Editor's Note: The following text is a verbatim transcription of an article written by George W. Murdock, for the Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman newspaper in the 1930s. Murdock, a veteran marine engineer, wrote a regular column. Articles transcribed by HRMM volunteer Adam Kaplan. For more of Murdock's articles, see the "Steamboat Biographies" category.

Last week we had Captain William O. Benson's account of the Rensselaer and her unusual winter excursion. Today we learn more about the vessel herself.

No. 176- Rensselaer

The tale of the steamboat “Rensselaer” has yet to be completed, but she will remain a familiar figure to the present generation who remember her sailing up and down the Hudson river.

The steel hull of the “Rensselaer” was built by T.S. Marvel & Company at Newburgh in 1909- a sister ship, the “Trojan,” being constructed at the same time. Her engine was the product of W. & A. Fletcher Company of Hoboken, and her joiner work was executed by Charles M. Englis of Greenpoint, New York.
 
The dimensions of the “Rensselaer” are listed as: Length of hull, 317 feet three inches; breadth of beam, 42 feet three inches; over guards, 75 feet; depth of hold, 12 feet five inches; gross tonnage, 2690; net tonnage, 1790. She was powered with a vertical beam engine, diameter of cylinder, 72 inches, with a 12 foot stroke. Her wheels were of the feathering type, 27 feet outside diameter of the buckets, which were 11 by five feet in width.

The “Rensselaer” was built for the Citizens’ Line for night service between New York and Troy. She sailed on her maiden trip on Saturday evening, July 3, 1909, from New York up the river, under the command of Captain Charles H. Bruder with William Fairbrother as chief engineer, and her initial run proved that she was the equal of her recently-built sister ship, the “Trojan.”

Known for her magnificent furnishings, the “Rensselaer” soon gained prominence on the river. She is completely steam-heated, equipped with electricity, licensed to carry 1,200 passengers, has 240 state rooms, carried in three tiers of galleries above the main deck. Several of these staterooms have private baths attached- these baths being tiled in white with all modern appliances. In every respect both the “Rensselaer” and the “Trojan” were in keeping with the standards of Hudson river steamboats.

The “Rensselaer” and “Trojan” were in service on the Troy run until the spring of 1918, when they were placed on the Albany and New York route, replacing the steamboats “Adirondack” and “C.W. Morse,” which were taken over by the federal government to house recruits at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. At the close of the first World War the government returned the two river steamers from service at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and the “Rensselaer” and her sister ship were returned to the Troy-New York route- running until the fall of 1927.

The next recording of the career of the “Rensselaer” is dated 1935, when, during the winter months, the “Rensselaer,” “Trojan” and “Berkshire” were purchased by Sam Rosoff of New York. During 1935 and 1936 the three vessels were in operation under the Rosoff banner, and then in 1937 only the “Trojan” and the “Berkshire” were in service. What will be the end of the “Rensselaer” is yet unknown, but one noteworthy event in her career that should be recorded was the mid-winter excursion carried by the “Rensselaer” on January 29, 1913.

On this date over 300 members and friends of Troy, No. 141, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, chartered the “Rensselaer” for an excursion down the Hudson river. Amid floating ice cakes and falling snowflakes, the “Rensselaer” and her party of merrymakers sailed down the Hudson for several miles and back again. Approximately three hours were consumed in this mid-winter excursion- an event that may never again be equaled in the pages of Hudson river steamboat history.

​The U.S. government took an option on the “Rensselaer” and towed her to Hoboken, N.J. in early February 1941 for possible war use as housing. She was not used and was cut down into a barge, the “James River,” which was scrapped in the early 1960s.

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Editor's Note: The following text is a verbatim transcription of an article written by George W. Murdock, for the Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman newspaper in the 1930s. Murdock, a veteran marine engineer, wrote a regular column. Articles transcribed by HRMM volunteer Adam Kaplan. For more of Murdock's articles, see the "Steamboat Biographies" category

No. 72- Air Line

Today we delve into the archives of Mr. Murdock’s steamboat collection to learn of the history of a ferryboat which ceased operating between Saugerties and Tivoli just 23 years ago. Many of our readers will well remember this vessel as she was somewhat of a curiosity as far as her type was concerned.

