Here are previous posts in this series.

Doing this blog is telling me how much I do not know about the history of the area where I grew up. In this case, I grew up in an adjoining county to Auburn, and less than 50 miles away, and yet I know almost nothing about Auburn. Today a portal into prominent people of Auburn past is this set of photos shared by Bill Hecht. John E. McIntosh owned this yacht Calypso from 1904 until 1912.

I’d guess it’s the 57.3′ yacht built in Groton CT and registered in Wilmington NC, or is there an error in the 1905 MVUS or maybe in my reading? Was Calypso not registered?

The below data is from the 1914 MVUS, two years after Calypso might have been sold, and only then is a yacht–89′ x 14′–shown as built in Cayuga and registered in Oswego? Would the steamer have a McIntosh & Seymour engine?

Who are these guests aboard Calypso?

If by this point you’re wondering what funded Mr. McIntosh’s yacht, he and James A. Seymour founded McIntosh, Seymour, and Company, builder and innovator of steam engines and eventually diesel engines, later acquired by ALCO. Read more about the company here.

I’d love to know more. What became of Calypso when it was sold? Does Calypso appear in vintage photos in other areas of the Canals?

Dispatches is always looking for your stories and vintage images, interpreted by you or not. See previous posts by self-designated correspondents here, and please get in touch to widen the focus of this blog.

Many thanks to Bill Hecht for cleaning up and sharing these photos.