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ELLEN O’BRIEN
Other names : also seen as JOHN O’BRIEN, JULIAN V. O’BRIEN
Official no. : none
Type at loss : propeller tug, wood
Build info : 1864, Buffalo
Specs : 27 t.
Date of loss : 1866, May 27
Place of loss : off Sheerwater, Grand Island, Niagara R.
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : explosion
Loss of life : 1
Carrying : tug in tow
Detail : She had just arrived off Sheerwater when her boiler exploded violently. Fortunately, her skipper/owner was the only casualty.
Owned by her master, Capt. John J. Klepser(d), Buffalo.
Sources : nsp,hgl,lhl
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FRANK O’CONNOR
Other names : built as prop CITY OF NAPLES, renamed in 1916
Official no. : 126899
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1891, J. Davidson, W. Bay City hull# 50
Specs : 301x43x20, 2109g 1772n
Date of loss : 1919, Oct 2
Place of loss : 10 mi off Cana Isl., near tip of Door Pen.
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : coal
Detail : She caught fire, burned to total loss and sank offshore. Her crew was rescued by the Cana Isl. lightkeeper and the Bailey’s Harbor C.G. Out of Buffalo.
Sources : eas,vbs,mv,ns2
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MARY O’GORMAN
Other names : also seen as M. O’GORMAN
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1867, Wm. LaChappelle, Kingston, Ont.
Specs : 89x20x7, 108 t.
Date of loss : 1884, Jan 22
Place of loss : at Kingston, Ont.
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : She burned to a total loss. She was probably laid up for the winter at the time. Owned out of Kingston by Malone, Cleveland & Elliot.
Found dismasted and abandoned off Oswego, NY, in Nov of 1869, with her cabin door locked and her crew apparently lost [yawl later found capsized]. She later came ashore 9 miles E of Oswego. 7 lives were lost.
One report says she was ashore near Oswego in 1883.
Sources : hgl,nsp,mmgl,mdwl,wmn
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LOUIE O’NEILL
Other names : built as S.D. CALDWELL, renamed in 1884
Official no. : 14654
Type at loss : schooner-barge, wood
Build info : 1862, Stevens & Presley, Cleveland as a propeller
Specs : 196x31x13, 523 t.
Date of loss : 1887, Apr 29
Place of loss : off Port Stanley
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : collision/storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : coal
Detail : She foundered as a result of a collision with the schooner THOMAS L. PARKER, another of a line of schooners behind the tug V SWAIN, which encountered a gale and went out of control. Her crew made it to Conneaut in her boat, after struggling against the storm for 60 hours. Her name change and her loss were reported at Port Huron on the same date, May 18, 1887.
Owned by Robert Holland, Marine City.
Major repair in 1879. Rebuilt from prop to barge in 1884.
Image as steamer S. D. CALDWELL from GLMD
Sources : phr,lhl,mv,hgl,mpl,es2-4,es3-1,ewe
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W.H. OADES
Other names : none also seen as WALTER H. OADES
Official no. : 62445
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1869, J. Oades, Detroit
Specs : 170 ft., 230g 219n
Date of loss : 1888, Aug 20
Place of loss : 2 mi from “the Dummy” [Pt. Pelee]
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : none
Carrying : 16,000 bu wheat
Detail : She collided with big schooner R. HALLARAN and sank. The HALLARAN just continued on, while the OADES’ crew escaped in her yawl to the “Dummy” lighthouse. Out of Oswego, owned by Stone, et. al. Master: Capt. Pat Hurley.
She had been dubbed “the unluckiest boat on the lakes,” due to her numerous mishaps and accidents, including groundings in 1872, 1880, 1881 and 1884.
Not in ’69 mvus
Sources : polk,hgl,mv,nsp,osdo,hgl,es3-1,wmn
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OAKLAND
Other names : none
Official no. : 19298
Type at loss : propeller, wood, package freight
Build info : 1867, Wm. Loomas, Erie, PA on the hull of the 1840 steamer MISSOURI
Specs : 184x28x10, 311g
Date of loss : 1883, Sep 17
Place of loss : off Conneaut, OH
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none of 11
Carrying : lumber
Detail : Bound Bay City, MI, for Erie, PA, having just dropped the barge GEORGE W WESLEY at Cleveland, she was overwhelmed by a NW gale. Foundered after seven of her crew had abandoned in her tiny yawl. The four who remained on board as she went down were rescued from a makeshift raft 30 hours later. Out of Cleveland, owned by Capt. Stevens, her skipper.
Lytle list shows her as “abandoned” the same year.
Sources : lhl,hgl,polk,iwm,nsp
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OAKWOOD
Other names : built as prop CITY OF BERLIN, renamed CHARLES A LUCK in 1915, RICHLAND STAR in 1916, OAKWOOD in 1925
Official no. : 126717
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1891, J. Davidson, W. Bay City hull# 40
Specs : 298x41x21, 2050g 1711n
Date of loss : 1925, Aug 9
Place of loss : Blackwell’s Canal, Buffalo
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : stranded/fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : light
Detail : She stranded on Miller’s Point, Lake Erie, in heavy weather on Jun 8. She was recovered by a Toronto salvager and towed to Buffalo, but burned to a total loss during surveying. What was left of her was burned again to salvage metal parts in 1934.
Image of her ablaze in 1934, same source
Sources : vbs,mv,sol,ns3,mv,eas
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OCEAN
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood. 2-mast
Build info : 1836, Swan Creek, Mich
Specs : 43 t.
Date of loss : 1845, Nov 10
Place of loss : 6 mi N of St. Joseph
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 6
Carrying : lumber
Detail : Found on her beam ends 2 miles off shore after a heavy storm. She appeared to have capsized and all her crew lost.
Out of Mackinac. Master: Capt. McGregor(d). Her 2nd mate, Henry Newton Quiner [perished], was grandfather to author Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Sources : wmn,wmhs,nsp,bb,wmn
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OCEAN
Other names : none
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 3-mast
Build info : 1843, Brockville, Ont. [Cleveland]
Specs : 121 t.
Date of loss : 1854, Oct 17
Place of loss : Port Dalhousie, Ont.
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : “valuable” merchandise [vessel & cargo worth £80,000.]
Detail : Bound Toronto for Goderich and Owen Sound, Ont., she caught fire and burned to a total loss. By the end of November, her captain and an accomplice [named Fagan (!)] had been arrested for arson and for stealing the vessel’s cargo. Out of Toronto, owned by Capt. William H. Fellowes. Master: Capt. Rae.
Sources : is,hgl,nsp,clu,rnc
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OCEAN
Other names : built as brig SAGINAW, renamed before 1864
Official no. : C33455
Type at loss : brig, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1847, F.N. Jones, Buffalo
Specs : 119x23x9, 210 t.
Date of loss : 1865, Oct 15
Place of loss : off Fairport, OH
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : hoops
Detail : She sprung a leaka and capsized off Fairport. Her crew held on to her upturned keel until she washed ashore. The vessel and her cargo were a total loss. Owned by Neill and Bulley, Sarnia [also given as Whitaker, Detroit].
Declared a total loss after waterlogging near Port Stanley, Ont., in Sep, 1860. Raised and rebuilt in “62-3.
Sold Canadian, 1851.
Sometimes shown as a bark.
Sources : tel,slh,hgl,mmgl(NAC),rsl,nsp
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OCEAN
Other names : none
Official no. : 53063
Type at loss : schooner-barge, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1850, E. B. Ward, Newport, MI as a sidewheel steamer
Specs : 246x36x13, 578 t.
Date of loss : 1873, Oct 20
Place of loss : near Pte Aux Barques, MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : lumber
Detail : She was lost from tow of the propeller NEPTUNE off Tawas Bay, then drifted ashore near Pte Aux Barques and was wrecked.
Dragged onto a reef by ice and sunk near Buffalo in May, 1872, finally recovered in August after many attempts.
Former Ward Line steamer was rebuilt from sidewheeler to barge at Detroit, 1862.
Repaired in 1866.
Sources : phr,slh,nsp,hgl,mpl
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OCEAN
Other names : rebuilt to barge HELENA after this accident
Official no. : C88633
Type at loss : propeller, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1872, Andrews & Son., Port Dalhousie, Ont.
Specs : 137x29x12, 683gc 454nc
Date of loss : 1904, Nov 18
Place of loss : Port Dalhousie, Ont.
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : She burned at Muir’s drydock. She was a total loss, but her remaining hull was later converted to a barge. Hailed from St. Catharines but owned by G. E. Jasquier & Co., Montreal.
Also sank on Lake Ontario in 1894 following a collision with the steamer KENT.
Rebuilt, 1884
Sources : hgl,win,is,polk,nsp,ns3,csv,eas
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OCEAN EAGLE
Other names : built as brig H. H. SIZER, renamed in 1855
Official no. : none
Type at loss : brig, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1845, Pillar Point [Sackett’s Harbor]
Specs : 122x24x10, 381 t.
Date of loss : 1862, Oct 23
Place of loss : at Sheboygan, Wis
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : 15,000 bu rye
Detail : While attempting to enter Sheboygan harbor in heavy weather, she collided with the pier and was pounded to pieces, tearing a huge chunk out of the pier in the process. Her captain was unfamiliar with the harbor and was using an edition of the Coast Pilot which did not show the new pier lights correctly. Owned and sailed by Capt. M. Gallighan, Buffalo
Major repairs in 1855 by Rogers, Oswego
As SIZER, she had major accidents in 1846 (with loss of life), 1851 & 1853
Sources : hgl,wmn,bb,jm,nsp
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OCEAN WAVE
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1852, Molson & Merritt, Montreal
Specs : 174x26x11, 182t.
Date of loss : 1853, Apr 30
Place of loss : 3 miles off Pt. Traverse, near False Duck Isl
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : 36 (also given as 23, 28, and 33)
Carrying : flour, pearl ash, seed, hams, butter, tallow
Detail : She had been bound Toronto for Ogdensburg, NY when she caught fire offshore and her upperworks were totally destroyed in 10 or 15 minutes, according to witnesses. The hull sank about 90 minutes later. Her captain was the only survivor. She reportedly had much gold & silver coinage in her safe. A wood-burner, she caught fire on the upper deck from sparks from her stack., or possibly from her engine (reports of the crew vary). 27 [or 22] survivors were rescued by schooners EMBLEM(see OLIVIA) and GEORGIANA. She was replaced by the propeller BOSTON(qv), which was wrecked in a collision the following year. Master: Capt. A. D. Wright. Had been sold American shortly before the accident, owned by [or chartered to ] the Northern Rail Road Company of Ogdensburgh, NY. She was located and her cargo salvaged in 1857.
Wreck located in 1991.
Image of the ship afire from MHGL
Sources : csqw,hgl,sol,is,csv,osdo,mmgl,hgl,rp,eas,do2,nsp
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OCEAN WAVE
Other names : none
Official no. : 18912
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 3-mast
Build info : 1853, Peck & Masters, Ohio City [Cleveland] as a brig
Specs : 129x25x10, 214 t. [308 t. om]
Date of loss : 1869, Nov (19)
Place of loss : at Hammond Bay, eastern Straits
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : (none)
Carrying : 13,000 bu corn
Detail : Bound Chicago for Ogdensburgh, NY, she went ashore in the bay and became a total loss. Owned by J. Dennehy and Capt. H. Faith [her skipper], Chicago.
She was struck by a violent squall and capsized near Chambers Island, Lake Michigan, in the summer of 1866. Reported a total loss, but recovered and rebuilt to a schooner at Menominee the next year.
Major repairs in 1862.
Sources : nsp,hgl,rsl,wl,mv
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OCEAN WAVE
Other names : none
Official no. : 19197
Type at loss : scow-schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1860, Robert Chambers, Harsen’s Island, MI
Specs : 73x20x7, 74 t.
Date of loss : 1869, Sep 23
Place of loss : 15 to 20 mi SE of Bailey’s Harbor, WI
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : none
Carrying : stone
Detail : Bound Mud Bay, WI, for White Lake, MI, with stone for a harbor improvement project, she struck a deadhead or a floating wreck and went down with only enough time for her crew to launch a boat. They pulled for shore and landed on Whitefish Point the next day. The vessel went down in about 360 feet of water. Owned by Fletcher Hackett, Milwaukee, recently purchased from Fish & Abram, Algonac.