The “Air Line” was a wooden hull vessel built at Philadelphia in 1857. She was 73 feet long, breadth of beam 20 feet, depth of hold six feet, five inches, gross tonnage 71, net tonnage 52, and she was powered with a vertical engine.

Originally this odd ferryboat was constructed for the Air Line Railroad Company of Pennsylvania and was one of the first of the walking beam type ferryboats ever constructed in this country. Her great bar walking beam coupled with the fact that she had only one bow instead of the customary two which are the rule for ferryboats, labeled the “Air Line” as a distinct curiosity.

The “Air Line” also holds a doubtful record of having made the trip from Philadelphia to Sandy Hook via the Atlantic Ocean; her owner refusing to pay toll charges to the New Jersey canals.

A photograph in the Murdock collection shows the “Air Line” with her one bow, long narrow alleyways separated by the engine house down the center of the vessel. An octagon-shaped pilot house stands atop the engine house with the great bar walking beam directly behind and a high smokestack rising from the middle of the steamboat. Lifeboats were mounted on the roofs of the side cabins.

John N. Snyder operated the “Air Line” when she plied the waters of the Hudson river between Saugerties and Tivoli, and because of her single bow, the vessel had to be turned completely after each crossing. For this reason the fare on the “Air Line” was the largest charged on any ferryboat on the Hudson river - a situation which would make a New Jersey commuter rise up in wrath if he had to pay the of 25 cents each time he crossed the river.

​The “Air Line” served the public between the two upriver towns for almost 58 years, continuing in service until 1915, when she was deemed worn out and sold to John Fisher, who took her to Rondout and dismantled her.

                                                           No. 27- M. Martin
           
Built in 1863 at Jersey City for the Catskill and Albany day route, the 191 foot “M. Martin” was considered at that time one of the most handsome boats of her type ever to appear on the Hudson river. And the “M. Martin” has a historic background second to none of the vessels ever to ply the Hudson.
              
Because she was constructed in 1863, shortly after the Civil War broke out, the “M. Martin” was pressed into service under General Grant, and during the latter part of the war she was used as General Grant’s dispatch boat on Chesapeake Bay, carrying troops and messages across the bay and river. The “M. Martin” was known as the “greyhound” of the fleet of inland steamers that served the federal government during the war, and after the fall of Richmond, President Abraham Lincoln and General Grant made a visit to the Confederate Capital aboard the “M. Martin.”
              
At the close of the war the “M. Martin” was brought north and purchased by Romer & Tremper of Rondout who placed her in service on the Newburgh and Albany route, running in line with the “Eagle.” These two boats ran together until August 2, 1884, when the “Eagle” was destroyed by fire and the “Jacob H. Tremper” was built to take her place.
              
In 1899, the “Martin” was sold to the Central Hudson Steamboat Company of Newburgh, and served that company many years. She was an exceptionally fine performing vessel in the ice and was thus one of the first out in the spring and the last boat in at the close of navigation in the fall.
              
On Thursday, June 16, 1910, laden with freight and about 20 passengers, the “M. Martin,” southbound from Albany to Newburgh, caught fire and was beached near Esopus Island on the east shore of the Hudson, where all passengers were taken off in small boats. Captain George Hadley first noticed smoke curling from the pilot’s cabin in increasing volume, so he beached the vessel, saw that the passengers were safely taken off, and then got the “Martin’s” firefighting apparatus working playing streams of water on the flames. It was a matter or about 10 minutes for the water to quench the flames, and with only a scorched pilot house to record her experience, the “M. Martin” proceeded on to Newburgh.
              
