WILLIAM H. WEBB

New York NY

Most recent update: March 29, 2012.

Isaac Webb and John Allen opened the Webb & Allen shipyard in 1825 on the site of the former Henry Eckford shipyard along Lewis Street between Fifth and Seventh Streets in Manhattan.  Upon Isaac Webb’s death in 1840, his son William investigated the accounts of the shipyard and found it to be bankrupt.  Webb bought out John Allen, who was retiring, and the yard became known simply as “William H. Webb”.  Between 1840 and 1869, the yard built 135 vessels, at a time when ship construction was evolving from wood and sail to iron and steam.  Some of the fastest clipper ships of the day were designed and built by Webb, as well as some of the most advanced steamships.  William H. Webb was a notable naval architect and  shipbuilder, but he is even better known as the founder, in 1889, of The Webb Academy and Home for Shipbuilders, now known as the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture.  To this day, Webb Institute offers a fully-accredited engineering program in naval architecture which is tuition-free as a result of his philanthropy.  Thanks to Steve Pagan for researching the information presented here, much of which comes from William H. Webb, Shipbuilder by Edwin L. Dunbaugh and William duBarry Thomas, published by Webb Institute in 1989.  If anyone can provide any additional information about this shipyard, please e-mail me at timcolton@aol.com. 
Hull # O.N. Original Name Original Owner Type GT Feet Built Disposition
Built by Webb & Allen
    Crawford U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112   1830 Sold 1835
    Dexter U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112   1830 Sold 1841
    Richard Rush U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112   1831 Sold 1851
    Wolcott U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112   1831 Sold 1836
    Ingham U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112   1832 Sold 1836 as Independence, later Independencia
    McLane U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112   1832 Sold 1840
    Washington U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112   1832 Sold 1837
    Jefferson U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112   1833 Wrecked 1857
    Taney U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112   1834 Sold 1858
    Natchez NO-La-NY Line Packet  523   1831  
    Saratoga NO Old Line Packet  542   1832  
    Alabamian E. D. Hurlbut & Co. Packet  400   1833  
    Dream   Yacht     1833  
    Columbus Black Ball Line Packet  663   1834  
    St. James Red Swallowtail Line Packet  641   1835  
    Oxford Black Ball Line Packet  752   1836  
    Burgundy Havre Old Line Packet  762   1836  
    Louis Philippe Havre Old Line Packet  794   1837  
    Ville de Lyon Havre Old Line Packet  791   1837  
    Cambridge Black Ball Line Packet  798   1837  
    Duchesse d'Orleans Havre Old Line Packet  798   1838  
    New York Black Ball Line Packet  862   1839  
    Iowa Havre Old Line Packet  874   1839  
Built by William H. Webb
1   Malek Adhel Peter Harmony & Company Brig 114   1840  
2   James Edward James G. Ward Ship 433   1840  
3   Agnes Frederick A. Wiseman Ship 429   1841  
4   Helena N. L. & G. Griswold Pre-Clipper 597   1841 Lost on voyage from China to Havana 1856
5   Liberty James W. Phillips Packet 689   1842  
6   Wallabout J. A. Cross Steam Ferry 189   1842 Converted to a barge 1858
7   New York J. A. Cross Steam Ferry 189   1842 To St. Patrick's Cathedral 1850, abandoned 1854
8   Pronta Unknown Sloop 36   1842  
9   Viva Unknown Sloop 36   1842  
10   Ligera Unknown Schooner 46   1842  
11   Montezuma C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 924   1843 Stranded off Jones Beach 1854
12   Cohota N. L. & G. Griswold Pre-Clipper 691   1843 Sold to British owners 1860
13   Yorkshire C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 996   1844 Lost on voyage from New York 1862
14   Vigilant U.S. Revenue Service Revenue Cutter 50   1843 Lost in hurricane at Key West FL 1844
15   Zurich Fox & Livingston Packet 817   1844 Stranded on Hainsboro Sands 1879
16   Montauk William S. Wetmore Pre-Clipper 505   1844 Believed burned by crew after landing slaves in Cuba 1860
17   Ramon De Zaldo Unknown Brig 150   1844  
18   Panama N. L. & G. Griswold Pre-Clipper 612   1844 Wrecked on Memory Rock, Grand Bahama Island 1865
19   Havre Fox & Livingston Packet 870   1845 Believed broken up 1908
