Neafie & Levy ~ Shipbuilding History

Neafie & Levy

Philadelphia PA

Most recent update: March 22, 2020.

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 about 250 vessels but their hull numbers reached 1000.

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	O/N	Name	Customer	Type	GT	LOA	Built	Notes
		Conestoga	Balto and Phila SB Co.	canal boat	65		1844	abandoned 1856
		Tecumseh			198		1844
		San Juan					1844
		Apure	Orinoco SS Co.	steamboat	269		1844	sold foreign 1850
		Barclay	Rancocas SB Co.	steamboat	99		1845	abandoned 1882
		Governor Moorhead					1852
		Montezuma					1852
		Orinoco		steamboat	171		1852	sold foreign 1856
		Rancocas	Rancocas SB Co.	steamboat	133		1852	abandoned 1866
		Boardman No. 1					1855
		Boardman No. 2					1855
		Decatur		tugboat	45		1855	abandoned 1860
	11547	Henry L. Gaw		steamboat	381	165	1855	abandoned 1910
	13881	Jacob G. Neafie		tugboat	103	55	1856	abandoned 1876
	7902	Elizabeth		steamboat	404	176	1857	abandoned 1897
	9195	Fanny Cadwalader		steamboat	836	159	1857	abandoned 1907
		James Gray		tugboat	161		1857	to CSN 1861 as Lady Davis, captured 1865, sold 1868
	13435	John P. Levy		tugboat	59	77	1857	abandoned 1898
		Major Henry Brewerton	B. & O. RR Co.	tugboat			1857
	19084	Octorara		steamboat	356	154	1859	abandoned 1899
		Sagua		steamboat	187		1859	sold foreign 1859
		Amcor					1860
	1639	Arasapha		steamboat	374	130	1860	Lighter 1893
	5041	Cotton Plant		steamboat	85		1860	Surrendered by CSN 1865, barge 1881
		General Winfield Scott		steamboat	1,162		1860	sunk 1861
		Ounalaska					1860
	19539	Pacific		tugboat	49	73	1860	abandoned 1922
	150344	Philadelphia		passenger	504		1860	sunk 1874
		Russia		steamship			1860
		Siberia		steamship			1860
		Union		steamship	1,124		1860	sunk 1861
	36851	William Woodward		steamboat	342	154	1860	abandoned 1899
		Oriental		steamship	1,202		1860	stranded 1862 off Body Island
	15076	General Meigs		steamship	329		1862	to USAQMD 1863, Lavaca 1865, sold foreign 1877
	10602	General S. Van Vliet		steamship	44	66	1862	abandoned 1891
	13428	Josephine Thompson		steamship	376	155	1862	abandoned 1900
		Pocahontas		steamship	716		1862	sold to govt. 1863
		Alligator	US Navy	submarine	350		1862	lost in a storm 1863
344	4250	Charles Pearson	Boston towboat	tugboat	392		1863	to USN 1918 as Adirondack (YT-44), Underwriter 1925
		Dashing Wave		tugboat	38		1863	abandoned 1866
	11483	Havana		steamship	1,347		1863	sold foreign 1868
	2423	Bandy Moore		steamship	175		1866	abandoned 1878
	13486	Julia Saint Clair		steamship	174		1866	abandoned 1882
	12493	Ida		tugboat	39	64	1870
	95126	Henry Wellman		tugboat	38	67	1871	Julia C. Moran 1918, scrapped 1936
	23979	Seminole		passenger	78	77	1871
	90378	Mary Louisa		passenger	87	86	1872
	5979	Cynthia		passenger	99	96	1872
	115017	Sallie		tugboat	27	58	1872
	95168	H. G. Tisdale		tugboat	81	94	1872
	105147	Alfred and Edwin		ferry	102	99	1872
		Ethel			34		1872
564	75382	J. G. Witherbee			114	109	1872
	80361	W. E. Gladwish	James McWilliams	tugboat	121	115	1873
