Assorted Rhode Island Shipwrecks

    There have been numerous shipwrecks and nautical disasters in Rhode Island waters dating back to colonial times.  These newspaper articles, culled from various sources, represent but a few.

     To learn more about Rhode Island shipwrecks, see the book “Rhode Island Shipwrecks”, by Charlotte Taylor.  (Arcadia Publishing, “Images of America” series) Copyright, 2017.   https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/ 

Click on newspaper images to enlarge. 

Rhode Island Republican
September 1, 1825

Rhode Island Republican
November 26 1829

Rhode Island Republican
April 8, 1840

New York Herald
January 22, 1875

New York Herald
May 25, 1876

New York Herald
June 14, 1877

The Evening Star, (Wash. DC)
November 6, 1880

Memphis Daily Appeal (Tn.)
November 7, 1880

Providence News
December 26, 1885

The Evening Star, (Wash. DC)
December 28, 1885

The Daily Tobacco Leaf Chronicle
December 29, 1890

The Providence News
August 22, 1893

The Record-Union (Ca.)
October 12, 1894

The Daily Kennebec Journal (Me.)
November 29, 1898

The Corvallis Gazette (Or.)
December 16, 1898

The Providence News
January 2, 1899

The Sun, (N.Y.)
March 5, 1900

The St. Louis Republic
January 22, 1903

New York Tribune
January 22, 1903

The Times Dispatch (Va.)
April 7, 1905

The Daily Kennebec Journal, (Me.)
August 16, 1905

Waterbury Evening Democrat (Ct.)
June 21, 1907

The Sun, (N.Y.)
July 18, 1907

Bridgeport Evening Farmer (Ct.)
April 16, 1909

The Washington Herald
November 10, 1909

Norwich Bulletin (Ct.)
November 18, 1909

Perth Amboy Evening News (NJ)
October 19, 1910

The Barre Daily Times (Vt.)
November 20, 1911

Norwich Bulletin
December 29, 1911

Norwich Bulletin
December 29, 1911

The Evening World, (N.Y.)
February 24, 1912

The Pensacola Journal (Fl.)
August 20, 1912

Norwich Bulletin
October 14, 1912

The Barre Daily Times (Vt.)
March 3, 1914

The Brattleboro Daily Reformer
March 3, 1914

West Virginia Argus
December 10, 1914

Norwich Bulletin (Ct.)
April 6, 1915

The Bennington Evening Banner
June 28, 1917

Barre Daily Times (Vt.)
March 20, 1920

The Evening World, (N.Y.)
June 29, 1922

New York Herald
May 1, 1921

Indiana Daily Times
April 1, 1922

The Alaska Daily Empire
July 22, 1924

New Britain Herald
July 25, 1924

The Alaska Daily Empire
February 11, 1926

New Britain Herald
July 31, 1928

The Evening Star, (Wash. D.C.)
May 27, 1932

The Evening Star (Wash. D.C.)
May 27, 1932

The Evening Star
August 29, 1961

A Steamboat Called Rhode Island – 1836

Originally published in the Smithfield Times magazine – June, 2021

A Steamboat Called “Rhode Island” – another forgotten tale of New England

By Jim Ignasher

    The first successful steamboat was perfected by Robert Fulton in 1807, and by the 1830s commercial steamboats were navigating the waters of Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay on daily runs from New York to Providence. One of them was the Rhode Island, a “boat” with an interesting story which has all but been forgotten.

     The Rhode Island was built in 1836 for the Boston & New York Transportation Company. She was 211 feet long, 28 feet wide, with 170 berths, and was considered large and luxurious for the time. She was also considered fast, powered by a single 350 hp. engine that could take her from New York to Providence in a mere twelve-and-a-half hours. The cost of a one-way ticket was five dollars.

     The Rhode Island’s first captain was Seth W. Thayer, an experienced officer from Seekonk, Massachusetts, who’d previously commanded the steamboat Providence.

     Shortly after going into service, the Rhode Island gained widespread notoriety due to an onboard gold heist. On the night of September 19, 1836, the Rhode Island left Providence bound for New York with a keg full of gold coins valued at $39,000 – a huge fortune at the time. The gold belonged to a Boston bank, and had been locked in the captain’s office for safe keeping, but when the boat arrived in New York it was discovered that the keg was empty!

     Police speculated that someone had entered the office by climbing down the side of the boat and crawling through the outboard window. By the time the theft was discovered some passengers had already departed, and a search of the boat found nothing. Why a guard had not been employed to accompany the gold was not stated.

