A rare and unique “moving” photo of the schooner mailboat S/V Albertine Adoue in the Bahamas c.1922 laden with passengers and cargo – note the person on the port ratlines (rigging) aloft, as well as the stains of the sails (lower right) probably from traffic over them whilst they lay on the boom over the cockpit.
Source: Photo courtesy of Mr. Peter Roberts c/o Evan Lowe’s blog www.outislandboy.wordpress.com, also in Prof. Steve Dodge’s 1982 book “Abaco The History of an Out Island and its Cays,” page 88.
MAILBOAT NAME: S/V Albertine Adoue
PAST NAMES: Albertine Adoue – the original large schooner was wrecked in Abaco, and a smaller schooner was built from her timbers, meaning there were essentially 2 sail vessels of the same name.
DIMENSIONS: 60 feet on deck, two masts, however originally the schooner was 170′ long, 36′ wide and 16′ deep, originally with three masts,
FATE: on Christmas Day 1930 (Dec. 25 or 26) went aground w/ a cargo of liquor off North Carolina
History: Galveston in Texas is where Albertine Adoue was home ported or most of its career as a large US-flagged ship, between 1890 and 1894. In May 2014 the grandson of Albertine Adoue wrote to this blogger with the following:
“Lucie Adoue was my grandmother and never lived in Galveston. Her father, Jacques Adoue lived and died in East Texas. The yacht was probably owned by his brother Bertrand Adoue and his wife Albertine.”
“Bertrand Adoue and Jean Jacques Mistrot financed and managed blockade running during the Civil War. It is said they lost at least three large sailing vessels. ….Mrs. Albertine Adoue, one of Galveston’s most prominent women, died at her home on January 13, 1918. Bertrand Adoue is buried in the Cahill Cemetery in Galveston.”
Source: http://standrewsbcs.org/wp-content/uploads/Our-Founders-Article-10-4-12.pdf
Some of Mr. [Bertrand] Adoue’s business activities are indicated by offices which he is known to have held, although his interests were widespread. A member of the banking firm of Adoue & Lobit, a director of the firm of A. H. Belo & Co., publishers of The Galveston –Dallas News, since January, 1891, Mr. Adoue was also president of the Galveston Dry Goods Company, president of the Galveston Brewing Company, vice president of the Lasker Real Estate Company, vice president of the Galveston Hotel Company [owners of the Hotel Galvez], treasurer of the Surf Bathing Company, president of the Oatarman Widows and Orphans Home Fund, interested in the firm of Mistrot, Munn & Co., and an active participant in the development of many other industries throughout the Southwest. Mr. Aboue was also prominent in the Societe Francais Bienfaisance of Galveston, holding the office of president of the organization for twenty-seven consecutive years. He held the official positions of consul for France, Norway and Sweden at the port of Galveston, having acted in the capacity of Swedish consul for over thirty years.
In 1871 Mr. Adoue was married in New Orleans to Miss Albertine Schneider
The firm of Adoue & Lobit, grocers, started business in Bryan in 1867. Later on a branch in Calvert was established and the business grew rapidly. After the Central road was extended from Bryan to Calvert in 1869 Mr. Lobit remained at the head of the grocery business in Bryan, while Mr. Adoue moved to Calvert, establishing a bank there under the name of Adoue & Lobit. As had been the case in the grocery business, the banking venture succeeded phenomenally, and with an enlarged capital broader fields were sought. About 1872 the grocery business in Bryan was wound up, while Mr. Lobit, as representative member of the firm, came to Galveston and established a cotton commission and banking house at the Oleander City. In a period uncommonly short the banking connections of the new firm embraced all the great capitals of Europe and their banking operations in Texas included every section of the state.
Source: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=70555407
“The three-masted schooner Albertine Adoue, Captain Hubbard, built in Bath by Kelley & Spear, in 1890 foundered off Hoys Cays, Bahamas on March 29th. She was bound from Philadelphia to Galveston with coal. About a fourth of the vessel was owned in Bath. She was valued at $48,000”.
NOTE: This author cannot find any “Hoys Cays” in the Bahamas – if any reader can, pray tell. Other accounts have the wreck taking place near Spanish Cay, of the northeast coast of Little Abaco.
The following is a direct quote from Mr. Evan Lowe’s fascinating blog
The Albertine Adoue was the first mailboat that served Abaco that I can remember. She was in service before 1923. The Albertine Adoue, a sailing vessel, a 60′ schooner, was owned by Capt Wm Augustus Roberts of Green Turtle Cay, Abaco. His three sons served as captain: Hartley, Osbourne and Rolland. In 1923 it was replaced and upgraded by the Priscilla.”
Whether the “new” Albertine Adoue was built in 1898 or 1894, the “old” one wrecked in 1894.
On November 4, 1916 the Nassau Tribune advertised mail-carrying services by the Albertine Adoue in its pages, per the University of Florida Digital Collections,
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/l/results/?text=”albertine adoue”
According to the Kingston Jamaica “Gleaner” of August 6, 1926, after a viscous hurricane hit the Bahamas “it was reported on Sunday that the Albertine Adoue the windward mail [boat] owned by Mr. R. J. Anderson Farrington was ashore at Long Island in danger. Further news cannot be obtained until communication is re-established.”
Other ships written about in the same storm are
- the Munamar, arriving from New York – one of the Munson Lines (they owned hotels in Nassau, including the Royal Victoria and the British Colonial).
- the Frances E. arriving from Mobile Alabama,
- Canadian Fisher,
- tug Colonia,
- Firebird, the Raven owned by Messrs. Pinder, Collins and Brown,
- the Eula M. owned and skippered by Capt. Robert Archer, carrying lumber for the Bahamas Cuban Company from Norman’s Castle Abaco (went to pieces below Fort Charlotte) – there was a future mailboat in the Bahamas with the same name, Eula, however no record is found.
- the “old Ward Line lighter Bulgaria,”
- the Isles of June made port, the Isoceles (late the Shamrock IV of America’s Cup fame) owned also by Pinder Collins and Brown went ashore by the Brice and Rangers wharves – see images and a blog entry on this site for more information on the “Isles of June.”
- the Mathoke, a 2-masted schooner owned by Bruce Thompson was being salvaged with the help of R. T. Symonette (Roland T. Symonette was a prominent shipbuilder and politician).
- the Lizard owned by Mr. (later Sir) Stafford Sands went ashore (Sir Stafford was first Premier)
- and the Columbia sank in the harbor.
There is a list of passengers including Capt. Rich’s family – possibly as they returned to the US without him after his unfortunate death, on the Ellis Island (New York) website – his widow was 27 years of age. : https://www.ellisisland.org/search/ship_passengers.asp?letter=a&half=1&sname=Albertine*Adoue&year=1893&sdate=07/06/1893&port=
Philadelphia,*Pennsylvania&page=1
For the Black Sound location of the re-build see http://www.yessy.com/RandyCurry/gallery.html?i=24505 See also David Ralph’s extremely helpful time-line of events in Abaco’s history at
http://absci.fiu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Abaco-Historical-dates-edited-Sep-2013-for-public.pdf
For the genealogy of the Adoue family see Source: http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/12157872/person/-323769419/photox/44c7f7c9-39af-4974-8b73-8fc8a096832f?src=search,
also http://records.ancestry.com/lucie_albertine_adoue_records.ashx?pid=16135581