A logbook, or ship’s log, is an official record of events, conditions, and observations documented during the voyage of a ship, generally kept by captains or first mates. Historical logbooks provide information about the ship’s position, weather, ports visited, and daily life aboard the vessel.
The engineer’s log of the steamship “George Appold” chronicles the screw schooner’s voyages from September 14 to October 1888 just months before it shipwrecked in Montauk. The “George Appold” served the Merchants’ & Miners’ Transportation Company. The service initially operated as a cargo and passenger line between Baltimore and Boston, later extending to Providence, Rhode Island. The logbook records the engineer’s activities and observations, ports visited, and remarks on weather and sea conditions. “Light wind on port beam, sails set–,” noted the engineer on September 20, 1888. Alternatively, “George Appold” used steam propulsion as secondary power when sailing conditions were not ideal.
The vessel was traveling from Providence, Rhode Island to Newport News, Virginia when it ran ashore a mile and a half west of Montauk Point a couple of hours after midnight on January 9, 1889. “There was no wind blowing and no sea on. The vessel was undoubtedly out of her course,” remarked J. Herny Johnson, a ship’s passenger quoted in The Day, January 11, 1889. In the same article, the field officer stated, “The captain turned in shortly after 1 o’clock and gave the second mate the course. A few minutes later she was on the rocks.” The crew, captain, and one passenger were recovered by the lifesaving crew and cared for at the lifesaving station. The ship broke up on the rocks and its cargo of clothes, shoes, quilts, fabric, and 100 barrels of rum washed up on Montauk’s shores. The engineer’s log from the year earlier notes many successful voyages past Montauk Point between Rhode Island and Virginia.
An 1845 captain’s log in our collection fell victim to a scrapbooker from the 1880s, who covered the script-scrawled pages with collaged newspaper clippings from unknown sources. One of the only pages the scrapbooker spared includes a list of whales seen on board “Barque.” The register documents the date, number, latitude and longitude, direction, and type of whale, whether sperm or right. On June 1, 1846 five sperm whales were spotted, and later on August 13, 1846, 10 right whales were observed, a startling number considering that only 360 northern right whales exist today.
A collection of logbooks kept by Captain Howard “Howie” Carroll from 1947 to 1966 shines a light on the activities and conditions of a fishing charter boat business. From Caroll’s logbooks we learn that he launched for the season around March 30, and in 1966 his last trip was taken on November 20. He reported the weather, sea conditions, wind direction, number of passengers, cost of tackle, fuel prices, and who, if not himself, was running the boat.
Occasionally he would record the type of fish caught and where the fishing conditions were “poor” or “good.” “No sailing” is scrawled intermittently throughout the journals with no reason given. In the height of the season, we see 35 passengers and by the last trip on November 20, the number is down to 4. While these are more modern examples, Carroll also uses script and cursive that we see in the earlier logbooks, showing a common thread throughout the format.
Today logbook apps and computer programs can capture the conditions and events of a vessel’s voyage, though some mariners still prefer tangible handwritten journals. The logbooks in our collection are available to view by appointment. Contact archives@montauklibrary.org to schedule a visit.
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