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According to Richard J. Wright, he appears to be the first shipbuilder in Milan, Ohio. His earliest vessels, Albany and Boston were built there in 1842. Bates built at least ten vessels in Milan between the years 1842- 1856. On February 2, 1847, The Sandusky Clarion wrote: "Well, Mr. Editor, I believe this place is determined to excel all others in the art of ship building. There are two vessels now on the stocks at Huron, and are ready for calking. One is built by Capt. F. D. Ketchum, for Gen. C. M. Reed of Erie, Pa., of the following dimensions, to wit: 115 fee keel, 25 feet beam, and 9 ½ feet hold, of the capacity of about 260 tons burthen. She will be ready for sea about 1st of April next, and will carry 12000 bushels of wheat, drawing 8 ½ feet water; and if she does not prove a troubler for some of the fastest sailing vessels on these waters, then there is no use in building a perfect modeled craft. The other is being built by Capt. E. Bates, for the Messrs. Wrights, Sprague & Bates It is only necessary to say that this vessel is building in the usual elegant style of her master builder. She is about 220 tons burthen, and will be in commission at the early opening of navigation. She bears the broad pennon of Com'r James Shook, late of the schooner W. Irving. Two more perfectly modeled and substantially built vessels cannot be "skeered up" on these waters - that's all, Yours, &c." The vessel being built by Bates is likely the Forest which was built at Huron in that year. The Blue Bell (1844), Sciota (1848) and Evaline Bates (1858) were also built there. The scow schooner Lily (1853) is the only vessel believed to have been built by Bates in Sandusky. The exact date of the death of Evaline Bates is unknown. Probate records from Erie County, Ohio infer his death as being about 1891. BENJAMIN S. GOODSELL (1795-1874) Benjamin S. Goodsell was born in 1795 in New York. He married Laura Alger and they had two children. Goodsell's Vermilion yard was on the bank of the river between Huron and Lake Streets. According to Richard J. Wright, the steamer Vermillion, launched from his yard in 1838, was the first vessel of any consequence built at Vermilion. The Missouri (1840), Birmingham (1843), and Indiana (1848) were other boats built from his yard. The side-wheel steamer Columbus (1835) appears to be the only vessel built by Goodsell in Huron. According to some accounts, Goodsell and Captain Augustus Walker built the steamer Great Western in 1838. The Goodsell yard was sold to Isaac W. Nicholas and Captain Alva Bradley in 1849 when Goodsell caught the California "gold fever." Benjamin S. Goodsell died at the age of 79 years. He is buried in Baptist Cemetery, Berlin Height, Ohio. 165