The author wishes to thank the following for their comments on the paper in its various previous incarnations: Dr. Patricia Fleming, Dr. Donald Swainson, Maurice Smith and Bruce Parker. Images of Captain James Sutherland, Margaret Sutherland, and the Sutherland's Tea Service courtesy Don Cross of Toronto, Captain Sutherland's great great grandson. The watercolour of the Magnet is from the collection of the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology.

1. Niagara Chronicle, 6 July 1847.

2. It is not my intention in writing this paper to advance the claim of the Magnet as any sort of "first" in the field of iron hulled steamboats. Musham has clearly documented five publicly funded naval vessels and revenue cutters launched in the Great Lakes region by the spring of 1846. H.A. Musham, "Early Great Lakes Steamboats: Warships and Iron Hulls, 1841-1846," The American Neptune, 8 (April 1948): 132-49. The first among these was the Mohawk, built for the Admiralty at Kingston and launched in 1843. (Ibid., p. 140) Nor is there support for the argument that she was the first commercial vessel, or even first Canadian commercial iron hulled steamboat. The Passport, owned by John Hamilton, was launched at Kingston, almost a month before the iron for the Magnet arrived in Niagara. Kingston Argus, 6 Nov. 1846. Public Archives of Canada (PAC), RG 12, A1, v. 206, #94, 302ff. However, the Passport's hull was partially assembled before she was taken down and shipped overseas. Queen's University Archives (QUA), Sutherland Papers, James to Margaret Sutherland, 2 June 1846. It is fair to say, with the Argus, that the materials were only "prepared" in Scotland and her construction actually took place in Kingston. Kingston Argus, 4 Aug. 1846. Contrary to some reports the Magnet was not built in Scotland and merely re-assembled in Canada. Erik Heyl, Early American Steamers, 6 vols. (Buffalo: Erik Heyl, 1953-69), 3 (1964): 215. Bruce A. Parker, "The Niagara Harbour and Dock Company," Ontario History, 72 (June 1980): 107. What is important is that the Magnet was part of this early development, that there were strong associations with the navy and that she was the first, and the last, vessel of her type to be financed by a group of the sort backing Sutherland. She was certainly the first of her type launched in the Niagara region.

3. Niagara Chronicle, 6 July 1847.

4. See Peter Baskerville, "Donald Bethune's Steamboat Business: A Study of Upper Canadian Commercial and Financial Practice," Ontario History, 67 (1975): 135-49; Gerald J.J. Tulchinsky, The River Barons: Montreal Businessmen and the Growth of Industry and Transportation, 1837-53, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1977) esp. chap 3. Walter Lewis, "Until Further Notice": The Royal Mail Line and the Passenger Steamboat Trade on Lake Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence River, 1838-1875, (Queen's University, M.A. Thesis, 1983.

5. Edwin E. Horsey, The Gildersleeves of Kingston: Their Activities, 1816-1930, (Queen's University, M.A. Thesis, 1942) and a derivative study, Anna G. Young, Great LakesSaga: The Influence of one Family on the Development of Canadian Shipping on the Great Lakes, 1816-1931, (Owen Sound: Richardson, Bond and Wright, 1965). Frederick H. Armstrong, "Capt. Hugh Richardson: First Harbour Master of Toronto," Inland Seas, 31 (1975): 34-40, 49-50.

6. Lewis, "Until Further Notice", p. 10-11.

7. Christian Guardian, 8 April 1857. This account incorporates and extends the widely reprinted obituary of the Hamilton Banner. QUA, Sutherland Papers, Stephens to Wise, 19 Jan. 1965. J. E. Middleton, et. al., ed., The Municipality of Toronto: A History, 3 vols., (Toronto: Dominion Publishing Co., 1923) 3: 71. Niagara Mail, 31 March 1847 [my thanks to Bruce Parker for pointing out this reference]. Sutherland crossed the Atlantic in the Unicorn according to J. Ross Robertson, Landmarks of Toronto: A Collection of Historical Sketches of the Old Town of York from 1792 until 1833 and of Toronto from 1834 to [1895], 6 vols., (Toronto: J. Ross Robertson, 1894-1914), 2: 864. For the notice of his marriage see Christian Guardian, 1 Jan. 1834, p. 31.

