Artifacts of Mariner Life

I have already written several blog posts on the life of Captain David Alba Scribner, and in this one I decided to include just a few things that remain in the family from his seafaring life.  Because his grandchildren were able to clear his home after the death of his last daughter [see my last post, A Brooklyn Brownstone], many things have stayed in the family, mostly now in the possession of David’s great grandchildren or even great great grandchildren.  There are several artifacts related to Captain Scribner’s life at sea that are interesting, so I thought I would share a few.

Some of the Scribner items were things that were quite necessary to have aboard ship.  Captain Scribner kept his ship’s sextant, telescope and barometer that were critical tools for any mariner captain.

The small medicine box accompanied Captain Scribner on all his voyages.  I would have expected that there might have also been a medical book among his possessions.  The label inside the top cover of the medicine box notes it as a “Homeopathic Pharmacy” assembled by a business in San Francisco. I would expect the pharmacy was also where the vials could be refilled as needed.  Just for fun, I looked up the first item that was listed, Aconitum, and discovered that it is highly poisonous; however it was also once used to reduce fever and to slow the heart rate for sedation.

 

There were at least three sea chests that were kept in the Scribner family.  Often the captain’s cabin would have the luxury of some built-in cabinets and drawers enabling many items to be safely stored during rough seas while the chests and trunks were often stored below in the hold during the voyage.  I expect that the small chest shown with the brass inlay held clothing and personal items and the other trunk shown probably contained household items for the voyage, as it is quite large. 

I remember the larger trunk many years ago when it was all scuffed up and had pink or green vinyl contact paper adhered to it.  One of the rope handles was missing.  My mother lovingly refinished the trunk and had another rope ring made to replace the missing one.  She also refinished the small trunk and had some of the missing brass inlay replaced on it.  We now know that refinishing the trunks considerably reduced their antique value; however it did result in furniture pieces that could be used and enjoyed for many more years.

There were several paintings of ships in the Scribner home at 230 Garfield Place in Brooklyn that were sailed by Captain Scribner during his mariner career including the paintings below of the St Francis, St David, and Henry B Hyde.  Each of the three grandchildren kept one of these paintings in their family.

 

 

And there were a few ships’ logs, including a personal log written by Virginia Scribner, and a photo album that remained with Captain Scribner and his family.  Unfortunately, many of the photos in the album were not labeled and only a few could be identified from other known family photos.  The logbooks were kept by the families of the Scribner grandchildren, though I know that several are now in the G W Blunt White Library manuscript collection at The Museum of America and the Sea located in Mystic, Connecticut.

This interesting wooden model of a ship was among Captain Scribner’s prized possessions.  Unfortunately, it is not labeled or signed.  Wood carving and making ship models was a favorite pastime and hobby for seamen during slack times while at sea. 

Its possible Capt Scribner’s ship model could have been made by a friend or fellow crewman.  However, I believe that it could also have been made for him by someone at Sailors Snug Harbor.  Around 1900, when David Scribner retired from the sea, he became a Trustee of Sailors Snug Harbor, where he also served an Acting Governor of the Harbor in the Governor’s absence. 

Sailors Snug Harbor is located on Staten Island, New York.  The facility opened in 1833 as the first maritime home and hospital for retired seamen in America with generous funds provided in the will of Robert Richard Randall.  The seamen were provided a home, food and healthcare in the company of other retired seafarers.  In 1900, when Capt Scribner was involved, there were over 1,000 former seamen living at the home.  The large property included farms, a dairy, a bakery, workshops, a chapel, sanatorium, hospital, cemetery, dormitories and recreational areas and gardens.

Around the mid-1900’s the endowment funds began to run out and programs like Social Security and Medicare reduced the demand for care.  The site was purchased by the City of New York and is now known as the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden.

The death certificate for David A Scribner actually notes that his place of death was at Sailors Snug Harbor on the afternoon of February 7, 1911.  He died from a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke.

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Key Individuals:

       David Alba Scribner  (1840 – 1911)

       Virginia Augusta Hale Scribner  (1848 – 1940)

Notes:

I have found it mentioned in two different books that macramé was one of Capt Scribner's pastime hobbies while at sea.  It would be nice to see some of the macramé items that were created by him, but I am not aware of any that might still exist. 

"... captains especially had many lonely hours.  To while them away many often developed hobbies ... Captain David A. Scribner's specialty was macramé lace." 

Source:  Songs of American Sailormen, by Joanna C Colcord; Norton & Co.; New York; 1938 – and also cited in The Maritime History of Maine Three Centuries of Shipbuilding & Seafaring; by William Hutchinson Rowe; W W Norton & Company, Inc; New York; 1948; page 226.

Also in the sea journal of his wife, Virginia [see the blog post dated July 16, 2021, Virginia’s Sea Journal], she sometimes mentioned that David would make toys for the children or small items for their living space.  In one entry she wrote “Dave made a pretty bracket to put in the corner and another one for our soap dish.”

