Bill Keeling

October 3, 2006

I met with Bill Keeling to obtain from his perspective what it was like growing up in Eclipse, working the water like a lot of his ancestors, and then becoming one of the last boat builders in this part of the country. Bill currently resides in Hobson but has his boat building business and railway in Eclipse Virginia. by Les Ward

GROWING UP IN ECLIPSE:

Bill was born Bruce William (Bill) Keeling III on January 26, 1946 at Maryview Hospital in Portsmouth Virginia. His mother is Betty Ann Carney Keeling from Driver Virginia and his father was Bruce William Keeling Jr. who was born and raised in Eclipse Virginia. Bill’s maternal grandmother was Stuart Everett Carney and maternal grandfather was Harry B. Carney. Her paternal grandmother was Helen Moger Keeling and paternal grandfather was L.D. Keeling. Bill has three younger brothers; Judson lives in Hobson; Jim lives in Eclipse and Stuart (Pep) lives in Suffolk. Bill has one daughter, Rebecca, and a two-year-old grandson who live in Suffolk. Bill attended school in Chuckatuck and graduated from Chuckatuck High School in 1964. He studied at the Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) Apprentice School, graduating in 1971, however Bill decided his real love was the water. He gave up a career as a NNS shipbuilder and returned to working the water in Eclipse. Getting a taste for boat building by helping his father build a family boat in 1964, Bill started his own boat building company and railway in 1973, where he remains today.

Family Home

The Keeling family home when Bill was born was located at 9240 Dixon Drive, where the Evans family now reside. When Bill was 10 years old, the family moved to 9320 Dixon Drive where Bill lived until he left home. When Bill’s grandfather died, Bill went to live with his Grandmother Keeling on Bridge Road.

Boat Building

Bill got his first experience building boats by helping his father, Bruce Keeling Jr. construct the family boat starting in 1964 through 1967. (See pictures #39). After leaving the NNS Apprentice School in 1971 and dabbling in working the river, Bill began constructing boats in earnest in the early 1970s building shad bateaus. He graduated to oyster boats and had his first marine railway at the old L.L. Johnson Lower Railway (Red Oyster House property owned by Thomas Hazelwood). Eventually, Bill moved his boat building business to the site of the old Madre Oyster Company at the end of Bleakhorn Road, which was now owned by his parents. Bill told me that his railway and workshop can handle boats up to sixty feet in length.

Bill remembers having many friends while growing up in Eclipse. Some of the old gang was Norman Parker and his brother Mac, Denny Wood, David Wright, Pat Mason, Becky Hingerty and Judy Bush who lived next door. Bill still corresponds with Judy who lives in Cincinnati today.

Boatbuilding in the Villages

Bill knows a lot of the history of local boat yards and railways in the Crittenden-Eclipse-Hobson area. He told me the following about these businesses.

Cockrill and Johnson Railway: According to Bill, this was the original boat yard and railway business that became the L.L. (Captain Lip) Johnson Railway. Bill does not know if Mr. Cockrill started the business and Captain Lip joined him. He does not know what year the original business began or when it became the L.L. Johnson Railway.

About the same time and next to the Cockrill and Johnson Railway was the Captain Bush Railway, which was upriver. This would be approximately where the George DeGraw and Richard Hunt properties are now located behind the Volvo Company. Bill does not know when the Bush Railway began or how long it lasted. (See picture # 1) which shows both the L.L. Johnson and Bush railways. Bill said the wooden building in the middle of the picture is the L.L. Johnson Railway store and blacksmith shop. To the left of this building is the Johnson Railway which had three railways and to the right is the Bush Railway which had two railways.

While Bill is not sure, he believes that after Captain Lip Johnson died in 1944, Fred T. Gies and Henry Lauderback ran the railway as a new business for several years. They mainly built sailboats such as the Hampton One, which Henry is famous for.   Bill said to talk to Jackie Moore and others to confirm this.

Bill also has heard that sometime after that, the Gies/Lauderback Railway was acquired by Charles Gray Adams, Boosey Madre and Carl Bagnell (Ginny Bagnell’s father).   This new railway built the Oyster, the Clam, and the Kat, which was Carl Bagnell’s boat for use in their new oyster business. Bill told me that he and Billy Hicks use to work at this oyster company as teenagers. Also, when Thomas Hazelwood left the telephone company and decided to work the water, he and Billy Hicks went into the fishing business and worked for Boosey’s Oyster Company.    Bill said to talk to Thomas Hazelwood, Ginny Bagnell and others to confirm this.

NOTE: I talked to Billy Hicks who told me about the Nansemond-Adams Oyster Company that was operated by Charles Gray Adams, Carl Bagnell and Boosey Madre on site of the current Volvo Plant, but he did not know about the railway.

