James M. Dolliver (pilot)

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James M. Dolliver
James M. Dolliver.jpg
Captain James M. Dolliver, Boston Pilot.
Born(1818-03-03)March 3, 1818
Boston, Massachusetts, US
DiedSeptember 4, 1896(1896-09-04) (aged 78)
Provincetown, Massachusetts, US
NationalityAmerican
OccupationMaritime pilot
Spouse(s)Mary A. Longhurst
Children4

James M. Dolliver (March 3, 1818 – September 4, 1896) was a 19th-century American Boston maritime pilot. During his pilot service he served on the pilot boats Lillie, Friend, and Louisa Jane. Dolliver was one of the oldest of the Boston pilots at the time of his death. He died on September 4, 1896, in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Early life[]

James M. Dolliver was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 3, 1818. He was the son of Pilot Thomas G Dolliver and Mary B. Emerson. He married Mary A. Longhurst on April 26, 1860 in Boston and had four children.[1][2] His son, Watson Shields Dolliver was also a Boston pilot.

Career[]

Dolliver was one of the oldest of the Boston pilots, having received his pilots' commission in 1841, at the age of 23. He was skilled with steamship lines, being able to navigate them in and out of the Boston Harbor.[3]

During the American Civil War he served as a Boarding officer for the Boston Custom House under Collector Russell. He also served as a pilot of the old state school ship Massachusetts under Captain Matthews.[3]

Dolliver was the general manager of a diplomatic trip with Anson Burlingame to tour United States with the Chinese embassy in June 1868.[3][4]

During his pilot service Dolliver served on the pilot boats Lillie, Friend, and Louisa Jane.[5]

Lillie[]

The Boston pilot boat Lillie was launched on May 20, 1876 by Pierce, Montgomery & Howard for Boston pilots. She was designed by model by Dennison J. Lawlor.[6] On September 12, 1884, the pilot-boat Lillie, No. 1 was sold to Captain Dolliver. The price that was paid was $8,000.[7]

Friend[]

Pilot Boat Friend, No. 7.

The Boston pilot Boat Friend was launched on May 5, 1847 by Daniel D. Kelley & Holmes shipyard for Boston pilots.[8]

On February 2, 1859, Dolliver and Patrick Henry Chandler were on the Friend, when they rescued the captain of the British schooner Caroline that went ashore on the rocks near the Boston Light in heavy weather while approaching Boston. They received a silver medal from the Massachusetts Humane Society for their brave efforts.[9][10][11]: p41 

He was friends with the American romantic poet James Russell Lowell, who paid tribute to Dolliver in a letter he wrote in June 1859, to his friend Charles Eliot Norton, an American author, social critic, and professor of art. Lowell wrote that he had been down the Boston harbor on the pilot boat Friend with Captain Dolliver.[3][11]: p80-81 

Since I wrote, I have been down the harbor with the pilots in the Friend. We went first to Hull and telegraphed the boat, which was cruising on the inner station... Came home at night with a basket full of lobsters, the gift of Captain Dolliver, who is a noble fellow and weighs two hundred and ten pounds, all which he risked last winter to save a man from a wrecked ship. Does it not require more heroism to venture two hundred weight than a paltry one hundred and forty odd?[12]

Louisa Jane[]

Dolliver was on the pilot boat Louisa Jane, No. 7, on November 28, 1876 during a storm. He anchored in Plymouth outer harbor. She broke away at night and went ashore on the flats. Dolliver was able to get her floated and sailed to the Town dock without damage.[13]

On August 23, 1884, Captain James M. Dolliver was on the pilot boat Louisa Jane, No. 5, went she went ashore on the rocks. Dolliver got her afloat and a tug boat brought them back to Boston for repairs.[14]

Dolliver retired from active pilot service in 1886 and moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts.[3] He was a member of the Boston Pilots' Relief Association.[5]

Death[]

Captain Dolliver died, at age 78, September 4, 1896 in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The funeral services were held at the Mount Auburn Chapel in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The flag of the Pilots' Association at the end of Lewis wharf office was set at half-mast. The funeral was attended by a large delegation of Boston pilots. He was buried at the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Massachusetts.[3][15][5]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  2. ^ "Massachusetts State Census, 1865". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Capt J. M. Dolliver Dead. Was Oldest Boston Pilot, With One Exception". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 5 Sep 1896. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  4. ^ "Personal Items". New England Farmer. Boston, Massachusetts. 6 Jun 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  5. ^ a b c "Old Captain Dead. James M. Dolliver of Provincetown Passes Away". Boston Post. Boston, Massachusetts. 5 Sep 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  6. ^ "Launched". Boston Post. Boston, Massachusetts. 22 May 1876. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  7. ^ "No. 1 Sold for $8,000". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 12 Sep 1884. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  8. ^ "Ship Building at East Boston". The Vermont Union Whig. Rutland, Vermont. 6 Jan 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  9. ^ "Webster Was Once Pilot Boat Cook". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, Indiana. 27 Dec 1908. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  10. ^ "Items". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. 30 Apr 1859. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  11. ^ a b Eastman, Ralph M. (1956). Pilots and pilot boats of Boston Harbor. Boston, Massachusetts: Second Bank-State Street Trust Company.
  12. ^ Norton, Charles Eliot (1894). The Letters of James Russell Lowell Volume 1. Harper's Magazine. p. 293.
  13. ^ "The Storm. Later Reports of Disasters Along the Coast". The St. Albans Advertiser. Saint Albans, Vermont. 28 Nov 1876. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  14. ^ "The Louisa Jane Pulled Off The Rocks". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 23 Aug 1884. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  15. ^ "James M Dolliver". Find a Grave. findagrave.com. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
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