Ambrose A. Martin (October 13, 1851January 1, 1934), was a 19th-century

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

and boat shipbuilder. He built the Ambrose A. Martin

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

in 1882 at Jeffries Point, East Boston, where he built many notable Boston yachts and schooners. Martin died in Boston in 1934.

Early life

Ambrose A. Martin was born on October 13, 1851

. He was the son of Elbridge Gerry Martin (1815-1873), born in

Essex, Massachusetts Essex is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, 26 miles (42 km) north of Boston and 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Newburyport. It is known for its former role as a center of shipbuilding. The population was 3,675 at the 2020 ce ...

, and Rebecca Homan Dixey (1816-1852). Ambrose married Lucy Anna Beadle on March 12, 1876. His father and son were both pilots. His grandfather, Captain Ambrose B. Martin (1773-1851) was Master of the two-masted

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends ...

schooner ''Raven''. A set of ceramic dinner plates were made, in 1796, bearing a portrait of the vessel.

Career

Ambrose A. Martin started a shipbuilding business in Boston, Massachusetts in 1882. He specialized in building yachts and schooners, carpentry and caulking, marine railway, repairing and painting. His shipyard was at Jeffries Point at the foot of Everett Street, East Boston. On January 9, 1887, Martin was elected on the executive committee of the

Hull Yacht Club The Hull Yacht Club was founded in Hull, Massachusetts in 1880. It merged with the Massachusetts Yacht Club in 1899, and with the Boston Yacht Club in 1903. Their large clubhouse Clubhouse may refer to: Locations * The meetinghouse of: ** A ...

at Parker House, in Hull, Massachusetts. He became director and secretary of the Jeffries Yacht Club at the Maverick House, East Boston, in February 1888. Martin was a judge at many of the Boston held

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

s. On August 11, 1889, at the annual Jeffries Yacht Club Regatta, which was a race of nine miles out to Apple Island. Martin was the commodore on the Edward Burgess designed fisherman schooner ''Nellie Dixon'' and was at her launch on March 2, 1889, at East Boston.

Pilot boats

Martin built several pilot boats. The ''Eben D. Jordan'' was a

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

built in 1883 by Ambrose A. Martin in East Boston for Captain Thomas Cooper. Her namesake was

Eben Dyer Jordan Eben Dyer Jordan Sr. (October 13, 1822 − November 15, 1895) was an American business executive, best remembered as the co-founder of the department store chain Jordan, Marsh & Co. with Benjamin L. Marsh in 1841. Early life Jordan was born in ...

, the founder of the

Jordan Marsh Jordan Marsh (officially Jordan Marsh & Company) was an American department store chain that was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. It was founded by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh in 1841. The o ...

department stores. In 1892, she was sold to the New York

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

pilots. The ''Columbia'' was a pilot boat that was launched from the Ambrose A. Martin's East Boston shipyard in 1894. She was built for pilot service for Captain Thomas Cooper, E. G. Martin, John C. Fawcett and Joseph Fawcett, to replace the pilot-boat ''Friend, No. 7''. They wanted a more up-to-date vessel to challenge the ''Hesper'', ''Varuna'', and other faster boats of the Boston fleet. She was the first pilot boat to be built with a unique spoon bow and was extremely fast. In 1898, she was thrown ashore in the great

Portland Gale The Portland Gale was a storm that struck the coast of New England on November 26 and 27, 1898. The storm formed when two low pressure areas merged off the coast of Virginia and travelled up the coast; at its peak, it produced a storm surge of abo ...

, and remained on the Sand Hills beach in

Scituate, Massachusetts Scituate () is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. History The Wampanoag and their neighbors have inhabited ...

for over thirty years as a marine curiosity. The ''Minerva'' was a Boston pilot boat built in 1896 by Ambrose A. Martin of East Boston. She was owned by Franklin B. Wellock who was a Boston pilot for more than 55 years. The pilot-boat was named for his daughter, Minerva Hill. She was sold to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

parties in 1901 to be used as a fishing vessel. The ''Louise'' was built as a

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

-rigged boat in 1900 by Ambrose A. Martin at Jefferies Point, East Boston. Martin was also one of the owners. She was a

, No. 2, from 1900-1917 and a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919. She was a replacement for the ill-fated ''Columbia''. After the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the ''Louise'' returned to pilot service until 1924 when she was purchased as a yacht.

List of boats

Moses Adams built the following boats:

Death

Ambrose A. Martin died, at age 82, on January 1, 1934, in Boston, Massachusetts. Funeral service were from the Bennison Funeral Home at the Winthrop Street Center.

Gallery

Ambrose A. Martin built pilot boats: File:Eben D. Jordan.jpg, Pilot boat ''Eben D. Jordan''. File:Minerva pilot boat.jpg, Pilot boat ''Minerva''. File:Columbia (pilot boat).jpg, Pilot boat ''Columbia''. File:Louise pilot boat.jpg, Pilot boat ''Louise''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Ambrose A. 1851 births 1934 deaths American shipbuilders People from Boston