The Captains Short-Upper Mississippi, 1855-1940

While the Murphy Library collection features boats, Ralph DuPae collected quite a few other river-related images for that collection. Check with them: the Murphy Library at the U of Wisconsin LaCrosse. Local historical societies might also have family pictures. Do you know specifically what Upper Miss cities they lived in? I notice one has the famous VanSant name too, that one might be easier to find...
Special Collections Photograph Collections | Murphy Library | University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Judy gave you the best place Diane and if you send them photos they will copy them and send them back in perfect condition.

Judy and Mel - thank you so much! The Murphy Lib. has been contacted & they will check their collection for me. It's currently being scanned and indexed for possible online use, so most research has to be done on site, currently. I did ask if they wanted copies of my photos - no reply to that, yet.
As to Judy's question of where did the Short's live? Up and downstream and on both sides of the river: Savanna and Albany, IL, Clinton, Keokuk, and Lansing, IA, La Crosse and Lynxville, WI, Winona, Stillwater, Newport and St. Paul, MN. My great-grandfather wintered in New Orleans every season with his excursion vessel, Kalitan. It was sold to the Navy there in 1940.
Rivermen lived wherever the work took them, I suppose.

KALITAN

You mean THIS excursion boat KALITAN, Dianne?

Yes, that's it. Where did that photo come from?
Kalitan was owned by the Butterworth family of Moline who were closely connected with the John Deere family. They loved to entertain friends, especially with trips out on their "yacht". The foreboat was named Marketana, a combination of the first names of Butterworth's 3 daughters, and I think Kalitan was a combination of names, as well. No expense was spared on the interior of both ships. It had rosewood paneling and oriental carpeting throughout. A-1 all the way.
Don't know where that photo was taken, but Kalitan's winter moorage was at Bayou Plaquemine, LA. G-grandfather Harry Short had many other ships before her, but no job for so long. He mastered her from 1914-1925 part time, then full time until he passed away in 1940.

I bought it from Ralph DuPae, which means its in the Murphy Library collection now. I have other shots which I'll post when I find them, but this one just happened to be easily found. The Mayo brothers also had a similiar setup, and there was a house barge in Clinton named the IDLER. Do you know if they ever got together or if the captains ever shared stories with each other on those operations?

Murphy Collection Results

Here's a link to the searchable collection sent to me from the Murphy library: UW La Crosse Historic Steamboat Photographs
Didn't see this listed on their main webpage.

Their collection has been digitized A-D so far. They report no individual photos of the men I'm interested in, but have photos of quite a few of the 36 vessels on my Short "wish list".

For many years the captain of the Mayo's vessel was Mr. Holsapple. My g-grandfather Harry knew him because I have some of their correspondence. I also have large scrapbooks (1895-1940) that Harry filled with newspaper articles and other memerobilia about river men and the steamboating business. I've posted some of the longer articles (including Holsapple's retirement, 50th anniversary, and obituary) on Rootsweb.com, but if there is interest and space on this site for items in a similar vein, I'd gladly post them here as well. Please advise.

Sorry, no knowledge of the IDLER. Found a record of a Short captaining the IDEAL, though...

Dianne,

Check your private messages.

KALITAN

Here are a couple more views of the Kalitan.