The wooden sailing ship Oneida was a merchant vessel built for the New York to Le Havre, France packet trade. It was owned by John J. Boyd and Edward Hincken, and it operated on the Havre Second Line.
The Havre Second Line was organized in January 1823 at New York City with four ships. It operated until 1869. The packet trade was characterized by an established line between two ports, regular sailing on a specified day and month, and ships operating exclusively in the service. The Oneida served on the Havre Second Line from 1841 until the end of 1849.
Construction Merchant ships engaged in the transatlantic packet trade were a distinct category of vessel. According to William A. Fairburn, the turbulent North Atlantic Ocean required sturdiness, fullness, and seaworthiness. The ships were equipped with three masts, all supporting square-riggings. These vessels tended to be wider with more buoyant ends than other types of ships. They were built wider (i.e., a larger beam) to give them greater sturdiness in the furious waters. The strong winds from the west (westerly gales) necessitated conservative spar and sail plans suitable for the conditions usually encountered in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The Oneida was built at the Bergh-Westervelt shipyard in New York City in 1841. Christian Bergh and Jacob Westervelt were two of New York's most important early shipbuilders and they built most of the Havre Second Line packets. Jacob Westervelt supervised the construction of the Oneida. It was long and wide, fully masted with square sails, and could carry 791 tons of cargo.
The Oneida and sister ships In 1840 the ships of the Havre Second Line were the Charles Carroll, Erie, Utica, and Baltimore. The following year, the first two vessels were retired and the St. Nicholas and Oneida were added as their replacements.
Second Line Ships 1840-1841
Name Built Tons Length(ft in) Beam(ft in) Depth(ft in) Charles Carroll 1828 411 121'2" 27'3" 13'7" Erie 1829 451 125'0" 28'2" 14'1" Utica 1833 525 131'2" 29'7" 14'8" Baltimore 1837 658 139'0" 32'3" 22'0" St Nicholas 1841 797 148'0" 34'5" 21'4" Oneida 1841 791 154'5" 34'0" 22'3" Packet service The ships of the Havre Second Line each made three round trips per year between New York and Le Havre. The Oneida was scheduled to embark from New York on March 1, July 1, and November 1, and from Le Havre on April 16, August 16, and December 16. This schedule provided about 45 days to complete the eastbound passage plus time at the Port of Havre. Typically, the eastbound leg could be completed in 25–28 days giving the vessel 17–20 days at the foreign port. To complete the westbound passage, the schedule provided about 77 days. The Oneida averaged 39 days for the home bound voyage, giving the vessel a bit more than five weeks at its home port.
Westbound Passage (days) Name Average Shortest LongestUtica 40 35 59Baltimore 39 22 78St Nicholas 38 23 63Oneida 39 28 59
Westbound passages of the Oneida The following table shows the Oneida's dates of departure from the Port of Havre, its dates of arrival at the Port of New York, and its master or captain for the voyage. The number of sailing days is the difference between the departure date and arrival date. The date stated on the ship's passenger list is the date used for arrival. The table also shows the number of passengers for each voyage. The number of steerage passengers and cabin passengers is shown for voyages where the passenger list identified the two passenger classes. The June 3 to July 14, 1848 voyage was made from Liverpool, England.Le Havre departure dates were found in The New York Herald (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/). New York arrival dates were taken from the passenger lists at "Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, 1820-1897," National Archives. These records were digitized and made available for free on the Internet at the FamilySearch Historical Record Collections and Internet Archive websites. An index of the records with links to the Internet Archive website is at this link (https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Free_Online_New_York_Passenger_Lists,_1820-1897).
DepartureDate ArrivalDate Master(Captain) DaysSailing AllPassengers SteeragePassengers CabinPassengers 19 Apr 1841 22 May 1841 Funck 33 306 -- -- 18 Dec 1841 16 Feb 1842 Funck 60 5 -- -- 16 Apr 1842 23 May 1842 Funck 37 293 279 14 17 Aug 1842 20 Sep 1842 Funck 34 121 108 13 16 Dec 1842 29 Jan 1843 Funck 44 12 12 0 18 Apr 1843 17 May 1843 Funck 29 273 263 10 16 Aug 1843 20 Sep 1843 Funck 35 92 -- -- 18 Dec 1843 29 Jan 1844 Funck 42 21 -- -- 17 Apr 1844 31 May 1844 Funck 44 199 -- -- 20 Aug 1844 17 Sep 1844 Funck 28 87 -- -- 17 Dec 1844 17 Feb 1845 Funck 62 18 -- -- 19 Apr 1845 31 May 1845 Funck 42 287 -- -- 18 Aug 1845 23 Sep 1845 Funck 36 212 194 18 31 Dec 1845 20 Feb 1846 Funck 51 73 -- -- 18 Apr 1846 23 May 1846 Funck 35 317 295 22 22 Aug 1846 28 Sep 1846 Funck 37 221 212 9 1 Jan 1847 27 Feb 1847 Funck 57 73 72 1 18 May 1847 27 Jun 1847 Funck 40 na 22 Sep 1847 23 Oct 1847 Funck 31 292 282 10 17 Jan 1848 14 Feb 1848 Willard 28 61 -- -- 3 June 1848 (Liverpool) 14 July 1848 Willard 41 295 279 16 26 Sep 1848 28 Oct 1848 Funck 32 297 282 15 20 Jan 1849 6 Mar 1849 Funck 45 137 134 3 20 May 1849 29 Jun 1849 Willard 40 294 287 7 21 Sep 1849 20 Oct 1849 Willard 29 263 259 4
Wreck of the Oneida The Oneida sailed from New York City on the December 1, 1849 "with a crew of twenty men and twenty passengers." On December 19, 1849, at about 3 a.m., the ship struck rocks about two miles northwest of the island of Guernsey in the English Channel. According to the Guernsey Star, after an unsuccessful attempt to free the ship, it "was driven on to the rocks on the southern extremity of La Perrelle Bay, where she remained fixed." The rudder was damaged and the mainmast sprung. After the sun rose and the tide fell, "the whole of the passengers and crew, with their personal effects, were subsequently brought, without any accident, to shore."
The account from the Guernsey Star included a description of the ship's cargo and a plan to salvage it before the ship broke apart. "The wreck of the Oneida consists of 1,950 bales of cotton, and a large quantity of provisions, tallow, and ashes, making in the whole nearly 1,000 tons. … A strong force of men, boats, carts and horses is being employed to bring the cargo to land.… The ship, it is believed will become a total wreck, but it is hoped that the materials may be saved."
Five days after the wreck, on December 25, 1849, the London Shipping Gazette updated its readers on the efforts to salvage the ship's cargo. About half the cargo had been brought to land, and the newspaper was optimistic that the whole cargo would be saved. It was also reported that the mainmast and the foremast, with all their sails and rigging, were salvaged. The ship, however, would "probably go to pieces."
References