The schooner Maple Leaf (1867)

General

Port of Picton Registry, Number 20 :

NOTATIONS: TRANSFERRED TO PORT BURWELL, AUGUST 30, 1880

See also the entry for the schooner Maple Leaf in our ships Database.

2. American Tonnage: 114 ; Built By: Tait ; Build Location: Picton ; Build Year: 1867 ; Supposed Owners: Sutherlaw ; Home Port: Picton ; Approximate Value: $6,500 ; Class: A1 : Association of Canadian Lake Underwriters. Lake Vessel Register 1869. Page 17.
3. American Tonnage: 114 ; Built By: Tait ; Build Location: Picton ; Build Year: 1867 ; Supposed Owners: Sutherland ; Home Port: Picton ; Approximate Value: $5,500 ; Class: A2 ; Date of Last Survey: 3/73 Association of Canadian Lake Underwriters. Lake Vessel Register 1873. Page 19.
4. American Tonnage: 114 ; Built By: Tait ; Built Where: Picton ; Build Year: 1867 ; Supposed Owners: Sutherland ; Port of Hail: Picton ; Approximate Value: $5,000 ; Class: A2 ; Date of Survey: 10/73 Association of Canadian Lake Underwriters. The Marine Register 1874. Page 25.
5. Schooner MAPLE LEAF ; Built: Picton, Prince Edward County, Ont. ; Build Year: 1867 ; Registry Tonnage: 114 ; Dimensions: 91.7 x 21.6 x 7.7 ; Home Port: Picton ; Owner: James Sutherland of Owen Sound. List of Vessels on the Registry Books of the Dominion of Canada on December 31, 1875
6. Official Number: 73914 ; Port of Registry: Port Burwell ; Rig: Schooner ; Build Year: 1880 ; Where Built: Picton ;How Propelled: Sails ; Register Dimensions: 91 feet Length; 21.7 feet Breadth; 7.8 feet Depth ; Register Tonnage: 108 ; Owner: H.A. Haskins, Aylmer, Ontario. Sessional Papers, Dept of Marine, Ottawa, 1887. Page 227
7. MAPLE LEAF: Official Number; C73914. ; Type at Loss: schooner, wood, 2 mast. ; Build Info: 1867; Redmond & Tait, Picton, Ontario. ; Specs: 92’ x 22’ x 8; 114 g.t., 108 n.t. ; Date of Loss: November 16, 1883. The MMGLK gives the date at 10/10/1886. ; Place of Loss: Off harbor entrance at Buffalo. ; Lake: Erie ; Type of Loss: Storm ; Loss of Life: None ; Carrying: lumber, staves, wood-bolts ; Detail: Overwhelmed by gale, she was driven ashore and wrecked. She ended up so high on the beach that she was declared a total loss, but was later recovered by Americans and rebuilt as HONORA CARR. Bound Port Burwell for Buffalo. Hailed from Port Burwell. Entry# 1748. The Great Lakes Shipwreck File, Total Losses of Great Lakes Ships, 1679-2001. By David D. Swayze, Lake Isabella, Michigan.