8. Christian Guardian, 1 Jan. 1834, p. 31.

9. Toronto Recorder and General Advertiser, 30 July 1834. For the accounts from this season see Hamilton Public Library (HPL), James Sutherland, Cash Book.

10. Correspondent and Advocate (Toronto), 6 July 1836.

11. George W. Spragge, ed., "The Steamship Traveller and the Rebellion of 1837," Ontario History, 52 (1960): 252-3. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James Sutherland to A. Manahan, 13 Mar. 1839.

12. The quote is from PAC, CO 42, v. 457, p. 410. J. Elmsley to Lieut. Col. Halkett, 3 Dec. 1838. For the background to Elmsley's action see W.A.B. Douglas, "The Blessings of the Land: Naval Officers in Upper Canada, 1815-1841", in Adrian Preston and Peter Dennis, eds. Swords and Covenants,(Croom Helm, Eng.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1976), pp. 61-4.

13. Archives of Ontario (AO), Ms 9, Upper Canada, Executive Council, State Book M, pp. 2-3, 27 Apr. 1839.

14. Augusta Isabella Grant Gilkison, "Early Ship Building at Niagara," Niagara Historical Society, no. 18, (1909): 29, 34. Even if one calculates that the cost of outfit absorbs most of the difference, this leaves no depreciation after four very hard seasons of work.

15. O.S. 6 Upper Canada Reports, Queen's Bench (UCQB) 387-8, Hamilton v. Niagara Harbour and Dock Co. HPL, James Sutherland, Cash Book, pp. 134-49

16. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James to Margaret Sutherland, 7 Dec. 1841. Robertson, Landmarks of Toronto, 2: 864. For the background to Hamilton's actions see Lewis, "Until Further Notice", pp. 31-4.

17. Robertson, Landmarks of Toronto, 2: 864. For Bethune's career see Baskerville, "Donald Bethune's Steamboat Business." This year's accounts have also survived: AO, Aikins-Sutherland Collection, Note Book of the S.B. St. George as commanded by Capt. James Sutherland.

18. PAC, RG 7, G 19, v.1A, J. Morris to Capt. Sutherland, 22 Nov. 1842.

19. Niagara Mail, 23 Sept. 1857 [again thanks to Bruce Parker]. Elmsley left the Sovereign on 27 July 1844 according to University of Toronto, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Elmsley Papers, v. 1, John Elmsley to Andrew Heron, 4 Sept. 1845.

20. Concerning Bethune's financial crisis see 7 UCQB 254, McDonnell et. al. v. Bank of Upper Canada. 8 UCQB 459, Cayley v. McDonnell et. al. PAC, MG 24, D24, Donald Bethune Papers, Indenture of Mortgage, Donald Bethune to Capt. Patrick Wallace, 24 June 1844. University of Toronto, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Elmsley Papers, v. 1, John Elmsley to Mrs. Macaulay, 20 Mar. 1846.

21. In fact Sutherland seems to have been sending some assistance home to his aging parents. QUA, Sutherland Papers, Donald & Ann to James Sutherland, 16 Apr. 1842.

22. Gilkison, "Early Shipbuilding," pp. 29-35. PAC, RG 4, C1, v. 15, T.A. Stayner to T.W.C. Murdoch, 22 May 1840. Kingston Chronicle, 10 Mar. 1832. PAC, CO 42, v. 498, Col. Phillpotts Second Report on Inland Navigation in Canada, App. P., pp. 103-5

23. This was the range of passenger steamboat captains' salaries in the 1850s. QUA, Sutherland Papers, Statement of Wages: Passport, New Era, n.d.. QUA, Canada Steamship Line Papers, v. 14, Minutes of "La Societie de Navigation du St. Laurent & du Richelieu," 10 Mars 1857. Freight steamer captains' salaries were less than half this. Kingston Chronicle and News, 18 Dec. 1847. QUA, Macpherson, Crane & Co., Letterbooks 1845-6, p. 78, Macpherson & Crane to E. & S. Wilkins, 16 June 1845. For a general survey of wage rates in a slightly earlier period see Peter A. Russell, "Wage Labour Rates in Upper Canada, 1818-1840," Histoire sociale--Social History, 16 (1983): 61-80.

