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BY: LINDA BOLLAEDUCATION PROGRAMSCOORDINATOR,ERIE MARITIME MUSEUM

DanielDobbinscame toErie asa youngman in

1796, when only a few dozenpeople lived here. This areawas still considered frontier.

As our nation grew westward, therewas a need to transport people and goods tonewly settled areas. At a time when roadswere poor, or werenʼt there at all, waterwas the best way to go. In 1803, Dobbinsbecame a merchant mariner, carrying cargoand passengers on Lake Erie, stoppingat Buffalo, Detroit, and, of course, Erie.The most important item he carried wassalt, needed not only to flavor food, but topreserve it at a time before refrigeration orcanning was invented. Dobbins even namedone of his ships Salina, a Latin word thatmeans “a place where salt is found”.

By 1812, Erie s̓ population had grownto almost 500 people. Daniel Dobbinsʼ laketrade had expanded to include MackinacIsland on Lake Huron. He was there on July17 when the British force captured U.S.Fort Michilimackinac there. The fort wascaptured easily because word that the UnitedStates was at war with the British had not yetreached that frontier outpost. Dobbins wastaken prisoner, and Salina and her valuable

cargo fell into the hands of the British!He did not return to Erie until August

24, when he brought his first-handaccount of everything he had witnessedto General Meade, who urged him togo to Washington with his information.While the news of the capture of FortMichilimackinac and the surrender ofFort Detroit (Dobbins was there, too) hadalready reached Washington, Dobbinscould add to this his knowledge of LakeErie and Lake Huron, and the numberof ships the British had there. He knewbetter than anyone how important it was toprotect trade and the people newly settledon the shores of the Great Lakes.

In early September of 1812, DanielDobbins convinced the Navy that Erie wasthe perfect place to build ships. PresqueIsle peninsula protected the bay and itsshoreline from harsh lake storms. Therewas also a sand bar at the opening of thebay, which would make it impossible for

British ships to make a surprise attackwhile the ships were being built andlaunched. Large oak trees still grew nearenough to the shoreline, so there was analmost unlimited supply of timber to buildships nearby.

Dobbins returned to Erie, andimmediately began building threegunboats. He persisted at his task throughthe winter, even when the Navy was slowto support his efforts. When Oliver HazardPerry arrived in Erie in March of 1813, hewas both surprised and pleased with whatDaniel Dobbins had accomplished.

Sources: Daniel Dobbins, Frontier Mariner byRobert D. Ilisevich; A Town at Presque Isle, A

Children s̓ Companion to the History of Erie,Pennsylvania byMaryM.Muller; Battle ofLake Erie: Building the Fleet in theWildernessby RADMDenysW. Knoll, USN (Ret.)

TEACHERS:Find a printable Friendly Letter tem-plate, along with the Teacher ResourceGuide for this serial story atwww.nie.goerie.com

RESPONSES:Please send written or drawnresponses to NIE@timesnews.comor NIE, 205 West 12th Street,Erie, PA 16534

ACTIVITY:Imagine that you are Abednegoʼs brother. After hearing his news from the firstthree letters he sent home during his adventure, what would you write back?

1. Would you want to join him, or would you be scared for him?2.What would you tell him that you have been doing in his absence?3. Write a friendly letter toAbednego as if you were one of his family members.

GLOSSARY:• The British: In 1812, the United States was at war with England, and Canada,because it was then one of Englandʼs colonies. “The British” is another namefor people, and in this case, soldiers, from England and her colonies, which alltogether are called Great Britain.

• Presq’ Isle: an old way to spell “Presque Isle”.• Skiff: A small light boat. In 1813, Erie harbor did not look like it does today.There were no piers for large ships to tie up, and the water was shallow nearthe shore. Larger ships would drop anchor in the deeper water away from theshore, and people needed to take a smaller boat to get out to the ship to go onboard. All of the shipʼs supplies and food needed to be rowed out, too.

• Sea legs: to “find” or get your sea legs is to become accustomed to themovement of the ship, and to keep your balance and not feel sick from themotion. Even in calm weather at anchor, there is always a little bit of motionfrom the ship floating on the water. When Abednego gets his sea legs, he willhardly notice the ship moving anymore.

• Shipyards: where ships are built. You can see where the shipyards were in1813 on the map.

• Militia: a company of soldiers made up of citizen volunteers, rather thanprofessional soldiers. Most villages and towns had their own militia company,made up of local able-bodied men. Today, both men and women volunteer toserve in our National Guard units.

