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Vessel

J. Oswald Boyd

Also Boyd

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypeVessel
RigTanker
ErasModern era
On this page
Vessel
Rig
Tanker
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
maritimeshippingshipwrecksheritage

Summary

The J. Oswald Boyd was a gasoline tanker that grounded on Simmons Reef and was later used as the source of salvage gasoline. The Marold II was lashed to it during the January 1937 transfer operation when the explosion occurred; the primary report says the Boyd continued to burn afterward and carried the two recovered Cole bodies.

Evidence and limits

The source identifies the tanker, owner, grounding, and role in the casualty, but provides no official number, dimensions, registry, final disposition, or complete grounding date. Those details remain blank.

The July 1942 Herald supplies a later disposition: the salvaged tanker was delivered to Great Lakes Steel in Detroit for scrapping. It does not identify the salvage date or add an official vessel record.

Open questions

  • Can Great Lakes vessel records identify the Boyd and its owner more fully?
  • When was the tanker grounded and what was its final disposition after the salvage operation?

See also

Sources

  1. Charlevoix County Herald, January 8, 1937, “Coast Guards Abandon Search for Three Men Missing in Marold II Explosion.”
    Reports that the J. Oswald Boyd grounded on Simmons Reef, was abandoned for salvage, and was lashed to the Marold II when the gasoline-transfer explosion occurred; it names Dunham Marine Corporation of New York as owner. It dates the grounding only to early November 1936 and says the crew was removed November 9. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    charlevoix · Charlevoix_County_Herald_1937-01-08
  2. Charlevoix Courier, January 1997, “Ship explosion recalled on 60th anniversary,” scrapbook section.
    Retells the grounding and salvage operation and identifies the Boyd as the gasoline tanker involved in the Marold II explosion. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    charlevoix · charlevoixcourie1997unse
  3. Charlevoix County Herald, July 24, 1942, “Ship Salvaged Another Junked.”
    Reports that the Boyd, stranded at Beaver Island in 1936, had been salvaged and was delivered to Great Lakes Steel in Detroit for scrapping; it repeats the 920,000-gallon gasoline cargo. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    charlevoix · Charlevoix_County_Herald_1942-07-24
  4. Described in this archive: Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision.
    Prints November 11, 1936 beside the Boyd/Marold II annotation. Because the contemporary report says the Boyd's crew was removed on November 9, that exact date cannot be its grounding or abandonment date.

Added 1 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “J. Oswald Boyd”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/vessels/j-oswald-boyd-1937/, accessed [date], citing Charlevoix County Herald, January 8, 1937, “Coast Guards Abandon Search for Three Men Missing in Marold II Explosion.” (and 3 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-01. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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