Charlie Bagnell (Millie Bagnell’s husband) and Boosey Madre originally operated the oyster house at the end of Bleakhorn Drive until the end of the 1950s.

Captain Charles Adams Railway was at the end of Moore’s Point Road on Chuckatuck Creek. Bill does not know the dates of this railway but said it built and repaired many oyster boats and other craft. Bill did not know if Captain Adams built this railway or if it was there when he began the Adams Railway.

Lorenzo Dow Moger, who was Bill’s great grandfather, had one of the original railways on Chuckatuck Creek. The L.D. Moger Railway started in the late 1800s and was first located near what is now known as Sheffield Point in front of the Art and Mary Ainsley Lattimer home. This railway was later moved further in on Hoecake Bay near the Bunkley’s store and pier (near pier now owned by Thomas Hazelwood at end of Eclipse Drive). Bill told me that he was told as a child that Lorenzo used a blind mule to pull boats up onto his railway. The mule would turn a bar around a capstan; when it came to the rope, it knew to step over the rope and continue turning the capstan.

Ed Moore and his brother _________ built a railway on property now owned by Thomas Hazelwood and known as the Red Oyster House. This railway was originally constructed to build and haul tug boats and other deep draft vessels. It is the largest railway on the Chuckatuck Creek. It later became part of the L.L. Johnson Railway and was known as the Lower Railway. Bill told me that Alease Bailey who lives in Crittenden is the daughter of Captain Clifton H. Haughwout (pronounced Howard), who built the Mt. Zion Christian Church on land he owned. Note: Theodore Haughwout built the church.

1. Bill gave me a picture of railway workers at the L.L. Johnson Railway in the 1920s (See picture # 2). Pictured are:

a. 1st Row: Mr. Armstrong, boat owner, who everyone called “the Sport.”

b. 2nd Row: Ed Moore, John Higgins, Charlie Furman, Dutch Furman, Clifton Haughwout who ran the railway for Captain Lip, Captain Lip Johnson, Unknown worker, Captain Ed Bush, Unknown worker, _____ Crittenden (Paul Crittenden’s father), R. Messick, Unknown worker, Marvin Furman’s father, Unknown boy, Vernon Bush, Johnny Ingersol (Brough Ingersol’s father).

Bill told me his great grandmother was Martha Johnson Moger, and was Captain Lip Johnson’s sister.

MY RESEARCH OF FOX HILL HISTORY SHOWS THAT JAMES “TANK” JOHNSON AND WIFE TERESA HUBBARD “TOOTSIE” JOHNSON HAD 10 CHILDREN: WILLIAM, BUD, LIPSCOM “CAPT. LIP”, JOSEPH, MOLLY, LONNIE, LULA, ANNIE, VIRGINIA AND GERTRUDE. THERE WAS NO MARTHA?))

One day when Bill returned from working on the water, the L.L. Johnson Store and Blacksmith Shop were being demolished. Workmen were gutting the buildings and throwing everything in a pile. He was so disgusted that history was being destroyed, he started going through the pile of “trash” and was able to save many items that he shared with me today.

J.S. Darling & Son Planters and Packers of Hampton Bar Oysters letterhead directing the Lorenzo Dow Moger Railway to work on the vessel “Annie,” dated October 9, 1912. (See picture # 3).

Excerpts from the L.L. Johnson Railway Ledger from 1896-1897 and 1905 for work done at the railway. (See picture # 4).

L.D. Moger Marine Railway work order – early 1900s. (See picture #5).

L.L. Johnson Railway work order dated 1906 for repair of the Sloop William Brittain. (See picture # 6).

L.L. Johnson Railway design of an oyster boat – date unknown. (See picture # 7).

L.L. Johnson Marine Railway receipt for cash from Doctor Eley for real estate, dated September 1926. (See picture # 8)

What people commonly call a “half model” (model of a boat to be built by a marine railway) is actually called a “pick model,” according to Bill. The first stage of construction of say an oyster boat is for the shipbuilder to construct a pick model out of a block of wood. Then, builders use dividers and calipers to take measurements on the pick model to build the boat. Bill said measurements are usually for example, 3 inches on the model to one foot on the actual boat. Bill added that there is no standard and the boat builder decides on the model’s measurements.

Since Eclipse and Crittenden was isolated and had several areas of just woods and fields, a real estate sale in 1964 raised a lot of eyebrows. Captain Asa Corson owned the land between what is now Vine Avenue and Rivershore Drive and Dixon Drive all the way to the James River. When he sold these woods for $5 thousand, Bruce Keeling Jr. (Bill’s dad) said at the time that no one would buy any land facing the water and a northeast wind. Bill commented that today, the individual lots in this property is worth millions of dollars.

