Home 19th-Century Yards Shipyard Index

Neafie & Levy, Philadelphia PA

Most recent update: April 5, 2011.

Neafie & Levy Ship & Engine Building Company was one of the earliest iron shipbuilders and the chief rival to William Cramp in 19th-century Philadelphia.  It was started in 1844 by Thomas Reaney, Jacob Neafie and William Smith; Smith died in 1845 and John Levy took his place; Reaney left in 1859 to start his own shipyard in Chester and from then on it was Neafie & Levy, until it closed in 1907.  The shipyard was located in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, on land now occupied by a Philadelphia Electric power plant: the plant's pier is believed to date from the site's days as a shipyard.  See it from the air on Google here.  The table below lists a tremendous number of vessels without much in the way of detail.  If anyone can provide any information about this yard and the ships it built, please e-mail it to me at timcolton@aol.com

Hull # Original Name Original Owner Type Tons Built Disposition
  Conestoga Balt and Phila Stmbt Co. Steam Canal Boat 65 1844 Abandoned 1856
  Tecumseh     198 1844  
  San Juan       1844  
  Apure Orinoco Steamship Co. Steamboat 269 1844 Sold foreign 1850
  Barclay Rancocas Steamboat Co. Steamboat 99 1845 Abandoned 1882
  Governor Moorhead       1852  
  Montezuma       1852  
  Orinoco   Steamboat 171 1852 Sold foreign 1856
  Rancocas Rancocas Steamboat Co. Steamboat 133 1852 Abandoned 1866
  Boardman No. 1       1855  
  Boardman No. 2       1855  
  Decatur   Steam Tug 45 1855 Abandoned 1860
  Henry L. Gaw   Steamboat 228 1855 Abandoned 1910
  Jacob G. Neafie   Steam Tug 103 1856 Abandoned 1876
  Elizabeth   Steamboat 245 1857 Abandoned 1897
  Fanny Cadwalader   Steamboat 218 1857 Abandoned 1907
  James Gray C. S. Navy Steam Tug 161 1857 Sold by Navy 1863
  John P. Levy   Steam Tug 59 1857 Abandoned 1898
  Octorara   Steamboat 237 1859 Abandoned 1899
  Sagua   Steamboat 187 1859 Sold foreign 1859
  Amcor       1860  
  Arasapha   Steam Ferry Boat 232 1860  
  Cotton Plant   Steamboat 85 1860 Converted 1881
  General Winfield Scott     1,162 1860 Sunk 1861
  Ounalaska       1860  
  Pacific   Steam Tug 65 1860 Abandoned 1922
  Philadelphia   Steamboat 504 1860 Sunk 1874
  Russia       1860  
  Siberia       1860  
  Union   Steamship 1,124 1860 Sunk 1861
  William Woodward   Steamboat 275 1860 Abandoned 1899
  Oriental   Steamship 1,202 1860 Sunk 1862
  General Meigs     329 1862 Sold foreign 1877
  General Stewart Van Vliet     63 1862 Abandoned 1891
  Josephine Thompson     268 1862 Abandoned 1900
  Pocahontas     716 1862 Sold to govt. 1863
  Alligator U.S. Navy Submarine 350 1862 Lost in a storm 1863
344 Charles Pearson Boston Towboat Co. Tug 392 1863 Later Underwriter, abandoned 1929
  Havana   Steamship 1,347 1863 Sold foreign 1868
  Bandy Moore     175 1866 Abandoned 1878
  Julia Saint Clair     174 1866 Abandoned 1882
