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Isaac C. Smith

{{short description|New York and New Jersey shipbuilder (1797–1877)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Isaac C. Smith

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = 1797

| birth_place = Ossining, New York

| death_date = March 15, 1877 (aged 79)

| death_place = White Plains, New York

| nationality = American

| occupation = {{unbulleted list|Sail and steamboat captain|Shipbuilder|Sparmaker|Entrepreneur}}

| years_active = ca. 1810 to ca. 1860

| known_for =

| notable_works =

}}

Isaac C. Smith (1797{{spnd}}March 15, 1877) was an American sail and steamboat captain, shipbuilder, sparmaker and entrepreneur.

A longterm resident of Ossining, New York (then known as Sing Sing), Smith began his career working aboard Hudson River sloops, eventually rising to the rank of captain. He also built watercraft and worked as a sparmaker. In the mid-1830s, Smith was the initiator of a steamboat line from Ossining to New York City, supervising the construction of two steamboats for the line and taking command of the first.

In 1849, Smith opened a shipyard in Hoboken, New Jersey, where he built a wide variety of vessels, from small sloops to steamboats to large, full-rigged ships. In 1853 he was joined in this venture by his son J. Malcolm Smith, the firm then being renamed Isaac C. Smith & Son. About 30 ships were built at this yard before it closed in 1855 due to a nationwide shipbuilding slump. In all, Smith is said to have built about 100 ships through the course of his career, the best known of which was the 1600-ton {{ship||Hurricane|clipper|2}}, reputedly the most extreme clipper ever built.Knoblock 2014. p. 37.

Smith was also a devout Methodist and contributed to the construction of five churches of that denomination in his native town, for which he was known as "the father of Sing Sing Methodism".

Life and career

Isaac C. Smith was born in 1797 in Sing Sing, New York, (modern day Ossining), one of a large number of children of Caleb Smith and his wife Elizabeth (née Sherwood). Smith{{'}}s paternal grandfather, John Smith, was one of the earliest settlers of the region that would later become Sing Sing,The Bay of San Francisco. 1892. I. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433081781399?urlappend=%3Bseq=479 441]. and worked as a tenant and later owned a farm on the Manor of Phillipsburg.Scharf 1886. 1. p. [https://archive.org/stream/historywestches00schagoog#page/n52/mode/2up 560].

Smith began his career at an early age, working aboard market sloops on the Hudson River. He sailed the sloop Volunteer for some 23 years,{{cite news |last= Fisher |first= George Jackson, M.D. |date= 1959-09-26 |title= Shipping Village Felt Ugly Scar Of River Tragedy In Faulty Boat |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/Ossining%20NY%20Citizen%20Register/Ossining%20NY%20Citizen%20Register%201959/Ossining%20NY%20Citizen%20Register%201959%20-%205837.pdf |work= The Citizen Register |location= Ossining, NY |page= 3 }} and later became captain of the sloop General Ward.{{cite news |author= |title= Sing Sing News of Sixty Years Ago |url= http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D05E2D91638E233A2575BC2A9679C94659ED7CF |work= The New York Times |date= 1894-01-28 }} He also "carried on the ship and spar building business."{{cite news |author= |title= Obituary |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2024/Sing%20Sing%20NY%20Democratic%20Register/Sing%20Sing%20NY%20Democratic%20Register%201873-1878/Sing%20Sing%20NY%20Democratic%20Register%201873-1878%20-%201683.pdf |work= Democratic Register |location= Ossining, NY |date= 1877-03-21 }}{{cite news |author= |title= Sloop For Sale |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2021/Albany%20NY%20Argus/Albany%20NY%20Argus%201834/Albany%20NY%20Argus%201834%20a%20%28235%29.pdf |work= Daily Albany Argus |location= Albany, NY |date= 1834-03-19 |page= 3 }}

