P-084: Captain Enos B. Moore Diaries and Correspondence

ABSTRACT: A collection of letters and diaries of Captain Enos B. Moore. Moore piloted steamboats on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers for 45 years, between 1844-1889.

SCOPE: This collection preserves a turbulent time in US and river history, the years leading up to and through the Civil War. The letters date from 1853 to 1865. The four diaries contain daily entries for years 1859, 1860, 1861, and 1865. Subjects include river trade and commerce, the effect of the war on river industry and Moore’s fellow riverboat captains, struggling banks, and the blockade at Cairo. The collection also includes a typed copy of family history research compiled by Enos’ children, William and Mary Moore, in the mid-20th century titled The Moores of Portsmouth.

EXTENT: 37 letters and several addressed envelopes; four pocket diaries; 26 page typed family history.

HISTORY: Captain Enos B. Moore spent his life piloting steamboats on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. He was born in 1823 to Levi and Amanda Moore. He spent his childhood on a small farm on the banks of the Ohio River, seven miles below Portsmouth. Enos and his three brothers gravitated towards river work. Enos’ daughter Mary Moore wrote in her family memoir, “Enos, who had graduated from the country school, was planning to study law at Delaware College, when a chance flatboat loaded with flour and New Orleans bound, lured him aboard; the other two brothers followed and soon all four were careering on the Mississippi.” The oldest brother William left home first and got a job working out of New Orleans for Captain R.C. Young, who operated several boats on the lower Mississippi. Not long after, William sent for Enos, and later the youngest brother Samuel. Enos’ first job was as a night watchman on the boat. Shortly afterwards he became a licensed pilot. William began chartering and operating boats on the Yazoo River, in Mississippi, and Enos invested in his enterprises. Together they built the steamer Hope, and many of the diary entries in this collection refer to money Enos sent to fund these endeavors.

Enos continued to pilot riverboats for Captain Young until the blockade went up at Cairo in 1861. During this period he captained the R.C. Young, which caught fire in 1855, and later the Champion with Young’s son Duvall as clerk. At the start of the war, Enos and William liquefied their assets, sold the Champion, scuttled their steamer Hope, and reportedly retreated to St. Louis with $80,000 in gold. In 1863 the brothers bought a half interest in the foundry and boiler-yard in Portsmouth Ohio. The following year they bought a fourth interest in the packet Bostonia, and in 1866 bought an additional eighth interest. In subsequent years they bought the other half interest in the foundry and machine works and merged their holdings with other pilots to form the Cincinnati, Portsmouth, Big Sandy & Pomeroy Packet Company. William managed business while Enos and Samuel piloted boats on the river. The Packet Company ran six boats, the Bostonia, Fleetwood, Telegraph, Bonanza, Morning Mail, and steamer Ohio. The side-wheeler Bonanza was the largest boat on the Ohio river at the time. The wooden hull was 265ft in length by 43ft in width, with a depth of 7ft. The ship dominated river traffic around Cincinnati from the time it was built in 1876, until the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in the early 1890’s. Enos designed the boat and supervised its construction, then captained the vessel until he retired in 1889.

Enos was married in Yazoo City, in 1859, to teacher Maria Pratt, a native of Washington County, New York. Maria died in 1865, leaving behind two daughters, Frances and Mary. In 1873 Enos married Mary E. Switzer of Dayton, Ohio. Their children were Enos, who only lived one day, Ralph, Lucy, Edith, and Will. The names of Enos’ wives, children, and brothers are found throughout the personal correspondence.

ACCESS: This is collection P-133. This collection is available for on-site use only in the Rare Book and Manuscripts Reading Room. Some of the collection may be photocopied, digitally scanned or photographed, depending on condition. Researchers are advised to call ahead concerning changes in hours due to University intersessions and holidays. The St. Louis Mercantile Library is located on levels one and two of the Thomas Jefferson Library building. More information about conducting research with the archival collections of the Library, including current building hours and reading room policies, can be found on our Research page.

The letters and family history can be viewed on the UMSL Digital Library as P-084 Captain Enos B. Moore Diaries and Correspondence .

Preferred Citation note: The preferred citation for this collection is "From the collections of the Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library at the University of Missouri - St. Louis.”

