Yesterday morning, the schooner Mary O’Gorman was spotted drifting past the port of Oswego, dismasted and seemingly abandoned. Concerned about the vessel, O. H. Brown organized a search and sent out two tugs. They located the Mary O’Gorman about nine miles below the piers, three or four miles offshore in twenty fathoms of water, still holding onto her anchor. The foremast and boat were missing, and the cabin door was found locked, indicating that the crew had likely abandoned the ship. It was later discovered that the boat had washed ashore upside down, leading to the assumption that the crew was lost. Due to a shortage of manpower, they couldn’t retrieve the anchors, but they brought the vessel back to port. The Mary O’Gorman was carrying between 7,000 and 8,000 bushels of barley for C. Ames & Co., which appeared to be undamaged. The schooner was owned in Kingston, Ontario, and both the hull and cargo were insured.
According to the Port of Kingston Register from 1867, the Mary O’Gorman was a schooner with a tonnage of 107 tons. It was built in Barriefield, Kingston in 1867 by William LaChappelle. The current master at the time was L. MacEvoy, and the home port was Kingston. The vessel had two masts, a square stern, and a standing bowsprit. It was carvel-built and rigged as a schooner, with a single deck. The subscribing owners were Michael O. Gorman and William LaChappelle, but the ownership changed hands over the years, with the final owners listed as Annie B. Malone, G.F. Cleveland, and F. Elliot in 1882.
The history of the Mary O’Gorman includes various incidents and ownership changes. In 1868, it was sold to John Fraser and Frederick J. George of Kingston. John Savage of Kingston became the owner in 1869 but later lost the vessel, which was then sold to John Yott of Wolfe Island in 1870. In the fall of 1871, the schooner went aground near Oak Orchard on Lake Ontario. It was subsequently repaired in May 1872. Ownership changed again in 1882 when Annie B. Malone, G.F. Cleveland, and F. Elliot became the new owners.
Unfortunately, the Mary O’Gorman’s fate took a tragic turn. In September 1883, it collided with a barge and sank near Portsmouth, Ontario, in Lake Ontario. Finally, on January 22, 1884, the vessel was completely destroyed by fire in the harbor of Kingston. The ship’s registration was closed after the incident.
