The stone sloop M.M. Hamilton, owned by Hiram Hamilton’s cousin John F. Hamilton and named for John’s wife, Mercy Melissa Hamilton. The M.M. Hamilton carried some of the granite used in the construction of the Washington Monument in the nation’s capital. Contributed / Penobscot Marine Museum
We briefly mentioned Capt. Hiram Hamilton in this column two weeks ago; his wife was a daughter of Deacon Daniel Anthoine, the farmer who had a homestead farm on Highland Avenue, near the intersection of Anthoine Street. Let’s take a closer look at Captain Hamilton and the dangerous life of early captains and sailors on stone sloops.
Hiram Hamilton came from a long line of Hamiltons who lived on Chebeague Island. Hiram was born on Chebeague in 1830, the son of Simeon Hamilton and Sarah Bennett. Hiram’s father was a stone sloop captain, as was his father before him, James Hamilton. Many of Hiram’s brothers, uncles and cousins were also captains of stone sloops.
Stone sloops were sailing vessels, designed with a broad beam, a single mast and large sails to enable them to move the incredibly heavy cargoes of granite and stone. There was often a boom derrick, a type of crane, attached at the base of the mast, and rigged to the mast, which could be used to load and unload the heavy stones; the derrick could be secured on deck while under sail. Stone sloops were a common way to move stone building materials from quarries along the coast to ports where they could offload for use there, or for transport by rail to further destinations. Granite and other stone blocks were common materials used for large buildings in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Locally, in addition to use in building construction, stone and granite were commonly used in the construction of breakwaters and wharves, sections of Fort Preble and other harbor forts, paving streets, and in cemeteries.
The Capt. Hiram Hamilton home was located on the corner of Osborne and Anthoine streets in 1871. His home and other buildings on the property were destroyed by fire in 1872. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society
The maritime trades were dangerous to begin with, but imagine the courage and daring of sailors on board a stone sloop in bad seas. These sloops had small crews, usually three to five men. If they ran into trouble, they had no ability to toss cargo overboard to lighten their load; either they made it or the ship was going to the bottom.
Chebeague Island was well known for the stone slooping trade. The Hamiltons, being a multi-generational family on the island, were one of the more prominent families in the trade. There seem to be many families in South Portland with strong ties to Chebeague Island. Another family that comes to mind that we’ve written about previously are the Uptons.
Hiram Hamilton was living in Cape Elizabeth in 1853 when he married Margaret Anthoine. They built a home, barn and carriage house along a dirt road that divided the land of her father Daniel Anthoine and Dr. John D. Buzzell. The road later became known as Anthoine Street. Hiram and Margaret had at least eight children, including Hiram Jr. (died at about age 5), Sarah (died in infancy), Daniel, Jennie (died in infancy), William, Emily, Mary “Minnie,” and Edwin. It was not an easy life for them, but living with family members nearby was a great support system.
The year 1872 was a particularly rough one for Hiram and Margaret. An article in the Portland Daily Press in January 1872 carried this news: “…a sloop belonging to Capt. Hiram Hamilton, used for carrying stone, and lying at Great Chebeague Island, was entered by thieves, who stole all the provisions out of the cabin, a spy-glass and other articles of value, and then attempted to set fire to the vessel.”
Just a few months later, the devastating loss of Hiram and Margaret’s home, barn and carriage house on Anthoine Street occurred in May. Everything, including the contents, was destroyed by fire. They did have some insurance, but the insurance didn’t cover everything.
That September, Hiram purchased property from George R. Davis. The property consisted of two buildings – a house and store – on the corner of Main Street (now Ocean Street) and E Street. This is on the northeast corner of what we now call Legion Square. The purchase was a very bad move for Hiram. Without enough money to make it work, he not only agreed to take over the two existing mortgages that Davis already had on the buildings, but he also accepted financing from Davis to make the deal work – putting up all of his properties as collateral – so he had three mortgages to satisfy. By 1875, he was insolvent, lost the property and had to have his debt discharged in bankruptcy.
A view of Legion Square in 1871. Capt. Hamilton purchased the house and store of George R. Davis, shown here on the northeast corner of the square, in 1872. The Knightville School is shown with the label School No. 11. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society
Aside from his financial troubles, Hiram kept busy moving stone. In the 1870s, he was captain of the sloop Amelia. In 1879, he was awarded the contract to provide 12,000 tons of stone for the construction of the breakwater at New Castle, New Hampshire (next to Portsmouth). In 1880 he partnered with Reuben S. Smart and their business (Hamilton & Smart) was awarded the contract for 2,500 tons of rubble stone to go to Richmond Island.
The year 1887 was yet another tough year for Hiram and Margaret. In February, their daughter Mary died; she was a month shy of 20 years old. In June, Hiram’s scow (a large, flat-bottomed boat), carrying 80 tons of stone, hit the shoreline and sank to the bottom. With a lot of effort, they were able to raise the boat so he didn’t lose it.
In 1894, Capt. Hamilton was in the news again. According to an article in the Portland Daily Press, a reporter documented this scene on June 3: “Capt. Upton of the yacht Jeannette and Capt. Hiram Hamilton of the scow Alaska are discussing the disappearance of the latter’s dory. It disappeared last night. It was a good dory and some mean rogue has evidently stolen it and left that old worn out one in its place. Captain Hamilton is spending his time, this beautiful Sunday, in hunting for his lost dory.”
Hiram Hamilton died of pneumonia in 1895 at the age of 65. According to local papers on Dec. 21, “the flags on the stone sloops and scows at Portland pier were at half mast out of respect to the memory of Capt. Hiram Hamilton whose funeral takes place today.”
Hiram and Margaret Anthoine Hamilton are buried together at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo is the executive director of the South Portland Historical Society.
South Portland Historical Society offers a free Online Museum with nearly 17,000 images available for viewing with a keyword search. You can find it at sphistory.pastperfectonline.com and, if you appreciate what we do, feel free to make a donation by using the donation button on the home page. If you have photographs or other information to share about South Portland’s past, we hope you will reach out to us. South Portland Historical Society can be reached at 207-767-7299, by email at sphistory04106@gmail.com, or by mail at 55 Bug Light Park, South Portland, ME 04106.
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