After repairs had been made, the “M. Martin” resumed service, running until the fall of 1918, when she was laid up. Then in the summer of 1920, the work of junking the “M. Martin” began. Everything of value was removed from a vessel that had once conveyed a President of the United States, and the hull was purchased by Patrick Doherty to use for dock purposes at Eavesport, a small landing near Malden on the Hudson.

                                                                      No. 177- Norwich
              
Running a close second to the Mary Powell for its fame on the Hudson river comes the old Norwich, known to followers of the river’s history as the “Ice King.”
              
The wooden hull of the Norwich was built by Lawrence & Sneden at New York in 1836, and her engine was the product of Hall & Cunningham of New York. From stern to stern the Norwich measured 160 feet; her breadth of beam was 25 feet five inches; depth of hold five feet nine inches; gross tonnage 255; net tonnage 127. Her engine was of the crosshead variety with a cylinder diameter of 40 inches with a 10 foot stroke, and she carried one boiler in her hold.
               
The Norwich was built for the New York & Norwich Steamboat Company and ran on Long Island Sound for a number of years after she was launched.
              
The year 1843 marked the appearance of the Norwich on the Hudson river- in service between Rondout and New York as a passenger and freight carrier; and about 1850 Thomas Cornell purchased the steamboat and converted her to a towboat.
              
It was about the middle of the nineteenth century  that the Norwich began a procedure which was to gain for her the title of “Ice King”- a title which was never disputed! Her construction was such that heavy river ice usually broke before her onslaught, and in the early spring and late fall the Norwich was a familiar figure breaking ice along the river.
              
The bow of the Norwich was so constructed that she could run upon and break down heavy ice fields, and the bottom of the steamboat was well protected with copper and steel. Her paddle wheels were fashioned out of live oak and iron, and her commander, Captain Jacob DuBois often said that, “She could run through a stone yard without damaging herself.”
              
The spectacle of the Norwich battling heavy ice was always interesting to watch, and occasionally when endeavoring to break down large mounds of ice, the staunch vessel was turned over on her side. At such time prompt action was necessary by the crew in the shifting of chain boxes and weighty ballast to right the vessel. The wheels of the Norwich were so placed that one of them could be detached quickly- and thus the tilting of the steamboat was of little importance. It is safe to assume that the Norwich saved many thousands of dollars of damage by her successful attempts at breaking up the ice in the river and thus preventing floods and serious jams.
              
Frequently the Norwich was called upon to rescue vessels caught in the ice on Long Island Sound, and in the year 1851 she fought what was perhaps her greatest battle with the ice. The steamboat New Haven was caught in the ice, and the Norwich went to her aid. Rows of ice so high that the stranded New Haven could not be seen from the pilot house of the Norwich was finally crushed down by the old “Ice King,” and the Sound vessel was released from its perilous position.
              
Usually the first vessel on the river in the spring and the last to tie up in the winter, the Norwich was also a conspicuous figure in the steamboat parade in New York harbor on September 25, 1909. On two occasions the Norwich was almost destroyed by fire, (December 16, 1906 and August 30, 1909) and both times she was rebuilt and placed in service.
              
Many of the well-known figures in Hudson river history were connected with the Norwich at one time or another, including Captain George B. Gage, Captain Stephen Van Wart, Captain Jeremiah Patteson, Captain Delzell, Captain Harry Barber, Captain James Welsh, and Captain Jacob DuBois.
              
​The Norwich continued her career on the Hudson river until 1921 when she was deemed of no further use and was tied up at Port Ewen. In November 1923 the Cornell Steamboat Company sold the Norwich to Michael Tucker of Port Ewen, who broke her up for scrap. Today the fame of the Norwich is constantly recalled through stories passed from one individual to another, and visitors to the Senate House in Kingston are reminded of the old “Ice King” when they view the bell of the Norwich which is displayed in the local museum.