Sources : nsp,hgl,phr,mv,wl,rsl,mdwl,wgts
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OCEAN WAVE
Other names : none
Official no. : C ?
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1868, Tait & Redmond, Picton, Ont.
Specs : 81x20x8, 96 t.
Date of loss : 1890, Nov 9
Place of loss : about 15 mi off Oswego, NY*
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : all (5 or 6)
Carrying : barrel parts,shingles
Detail : She capsized and foundered in a gale at an unknown position. Vessels passing later sailed through a mass of her wreckage but her yawl and crew disappeared. This was reported to be her last planned trip before her owner/operators retired. They were lost with her. Bound Trenton, Ont. for Oswego. Hailed from Picton. Owned by Capts. W. Martin(d) and T. Brokenshire(d).
*12 mi due S of Cobourg, Ont. also given
Driven ashore near Port Ontario, NY, Lake Ontario, in December on 1886 and spent the winter ashore.
Major repairs in 1881
Sources : mmgl,win,clu,tfgl,nsp,osdo,wb,sb,rp,dmt,eas,es
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JAY OCHS
Other names : none
Official no. : 77018
Type at loss : propeller steam tug, wood
Build info : 1888, Huron, OH
Specs : 54x14x3, 18g 11n
Date of loss : 1905, Oct 20
Place of loss : 3.5 mi SW of Middle Isl.
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : Overwhelmed and foundered in a gale.
Sources : slh,mv,wmn,jm
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OCONTO
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1853, Chicago
Specs : 307 t.
Date of loss : 1856, Oct
Place of loss : Manitoulin Isl.
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none mentioned
Carrying : lumber
Detail : Driven ashore in a gale on Manitoulin Island, a $12,000 loss to her underwriters, vessel and cargo. Out of Chicago, owned and sailed by Capt. J. C. Nyman.
She had been purchased the previous year for $11,000.
Also ashore with damage in 1853 and 1855.
Sources : nsp,wl,wmn,bb,blu[1856]
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OCTAVIA
Other names : probably none
Official no. : 18911
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1849, Capt. Stockton, Singapore, MI
Specs : 109x24x6, 136 t. om
Date of loss : 1874, May 2
Place of loss : near Kewaunee, Wis
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : navigational error
Loss of life : none mentioned
Carrying : 110 cords wood
Detail : She went ashore just north of the Kewaunee harbor entrance and was abandoned as unsalvagable.
Out of Chicago in 1872
Sources : bb,wgts,wl,mv,wmhs,wgts
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ODD FELLOW
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood, “miniature” [i.e. tug]
Build info : 1841, (Buffalo)
Specs : 8 t.
Date of loss : 1841, Nov 6
Place of loss : 2 mi E of Gravelly Bay
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : chestnuts
Detail : This small very early tug was driven ashore by a storm and ended up a total wreck. Her three crewmen were able to swim to shore. Owned by Capt. William Baker, Buffalo, who was also her skipper.
She had been engaged for the season in towing schooners up and down the Niagara River.
Sources : hgl,wmn,wl
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ODD FELLOW
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : brig, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1844, S.W. & A.A. Turner, Cleveland
Specs : 107x24x9, 125 t.
Date of loss : 1854, Nov 30
Place of loss : 3 miles from Mackinaw City, Straits
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : wheat
Detail : Bound Kenosha for Buffalo, she foundered in storm. Her outfit was later salvaged by the schooner BELLE. Out of Buffalo, owned by W.O. Brown
Sources : slh,hgl,ssm,nsp,wl
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ODD FELLOW
Other names : none
Official no. : 155042
Type at loss : scow-schooner, wood
Build info : 1881, E. C. Penney, Washington Island, WI
Specs : 104x27x7, 124g 118n
Date of loss : 1892, Oct 28
Place of loss : at Northport (Wi?)
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : (lumber)?
Detail : Stranded in NW gale and wrecked, a total loss.
Sources : mv,hgl,wb,polk,bb,glmd
—-———————————
ODD FELLOW – See GLOBE, PHILIP
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ODEN
Other names : none
Official no. : 155186
Type at loss : scow, wood
Build info : 1888, Holmes & Olson, Fon Du Lac, MN as a ferry steamer
Specs : 89x27x7, 96g 63n
Date of loss : 1907, Jul 8
Place of loss : off Superior, WI
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : foundered
Loss of life : none of 2
Carrying : ?
Detail : No detail, but reported in August as Beached on Park Point, Duluth. Owned by James McGee, Duluth.
Sunk at Duluth in 1896.
Sank from age in 1903 and documents surrendered, but rebuilt as a scow-barge in 1907
Built in Minnesota, not Wisconsin
Image as a steam ferry from GLMD
Sources : mv,nsp,gwgl,eas
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OGARITA
Other names : none
Official no. : 19190
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 3-mast
Build info : 1864, Lent, Conneaut, OH
Specs : 174x39x13, 605g 575n
Date of loss : 1905, Oct 29
Place of loss : 15 mi off Thunder Bay Isl.
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : coal
Detail : Tow of the steamer ZILLAH, she caught fire from spontaneous combustion. Her crew abandoned and she drifted around the area while burning to the waterline over a period of three days. She finally sank. Part of Blodgett Fleet of Bay City. Master: Capt. John Thurston.
Rebuilt, 1879, major repair, 1883
Sources : polk,hgl,mv,slh,ns1,nsp,phr,sip,eas
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MARTHA OGDEN
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1823, A. Crane, Sackett’s Harbor, NY
Specs : 104x23x9, 150 t.
Date of loss : 1832, Nov 12
Place of loss : near Stoney Point, NY
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : passengers
Detail : Bound Oswego for Sacket’s Harbor, she was flooded by storm waves and her fires were extinguished. With her sails up, and her passengers and crew bailing, she attempted to make shelter, but eventually her steering and anchors failed and she was driven ashore a few miles SE of Stoney Point. Her passengers and crew were taken off with help from shore via a jury-rigged breeches’ buoy and a basket. By the next day the steamer had pounded to pieces. Owned by Lake Ontario Steamboat Co. (L & S Denison, et.al.), Sackett’s Harbor. Master: Capt. Vaughn.
The year after she was lost, an Oswego newspaper referred to her as “a miserable old boat of 30 horsepower.”
Enlarged from 74 ft, 49 t. after mid-1830.
Sources : is,mol,sol,lhl,hgl,rp,wl
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OGDENSBURGH
Other names : also seen as OGDENSBURG
Official no. : none
Type at loss : propeller, wood
Build info : 1852, Moses & Quayle, Ohio City, OH
Specs : 138x25x11, 352 t.
Date of loss : 1864, Sep 30
Place of loss : 5 mi off Fairport, OH
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : none
Carrying : wheat and flour
Detail : Downbound, she collided with the heavy-laden upbound schooner SNOW BIRD and foundered. Passengers and crew were able to abandon her with their luggage and effects. Owned by the Northern Transportation Co. Master: Capt. L. M. Tyler.
This is the vessel which collided with and sank the steamer ATLANTIC in 1852, with great loss of life.
Most early documents use the spelling with the “H” on the end.
Sources : lhl,hgl,wl,rsl,nsp,eas,gmw
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OGEMAW
Other names : none
Official no. : 155035
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1881, S. Langell, St. Clair, MI
Specs : 168x30x13, 594g 325n
Date of loss : 1922, Dec 3
Place of loss : 1.5 mi S of Grande Pointe, Ont.
Lake : St Clair
Type of loss : stranded/fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : light
Detail : Stranded, caught fire and was destroyed while upbound Toledo for Marine City, Mich. Owend by J. C. Garey, Saginaw, Mich.
Stranded in gale on Drisco Shoal, Green Bay, Dec 4, 1891 after she was reported as sunk. Declared a total loss, but recovered in August, 1893. Her recovery was hailed as a great wrecking feat because she was recovered from 65 feet of water with her iron ore cargo still in her hold. She came out, almost entirely rebuilt, in April, 1894.
Sources : h,ns3,wb,hgl,mv,mpl,eas,hcgl,nsp,glmd
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E.W. OGLEBAY
Other names : none
Official no. : 136547
Type at loss : propeller, steel, bulk freight
Build info : 1896, F. Wheeler, W. Bay City hull# 114
Specs : 376x46x23, 3666g 3019n
Date of loss : 1927, Dec 8
Place of loss : Shot Point, 10 mi E of Marquette, MI
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : light
Detail : Upbound light for Ft. William, Ont., she was driven ashore by a NE blizzard/gale. Her crew were rescued by U.S.C.G. and the tug COLUMBIA. She was gutted by fire and became constructive total loss a short time later. Owned by General Transit Co., Cleveland. Her hull was removed to Drummond Island in 1942 where it is still in use as a dock facing for the stone quarry.
Stranded on Pt. Abino with heavy damage in 1907.
Sources : eas,rkr,vbs,gwgl,lss,sbs,ns3,h,win,mpl
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OGONTZ
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : bark, wood, 3-mast
Build info : 1848, Sanford & Moses, Ohio City as a passenger steamer
Specs : 154x26x10, 374 t.
Date of loss : 1862, Nov 1
Place of loss : at Chicago
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : (storm)
Loss of life : none mentioned
Carrying : fish and lumber
Detail : Struck the bar in Chicago harbor and wrecked – went to pieces.
Out of Milwaukee
Converted from Goodrich liner to bark in 1860-61.
Sources : hgl,wmn,wl,jm,wmhs,bb
—-———————————
OHIO – See also STATE OF OHIO
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OHIO
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1830, Sandusky, OH
Specs : 138x20x7, 188 t.
Date of loss : 1842
Place of loss : Toledo, OH
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : Burned to a total loss.
Heavily damaged in a sinking on Lake Erie in 1837.
Sources : le,is,lhl,hgl,wl,eas
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OHIO
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1840, Tisdale, Cleveland
Specs : 85x21x8, 128 t.
Date of loss : 1856, Sep 18
Place of loss : 10 mi off Dunkirk, NY
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 1 of 4
Carrying : staves
Detail : Bound Erie, PA, for Tonawanda, she capsized and foundered in a gale. The crew made it into her yawl before she went over, and finally came ashore near Pt. Abino, but her skipper and owner was drowned when the yawl went bottom up in the breakers. Master: Capt. Barney Hoy(d), out of Erie. Insurance was paid on her as a total loss.
Sources : nsp,wmn,wl,blu[1856]
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OHIO
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : propeller, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1848, Thomas H Cobb and L. D. Burnett, Black River, OH
Specs : 149x26x11, 442 t. om
Date of loss : 1859, Nov 6
Place of loss : 30 mi W of Long Point, 10 miles from land
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : explosion
Loss of life : 2 of 17
Carrying : 350 tons general merchandise, noted as “very valuable”
Detail : Bound Buffalo for Cleveland, she sank following an explosion of unreported origin, but powerful enough to blow the after part of her cabins off. The survivors of those aboard drifted in a rising gale in a tiny yawl for more than 15 hours until picked up by the propeller EQUATOR(qv). Owned by the American Transportation Co. Master: Capt. Alfred Nickerson. Final enrollment document is annotated just “lost 1859.”
Sources : is,lc,lhl,hgl,rp,wl,nsp,eas,mbw
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OHIO
Other names : none
Official no. : 19438
Type at loss : propeller, wood, freighter
Build info : 1875, Squires, Huron, OH
Specs : 203x35x18, 1102g 851n
Date of loss : 1894, Sep 26
Place of loss : 10 mi north of Presque Isle, MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : none
Carrying : flour & feed
Detail : Bound Duluth for Ogdensburg, NY, this freighter collided at night about 15 mi offshore with the schooner IRONTON, which was in tow of the steamer C.J. KERSHAW(qv). A twelve-foot square hole was cut in the steamer’s side. The nearby schooner MOONLIGHT rescued OHIO’s crew just before she sank. Owned by C. W. Elphicke of Chicago
Sunk by collision in Mud Lake [St. Mary’s R.] in May, 1890. Raised from 30+ feet of water.
