Loading and unloading goods from land to the ship was a slow operation -- not only because it was done by humans, but also because of the landing site. Due to the increase of steamboat traffic, many towns decided to fix their landing sites. Doing so was an improvement for the merchants and shippers, and it allowed the town to tax steamboats, with a “wharfage fee.” The wharfs were long and wide to accommodate boats and to conform to any stage of the river.

Source: Michael Gillespie, Come Hell Or High Water (Heritage Press, 2001), 33-34.

“Wharf boats were old steamboat hulls with the machinery removed.” Parts of the ship were used just the same as other steamboats were used. They held and kept not only goods but passengers as well. Boarding wharf boats were also an ideal way of waiting for steamboats. One passenger states that wharf boats were not a good place to wait because many of the passengers on board the wharf boat were individuals waiting to find jobs.

Source: Michael Gillespie, Come Hell Or High Water (Heritage Press, 2001), 33-34.

Polly mentions an “Irenea [who] was quite unwell all the time she was up." I looked up “Irene Benedict” in the 1860 census and discovered someone in Belfore township who was born in 1782 in Connecticut. A Polly Benedict, born in Massachusetts in 1820, was listed with her. To see if these were the correct individuals, I continued my search and discovered that George Benedict’s parents were in fact born in Connecticut. Therefore, this Irene Benedict must be related to Capt. George Benedict.

Sources: U.S. Department of the Interior, Census Office, Eighth Census, 1860, Belfore Township, Washington County, Ohio, s.v. “Irene Benedict,” Heritage Quest, HeritageQuestOnline.com; U.S. Department of the Interior, Census Office, Eighth Census, 1860, Marietta Township, Washington County, Ohio, s.v. “George Benedict,” Heritage Quest, HeritageQuestOnline.com.

The Aliquippa was a steamboat owned by the estate of John Freeman. She was a regular on the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati packet beginning on February 27, 1845, and ran the Pittsburgh-St. Louis route in 1844. She was taken out of service in 1847. With this being said, the letter would have been written from 1844 to 1847. Aliquippa was a city in Pennsylvania along the Ohio River. It is likely that this steamboat was named after that town.

The Indian cancer root used on Cousin Lucy is actually called Bloodroot. It is used for treating and reducing the size of warts and moles. Today, the root is still used medically, and some skin cancers can be treated with the product. Most patients see results in a week, but at times it may take 30 days. Dr. Jonathon Hartwell researched the root and its medical benefits about natural treatments for cancers in the early 1900s.