Brown & Bell, New York NY
David Brown and Jacob Bell started in the industry as apprentices in the shipyard operated by Adam and Noah Brown, on the East River, at the foot of Houston Street. Following the end of the War of 1812, they started their own yard on the Tombigbee River, in St. Stephens, the capital of the Alabama Territory, north of Mobile. The site was physically constrained, however, so they moved their operation to Blakely, on the Tensaw River, just northeast of Mobile. Then in 1821 they moved back to New York to take over the Adam & Noah Brown yard. David Brown died in 1848 and the firm continued as Jacob Bell. Bell died in 1852 and his son carried on for a few years, but the yard closed in 1855. Note that on this table, "Abandoned" in the last column includes scuttling and scrapping. If anyone can add to the table below, please email info@navalmarinearchive.com.
Most recent update: 12 January 2021.
| Hull # | O.N. | Original Name | Original Owner | Ship Type | GT | Feet | Built | Disposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built by Brown & Bell in St. Stephens AL and Blakely AL | ||||||||
| Alabama | Steamboat | 218 | 1818 | In collision and lost 1824 | ||||
| Mississippi | Steamboat | 378 | 1819 | Snagged off Ste. Genevieeve MO 1825 | ||||
| Tensas | Steamboat | 58 | 1820 | Abandoned 1821 | ||||
| Tombeckbe | Steamboat | 64 | 1821 | Snagged off Erie AL 1824 | ||||
| Built by Brown & Bell in New York NY | ||||||||
| William Tell | Sailing Ship | 414 | 1821 | |||||
| Orbit | Sailing Ship | 465 | 1821 | |||||
| New York | Sailing Ship | 615 | 1822 | |||||
| Baltic Say | Sailing Ship | 400 | 1822 | |||||
| John Wells | Sailing Ship | 442 | 1822 | |||||
| Henry | Sailing Ship | 306 | 1822 | |||||
| Savannah | Sailing Ship | 267 | 1822 | |||||
| Canada | Sailing Ship | 615 | 1823 | |||||
| Calhoun | Sailing Ship | 295 | 1823 | |||||
| Maria | Schooner | 48 | 1823 | |||||
| Pacific | Sailing Ship | 657 | 1824 | |||||
| Hudson | Steamboat | 177 | 1824 | Abandoned 1848 | ||||
| Gratitude | Pilot Boat | 57 | 1824 | |||||
| Augusta | 206 | 1824 | ||||||
| Washington | Sailing Ship | 979 | 1825 | |||||
| Roman | Sailing Ship | 601 | 1825 | |||||
| United States | Sailing Ship | 829 | 1825 | |||||
| Constitution | Steamboat | 280 | 1825 | Abandoned 1849 | ||||
| Constellation | Steamboat | 280 | 1825 | Abandoned 1850 | ||||
| Washington | Steamboat | 330 | 1825 | In collision and lost 1831 | ||||
| Ohio | Ferry | 85 | 1825 | |||||
| Ferry | 85 | 1825 | ||||||
| Wm. Cutting | Ferry | 150 | 1825 | Abandoned 1840 | ||||
| Rufus King | Sloop | 70 | 1825 | |||||
| Great Britain | Sailing Ship | 893 | 1826 | |||||
| Britannia | Sailing Ship | 741 | 1826 | |||||
| McDonough | Steamboat | 265 | 1826 | Stranded off Little Egg Harbor 1839 | ||||
| Marco Bozzaris | Steamboat | 125 | 1826 | Stranded off Bermuda 1833 | ||||
| Barnet | Steamboat | 37 | 1826 | |||||
| John Jay | Sailing Ship | 593 | 1827 | |||||
| Helen | Sailing Ship | 548 | 1827 | |||||
| George Canning | Sailing Ship | 637 | 1827 | |||||
| Havana | Brig | 160 | 1827 | |||||
| Independence | Steamboat | 345 | 1827 | Abandoned 1858 | ||||
| Caledonia | Sailing Ship | 741 | 1828 | |||||
| Cyrus Butler | Bark | 472 | 1828 | |||||
| Benjamin Franklin | Steamboat | 421 | 1828 | Converted to barge 1842 | ||||
| Thomas H. Smith | Pilot Boat | 80 | 1828 | |||||
