The OHIO HISTORICAL Quarterly
VOLUME 65 ?? NUMBER 1 ?? JANUARY 1956
From England to Ohio, 1830-1832:
The Journal of Thomas K.
Wharton
Edited by JAMES H. RODABAUGH
This is the journal of an immigrant boy
who came from his
native England to the United States in
1830 and lived for nearly
two years in Ohio. It was transcribed by
the author in 1854 and here
and there recollections were added. It
is an interesting journal for
several reasons: It relates in detail
the story of the journey from
the Humber to Ohio and gives colorful
descriptions of the country-
side and of life in this country and in
this state 125 years ago. Its
author enlarged the value of his written
record by including on its
pages a series of competent drawings of
many points of interest on
his trip and scenes and structures that
caught his eye during his stay
in Ohio. It was written by a lad only
sixteen years old when the
journey began and but eighteen when he
left Ohio, a remarkably
perceptive youth, however, with a broad
knowledge which sharpened
his appreciation of new experiences.
The journal reproduced here is part of a
manuscript volume cover-
ing four years from May 3, 1830, to
October 15, 1834, and including,
besides the record of the journey from
England and the residence in
Ohio, the diary of two years spent in
New York.
Thomas Kelah Wharton, our journalist and
artist, was born in
Hull, April 17, 1814. His father was a
general merchant and ship
owner, who, having suffered reverses in
his business, decided to
move to the United States. He came to
this country in 1829, acquired
a 180-acre farm at the south edge of
Piqua, Ohio, and sent for his
family.
Thomas, his mother, and his three
brothers and two sisters set
2
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
sail from Hull on May 3, 1830, on the
three-masted packet ship
Diana. Sailing north along the coasts of England and Scotland,
the
little ship passed through the Pentland
Firth and crossed the North
Atlantic. Just one month after leaving
Hull the Whartons disem-
barked at New York City, where they
visited until July 1 before
leaving for the West.
They traveled up the Hudson on a packet
barge towed by steam-
boat, over the Erie Canal by canal boat
from Albany to Buffalo, and
across Lake Erie by steamboat to
Sandusky, Ohio, where Thomas'
father met them on July 11. Crossing the
rough roads of northern
Ohio by carriage, they arrived at their
Piqua home on July 17.
There they spent a bit more than a year,
when Father Wharton,
tiring of the experiment in farming,
sold his farm in the fall of 1831
and began a search for a more suitable
occupation. The family spent
the winter in Dayton and Springfield and
moved to Columbus the
last of February. Early in April they
moved to Zanesville, where
Father Wharton had rented a home and
purchased a "large ware-
house" for a wholesale business.
There the family settled down.
Thomas, however, stayed but a month,
when he returned to New
York City to study architecture with
Martin E. Thompson and live
with the Thompson family at 24 Howard
Street. The portion of the
journal reproduced here stops with
Wharton's return to New York.
In the summer of 1832 cholera struck New
York, and Wharton
moved up the Hudson River, where he
visited for four months in
the homes of Dr. David Hosack, the
eminent New York physician
and scientist, who had a large estate at
Hyde Park; Colonel Syl-
vanus Thayer, superintendent of West
Point Military Academy;
and Gouverneur Kemble, owner of the West
Point Foundry. Whar-
ton also visited the West Point and Hyde
Park area at other times
in the next two years, and became
acquainted with a number of
notable persons, including General
Winfield Scott, Thomas Sully,
and Washington Irving.
He returned to New York the latter part
of November 1832 to
study and to teach drawing and design at
the Rev. William A.
Muhlenberg's Institute (later St. Paul's
College) at Flushing, Long
Island. He was located there when he
concluded his journal in the
fall of 1834.
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 3
In 1840 Wharton became a partner of the
Rev. Francis L. Hawks
in the establishment of St. Thomas Hall
at Flushing. That school
folded in 1843, and in 1844 Hawks and
Wharton started a school
at Holly Springs, Mississippi. In 1845
Wharton married a daughter
of Judge Huling of Holly Springs, and
moved to New Orleans,
where he worked as an architect. Two
buildings known to have been
designed by Wharton were Christ's
Church, built about 1847, and
Steel Chapel, a Methodist church, built
in 1850.
He also became associated with the
construction of the New
Orleans Custom House, first as "an
active agent in forwarding this
great public work," and later, in
1848, as secretary of the board
of custom house commissioners.1 In
the latter position he worked
under Major Pierre G. T. Beauregard, who
was named chairman
of the board in 1851 and later served as
supervisor of construction.
Wharton's first wife died in 1848 and in
1851 he married Emily J.
Ladd, the very young daughter of a New
Hampshire couple who
had moved to New Orleans, by whom he had
two sons, Prescott and
Thomas.
In 1853 Wharton took a leave of absence
from his work because
of poor health, and made a six-months'
trip to the East to visit old
haunts, friends, and relatives. He and
Emily traveled by boat up the
Mississippi, crossed by railroad to
Chicago and Toledo, sailed to
Buffalo on a lake steamer, and continued
by rail to eastern points.
On their return they took a boat down
the Ohio and Mississippi,
stopping to visit Wharton's sister Emily
at Cincinnati and brother
Robert at Madison, Indiana.
Thomas continued his service on the
construction of the custom
house, which stopped with the outbreak
of the war in 1861. He lived
but one more year, dying in his adopted
city in 1862.
He is described as "a man of
culture, refinement & polished ad-
dress." He was tall and well
proportioned and had a "fine face &
figure." His interest in nature,
which is displayed in the accom-
panying journal, continued throughout
his life. He was an ardent
diarist, and seven volumes of his
diaries, covering the years 1830-34
and 1853-62, are preserved in the New
York Public Library.
Wharton retained his interest in art
also to the end of his life.
1 Daily True Delta (New Orleans), February 16, 1856.
4
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Everywhere he went he made pictorial
records, inserting many
sketches in his journals. He also did
numerous drawings in pencil,
India ink, sepia, water color, and oil.
Many of these were done for
friends, while others were made for
printing and sale. During his
two-year residence in Ohio he produced a
series of twelve wash
drawings, of which six are of scenes in
or near Piqua, two are of
scenes in Troy, three are of scenes in
Dayton, and one is of a scene
in Columbus. The New York Public Library
has nearly one hundred
of Wharton's drawings and paintings, in
addition to the sketches
in the several journals. Among these,
besides the drawings made in
Ohio in the 1830's, are two drawings
done at the mouth of the
Maumee River in the summer of 1853 and
nine Ohio River scenes
done in the fall of that year.
In 1854 Wharton transcribed his diary of
1830-34, in the main
apparently with little emendation but
with some added reminis-
cences. The drawings in this journal
were copied by Wharton from
sketches made on his journeys of those
early years in this country.
A comparison of the drawings in the
journal with original sketches
made in the early 1830's reveals that
the copies were reproduced
faithfully.
