A note from Lawrence Biemiller:
The "John B. Biemiller" wasn't owned by the Biemiller family. It was
owned by a syndicate of investors, and it was named after John B.
Biemiller because he was the largest shareholder, owing 1/16th, as I
recall. He was in the ice and coal business -- not timber, as far as I
know. The ship, though, was not particularly connected to the Biemiller
Ice & Coal Company -- it was a personal investment on John B.'s part.
As I remember -- I haven't looked at the papers in years -- it carried
general coastal cargo, which probably would have included timber as
well as ice (packed in sawdust), coal, and probably grain.
I am mystified about the John B. in Fort Myers who remembers seeing the
painting at his grandfather's place. My younger brother, John W.
Biemiller, of Lancaster, Pa., has the copy of the painting that
belonged to the John B. Biemiller who invested in the ship. It was
given to him by that John B's son, Lawrence, who was our grandfather
(1900 - 1985). I'm actually Lawrence E. Biemiller III, if you're
keeping score -- my grandfather was named after a business associate of
John B's named Lawrence Elwood, and then my father was named after my
grandfather, and then I got named after dad. My brother has never lived
in Florida and works in economic development.
Just to confuse matters, the Biemiller Ice and Coal Company logo lists
three Biemillers -- John B. Biemiller, John B. Biemiller Jr., and
Charles T. Biemiller. I'm assuming that the John B. Biemiller who was
my great-grandfather, and who invested in the schooner, was actually
John B. Jr. Anyhow, that adds another John B. to the scorecard.
My brother had the painting of the schooner cleaned a few months ago,
and in the process the restorers discovered a signature and date on the
back of the canvas -- S.F.M. Badger, 1907. There are letters from
Captain Adams to John B. Biemiller at the Maryland Historical Society,
in Baltimore, but I haven't looked at them since my grandfather gave
them to the society in the 1970s. I guess I should make a point of
going sometime. At the very least I can find out Captain Adams's first
name for you! Also, now that I think of it I don't think the builder
was the Bath Ironworks -- that's the surviving shipbuilder there now,
but I think at the turn of the century there were several shipbuilders
in Bath.
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