	14292	Knickerbocker	Cornell SB Co.	tugboat	124	103	1873	later SP-479
		Young America		tugboat	78		1873	later James A. Dumont
	20566	Quaker City	Schuyler Towing	tugboat	72	72	1873	William E. Ferguson 1891
	125182	Convoy	B. & O. RR Co.	tugboat	78	89	1873
		Dahlia	U.S. Lighthouse Service	LH tender	426		1874	sold 1909 as Flora M. Hill, sank 1912
	100340	Ivanhoe		tugboat	95	85	1875
	80501	William S. Stokley		police	83	96	1875
	95471	Hunter		passenger	155	109	1877	burned 1904
	145167	transferred No. 1	NY, NH & Hartford RR	tugboat	136	94	1878
	145218	transferred No. 2	NY, NH & Hartford RR	tugboat	101	92	1880
	145426	transferred No. 3	NY, NH & Hartford RR	tugboat	130	93	1880
	85637	transferred No. 4	NY, NH & Hartford RR	tugboat	102	92	1880	later George H. Watrous
	115599	Startle			83	54	1878
	135480	Ella Andrews			64	73	1879
	76075	John E. Tygert			207	109	1879
	130155	Neptune		tugboat	145	106	1879
	110407	Rattler		tugboat	139	102	1879
666	Cuba	Cuba	Davila y Cia	passenger freighter	938		1879	Argonauta 1886, Cocoa 1899, M. F. Plant 1903, Yukon 1912, wrecked 1913
	80796	W. M. Wood		tugboat	58	74	1880
	91573	Maracaibo	Atlantic & Caribbean SN	passenger freighter	517	179	1880	Merida 1889, hulked 1911
	105883	Atlantic	Coopers Point & Phila ferry	ferry	451	146	1880	Lawrence 1906, abandoned 1930
		William A. Marburg			126		1881
		Wm. E. Street	Cornell Steamboat Co.	tugboat			1881
692	125882	Conoho	Roanoke, Norfolk & Balt SB	ferry	367	162	1881	Alpha 1910, sold 1916 in Venezuela
702	80866	William T. Hart	New York & New Eng. RR	ferry	971	281	1881	scrapped 1908
703	3141	Battler		tugboat	138	108	1880
		Nat Wales		tugboat	79		1881
	115622	Storm King	Boston Towboat Co.	tugboat	182	110	1882
715	125994	Cynthia No. 2	Atlantic Towing Co.	tugboat	108	92	1882	Cynthia 1959
	140520	Leo			89	83	1882
	126034	City of Alma			96	110	1882
	80946	William J. Keyser			97	92	1882
730	110549	R. G. Townsend	Cornell Steamboat Co.	tugboat	183	82	1882
	110588	Riverside		tugboat	72	83	1883
	145349	Louisville		tugboat	87	83	1883	Thomas A. Bain, M. B. Coppedge 1956
	81021	William Schaubel, Jr.		yacht	45		1883
734	91527	Meteor		passenger	424	162	1883	Brazoria 1910, wrecked Absecon Bar, NJ 1910
745	76417	J. C. Hartt	Cornell Steamboat Co.	tugboat	223	116	1883
768	3286	Bells		barge	818		1884	scrapped 1902
		Gov. Robert M. McLane			144		1884
	155105	Ocean King	Luckenbach Towing	tugboat	201	109	1884
		Mary W. Potter			148		1884
		E. A. Burke			228		1885
	3314	Bolivar	Panama Canal Co.	tugboat	234	127	1885	later Bayou Orleans, Port Comfort, Cappy Bisso, Capt Billy Slatten, Bolivar, Ann Marie, San Juan
	95852	Haven Belle	Rancocas Steamboat Co.	passenger	119	85	1885
	116066	S. A. McCauley		tugboat	92	85	1885
	91822	Minerva		tugboat	38	57	1886
	95873	Harry Schaubel, Jr.		tugboat	34	57	1886
275	154377	Peerless	Whitehall Transportation	tugboat	90		1886	Edmund J. Moran 1916, A, B. Hall 1939, scrapped 1954
	106453	Albert N. Hughes		tugboat	92	83	1887
	6362	Don Juan			48	72	1887
	116141	Bay King 1		tugboat	52	67	1887	later Cavalier 1, Sommers N. Smith, Chee Chee
