Site Description
- Schooner – Barge
- 100ft
- ?
- Shored Oswego New York
- Lake Ontario
Chronological History #
The schooner SWEET HOME, owned by Benjamin Barney of Kingston, encountered a misfortune on Friday morning around 6:30. The vessel drifted ashore just east of the life-saving station at Oswego. Despite the sea not being particularly rough, the schooner immediately began to break up and will likely be a complete loss. The cargo, belonging to E.W. Rathbun & Co., was uninsured, and the estimated damage to the cargo is around $1,000. The SWEET HOME, with a tonnage of 40 tons, was built in August 1853 in Jordan and underwent repairs in 1874. It had a value of $2,000 and was rated B 2 with a dash.
The history of ownership of the SWEET HOME reveals several changes over the years. In 1855, it was owned by Edmund Boyle & Co. of Kingston. In 1860, it came under the ownership of Hugh Ross of Kingston and Thomas Bolley of Amherst Island. In 1861, Joshua J. Nichol and Soloman Sylvester of Toronto became the owners. The vessel underwent significant repairs in 1865, increasing its gross tonnage to 144 tons. By 1866, J.J. Nichol of Kingston assumed ownership, followed by Campbell of Kingston in 1871. Tragedy struck in 1872 when the SWEET HOME sank near Wolfe Island in the St. Lawrence River under the ownership of McClelland and others. Major repairs were undertaken in 1874, and by 1878, J.H. Radford of Wolfe Island became the new owner. The vessel ultimately met its demise on November 22 or 29, 1878, when it was wrecked under the ownership of Benjamin Barney of Kingston.
The Detroit Post & Tribune reported on the loss of the SWEET HOME, emphasizing that despite the relatively calm sea, the vessel quickly broke up upon grounding and would be a total loss. The cargo damage was estimated at $1,000, and the vessel was valued at $2,000. The Shipping Register of the Port of Kingston provided further details about the SWEET HOME, including its tonnage of 151½ tons and its construction in 1853 by Savillon S. Little of Oshawa. The vessel measured 98 feet and 4/10ths in length, 20 feet and 9/10ths in breadth, and had a depth of hold of 9 feet. It had two masts, a square stern, and a standing bowsprit. The schooner was rigged as a carvel-built schooner with a scroll figure figurehead, featuring a single deck and a galley in the cabin but no galleries. The ship’s ownership changed hands multiple times, with Benjamin Barney of Wolfe Island becoming the sole owner on March 15, 1870. However, the vessel met its tragic end on November 22, 1878, when it became a total wreck in Oswego. The Schooner SWEET HOME was constructed in Jordan, Ontario, and had a fore-and-aft design with a wooden hull and a single deck. It had two masts and measured 98.4 feet in length, 20.9 feet in beam, and 9 feet in depth. Its tonnage, according to the old measurement style, was 151.5.