  Henry Wellman   Tug 38 1871 Later Julia C. Moran, scrapped 1936
  Seminole     78 1871  
  Mary Louise     87 1872  
  Cynthia     99 1872  
  Sallie     27 1872  
  H. G. Tisdale     81 1872  
  Alfred and Edwin     102 1872  
  Ethel     34 1872  
564 J. G. Witherber     114 1872  
  W. E. Gladwish     121 1873  
  Knickerbocker Cornell Steamboat Co. Tug 78 1873 Later SP-479
  Young America   Tug 78 1873 Later James A. Dumont
  Convoy     78 1873  
  Dahlia U.S. Lighthouse Service Lighthouse Tender 426 1874 Sold 1909 as Flora M. Hill, sank 1912
  Ivanhoe     35 1875  
  William S. Stakely     83 1875  
  Hunter                        1877  
  Transfer No. 1     136 1878  
  Transfer No. 2     101 1880  
  Startle     33 1878  
  Ella Andrews     64 1879  
  John E. Tygert     288 1879  
  Neptune     145 1879  
  Rattler     139 1879  
666 Cuba Davila y Cia Passenger/Cargo 938 1879 Later Argonauta 1886, Cocoa 1899, M. F. Plant 1903, Yukon 1912, wrecked Cape Lazarev, Unimak Islands, 1913
  George H. Watrous     102 1880  
  W. M. Wood     58 1880  
  Maracaibo Atlantic & Caribbean SN Passenger/Cargo 517 1880 Later Merida 1889, hulked 1911
  Atlantic Coopers Point & Phila Ferry Ferry 451 1880 Later Lawrence 1906, abandoned 1930
  William A. Marburg     126 1881  
692 Conoho Roanoke, Norfolk & Balt SB Cargo Ship 367 1881 Later Alpha 1910, sold 1916 in Venezuela
702 William T. Hart New York & New Eng. RR Ferry 971 1881 Scrapped 1908
703 Battler     138 1880  
  Nat Wales     79 1881  
  Storm King Boston Towboat Co. Tug 182 1882  
715 Cynthia No. 2     108 1882  
  Leo     89 1882  
  City of Alma     96 1882  
  William J. Keyser     97 1882  
730 R. G. Townsend Cornell Steamboat Co. Tug   1882  
  Riverside     72 1883  
  W. H. Jackson   Tug 87 1883  
  Louisville   Tug 87 1883 Later Thomas A. Bain, M. B. Coppedge
  William Schaubel, Jr.   Steam Yacht 45 1883  
734 Meteor   Passenger Ship 424 1883 Later Brazoria 1910, wrecked Absecon Bar, NJ 1910
745 J. C. Hartt Cornell Steamboat Co. Tug   1883  
768 Bells   Cargo Ship 818 1884 Scrapped 1902
  Governor Robert M. McLane     144 1884  
  Ocean King     201 1884  
  Mary W. Potter     148 1884  
  E. A. Burke     228 1885  
  Bolivar     234 1885  
  Haven Belle Rancocas Steamboat Co. Steamboat 119 1885  
  S. A. McCaulley     92 1885  
  Minerva     38 1886  
  Harry Schaubel, Jr.     34 1886  
  Transfer No. 3     130 1886  
  Albert N. Hughes     92 1887  
  Don Juan     48 1887  
  Bay King 1   Tug 52 1887 Later Cavalier 1, Sommers N. Smith, Chee Chee
  Volunteer     97 1887  
784 Newburgh Ramsdell & Co Passenger Ship 1034 1887 Later Nankasket 1930, scrapped 1952
795 Josefita Menendez & Cia Passenger/Cargo 1114 1887 Later Dade 1915, Marina 1917, scrapped 1935
  A. C. Rose     150 1888  
  E. L. Levy     142 1888  
  Elizabeth Monroe Smith     204 1888  
804 Corona Oregon Improvement Cargo Ship 1492 1888 Wrecked Humboldt Bay entrance 1907
