U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service (Cleveland, OH) records
Collection Organization
This collection contains copies of certificates of inspection retained by the Cleveland, Ohio office of the U. S. Steamboat Inspection Service after examining steam vessels for recertification purposes. These annual inspections permitted vessels to operate on the Great Lakes. The certificates span the years 1876-1910.
These documents are bound in 23 volumes. Points of emphasis vary slightly between inspections for freight vessels, passenger vessels, and pleasure yachts. Generally the information compiled focused on hull materials, boiler tests, recommended crew sizes, and numbers of passengers for each vessel.
The largest concentration of inspections pertain to freight vessels (volumes 1-16, 1876-1910). Inspections for passenger vessels form the second largest segment of the collection (volumes 17-22, 1883-1910). Pleasure yacht certificates appear in volume 23, 1894-1899.
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, July 1876-July 1878
- Dates
- Creation: July 1876-July 1878
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, July 1878-August 1880
- Dates
- Creation: July 1878-August 1880
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, August 1880-October 1882
- Dates
- Creation: August 1880-October 1882
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, April 1883-November 1885
- Dates
- Creation: April 1883-November 1885
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, July 1888-September 1890
- Dates
- Creation: July 1888-September 1890
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, September 1890-October 1892
- Dates
- Creation: September 1890-October 1892
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, August 1892-September 1894
- Dates
- Creation: August 1892-September 1894
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, September 1894-August 1896
- Dates
- Creation: September 1894-August 1896
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, August 1896-August 1898
- Dates
- Creation: August 1896-August 1898
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, August 1898-June 1900
- Dates
- Creation: August 1898-June 1900
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, June 1900-October 1902
- Dates
- Creation: June 1900-October 1902
Freight, Towing, and other steamers, October 1902-May 1905
- Dates
- Creation: October 1902-May 1905
Freight, Towing, and other steamers of over 100 gross tons, May 1905-June 1907
- Dates
- Creation: May 1905-June 1907
Freight, Towing, and other steamers of over 100 gross tons, June 1907-April 1909
- Dates
- Creation: June 1907-April 1909
Freight, Towing, and other steamers of over 100 gross tons, May 1909-August 1910
- Dates
- Creation: May 1909-August 1910
Freight, Towing, and other steamers of over 100 gross tons, August-December 1910
- Dates
- Creation: August-December 1910
Ferry Steamers, May 1883, May 1885, December 1888
- Dates
- Creation: May 1883
- Creation: May 1885
- Creation: December 1888
Passenger Steamers, April 1887-October 1894
- Dates
- Creation: April 1887-October 1894
Foreign Passenger Steam Vessels, May 1895-May 1900
- Dates
- Creation: May 1895-May 1900
Passenger Steamers, March 1895-June 1900
- Dates
- Creation: March 1895-June 1900
Passenger Steamers, March 1901-December 1905
- Dates
- Creation: March 1901-December 1905
Passenger Steamers over 100 gross tons, April 1906-September 1910
- Dates
- Creation: April 1906-September 1910
Pleasure Yachts, April 1894-June 1899
- Dates
- Creation: April 1894-June 1899