The steamer Quail (1871)
1. General
Port of Picton Registry, Number 36 :
| Name: QUAIL | Type: Steamer |
|---|---|
| Official Number: | Tons: 34 |
| Where built: Chtaham, Ontario, 1868 | Tons: 15 |
| Where Re-built: Picton | Port of Registry / Hail: Picton |
| Re-build Year: 1871 | Value: |
| Builder’s Name & Date of Certification: Wm. Redmond, May 2, 1871 | |
| Master’s Name: W. H. Morden | Engine-room length: 20 feet |
| Length: 77 feet | Breadth: 14 feet |
| Depth of Hold: 4 feet | Masts: One |
| Stern: Round | Bowsprit: None |
| How Built: Carvel | How Rigged: Not |
| Figure-head: None | Decks: One |
| Subscribing owners: Walter Morden | |
NOTATIONS:
VESSEL BURNED ON MARCH 1873
|
Schooner |
See also the entry for the steamer Quail in our ships Database.
Notes
- Propulsion: Sidewheel Dimensions: 77 x 14. Owned by "Mr. Hunt", Thornbury Ont. 1868. Used on Georgian Bay after 1868.; to W. H. Morden, Sophiasburg Ont. 1870.
Newspaper transcriptions
- Northern Advocate (Barrie, ON), May 3, 1870 : The Quail - This steamer arrived at this port the 27th ult. With a number of persons all in search of land. It appears that several had been waiting in Collingwood for the Waubuno and their learning it would be some days before she would return from Detroit, they chartered the Quail for a special trip.
- British Whig (Kingston, ON), 20 Jun 1871 : The Rochester Aground - a short distance west of Massassaga Pt. in a fog; attempts by Quail and Picton to get her off were fruitless. The Picton got aground while trying to pull off Rochester, the St. Helen tried to pull them both off, assisted by the Quail and Greenway; str. William belonging to Calvin & Breck pulled off Rochester. [Belleville Intelligencer]
- Daily News (Kingston, ON), April 30, 1872 : The steamer Quail made her first trip from Picton to Napanee on Monday. No sailing vessels have come in yet. The water in the river was never known to be so low as it is at this season of the year.
- British Whig (Kingston, ON), 4 Nov 1872 : Napanee - Sad Accident At the River - str. Quail attempted to tow small boat, upset it and 2 men drowned.
- Daily News (Kingston, ON), Dec. 7, 1872 : Inquest - on two men who drowned on Nov. 2nd "owing to their want of skill in the management of their boat;" Capt. Noxon of str. Quail was censured for not doing enough to try and save them. [Napanee Standard]
- The Toronto Mail Wednesday, March 18, 1873 : Picton, March 18 - The steamer QUAIL was burned last night while lying in her winter quarters at Northport. She was insured in the Provincial for $2,500. The cause of the fire is unknown. She was owned by Capt. Morden of Northport, and during the season made daily trips between here and Napanee and Belleville.
- Daily News (Kingston, ON), March 18, 1873 : Burning Of The Quail - Information has just came in from Northport that the str. Quail usually plying between this place Napanee and Belleville daily was burned at Northport last night where she was in winter quarters. There was an insurance of $2,500 upon her.
- British Whig (Kingston, ON), 14 Nov 1891 : S.J. Barker, proprietor of the wharf at Northport, has recently had the old hull of the steamer Quail raised and removed from its position by the dock. Over 20 years ago the Quail plied between Picton and Belleville. Her time-table shows that seven hours were consumed in making the run between port and port thus showing her speed to average a little over four miles an hour. An old resident of Northport claims that in stormy weather the Quail would not cross Big Bay and that three days in succession he boarded her with the intention of going to the city and that each time the captain was afraid to risk crossing the bay. An excursion of that date advertised the old boat to make the run from Picton to Kingston in eleven hours.
References and source notes
(2) David D. Swayze, Lake Isabella. MI
(3 - 10) Many of the contemporary newspaper cuttings can be found at Maritime History of the Great Lakes, Newspaper Transcriptons