  Bismarck Cahell Towing Tug 124 1888  
  E. C. Baker     153 1889  
  Brinton     103 1889  
  Media     103 1889  
  Britannia     135 1889  
819 Asa W. Hughes   Tug 106 1889 Later Triton, now Navajo
823 Charlotte Balt, Ches & Richmond SB Passenger Ship 1747 1889 Later Dorothy Bradford 1911, scrapped 1937
827 International F.L.Neall Tug 400 1890 Abandoned 1931
  Frank K. Esherick     69 1890  
829 City of Seattle Puget Sound & Alaska SS Passenger Ship 1411 1890 Scrapped 1937
830 Atkins Hughes   Tug 115 1890  
  Jacob Paulsen     97 1890  
835 Relief   Cargo Ship 219 1891  
837 Juan J. Vina   Tug   1890 Later Panuco II
838 Corsair J. P. Morgan Steam Yacht 560 1891 To USN 1898 as Gloucester, sold 1919
  John G. McCulloch NY, Lake Erie & Western RR Ferry 1372 1891 Later Chautauqua 1905, Rutherford 1936, to USN 1943 as YFB 48, scrapped 1946
  Utowana W.W.Durant Yacht 392 1891 Deleted 1936
  Primers Point     63 1891  
849 P. H. Wise   Tug 155 1892 To USN 1898 as Sioux (YT 19), renamed Nyack 1918, sold 1921
  Harry M. Wall     60 1892  
  B. D. Wood     304 1892  
  Scranton     300 1892  
  Eva M. Wall     62 1892  
854 Antinojenes Menendez Menendez & Co Passenger Ship 1277 1892 Later St. Michael 1924, scrapped 1927
855 Hartford Hartford & New York Tptn Passenger Ship 1338 1892 Later Terry 1898, Charles H. Hackley 1901, Carolina 1907, scrapped 1937
857 C. G. Coyle   Tug 152 1892 To USN 1898 as Choctaw (YT 26), renamed Wicomico 1918, in collision and scrapped 1940
860 Plymouth Central RR Tug 373 1892 In collision 1nm inside E entrance to Cape Cod Canal 1938
  Intrepid   Steam Yacht 340 1893  
  Brigantine     67 1893  
  Colonel John F. Gaynor     153 1893  
  Pemaquid             Coastal Cargo Ship   1893 To USAT as FS 98
867 Long Ialand Shelter Island Steamboat Passenger Ship 409 1893 Later Pemaquid 1902, scrapped 1972
  Honey Brook Central RR Tug 373 1893 Wrecked Salem harbor 1902
  Baltic     72 1894  
  Frederica     240 1894  
  Trenton     85 1894  
870 Potomac Maryland & Virginia SB Passenger Ship 763 1894 Barge 1937, scrapped 1954
  Purisima Concepcion Menendez y Cia Passenger Ship 1349 1894 Later Cienfuegos 1923, Purisima Concepcion 1924, wrecked Havana 1926
  Eugene Hughes     111 1895  
882 Cape Ann Boston & Gloucester SB Passenger Ship 719 1895 Later Seminole 1918, last trace at Dakar 1940
885 DeWitt. C. Ivins Moran Company Tug 117 1895 To USN 1898 as Nezinscot, sank 1909
886 Thomas Cunningham, Sr.   Tug 70 1895 Now Tuff-E-Nuff, being converted to yacht in Deland FL
887 Ashbourne     115 1895  
888 Middletown Hartford & New York Tptn Passenger Ship 1554 1896 Scrapped 1937
  Columbia     84 1896  
890 Reina de Los Angeles Menendez & Cia Passenger Ship 1334 1896 Later Manzanillo 1924, Reina de los Angeles 1925, in collision Havana and beached 1926
893 Gwynedd     115 1896  
894 Donato Guerra Mexico Lighthouse Service Buoy/LH Tender 400 1896 Deleted 1910