File:Telegraph (steamboat 1837).jpg

In the mid-1830s, Smith proposed the establishment of a steamboat line to run from Sing Sing to New York City. Funds were raised from a number of interested parties including local farmers, and in 1835, the passenger-and-freight steamboat Mount Pleasant was built for the purpose at Sing Sing under Smith{{'}}s supervision.{{cite magazine |author= Anon. |title= Sing Sing, August 8, 1835 |url= https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101050721560?urlappend=%3Bseq=313 |magazine= New York Farmer and American Gardener{{'}}s Magazine |location= New York |publisher= D. K. Minor |date= Sep 1835 |volume= 8 |page= 265 |hdl= 2027/njp.32101050721560?urlappend=%3Bseq=313 }}Scharf 1886. p. [https://archive.org/stream/historywestches00schagoog#page/n60/mode/2up 561]. After completion of the vessel, Smith was appointed her captain.{{cite news |title= Sing Sing and New York Passage and Freight Boat |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/New%20York%20NY%20Morning%20Courier/New%20York%20NY%20Morning%20Courier%201835/New%20York%20NY%20Morning%20Courier%201835%20-%200540.pdf |work= Morning Courier and New York Enquirer |date= 1835-09-16 |page= 1 }} Shortly after, Smith and two partners, Thomas Hulse and Jonathan Odell, organized the construction of a second steamboat, Telegraph,{{cite news |author= |title= Notice is Hereby Given |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9142498/telegraph_1836_owners/ |newspaper= The Evening Post |location= New York |date= 1837-07-15 |page= 4 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} built in New York in 1836 by Lawrence & Sneden,Dayton 1925. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015020219674?urlappend=%3Bseq=76 54]. with Smith again supervising construction. These two steamboats reportedly represented the first morning steamboat line established between Sing Sing and the city.{{cite news |author= |title= J. Malcolm Smith |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/White%20Plains%20NY%20Eastern%20State%20Journal/White%20Plains%20NY%20Eastern%20State%20Journal%201883-1886/White%20Plains%20NY%20Eastern%20State%20Journal%201883-1886%20-%200651.pdf |work= The Eastern State Journal |location= White Plains, NY |date= 1886-05-15 |page= 2 }}

In 1849, Smith opened a shipyard in Hoboken, New Jersey under his own name. Over the next six years, Smith would build a wide variety of vessels at this yard, from sloops to steamboats to large, full-rigged ships.{{efn| Also, see shipbuilding table.}} In 1853, Smith{{'}}s son, J. Malcolm Smith, who had been advised for his health to pursue an open-air profession, joined his father in partnership,{{cite news |author= |title= J. Malcolm Smith, Clerk of the Board of Supervisores |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/White%20Plains%20NY%20Eastern%20State%20Journal/White%20Plains%20NY%20Eastern%20State%20Journal%201865-1873/White%20Plains%20NY%20Eastern%20State%20Journal%201865-1873%20-%200355.pdf |work= Eastern State Journal |location= White Plains, NY |date= 1866-11-23 |page= 3 }} the firm then being named Isaac C. Smith & Son.{{efn|The yard was still being referred to as Isaac C. Smith{{'}}s in early 1853 and was referred to as "Isaac C. Smith & Son" for the first time in August of that year.}} Smith{{'}}s Hoboken shipyard produced about thirty ships in its relatively brief existence,{{efn|name=table}} and for the year 1853 was the fourth most prolific New York shipyard by number of vessels built.Morrison 1909. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t2j67bq12?urlappend=%3Bseq=162 150]. In 1854–55 however, a deepening nationwide shipbuilding slump persuaded the Smiths to leave the business,Fairburn 1945–55. III. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015021129070?urlappend=%3Bseq=560 2128]. the yard{{'}}s last known ship, "a beautiful clipper schooner" named Colonel John McRae{{efn|name=table}} being launched in March 1855. In the entire course of his career, including his output at both Hoboken and Sing Sing, Smith is said to have built a total of more than 100 vessels.

= Personal details =

File:J. Malcolm Smith.jpg

Isaac C. Smith{{'}}s first marriage was to Maria Titlar, daughter of George, an Irish-born American who fought in the American Revolutionary War and "was one of the company who laid the great chain across the Hudson River at West Point". The marriage produced three children, J. Malcolm, Cornelia A. and George T. Smith. J. Malcolm Smith, Isaac{{'}}s eldest son, was briefly a partner in his father{{'}}s Hoboken shipyard before becoming a distinguished lawyer and county clerk in White Plains and Sing Sing. Isaac{{'}}s daughter Cornelia married James T. Stratton, who later became United States Surveyor-General for the state of California.Stratton 1918. II. p. [https://archive.org/stream/bookofstrattonsb02stra#page/300/mode/2up/ 301]. Isaac{{'}}s second marriage, which took place on 15 March 1854,{{cite news |author= |title= Record of Marriages |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/White%20Plains%20NY%20Eastern%20State%20Journal/White%20Plains%20NY%20Eastern%20State%20Journal%201852-1855/White%20Plains%20NY%20Eastern%20State%20Journal%201852-1855%20-%200327.pdf |work= Eastern State Journal |location= Ossining, NY |date= 1854-01-20 |page= 3 }} was to Catharine McCord, widow of James McCord; daughter of James Trowbridge, a captain in the Revolutionary War;Trowbridge 1908. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89069276020?urlappend=%3Bseq=253 153]. and mother of Smith's daughter-in-law Hannah, the wife of J. Malcolm Smith.