                                                           No. 41- James W. Baldwin
                                                                              
The “James W. Baldwin” was one of the better-known steamboats to the people of this section of the Hudson river valley. She was built in 1860 and was originally 242 feet long, breadth of beam 34 feet, and a tonnage rating of 710. Her hull was constructed of wood by M.S. Allison of Jersey City and her engine, a vertical beam with a 60 inch cylinder and an 11 foot stroke, was the product of Fletcher, Harrison & company of New York. She had two iron boilers located on the guards. In later years the “James W. Baldwin” was rebuilt- measuring 275 feet, five inches, and a net tonnage rating of 923.
              
The “James W. Baldwin” was built for Captain Jacob H. Tremper of Kingston. Captain Tremper was one of the best-known of the old Hudson river skippers, beginning his career back in the thirties by purchasing and operating the steamboat “Fanny,” a stout little sidewheeler  formerly used on Long Island Sound, which he placed in service between New York and Marlborough. Later he purchased the “Emerald” and ran her for a short period between Poughkeepsie and the metropolis.
                
By the year 1860, Captain Tremper had made Rondout his terminus for a line to New York and he was running the steamboat “North America” on that route. In 1860 he ordered a new steamer which he intended to name the “Wiltwyck,” but when he launched her on November 19, 1860, he christened her the “James W. Baldwin.” The new steamboat was placed in regular service in the spring of 1861, and immediately gained attention because she was the speediest vessel carrying staterooms on the river at that time. She had 50 staterooms and sleeping accommodations for up to 100 persons. Later she was lengthened, an extra tier of staterooms added, and accommodations increased to 350 persons.
              
The “Baldwin” was a typical Hudson river night boat, and she was under the command of Captain Tremper from the day of her first trip until the year 1888 when the Captain died.
              
In the year 1899 the “James W. Baldwin” was purchased by the Central Hudson Steamboat Company of Newburgh, and in 1903 she was rebuilt, two new boilers were placed in her, and her name was changed to the “Central Hudson.” She saw service on the same route for which she was constructed in 1860.
              
During her career the “James W. Baldwin” had many running mates. In 1861-1862 she ran in line with the steamboat “Manhattan.” In 1863 she saw service with the “Knickerbocker,” continuing with the latter vessel until the “Thomas Cornell” made her appearance. The “Baldwin” ran in line with the “Thomas Cornell” until that vessel was wrecked on March 28, 1882, and then for the balance of the season she had the “City of Catskill” as her running mate. In 1883 the “City of Springfield” was the companion boat of the “Baldwin,” and then from 1884 to 1889 she ran in line with the hull propeller vessel “City of Kingston.”
              
In October, 1889, the “City of Kingston” was sold to a company on the Pacific coast, and for the balance of that season the steamboat “Saugerties” was chartered to run with the “Baldwin.”
              
During the winter of 1890 Romer & Tremper bought out the night line business of the Cornell Line between Rondout and New York, and purchased the steamboat, “Mason L. Weems,” later rechristened the “William F. Romer,” from a concern in Baltimore to run in line with the “James W. Baldwin.”

I​n 1910 the Central Hudson Line constructed a new steel hull propeller boat named the “Benjamin B. Odell,” and in the spring of 1911 this new vessel replaced the “James W. Baldwin” or “Central Hudson” as she was known at that period. The “Central Hudson” was then chartered out to the Manhattan Line to run between New York and Albany in line with the steamer “Kennebec,” later called the “Iroquois.”  On May 20, 1911, on the down trip from Albany, the “Central Hudson” ran aground at Jones Point where she was fast for 13 hours. On the return trip she again ran aground near West Point. This second accident occurred at high tide and was more serious than the first mishap, as the bow of the vessel was fast while the stern was floating. The keel was broken. An investigation in dry-dock showed the damage to be quite serious and the “Central Hudson” was abandoned. She was towed to Newburgh from Hoboken and was partly dismantled. Later she was purchased by J.H. Gregory, and on November 15, 1911, the once proud “James W. Baldwin” was towed through New York Harbor on her way to the bone yard at Perth Amboy where she was broken up.  

