Lee Line Steamers | Riverboat History

Mid South Memories Memphis Commercial Appeal Sept. 14, 1912

“A pure water plant, the only one of its kind in the South, is being installed at the Bohlen-Huse Ice Co. on Court, according to the president B.G. Lee.  When in operation next month it will furnish lithia water which will be delivered in five-gallon jugs to officies and residences.”  My great uncle Bayliss ran the Bohlen-Huse Ice Co also known as the Bohlen-Huse Machine and Lake Ice Co.  most of his working life.

Wikipedia has this to say about lithia water:

History

Between the 1880’s and World War I, the consumption for bottled lithia mineral water reached gigantic proportions.^[2] The most premium of all the mineral water brands were lithia waters because of their highly acclaimed health benefits. One of the first commercially sold lithia waters in the United States was bottled at Lithia Springs, Georgia in 1888.^[3] During this era there was such a demand for lithia water that there was a proliferation of bottled lithia water products, however only a few were natural lithia spring waters. Most of the bottled lithia water brands added lithium bicarbonate to spring water and called it lithia water. With the advent of World War I and the formation of the new US government food safety agency, mineral water bottlers were under scrutiny. The new agency posted large fines and penalties against mineral water bottlers for mislabeled , misrepresented, and adulterated products.^[4] These government actions and their publicity along with public works that made clean tap water readily assessable caused the American public to lose confidence and interest in bottled mineral water.^[5]\

Research

The health benefits of lithia water have been supported by countless testimonials, but no independent scientific research had been conducted on lithia water until the 1980’s.

A published researched study in 1992 about trace elements indicated that individuals with heart disease, learning-disabilities, and incarcerated violent criminals were found to have lithium deficiencies (as measured through hair sample analysis).^[6]

Research studies measuring the effects of trace levels of lithium, commonly found in lithia waters, have demonstrated neuroprotective abilities,^[7] improvements in mood and cognitive function,^[8] and positive outcomes as a treatment for manic depressive disease.^[9]

Research studies published the British Journal of Psychiatry 2009 found that communities with naturally occurring lithia waters have lower suicide rates, mental hospital admissions, incidences of crimes, and arrests related to drug addictions.^[10]

On February 8, 2011, German researchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena published their findings in the European Journal of Nutrition (Nature Publishing Group) indicating that lithia waters lead to an increased life expectancy in humans and metazoans.^[11]

A clinical pilot study using ĔDJ lithia water from British Columbia is underway at the University of British Columbia.^[12] It will investigate whether daily use of lithia water will improve new brain cell formation (neurogenesis) and reduce neuronal oxidative stress (neuroprotection).

The following link has some interesting history on the developement of the steam engine; for those of us who enjoy reading about the history of steam power and its contribution to economic growth.   This article is written by William Rosen author of THE MOST POWERFUL IDEA IN THE WORLD: A STORY OF STEAM, INDUSTRY AND INVENTION.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-11/how-matthew-murray-s-sliding-d-valve-made-us-prosper.html

http://www.historic-memphis.com/  This link is definitely worth visiting for anyone interest in Memphis History.  Thank you David French for including the history of the James Lee House in the above web link.

http://blog.memphisdailynews.com/?p=5789  tells the latest on the upcoming renovation of the James Lee House.

Coming soon is the renovation of the historic James Lee Home.  The following link tells of the plans for this historic Memphis home, http://www.jamesleehouse.com/  Jose Velazquez a Memphian and former head of Latino Memphis is seeking to restore this old Memphis landmark and operate an upscale Bed and Breakfast once the renovation is completed.  The Memphis Business Journal had this to say about his effort.

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2012/08/06/developers-seek-to-obtain-james-lee.html?ana=twt&page=all

This postcard entered my collection of Lee Line Steamer postcards thanks to an EBay seller.   The reverse, has a line with the caption ON BOARD LEE LINE STEAMER where the writer of the card can name the Lee Line boat on which they are traveling.  Having watched EBay for a number of years in search of different family boat postcards, I had not seen this card until recently when I was able to purchase it for a nominal price.

On January 20, 1912, the Lee Line became a New Jersey incorporated business.  Walter Teagle married my great aunt Rowena Lee after meeting her on a transatlantic cruise sometime in the early 1900’s.  Walter Teagle served as President of Standard Oil of New Jersey as well as being involved at a corporate level with the Lee Line.  Walter Edge was married to Lady Lee Phillips the daughter of my great aunt Sadie Lee Phillips.  Lady Lee Phillips Edge died several days after giving birth to their first child.  Walter Edge served as governor of New Jersey and ambassador to France as well as a corporate officer of the Lee Line.

This old certificate is part of the collection of papers my brother George salvaged from the Lee Building in the early 1980’s.