Smith was a Methodist, and was an incorporator of and largest contributor to the construction of the first Methodist Church in Sing Sing, after which he participated in the construction of four more Sing Sing churches of the same denomination, for which he became known as the "father of Sing Sing Methodism". In his retirement, he became an enthusiastic yachtsman, taking excursions of up to a week in length with his friends aboard his small ten-ton yacht Cornelia to destinations in and around New York Harbor, New Jersey and Long Island Sound.{{efn|{{cite news |author= |title= A Week{{'}}s Cruise in a Sing Sing Yacht |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2024/Sing%20Sing%20NY%20Republican/Sing%20Sing%20NY%20Republican%201864-1870/Sing%20Sing%20NY%20Republican%201864-1870%20-%202251.pdf |work= Sing Sing Republican |date= Aug 1865 }} A more precise date for the edition could not be established, although it appears to have been published on or after the 23d.}} A few months after the death of his second wife in 1874,{{cite news |author= |title= Died |url= http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9401EFDB173BEF34BC4B51DFB766838F669FDE |work= The New York Times |date= 1874-01-23 }} Smith and his son J. Malcolm took an extended trip by ship and train via the Panama route to California,{{cite news |author= |title= Letter From Capt. Isaac C. Smith |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2024/Sing%20Sing%20NY%20Republican/Sing%20Sing%20NY%20Republican%201870-1875/Sing%20Sing%20NY%20Republican%201870-1875%20-%200785.pdf |work= The Republican |location= Ossining, NY |date= 1874-04-23 |page= 2 }} returning three months later.{{cite news |author= |title= County Items |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/Yonkers%20NY%20Statesman/Yonkers%20NY%20Statesman%201872-1874/Yonkers%20NY%20Statesman%201872-1874%20-%201052.pdf |work= The Statesman |location= Yonkers, NY |date= 1874-07-10 |page= 8 }}

Isaac C. Smith was "greatly respected as an honorable citizen" in his native Sing Sing. In the last year of his life, he began to have attacks of paralysis, until eventually, "convinced the end was approaching", he joined the household of his son J. Malcolm in White Plains, where he died two months later on March 15, 1877, at the age of 79. His remains were interred in Dale Cemetery, Ossining.

Ships of note

File:S. D. Skillet - Clipper Ship HURRICANE in the English Channel.jpg

The largest and best-known ship built by Isaac C. Smith was the 1600-ton extreme clipper {{ship||Hurricane|clipper|2}}, said by some authorities to have been "the sharpest sailing ship ever constructed by any builder".Fairburn 1945–55. III. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015021129070?urlappend=%3Bseq=561 2129]. Hurricane proved a very fast vessel, capable in ideal conditions of speeds of up to {{convert|18|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}}.Howe and Matthews 1926. I. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015020225044?urlappend=%3Bseq=347 277]. On an 1854 voyage from New York to San Francisco, Hurricane was on track to challenge Flying Cloud{{'}}s all-time record passage of 89 days, until adverse conditions over the last 1000 miles lengthened her passage to a still outstanding 100 days.Howe and Matthews 1926. I. pp. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015020225044?urlappend=%3Bseq=348 278–79].{{efn|Fairburn notes that on the 85th day of her voyage, Hurricane was 1,040 miles from San Francisco, as compared to Flying Cloud{{'}}s 887 miles after the same number of days on her record passage.Fairburn 1945–55. III. pp. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015021129070?urlappend=%3Bseq=561 2129–30].}} On another voyage, from Portsmouth, England to Calcutta, India, in 1855, Hurricane set a record of 82 1/4 days from The Needles to the mouth of the Hooghly River that remained unbeaten for many years.Fairburn 1945–55. III. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015021129070?urlappend=%3Bseq=564 2132].Howe and Matthews 1926. I. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015020225044?urlappend=%3Bseq=349 279].