	161574	Volunteer			97	83	1887
784	130350	Newburgh	Ramsdell & Co	passenger	1,034	200	1887	Nankasket 1930, scrapped 1952
795	Cuba	Josefita	Menendez & Cia	passenger freighter	1,114		1887	Dade 1915, Marina 1917, scrapped 1935
	106518	A. C. Rose	B. & O. RR Co.	tugboat	150	100	1888
	135980	E. L. Levy	Cornell Steamboat	tugboat	142		1888	Mary F. Scully 1920, Chelsea 1921, Marion Moran 1925, Marion Kehoe 1948, scrapped
	135990	Elizabeth Monroe Smith		ferry	204	125	1888
804	126522	Corona	Oregon Improvement	freighter	1,492	221	1888	wrecked Humboldt Bay entrance 1907
	9398	Bismarck	Cahell Towing	tugboat	124	95	1888
	136052	E. C. Baker	Lake Champlain Transportation	tugboat	153	102	1889
	3447	Brinton		tugboat	103	83	1889
	92145	Media		tugboat	103	83	1889
818	3427	Britannia		tugboat	135	96	1889	to USN as Reno, Ticeline 1950
819	106629	Asa W. Hughes	James E. Hughes	tugboat	106	85	1889	later Triton, Navajo 1982
823	126597	Charlotte	Balt, Ches & Richmond SB	passenger	1,747	229	1889	Dorothy Bradford 1911, scrapped 1937
827	100462	International	F. L. Neall	tugboat	400	130	1890	abandoned 1931
	120808	Frank K. Esherick		tugboat	69	68	1890
829	126635	City of Seattle	Puget Sound & Alaska SS	passenger	1,411	245	1890	scrapped 1937
830	106731	Atkins Hughes	Atkins Hughes & Co.	tugboat	115	89	1890	Phyllis 1942
	76921	Jacob Paulsen	Savannah Towing	passenger	97	82	1890
	76922	John G. McCulloch	NY, Lake Erie & Western RR	ferry	1,372	200	1891	Chautauqua 1905, Rutherford 1936, to USN 1943 as YFB-48, scrapped 1946
835	110655	Relief		freighter	219		1891
837	Mexico	Juan J. Vina		tugboat			1890	later Panuco II
838	126777	Corsair	J. P. Morgan	yacht	560		1891	to USN 1898 as Gloucester, sold 1919
	25281	Utowana	W. W. Durant	yacht	392	155	1891	deleted 1936
		Primers Point			63		1891
849	150575	P. H. Wise	Moran Towing	tugboat	155		1892	to USN 1898 as Sioux (YT-19), Nyack 1918, J. Vincent O'Brien 1921, J. M. Taylor 1934
	96163	Harry M. Wall	Independent Pier Co.	tugboat	60	65	1892
	136345	Eva M. Wall	Independent Pier Co.	tugboat	62	65	1892
	2937	B. D. Wood	B. D. Wood & Bros.	tugboat	304		1892
	116500	Scranton		tugboat	300		1892
854	Cuba	Antinojenes Menendez	Menendez & Co	passenger	1,277		1892	St. Michael 1924, scrapped 1927
855	96172	Hartford	Hartford & New York Transportation	passenger	1,338	220	1892	Terry 1898, Charles H. Hackley 1901, Carolina 1907, scrapped 1937
857	3556	C. G. Coyle	W. G. Coyle Co.	tugboat	152		1892	to USN 1898 as Choctaw (YT-26), Wicomico 1918, scrapped 1940
860	150604	Plymouth	Central RR of NJ	tugboat	373		1892	collision off entrance to Cape Cod Canal 1938
	100552	Invincible	Charles T. Barney	yacht	340	143	1893
	3581	brigantine		ferry	67	86	1893
	126983	Colonel John F. Gaynor	Robert R. Velie	tugboat	153	91	1893	later Sparrows Point
867	141270	Long Island	Shelter Island SB	passenger	409	132	1893	Pemaquid 1902, to USAT as FS-98, scrapped 1972
	96860	Honeybrook	Central RR of NJ	tugboat	373		1893	wrecked Salem harbor 1902
	3634	Baltic		tugboat	72	72	1894
