HMCo #99p Xantho

"Xantho, steam yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, RI, by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., 1884.
7.53 tons; 41.5 ft. x 9.2 ft. x 4.5 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
Plain head, round stern.
Surveyed and measured, February 6, 1884." (Source: U.S. Customs Department, Bristol, R.I. Custom House Record Book, 1870s to 1904 (Collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum), s.v. Xantho.)

"The steam-launch Xantho, built by the Herreshoffs for Mr. J. B. Watkins, of Lake Charles, La., is 45 ft. overall, 41 ft. on water-line, 9 ft. beam, 4 ft. 3in. deep, and 2 ft. 9 in. draught. She has a condensing engine with cylinders 4 1/2 in. and 7 in. in diameter, by 7 in. stroke of piston." (Source: Anon. "Yachting." The Spirit of The Times, July 5, 1884, p. 705.)

"Xanthe [sic] is the name given to the steam launch recently completed for Mr. J. B. Watkins, of Lake Charles, La., by the Herreshoff Company, Bristol, R. I. The Xanthe is 45 feet over all, 41 feet on water line, 9 feet beam, 4 feet 3 inches deep and 2 feet 9 inches draught of water. She has compound condensing engines, with cylinders 4 1/4 inches and 7 inches in diameter by 7 inches stroke of piston, and steam is furnished by a safety coil boiler. Lake Charles is 50 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, 30 miles east of the Sabine River and 200 miles north of New Orleans." (Source: Anon. "Yachting Notes." New York Herald, March 26, 1884, p. 4.)

"[License issued to vessel under 20 tons. Pos. 283:]
Xantho, steam yacht, of Bristol.
Built at Bristol, 1884.
7.53 tons; 41.5 ft. x 9.2 ft. x 4.5 ft. [Register length x breadth x depth.]
No specifications shown.
Lic[ensed] ([as] yacht) Mar. 6, 1885. Owner: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol. Master: [blank].
Surrendered [license] Apr. 1, 1885 at Calcusien Pass, La. ([Record at:] C[ustom] H[ouse, Providence])." (Source: Survey of Federal Archives, Work Projects Administration. Ships Documents of Rhode Island. Bristol. Ship Registers and Enrollments of the Port of Bristol - Warren Rhode Island, 1941, s.v. Xantho.)

"... Of late years [the Herreshoffs] have turned their attention to steam and have given to the engineering world the Herreshoff engine and coil boiler. The list of steam yachts is a long one, including some of the fastest afloat, Leila [#40p], Aida [#92p ex-Permelia], Permelia [sic, double-counted, #92p], Ossabaw [#101p], (No. 100) [#100p Permelia], Gleam [#65p], Marina [#105p], Orienta [#89p], Nereid [#83p], Magnolia [#104p], Camilla [#72p], Dolphin [#54p], Xantho [#99p], Juliet [#78p], Sinbad [#49p]. ..." (Source: Anon. (W. P. Stephens). "The Herreshoff Works at Bristol." Forest and Stream, April 16, 1885, p. 236, 237.)