Smith built two other clippers, the 820-ton {{ship||Gravina|clipper|2}}, built in 1853, and the small 470-ton Tejuca, completed in 1854. On an 1855 voyage, Tejuca made "one of the quickest passages on record" from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to New Orleans.{{cite news |author= |title= Wednesday Morning, March 14 |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15516423/tejuca_fast_passage_early_1855/ |work= The Daily Picayune |location= New Orleans |date= 1855-03-14 |page= 2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} Less than a year later however, she foundered in a hurricane, the majority of her crew being rescued by a daring maneouvre of the ship Excelsior, for which Excelsior{{'}}s captain later received an award for heroism.{{cite news |author= |title= A Well Deserved Testimonial |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15516405/tejuca_rescue_1855_testimonial/ |work= The Daily Picayune |location= New Orleans }}

Smith also built a substantial number of steam vessels, including steamboats, towboats and tugs.{{efn|name=table}} The largest of these was the 800-ton freight steamboat Atlas, built in 1852, which had the unusual design feature of external iron strapping for strengthening of her exceptionally broad-beamed hull. Another of Smith{{'}}s steamboats, Ocean Wave, became notorious for the manner of her demise. After 17 years of service, Ocean Wave was found to be in too poor a condition for passenger service and was restricted by the authorities to freight-only service, but her owners ignored the restriction and continued to use the vessel for weekend passenger excursions. On one such excursion in August 1871, Ocean Wave{{'}}s defective boiler exploded, sinking the steamer and killing over 70 passengers and crew.Heyl 1965. IV. p. 229.

Shipbuilding record

Isaac C. Smith, both alone and in partnership with his son J. Malcolm Smith, is known to have built about thirty ships at Hoboken.{{efn|name=table|See shipbuilding table.}} Given that Smith is said to have built more than 100 ships in the course of his career, another 60 or more were presumably built by him at Ossining. As scant record of these latter vessels has been found, probably they were mostly small watercraft of little individual historic interest such as Hudson River sloops.{{efn|Sloop building was a common activity for ship carpenters and others in the towns and villages along the Hudson River, and deep draft vessels cannot be launched on the upper Hudson. Fairburn also notes that in 1849, Smith "had no former experiences in building fast sizeable ships".}}

class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Ships built at Hoboken, New Jersey, by Isaac C. Smith (1849–53) and Isaac C. Smith & Son (1853–55)

! align="left" | Name(s){{efn|name=shipname|Name=name of ship. Where a ship had more than one name in the course of its career, the later names are presented in chronological order, with each name followed by a two-digit number (in superscript) representing the last two digits of the year in which the rename took place (where known). Names followed by a "y" (in superscript) are yard names.}}

! align="center" | Type

! align="center" | Yr.
{{efn|name=yearbuilt|Yr.=year of ship launch. Ships are listed by date of launch, with the exception of the unnamed ship built for W. W. De Forrest & Co. in 1851, and the 1853 steamboat Rockland, for both of which only the year of launch is known.}}

! align="center" | Ton.
{{efn|name=tonnage|Ton.=ship tonnage. In some cases, tonnages may only be approximate as they are sourced to reports in contemporaneous periodicals made prior to the ship's official measurement.}}

! align="center" | Engine {{efn|name=engine|Engine=engine manufacturer. Abbreviations as follows: Birbeck = Birbeck's iron works; Phoenix = Phoenix Iron Works; West Street = West Street Foundry. All engine manufacturers were based in New York. Fields in this column with a dash (——) denote that the vessel had no engine. Fields left blank indicate that the engine builder is unknown.}}

! align="center" | Ordered by{{efn|name=owner|Party that ordered the ship. This is usually the owner but is sometimes the operator, or an agent of either. Contemporaneous newspaper sources rarely state to which category a named party belongs. Abbreviations in this column: RR = Railroad; TC = Transportation Company.}}

! align="center" | Intended service

! align="center" | Ship notes; references

align="left"

| Maria

Pre-clipperalign="center" | 1849align="right" | 397align="center" | ——Charles W. Swift"Fast sailer".Fairburn and Ritchie 1945–55. V. pp. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015004466846?urlappend=%3Bseq=102 2820–21].
align="left"

|

Shipalign="center" | 1851align="right" | 562align="center" | ——W. W. De Forrest & Co.Argentina
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| Margaret Eliza