Some slight alterations have been made
in bringing the manu-
script journal to the printed page. For
the sake of ease of reading,
the ever-present dash has frequently
been replaced by a period or
comma, whichever seemed called for, and
the initial letters of new
sentences thus formed, capitalized. Some
new paragraphing has been
done, and, more rarely, commas have been
added where none appear
in the manuscript. Dates have been
carried from the margin to the
center of the text and italicized. The
drawings have been reproduced
separately, in order to achieve good
reproductions. Otherwise, the
journal appears as much as possible like
the original.
The diary of 1830-34 was acquired in
1919 by the New York
Public Library from Mrs. Wharton, who
had moved to New York
after her husband's death and died there
in 1932 at the age of 97.
It is reproduced through the courtesy of
the library and with grati-
tude for the assistance of the staffs of
the manuscripts and prints
divisions of that library.
6
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The Journal of Thomas K. Wharton,
1830-1832
In the middle of April my mother had
completed her preparations
for rejoining my Father who had left
England for the United States,
the previous year; and had purchased a
farm at Piqua on the Gt.
Miami in Ohio and was now all ready to
receive us. Accordingly
we engaged staterooms on the Packet
Barque Diana, Capt. Sugden,
for New York-my mother, myself,
brothers Henry, Robert I.,
Charles A. and sisters Marianne and
Emily M.
May 3, 1830
On Monday May 3rd we said our last
farewell and went on board.
The partings were the more painful as
but few of our friends were
reconciled to our leaving our native
land, and many of them strongly
opposed it. My mother, however,
considered it the path of duty and
the rest of us who were old enough to
know anything were buoyed
up by the prospect of seeing distant
lands, and I, being the oldest,
tho but 15 [16] felt proud of my new
responsibility.
At 3 P.M. we left the Hull pier-head
and sailed down the Humber
with a moderate breeze but somewhat
against us so that we had to
tack frequently. The wind freshened as
we approached the mouth
of the River and we were outside the
Spurn Head Lights before
midnight. Here our Pilot left us.1
The canvass [sic] swelled and
whitened in the clear moonlight and
wafted us further and further
from the "loved ones" left
behind, perhaps for ever.
May 4
At sunrise we were under the lofty
cliffs of Flambro' [Flam-
borough Head] shining like snow wreaths
in the pure sunlight and
the deep blue ocean still slumbering at
their feet--myriads of sea
fowl hovering around their summits and
the vast Bay on their rear
losing itself in the uniform brightness
of the heavens.
We kept close in shore, and the coast
as it passed in review be-
came every instant more and more
interesting to us. What recol-
1 At this point the ship sailed
northward along the coasts of England and Scotland.
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 7
lections of the past came crowding upon
us as one familiar point
after another rose successively before
us! The Promontory and its
lighthouse--Filey Bay--Oliver's
Mount--Scarbro' [Scarborough]
Castle and the well known purple heaths
of Silpho' and Suffield.
We passed Whitby late in the afternoon
and as the day declined the
shore sunk gradually away, and we saw
our dear native land for the
last time just as the latest ray lit up
for a moment the line of cliffs
that still appeared above the horizon.
The ship thro' the day had
scarce any perceptible motion yet a
certain languor warned us of
coming sickness. We had but one fellow
passenger in the cabin, a
Mr. Stanley from the West Riding, but
were in a few days joined by
a Mr. Boyd, a man of delicate frame, and
wholly unfitted for the
privations of the Steerage in which were
from 70 to 80 persons.
May 5
Early in the morning we were abreast of
fair Montrose sailing
easily along the coast of Scotland. At
11 within 5 miles of Peter-
head, showing a fine spread of houses
and two spired churches.
Southward the land has an easy slope to
the ocean till it reaches the
town and lighthouse of Buchanness
[Buchan Ness] where it be-
comes bold and rocky. Far in the
interior to the northwest rise the
insulated summits of the Mormond Hills
and relieve the sandy
level between Peterhead and Kinnairds
Head Lighthouse, at which
last point the land again withdrew until
evening brought us in sight
of the shadowy mountains of Caithness.
It now turned cold and windy and the
waves swept by as dark as
midnight with foam specks of the purest
white where they parted
at our bows. I retired early and missed
the renowned John o'Groat's
House2 and Duncansby Head
which we passed by moonlight.
May 6
We cleared the Pentland Firth in the
night--the most dangerous
point in the whole voyage--a region of
storms and tempests, and a
wild volume of waters, pent up between
the rocks of Scotland and
the barren Orkneys alternately rushing
thro' from the German Ocean
2 According to legend, John o'Groat, a
Dutchman, built his octagonal house with
eight doors and furnished it with an eight-sided dining
table, in order to prevent dis-
putes over precedence in his family.
8
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
to the Atlantic and back again. We were
fortunate in having both
wind and tide in our favour but those
who stayed on deck say the
surges were perfectly terrific, and it
was indeed a fearful sight to
see how they whirled us by the frowning
precipices of Caithness.
The violent motion kept me awake nearly
all night, tossing from
side to side of my berth, and conjuring
up images of "Norna of
the Fitful Head" and her
mis-shapen sprite--the shades of Ossian--
the uncouth offspring of mists and
whirlwind. My mother now be-
gan a severe course of seasickness
which continued with little in-
termission to the end of the voyage. It
bore very hard upon me, too,
for a full fortnight from this time
often confining me to my berth
the livelong day, and even after I was
pretty well over it, a little
extra motion seldom failed to bring on
a relapse. What dreary days,
and wakeful nights of sufferring [sic]!, but the assiduous kindness of
Capt. Sugden and his Steward greatly
alleviated our forlorn con-
dition, and every comfort was provided
for us from their ample
stores.
My brothers were but little affected
and Marianne escaped en-
tirely. Little Emily, however, had
occasional attacks but they were
soon over. Poor Boyd was a pitiable
object, but Stanley enjoyed
himself quite as much as if on shore.
May 8
On Saturday afternoon, feeling a little
better, I went upon deck
and saw the hazy mountains of [the Isle
of] Lewis--murky clouds
above--wild, crested waves
around--barren ridges before us and
rocks forever washed by driving mists
and the vexed ocean. There
were the savage Hebrides of which the
Flannan Islands soon lay
close under our lee bow--the most
remote of the whole group--
seven surf-beaten, craggy islets
whitened over with myriads of Solan
geese, sea mews and storm birds, but
human inhabitants there were
none. Nothing could be more desolate,
yet it was sad to see them
dwindle away to mere specks on the
horizon. They were to us the
last of European earth, and we were now
fairly embarked on the
trackless ocean, and emphatically cast
upon his Providence "whom
winds and sea obey."