Sources : slh,mv,nsp,hgl,mpl,jb,es
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OHIO
Other names : none
Official no. : 208153
Type at loss : propeller tug, steel
Build info : 1910, Great Lakes Towing, Cleveland
Specs : 71x20x11, 98g 51n
Date of loss : 1954, Jun 14
Place of loss : Kelley’s Isl.*
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : The tug was maneuvering the steamer WILLIAM F. WHITE in strong winds when WHITE swung out of control and crushed the tug against a dock. Constructive total loss.
*May have occurred at Kelley’s Dock, Buffalo.
Owned by Great Lakes Towing. 1,000hp.
Sources : is(1-76),mv
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OKONRA
Other names : also seen as OKONZA, OKENZA, O’KORNO and OKOURA
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : propeller steam tug, wood
Build info : 1868, Dunn, Owen Sound, Ont.
Specs : 60x13x5, 77gc 52nc
Date of loss : 1878, Sep 5
Place of loss : at Wiarton, Ont., Georgian Bay
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : She burned to a total loss while lying at a dock at Wiarton. Only the tug’s fireman was aboard at the time and he escaped unharmed. Owned out of Owen Sound by Capt. E. Dunn.
She had been built as a rafting tug.
Sources : mmgl,win,clu,slh,h,wmn
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OLD CONCORD
Other names : none
Official no. : 18923
Type at loss : barge, wood
Build info : 1855, Dixon, Marine City, as a propeller
Specs : 166x28x11, 318g 302n
Date of loss : 1888, Jul 25
Place of loss : off Gun Pt., near Lion’s Head, Georgian Bay
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : (lumber)
Detail : Foundered in a gale. Owned by Sturdevant Lumber Co., Cleveland.
Damaged in storm off Pt. Pelee, 1859
Converted to a schooner-barge from a propeller after an 1876 accident. She was 457 t. om as a propeller
Major repairs 1883
Sources : polk,do2,mv,slh,hdm,lhl,hgl,nsp,mpl,mr
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OLGA
Other names : none
Official no. : 155029
Type at loss : schooner-barge, wood
Build info : 1881, Rand & Burger, Manitowoc, as a schooner
Specs : 137x30x10, 308g 293n
Date of loss : 1905, Nov 26
Place of loss : NE of Oscoda, MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : (lumber)
Detail : She was lost from the tow of the steamer F.A. MEYERS during a gale and was abandoned by her crew when she began to sink. They were picked up by the steamer MAUNALOA, which was out looking for her own lost barge MARSALA. OLGA drifted about for several days, becoming a serious hazard to shipping, ’til she finally went ashore near Goderich, Ont., and broke up. Master: Capt. Andrew Biggar.
Sources : nsp,slh,mol,sol,mv
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OLIVE BRANCH
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1816, Henderson, NY
Specs : 54x12x3, 20 t.
Date of loss : 1831, Oct
Place of loss : off mouth of Grand R. (site of Fairport, O)
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : whiskey, merchandise (copper ore also reported, but copper ore is dubious at this early date)
Detail : Sank while trying to enter the harbor in heavy seas.
Sources : ledc,is,hgl,fw,rp,ew
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OLIVE BRANCH
Other names : none
Official no. : 19061
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1866, G. Goble & McFarland, Oswego, NY
Specs : 138x26x11, 267 t.
Date of loss : 1875, Nov 14
Place of loss : 2 mi below Toronto in the Eastern Gap to Toronto Harbour
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : coal
Detail : This schooner stranded in a storm after losing her mainmast in midlake. She broke up quickly. After two tugs sent to her rescue were unable to approach her, a fisherman, Mr. Ward, who lived nearby [on what is now called Ward Island] rescued the crew with an improvised sling device. Master: Capt. J. R. Preston.
Reported in newspapers as a Canadian vessel, but on the U.S register at the time
Another OLIVE BRANCH reported stranded and given up for lost near Glencoe, IL in 1855.
Sources : h,is,osdo,tel,rp
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OLIVE BRANCH
Other names : none
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1871, W. Redmond, Picton, Ont
Specs : 92x22x8, 121 t.
Date of loss : 1880, Sep 30
Place of loss : 4 mi NW of Main Duck Isl.
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 5 [all]
Carrying : 200 t. coal
Detail : Bound Oswego for Portsmouth, Ont., she sprang a leak and foundered in a gale. Her masts protruded above the surface for some time. She had been worth about $3,000. Out of Kingston, owned by Capt Andrew Aull [her skipper] and Oldreive
Osdo says this was Oswego-built schooner (see prev. entry), but not so.
Sources : csqw,h,nsp,mmgl,do,rp
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OLIVE JEANETTE
Other names : none
Official no. : 15581
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 4-mast, bulk freight
Build info : 1890, F. Wheeler, W. Bay City hull# 72
Specs : 242x39x16, 1271g 1208n
Date of loss : 1905, Sep 2
Place of loss : 4 mi off Huron Isls., E of Keweenaw
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 7 [all]
Carrying : iron ore
Detail : Tow of steamer IOSCO(qv), she foundered in a terrific gale at an uncertain position. IOSCO was also lost with all hands. Master: Capt. McGreevey(d). Owner: W. A. Hawgood.
Had been in tow of steamer L.R. DOTY(qv) when that vessel was lost in 1898.
Rated as a schooner, but usually used as a towbarge.
Position also shown as west of Keweenaw Pen.
Sources : vbs,phr,gwgl,lss,wm2,ns1,sbs,mv,mpl,eas
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OLIVER – 1906, previous entry deleted pending more information
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OLIVER NO. 1
Other names : none
Official no. : 166148
Type at loss : unrigged scow, wood
Build info : 1909, Sault Ste Marie, Mich
Specs : 75g 75n
Date of loss : 1920, Oct 21 or 27
Place of loss : St. Marys R.
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : ?
Loss of life : none
Carrying :
Detail : Foundered, no detail. Out of Marquette.
Sources : eas,mv,bb
—-———————————
JESSE OLIVER – See BUTCHER’s MAID
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OLIVIA
Other names : built as schooner EMBLEM, renamed by 1864
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1851, Littles, Bronte, Ont.
Specs : 153 t.
Date of loss : 1871, Oct 18
Place of loss : 15 miles off Oswego
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 1
Carrying : ?
Detail : Knocked down by a white squall, her crew clung to the side of the hull until finally able to salvage the lifeboat. A passing scow, whose captain was later strongly censured, halfheartedly tossed them a line then kept on going. The ship was declared total loss, but later recovered. Owned by E. W. Rathbun & Co.
She rescued survivors of the burning steamer OCEAN WAVE(qv)in 1853.
Still in operation, 1898. Remains lie near Picton.
In 1855 she was rammed off Genesee, NY, Lake Ontario, and cut 2/3 through by the passenger steamer AMERICA with the loss of five or six lives. Abandoned by the remainder of her crew, she continued to drift about the lake until picked up by the steamer BANSHEE more than two weeks later and towed in to Cape Vincent.
Rebuilt by Tait[Picton], 1867; by Wilson[Port Milford],1878. Also rebuilt in 1855.
Sources : csqw,clu,sagl,osdo,hgl,nsp,rsl,rp
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MARGARET OLWILL
Other names : none
Official no. : 91953
Type at loss : propeller, wood, freighter
Build info : 1887, H.D. Root, Cleveland
Specs : 176x35x10, 555g 490n
Date of loss : 1899, Jun 28
Place of loss : off Kelley’s Isl.
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 9of 13
Carrying : stone
Detail : Bound for Cleveland, she capsized and sank in a storm after her rudder chains broke and she went out of control, then her cargo shifted. Seven crew and two passengers drowned. Master: Capt. John C. Brown or Braun (d). Owner: L. P. Smith, Cleveland
Sources : nsp,smgl,sol,h,mv,ledc,mpl,eas,es
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OMAR
Other names : also seen as OMER, OMAH
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : ?
Specs : “small”
Date of loss : 1854, Dec 5
Place of loss : Cleveland breakwater
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 3 of 6, plus one rescuer
Carrying : salt
Detail : Bound Oswego for Cleveland, she missed the channel while entering the harbor and went on the stone breakwater. Her freezing crew huddled on deck within sight of a helpless crowd. After several rescue attempts had failed, the steamer PAUGASSET(qv) pulled in alongside and took the survivors off. Master: Capt. Alpheus Keich or Keech.
Sources : nsp,rnc,wmn
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OMAR PACHA
Other names : also seen as OMAR PASHA
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1853, Jackman, Oshawa
Specs : 220 t.
Date of loss : 1862, Nov 24
Place of loss : Stony Island, NY
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 1
Carrying : wheat
Detail : Bound Toronto for Cape Vincent, NY, she was driven ashore in a blizzard and went to pieces. Her cook lost his life in the stranding, dying of exposure during a long tramp from the wreck site to the nearest farm.. Her crew spent a month marooned with the farmer on the island until they could cross the ice in a sleigh. Owned by Gooderham, Wilmot & Worts, Toronto. Master: Capt. Jackman.
OMAR PASHA was also reported ashore and gone to pieces at Stony Point, Lake Ontario, in Nov., 1860.
See OMAR PASHA for the derivation of the ship’s name.
Sources : rnc,clu,wmn,bb,nsp
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OMAR PASHA
Other names : none
Official no. : 18918
Type at loss : propeller, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1854, Bidwell & Banta, Buffalo
Specs : 139x26x11, 343 t. [om]
Date of loss : 1869, Oct 8
Place of loss : at Muskegon, MI
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : (lumber)
Detail : Destroyed by fire at Wilson & Co.’s mill dock. Owned out of Muskegon
Sunk in November of 1855 in a gale near Milwaukee. Recovered the next year.
Major repair in 1862, 63
Named for a Croatian soldier named Michael Lattas who converted to Islam and became commanding general of the Turkish army during the Crimean War [1854-6].
Sources : hgl,lhl,mol,sol,is,nsp,mpl,bb,wl,rsl,mdwl,eas,rnc
—-———————————
ONAPING – See LUCKNOW
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ONAWA
Other names : none
Official no. : 155440
Type at loss : gas screw yacht or tug, wood
Build info : 1902, Elco Co., Bayonne, NJ
Specs : 42x14x6, 17g 15n
Date of loss : 1954, Oct 6
Place of loss : at Cheboygan, MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : ?
Detail : Burned to a total loss. Owned Jack Toutle, Soo, Mich
Out of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., in 1946.
May have been recovered.
Sources : slh,h,mv,bb
—-———————————
ONEIDA – See also MAGGIE
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ONEIDA
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1836, G.S. Weeks, Oswego, NY
Specs : 132x19x9, 227 t. om
Date of loss : 1842, Nov 19
Place of loss : near Sackett’s Harbor, NY
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : gen frt
Detail : She sprang a leak and was run ashore to save her people and cargo. Master: Capt. Child(?). Thought to be a total loss, she was recovered years later and rebuilt to a schooner in 1845.
Possibly wrecked on L. Erie in 1845, and is possibly the schooner reported foundered with all but one of 7 or 8 crew lost on Oct 4, 1853.
Sources : is(3-66),osdo,gsgl,lhl,hgl,nsp,wl
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ONEIDA
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : propeller, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1846, B.B. Jones, Cleveland
Specs : 138x24x11, 345 t.
Date of loss : 1852, Nov 11
Place of loss : off Barcelona, NY
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 19 [all]
Carrying : gen frt
Detail : She capsized in a gale and sank.
Owned by O. A. Knight, Cleveland
Sources : is(3-63),gsgl,sol,ledc,lhl,hgl,wl,nsp,eas,ewe
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ONEIDA
Other names : ?
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1847, J. Oades, Clayton, NY
Specs : 150 t.
Date of loss : 1853, Oct 4
Place of loss : 2 mi off Pt. Abino
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : collision/storm
Loss of life : 7 or 8 – one survivor
Carrying : wheat
Detail : The steamer BUCKEYE STATE was struggling through a storm a few hours after having left Buffalo for Detroit when she collided with ONEIDA in the dark and in heavy seas. The schooner went down quickly and the BUCKEYE STATE was unable to find any survivors and proceeded to Detroit with significant collision and storm damage. Other vessels passing by in the gale the next morning saw 3 men clinging to ONEIDA’s emergent mast, but were unable to help. Volunteers from shore finally made it out in a rowboat and picked up the one survivor. Bound Toledo for Buffalo. The organizer of those volunteers was D. P. Dobbins, who was later to become famous in the lifesaving service, and who was participating in his first rescue. Owned by Hollister and Colton of Toledo, homeport at Cleveland.
