Jefferson (yacht)

Jefferson was the first American yacht. She was owned by George Crowninshield Jr. The yacht was primarily a pleasure craft, but she also fulfilled other purposes, including that of a rescue vessel, a privateer during the War of 1812, and a fishing boat.

Jefferson
Nation United States
BuilderChristopher Turne
Owner(s)George Crowninshield Jr, John Crowninshield Veily, Caleb Johnson
Specifications
Length38 ft (12 m)
Beam12.3 ft (3.7 m)
Draft6.0 ft (1.8 m)

History

Jefferson was the first American boat designed specifically to use as a yacht.[1][2][3][4] The yacht was constructed in Salem in 1801 for Crowninshield.[5] She was christened Jefferson, named after the new U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.[6][7][8] The next yacht of record was Diver, made for John Cox Stevens in 1802.[9][10] The following yachts were Trouble, Wave, Onkahie, Ginicrack, and Maria.[11] Jefferson proved herself to be a vessel that traveled well on the water. The infamous Cleopatra's Barge was built in 1816, some fifteen years after Jefferson was constructed.[12][13]

Jefferson was originally rigged as a schooner and later was a sloop.[1] The length of the sloop yacht was 35 feet 10 inches and her beam was 12 feet 4 inches. The yacht's depth was 6 feet and she had a tonnage of 22 ​15⁄95 American tons burden.[14][15] Christopher Turne, a Salem shipwright, was the yacht's builder.[16] She was launched March, 1801, from Turne's place where he made boats at Union Wharf. Crowninshield used Jefferson in Massachusetts Bay (then known as Salem Bay). The pleasure yacht was built for safety and comfort. The first American yacht for over a decade was enjoyed by Crowninshield and his family.[17] He kept the boat stocked with provisions for everyone's enjoyment. One of Crowninshield's passions was that after a storm he would go out into Massachusetts Bay with the vessel and look for boats in trouble that needed help.[1][18][19]

Crowninshield was a firm believer in the policy of striking the enemy's vessels on the water first before they could do any damage. The family was among the first to fit out boats as privateers in the War of 1812. Jefferson was one of three such boats sent out by them.[20] The other two were American and John. Jefferson was the second privateer commissioned in the war, and brought in the second prize, the schooner Nymph.[15] She carried a crew of 30 men, a large number for a vessel 36 feet long; after one voyage it was decided she was too small for the work. Upon the death of Crowninshield, Jefferson was sold by the family in 1815 and became a fishing vessel.[21] The yacht was useful for this purpose for many years.[1] The yacht then belonged to Captain John Crowninshield Very of Marblehead, Massachusetts, and later to Caleb Johnson of Nahant, Massachusetts.[22][23]

References
  1. Day 1904, p. 2.
  2. "The Evolution of the Yacht". The Topeka State Journal. Topeka, Kansas. October 12, 1899. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com . America's first yacht was built at Salem, Mass., in 1801, by Christopher Turner. It was owned by George Crowninshield, who christened her the Jefferson.
  3. "Romantic History of America's First Yacht". The Bridgeport Times and Evening Farmer. Bridgeport, Connecticut. October 2, 1916. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com . George Crowninshield had sailed to all parts of the world in merchant ships, and he knew navigation from A to Z and from forecastle to quarter deck. His first experience as a yachtsman had been in the twenty-foot sloop Jefferson, the first craft built exclusively for pleasure America had ever had.
  4. Horgan, Tom (October 18, 1946). "Up and Down New England". Nashua Telegraph. Nashua, New Hampshire. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com . Salem can boast many nautical firsts, including the first pleasure yacht to fly the American flag--the schooner Jefferson built in 1801 for Captain George Crowninshield of that port.
  5. "American Yacht Amazed Europe A Century Ago". The Sun. New York, New York. May 10, 1914. p. 43 – via Newspapers.com . points out that the first American yacht was built for George Crowninshield in 1801 and was named Jefferson.
  6. Kane 1997, p. 509.
  7. "Yaching". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. August 13, 1911. p. 60 – via Newspapers.com . America's first yacht was built at Salem, Mass., in 1801, by Christopher Turner, and it was christened Jefferson. Captain George Crowninshield owed her and found her a good sailor, though only a twenty-two-tonner. She was a privateer in 1812 and later became a fishing smack.
  8. "Yacht news". The St. Joseph Herald. St. Joseph, Missouri. August 15, 1899. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com . America's first yacht was built at Salem. Mass., in l891, by Christopher Turner. It was owned by George Crowninshield, who christened her the Jefferson.
  9. "The First American yachts". The Sun. New York, New York. February 26, 2018. p. 43 – via Newspapers.com . points out that the first American yacht was built for George Crowninshield in 1801 and was named "Jefferson." The next known yacht was the "Diver," owned by John C, Stevens in 1802.
  10. Chautauquan 1894, p. 392.
  11. "Evolution of Yacht". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco, CA. June 10, 1894 – via Newspapers.com . Americas first yacht was built at Salem, Mass., in 1801 by Christopher Turner and it was christened the Jefferson. Captain George Crowninshield owned her and found her a good sailor.
  12. Essex Institute 1917, p. 49.
  13. "Cleopatra's Barge". The Honolulu Advertiser. Honolulu, Hawaii. March 1, 1936. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com . Jefferson, a sloop which George had built in 1801 and which was the first yacht in America.
  14. "First Yacht Built in U.S." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. April 19, 1936. p. 52 – via Newspapers.com . FIRST YACHT BUILT IN U. S. The first yacht built in this country was the Jefferson, which was constructed at Salem, Mass., by Christopher Turner and owned by Capt. George Crowninshield. She was of 22 tons. In 1812, she was made a privateer, being the second vessel thus commissioned.
  15. Brigham 1899, p. 14.
  16. "The Evolution of the Yacht". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco, California. June 10, 1894. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com .
  17. Clark 1904, p. 147.
  18. New England Magazine 1895, p. 285.
  19. Nation Associates 1914, p. 134.
  20. "The Evolution of the Yacht as it grew from log to Sails". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. September 17, 1899. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com .
  21. U.S. Government 1923, p. 17.
  22. Essex Institute 1889, p. 82.
  23. "A Pioneer Yachtsman". The St. Johnbury. Caledonian, Scotland. October 26, 1893 – via Newspapers.com . The little yacht Jefferson was sold in 1815 and turned into a fishing smack, in which capacity she served for many years in the waters about Nahant and Marblehead.