	120979	Frederica	Frederica & Phila. Nav. Co.	passenger	294	118	1894	sold 1930 as Erie Isle, dismantled 1946
	145686	Trenton		passenger	85	93	1894
870	150672	Potomac	Maryland & Virginia SB	passenger	763	177	1894	barge 1937, scrapped 1954
	Cuba	Purisima Concepcion	Menendez y Cia	passenger	1,349		1894	Cienfuegos 1923, Purisima Concepcion 1924, wrecked Havana 1926
872	136489	Eugene Hughes	Hughes Bros. & Bangs	tugboat	111	84	1895	later Fort McHenry
882	127074	Cape Ann	Boston & Gloucester SB	passenger	719	172	1895	Seminole 1918, last trace at Dakar 1940
885	157491	DeWitt C. Ivins	Moran Towing	tugboat	117		1895	to USN 1898 as Nezinscot, sank 1909
886	145704	Thomas Cunningham, Sr.		tugboat	70	69	1895	later Tuff-E-Nuff, converted to yacht in Deland FL, reefed 2011
887	107200	Ashbourne	Reading RR	tugboat	115	88	1895
888	92699	Middletown	Hartford & New York Transportation	passenger	1,483	243	1896	scrapped 1937
	127146	Columbia		tugboat	84	77	1896
890	Cuba	Reina de Los Angeles	Menendez & Cia	passenger	1,334		1896	Manzanillo 1924, Reina de los Angeles 1925, in collision and beached 1926
	150768	Pencoyd	Reading Co	tugboat	115	88	1896
893	86365	Gwynedd	Reading Co	tugboat	115	88	1896
894	Mexico	Donato Guerra	lighthouse service	buoy tender	400		1896	deleted 1910
896		Philadelphia	Delaware Pilots Assn	pilot boat	302		1896	to USN 1898 as Peoria (AT-48), YT-109, sold 1922, abandoned 1937
	77268	John I. Brady		tugboat	72	72	1897	Atlas 1927, J. J. McCarty 1949
	107304	Annie L. Vansciver		passenger	104	127	1897
		Plymouth	Boston & Plymouth SB	freighter	428		1897	to USCG 1899 as Iris, Plymouth 1934, Big Chief 1938, B. O. Colonna 1956, scrapped 1973
	136824	Ericsson	Baltimore & Philadelphia SB	passenger	897	108	1897	deleted 1946
	127232	Clio		passenger	217	108	1898
909	107350	Alfred W. Booth	Moran Towing	tugboat	117	85	1898	to USN 1898 as Massasoit (YT-15), W. H. Hoodless 1937, Gen Gillespie 1902, Morganza 1941
910		Philadelphia	Delaware Pilots Assn	pilot boat	359		1898
911	107408	Albert H. Ellis	Moran Towing	tugboat	117	85	1898	Bohemia 1905, O'Brien Girls 1923, Harry A. Collier 1943, scrapped 1955
912	155330	O. L. Halenbeck	Peter Cahill	tugboat	198	103	1898	Maryland 1947
913	116875	Swatara	Reading Co	tugboat	625	157	1899	scrapped 1936
914	81642	Walter A. Luckenbach	Luckenbach Towing	tugboat	434		1899	Luckenbach No. 3 1916, Montauk 1917, A. L. Bisso 1920, foundered New Orleans 1947
916	81638	Waban	W. G. Revel	tugboat	163	91	1899
918	DD-1	Bainbridge	US Navy	destroyer	420d		1902	sold 1920
919	DD-2	Barry	US Navy	destroyer	420d		1902	sold 1920
920	DD-3	Chauncey	US Navy	destroyer	420d		1902	collision and sank off Gibraltar 1917
921	116895	Syosset	Long Island RR Co.	tugboat	176	103	1899
922	127346	Cheltenham	Reading Co	tugboat	113	84	1899
923	141606	Lykens	Reading Co	tugboat	625	157	1899	to USN 1917 as AT-56, scrapped 1934
924	107520	Augusta	Balt, Ches & Richmond SB	passenger	2,372	245	1900	Transmotor 1926, scrapped
	77365	Josephine	P. A. B. Widener	yacht	974	215	1899
