Newhook, Jonas N.
(1823-1901). Shipwright. Born New Harbour T.B., son of Martha
(Penny) and Charles Newhook qv. Married Rachel Knight. From
a long line of renowned shipbuilders, Newhook as a young man settled
in Jackson's Cove, Green Bay, where he continued the family tradition.
His barque Fleetwing, a 249-ton vessel, was described in the
Telegraph of St. John's: ``...coppered high to the bends,
of a very superior build, all juniper frame, topsides, rails and covering
boards of Baltimore white oak, keelson of white oak and Demerara greenheart
with greenheart treenails. This vessel will bear the strictest examination
and is, without exception, the fastest vessel in the trade.'' In his
sailing autobiography, When Ships Were Ships, Captain William
Morris Barnes termed the barque ``the fastest thing ever sailed salt
water''. It apparently made numerous trips from Harbour Grace to
Pernambuco in record time. Newhook also built the Tasso, another
vessel of legendary speed.
- J.R. Smallwood (1937),
- ET (June 17, 1965),
- Newfoundland Historical Society (Newhooks; New Harbour).
KAW
Text and images copied from the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador web site at
http://enl.cuff.com/entry/63/6328.htm
© 1997, 1998 Copyright J. R. Smallwood Centre for Newfoundland Studies.
© 1997, 1998 Copyright Harry Cuff Publications Limited.