U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service (Toledo, OH) records

This one cubic foot collection contains records of the Toledo, Ohio office of the Steamboat Inspection Service for the years 1870-1931. Included are tensile strength test reports for boiler plate samples (1900-1931), lists of licensed assistant engineers (1890-1907), and lists of licensed pilots (1870-1908). The strength reports are arranged chronologically, while the lists are arranged by first letter of the last name and thereunder chronologically.

The lists of licensees provide researchers with genealogical information on persons employed in the Great Lakes shipping industry. Lists provide dates of issue for licenses, name of licensee, number of licenses, number of renewals, name of boat on which licensee was employed on date of last license, and the route for which the license was issued The reports on boilerplate strength reflect the safety concerns of the Steamboat Inspection Service as it monitored construction and maintenance of steam vessels. The test reports from 1915 to 1931 also record part of the lengthy transition into having such functions performed by the Coast Guard after its founding.