Built at Portsmouth, Ohio, the "Telephone" began operations five weeks after the world's first commercial telephone exchange at New Haven, Connecticut. The owners named their new boat after a subject fresh on the public's mind. Sank on January 2, 1886 from ice damage. Photo Courtesy of Ernie H. Wright


Built at Ironton, Ohio in 1896 for the Pittsburgh-Charleston trade, the "Kanawha" was to spend the most of the next twenty years doing Ohio-Kanawha Rivers trade. Steamer Kanawha waits to land at Pt. Pleasant wharfboat while the "Greenwood" makes ready to leave. Photo Courtesy of Ernie H. Wright


Newspaper Obit On The Death Of Harry Hamilton Wright. Picture & Newspaper Clipping-Property Of Charles Wright


The "Steamer Kanawha" 3


The "Steamer Kanawha" 2

E. H. Wright states: This is a picture that I traced and colored from a photo of one of the boats that my dad was pilot/captain of. The Semet Solvay is shown on the Kanawha River in the late 1940's. Photo Courtesy of Ernie H. Wright

Built in 1871as a Pittsburgh-Morgantown packet on the Monongahela River, The "West Virginia" entered the Gallipolis-Charleston trade in 1876. Captain J. B. Dudding sold her to the upper Ohio River in 1878 and bought the "Telephone" to take her place. Captain James Benton Dudding & Sons (owners), John B and George S. Dudding, William Penn Wright (with Bible), George Summers Dudding (dark vest, white shirt), Captain Dudding (hand on rail).....Photo Courtesy of Ernie H. Wright

All of the information on this page was
compiled by Ernie Wright, while he was
doing genealogy research. It has been
put on this page with his permission in
hopes that it will help him to find some
missing links.

This set is not linkware or is it in
the public domain.  Set is Fiddlinsue©.
Backgrounds, html, graphics, and
buttons were created by me. 
~6-2005~