"[Item Description:] Casting Book # 4, steamers #40p, #54p, #57p, #63p, #67p, #70p, #79p, #89p, #92p, #99p, #100p, #101p, #102p, #103p, #104p, #105p, #106p, #107p, #108p, #109p, #110p, #111p, #112p, #113p, #114p, #115p, #116p, #117p, #118p, #119p, #120p, #121p, #122p, #123p, #124p, #125p, #126p, #127p, #128p, #129p, #130p, #131p, #132p, #133p, #134p, #135p, #136p, #137p, #138p, #139p, #140p, #141p, #142p, #143p, #144p, #145p, #146p, #147p [castings by hull number; front page shows summary size and engine and boiler data for steamers 99 thru 146 as well as repair data for steamers #40p, #54p, #57p, #63p, #67p, #70p, #79p, #89p, #92p, #118p, and #128p]. Undated, vessels mentioned were built between 1878 and 1887. Dates mentioned for repairs range from 1885 to 1887. Note considerable informational overlap with Casting Book # 1, which as in this book also contains data for #99p through #116p, although it appears (!) that Book # 4 lists more patterns per boat than Book # 1. Likewise, considerable overlap with Casting Books # 2 and # 3 which also contain data for boats that are also listed in book # 4. It may well be that information in Book # 4 was copied from books # 1, # 2 and 3." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-07. Castings Book 4. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Vessel Castings Book 4. No date (1878 to 1887).)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔ ㉕ ㉖ ㉗ ㉘ ㉙ ㉚ ㉛ ㉜ ㉝ ㉞ ㉟ ㊱ ㊲ ㊳ ㊴ ㊵ ㊶ ㊷ ㊸ ㊹ ㊺ ㊻ ㊼ ㊽ ㊾ ㊿
①

"N/A"

"[Item Description:] Work order notebook [Titled Nathl G. Herreshoff, Esq., Bristol R.I.; 1882-1887, mostly signed by N.G.H., later ones by C.H.K.; material and item orders relating to #400s CONSUELO, #401s ROMP and steamers #89p, #99p, #100p, #101p, #102p, #104p, #105p, #106p, #110p, #111p, #113p, #118p, #119p, #120p, #122p, #123p, #140p, #146p; many orders from the marine store of A. B. Babbitt at Tiverton]." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Work Order Notebook. MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-04. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Sketch and Order Book 1882-1887 NGH CHK. 1882 to 1887.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔ ㉕ ㉖ ㉗ ㉘ ㉙ ㉚ ㉛ ㉜ ㉝ ㉞

"[Item Description:] Casting Book # 1, steamers #99p, #100p, #101p, #102p, #103p, #104p, #105p, #106p, #107p, #108p, #109p, #110p, #111p, #112p, #113p, #114p, #115p, #116p [castings by hull number]. Undated, vessels mentioned were built between 1883 and 1884. Note considerable informational overlap with Casting Book # 4, which also contains data for all of the boats mentioned in this book, although it appears (!) that Book # 4 lists more patterns per boat than Book # 1. Likewise, considerable overlap with sometimes identical information with Casting Book # 2." (Source: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collections, Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection Item HH.6.120-09. Castings Book 1. Box HAFH.6.4B, Folder Casting Record Books Vessel Castings Book 1. No date (1883 to 1884).)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓

"[Item Transcription:] Handwritten (in ink and pencil) experiments and trials booklet titled 'Herreshoff Mfg. Co. Experiments 1883 to 1884'. Relevant contents:
§19: #99p XANTHO Trial Run (1884-03-13)." (Source: Herreshoff, N.G. (creator). Trials Booklet. Halsey C. Herreshoff Collection at the Herreshoff Marine Museum Item MRDE07_03950. Folder [no #]. 1883-03 to 1884-04.)
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱ ⑲ ⑳ ㉑ ㉒ ㉓ ㉔

Note: This list of archival documents contains in an unedited form any and all which mention #99p Xantho even if just in a cursory way. Permission to digitize, transcribe and display is gratefully acknowledged.

• Xantho (HMCo-made index card)
• Xantho (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.

Name: Xantho
Type: Steam
Length: 45'
Owner: Walton, J. B. [sic, i.e. J. B. Watkins?]

Source: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. "A Partial List of Herreshoff Clients." In: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Herreshoff Yachts. Bristol, Rhode Island, ca. 1931.

• Xantho
• 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: Xantho
Type: 45' steamer
Owner: J. B. Watkins
Year: 1884
Row No.: 767

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: 1884
E/P/S: P
No.: 099
Name: Xantbo
OA: 45'

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.

