J.H. Scheadle
In 1906, the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company ordered a new vessel built for their subsidiary company the Grand Island Steamship Company. The result was the J.H. Sheadle built in Ecorse, Michigan by the Great Lakes Engineering Works. This eighteen-foot-long swallowtail flag was used during the launch ceremony and on its maiden voyage as seen in the image above. Flying below the name flag is the Cleveland Cliffs Company flag.
Cliffs owned and operated two J.H. Sheadles. The first (the previously described ship) stayed with Grand Island until it wholly joined Cliffs in 1921 and remained until 1924 when it was sold to Forest City Steamship Company. The second Sheadle came in 1925, when Cliffs renamed one of their current vessels, the William G. Mather, to the J.H. Sheadle. The second Sheadle carried that name for thirty years before being renamed again in 1955 to the H.L. Gobeille.
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