Marie Palmer

Marie Palmer was part of the Great White Fleet of William F. Palmer. So called because the fleet were painted white. The ships Marie and Maud were 4-masted and the remaining 5-masted. Marie was William F. Palmer’s wife and his first foray into shipping as an owner, vessel designer, construction supervisor, operations manager of the fleet and financier. All of which he did from his personal residence in Dorchester Massachusetts. Bristol Academy at Taunton, Massachusetts, for eight years during the ’90’s. His nautical interests began to take form while he was at Taunton where he mastered the study of naval architecture. Taunton was the hub of the New England bituminous trade at that time. Much is made of the fact that WFP increased his fleet to geometric proportions in the ten years before he died at age 50. Fifteen is the number used. The hulls are number one thru sixteen. Hull number thirteen was never issued - Fannie I was abandoned in 1906 and replaced with Fannie II in 1907. There were only 14 in the fleet at any one time.