Israel Gregg
Encyclopedia
Israel Gregg was the first captain of the steamboat Enterprise
. From June to December of 1814, Israel Gregg commanded the Enterprise during two voyages from Louisville, Kentucky
to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
that were performed against strong currents of the Ohio River
. With these voyages Israel Gregg and the Enterprise demonstrated for the first time that steamboat commerce was practical on the Ohio River.
, and Rebecca Janney, his wife. His parents were married on October 7, 1762 by Friends' ceremony at Goose Creek, renamed Lincoln
, an old community located in Virginia's
Loudoun County that was founded by Quakers. Israel Gregg was born to a family that was both large and prominent, the Greggs and Janneys having made the Loudoun Valley
their home for many years. Israel Gregg began an apprenticeship in 1790, completing it in 1796. On May 29, 1797 he was granted a certificate of acceptance by Redstone Monthly Meeting, Brownsville
, Fayette County
, Pennsylvania.
.
Thomas Gregg's will of December 13, 1799 conveyed to Israel a small lot (63 by 125 feet) in Bridgeport, a small community bordering Brownsville to the south.
In 1805, Israel Gregg was a pilot on the flatboat Blackbird during a voyage from Brownsville to New Orleans with a cargo of flour.
Founded in 1812, The Monongahela National Bank of Brownsville listed Israel Gregg as one of its founding directors.
Israel Gregg joined a group of Brownsville-area entrepreneurs that had formed a company to transport passengers and cargo between Brownsville and New Orleans by steamboat. By June, 1814 the company had launched its first steamboat, the Enterprise, and Israel Gregg was her first captain. The first leg of Israel Gregg's initial Ohio River voyage as a steamboat captain was performed with the current of the Monongahela River
from Brownsville to Pittsburgh. Then Gregg navigated the Enterprise with the current of the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, finally reaching Louisville, Kentucky
. From Louisville, Gregg commanded the Enterprise against the current of the Ohio River, finally reaching Pittsburgh. From Pittsburgh the Enterprise returned to Louisville, then steamed homeward against the river's current to Cincinnati, Steubenville, Pittsburgh, and finally reaching Brownsville in mid-December.
Israel Gregg was replaced as captain of the Enterprise with Henry Shreve
, a Brownsville resident and experienced keelboat captain. Shreve's extensive knowledge of the western waters, particularly below Louisville, would be important during a voyage to New Orleans. Government records of December 21, 1814, list Henry Shreve as the person responsible for the military supplies, that had been loaded aboard the Enterprise, and their delivery to American forces at New Orleans.
Israel Gregg became captain of the Dispatch and, in the fall of 1815, he navigated her southward on the first leg of a planned trip to New Orleans. Beset with many difficulties en route, Gregg transferred command of the Dispatch to Henry Bruce at Louisville and returned home to Bridgeport. The Dispatch and captain Bruce finally reached her destination by February 13, 1816 according to the New Orleans Wharf Register.
In 1816, Israel Gregg was listed as a tax-paying merchant of Bridgeport.
On June 19 1818, Israel Gregg is recorded in the New Orleans Wharf Register as master of the steamboat Napoleon.
Joseph Hough reported that in the Spring of 1819 he made a 19-day voyage from New Orleans on the steamboat General Clark, commanded by his brother-in-law: captain Israel Gregg. The General Clark is recorded in the New Orleans Wharf Register for July 6, 1819 with John Sowers as her master.
Israel Gregg was elected sheriff of Butler County, serving from 1835 to 1839.
Enterprise (1814)
The Enterprise, or Enterprize, demonstrated for the first time by her epic 2,200-mile voyage from New Orleans to Pittsburgh that steamboat commerce was practical on America's western rivers.-Early days:...
. From June to December of 1814, Israel Gregg commanded the Enterprise during two voyages from Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
that were performed against strong currents of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. With these voyages Israel Gregg and the Enterprise demonstrated for the first time that steamboat commerce was practical on the Ohio River.
Loudoun County, Virginia
Israel Gregg was born to Thomas Gregg, a wheelwrightWheelwright
A wheelwright is a person who builds or repairs wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the archaic word "wright", which comes from the Old English word "wryhta", meaning a worker or maker...
, and Rebecca Janney, his wife. His parents were married on October 7, 1762 by Friends' ceremony at Goose Creek, renamed Lincoln
Lincoln, Virginia
Lincoln is an historic unincorporated village in the Loudoun Valley of Loudoun County, Virginia, located approximately south of Purcellville. It was established as the community of Goose Creek during the 1750s by Quaker settlers and renamed Lincoln after the president shortly after his...
