View source for SS Home

{{Short description|Steamship, 1836{{endash}}1837}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Awful wreck of the steam packet Home.jpg
|Ship caption=[[Nathaniel Currier]]'s hand-colored [[lithograph]], ''Awful Wreck of the STEAM PACKET HOME: on her passage from New York to Charleston, by which melancholy occurrence NINETY-FIVE PERSONS PERISHED''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country= [[United States]]
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|USA|1837}}
|Ship owner= Red Bank line, [[New York City]]
|Ship name= SS ''Home''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship operator=Carleton White
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=Allaire Works, [[New York City]]
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched= 1837
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck= 
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto= 
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate= Wrecked off [[Cape Hatteras]], 9 October 1837
|Ship notes=130 on board
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship type= 
|Ship tonnage=537
|Ship displacement= 
|Ship length= {{convert|220|ft|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam= {{convert|22|ft|6|in|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= 
|Ship depth=
|Ship propulsion=*[[marine steam engine]]
*2 side paddles
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|Ship notes=90 lives lost
}}
|}

'''SS ''Home''''' was a [[Steamship|steam]] [[packet ship]] built in 1836 and wrecked in 1837 during [[Racer's Storm]] with a loss of 90 lives. She was commanded by [[Sea captain|Captain]] Carleton White.

== History ==
In 1836, [[James P. Allaire]], John Haggerty, and [[Charles Morgan (businessman)|Charles Morgan]] planned to add two steamers to their line of ships running under the name of the New York and Charleston Steam Packet Company. By late, 1837, their company was running only one steam packet between New York and [[Charleston, South Carolina]], the [[Columbia (1835 steamboat)|''Columbia'']]. After some delays, the partners launched the [[New York (1837 steamboat)|''New York'']] and the SS ''Home'' early in 1837 to carry passengers and cargo, including US Mail.<ref>Baughman (1968), pp. 15−17.</ref>

The ''Home'' was a large and fast coastal steamer which provided accommodations for 120 passengers and could make the trip between New York and Charleston in 64 hours. It cost nearly $90,000 to complete the ship, but it was already running profitably on its first two journeys. On its third trip from New York on October 7, 1837, however, ''Home'' ran aground in the harbor. Thinking that the ship was not damaged after an inspection, the master recommenced the journey. Their inspection failed to detect a water leak in the machinery, which caused and engine failure when the ''Home'' faced a storm near [[Cape Hatteras, North Carolina]].<ref>Baughman (1968), p. 17.</ref>

''Home'' was built for Mr. James P. Allaire, of [[New York City]], a [[paddle steamer]] of 537 tons, {{convert|220|ft}} long and with a beam of {{convert|22|ft}}, propelled by two sidewheels mounted amidships. Like other ships of her day, ''Home'' had [[Mast (ship)|masts]], [[sail]]s, and [[rigging]] as well.

''Home'' was built for river trade, but was converted into a [[passenger ship]]. Her interior was paneled in deep [[mahogany]] and [[cherrywood]] with [[skylight]]s, saloons, and luxurious passenger quarters. A total of US$115,000 was spent converting ''Home'' for ocean voyages, but she was equipped with only three [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]] and two [[Personal flotation device|life preservers]]. She was uninsured.

== Loss ==
{{see also|Racer's hurricane#SS Home}}
On Saturday, 7 October 1837, ''Home'' left New York City for [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], [[South Carolina]], with about 90 passengers and 40 crew aboard. ''Home'' had made only two previous voyages to Charleston. ''Home'' struck a [[sandbar]] off [[New Jersey]]. Unaware of the extent of the damage, her captain proceeded on schedule for Charleston. She encountered the [[1837 Racer's Storm]] and started taking on water as she rounded [[Cape Hatteras]], [[North Carolina]]. She was put aground to ride out the developing storm. Before rescue operations could be effected the next day, the ''Home'' was torn to pieces by the surf and 90 people died.

=== Notable passengers lost in the disaster ===
*The Hardy Croom family of [[Tallahassee, Florida|Tallahassee]], [[Florida]]. Hardy Croom established one of Tallahassee's premier [[cotton plantation]]s called [[Goodwood Plantation]]. 
*[[Oliver H. Prince]] and wife Mary Prince. Oliver was on the Board of Trustees of the [[University of Georgia]] and had been a [[United States senator]] from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] as well as [[Georgia Senate|Georgia State Senator]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{cite book | first=James P. | last=Baughman | title=Charles Morgan and the Development of Southern Transportation | place=Nashville | publisher=Vanderbilt University Press | year=1968 | url=https://archive.org/details/charlesmorgandev0000baug/page/n5/mode/2up | access-date=July 6, 2024}}

==External links==
* {{Handbook of Texas|id=ybh01|name=Hurricanes}}
* {{cite web | url=https://allairevillage.org/james-p-allaire |  title=James P. Allaire: Biography of the Founder | website=The Historic Village at Allaire: Premier Living History Museum in New Jersey | access-date=July 6, 2024}}
*[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/pages/results/?dateFilterType=yearRange&date1=1837&date2=1843&language=&ortext=&andtext=&phrasetext=&proxtext=Steam+Packet+Home&proxdistance=5&rows=20&searchType=advanced Contemporary Newspaper accounts of the loss of the ''Home'' 1837-1843]

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Home (ship, 1836)}}

{{1837 shipwrecks}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Home, SS}}
[[Category:Steamships]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Carolina coast]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1837]]
[[Category:1836 ships]]
[[Category:Paddle steamers]]