For some days after we left the Western
Isles the wind blew
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 9
strong & fair, keeping our canvass
regularly filled and bearing us
onward at the rate of 7 to 9 miles per
hour by the log. Variable
weather succeeded, and frequent change
of wind, sometimes bright,
clear days, sometimes cloudy, but
always very cold, as we sailed in
high latitudes for a wind, and at one
time Greenland was our
nearest shore. Little occurred to break
the monotony of the ocean.
Vessels occasionally came within
hailing distance mostly bound to
American ports. Our barque, however,
being a rapid sailer we rarely
remained long in company, sail after
sail soon sunk away under the
horizon behind us. Sea gulls,
boatswains and stormy petrels followed
in our wake and hovered around the
shrouds--and we once
thought we saw a whale--indeed
"'Twas very like a whale." But
we were not South enough for the
Dolphins, Albacores and Flying
Fish which I had always associated with
an Atlantic voyage. Our
accommodations were excellent--every
thing clean & orderly--the
cabin and staterooms very comfortable,
and the provisions abundant
and of the best quality.
Good order & good humor prevailed
in every Department of the
Vessel. Capt.Sugden's gentlemanly
bearing and strength of character
made themselves uniformly felt
throughout the voyage. Every body
liked him, and every body respected
him, and Ratliff, the steward,
was unwearied in his attentions. In
short, in spite of sea sickness,
and the weariness of sea-life our time
upon the whole passed cheer-
fully and pleasantly enough.
May 20
On the 20th we were on the Banks of
Newfoundland, the sea
fell calm, and a dense fog settled down
upon us for several hours.
The mate took advantage of it for cod
fishing. He hung out two
lines astern baited at first with
pieces of meat, afterwards with the
fleshy part of muscles taken from the
fish. Some 30 noble fellows
were soon floundering upon deck. Part were distributed
in the
steerage and the rest gave a delightful
variety to our meals as long
as they remained fresh.
A day to two after, at noon, land was
distinctly visible in the
West--it proved to be the Bay of St.
Mary['s], Newfoundland.
The weather being very fair, Capt.
Sugden determined to gratify us
10
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
with a good view of it. Accordingly by 7
P.M. he ran in the ship
within 3/4 of a mile from shore. The
scene was too impressive ever
to be forgotten--the sky all gold &
crimson and the rocky, iron
bound coast, rising into lofty crags and
furrowed with dark ravines,
stretched over the whole western
horizon, glowing with the richest
purple, and borrowing a lustre and a
beauty from the sky, denied
to its intrinsic barrenness. But it was
our first view of America, and
"Arcady" itself could hardly
have awakened more intense interest
than did these stony peaks and sea worn
precipices. After approach-
ing as near as prudence would admit we
stood off to sea again--
and I continued walking the deck till
"Twilight gray
had in her sober livery all things
clad."
The splendid tincture of evening
gradually faded out, the coast line
melted away, and nothing remained but
the wild waves around us
and the stars one by one lighting up
their lamps in the heavens
above.
May 30
On Sunday the 30th the air was filled
with dense steamy vapour,
and as we were near the shoals of
Nantucket there was no little
apprehension on board, but the Capt. and
all hands were on the
alert, and by the time the mists cleared
away we were beyond the
reach of danger from that quarter. Early
the next morning the
shores of Long Island were clearly
visible to the north and remained
in sight for some hours.
June 2
We had strong hopes that the 2nd of June
would have closed
our voyage but the wind and weather were
so foul that before even-
ing Capt. Sugden was compelled to stand
out to sea again. It
changed, however, early in the night,
and never shall I forget my
joyful surprise when I went upon deck at
sunrise on the 3rd of June.
The cold gloomy skies and sombre waters
of the preceding week
were suddenly exchanged for the purest
sunlight and the sweetest
coast scenery I ever beheld. The
Highlands of Neversink3 lay at the
3 The Navesink, or Atlantic, Highlands
on the New Jersey coast.
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 11
distance of but a few hundred yards,
and O! how glorious were their
glossy piles of velvet foliage and the
rich green intervals of pasture
land, after the dull leaden mantle of
sea and sky. Two white light-
houses gleamed among the trees on the
tip of the ridge, and a broad
belt of clean sand lay between the
woodland and the waves. This
beach runs out northward into the ocean
and terminates in a narrow
tongue of land named Sandy Hook on
which are other lighthouses.
Beyond this appeared the swelling hills
of Staten Island, then the
"Narrows" forming the
entrance to the Bay of New York, and
dividing Staten from Long Island whose
diversified shores closed the
view along the northern horizon. In
beating up the channel we were
passed by American packet ships
Columbia & Charlemagne just
leaving port under a press of canvass
for London and Havre.
At 2 P.M. we entered the
"Narrows"--Semicircular batteries on
both sides to guard the Bay, and on the
high bluff shore of Staten
Island a telegraphic station to
signalize vessels arriving off Sandy
Hook and carry their names to the
observatory on the top of the
New York Exchange. The Bay now lay
spread out before us in all
its magic beauty--northward the spires
and buildings of the city--
to the west a range of anil [sic] mountains
in the State of New
Jersey--Long Island to the East with
its thick groves of oak, and
elms, its avenues of spiry Poplars, its
orchards and farm lands,
dotted with white houses and country
seats--and immediately under
our eye the picturesque shores of
Staten Island and spacious build-
ings of the Quarantine Institution near
which we anchored to
undergo inspection.
The land on this side the Island rises
gently from the Bay until
it reaches the height of 300 feet which
makes it a very conspicuous
and characteristic feature in the Bay
scenery. The buildings around
the Quarantine Station, and connected
with it, are quite numerous,
and the principal one large and
elegant--pure white--with Grecian
collonades [sic] and cupola, and
surrounded by a beautiful sloping
lawn planted chiefly with the Weeping
Willow which in this con-
genial climate grows with a luxuriance
unknown in our chilly Isles.
Then there were Islands, too, breaking
the glossy evenness of the
Bay, and the sky above was as pure as a
crysolite [sic] and the air
12
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
soft and balmy. Summer hues of intense
brilliance lit up the fields
and gardens, and the houses looked clean
and cheery. It was indeed,
like entering a "New World"
for when we left our own beautiful
Island the bleakness of winter still
hung over it, and since then
storms and tempests have been our
companions so that language
cannot tell how charming every thing
around us now appeared.
The Doctor soon came on board, and
complimented the ship highly
on her general condition and the healthy
appearances of the pas-
sengers & crew, and dismissed us
without further detention. We
immediately weighed and set sail towards
the city, every one upon
deck, dressed in their best, and gazing
with all their eyes at the
objects before us--the steamers, the
trim, light rigged vessels, a
thousand interesting details along the
shore--Governor's Island with
its military works at the mouth of East
River, and the "Bedloe's"
Island towards the Jersey coast--but
above all the City--the Island
City--now clearly defined and gradually
filling up the field of view
until at 4 P.M. we brought to in the
East River at a few rods dis-
tance from the Quay.
