Wisconsin Maritime Museum

Empire (Steamer, 1844)

Description


Identification
Vessel name:
Empire
Year of Build:
1844
Major repairs:
1865;
Rebuilt:
1. 1862, Clark's Shipyard, Detroit, Michigan;
2. 1870;
Official Number:
8559
Construction and Ownership
Built at:
Cleveland, Ohio
Vessel Type:
Steamer
Additional vessel types:
Barge
Hull Materials:
Wood
Bow Type:
Plain Head
Builder Name:
George W. Jones
Ownership Notes:
Barney, D. N., (1844-1847); Smith, J., (1844-1847); Randall, Henry, (1847-1848); Dwight, Henry, (1848-1849); St. John, Ansel, (1849-1852); Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad Company, (1852-1864); Litchfield, E. C., (1852); Jarvis, J. B., (1853); Wilkinson, J., (1855); Noyes, J. S., (1862-1866); McGregor, T., (1867-1870); McAlpine, D. G., (1867);
Master(s):
Howe, D., (1844); Randall, (1847); Mead, N., (1852-1853); Mitchell, James T., (1855-1857); Gibson,; Noyes, J. S., (1862); Meyers, B. F., (1862); Campbell, W., R., (1865); Doyle,J., (1865); McAlpine, D., G., (1867); McGregor, T., (1868); Gray, C., (1870);
Power
Number of Masts:
1 (1844)
Hull Dimensions
1844
Length: 253' 6" Width/Beam: 32' 8 + 1/2" Depth: 14' 2"
1862
Length: 251' Width/Beam: 33' Depth: 12'
1865
Length: 255.1' Width/Beam: 33.3' Depth: 12.7'
1870
Length: 255.1' Width/Beam: 33.3' Depth: 12.7'
Tonnage
1844
Gross: 1,140 + 72/95
1862
Gross: 1,031 + 34/95
1865
Gross: 704
1870
Gross: 704
Enrollments/Registration
August 13, 1844
   Port: Cleveland Number: 39 of 1844
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: New Vessel
Next document: Cleveland 5-3-1845
May 3, 1845
   Port: Cleveland Number: 20 of 1845
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Changed Owner
Next document: Buffalo 4-26-1847
April 26, 1847
   Port: Buffalo Number: 27 of 1847
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Changed Owner
Next document: Buffalo 10-1-1848
View document online
July 13, 1848
   Port: Buffalo Number: 60
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Changed owners
View document online
October 1, 1849
   Port: Buffalo Number: 88 of 1849
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Previous enrollment lost
Next document: Buffalo 10-8-1852
View document online
October 8, 1852
   Port: Buffalo Number: 116 of 1852
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: New Papers Issued
Next document: Buffalo 11-22-1853
View document online
November 22, 1853
   Port: Buffalo Number: 141 of 1853
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Changed Owner
Next document: Detroit 5-30-1855
View document online
May 30, 1855
   Port: Detroit Number: 62 of 1855
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Changed Owner
Next document: Detroit 8-2-1862

Next document: (Laid up for a long time)
August 2, 1862
   Port: Detroit Number: 132 of 1862
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: New Vessel
Next document: Buffalo 8-18-1862
August 18, 1862
   Port: Buffalo Number: 136 of 1862
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Arrived at Home Port
Next document: Buffalo 4-24-1865
View document online
April 24, 1865
   Port: Buffalo Number: 52 of 1865
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Remeasured (Readmeasured)
Next document: Buffalo 10-18-1865
View document online
October 18, 1865
   Port: Buffalo Number: 387 of 1865
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Changed Owner
Next document: Buffalo 4-26-1867
View document online
April 26, 1867
   Port: Buffalo Number: 66 of 1867
Document Type: Temporary Enrollment
Reason: License Expired
Next document: Detroit 7-5-1867
View document online
July 5, 1867
   Port: Detroit Number: 154 of 1867
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Arrived at Home Port
Next document: Buffalo 9-12-1868
September 12, 1868
   Port: Buffalo Number: 49 of 1868
Document Type: Temporary Enrollment
Reason: License Expired
Next document: Detroit 9-17-1868
View document online
September 17, 1868
   Port: Detroit Number: 135 of 1868
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Arrived at Home Port
Next document: Detroit 4-25-1870
April 25, 1870
   Port: Detroit Number: 43 of 1870
Document Type: Enrollment
Reason: Rig Changed to Propeller
Next document: Detroit 6-9-1871

Next document: (Vessel total loss)
History
Classification:
a. Steamer, Empire (1844-1862);
b. Sloop Barge, Empire (1862-1870);
c. Propeller, Empire (1870-1871)
Nationality:
American (1844-1871)
Chronology:
1. 9/4/1847, Bois Blanc Island, Steamer, Empire hauled off the Steamer, Niagara which was ashore;
2. 7/1/1849, Grosse Point, Sheboygan Point, Lake Michigan, ashore in a fog and released, $9, 000 loss;
3. 00/00/1849, Point au Pelee, hole stove in her hull by a submerged rock, repaired, $1, 500 loss;
4. 7/11/1851, Lake Erie, sprang a leak in a gale, threw overboard deck load of hogs, $20, 000 loss;
5. 6/26/1854, 4 miles from Dunkirk, Lake Erie, ashore and released;
6. 5/00/1863, Saginaw Bay, ashore and released, $5, 000 loss;
7. 6/28/1865, Buffalo, broke in two during a gale, sank and raised;
8. 10/4/1866, Point Au Barques, Lake Huron, ashore and released, $2, 095 loss;
9.10/30/1868, Point Au Pelee, Lake Erie, broke loose from a tug and went ashore, (lumber), released;
10. 11/17/1870, Port Rowan, Lake Erie, ashore and hull went to pieces, (lumber), $16, 000 loss;
11. 3/27/1871, wreckers removed her boiler and engine;
12. 10/5/1876, wreckers stripped the hull and abandoned her;
Notes
General notes:
*She had 1 deck in 1862;
First United States vessel on the lakes over 1,000 tons;
She was valued at $6,000, in 1863; $11,000, in 1866; $6,000, in 1869;
Machinery: Early American Steamers, says, two inclined high-pressure engines, built by the Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Company, Cleveland, Ohio; Cylinders, 45" diameter x 10' stroke, 600 hp.; Wheels 30' diameter;
Poole's notes says, two low pressure engines, cylinders, 35" diameter x 10' stroke; Wheels, 38' diameter; 6 locomotive boilers, 26'6" long x 4 + 1/2' diameter, 22 flues, 6"diameter and 20'6" long, built in 1844;
Sources:
1. Master Abstracts: Buffalo, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan;
2. Enrollment: Buffalo, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan;
3. John Poole's notes
4. Vessel Register: (1863-1869);
5. Early American Steamers, Vol. II;
6. Buffalo Commercial Advertiser: 12/29/1849;
7. J. H. Beers, History of the Great Lakes, Vol. I, p. 645;
8. Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States, 1790-1868; (The Lytle-Holdcamper List);
9. Wright's Master Sheet;
10. Steamboat Inspection Certificates: Detroit, Michigan, (1857-1859);
11. Marine Casualties on the Great Lakes, (1863-1873), Record Group 26, Records of the United States Coast Guard:
Contact
Contact
Wisconsin Maritime Museum
Email:[email protected]
Website:
https://www.wisconsinmaritime.org/

Agency street/mail address:
75 Maritime Dr.
Manitowoc, WI,54220
920-684-0218




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