Ocean Monarch (barque)
Ocean Monarch was an American emigration barque built by Donald McKay in East Boston in 1847. She is famous for her ill fate: in 1848, she caught fire at sea and sank near Liverpool with the loss of 178 lives.
History[edit]
Ocean Monarch was launched from the East Boston shipyard of Donald McKay on 13 June 1847. With three regular decks she measured at 177 feet between uprights, 40 feet beam and 27 feet depth. She had a 7 foot tall figurehead of Neptune. Ocean Monarch was registered at 1301 tons. Her first captain was Murdoch, previously commanded James Bates.[2] The estimate cost was reported at $80,000. She was the biggest American ship at the time and the second ship on the Atlantic route.[3] The barque was owned by the White Diamond Line and was registered in Boston.
Cause of the fire[edit]
It was initially reported in the Liverpool Mercury that the fire came from a wooden ventilator, which a passenger had mistaken for a chimney. This was later refuted by Captain Murdoch, stating that the craft had iron ventilators, and he believed that smoking amongst the steerage passengers, from whom he had confiscated smoking pipes earlier, was the cause.
Frederick Jerome[edit]
Frederick Jerome a sailor working aboard New World, born in Portsmouth, but then a resident of New York, showed personal bravery during the rescue. He dived into the sea, swam to the burning ship and lifted more than fifteen female passengers into a rescuing boat. On his return to New York he was awarded the freedom of the city by the Common Council of New York. He also received a £50 award from Queen Victoria and another £50 from the Prince de Joinville and the Duc d'Aumale, both aboard the Dom Afonso.