20   Silas Holmes William Nelson & Company Packet 644   1845 Ran aground off Dry Tortugas 1859, salvaged but foundered en route to New Orleans
21   Fidelia C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 895   1845  
22   Genil Castellain & Ponvert Sidewheel Steamer 512   1846 Burned off Cuba 1846
23   Marmion Taylor & Merrill Packet 903   1846 Foundered off Cape Flattery 1879
24   Columbia C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1050   1846  
25   Williamsburg Fleming Duncan Steam Ferry 285   1846 Dismantled 1867
26   Bavaria William Whitlock, Jr. Packet 908   1846  
27   Admiral Fox & Livingston Packet 929   1846  
28   Sir Robert Peel Grinnell, Minturn & Company Packet 940   1846  
29   New York Fox & Livingston Packet 991   1847 Wrecked near Barnegat 1856
30   Isaac Wright C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1129   1847 Burned near Liverpool 1858
31   United States C. H. Marshall and others Sidewheel Steamer 1857   1847 Damaged by fire in the Thames 1862, sank 1866
32   Ivanhoe Taylor & Merrill Packet 1156   1847 Lost off Montauk 1851
33   Yorktown Grinnell, Minturn & Company Packet 1150   1847 Condemned after heavy weather damage in the Azores 1868
34   London Grinnell, Minturn & Company Packet 1145   1848  
35   Caleb Grimshaw Samuel Thompson & Nephew Packet 988   1848 Burned at sea near the Azores 1849
36   Ajax Several New York firms Sidewheel Towboat 332   1848 Stranded off Cape Cod, October 1858
37   California Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Sidewheel Steamer 1057   1848 First steamship to enter the Golden Gate, wrecked off Peru 1894
38   Panama Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Sidewheel Steamer 1139   1848 To Mexico 1868, armed and renamed Juarez
39   Cherokee NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1244   1848 Damaged by fire 1863, scrapped 1868
40   Tennessee NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1275   1949 Wrecked off Golden Gate 1853
41   Samuel M. Fox Fox & Livingston Schooner 257   1849  
42   Goliah Several New York firms Sidewheel Towboat 333   1849 Dismantled and burned 1899
43   Guy Mannering Taylor & Merrill Packet 1418   1849 Wrecked off Iona 1866
44   Gallia Henry Robinson Packet 1190   1849  
45   James Drake Spofford, Tileson & Company Packet 482   1849 Later Goa
46   Albert Gallatin Grinnell, Minturn & Company Packet 1435   1849 Lost rudder and abandoned near Cape Horn 1875
47   Catharine Schuchardt & Gebhard Ship 610   1849  
48   Manhattan  C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1299   1850 Departed Liverpool for New York, March 14, 1863, never heard from again
49   Isaac Webb C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1359   1850 Broke up in a gale, October 1880
50   Vanguard James W. Phillips Packet 1196   1850 Driven ashore in a gale at Matane, Quebec, October 13 1877
51   Florida NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1261   1851 Later sold to USN and used for blockade service
52   Alabama NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1261   1851 Later sold to USN and used for blockade service
53   Celestial Bucklin & Crane Extreme Clipper 860   1850 Sold to Spanish owners 1858
54   Joseph Walker Samuel Thompson & Nephew Packet 1325   1850 Burned and sank at pier in New York, December 27 1853
55   Union Spofford, Tileson & Company Sidewheel Steamer 1200   1851 Later sold to Austrian owners, renamed America, scrapped 1875
56   Golden Gate Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Sidewheel Steamer 2067   1851 Burned near Manzanillo, Mexico, July 24 1862, with loss of 175
57   Samuel M. Fox Fox & Livingston Packet 1060   1850 Grounded and broke up on Great Burbo Bank, River Mersey, November 12 1856
58   Isaac Bell Fox & Livingston Packet 1072   1851 Grounded on the Yangtzse Kiang, August 7, 1860
59   Gazelle Taylor & Merrill Extreme Clipper 1244   1851 Dismasted 1854, condemned and sold to Peruvian owners as Cora, later Harry Puddemsey under British ownership
60   Challenge N. L. & G. Griswold Extreme Clipper 2006   1851 Later Golden City, under British ownership, lost off French coast in 1876 after losing rudder
61   Great Western C.H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1443   1851 Burnt 1882 and scrapped
62   Comet Bucklin & Crane Extreme Clipper 1836   1851 Later sold to British owners as Fiery Star, sank after wool cargo caught fire, April 1865