8. Vessel Description: ; Deck: One. Type: Carvel. Stern: Square. Figure: None. Number of Masts: 2 Type of Rig: Fore & Aft Schooner ; Closing Information: ; Date Registration Closed: 08/30/1880 Date of Reason Closed: 08/30/1880 ; Reason Closed: TRANSFERRED. Place Closed: Port Burwell, Ontario, Canada. NMA Ships Database: Canadian Registry List., Registry List 1 of 2. Source of Data, N.A.C. RG-42, C-2434, Vol 209.
9. First Registration: MAPLE LEAF. Location; Port Burwell, Ontario, Canada. ; Registration: 2/1880. Date Registered: 1880. OFFICIAL NUMBER: 73914 ; Original Building Information: ; Built at Picton, Ontario, Canada. Date Built: 1867 ; Length 95.60 x Beam, 21.60 x Depth, 7.40 Net: 108.87 ; Vessel Description: ; Deck: One Type: Carvel Stern: Square Gallery: None, ; Figure: No Frame: Wood Number of Masts: Two Type of Rig: Schooner ; Closing Information: ; Date Registration Closed: 12/02/1887 Date of Reason Closed: 10/10/1886 ; Reason Closed: WRECKED AND FOUNDERED Place Closed: Lake Erie. NMA Ships Database: Registry Record 2 of 2. Source of Data; N.A.C., RG-42, C-2435, Vol-210.
10. MAPLE LEAF; 1867; Schooner. ; Official Number 73914 ; Year of Build: 1867 ; Later Schooner HONORA CARR; US ; Construction & Ownership ; Built At: Picton ; Vessel Type: Schooner ; Number of Decks: 1 ; Builder’s Name: Redmond & Tait ; Power: Sail ; Dimensions: 91.7’ Length x 21.6’Beam x 7.7’ Depth; Tonnage, Gross, 135.
11. FINAL DISPOSITION – HONORA CARR ; Final Location: Port Albino, 14 miles above Buffalo, NY, Lake Erie. ; Date: September 4, 1886. ; How: Foundered. ; Final Cargo: 200 tons of coal. ; Notes: Bound Buffalo, NY, to Port Huron, Michigan, foundered in storm, one life lost. ; April 9, 1889 wreck found.
12. HISTORY:
    1867, Dec 31: Owned Curry, Striker & Wellbanks.
    1868, Apr 4: Owned Curry, Striker, & Hudgins.
    1868, Apr 4: Owned Hudgins & Monck, Owen Sound, Ont.
    1868, June 5: Owned Hudgins, & Sutherland.
    1868, Oct 20: Owned James Sutherland.
    1877, Oct 16: Aground, Fitzwilliam Island, Georgian Bay, bark-laden for Detroit.
    1879, Owned Sutherland, Picton, Ont.
    1880, Apr 13: Owned David Foster, Port Burwell, Ont.
    1880, July 18: Sunk & Raised, Port Colborne, Ont, Lake Erie.
    1881, Sept: Sunk & Raised, Lake Erie
    1882, Mar 3: Owned Ozias Barrett, Port Rowan, Ont.
    1882, Dec 1: Ashore & released, Port Rowan, Ont.
    1883 Owned, H.A. Haskins
    1883, Nov 16: Ashore & released, Buffalo, NY, harbor entrance, Lake Erie.
    1884 141 gross tons, owned E. Burge, Picton.
    1885, Jun 22 Enrolled Buffalo, NY, owned Peter Carr; 95.6’ x 21.6’ x 7.4’. 112.94/107.3 tons. RENAMED HONORA CARR, US95851 [Note: see Naval Marine Archive ship database entries for Honora Carr.]
    1885, Nov 2: Ashore & released, Rondeau, Ont.
    1886, Aug 28: Owned H. Carr.
    1886, Sep 4: Sunk
    

