Times of the Islands Summer 2024

The St. Louis was a packet ship of 426 tons owned by
John Fairfield, William Lincoln, and Isaac Stevens, et. al. of
Boston. The St. Louis was built in Medford, Massachusetts
in 1838 and was one of the Messers. Fairfield & Lincoln’s
line of New Orleans packet ships.
In the 18th century, packet ships were typically
medium sized vessels under contract by the British government
to carry mail on a regular schedule between
fixed ports, such as Ireland and her colonies. By the 19th
century, American packets were carrying passengers and
cargo in addition to the mail.
The longest established legal practice
in the Turks & Caicos Islands
Real Estate Investments
& Property Development
Immigration, Residency
& Business Licensing
Company & Commercial Law
Trusts & Estate Planning
Banking & Insurance
This advertisement appeared frequently in the Boston Courier newspaper.
Orice King was listed as Captain of the St. Louis, however by
August 1842, if not before, Reuben Eldridge was her Master.
1 Caribbean Place, P.O. Box 97
Leeward Highway, Providenciales
Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI
Ph: 649 946 4344 • Fax: 649 946 4564
E-Mail: dempsey@tciway.tc
Cockburn House, P.O. Box 70
Market Street, Grand Turk
Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI
Ph: 649 946 2245 • Fax: 649 946 2758
E-Mail: ffdlawco@tciway.tc
A July 16, 1842 advertisement in a Boston newspaper announced that
the packet ship St. Louis was loading at Lewis Wharf. Notice the promotion
for elegantly furnished accommodations.
Disaster strikes
Ferdinando de Castillo, a steward from the ship St. Louis,
reported (after the fact) that on the night of August 29,
1842 at about 7 PM after passengers and crew had eaten
dinner and were all on deck, a passenger, aft of the main
hatch, saw a column of smoke rising from what she
thought was the ladies’ cabin below. The steward said
the fire was actually not in the ladies’ cabin, but in the
hold below it.
The smoke was so dense in the companionway that
the crew could not descend below to extinguish the fire.
That being the case, the crew closed all hatches and covered
them and the deck with wet sails to try to smother
the fire below.
john redmond associates ltd.
architects & designers
construction consultants
project management
p.o.box 21, providenciales, turks & caicos is.
tel.: 9464440 cell: 2314569 email: redmond@tciway.tc
Times of the Islands Summer 2024 57