The Morning Star, a schooner built in 1868, had an eventful history that ultimately ended in tragedy. Constructed in Marysburg, Ontario, the vessel had an official number of 71208. It was a wooden-hulled schooner with a single deck and two masts. The builder, John Tait, created the ship for its original owner, Michael Keagh, among others.
The Morning Star had dimensions of 69 feet in length, 19 feet in beam, and a depth of 6.5 feet. With a gross tonnage of 64, it was a relatively modest-sized vessel. However, its fate took a turn for the worse on October 4, 1880, when it encountered a devastating storm. While on its voyage from Gananoque, Ontario, to Oswego, New York, the schooner was wrecked approximately 7 miles east of Oswego on Lake Ontario. Tragically, the ship’s final cargo consisted of 8600 bushels of barley.
Following the shipwreck, the Morning Star’s registry was closed on December 31, 1880. The exact circumstances of the wreck are not provided in the available information, but it is evident that the storm had taken a toll on the vessel, leading to its demise.
The Morning Star had changed ownership multiple times throughout its history. In 1870, it was bound from Black Rock to Oswego when it encountered a leak near Picton, with a cargo of barley. It went through several subsequent owners, including McMahon of Milford, Ontario, Sam Cardwell and others, Alfred Eccles and others of Wolfe Island, William Nickle of Kingston, Richard H. Charles of Wolfe Island, and finally John Gaskin of Kingston.
Despite its eventual tragic end, the Morning Star played a role in the maritime industry of the Great Lakes. Its voyages and ownership transfers reflect the bustling trade and commerce of the region during that era.