24. The last evidence of Sutherland's residence in Toronto is in the City of Toronto Archives, Assessment Rolls, 1839, St. Andrew's Ward, p. 12, #232. In 1842 he was applying for a specifically Hamilton office (see note 18). His first purchase of land seems to have been in MacNab's subdivision opposite Dundurn Castle. AO, Land Registration Records, Barton Township, A333, Sale 9 Aug. 1845. In 1853 the family lived in north central Hamilton on Hughson street. City of Hamilton Directory, (Hamilton: Cooke, 1853): 141.

25. Peter Baskerville, "Sir Allan Napier MacNab," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 9: 519-27. Douglas McCalla, "John Young", ibid., 10: 720-2. Douglas McCalla, The Upper Canada Trade, 1834-1872: A Study of the Buchanans' Business, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1979): 42-79.

26. John C. Weaver, Hamilton: An Illustrated History, (History of Canadian Cities, Toronto: James Lorimer & Company and National Museum of Man, 1982), pp. 20, 42-5.

27. QUA, Sutherland Papers, Wm. Murray to John Young, 20 Sept. 1844.

28. Musham, "Early Great Lakes Steamboats."

29. C.P. Stacey, The Undefended Border: The Myth and the Reality, (Canadian Historical Association Booklets, no. 1, Ottawa, 1953), pp. 6-7. J. Mackay Hitsman, Safeguarding Canada, 1763-1871, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968), p. 144.

30. For the text of the agreement see Canada, Department of External Affairs, Treaties and Agreements affecting Canada in force between His Majesty and the United States of America with subsidiary documents, 1814-1925 (Ottawa: King's Printer, 1927), pp. 12-4. See also Hitsman, Safeguarding Canada, 145-8. Patrick C.T. White, "The Oregon Dispute and the Defence of Canada", in John S. Moir, ed. Character and Circumstance: Essays in Honour of Donald Grant Creighton, (Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1970): 57-65. Richard A. Preston, The Defence of the Undefended Border: Planning for War in North America, 1867-1939, (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1977): 13, 17-8. "Memorandum of P. Smith," Sir Arthur Doughty, ed., The Elgin-Grey Papers, 1846-1852, 4 vols. (Ottawa: King's Printer, 1937), 4: 1604-5

31. Musham, "Early Great Lakes Steamboats."

32. Parker, "Niagara Harbour and Dock Company," p. 107. For reports in the American press see Musham, "Early Great Lakes Steamboats", p. 147.

33. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James Sutherland to Capt. Sandom, 25 July 1845. It is possible that Sutherland had been involved in promoting the construction of the London, one of the vessels in the NHDCo plan, although the surviving news report named a Captain Sunderland. St. Catherine's Journal, 9 Feb. 1844.

34. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James Sutherland to Capt. Sandom, 25 July 1845.

35. The Dock Co. wanted L5,000 for each wooden vessel worth L8,250. Parker, "Niagara Harbour and Dock Company," p. 107. Sutherland and his backers asked for half the value of a boat they privately estimated would cost L11,000. QUA, Sutherland Papers, Wm. Murray to John Young, 20 Sept. 1844. PAC, RG 7, G 14, v. 17, pp. 9336-9, J. Sutherland to W.H. Draper, 26 Sept. 1845.