63   Invincible James W. Phillips Medium Clipper 1768   1851 Later sold to British owners, burned in New York harbor, September 1867
64   Swordfish Barclay & Livingston Medium Clipper 1036   1851 Lost at mouth of Yangtze Kiang, July 1862
65   James Adger Spofford, Tileson & Company Sidewheel Steamer 1151   1852 Sold to USN as USS James Adger for Civil War, retuned, scrapped 1877-78
66   Plandome Samuel L. Mitchill Schooner 266   1852 Sometimes referred to as Plendome
67   Manhasset Bernard Flanner Schooner 266   1852  
68   Annawan Wakeman, Dimon & Company Ship 795   1852 Later sold to British owners as Royal Saxon
69   Robert Mills Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 488   1852 Lost February 28, 1860 at Holyhead New Harbour, North Wales
70   Australia Williams & Guion Packet 1447   1852 Ran aground on Frying Pan Shoal and lost, March 2, 1865
71   George Law US Mail Steamship Company Sidewheel Steamer 2141   1853 Later Central America(n?), lost in a gale, September 12, 1857 with loss of 423
72   Flying Dutchman George B. Daniels and others Medium Clipper 1257   1852 Stranded at Brigantine Beach, NJ, February 14, 1858
73   Augusta NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1310   1853 Sold to USN as USS Augusta for Civil War service, afterwards Magnolia, lost in storm, September 30, 1877
74   Reemplazo J. Carela and M. Garcia Schooner 110   1852  
75   Volante Schiff Brothers & Company Brig 307   1853 Later sold to Argentinian owners
76   Fanny John Wendell Barkentine 150   1853 Dismasted and abandoned March 1853, sighted adrift as late as November 1853
77   Knoxville NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1240   1854 Burned at pier in New York, December 22 1856
78   Young America George B. Daniels Extreme Clipper 1961   1853 Sold to Austrian owners as Miroslav 1883, last seen departing the Delaware Capes February 1886
79   Flyaway Schiff Brothers & Company Medium Clipper 1274   1853 Sold to Spanish owners as Concepcion 1859, to British owners as Bothalwood; stranded January 20, 81 at St. Ouen's Bay, Jersey
80   San Francisco Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Sidewheel Steamer 2272   1853 Abandoned and foundered in gale, January 5 1854
81   Josephine Macondry & Company Brig 268   1853  
82   Snap Dragon Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 618   1853  
83   John Bright Williams & Guion Packet 1444   1854 Struck a reef at Capo de Sao Roque, Brazil on December 10, 1874; abandoned
84   Milton Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 536   1853  
85   Cultivator James C. Ward Packet 1448   1854 Sprung a leak in a gale 600 miles WSW of Fastnet light, abandoned on April 9 1880
86   Harvest Queen C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1383   1854 Struck by White Star Liner Adriatic in the Irish Channel on December 30 1875, sunk with loss of all hands
87   Thornton Williams & Guion Packet 1422   1854 Grounded on approach to river Mersey and broke up, November 1867
88   Houston Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 518   1854  
89   Pelayo Cuban owners Sidewheel Steamer 850   1854  
90   General Admiral Imperial Russian Government Steam Frigate     1859 Disposition unknown, replaced in the 1870's by a ship of the same name
91   Aurora Grinnell, Minturn & Company Packet 1639   1854 Burned in Calcutta February 5 1884
92   James Foster, Jr. C.H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1410   1855 Sold to German owners in 1881 as Hudson
93   New Orleans Stanton & Thomson Packet 924   1855 Sailed from New York February 1864, never heard from again
94   Neptune C.H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1406   1855 Grounded and broke up on Sable Island, Nova Scotia April 1876
95   Alamo Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 507   1855 Later sold to German, then British owners
96   Astoria Unknown Screw Steamer 428   1855 Sold to Russian owners as Alexander II, later US-flag again as Alexander, then back to Russia as Alexander II
97   Texas Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 554   1855 Departed New York December 1862, never heard from again
98   Sabine Wakeman, Dimon & Company Brig 399   1855 Burned at sea SSW of Galveston, October 2 1859
99   America Imperial Russian Government Sidewheel Steamer 544   1855  
100   Silas Wright Williams & Guion Packet 1340   1856 Lost in a gale in the river Mersey, November 12 1856
101   Fanny Holmes Post, Smith & Company Bark 700   1855 Burned while loading cotton at Appalachicola, April 3 1860