Newspaper transcriptions

13. Daily News (Kingston) November 5, 1867, Page 2. The Gale: The schooner MAPLE LEAF went ashore in South Bay on Monday night.
14. Daily British Whig, (Kingston) November 6, 1867. Schooner MAPLE LEAF ashore at South Bay.
15. Buffalo Commercial Advertiser. November 6, 1867. The schooner MAPLE LEAF went ashore last night at South Bay mouth, Lake Ontario.
16. Daily News (Kingston) October 17s, 1868, page 2. Owen Sound, Oct 17th. The schooner MAPLE LEAF ran in here with loss of jib-boom and three of her crew injured.
17. Northern Light (Orillia, Ont). April 29, 1870. Owen Sound; April 18: Our harbor is clear of ice. The schooner MAPLE LEAF arrived from Collingwood on Saturday.
18. Daily News (Kingston), October 2, 1871, page 2. Shipping News: J.H. Henderson & Co. wharf: The schooner MAPLE LEAF, from Chatham, with 8,000 bushels of wheat.
19. Times (Orillia, Ont), May 3, 1872 The schooner MAPLE LEAF cleared on Wednesday evening with a cargo of wheat shipped by Mr. Jas. Sutherland.
20. The (Toronto) Mail, Friday May 3, 1872. Collingwood May 2: The schooner MAPLE LEAF, with 2000 bushels of wheat from Owen Sound, arrived this morning. She reports having seen very little ice in the lake. She is the first arrival of the season.
21. The (Toronto) Mail, Friday May 10, 1872. Collingwood May 9th, Arrivals: The MAPLE LEAF from Owen Sound with wheat.
22. Meaford Monitor (Ont). May 16, 1872. Page 4. The MAPLE LEAF came in yesterday and took out a cargo of wheat for Mr. J. & W. Stewart. The first schooner visiting us this season was the MAPLE LEAF, Captain Foote. She went out Monday with a cargo of 7,000 bushels of wheat for A. Milne & Sons.
23. The (Toronto) Mail, Friday June 7, 1872. Collingwood Arrivals: schr MAPLE LEAF Hog’s Bay, light.
24. The (Toronto) Mail, Saturday June 22, 1872. Port of Collingwood, June 21st. Arrivals: schr MAPLE LEAF, Goderich, salt.
25. Owen Sound Advertiser, November 28, 1872. The schooners PRINCE EDWARD, PHOEBE CATHERINE, MAPLE LEAF and ELIZABETH are now lying in the river. They are being stripped of their canvas ready for winter layup, after a good season’s trade.
26. Owen Sound Advertiser May 1, 1873 . THE SAILING VESSELS: We cross to the MAPLE LEAF, which has received new rails and a new deck, has been painted and overhauled, and presents a very neat appearance. She has a capacity for carrying 7,000 bushels of grain, in which trade she will be employed during the first of the season. Captain James Foot(e) is her master, and Mr. James Sutherland her owner.
27. The Daily Globe (Toronto), Friday October 29, 1875. Collingwood Navigation, Arrivals: schr MAPLE LEAF, Owen Sound, wheat.
28. The Daily Globe (Toronto), Tuesday November 2, 1875. Collingwood Navigation, Arrivals: schr MAPLE LEAF, Owen Sound, wheat.
29. The Daily Globe (Toronto) Wednesday, November 3, 1875. Collingwood Navigation, Cleared: schr MAPLE LEAF, Midland, light.
30. The Daily Globe (Toronto) Monday November 15, 1875.
    Collingwood Navigation, Nov 12th: Arrivals: schr MAPLE LEAF, Owen Sound, wheat.
    Collingwood Navigation, Nov 13th: Cleared: schr MAPLE LEAF, Owen Sound, light.
31. The Daily Globe (Toronto) Saturday November 20, 1875. Collingwood Navigation, Arrivals: schr MAPLE LEAF, Owen Sound, wheat.
32. The Daily Globe (Toronto) Monday November 22, 1875. Collingwood Navigation, Cleared: schr MAPLE LEAF, Owen Sound, light.
33. Owen Sound, Dec 9th: Navigation may be considered closed for the season. The vessels in winter quarters are schooners, ….., MAPLE LEAF.
34. Statement of Wreck & Casualty, 1877. Dept. of Marine & Fisheries. SCHOONER ASHORE, Owen Sound, October 16. The schooner MAPLE LEAF, loaded with bark for Detroit, is ashore near Horse Island (Fitzwilliam Island). Schooner MAPLE LEAF, of 114 tons register, of the Port of Picton, Ontario, and of 6 years of age. On July 11, 1877, while bound from Wheaton, Ontario, to Colpoys Bay, Georgian Bay, vessel stranded on Rattlesnake Island, Lake Huron, due to stress of weather. A partial casualty loss valued at $400.
35. British Whig (Kingston). July 1880. Marine News, page 3. IS IT A HOAX? Note in bottle about loss of schooner MAPLE LEAF off Port Colborne.
36. Cleveland Herald. Friday September 30, 1881. The tug MARY succeeded in releasing the schooner MAPLE LEAF, ashore at Hoover’s Point, and towed her into Port Dover, (Lake Erie). The cargo of wheat is in fair condition, but the vessel is badly damaged.
37. Toronto Globe article: Cleveland Herald, Friday November 4, 1881. The MARYSBURG, which went ashore at Port Union the day before…… The MAPLE LEAF was chartered to take part of her cargo to Toronto.
38. Kingston British Whig December 6, 1882
39. On the way to Kingston from the Georgian Bay, the steamer CONQUEROR went to the rescue of the schr MAPLE LEAF, ashore in the bay off Port Dover. She was found high broadsided upon the sand, and almost entirely out of water. An attempt was made to pull her off, but when a ten inch line, doubled, was broken, it was decided to wait until a channel was dredged out before continuing operations.

