AH-WR-1796

James Navagh

Schooner · Lost 1868 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

James Navagh broke up at Two Rivers Point in 1868; nine were rescued, but cook Margaret Miles died ashore.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

The two-masted wooden schooner James Navagh was built at Oswego in 1857 by James A. Baker and master carpenter James Navagh. On October 30, 1868, bound from Milwaukee to Oswego with wheat, she struck Two Rivers Point. The stern was carried away and the cabin flooded, forcing the nine people aboard onto the bowsprit and jib boom for about ten hours. Local residents rescued them in two Mackinaw boats, but cook Margaret Miles died immediately after reaching shore. The vessel broke in two; salvaged fittings were reused in Louisa McDonald.

Vessel

Built: 1857
Registry: Registry no. 13304
Builder: James A. Baker and master carpenter James Navagh
Yard: Oswego, New York
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 374 gross tons
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: James Baker & Company (original); Dunn & Cummings (1866)

Loss

Date: October 30, 1868
Cause: Grounding
Location: Two Rivers Point, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Milwaukee, Wisconsin → Oswego, New York
Cargo: 15,045 bushels of wheat
Aboard: 9
Lives lost: 1
Master: John M. Griffin

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Broke in two and went to pieces; present remains and depth not established.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 44.21° N 87.50° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Region: Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

Converted from institutional listed position N 44°12.548′, W 087°30.108′. No survey provenance or error estimate; marked reported/unconfirmed.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)

Length, beam, depth and present remains are not established; the reported position lacks survey provenance. One death occurred after rescue.

Wisconsin Shipwrecks — Wisconsin Sea Grant and Wisconsin Historical Society — James Navagh
Full construction details, service history, final loss sequence and casualty outcomes; published site coordinates with accuracy qualified, conflicts and unknowns disclosed.