                                                            No. 4- The Knickerbocker
              
The 291 foot “Knickerbocker” was a wooden-hull steamer built in 1843 by Smith and Dimon of New York, with her engine made by the West Point Foundry, and originally used in the “DeWitt Clinton.” Daniel Drew, Isaac Newton, and others of the People’s Line, were the owners of the “Knickerbocker” which was considered a very staunch and beautiful craft, plying the waters of the Hudson until 1846 when her owners sent her to the Stonington Line. She saw service on the Long Island Sound line for a number of years and was partially rebuilt for this work, being widened three feet forward of the wheels which were set back into pockets, thus making added stateroom accommodations.
              
Once again the “Knickerbocker” returned to the Hudson river, meeting with various mishaps during her service. On September 1, 1856, the Knickerbocker” sailed from Albany, bound for New York, with 300 passengers and a quantity of freight and livestock aboard. Enroute  down the river, the vessel hit a rock, displacing her boiler which caused the vessel to list to the larboard as the cargo and boiler rolled to one side of the craft. The pilot saw the danger and turned the vessel’s bow towards Fort Montgomery creek, three miles north of Peekskill, with the intentions of backing the stricken vessel into shallow water. The steamboat “Niagara” of the opposition line passed by while the “Knickerbocker” was in distress but disregarded all signals for assistance and plowed her way on up the river. The little steamer “Machanic” came to the aid of the “Knickerbocker” and took off 150 of the passengers, with the rest being rescued in small boats and taken to Peekskill.
              
The rescued passengers on board the “Machanic” held a prayer and praise meeting at midnight to give thanks for their deliverance, and then they made up a purse of almost a thousand dollars which they presented to Captain Coe of the “Machanic.”
              
The “Knickerbocker” drifted about with the tide and then sank. She was raised and repaired, and then saw service running in line with the “Hero” of the Merchants Through Line.
              
In 1859 the “Knickerbocker” ran down and sank the sloop “Stephen Raymond” near Hastings. This collision came at night and the entire crew of the sloop perished.
              
During the year 1862 the “Knickerbocker” plied the route between Rondout and New York, taking the place of the steamboat “Manhattan” until the new steamboat “Thomas Cornell” came into existence. This was the last of the “Knickerbocker” in this territory as she was then taken south and used for a troop transport, and later was wrecked on Chesapeake Bay.

THE  ACCIDENT ON THE HUDSON RIVER -- CORRECTION. 
There was an error in the report of the collision which occurred on the Hudson river on Monday evening, near Hastings. The steamer which sunk the sloop Stephen Raymond was not the North America, as was supposed, but the Knickerbocker, of the Merchants’ line, and there was only one man drowned instead of three, as reported. Captain Nelson, of the Knickerbocker, says the accident occurred by the sloop changing her course and luffing across the steamer’s bow when too near to prevent a collision. Two persons (Germans)  [Editor's Note: Peter Dazel and William Hagan] ​climbed over the steamer’s bow as the sloop went down. The man at the wheel, named Conklin, could not be found. The two persons rescued proceeded with the steamer to Albany and returned on her yesterday to this city.

                                                            No. 107- Highlander
              
Almost from the day she slid down the ways into the water the “Highlander” was a part of the contests between steamboats for the honor of being the fastest and most efficient vessel on a particular route on the river. Later, after her days as a passenger vessel gave way to the era of more modern craft, the “Highlander” was converted into a towboat and continued her useful career on the river up which Henry Hudson’s “Half Moon” sailed centuries before in quest of a route to India.
              
The wooden hull of the “Highlander” was constructed at New York in the year 1835 by Lawrence and Sneden. The length of her keel was 160 feet, with an overall length of 175 feet, and her beam measured 24 feet wide, her hold eight feet deep. Her engine was the product of the West Point Foundry, being of the vertical beam type with cylinder diameter of 41 inches with a 10-foot stroke. Two iron boilers were located on her guards, and her paddle wheels were 24 feet in diameter with buckets 10 feet long and a dip of 29 inches. She was rated at 313 tons.
              