Bill told me that a common event after each storm was for residents to take their bateaus out in the creek and rivers and look for staging boards that had floated away from area shipyards. This wood was then used to build boats for the residents, often in their own back yards.

Bill said that when his father was growing up in Eclipse, wild goats inhabited Candy Island near the entrance to Chuckatuck Creek and the James River. He showed me a picture of a black wild goat standing on a toppled pine tree (See picture # 10).

Since Bill’s family has always attended the Ebenezer Methodist Church in Crittenden, he has two old pictures of the front of the old church around the turn of the century. (See picture # 11).

Bill gave me an artist’s painting (post card) of the “Tennison,” a log canoe owned by Captain Al Hazelwood (Thomas Hazelwood’s great uncle). Bill told me that his Aunt Pattie Moger Sewell Ellis and husband John Sewell honeymooned on the Tennison for one week. He added that the Tennison worked this area for 30 to 40 years and is now located around St. Simon’s Island Maryland. It is one of, if not the only working boat constructed in Eclipse-Crittenden that is still operating on the Chesapeake Bay. (See picture # 13).

Bill also had a picture of his Aunt Minnie Moger Corson and Claude Johnson, who worked for Captain Lip Johnson at his railway (See picture #14).

Captain Charlie Bush experimented building an airplane about the same time as the Wright Brothers were attempting to fly at Kitty Hawk North Carolina. Bill heard this as a child but does not know the specifics or how far Captain Bush progressed with his experiments. The Bush family lived next to Bill’s family when he was growing up.

Bill told me that he has two great grandfathers who were in the Battle of Gettysburg. The interesting fact is that great grandfather Lorenzo Moger was a water boy for the Northern Army, while great grandfather William B. Keeling was a private in the Southern Army. After the war, Lorenzo lived in Eclipse and William lived in Norfolk. It is not known if they associated with each other or got along.

Bill had a picture of the old Red Oyster House (owned by Thomas Hazelwood) taken about 1972. Standing outside were Ronnie Parker, Freddy Mitchell, Stuart (Pep) Keeling, and Horace Miltier. (See picture # 15).

Bill showed me a picture of all of Lorenzo Moger’s daughters; picture taken in December 1970. Shown are Granny Helen Moger Keeling, Minnie Moger Corson, Aunt Esther Moger Hilliard, and Aunt Patty Moger Ellis. Also shown is Maude Moger on left (Renzie Moger’s wife). Renzie was the brother of these four sisters. (See picture #16).

When I told Bill that I was having trouble getting information on the Adams family of Hobson, he suggested that I talk to Wayne Adams of Chuckatuck, who was Charles Gray Adams brother. Bill said Wayne could fill me in on the Adams family history. He added that another brother Dick Adams was considered the best boat carpenter in the area. Dick often worked on the buy boats Delphine and Dora. Captain Bert Hazelwood often said that Dick could do more with two hack saw blades than most people could do with a good bevel. Bill told me that Dick Adams built the house at the end of Moore’s Point Road on right side of the point.

Bill also suggested that I talk to Glenda Adams who was Charles Gray Adams daughter and now lives in Virginia Beach.

HISTORY OF THE AREA:

HURRICANE OF 1933:
While Bill was not even born yet, he did have a picture of his relatives sitting on a large tree that was toppled by this hurricane. Pictured is his Uncle Dow Keeling, 2 unknown girls, and his father, Bruce Keeling Jr. (See picture #

Bill told me that in 1984, this area was hit by a strong nor’easter storm that washed two scallop boats from the Newport News Small Boat Harbor all the way across the James River and onto the Rivershore of Eclipse. The two boats were beached in front of the property now owned by Bryan Martin at Barrel Point. (See picture #13).

PICTURES:

1. Picture of both the L.L. Johnson and Bush railways in Crittenden Virginia, (on property that is mostly owned by Volvo today). Bill said the wooden building in the middle of the picture is the L.L. Johnson Railway store and blacksmith shop. To the left of this building is the Johnson Railway which had three railways and to the right is the Bush Railway which had two railways. While this picture is undated, Bill agreed it has to be in the late 1800s or turn-of-the century.

2. Picture of workers at the L.L. Johnson Railway in the 1920s. Pictured are:

a. 1st Row: Mr. Armstrong, boat owner, who everyone called “the Sport.”

3. J.S. Darling & Son Planters and Packers of Hampton Bar Oysters letterhead directing the Lorenzo Dow Moger Railway to work on the vessel “Annie,” dated October 9, 1912.