An hour after, my mother, Capt. Sugden and
I got into the boat
and in a few minutes landed at the Old
Slip4 in the midst of the
busy crowd. The Captain took us first to
the Post Office to see if
there were letters from my Father
awaiting our arrival, but there
were none so we hastened up Broadway to
Beekman Street, to the
boarding house of Mr. Thomas Slocum,
according to my Father's
instructions. We quickly made ourselves
known and were warmly
welcomed by our new friends, who at once
installed us into ex-
cellent quarters until we should receive
intelligence from the in-
terior. In walking up Broadway we were
much struck with the
general character of the buildings, the
handsome stores, spacious
hotels, old Trinity & St. Paul's and
above all the rich Corinthian
and Ionic of the City Hall, and the fine
green park around it re-
lieving its snowy marble, the weeping
willows, too, in the church
yards, and in the streets the light and
elegant carriages, some showy
equipages, and a constant stream of busy
looking, fast walking
4 At the foot of William Street.
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 13
people--such a contrast to the inactive
quietness of our ship's deck,
and so much that was new and strange.
I returned to the Quay for my brothers
and sisters and at 7 o'clock
we all sat down to an excellent supper,
highly delighted with our
American friends, and full of gratitude
to the Supreme for having
led us safely thro' the dangers of the
uncertain ocean.
In the evening Mr. Russell Coggeshall of
Newport kindly asked
Henry & myself to walk down with him
to the Battery garden, a
pleasant summer's evening promenade,
laid out in walks and grass
plots and planted with noble trees. The
clear waters of the Bay
sparkle around its sea wall, and the
pure sea-breeze whispers among
the leaves. It takes its name from the
semicircular Battery advanced
into the Bay, and connected with the
garden by a bridge, the whole
forming the vertex of the triangle on
which the city stands. The
Fort has been converted into a place of
amusement, with a fine band
& fireworks for the entertainment of
the citizens, who flock here in
crowds after the business of the day is
over, and the heat abated.
It was late when we returned up Broadway
which looked as if
it were lit up for some great holiday,
and the gay concourse still
pressing onward. By this time the
excitement of the day began to
tell upon us and we looked forward with
pleasure to a sound night's
rest on shore. But alas! I was hardly in
my first sleep, when we were
suddenly aroused by the most fiendish
noises and outcries of "fire,
fire," and the jangling of all the
bells in the City. I jumped up and
ran to the windows where I soon found
from the talk of the people
beneath that the fire was at some
distance. And the uproar soon
ceased again, but it was so unexpected
and so different from the
quiet way in which those things are
managed where we came from
that it effectually broke our rest for
that night. Nor did we ever get
fully reconciled to the frenzy and fury
of a "New York fire" during
the whole of our stay in the city. Fires
were frequent, and I soon
learned to wonder at the skill and
courage shown by the firemen in
the management of their admirable
engines.
Week after week passed away like hours
in the charming city,
and we saw every thing that was worth
seeing in New York and
its immediate neighbourhood. Our kind
New England friend named
14
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
above was the constant companion of our
long rambles, and while
he remained in the city spent the most
of his time in showing Henry
and myself such objects as he thought
would interest us--The Amer-
ican Museum, the apartments and fine
pictures of the City Hall,
various places of public amusement and
historical association, and
the Navy Yard at Brooklyn.5 He
took us on board the ship of war,
"United States," and the
"Vincennes" frigate, which last had just
returned from a cruise round the world,
and brought intelligence
of great interest from the Islands of
the Pacific. One of the marines
made me a handsome present of shells and
other curiosities from
the Tropics, a slip of the willow from
Napoleon's grave, &c, just
because he heard that I was a fellow
countryman. The generous
attentions of Mr. Coggeshall made a deep
impression upon us. In-
deed we met with nothing but kindness
from every one around us.
Every day too, new objects of interest
attracted us either within the
city or in its beautiful environs--and
all appearing to the best ad-
vantage as the season was very fine with
a sky seldom varying its
brightness and to us unusual warmth, and
shedding over the sur-
rounding scenery that weird and dreamy
loveliness which I had
hitherto regarded as a mere phantasy of
the Poets.
There were the charming Bay views from
Brooklyn Heights, es-
pecially from the fine grounds of Mr.
Pierrepont6 at the head of
Willow Street. Then there were the
groves and gardens and
meadows out at Bloomingdale, and along
the rocky ledges of the
East River near the Shot Tower. But my
favorite spot was the top
of Weehawkin [Weehawken] mountain on the
Jersey side of the
Hudson about 2 miles back from Hoboken.
I took the ferry boat
one fine morning, crossed at Hoboken,
and spent the day in rambling
amongst its fine groves and over the
high table lands of Weehawk.
They command a splendid panorama of the
city and Bay, the North
5 New York was a city of 202,000 persons
in 1830. It lay on Manhattan Island
and, triangular in shape, extended about three miles
along each the East and Hudson
rivers. Among the "principal places
of amusement" were the Park, Bowery, and
Richmond-Hill theaters, Peale's Museum,
the American Museum, "and several gardens,
of which Niblo's and the Castle
are decidedly the most pleasant." There were then
120 churches in the city. The
Tourist, or Pocket Manual for Travellers on the Hudson
River, the Western Canal and Stage
Road to Niagara Falls down Lake Ontario and
the St. Lawrence to Montreal and
Quebec (5th ed., New York, 1836),
13-14.
6 Hezekiah Beers Pierrepont, a wealthy
merchant.
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 15
River floating beneath, and far away off
the graceful outline of
Staten Island, the Narrows, and all the
changeful features of that
lovely Bay, then nearer at hand the rich
woods of Hoboken, and
every where around picturesque points of
rock, hung with flowering
shrubs, and shaded with cedars and
forest trees, and the prettiest
little grassy glades all shut in with
woods and so retired that but
for the well trodden path winding thro'
you might fancy yourself
at an illimitable distance from the
haunts of men. I did like
Weehawk and often wondered that so
charming a retreat, and so
near a great city should still be left
in all its native wildness.
Letters at last came from my Father,
with instructions for our best
route into the western country, over 700
miles of which were by
water on the Hudson, New York & Erie
Canal and Lake Erie, and
about 150 miles of land carriage in the
State of Ohio.
July 1
We had now been a month in New York. Our
arrangements for
leaving were soon complete and on the
1st July at 12 M. we were on
board the elegant Safety Barge
"Lady Clinton" for Albany--160
miles. The Barge is a new thing and
ought to prove an acquisition
as it unites entire safety with fair
speed and the very best accom-
modations. It is towed up by powerful
steamers, alternately the
"Commerce" and
"Swiftsure"--8 1/2 dollars fare to Albany for all.
We had a good band and fair complement
of passengers, Capt.
Cowden very courteous, and gentle,
agreeable manners, the day
warm and sunny and the very best for the
unequalled scenery of
the Hudson.
