Silas Stearns became one of the most remarkable naturalists in American history.
The next year Eugene Edwin Saunders and Thomas Everett Welles, bought the equipment and boats from the Pensacola Fish Company and founded E. E. Saunders and Company (see vignettes re: Saunders and Welles on this page). About that time construction of the railroad into Pensacola was completed, providing access to large inland and northern markets. For many years the two companies, with little or no competition and working harmoniously, did well and were a part of the boomtown prosperity of Pensacola at the turn of the 20th century. Finally, a slow decline in the over-fished resource brought it all to an end.
The Warren Fish Company also developed a reputation for serious scientific research into the fish population of the gulf. Silas Stearns, although untutored in the sciences, became a naturalist of national repute by collecting and supplying specimens of gulf marine life to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In 1878 Stearns visited the Institution in and later they carried on extensive correspondence. This work resulted in the identification of fifty previously unidentified species of marine life, four of them named after Stearns. In recognition of his expertise, Stearns was appointed a Special Agent of the U.S. Fish Commission; he was in charge of the 10th census of the marine industries of the gulf. In 1885 Stearns reported “a marked diminution of Snapper on current grounds” and suggested ways to correct the situation: to discover new fishing grounds or to assist fish culture. He called for research as the key to the future of the fishing industry. Stearns always was in frail health with chronic lung disease. His early death in 1889 was a great loss to science, nature conservancy, and the red snapper industry and to the Warren Fish Company.
In 1889 Andrew Warren took a Scottish sea captain, William Hayes, as partner and the company continued to prosper. (Hayes son in law, Francis Taylor, later became president of the company). The Warren Fish Company built a rail spur to its docks at the end of the Baylen Street Wharf, a 2,000-foot pier. The Warren Fish Company weathered devastating hurricanes in 1906 and in 1916.In addition, in 1906, a Warren Fish Company smack (sailing ship), the Silas Stearns, and crew were seized by a Mexican government ship near the Campeche (snapper) Banks off the coast of Mexico. The crew was released but the smack was confiscated. In 1898 Andrew Warren presented a paper to the National Fishery Congress, expressing his concerns about the increasing world competition by other nations with lower labor costs and the reduced supply of fish.
Andrew Warren was a very thoughtful and skillful businessman as well as an imaginative marketer. He tried to promote snapper and grouper presentation in smaller portions by salting, canning, and “steaking” in iced cans. He even published a special cookbook to improve culinary skills in preparing fish from “The Red Snapper Capital of the World”.
Andrew Fuller Warren and his wife Fannie Stearns Warren were an important part of the community. They lived in a beautiful, spacious home, now a lawyer's office, on the corner of Baylen and La Rua Streets. They had three daughters: Lucy, Mollie and Fannie. Lucy Penelope Warren married Juriah H. Pierpont, M.D., a leading physician in Pensacola and in the state of Florida (see vignette on this website). Dr. Pierpont was the son of the composer of Jingle Bells, James Lord Pierpont, and the first cousin of financier J. Pierpont Morgan.
Andrew F. Warren died on October 15, 1919 and, along with Fannie and infant son, William Stearns Warren, was buried in St. John’s Cemetery 2 North Section 17. as was Fannie Stearns Warren Mitchell (her first husband), Halstead (her second husband). Lucy and her husband, Dr. Pierpont were buried in the adjacent lot 2 North Section19 at St John’s .Silas Stearns also is buried in 2 North, Section 17. Mollie Waterman Warren Brent is buried in St. Michaels Cemetery.
 |
 |
 |
Eugene E. Saunders, was born Dec. 11, 1845, in a New England seacoast town and went to sea when he was a very young man. Later, he became a sea captain and his cargoes of fish and ice harvested from the lakes and rivers of New England were shipped to Florida and other distant ports. In 1868, he sailed his ship, the Fannie Fern, into Pensacola Bay, recognized a great opportunity and settled in Pensacola.
Saunders established a fish company and later invited fellow New Englander, Thomas E. Welles, to joint ownership (see accompanying article about T. E. Welles). He and Welles also developed an ice-making plant that produced 35 tons per day and allowed for cold storage of up to 100,000 pounds of fish. Saunders Fish Company shipped fish as far away as New York City, Omaha, and Baltimore. Pensacola became the “ Red Snapper Capital of the World.” Pensacolians bought their fresh fish from the E. E. Saunders market on south Palafox Street, Warren Fish Company and directly from the ships. As a by-product of the fish business, Saunders and Welles established a fishmeal plant.
