Description

The Seven Brothers was the first steam powered, propeller driven fishing vessel built in the USA. It was built for the Church Brothers of Sakonet, RI, one of the most successful Menhaden fishing families in America. The primary use of these then plentiful bait fish was for the mass production of fertilizer. This was a business they developed in RI and other states such as Maine. The Seven Brothers became the protypical Menhaden fishing steamer and was active for over 30 years. It is the American beginning of industrialized fishing and initiated vast changes in this ancient harvesting activity. The Herreshoff family also were early participants in this industry. NGH's father and at least one other brother became officers of a new company in 1871 called the Bristol Steam Fishing Comany that commissioned the next two J. B. Herreshoff built Menhaden fishing steamers, Osprey (72.5') in 1871 and King Fisher (72.5') in 1872. JBH built one additional Menhaden fishing steamer, William Spicer (78') in 1874 for the Quinepeac Fertilizing Company of New Haven, CT. This was the last of this pioneering type built the the Herreshoff's. By this time steam power was rapidly being applied in the fishing industry where it was practical at the time and the Herreshoff's swerved in different directions anticipating the challenging demand for faster boats. Almost twenty years later, a model of the Seven Brothers was commissioned by the Church Brothers as part of the Rhode Island Fisheries exhibition at the Columbian Expostion at Chicago in 1893. The exisitence of this historic and important model is unknown.