| Ohio | Steamboat | 371 | 1829 | Converted to barge 1840 | ||||
| President | Steamboat | 528 | 1829 | Converted to barge 1842 | ||||
| Ned | Schooner | 96 | 1829 | |||||
| Albert | Schooner | 64 | 1829 | |||||
| Hibernia | Sailing Ship | 665 | 1830 | |||||
| Seraphina | Brig | 196 | 1830 | |||||
| John Stoney | 163 | 1830 | ||||||
| William Drayton | Sailing Ship | 390 | 1831 | |||||
| Congress | Sailing Ship | 472 | 1831 | |||||
| North America | Sailing Ship | 699 | 1831 | |||||
| Montevideo | Brig | 260 | 1831 | |||||
| Water Witch | Steamboat | 187 | 1831 | Abandoned 1862 | ||||
| Boston | Steamboat | 380 | 1831 | Abandoned 1857 | ||||
| South America | Sailing Ship | 720 | 1832 | |||||
| Erie | Steamboat | 490 | 1832 | Abandoned 1842 | ||||
| Champlain | Steamboat | 490 | 1832 | Converted to barge 1843 | ||||
| Hercules | Steamboat | 191 | 1832 | Abandoned 1856 | ||||
| Providence | Steamboat | 344 | 1832 | Converted to barge 1843 | ||||
| Wave | Yacht | 30 | 1832 | |||||
| Victoria | Sailing Ship | 719 | 1833 | |||||
| Europe | Sailing Ship | 743 | 1833 | |||||
| Mississippi | Sailing Ship | 708 | 1833 | |||||
| Francis Depeu | Sailing Ship | 696 | 1833 | |||||
| David Brown | Steamboat | 192 | 1833 | Foundered 1836 | ||||
| 45270 | John Mason | Steamboat | 189 | 1833 | Converted to barge 1865 | |||
| William Gibbons | Steamboat | 299 | 1833 | Stranded off Body Island 1836 | ||||
| Tampico | Steamboat | 144 | 1833 | To Mexico 1835 | ||||
| Troy | Sailing Ship | 666 | 1834 | |||||
| Silvie de Grasse | Sailing Ship | 738 | 1834 | |||||
| Vicksburgh | Sailing Ship | 554 | 1834 | |||||
| Bangor | Steamboat | 353 | 1834 | Sold foreign 1843 | ||||
| Columbia | Steamboat | 417 | 1834 | Sold foreign 1841 | ||||
| Pluto | Ferry | 100 | 1834 | Converted to barge 1861 | ||||
| Shakespeare | Sailing Ship | 827 | 1835 | |||||
| Montezuma | Sailing Ship | 471 | 1835 | |||||
| Emerald | Sailing Ship | 596 | 1835 | |||||
| Frank | Steamboat | 115 | 1835 | Abandoned 1861 | ||||
| James Boatwright | Steamboat | 175 | 1835 | |||||
| Massachusetts | Steamboat | 660 | 1835 | Abandoned 1859 | ||||
| Rhode Island | Steamboat | 587 | 1835 | Foundered 1850 | ||||
| Washington | Pilot Boat | 81 | 1835 | |||||
| Switzerland | Sailing Ship | 638 | 1836 | |||||
| Garrick | Dramatic Line | Packet Ship | 927 | 1836 | ||||
| Sheridan | Dramatic Line | Packet Ship | 927 | 1836 | ||||
| Home | Steamboat | 550 | 1836 | Foundered off Ocracoke 1837 | ||||
| Saint Matthew | Steamboat | 185 | 1836 | Stranded off Darien GA 1851 | ||||
| Siddons | Dramatic Line | Packet Ship | 927 | 1837 | ||||
| New York | Steamboat | 375 | 1837 | Foundered off Gulf Coast 1846 | ||||
| Savannah | Steamboat | 349 | 1837 | Foundered off Cape Hatteras 1841 | ||||
| Fulton | Ferry | 180 | 1837 | Abandoned 1859 | ||||
| Relief | Ferry | 100 | 1837 | Abandoned 1844 | ||||
| Amelia | Schooner | 171 | 1837 | |||||
| James Avery | Pilot Boat | 61 | 1837 | |||||
| Eutaw | Sailing Ship | 708 | 1838 | |||||
| Roscius | Dramatic Line | Packet Ship | 1,009 | 1838 | ||||
| Kosciusko | Steamboat | 253 | 1838 | Converted to barge 1857 | ||||
| Colonel Jewett | Steamboat | 132 | 1838 | Sold foreign 1842 | ||||
| Joseph Leggett | Pilot Boat | 96 | 1838 | |||||
| John E. Davidson | Pilot Boat | 91 | 1838 | |||||
| Rochester | Sailing Ship | 779 | 1839 | |||||