Also wrecked near Chicago in 1848.
Sources : nsp,mpl,hgl
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ONEIDA
Other names : none
Official no. : 18888
Type at loss : propeller, wood, freighter
Build info : 1862, W. Crosthwaite, Buffalo as a passenger vessel
Specs : 200x32x12, 887g 569n
Date of loss : 1893, Aug 20
Place of loss : off North East, PA
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : light
Detail : She was destroyed by fire while bound Buffalo for Bay City, Mich. She drifted ashore 2 miles from North East and burned out. A few days later a wrecking master assessing her damage said she was the most completely destroyed vessel he’d seen. Enrollment surrendered in October. Owned by Capt. Jas. Davidson, Bay City, Mich. Master: Capt. Thomas E. Black.
She was built for the People’s Line (J. Kelderhouse) and was sister of the props EMPIRE STATE and BADGER STATE.
Also heavily damaged by fire at Collingwood, Ont., Dec 6, 1882 and sunk in the St. Lawrence R. Oct 31, 1883.
Rebuilt from a passenger vessel to a bulk freighter in 1892.
Sources : mv,nsp,gsgl,lhl,phr,polk,hgl,mpl,jb,ewe,es
—-———————————
ONEIDA – “1894 or later” loss deleted (US#18920). Vessel was abandoned in 1914.
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ONEIDA
Other names : none
Official no. : 19363
Type at loss : propeller tug, wood
Build info : 1872, Carroll Bros. or Notter, Buffalo, NY
Specs : 55x14x6, 22g 11n
Date of loss : 1906, Sep 25
Place of loss : Randolph Street Dock, Detroit
Lake : Detroit R
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : none of 3
Carrying : none
Detail : She was smashed against the dock by the steamer CHARLES B. HILL, which was docking, and became a total loss. Owner: Capt. J. P. Harrow. Document surrendered early in October. Her boiler and engine were probably later sold.
Image from GLMD [in foreground]
Sources : nsp,polk,hcgl,mv
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ONEIDA CHIEF
Other names : none
Official no. : 19126
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1847, John Oades, Clayton, NY*
Specs : ca. 120 ft., 266g 252n
Date of loss : 1868, May 30
Place of loss : near Au Sable Point
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : pig iron
Detail : She was driven into the shallows surrounding the point and broke up. She had been bound Marquette for Lake Erie. Owned by Charles Wheeler, et al, Milwaukee.
Rebuilt in 1861.
*year also given as 1841
Sources : ms,lss,mv,net,rsl,mpl,nsp
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ONGIARA
Other names : built as steamer QUEEN CITY, renamed in 1889
Official no. : C90562
Type at loss : propeller, wood, freighter
Build info : 1885, M. Simpson, Toronto
Specs : 91×18, 98gc 64nc
Date of loss : 1918, Oct 17
Place of loss : at Bowmanville, Ont.
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : “wrecked”
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : Reported stranded and broken up, a total loss, no detail. Owned by T. E. Smith and P. McSherry, Toronto.
Built as a passenger ferry and used as such until converted to a harbor tug in 1912.
Sources : mmgl,csv,glmd
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ONOKO
Other names : none
Official no. : 155048
Type at loss : propeller, iron, bulk freight
Build info : 1882, Globe Iron Works, Cleveland, hull# 4
Specs : 287x39x21, 2164g 1933n
Date of loss : 1915, Sep 15
Place of loss : off Knife Island, near Duluth
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : explosion
Loss of life : none of 18
Carrying : wheat
Detail : Bound Collingwood for Duluth, she sprang a leak under her engine room. The flood of icy water caused her boiler to explode as she went down. She had probably sustained fatal but undetected damage in a storm a few days earlier. Master: Capt. William Dunn.
Largest vessel on the lakes when built, and the first purpose-built metal bulker, but she was considered to be very ugly of line. In the press she was called, variously, “the worst looking sight on our inland seas,” “far from beautiful,” and “an eye-sore.”
Sources : is(3-69),gwgl,lm,ns2,h,mv,lss,mpl,se,eas,nsp
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ONONDAGA
Other names : none also seen as ONONDAGO
Official no. : 18892
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 3-mast
Build info : 1866, Bailey Bros., Fairport, OH as a bark
Specs : 573 t.
Date of loss : 1875, Sep 10
Place of loss : near North Pier, Chicago Harbor
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 1
Carrying : coal
Detail : She was driven against end of North Pier and sank to her decks, then was pounded to pieces by the gale. Her skipper was drowned. Bound Buffalo for Chicago. Master: Capt. Bain(d). Owned by A.C. Taylor of Chicago
Sources : nsp,mv,hgl,usls
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ONONDAGA
Other names : none also seen as ONONDAGO, ONANDAGO
Official no. : C80913
Type at loss : schooner-barge, wood, 3-mast
Build info : 1870, H. Roney, Garden Island, Ont. as a schooner
Specs : 137x26x12, 320gc
Date of loss : 1907, Nov 5
Place of loss : near Stoney Point, NY(also seen as Strong Pt)
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : 632 t. coal
Detail : Tow of the tug GLENGARY, she was driven ashore in a storm and became a constructive total loss. Bound Oswego for Montreal. in company of the barge BLACK DIAMOND, which also stranded. Master and owner: Capt. A. LeMay, Montreal.
Builder also given as Calvin & Breck.
Converted to a schooner-barge by 1883.
Sources : mmgl,clu,polk,nsp,rp
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ONTARIO
Other names : none
Official no. : British Royal Navy
Type at loss : armed sloop-of-war, 2-mast, 22-gun
Build info : 1779-80, Carleton Isl., CW
Specs : 80×25, 225+ tons
Date of loss : 1780, Oct 31
Place of loss : ca. 30 mi E of Ft. Niagara, NY
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : “over 120*” [all]
Carrying : soldiers, passengers, American prisoners
Detail : Bound Fort Niagara for Oswego and Fort Haldimand on the St. Lawrence, she foundered in a sudden blizzard and gale. The next day wreckage and personal effects came ashore west of what is now Shadigee, NY. British searchers were unable to locate anything else except some of her sails. Six bodies were found ashore the following summer.
She was reported at the time as having been “too flat-bottomed.”
*numbers as high as 350 are also given
Used by the British navy for shuffling troops and supplies among Lake Ontario ports, she never saw combat.
Wreck located and identified in 2008 by Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville, one of the most significant wrecks ever found on the lakes. She is considered a British war grave and is thus protected.
Sources : is,h,eluc,sgl,mpl,jk
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ONTARIO
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood
Build info : 1816, Smythe, Lusher & Co., Sackett’s Harbor, NY
Specs : 112x28x8, 232 t. om
Date of loss : 1832
Place of loss : Oswego, NY
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : unreported
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : Reported by some sources as wrecked or broken up, other sources say abandoned. However, she was still listed in official documents as late as 1836.
She was one of the first steamboats on the Great Lakes, plying between Ogdensburg and Lewiston, NY.
Sources : nsp,lhl,mpl,wl
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ONTARIO
Other names : none
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood
Build info : 1851, Sorel, Que.
Specs : 176x25x10, 284 t.
Date of loss : 1854, Nov 30*
Place of loss : on Nicholson, Isl. Ont.
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : 800 tons merchandise
Detail : ashore and wrecked. Some sources said she was totaled, but she was later recovered and rebuilt to a schooner. Owned by Hooker & Jacques of Montreal.
*Nov, 1857 also given, but doesn’t show on insurance claim list for that year.. Registry surrendered 3/1863.
Sources : csv,mmgl,nsp,rnc
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ONTARIO
Other names : (none)
Official no. : none
Type at loss : brig, wood, 2-mast
Build info : (1842, Three Mile Bay, NY)
Specs : (131 t.)
Date of loss : 1858
Place of loss : Green Bay near Sturgeon Bay
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : “sank”
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : gen merch
Detail : no detail
(Out of Chicago)
Sources : lmdc,hgl
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ONTARIO
Other names : none
Official no. : C71204
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1867, Robinson & Walters, Hallowell, Ont.
Specs : 80x20x7, 79 t.
Date of loss : 1881, Sep 10
Place of loss : 15 mi W* of Pt. Petre
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : corn
Detail : Bound Charlotte, NY, for Picton, she foundered in a storm and was abandoned. Her crew almost lost her yawl, but a young sailor struck out after it and returned it to the swimmers. The crew was picked up by the schooner FLORA CARVETH about an hur later.
Hailed from Picton. Masterand owner: Capt. Daniel O”Hagan.
*also given as same distance SE
Sources : hgl,h,mmgl,rp,nsp
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ONTARIO
Other names : none
Official no. : 19127
Type at loss : propeller steam tug, wood
Build info : 1856, Wm. Cramp & Son, Pettys Isl, N.J.
Specs : 77x16x8, 54g 27n
Date of loss : 1883, Nov 17
Place of loss : S of Port Huron
Lake : St. Clair R.
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : She caught fire while docked at Port Huron. Her hawser burned through and she drifted out into the river, where the tug OWEN rode herd on her. She finally burned out and sank some miles below the city.
Owned by H.N. Jex out of Port Huron.
Also burned at Algonac in October of 1870 and near Bois Blanc Island in the Straits in June of 1858.
Sources : slh,phr,lhl,polk,nsp
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ONTARIO
Other names : none
Official no. : C80875
Type at loss : propeller, wood, freighter
Build info : 1881, R. Davis, Wolfe Isl., Ont.*
Specs : 104x23x6, 150gc 93nc
Date of loss : 1885, Aug 3
Place of loss : Toronto harbour
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : Destroyed in the “Esplanade Fire” which burned a number of vessels [see entry for ferry ANNIE CRAIG for a list].
*Build date also given as 1871.
Rebuilt from 259 to 150 t. in 1884.
Sources : csv,hgl,mmgl,wmn
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ONTARIO
Other names : none
Official no. : C71211
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1873, Simpson & Chisholm, Chatham, Ont. as a passenger steamer
Specs : 181x35x12, 655 t.
Date of loss : 1899, Aug 10
Place of loss : shore of Battle Isl., near Rossport, Ont.
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : fog
Loss of life : none
Carrying : light or coal, two schooners in tow
Detail : This steamer went ashore and was destroyed by wave action in a summer snowstorm. Bound for Nipigon, Ont. Her boilers are still ashore on Battle Isl. Registered out of Sarnia. Owned by Capt. J. Cornwalt of Sombra,Ont.
Rebuilt from 1388 t. passenger -package freighter to 655 t. bulker in 1898.
Wreck located in 1977.
Sources : mmgl,nsp,lss,win,mpl,do,jmk
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ONTARIO
Other names : none
Official no. : C77775
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1867, H. Marlton, Goderich, Ont.
Specs : 105x23x9, 150gc
Date of loss : 1907, Oct.*
Place of loss : Southampton, Ont.
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : Driven on the breakwater and wrecked, then torn to pieces by action of waves.
Details similar to ERIE STEWART(qv), lost the same day.
*1910 also given. One source suggests she may have lasted into the 1930’s.
Went ashore near Goderich in a gale in October 1871 and heavily damaged. Pulled off about 10 days later by the Canadian gunboat PRINCE ALFRED. Ashore on Point Clark, Lake Huron in Nov, 1883, and not expected to live.
Sources : mmgl,slh,nsp,mpl,wmn
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ONTARIO
Other names : none
Official no. : C94885
Type at loss : barge, steel, pulpwood
Build info : 1890, Poulson Iron Works, Owen Sound, Ont. hull# 25 as a carferry
Specs : 297x41x15, 1663gc 1615nc
Date of loss : 1927, Oct 13
Place of loss : East of Outer Isl. in the Apostles
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : pulpwood – rumored to have bootleg liquor aboard
Detail : Tow of the tug BUTTERFIELD, she foundered in a storm.
Qu says built as CANADIAN.
Built as a propeller river carferry of 16-car capacity. Reduced to a barge in 1926.