The “Highlander” was built for Thomas Powell, Samuel Johnson, and Robert Wordrop, for use on the Hudson river, and she was one of the finest and fastest steamboats of that period. While the “Highlander” was under construction at New York, another steamboat, the “James Madison,” was being built at Philadelphia to run in opposition to the “Highlander” on the Newburgh and New York route. The ensuing contests between these two vessels were frequent, and both steamboats claimed a share of the honors.

The pages of Hudson river steamboat history are marred considerably by the disasters caused by contests between steamboats when overtaxed boilers exploded and fire swept vessels from stem to stern, but these records fail to shed light on any accidents that resulted from the rivalry of the “Highlander” and the “James Madison.”

The “James Madison” was finally placed in service between Albany and New York and her name changed to the “Oneida”- thus bringing to an end the contests with the “Highlander.”

The “Highlander” continued operating on the Newburgh and New York route until 1846 when the steamboat “Thomas Powell,” a new and faster vessel, made her appearance. She was next seen as an excursion steamboat, and later she appeared on the Rondout and New York route, as a passenger vessel.

In 1851 Thomas Cornell purchased the “Oneida” and changed her name back to the “James Madison,” and during this period both the “Highlander” and the “James Madison” were converted into towboats. In 1852 the “Highlander” and the “James Madison” were towing out of the Rondout creek to New York- the “James Madison” in the service of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company and the “Highlander” for the Pennsylvania Coal Company from the Port Ewen docks.

​Following the season of 1852 the “Highlander” was taken to the Delaware river where she was used as a towboat until 1866 when she was dismantled and her engine installed in a new towboat, the “William H. Aspinwall.”

                                                            No. 157- General Slocum
Mention of the steamboat “General Slocum” brings to many persons the memory of a great disaster- a catastrophe that has been labeled “the greatest disaster in the steamboat history of the world”; for it was aboard the “General Slocum” that 1,021 persons, bent on a merry-making excursion, met death.
              
Devine Burtis, Jr., built the wooden hull of the “General Slocum” at Brooklyn in 1891. Her 235 foot keel was laid on December 23, 1890, and she was launched on April 18, 1891. Her over-all length was 255 feet, breadth of hull 37 feet six inches (over her guards she was 70 feet), depth of hold 12 feet six inches. The gross tonnage of the “General Slocum” was listed at 1,284, with net tonnage at 1,013. W.A. Fletcher Company of Hoboken, N.J., built the vertical beam engine which had a cylinder diameter of 53 inches with a 12 foot stroke. She carried two boilers- 23 and a half feet long and nine and a half feet in diameter.
              
The “General Slocum” was built expressly for the excursion trade, operating between New York and Rockaway Beach in line with the steamboat “Grand Republic,” and she was the first of the large excursion steamboats to adopt the innovation of hardwood finish on her outside joiner woodwork. The Knickerbocker Steamboat Company were the owners of the “General Slocum”- using her as a replacement for the steamboat “Columbia,” a sister ship to the “Grand Republic,” which had been sold to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company during the winter of 1888.
              
The “General Slocum” and the “Grand Republic” ran on the Rockaway route for several years, and were then placed in the excursion business on the Hudson river and Long Island Sound- being the largest excursion steamboats out of New York.
              
Then came the tragic event which placed the greatest stain on the pages of steamboat history and caused the “General Slocum” to be remembered with feelings of horror.
              
On June 15, 1904, the “General Slocum” was chartered by the Sunday School and members of the congregation of St. Mark’s German Lutheran Church of New York City for an excursion. A few minutes before 10 o’clock in the morning the “General Slocum” left the recreation pier at the foot of East Third street and started up the East River at a 15 knot clip- it being the plan of the captain to reach Locust Grove, Long Island, the destination of the excursionists, shortly after the noon hour.
              