E. E. Saunders Fish Company flourished under Welles’ direction, and Saunders was occupied with many other maritime related enterprises. For many years, he had a contract to remove ballast from cargo ships docked in Pensacola. When empty sailing ships came to town, their holds would be filled with large stones, chunks of granite and other materials to prevent the ships with tall masts from becoming top heavy. Millions of tons of rock, tile, sand and gravel were dumped near Deer Point, around the Quarantine Station and along the bay shore. Saunders then sold ballast material for use in building.
Many Pensacolians bought ballast for the foundations of their homes and for walls along the sidewalk, as in Plaza Ferdinand and numerous houses in North Hill. Among those were Saunders’ house at 221 E. Jackson Street and his sister’s house on Gregory and Spring Streets. Ballast was used also to extend the land out from the natural shoreline in the Main Street area. Saunders utilized the ballast to build Palafox Street wharf of earth and stone outward from Main Street. Many of his businesses were located there.
Saunders developed a fleet of four or five oceangoing tugs, including the Juno, an 83.5-foot tug he had built in 1880. These tugs were used to tow from Pensacola all of the crossties used in Cuba’s railroad beds. Saunders’ tugs also brought lumber from Millview on Perdido Bay to sawmills along Pensacola Bay and Escambia River. In 1894, he and Welles purchased a ship repair facility, the Gulf of Mexico Marine Railway Company, at Navy Cove on the Gulf Breeze Peninsula.
Saunders was a member of the group that established Pensacola Yacht Club and Pensacola Driving Association for horse racing; a racing course was built at Kupfrian’s Park. He also provided some of the financial backing to start the Pensacola Daily News.
On Jan. 13, 1875, Saunders married Harriet Nichols of New Jersey; they had no children. Captain Eugene E. Saunders, with limited formal education, sailed into Pensacola Bay shortly after the Civil War, saw a land of great opportunity, became a very astute, successful and wealthy businessman, and made important marks on the landscape of Pensacola as well as it’s history.
He died April 3, 1913 and is buried in St. John’s Historic Cemetery 1 North, Section 9, just across the road from the gravesite of his business partner, T. E. Welles.
How did ice harvesting in New England play such an important
role in the early growth and development of Pensacola? Some of the answers may
be found in the intermingling stories of three New Englanders who were
transplanted to Pensacola at different times. All of them eventually
participated as entrepreneurs and leaders in the boomtown of Pensacola in the
late 1800’s and early 1900’s. All of them went to sea at an early age, two
becoming captains of their own ships; all of them were engaged in the shipping
of ice in sailing ships; two of them became mayors of Pensacola.
Thomas E. Welles' story is presented here. The stories of the other two, E. E. Saunders and William H. Northup are described in other sections of “Pensacola’s Heritage at St John’s Historic Cemetery” on this web site. Welles and Captain Northup are two of the ten Mayors of Pensacola buried in St. John’s Historic Cemetery.
According to his grandson, Bill Langford, Thomas E. Welles was educated in the schools of Mystic, Connecticut. He went to sea at an early age and later, was employed by Captain T. C. Cobb of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Captain Cobb’s fleet of sailing ships often carried cargoes of ice harvested in huge chunks from the lakes and rivers of New England. Packed in sawdust, ice was sent to many ports around the world, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Islands and South America.
Thomas E. Welles learned the business of sailing, fishing and shipping under Captain Cobb and, in the early 1870’s was sent as purser of a ship delivering ice to E. E. Saunders Co., a leader in fishing in Pensacola. Mr. Saunders was so impressed with Thomas Welles that he offered to sell him an interest in his company with Welles as manager.
Welles returned to Massachusetts with the ship. Subsequently, he married Caroline Brown Cobb, Captain Cobb’s daughter; Captain Cobb lent him money to buy stock in E. E. Saunders Company and Welles moved to Pensacola. Saunders was occupied with other enterprises of the company, such as oceangoing tugboats, recovery and sale of ballast rocks and land development. The company employed over a thousand men and had over forty “fishing smacks”, moderate-sized sailing ships built in New England according to E. E Saunders Company specifications. The annual payroll was in excess of $100,000. They developed a local fish market in the Palafox wharf area and a fishmeal plant with by-products of fertilizer and glue. Their ice manufacturing plant produced 35 tons of ice a day and allowed cold storage of 100,000 pounds of fish. Looking for ways to repair the fleet at home, they bought the marine ways on the north side of the Gulf Breeze peninsula and renamed it the Gulf of Mexico Marine Railway Company. The fishing smacks of E. E. Saunders Company and the very successful Warren Fish Company established Pensacola as “The Red Snapper Capital “ of the World”.
