St. Croix Landmarks Society Library & Archives Presents

Captain A. J. Blackwood - Traveling in South America

From the Monthly Illustrato Volume XV, Number 5, January 1898

Although this gentleman personally disclaims the honor, he is beyond question and since he arrived in this country always has been, and as long as he remains in it there is little doubt that he always will be the first and leading citizen of St. Croix. Captain Blackwood represents the enterprising and wealthy New York firm of Bartram Brothers, who have vast landed interests here in Captain Blackwood's name and hundreds of thousands of dollars under his control. And it is to the good American pluck, energy and brains of the subject of this sketch and the capital of the firm he represents that the prosperity of St. Croix is very largely due.

Captain Blackwood who has been so intimately connected with the affairs of this island for the past twelve years, is truly a most remarkable man, and his life, if exhaustively written out, would no doubt be looked upon as the conception of some clever romancer. It would tell how he left his quiet old home in Machias, Main without the formality of his parents' consent and after a brief period spent in the prosaic life of a farmer's lad started to sea, a friendless, moneyless, uneducated boy. It would recount harrowing tales of the sea, hardship and privation, danger and toil, during which he rose from ship scullion to master of a vessel through his own Yankee grit in a very few years, It would dwell at length upon the confidence with which his sterling worth inspired his employers, when they took him, without any business experience or knowledge of cane growing or sugar manufacture, from the command of one of their ships and placed him in charge of a branch of their business which involved millions of dollars and required the exercise of the highest degree of shrewdness, executive ability and managerial skill, and commissioned him to resuscitate the business and make it profitable, Which those who had followed sugar-making all their lives declared impracticable.

After looking the ground over and realizing the Herculean task that was before him, Captain Blackwood was not altogether "keen" to undertake it, yet he did so through his employer's encouragement, but with a degree of diffidence. But with a man of his caliber, to undertake was to accomplish, and instead of three estates which Bartram Brother had when Captain Blackwood took charge, they now own twelve in St. Croix, comprising 2,000 acres all of which stand in their agent's name and one of the finest and most modern sugar mills in the world. Besides that they do nearly, if not quite , half the provision business of the entire island, and of all of these are under Captain Blackwood's charge. The sugar mill was built entirely under Captain Blackwood's direction by the Pioneer Iron Works, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Captain Blackwood's successful operations have effectually squelched all the old fogy theories and prejudices of the old-time planters

Of his own accomplishments, however the gentleman is very depreciatory while he can not but admit the results that have been reached under his superintendence he modestly disclaims any of the honor which he insists is due entirely to the capitalm the encouragement and wise direction of his principals, Messrs. Bartram Brothers.

Captain Blackwood is a member of the Colonial Council, which confers upon him the title of Honorable, but which is, however, one that he especially deprecates as being too "highfalutin" for an unpretentious ex-sea captain.