When the “General Slocum” reached a point opposite 97th street several of the crew, who were on the lower deck, saw puffs of smoke coming through the seams in the flooring. For some reason that will never be known, the discovery was not immediately communicated to Captain Van Schaick. Some of the deck hands went below and ran into the second cabin- believing they could easily extinguish the fire. They found the place a furnace, and rushed above to notify Mate Edward Flanagan of the blaze. The mate directed the fire apparatus placed in use and in turn notified the captain. Captain Van Schaick signaled Pilot Conkling to proceed at full speed ahead and point the bow of the vessel towards North Brothers Island- which was a good mile ahead.
              
The wind was blowing from the north and the swift progress of the “General Slocum” caused a strong air-current which fanned the flames and drove tongues of the fire backwards into the faces of the excursionists, who became panic-stricken. Mothers scurried frantically about in an endeavor to collect their families and guide them to a supposed place of safety while the crew turned their efforts to fighting the raging fire which was fast gaining terrifying proportions. People crowded back onto the after decks of the vessel and children were trampled. A policeman named Kelb endeavored to restore order but his efforts were in vain.
              
It was just 10:20 a.m. when the “General Slocum” was beached at North Brothers Island. When she struck bottom her bow was in four feet of water but her stern, where all the people were crowded, was in approximately 30 feet of water. The instant the vessel grounded many of the terrified passengers, believing they were in shallow water, jumped overboard. Scores of them never came to the surface. To add to the catastrophe the beaching of the vessel caused the stanchions supporting the hurricane deck to collapse under the weight of the milling passengers. Hundreds of unfortunates were hurled downward into the roaring furnace and were instantly burned to death. Later the vessel sunk and many of the bodies were never recovered. In all there were 1,021 people who lost their lives in this great disaster.
              
The hull of the “General Slocum” was later raised and sold to J.H. Gregory of Perth Amboy, N.J., to be broken up, but was later turned into a coal barge. The coal barge was sold to a Philadelphia company on June 15, 1905, for use on the Delaware river- but neither Mr. Gregory nor the purchasers realized at the time that the sale had been made on the anniversary of the fire.
              
The converted hull of the “General Slocum,” bearing the name of “Maryland,” was lost off the New Jersey coast in the vicinity of Sandy Hook on December 3, 1911, and was never recovered. The sister ship of the “General Slocum,” the “Grand Republic,” was likewise destroyed by fire- on April 26, 1924, at the foot of West 156 street.

                                                 No. 20- Dean Richmond

​With the engine from the wrecked “Francis Skiddy” reconditioned and placed in a new wooden hull, the steamboat “Dean Richmond” came into being in 1865 as the property of the People’s Line running in night service between New York and Albany. This vessel like all the other splendid crafts built for the People’s Line was the acme of steamboat construction at that time.
              
While the vessel was still on the ways, newspapers persisted in reporting the progress being made in the building of the “General Grant”, but the officials of the People’s Line saw fit to name the vessel “Dean Richmond” in honor of the president of the New York Central Railroad.
              
Misfortune dogged the patch of the “Dean Richmond” in a like manner as those of other river craft, and on a moonlight night of September 20, 1867, she was in a collision with another vessel and sunk. While sailing south just below Rhinecliff, she sighted the Troy night boat, “C. Vanderbilt.” William Vanderburgh blew the customary one whistle which was answered by the “C. Vanderbilt” in a like manner, but unfortunately a propeller tug following the “Dean Richmond” also blew her whistle, causing a misunderstanding. The “Dean Richmond” changed her course but the “C. Vanderbilt” did not, and the latter vessel crashed into the larboard quarter of the “Dean Richmond” 30 feet aft of the bow, staving in the forward cabin. The engineer of the stricken vessel immediately raised the safety valves thus averting an explosion. The bow of the “C. Vanderbilt” was so firmly wedged into the “Dean Richmond that the latter boat was held up long enough to allow her passengers to climb over the wreckage onto the decks of the “C. Vanderbilt” before the water rose to the upper tier of the “Richmond’s” staterooms. A colored porter employed on the “Dean Richmond” drowned and his body was recovered by George W. Murdock.
              