INVENTORY

**P-084 Collection Inventory**
Date	Description
10/02/1853	Letter from Moore to his brother (?) about getting a boat ready. Letter contains Information about family members who will join Moore on his next trip. Details for preparing the boat. Explains Captain Young did not sell the steamer Crescent, so Moore will take it over.
03/25/1854	Letter from Moore to a man who is looking to buy a ship to build or operate a boat for Vicksburg-Yazoo City trade. Moore provides advice of who to hire to run boat. Moore offers to loan the man money and breaks down costs of hull, machinery, and cabin. Letter mentions steamer Southern Belle.
06/26/1854	Letter from Moore to his brother on purchasing a low water boat. Explains Milton will go down with them to Jack McFarland's place. Captain thinks the boat will run all summer - one or two more trips will decide for certain. There is a bad prospect for getting a low water boat as they are in high demand on all of the rivers. There is not much to depend on for the Yazoo folks. He asks his brother to help him search and offers to send two thousand if it will facilitate his arrangements. He plans to leave that evening and return in 17 days.
08/18/1854	Letter from Moore to home asking why two previous letters went unanswered. Mentions seeing Milton and Sam on steamer Ironton on the Missouri River. Letter describes Moore is leaving the next day for New Orleans and mentions a Yellow Fever outbreak and how the boat will be compelled to layup due to low waters on the river. Asks for Ellen to write with news from Long Woods and states he will be back in three weeks.
01/03/1856	Letter from Moore to brother about how he spent Christmas with Sam at Captain Young's. The weather in New Orleans had been so bad and the wharf so overcrowded that they have not been able to unload their freight for a while and Moore feels as though this trip has been wasteful. He plans to offload some and then head back up through Cairo. He warns his brother to watch out for collisions near Yazoo City and calls them "one of the greatest dangers" there. Moore mentions seeing Jim Watkins on the steamer Madison and heard their father might be making a trip down and hopes to take at least one trip with him.
02/21/1856	Letter of employment reference from E.B. Moore to Captain Moore (William?) regarding Mr. Woodworth who he had employed as mate on steamer Home for $75.00 a month
02/23/1856	Letter from Moore about trying to find help on the ship. Received a letter from William near the steamer Natchez. He sent a young man for the position of mate as he had heard the young man was very good (only a little too fractious). He is unable to find a chambermaid there in New Orleans worth sending and expects their departure will be delayed until the next week.
04/24/1856	Letter from Moore on not having a staffing solution for the addressee. Mentions purchasing extra flour in St. Louis at $8.00 per bushel and that he does not know any young men who are idle to be an engineer for the addressee. Moore mentions knowing Henderson Squires, an idle engineer in New Orleans, but he had written and not heard back.
10/17/1856	Letter from Moore to his brother about monument being built. Mr. Rule will build after the model with slight changes to the shaft. The monument will be made of the best material and delivered to the boat for $900. The inscription will be of the same pattern and size as in Spring Grove Cemetery. Moore mentions being on the steamer Mass for a few trips until the steamer Crescent comes out. He plans to take Sam with him and they will pilot themselves.
11/01/1856	Letter from Moore to his brother about ordering a monument. Moore hears his brother was laid up and fears the monument may not be ready. He says he is on the steamer Mass heading for Cairo and will return on the steamer Michigan before trying to stand a watch on the steamer Crescent.
07/01/1857	Letter from Moore to his brother from Diamond Bend. Mentions that he received a letter about Captain Chute going over the lake but he did not return before they set off. He has learned from the Custom House that J.E. Caldwell is the only owner of the line known on their books. Captain Pittfield went to Pensacola and took his books with him. He shares information given by Crescent Insurance Co about an ownership position in a boat that might be available.
01/04/1858	Letter from Moore to his brother from Hiawatha. The steamer Oglesby has been laid up at St. Louis. He is going to arrange for money to be sent to the bank for Mr. Moore to draw from. The shafts have been made and most of the work done except the boilers and [?]. Work is in the shop for them and the engines. The steamer Crescent has been laid up until spring. They had a fair trip down that would pay them something.
03/06/1858	Letter from Moore to his brother with updates on various people, family, and business. He mentions Milton needing to save up money as a bushel is needed to get him through the world these days considering the dear people fleece a man of his disposition. He received a letter from their father that all is well at home. [Here the letter becomes difficult to read] "2 locomotives on the Portsmouth Railroad"... "with as much as they can do. The N.O. Company are"... "another bridge across the"... "of the one that fell down last fall". Business with the steamer Crescent is doing well. He would like to hear what kind of a boat they are building as Captain Waller is a little extravagant in his notions.
