Robert told his children that sailors received premium pay for working in Panama in those days because of the danger of yellow fever.
The SS Panama crossed a point east of the Bahamas(3) on Christmas Day 1910, according to a ship's record Robert kept as a souvenir. The slip of paper was folded up and used to jot down two names and an address: O'Rourke, McVicker, 367 9th, corner of 35th. This address was likely in Manhattan or Brooklyn.
One of his SS Furnessia crew mates, Milwyn Jenkins (likely the man in the photo above, left), wrote often, updating Robert (above, right) on the old gang at Anchor Lines. Milwyn also bundled newspapers from Ireland and left them in New York for Robert to pick up from the Anchor Line clerk when next in port. Much of their correspondence centered on getting a Panama hat for Milwyn.
Jenkins wrote on 15 December 1910 to congratulate Robert on his promotion.
I am certain that you will get on well, and that your company will find that your advancement is to their credit.
Jenkins updated Robert on the old crew. He also told Robert that the Irish lady, Mrs Ross, rode the SS Furnessia last time out of Moville to join her husband in New York. Jenkins said Robert no doubt remembered her.
In his next letter, dated 19 March 1911, Jenkins said Mr and Mrs Ross were still in New York. He added that "the sister Miss Seary" would be making the next crossing to New York out of Moville.(4)
Robert cooked on at least one occasion aboard the TSS California, but almost all of his correspondence came via the SS Panama.
Robert, who had a youthful countenance, grew a moustache to add a few years to his appearance, hoping to gain respect from and authority over his older and brawnier employees.(5)
Robert lost his sight in one eye, reportedly the result of a storm at sea.(6) A receipt from the Eye & Ear Department, Ancon Hospital, Ancon, CZ, to the Eye and Ear Clinic at Colon Hospital, Cristobal, CZ, for prescription glasses dated 14 February 1912, might somehow be related to his accident. His son John recalls his father telling of being in the hospital at Colon, but John put the time frame at approximately 1916-17.
Robert attended the Grand Annual Ball of the Friendly Sons of Ireland, in Colon, Canal Zone, on 15 March 1913.
First Ship Through the Panama Canal
Robert told everyone that he was ship's cook aboard the first ship through the Panama Canal, and there's little reason to doubt his story.(7) There is ample proof that he was in the vicinity at the time; Robert kept a souvenir copy of the breakfast menu from aboard the SS Panama dated 11 August 1914, only days before the official opening of the canal. Many pieces of correspondence and numerous photos show him touring the construction as the locks were still being built.
The official record is silent on the matter, however. The SS Ancon was the first ship through the canal on 15 August 1914, and neither the National Archives nor the Panama Canal Commission could find any records to prove that Robert was aboard.
Robert might have been on an unofficial first ship through the canal, or the first ship to travel the other direction through the canal. Maybe the SS Panama was involved in testing the locks prior to the official opening? Maybe his ship was first to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific? Then again, Robert might have been aboard the SS Ancon with George W Goethals for the historic event.
Part of the problem in making a final determination is that Robert was not a passenger; adequate records of crew members are not available. Official employment records show a couple of Robert Nobles worked on the canal project, but neither was identical with our Robert.(8)
Robert often boasted of his acquaintance with Goethals, chief engineer of the Panama Canal (1907-14) and governor of the Canal Zone (1914-16), but the proof of same is limited to a stateroom receipt for wine dated 21 December 1914.
Robert made regular runs to New York City(9) throughout this period, based on correspondence with a series of girlfriends he developed in the city and surrounding area.
A Business Opportunity In Peru that Never Materialized (September - October 1915)
There was at least one break in service with the Panama Railroad Steamship Line during this period. When the SS Panama departed New York on September 9, 1915, this was to have been the last voyage for Robert and a fellow steward named Mr Lobley aboard this line. Although they both wanted to quit right away over bitter promotion disputes, Robert and Lobley needed the seed money they would make on this last voyage for a business opportunity in Peru. Also, they would be embarking on their journey to Peru from Panama, with no immediate plans to return to New York.(10)
But Lobley grew uneasy and without a word to Robert abruptly backed out. The day the SS Panama sailed, Lobley showed up instead at Isabel Bolton's New York apartment to explain to Robert's girlfriend why he had quit. Isabel wrote
He told me all about the trouble he had on the boat, and -- well you can hardly blame him, Bob, because it would make you or anybody feel the same. Supposing when you went on the ship the captain said,'Well Mr Noble I have someone to act as first steward so you can keep your old job.'
but she wasn't entirely sure why Lobley was at her place
Well I was more than surprised when he walked in here at three o'clock. I kept looking at the clock and saying,'Well Bob will be going soon'. . . and when he came up gee I almost drop[p]ed dead. I thought -- well, maybe something had happened to you.
While Lobley promised to say his goodbyes to a sweetheart and be at the dock ready to leave for Peru when the SS Panama returned, Isabel was wise enough to realize that Lobley might never follow through on the business deal in Peru.
But on the other hand, it is the last trip and of course the money will make quite a lot of difference to him on account of going to Peru. . . . Maybe he didn't care so very much to go away anyway?
Robert's friendship with Lobley soured and the Peru adventure fell through.
By early November 1915, Robert returned to the SS Panama, back to a Second Steward position. A Mrs Donovan of Brook Haven, New York, a frequent passenger on the SS Panama who knew Robert and his former girlfriend Alma quite well, put in a good word with a Mr Foss at the Panama Railroad Steamship Company. This same Mr Foss wired greetings to Robert from the SS Bunker Hill on the occasion of Robert's last voyage aboard the SS Panama on September 9, 1915. Mrs Donovan got Mr Foss to agree that if Robert wanted his job back, the line would look upon Robert's absence as a vacation. Robert evidently stayed with the SS Panama at least through January 1916. [Donovan letter; Foss telegram]
Robert's son John says his father was chief steward for McCormick Line and Grace Line Steamship Companies, buying supplies for a fleet of six or seven freighters operated out of the Canal Zone. The USS Florida played a part in this scenario, according to John's recollections. This information doesn't fit very neatly into Robert's profile, but should not be discounted entirely.
