Obituaries

Capt. J. Wesley Conner, known personally or by reputation to almost every riverman in the west, died of senility Friday night at his home 422 Bank street. For nearly sixty years he was a steamboat pilot or captain on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and had the distinction of piloting the Robert E. Lee when she won the memorable race with the Natchez from New Orleans to St. Louis. Thousands watched the boats pass in that race from the levies of the Mississippi and aged river men tell of it as one of the remarkable exhibitions of the days when river steamboats were floating palaces and when great fortunes depended on the arm and eye of the pilot. Capt. "Wes" Conner was from a pioneer family and "went with the boats" in his boyhood. He was born in this city eighty-one years ago, and except when away on his trips, lived here. He engaged in steamboat business from his boyhood until he was stricken with paralysis while on duty on a packet three or four years ago and made that the chief business of his life. Since the stroke he had lived quietly at his home, where everybody in the city knew him. He was with James Pell, a pilot on the great Richmond, one of the richest and largest steamers that ever made the trip between Louisville and New Orleans. He commanded at different times the Laurel Hill, the Legal Tender, the Liberty and other boats. Another of the famous pilots with whom he had been associated was Rezin Jamison, now dead, who lived in Harrison county, Ind. During the civil war Capt. Conner served in the Mississippi marine brigade, acquitting himself honorably. Seven years ago their golden wedding anniversary was celebrated by himself and his wife, at his home.