Sources
  • Brigham, Charles Pliny (1899). Glory of the American Yacht. C. Pliny Brigham. This first purely American yacht, named "Jefferson," was of twenty-two tons burden. After some use as a pleasure craft by its owner, the "Jefferson" in 1812 entered the service of privateering, making one successful voyage, when she carried a crew of thirty men.
  • Chautauquan (1894). The Chautauquan. John C. Stevens, who afterwards built the yacht America and who was the first commodore of the New York Yacht Club, was responsible for the next pleasure vessel, the famous little Diver, built in 1802.
  • Clark, Arthur Hamilton (1904). The History of Yachting, 1600-1815. G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 147. In the year 1801 the yacht Jefferson, 22 tons, was built at Salem, Massachusetts, by Christopher Turner, for George Crowninshield, of Salem. .... She remained the property of the Crowninshields until 1815, when she was sold for a fishing vessel and finally broken up at Lynn. This little vessel is believed to have been the first yacht that sailed under the American flag.
  • Day, Thomas Fleming (1904). The Rudder. Fawcett Publications. The first American vessel designed for use as a yacht, of which any authentic record exists, was the "Jefferson," built at Salem in 1801 for George Crowninshield, Jr.
  • Essex Institute (1889). Essex Institute Historical Collections. Essex Institute Press. Captain George had built by Christopher Turner of Salem, in 1801, a sloop which he christened the "Jefferson," and which he used as a yacht for many years. She was of twenty-two tons, was a good sailor and a privateer in 1812, the second vessel commissioned as a privateer.
  • Essex Institute (1917). Old Time Ships of Salem. Essex Institute. In 1801, fifteen years before the building of "Cleopatra's Barge," Captain George Crowninshield built a smaller yacht, a sloop of twenty-two tons, the "Jefferson," which is the first recorded American yacht
  • Kane, Joseph Nathan (1997). Famous First Facts. H.W. Wilson. ISBN 978-0-8242-0661-1. The first American yacht was the Jefferson, a 22-ton sloop that was constructed in 1801 at Salem, MA, by Christopher Turner for Captain George Crowninshield. It was 35 feet 10 inches long and 12 feet 4 inches wide, and had a 6-foot depth. It was rigged first as a schooner, afterward as a sloop.
  • Nation Associates (1914). The Nation. Nation Associates. His first yacht, the Jefferson—the first American yacht of any sort—he used not only for pleasure.
  • New England Magazine (1895). The New England Magazine. New England Magazine Company. After a storm he delighted in filling his private yacht Jefferson, the first yacht ever built in this country, with extra men and stores, and then cruising in Massachusetts Bay to aid disabled vessels.
  • U.S. Government (1923). Bulletin. U.S. Government Printing Office.
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