36. QUA, Sutherland Papers, Agreement between the Queen and James Sutherland, Sir Allan Napier MacNab, and Daniel Charles Gunn, May 1846. For intermediate stages in the negotiations see PAC, RG 7, G 14, v. 17, pp. 9336-9, J. Sutherland to W.H. Draper, 26 Sept. 1845; pp. 9374-7, J. Sutherland to W.H. Draper, 3 Oct. 1845.

37. PAC, RG 7, G 20, v. 39, file 4394, D. Bethune to Mr. Secretary Higginson, 12 Mar. 1846; v. 40, file 4474, D. Bethune to the Secretary of the Admiralty, 10 June 1846 (Copy). Parker, "Niagara Harbour and Dock Company," p. 113.

38. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James to Margaret Sutherland, 2 Apr. 1846, 12 May 1846. Apparently the original plan was to import the materials through Scott, Shaw & Co., Montreal wholesale dealers in hardware. Sutherland estimated he and his associates would save L1,500 if they bypassed this dealership and dealt directly with the English foundrymen. Ibid., Scott, Shaw & Co. to James Sutherland, 4 Apr. 1846 (Specifications); James to Margaret Sutherland, 2 June 1846.

39. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James to Margaret Sutherland, 2 June 1846.

40. Ibid., James to Margaret Sutherland, 2 June, 2 July, 3 Aug. 1846. St. Catherine's Journal, 17 Dec. 1846 (quoting Niagara Chronicle).

41. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James Sutherland to H.G.Ward, 22 May 1847.

42. Ibid., James Sutherland to Capt. Fowell, 29 May 1847.

43. Parker, "Niagara Harbour and Dock Company," p. 111. Paul G. Cornell, "William Cayley," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 11: 165-7. 8 UCQB 454-87, Cayley v. McDonnell et. al.

44. Province of Canada, Legislative Assembly, Debates, (Elizabeth Gibbs, ed.) 6 (16 July 1847): 941-3. For Sutherland's frantic lobbying from Niagara see QUA, Sutherland Papers, James Sutherland to G. Chalmers, 13 July 1847, to Sir Allan N. MacNab, 14 July 1847, to Robert Baldwin, 15 July 1847, and Geo. Chalmers to James Sutherland, 16 July, 17 July 1847.

45. Ibid., James Sutherland to Sir Allan N. MacNab, 14 July 1847.

46. Ibid., James Sutherland to H.G. Ward, 22 July 1847.

47. "Annual Report of the Chief Emigration Agent for 1847," Great Britain, House of Commons, Papers Relative to Emigration to the British Provinces of North America, June 1848, pp. 17-20, indicates the distribution of and the amounts paid for the transportation of indigent emigrants that season.

48. QUA, Sutherland Papers, Measurements of the Steamer Magnet, 21 Sept. 1847.

49. Ibid.

50. Niagara Mail, 12 May 1852. Daily News (Kingston), 18 Oct. 1859.

51. Niagara Mail, 25 Jan. 1854. [Again thanks to Bruce Parker] QUA, Sutherland Papers, Measurements of the Steamer Magnet, 21 Sept.

52. See, for example, Arthur L. Johnson, "The Transportation Revolution on Lake Ontario, 1817-1867: Kingston and Ogdensburg," Ontario History, 67 (1975), p. 209.

53. Hamilton Spectator, 2 Oct. 1847.

54. Parker, "Niagara Harbour and Dock Company," pp. 111-4.

55. Quote from QUA, Macpherson, Crane & Co. Letterbooks 1845-6, Macpherson & Crane (Kingston) to Macpherson & Crane (Bytown), 15 Aug. 1845.