Shipalign="center" | 1851align="right" | 550align="center" | ——W. W. De Forrest & Co.Argentina{{cite magazine |author= |title= Ship Building in 1850 |url= https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015013032126?urlappend=%3Bseq=42 |magazine= American Railroad Journal |location= New York |publisher= J. H. Schultz & Co. |date= 1851-01-11 |series= Second Quarto |volume= VII |number= 2 |page= 30 |hdl= 2027/mdp.39015013032126?urlappend=%3Bseq=42 }}{{cite news |author= |title= Hoboken |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15234508/isaac_c_smith_launches_in_1851/ |work= The New York Herald |date= 1852-01-01 |page= 3 |via= Newspapers.com }}{{Open access}}
align="left"

| Wilson Small

Steamboatalign="center" | 1851align="right" | 300{{nowrap|West Street}}Wilson SmallNY–New JerseyReussille 1975. p. 16.
align="left"

| Parana

Shipalign="center" | 1851align="right" | 650align="center" | ——O. J. Hayes & Co.Argentina{{efn|{{cite news |author= |title= Marine Affairs |url= https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1851-06-14/ed-1/seq-2/ |work= The New York Herald |date= 1851-06-14 |page= 2 }} The source erroneously refers to the ship as Panama.}}
align="left"

| sortvalue=Hurricane | File:Hurricane (clipper ship).jpg
{{unbulleted list|{{nowrap|Yankee Doodle y}}|{{ship

Hurricane|clipper|2}}|Shaw-Allum 60+}}Extreme clipperalign="center" | 1851align="right" | 1608align="center" | ——C. W. & A. ThomasCalifornia{{nowrap| Reputedly the most extreme clipper ever built.}} Several fast passages including 100-day passage in 1854 from New York to San Francisco, and record 1855 run between Portsmouth, England and Calcutta, India. Laid up 1857–58, sold to British 1860, last entry in shipping registers 1876.
align="left"

| Camilla

Barkalign="center" | 1851align="right" | 250align="center" | ——Gruner & Co."[I]n the St. Thomas trade"
align="left"

| Angelina Corning

Towboatalign="center" | 1852align="right" | 102PhoenixDubois & Corning{{cite magazine |author= |title= Ships Built at the Port of New York in 1852 |url= https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433022395861?urlappend=%3Bseq=739 |magazine= Hunt{{'}}s Merchants{{'}} Magazine and Commercial Review |location= New York |date= December 1853 |volume= 29 |page= 753 |hdl= 2027/nyp.33433022395861?urlappend=%3Bseq=739 }}{{cite news |author= |title= The Hoboken Yards |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15236034/angelina_corning_launch_others/ |work= The New York Herald |date= 1852-04-07 |page= 8 |via= Newspapers.com }}{{Open access}}
align="left"

| Golden Gate

Steamboatalign="center" | 1852align="right" | 200West StreetCharles G. Allen et al.
align="left"

| Atlas

{{nowrap|Freight steamboat}}align="center" | 1852align="right" | 800BelknapCamden & Amboy RR Co.{{cite news |author= |title= Ship Building in New York |url= https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1852-07-08/ed-1/seq-6/ |work= The New York Herald |date= 1852-07-08 |page= 6 }}{{cite news |author= |title= Marine Affairs |url= https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1852-04-22/ed-1/seq-6/ |work= The New York Herald |date= 1852-04-22 |page= 6 }} Hull reinforced with external iron straps to support steamer{{'}}s exceptionally broad beam.
align="left"

| Enchantress

Schooneralign="center" | 1852align="right" | 420align="center" | ——N. L. McCready & Co.East Coast Early example of a 300-plus-ton schooner. Large schooners proved so economical that they eventually came to dominate coastwise merchant sail in North America, with ever-larger examples being built into the early 20th century.Cutler 1967. pp. 551–52, 554–55.
align="left"

| Deer

Tugboatalign="center" | 1852align="right" | 140{{cite news |author= |title= New-York City |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15237140/deer_launch_1852/ |work= The New York Times |date= 1852-10-06 |page= 8 |via= Newspapers.com }}{{Open access}}
align="left"

| {{unbulleted list|Peter G. Coffin|Alexis 71|Riverdale 79}}

Steamboatalign="center" | 1852align="right" | 350West StreetWilson SmallHudson River{{cite news |author= |title= Jersey City |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15303299/p_g_coffin_launch_1853/ |work= The New York Times |date= 1852-12-30 |page= 6 |via= Newspapers.com }}{{Open access}} Ran on Hudson for entire career. Sunk by boiler explosion, several killed, 1879.Reussille 1975. p. 11.
align="left"