896 Philadelphia Delaware Pilots Assn Pilot Boat 302 1896 To USN 1898 as Peoria (AT 48), later YT 109, sold 1922, abandoned 1937
  John I. Brady     72 1897  
  Annie L. Vansciver     146 1897  
  Plymouth Boston & Plymouth SB Cargo Ship 428 1897 To USCG 1899 as Iris, sold 1934 as Plymouth, later Big Chief 1938, B. O. Colonna 1956, scrapped 1973
  Ericsson Baltimore & Philadelphia SB Passenger Ship 897 1897 Deleted 1946
  Clio     217 1898  
909 Alfred W. Booth Moran Towing Tug 117 1898 To USN 1898 as Massasoit (YT 15), sold 1937
910 Philadelphia Delaware Pilots Assn Pilot Boat 359 1898 To USN 1898 as Peoria (YT 109), scrapped 1948
911 Albert H. Ellis Moran Towing Tug 117 1898 Later Bohemia 1905, O'Brien Girls 1923, Harry A. Collier 1943, scrapped 1955
912 O. L. Holenbeck   Tug 198 1898 Later Maryland
913 Swatara Reading Co Tug 625 1899 Scrapped 1936
914 Walter A. Luckenbach Luckenbach SS Co Tug 434 1899 Later Luckenbach No. 3 1916, Montauk 1917, A. L. Bisso 1920, foundered New Orleans 1947
916 Waban   Tug 163 1899  
918 Bainbridge (DD 1) U.S. Navy Destroyer 420 24-Nov-02 Sold 1920
919 Barry (DD 2) U.S. Navy Destroyer 420 24-Nov-02 Sold 1920
920 Chauncey (DD 3) U.S. Navy Destroyer 420 20-Nov-02 In collision and sank off Gibraltar 1917
921 Syosset     176 1899  
922 Cheltenham     113 1899  
923 Lykens Reading Co Tug 625 1899 To USN 1917 as AT 56, scrapped 1934
924 Augusta Balte, Ches & Richmond SB Passenger Ship 2372 1900 Later Transmotor 1926, scrapped
926 Edward Luckenbach Luckenbach SS Co Tug 401 1899 Wrecked off False Cape NC 1915
927 Ogontz     113 1899  
  Josephine   Steam Yacht 974 1899  
928 Richmond Coastwise S.S. Co Tug 401 1900 Later Sunshine 1936, foundered Alameda 1938
929 Covington Coastwise S.S. Co Tug 401 1900 Later John T. Donahue 1924, scrapped 1934
930 Northumberland Weems S.S.Co Passenger Ship 993 1900 Later Norfolk 1937, burnt Claremont VA 1945
  De Witt C. Ivins   Tug 121 1900  
933 Michael Moran Moran Towing Tug 121 1900  
934 Denver (C 14) U.S. Navy Cruiser 3200 17-May-04 Later PG 28, then CL 16, sold 1933
937 Spartan F. W. Munn & Co Tug 358 1900 Wrecked 6nm NW Delaware breakwater 1903
938 Fred E. Richards Rockport & Rockland Lime Tug 357 1900 Later John A. McCormick 1936, trawler East Coast 1960, deleted 1972
940 Penllyn     137 1901  
941 Zulia Atlantic & Carib. SN Co Passenger/Cargo 1713 1901 Wrecked E Los Roques 29.5.25 (or BU 1931)
945 Texas   Cargo Ship 220 1901  
950 Carlisle Reading Co Tug 644 1901 Scrapped 1940
951 St. Louis (C 20) U.S. Navy Cruiser 9700 18-Aug-06 Later CA 18, scrapped 1930
952 Calvert Weems Steamboat Passenger Ship 889 1902 Scrapped 1957
  Quaker City Wilmington Steamboat Co Passenger Ship 469 1901 Later Sieur de Monts 1905, MAJ L'Enfant 1918, Sieur de Monts 1922, GEN Mathews 1923, deleted 1949
  City of Trenton Wilmington Steamboat Co Passenger Ship 458 1901 Later Sagamore 1902, Princeton 1916, Pinero 1927, deleted 1987
  Anna W   Tug 204 1901  