56. See Lewis, "Until Further Notice" esp. chap. 2. Hamilton was a brother-in-law of the Macphersons of Macpherson & Crane, the largest forwarding operation in the region. Edward Marion Chardwick, Ontarian Families: Genealogies of United Empire Loyalist and other Pioneer Families of Upper Canada, (Belleville: Mika Silk Screening, 1972 rep.) 1: 148

57. Copy of a Letter to His Excellency Sir Benjamin D'Urbain, G.C.B., K.C.H., Commanding the Forces in Canada, 1847.

58. PAC, RG 7, G 20, v. 44, file 4895, Memorial of Donald Bethune, 31 Dec. 1847.

59. George Washington Stephens, The St. Lawrence Waterway Project: The Story of the St. Lawrence River as an International Highway for Water-borne Commerce, (Montreal: Louis Carrier & Co., 1929): 265. Stephens wrongly ascribes the date to 1849. See Kingston Argus, 23 Nov. 1847.

60. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James Sutherland to T.Y. Trew, 22 Feb. 1848.

61. Baskerville, "Donald Bethune's Steamboat Business," pp. 142-3.

62. PAC, RG 3, Series 1, v. 5, p. 259, T.A. Stayner to John Dewe, 11 Aug. 1848.

63. Quote from Kingston Chronicle and Gazette, 14 Dec. 1842.

64. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James Sutherland to T.Y. Trew, 22 Feb. 1848.

65. Canada Gazette, no. 375 (2 Dec. 1848), p. 5986; no. 377 (16 Dec. 1848), p. 6033; no. 378 (23 Dec. 1848), p. 6056. See also 8 UCQB 462-5, Cayley v. McDonnell et. al.

66. Kingston British Whig, 27 Apr., 21 June, 27 June, 26 July, 27 July 1849.

67. 8 UCQB 354-63, Lyman et. al. v. Bank of Upper Canada.

68. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James Sutherland to Capt. Willoughby, 2 Jan. 1850.

69. Baskerville, "Donald Bethune's Steamboat Business," pp. 145-6. This was not without some highly unethical tenders. Bethune submitted four tenders for the lake and two for the river mail route, two thirds of which were conditional on there being a bid below his previous tender. PAC, RG 5, C1, v. 275, file 1946, T.A. Stayner to Hon. Jas. Leslie, 4 Oct. 1849.

70. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James Sutherland to Capt. Willoughby, R.N., 28 Dec. 1849, 2 Jan. 1850: James Willoughby to James Sutherland, 29 Dec. 1849, 2 Mar., 20 Mar., 23 Mar. 1850; Donald Bethune to James Sutherland, 10 Jan., 12 Jan. 1850; James Sutherland to Donald Bethune, 21 Jan. 1850; Donald Bethune to Capt. Willoughby, 7 Mar. 1850.

71. Kingston British Whig, 29 Apr., 30 Apr., 6 May 1850.

72. PAC, MG 24, D24, "Articles of Agreement...", 25 Apr. 1850.See Lewis, "Until Further Notice" esp. chap. 3.

73. Kingston British Whig, 27 Nov. 1849 (quoting Colonist).

73. Kingston Daily News, 3 May 1852, 28 Oct. 1852. Niagara Mail, 12 May 1852. QUA, Sutherland Papers, Magnet file, Deposition, 3 May 1852: Pleas of Donald Bethune in Sutherland et. al. v. Bethune. 10 UCQB 388-91, Sutherland et. al. v. Bethune.

75. Kingston Argus, 24 Mar. 1846. Kingston British Whig, 15 June 1847, 11 May, 10 Dec. 1849, 4 Apr., 20 Apr. 1850, 7 Apr. 1851.

76. William H.G. Kingston, Western Wanderings or, A Pleasure Tour in the Canadas, 2 vols. (London: Chapman and Hall, 1856), 1: 114.

77. QUA, Sutherland Papers, "Statement of the Steamer Magnet's Business during the Month of May 1851."

78. Ibid., James Willoughby to James Sutherland, 23 Apr. 1852.

79. Hamilton Spectator, 8 July 1854.

80. QUA, Kirkpatrick Family Papers, Letterbooks, v. 12, p. 857, Stafford Kirkpatrick to Wm. Colcleugh, 10 Mar. 1855. PAC, RG 3, Series 4, v. 59, W.H. Griffen to John Hamilton and James Sutherland, 31 Oct. 1856. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James to Margaret Sutherland, 17 Oct. 1856.