| Patrick Henry | Blue Swallowtail Line | Packet Ship | 854 | 1839 | ||||
| Una | Brig | 312 | 1839 | |||||
| Jacob Bell | Pilot Boat | 86 | 1839 | |||||
| Lion | Spanish Navy | Gun Boat | 181 | 1840 | ||||
| Eagle | Spanish Navy | Gun Boat | 184 | 1840 | ||||
| Angola | Fast Schooner | 85 | 1840 | Built for the opium trade | ||||
| Cornelia | Sailing Ship | 1,184 | 1841 | |||||
| Jove | Steamer | 189 | 1841 | Sold foreign 1842 | ||||
| Dan | Steamer | 189 | 1841 | Sold foreign 1842 | ||||
| Florida Bianco | Brig | 184 | 1841 | |||||
| Liberty | Brig | 239 | 1842 | |||||
| Mazeppa | Schooner | 184 | 1842 | |||||
| Jacob Bell | Tug | 229 | 1842 | To USN 1861, lost under tow 1865 | ||||
| Mutual Safety | Samuel L. Fox | Tug | 420 | 1842 | Stranded in the St. Johns River 1846 | |||
| Liverpool | Woodhull & Miniums | Steamer | 1,074 | 1843 | ||||
| Queen of the West | Sailing Ship | 1,169 | 1843 | |||||
| Houqua | A. A. Low & Brother | Sailing Ship | 706 | 1844 | ||||
| Sultana | Sailing Ship | 692 | 1844 | |||||
| Matilda | Gun Boat | 69 | 1844 | |||||
| Emily | Gun Boat | 69 | 1844 | |||||
| Lizzy | Gun Boat | 77 | 1844 | |||||
| Addy | Yacht | 18 | 1844 | |||||
| Spray | Yacht | 41 | 1844 | |||||
| Ianthe | Yacht | 59 | 1844 | |||||
| Henry Clay | Blue Swallowtail Line | Sailing Ship | 1,228 | 1845 | Wrecked 1861 | |||
| Isabella | Gun Boat | 77 | 1845 | |||||
| Jane | Gun Boat | 77 | 1845 | |||||
| Clara | Gun Boat | 77 | 1845 | |||||
| Galena | Sailing Ship | 851 | 1846 | |||||
| Spitfire | Steamer | 241 | 1846 | |||||
| Vixen | US Navy | Steamer | 241 | 1846 | Sold 1855 | |||
| Reefer | Gun Boat | 77 | 1846 | |||||
| Bonite | Gun Boat | 77 | 1846 | |||||
| Petrel | Gun Boat | 77 | 1846 | |||||
| Palmetto | Charles Morgan | Steamer | 533 | 1846 | Stranded in Matagorda Bay 1851 | |||
| Southerner | Spofford, Tileston & Co | Steamer | 785 | 1846 | First merchant ship with U.S.-built side-lever engine, abandoned 1858 | |||
| Northerner | Spofford, Tileston & Co | Steamer | 1,012 | 1847 | Stranded off Cape Mendocino 1860 | |||
| Constitution | Sailing Ship | 1,334 | 1847 | |||||
| Maid of Orleans | Sailing Ship | 1,050 | 1847 | |||||
| Rimac | Peruvian Navy | Steamer | 656 | 1847 | ||||
| Samuel Russell | A. A. Low & Brother | Clipper Ship | 957 | 1847 | Wrecked 1870 | |||
| Rover | Bark | 380 | 1848 | |||||
| J. W. Bell | Schooner | 100 | 1848 | |||||
| 23219 | Senator | J. Cunningham | Steamer | 754 | 1848 | Sold foreign 1884 | ||
| Built by Jacob Bell in New York NY | ||||||||
| Oriental | A. A. Low & Bros. | Clipper Ship | 1,003 | 1849 | ||||
| Seneca | Navy Yard Ferry Co. | Ferry | 232 | 1849 | Burnt 1870 | |||
| Pacific | Collins Line | Steamer | 2,707 | 1849 | Disappeared 1856 | |||
| 2308 | Baltic | Collins Line | Steamer | 2,723 | 1850 | |||
| 22822 | St. Louis | Steamer | 1,050 | 1850 | Abandoned 1878 | |||
| White Squall | William Platt & Son | Clipper Ship | 1,119 | 1850 | ||||
| Trade Wind | Booth & Edgar | Clipper Ship | 2,030 | 1851 | ||||
| Jacob Bell | A. A. Low & Bros. | Clipper Ship | 1,381 | 1852 | ||||
| Messenger | Slate & Co. | Clipper Ship | 1,351 | 1852 | ||||
| North Wind | Grinell, Minturn & Co. | Clipper Ship | 1,041 | 1853 | ||||
| San Francisco | Wardell & Co. | Clipper Ship | 1,307 | 1853 | ||||
| America | Steamer | 923 | 1853 | Burned at Crescent City CA 1855 | ||||
| Adelaide | Wardell & Co. | Clipper Ship | 1,831 | 1854 | ||||