- Jane Scribner McCrary

A Brooklyn Brownstone

In the 1890’s, my great grandparents, Captain David Alba Scribner and his wife Virginia Augusta Hale Scribner, purchased a home in Brooklyn, New York.  Their 4-floor brownstone home was located at 230 Garfield Place in the Park Slope neighborhood near Prospect Park in Brooklyn. 

The Brooklyn brownstone was the Scribner family home from the mid-1890’s until 1960.  After the 1911 death of Captain Scribner, his wife, Virginia, and two daughters remained in the home until their deaths.  David & Virginia’s son, Harry, had moved out of the brownstone in 1912 when he married.  Neither of their daughters ever married, however, and they remained in the home until their deaths.  Ella was a school teacher and she died in 1935 at 50 years of age.  Mrs Scribner died next in 1940 when she was 91 years old.  And the last daughter, Mary Islethera Scribner, remained in the brownstone until her death in 1959 at 76 years of age. 

 

 My father remembers the Brooklyn brownstone home of his grandparents – saying that “it was a fun house to visit because it had a dumbwaiter going from the kitchen up to the bedrooms that we used to ride, and then jump up on my grandmother’s feather down mattress bed that was huge.” That bed was so tall that there were steps on the side for use to get up onto the bed.  I now have the antique quilt that was on that bed, and it covers an entire king-sized bed and drapes nicely on all sides.

The Scribner family quilt used in the home at 230 Garfield Place

By the time that Mary died, she had been living on the lower floors of the brownstone – having not needed to use of the top floor for many years.  The home was like a time capsule with all of the furnishings and personal belongings dating back many decades to the married life of Capt. David A Scribner and his wife, Virginia. 

 

Front Hall

 Parlor

              

 Dining Room

Bedrooms

 

Kitchen

 

To settle Mary’s estate after her death, my father and his two sisters met at the Brooklyn brownstone and spent days sifting through multiple generations of their family history.  With several unused rooms, Virginia, Ella and Mary always had plenty of space in their home and consequently never got rid of much.  However, the home was very much outdated and in disrepair, also it was directed in Mary’s will for it to be sold by her estate.

The fact that my Dad and his sisters spent time going through the family possessions in the former home of their grandparents and spinster aunts is the primary reason that we have so many Scribner family papers and photos today.  In addition to furnishings, dinnerware and personal items, there were paintings of ships, items from Captain Scribner’s years of traveling the world, portraits of Capt Scribner’s father & stepmother, and even a painted portrait of Mrs. Scribner’s grandfather.  The three Scribner siblings sorted through family items including photos, letters, ships’ logs, and books – and each sibling took some of what was set aside to keep.

Today, 230 Garfield Place is on the tax records belonging to a single owner but declared as a 3-family home, thus it provides rental income for the owner.  The total appraised tax value of the brownstone is recorded at $4.5 million today.  Current tax rolls show that the home has 3 floors plus a full basement and totals over 4,000 sq. ft. 

 

The 1960 sales Offering Sheet when the home was listed for sale shows that it contained 12 ½ rooms with a bathroom only on the 2^nd floor, plus an additional toilet in the basement where the kitchen, dining room and laundry were located.  Parlor rooms were on the 1^st floor, and bedrooms on the top two floors. 

When the home was sold by Mary Scribner’s estate in 1960, it was in extreme disrepair.  It was appraised for the estate in 1960 at $18,500, but was sold for only $12,000 as the condition was so poor. I was told that the roof was leaking, and it was believed that no updates had ever been done on the home.

One interesting item is that the tax rolls show that the brownstone was built in 1901.  However, the 1900 Census shows the family already living at that address.  According to that census, the family owned the home with no mortgage. 

Actually, the Scribner’s appear to have purchased 230 Garfield Place in 1894.  I have an envelope & note from the USPO addressed to Mrs V A Scribner at 230 Garfield Place that is dated May 1894.  Inside was a receipt of some sort that records a legal address noted as “Old Nomenclature” (possibly where the Scribner’s lived prior to moving to 230 Garflield Place) and then a notation of a legal address noted as “New [Nomenclature]”.  That new legal address is the same as today’s legal address for 230 Garfield Place, Block 1074, Lot 14, in the Borough of Brooklyn.  The note also seems to place an 1894 assessed value on the home of $9,300, also the information on the bottom half of the note might be a value comparison to other similar homes on the block or nearby.

I believe that David and Virginia Scribner were very likely the first owners of 230 Garfield Place.

*  *  *  *  *

 

Key Individuals:         

     Capt David Alba Scribner  (1840 – 1911)

     Virginia Augusta Hale Scribner  (1848 – 1940)

               Henry (Harry) Dickinson Scribner  (1880 – 1943)

               Mary Islethera Scribner  (1882 – 1959)

               Ella Virginia Scribner  (1885 – 1935)

 

Notes:

Several years ago when my daughter was working in New York City, during one of my visits, we went to find 230 Garfield Place.  Of course, we only got to see the outside, but it looks lovely today – on a tree lined street and near parks and shopping.  I took a photo of my daughter standing on the front steps.  I wish we could have just knocked on the door and been invited in to meet my great grandparents!

- Jane Scribner McCrary