His obituary reads: "Capt. Richard B. Gibbs, pilot of boats on the Pawtucket river (Rhode Island) for upward of 50 years and the last member of a family that followed the water, died at his home, 120 Providence Street. Seventy years of age at the time of his death, he had been in declining health since the day, 3 years ago, when he was taken sick at his post in the pilot house of the tug Walter E. Sutton.
Yesterday flags flew at half-mast from all the vessels of the Providence Tow and Steamboat Company, whoe boats he had safely steered along the channel of Pawtucket river on hundres of occasions. He was a general favorite among the captains of the vessels that ply to and from Providence harbor.
Capt. "Dick", as he was called by his associates, was a specialist on the navigation of the Pawtucket river, making that run regularly for nearly half a century. When he got his license, shortly after his 21st b'day, he was the youngest licensed skipper in the Narragansett district.
His first job as master was on the tug Fannie, owned by Robert Pettis. Later he piloted the Judge William Cramp. For years he guided the excursion steamer What Cheer. During the latter part of his career he was at the bridge of the tug Walter E. Sutton.
He was a direct descendant of John C. Gibbs, who braved the ocean to crosss from England to the new land across the Atlantic in 1650. Dick's father, John C. Gibbs was the first man to run a tugboat in Narragansett bay. Capt. Richard Gibbs belonged to the Providence Marine Society, Masters, Mates and Pilots Association and Reliance Lodge, I.O.O.F. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth J. Greenwood Gibbs and a brother, Nelson Hall Gibbs. He did not have children.
Yesterday flags flew at half-mast from all the vessels of the Providence Tow and Steamboat Company, whoe boats he had safely steered along the channel of Pawtucket river on hundres of occasions. He was a general favorite among the captains of the vessels that ply to and from Providence harbor.
Capt. "Dick", as he was called by his associates, was a specialist on the navigation of the Pawtucket river, making that run regularly for nearly half a century. When he got his license, shortly after his 21st b'day, he was the youngest licensed skipper in the Narragansett district.
His first job as master was on the tug Fannie, owned by Robert Pettis. Later he piloted the Judge William Cramp. For years he guided the excursion steamer What Cheer. During the latter part of his career he was at the bridge of the tug Walter E. Sutton.
He was a direct descendant of John C. Gibbs, who braved the ocean to crosss from England to the new land across the Atlantic in 1650. Dick's father, John C. Gibbs was the first man to run a tugboat in Narragansett bay. Capt. Richard Gibbs belonged to the Providence Marine Society, Masters, Mates and Pilots Association and Reliance Lodge, I.O.O.F. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth J. Greenwood Gibbs and a brother, Nelson Hall Gibbs. He did not have children.
His obituary reads: "Capt. Richard B. Gibbs, pilot of boats on the Pawtucket river (Rhode Island) for upward of 50 years and the last member of a family that followed the water, died at his home, 120 Providence Street. Seventy years of age at the time of his death, he had been in declining health since the day, 3 years ago, when he was taken sick at his post in the pilot house of the tug Walter E. Sutton.
Yesterday flags flew at half-mast from all the vessels of the Providence Tow and Steamboat Company, whoe boats he had safely steered along the channel of Pawtucket river on hundres of occasions. He was a general favorite among the captains of the vessels that ply to and from Providence harbor.
Capt. "Dick", as he was called by his associates, was a specialist on the navigation of the Pawtucket river, making that run regularly for nearly half a century. When he got his license, shortly after his 21st b'day, he was the youngest licensed skipper in the Narragansett district.
His first job as master was on the tug Fannie, owned by Robert Pettis. Later he piloted the Judge William Cramp. For years he guided the excursion steamer What Cheer. During the latter part of his career he was at the bridge of the tug Walter E. Sutton.
He was a direct descendant of John C. Gibbs, who braved the ocean to crosss from England to the new land across the Atlantic in 1650. Dick's father, John C. Gibbs was the first man to run a tugboat in Narragansett bay. Capt. Richard Gibbs belonged to the Providence Marine Society, Masters, Mates and Pilots Association and Reliance Lodge, I.O.O.F. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth J. Greenwood Gibbs and a brother, Nelson Hall Gibbs. He did not have children.
Yesterday flags flew at half-mast from all the vessels of the Providence Tow and Steamboat Company, whoe boats he had safely steered along the channel of Pawtucket river on hundres of occasions. He was a general favorite among the captains of the vessels that ply to and from Providence harbor.
Capt. "Dick", as he was called by his associates, was a specialist on the navigation of the Pawtucket river, making that run regularly for nearly half a century. When he got his license, shortly after his 21st b'day, he was the youngest licensed skipper in the Narragansett district.
His first job as master was on the tug Fannie, owned by Robert Pettis. Later he piloted the Judge William Cramp. For years he guided the excursion steamer What Cheer. During the latter part of his career he was at the bridge of the tug Walter E. Sutton.
He was a direct descendant of John C. Gibbs, who braved the ocean to crosss from England to the new land across the Atlantic in 1650. Dick's father, John C. Gibbs was the first man to run a tugboat in Narragansett bay. Capt. Richard Gibbs belonged to the Providence Marine Society, Masters, Mates and Pilots Association and Reliance Lodge, I.O.O.F. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth J. Greenwood Gibbs and a brother, Nelson Hall Gibbs. He did not have children.
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