MAPLE LEAF, SCHOONER. AGROUND, NOVEMBER 16, 1883. (Articles regarding her loss)

40. J.W. Hall Marine Scrapbook, November 1883: The little Canadian schooner MAPLE LEAF is also on South Beach, three miles above the lighthouse. She is well up.
41. Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, November 17, 1883\3\4: The schooner MAPLE LEAF, ashore near the sand-catch, is sinking in the sand, having gone down about 8 feet so far. The loss comes rather hard on Capt. Haskins as he has only made two trips since he bought the vessel. He says that all he has to do to put a plank overboard and walk ashore. The vessel is a small craft, measurement 141 tons, rating A2-1/2 and of $3,500 valuation. She has $2,700 hull insurance.
42. LOST TONNAGE ON THE LAKES IN 1883, MARINE RECORD, DECEMBER 27, 1883. Schooner MAPLE LEAF, of 135 tons, and 16 years of age. Valued at $3,000, Became a total loss on Lake Erie during 1883.
43. CASUALTY LIST for 1883, Toronto Globe, December 4, 1883: Schooner MAPLE LEAF, ashore November 16, 1883. Approximate Value of $2,700; Approximate Loss of $2,700.
44. DOMINION OF CANADA VESSEL REGISTER: Schooner MAPLE LEAF of 108 Tons Register. Home Port; Port Burwell. 91.9 x 21.7 x 7.8. Built 1880 at Picton. 91 x 21.7 x 7.8
45. PORT OF PICTON VESSEL REGISTER,( #20 of 1867) Schooner MAPLE LEAF, of 114 Tons (Old Tonnage). Built 1867 at Picton by Tait. Registry transferred to Port Burwell, August 30, 1880. 91.9 x 21.7 x 7.8
46. STATEMENT OF WRECK & CASUALITIES FOR 1883, DEPT. OF MARINE & FISHERIES: Schooner MAPLE LEAF OF 109 tons Reg. Port of Hail, Port Burwell. On Nov 16, 1883 vessel stranded 3 miles West of Buffalo in a gale. Three years of age, Partial loss, hull damage of $300 and Cargo damage of $100. She was bound from Buffalo to Port Burwell.
47. History of the Great Lakes by Mansfield, p. 854: Canadian schooner MAPLE LEAF wrecked 1883. Rebuilt and renamed HONORA CARR.
48. PORT HURON DAILY TIMES, Monday, Sept 6, 1886: The little wooden schooner HONORA CARR left Buffalo, Friday night with 200 tons of coal for John W. Thomson of this city. About midnight she began leaking, this increased and early Saturday morning she started back for Buffalo. At noon when she was about 2 miles off Pt. Abino and 14 miles from Buffalo, she foundered in 60 feet of water. One man was drowned, the rest of the crew was rescued by the tug INES. The CARR was formerly the Canadian schooner MAPLE LEAF, which was driven ashore in the fall of 1883. In the summer of 1884, the wreck was purchased by Micheal Carr, who released her and the next season fitted her out.
49. British Whig September 7, 1886. Marine Intelligence, page 8. The schooner CARR which sank near Port Colborne, was formerly the Canadian schooner MAPLE LEAF. In 1884 Micheal Carr fitted her out. She has been in hard luck ever since, being tied up much of the season. She was worth about $2,000.

References and source notes

(12) Online resource “The Great Lakes Shipwreck file" By David D. Swayze, Lake Isabella. MI
(13-49) Newspaper Transcriptions donated by Mr. Rick Neilson, Kingston newspapers, Mr. Bill Hester, Owen Sound/Orillia, Mr. Scott Cameron, Meaford, and Mr. Bill McNeil, Toronto.