SCHOONER SUPPOSED TO BE LOST
On November 5, 1841, the Canadian schooner Sovereign, under the command of Captain McKee, departed Hamilton bound for Kingston in the company of another vessel carrying timber. However, the two vessels became separated during rough weather, and the Sovereign has not been heard from since. The other vessel successfully completed the trip and returned, raising concerns about the fate of the Sovereign. It is presumed that the Sovereign either sank or was wrecked. This information was reported in the Rochester Advertiser on November 5, 1841, and subsequently mentioned in the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser on November 6, 1841.
The Sovereign, a schooner with a tonnage of 118 tons, was registered in the Port of Hamilton. It was built in 1838 at Niagara by the Niagara Harbour & Dock Co. The certificate of the vessel was issued on December 31, 1847. The vessel’s description, as recorded by surveyor William Pring, states that it had a length of 82 feet and seven tenths, a breadth of 21 feet and one tenth, and a depth of hold of 8 feet and two tenths. It had a single deck, two masts, a standing bowsprit, and a round stern. The Sovereign also featured a figure-head. The schooner was rigged as a carvel-built vessel.
At the time of registration, the master of the Sovereign was O. Roberts. The subscribing owner of all 64 shares was D.C. Gunn of Hamilton. However, on November 16, 1848, D.C. Gunn sold all 64 shares to Hooker & Henderson of Prescott and Kingston. The Port of Hamilton Shipping Register notes that the vessel was lost.
This information can be found in the Port of Hamilton Shipping Register, covering the period from 1846 to 1874, which is available on microfilm reel C-2465 at the National Archives of Canada.