"... Str. #99 - 45Ft. long. 4 1/4+7x7 Eng[ine]. G Round Boiler. ... " (Source: Anon. [Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. (N. G. Herreshoff?)] No Title. [Handwritten Notes on Outer Cover of Notebook.] No date [ca. late 1880s.] Notebook in the Haffenreffer-Herreshoff Collection, The Francis Russel Hart Nautical Collections, M.I.T. Museum, Cambridge, Mass., obj. no. HH.6.120.)

"Jabez Bunting Watkins [Xantho's owner] may well have been one of the most influential people in development of Southwest Louisiana and in the establishment of a port in Lake Charles, ...
Lake Charles was little more than a village dependent on sawmills for its livelihood when Watkins came to Southwest Louisiana in 1883. Calcasieu Parish was nothing more than uninhibited prairie, marsh and woodland. He left a legacy of commercial development, rice production and farming. Lake Charles was poised for growth.
Watkins was an entrepreneur, a promoter and a developer with offices in London, New York, Texas, Illinois, Nebraska, the Dakota Territory and Lawrence, Kansas. He was a lawyer who engaged in diverse business ventures, according to a paper written by Elmer E. Shutts and presented to the Southwest Louisiana Historical Society.
He recognized the potential inherent in Louisiana’s vast natural resources and established an office in Lake Charles.
Shortly after arriving in Lake Charles, Watkins formed the North American Land and Timber Company and sold $2.5 million in stock to English investors. He used these funds to acquire vast tracts of prairie lands, and eventually acquired more than one million acres of property in the name of NAL&TC.
His goal in Southwest Louisiana was to create an environment for colonists from northern Untied States, from France and from Holland to settle and farm.
Watkins had the foresight to convince highly educated successful businessmen and educators to share his vision for Southwest Louisiana. He looked to England, Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa and other universities for men who were prominent in their professions.
...
It was reported in the Lake Charles Weekly American-Press that he built drainage ditches, canals and levees to reclaim the land. He brought in heavy equipment, such as giant steam shovels, on 15 dredge boats to turn 10,000 acres of marshland into rice patties.
...
He purchased the New York American in 1887 and published editions in New York and Lake Charles, extolling the virtues of the untamed land. By 1887 the Watkins Syndicate (as he was being called) was ready to sell tracts of land.
...
Watkins began a national advertising campaign to bring people to Calcasieu Parish. It is said that he spent $200,000 in advertising Calcasieu Parish, making Lake Charles the best advertised city in the United States.
It was reported that in 1885 the 'land magnate' hosted 30 newspaper owners and special writers from major cities in the east and central United States to promote his reclamation project to bring investment capital to the area. According to an article that appeared in the Lake Charles American Press in 1921, 40,000 copies of Watkins’ paper were distributed monthly. He relocated his paper to Lake Charles in 1888 and renamed it the Lake Charles American." (Source: Anon. "Jabez Bunting Watkins." http://library.mcneese.edu/depts/archive/FTBooks/haupt%20port.htm, retrieved Aprril 9, 2010.)

"The HMCo Construction Record states an engine size of 3 1/2" & 6" x 7" while the HMCo-made vessel index card states no engine size and a late 1880s HMCo-made notebook states an engine size of 4 1/4" & 7" x 7". Given that the entries for early vessels in the Construction Record and vessel index cards appear to have been made many years after construction, the 4 1/4" & 7" x 7" size of the notebook was assumed to be correct for the purposes of the Herreshoff Catalogue Raisonné. This size is also provided by the 1885 Olsen's American Yacht List and the 1890-91 Manning's American Yacht List." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. May 19, 2015.)

"Date this vessel was finished was estimated as February 6, 1884, the date this boat was measured by the U.S. Custom House inspector as per the U.S. Custom House Record Book in the collection of the Herreshoff Marine Museum." (Source: van der Linde, Claas. February 9, 2020.)

"In the absence of better available data displacement was estimated by using the figure for Old Measurement Tons (12) from the 1885 Olsen's American Yacht List (New Measurement Tons were reported as 7.53) 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.