HMCo #3p Seven Brothers

"In [the] winter of 1867-68, I made the model and sail plan for CHARLOTTE, ... and in 1879, [sic, i.e. 1870] model for SEVEN BROTHERS [a] 65' fishing steamer (the first built) ..." (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "Boats and Yachts that I have been Especially Interested in by Sailing and Some of Which I Have Owned." Bristol, April 1932. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 106.)

"[#1p Annie Moies] was followed by the fishing steamer SEVEN BROTHERS in 1870. John built the engine for this craft with cylinder eleven inches diameter and twelve inch stroke. The boiler was an upright tubular, four feet six inches diameter by seven feet six inches high. " (Source: Herreshoff, N. G. "The Old Tannery and My Brother John." Written July 28, 1933. In: Pinheiro, Carlton J. (ed.). Recollections and Other Writings by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Bristol, 1998, p. 24.)

"In 1879 [sic, i.e 1870] Captain Nat designed the steamer 'Seven Brothers,' sixty-five feet long; this was a steam fishing vessel, I believe the first one in America, and the first of a long line of Pogy steamers. She was built for some of the seven brothers of the Church family and, as Captain Nat and his brothers numbered seven, she was built by seven brothers for seven brothers. This was the first steamer for which J. B. built the engines and machinery, and Captain Nat designed the vessel, engines and all. The 'Seven Brothers' was unusually successful and made money as a Pogy steamer for about thirty years." (Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. The Wizard of Bristol. The Life and Achievements of Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, together with An Account of Some of the Yachts he Designed. New York, 1953, p. 83.)

"Seven Brothers
by Halsey C. Herreshoff
In 1870, the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company built the 65 ft. fishing steamer SEVEN BROTHERS. Among the numerous Herreshoff commercial, naval, and pleasure vessels of that era, the SEVEN BROTHERS was particularly significant. This Nathanael Herreshoff design is considered to be the first steam fishing vessel in the United States. She was the forerunner of a long line of "Pogy Boats" for the profitable menhaden fishing business.
She was built and named for the seven Church brothers who operated a fishing business coupled with piers and a fertilizer manufacturing plant at Common Fence Point at the head of the Sakonnet River. Since J.B. Herreshoff and N.G. Herreshoff and their brothers numbered seven, the fishing steamer was built by seven brothers for seven brothers. Coincidentally each of the families included a Nathanael and each of them used the unusual 'ael' spelling of the name. Each family ran a specialty marine business that excelled in its field. In each case after some fifty years of family operations, the respective businesses were sold out to New York interests and continued to operate with participation of family members into the 20th century.
Pogy fishing was the harvesting of the plentiful menhaden by spreading a vast net in proximity to the Pogy Boat. The net was deployed and closed by numerous rowed long boats towed to the fishing location by the mother ship. The SEVEN BROTHERS engaged in this profitable activity until about 1900. The trade continued for almost another 50 years; as a youth I observed the last years of menhaden fishing on Narragansett Bay. The Pogy Boats always looked of a particular type design, and that was similar to the SEVEN BROTHERS. This Herreshoff design was so totally suitable to the purpose that she was emulated for the best part of a century. Of the succeeding vessels the HMC built at least three: OSPRAY 72'6" in 1871, KING FISHER 72'6" in 1872, and WILLIAM SPICER 78' in 1874.
The well proportioned but rugged SEVEN BROTHERS was built of wood. Her boiler and engine were constructed by the yard. Pictures of the vessel reveal part of the boiler and a particularly long stack extending above the after house. Forward was a raised pilot house; Amidships was a large fishing hole; a tall mast and gaff were fitted for lifting nets or boats." (Source: Herreshoff Marine Museum Chronicle, Fall 1982, p. 1.)

"... Mr. Herreshoff is now building a steam yacht for the Messrs. Church Brothers of Tiverton; she will be sixty-five feet long, fifteen feet breadth of beam, and fifty tons burthen. Everything for this yacht, even the steam engine, will be made at Mr. Herreshoff's establishment." (Source: Anon. "Launch. Boat Building." Bristol Phoenix, January 29, 1870, p. 2.)

"There was launched from the yard of Mr. John B. Herreshoff Wednesday morning at eight o'clock, a steam propeller for Messrs Church Brothers, of Tiverton. She is intended for the fishing business, and her dimensions are as follows: length 66 feet, breadth 15 feet, and depth of hold 6 feet. She has one vertical direct acting engine, cylinder eleven inches bore, and twelve inches stroke, rated at about thirty horse power. The screw is two bladed, four feet and four inches diameter, and seven feet pitch. The vessel is to be also sloop rigged.
Her keel was laid February 1st, and she is built in the most substantial manner of oak and yellow pine. The engine was built entirely in the machine shop connected with the boat works. The boiler, which is an upright tubular one, is seven feet high and four and one half foot in diameter, and has twenty-four 1 3-4 inch flues; it was built by E. Hodge & Co., of East Boston." (Source: Anon. "Launch." Bristol Phoenix, April 2, 1870, p. 2.)