07/06/1858	Letter from Moore to brother on the cost of boat repairs. Written on his way to St. Louis from Paducah. Samuel is with him on the boat and they are not sure how the boat will perform. He is afraid the draft is not right, though they have not yet given it a fair trial having only had a few drunken firemen. He says the boat is alright but draws a little more water than he expected. Moore expects the boat to trim on about 42 inches. The prospect for business looks gloomy. When the boat is complete, she will cost about sixty-one thousand, a good deal of money in those hard times. Moore writes that he put in $16,852 and Duvall $11,208. He offers his brother William a share in the cost of the boat.
10/06/1858	Letter from Moore on some maintenance issues the boat was having. He mentions a poor trip where no passengers were picked up in Cairo and he was having trouble getting the spark burner in. He mentions that Sam got off at Vicksburg and Moore will travel down the coast as he waits for the boat. He is sure there is no danger, but doesn't want to risk the striker pilot. He does not know if Duvall will stop, but hopes to get the boat taken in. He has only half-freight as he was not able to get the rest.
11/23/1858	Letter from Moore to William with description of recent trips and money made. He describes a trip with a moderate number of passengers that lost almost a full night due to fog. He made a trip that amounted to about sixty-eight hundred but describes being sued by the steamer Lucy Robinson for $867.00 and a bill he was given of $550.00 but decided they would fight it. He has not heard any news from New Orleans as he continues to carry freight between Cairo and Cincinnati. Moore says he believes the steamboats have seen their best days at least until they can be revolutionized. He makes plans for a pleasure trip to New Orleans when he can hear back from family.
12/15/1858	Letter from Moore to William, sent about fifty miles south of Memphis. He mentions Captain Gould, the superintendent of the line is on board who states the boats will not try to make their regular time until after the ice as their schedules are run out and other boats are laying up. He plans to spend three days in St. Louis to do some sheet iron work and will write again from Memphis.
01/05/1859	Letter from Moore to Maria. Written just before landing in Memphis. Describes how he and others feel lonesome after she left, but he knows it will not always be this way. He mentions that a young friend of theirs feels it is not good for a man to be alone and will be asking many hard questions before long. Moore mentions sympathizing with her trouble with Mrs. Roberts, a delicate subject that he hopes Maria will be able to arrange a compromise to her satisfaction. He hopes to hear back from her soon when he arrives in Vicksburg as he is anxious to hear about her arrangements to the school and the future.
01/20/1859	Letter from Moore to Maria written about how he misses her presence already and hopes to return on time. He feels lonely in the world, but even though she is absent her heart is with him. He has heard report of the river at St. Louis rising and being clear of ice. He thinks of the risk a woman takes in entrusting her happiness to a man and how he is to assume a fearful responsibility but they both have proper motives. Moore mentions it will be a pleasure to fulfill the obligations he is assuming. He hopes they will be able to arrange their affairs in Yazoo City quietly and will telegraph to her from Memphis.
06/17/1859	Short letter from Moore to a man written in haste after getting off of his watch. He states he has yet to hear from home since his last letter but will send them a draft for $500, though it would not be worthwhile for him to come this summer as the boats will be laying up before he gets started. Their load is very heavy and he suspects they will have to wait until the river rises to set off.
08/05/1859	Letter from Moore to Maria on her health. He responds to letters she sent on July 27th and 30th detailing her improving health. She appears to have taken a trip which has greatly helped her. He hopes she returns soon as the weather will get cold and that may counteract the improvements. Moore states he will be leaving for New Orleans and has not heard anything about Yellow Fever there at this time. He closes the letter hoping to hear back and asks her to remember him affectionately.
09/18/1859	Letter from Moore to his wife arranging to meet in St. Louis. He mentions having been delayed in St. Louis but is finally on his way to New Orleans. He hopes to make up that time there and return to St. Louis on schedule. Moore wants his wife to meet him there and instructs her that if she arrives before them, to go ahead to the Barnum's Hotel as it is quiet and as good as any. He regrets she would travel alone but cannot wait to see her.
04/19/1860	Letter from Moore to his wife to assure her she is not forgotten in his absence. He spent the previous evening at Captain Young's and found all of them well except Captain young who is ill but is improving. Mary & Harry had just returned from a visit to Mrs. Hollingsworth. She is getting along well and had received her (his wife's) letter. Moore, along with William, Lizzie, and Duvall would attend the Opera that night and the next day leave for St. Louis. Mary & Harry will stop at Vicksburg and make a visit to Yazoo. He expects a fair trip considering low prices. Mr. & Mrs. Runole have not yet called on the bride.
06/10/1860	Letter from Moore to his brother about canceling a trip. He mentions making this decision after a council of war and decides he will not continue to Vicksburg. Maria appears to have a matter to settle that requires him to be in town, as it would be illegal if he was not. Moore then discusses some part expenses for the boat. He warns his brother that this would not be a good place to buy a boat. He references the Illinois River and the upper Miss and describes how people are losing money on trips right now.