Wreck located in 450 feet of water in summer of 2015
Sources : mmgl,gwgl,glc,is,ns3,lss,win,mpl
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ONTONAGON
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1847, Madison Dock, OH
Specs : 106x24x9, 211 gt [om].
Date of loss : 1862, Nov 3
Place of loss : at Oswego
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : wheat
Detail : Bound Toledo for Oswego, she was coming into port in a gale when she was wrecked near the end of the east pier.
Out of Oswego.
Capsized off Two Rivers, WI, Jul, 1851
Carried the first cargo of iron ore Lake Superior to Lake Erie in 1856.
Sources : osdo,hgl,bb,nsp
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ONTONAGON
Other names : none
Official no. : 18963
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1856, Bidwell & Banta, Buffalo as a passenger and package freight vessel
Specs : 176x30x10, 377 t.
Date of loss : 1883, Sep 25
Place of loss : Off Stag Isl,
Lake : St Clair R
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : probably lumber
Detail : She caught fire and was run ashore on the Canadian side to save her crew. Allowed to burn out, she became a total loss.
Hailed from E. Saginaw in 1883 [H. Turner or W.S. McLane].
Sank after striking a rock near the Soo, Aug 9, 1870, she was abandoned to her underwriters Sept 1, recovered Sept. 10.
Sunk near Colchester, Ont., L. Erie, in Sep, 1876 after breaking her stern pipe in a storm. She was finally recovered after a difficult wrecking job in which she sank several more times. Sat idle at Clark’s dry dock, Detroit, for some time after this until rebuilt to a bulk freight steam barge in 1878-9.
Ashore with damage near Fairport, OH in November of 1880.
Rebuilt 1865, 66, major repairs in 1862, 1870.
Sources : gwgl,sagl,lhl,nsp,hgl,phr,polk,mpl,es,wl,rsl,eas
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ONWARD
Other names : none
Official no. : 19060
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1855, Ellenwood, Sacket’s Harbor, NY
Specs : 132 ft., 238g, 226n
Date of loss : 1885, Sep 21
Place of loss : north of Leland, MI
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : lumber [loading]
Detail : She was blown ashore from the dock at Gill’s Pier, later broken up by wave action. Registered out of Milwaukee to Maxon, Parker & Saveland.
Major repairs in 1870, 1876
Sources : mv,ssb,nsp,rsl
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ONWARD
Other names : ?
Official no. : ? US
Type at loss : tug (propeller tug), wood
Build info : (1866, Detroit)
Specs : (10 t.)
Date of loss : 1892
Place of loss : SE corner of Grand Traverse Bay
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : stranded
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : none
Detail : Stranded and lost.
Tug shown in parentheses was reported abandoned in 1867, but may have remained in service as an unregistered vessel.
Sources : lmdc,(lhl)
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ONWARD
Other names : none
Official no. : 155008
Type at loss : scow-schooner, wood
Build info : 1879, Putnam, Wilson, NY
Specs : 84x25x7, 99g 94n
Date of loss : 1899, Summer
Place of loss : at Port Clinton, OH
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : foundered
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : Sunk in the harbor and abandoned, a total loss. The following spring the wreck was removed under the direction of the Corps of Engineers. Document surrendered at Port Huron 6/28/1900.
Sources : phr,mv,polk,nsp
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OPHIR
Other names : none
Official no. : C112173
Type at loss : propeller tug,
Build info : 1902, M. Pearde, Owen Sound, Ont.
Specs : 42x9x4, 11g 8n
Date of loss : 1919, May 27
Place of loss : Parry Sound, E side of Georgian Bay
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : none
Detail : Burned to a total loss in the harbor.
Hailed from Toronto.
Sources : mmgl,slh,h,win
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OPECHEE
Other names : also seen as OPEECHEE, OPUCHEE
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1864, Samuel Miller & Co., Oswego, NY
Specs : 124 t.
Date of loss : 1864, Sep 5
Place of loss : 20 mi ENE from Pt. Pelee
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : foundered
Loss of life : 6 [all]
Carrying : ?
Detail : The new schooner went down in a fall blow with her topmasts emerging from the lake. One of the crewmen lashed himself to the mainmast and was visible both before and after his death to passing vessels in this busy corridor, but, due to the weather and a reef, none were able to assist, though several tried. It was more than 10 days before the schooner DENMARK removed the body and took it to Buffalo. Owned by Willard Kitts and Samuel Miller, her builder, of Oswego.
The name is an Indian word for “robin.” She was built with the outfit of the schooner ALLIANCE.
Sources : hgl,nsp,rsl
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ORCADIAN
Other names : none
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : brig, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1854, C. Richard, St. Ours, Que.
Specs : 94x20x9, 147 t.
Date of loss : 1858, May 8
Place of loss : off Little Sodus
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : none
Carrying : 8,200 bu. wheat
Detail : Bound Bayfield, Ont., Lake Huron, for Oswego, NY, she collided with the schooner LUCY J. LATHAM. As she went down, her rigging snagged on LATHAM’s bowsprit, and the latter was nearly dragged down as well. LATHAM’s stern lifted 10 to 12 feet out of the water, then her bowsprit broke off and ORCADIAN went to the bottom. She was owned by Rae & Bros., Hamilton, Ont. Master: Capt. Jas. Corrigal.
Sources : nsp,mmgl,wmn,nsp
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OREGON
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood
Build info : 1845, Zadoc Pangborn, Newport, MI
Specs : 204x30x13 781 t. [om]
Date of loss : 1850, Jan 19*
Place of loss : at Chicago
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : ?
Detail : Burned to a total loss, possibly while laid up.
*1849 also given
Sources : hgl,lhl,eas,nsp,bc
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OREGON
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1843, Three Mile Bay, NY*
Specs : 145 t.
Date of loss : 1852, Nov (14)
Place of loss : off Erie, Pa
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 10 [all]
Carrying : wheat
Detail : She departed Sandusky, Ohio, for Ogdensburg on Nov. 13, a day before a terrific gale struck, and was never seen again. A vessel seen to founder at a distance by another captain was thought later to have been her. Probably out of Oswego. Master: Capt. Wesley B. Sweet(d).
*also given as Henderson, NY and Lyme, NY
Sources : hgl,wmn,wmhs,bb,
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OREGON
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : propeller, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1845, Sanford & Moses, Cleveland
Specs : 144x23x10, 313 t.
Date of loss : 1855, Apr 20
Place of loss : near the head of Belle Isle
Lake : Detroit R.
Type of loss : explosion
Loss of life : 10 or 12
Carrying : general freight
Detail : She exploded her boiler from unknown causes and sank. She had been carrying freight and the crews of two schooners which had been wintering up north. Her engine was blown completely out. She was raised and converted to a scow in 1859. When she was brought up, after more than 3 years, the bones of some of her lost crew were found still aboard. Owner: Capt. G. W. Jones, Cleveland. Master: Capt. John Stewart.
Sunk at St. Clair flats in November, 1859 while in tow of tug REINDEER. Raised in 1861.
Sources : sol,lhl,hgl,st,nsp,wl,eas
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OREGON
Other names : none
Official no. : 15506
Type at loss : scow-schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1880, O. Dwyer, Pine R., MI
Specs : 64x20x4, 46g 44n
Date of loss : 1900, Jul 15
Place of loss : near Au Gres, MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : Stranded and wrecked in a storm.
Sources : gs,mv,phr
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OREGON
Other names : none
Official no. : 155065
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1882, Crosthwaite, Bay City, MI
Specs : 197x33x13, 974g 845n
Date of loss : 1908, Aug 23
Place of loss : Dyment Shoal, near Thessalon, Ont.
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : stranded/burned
Loss of life : none of 13
Carrying : lumber
Detail : She stranded on the shoal, caught fire and burned to a total loss. Her crew took to the boats and were saved. Her enrollment was surrendered at Chicago, Sep 5, 1908.
A hard-luck ship, she had many accidents in her career, including a near-sinking on her maiden voyage and a collision in the Straits in 1886.
Her engine was from 1854 steamer PLYMOUTH, which was rebuilt from a steamer into OREGON’s towbarge at that time.
Image from GLMD of 1905 stranding
Sources : mv,slh,sol,sbs,vbs,ns1,mpl,eas
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ORIENT
Other names : none
Official no. : 19358
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1870, Parsons & Humble, Tonawanda, NY
Specs : 319 t.
Date of loss : 1876, Oct 4
Place of loss : near Stony Point, NY., about three miles above Dexter
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none mentioned
Carrying : light [wrecking pumps aboard]
Detail : Bound Sackett’s Harbor for Oswego at night, she capsized and went ashore upside-down in a gale. A week later she was raised by the tug MOREY and started out for Oswego, but was lost enroute during another storm. She was later found capsized and broken up, a total loss, on Oct 23. The wreck at that time was located about 1 mi S of Stony Point. Out of Sackett’s Harbor. Owners: Faulkner & Best, Oswego or Dexter, NY.
Sources : nsp,wl,rp,wl,wmhs,wmn
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ORIENT
Other names : none
Official no. : 19414
Type at loss : propeller steam tug, wood
Build info : 1874, Carroll, Buffalo
Specs : 60x16x7, 37g
Date of loss : 1887, Oct 4
Place of loss : 3 mi W of Pt. Pelee
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 6 [all]
Carrying : none
Detail : This tug foundered in storm. She was seen to go down by the schooners LISGAR and GLENIFFER, but neither was able to help. She was a harbor tug out of Marine City, from whence came all of her crew. Owned by John Regan. Master: Capt. Ed Kane(d).
Rebuilt, 1882
Sources : is,h,nsp,phr,polk,wb,hgl,es3-1
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ORIENTAL
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : propeller, wood, freighter
Build info : 1854, Bidwell & Banta, Buffalo
Specs : 222x34x13, 950 t. om
Date of loss : 1859, Oct 14
Place of loss : Skillagalee Shoal, E of Beaver Isls.
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : 2 big wrecking pumps, plus flour, beef and hides
Detail : She went aground and and was holed in the shallows. The propeller POTOMAC and the big wrecking tug LEVIATHAN tried to save her, and pumps were placed aboard to try to lower the water in her, but she slid into deeper water and sank, pumps and all.
Owned by the American Transportation Co.
In September of 1860 her cargo, boilers and machinery were salvaged.
Sources : slh,lhl,hgl,ssm,nsp,wl
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ORIENTAL
Other names : none
Official no. : C72581
Type at loss : schooner-barge, wood, 2-mast, bulk freight
Build info : 1866, Roney, Garden Isl., Ont.
Specs : 137x25x13, 354g 328n
Date of loss : 1887, Oct 23
Place of loss : 2 mi off Port Dalhousie
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 7 [all]
Carrying : coal
Detail : Bound Charlotte, NY for Toronto in tow of the prop SCOTIA, she broke her towline in a gale and foundered. Anchor, chains and gear salvaged in Sep, 1888. Owned out of Kingston by Capt. Fraser. Master: Capt. George Stewart(d).
Sources : polk,mmgl,win,clu,nsp,wb,hgl,sb,es3-1
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ORINOCO
Other names : none
Official no. : 155317
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1898, J. Davidson, W. Bay City, MI hull# 87
Specs : 297x44x21, 2226g 1928n
Date of loss : 1924, May 18
Place of loss : 6 miles off Agawa Bay, NW of Soo
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 5
Carrying : pulpwood
Detail : Towing the huge barge CHIEFTAIN, she was caught in a gale. She cut the unweildly barge loose, then foundered.
Sources : lol,gwgl,sol,sbs,vbs,ns3,eas
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ORIOLE
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 3-mast
Build info : 1857, Merry & Gay, Milan, OH
Specs : 141x26x12, 323 t.
Date of loss : 1862, Aug 9
Place of loss : several miles NE of Grand Isl., off Munising, MI
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : 12 (or 10 or 13)
Carrying : iron ore
Detail : She was rammed broadside by the upbound sidewheeler ILLINOIS and cut in two. ILLINOIS, in danger of sinking, made for Munising, while ORIOLE was left behind to founder quickly. The accident happened in fog. ORIOLE had passengers aboard, 3 of whom were lost. Bound Marquette for Erie, PA. The 1 survivor drifted 35 hrs in yawl, then was rescued by the steamer GLOBE. The ILLINOIS, which had proceeded on her upward voyage after ascertaining that she was not, in fact, sinking, was subject of much angry criticism. Out of Cleveland. Master: Capt. McAdam(d).