In 1889 the Pensacola Driving Association was organized “to operate and maintain a racecourse and encourage sport among local horse owners”; Welles was one of the founders. He was vice president of the Citizens National Bank for years and a director of the Peoples National Bank. As president of the Gulf City Coffee Company he helped organize Welles-Kahn Company. Welles was the president of the Good Government League, and a member of the Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World and the Masons. He was an avid reader and had an impressive library in his large home on the corner of Gadsden Street and 12th Avenue. His daughter, Ruth Alden married Adrian Langford and, subsequently, the Langford's lived in the Gadsden Street house and raised an outstanding family, including surviving sons Bill and Dick Langford. In addition, Welles owned a large plantation in north Alabama where his family spent the summers. Welles son, Frank, had two sons, well known in Pensacola, Thomas and Frank, Jr (“Junie”).
Welles served as mayor of Pensacola from 1903 until 1905. When Saunders died in April 1913, Welles bought Saunders’ portion of the various businesses from Saunders’ widow. Welles died in November 1914 and is buried in St. John’s Historic Cemetery 1 South Section 10.
Submitted by John Appleyard
One of the cemetery’s more romantic burial figures was a sea captain whose exploits excited local citizens for over thirty years, and whose vessel, the Tarpon, was the area’s only method of movement from Mobile to Carabelle between 1903 and 1937. Tarpon was twenty years old and recently refurbished when Capt. Barrow, acting for the owners of a new shipping line, purchased her.
Captain Barrow’s home was in Pensacola on West Chase Street. With his wife, the former Rosa Reid Campbell, he had seven sons, all of whom survived childhood. All became successful business and professional men. However, it is difficult to describe the captain’s family life, for he was seldom home considering his ship’s regular weekly schedule.
His grandson, Dr. Louis R. Barrow, a Pensacola dentist, described some of his grandfather’s activities.
“Because grandfather was gone so much, we seldom saw him except on Sundays. Then the family would often gather for dinner at his house. He was not an outgoing man, but we all respected him greatly. However, one of my memories of those Sundays is that the Captain would retreat for a nap after dinner, and Grandma would always let us know that his hard life made him tired and we were warned to be quiet.
Once his ship’s schedule was solidified, those who frequented the wharves in the port cities could all but set their watches by her visit. As years passed, he was quoted as saying, “God makes the weather, and God willing, I make the trip.” And he did, too! Traffic grew as the vessel’s popularity developed. After a time some of the area’s more cautious seafarers began to worry about Barrow’s bravado. There were two obvious shortcomings, the observers said. For one thing, even as ship-radio communication improved, Barrow refused to add such a feature to his ship. Even when Coast Guard officials and international safety organizations established the Plimsole Line as a safety feature supposedly mandated for all deep sea vessels, Barrow ignored the practice. Some said Barrow felt that his many years of experience and the seaworthiness of the Tarpon made such a feature unnecessary.
In 1908 J. R. Saunders, president and principal owner of the Pensacola, St. Andrews and Gulf Steamship Company, died. Captain Barrow assumed both the company’s presidency and the ownership of the majority of the company stock.
What sort of man was the captain?
As years passed Willis Barrow, generally known as Captain W. G.
Barrow, became the stuff of which legends are made. He was six feet tall, sharp
of eye, with a neatly trimmed mustache. With the ladies he was courtly and
pleasant and his crewmen respected him. However, though Barrow had a smooth
tongue in dealing with some, deck hands learned it was unwise to fall from the
skipper’s grace as he could be terse and gruff.
Said one observer: “He was often cross and took no guff from anyone aboard his ship. He never hesitated to give a lagging worker a boot in the rear or a tongue lashing, even when his years had passed three score and ten.”
Others who knew him saw a different side. When Tarpon called at Panama City, it was often the captain’s routine to have his mate oversee the offloading while he walked briskly to the local hotel where he would take his lunch. Almost from the beginning he became a favorite with the ladies who worked there. By keeping his ear to the ground, he would often note something one or more of the residents wished to have so on his arrival on the following trip, he would deliver a package with that content with a flourish.
Tarpon’s
career included survival in several hurricanes (image at left), and the
satisfaction of countless passengers and shippers.
