THE COASTING SCHOONER
ALICE S. WENTWORTH
THE COASTING SCHOONER ALICE S. WENTWORTH
a look at the schooner, her people, and the model
THOMAS J. LAURIA
SEAWATCH BOOKS
© 2025 by Thomas J. Lauria. All rights reserved.
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FOREWORD
When I was a boy, my family summered in Chatham, on Cape Cod. My earliest recollections date to the late 1940s. By the mid-1950s, I was already boat-oriented. Memories are now distant, but I recall hearing stories about the coasting schooner Alice S. Wentworth and her larger-than-life skipper, Zeb Tilton. I know I never saw the vessel, but the stories, told by Chathamites who were equally legendary to us, let me envision her in Stage Harbor. I heard about Tilton’s enormous strength: he hauled the big anchor over the side without a tackle.
Over the years, Alice S. Wentworth surfaced in my mind occasionally. By the mid-1970s, when I had decided ship modeling would be my career, it occurred to me that the schooner was a prime candidate for a model with considerable local relevance. But the idea was always in flight; it never roosted long enough for me to consider beginning the quest for information. Then, in the 2000s, I became acquainted with Tom Lauria through the USS Constitution Model Shipwright Guild. In many ways we were cut from the same cloth. Among other things, we both migrated eastward from origins in suburban New York to the Cape (in fact, we — as well as SeaWatch publisher Mike Ellison — attended
the same high school, but not concurrently), we both became ship model professionals, and we both married public school teachers.
In 2009, Tom became aware of Alice S. Wentworth, Zeb Tilton, their remarkable partnership, and their combined place in New England’s maritime history. As Tom recounts in the following pages, it was love at first sight. He was the man for the job. And, in taking it on, he saved me lots of work! Tom tucked into the story of the schooner and her skipper as if it was the biggest clambake ever. And we’re lucky he did.
Through deep research in many local institutions and in conversations with many old-timers, Tom got to know his subjects intimately. He unearthed photographs, clippings, and plans. Initially, he channeled all his findings into this remarkable model whose building consumed about three years. Then, in about 2022, he was persuaded to publish an account of the story. The result is this book.
Here, Tom warmly recounts his relationships with the people who guided him on his research and modeling paths. Tom details Zeb Tilton’s accomplishments with a fervency that reveals how deeply Tom cared for the schooner and man, both of whom he never met in life. Hav-
ing known Tom for years, I can tell you that I hear his voice and enthusiasm in his descriptions of balancing conflicting information about Alice S. Wentworth’s changes in physical appearance over a century. Tom also shares many ideas and concepts about ship model building. Some he adopted from other modelers; some he developed himself. All are interesting. At every turn, Tom laudably chose to represent Alice S. Wentworth as he found her documented rather than as she might have been depicted through the haziness of conventional wisdom.
By assembling so much material about Alice S. Wentworth and Zeb Tilton and by building such a thoughtful model, Tom has performed a service to the maritime history of Massachusetts. I hope you find it as fascinating as I have.
Rob Napier
Newburyport, February 2025
THE COASTING SCHOONER
ALICE S. WENTWORTH
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Author’s Note: Throughout this book, I use the terms “schooner,” “ship,” and “vessel” interchangeably. The proper term for Alice S. Wentworth is “schooner,” but I use all three freely.
INTRODUCTION
This book is about how I built a scale model of the coasting schooner, Alice S. Wentworth. And, I promise I will get to that. But there are a few things I’d like to bring to your attention before we start making wood chips and sawdust.
When a model builder starts a new scratch-building project, they are never sure of what they’ll find as the project progresses. Very often, the first steps in the research phase can put an abrupt stop to the effort before work begins. Or, as the project moves forward, the builder may discover that their experience, creativity, and skills need to be exercised more vigorously to competently complete the model. Even the very reason for choosing a particular subject can change dramatically. All of this, and more, happened to me over the three years Alice S. Wentworth
took to complete. Without a doubt, Alice S. Wentworth was one of the most demanding and effective teachers I’ve had.
WHY THIS SHIP?
In 2009, I was part of a group of ship model builders involved with an exhibit at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum in Hyannis, Massachusetts. At the opening reception for the exhibit, I was talking with Janet Preston, then director of the museum and one of the other model builders, Mark Sutherland. As we juggled our plastic wine cups and hors D’oeuvres, Mark asked Janet what she thought her next project might be. She said an exhibit on coasting schooners would be nice, in part, because there would be so much local history that could be explored. Mark immediately piped up with, “Oh. Well, an exhibit like that would have to include a model of Alice S. Wentworth.” Without a moment’s hesitation Janet replied, “Absolutely.” During this exchange I’m sure I was conspicuous by my silence. I had no idea what this vessel was or why it would “have to” be included in such a project. I think I mumbled some-
INTRODUCTION
thing like, “Well yeah, that goes without saying,” and did my best to conceal my ignorance until the conversation drifted to another subject. My interest had been piqued. To this day, I’m not sure why. Perhaps it had something to do with the name, Alice S. Wentworth… It seemed regal and approachable at the same time. Something in the cadence of the syllables conveyed strength and sweetness. Hearing the name spoken was an invitation to know something of a life, long gone but not willing to be forgotten. I was captured immediately. If the name mentioned that night had been something like, Mildred Blort, I probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
So, how does one respond to such an irresistible invitation? By going straight to Google, of course. What did the vessel look like? How big was she? Where and when was she built? Who were her owners, captains, mates? In spite of the large amount of information available online about the schooner, there was still a very deep well of unanswered questions. Very few of those questions can remain unanswered, if the project is to be successful. Much more diligent sleuthing and a bit of extraordinary luck would be required.
Undertaking a project as comprehensive as building Alice S. Wentworth could not be done all at once. From 2009 to 2014, I was able to gather the needed information to build the model. From the amount of data I collected, I was under the impression I’d done my due diligence where research is concerned. But, once I started the model, a surprising thing happened: I didn’t want to stop finding out more about the vessel, specifically, her people. The more I was permitted a glimpse into their lives, the more I wanted to know. The model became not just an academic exercise about a ship, but a quest to understand just a bit of their lives in the hopes it would be evident in the model. By far, the most influential of these people was Zebulon Tilton, schooner captain from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. His story captivated me like nothing before. It didn’t take long for me to realize Zeb Tilton and Alice S. Wen-
tworth were two forces of nature that would not be regarded as they are today had they not joined together to form something so perfectly suited to their purpose.
Alice S. Wentworth was an unusually long-lived vessel with a varied career spanning more than a century. She literally touched the lives of people generations apart. Most probably did not know each other, but all shared the common thread of having their lives affected by this simple ship. That influence continues today. The Tilton family still lives on Martha’s Vineyard and keeps Zeb’s legacy alive. The Stevens Brothers and their extended family, including their niece, Alice Stevens Wentworth have their histories preserved in the Kennebunk Historical and the Wells/Ogunquit Historical Societies in Maine. The family of Charlie Sayle does the same on Nantucket. You may not recognize these names now, but hopefully, as you read on, they will become as familiar to you as they are to me. And, you may even feel Alice S. Wentworth’s influence on you.
One more thing: to the best of my knowledge, she was the last exclusively sail powered vessel carrying freight in New England waters, possibly the entire Eastern Seaboard. To paraphrase: “We may never look upon her like again.”
I’ve divided the book into three parts. The first will deal with the ship, herself. The second section will be about some of the people who brought Alice S. Wentworth to national attention and into her well-deserved place in American maritime history. And the third section describes how I was able to bring this important little ship out of the past.