81. Compare ibid., Pleas of Donald Bethune in Sutherland et. al. v. Bethune with the list in Great Western Railroad, Proceedings of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, held in Hamilton, on the 21st June, 1852; and the Report of the Directors, (Hamilton: the Spectator, 1852), p. 4.

82. Kingston British Whig, 19 May 1854. Hamilton Gazette, 19 June 1854. PAC, RG 30, v. 108, Ledger of Steamer Canada; v. 110, Ledger of Steamer America.

83. 7 Upper Canada Reports, Common Pleas 410, Sutherland v. Great Western Railway Company.

84. Robertson, Landmarks of Toronto, 2: 865.

85. Full Details of the Railway Disaster Of the 12th of March, 1857, at the Desjardin canal, On the Line of the Great Western Railway, (Hamilton: William A. Shepherd & co., 1857).

86. Christian Guardian, 8 Apr. 1857.

87. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James Sutherland to Captain Sandom, 25 July 1845.

88. Christian Guardian, 8 Apr. 1857. Moreover, the Magnet carried clergymen at half fare. Kingston British Whig, 29 Aug. 1850.

89. The Christian Guardian, 10 Sept. 1879 recounts Margaret's joining the Methodist Church in 1837. In 1846 the Sutherland's subscribed to two papers, the British Colonist and the Christian Guardian. QUA, Sutherland Papers, James to Margaret Sutherland, 12 May 1846.

90. Christian Guardian, 8 Apr. 1857.

91. City of Toronto Archives, Assessment Rolls, 1838, St. Andrew's Ward, p. 14, #277. Census of Canada, 1851, Hamilton, St. Andrew's Ward, #500.

92. AO, RG 22, Series G-1, James Sutherland file.

93. Milloy was the Montreal agent of the Royal Mail Line. Robertson, Landmarks of Toronto, II, 980. James Croil, Steam Navigation and its Relation to the Commerce of Canada and the United States, (Toronto: William Briggs, 1898), p. 316.

94. PAC, RG 12, A1, v. 179, p. 50. Kingston Daily News, 28 Mar. 1860.

95. PAC, RG 12, A1, v. 179, p. 50. Kingston Weekly British Whig, 11 Apr., 8 May 1861, 21 July 1863, 21 May 1864. QUA, Canada Steamship Lines Papers, v. 172, 3 Feb. 1863.

96. PAC, RG 1, E 1, State Book AD, p. 385, 6 Nov. 1866. John A. McDonald, Troublous Times in Canada, (Toronto: W. S. Johnstone, 1910) p. 103. Fred Landon, "Gunboats on the Lower Lakes during the Fenian Scare," Inland Seas, 19 (Spring 1963): 47-54. Richard J. Wright, "Green Flags and Red-Coated Gunboats: Naval Activities on the Great Lakes During the Fenian Scares, 1866-1870," Inland Seas, 22 (Summer 1966): 91-110. Canada, Sessional Paper (1867-8) no. 37, Information respecting Government Gunboats, for the years 1866 and 1867.

97. Owen Sound Advertiser, 24 May 1883.

98. Ibid., 7 June, 14 June, 9 Aug. 1883. Heyl, Early American Steamers, 3: 216.

99. Kingston British Whig, 1 June, 2 June 1894. PAC, RG 12, A1, v. 179, p. 50.

100. Canada, Sessional Papers (1911) no. 21c, List of Shipping ..., p. 265.

101. Ontario Gazette, 42 (3 July 1909): 756.

102. Metropolitan Toronto Library, Biographical Scrapbooks, 10: 333.

103. Canada, Dept. of Marine and Fisheries, List of Shipping ... 1927, (Ottawa, 1928) p. 186 contains the last reference to the Hamilton.

104. Bailey, Thomas Melville and Cartier, Charles Ambrose, Hamilton Firsts, (Published by the authors, 1973).

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