July 28, 1914 is the day Austria-Hungry attacked Serbia.  On June 28, 1914 a Serbia nationalist assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife after their driver turned down the wrong street as he drove the couple to an appointment in Sarajevo Serbia.   Orthodox Serbia appealed to Orthodox Russia for help while Britain and France allies of Russia looked on with grave concern.  Following mobilization by the Russian army facing Austrian territory, the much better prepared German army which was allied with Austria-Hungry attacked Serbia drawing a much less prepared Russian army into the war.  Britain and France were forced to come to the aid of their Russian ally.  In response, the German army swept into Belgium drawing France and Britain into the war.  The excellent book George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I by Mirianda Carter tells the story of how these three cousins two of whom were the grand-sons of  Queen Victoria who also was grand-mother-in-law of the other were swept into the War to End All Wars.

How does this concern Lee Line Steamers?  Several years ago, my friend Ed Provine let me borrow his copy of the Atlanta Journal Constitution dated March 30, 1899 which reported on the sinking of the ROWENA LEE at Tyler Missouri on the front page center column.  A much bigger story on the front page reported to following headlines and story dated March 23, 1899 Apia Somonian Islands via Auckland New Zealand:

AMERICAN AND BRITISH WARSHIPS SHELL APIA;

GERMAN CRUISER STANDS BY IN SULLEN SILENCE

Admiral Kautz, of the Philadelphia, Calls on Followers of Mataafa To Disperse and Appoints Hour of Bombardment

German Cousul Still Continues to Uphold Mataafa

Fire from Philadelphia and English Ships, Porpoise and Royalist, Sets Villages Aflame and Slaughters Many Native.

The book George, Nicholas and Wilhelm records their interactions as England, Russia and Germany sought to expand their colonial outreach.  England clearly was by far the leader in capturing and controlling colonial trading outpost since it had consistently built its navy into a world power.  Russia had attempted to gain colonial territory resulting in a disastrous and costly war with Japan.   Kaiser Wilhelm pushed the German government into a costly naval building program in an attempt to counter the superiority of the British navy which allowed Britain to establish and control an empire that the “sun never sat on”.  Germany attempted to meddle in British colonies in an attempt to break off pieces of the British Empire and convert them into German controlled colonies.  By and large, Germany’s attempts to become a world power were thwarted by Britain and to a degree America as American naval power increased.  The above headlines are a subtle hint of the frictions developing between the Royal Cousins George V and Wilhelm.

While America went about its business in the 1880’s, 1890’s and early 1900’s,  Britain, France, Russia and Germany were slowly grinding their way to the most massive slaughter and destruction the world had seen until June 28, 1914 when the short fuse of war was lite.

Nicholas whose army was completely unprepared to face the thoroughly professional German army was diposed and executed with his family by the Bolsheviks near the end of this terrible war.  Kaiser Wilhelm was forced into exile in Holland.  Allied demands for compensation from Germany for their costly war efforts led to economic disaster for Germany resulting in the seeds of the Third Reich being planted and germinated. George V put aside the trappings of his position in the royal family for the duration of the war and sought to show solidarity with his citizens.   Britain’s devastating lost of young men began the slow unravelling of its once great empire.

Way’s Packet Directory records the CITY OF SAVANNAH as chartered to the Lee Line in September 1895.  The above charter agreement shows the charter occuring October 11, 1894.  Robert E Lee became general manager of the Lee Line in 1894 taking over from his father James Lee Jr.  In 1894 the JAMES LEE (first) was retired from service which leads me to believe that the CITY OF SAVANNAH was chartered to fill in for the JAMES LEE until a similar size boat could be purchased.  Way’s mentions the CITY OF SAVANNAH was chartered to run out of Memphis.  The St. Louis & Tennessee River Packet Co. was a competitor to the Lee Line.

Of interest is the lettering on the stationary “THE BEST WAY TO THE WORLD’S FAIR.”

This document was salvaged from the Lee Building downtown Memphis by my brother George in the early 1980’s.

This envelope contained a letter dated November 1, 1912.  Engraved detailed vignettes were common on company stationary during that era.   From time to time EBay sellers list steamboat way bills and other business forms from a variety of steamboat lines.  Under the above tab Lee Line ephemera, I have various Lee Line freight slips showing items shipped on different company boats to the Anderson Tully Company during the early 1900’s.  Interestingly, Anderson Tully is still operating as a land and timber company just as it operated in the late 1800’s.  These shipping papers were purchased from several EBay sellers.   However, I have not seen a Lee Line envelope or letter head for sale on EBay.  This envelope along with a large number of Lee Line financial records were salvaged by my brother George from the former Lee Building downtown Memphis in the 1980’s.