Joseph Francis Life-Car
date: label: date made
content: late 1840s
label: patented
content: 1845
label: Life-Car first used to rescue Ayrshire
content: 1850-01-12
label: Life-Car donated to the Smithsonian Institution
content: 1885
name: label: patentee
content: Francis, Joseph
notes: label: Description
content: As maritime traffic expanded in the early 19th century, especially with the rise in passenger travel, water safety became a top priority for American shipping inventors. This life-car, patented by Joseph Francis in 1845, was one of the most successful life-preserving devices developed at the time. Buoyant and pod-shaped, the metal life-car was used to rescue shipwreck victims when the vessel was foundering near land. While standing on the beach, a person from a lifesaving station used a cannon-like gun to shoot sturdy lines out to the ship, which would then be tied to the ship’s mast. The life-car was attached to, and pulled, along these lines. Up to four people were bolted into the airtight compartment. They laid flat as they were hauled through the rough waters to the safety of the shore.
label: Description
content: This life-car was first used on January 12, 1850, to rescue the stranded British bark <I>Ayrshire</I>. The ship, most likely filled with Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine, ran aground on a sand bar off the New Jersey shore at Squan Beach, now known as Manasquan. A blinding snow storm made the ocean too dangerous to launch a surfboat, the usual method of rescue, so local lifesavers decided to launch the newly installed, experimental life-car. Although never tested in an actual emergency, the Francis life-car performed as envisioned.
label: Description
content: Out of 166 passengers and 36 crew members on the <I>Ayrshire</I>, only one was lost, perhaps needlessly, in the short journey from ship to shore. A male passenger insisted on riding on top of the life-car while his family inside was hauled to safety. He could not hold on and was washed away by the surf. Over the next three years, this device rescued at least 1,400 people on the New Jersey shore alone, as well as countless amounts of valuable cargo. The original, groundbreaking life-car used in the <I>Ayrshire</I> wreck was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by Joseph Francis in 1885.
place: label: used
content: United States: New Jersey
topic: label: related event
content: Expansion and Reform
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
label: See more items in
content: Engineering, Building, and Architecture
label: See more items in
content: Transportation
label: See more items in
content: On the Water exhibit
label: Exhibition
content: On the Water
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: National Museum of American History. On the Water exhibition website
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Joseph Francis
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TR.160322
label: catalog number
content: 160322
label: accession number
content: 16136
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lifeboat
label: Other Terms
content: lifeboat; Maritime
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 2 ft x 9 ft x 3 ft; .6096 m x 2.7432 m x .9144 m