4. Excerpts from the L.L. Johnson Railway Ledger from 1896-1897 and 1905 for work done at the railway.

5. L.D. Moger Marine Railway work order – early 1900s.

6. L.L. Johnson Railway work order dated 1906 for repair of the Sloop William Brittain.

7. L.L. Johnson Railway design of an oyster boat – date unknown.

8. L.L. Johnson Marine Railway receipt for cash from Doctor Eley for real estate, dated September 1926.

9. Large tree that was toppled by this Hurricane of 1933. Pictured is Bill’s Uncle Dow Keeling, 2 unknown girls, and his father, Bruce Keeling Jr.

10. Picture of a black wild goat standing on a toppled pine tree on Candy Island, near the entrance to Chuckatuck Creek and the James River.

11. Two old pictures of the front of the old Ebenezer Methodist Church around the turn of the century.

12. Artist’s painting (post card) of the “Tennison,” a log canoe owned by Captain Al Hazelwood (Thomas Hazelwood’s great uncle). Bill told me that his Aunt Pattie Moger Sewell Ellis and husband John Sewell honeymooned on the Tennison for one week. He added that the Tennison worked this area for 30 to 40 years and is now located around St. Simon’s Island Maryland. It is one of the only working log canoe’s that is still operating on the Chesapeake Bay.

13. Picture of his Aunt Minnie Moger Corson and Claude Johnson, who worked for Captain Lip Johnson at his railway.

14. Picture of the old Red Oyster House (owned by Thomas Hazelwood) taken about 1972. Standing outside were Ronnie Parker, Freddy Mitchell, Stuart (Pep) Keeling, and Horace Miltier.

15. Picture of all four of Lorenzo Moger’s daughters; picture taken in December 1970. Shown are Granny Helen Moger Keeling, Minnie Moger Corson, Aunt Esther Moger Hilliard, and Aunt Patty Moger Ellis. Also shown is Maude Moger on left (Renzie Moger’s wife). Renzie was the brother of these four sisters.

16. News article and two pictures of the Schooner “Privateer,” which was built by the L.L. Johnson Lower Yard (Red Oyster House property owned by Thomas Hazelwood) in 1928.

17. Lorenzo Dow Moger and second wife Martha Elizabeth Johnson.

18. Eclipse oyster boat on James River with a seal that climbed aboard the stern.

19. Oyster boat under construction at L.L. Johnson Lower Yard.

20. Class of older students at the Crittenden School; date unknown. One student – Eunice Bush Smith, is identified with an arrow.

21. Young Bill Keeling holding two cobias.

22. Three Bums – Ocean View VA: Roy Lawrence, Billy Smith, and Vernon Bush.

23. Sarah Hillyer mother of Armenia Hillyer Bush.

24. Ann Louisa Cake Bush with son Charles E. Bush (age 6 years old) and daughter Elizabeth (Betty) Lee Bush (age 3 years old).

25. Armenia Bush sitting on running board of old car.

26. Armenia Hillyer, wife of Charles E. Bush.

27. Vernon G. Bush Sr.

28. Charles Adams and Sarah Bush Adams.

29. Charles E. Bush Sr., father of Vernon, Charles, Edward, Sarah, Florence and Eunice Bush.

30. Eddie Bush, Clara Mathews, Laura Eley (daughter of Dr. Eley) and unidentified woman.

31. Elizabeth Dehart, age 94; mother of Henry L. Bush.

32. Eunice Bush and children.

33. Eunice Bush.

34. Young Eunice and Florence Bush.

35. Eunice Bush Smith.

36. Henry L. Bush (married to Ann Louisa Cake and father of Charles E. Bush Sr.).

37. Judith Ray Bush.

38. Henry Moger’s draft notice from War Department in World War II.

39. Pictures of the Keeling family boat that was built in their back yard; it was the first boat that Bill Keeling helped build. It was constructed between 1964-1967. Pictures include this boat on Bill’s “Lower Yard Railway” on Chuckatuck Creek in the early 1970s, and at his Bleakhorn Creek railway later on.

40. Uncle Henry Moger (L.D. Moger’s son and Granny Helen Moger’s brother) in pre-World War I Navy uniform. He was on a submarine chaser during war.

41. Uncle Henry Moger standing in L.D. Moger’s yard (Current Evan’s family white house is across street).

42. Two pictures of three Miles Oyster Company schooners at L.L. Johnson Railway in Crittenden; Helen Windsor - White Wing - C F Miles. In one picture, Captain Lip Johnson is walking away from camera with a clothesline pole on his shoulder.

43. Captain Ed Bush - Bush Railway.

44.