The city spires grew fainter and fainter
as we approached a singu-
lar ridge of rocks skirting the Western
shore of the River for many
miles--The Palisadoes. They present a
perpe[n]dicular face to the
river of some 200 feet or more, seamed
with deep, vertical fissures
and crowned with dark cedars, and ever
and anon a strange little
woodsman's hut perched like a bird's
nest among the crags.
The opposite shore was widely
different--low wavy hills covered
with orchards and fields of grain, thick
woods at intervals, farm
houses, country seats, little villages
clustering in shady hollows by
the landing places, and every indication
of a rich agricultural coun-
16
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
try, and thrifty farming population. A
fine expanse of the River
occurs above the Palisadoes, called
Tappan Sea [Zee]. The woody
heights of Haverstraw Bay and Nyack
sparkled in the afternoon
sunshine and wandering clouds flung
their mottled shadows over the
lovely scenery.
At Verplanck's7 and Stony
Point the shores closed in again and
we were soon immersed in the deep shade
of the Highlands, stupen-
dous masses of rock shooting upward far
above us into the blue
heavens, and clothed with the richest
foliage, ridge after ridge and
one steep precipice after another until
about sunset a sudden turn
of the river brought us to the
celebrated Military Academy at West
Point. Soon after we emerged from the
huge jaws of the Highlands
and at Newburg[h] the mountains had
given place on both sides
of the river to gentle hills and
cultivable slopes, with rocky points
jutting into the river and beautiful
green terraces dotted with the
spires of the arbor vitae and shaded by
groves of noble forest trees.
The sky was all flushed with the crimson
sunset and the glassy
stream reflected its rosy tints and the
rich colouring of the shore. A
clear moonlight followed, and I remained
upon deck long after the
fire-flies had lit up their tiny lamps,
and spangled the shadows of
the woods and ravines as we passed
along.
The Highlands are conspicuous more for
the simple grandeur of
their grouping and their majesty of
outline than from their height,
the highest not exceeding 1600 or 1700
feet. Ragged peaks, and
barren rocky pyramids there are none,
but grand swelling curves of
the richest foliage, half hiding and
half revealing the vast masses
of sienite beneath, tho' in some places
the leafy screen is drawn aside
and lofty mural precipices of bare
granite spring aloft high above
the river, and cast broad shadows over
its bright waters. I insert op-
posite a sketch of the gorge as it
appears from West Point, with the
old ruins on Constitution Island in the
foreground, Newburg[h],
Polipell's [Polopell's] Island & the
Shinga [?] mountains in the
distance, Bull Hill, Breakneck,
Coldspring Landing & Stony Point
on the right, Butter Hill on the left--euphonious
names!!!
7 Verplanck's Point, where Philip
Verplanck had a "splendid mansion, lawn, arbour,
&c." It was also the site of a
fortification during the Revolution. The Tourist, or
Pocket Manual for Travellers, 19.
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 17
July 2
When I went upon deck in the morning the
thick vapors which
in this country are generated during the
summer night were rolling
away and disclosing a rich lowland
country, all meadows and corn
fields, well shaded with fine trees, and
set thick with comfortable
homesteads and old family mansions. At 7
A.M. we
reached Albany
and my mother and I went immediately and
engaged our passage
by canal boat to Buffalo, 364 miles,
twenty dollars exclusive of
meals, and a dollar per 100 lbs for
extra baggage.
After seeing the baggage weighed and
shipped while the boat
was preparing to start, Henry and I
strayed off to see a little of the
City. It stands on a fine rising ground
and contains 24,216 inhabi-
tants, [is] irregularly laid out, and
carelessly built, tho' evidently
improved in this particular. The
principal street is very wide and
contains many substantial brick
dwellings. The State Capitol stands
at the head of it in an open area
surrounded by iron railing. The
churches are numerous, and one of them
glories in two lofty towers
surmounted by domes of tin which have a
strange bizarre effect when
the sun's rays strike them. Indeed, as I
had always before been
used to the vast and solid structures of
ecclesiastical antiquity, the
churches every where here struck me as
singularly simple and un-
pretending--the nave and chancel of
brick or stone, the super-
structure of the tower almost invariably
of wood, painted white, and
consisting of a various arrangement of
the Grecian orders, semi-
circular, arched windows, deep
mouldings, panels and brackets,
dentil cornices &c, surmounted with
a short spire or dome, and form-
ing on the whole a sort of campanile or
turret. Many of them [are]
very prettily designed and have a light,
airy, cleanly appearance in
this warm climate. I observe, too, that
the Americans call all their
places of worship indiscriminately
"churches" whereas that term
with us is applied only to those of the
"Established Church" and the
rest "chapels" or
"meeting-houses" which in England are very plain
structures and rarely, if ever, finished
with a tower or spire.
An active trade is carried on between
N[ew] York and this place
by steamboat and innumerable river
craft, and transhipments are
made here to canal boats with which its docks or basins
are filled.
18
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
And in return Albany is the shipping
point for all the rich and
varied produce of the West and part of
Canada, thro' the great
lines of connection the Erie, Northern
and Welland Canals, and the
great Lakes to the furthest bounds of
the western frontier. Some of
the canal boats are quite light and
elegant, others very plain and
homely. Ours was of the latter class and
so slow that instead of
reaching Buffalo in six days, as the
agent assured us we should, it
took us eight.
After a few hours detention at Albany we
proceeded on this
noble canal. Our fellow passengers were
Canadians, 1 man and 4
women, and proved very kind people in
many little instances. The
midday sun was so intense that the deck
had to be washed every 15
minutes to cool the simmering pitch in
the seams. About this time
we passed the neat town of Troy with a
population of 11,405. The
country between it and Albany [is] level
and well cultivated, but
every where disfigured with those
unsightly zigzag rail fences, which
are quite out of keeping with the
radiant beauty of the general
landscape. They are quite costly, too,
and become more and more
so as the forests disappear. They have
to be renewed at least every
8 or 10 years, at great cost of labour
and material so that where
stone is not abundant the farmers will
have eventually to fall back
upon those beautiful live-hedges which
contribute so greatly to make
England the "garden" of the
world.
At 4 in the afternoon we reached the
confluence of the Mohawk
and Hudson where the canal suddenly
turns to the West. At this
turn are 3 Locks, and while the boat was
clearing them our mother
went with us all to the brink of the
River, a few hundred yards off,
to see the Cohoes Falls, the great
cataract of the Mohawk. We had a
fine view of it from an eminence which
overhung the rocky channel.
The Falls themselves were grand and
impressive and the effect
greatly heightened by the sylvan beauty
of the Scenery around. The
spray mist floated off across the great
pine trees and cedars which
clothed the rocks, and the rocks were
festooned with hanging ivys,
and brightened by the scarlet tufts of
the Sumac, the flowers of the
"Rubus [sic] repens"
and a thousand charming varieties, and clear
crystal rills threaded their way amongst
them, then leaped into the
boiling gulf below.