In late August, 1937, Tarpon set sail from Pensacola with little indication that foul weather threatened. But, it did. Off Camp Walton she ran into heavy winds and rain, then with further buffeting the vessel began to take on water. Efforts were made to lighten the ship, but these failed. Tarpon went down nine miles off Panama City. More than half of those aboard were lost. The Captain was picked up on a life raft but died minutes later. His sun blackened remains were brought to Pensacola, where hundreds paid their respects before his burial in St. John’s.
Capt. Willis Greene Barrow is buried in St. John's Cemetery 3 North Section 37.
The story of the Rosasco brothers, William and Albert, is like a movie, as they moved about the world, taking advantage of multiple, international business opportunities.
(Submitted by John Appleyard)
One of Northwest Florida's more unique family trees belongs to the Rosascos', industrialists, shippers, traders, land developers and more. The story began in Italy, in 1825, with the birth of Paul Rosasco, who became skilled as a mariner, came to the United States, married a lovely Massachusetts lady and then set himself up in the China trade, sailing out of California. The young family had two sons, William Sebastian and Albert T., and the father's enterprise became increasingly successful.
But then the mother died. Heartbroken, the father sold his business and, with his sons, returned to Italy. There he remarried and had a third son whom he called Peter. And so things stood into the 1870s.
By now the elder sons were grown, and both resolved to return to the land of their birth. They came, then separated briefly, the one finding employment in Mississippi, the other in Philadelphia. And then Pensacola entered the story.
In the late 1870s, one of the new and successful mill owners operating locally was an Italian named Perodi. How he learned of the presence of Rosasco is not known, but wishing to hear something of "the old country" he extended an invitation to the young man in Mississippi to come for a visit. The youth did, and a fast friendship quickly emerged. Anxious to be helpful, Perodi offered to give financial backing to the two young men if they wished to enter the lumber business here. The pair promptly accepted. Within months their enterprise was under way, with lands leased (and later purchased) along the Blackwater River. Their firm, called Rosasco Brothers, Pitch Pine Exporters, found ready markets, and soon the brothers were among the rising financial stars of the region.
William married the daughter of Adolphine Bronnum, Danish immigrants who by now were operating the Bagdad Sash & Door Company, and a new family line developed.
In 1885 the brothers elected to make a major change in their business. Albert returned to Genoa, the family's native city; and the younger half brother, Peter, came to the United States to become part of the enterprise here. Back in Italy, Albert opened the Rosasco Brothers' continental sales office, and then the Rosasco Brothers Steamship Company. Through the one the firm channeled huge quantities of yellow pine to Italy, which was just then developing as a united sovereign nation. The trademark GENOA PINE became famous as a recognition of quality. Albert prospered as did the others; soon he was able to build a huge mansion which rivaled the homes of the old nobility (just after he left the Presidency of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt visited Italy and stayed at the Rosasco home).
In Santa Rosa County the Rosasco interests soared. Their Bay Point Mill, acquired from the Perodi's, was new and modern, and their 68,000 acres of cutting forest were well managed. To house the staff for their mill the family created a village near the river, close to the huge waterfront antebellum mansion which was built there. The firm's steamers (the Unione, the Escambia, and the Santa Rosa) sailed regularly, carrying Italian manufactured goods westward and pine products to the east. Family legend reports that often, in summer months, the arrival of a Rosasco vessel was the signal for a social gala on board, attended by the community's elite. In 1904 Peter Rosasco became the mill manager, while the older brothers, the one usually in Italy, branched into still other ventures, including banking and land development. Up to World War I nothing seemed to stand in their path to success. But when the war came, disaster struck. First there was an expropriation of their vessels by an unfriendly, Italian government. Then, in 1916, a terrible hurricane swept across the area, downing millions of feet of the Rosasco's standing timber.
Reluctantly, the Brothers changed courses. They sold portions of their woodland, keeping other acreage for land development (which would become highly profitable). At war's end new vessels were obtained, and the family continued as lumbering agents, helping local mills find markets in Southern Europe. Even in Depression years the family fared well, and was able to assist local mill owners. When World War II struck, the misfortunes of the Rosasco shipping fleet were repeated, and so, after half a century, the family abandoned that portion of their business.
By this time, the original Rosasco brothers were retiring or dead, and a new generation had taken charge. Into the 1990s their roles became those of financiers, land planners and developers, with heavy emphasis on community service, especially in Milton and Santa Rosa County. Regrettably, the riverfront village had disappeared, and the mansion, which had stood vacant for some years, burned and is no longer part of the community's setting. In 1993 large portions of the old river front mill site were sold to other potential developers.
William S. Rosasco is buried in 3 North Section 33.His brother Albert had resided in Genoa, Italy many years; he is buried in Genoa.
