Berwind-White Company Coal Piers in Jersey City

Wilmore Steamship Company was a

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...

company that was founded in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1930. The Wilmore Steamship Company mainly operated coal ships, called Collier ship. The coal ships main routes were loading

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

Hampton Roads, Virginia Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic O ...

, and delivering the coal to

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

ports. The first two ships on the on the route were the SS ''Berwindglen'' and SS ''Berwindvale''. Both ships were built by

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, at the

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901 ...

. SS ''Berwindglen'' and SS ''Berwindvale'' were new 4,411-ton colliers ships, that had first United States engines that used

pulverized coal-fired boiler A pulverized coal-fired boiler is an industrial or utility boiler that generates thermal energy by burning pulverized coal (also known as powdered coal or coal dust since it is as fine as face powder in cosmetic makeup) that is blown into the firebo ...

s. The steamship SS ''Mercer'', a 9,500 ton merchant ship was the test ship of pulverized coal, modified to evaluated pulverized coal in 1929. The test were good and the SS ''Berwindglen'' and SS ''Berwindvale'' were built for this new fuel. Wilmore Steamship Company was named after Wilmore Heights, Pennsylvania. Wilmore Steamship Company was active in supporting the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

effort.

History

Charles Frederick Berwind Charles Frederick Berwind (April 1, 1846 – December 4, 1890) was a founder of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company, serving as its first president. Early life Berwind was born on April 1, 1846 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the eldest ...

Edward Julius Berwind Edward Julius Berwind (June 17, 1848 – August 18, 1936) was the founder of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. He was head of the company from 1886 until 1930. Early life Berwind was born on June 17, 1848 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He w ...

, and John E. Berwind (1854-1928), coal merchants, with

Allison White Allison White (December 21, 1816 – April 5, 1886) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Early life and education White was born in Pine Township, near Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. He attended the ...

, a surveyor and later Congressman, founded the Berwind, White & Company in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1876. Berwind, White & Company was a coal and shipping company the specialized in

bituminous Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

steam

from

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

port. Berwind, White & Company was incorporated and renamed

Berwind-White Coal Mining Company Berwind Corporation (previously also known as Berwind-White Coal Mining Company) is a large privately held American corporation historically involved in the coal industry. Today it is a diversified company involved in property leasing and owner ...

in 1886 in Philadelphia. Their first ship was purchased in 1897, named ''Edward J. Berwind'' (as he was president ), she was a 1,141-ton

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 ...

built in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

. Berwind-White Coal Mining Company Inc. opened a subsidiary company in 1900, the Wilmore Coal Company in

Windber, Pennsylvania Windber is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States, about south of Johnstown. It was at one time a place of industrial activities which included coal mining, lumbering, and the manufacture of fire brick. In 1897, the community ...

. Wilmore Coal Company operated a Berwind-White Coal Mining Company's land and coal purchasing and transportation company. They opened a field office in

that John R. Caldwell ran. In 1905 Berwind-White Coal Mining Company purchased Shoemaker Coal Mining Company in Wilmore Heights from Theophilus S. Shoemaker and J. L. Shoemaker. Shoemaker Coal Mining Company operated a coal mine, the Wilmore No. 1 bituminous coal mine located one mile southwest of Bens Creek on the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

. With the two new ships 1930 SS ''Berwindglen'' and SS ''Berwindvale'', the Berwind's incorporated Wilmore Steamship Company in 1930. After the war the SS ''Berwindvale'' was sold to the American Gulf Steamship Corporation in 1946. American Gulf Steamship Corporation renamed the ''Berwindvale'' to ''James Sheridan''. Wilmore Steamship Company purchased a replacement ship a 6,643-ton coal ship also named ''Berwindvale'' built in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. As

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

replaced coal in the 1950s, the Wilmore Steamship Company ships were sold. The company's vast coal reserves were leased out.

Berwind Corporation Berwind Corporation (previously also known as Berwind-White Coal Mining Company) is a large privately held American corporation historically involved in the coal industry. Today it is a diversified company involved in property leasing and owner ...

founded n 1962, is an investment management company that continues today. The Berwind brother's father was John Berwind (1813-1893), he came to New York city in 1837 from

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

World War II

Wilmore Steamship Company fleet of ships that were used to help the World War II effort. During World War II Wilmore Steamship Company operated Merchant navy ships for the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

. During World War II Wilmore Steamship Company was active with charter shipping with the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

and

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Co ...

. Wilmore Steamship Company operated

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

s for the merchant navy. The ship was run by its Wilmore Steamship Company crew and the

US 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 of ...

supplied

United States Navy Armed Guard United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War II and headquartered in New Orleans.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 2 ...

s to man the deck guns and radio.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 25846 Highlandtown Station, Baltimore, M

/ref>

Ships

Ships owned: *Schooner Edward J. Berwind, built in 1894, in 1908, abandoned by the crew during a hurricane and later destroyed to prevent it from becoming a navigation hazard. *Berwindglen built in 1929, 4,411 tons, 350 feet long, in 1950 became the Mary J. Sheridan, was scrapped 1954 *Berwindvale 1929 built in 1929, 4,411 tons, 350 feet long, in 1946 became the James Sheridan, was scrapped 1952 *Berwindvale 1945 was Redstone Seam, acquired in 1946. Sold in 1951 to Staples Coal Company of Boston, sold and renamed point Vincente in 1963, was scrapped in 1965 Castellon, Spain. file:Liberty ship at sea.jpg,

of World War II **World War II: **Liberty Ships: *SS David B. Johnson, David B. Johnson *David Lubin *Redstone Seam *SS Dominator, Melville Jacoby *Lucius Fairchild *

Henry W. Grady Henry Woodfin Grady (May 24, 1850 – December 23, 1889) was an American journalist and orator who helped reintegrate the states of the Confederacy into the Union after the American Civil War. Grady encouraged the industrialization of the Sout ...

* Edward P. Alexander

References

External links

Official Berwind Website
at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

{{Liberty ships Defunct shipping companies of the United States American companies established in 1930

Wilmore Steamship Company Wilmore Steamship Company was a steamship shipping company that was founded in New York City in 1930. The Wilmore Steamship Company mainly operated coal ships, called Collier ship. The coal ships main routes were loading coal at Hampton Roads, ...

History

World War II

Ships

See also

References

External links