| Rockland

Steamboatalign="center" | 1853align="right" | 199Rockland, MELytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 187. Rockland–Machiasport, ME, 1853–61; U.S. government charter, 1861–64; Charleston, SE service, 1864–68; snagged 1868, auctioned and evidently scrapped, 1869.{{efn|Lytle and Holdcamper list the vessel as "lost" in 1869.Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 294.}}
align="left"

| Cornelia

Steamboatalign="center" | 1853align="right" | 250West StreetWilson Small{{efn|{{cite news |author= |title= Hoboken Yards |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2014/New%20York%20NY%20Herald/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201853/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%20%201853%20-%202768.pdf |work= The New York Herald |date= 1853-12-29 |page= 3 }}{{cite news |author= |title= New-York City |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1853/03/17/75356176.html |work= The New York Times |date= 1853-03-17 }} Cornelia may only have been a yard name for Rockland as no trace of the former has been found in sources other than those originating from the shipyard, as listed.}}
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| {{unbulleted list|Fairy y|Walter B. Crane}}

Towboatalign="center" | 1853align="right" | 100BirbeckThomas Cornell
align="left"

| Anglo-Celt

Towboatalign="center" | 1853align="right" | 405BelknapStar Towboat Co.New Orleans{{cite news |author= |title= New Towboat for New Orleans |url= https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015753/1853-08-03/ed-1/seq-2/ |work= New Orleans Daily Crescent |date= 1853-08-03 |page= 2 }}
align="left"

| James Cogswell

Bargealign="center" | 1853align="right" | 200align="center" | ——J. P. & Thomas Cumming{{cite news |author= |title= Our Shipyards |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15303462/isaac_c_smith_launch_list_aug_1853/ |work= The New York Times |date= 1853-08-03 |page= 3 |via= Newspapers.com }}{{Open access}}
align="left"

| {{unbulleted list|Gulf Stream y|Gardiner Pike}}

Schooneralign="center" | 1853align="right" | 330align="center" | ——S. C. Nelson et al.East Coast{{cite news |author= |title= Shipbuilding in New York |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15257444/gulf_stream_upcoming_launch_others/ |work= The New York Herald |date= 1853-04-05 |page= 2 |via= Newspapers.com }}{{Open access}}{{cite news |author= |title= The shipyards in New-York, Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Hoboken |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15239916/gulf_stream_schooner_others/ |work= The New York Times |date= 1853-02-26 |page= 6 }} Early example of a 300-plus-ton schooner. See note to Enchantress above.Cutler 1967. pp. 551–52, 555.
align="left"

| sortvalue=Gravina | File:Gravina (clipper ship).jpg
{{ship

Gravina|clipper|2}}Clipperalign="center" | 1853align="right" | 820align="center" | ——Howes & Co.China{{cite news |author= |title= Hoboken |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15304008/gravina_launch_1853/ |work= The New York Times |date= 1853-10-10 |page= 1 |via= Newspapers.com }}{{Open access}}{{cite news |author= |title= Marine Affairs |url= https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1853-10-08/ed-1/seq-8/ |work= The New York Herald |date= 1853-10-08 |page= 8 }} Owned by the Loring Brothers of Málaga, Spain—sons of American expatriate George LoringSprague 1913. pp. [https://archive.org/stream/barnstableyarmou02spra/barnstableyarmou02spra#page/18/mode/1up 18–19].—and homeported in Málaga.New York Marine Register 1858. p. [https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0237571858/51/ 36]. Sold to parties in Valparaiso, Chile, ca. 1860; still in service 1866.
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| Jonas Sparks

Schooneralign="center" | 1853align="right" | 284align="center" | ——Jonas Sparks et al.
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| Nondescript

Sloopalign="center" | 1853align="right" | 60align="center" | ——Isaac C. Smith et al."The name is indicative of some new peculiarities in her model."
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| Olympia

Sloopalign="center" | 1854align="right" | 55align="center" | ——Isaac C. Smith et al.
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| Ocean Wave

Steamboatalign="center" | 1854align="right" | 300Birbeck{{nowrap|Middleton & Shrewsbury TC}}NY–New Jersey Licence restricted to freight-only in 1869 due to poor condition but owners ignored restriction. Sunk by boiler explosion 1871, 70+ killed.
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| Topsy