"Seven Brothers is the name given to the new steamer built by Mr. Herreshoff for the Messrs. Church Brothers of Tiverton." (Source: Anon. "Local Tintypes." Bristol Phoenix, April 16, 1870, p. 2.)

"The Church Brothers of Tiverton have taken during the last three months on the coast of Maine 35,000 barrels of menhaden fish, 25,000 of which were manufactured into oil and guano and the balance sold to mackerel fishermen for bait. They find their steam tug 'The Seven Brothers,' very efficient, convenient and comfortable, in the prosecution of their business." (Source: Anon. "Fish And Fish Oil." Bristol Phoenix, October 15, 1870, p. 2.)

"[Note: A model of the Seven Brothers and photos by Frank H. Child were exhibited in 1893 at the World's Fair in Chicago.] Newport, R. I., March 9 [1893]. --- Great Interest is being shown by the World's Fair Commissioners in Rhode Island's fish exhibit, which is now being prepared by Church Brothers of Tiverton.
The exhibit includes two models of fishing steamers, prepared by Jansen Brothers of Gloucester, Mass. The first model is that of the steamer Seven Brothers, which was the first steamer ever built for the fishing business, twenty-three years ago.
The second model is that of the latest boat built by the firm, the George W. Humphrey. Both models are on the scale of one-half inch to the foot, and represent the boats as they are, ready for work, the nets in position in the small boats, and everything being in readiness to lower. ...
There has also been prepared by Official Photographer Frank H. Child a series of photographs representing and illustrating by bromide prints the fish business as carried on by Church Brothers. The pictures represent the men at work, drawing the nets and loading the steamers, and they, likewise, show the work as carried on at the Tiverton works.
Several large pictures of the different parts of the works have been taken ashore, also pictures of prominent fishermen, of steamers loading at the docks, of men working at the pounds, and in fact every detail of the work has been accurately illustrated.
Another set of pictures shows the work at sea under all conditions, the scenes being laid off Seaconnet Nock. The series closes with pictures of four big steamers homeward bound after big hauls." (Source: Anon. "Rhode Island Fish Exhibit. Models and Photographs being Prepared for the World's Fair." New York Times, March 10, 1893, p. 4.)

"... There are two models of fishing steamers, the exact reproduction of the originals. The largest is a model of the steamer George W. Humphrey. ... The other model is that of the steamer Seven Brothers, familiar to all Southeastern Rhode Island people. The same characteristic features displayed in the miniature Humphrey are presented in the other little boat, but are even more conspicuous because the second model is the smaller of the two. The Seven Brothers was built in 1870 by Herreshoff, and the first steamer ever constructed by the famous Bristol boat-builders. The model poses at Chicago as a reproduction in miniature of the fishing steamer which has paid a larger percentage upon the amount of capital invested than any vessel ever built. ..." (Source: Davenport Northrop, Henry. The World's Fair as Seen in One Hundred Days; Containing a Complete History of the World's Columbian Exposition. Chicago, Illinois, 1893, p. 361.)

"Fishing steamer Seven Brothers was in port on Tuesday, and brought a number of pounds of fresh squiteague [weakfish] caught in Mount Hope bay." (Source: Anon. "Local Affairs." Bristol Phoenix, August 18, 1894, p. 3.)

"... In 1870, the Herreshoffs built the fishing steamer, the 'Seven Brothers,' (named for the seven boys in the family,) which revolutionized the industry in a great measure. Her success led to the organization, January, 1871, of the Bristol Steam Fishing Company, of which several of the Herreshoffs were members. But their growing boat-building business soon required all their attention, and the fishing enterprise, which has since grown to be one of the foremost of its kind in the world, is now conducted by the famous Church family, of Tiverton. The 'Osprey' followed, in 1871, and other steamers of the new type, which proved so successful that there are now a hundred or more such in commission along the coast. ..." (Source: Wellesley, Walter. "The Wizards of the Water Witches." Success, August 19, 1899, p. 629-630.)

"NEWPORT, Feb. 15 [1907]. --- Capt. James B. Church, a member of the famous family of fishermen, was found dead in bed at his home, in Tiverton, yesterday morning. He was one of the best-known fisherman in the country. Capt. Church was the son of Capt. Joseph Church and one of the seven brothers who later built' the first steam fishing vessel in this country, the Seven Brothers, which is still in business. Capt. Church was one of a family of eight. There were Capts. Daniel, Isaac, Joseph, James B., Nathaniel, George, and Fisher, all fishermen, and one sister, Mrs. Frank Cottrell. The latter, with Capts. Joseph, Nathaniel, and George, is still living. One of the brothers was for several years President and Manager of the American Fisheries Company, which had its headquarters in New York." (Source: Anon. "Capt. James B. Church." New York Times, February 16, 1907.)