Sources : ms,hgl,is(2-69),gwgl,lss,nsp,net
—-———————————
ORION – See WESEE
—-———————————
ORION – former entry deleted (1861) – vessel probably recovered
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ORION
Other names : none
Official no. : 18917
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood, passenger & freight
Build info : 1866, G.S. Rand, Manitowoc, WI
Specs : 185x48x11, 496 t.
Date of loss : 1870, Oct 16
Place of loss : harbor entrance at Grand Haven, MI
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : freight & passengers
Detail : Outbound from Grand Haven, she turned back after she was struck by the huge waves of a full gale. Her wheels were lifted out of water, throwing the vessel out of control and finally pushing her on a bar, where she was pounded to pieces. Homeport: Manitowoc, owned by Goodrich Transportation Co.
Her engine and boiler came from the 1847 steamer MICHIGAN and went into the steamer MUSKEGON (qv) after this wreck.
Sources : mv,is,rsh,lmdc,lhl,nsp,hgl,mpl,rsh,eas,bb
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ORION
Other names : none
Official no. : C
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1853, D. Tait, Picton
Specs : 102x22x9, 166 t.
Date of loss : 1872, Aug 31
Place of loss : off Long Point
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : stone
Detail : Bound Cleveland for Kingston and Brockville, she foundered and was lost in a gale. She went down 7 miles from the nearest land, about 10 miles S of Long Point. Her crew of 8 abandoned in her yawl just in time and then had a hard pull for several hours, finally landing near Nine Mile Point.
Homeport: Picton, Ont , owned by Capt. Edw. Zealand, Hamilton
Rebuilt in 1857. Rebuilt in 1864 after burning in the Welland Canal the previous year and being declared a total loss.
Sources : h,win,mmgl,eas,nsp,ib
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ORION
Other names : built as prop ISAAC MAY last name in 1896
Official no. : C100031
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight “steambarge”
Build info : 1872, Andrews & Son, Welland, Ont.
Specs : 174x30x13, 572gc
Date of loss : 1907, Aug 17
Place of loss : at Calf Island
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : 125 cords pulpwood
Detail : While fighting big waves, she veered onto a shoal and was stranded. Hull may have been recovered for use as a barge.
In 1890 she had been nearly destroyed by fire off Port Stanley and declared a total loss.
Major repairs in 1882
Originally 168×28, rebuilt 1891 to 173×30, 591 t, in 1896 to 174×30, 846 t. Rebuilt again in 1906
Sources : mmgl,win
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ORKNEY LASS
Other names : none
Official no. : C ?
Type at loss : brig, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1856, Thurston, Kingston, Ont.
Specs : 122x24x11, 282 t.
Date of loss : 1867, Jul 17
Place of loss : Off Port Colborne
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : all
Carrying : light
Detail : She was capsized by a squall but remained afloat. The crew of the schooner SEA GULL, passing by, saw her go over, but could find no crewmen. Owned by Folger Bros. of Kingston. She was reported to be “cranky,” (i.e. prone to tipping and slow to recover). Later recovered, sold U.S. by 1869.
Built for the North America-Europe trade.
Lay on bottom of Chicago R. ca. 1876-85. Owned out of Port Huron, Mich., in 1888. Lasted until at least 1892. US#19271.
Sources : nsp,clu,hgl,mv,mmgl
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ORLEANS
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1846, Clayton, NY as a brig
Specs : 101x20x8, 174 t. om
Date of loss : 1855, Oct 21
Place of loss : near the Government Pier at Milwaukee
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 3 of 9
Carrying : timber, shingles and shingle bolts
Detail : Inbound for Chicago, she was driven ashore by a gale. The lost tried to make it ashore in her boat, while another boat, crewed by three ship captains and other sailors from nearby vessels, removed those remaining aboard. Out of Chicago. Master: Capt. J. Douglass(d).
Ashore near Detroit, 1847
Sources : nsp,wl,hgl,wmhs,wmn,wls
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ORMSBY
Other names : none
Official no. : 19428
Type at loss : propeller tug, wood
Build info : 1871, E. Sorenson, Green Bay or DePere as a ferry
Specs : 56x9x6, 25 t.
Date of loss : 1876, Oct 15
Place of loss : near Escanaba, Mich
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm/fire
Loss of life : none mentioned
Carrying : none
Detail : She went ashore in heavy weather on October and her crew had been living aboard, preparing to get her off. On the 15th, while they were ashore getting provisions, she was struck by another blow, thrown on her beam andthen caught fire. She burned to a total loss of $6,000. Owned by Charles Lawton, DePere, Wis.
Sources : nsp,bb,wmhs,wgts
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ORONTES
Other names : none
Official no. : 18890
Type at loss : barge, wood
Build info : 1856, F.N. Jones, Buffalo as a propeller
Specs : 179x30x12, 557 t.
Date of loss : 1883, May 20
Place of loss : Pt. Edward, base of the lake
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : lumber
Detail : She went ashore near Lakeport, Mich, after being lost from the tow of the tug J. P. CLARK, along with 3 other barges. The CLARK was able to save her crew.
Registered out of Cleveland
Converted to barge in 1876. 589 t. om as a propeller, she was sister of the propeller ARAXES
Major repairs in 1864
Sources : slh,lhl,polk,hgl,mpl,wl,rsl,nsp
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ORPHAN BOY
Other names : none
Official no. : 18919
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 3-mast
Build info : 1862, W. Jones, Black R. [Lorain], OH as a bark
Specs : 144x30x12, 366g 349n
Date of loss : 1885, Dec 5
Place of loss : Big Sable Point
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 12 [all] (also given as 8)
Carrying : lumber
Detail : Making a late-season run, she was driven ashore by a powerful gale and was quickly pounded to pieces.
Date also given as Dec 17.
Hailed from Mackinaw City
Sources : mv,is(1-75),h,lmdc,wb,hgl,usls,eas,bb
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T. H. ORTON
Other names : also seen as T.H. ORTEN
Official no. : 59340
Type at loss : barge, wood, bulk freight*
Build info : 1873, Murphy, Buffalo
Specs : 146x26x8, 262g 249n
Date of loss : 1889, Jul 12
Place of loss : at Marblehead, near Sandusky, OH
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : ?
Detail : She dragged her anchors and wrecked in storm. Lifesaving Service rescued her crew. Owner: Ed. J. Kendall, Marine City. She was later recovered, dragged in again near the same spot with no loss of life Jul 14, 1891 and declared total loss. Perhaps recovered again.
*may have been in use as a private lightship at the time
Sources : mv,h,nsp,wb,sb,eas.jb
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S.S. OSBORN
Other names : none name also spelled OSBORNE
Official no. : 23361
Type at loss : bark, wood, 3-mast [also reported as a schooner at the time of her loss]
Build info : 1867, Bailey Bros., Fairport, OH
Specs : 655 t. (853 t. om)
Date of loss : 1874, Nov 3
Place of loss : Cassidy’s Reef, 2 miles from Port Colborne*
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : iron ore
Detail : Wrecked on the reef in a general gale. Salvagers at first thought they could release her, but a long spell of violent weather broke her up before much effort could be expended. She had been bound Escanaba for Buffalo when lost.
*Also given as Kennedy’s Reef, 12 mi from Port Colborne
Homeport: Fairport
Sources : hgl,mv,ledc,win,wl,nsp,ewe
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JOHN M. OSBORNE
Other names : none also spelled OSBORN
Official no. : 76307
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight, “steambarge”
Build info : 1882, Morley & Hill, Marine City
Specs : 178x32x14, 891g 711n
Date of loss : 1884, Jul 27
Place of loss : 6 mi NNW of Whitefish Point
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : 4 or 5*
Carrying : iron ore
Detail : Bound Marquette for Ashtabula with two barges in tow, she collided with the steel passenger steamer ALBERTA, which stayed in the gash until most of OSBORNE’s crew had scrambled aboard. She then sank in 20 fathoms of water. The accident happened in fog. This was the ALBERTA’s third serious collision of the year. Owners: Richardson, Webb, et. al., Cleveland. Master: Capt. Thomas Wilford.
Wreck was located in 1984, 100 years later.
*3 or 4 lives lost on OSBORNE, one from ALBERTA in brave rescue attempt.
Sources : mv,is(2-69),gwgl,lssc,sol,sbs,slh,h,lss,hgl,usls,mpl,es,nsp
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OSCEOLA
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : brig, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1837, John Vail, Silver Creek, NY
Specs : 88x24x9, 171 t. om
Date of loss : 1846, Nov 19
Place of loss : near Silver Creek, NY
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 5 of 8 [captain died several days later of a heart attack]
Carrying : ?
Detail : Driven ashore and wrecked near spot where steamer ERIE (qv) was lost in ’41. Out of Cleveland. Master: Capt. Horace Snow(d).
Also reported wrecked on L. Michigan in 1841 and near Chicago in Oct., 1843.
Carried the first load of grain directly from Chicago to the East Coast in 1839.
Sources : ledc,hgl,mpl,rp,wl
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OSCEOLA
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1839, Ashtabula, Oh (also given as Black R., Oh, probably in error)
Specs : 111x23x7, 140 t [om]
Date of loss : 1851, Oct 2
Place of loss : 20 mi off Fairport, OH
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : merchandise
Detail : Bound Oswego for Detroit, she lost her spars in a gale. The leaking and helpless craft was approached within speaking distance by the brig QUEBEC, but the latter did not offer assistance. The crew were later taken off just before the OSCEOLA sank by the schooner SCOTLAND. Out of Oswego
Sources : hgl,rp,wmhs,wl
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OSCEOLA
Other names : later GOLSPIE(qv)
Official no. : 155063
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1882, F. Wheeler, W. Bay City hull# 15
Specs : 184x33x14, 981g 787n
Date of loss : 1887, Nov 7
Place of loss : Flat Rock Point, near Pte Aux Barques
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : brick [unloading]
Detail : She was driven on a reef in a fog while unloading and wrecked. Declared a total loss, but recovered and rebuilt at great cost, after lying aground for nearly a year.
Gutted by fire at Duluth in October of ’86. Changed from 2 decks to one during extensive rebuild.
Sold Canadian in 1905 and name changed to GOLSPIE(qv).
Sources : nsp,slh,sbs,vbs,h,wb,hgl,st
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OSCODA
Other names : none
Official no. : 155012
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1878, S. Langell, St Clair, MI
Specs : 175x32x13, 529g 345n
Date of loss : 1914, Nov 8
Place of loss : near Epoufette, MI
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none of 14
Carrying : lumber
Detail : Bound for Chicago with the barges A.C. TUXBURY & ALICE B NORRIS, she was struck by a gale. She released the barges and went on a reef. Steamer and barge crews and bystanders ashore made a combined successful effort to remove OSCODA’s crew. She rolled off the bar and sank in a later storm. The barges were none the worse for wear.
Sources : mv,mol,lol,sol,slh,ns2,lmdc,mpl,eas
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OSHAWA
Other names : none
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : propeller, wood
Build info : 1854, Laprairie, Que.
Specs : 128×23, ca. 340 t.
Date of loss : 1861, Sep 29
Place of loss : South Bend, 30 mi W of Kingston near Wellington
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : 3500 bbl flour
Detail : She was driven ashore by a gale and rolled over on her beam ends in 6 feet of water. The steamer WILLIAM IV was able to salvage some of her cargo and fittings, and her machinery was later recovered. She had been bound Port Dalhousie for Montreal. Owned by Parry & Black’s “Beaver Line.” Master: Capt. Riddell.
Sources : rp,csv,hgl
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OSPREY
Other names : also seen as OSPRAY
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1853, Sandusky, OH
Specs : 247 t.
Date of loss : 1858, Oct 7
Place of loss : at Oswego, NY
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 3
Carrying : ?
Detail : While maneuvering into the harbor, she was blown against a pier in a sudden squall and broke up. The survivors leaped from the vessel’s bowsprit to the pier, from whence they were rescued by the tug BLOORE. The lost were the captain’s wife and small child and the mate, who was the captain’s brother-in-law. Master: Capt. John Parsons. Owner: W. T. Richmond, Buffalo.