• Mariner: a sailor

BY: LINDA BOLLAEDUCATION PROGRAMSCOORDINATOR,ERIE MARITIME MUSEUM

The “most elegant Captain”that Abednego meets isThomas Forster, one of ErieCountyʼs first settlers.

Thomas Forster was already aveteran soldier when he served as aCaptain of Militia in Erie during theWar of 1812. Born in 1762, he wasonly 16 years old when he servedduring the American Revolution in1776. He came to Erie as an agent ofthe Harrisburg & Presque Isle LandCompany in 1797, then brought hisfamily here to live in 1799.Local legend says that Thomas

Forster may have given Fairview itsname. He and his business partnerwere said to have stood on a bluffoverlooking Walnut Creek valley,and, admiring its beauty, Forster said,“This is the fairest view I have seenyet!” They named the village theyplanned to establish there “Fairview.”In 1812, Forster was appointed

Captain of the first company of militiato form in Erie during the war. Hiswell-armed volunteer company of sixtymen protected the citizens of Erie. Thiscompany also marched to Buffalo,NewYork, to serve. When Forster s̓Militia returned to Erie in March of

1813, they were then put in charge ofguarding the shipyards. They were theonly protection the shipbuilders haduntil Oliver Hazard Perry arrived hereand requested more men.Thomas Forster and his wife Sarah

had eleven children. He died in 1836,and is buried in Erie Cemetery.Sources: Thomas Forster &

Settling the Erie Frontier by SabinaShields Freeman; Soldiers of theAmerican Revolution by the ErieCounty Pennsylvania Chaptersof the Daughters of the AmericanRevolution; and The History of ErieCounty, Pennsylvania by Laura G.Sanford

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WHY DID THE U.S. NAVY BUILD PERRY’S FLEET IN ERIE?

CREDIT: The Pictorial FieldBook of the War of 1812 byBenson J. Lossing (1869)

DANIELDOBBINSCREDIT: The PictorialField Book of the Warof 1812 by Benson J.Lossing (1869)

SAIL HO!BY: RUSS MCLAUGHLIN • ILLUSTRATED BY: JAN MCLAUGHLINA simulation based on research in other historical areas, we always found fascinating the re-construction of our ancestorʼs lives. Many family letters, as well as any we had purchased wereoften incomplete, partially ruined from age or in poor grammar. None the less, they were ofgreat importance in revealing history. We try in this work to duplicate the fascination of puttingtogether a picture of a way of life.

Copyright 1990, used with permission of the author/illustratorp ission of the author/illustrator

Dear Father,I take pen in hand to tell you I and Isaac Sibert arrived in New

Jerusalem yesterday and are fine. We signed up as woodcutters.

I took the poster you and I found in our woods to the man in

charge and he hired us on the spot. He says when we cut this

small stand of fir trees we’re going to Presq’ Isle. Isaac wants

to join the army there. He’s 16 and says he’s ready to fight the

British. I will write again soon.Your son,Abednego

GL• Thebecfortog

• Pres• SkifThetheshoboa

• Sea

yet!plannIn

Captato forwell-amencompNewMiliti

AbAbAbAbedededednenenenegogogog

Dear Father,I take pen in hand to tell you that we came to Presq’Isle harborlast night. There were several ships at anchor. Several of uswent aboard a skiff and rowed to the nearest one to shore. Tomy amazement was how bad the ship smelled. So many menon board and the smell down below was not unlike a barn. Thenew gun boats smell like pine barns that we built but the oldergunboats take some getting used to. We had fish again and Isaacand I imagine that if we eat much more fish we will soon growgills and scales!

Your son,Abednego

CAPTAIN THOMAS FORSTER

Follow each new chapter as it unravels in our serial story, while enjoying student responses and artwork.

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Dear Father,I take pen in hand to tell you I am well.

I have been assigned to the ship Niagara.

Though a month has passed, I am far

from having sea legs. A month ago

working as an ax man, I signed the book

entering the Navy on Garrison Hill. There

was a most elegant Captain, like the one

you told me about that you met during

the War for Independence in 1776. He

entered a large tent with furniture and a

bed. He was kneeling in front of a large

trunk and took out some fine things. I

was there getting his signature with six

other men for approval to stay in an old

log building before we were to go to the

shipyards. He was an Army Captain but

he was in charge of all the men on the hill

overlooking the harbor. Please tell mother

and my brothers I am well. I shall write

again soon.Your loving son,

Abednego Hayes

Monday, January 12, 2015 | Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | 3D