"... 1537. James Boomer Church, Capt. ... , b 15 Feb., 1843 at Tiverton, R. I. ; d 15 Feb., 1907 ; m 21 Mar., 1870, Lucy Manchester of Tiverton, ... He was a fisherman from boyhood like all his brothers and after various experiences he contracted, in 1869, for a steamer, the Seven Brothers, of guaranteed speed and capacity, the first fishing steamer built in America, which he commanded until 1875. The introduction of steam vessels enlarged the fishing business to extremely important dimensions, and has lessened the time of collection, and improved the quality of food fishes until the industry has become of enormous importance. Capt. Church was a member of Joseph Church & Co. until 1886 when he sold out to his brothers. Later he commanded various fishing steamers for others and for himself. He was enterprising and capable like all his brothers. ..." (Source: Church, John A. "Descendants of Richard Church of Plymouth, Mass." Rutland, Vermont, 1913, p. 285.)

"Seven Brothers was built for the seven Church brothers of Sakonnet, who owned a fish-processing plant making fertilizer. The vessel's function was to tow the net-carrying, open seine boats to and from the fishing grounds, and then, after assisting in encircling, pursing up, and loading a school of ever-plentiful menhaden, to bring them to the fish plant. Seven Brothers was the first of her type. Her layout, with machinery aft, pilothouse forward, and fish-hold between, became standard for these so-called 'pogy boats' for years afterwards, even though the boats grew considerably larger. JBH's shop built the engine, a simple, single-cylinder unit with 11-inch bore and 12-inch stroke, as well as the hull. Both engine and hull were designed by NGH." (Source: Bray, Maynard and Carlton Pinheiro. Herreshoff of Bristol. Brooklin, Maine, 1989, p. 9.)

"N/A"

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #3p Seven Brothers even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Seven Brothers (HMCo-made index card)
• Seven Brothers (MIT Museum-made index card)
• Note: The vessel index cards comprise two sets of a total of some 3200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and information regarding drawings, later or former vessel names, and owners. They were compiled from HMCo's early days until 1920 and added to in later decades, apparently by Hart Nautical curator William A. Baker and his successors. While HMCo seems to have used only one set of index cards, all sorted by name and, where no name was available, by number, later users at MIT apparently divided them into two sets of cards, one sorted by vessel name, the other by vessel number and greatly expanded the number of cards. Original HMCo cards are usually lined and almost always punched with a hole at bottom center while later cards usually have no hole, are unlined, and often carry substantially less information. All cards are held by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass.

• Seven Brothers
• Note: The L. Francis Herreshoff index cards comprise a set of some 1200 cards about vessels built by HMCo, with dimensions and / or ownership information. Apparently compiled in the early 1930s, for later HMCo-built boats like the Fishers Island 23s or the Northeast Harbor 30s are not included. Added to in later decades, apparently by L. F. Herreshoff as well as his long-time secretary Muriel Vaughn and others. Also 46 cards of L. F. Herreshoff-designed vessels. The original set of index cards is held by the Herreshoff Marine Museum and permission to display is gratefully acknowledged.

Name: Seven Brothers
Type: 65' steam; first steam pogie boat in America built for the seven brothers named Church
Owner: [Church Brothers]
Year: 1879 [sic, i.e. 1870]
Row No.: 616

Source: Herreshoff, L. Francis. "Partial List of Herreshoff-Built Boats." In: Herreshoff, L. Francis. Capt. Nat Herreshoff. The Wizard of Bristol. New York, 1953, p. 325-343.

Year: 1870
E/P/S: P
No.: 003
Name: Seven Brothers
OA: 65'

Source: Vermilya, Peter and Maynard Bray. "Transcription of the HMCo. Construction Record." Unpublished database, ca. 2000.

Note: The transcription of the HMCo Construction Record by Peter Vermilya and Maynard Bray was performed independently (and earlier) than that by Claas van der Linde. A comparison of the two transcriptions can be particularly useful in those many cases where the handwriting in the Construction Record is difficult to decipher.

"Seven Brothers was still listed in the 1920 List of Merchant Vessels of the United States (including Yachts)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 28, 2009.)

"Built in 57 days (setup to finished; equivalent to 1614 lbs displacement/day)." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. January 16, 2024.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Gross Register Tons (46) from the 1919 List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. (Net Register Tons were reported as 28) and converting to lbs by dividing through 2000 (short tons). Note that this figure can only be a rough estimate because register tons as reported in Yacht Registers correlate only loosely with actual displacement figures." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. March 17, 2015.)

Note: Research notes contain information about a vessel that is often random and unedited but has been deemed useful for future research.