Sources : hgl,is,(nsp),rp
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OSPREY
Other names : none also seen as OSPRAY
Official no. : C46254
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1863, A. Cantin, Sorel, Que.
Specs : 175x32x11, 261 t.
Date of loss : 1878
Place of loss : Hamilton, Ont.
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : Burned to a total loss in harbor.
Had been laid up there since 1876.
Sources : mmgl,csv,clu,hgl
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OSPREY
Other names : built as HIAWATHA, renamed in 1892
Official no. : C85499
Type at loss : propeller steam tug, wood
Build info : 1886, A. Morrill, Meaford, Ont. as a steam launch
Specs : 66x14x7, 36gc 26nc
Date of loss : 1897, Dec 3
Place of loss : Near Christian Isl., Georgian Bay
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : none
Detail : Burned to a total loss. Hailed from Toronto, owned by James Playfair.
Probably the same tug as burned to the waterline Oct 5, 1895 near Cedar Point, Georgian Bay.
Sources : mmgl,slh,h,win
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OSPREY
Other names : built as HOFFNUNG BROS. renamed in 1914
Official no. : 96063
Type at loss : propeller steam tug, wood, fishing
Build info : 1890, Rieboldt & Wolter, Sheboygan, WI
Specs : 62x15x8, 56g 28n
Date of loss : 1915, Apr 13
Place of loss : at Stoney Point
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none of 3
Carrying : none
Detail : Burned to a total loss. Out of Duluth, owned by Geo. R. King.
Sources : eas,lss,mv,gwgl,is,hr,glmd
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OSSIFRAGE
Other names : none
Official no. : 115124
Type at loss : propeller, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1886, F. Wheeler, W. Bay City, MI hull#26
Specs : 183x32x18, 432g 289n
Date of loss : 1900
Place of loss : off Sturgeon Pt., MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : foundered
Loss of life : none
Carrying : ?
Detail : She foundered and was thought to be an unrecoverable total loss, but later brought to the surface and sold Canadian (C#107488) before rebuilding. Rebuilt at Owen Sound, 1901, foundered in Northumberland Strait, Atlantic Ocean, Sep 25, 1919.
*originally 153x29x9, 383g 248n. Rebuilt many times, 1st in 1889. Major repair in 1901
Sources : vbs,slh,ns2,mv
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OSTRICH
Other names : none
Official no. : 18967
Type at loss : schooner, wood, bulk freight, lumber
Build info : 1856, Bidwell & Banta, Buffalo
Specs : 140x26x11, 279g 265n
Date of loss : 1892, Oct 28
Place of loss : W of Manitou Isls
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 6 [all]
Carrying : lumber or light
Detail : This aged schooner foundered in a powerful gale. Much wreckage and her lifeboat soon washed ashore on S. Manitou. There has been some speculation that she collided with steamer W.H. GILCHER(qv), lost in the same area the same day, but probably not, as passing vessels reported no signs of a collision strong enoug to send a steel steamer to the bottom..
Rebuilt, 1870 after going ashore near Menominee in September, major repairs 1880.
Sources : mv,ml,gsgl,sol,wm2,lmdc,h,mv,osdo,hgl,usla,wgts,nsp
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OSWEGATCHIE
Other names : none
Official no. : 19189
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1867, Pierson, Ogdensburg, NY as a passenger freighter
Specs : 135x26x11, 350g 280n
Date of loss : 1891, Nov 26
Place of loss : off Sturgeon Point, MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none, several severely frostbitten
Carrying : lumber
Detail : She was bound Alpena for Detroit, towing the barges A.J. McBRIER, N.P. GOODELL and H.C. POTTER in a NE gale. She was overwhelmed and abandoned at sea before she foundered. Salvagers possibly removed most of her gear soon after, but the site of the wreck was unknown until discovered by wreck scavengers about 1971, though the vessel they found may be BALTIMORE. Of the barges, only McBRIER survived.
Owned by E.C. Recor of St. Clair, MI.
Sources : mv,nsp,slh,h,lhdc,wb,hgl,sb,mpl,eas
—-———————————
OSWEGO – See also OWEGO, ROMAN
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OSWEGO
Other names : none
Official no. : 19063
Type at loss : propeller steam tug, wood
Build info : 1857, Hillman & Streaker, Philadelphia
Specs : 97x19x9, 148g 94n
Date of loss : 1891, Oct 11
Place of loss : off Windsor, Ont.
Lake : Detroit R
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : She was destroyed by fire while towing the schooner YOUNG AMERICA. After the fire got out of control, her crew abandoned to the schooner. There is one report that she was raised by Reid in 1900, for use in log rafting.
Out of Detroit, where she was used as a wrecker for many years. She was part of the Grummond tug fleet.
Collided with the big schooner MAY RICHARDS near Colchester Shoal, Lake Erie and sank quickly with no loss of life, May 27, 1887. Raised the following summer.
Built for the lakes and first arrived in 1857, but served with the Navy on the East Coast during the Civil War, at one point being used as a dispatch boat in New Orleans by Adm. David Farragut. She returned to the lakes in 1867.
Rebuilt 1873, major repair 1879
Sources : lhl,polk,hgl,mv,nsp,mpl,rp,es
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OTEGO
Other names : built as CITY OF ST. CATHARINES, renamed 1883
Official no. : 155075
Type at loss : propeller, wood
Build info : 1874, J.P. Abbey, Port Robinson, Ont. (C#72715)
Specs : 139x26x13, 334g 228n
Date of loss : 1895, Oct 17
Place of loss : Green Bay, WI
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : 1
Carrying : in ballast
Detail : She caught fire at Green Bay, at the Winona & St. Paul RR dock and drifted away to come up against the Mason Street bridge, which also caught fire. The bridge was saved, but the steamer burned to a total loss. Just a week before she had been stranded on Whaleback shoal with her consort schooner RED, WHITE & BLUE(qv). The hulk was raised in 1900 and towed to Green Bay – final disposition is unknown, but probably not rebuilt. Master: Capt. Joseph Doville. Owner: Smith-Fee Co., Duluth.
Also sunk in Duluth harbor in April of the same year.
Raised by Americans in ’83 after ’80 wreck (see CITY OF ST. CATHARINES.) and became an American bottom.
Image of her under construction from GLMD
Sources : nsp,h,mv,csv,hgl,mpl
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OTSEGO
Other names : none
Official no. : 155050
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1882, R. Gagne, AuSable, MI
Specs : 50x14x5, 24g 22n
Date of loss : 1886, Nov 1
Place of loss : at Port Austin, MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : (storm)
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : Wrecked and a total loss.
Out of AuSable.
Sources : phr,mv,vbs
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OTTAWA
Other names : none?
Official no. : C*
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1837, Oregon, OH
Specs : 84x23x9, 154 t. om
Date of loss : 1848, Dec
Place of loss : near Port Burwell**
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : salt
Detail : She stranded and went to pieces.
*or American. She was in U.S. registry until at least 1844.
**also given as Port Stanley
Sources : sagl,hgl,wl,bb,wmhs
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OTTAWA
Other names : none
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood, passenger & package freight*
Build info : 1840, P. Cormier, Trois Rivières, Que.
Specs : 82x19x7, 57 t.
Date of loss : 1851, Sep 27
Place of loss : near Kingston, Ont.
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : none reported
Carrying : ?
Detail : Sunk following collision with the steamer REINDEER and a total loss. Raised a few days later but sunk in a storm enroute for repairs. Owner: Torrance & Co.
*some sources say propeller
Sources : csv,hgl,mmgl
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OTTAWA
Other names : none
Official no. : 18922
Type at loss : barge, wood
Build info : 1854, L. Moses or Stevens & Presley, Cleveland as a propeller
Specs : 143x27x9, 220 t.
Date of loss : 1872, Nov 29
Place of loss : near Middle Island
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : ice
Loss of life : none
Carrying : coal
Detail : The tow of the tug TORRENT [ the barges OTTAWA, ONTARIO and RITCHIE and the schooner J. W. SARGENT] was bound Cleveland for Detroit when it encountered a terrific cold snap. The vessels became overladen with ice and broke their towlines. The OTTAWA foundered in deep water, while the others went ashore at scattered localities and were later recovered.
Owned by Goodrich of Chicago. Probably purchased by them for her engine.
Converted from a propeller to a barge between 1869 and 1871, probably after a fire near Ahnapee, Wis, in the fall of 1869.
Sources : wl,nsp,wgts
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OTTAWA
Other names : none
Official no. : 18930
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1862, D. Tait, Belleville, Ont.
Specs : 158 t.
Date of loss : 1875, Sep 3
Place of loss : Sarnia Bay & St. Clair R.
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm/collision
Loss of life : none
Carrying : ?
Detail : along with several other schooners, she was caught in a storm near Lexington, Mich, and disabled. The propeller GEORGE KING towed her into the St. Clair River, where she anchored for the night. After dark the propeller ANNIE L. CRAIG collided with her, putting a hole in her side. She drifted to the Canadian side and sank. In mid-October she was stripped, towed “into the bulrushes of Sarnia Bay,” and abandoned. Still lying on the bottom in Apr, 1878, she was later raised, but was declared a constructive total loss and abandoned (probably).
Sold American after 1873
Sources : slh,hgl,st,nsp,wl,mv
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OTTAWA
Other names : none
Official no. : C111443
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1900, Bertram Engine Works, Toronto
Specs : 256x43x25, 2431gc 1440nc
Date of loss : 1909, Nov 15
Place of loss : 15 mi off Passage Isl. NE tip of Isle Royale
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : wheat
Detail : She developed a list after her cargo shifted in a gale. The crew abandoned ship just before she went down, then had a 16-mile pull in an open boat before reaching safety. She sank stern first.
Out of Ottawa, Canadian
Sources : lss,irs,gwgl,is,ns1,csv,mmgl,win,mpl
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OTTAWA
Other names : built as propeller BOSCOBEL, renamed in 1904
Official no. : C116391
Type at loss : propeller steam tug, wood, wrecker
Build info : 1881, Miller, Chicago US#3152
Specs : 151x28x13, 611g 451n
Date of loss : 1909, Nov 29
Place of loss : Frog Bay, near Red Cliff, WI
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : The big Reid wrecking tug was riding at anchor when she caught fire and burned to a total loss. She was one of the largest and best-equipped wreckers on the lakes, but was also used for towing large log rafts.. Value of tug and gear was over $50,000. Owned by wrecker James Reid & Sons, Sarnia, ONT
Lies 100 ft from shore under Red Cliff Point, N shore.
Major repair in 1882. Sold Canadian, 1904.
Sources : glp,s,lss,mv,csv,win,mpl
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OTTAWA
Other names : built as prop A.B. TAYLOR renamed in 1902
Official no. : 106257
Type at loss : propeller, wood passenger & package freight
Build info : 1884, R. Rogers, Saugatuck, MI
Specs : 106x20x8, 104g 73n
Date of loss : 1910, Dec 14
Place of loss : at Cape Vincent, NY
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : ?
Detail : Destroyed by fire at her dock. Owned by Thousand Islands Steamboat Co., Cape Vincent.
Also suffered a serious fire at Grand Haven, MI, in 1901.
Sources : ns2,h,mv,nsp,mpl
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OTTAWA
Other names : none
Official no. : 19408
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast, lumber
Build info : 1874, Loutit & Robertson, Grand Haven, MI
Specs : 113x25z8, 163g 155n
Date of loss : 1911, Apr 13*
Place of loss : off Sturgeon Bay, WI
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 5 [all]
Carrying : lumber
Detail : Stranded in a severe gale and fog when southbound from Manistique, Mich. May have foundered. Owned by Roper Lumber Co. and her skipper, Capt.Claus Weborg (d) of Marinette, Wis.
*RKR says May 13, other sources Oct 13. Apr 13 is official.
Sources : ns2,mv,lmdc,mpl,rkr,eas,wgts
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OTTER
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood
Build info : 1813
Specs : 45 t.
Date of loss : 1828
Place of loss : off Grand Sable Banks, W of Grand Marais site
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : all
Carrying : furs
Detail : Supplied missionary outposts. She sank with all hands.