, an old community located in Virginia's
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
Loudoun County that was founded by Quakers. Israel Gregg was born to a family that was both large and prominent, the Greggs and Janneys having made the Loudoun Valley
Loudoun Valley
The Loudoun Valley is a small, but historically significant valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in Loudoun County in northwestern Virginia in the United States.-Geography:...
their home for many years. Israel Gregg began an apprenticeship in 1790, completing it in 1796. On May 29, 1797 he was granted a certificate of acceptance by Redstone Monthly Meeting, Brownsville
Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...
, Fayette County
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, Pennsylvania.
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
On July 12, 1798 Israel Gregg and Elizabeth Hough (September 15, 1776 - March 27, 1820) were married in Brownsville, her hometown. Joseph Hough (February 26, 1783 - April 23, 1853) was bound to Israel Gregg, his brother-in-law, from 1798 to 1804 as an apprentice to learn the craft of making works for clocks and watches. A tall case clock, its works crafted by Israel Gregg, is currently on display by the Carnegie Museums of PittsburghCarnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are four museums that are operated by the Carnegie Institute headquartered in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
.
Thomas Gregg's will of December 13, 1799 conveyed to Israel a small lot (63 by 125 feet) in Bridgeport, a small community bordering Brownsville to the south.
In 1805, Israel Gregg was a pilot on the flatboat Blackbird during a voyage from Brownsville to New Orleans with a cargo of flour.
Founded in 1812, The Monongahela National Bank of Brownsville listed Israel Gregg as one of its founding directors.
The Enterprise
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
from Brownsville to Pittsburgh. Then Gregg navigated the Enterprise with the current of the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, finally reaching Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. From Louisville, Gregg commanded the Enterprise against the current of the Ohio River, finally reaching Pittsburgh. From Pittsburgh the Enterprise returned to Louisville, then steamed homeward against the river's current to Cincinnati, Steubenville, Pittsburgh, and finally reaching Brownsville in mid-December.
Israel Gregg was replaced as captain of the Enterprise with Henry Shreve
Henry Miller Shreve
Henry Miller Shreve was the American inventor and steamboat captain who opened the Mississippi, Ohio and Red rivers to steamboat navigation. Shreveport, Louisiana, is named in his honor....
, a Brownsville resident and experienced keelboat captain. Shreve's extensive knowledge of the western waters, particularly below Louisville, would be important during a voyage to New Orleans. Government records of December 21, 1814, list Henry Shreve as the person responsible for the military supplies, that had been loaded aboard the Enterprise, and their delivery to American forces at New Orleans.
The Dispatch
Meanwhile, construction of a new steamboat, the Dispatch, was underway at Bridgeport, but she wouldn't be ready to make a voyage for another six months. In the meantime, Israel Gregg would remain at home in Bridgeport during the first half of 1815:- On January 1, 1815, borough records mention the amount to be paid to Gregg for a lot and construction of Bridgeport's first school.
- On April 26, 1815, Bridgeport's Borough Council awarded to Gregg the right to build a warehouse on public property and operate it for ten years.
- During the April session of 1815, Fayette County court appointed Gregg a commissioner, charging him, and two other appointees, with reporting on the propriety of Bridgeport borough becoming a township. During the August session of 1815, the commissioners favorable report was presented to the court.
- William Gregg would be born on January 13, 1816, indicating that during April, 1815 his mother and father, Israel Gregg, were together in Bridgeport.
Israel Gregg became captain of the Dispatch and, in the fall of 1815, he navigated her southward on the first leg of a planned trip to New Orleans. Beset with many difficulties en route, Gregg transferred command of the Dispatch to Henry Bruce at Louisville and returned home to Bridgeport. The Dispatch and captain Bruce finally reached her destination by February 13, 1816 according to the New Orleans Wharf Register.
In 1816, Israel Gregg was listed as a tax-paying merchant of Bridgeport.
On June 19 1818, Israel Gregg is recorded in the New Orleans Wharf Register as master of the steamboat Napoleon.
Joseph Hough reported that in the Spring of 1819 he made a 19-day voyage from New Orleans on the steamboat General Clark, commanded by his brother-in-law: captain Israel Gregg. The General Clark is recorded in the New Orleans Wharf Register for July 6, 1819 with John Sowers as her master.
Butler County, Ohio
On December 5, 1822 Israel Gregg and Phebe Kelley were married.Israel Gregg was elected sheriff of Butler County, serving from 1835 to 1839.
External links
- "Captain Israel Gregg" A biography of Israel Gregg
- "Joseph Hough, an early Miami merchant" A scholarly biography of Joseph Hough
- "Joseph Hough" A biography of Joseph Hough
- "Memoranda made by Robert Rogers" An autobiography by Robert Rogers