926	136776	Edward Luckenbach	Luckenbach Towing	tugboat	401	135	1896	to USN as Tecumseh (YT-24) 1898, wrecked off False Cape NC 1915
927	155368	Ogontz	Reading Co	tugboat	113	84	1899
928	111261	Richmond	Coastwise S.S. Co	tugboat	401	135	1900	Sunshine 1936, foundered Alameda 1938
929	127397	Covington	Coastwise S.S. Co	tugboat	401	135	1900	John T. Donahue 1924, scrapped 1934
930	130855	Northumberland	Weems S.S.Co	passenger	993	190	1900	Norfolk 1937, burned Claremont VA 1945
	157564	DeWitt C. Ivins	Moran Towing	tugboat	121	85	1900	S. O. Co. No. 7 1900, S. T. Co. No. 7 1915, Socony 7 1917, Mercury 1943
933	93023	Michael Moran	Moran Towing	tugboat	121	85	1900	Tickfaw 1911
934	C-14	Denver	US Navy	cruiser	3,200d		1904	later PG-28, then CL-16, sold 1933
937	117005	Spartan	F. W. Munn & Co	tugboat	358	121	1900	wrecked 6nm NW Delaware breakwater 1903
938	121152	Fred E. Richards	Rockport & Rockland Lime	tugboat	357	121	1900	John A. McCormick 1936, trawler East Coast 1960, deleted 1972
940	150900	Penllyn	Reading Co	tugboat	137	86	1901
941	28146	Zulia	Atlantic & Carib. SN Co	passenger freighter	1,713	266	1901	wrecked E Los Roques 1925 (or BU 1931)
945	145897	Texas	Sinclair Refining	tugboat	220	103	1901	Roy Hoober 1947
	20633	Quaker City	Wilmington Steamboat Co	passenger	469	156	1901	Sieur de Monts 1905, MAJ L'Enfant 1918, Sieur de Monts 1922, Gen Mathews 1923, NLD 1949
	127534	City of Trenton	Wilmington Steamboat Co	passenger	458	156	1901	Sagamore 1902, Princeton 1916, Pinero 1927, deleted 1987
	107676	Anna W	National Dredging	tugboat	204	103	1901
	161800	Vigilant	Atlantic Refining	tugboat	226	110	1901
950	127578	Carlisle	Reading Co	tugboat	644	157	1901	scrapped 1940
951	C-20	St. Louis	US Navy	cruiser	9,700d		1906	later CA-18, scrapped 1930
952	127606	Calvert	Weems Steamboat	passenger	889	180	1902	scrapped 1957
955	93331	Middlesex	Weems Steamboat	passenger	1,197	200	1902	Plymouth 1930, Manhattan 1937, burned Staten Island 1939
957	96646	Harry G. Runkle	Booth, Dailey & Ivins	tugboat	164	91	1902	Julia C. Moran 1906, Hilton 1916, Sampson 1933, deleted 1941
	96649	H. B. Chamberlain	Booth, Dailey & Ivins	tugboat	164	91	1902	Gatun 1907, Point Breeze, Chester 1934
959	96660	Honeybrook	Central RR of New Jersey	tugboat	373	126	1902	hulked 1943, scrapped 1964
961	117219	S. O. Company No. 14	Standard Oil Co.	tugboat	164	91	1902	Jupiter 1939
962	117220	S. O. Company No. 15	Standard Oil Co.	tugboat	164	91	1903	S. T. Co. No. 15 1915, Socony 15 1918, Maurice Tracey 1932, Pocahontas 1932
963	86656	Gulfport	Texas & Gulf Island Towing	tugboat	224	102	1902
	127682	Charles E. Matthews	Booth, Dailey & Ivins	tugboat	164	91	1903	Eugene F. Moran 1906, H.S. 46 1916, foundered off NJ 1917
	3955	Brilliant	Atlantic Refining	tugboat	81	74	1903
	111443	Radiant	Atlantic Refining	tugboat	81	74	1903
967	111453	Roselle	Central RR of New Jersey	tugboat	220	98	1903	Fearless 1936, Nonpareil 1956
		J. M. Woodworth	U.S.P.H.S.	tugboat	135		1903	to USN 1937 as YT-137, sold 1939
	155463	Ocean City	Reading Co	ferry	665	157	1903	Nyack 1923, scrapped 1936