     Theories ranged form professional criminals to an “inside job”. Two weeks later, most of the gold was recovered by accident when the ship’s chief engineer went to oil the engine and discovered four bags of the missing gold at the bottom of a half-full oil drum. The rest was recovered after suspicion fell to two members of the crew.

     The following month the Rhode Island was heading to New York when she collided with the sloop Eliza Nichols. One woman was killed, and two passengers were seriously injured.

     It should be noted that in a time before modern navigational aids, collisions between ships on Long Island Sound were fairly common.

     In February of 1838 seven workers were severely scalded by a ruptured steam valve as they were cleaning the Rhode Island’s boilers while in port. It was uncertain if they would live.

     Later that year, the Rhode Island was involved in a collision with the ship John W. Richmond, but there was no loss of life.

     Two years later a passenger’s leg was crushed when he fell into an unguarded portion of the ship’s machinery.

     In 1842 a lawsuit was brought against Captain Thayer by millionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt over damage caused to the steamboat Kosciuske during a collision with the Rhode Island on March 3rd. The two boats had been racing each other at the time, and the jury couldn’t decide who was at fault so the case was dismissed.

     In October of 1842 it was reported that a band of professional pick-pockets had relieved several passengers of their valuables. Three “suspicious” looking men were detained and searched, but nothing was found. However, the New York Police were well acquainted with the individuals and their “street names”; “Sheeney”, Jem Rose”, and “Dumpsy Diddledum”. The valuables were subsequently recovered.

     During a storm in November of 1846 the Rhode Island was driven aground in shallow water off Huntington, Long Island. Heavy seas breaking across her decks made it impossible to launch lifeboats. No lives were lost, but the danger of the ship breaking apart was real.

     It was also in 1846 that Captain Thayer left the Rhode Island to command the steamboat, Governor, but a short time later took command of the newly built Oregon. He died in 1848 of typhus.

     In September of 1849, with the California Gold Rush gaining momentum, the Rhode Island was purchased by a group of investors who intended to establish service to San Francisco. She began her first westbound voyage on January 25, 1850, but four days later broke apart in rough seas off Bermuda. Of the 44 passengers and crew aboard only 12 were saved.

     One unlikely survivor of the sinking was the 200 lb. ship’s bell. It was found months later floating at sea by the whaling ship Elizabeth, still attached to a crossbeam and section of decking which was apparently buoyant enough to keep it afloat. The bell was recovered and brought to Massachusetts. The maker was James Allaire of New York, who confirmed it was the one made for the Rhode Island. What became of the bell is unknown.

     In 1873, the Providence & Stonington Steamship Company christened a new steamship which they named Rhode Island, but that’s a story for another day.

Steamboat Rhode Island

     The steamboat Rhode Island was built in 1836 and sank in 1850.  In 1873, the Providence & Stonington Steamship Company christened another steamship with the name Rhode Island which saw service into the 20th century.  

Click on images to enlarge. 

Herald of the Times

September 1, 1836

Alexandria Gazette

September 26, 1836

Herald of the Times

(Newport, R.I.)

September 29, 1836

Alexandria Gazette

October 6, 1836

North Carolina Standard

November 24, 1836

Vermont Telegraph

April 29, 1840

New York Daily Tribune

August 19, 1844

American Republican & Baltimore Daily Clipper

Oct. 31, 1846

American Republican & Baltimore Daily Clipper

November 4, 1846

The Corrector (Sag Harbor, NY)

February 16, 1850

The Republic, (Wash. DC)

Feb. 19, 1850

February 19, 1850

February 19, 1850

February 19, 1950

19th Century Steamboat Advertisements

Click on images to enlarge.

Rhode Island Republican, July 4, 1827

Literary Cadet & R. I. Statesman

March 29, 1828

Herald of the Times

May 26, 1830

Herald of the Times

March 15, 1832

Herald of the Times

(Newport, R. I.)

April 12, 1832

Herald of the Times

May 10, 1832

Rhode Island Republican

May 29, 1833

Herald of the Times

January 10, 1833

Herald of the Times

March 9, 1837

Herald of the Times

June 14, 1838

Herald of the Times

June 9, 1842

Herald of the Times

June 9, 1842

1875

1875

1875

1880

Morning Journal & Courier

April 30, 1881

1895

1880 Steamship Advertisement

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