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 19
In the evening we crossed an aqueduct
over a branch of the
Mohawk, and as the darkness advanced the
whole landscape was
lit up by the starry gleams of the
fire-fly, while the twanging of
unnumbered Frogs and the shrill
dissonance of myriads of insects,
chiefly of the "cicada" and
"grylla" [cricket] families filled the air
with strange sounds, and added a
characteristic and to us very novel
feature to the dusky shadows.
July 3
At 5 I rose from a hard and comfortless
bed. We were just leaving
the thriving town of Schnectady [sic].
We had only made some 30
miles chiefly owing to the number of
locks, which cause great delay.
There are no less the [than] 83 on the
whole canal.8 This slow
progress pleased us exactly as we wished
to see as much as we could
of the country and my brothers and I
jumped on shore whenever it
suited us and got on board again at the
next lock or village or in
fact almost whenever we chose, as the
steersman could easily sweep
the Boat close up to the Tow-Path.
The morning was cloudy and screened us
from the fierce sun, the
air mild and pleasant, and views in the
beautiful valley of the
Mohawk charming in the extreme, high
cultivation around Schnec-
tady [sic] and the grain crops
rich and heavy, except the Indian
Corn which had been much retarded by
drought. As to this latter
grain I cannot believe that the attempt
to cultivate it advantageously
in England will ever meet with success.
It needs the length and
almost tropical heat of an American
Summer to ripen it. The dif-
ference in climate between the two
countries is far too great. Here
every orchard boasts of its luxuriant
standard Peach trees loaded
with luscious fruit such as can only be
obtained in Britain by the
most careful culture against warm brick
walls with a Southern ex-
posure, and as to melons, which are
reared there only in the glass-
houses of the wealthy, here every little
cottager's garden patch is
redolent with their juicy musk.
During the day the hills grew higher and
higher, the distant
horizon more limited, and toward evening
we were quite surrounded
8 There were twenty-seven locks between
Albany and Schenectady.
20
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
by lofty crags, partly covered with dark
foliage and partly exposed
in vast bare surfaces to the action of
storm & sunshine.
July 4
Sunday. I was up very early and watching
the steaming mists as
they curled upwards against the wild
Pine-clad rocks on either side
of us. At "Little Falls" the
rapids of the Mohawk dashed by in
glancing sheets of foam.9 Then
the country changed again and the
river and canal were bordered by level
plains and farm lands of
unmistakable fertility.
While passing one of the locks we
recognized at a very neat little
house on the canal side, one of the
steerage passengers on the Diana,
an elderly respectable looking Newcastle
woman. She saw us and
hurried to the boat to beg that my
mother would go on shore and
see her new home, in which she pointed
out with great pride an
eight day's clock, which she had brought
with her across the At-
lantic. Her husband, a shoemaker, had
come out the year before.
They seemed contented and happy and were
doing well.
In the afternoon we came to the large
and beautiful town of
Utica containing 8,324 inhabitants. The
people were at their dif-
ferent churches which are numerous and
handsome. A Sabbath
stillness reigned over the whole place
and every thing so cleanly
and flourishing, and such an air of
comfort and competence in the
buildings, and even the humblest
tenements, all made the town ex-
ceedingly attractive and left an instant
and pleasant impression upon
the stranger. Indeed it is astonishing
to mark the rapid progress of
improvement as exhibited on either side
of this canal--populous
towns and villages springing up as if
under the wand of the en-
chanter, hills covered with orchards and
valleys standing thick with
corn. It is a riant, hopeful, joyous
looking country, the woodman's
axe sounds cheerily thro' the forest,
and the smoke of his log cabin
soon curls amid the leaves, and his
glossy corn patch and little
9 "LITTLE FALLS, 22 miles from Utica. . . . On each side the
mountains are very
high, leaving but a narrow space for the
river, canal, and road to pass through. For
about 2 miles the canal is formed by
throwing up a wall into the river from 20 to
30 feet high, then excavating into the
mountain and filling it up. This was one of the
most difficult and expensive parts of
the canal, as it was necessary to blast the rock
with gunpowder, to form the bed of the
canal, for nearly the whole distance." The
Tourist, or Pocket Manual for
Travellers, 51-52.
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 21
garden of balsams and vines supplants
the tangled growth of wild
nature. Wide spreading domains of
wealthy husbandmen clothe the
hill sides, and the horn of plenty
seems to pour its treasures, and
the genius of industry to shower his
blessings equally on the mansion
of affluence and the cot of the humble
settler.
The "wilderness rejoices and
blossoms as the rose." Religion rears
her temples and learning consecrates
her porch where but 60 years
ago the savage Iroquois trod the more
savage wilds, and the red
deer scarce stirred at the approach of
man.
"Where nought profaned the
solitude around
"Save the wild fawn or roe buck's
lightsome bound
"And nought was heard amid that
scenery drear
"Save sounds like those wild
Nature loves to hear--
"The plaintive murmur of the
falling stream
"The Zephyr's moan, the Bittern's
dismal scream,
"The rushing blast 'oer leafy
wilds that swept
"Or fitful gust in hollow rock
that wept--"
But it is all changed now. The wave of
civilization has passed over
the country and the footprint of savage
life is even now nearly
effaced and will soon be lost forever.
In the evening we passed thro' Oriskany
growing into importance
in the manufacture of cotton.
July 5
The celebration of the great American
holiday took place today
instead of Sunday, and we found the
people of the little towns we
passed thro' in the full tide of
enjoyment. But unfortunately for
many of them, that bane of America
"Whiskey" is too cheap, adding
to the programme of ceremonies some few
scenes of tipsy jollity
which could have been dispensed with.
Towards evening we were at the pretty
town of Syracuse, with
its two neat churches and Court-house,
broad streets and clean white
frame houses, with a few good brick
ones interspersed.
Syracuse is a fair specimen of the
lesser inland towns, the white
houses of which form the characteristic
feature. They are framed
of Pine or Hemlock and covered with
narrow weather boards of
Poplar &c, overlapping each other,
roofed with wooden shingles,
22
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
and often shaded and adorned with an
open colonnade or Piazza
sometimes quite surrounding the
building. White and creamy yellow
are the prevailing colors, with green
venetian blinds to the numer-
ous openings. Altogether they have a
cool airy pleasant appearance
under the glare of a July sun, and are
in many cases embellished
with the rich flowers of the Trumpet
honeysuckle, Cypress vine, and
various beautiful creepers.
The streets of Syracuse were gay with
revellers, and the "militia"
marching in grotesque irregularity to
the tune of "Yankee Doodle."
Loud talking politicians were sipping
their juleps on the benches in
front of the little
"groceries" and along the Towpath were straggl-
ing groups of Indians of the Oneida
tribes, the first we had seen.
