Mary Millicent Miller was the First American woman to become a steamboat master. From 1884 to 1891, she captained a steamboat and paved the way for other women to become steamboat masters.
The article below was published in 1888. It tells a story about how Mary Miller became a steamboat captain that differs from the story told on Wikipedia.
A Woman Steamboat Captain
Some years ago – that is to say, about four or five – there was a small steamboat plying on the Mississippi River, and officered by a certain Capt. Miller. He was still a young man, though in a responsible position, and was but lately married. So fond of his wife, moreover, that he could not bear to leave her at home, as did the other river captains, but carried her back and forth with him, trip after trip, between New Orleans and Memphis. She grew in time quite familiar with his duties, and during a sudden illness of her husband assumed command of the boat, and managed her so well that the mates and roustabouts acquired a wholesome respect for her authority and judgement.
Later the husband died, and having nothing but his salary as captain and a part ownership in the boat, the widow found herself under the necessity of doing something for her living. Such a thing was quite without precedent, but she went before the proper authorities, passed a searching examination as to her qualifications and was permitted to assume the command of the boat, under the title of Captain Mary Miller.
She has retained the position ever since, finally securing entire ownership of the little streamer, and is a great favorite all along the line of ports that lie between the two points of her route. Now there is a company playing in Boston a little steamboat drama, entitled “Capt. Mary Miller,” founded upon the stirring experiences of the first female steamboat captain.
Source: The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.), 29 Feb. 1888.
