Bequest from the Estate of Elizabeth Beattie, 2023.17.26, Connecticut Museum of Culture and His…

Images(2)

Crew of Schooner AMERICAN EAGLE

Date1917

MediumPhotography; nitrate negatives

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width): 3 × 5 1/4in. (7.6 × 13.3cm)

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineBequest from the Estate of Elizabeth Beattie

DescriptionBlack and white photographic negative group portrait of the crew of John Beattie Granite's schooner, the AMERICAN EAGLE, in Spring of 1917. The group pose on the deck of the wooden schooner. The six men have been identified as [Left-Right] Wilson Lee, Henry Hendricksen, "Paddy" Begley (or Bagley), stonesetter Tom Hannigan, stonesetter "Gus" Tonelli, and Patrick O’Keefe are seated; one man, "Grassy" Patrick Ducey stands behind the seated group. The men are all dressed in work clothes. The schooner is loaded with granite for the entrance wall of the Smith Estate in Stamford, Connecticut. The photograph was taken by Nan Cook, a former deepwater sailor.

Object number2023.17.26

CopyrightPublic Domain

InscribedTyped on envelope: Schr. / AMERICAN EAGLE. Spring of 1917 / With granite for entrance wall of Smith estate, Stamford, Conn. / 1) Wilson Lee / 2) Henry Hendricksen / 3) ‘Paddy’ Begley, (or Bagley) / 4) Tom Hannigan, (Stonesetter) / 5) “Gus” Tonelli, (Stonesetter) / 6) Patrick O’Keefe / Standing is ‘Grassy’, Patrick Ducey by nan Cook, a former deep water sailor.NotesSubject Note: John Beattie's granite quarry, situated in Guilford on the Long Island Sound, was well-positioned to distribute granite via a fleet of schooners to locations in Connecticut and New York. Notably, granite from Beattie's quarry was used in the pedestal at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

The quarry operated from 1869, when Scottish immigrant Beattie purchased 400 acres of land on Leetes Island, until about 1918, when Beattie's sons closed up shop 20 years after his death. At its height, the quarry employed 700 people, many of them immigrants from Scotland, Ireland, England, Finland, Sweden, and Italy.

Subject Terms