06/05/1861	Letter from Moore to his brother William. He states that he received William's letter of May 25th and read it by the steamer Morrison. All is well and he is with Duvall and Samuel, the latter of which intends to return home in a few days to possibly take Ellen to Niagara Falls. At this time Moore does not plan on doing anything to the boat and will not until there is something for her to do in sight. Maria wrote to Lizzie regarding the death of Mary Young and babe. They are living there (Sulphur Springs) cheaper than in other areas. He plans to send the letter by express to William as paper mail in the South is closed at that time.
07/08/1861	Letter from Moore to his brother discussing the effect of the war on business. He discusses how there is no cotton trade or passengers to have and that he cannot travel south of Cairo, IL. Moore mentions that even sending letters to the South is not an option at this time. Mention is made of looking for a farm, but that this also would not make sense until the war ends.
10/16/1861	Letter from Moore to his wife discussing lawsuit. Moore mentions meeting with lawyers and having to stay in town until the case is tried. He does not mention the details of the case. He also writes of concerns that the banks may announce they are all broke, to which the boats may be confiscated.
01/19/1864	Letter from Maria Moore to her friend, also named Maria, describing the house they live in. The letter is four pages long and goes into great detail from the rug and the color of the curtains to the yard and the books on their shelves. She describes her daughter Mary had whooping cough but is getting over it and a trip to Niagara Falls.
07/08/1864	Letter from Samuel Moore to E.B. Moore. He is worried as he has not heard from him or William and thinks family may be sick. He mentions receiving word in Cairo that Captain Young had died. Asks to hear back as soon as the letter is received.
09/02/1864	Letter from Moore to his brother about his move to Minneapolis. The family is well. He finds Minneapolis a very dull place and the newspapers have little interesting to read. Moore expects a draft to be released that following Monday and says he would lend his suit to a young man if needed, but that if the suit is damaged by bullets or bayonets, he won't charge the man for damages.
09/23/1864	Letter from Moore to his brother discussing the war and investment prospects. He believes Duvall is wavering now to the success of the Rebellion. Things seem to be quieting on the river and there have not been disturbances by guerillas. He mentions that if people will leave Uncle Abe alone, that he will settle the question of coercion. Moore hears of farmers now desiring to raise sheep as a wool factory is being completed and there is now a market for mutton in Chicago and St. Louis and that it might benefit him to invest a few thousand into that business, if William thinks it a good idea.
10/25/1864	Letter from Moore to his brother after the scarlet fever affected William's children. He is glad that they are recovering. Moore mentions Fanny has been recovering from her eye being sore and Maria is doing well. They expect to travel home soon and stop to stay with Uncle Jos. He will make a short trip to Lake Minnetonka before they leave.
04/06/1865	Letter from a woman to Maria Moore (author mentions addressee's daughters Mary and Fanny). The author makes mention of her "dear husband", but the signature is not legible. She writes about being ill with a cough, and that she is taking cod liver oil and other meds recommended by friends. She declines an invitation to Iowa stating her political views would be in conflict with the people there. She mentioned being bed ridden and her children (Louis, Jeffie, and Millie) helping around the house. The author talks about not being able to have negro servants any more and how she would rather see them put in their place and be "delivered from these negro equality". She mentions even with some schooling, they do not speak like white folk. The author changes the subject to her family and that war has destroyed a lot of Yazoo City. She concludes with a desire to visit her mother and the orchards near where she lives.
06/12/1865	Letter from E.B. Moore to Miss W. Moore. He has found as many men as she had sent for. He does not believe their physiognomy is to his standards but thinks if she saw them they would be fine.
07/30/?	Letter from Maria Moore to E.B. Moore. This letter has 3 parts. In the first she describes how much she misses him while he is on business in New Orleans taking care of the boat. The second part of the letter is written the next day. She received a short communication from him and mentions the family will be heading to Yazoo City if there is no fever in New Orleans. She also says she may travel to Portsmouth by the time he leaves. In the third part of the letter, she briefly writes that she wants him to send full letters as opposed to just a "line", but even that is better than nothing.
08/28/?	Letter from E.B. Moore to his brother discussing business. He mentions being on the steamer Prentiss. Refers to Captain Jo Brown not being able to dock when he previously went down. Mentions Captain Titus Brown was there to help load luggage and move it. The fare is going up from Vicksburg to Cairo or St. Louis.
No Date	Letter from E.B. Moore to his brother on the building of a new boat. He laments that William's business has been dull. E.B. describes the progress of building a new boat, that the rain and wind have been interfering but the engines are built and they hope to put up the chimneys soon. He concludes that it may take about 3 weeks. He notes that he should be able to get a crew cheaply as crews are nearly starving.