Their complexion was reddish brown, lips
thick, hair long and
coarse, and gloomy, moody looking cast
of countenance. The squaws
were dressed with great simplicity and
rudeness, some with heavy
blankets thrown over their shoulders
notwithstanding the heat of
the weather. The men made a far more
showy appearance, one in
particular rejoiced in a dark coloured
fringed hunting coat which
together with his hat and trousers, were
profusely studded with
drops and pendants of pure silver.
After Syracuse came Lake Onondago [sic],
a fine sheet of water
5 or 6 miles long, its low banks buried
in the mighty forest, the
little town of Geddesboro' at its
southern extremity. Thro' this the
canal passes and near it are the
perenniel [sic] Salt springs and Salt
works so well known to the trading
community. It is remarkable
that the "springs" rise close
to the Lake tho' its waters are perfectly
fresh and pure. Salina owes its name to
this sport of Nature and
stands on the Eastern bank, and far away
in the distance are the
scattered houses of
"Liverpool" which whatever it may be one day
or other, don't [sic] now show
even a germ of that commercial
greatness which its name seems to
foreshadow.
July 6
In the evening we came to a desolate
looking place called nine
mile creek, and the next morning early
at Port Byron, Montezuma
at 9, a small town on the east bank of
Seneca River, uniting Lake
Cayuga with Ontario. A wooden bridge of
1/2 a mile is thrown across
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 23
its shallow bed, built on piles and
serving as a Towpath to the canal
craft. The river itself was quite
mantled over with an endless waste
of tall aquatic plants, flags, and
reeds, with patches of open water,
and groups of splendid foliage rising
like islands out of the wide
wavy sheets of green.
As we advanced into the interior we were
more and more de-
lighted with the variety and beauty of
the vegetable and animated
[sic] productions of the country. Grand forests of Oak, Elm,
Ash,
Walnut, Hickory, Sycamore, and Pine,
were interlaced with an end-
less succession of flowering shrubs, and
festooned with the tendrils
and sweet scented flowers of the wild
vine. The clusters of the
"clematis candescens," and the
"Begnonia [sic] Splendens" in
Arbores Vitae of the freshest green
reared their lofty spires, and the
scarlet and yellow tufts of the Sumac,
the dark shadows of the
cedar, and delicate sprays of the Locust
gave an indescribable charm
to the tangled undergrowth. The woods,
too, were perfectly alive
with birds of exquisite plumage--the
rich crimson Tanager
(Pyranga [sic] rubra [rubra]),
the "Fringilla tristis" [goldfinch]
with its beautiful yellow, shaded into
deep black, the Blue bird
(Sialia Wilsoni), the Oriole (Yphantes
Baltimore) and the splen-
did cardinal Grossbeak [sic] (Cardinalis
Virginiensis). Then there
were innumerable woodpeckers with their
glossy scarlet top-knots,
from the smallest variety to the great
Ivory Bill (Campephilus
principalis) which clung to the tops of
the loftiest trees, and made
the air resonant with its loud and
repeated tapping. Then the more
attentive eye found a new source of
pleasure in the brilliant colour-
ing of the insect tribes. Every sunny
bank and every mantling pool
seemed to attract them in myriads. They
are far more beautiful,
too, than the British varieties. The
Papilio Machaon, P. Antiope,
P. Fritilaria [sic]10 and
many large and richly dyed swallow tail
species are as common here as the
Papiliones "Brassica," "Urtica"
and "Atalanta" on the English
roadsides, while the naturalist would
find ample scope in the rarer genera.
But to revert back to the wood-
land I must not omit that most beautiful
and useful of all American
forest trees, the famous
"Acer-saccharinum" [sic] or Sugar Maple.
It is peculiar to the country and grows
to such a size that a fully
10 Butterflies.
24
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
matured tree will annually yield as much
as 8 Pounds of sugar,
which may be made nearly as good as that
from the cane tho' for
want of suitable apparatus it is
generally much coarser. The
molasses, however, is delicious, and the
fresh juice as it drips from
the tree into the rude wooden troughs,
is palatable and refreshing.
The tree is fit for use at 15 years old
continuing so probably for 2
centuries. A camp of 10 acres will
contain upwards of 300 Trees,
and produce annually over 2 hogsheads of
good sugar, and it is
found that such a camp or plantation
annexed to a farm, besides
being highly ornamental and beneficial
for pasture, besides the use
of the decayed limbs &c. for fuel,
and an abundant supply of sugar
and syrup for family purposes, will
yield quite a nice little cash
profit to the proprietor, and the
operations are carried on in the
months of February and March, continue
but a short time and inter-
fere with no other business of the Farm.
July 7
In the morning we were at Fullam's Basin
a small cluster of
houses 17 miles from Rochester where we
arrived at 3 in the after-
noon. It is a large, busy and rapidly
increasing town, divided by
the Genessee [sic] river whose
rapid current supplies an unfailing
power to its numerous flour mills, saw
mills and other descriptions
of machinery. Here the canal makes its
nearest approach to Lake
Ontario being only 8 or 9 miles distant.
A lofty and substantial
aqueduct carries it across the wide
Genessee, whose Falls at this
place must have been very beautiful
before the clank of machinery
usurped the quiet of the native
greenwood.
We met with some detention here which we
regretted as we be-
gan to weary of our slow progress.
July 8
Towards sunset we came in sight of the
stony ridge on which
stands the fine town of Lockport.11 It
takes its name from the works
which carry the canal up its rocky
sides. We soon arrived at the foot
of those steeps, and were first struck
with the ample span and in-
tricate frame work of the bridge thrown
across the chasm, at the
11 Lockport was sixty-three miles west
of Rochester on the canal and thirty miles
from Buffalo.
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 25
bottom of which we were gliding along.
Then a bend in the canal
brought us in front of those noble Locks
which filled us with
wonder at the difficulties which had
been overcome, and the dura-
bility and excellence of the workmanship
in this gigantic under-
taking. The Locks are double--5 on one
side for ascending, and 5
on the other for descending
boats--excavated from the native rock,
and faced with solid masonry, making in
the aggregate a Fall of
near Forty Feet. Then came the greatest
wonder of all, the deep cut
of two miles, blasted by gunpowder out
of the mountain of stone,
whose vertical walls rose above us on
either side to the height of
Twenty feet or more and shut out all
view of the country beyond.
The canal is at this point about 550
feet above the level of the ocean
and a little below that of Lake Erie
which is made to act as an in-
exhaustible feeder and keeps it always
full.
During the night our Canadian passengers
left us for their home
near the Falls of Niagara from which we
were now only 12 miles
distant, almost within sound of their
roar, but we must pass them
by this time, and trust to a propitious
future.
July 9
At sunrise we were at Black Rock only a
few miles from Buffalo.