Alma Wurdemann
Robert's girlfriend in 1913 was Alma Wurdemann, who lived with her mother, Mrs Henry Wurdemann, in Panama.
Robert and Alma apparently socialized over a period of months whenever Robert was in port from his steward's job aboard the S. S. Panama. Alma was clearly interested in developing the relationship, based on her letters to Robert.
The Wurdemanns were former residents of Jersey City, NJ. When Alma and her mother visited relatives in Jersey City Heights, their social itinerary rated a brief mention in their former hometown paper, The Hudson Observer. Alma sent Robert a copy of the article and wrote below it "Guess who?"
Alma and her mother spent the rest of June visiting local friends and relatives, including Alma's nephew and his parents. Robert steamed to Panama and back during this period. Alma made arrangements for Robert to meet her and her mother at the Hotel Shelburne in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, upon his arrival aboard the S S Panama on July 1, 1913. Alma was disappointed when, for some reason, Robert couldn't meet Alma as soon as his ship docked. Robert was to take the train to Brighton Beach from the station at Brooklyn Bridge.
By the end of June 1913, Alma was making elaborate arrangements to meet Robert in Brighton Beach, New York, upon the arrival of his ship on 1 July. When Robert said he couldn't see her on his first day in port, Alma fully expected to see him the next day and provided directions.
Alma and her mother returned to Panama in July 1913. Soon thereafter, Aunt Alma and Grandma invited Alma's nephew down for a visit. The boy was to accompany Mr Noble aboard ship from New York to Panama. There are several photographs, probably taken in Panama, showing Alma and Robert with her nephew and his parents.
On 26 August 1913, Robert wrote Alma from aboard the SS Panama to say that the ship was returning to New York for major repairs and wouldn't make it back to Panama for an indefinite time. A bit melodramatic, Robert claimed that the ship was sinking but that the captain thought they would make port. He was heartbroken to not be seeing her as they had planned; Robert had been counting the days and hours since they last saw each another.
On October 21, 1913, Robert took in a musical comedy in two acts called "The Three Twins" at the Garden Theatre in Colon, probably with Alma.
Alma eventually married another.
Isabel Bolton
His next girlfriend, from 1914 to 1916, was Isabel Bolton. Her family had society contacts and the household had a maid, but the budget was evidently quite tight around the Bolton residence. Isabel lived in a New York City apartment at 150 W 36th Street, at least from September to November 1915. She and her parents moved to a house at 10 Ocean Port Ave, Box 70, Long Branch, New Jersey, in early November 1915, telephone Long Branch 847.
Her sister Eunice was a rowdy New York girl who at least once was arrested for solicitation to prostitute. Robert threatened to put her over his knee when he got back in town, but sassy Eunice only ventured that he would probably like that, and pointed out that she knew a few juicy tales about Robert!
The relationship with Isabel seems to have been more trouble than it was worth to Robert. He evidently didn't like travelling down to Long Branch to spend his leaves with Isabel and her parents. He started to avoid her and not return her letters or even call when he was in port. Isabel speculated in her writings on the direction of their relationship, then the letters stopped.
Footnotes
1. Several blank copies of the Panama Canal Steamship Line's application form survived in Robert's special correspondence folder.
2. The Reference Librarian at the New York Historical Society found the SS Panama in the Record of American and Foreign Shipping, ed 1910 and ed 1917. The 4,193 T ship was built in 1899 in Philadelphia, PA, by William Cramp & Sons S & EB Co. It was owned by the Isthmian Canal Commission. It sailed between New York and Colon. Its master was (Benjamin) Corning.
In a separate reference, she found that the Isthmian Canal Commission expired in 1914. This commission became the Panama Canal Commission, which existed until 1979, at which point the Panama Canal Treaty required that a new commission be set up.
3. "SS Panama at meridian 25 Dec 1910: Latitude 25 degrees 53 minutes North, Longitude 74 degrees 20 minutes West, Distance 341 miles, Benjamin Corning, Master." Form No. TS 59 20 Pads May 1910.
4. Possibly Miss Seary is Mrs Ross' sister.
5. According to his son, John C Noble.
6. One story says a hatchway latch snapped loose and struck him in the face, forcing the eyeball from its socket. Another says a cinder somehow lodged in his eye while at sea. Surgery reportedly included the temporary removal of his eye without anesthetics. The eye was not lost, but surgery failed to restore his vision. This writer's personal favorite was offered by Bob Noble, who said his father lost his eye when a chandelier fell on him at the Lord Baltimore hotel.
7. His son Pat suggests that his father might have been aboard the ship but not a member of the crew.
8. The Panama Canal Commission Vital Statistics Unit replied to my inquiry on 24 Sept 1992, providing copies of employment records for a Robert E Noble and a Robert H Noble, both recipients of the Honorable Roosevelt Medal (medal no 3032 and 5445, resp)(1st bar no 1853 and 3385, resp). Robert E Noble was employed by the Canal from Jan 1910 to Jan 1914 as a locomotive engineer, starting at $140/mo, then $180/mo, finally $210/mo.
9. A January 1915 dental receipt from Brooklyn shows that Robert was quite at home in New York.
10. This explains the "Greetings and Good luck" goodbye message to Robert from M Foss on 9 September 1915.
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