971	200156	Flemington	Central RR of NJ	tugboat	220	98	1903
972	200168	Freehold	Central RR of NJ	tugboat	220	98	1903
973	200439	Astral	Standard Oil Co	tugboat	616	157	1903	Standard II 1916, P. F. Martin 1930, deleted 1951
	200440	Governor Pennypacker		yacht	132		1903
975	200586	Wyomissing	Phila. & Reading Co.	tugboat	222	105	1904
976		Col George Armistead	US Army	minelayer	447	150	1904	Mary Foss 1935, to USN 1942 as Dekanawida (YT-334), Agnes Foss 1947, Celtic 1972, NLD 1987
977		Maj Samuel Ringgold	US Army	minelayer	447	150	1904	Sea Salvor 1924, scrapped 1948
978		Gen Henry Knox	US Army	minelayer	447	150	1904	Chan Hing 1926, Vincent Davin 1931, wrecked Song Ca River 1937
979		Col Henry J. Hunt	US Army	minelayer	447	150	1904
980	201177	P. R. R. No. 4	Pennsylvania RR	tugboat	121	75	1904
983	201217	Eugene F. Moran	Moran Towing	tugboat	200	96	1904	Colima 1906, Qualicum 1911, scuttled as breakwater 1946
985	201268	Catherine Moran	Moran Towing	tugboat	213	96	1904	Cocoli 1907, scrapped 1937
986	201335	John P. Wilson	Lebanon Tptn Co	passenger	350	131	1904	Merchant 1917, Westchester 1929, scrapped 1938
987	201593	S. O. Company No. 11	Standard Oil Co.	tugboat	129	82	1904	S. T. Co. No. 11 1916, Socony 11 1918, Carroll 1945, Marianne 1951
988	201594	Atlantic	Atlantic Refining Co.	tugboat	129	82	1904	Carrolton 1945, Salutation 1949
		Gen Thomas S. Jessup	US Army Transportation Corps	passenger	280	110	1904
		Gen Robert Swartout	US Army Transportation Corps	passenger	280	110	1905
		Gen R. N. Batchelder	US Army Transportation Corps	passenger	280	110	1905
		Gen Timothy Pickering	US Army Transportation Corps	passenger	280	110	1905	sold 1932 and converted to tanker RTC No. 7, (ON 232146), RTC No. 10, to USN 1942, returned 1945, Gladys Ann
992	202008	Protector	Whitehall Transportation	tugboat	176	102	1905	Eugene F. Moran 1917
	202812	Onrust	Hartford & NY Transportation	tugboat	95	72	1906
	202845	Manhattan	New England Fish	tugboat	291	129	1905
	203547	Edmund Moran	Moran Towing	tugboat	102	72	1906	Camden 1912, Venus 1947
	203626	Victory	Victory Tug LLC	tugboat	96	68	1906	Agnes A. Moran 1934, Rose 1940, scrapped 2012
	203794	Norfolk		passenger	99	76	1907
1004	203969	Machigonne	Harpswell Steamboat Co	passenger	425	136	1907	Hook Mountain 1929, Block Island 1940, to USN 1941 as League Island (YFB-20), sold 1948 as Yankee
1005	204233	Boothbay	Eastern S.S. Co	freighter	334	126	1907	Grampus 1920, Deepwater 1931, Liberty (YFB-53) 1941, Island Queen II 1965, Provincetown 1966, St. Thomas 1967
1006	204193	General Hubbard	Hammond Lumber	tugboat	412	130	1907	to USN 1908 as Navajo, AT-52, IX-56, sold 1937, scrapped 1948
1007	204294	Gwalia	Balt & Boston Barge Co	tugboat	415	130	1907	foundered Gulf of Mexico 1925
1009	204360	Lizzie D	W. J. Conway	tugboat	122	78	1907	sunk off NJ 1922
1011	204605	Bern	Reading Railroad	tugboat	224	105	1907	Saturn 1956, Muriel McAllister 1980, Saturn 1995
	204735	Belhaven	Wood Towing	tugboat	96	78	1907	Kevin Moran 1928, Saint Joseph 1941
	205816	Adriatic		tugboat	113	78	1907	Eileen McAllister 1950