| MARY E. KEENE | |
"SW p wh b. New Albany, Ind., 1860. 650 tons. 238 x 38 x 7.7. Engines, 20's-6ft. Five
boilers. Original owners, Capt. W.B. Richardson (1/4) and W.F. Carkey, both of New Orleans. Ran New
Orleans-Vicksburg, Capt. Richardson. In 1862 ran New Orleans-Memphis, Capt. W.F. Carkey, with J.M.
Renshaw, clerk. An oil painting of the boat hung in the cabin until April 1862 when it was taken to the
Keene plantation near Lake Providence, La., in trust of Mary E. Keene for the war's duration. A
granddaughter still displayed it in her home in Houston, Tex., in 1949. The LIZZIE SIMMONS also
ran New Orleans-Memphis, 1862, and Capt. Richardson, named above, was her skipper. She was a
Confederate transport until taken up Yazoo River for safety where she was burned to prevent capture, July
24, 1863. S.L. Elam, Natchez, was a soldier aboard when she went up the Yazoo." (M8)
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