Appleton’s Wharf in 1850 - John Stobart
Joseph Hyne first shipped when he was around 12 years old. He would spend 11 years on merchant ships. Joseph was born in New York and remained there. He was a bachelor, but had a brother, Edwyn Hyne, who lived at 663 Greenwich Avenue in New York. Joseph lost his right leg on a ship and entered Sailors' Snug Harbor in 1857, at 23 years old.
The last ship that Joseph served on was the Bark Leo. The Bark Leo was under the command of Samuel Graves and hailed out of Marblehead, Mass. The Ship Bark Leo was known to ply its merchant trade between Boston and Messina (Boston Post, 1849). Working on the Bark Leo as a seaman, Joseph Hyne would lose his right Leg in 1856.
The Bark Leo - Commanded by Capt. Samuel Graves of Marble Head - Dow
After recovering at the Harbor for 4 years, Joseph would ask for a liberty of six years from 1861 to 1867 to go back to work in New York. He would find a job as a bookkeeper and telegraph operator. Since his brother lived in a Row House close to the shipping docks and merchant houses, it is possible that Joseph stayed with his brother or found quarters close to him.
In the 1860s, telecommunication was at its peak. On October 24, 1861, the transcontinental telegraph was completed. The first long-distance message was sent from Sacramento, California, to Washington, D.C. This type of communication allowed messages to travel in a fraction of the time it would take the Pony Express or Stagecoach Mail Services to deliver them. Joseph became a telegraph operator at the peak of this technology (U.S. National Park Service).
GEORGE HENRY ANDREWS (1816-1898) - "The American Pony Express, en route from the Missouri River to SanFrancisco" (Andrews)
Joseph would return to the Harbor in 1867 and remain there for two years before requesting liberty in 1869. Joseph would travel to David's Island to become a part of the crew for a Light Ship. After the Civil War, lightships were not posted at David's Island, but the waters off the island probably acted as a staging area for lightships, because Fort Slocum was on the island. Joseph would not return to the Harbor until August 12, 1891.
SandyHook Lightship - Milton James Burns, 1896 - Monmouth County Historical Association
In 1893, Joseph Hyne applied for his last liberty. The Trustees of Sailors' Snug Harbor told Joseph that he was not allowed to seek employment during this liberty, or he would be scratched from the Rolls (Expelled from the Harbor). Joseph Hyne never returns to Sailor Snug Harbor. In a letter to Governor Captain Gustavus D. S. Trask in December 18, 1893, Joseph was staying with a poor family in Belford NJ that, according to Joseph, could not do without him (Hyne). Joseph Hyne was officially expelled from the Harbor in March of 1896; he was between 61 and 62 years old (Joseph Hyne Registration Page).