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Murphy arrived in Cleveland in 1858, and had worked for several of the local shipbuilding firms. There must have been a close association with the parent firm as the vessel owners contracting for ships from Quayle and Murphy follow closely those of Thomas Quayle and Sons. Quayle and. Murphy launched the schooners Verona and Helena on May 7, 1873 and April 14, 1874, respectively, both for the Cleveland Transportation Company. They launched the propeller Persian on July 18, 1873. This was one of the largest vessels on the Great Lakes at the time of her launching, measuring 255 feet in length, and forty feet in width. She was powered by two high pressure engines manufactured by the Globe Iron Works. Quayle and Murphy also built the schooner J. B. Kitchen and propeller Vienna in 1873. The partnership was dissolved in 1879 when William Quayle joined forces with his brothers upon their father's retirement from shipbuilding. On July 22, 1875, Thomas Quayle and Sons launched the largest vessel yet built on the Great Lakes and named her the Commodore: The largest steam propeller ever built on the lakes will be launched from the shipyard of Quayle and Sons at the upper Central way bridge at four p.m. today. It is a first-class vessel in every respect, having been built for the Western Transportation co. of Tonawanda. The craft will be engaged most of the time in the grain trade between Chicago and Buffalo. The contract for this monster was let in Dec. 12 last, and specified for the construction of a vessel 266.2 feet long, with a breadth of beam of 42.2 feet, and a carrying capacity of 1,766 tons, old measurement. It has two decks, there being a distance of nine feet between. The cost when completed will be about $80,000. The vessel, while not yet named, is a model of beauty and fine workmanship, a lasting memorial to Cleveland enterprise and thoroughness which will stand the test of years. Quayle and Sons deserve credit for doing the greatest work in shipbuilding ever done on the lakes, a credit of which the firm may well feel proud.57 Following the launching of the Commodore the effects of the Panic of 1873 were felt, and nothing new was built by Quayle and Sons until 1878. Then in quick succession followed the propellers Delaware, Conestoga, Buffalo, Milwaukee, and Chicago. 38