  Vigilant Atlantic Refining Tug 226 1901  
  H. B. Chamberlain     164 1902  
955 Middlesex Weems Steamboat Passenger Ship 1197 1902 Later Plymouth 1930, Manhattan 1937, burnt Staten Island 1939
957 Harry G. Runkle   Tug 164 1902 Later Julia C. Moran
959 Honeybrook Central RR Tug 373 1902 Hulked 1943, scrapped 1964
961 S. O. Company No. 14 Standard Oil Co. Tug 164 1902 Now Jupiter, active
962 S. O. Company No. 15 Standard Oil Co. Tug 164 1903  
963 Gulfport   Tug 224 1902  
  Charles E. Matthews   Tug 164 1902 Later Eugene F. Moran
  Radiant Atlantic Refining Tug 81 1903  
  Brilliant Atlantic Refining Tug 81 1903  
967 Roselle   Tug 220 1903  
  J. M. Woodworth U.S.P.H.S. Tug 135 1903 To USN 1937 as YT 137, sold 1939
  Governor Pennypacker     132 1903  
  Maurice Tracy   Tug 164 1903  
  Ocean City Reading Co Ferry 493 1903 Later Nyack 1923, scrapped 1936
971 Flemington   Tug 220 1903  
972 Freehold Central RR of NJ Tug 220 1903  
973 Astral Standard Oil Co Tug 616 1903 Later Standard II 1916, P. F. Martin 1930, deleted 1951
975 Wyomissing Phila. & Reading Co. Tug 222 1904  
976 COL George Armistead U.S. Army Mineplanter 443 1904 Later Mary Foss 1935, to USN 1942 as Dekanawida (YT 334), Agnes Foss 1947, Celtic 1972, deleted 1987
  John P. Wilson     350 1904  
  Thomas Jessop       1904 To USAT
980 P. R. R. No. 4 Pennsylvania RR Tug 121 1904  
983 Eugene F. Moran Moran Towing Tug 200 1904  
985 Catherine Moran Moran Towing Tug 213 1904  
986 John P. Wilson Lebanon Tptn Co Passenger Ship 350 1904 Later Merchant 1917, Westchester 1929, scrapped 1938
987 S. O. Company No. 11 Standard Oil Co. Tug 129 1904  
988 Atlantic Atlantic Refining Tug 129 1904  
  Colima   Tug 200 1904 Later Qualicum 1911, scuttled as breakwater 1946
  MAJ Samuel Ringgold U.S. Army Mineplanter 423 1904 Later Sea Salvor 1924, scrapped 1948
  GEN Henry Knox U.S. Army Mineplanter 529 1904 Later Chan Hing 1926, Vincent davin 1931, wrecked Song Ca River mouth, Annam, 1937
  GEN R. N. Batchelder       1905 To USAT
992 Protector     176 1905  
  Manhattan   Trawler 291 1905  
  Onrust     95 1906  
  Trojan     197 1905  
  Edmund Moran Moran Towing Tug 102 1906  
  Victory     96 1906  
  Norfolk     99 1907  
1004 Machigonne Harpswell Steamboat Co Passenger Ship 425 1907 Later Hook Mountain 1929, Block Island 1940, to USN 1941 as League Island (YFB 20), sold 1948 as Yankee
  Adriatic     113 1907  
  Belhaven     96 1907  
  Navajo   Tug   1907 To USN 1908, later AT 52 and IX 56, sold 1937
1005 Boothbay Eastern S.S. Co Cargo Ship 334 1907 Later Grampus 1920, Deepwater 1931, to USN 1941 as Liberty (YFB 53), sold 1965 as Island Queen II, later Provincetown 1966, St. Thomas 1967, last trace 1981
1006 General Hubbard Hammond Lumber Co Tug 412 1907 Later Navajo 1907, scrapped 1948
1007 Gwalia Balt & Boston Barge Co Tug 415 1907 Foundered Gulf of Mexico 1925
1009 Lizzie D   Tug 122 1907  
1011 Bern Reading Railroad Tug 224 1907 Later Saturn