George Brown “Excelsior” River Boat

By Marc Olimpio

THIS EXCELSIOR HAD been in the same family for 150 years. In 2021 the granddaughter of the original family of Richard McNeely Jr., (whom as a boy that received the Excelsior) decided it was time to sell the boat.

She gave the task to her daughter. Today her daughter is the great granddaughter of Richard McNeely jr., owner of the boat that was gifted to him ca. 1872. I purchased the Excelsior in 2021.

Over the last year I corresponded with the great granddaughter about past family history and she told me various stories handed down about the family’s history. We eventually met in Providence R.I