Towboatalign="center" | 1854align="right" | 60BirbeckC. H. Allen & Co. Southern U.S. "[F]or the Southern rivers"
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| sortvalue=Tejuca | File:Rescue of the clipper Tejuca's crew by the ship Excelsior, 1856.jpg
Tejuca

Clipperalign="center" | 1854align="right" | 470align="center" | ——Napier & JohnsonSouth America{{cite news |author= |title= Ship Building In New York |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15304423/isaac_c_smith_launches_to_jun_1854/ |work= The New York Herald |date= 1854-06-29 |page= 2 |via= Newspapers.com }}{{Open access}}{{cite news |author= |title= Our Ship Yards |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1854/09/15/88139682.html?pageNumber=6 |work= The New York Times |date= 1854-09-15 }}{{efn|{{cite news |author= |title= Untitled |url= http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C03EFD8103AE334BC4851DFB366838F649FDE |work= The New York Times |date= 1854-05-20 }} The source erroneously refers to the ship as Tessica.}}{{efn| The source erroneously refers to the ship as Cachuga.}} Fast passage Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to New Orleans, 1855. Sank in hurricane on transatlantic voyage 1856, most of crew saved by courageous intervention of ship Excelsior.
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| {{unbulleted list|James Rumsey y|Paterson}}

Ferryboatalign="center" | 1854align="right" | 360Belknap Hoboken Ferry Co.New York Abandoned 1874.Cudahy 1990. p. 381. [https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252018%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Morning%2520Courier%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Morning%2520Courier%25201854%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Morning%2520Courier%25201854%2520-%25200037.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3Dffffffffdcbdc9e4%26DocId%3D3268040%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520E%26HitCount%3D8%26hits%3D4105%2B4106%2B4107%2B4108%2B4109%2B410a%2B410b%2B410c%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&uri=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252018%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Morning%2520Courier%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Morning%2520Courier%25201854%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Morning%2520Courier%25201854%2520-%25200037.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3Dffffffffdcbdc9e4%26DocId%3D3268040%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520E%26HitCount%3D8%26hits%3D4105%2B4106%2B4107%2B4108%2B4109%2B410a%2B410b%2B410c%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false]
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| Pilot

Towboatalign="center" | 1854align="right" | 200BirbeckW. N. Dougherty{{nowrap|New York Harbor}}{{cite news |author= |title= Launch at Hoboken |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15308431/pilot_towboat_launch_1853/ |work= The New York Times |date= 1854-07-27 |page= 8 |via= Newspapers.com }}{{Open access}} Experimental tug "built upon the elliptical principle of James K. Howe".{{cite news |author= |title= Marine Affairs |url= http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2010/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201854%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201854%20Grayscale%20-%200404.pdf |work= The Evening Post |location= New York |date= 1854-04-18 }}
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| Americus

Schooneralign="center" | 1854align="right" | 261align="center" | ——Van Brunt, Slaght et al.{{efn|{{cite news |author= |title= Hoboken |url= https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/New%20York%20NY%20Morning%20Courier/New%20York%20NY%20Morning%20Courier%201854/New%20York%20NY%20Morning%20Courier%201854%20-%201813.pdf |work= Morning Courier & New-York Enquirer |date= 1854-12-22 }}New York Marine Register 1858. p. [https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0237571858/223/ 208]. The source erroneously refers to the yard as "J. Smith & Sons".}}
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| {{nowrap|Colonel John McRae}}

{{nowrap|Schooner}}align="center" | 1855align="right" | 412align="center" | ——Shadbourne & Co. East CoastThree-masted schooner or "tern".{{cite news |author= |title= Launch |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15308938/isaac_c_smith_unnamed_schooner_launch/ |work= The New York Times |date= 1855-03-23 |page= 3 |via= Newspapers.com }}{{Open access}}New York Marine Register 1858. p. [https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0237571858/240/ 225]. Early example of 300-ton-plus schooner; see note to Enchantress above.Cutler 1967. p. 553. Built for parties in Wilmington, NC.