The Dean Richmond was afterward raised, repaired, and again placed in service on the night line.
              
On June 14, 1877 just above Rockland Lake on a trip to Albany, the “Dean Richmond” met with another accident. This was caused by the breaking of a connecting rod and the end of the walking beam snapping off. No lives were lost, or anyone injured in this accident, but several thousand dollars worth of damage was done to the engine of the vessel.
              
The “Dean Richmond” was again repaired and placed in regular service until the advent of the steamboat “C.W. Morse” in 1904 when the “Richmond” was laid up and used only as an extra boat. After the burning of the “City Of Troy” belonging to the Citizen’s Line of Troy, on April 5, 1907, the “Dean Richmond was placed in service on the Troy route. Finally in 1909, having outlived her usefulness, the “Dean Richmond” was sold to wreckers in Boston and sailed to that port on her last trip where she was burned for the old metal that was used in her construction.

                                                No. 10- Francis Skiddy
Appearing on the river for the first time in June, 1852, the 1,235 ton, 322 foot “Francis Skiddy” created somewhat of a sensation, as she was one of the most up-to-date vessels that had yet sailed into the waters of the Hudson.
              
During the “forties,” steamboats began to appear with saloons on the second deck, with the “Empire,” “Oregon,” “Isaac Newton” and “Hendrick Hudson” among the first to be so constructed. These vessels were used on the night lines, and the dayboats had their dining rooms in the hold aft. They all carried pilot houses on the second deck, but in the year 1852 the “Francis Skiddy” was launched with the saloon on the second deck and the pilot house resting on a third deck. As a further departure from the usual standards, the “Francis Skiddy” sported a long and extensive promenade on her second deck for the use of the passengers. This innovation was formed by a roof extending from just forward of the boilers to a point a short distance aft of the after boilers, and from that point to the stern a light framework was erected on which an awning could be stretched. The design was the creation of George Collyer, of New York city.
              
On June 30, 1852, the “Francis Skiddy” left the foot of Chambers street, New York, and sailed up the river to Hudson in the time of five hours and three minutes, allowing 20 minutes for five landings en route. This is a speed of 23.04 miles per hour and established a record which this vessel held until some time after the Civil War. On her regular run between New York and Albany, the “Francis Skiddy” averaged seven and a half hours and made a round trip every 24 hours for a period in 1853.
              
In 1855, the “Francis Skiddy” was rebuilt into a three-deck night boat, the cabins being placed on the second and third decks. This added weight brought her down lower in the water and caused her speed to be considerably less than before. These state rooms, built into her in much the same manner as those on the “New World” and the “Isaac Newton,” caused her to draw too much to make the trip to Troy, and so an additional hull was built around the old hull, decreasing the draft by two feet and thus making it possible to put into Troy. The larger hull was framed the same as that of a new boat and was fastened around the hull of the “Francis Skiddy” in such a manner that amidships there was a distance of six feet between the inner and outer hulls.
              
On the night of November 28, 1861, the “Francis Skiddy” was proceeding down the river off Blue Point, two miles below Poughkeepsie, and encountered the schooner “W.W. Reynolds.” It was a “pitch dark” night and the schooner had failed to hang out her lights, and before the pilot of the “Francis Skiddy,” Hazzard Morey, realized his proximity of the schooner, there was a crash. Morey veered his vessel to the windward but too late to avoid the collision, and the schooner’s bowsprit entered the galley’s window and penetrated the boiler of the “Francis Skiddy,” causing an explosion in which three of the firemen were killed and four passengers fatally scalded.
              
​The damage was repaired and the “Francis Skiddy” resumed her schedule. Then on the night of November 25, 1864, she ran aground at Van Wie’s Point, four miles below Albany, and was wrecked. Her engine was salvaged and placed in the new steamboat, “Dean Richmond,” in 1865, but her hull was broken up for scrap.