The morning was delightful, and the cool
Lake breeze exhilirating
[sic] beyond measure. We soon caught a glimpse of its blue
waters
dancing in the sunshine beyond the white
buildings of Buffalo. The
Niagara river floated slowly by us, and
on the opposite side lay the
shores of Canada the territories of the
British King.
At 8 A.M. we were in Buffalo, and bid
adieu to our slow-moving
"Nautilus." This is the
largest & finest Port on the Lake, the town
handsome, and ought to be wealthy, as it
is the great thoroughfare
for all the traffic on these inland
Seas. Steamers of great size and
power leave daily for Detroit,12 a
flourishing city near Lake St. Clair,
landing goods and passengers at the
intermediate ports of N.York,
Pennsylvania, and Ohio. These ports are
Dunkirk, Erie, Cleaveland
[sic], Ashtabula, Huron, and Portland. Fleets of schooners and
other
sailing craft cover the Lakes, shipping
goods from the New York
Canal to the Lake ports, and thence they
are forwarded by land
12 In general the
steamboats at this time ranged from about 100 feet to about 135
feet long and
from about 100 to 350 tons burden. They were side-wheelers.
26
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
carriage, or the grand Ohio Canal to the
interior of the "Great
West" which in return exports the
produce of its rich lands to the
Eastern markets, all passing thro' the
hands of the Buffalo mer-
chants. The Ohio Canal will soon be
finished. There will then be
an unbroken communication from the sea
at New York, by the
Hudson, the N. York Canal, Lake Erie,
the Ohio Canal, and the
Ohio & Mississippi Rivers to the sea
again at the Balize [Island]
below N. Orleans, thus entirely
surrounding the older states with
water applicable to all the purposes of
internal commerce, and as
it is now in contemplation to extend the
canal in operation between
Cincinnati and Dayton to the Lake at
Maumee Bay, nearly the
whole of the fertile Ohio will be
included within the range of in-
land navigation.
We found two steamers in port, the
"Enterprize" and "Henry
Clay."13 We chose the
first as she was to leave immediately, and had
our baggage taken at once on board, our
fare to Sandusky, above 200
miles, thirty dollars including every
thing. At about 9 we were on
the waves again. As we pushed out into
the Lake the wind freshened
but being quite ahead we made little
progress altho' our engine was
a powerful one--low pressure. The waves
were tipped with foam,
pure, fresh, transparent with all the
life and brilliance of the ocean,
and, to the north, apparently as
boundless. The southern horizon,
however, was lined with the trackless
woods of the coast, and dis-
tant hills far away in the interior. For
a short time, to be sure, we
kept in view of the Canadian shore but
this soon receded and for the
rest of the voyage we saw but little
shore except the low grounds
and deep forests of Pennsylvania and
Ohio, from which we were
seldom more than a few miles distant.
The average breadth of the
Lake is 40 or 50 miles tho' opposite
Cleaveland [sic] it is said to
be 90.14
The Steamer was large and bulky with
roomy cabins--that for the
Ladies upon deck, for the gentlemen and
dining below--fitted up
much like the New York and Albany Boats
tho' with less pretension
both as to space and finish.
As we advanced the swell increased and
the weather became wild
13 The Enterprise, a vessel of
about 220 tons, was built in Cleveland in 1825-26;
the Henry Clay, 301 tons, was
built at the same time in Black Rock, New York.
14 Lake Erie ranges in width from
twenty-eight to fifty-eight miles.
THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON 27
and stormy bringing its usual
concomitant "sickness" which made
sad havoc in the ladies apartments, and
my poor mother suffered
sadly all the way, even more than on
the Atlantic, perhaps owing to
the short, jerking motion which is far
worse than the heavy roll of
the open ocean.
July 10
I spent a pretty comfortable night, as
the bed was excellent and
when I went upon deck the next morning,
we were moored to the
long pier at Erie, Pa. taking on wood.
This place is 75 miles from
Buffalo and affords excellent shelter
in bad weather.
The morning was calm and cloudy, but we
had not long left Erie
before it became very rough again, and
towards evening the pitch-
ing and vibration of the vessel as wave
after wave struck her bows,
were distressing beyond measure. I was
by this time on the "Lake
sick" list but a night's rest
recovered me, and I was on Sunday
morning as well as if on firm land.
July 11
We were not far from Sandusky where my
Father was to meet
us--and all impatience to see him
again--the Lake calm and the
wind more favorable than hitherto. At
half past seven we put into
the little port of Huron to land goods,
and an hour or two after
breakfast brought us in sight of the
lighthouse at the mouth of
Sandusky Bay.15 At this
juncture some dark clouds which had been
gathering in the West burst over us in
the most violent rain I ever
witnessed, continuing as we wound up
the very circuitous channel
between the shoals of the Bay, but it
fortunately ceased before we
reached the wharf at Portland,16 where
we soon descried my father
pacing up and down the pier long before
he could distinguish us
from the crowd that came trooping upon
the deck as the boat ap-
proached the landing. We were soon on
shore, and all hastened to
the Inn near by just opposite the Bay.
15 Marblehead Lighthouse, built in 1821.
16 Portland was laid out in 1817. Its
name was changed almost immediately to
Sandusky, though it was known for many
years also as Portland, which was the name
of the township in which Sandusky was
located.
[The journal will be continued in the
next issue.]
The OHIO HISTORICAL Quarterly
VOLUME 65 ?? NUMBER 1 ?? JANUARY 1956
From England to Ohio, 1830-1832:
The Journal of Thomas K.
Wharton
Edited by JAMES H. RODABAUGH
This is the journal of an immigrant boy
who came from his
native England to the United States in
1830 and lived for nearly
two years in Ohio. It was transcribed by
the author in 1854 and here
and there recollections were added. It
is an interesting journal for
several reasons: It relates in detail
the story of the journey from
the Humber to Ohio and gives colorful
descriptions of the country-
side and of life in this country and in
this state 125 years ago. Its
author enlarged the value of his written
record by including on its
pages a series of competent drawings of
many points of interest on
his trip and scenes and structures that
caught his eye during his stay
in Ohio. It was written by a lad only
sixteen years old when the
journey began and but eighteen when he
left Ohio, a remarkably
perceptive youth, however, with a broad
knowledge which sharpened
his appreciation of new experiences.
The journal reproduced here is part of a
manuscript volume cover-
ing four years from May 3, 1830, to
October 15, 1834, and including,
besides the record of the journey from
England and the residence in
Ohio, the diary of two years spent in
New York.
Thomas Kelah Wharton, our journalist and
artist, was born in
Hull, April 17, 1814. His father was a
general merchant and ship
owner, who, having suffered reverses in
his business, decided to
move to the United States. He came to
this country in 1829, acquired
a 180-acre farm at the south edge of
Piqua, Ohio, and sent for his
family.
Thomas, his mother, and his three
brothers and two sisters set