Footnotes

{{notelist}}

References

{{Reflist}}

= Bibliography =

{{Refbegin|30em}}

  • {{cite book |author= |title= The Bay of San Francisco: The Metropolis of the Pacific Coast and its Suburban Cities: A History |location= Chicago, IL |publisher= The Lewis Publishing Company |volume= I |page= [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433081781399?urlappend=%3Bseq=479 441] |date= 1892 }}
  • {{cite book |last= Cutler |first= Carl C. |date= 1967 |title= Queens of the Western Ocean: The Story of America{{'}}s Mail and Passenger Sailing Lines |location= Annapolis, Maryland |publisher= United States Naval Institute |pages= 551–552, 553–555 }}
  • {{cite book |last= Cudahy |first= Brian L. |date= 1990 |title= Over and Back: The History of Ferryboats in New York Harbor |location= New York |publisher= Fordham University Press |page= 381 |isbn= 0823212459 }}
  • {{cite book |last= Dayton |first= Fred Erving |date= 1925 |title= Steamboat Days |location= New York |publisher= Frederick A. Stokes Company |page= [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015020219674?urlappend=%3Bseq=76 54] }}
  • {{cite book |last= Fairburn |first= William Armstrong |date= 1945–55 |title= Merchant Sail |volume= III |location= Center Lovell, Maine |publisher= Fairburn Marine Educational Foundation, Inc. |pages= [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015021129070?urlappend=%3Bseq=560 2128–32] }}
  • {{cite book |last= Fairburn |first= William Armstrong |editor1-last= Ritchie |editor1-first= Ethel M. |volume= V |date= 1945–55 |title= Merchant Sail |location= Center Lovell, Maine |publisher= Fairburn Marine Educational Foundation, Inc. |pages= [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015004466846?urlappend=%3Bseq=102 2820–21] }}
  • {{cite book |last= Heyl |first= Erik |author-link= Erik Heyl |date= 1965 |title= Early American Steamers |volume= IV |location= Buffalo, New York |publisher= Erik Heyl |page= 229 }}
  • {{cite book |last1= Howe |first1= Octavius T. |last2= Matthews |first2= Frederick C. |date= 1926 |title= American Clipper Ships 1833–1858 |volume= I |location= Salem, Massachusetts |publisher= Marine Research Society |pages= [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015020225044?urlappend=%3Bseq=347 277–80] }}
  • {{cite book |last= Knoblock |first= Glenn A. |date= 2014 |title= The American Clipper Ship, 1845—1920 |location= Jefferson, NC |publisher= McFarland & Company |page= 37 |isbn= 9780786471126 }}
  • {{cite book |last= Morrison |first= John H. |date= 1909 |title= History of New York Ship Yards |location= New York |publisher= Wm. F. Sametz & Co. |page= [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t2j67bq12?urlappend=%3Bseq=162 150] }}
  • {{cite book |author= |title= New York Marine Register |location= New York |publisher= Board of Underwriters |page= [https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0237571858/51/ 36], [https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0237571858/223/ 208], [https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0237571858/240/ 225] |date= 1858 }}
  • {{cite book |last= Reussille |first= Leon |date= 1975 |title= Steam Vessels Built in Old Monmouth 1841–1894 |location= New Jersey |publisher= Leon Reussille |pages= 11, 16 }}
  • {{cite book |last= Scharf |first= J. Thomas |date= 1886 |title= History of Westchester County, New York |location= Philadelphia |volume= 1 |publisher= L. E. Preston & Co. |pages= [https://archive.org/stream/historywestches00schagoog#page/n52/mode/2up 560–61] }}
  • {{cite book |last= Sprague |first= Francis William |date= 1913 |title= Barnstable and Yarmouth Sea Captains and Ship Owners |location= Brookline, Massachusetts |publisher= F. W. Sprague |pages= [https://archive.org/stream/barnstableyarmou02spra/barnstableyarmou02spra#page/18/mode/1up 18–19] }}
  • {{cite book |editor1-last= Stratton |editor1-first= Harriet Russell |date= 1918 |title= A Book of Strattons: A Collection of Records of the Descendants of the Early Colonial Strattons in America From the Fifth Generation To the Present Day |location= New York |publisher= Frederick H. Hitchcock |page= [https://archive.org/stream/bookofstrattonsb02stra#page/300/mode/2up/ 301] }}
  • {{cite book |last= Trowbridge |first= Francis Bacon |date= 1908 |title= The Trowbridge Genealogy: History of the Trowbridge Family in America |location= New Haven, CT |publisher= Francis Bacon Trowbridge |page= [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89069276020?urlappend=%3Bseq=253 153] }}

{{Refend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Isaac C.}}

Category:1797 births

Category:1877 deaths

Category:American shipbuilders

Category:Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States

Category:People from Ossining, New York