1896: The Passing of an Accomplished Shipbuilder

April 17, 1896

James Rich Steers, who achieved widespread fame for his shipbuilding achievements, died at his home in New York City from what the New York Time characterized as “an attack of acute indigestion.” He was 88.

Steers was born on October 15, 1808, in Plymouth, England. His father Henry Steers worked for the construction department of the Royal Naval Shipyards at Plymouth until 1815. The family subsequently moved to the United States, where Henry Steers found employment working for construction department of the Washington Navy Yard in the nation’s capital. Two of the vessels that he helped to design and build for the U.S. Navy were the schooners USS Shark and USS Grampus.

One of James Rich Steers’ earliest documented pursuits of a maritime career took place in 1826, when he worked with his father in retrieving items from the sunken Royal Navy frigate HMS Hussar in Hell Gate (a tidal strait in the East River in New York City).

In 1830, James Rich Steers became the superintendent of the Manhattan-based shipyard Smith & Dimon. He eventually went into business for himself as a shipbuilder of considerable renown. The yachts that he built between 1841 and 1850 included the Edwin Forest; Three Brothers; Miller’s Damsel; and Huzzar.

In 1850, he and his brother George Steers established a shipbuilding firm in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint on Long Island. This firm was officially named George & James Steers and its greatest claim to fame was designing the racing yacht America. In 1851, this vessel made history as the first winner of an international sailing trophy that continues to bear her name. America and her crew earned the America’s Cup when she became the first of the competing yachts in that year’s race to circle around the Isle of Wight in the English Channel.

At least two of James Rich Steers’ children followed in his footsteps by likewise carrying out the family tradition of maritime work. Henry Steers, the oldest of these children, launched his own shipbuilding enterprise in Greenpoint. He focused in large part on the design and construction of yachts and pilot boats. James Rich Steers Jr. established a New York-based contracting company that specialized in major maritime infrastructure projects such as the development of waterfront piers and bridges.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on James Rich Steers, please check out 106884220.pdf (nytimes.com)