102   John H. Elliott Post, Smith & Company Packet 1077   1856 Grounded in the river Mersey January 1863, abandoned, burned
103   Alice Tainter Post, Smith & Company Bark 667   1856 To Bermudan flag 1864
104   Cuba Cuban owners Sidewheel Steamer 820   1856 To Cuban flag upon delivery
105   Intrepid Bucklin & Crane Medium Clipper 1173   1856 Aground March 31 1860 at Belvedere Reef in the Gaspar Strait, attacked by pirates, abandoned and burned by crew
106   Guatemala Unknown Sidewheel Steamer 217   1856 To Belize flag upon delivery
107   Ocean Monarch Stanton & Frost Packet 2145   1856 Cargo shifted March 9 1862 in Atlantic, partially abandoned, presumed lost
108   Uncowah Wakeman, Dimon & Company Medium Clipper 988   1856 Set afire by Chinese laborers en route from Macao to Callao in 1870; crew abandoned ship but 425 laborers perished
109   William H. Webb Chambers & Heiser Sidewheel Towboat 655   1856 To Confederate Navy in 1865 as CSS William H. Webb or CSS Webb, burned April 23, 1865, 24 miles below NOLA
110   Black Hawk Bucklin & Crane Medium Clipper 1175   1857 Sold to German owners in 1881, later to Norwegians as Christiana; condemned after fire in February 1891
111   Roger A. Heirn Post, Smith & Company Packet 1088   1857 To British registry 1865; lost anchor during gale in Mobile Bay December 16 1865, ran aground at Sand Island, total loss
112   Trieste W. A. Sale & Co Bark 549   1857  
113   Moses Taylor United States Mail SS Co Sidewheel Steamer 1370   1857 Later used as a stores hullk at Acapulco.
114   Resolute Williams & Guion Packet 1412   1858 Transferred to Dutch owners 1884, abandoned in North Atlantic 1886 after losing rudder and sails.
115   Harriet Lane U.S. Revenue Service Revenue Cutter 674   1857 Rebuilt as a bark in 1869 as Elliot Ritchie, sprang leak and was abandoned off Brazil March 22 1884.
116   Japanese Imperial Russian Government Steam Corvette 1530   1858 Sometimes spelled Japanis.
117   Martinho de Mello Portuguese Government Bark 622   1858 Built by Eckford Webb under subcontract at Greenpoint NY.
118   Yorktown New York & Virginia SS Co Sidewheel Steamer 1403   1859 Seized by CSN as CSS Patrick Henry April 1861, later CSN school ship, burned in Richmond to prevent capture April 3 1865
119   Harvest Queen C. B. Fessenden Bark 315   1860  
120   Mississippi Samuel L. Mitchill Sidewheel Steamer 2026   1861 Purchased by USN after delivery, returned to commercial service 1865, broken up 1878.
121   Alexander Marshall C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1177   1860 Dismasted and leaking from gale in 1869, abandoned in North Atlantic.
122   Constitution Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 3315   1861 Intentionally sunk to extinguish a fire at San Francisco October 1877, demolished 1878.
123   Re d'Italia Italian Navy Steam Ironclad     1863 Rammed and sunk by Austrian ironclad July 20 1866.
124   Don Luigi di Portogallo Italian Navy Steam Ironclad     1864 Rammed but not sunk by an Austrian ironclad.
125   Golden City Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 3373   1863 Stranded on Cape San Lazaro February 22 1870, broke up.
126   Sacramento Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 2647   1864 Stranded and broke up near San Geronimo, Baja California on December 5 1872.
127   Colorado Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 3357   1865 Laid up 1876, demolished 1881.
128   Dunderberg United States Navy Steam Ironclad     1867 Sold to the French in 1867 as Rochambeau, disposed 1872.
129   Henry Chauncey Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 2656   1865 Sold for scrap July 1877.
130   Montana Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 2676   1866 Built by Eckford Webb under subcontract at Greenpoint NY, retired 1877.
131   Bristol Merchants Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 2962   1867 Burned at Newport RI December 30 1888.
132   Providence Merchants Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 2962   1867 Dismantled autumn 1901
133   China Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 3836   1867 Sold for scrap 1885; the cabin was saved and is open to the public in Belvedere CA.
134   James A. Borland S. W. Lewis & Company Bark 637   1869 Wrecked on Tugidak Island AK 1896.
135   Charles H. Marshall C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1683   1869 Sold Norwegian as Souverain 1887; caught fire loading coal near Cardiff, Wales on March 20 1891.