Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Three Brothers
- Type: Dagger-board Schooner
- Year Built: 1827
- Builder: Whitford Gill
- Dimensions: Length: Approximately 45 ft (13.7 m); Beam: Approximately 13 ft (4 m); Depth of hold:
- Registered Tonnage:
- Location: Lake Ontario, off Oswego, New York
- Coordinates: 43.533251, -76.611083
- Original Owners: Asahel and Bethel Todd, Captain John Stevenson
- Number of Masts: 2
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
The Three Brothers was a rare dagger-board schooner, a specialized form of early 19th-century Great Lakes cargo vessel. Dagger-board schooners featured a vertically deployed board amidships for stability and performance in shallow or unpredictable conditions. This type was largely replaced by centerboard and keel vessels by the mid-1830s. The Three Brothers is the only fully intact, identified dagger-board schooner discovered on the Great Lakes to date.
Description
Built in 1827 on Galloo Island, Lake Ontario, by early settler and shipwright Whitford Gill, the Three Brothers served the Lake Ontario trade corridor for six years. The schooner was co-owned by Asahel and Bethel Todd of Pultneyville, and her master, Captain John Stevenson of Williamson, New York.
Registered in Sackets Harbor and Genesee, the vessel carried cider, apples, and wheat—agricultural goods central to early 19th-century settlement economies. Her loss and eventual rediscovery shed light on a transitional period in Great Lakes shipbuilding and trade.
History
On November 12, 1833, the Three Brothers departed Pultneyville bound for Oswego with 700 bushels of wheat, barrels of cider, and apples. Caught in a violent Lake Ontario gale, she failed to reach her destination. Within days, pieces of the wreck were discovered near Nine Mile Point, including the tiller, a barrel of apples, and the captain’s hat.
Casualties:
- Captain John Stevenson (Williamson, NY)
- Cephas Field, crew (Sodus, NY)
- William Bastian, crew (Mexico, NY)
- Amos Gloyed, passenger (French Creek, NY)
Significant Incidents
Located in July 2023 by Jim Kennard, Roger Pawlowski, and Roland Stevens, the schooner was found using DeepVision side-scan sonar. Follow-up exploration in August with a VideoRay Pro IV ROV confirmed its identity as the Three Brothers.
The wreck lies in deep water, well preserved due to Lake Ontario’s cold conditions. The dagger-board is still deployed, rising 4 feet above the deck, and much of the hull remains intact. Masts lie nearby. The anchor is still secured. The rudder was dislodged and is partially buried in sediment.
Final Disposition
Date of Loss: November 12, 1833
Cause: Foundered during gale
Location: Lake Ontario, off Oswego, NY
Preservation: High; dagger-board intact; extensive structural details visible
Ownership: Protected historical site
Access: Technical ROV only; not a recreational dive site
Current Condition & Accessibility
Located By: Jim Kennard, Roger Pawlowski, Roland Stevens
Date Found: July 2023
Survey Completed: August 2023
Depth: Deep (exact not disclosed)
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”three-brothers” title=”References & Links”]
The Three Brothers is a rare and invaluable discovery: the only identified dagger-board schooner in the Great Lakes, preserved and visible in astonishing detail. Its loss during a routine trading run from Pultneyville to Oswego marked the end of a very brief but important ship design era. Its discovery nearly 200 years later not only confirms long-held historical accounts, but adds significant data to the study of early Great Lakes navigation and commercial development.
Full Wreck Record — complete historical article, construction details, voyage logs, incident reports, dive conditions, and all research sources.
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