One of the first commercial vessels on Lake Superior.
This or another OTTER reported wrecked in Soo rapids, 1823.
hgl reports a schooner of this name on Lake Superior in 1800
Sources : gwgl,h,
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OTTER
Other names : none
Official no. : 19125
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1863, D. Lester, Newport, MI [also given as Scott, Newport and D. Lester, Freeport, OH]
Specs : 105x26x12, 205g 195n
Date of loss : 1895, Oct 10
Place of loss : 12 mi N of Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : lumber
Detail : She stranded 300 ft. offshore. The crew took to the rigging and were rescued by breeches’ buoy by the Sturgeon Bay Lifesaving Service crew. Owned by J. Caesar of Chicago.
Image of vessel ashore from GLMD
Sources : nsp,h,lmdc,mv,hs,wb,hgl,mpl,wgts
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OTTOCA
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : scow-schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1853, Dinnett, Manhattan, OH
Specs : 101x23x8, 173 t. om
Date of loss : 1860, Oct 23 or 24
Place of loss : off Pt. Pelee, near “the Dummy”
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : none
Carrying : coal
Detail : Bound Cleveland for Wyandotte, MI, she struck the recently-sunken wreck of the steamer MT. VERNON (qv) and went down quickly. Her crew made it to shore on Pt. Pelee in her smallboat and reached Detroit. Owned out of Saginaw by S.H. Webster
Sources : nsp,hgl,wl,wmn,wmhs,bb
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OUR SON
Other names : none
Official no. : 14437
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 3-mast
Build info : 1875, H. Kelly, Black R. [Lorain], OH
Specs : 182x35x14, 720g 684n
Date of loss : 1930, Sep 26
Place of loss : 20 mi off Sheboygan, WI (also given as 3 mi WSW of Little Sable Pt., MI)
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : pulpwood
Detail : She was caught in a heavy gale, waterlogged and began to founder. The self-unloading steamer WILLIAM NELSON, coming along on the same route, saw the old girl going down and rescued her crew after several attempts. Lost after 55 seasons of service. The “bald-head rig” schooner was one of the last working sail vessels on the lakes. Owned by W. Schlosser of Milwaukee
Image late in her career from GLMD
Sources : rkr,is(1-75),mol,gs,mpl,eas
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J.H. OUTHWAITE
Other names : none
Official no. : 76636
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight
Build info : 1886, W. H. Radcliffe, Cleveland, OH
Specs : 224x37x19, 1304g 1099n
Date of loss : 1905, Nov 28
Place of loss : Point Nipigon, near Cheboygan, MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : storm/fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : iron ore
Detail : Bound Escanaba for Lake Erie, she was driven ashore by 80-mph winds, caught fire and was destroyed before she could be released. Towing schooner MARY MITCHELL. Had just come out of drydock on the 9th after a repair job. Owned by W.C. Richardson of Cleveland.
Had a major rebuild at Bay City in 1898 after going ashore with her barge H. A. BARR near False Presque Isle, Lake Huron, in April of that year. It took several months and several salvagers to release her.
Sources : slh,ns1,mv,lhdc,nsp,ssm,mpl
—-———————————
OUTAOUAISE – See JOHNSON
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OUTWARD BOUND
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1846, DeGrote, Buffalo
Specs : 117x24x10, 260 t, om
Date of loss : 1849, Apr 17
Place of loss : Manitou passage
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 11 [all?]*
Carrying : wheat or glassware and passengers
Detail : Was seen to founder off Sleeping Bear by the crew of the schooner TEMPEST and by locals. She was valued at $17,000, vessel and cargo, and was owned by Richmond & Co, Chicago.
*three persons may have been rescued by local native Americans.
Sources : bb,wl,bcw,hgl
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THOMAS OVERTON
Other names : built as INDUSTRY, renamed in 1872 or 3
Official no. : C61144
Type at loss : scow-schooner, wood
Build info : 1868, Gould or Goulet, Port Huron [US#12434]
Specs : 66x19x6, 62gc 62nc
Date of loss : 1877, Oct 8
Place of loss : W of the dock at Kingsville, Ont.
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : wooden bolts
Detail : She stranded on October 2nd,. and had not been released before a storm struck her and pounded her to pieces.
She was reported abandoned at Detroit just a year earlier.
Sold Canadian about 1872
Sources : es,nsp,mmgl,bb
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OWEGO
Other names : some sources call her OSWEGO in error
Official no. : 18926
Type at loss : propeller, wood, passenger and package freight
Build info : 1853, Roderick Calkins, Cleveland
Specs : 169x28x11, 483 t. om
Date of loss : 1867, Nov 29
Place of loss : off Barcelona, NY
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 5
Carrying : flour, oats, corn, tallow and sundries
Detail : Stranded and went to pieces in a blizzard/gale. Five of her crew were lost when her yawl capsized while trying to make it to shore. She was a well-known vessel that had for years plied the route Buffalo-Dunkirk-Cleveland-Toledo. She was reported largely broken up by December 6, and the remains burned in place in March, 1869.
Major repair in 1861
Sources : sol,lhl,hgl,mpl,wl,nsp,wmn
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OWEN
Other names : also seen as OWENS
Official no. : C90521*
Type at loss : propeller, wood, bulk freight “steambarge”
Build info : 1884, Prairie Siding [Chatham], Ont.
Specs : 90x24x9, 102gc 68nc
Date of loss : 1902, Oct 12
Place of loss : Gull Shoal, near Long Point, Bay of Quinte
Lake : Ontario
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : wheat
Detail : She broke a steam pipe, lost control and went ashore, a total loss. Master & owner: Capt. Simmons.
*One source gives C78041.
Sources : csv,mmgl,nsp,is,h,win,eas
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OWEN
Other names : started out as OWEN, renamed MARION E. TROTTER while in Canadian registry, 1908-1920 [C116318], renamed OWEN again in 1920
Official no. : 155032
Type at loss : propeller steam tug, wood
Build info : 1881, Oades, Detroit, MI
Specs : 62x16x9, 44g 22n
Date of loss : 1921, Dec 6
Place of loss : at public dock at Tawas City, MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : none
Detail : Burned to a total loss. Out of Port Huron.
Sunk by running on a piling near Port Huron in July of 1901.
Sold Canadian in 1908, resold American in 1920
Sources : slh,phr,hcgl,mv,nsp
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D. R. OWEN
Other names : none
Official no. : 35040
Type at loss : scow-schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1867, D. R. Owen, Fairport, Oh
Specs : 101x23x6, 113 t.
Date of loss : 1878, Nov 1
Place of loss : at Manistee, Mich
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : brick
Detail : She struck the north pier while attempting to enter the harbor in a gale. She sank and was expected to become a total loss. Out of Milwaukee.
Reported lost with all hands on Lake Superior in early Dec, 1872.
Reported wrecked at the mouth of Bad River, near Ontonagon, Lake Superior, in Sep, 1874
Sources : nsp,hgl,mv,wmn,bb
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GEORGE B. OWEN
Other names : none
Official no. : 86264
Type at loss : schooner-barge, wood, bulk freight, 2-mast
Build info : 1893, J. Davidson, W. Bay City, MI hull# 59
Specs : 196x34x13, 744g 706n
Date of loss : 1926, Oct 1
Place of loss : off Grosse Ile (Grosse Pte.?), MI
Lake : Detroit R
Type of loss : swamped
Loss of life : none?
Carrying : coal
Detail : Upbound and deep laden, she swamped and was lost. Her cargo was later recovered.
Ashore near Ashtabula and thought to be unsalvageable in December of 1898. Her documents were surrendered June 30, 1899 as “abandoned,” but the hulk was purchased by James Davidson and towed to W. Bay City, where Davidson rebuilt her. She was redocumented in July.
Sources : rkr,eas,vbs,ns3,mpl,nsp
—-———————————
IRA H. OWEN – See also MONOHANSETT
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IRA H. OWEN
Other names : none
Official no. : 100410
Type at loss : propeller, steel, bulk freight
Build info : 1887, Globe Iron Works, Cleveland
Specs : 262x39x19, 1753g 1498n
Date of loss : 1905, Nov 28
Place of loss : near Outer Isl., Apostles.
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 19 [all]*
Carrying : barley
Detail : Broke up offshore in 80-90 mph winds and sank. Master: Capt. Joseph Milligan(d). Owned by National Steamship Line.
*most reports say that all hands were lost, though Lifesaving Service report says all were saved.
Sources : nsp,mol,gwgl,lss,sol,is,wm2,ns1,h,mpl,hcgl
—-———————————
JOHN OWEN – See also COLUMBUS
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JOHN OWEN
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : sidewheel steamer, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1843, Truago [Trenton], MI
Specs : 139x19x8, 191 t.
Date of loss : 1860, Apr
Place of loss : at Port Huron, MI
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : fire
Loss of life : none
Carrying : ?
Detail : She burned to a total loss. She may have been in the St Clair R. instead of Lake Huron. In April her skipper was reported casting about for a new hull to receive her engine – this was the PHILO PARSONS.
An 1859 article describes her as a “cross between a tug, flatboat, packet and steamer.”
Sources : slh,hdm,lhl,hgl,st,wl,nsp
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JOHN OWEN
Other names : none
Official no. : 76818
Type at loss : propeller, composite, bulk freight
Build info : 1889, Detroit Dry Dock, Wyandotte, MI hull# 95
Specs : 281x41x20, 2127g 1609n
Date of loss : 1919, Nov 13
Place of loss : between Manitou Isl and Stannard Rock
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 23 [all]
Carrying : barley
Detail : She was torn to pieces offshore and foundered in huge waves. Out of Cleveland, owned by J. Emery Owen Transportation Co. Master: Capt. George E. Benham (d).
Sources : atl,eas,is(4-73),gwgl,gsgl,lss,gs,sol,wm2,ns2,h,mv,mpl,hcgl
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OXFORD
Other names : built on the hull of sidewheeler JOHN HOLLISTER*
Official no. : C none
Type at loss : propeller, wood
Build info : 1853, Buffalo
Specs : 90 ft.
Date of loss : 1855, fall
Place of loss : Fishing Isls., Smith Bay of Manitoulin Isl.**
Lake : Huron
Type of loss : (storm)
Loss of life : ?
Carrying : ?
Detail : “Wrecked.”
*HOLLISTER was built in 1848 at Perrysburgh, OH. She was 132x20x9, 218 t. She burned on Lake Erie in January, 1849 and her hull was later resurrected to build this prop. She had run the Toledo-Detroit route daily for many years.
** Cape Hurd also given.
Sold Canadian in 1854.
Sources : clu,slh,mmgl,csv,nsp,wl,hgl
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OXFORD
Other names : none
Official no. : none
Type at loss : brig, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1842, A. Wilcox, Three Mile Bay, NY
Specs : 114 ft., 254 t.
Date of loss : 1856, May 30
Place of loss : off Long Point
Lake : Erie
Type of loss : collision
Loss of life : 5 of 7
Carrying : iron ore
Detail : Bound Ogdensburg, NY for Toledo, she collided with the prop CATARACT at night and sank within a few minutes, a total loss of $10,000. The captain rushed to the cabin to save his wife and child, who were asleep below, and perished with them. OXFORD’s crew stated that the propeller came straight at them even though their vessel was well-lit and visible from a great distance. Out of Oswego, NY, but owned from Cleveland. Master: Capt. John Lee(d).
Sources : mol,glss,hgl,nsp,rp,ewe, blu[1856]
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OZAUKEE
Other names : none
Official no. : 19002
Type at loss : sidewheel boom tug
Build info : 1857, Port Washington, WI (hull built at Ozaukee, WI)
Specs : 100x18x6, 67g 33n t.
Date of loss : 1884, May 27
Place of loss : near Ashland, WI
Lake : Superior
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : none
Carrying : towing log raft
Detail : Driven ashore, struck a sandbar and wrecked 3 miles off Bad River, SE of Chequamegon Point. Her crew escaped in her boats.
Hailed from Marquette .
Built as a tug, later used as a passenger & package freight vessel, burned to almost total loss in 1870, probably converted to a 72 hp tug again after that.
Sources : mv,is,lhl,lss,nsp,mpl,eas
Great Lakes Shipwreck Files 
