John Alexander Robb (June 1, 1792January 28, 1867), was a 19th-century prominent shipbuilder at Fell's Point, Baltimore. He had his own

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 ...

, which became noted for fast sailing Baltimore

Clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...

s. He was an apprenticeship under shipbuilder Henry Eckford. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass, as a young man, worked at the John A. Robb shipyard as a caulker for several years. Robb built the steamship ''Pulaski,'' that was lost off Cape Lookout in the 1838

Steamship Pulaski disaster The Steamship ''Pulaski'' disaster was the term given to the June 14, 1838, explosion on board the American steam packet ''Pulaski'', which caused her to sink 30 miles off the coast of North Carolina with the loss of two-thirds of her passenger ...

. Robb died in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland in 1867.

Early life

John A. Robb was born on June 1, 1792 Nova Scotia, Canada. He was the son of Captain John Alexander Robb (1869-1818) and Abigail Tupper (1771-1841). Robb moved to New York, with his parents, when he was twelve years old (1804). He married Cornelia Cheney in 1818 in New York City and had eight children. His son, Eliakim Tupper Robb (1831-1908) worked for

Montgomery C. Meigs Montgomery Cunningham Meigs (; May 3, 1816 – January 2, 1892) was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer, who served as Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during and after the American Civil War. Meigs strongly opposed sece ...

in 1856 as a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

, and in 1861 was in charge of the droughting departments of the iron shipbuilding company

Reaney, Son & Archbold Reaney, Son & Archbold was a 19th-century American iron shipbuilding company located on the Delaware River at Chester, Pennsylvania. The company was established in 1859 by Thomas Reaney (formerly of the firm Reaney, Neafie & Levy) but it was under ...

and the Vulcan Iron Works in 1892. Another son, John A. Robb (1828-1910), Jr. served one term in the Maryland House of Delegates in 1868 and then became a Balimore City Register for 14 consecutive terms.

Career

In New York, John A. Robb served as an apprenticeship under shipbuilder Henry Eckford where he learned the shipbuilding business and later became one of Eckford's most trusted shipbuilders. During the War of 1812 he enlisted in the United States Army. After the war Robb and his family moved to East Baltimore, Maryland in 1825 and became the foreman in the construction of the frigate ''Baltimore'', built for the government of Brazil. Robb established a

in Fell's Point, Baltimore on Thames Street, next to the

Patapsco River The Patapsco River mainstem is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal port ...

, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. It was called the John A. Robb & Co. or just "Robb's Yard." At this shipyard, he built most of his vessels including ships, steamships, brigs and pilot boats (see list below). The shipyard became noted for fast sailing Baltimore Clippers. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass, as a young man, worked at the shipyard as a caulker for several years.

Howard I. Chapelle Howard Irving Chapelle (February 1, 1901 – June 30, 1975) was an American naval architect, and curator of maritime history at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. In addition, he authored many books and articles on maritime history a ...

, in his book ''The Search For Speed Under Sail,'' identified boats connected with the slave trade and built at John A Robb's shipyard at Fells Point, while Douglass was working there. These boats include the schooners ''Viper'' (1836) and the ''Clara'' (1838). On July 4, 1828, Robb acquired payment provided by the Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland Steamboat Company for the best model of a steam boat. The Pulaski explodes

On July 19, 1837, John A. Robb & Co. built a steam dredge boat for the United States Government for deepening the harbor at Ocracoke, North Carolina. In August 1837, he built the barque''John A. Robb'' for New Orleans pilots. Captain Bennett was in command. In 1837 he built the steamship ''Pulaski'' for the Savanah & Charleston Steam Packet Company. She was lost off Cape Lookout on the coast of North Carolina in 1838, in what was called the

, when her starboard boiler exploded. In 1846, Robb built the New York pilot boat

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 ...

''David Mitchell,'' No. 5. She was launched on September 5, 1846, at the John A. Robb

. The boat was built for James Mitchell and other New York pilots. Robb built the

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

for the steamship ''Republic'' in 1849 for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company of New York. She was a packet ship that ran between Baltimore and Charleston. Her dimensions were 207 ft. length on deck; 30 ft. breadth of beam; 18.6 ft. depth of hold and 800-tons

burthen Burden or burthen may refer to: People * Burden (surname), people with the surname Burden Places * Burden, Kansas, United States * Burden, Luxembourg Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Burden'' (2018 film), an American drama film * ''T ...

. By 1850, his holdings included his Baltimore shipyard that was worth over $18,000. In 1853, Robb built the 567-ton clipper ship ''Frigate Bird'' for C. H. Cummings & Co., of Philadelphia. The ''Bird'' traveled to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

under the command of Captain Perry C. Cope. On August 24, 1853, the 1,200-ton sidewheel steamship ''Tennessee'' was launched from the John A. Robb shipyard for the Baltimore and Southern Packet Company's Line, which owns the ''Palmetto'' built by the Robb shipyard. She was later renamed the USS ''Mobile'' in 1864 and then SS ''Republic'' in 1865. She sank in a hurricane off the coast of Georgia in October 1865. In 1855, Robb built the ''William Jenkins,'' which was one of the first side-wheel steamships of the M. & M. Trans. Co. He retired for the business in 1865. He was a prominent member of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York and belonged to the

Burns Club Burns Clubs exist throughout the world to encourage and cherish the memory of Robert Burns, to foster a love of his writings and generally to encourage an interest in the Scots Language and Literature.Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland. The funeral took place at his residence and was conducted by Rev. Rodman of Philadelphia. He was buried at the Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.

Early life

Career

See also

References

Further reading